Christmas card number 1 - Penny Black Hedgie and bird

Hi blogging friends

As promised (if you managed to catch my last post), over the next week, I am sharing a couple of Christmas cards that I made at the last minute just before Christmas (as I had been unwell again since November) - and the card I am sharing today, I gave to my husband.   Luckily, he doesn't mind cute and sweet so that makes life very easy :-)  And I started it on the 23rd December and finished it on the afternoon of the 24th - inbetween doing a couple of other Christmas cards!

This is also my card for the following Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - December - Christmas/Holidays
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - December - Anything Goes 
Craftyhazelnut's Challenge Extra - December - Anything Goes 

The card base is KW Doggett Knight white smooth cardstock and first of all, I worked out where I was going to stamp the image so I knew where to do the bottom dry embossing.  The snowflakes embossing is a border folder from an older Cuttlebug (Provocraft) set called Winter Borders.  This set is still readily available in Australia - not sure about the rest of the world as I rarely buy from overseas these days and therefore can no longer recommend any stores.  You can check out my favourite Australian suppliers at the tab just under my blog header.

I added a score line above and below the embossing using a Martha Stewart Mini Score board and trimmed off the excess cardstock at the bottom.  I punched a scrap of aqua glitter cardstock using an EK Success Scalloped Scallops border punch then attached it using Ranger Wonder tape.

The image is from a Penny Black clear set called 'Christmas Friends' and was stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured the image using Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, paper stumps and Odourless Mineral Spirits ie: using the Gamsol Magic aka Magic Coloured Pencil technique.  I actually messed up the colouring on the bird as I coloured him in red and orange and it looked awful against the coolness of the colours on the hedgehog - so I simply restamped and coloured it in the blue and green hues and cut it out, went around the edges with a black Copic multiliner and glued it over the red and orange bird.  Here is a close-up:

You can't even really tell unless you look super-hard can you?!  I went over all the images with a black Copic multiliner for any lines that needed darkening up and also the eyes which does make a big difference to how nice the final image looks.

I went over the scarf using a Wink of Stella clear glitter brush but you can't tell in the photo; it does add a soft sparkle that I can get away with on a guy's card (well, for my husband at least!).  I also added some blue chalk around the image and Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter on the bottom for snow.

The snowflakes were punched from aqua shimmer cardstock and a Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge punch ie: they are the leftover punchies.  I added some tiny Couture Creations silver rhinestones to the centres.

For the top panel:  I punched some scrap white cardstock using my Martha Stewart Icicles edge punch then ran the panel through my Big Shot using the same snowflake border I used on the bottom.  I added a small strip of aqua glitter cardstock using Ranger Wonder Tape then attached the panel to my card using Stampin' Up Fuse Fast adhesive.   Lastly, I tied on some aqua organza ribbon from my stash and added some Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.  I didn't add a sentiment 'cos I couldn't figure out where to put one and just put one on the inside!

Thanks for visiting my blog today.  I'll be back soon with another one of my Christmas cards.

Jocelyn
 

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Christmas Friends clear set 30-084

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Designer Paper and Dies:  None

Accessories:  Big Shot, Cuttlebug Winter Borders set 37-1928, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, paper stumps, Art Spectrum Odourless Mineral Spirits, Copic black fine multiliner, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush, Stampendous Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter (for snow), Kaisercraft blue chalk, Couture Creations tiny silver rhinestones, Ranger 1/4" Wonder tape, Tombow Mono Aqua adhesive, Stampin' Up Fuse Fast adhesive, Aqua organza ribbon (stash), Fray Stop, Martha Stewart Mini Score Board, Cardstock: KW Doggett Knight white smooth, aqua shimmer, aqua glitter

Punches:  Martha Stewart Icicles + Snow Flurry edge, EK Success Scalloped Scallops border

Lili of the Valley James - Big Heart Valentine's Day card

Hi blogging friends 

Today I am sharing a Valentine's Day card that I made for my daughter.  Even if you don't celebrate Valentine's Day per se, I think it is a great opportunity to send a card to someone to say how much you care about them.  My daughter and I also celebrated the occasion by baking some chocolate cupcakes and iced them with pink strawberry icing and sprinkles - yum!  

