Popcorn the Bear - Thanks a Bunch - sunflowers birthday card

Hello and welcome to my Blog!  I am finally back on deck after being away for about 2 weeks.  Yay!!  You might need your sunglasses for this card!!

I needed to make a birthday card for my Godfather's partner's birthday this week.  She is a wonderful and vibrant lady who emigrated to Australia from the Philippines about 20 or so years ago.  I know that she really LOVES bright colours, so when I was looking for some ideas, I came across the Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge IC249 - 'Cost Plus World Market' website - where you choose an image that inspires you - and I chose the orange scarf from the 3 photos they had there because it was so bright and cheerful, plus when I thought of yellow/orange, I thought of sunflowers, and chose this picture as well from the Cost Plus World Market website.  I would love to have a field of sunflowers in my backyard just like in the picture - they just exude warmth and vibrancy.  And then I remembered I had this 'Popcorn the Bear' image holding the huge bunch of sunflowers - ahh, perfect!  

I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink and coloured it with Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS) and Prismacolor pencils then chalked the sky and ground.  I ticket-punched the corners.  The tag was diecut with my Cuttlebug and one of the Tiny Tags dies; I lightly inked around the tag with 'Olive Pastel' chalk ink so the edges would stand out better against the main image panel.  I stamped the sentiment with Stazon Jet Black - I find this ink seems to work better with clear (photopolymer) stamps (as opposed to rubber) and I get a clearer image.

The orange designer paper is by My Mind's Eye and comes from a 6" x 6" pad (of some 48 sheets) called "Bloom and Grow" and was already embossed (just in case you thought I put the paper thru my Cuttlebug).

The tiny orange hearts near the duck and on the tag are the leftover punchies from my Arrows Border punch, which I added a bit of glitter to.  I attached the ribbon in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.

Challenges:  I am entering this card into the Allsorts Challenge Week 69 of Colours of Autumn.  I think mine should qualify with the orange, green, brown and yellow tones.

Thanks again for stopping by - I'll be back in a few days with another card!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Crafter's Companion 'Popcorn the Bear' Thanks a bunch PST-TKS unmounted set, Sentiments from Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 WP16 clear set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Stazon Jet black, Colorbox Olive Pastel chalk

Designer paper:  My Mind's Eye 'Bloom and Grow' 6 x 6 pad

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border, Stampin' Up Ticket corner punch and Horizontal slot punch

Accessories:  Cuttlebug + Tiny Tags die set, ribbon, Bow Easy, OMS, Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, Kaisercolour chalks, Kindyglitz Crystalina, burnt orange brads, Cardstock:  KW Doggett 'Knight' (white), burnt orange, pale olive

Penny Black Celebrating - my DH's birthday card

Hi and welcome to my Blog :-)

I made this quick little card for my DH's birthday this past week.  Now that he has the card in his hot little hand, I can post it here.  I tried to colour the cat in similar colours to our own cat - Ruby.  There is a photo of Ruby on the LHS of my Blog if you want to see her.  She is such a character and fetches just like a dog (mainly with pipecleaners or hair scrunchies), and if she wants your attention, she will drop something at your feet or your lap, stand back and miaow at you for you to throw it.  She is one cute puss!


Anyway, enough waffling and onto the card!  I diecut the circle from the blue cardstock first then ran the cardstock thru my Cuttlebug using my new Indentz embossing folder (which I sourced from the UK). 

Recently I rang KW Doggetts (an Australian paper company) for a Sample Pack of different brands of smooth white cardstock specifically to use for the Gamsol Magic/Magic Coloured Pencil technique.  They were very helpful and generous with what they sent me - and all for free!!   I had a great old play and found that their brand: "Knight" smooth cardstock was magical - the colours blend out so beautifully and perfectly, and this is the cardstock I used for this birthday card.  And it's so white.  Much whiter than Beckett Radiance.  It was an absolute joy to colour!!!  In fact, I was so impressed, that I rang and placed an order and asked for 12" x 12" size which is very practical for my square cards 'cos I can just cut them in half.  My order was ready in a day and I was able to go and pick it up from their factory which is only about 20 mins drive from where I live.  They have a retail store where you can grab a box and fill it up with different coloured/brands of cardstock/vellums for a set price - ahhh, it was heavenly!!  I have no connection to them, but thought it was worth mentioning if you love using the Gamsol Magic technique, but don't know what cardstock to get if you are in Australia.  You can just ring up and ask for a sample pack and then you can decide what weight (ie: gsm) you like to use.  I believe they have offices in some of the other States of Australia.


