Oh Hoppy Day!

Isn't this little guy from Penny Black just adorable? Michelle from Stamper's Dream sent me this Penny Black stamp at the beginning of the month and it's called Hoppy Day. This stamp is quite large so I spent the better portion of the afternoon on Sunday colouring him up with my tombows and the occasional SU re-inker thrown into the pile just for fun ;)

I wanted to keep a white embossed edge to my image but didn't have any dies large enough to accommodate my entire image, so I took some painters tape and masked off the edges. I water coloured and sponged around the tape before removing it and then noticed that my edges were crooked but shhhhh....don't tell anyone that I told you so ;0) I did try to square it up a bit but now my image is no longer a traditional rectangle shape so don't look too closely n'kay?

Thanks for coming by today and I will have oodles of fun cards to show you next week so stay tuned!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black Hoppy Day from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Espresso, Crate Paper, My Mind's Eye
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Teal, Baja Blue, Olive
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Chalk Pencil, Twine, EK Success Clock Hands Punch, Hodgepodge Hardware, Dimensionals, Painter's Tape, Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder,

Make a Wish

 

Today I made a gender neutral A2 sized card with the cutie of a bear from the Make A Wish set by Penny Black that is available from Stamper's Dream. The card was made to fit the CP98 sketch from this week's Card Patterns blog challenge. I don't generally leave a lot of blank space on a card but I love how the busy pattern on the designer paper disguises the empty space :)

This roley poley little bear was water coloured with tombows and is sitting on a bed of grass made from prisma pencils and gamsol with a little bit of sponging thrown in for good measure. He has been popped up on dimensionals and the daisies were coated in white gel pen since I got a little crazy with my colouring outside the lines ;) White gel pens can kinda of be a life saver when you are working with low lighting and little sleep :D

Thanks for coming by today and I will be back on Friday with another creation for you to see :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black Make a Wish from Stamper's Dream
Paper: Gina K, Water Colour, Espresso, My Mind's Eye DP, October Afternoon DP
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Baja, Teal, Olive, Caramel, Chocolate
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Lables Three Nestabilities, Sponges, Dimensionals, Ribbon, Buttons, Twine, Dew Drops, MFT Jumbo Scallop Dienamic, White Gel Pen, Tombow Markers, Water Brush, Prisma Pencils, Gamsol

With Love

Aren't these mice just the cutest? Can you believe that I have had this stamp for over a year and it's never seen ink? It's a crime, I know ;) I actually have about 10 Penny Blacks that have yet to see ink, but shhhh...don't tell my hubby!

I was feeling in the Valentine's Day spirit a little early and wanted to ink up these guys so I got busy and made this "could-be" Valentine's Card because the image is just so sweet. These little mice scream "pucker up" but alas, I didn't have a stamp that said that to match *sigh*




I water coloured these little guys with my tombow markers and a water brush, and then cut them out to layer them. I then sponged the blue background in and then placed my mice on it to spotlight them and then added this little metal rose embellishment that I found on sale :) I just had to have them...it was like a gravitational pull towards the pretties...an uncontrollable impulse. Ok, maybe not but I do think that one fits right at home on this card - it's like a match made in heaven :)




While making this card, I got to use one of my new Martha Stewart Punches too...ok, maybe I used a couple of those punches but only because I scored a wicked deal on them at Michaels for 60% off the already reduced price and I have been absolutely itching to try them! Just sayin' :) I paired the mini hearts punch up with my cuttlebug dies to make this fun little tag. I love how this card turned out and am thrilled that I finally inked up this stamp that has been very lonely on my shelf!



The time has come that I can announce that my Water Colouring with Tombow Markers class is open for enrollment again! This class is a 6 week online class and starts on Feb 2, 2010 - that's only 2 1/2 weeks away peoples :) The cost is $50 USD and it's perfect because you can learn on your own schedule, with printable information and videos with moi for your viewing pleasure ;) Come and join me for the fun and learn how to use your markers along the way!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black, SY Yummy
Paper: Gina K, Watercolour, Red, K&Co DP, My Mind's Eye DP
Ink: Black, Red, Baja, Mustard
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug Dies and Embossing Folders, Spellbinders Nesties, Pop Dots, Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder, Metal Rose Embellishment, Ribbon, Linen Thread, Martha Stewart Punches, Dew Drops, Corner Rounder

Spreading a little love with a blog hop!