This card is also for the following Challenges:

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge 67 of Anything Goes with a Twist - add a bow

Craftyhazelnut's February Patterned Paper Challenge which is 'Anything Goes' but Hazel must be able to see that you have used patterned paper as the whole idea of the challenge is to use up your stash of patterned paper - and let's face it, many of us have enough to keep us going for 10 lifetimes (I know I do LOL!).  And yet the lure of a fresh paper pad is so hard to resist........

I bought this adorable teddy bear stamp - James Big Heart - from Lili of the Valley UK just before Christmas but it hasn't seen ink till now.  I stamped the teddy using Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto KW Doggett smooth white cardstock and coloured the teddy using Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft + Lyra coloured pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits ie: the Magic Coloured Pencil technique aka Gamsol Magic - then coloured around the teddy using blue chalk.

I paper-pieced the heart and ran a soft grey Tombow pen around the outer edge to try and give it some 'roundness'.

I stamped the teddy again onto a scrap piece of cardstock and coloured the flower and the paws holding the heart - then cut them out and popped them up on dimensionals.  I also went around all the edges of the paper pieces with a Copic black multiliner to hide the white of where I cut.  You can see a little of the dimension in this close-up here:

Here is another angle to help you see the dimension:

I went over any areas that needed the blackness touched up especially around his eyes and nose with a Copic black multiliner then used a white gel pen to redo the white dots in the eyes and nose.

The sentiment is also from LOTV from their newly released set 'Happy Bears' which has lots of teddy bear images and sentiments - see HERE.

All the designer papers are by Crate Paper - Love Notes - which I picked up from Spotlight late last year.  It is a gorgeous pad with soft reds and light teal colours - right up my alley!

I used a Wink of Stella clear glitter pen to add some subtle glimmer to the heart and rose which is very hard to see in the photo.   The centre panel was trimmed to 1/8" using my Perfect Layers Tools.

The light teal organza bow was made using my Bow Easy and I added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.  I glued the bow on using Fabric glue.  

I used an EK Success Arrows border punch to punch some tiny little hearts from the soft red cardstock (they are the leftover punchies that look like tiny hearts) and glued them around the teddy using Tombow Aqua glue.  Here is a close-up of that sweet teddy bear:

Once I had layered up the card, I attached a white cardstock base which was diecut using a circle die except that I moved the die up so that I still had a fold at the top.  The next photo explains what I mean if I am not making any sense:

I usually make my card fronts first then attach the front to a white cardstock base (unless it's a one-layer-card of course).

I think you could use this LOTV image for a Wedding Anniversary or Engagement too.

And now I thought I would share the gorgeous Boofle card that my daughter gave to me:

The papers and butterflies are by Kaisercraft from their Enchanted Garden collection.  The twine was saved from a clothing tag and the rhinestones are also by Kaisercraft.

My daughter knows that I love Boofle so I received a Boofle Gift bag filled with lots of lovely goodies.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:  

Stamps:  LOTV James - Big Heart ST483, sentiment from LOTV Happy Bears SET088

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Designer Paper:  Crate Paper Love Notes 6" x 6" pad (2013)

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles and Nesting Scalloped Circles

Accessories:  Big Shot, dimensionals, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft + Lyra coloured pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, Kaisercolour blue chalk, light teal organza ribbon, Fray Stop, Bow Easy, cardstock - soft red, light teal + KW Doggett Smooth White, Perfect Layers Tools, Wink of Stella Clear glitter pen, Black Copic multiliner 0.05, white gel pen, soft grey Tombow pen, Tombow Aqua glue, Stampin' Up Fuse Fast adhesive, Fabric glue

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border punch

Another masculine birthday card

Hi blogging friends

Today I am sharing another masculine birthday card.  This one is for my brother-in-law's birthday and I picked a dog image because he is very much a dog-lover.  I have used this cute little Penny Black dog stamp countless times for masculine cards over the past couple of years:  there is just something so sweet about his little face and he is so quick and easy to colour.

I also made this card for the following challenges:

The ABC Challenge - V for Very Cute
Splitcoaststampers - Ways to use it WT444 - Designer Paper

I stamped the image using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink onto KW Doggett Knight white smooth cardstock and coloured it with Prismacolor pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits using paper stumps (Magic Coloured Pencil technique aka Gamsol Magic).   I added a teeny bit of Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the present and chalked around the image with blue chalk for the sky and brown/grey for the ground.

The sentiment is from the Penny Black clear set:  Sweet and Cute and was also stamped using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.  I used my EK Success Arrows border punch to punch tiny little red hearts (they are the leftover punchies that look like tiny hearts - so cute!).

