John Next Door and Papertrey Ink birthday gift box

 

🎁 Anything Goes — Create for Any Occasion!

Hello everyone, and welcome to our new challenge where anything goes — any occasion, any celebration, any little moment that deserves a handmade touch. Whether you’re crafting for birthdays, thank‑yous, just‑because gifts, or those “I saw this and thought of you” surprises, we’d love to see what you create.

For my project this time, I stepped away from cards and made something a little different —

💙 A Teal & Dusky Pink Gift Box

I used my NBUS John Next Door Purse Box die, along with the coordinating Greetings Panels, to create a little gift box that works for absolutely any occasion. It could hold a gift card, some chocolates, a collection of cards... I chose a rich teal cardstock for the base and paired it with dusky pink panels for contrast.

To add some texture and interest, I embossed the pink panels with a star embossing folder — and because I couldn’t choose which side I liked best, I used both the embossed and debossed sides. It adds a bit of dimension to the box without overwhelming the design.

For the label, I reached for some favourite Papertrey Ink supplies and stamped a simple birthday sentiment. But, swap the greeting, and it becomes a thank‑you gift, a little treat box, or a “just because” surprise.

Gift boxes turn even the smallest gift into something thoughtful and personal. Plus, they’re a great excuse to play with colour and texture, and to use old and new supplies to mix things up.

I'd like to play along at

Pammies's Inky Pinkies #2623 - anything goes

Make My Monday Challenge #279 - add texture, dry or heat embossing

NBUS Challenge #87 - gift box dies

A Cut Above Crafting June Challenge - anything goes with die cuts

A Place to Start June 26 - anything but a card

Craft Rocket Challenge #137 - birthday

Now it’s over to you. Create something for any occasion — big or small — and share it with us. We can’t wait to see what you make.

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

The Greetery Tangled Tulips birthday card

Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. Our theme this round is Birthdays, and we’d love to see your creative interpretations. From clean and simple to full‑on celebratory layers, anything birthday‑themed is welcome.

My card features several products from The Greetery. I used the Capsule Basics Oval die to create the mat and embossed it with the coordinating Capsule Basics 3D folder. The Tangled Tulip dies were cut and coloured, then arranged in the oval with space left for the sentiment from Papertrey Ink, which was embossed in white. I completed the design with the Regency Bow 1.

You’ll find plenty of inspiration from the design team over on the Addicted to Stamps and More blog, and we’d absolutely love to have you join us for this challenge. Whether you’re adding to your birthday stash or just fancy a creative play, we can’t wait to see what you make.

I'd like to play along at

Dream Valley Challenge #364 - embossing wet and dry

Make My Monday Challenge #278 - say it with flowers

613 Avenue Create Challenge May - optional flowers

Dragonfly Dreams May Challenge - use die cuts

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #41 - use flowers

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

 

Clearly Besotted Joy to the World and MFT Winter Birds Christmas cards

 Hello everyone, and welcome back to another fun round at ABC Christmas Challenges!

This month we’ve got two creative themes to play with:

J for Just Enough (CAS)

and/or

K for Knitwear

For my Just Enough card, I dusted off a very old Clearly Besotted stamp and die set called Joy to the World. I used this set so much when I first got it, and it felt like catching up with an old crafty friend. I stamped the wreath in green, cut it out with the matching die, and then added the berries by over‑stamping and heat‑embossing them in white. To stay true to the CAS spirit, I embossed the sentiment — and I actually stopped there. No extra sprinkles, no last‑minute “just one more thing.” I used to make CAS cards all the time, but my style has wandered over the years, so keeping it simple was surprisingly tricky…

For my Knitwear card, I reached for the adorable Winter Birds set from My Favourite Things. I stamped the birds and foliage, coloured them with pencils, and fussy‑cut the whole gang. Then I made a DL card base and used a Pinkfresh Studio die with round windows—perfect little perches for my feathered friends. I ink‑blended some soft blue into the apertures to suggest sky, and arranged the birds and sprigs so they looked right at home.

I'd like to play along at

Stamping Sensations May Challenge - - Cute Creatures

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Things with Wings

Paper Rock Scissors- anything goes with scissors

Triple B Challenge May 2026 - birds

Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #204 - anything Christmas goes

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #110 - Seasons Tweetings

Neglected Stuff Challenge May 2026 - use old - Joy to the World Stamp set

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Carol x

Concord & 9th Christmas Crackers card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to the latest challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. This round, we’re focusing on Christmas creations. It may feel a long way off, but that’s exactly why it’s the perfect moment to get ahead and let your festive card pile grow at a gentle, stress‑free pace.