I lightly coloured the background with blue chalk (which you can hardly tell from the photo!).  I added Art Institute transparent light blue glitter to the balloon.  The tiny hearts next to the sentiment are the leftover punchies from my EK Success Arrows border punch.

The fawn cardstock border was made with a Threading Water punch, and I added a Scor-Pal line above it.

Thanks again for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black 'Celebrating' 1472E, Sentiment from Crafter's Companion 'Popcorn the Bear' Bunches of Love set  

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Indentz 'Happy Birthday' embossing folder, EK Success Arrows border punch, Fiskars Threading Water punch, AI blue glitter (from Shabby Chic set), AI Designer dries clear adhesive, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities, Scor-Pal, Kaisercolour chalks, OMS, Prismas, fawn and blue gingham ribbon, Cardstock: royal blue, fawn, KW Doggetts Knight smooth white 

Stampendous Bee Daisy - bee happy on your birthday!

Hi and welcome to my Blog :-)

I had to make a quick card for my niece's birthday later this week, so this is what I came up with.

The beautiful embossed frame is by Craftwork Cards which I bought from The Craft Barn in the UK.  They come in packs of ten with all sorts of designs and are perfect for square cards which I love to make, and I love that they have the scalloped edge too. 

I coloured the bee with OMS and Prismas, then glued on black and yellow Fun Flock using Art Institute Designer dries clear adhesive, then added clear glitter to his wings, pink to his antennae, plus pink and lemon glitter to the flower.  I lightly chalked around the image too.  The tiny lemon and pink hearts are the leftover punchies from my Arrows Border punch (but your probably already know that by now if you follow my Blog 'cos I use them ALL the time.....lol).

Here is a little close-up of the flocking.  I keep wanting to "feel" the little bee - he's so soft and furry!

I'm popping this card into the Splitcoaststampers CAS75 Challenge of dry embossing.  See this link for the deets.

Thanks again for stopping by.  Have a great week!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous CRE214 Cling Bee Daisy, Sentiment: from Crafter's Companion 'Popcorn the Bear' Bunches of Love set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Odourless Mineral Spirits, Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, Stampendous Fun Flock: Lemonade Yellow and Black, Art Institute transparent glitter: pink, crystal and pink (from Shabby Chic set), Art Institute designer dries clear glue, Kaisercolour chalks, EK Success Arrows border punch, Stampin' Up corner punch, Craftworks cards embossed frames: mixed bouquet, ribbon, Bow Easy, Cardstock: white, pink, lemon

Cuttlebug Perfect Perennials Birthday Card

Hello and thanks for stopping by to have a peek at my Blog :-)

Woo hoo!   I'm actually on-time for another Splitcoaststampers Challenge!  This card is for the CAS75 Challenge of Dry Embossing.  If you follow my Blog, you will know that I LOVE my Cuttlebug so the Challenge gave me the perfect excuse to use my new Cuttlebug 'Perfect Perennials' die/embossing folder combo.  It's so handy to be able to emboss and diecut a window at the same time; I can see myself using this folder alot for quick and simple cards.  The corners were all rounded with my SU corner punch.

I coloured the hedgie with OMS and Prismacolor pencils, then lightly chalked around the image for the sky and ground, and added a bit of pink chalk as well to match the pink cardstock.  The hedgie looks a bit washed out in the photo but it isn't IRL - the pink embossed cardstock came out really dark in the photo so I had to lighten it which made the hedgie a bit too light, and this was about the best adjustment I could get to make the whole card look kinda normal!

I added some fine crystal glitter to the flowers, the hedgie's envelope and the tiny heart (which is the leftover punchie from my Arrows border punch) next to the sentiment.   I attached the ribbon in 2 separate elements and made the bow itself with my Bow Easy (don't know what I'd do without my Bow Easy!).

This card is going to my SIL for her birthday.  Thanks again for visiting!  TTFN!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Hedgie from Penny Black: Party Time 30-049 clear set, Sentiment: Crafter's Companion Someone Special Popcorn the Bear set 

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug 'Perfect Perennials' Emboss Plus, pink gems, odourless mineral spirits, paper stumps, Prismacolor pencils, Kaisercolour chalks, Art Institute crystal transparent glitter, Art Institute designer dries clear adhesive, Stampin' Up corner punch, EK Success Arrows Border punch, ribbon, Bow Easy, cardstock: white, pink

Crafter's Companion Bunches of Love for my niece's birthday

Hi and welcome to my Blog :-)

I made this card for this week's Ways to Use it Challenge on Splitcoaststampers WT278 Yellow sunshine where you are to use yellow in a card.  See this link for the deets.  Yellow is not a colour I use very often, so this challenge gave me the perfect excuse to ink up this cute little duck.