The designer paper is by We R Memory Keepers:  Friends Furever.  I used my Perfect Layers Tools to trim the borders.  The widest border on the card base is 1/4" and all the others, apart from the sentiment panel, were trimmed to 1/8".  The sentiment panel is trimmed to just under 1/16".

Finished size is 5" x 5" or 127mm x 127mm.

Thanks for stopping by to have a peek at my card.

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black 'It's for you!' wood mount, sentiment from Penny Black 'Sweet and Cute' 30-153 clear set

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia

Designer paper:  We R Memory Keepers - Friends Furever

Accessories:  Big Shot, Lifestyle Circle + Scalloped Circle dies, Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue, Kaisercraft chalks, Perfect Layers Tools, grosgrain ribbon, heart button from Jesse James Co. 'Dress it up' Country Hearts, beige sewing thread, Fray Stop, Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, cardstock - KW Doggett Knight white, Kaisercraft Brown, American Crafts kraft, red

Punches:  Fiskars Threading Water border, EK Success Arrows border

Penny Black Bundle of Joy - baby girl card

Hi blogging friends

Did you notice that I made a new Blog Header?  I thought it was time to update my blog a little as I have had the same header for a couple of years - and thought it would be fun to have a few of my favourite cards included.  The first photo is a scene from Bright in north-east Victoria - one of my favourite holiday destinations.  What do you think of my new header?

Here is the baby girl card that I promised I would share after finally finishing it last night:

Apologies for the ribbon shadow.  I tried taking a photo with the sun directly on the card but it made the image all washed out so had to put the card at a slight angle instead.

The adorable little baby hedgie/flower frame is from the Penny Black clear set Bundle of Joy and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Minerals Spirits.  I lightly chalked around the image with blue chalk.  I went to town with the glitter and added glitter to all the flowers as well as the frame - which you can a bit better on the photo below.  I corner punched this main panel and popped it onto pink cardstock that was diecut using one of my new Spellbinder Decorative Labels One dies and my Big Shot.  Oh my gosh - I LOVE these dies - they are so pretty and feminine.  I added a little pink gemstone in each corner then popped the panel up on dimensionals.

The embossed white panel was embossed using a Crafter's Companion Die'sire Embossalicious EF6 Floral square embossing folder then corner punched.

The pink base was made using a Martha Stewart Vintage Floral punch-around-the-page corner/edge punch.  I also added a pink gemstone to each corner.

I managed to take another photo when the sun went behind a cloud for a few minutes - it does make the pink look a bit different though and is probably closer to what it is in real life - but it makes the card look rather dull, lacking in texture and not so pretty.  You can see the gemstones and glitter a bit better in this photo.  Amazing how much different a photo can appear just with changing light conditions from one minute to the next!

Lastly, I made a pink bow with my Bow Easy and sewed on a pink heart button, added Fray Stop to the ribbon ends and glued the bow on with some Fabric Glue.

I did a quick little inside mirroring the pink cardstock Decorative Label panel on the card front.  I diecut the white sentiment panel using my Big Shot and Labels One Nestabilities die.  The sentiment is from the Nursery Necessities set by Stampin' Up and I added a tiny little pink heart at each end of the sentiment which I punched using my Arrows Border punch (they are the leftover punchies that look like tiny hearts to me).  I added some glitter to the hearts as well.

This card will be going to my neighbour who had a baby girl a couple of days ago.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Totally Papercrafts Challenge #157 - Punch it - must use dies and/or punches - I used both.

Splitcoaststampers - Free for All F4A156 - Go to your happy place - where you are to use the colours that make you happy for your cards eg: bright, muted, pastel.  Mine is pastel.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hope to see you again soon.  If you have any questions, please drop me an email - scroll down on the LH sidebar and click on the link. 

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Bundle of Joy 30-043 clear stamp set, Stampin' Up Nursery Necessities

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Designer paper:  None

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Decorative Labels One dies S4-379 + Labels One Nestabilities dies, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue, Crafter's Companion Die'sire Embossalicious EF6 Floral 6" x 6" embossing folder, dimensionals, heart button, pink ribbon, Fray Stop, pink sewing thread, fabric glue, Bow Easy, Kaisercraft blue chalk, Kaisercraft pink gemstones, cardstock - Bazzill pink, KW Doggett Knight white

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner, Martha Stewart punch-around-the page Vintage Floral, EK Success Arrows border

Penny Black - A gift for you - BIL's birthday card

Hi blogging friends

First up:  a special welcome to my new followers - it is fantastic to have you onboard   - that's me jumping for joy!

