Penny Black Favorite Flowers birthday card

Hello everyone and welcome to another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

This time we are looking for anything you can use to make your mark. Paints, alcohol markers, coloured pencils, ink - the world's your oyster. I went with watercolour for my card.

I used the floral arrangement from Penny Black's Favorite Flowers stamp and die set, stamped in Toffee Crunch ink. I coloured with Sakura Koi watercolours and then die cut the flowers. I wasn't happy with a couple of the small flowers and made the mistake of going back in to try and improve them. Bad idea! The whole thing almost went in the bin until I thought of covering the mistake with the sentiment, and I think it worked.

My talented DT friends have some great inspiration for you over on the ATSM blog, and it would be great to see your entry in the gallery.

I'd like to play along at

Make My Monday Challenge -#271 - use 2 dies

A Cut Above Challenge February 26 - anything with a die cut goes

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #272 - anything goes

We Love Stamping February 26 - anything goes

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #38 - floral project

Penny Black Saturday Challenge February 26 - Anything goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Carol x

 

Kristine Werner Poinsettia Christmas card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome back to ABC Christmas Challenges.

Our themes this month are 

C for Crimson

and/or

D for Ding Dong Bells

Our lovely Lynda is hosting this time, and she has a present for the lucky winner.

This is my C is for Crimson card

I used the Kristina Werner Winter Greenery Background stamp, which I coloured with the accompanying stencils before die cutting. I placed it on a 6inch square card and added a die-cut sentiment. To finish off, I added some glitter to the poinsettia centres, but it doesn't really show in the photo. 

The team has some great inspiration over on the ABC Challenges blog, and an entry can be made there, too.

I hope wherever you are, the weather is being kind to you. We have been having wet weather most days with dull grey skies and a chilly wind. I know it could be worse, and it is still winter, but I long for some sunshine to brighten up February.

Anyway, I'm off to play at (but I'm taking my umbrella)

Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge # 198 - anything Christmas goes

Stencil Fun Challenge February 26 - anything goes

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #37 - anything blossoms goes

Dream Valley Challenge #325 - Use some red

Make My Monday Challenge #271 - use 2 dies

Peace on Earth Challenge February 26 - anything Christmas Goes

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

The Greetery Floral Arches birthday card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

This time, we look forward to seeing die-cuts and/or stencils in your project, and I used both on my card.

   

I used The Greetery Floral Arches Stamps and Stencils with inks from Papertrey Ink, and die-cut the resulting image. The central arched shape and sentiment are from the Arched Sentiments set.

I cut the background with a Capsule Basics oval die from white card and inked it up to tone with the leaves. I then embossed it with a very old Cuttlebug 2D embossing folder from my stash, and it was placed on a 5 x 7 basecard.

My talented teammates have some great inspiration over on the blog, and we'd love to see what you can come up with.

I'd like to play along at,

Stencil Fun Challenge February 2026 - anything stencil

Hearts Quest Celebration of Love Challenge Feb 26 - birthday

Triple B Challenge February 26 - blooms

Pammies Inky Pinkies Challenge 2605 - anything goes

Neglected Stuff Challenge February 26 - neglected Cuttlebug E/F

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge February 26 - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

Penny Black Nature's Jewels Thinking of you card

 

Hello friends, and welcome back to a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. This time we have our any-occasion theme, so you have lots of scope for joining in with us.

I came up with this simple design to keep in my stash for lots of occasions.

I stamped a Penny Black flower image from Nature's Jewels several times and then die cut it with a rectangular stitched die. I coloured the image with Copics, and placed a rectangle stencil over before inking lightly to give a background. I used the same ink around the edges of a mat and layered them onto a 5 by 7 notecard. To finish off, I stamped and die cut the sentiment and stacked it to give a little dimension.

I'd like to play along with

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2603 - anything goes

Aud Sentiments Challenge #333 - anything goes with a sentiment

Dragonfly Dreams January 2026 - floral

Penny Black Saturday Challenge January - anything goes

Pattie's Creations Challenge #238 - anything goes with a stamped image

I've been using the weather as an excuse to stay tucked up inside, but I feel very virtuous cos I have cleaned my craft room from top to bottom, and I'm seeing a clear desk for the first time in ages! I could do with a bit of a declutter too, but that will have to wait until my halo is feeling a bit tarnished.