This clean & simple (CAS) little one-layer card is going to my niece for her birthday.  Not a whole lot to explain really - the duck is from an unmounted 'Popcorn the bear' set by Crafter's Companion - and was coloured with Odourless Mineral Spirits and Prismascolor pencils, then I added some little strokes with watered-down acrylic paint to add some feathers (you will probably need to click on the piccy to see them), then blended the feathers in by adding a wash of watered down yellow paint over the top.  I did a similar thing with the centre of the flower too.  I love how you can combine the pencils and paint to create some "extra" texture to an image.

Because I am the Glitter Queen, I added pink glitter to the duck's heart and purple glitter to the flower petals and around the edge of the sentiment tag.  The tiny little purple and lemon hearts underneath the birthday sentiment are the leftover punchies from my Arrows border punch.

I chalked around the image for the sky and ground and lightly chalked the dry embossing.  I attached the ribbon in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.

Thanks again for stopping by - have a great weekend!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Bunches of Love set by Crafter's Companion, Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 WP16

Ink:  Stazon Jet Black (for the sentiments) and Memento Tuxedo black (for the duck)

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions 'Hello Kitty Spring Set' #2 embossing folder, Odourless Mineral Spirits, Prismacolor Pencils, paper stumps, Kaisercolour chalks, JoSonya Acrylic paints, paint brushes, Bow Easy, yellow button, yellow sewing thread, 12mm-1/2" wide ribbon, Art Institute Transparent Glitter - pink and purple from Shabby Chic set, Art Institute Designer Dries clear adhesive, EK Success Arrows border punch, Cardstock: white, purple, lemon

Penny Black: 'For you' - Doggone - it's another birthday card!

Hello and thanks for stopping by my little Blog :-)

Over at Splitcoaststampers, about 2 weeks ago Roxie posted a fabulous sketch: Sketch Challenge #278 and thought it would be perfect for my nephew's birthday card.   This is one sketch I will definitely use again - I really love it!

The image was stamped with Vintage Sepia ink and then I heat-set it with my heat-gun to make sure the Odorless Mineral Spirits wouldn't bleed the outlines.  I coloured it with Prismacolor pencils + Gamsol and lightly chalked around the image for the sky and ground.  I stamped the image again and cut out just the present and added fine blue glitter plus I coloured in the bow with a gold gel pen then popped it up on 1mm mounts (dimensionals).

The paw pad is a button which I cut the shank off and attached with a 1mm mount.

The gorgeous designer paper is from a digital set by NitWit Collections called FQB (which stands for Fat Quarter Bundle) - Me-Wow Collection.  Isn't it adorable?! 

Challenges:

I am entering this card in the Crazy 4 Challenges C4C36 where the Challenge is to use this children's nursery rhyme to create your card -

What are little boys made of?
Frogs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.

So you can make a boy card, or something with frogs and/or snails, puppy dogs etc.  What a fun challenge!

I am also entering this card in The Treehouse Challenge #049 - THT049 which has a Masculine Theme.  I love challenges with Masculine themes because, let's face it, masculine cards are "challenging" and we all need ideas - it's great to look at DT cards for loads of inspiration!

Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with one of my Fat Cat's Card Corner Design Team card..  It has been drizzly and grey all week - not great photographying weather, but the sun should be shining tomorrow according to the Weather Bureau.  See you again soon!   And thanks again for visiting!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black 'for you!' 3446E, Sentiment - from Crafter's Companion 'Popcorn the Bear' Bunches of Love set

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia

Designer paper:  NitWit Collections Fat Quarter Bundle Series "Me-Wow" ©2009 by Mary Fran of www.nitwitcollections.com

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions Dots embossing folder (from Dot & Flowers set), Spellbinder Square Nestabilities & Scalloped Square Nestabilities, heat gun, Kaisercolour chalks, 1mm mounts (dimensionals), gold gel pen, fine .008 blue glitter, Gamsol, Prismacolor pencils, Buttons Galore 'paw print'

Dovecraft: Pepper and Friends - Have a relaxing birthday!!

Hello and thanks for stopping by :-)

Haven't been doing much cardmaking this past week:  my DD was off school sick and then my cardmaking mojo went for a bit of a walk, so I have been doing some crocheted flowers plus playing the piano and fiddling around with some music that I wrote.  Thankfully, my mojo returned yesterday (Friday) and I started a card for my nephew (just as well - his birthday is next week!!).

The above card is one I made for my SIL's birthday in February and is another Easel card - just can't get enough of them!! 