A little while ago I was incredibly saddened by a story that I had heard on the news about a vicious attack on a family leaving a mother dead and her 11 year old daughter struggling for life. I then recently came across a thread in the SCS forums looking for volunteers to spread a little love and hope to the little girl - Jaimie Cates while she is both recovering from her physical wounds in the hospital and grieving for her mother. You see, a small group of wonderful ladies organized a blog hop in order to raise awareness of violence and to hopefully flood Jaimie with cards of prayers and well wishes for her recovery and the challenges that she still faces. Here is the story behind today's post:

On October 4^th, 4 teenagers armed with knives broke into a home in a small town in New Hampshire. Alone and sleeping inside were a mother and her 11 year old daughter. These 4 boys broke into this home with the intent to rob and kill anyone inside. They stabbed the mom, Kimberly Cates, to death and left her daughter, Jaimie, for dead in their driveway. It was a completely random act, their home was chosen only due to its secluded surroundings."

Our hope is that everyone hopping around today will stop for a moment and think about Jaimie and her father and what life must be like for them now. One moment in time has changed their lives forever. We are asking that everyone reading this message please take a moment to make a card and send it off to Jaimie. You can make something very simple or much more involved, but please share some words of hope and love and let her know that people do care and want the best for her. Please send your card to the address below:



To find our more about how you can help and links to the newscasts, please visit the Stamp Something for Jaimie blog. There will be prizes but most of all...appreciation for anyone who can help to brighten a little girl's day...even for just a second :o)

Let the blog hop begin! If you arrived here from Deena's Blog then you are in the right place! If not, please start hopping from the beginning at Katherina's Blog.




This is my card for Jaimie. I wanted a whimsical image with a simple little "thinking of you" sentiment and I chose to used a Penny Black image mostly because they always make me smile and hopefully this card will put a smile on Jaimie's face.

I used this week's CPS card sketch to jump start the direction that this card would take. The goose has been water coloured with tombow markers, cut out and paper toled, and most of the designer papers have been run through my 'bug. I ended up going with some spring colours because they are cheery and they fit right in with my image ;o)




We would love for you all to join the rest of us blog hoppers by making a card to send to Jaimie Cates! Don't forget that your card can be as simple or as detailed as you like because every good thought is appreciated and will show Jaimie that she has alot of support from people that care all around the world :o)

Now get your pogo sticks ready and hop on over to Tanjii's Blog and don't forget to have fun along the way! Thanks for joining me here and we will see you at the finish line ;)


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black, Clear Dollar Stamps - Moosing You
Paper: Gina K, Olive, Water Colour, My Mind's Eye DP, Basic Grey DP, K&Co Dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Pink, Olive, Mustard
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders, Nestabilities, Sponges, Clear Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Tombow Markers, Pop Dots, Ribbon, Eyelets, WW Punch, Designer Punch, Piercing Tool

Waterskiing anybody?

I hope that all my American friends celebrated a wonderful Independence day with their friends and families - I know I did! My best friend's husband is from North Carolina and they decided to throw a Happy Fourth of July Bash complete with authentic Southern Fried Chicken and Biscuits :) Mmmmm, YUMMY! Sounds kinda funny to all you guys in the southern states, but I promise that it is very hard to come by up here! lol

Anyhoo, onto the card! I found this great Penny Black image in Victoria while visiting the inlaws and it just had so much paper tole potential! I couldn't find any DP in my stash that suited this card, so I created this little scene :)

The butterflies tow rope is a piece of DMC Embroidery thread that is threaded through the card and secured in the back. The water and lily pads below the mouse is clear embossed so that they are shiny, wet looking and a wee bit sparkely! Man, you should see this card in real life - it is practically glow in the dark there is so many sparkles on this!!!! It's wonderful, and I fully believe that Stickles were just the greatest invention ever :) lol

The card stock scenery has been run through my cuttlebug (by individual strips) and then sewn together. I used a cloud stencil and went to town with the skyline using soft sky ink and a little stickles.