Today, I am sharing a card I made for my brother-in-law's birthday.  If you have followed my blog for a while, you will have seen this dog image by Penny Black quite a few times before but I just love him for masculine cards for any age group.  He is so quick and easy to colour too which is a bonus.  And isn't it good when you have a stamp that you get plenty of value out of?!

 

I stamped the image with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink onto KW Doggett Knight white smooth cardstock and coloured it with Odourless Mineral Spirits and Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and paper stumps, then chalked around the image with blue, brown and grey chalk for the sky/ground.  To make the tail look like it is wagging, I added a few strokes around it with a Staedtler Lumocolor 313 permanent waterproof brown pen.  I added a little bit of Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the green part of the present.  This main image panel is up on dimensionals.

 

The gorgeous background designer paper is by We R Memory Keepers - Friends Furever - Making Tracks which is layered onto kraft then brown cardstock.  I trimmed the edges to 1/8" with my Perfect Layers Tools.

 

As I had no matching brads in stash to put on my card, I made my own.  I saw a demonstration at a Craft Show late last year at the Alison Ellis Stand of how to colour your own brads to match your project.  I wrote the instructions down but can't find my book but from what I remember there are several ways of doing it.  Anyway, to make mine, I held the the prongs of a silver brad with a pair of closed tweezers, dabbed on some Versacolor Bark pigment ink then poured on some Alison Ellis clear detail embossing powder, tapped off the excess and heated the brad with my heat-gun.  Because I could still see a bit of silver, once the brad had cooled, I repeated the process 2 more times until I was happy with the look.   Probably the only downside, is that you need to be careful how much you handle the brad afterwards because the coating scratches off quite easily as I ended up needing to re-do one of them.   Maybe I should have left the brads for 24 hours to see if they hardened up a bit?  Or I might try coating the brad with clear nail polish or perhaps some spray varnish to protect it next time and see if that helps. 

 

Lastly, I added the ribbon and sewed on a red button.  I added some Fray Stop to the edges of the ribbon to stop them from fraying.  I couldn't figure out where to put a sentiment but I figured the image is self-explanatory anyway.

 

As I did with my last card, I did a quick and simple card inside:

 

 

The sentiment is by Penny Black and was stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.  I used a Fiskars Scallop border punch along the bottom.

 

Finished card size is 120mm square or about 4-3/4".

 

Challenges:

 

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

 

The Pink Elephant Challenge - TPE188 - Anything Goes

Allsorts Challenge #195 - Animals 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Jocelyn

 

 

Card Recipe:

 

Stamps:  Penny Black 'For You!' 3446E wood-mount, Penny Black 'Dog-gone Birthday' 1709E wood-mount - inside sentiment

 

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia, Versacolor Bark pigment (for brads)

 

Designer Paper:  We R Memory Keepers - Friends Furever - Making Tracks

 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Square and Scalloped Square Nestabilities, brown grosgrain ribbon, Fray Stop, Kaisercraft chalks, silver brads, heat-gun, Alison Ellis clear detail embossing powder, closed tweezers, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, paper stumps, Odourless Mineral Spirits, red button from stash, red sewing thread, Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue, dimensionals, Staedtler Lumocolor 313 permanent waterproof brown pen, Perfect Layers Tools, Cardstock - kraft, brown earth, KW Doggett Knight white

 

Punches:  Fiskars Scallop border (card inside)

Penny Black Love Nip - Valentine's Day card

Hi blogging friends

Today I am sharing a Valentine's Day card.  It is AGES since I used the Magic Coloured Pencil/Gamsol Magic technique to colour an image, ie: Odourless Mineral Spirits with Prismacolor/Derwent Coloursoft pencils and paper stumps, having mainly used Watercolour Pencils in recent times.  I felt so rusty as it is a completely different technique to watercolouring and I struggled at first but got there in the end.  Glad I started with a simple image such as the one I used on my card!