This very sweet putty-tat was designed by Helz Cuppleditch and is from a set called:  "Pepper and Friends" - made by Dovecraft.  The image was coloured with Gamsol and Prismacolor pencils.  I chalked in the sky and ground with my Kaisercolour chalks and added some I-Kandee pink Pearlescent chalk around the image for some colour and soft sparkle.  I punched a heart and glued it to the pot then added Kindyglitz Crystalina to this heart as well as the flowers and the kitty's cheeks.  The tiny hearts on the RHS of the pot are the left-over punchies from my EK Success Arrows Border punch - these are glittered as well (of course!!). 

The strips of plum pink and brown cardstock on the card front are left-over small scraps about 1/4" wide which I have glued underneath the white cardstock base - it's a good way of using them up.  Been saving them from when I use my border punches where you have that little strip left-over - too good to waste!!  There is a strip of brown cardstock above the ribbon (bit hard to see in the photo), plum pink & brown cardstock underneath the image, and plum pink cardstock underneath the dots embossing.   There is also a Scor-Pal line underneath the ribbon.  I love this double-sided ribbon - the opposite side makes a nice contrast to the other - it was made in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.  The sentiment on this section is from my Popcorn the Bear 'Bunches of Love' set.

The top line of hearts where the bottom of the card front sits were punched several times and glued to add a bit of extra-strength and I added dimensionals (mounts) underneath so it holds the card front firmly in place.

The doily lace punched plum pink cardstock has a Scor-Pal line above it & the sentiment on this section is from Wendy Irving Expressions and was stamped with Chalk ink.

 

Have a great weekend - back in a little while for some pics of my crocheted flowers.

Jocelyn

P.S.  One thing that really puzzles me with my photos is that even though I am uploading the same photograph to my Gallery on Splitcoaststampers as my Blog, the one on SCS is sharp/in focus but on my Blog, the photo is always a lot more blurry.  I would like to make my photos larger on my blog but then they are even more blurry!!  Anyone know why, or how to fix it?

ETA:  see my latest post here on how to fix this blurry problem - scroll down to near the end of my post.

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Dovecraft 'Pepper and Friends', Sentiment #1: Crafter's Companion 'Popcorn the Bear' Bunches of Love set, Sentiment #2: Wendy Irving Expressions J6412.02 clear stamp set 

Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Colorbox Chalk Chestnut Roan 

Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swiss dots embossing folder, Scor-Pal, Bow Easy, 2mm mounts, Bow Easy, Kindyglitz Crystalina, doublesided ribbon 10mm - 3/8" wide, Kaisercolour chalks, I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalks, Gamsol, Prismacolor pencils, Punches: Carl CP-8 Heart, Martha Stewart Doily Lace, EK Success Arrows border, Kaiser hot pink pearls, Cardstock: white, brown, plum pink

Penny Black: Love Tail - Flowers for my sweet friend

Hello and thanks for visiting my Blog :-)

I've had a tough week with the sudden and unexpected passing of our dog, so I needed to make a bright and happy card to soothe my soul. The CAS Challenge #54 on Splitcoaststampers from a little while ago was "Wishing for Spring" - see this link for the deets - and as I love Spring flowers and this cute little PB stamp the Postie brought me a few weeks ago HADN'T seen any ink yet, I thought it seemed a good way of taking my mind off things.

It's a very simple one layer card which took very little time. The dry embossing border is a Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder which is my fav all-time folder - and it fits in the Cuttlebug with the same sandwich as the Cuttlebug folder.  I lightly chalked the embossing with my Kaisercolour chalks.  The image was stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Gamsol and Prismacolor pencils. I chalked around the image with those same chalks, then added some very fine .008 red glitter to the six hearts around the image. The camera didn't really capture the sparkle, but it looks so pretty IRL.

The sentiment was stamped with Stazon ink and I added a tiny heart next to it which is the leftover punchie from my EK Success Arrows border punch ('cos the punchies look like tiny hearts to me). I added red glitter to this tiny heart as well. The gingham ribbon bow was made with my Bow Easy then I sewed a button on top and attached it to the card with a glue dot.

I'm also entering this card in the PaperPlay Challenges Blog - Week 16 - No patterned paper.  See this link for all the deets.

I'm giving this card to my best friend who has been there for me this week.  Thank you sweetie :-)  I feel so much better now.

Thanks again for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black: Love-tail 3608J, Sentiment: from Crafter's Companion 'Someone Special' set 

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Stazon Jet black 

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix 'Hello Kitty' Spring Set #2 embossing folder set, .008 fine red glitter, 3/8" - 10mm wide red gingham ribbon, red sewing thread, red button, glue dot, Kaisercolour chalks, EK Success Arrows border punch, Gamsol, Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, Bow Easy, cardstock: white, red 

Penny Black: In a nutshell - it's a baby card

Hello there :-)  

One of my neighbours just had a baby girl so this is the card I made for her and her DH to welcome the new arrival.   It gave me the perfect excuse to use my new Cuttlebug Roses embossing folder - I REALLY love this folder - it's so pretty and feminine.