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black, Scenery

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Papertrey White, Old Olive

Inks: Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Tempting Turquoise, Soft Sky, Taken with Teal,Versa Mark, Basic Black

Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Stickles, Dimensionals, Embroidery Floss, Decorative Scissors, Lg Oval Punch, Embossing Powder, Cloud Stencil, Sponges, Piercing Tool and Mat Pack

Gone to the dogs...

I had a great time making this card! It's so silly and not normally what I do, kinda had a twisted mind for this one! This Penny Black dog just looked so mischievous in his kitty slippers that I had to make the card all about him.


I had to stop and think what kind of bad things could this dog get into, besides flaunting these cute kitty slippers? How about some muddy paw prints across a clean floor and your morning paper, wrinkled, wet and eaten? Hehehee! For the bite marks I took my scallop circle punch and punched to corner to look like teeth marks - what dog doesn't leave a smarmy saliva signature on anything he eats? Yeah, my mind went into overdrive with this one! I took my versa marker and outlined the areas that I wanted to look wet and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. Crystal Effects would work well with this too - just allow extra drying time.



What is supposed to resemble newsprint is some unknown DP that has been balled up in my hand for wrinkles, then flattened and smooshed with my ink pads to make it dirty. Bad doggy! He just looks so darn proud of himself too! I also flocked the dog to make him a little fuzzy to the touch (prior to doing this I shaded him to add some dimension)

Card Recipe:


Stamps: Penny Black, $1.00 stamp from Michaels
Paper: K&Co. DP, Papertrey White, Cameo Coral, Unknown DP, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Versa Mark, Sahara Sand, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Cameo Coral, Basic Black
Accessories: Dewdrops, Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Flocking, Embossing Powder, Sponges, Quickie Gle Pen, Scallop, 1 3/8" Circle and 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Craft Knife for Distressing, Markers and Aqua Painter

Spring Chicks

Aren't this hens hilarious? So many of the Penny Black stamps make me smile! I put this strange colour combo together from the piece of DP that I chose. I only purchased one of the sheets from the series (what was I thinking?)...anyhoo, it took me awhile to find another colour to use - I made my own :) The panel behind the spring chicks is actually a piece of Bazzil Bling CS that was run through my cuttlebug using an inked up embossing folder.


As much as I would like to, I can't take credit for this amazing idea! It was perfect for me because it allowed me to customize my CS while adding more texture. I the instructions somewhere but I couldn't find the link to post it here - bear with me as I try to explain the instructions.

All I did was take my brayer and inked it up using Rose Red Classic Ink. I then rolled it onto the inside of my cuttlebug embossing folder (the side with the Cuttlebug Logo in it) - That makes the ink show up on the right side of you CS. Insert your piece of CS so that the side that you want showing is pressed up against the inked up side with the logo. Run the embossing folder through the machine as usual and when you take it out, be careful as it still might be wet. Wait until it drys (a few seconds) and then it's ready to use. This works particularly well with a lighter card stock and a darker ink.

I assembled many pieces and finished it off with some raffia and buttons for a sweet country look :)


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black
Paper: Papertrey White, Bazzil Bling, Unknown DP
Inks: SU Markers, Creamy Caramel, Rose Red, Versa Mark, Basic Black
Accessories: Buttons, Raffia, Sewing Machine, CuttleBug, Nestabilities, Slit Punch, 1/16" Punch, Embossing Powder

Bushel of Bunnies

I adore this stamp! It's one that I have had my eye on since Easter and just couldn't get a hold of one until now! I was so excited, but when I got it home it was just a little bit too big for what I had planned on doing with it - so I improvised :) Here is what the stamp looked like before I came up with my little idea.
I used the three end bunnies for my main image and then tried to create a little scene at the bottom of the card with another bunny. Notice I cut out the little snail from the stamp and added him to the bottom of the card as well! The little bunny was lonely and needed a friend ;) lol



Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black
Paper: Papertrey White, Bazzil Bling, Crate Paper DP, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Bashful Blue, Green Galore
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Embossing Powder, Aqua Painter, Watercolour Wonder Crayons, Re-Inkers, Stickles, Photo Corner Punch, Decorative Scissors, Brads, Liquid Applique, Dimensionals, Sponges

A Hedgehog Hello!