I love this little cat - he makes me smile when I look at him - but I probably say that about all my Penny Black Margaret Sherry stamps!  I never get tired of them and they don't seem to go out of style.  I am still using Penny Black stamps that are 10 years old!  I recently had a clear out of my stamps - some look so dated and I am not sure whether I should try and sell them on EBay or just donate them to charity.  There's nothing wrong with them - I just wonder if it would be worth all the effort with the photographing, writing a blurb, paying to list them, then IF they sell, having to post them:  I feel tired thinking about it - and I am tired with the ongoing care of my loved one.  Anyone have any advice?  Is it better to sell them as one lot?  I haven't sold anything on EBay before - only bought things.   Anyway, onto my card...........

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto white cardstock and coloured it as per above, then lightly chalked around the cat with blue chalk for the sky and brown + grey chalk for the ground.  I added some Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the hearts and the envelope.  The image looks a little washed out in the photo.  My camera never likes to photograph anything with pink - it just can't seem to cope with that colour and always washes out my image.  Cameras can be so frustrating sometimes!

All the layers on the card are designer papers from my Basic Grey 12" x 12" Kissing Booth collection.  I would usually use matching cardstock but as my set of Kissing Booth papers has quite a number of plain colours in it, I thought I would use them instead - and of course, they match the floral papers perfectly making the whole process a bit quicker.

The fancy diecut circle is a Nellie Snellen die - so pretty.  JUST A LITTLE TIP:  This main panel is up on dimensionals because when I had it flat on the floral background, it all but disappeared into the background designer paper, so by popping it up a bit, it stood out from the background and looked 100 times better.  I was actually quite surprised at the difference it made, so if a similar thing happens to you, try popping your image up.

The sentiment is from my Wendy Irving Expressions set - one of the most useful sentiment sets I have ever purchased and had for a few years now.   I punched a tiny heart from the pink designer paper using my Arrows border punch (the leftover punchies look like tiny hearts) and glued it next to the sentiment.

The ribbon on the side panel was attached in 2 separate elements and I added Fray Stop to the ribbon ends to stop them from fraying.

Lastly, I added 3 heart gems to the bottom right-hand corner.  These gems came on a small sheet of bling from Target (Australia) which is meant for decorating your mobile phone or i-Pod, but I use the gems for cardmaking instead as the sheets have quite an assortment of different shaped rhinestones and pearls.  I have seen them at Woolworths/Safeway as well and they cost about $2 - $3. 

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Penny Black and more at Allsorts - Love is in the Air
Bunny Zoe's Crafts monthly challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by! 

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Love Nip 3776F wood-mount, Sentiment from Wendy Irving Expressions clear set J6412.01

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black

Designer Paper:  Basic Grey Kissing Booth 12" x 12"

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities, Nellie Snellen MFD020 die (fancy circle - largest die in set), ribbon, Fray Stop, pink heart gems from Target, dimensionals, Kaisercraft chalks, Odourless Mineral Spirits, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, paper stumps, Kindyglitz Crystalina, cardstock - KW Doggett Knight white

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border (for the tiny heart)

Penny Black Garden Friends birthday card

Hi blogging friends  

Long time no blog!   My loved one had another scheduled operation, was home for less than 24 hours and then became very sick with viral gastro so they were admitted to hospital and stayed for quite a while.  Thankfully, they were released yesterday and it is sooooo nice to be home:  there is nothing like your own food, bed and 'stuff'!  I guess it makes you appreciate those things even more when you are away!!  Anyway, it was nice to have a little bit of crafty time today..........

My daughter's 9th birthday isn't until July but the way the time is flying by and my general extra-busyness of running to and from medical appointments, I thought I had better make it whilst I had the opportunity.

I have seen a few cards around blogland that have the main image framed, and in particular, by a white frame so that is what inspired this card.  

I used 3 different Penny Black stamps to create my scene:  the bunny/bird are from the Garden Friends clear set, the butterfly is from the Critter Party clear set and the sentiment is from the Tiny Wishes clear set.  I did actually stamp the butterfly twice:  once on the cardstock base and again on a piece of scrap cardstock which I cut out and popped on top of the base image to give it a little dimension.  I drew in the dotted lines with a Zig Millenium .005 black pigment ink pen. 

All the images were coloured with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils plus Odourless Mineral Spirits using paper stumps.  I added Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the flowers and the butterfly's wings.

I lightly chalked around the image with blue chalk for the sky and green chalk for the grass.