For this design, I reached for my NBUS Concord & 9th Christmas Cracker dies and created a small cluster of crackers to feature on the shaped card front. I added snowflake and bow accents for a touch of seasonal detail and chose a coordinated palette using Papertrey Ink colours. The card shape itself was cut with a Bright Rosa die, and the sentiment comes from Kristina Werner.

I'd like to play along at -

Stamps and Fun 495 - use dies

A Cut Above May Challenge - anything goes with dies

Girlz Creative Christmas 176 - use dies

NBUS Challenge #86 - Cracker dies are NBUS

Peace on Earth Challenge May - anything Christmas goes

As always, my talented Teamies have lots of inspiration for you on the ATSM Blog, and would love a visit from you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Carol x

Penny Black Daffodil Days birthday card

 

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

The time we're asking you to make your mark with any colouring medium you like, so you can break out your favourite. 

I stamped the Daffodil Days stamp from Penny Black onto Bristol paper and coloured it with Zig Clean Colour pens before die-cutting the image. I die-cut the scalloped oval from Mama Elephant, inked it with blue ink, then placed my image on it. I finished off by stamping the sentiment from Avery Elle and adding a few blue gems.

I'd like to play along at

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge # 2617 - - anything goes

Dream Valley Challenge #360 - things with wings

Make My Monday Challenge #276 - birds, and or eggs

Allsorts Challenge #848 - anything but a square

Penny Black Saturday Challenge April - anything goes

All About Challenge #4 - birthdays

I decided to have a mini reorganisation of my craft space over the past week, and you guessed it - mini turned into maxi very quickly, and I got into a right old mess. Of course, once I started, the weather turned glorious, and my husband wanted to make the most of it, so my messy room has had to wait. I hope you are having good weather wherever you are.

Hugs,

Carol x

Kristina Werner Flower Field birthday card

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

This time, we invite you to break out your dies and/or stencils to make a project you'd like to share with us.

I used some new goodies from Kristina Wener

I stamped the Flower Field stamp and then used the accompanying stencils to colour in. I cut the image with a circle die and matted it onto a larger circle that I coloured with the same pink ink used on some of the flowers.

The sentiments were die cut using KW Big Birthday dies. I placed everything on a 6x6 basecard to finish off.

I'm finding that I like using stencils to colour for a quick finish, but I also like taking the time to colour images from scratch, too. I must try colouring this image with another medium, but I'm finding it more difficult to hand-colour these days as my eyes aren't what they were!

I'd like to play along at

NBUS Challenge #85 - NBUS Stamp, stencil and dies

Allsorts Challenge #847 - In the garden

Crafty Calendar April Challenge - use dies

All About Challenge #4 - all about birthdays

 Sieze the Birthday Challenge #324 - spring garden

Ellibelle's Garden Party - anything from a garden

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

The Greetery Nordic Tree Christmas card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to the new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges.

Fabiola is our lovely host for the April challenge, and she has a prize for the randomly chosen winner 

a 30$  gift card from your favourite store.

Our themes this time are

'H  is for Hat'

&

'I is for Image Only (no sentiment)'

I made a gift tag for my Hat using the Papertrey Ink Tag Sale Quilted die and inked it with very pale blue ink after masking off a small hill. I spattered some white ink for snow, and while it dried, I stamped, coloured and fussy-cut the Hobby Art Rockin' Robin stamp and log.

For my image-only card, I used The Greetery Nordic Christmas Tree cut from green foil card to give it some shine. I embossed a die for the base card and inked it as above, adding a cut from Spellbinders Stylish Ovals, which I embossed with a snowfall E/F. This provided the background for my shiny tree, and I topped it off with a gold star.

I'd like to play along at

Hearts Quest Shaped Cards and Tags #16 - anything goes with a shaped tag

Paper Rocks Scissors April #15 - anything goes using paper and scissors - robin and log fussy cut

Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #202 - anything Christmas goes

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #109 - Brimming with style

Unicorn Challenge #119 - use dies

A Cut Above Challenge - anything with dies - no twist

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x