I really like the Penny Black Critters stamps because they are easily made into 3D art! They are simple in design and are large enough to cut out some of the smaller pieces for added detail :) - They also just happen to be totally adorable! I was in the process of making this card when the sketch design I was using just didn't fit the image that I planned for it. I somehow usually do this to myself (it almost always takes me longer to put the card together than it does the main image).

For the longest time I couldn't figure out what kind of corner adornment to use...buttons, brads or primas...I decided to use them all with the exception of primas. I recently purchased this set of sizzix sizzlets. They are kind of fun because they are the perfect size for a card and you can layer them.


Tip: You can make co-ordinating flowers to your card by using your die cuts with designer papers. You can also make them a little more special by adding glitter to them! To do this you can either emboss a smallish piece of designer paper with iridescent ice and then die cut it OR you can die cut it first and then add dazzling diamonds or stickles to highlight it. I embossed the DP first and then die cut them in the photo above :) When you do this it tends to make the designer paper quite a bit sturdier as well - bonus!


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black
Paper: Papertrey White, Certainly Celery, Various Designer Papers
Inks: Basic Black, Versa Mark, Cameo Coral, Green Galore
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Sizzix, Watercolour Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, Brads, Button, Embroidery Floss, Sewing Machine, Embossing Powders, Sponges, Heat Tool, Paper Piercing Tool, Mat Pack, 1 13/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Flocking, Sakura Gel Pen, Quickie Glue Pen , 2 Way Glue Pen, Dimensionals and Taffeta Ribbon.

Blossom Bunnies

This card was fun to watercolour as Penny Black images are just too darn adorable! This particular stamp is quite large and ended up taking up more room on my card than I planned. I really like the little flower that the bunnies are holding onto I tried to re-create that with the bunnies as the "center of my flower". The key word her is tried! lol

I am not sure that I truly love the way the card turned out...but what can you do? I was probably just a little distracted by my little munchkins who were sticking themselves to my craft room window while I was making this! Taiton and Ashlynn were playing in the yard with daddy and since my craft room window is at ground level...well, you can just imagine all the nose and hand prints stuck to the window :) They think it's funny to watch mommy sing and craft at the same time (it's almost impossible for me to be creative without music in the background for me to bop around to.



Ashlynn is the lone ranger in the picture because by the time I got my camera opportunity for a Kodak moment, her older brother ran away giggling :) - What do you think...future crafter? lol


Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black, Friendship Blooms
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Papertrey White, Barely Banana, K&Co. DP
Inks: Bashful Blue, Regal Rose, Basic Black, Versa Mark, So Saffron
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Sewing Machine, Embossing Powders, Brads, Oval Punch, Dimensionals, Watercolour Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, Stickles

Green Makes Me Smile...

I am so silly in love with this card! Ever since I saw this adorable Penny Black stamp, I knew that I just had to have it (along with many others *wink*). I used as few of my favourite things on this card: lime green my favourite colour, lime green and orange - my favourite colour combo du jour, sparkles and frogs (they make me giggle and remind me of my baby girl - they are her favourite too).

I consider lime green my "happy" colour. No matter what light it is looked at in, it always looks soothing. I love it so much I painted my craft room in it! My craft room is my most loved room in my house :)

There is a whole lot of embossing going on with this card. The frogs have a lovely 'wet' look to them thanks to clear embossing powder and the white card stock is embossed with iridescent ice. It's so sparkly and fun!


These cute little guys have been popped up in 3 different places. Instead of using markers to watercolour the image, I hauled out my watercolour wonder crayons. It's been awhile since I have used them and I was pleasantly reminded how beautifully they blend together. I also did not use my standard watercolour paper- I used my Papertrey white and it held up beautifully without warping. Gotta love that! If you have ever had any doubts about ordering the card stock from Papertrey - do it! Do it now, don't wait!!!! It is hands down the best and sturdiest white card stock I have ever come across - this is BIG news as I am a Stampin' Up!-aholic through and through!

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Penny Black, Bodacious Bouquet, DP
Paper: Papertrey White, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Apricot Appeal
Inks: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Versa Mark, Green Galore, So Saffron
Accessories: Sewing Machine, Cuttlebug, Nestabilities, Dimensionals, Watercolour Wonder Crayons, Aqua Painter, Embossing Powders, Brads, Photo Corner Punch