I made my own pink glitter cardstock for the sparkly heart next to the sentiment by using the same colour pink cardstock layer and rubbing a small section of it with a Versamark pad then poured on some Polysparkle clear embossing powder then heat-set it.  Then all I had to do was punch 2 hearts (I have a double layer of hearts just to add a bit of extra-dimension) using a Martha Stewart Looped Hearts edge punch (they are the leftover punchies after using the punch).  To see my tutorial on making your own glitter cardstock, click HERE (just scroll down a little on the post).

Here is a wee close-up:

The white lacey frame was made using a Marianne Craftables die (I cut the inside square with a craft knife) and the large white square scallop frame was made using a Go Kreate Scallop Square die.

I ran the pink cardstock through my Big Shot using the Crafts Too Sweet Flowers embossing folder but by the time I cut it to just the size I wanted and corner-punched it, you could barely see the embossing!  Oh well......it adds a teeny-tiny bit of texture I guess.......

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges - 

Penny Black and more at Allsorts - June Challenge - open theme of using your favourite things (mine is my favourite brand of stamps - Penny Black - diecutting, pencils and dry embossing).

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything goes - with optional extra of making card for Father's Day or for a boy/man (obviously I didn't do that option).

Well, I think I might go and have a nap.  I didn't get much sleep in hospital with all the noise and now that I am home and relaxing, I feel totally exhausted.  It is cold and foggy today (so much for the predicted sunny afternoon) and we have the open fire going so I won't feel a bit guilty curling up on the couch with our cat!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black clear stamp sets - Garden Friends 30-021, Tiny Wishes 30-026, Critter Party 30-013

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Versamark Versamagic

Accessories:  Big Shot, Go Kreate Scallop Square die, Marianne Craftables die CR1203, Polysparkle embossing powder, heat-gun, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, OMS, paper stumps, Zig Millenium .005 black pigment pen, Perfect Layers Tools, Kaisercolour chalks, Kindyglitz Crystalina, cardstock - KW Doggett 'Knight' white, rose pink

Punches:  Stampin' Up! corner, Martha Stewart Looped Hearts edge

Hero Arts Bird in a circle - a thank you card

Hi blogging friends

Recently I bought some First Edition 6" x 6" designer papers on EBay from a UK seller and ohhhh, I just love them!!  I couldn't wait to make a card with them and today's card uses papers from the Boho Chic collection.  I went for a Vintage style of card - well, my style of vintage - not sure if the purists would call it truly Vintage with no torn bits etc.  I think I am just too much of a neat-freak to do all that although I really love vintage cards that other people make.  Guess it's OK to just "be me" with "my own style of vintage".

I made this card to suit the Splitcoaststampers "Free for All Friday" F4A113 of "Mix n Match" where you are to use at 2 or 3 types of patterned/designer paper.  See THIS link for the deets on the challenge.

This card is a "Thank you" card which I will be giving to my next-door neighbours who have always been so encouraging and enthusiastic about my cardmaking - and most recently, have been such a fantastic support with all that we are going through with caring for our family member.  Our neighbour will just turn up with a batch of fairy cakes or make a dessert, bring in our rubbish bins if we are caught up at hospital and not getting home until late, collect our mail, mow the lawns, feed the cat - they would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it - and we are so grateful for them.

I inked up my Hero Arts 'Bird in a Circle' stamp with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and stamped it twice onto white cardstock so I could cut out an extra layer of the flower petals plus the bird to do some paper tole.   I coloured the image with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits using paper stumps.  Then, very carefully, I cut out the inside circle of the main panel and discarded it.  It was very delicate work cutting around the flowers and the bird's legs! 

I then used my Blending Tool and Antique Linen Distress Ink around the edges of this panel - then again using Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I did actually cut the image down a little to be a perfect square as well as being a smaller size to layer on my peach designer paper.

Before I attached the 2nd layer of flowers to the bottom layer, I used a stylus on the back of the petals to shape the petals to look more rounded and did the same with the bird's body.  I used an old mouse pad to press down on as it had some give and allowed me to shape the pieces just like I wanted.

I attached the flowers with dimensionals under each petal but not in the middle so I could press down the centre to help make the flowers look a little more realistic.  The bird was also attached with dimensionals.  Here is a close-up of the dimension and fussy-cutting I did on the card:

Using a Lemon Bliss Bic Mark-It texta, I coloured some tiny Prima peach pearls to make them look a bit more yellow (but not bright yellow) and popped them in the centre of the flowers. 