The card uses a similar layout to this GORGEOUS card by Sue Nelson (aka Susie B on Splitcoaststampers).  Sue is one amazing cardmaker who has taught me so much about cardmaking.

I also made it for the Splitcoaststampers: Ways to Use it Challenge WT119 of Scallops, and tried to get as many scallops on the card as I could.  Here is the link for the deets.   Count all the different scallops on my card - even my ribbon AND the button has scallops (do the Hedgie's toes count as scallops?!)  It was fun to challenge myself to get as many different scalloped elements on the card as I could.

This hedgehog stamp was one of the first Penny Black 'Margaret Sherry' stamps I ever bought - quite some years ago - but it is still adorable and doesn't seem to date.  That's what I like about PB stamps - they seem timeless and I feel like I really get the value out of them.  

The image was stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Gamsol and Prismacolor pencils.  I lightly added pink, blue and lemon I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalk around the image.  The sentiment on the tag was stamped with Stazon ink and the tag was diecut with my Cuttlebug and one of the dies from the Cuttlebug Tiny Tags die set - although I did cut the end off to make it smaller to fit the sentiment better.  I chalked around the tag and added some tiny lemon hearts which are the leftover punchies from my EK Success Arrows Border punch (they look like tiny hearts to me).  I think I use this border punch more for the leftover punchies than actually adding a border LOL!  I added some sparkle with Kindyglitz to the flower petals, the hedgie's cheeks and the hearts on the tag.

The ribbon was done in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy and attached with a glue dot. 

Thanks for stopping by my little Blog! 

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Image: Penny Black 'In a Nutshell' 1754F, Sentiment: from Crafter's Companion 'Popcorn the Bear' Someone Special set 

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Stazon Jet black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Roses and Swiss dots embossing folders, Cuttlebug Tiny Tags dieset, Spellbinder Large and Small Oval Nestabilities, Spellbinder Large Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, Gamsol, Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, Martha Stewart Lace Heart edge punch , EK Success Arrows border punch, flower button, pink sewing thread, pink ribbon, pink brad, Kindyglitz Crystalina, I-Kan-dee Pearlescent chalks, glue dot, Bow Easy, Cardstock: white, lemon, pink

Penny Black: For you! - Woof!

Hi!  Thanks for stopping by.  It's Friday night here where I live and the end of Term 1 at school for my DD.  Woo hoo!  It will be sooooo nice to have a break from the school-run for 2 weeks.  And we'll be able to have lots of fun crafting together.

I made this card for my nephew's birthday and also for the very first F4A1 Challenge on Splitcoaststampers of: 'Textures, Colors and Patterns'.  See this link for the deets:  F4A1 Challenge   My pattern is the designer paper and the checks on the ribbon; the texture is the glitter on the present; and the colour I don't use very often is orange (which is on the present bow and there are very thin orange stripes on the designer paper).

This is also for the 'Ways to use it Challenge' WT167 on Splitcoaststampers of 'Masculine Cards'.  See this link for the deets:  WT167 Masculine Challenge.

Masculine cards are certainly a challenge for me - but I'm pretty fortunate that most of the men/boys in my extended family like dogs so most of their cards have a dog on them (hope they don't get tired of them!).  I really love the Penny Black 'Margaret Sherry' dogs - they are just so cute and always bring a smile to my face.

The image has been coloured with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.  I stamped the image again and cut out just the present and popped it up on dimensionals (mounts).  I added some fine blue glitter to the present to add a bit of pizazz to the card.   I chalked around the image for the sky and ground with my Kaisercolour chalks.   The image panel has also been popped up on dimensionals.  Lastly, I used my paper piercer to punch holes for the 3 'The Paper Studio - brown dog's paws' brads.  Aren't they just the sweetest brads?! :-)

Have a great weekend and thanks for having a peek at my card!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Dog - Penny Black 3446E 'For you!'  Sentiment - from Crafter's Companion Popcorn the Bear 'Someone Special' unmounted set 

Designer Paper:  Bo Bunny Pet Shop Sweater

Accessories:  Very fine blue glitter, 1mm mounts (ie: dimensionals), Gamsol, Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, paper piercer, Kaisercolour chalks, The Paper Studio: brown pawpad brads, brown grosgrain ribbon, blue gingham ribbon, Cardstock: white, blue, brown