I hope you are all well,

Hugs,

Carol x

Simple Papertrey Ink Bold Border Flurries Christmas card

 

Hello friends, and welcome back to a new year of challenges with ABC Christmas Challenges.

Challenge begins: Wednesday 14th January 2026

Challenge ends: Saturday 7th February 2026

Our lovely host this time is Helen, and she has a great prize for the lucky winner.

Our themes this time are:

'A is for Anything Christmas'

&/or

'B is for Bright'

My shiny offering covers both these themes

This card is made using an old and neglected die from Papertrey Ink called Bold Borders: Flurries. It is easy to mass-produce, very quick to make and is pretty flat for posting, so it ticks a lot of boxes if you need a few extra Christmas cards at the last minute. The Joy die is in the same set, and just the right size to fit in the snowflake frame.

I'd like to join in with:-

A Cut Above Challenge: January 2026 - use die cuts

Neglected Stuff Challenge: January 2026 - dies are old

Peace on Earth Challenge #103 - anything Christmas

I hope you'll pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenges Blog for some inspiration, and get a head start on Christmas 2026 by playing along with us each month.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

The Greetery holiday borders and Papertrey Ink birthday card

Hello friends. Happy New Year, and I really hope it's going to be a good one for you. There is such a lot of sadness around for so many people, both nearby and across the world, and my hope is that we all get some comfort and kindness this year. One way to escape from reality when it is hard to face is to spend time playing with your crafty stash and create something to gift and hopefully, bring a smile to the recipient's face. I plan to do more of this on these cold and dark January/February days when I want to hibernate until spring comes, because I know it always lifts my spirits (at least until I have to do the clean up lol!). 

We have the first challenge of the year at Addicted to Stamps and More, and we'd love to see some of your birthday creations.

I have 3 January birthdays for friends, so it is the perfect challenge for me, and I came up with this card.

I used my new The Greetery's Capsule Basics collection and die cut the scalloped oval from white card before embossing it with the 3D embossing folder. I coloured the card with Rustic Wilderness Oxide ink and a Pinkfresh Studio large blending brush, and I was very pleased with the smooth finish. The smaller oval is from the same die set, and I stamped it with the Holiday Borders fern stamp. Instead of using the accompanying berries stamp to fill in the gaps, I used a tiny flower from another set, which made it more suitable for a birthday card. I wanted to add a flower sprig, so I scoured my stash for a suitable one and found this stamp from Papertrey Ink Bitty Bouquets. I finished off with the sentiment which is from The Greetery Birthday Blooms stamp and die set, and placed it all on a 5x7 notecard.

I'm off to play at

Heart's Quest Celebrations January 26 BEWAS - birthday

Triple B Challenge January 26 - blooms

Daisy Chain Challenge #103 - use dies

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #269 - anything goes

Dragonfly Dreams: January 26 - floral

Crafty Calendar Challenge January 26 - anything new (stash)

There is lots to inspire you over on the ATSM blog, and I hope you will be able to join us this time.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

 

My Favorite Things Hot Chocolate Christmas card

 

Hello, friends, and welcome to the final challenge of the year at ABC Christmas Challenges. I don't know how the year has disappeared so fast - I swear time is speeding up the older I get.

Our final themes this year are

Y for Yummy

and/or

Z for Zebra 

( think black and white or stripes)

As there is nothing more yummy than a mug of hot chocolate in the winter, I came up with this card

I used some old dies from My Favorite Things called Hug in a Mug and added snowflakes and a sprinkles stamp from a cupcake stamp set. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, and I embossed that in white. A few stars finished off the simple design.

I'd like to join in the festivities at

A Cut Above Challenge December Challenge - anything with a die cut goes

A Place to Start December 2025 - winter things

Neglected Stuff Challenge 12/25 - use old stuff - mug dies

First Cup Challenge 9th December -- anything drink-related

Crafty Calendar Challenge December - Christmas/Winter

Fab n Funky Challenge #627 - Christmas

As always, my talented Teamies have lots of inspiration for you over on the ABC Christmas Challenges blog, and there is a lovely prize for the randomly chosen winner.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x