I glued on a narrow piece of peach ric-rac which just added a little 'something' at the bottom of the main panel but not over the top as I wanted the image to be the focal point - then popped this panel up on dimensionals on top of the gorgeous glittery brown designer paper layer. 

The peach base designer paper was diecut using my Big Shot and Go Kreate Scalloped Square die and to add a bit of texture, I ran the paper through my Cuttlebug using my Crafts Too Sweet Flowers embossing folder.  I really love the texture that it added to the card and made such a difference to the look of the card.

Note that I inked around the edges of the peach and brown papers with the same Distress Inks as the white cardstock.

Lastly, I punched a butterfly from the peach designer paper with a Carl Butterfly-A punch and coloured some more Prima pearls with the Lemon Bliss Bic Mark-it texta and popped them in the centre.  I attached just the butterfly's body with dimensionals and bent up the wings then added some Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the wings.

Now that the card front was finished, I simply attached it to a white card base.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #30 of 'Anything Goes' 

One Stop Craft Challenge - Week #180 - Recipe Challenge - 1 image, 2 designer papers, 3 embellishments.  My card uses 2 dp's from the Boho Chic set, 1 stamp (image) and the 3 embellishments are my ric-rac, pearls and the butterfly.

Simons Says Stamp Challenge - 'Anything Goes'

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Hero Arts Bird in a Circle cling-mounted rubber CG181

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia, Tim Holtz Distress inks - Vintage Photo and Antique Linen

Designer paper:  First Edition Boho Chic 6" x 6" pad

Accessories:  Big Shot, Cuttlebug, Go Kreate Scalloped Square die, dimensionals, Prismacolor pencils, odourless mineral spirits, paper stumps, Ranger Blending tool, Prima peach pearls coloured with Lemon Bliss Bic Mark-it, Crafts Too Sweet Flowers embossing folder, Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue, peach ric-rac, stylus and old mouse pad, Lemon Bliss Bic-Mark-it texta, Cardstock:  KW Doggett 'Knight' white

Punches:  Carl CP-1 Butterfly-A

Stampendous Bear Safety Pin - a new baby girl card!

Hi blogging friends ,

One of our neighbours had a baby girl and this is the card that I made for the occasion:

I used my Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits and paper stumps to colour the cute little teddy bear nappy pin image which took oh, all of 5 minutes!   I used my pearlescent chalks to add blue, pink and lemon around the image which added a lovely, sparkly yet subtle sheen - alas, very difficult to pick up with the camera but I hope you can see a little bit of soft colouring - it looks so pretty IRL.   

The sentiment is by Stampin' Up from their Nursery Necessities set.  I added a line of Basic Grey pink rhinestones underneath and used my Arrows Border punch to punch the tiny little pink hearts around the image (the leftover punchies from using the punch look like tiny hearts).  I added some pink Kindyglitz to the bear's cheeks, the pin itself and the tiny pink hearts.  Here is a close-up of that cute little bear:

The gorgeous embossing folder I used on the white cardstock is by K Kingdom called 'Flowers and Dots' which originally came from Fat Cat's Card Corner in Australia but is no longer on their website.  I did a bit of a search on the web, but couldn't find it anywhere.  Maybe it has been discontinued? 

And here is a pic of the card inside which is the same layout as the card-front except that I reversed the colours:

I used the same embossing folder for the pink cardstock and the sentiment is from the same Stampin' Up Nursery Necessities set - there are lots of fantastic sentiments in this set.  I added a Basic Grey pink rhinestone at each end.

Lastly, I added the white dotted pink organza scalloped ribbon (LOVE this ribbon!!), sewed on a pink button and added some Fray Stop to the ribbon ends, then glued on the pink organza flowers which I have had in my stash forever!  They came with the white pearl already sewed on in the centre.

And here is a pic of the gift that will be accompanying my card.  More teddy bears of course......sorry it's such a lousy photo.  I took it really early in the morning and the light wasn't very good at the time.  Just LOVE that cute teddy bear bib and the teddy rattle.  The gift bag was bought as I have no idea how to make such a large bag!

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday - F4A100 - Have a heart or two - where you project must have at least 2 hearts.  I have 6 hearts around my image.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Simon Says 'Anything goes'

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous B061 Safety Pin (wood mount), Sentiments from Stampin' Up! Nursery Necessities

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Circle + Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, K Kingdom Flowers and Dots KEM117 embossing folder (retired?), Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS), paper stumps, organza ribbon, fray stop, pink flower button (Spotlight), pink sewing thread, pink organza flowers, Basic Grey pink rhinestones, pink Kindyglitz glitter glue, I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalk, cardstock:  KW Doggett 'Knight' white, pink

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border (tiny pink hearts), Stampin' Up! corner

Stampendous Snuggly Kitties Christmas card and Tag

Hi blogging friends

I have finally finished the matching Christmas card and tag which matches the Snow Globe that I showed you on my last post.  Here is a little pic in case you missed it:

The cute little kitties on the card were coloured using paper stumps with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits.  I tried to add little stripes on them so they would look like ginger tabbies.  I added some little dots of white acrylic paint using the head of a pin to the kitties' hats and scarf, then added some Polar White Flowersoft using Aleen's Tacky glue to the hats and the snow.  I lightly chalked around the image with Kaisercolour blue chalk.

I punched some snowflakes out of blue and white cardstock using a Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge punch (they are the leftover punchies after you use the punch) and attached them to the card using dimensionals, then added some light blue rhinestones to the centres.  I added the same blue rhinestones either side of the sentiment.  Note that the sentiment and kitties are all one image, ie: they are both on one stamp.

The snowflake embossing is a folder from the Cuttlebug Winter Borders set and I added a Scor-Pal line both above and below this embossing as well as underneath the ribbon.  When I tied the gingham ribbon on, I threaded through a little piece of blue organza ribbon just to add "something extra" - plus it's a good way of using up little ribbon scraps.

Just as a little tip (and I learned this through experience), I would recommend before you stamp your image, to make the Scor-Pal line at the card bottom first, then butt your embossing folder up against this line so you know it is straight, then add your Scor-Pal line on the other side.  There is nothing more annoying than colouring your image only to do the embossing or Scor-Pal lines all crooked because, trust me, being a clean and simple card, they really stand out like a sore thumb!!

The bottom blue cardstock border was punched with an EK Success Scalloped Scallop edge punch.

Now here is the matching tag.  I need one of those florist's spikey flower holder thingies that lots of cardmakers use to pop their cards/tags on as I had to lean my tag against a card so I could photograph it as it obviously won't stand up by itself!!  If you know what the spikey thing is called, please leave me a comment.  

The tag was diecut using my Cuttlebug and one of the dies from the Spellbinder Shapeabilities tag set.  I actually diecut the white cardstock using the die, then traced around the outside of the die onto blue cardstock and cut that out by hand and punched the 2 bottom corners with a corner punch.  I did this so that I could have a narrow blue border.   I masked the sentiment from the image before I stamped it and coloured it using the same method as for the card.  I added Stampendous Cotton White fun flock mixed with crystal glitter for the white bits on the hat plus the snow. The blue snowflakes were diecut using a Cuttlebug Snowflake #2 die and the white snowflakes are from the MS Snow Flurry edge punch.  I added some blue rhinestones to the snowflake centres and I popped the snowflakes up on dimensionals.

I punched a hole at the top with a 1/4" circle punch and threaded the gingham and blue organza ribbon through then tied them together with some silver cord.

Here is the back of the tag:

The sentiments are from a Waltzingmouse clear set called "Sewing Box - Christmas" which you can find at this link here.  The snowflakes were made the same way as for the front of the tag and popped up on dimensionals.

So here are all my 3 projects together which I will have to hide from my DD until Christmas:

Challenges:

I am entering my card and tag into the Truly Scrumptious Challenge #66 of Clean and Simple.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous F166 Snuggly Kitties

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Winter Borders embossing folder, Scor-Pal, Kaiser blue rhinestones, blue gingham + blue organza ribbon, Derwent Coloursoft + Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, white acrylic paint, Polar White Flowersoft, Aleen's tacky glue, Kaisercolour blue chalk, dimensionals, cardstock: KW Doggett "Knight" white, medium blue

Punches:  EK Success Scalloped Scallop edge, Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge

Tag Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous F166 Snuggly Kitties, Waltzingmouse Sewing Box - Christmas clear set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Shapeabilities Tag die, Cuttlebug Snowflake #2 die, Kaiser blue rhinestones, Kaisercolour blue chalk, Derwent Coloursoft + Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, blue gingham + blue organza ribbon, silver cord, dimensionals, white acrylic paint, Stampendous Cotton White fun flock, crystal glitter, cardstock: KW Doggett "Knight" white, medium blue

Punches:  1/4" circle punch, Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge