Penny Black: For you - boy's 8th birthday card

Hi blogging friends!  Thanks for stopping by :-)

I made a quick little card for my girlfriend's son's 8th birthday.  I was very inspired by Susan Raihala's children's cards on this post here on her blog:  Simplicity and really loved the layout.  Susan is the "Queen of CAS" IMHO (in my humble opinion) and I learn so much from following her Blog.  Susan's cards are always so well-balanced - something I struggle with at times.

Getting back to my card........I know that you have seen this little Penny Black dog before on my Blog, but I just love him because he is so easy to colour and is a fantastic stamp for masculine cards.  I love his happy little face and he makes me smile everytime I look at him :-)

I stamped both the image and sentiment with Vintage Sepia ink and heatset it with my heat-gun to ensure the ink didn't run when I added OMS to it.  I coloured the image with my trusty pencils and OMS.  I wanted the present to have a little bit of dimension, so I cut out some little pieces of Olive Green Glitter cardstock and glued them on top of the present on the image.  I really love this range of glitter cardstock by Best Creations - you will get soooo tired of seeing it on my cards LOL!   I lightly chalked around the image with blue chalk (but you can't really see it in the photo - trust me - it's there). 

I then layered the image onto - yep, you guessed it - the same green glitter cardstock - then onto Kraft cardstock. The Kraft cardstock was embossed with one of the embossing folders from my Sizziz "Birthday set #3"; I ran it through my Cuttlebug using the same sandwich as for Cuttlebug folders, ie: A plate, B plate, folder with cardstock, B plate.

Well, that's my simple card - and I didn't even use any ribbon which was soooo hard as I kept thinking I should put one somewhere, but couldn't figure out where, so I left it off.  I guess I figured that if Susan didn't put one on her card, I didn't need one either; sometimes less is more (if you know what I mean!).

Challenges:

I am entering this card into the Splitcoaststampers 'Ways to use it' Challenge WT309 of 'Happy Birthday' where you have to use any sort of birthday products on your project, even if it's just a sentiment.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Dog - Penny Black 'For you' 3446E, Sentiment from Penny Black 'Make a wish' clear set 30-052

Ink:  Versafine Vintage Sepia

Designer paper:  Best Creations Olive green glitter cardstock

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions #656504 Birthday set #3, heatgun, Kindyglitz red glitter glue, Kaisercolour blue chalk, Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS), paper stumps

Penny Black: Every which way - Love is in the air!

Hello and thanks for stopping by :-)

It's only 1 week to Valentine's Day - which will also mean that February will be half over!!  Boy, time sure does fly, doesn't it?  Anyway, onto my card.......I have still been playing with my new Penny Black: 'Every which way' stamp set - I love this set - it has such c-u-t-e images.  Please excuse the shadow from the ribbon on my photo - popping the card so the sun was right on the front of the card to avoid the ribbon-shadow washed out both the image and dry-embossing, so I went with this photo.

I grabbed my Crafts Too: Happy Valentine embossing folder and popped it through my Cuttlebug.  I really like this folder as you can use it portrait or landscape with the way the pattern has been done - much more practical that way.  I cut out the centre panel just leaving the embossed line, then layered it onto some red cardstock, then cut the middle out of the red cardstock leaving a narrow red border.

I popped a small piece of white cardstock underneath the (now) blank centre panel, and drew a faint pencil line around the centre panel which gave me a guideline as to where I should stamp my image and sentiment to make sure they were in just the right spot.  As these stamps are clear, it also makes things much easier because you can see where to stamp.  I coloured the image with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and OMS, then lightly chalked the sky with Kaiser blue chalk, then added some pink I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalk here and there (alas, not captured by the camera).  I stamped the balloon part of the image again onto the back of some Red Glitter cardstock and cut out the balloon and glued it to the image.    Next, I attached the image panel underneath the blank centre panel, then attached the whole thing to a blank white cardstock front.  I find it easier to do it this way instead of trying to stamp the image on the cardstock front and trying to line everything up perfectly (rather than stamping the image on a separate piece of cardstock) - but that's just me - you might it easier the other way!

I tied a bow with my Bow Easy and glued it on with fabric glue.  One thing that I really love about my Bow Easy is that when I have a ribbon that is patterned and clearly has a wrong side and a right side, when I tie the bow with my Bow Easy, the pattern remains uppermost - something I find difficult to achieve otherwise and it becomes a real fiddle twisting and turning the ribbon to get it right-side up (I am so bow-challenged!).

And I even did the inside (keeping my New Year's resolution of doing the insides of my card before I move onto the next card):-

 

Whoops - one of my little punched hearts is a little crooked!  Oh well!  The scalloped heart was diecut using my Spellbinder Scalloped Heart Nesties and Red Glitter cardstock (LOVE this stuff - can't you tell?!!!) and the pink heart with my Heart Nesties.  For the white cardstock heart:  the next-size-down Heart Nestie is much smaller and when I diecut my white cardstock, it looked a little silly as it made the pink cardstock have a very wide border, so I placed the same Heart Nestie I used to diecut the pink cardstock and traced around the inside of it onto my white cardstock and simply handcut it.  I just use nail scissors (they have a curved blade) which make is easier for cutting the rounded parts.  Then I simply stamped the sentiment and punched a couple of red hearts from my Carl CP-8 Heart duo punch and glued them on.

Challenges:  

I'm popping this card into the following Challenges -

Allsorts Challenge Week 89 - Must be love, love, love

Saturday Challenge #120 - Valentine 

Splitcoaststampers 'Ways to use it' Challenge WT308 of 'i HEART you'

Well, that's about it from me - thanks again for stopping by!  Hope to see you again soon!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:  

Stamps:  Penny Black 'Every which way' 30-008 clear stamp set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Designer paper:  Best Creations red glitter cardstock

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Crafts Too Happy Valentine embossing folder, Spellbinder Heart and Scalloped Heart Nestabilities, Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, Kaisercolour chalk, I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalk, ribbon, Bow Easy, Cardstock:  KW Doggett 'Knight' white (for image), regular white (for card base), candy pink, soft red

Punches:  Carl CP-8 heart duo

Penny Black: Every which way - I will love you always, all ways

 

Hello blogging friends!  My desk has been a little hive of activity since I started playing with my new Penny Black: 'Every which way' stamp set that the postie brought me the other day.  I love this little set - such cute images.  I have long been admiring other people's cards made with Kraft Cardstock and thought I would try my hand at using it.  This was a very quick and simple card to make - perfect for your last-minute Valentines Day cards.

The Kraft cardstock was embossed with my Cuttlebug and Kimmy-Luvs embossing folder.  The dog was stamped onto white cardstock and coloured with OMS, Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolor pencils.  I stamped the balloon part of the image again onto the back of my Best Creation red glitter cardstock, then cut the balloon out and glued it to the image.  I love how sparkly it looks.  The dog is popped up on 2mm mounts.  It's a good idea to use LOTS of them when you are popping an image onto embossed cardstock so that your image doesn't come unstuck and fall off (ie: less surface area for them to stick to).  I had that happen recently when a sentiment panel came unstuck after a few days when I was very frugal with my foam pads.

Here is closeup pic of the balloon - don't you just love the "sparkle"?!!

By the way, the little hairs and marks on the close-up are part of the cardstock - kinda looks like my card or my camera lens got all dusty!

For the sentiment panels:  as this sentiment is just one stamp and I wanted 2 separate lines, I masked the bottom line of the words off and stamped, then masked the top line off and stamped.  Here is a pic of the stamp set if I am not making sense:

Stamp Set Copyright Penny Black Stamps

I diecut the sentiments using one of the dies from my Spellbinders Tags Trio and popped them up on 1mm mounts.

To finish off, I tied some red and white Twine and punched a heart from the same red glitter cardstock and glued it to the centre.  I did add some Fray Stop to the ends of the twine to stop it from unravelling.  I think you could use this card for a Wedding Anniversary as well as for Valentines Day - and I think it could be used for either a lady or a man.

Challenges:

I am popping this card into the Splitcoaststampers Ways to use it Challenge WT308 of "i HEART you" where you have to use a heart anywhere on your project, as well as the monthly Sir Stampalot February Challenge of "All creatures great and small".

Thanks for stopping by!  I have a couple of other Valentines/Love cards on the go - watch this space!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black - Every which way 30-008 clear set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Designer paper:  Best Creation red glitter 12" x 12" cardstock

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Kimmy-Luvs embossing folder, Spellbinder Tags Trio S3-147, red and white twine, Fray Stop, Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS), Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, paper stumps, Cardstock:  American Crafts Kraft, KW Doggett Knight white

Punches:  Carl CP-8 Heart duo, Stampin' Up corner

Wedding Cards using LOTS of embossing folders!

Hi and thanks for stopping by!  Sorry I haven't blogged for a little while - some frustrating computer issues plus being school holidays here in Australia, I've been out and about quite alot (been to the beach - yay!) and had no uninterrupted "me" time.

Anyway..........I have been playing with my embossing folders as the Challenge #4 over at CropStop is  "Make a Good Impression" where you have to use 2 different patterns as embossing on your project.  I had had my eye on the Splitcoaststampers 'Free for All' F4A47 Challenge  of "Texturize me!" from about 2 weeks ago and you had to use 2 different embossing folders for a card for that challenge - but I never got a chance to play.  Thought it was a cool idea though (you know how much I LOVE my Cuttlebug!!).


ETA:  I just learned that the above card was picked as one of the Cream of the Crop cards from the challenge over at Crop Stop - and I get a special blinkie to add to my Blog.  How lovely!!  Thanks Crop Stop!  Woo Hoo!!


So while I was at it, I decided to combine it with the SCS Clean and Simple Challenge CAS103 of "Flourishes" and pop these cards into the SCS Fan Club January Challenge of "Love".  I can't give you any more details about the Fan Club Challenge as you have to be (paid) Fan Club Member of SCS - I am only allowed to reveal the "theme". 

For the card above, I embossed 2 separate pieces of cardstock:  one with the hearts embossing folder and the other with the Budding Vine folder (note I did have to run the hearts-embossed cardstock through my Cuttlebug twice so I could get the pattern on the cardstock to the width I wanted - I hope that makes sense!!).  I then trimmed the 2 pieces of cardstock down so that when I put them together, the hearts-embossed cardstock was about half the height of the Budding Vine-embossed cardstock - there was a slight overlay so that I could tape them together easily at the back.   To hide the join at the front, I glued a piece of white lace over the top.  That piece of lace is old shop stock from a Haberdashery business my parents ran in the 1970's - so is over 30 years old!  The embossed panels are up on foam tape so there is a bit of height between them and the cardstock base.

Then, because the CAS Challenge was "Flourishes", I decided to stamp the sentiment onto one of my Spellbinder Fancy Tags die (I thought it looked pretty "flourishy" to me!), and then diecut the 2 Vintage corners from my Vintage Die set as some "bonus" flourishes and popped all of these up on mounts.  After I stuck the Vintage corners on, I then thought maybe it looked "too much", but they ain't comin' off now 'cos it will rip the cardstock!  Oh well!  I punched a heart from some glittery red cardstock which I bought when I went to Bright on holidays last year - cool stuff if you can get it as the glitter is very well adhered and doesn't come off and make a glittery mess!! 

And here is the 2nd version which is also for the Fan Club Challenge:

For this version, I used the Lace Doily edge punch instead of the piece of lace, and added 2 ribbons:  the black/gold one with the red-sequin one over the top.  I also used 2 different embossing folders:  Textile and Swiss Dots, and added the black cardstock layer on the top of the white base.  I omitted the Vintage die corners as it just looked "too busy".  Note sure if you can see, but there is a Scor-Pal line above the punched border which made it easier to butt it up underneath the Textile embossing so as it would be straight.  Here is a close-up piccy of the 2 ribbons - the red sequined and gold/black ribbon is true to life as to what the colours are - the main photo doesn't show it very well :-(  I can tell you that it was sooooooo hard to take photos of (both) the cards to try and capture the red sparkle but not have the embossing look all washed out.

So there it is.  Go and have a play with your embossing folders and see what different combinations you can come up with - and then try adding in some different punched borders or lace or ribbon.   Once I worked out the design and what embossing folders I liked together, the cards were very quick to make.

Thanks again for visiting!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:  

Card #1:

Stamps:  Sentiment from Stamp-It Australia set siset014 self-cling rubber (this is a large set of 13 different sentiments)

Ink:  Stazon Jet Black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Craft Concepts Budding Vine embossing folder, Hearts embossing folder from Cuttlebug emboss and die set "Love Language", Spellbinder Shapeabilities S4-235 Fancy Tags, Cuttlebug Vintage die set - fancy corner, white cotton lace, 1mm mounts (dimensionals), foam tape, cardstock:  white, red glittery

Punches:  Carl CP-8 heart duo, Stampin' Up corner

Card #2:

Stamps and Ink:  as above

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Textile and Swiss dots embossing folders, Spellbinder Shapeabilities S4-235 Fancy Tags, 1mm mounts (dimensionals), Scor-Pal, Ribbon: gold/black, red sequin, cardstock: white, black, red glittery

Punches:  Carl CP-8 heart duo, Stampin' Up corner, Martha Stewart Lace Doily edge

Stampendous Party Balloons and Nellie Snellen border set MFD-023

Hi and thanks for stopping by :-)

I made a clean and simple boy's birthday card - well, I actually made this card twice!!  I had finished colouring up my image, then proceeded to ink up my sentiment with the black ink pad, but somehow dropped the ink pad on top of my image.  Oops :-(   Do you think I was grumpy??!!  So, it was back to the drawing board........  At least, it was a quick and easy image to colour - if it had been something very detailed, my head may have exploded!!  Note to self:  add sentiment before colouring images!!  Anyhow......

I used the Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge IC266 - the Stephen Joseph Gifts website - as the basis for my colours from this particular item on the website.  I really loved the colours and the circles reminded me of balloons and my circles border die.

I am also playing the Splitcoaststampers Fan Club January Challenge - but as the Challenge is only open to Fan Club Members (ie: you have paid to join the SCS Fan Club), part of the rules is that you are not allowed discuss the Challenge Themes and details outside the Fan Club  - which is not to exclude you (my Blogging friends), but merely following the rules.  I joined a few months ago so I could put something back into the website which I love so much!! 

I coloured the image with Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolor pencils + OMS.  I added some fine crystal glitter to the highlights on the balloons, plus the coloured dots around the strings.  I decided to underline the sentiment with my red and yellow pencils because it seemed a little "lost" and I wanted to draw your eye to it.

Here is a close-up piccy of the balloons:

The gorgeous blue border was diecut with my Cuttlebug and one of the border dies from my NEW Nellie Snellen border set MFD-023.  You use the same sandwich as for Spellbinder Nestabilities.  I love this particular die - it is so suited to masculine cards, so I can see myself using it alot.  This particular set is not on Fat Cat's Card Corner's website at the moment, but I'm sure it will be very soon.  You can find all their other Nellie Snellen dies at this link here.  Note that I was careful to attach the border evenly so that the edges matched.  You can always trim down the sides of your card to even things up.

I added a Scor-Pal line above the border - I often do this to just "finish" the edge before I attach it to the rest of a card.  Lastly, I corner-punched the top corners of the white cardstock.  I thought about adding a ribbon, but in the end decided to keep things simple.

And here is my stepped up version:

I stamped the image twice, then cut out just the balloons and popped them up on mounts (dimensionals).  I used various sizes of mounts so the red balloon is the lowest in height and the blue balloon is the highest.   After diecutting the blue border and adding the Scor-Pal line, I ran the blue cardstock through my Cuttlebug using my Swiss dots embossing folder.  The ribbon was attached in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.  Here is a close-up piccy so you can see the dimension of the balloons:

Thanks again for stopping by!  

Jocelyn

ETA:  In response to Shaz's question: I use Google Picasa (free download from the Internet) to add my details on my photos. 

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous 'Party Balloons' CRY008 cling rubber, Sentiment from Penny Black 'It's your day' 30-046 clear set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Nellie Snellen Border-2 MFD023 die set, Swiss dots embossing folder, mounts (dimensionals), Derwent Coloursoft + Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, Odourless Mineral Spirits, Scor-Pal, Bow Easy, ribbon, fine crystal glitter, Designer Dries Clear adhesive (for glitter), cardstock:  sky blue, KW Doggett Knight white

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner punch

CAS Birthday card using Craft Concepts Budding Vine embossing folder

Hi and welcome to my Blog :-)

My BIL's sister recently turned 70 and this is the quick and simple birthday card I made for her.   The beautiful embossing folder is called Budding Vine" by Craft Concepts - I really LOVE this folder - one of my favs - but honestly, if you didn't have this folder, you could use lots of other ones, eg: Craft Concepts Cottage Floral, Cuttlebug Textile or Jamara etc, Crafts Too Damask, or there are some lovely similar ones by other manufacturers.

Once I embossed the pink cardstock, I then cut the pink cardstock card base to size.  I have found by experience, particularly when you use a folder that is very detailed, that it "shrinks" the cardstock, so that if you had it just the right size for your base, it won't be anymore!!   I popped the embossed panel up on foam tape as I wanted a little bit of dimension.

I added the ribbon in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy which are now in stock at Fat Cat's Card Corner.  The sentiment panel was diecut with my Oval Nesties, and the sentiment itself was stamped with Dusty Plum pigment ink and heat-embossed with Satin Pearl clear embossing powder which I really love for my heat-embossing - it doesn't turned out as "shiny or glossy" as regular clear embossing powder.  I ran my ink pad around the edges of the panel and popped the panel up on 2mm mounts (dimensionals).

Lastly, I added the 3 pink rhinestones.

I do not know who made the sentiment - it has a number on it, but no Company name.  I tried Googling it, but came up with nothing - I suspect it might be an Australian stamp manufacturer - it's been in my stash since dinosaurs roamed the earth - I forgot I had it, but I love how "swirly" it is and ties in with the Budding Vine embossing folder!   If you do know the stamp manufacturer, please leave me a comment and I will update my post.

And here is the same card which uses Bazzill Bling "Icy Teal" cardstock (not sure of the actual cardstock name - it's just what I call it!).  And of course, I changed the pearls on the sentiment panel to Bliss SB718 and the ink I used for the sentiment was Versacolor Laurel Leaf pigment.  I made this card for my sister-in-laws 60th birthday.  The Bazzill Bling cardstock looks so sparkly IRL - but I think you can see some of the "sparkle" from the photo.

Thanks again for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card #1 Recipe:

Stamps:  Best Wishes E238 (unknown brand name)

Ink:  Colorbox Dusty Plum pigment

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Oval Nestabilities, Craft Concepts Budding Vine embossing folder, Bow Easy, pink organza ribbon, satin pearl clear embossing powder, heat-gun, foam tape, 2mm mounts, Kaiser pink rhinestones SB701, cardstock: pink, white

Stampendous Star Lilies + Nellie Snellen Multiframes and border dies!

 

Hello Blogging friends!  I made a Mother's Day card using a fabulous sketch from Taylor Von Bruggen of Taylored Expressions (USA) from way back on June 11, 2010:  Sketch Challenge #117.  I am a big fan of Taylor's Sketches and a few days ago, downloaded her 2 x Sketch Books which are on the RHS of her Blog listed under the Baker's Dozen Design Team members.  It is a PDF file so you will need Acrobat Reader (free download from the Web) to open it.  I have a folder with Sketches which I love to look through when my mojo has gone missing or I just need some inspiration.  THANKS Taylor!!

Anyway, onto the card.  The stamp is a beautiful NEW stamp by Stampendous called "Star Lily" and was coloured with Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolor pencils + OMS.  It was really easy to colour as I just coloured the centres of each petal and left the white as highlight.  I added a tiny bit of pink here and there on the leaves and stems which was something I learnt from my Decorative Painting teacher many years ago.  If you add some of your flower colour to leaves, it really "lifts" the whole picture.  I didn't draw on the colour with my pencils: I just used my paper stump that already had the pink colour on it + OMS, and just "smudged" it on.  I lightly coloured around the image with blue chalk.

I decided to add some fun flock to the pollen on the stamens.  At first, I added some glitter, but it didn't look right, so I scraped it off and went with the flock instead.   Here is a close-up piccy:

The rosepink punched border was made with one of my NEW Nellie Snellen border dies - you get 2 in a pack.  Isn't it pretty?!!  You use the same sandwich in your Cuttlebug as for Spellbinder Nesties: A plate, C plate, die, cardstock, B plate.  This particular set of border dies is not listed on Fat Cat Card Corner's website at the moment, but will be soon (although there is another border set there).  I added a Scor-Pal line just above the punched border (bit hard to see in the photo).

I ran the designer paper through my Cuttlebug using my Jamara embossing folder just because I LOVE texture - but really any folder of a similar nature would work equally as well.  The ribbon was attached in 2 separate elements, and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.

I added the tiny punched hearts which are the leftover punchies from using Arrows border punch (you know how much I love these little hearts LOL!!)

And here is the card inside:

I used the largest of my Nellen Snellen Doily Flower Multiframes to diecut the rosepink cardstock, and the matching plain circle (from the same dieset) to diecut the sentiment circle.  The sentiment is a retired Elzybells stamp.  And those tiny hearts just had to added!

Check out the button!  I used a new product called the Epiphany Button Studio which is for making your own buttons, ie: you buy the matching clear see-through buttons (in my case, I used 20mm buttons) and peel off the film to reveal a sticky side.  You slide your cardstock or designer paper into the Button maker, put the button on top (sticky-side down), then press the top of  the Button maker and it punches your cardstock/dp to the same size as the button, sticks the button to it and punches the centre holes.  Confused?  Well, here is a video from You Tube - I am a visual learner, so found this easier......  I tried to "embed" the video, but couldn't work it out, so I'll just have a link here for now and try to work it out later.  It really is a very easy product to use and great if you need a matching button, but don't have one in your stash.  Fat Cat's Card Corner have 2 sizes of the round buttons:  14mm and 20mm.

And there is even a flower button maker - this is next on my list of "must-haves".  The size is 20mm.

You-Tube video of how to use the Epiphany Button Studio button-maker

Here is a close-up of my button.  I used the same rosepink cardstock to make my button and threaded some pink and white twine through then popped it up on 2mm mounts (dimensionals).

Phew - that was a long post!!  Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous Star Lilies CRP115 foam-mounted cling rubber

              Happy Mother's Day sentiment - from Kaisercraft CS916 Occasions clear set of 3

              Beautiful Day - Elzybells 03-252 (retired)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Designer paper:  Daisy d's Sweet Baby Jane Collection - Sleepy time

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Nellie Snellen dies: Doily Flower MFD020 and Border 2 MFD023, Cuttlebug Jamara embossing folder, Scor-Pal, Bow Easy, grosgrain ribbon, pink/white twine, OMS, Derwent Coloursoft and Prismacolor pencils, paper stumps, 2mm mounts, Kaisercolour chalk, Stampendous Fun Flock - Lemonade yellow, Designer Dries clear adhesive (for the flock), Epiphany Button Studio 20mm, Button Studio clear round buttons 20mm, cardstock: rosepink, KW Doggett "Knight" white

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner punch, EK Success Arrows border punch

Penny Black: It's for you and Nellie Snellen Doily Flower Multiframes

Hi and thanks for visiting my Blog :-)

I couldn't help myself - I had so much fun making my last Circle card, that I made another - except this one I made a top-opening card instead of a side-opening - and of course, it's a Valentine's card!  You can see my first circle card on my post HERE along with the instructions of how to make one. 

This very sweet and totally adorable puss is another Penny Black stamp (you know how much I LOVE my PB's), except that I didn't ink up the envelope portion of the stamp which is on the far left.

Image copyright Penny Black Stamps

I coloured the image with OMS and Derwent Coloursoft pencils, then lightly chalked around the image with blue Kaisercolour chalk, then added some pink I-Kandee Pealescent chalk here and there, and on the card that the cat is holding as well as some red Stickles to the hearts.

The lacey white cardstock was diecut with my Cuttlebug and NEW Nellie Snellen Doily Flower Multiframes (which also contain plain matching circle dies) - I used the biggest doily one on my card - and the image was diecut using one of the matching circles.   The Multiframes are available now at Fat Cat's Card Corner.  The pink cardstock was diecut using one of my Spellbinder Circle Nesties.

Did you notice the embossed texture on the red and pink cardstock?  I ran them both through my Cuttlebug using the Textile embossing folder.  I love how it adds some "lacey-ness" to the card to match the Doily Flower diecut.

The bow was made with my Bow Easy to which I glued a heart brad after cutting off the prongs (much easier than poking a hole to thread the prongs through!).

Now here is a photo of the same card, but with slight differences.  Can you spot them?  No?

Well, I wouldn't expect you to notice, but I ran the white cardstock Flower Lace Doily diecut through my Cuttlebug using the Textile embossing folder instead of the pink cardstock - I just wanted to see what it would look like to have the Lace Doily diecut embossed.  The other difference is that I sewed on a red heart to the ribbon - I couldn't find my red heart buttons when I made the first card (you know how us cardmakers lose stuff on our desk LOL.......!).  I'm not sure which card version I prefer - I like them both!

And here is a pic of both the card insides.  I added some tiny red hearts which are the leftover punchies from using my Arrows Border punch - I added red Stickles to them as well.    The first photo inside matches the first card, and the 2nd photo matches the 2nd card:

Challenges:

I am entering this card into the Penny Black at Allsorts January Challenge of "All you need is love" and they want to see your interpretation of that famous Beatles song.

And the Papertake Weekly Challenge where the first challenge of every month from now on will be "Anything Goes" plus an optional "extra" something  - and this particular Challenge has the optional extra of "Lace" which can be paper lace or fabric - but you don't have to have Lace if you don't want to. 

Thanks again for stopping by!  Thankfully, I seem to have sorted out my computer woes which had my computer in a constant state of re-booting after upgrading a program which corrupted - not fun :-(   Thank goodness for the 'System Restore' feature in Windows XP!!  Takes so much time to "fix" a computer when I would rather be cardmaking!!  Hope to see you again soon!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black "It's from you" PB-2859J wood-mounted, Sentiment: from Wendy Irving Expressions J6412.02 clear set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Nellie Snellen Doily Flower Multiframes MFD020, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities, Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder, Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS), Derwent Coloursoft pencils, paper stumps, Christmas red stickles, Kaisercolour blue chalk, I-Kan-dee Pearlescent chalk, ribbon, Bow Easy, heart brad/button, Cardstock: soft red, pink, KW Doggett "Knight" white

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border

Penny Black dog with rose and NEW Nellie Snellen Doily Flower Multiframes

Hi and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!  Did you make any New Year Resolutions?  I made one - and that is to "do the insides of my cards before I move onto the next card"!!  Are you like me, and once you do the front of the card, you leave the inside for "later on"?   And, then I often seem to smudge the inside sentiment because I am in such a hurry, or I stamp it upside down or crookedly!   UGGH!!   I hadn't done any of the insides of my Christmas cards last year so I had this last-minute rush to do them - but not this year - and so far, with the cards I have made (even though they are not Christmas cards), I have done the insides! Yay me!

Anyway, I am so happy that you stopped by, because I have some gorgeous new Nellie Snellen Flower Multiframe dies to show you.  You can find them HERE at Fat Cat's Card Corner.  Aren't they just so pretty?  Just like a lace doily.  There are 3 lacey dies and 3 matching plain circles in the set.  You use the same sandwich in your Cuttlebug as for Spellbinder Nestabilities, ie: A Plate, C Plate, Die face up, cardstock, B Plate. 

For my card, I decided to make a Circle Card using my Spellbinder Large Circle Nesties.  You simple fold a piece of cardstock in half, and line up the Circle Nestie just near the fold of the card - see this pic:

And run it through your Cuttlebug using the usual A, C and B plate combo for Spellbinder dies - and yes, it DOES cut through the 2 layers of cardstock - it's just regular cardstock - nothing special - but you should always check your own machine and NEVER EVER force a sandwich through if it feels very tight.  Here is an extra-close-up piccy:

Hey, I just realised the background looks like a swimming pool full of water!  But it's just my glass-topped table on our decking.  I had to take the photo there because it was over 40degC outside (about 104degF) with a blistering hot north wind, so I couldn't take my photos in my usual place because my Nestie/cardstock would have blown away!

You can diecut any shaped card with your Dies - and it's really nice to make something different other than a square or rectangle-shaped card.  Go on - have a play!!

This cute little dog is from a Penny Black Clear Set called "Critter Party" and was coloured with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils and OMS.   I chalked the blue sky background and added some pink Pearlescent I-Kan-dee chalk here and there - which isn't picked up by the camera but adds a gorgeous shimmer and is so pretty IRL.   The sentiment is from a retired Elzybells Spring Cubes clear set and I added a tiny pink rhinestone either side of it.  I added some Cotton Candy Stickles to the rose and the dog's cheeks, plus the tiny pink hearts which are the leftover punchies from using my Arrows Border punch.  This panel was diecut with the circle die from the Multiframes set, and the pink circle was diecut with my Spellbinder Circle Nesties.

The bow was made with my Bow Easy - which Fat Cat's now have in stock.  Lastly, I sewed on the button, then glued the ribbon to the card using Fabric glue.

Are you ready for a pic of the inside?  Yes, I really did the inside of the card!

This sentiment is another retired Elzybells rubber stamp - wish Elzybells was still around :-(

Thanks for stopping by!   Have you made any New Year Crafting/Cardmaking Resolutions?  Drop me a comment - I'd love to hear from you!

I'll be back when I can with another card - being Summer holidays here, my posting will not be as regular plus I am having some computer issues whilst I have been upgrading my computer which is eating into my free-time (very frustrating!!).   Hope to see you again soon!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Dog with rose - Penny Black "Critter Party" clear set 

              Sentiment (card front):  Elzybells Spring Cubes 20-015-CC clear set

              Sentiment (card inside):  Elzybells "A beautiful day" rubber stamp

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities, Nellie Snellen Doily Flower Multiframes MFD020, Derwent Coloursoft pencils, OMS, paper stumps, Kaisercolour blue chalk, I-Kan-dee Pearlescent chalk, Cotton Candy (pink) Stickles, pink rhinestones, gingham ribbon, Bow Easy, heart button, pink sewing thread, Cardstock:  brown, pink, KW Doggett Knight White

Punches:  EK Success Arrows Border punch

Lili of the Valley Christmas Bear

Hi and welcome to my Blog :-)

I finished off another Christmas card today which uses the same layout I have used for my last couple of cards - nice and easy for this time of year to have a "go to" layout when my brain is overloaded with a thousand things and I can't really think anymore!

The gorgeous teddy image is by Lili of the Valley (UK).  I don't have the name to hand, but will update this post when I find out (plus the LOTV company is closed for Christmas so you can't see any of their stamps/stamp names on their website) *see below.  When I bought the stamp, it came as unmounted rubber so there is no name on it like you get with wood-mounted stamps.  I coloured the teddy with Prismacolor and Derwent Coloursoft pencils and OMS.  I added some Polar White Flowersoft using Aleen's tacky glue to the teddy's hat, and fine red glitter using Designer Dries Clear adhesive glue to the presents. 

Here is a little closeup.   Poor teddy looks a little anaemic in the top photo but looks better in the closeup - I have no idea why!!  

The green cardstock was embossed using my Cuttlebug Holly Berries embossing folder.

The sentiment was diecut with my Cuttlebug and one of the Tiny Tags dies, and I ran my Warm Red ink pad around the edges.  I added the twine in 2 separate elements - I didn't need my Bow Easy to tie the bow as the twine ties very easily into a nice bow.  

Whew - another Christmas card off my list!

Great news!!  Fat Cat's Card Corner will be stocking the BOW EASY very soon - if you have never used one before and are bow-challenged like me, it is a fantastic product.  I use mine all the time, and you can even tie bows with double or triple loops.  Kaaren has a heading for the Bow Easy on the LHS menu on the front page of the website, so keep an eye out for when it comes into stock.

Challenges:

I am entering this card into the Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #63 and this week's challenge is:  "Your Choice" - and you get to pick one of your favourite past Challenges on their Blog - so I choose Challenge #60 which is "Christmas" (you know how I like making Christmas cards LOL!!).

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back tomorrow with another Christmas card.

Jocelyn

*ETA:  The name of the Teddy stamp is:  Xmas Ted Presents S091

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Lili of the Valley - Xmas Ted Presents S091, Sentiment from Elzybells Mini Messages Christmas clear set 20-054 (retired)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Colorbox Chalk Warm red

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Tiny Tags die set, Cuttlebug Holly Berries embossing folder, Spellbinder Oval and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, twine, fine red glitter, Designer dries clear adhesive, Flowersoft Polar White, Aleen's tacky glue, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, OMS, paper stumps, Cardstock: green, red, KW Doggett "Knight" white

Stampendous Candy Bears Christmas cards #2 and #3 for Flowersoft challenge

Hello and welcome to my Blog!

Yesterday, I shared one of the cards (see this link here) that I made for the Splitcoaststampers Flowersoft Challenge FSC15 of "Last Minute Cards" which ends on December 17th.  And here are my remaining 2 cards that I made for the Challenge.

All my cards use the same layout, embossing folder and colours - I just changed a couple of things so they all look a bit different - and they were surprisingly quick as there wasn't much colouring of the images (they were all coloured with Prismacolor and Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits).  And I used some of my favourite Stampendous Christmas images - they are just sooo cute!!  I know it doesn't snow here at Christmas, but I am nuts about anything that has a snowman or snow on it!  And I adore teddy bears too!

For both of my Candy Cane bear cards, I added white liquid applique to the bear's hat band and pom-pom.  I let the liquid applique dry then heated it with my heat-gun to make it "puff up" and then painted over it with white acrylic paint as the white liquid applique tends to look rather creamy - almost lemony - rather than "pure white".  I also ran a line of white acrylic paint along the length of the candy cane for the highlight.

I lightly chalked in the sky around the image with Kaisercolour blue chalk (very subtle but trust me - it is there!). 

On the Red Candy Cane Bear card - the green embossed panel is an embossing folder by Crafts Too called 'Holly Frame'.  I cut out the inside of the frame, then added a piece of red cardstock underneath and cut enough of the red cardstock away to leave a small red border, then attached my image panel underneath.  You can find this gorgeous embossing folder here at Fat Cat's Card Corner.

The sentiment tag was diecut with my Cuttlebug and Tiny Tags die set and I ran my Warm Red chalk ink pad around the tag.  I added the gorgeous red and white twine in 2 separate elements (looks neater for me as I am so "ribbon-challenged"!).  Twine is so "in" at the moment - I just love it for my cards!!  The star is a sparkly red button from my stash which I glued on with Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue which is fantastic for glueing on embellies - I no longer have trouble with them falling off!  Yay me!

Lastly, I added Flowersoft Polar White using Aleen's Tacky glue along the bottom of the image.  Here is a little close-up photo:

And here is my 2nd Candy Cane bear card which is essentially the same as the card above but I swapped the red and green colours around.  It is sooooo hard to take photographs of red cards so the image is brighter IRL and my close-up photo (scroll down to see it) is more true-to-life colour-wise.

I ran my Lime Pastel chalk ink around the sentiment tag and the sparkly green star is a brad.  And I attached the ribbon in 2 separate elements plus the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.

And here is a close-up pic:

Phew - that was a long post!  As always:  if you have any questions, please feel free to email me - my addy is at the top LHS of my Blog.  I used to be new at cardmaking too, so I am always happy to explain something that you don't understand.   Thanks again for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe - Red Candy Cane bear

Stamps:  Stampendous: Candy Bears E208, Sentiment: Elzybells Mini Messages - Christmas set 20-054 

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Colorbox Chalk - Warm red

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Tiny Tags die set, Christmas Holly Frame embossing folder - Crafts Too, Prismacolor pencils, OMS, Derwent Coloursoft Pencils, Flowersoft Polar White, twine, white liquid applique, heatgun, white acrylic paint, fine paint brush, Kaisercolour blue chalk, Star button from Stash, Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue, Cardstock: green, red, KW Doggett "Knight" white

Card Recipe - Green Candy Cane bear

Stamps:  Stampendous: Candy Bears E208, Sentiment: Elzybells Mini Messages - Christmas set 20-054 

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Colorbox Chalk Lime Pastel

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Tiny Tags die set, Christmas Holly Frame embossing folder - Crafts Too, Prismacolor pencils, OMS, Derwent Coloursoft Pencils, Flowersoft Polar White, Bow Easy, sparkly green ribbon, white liquid applique, heatgun, white acrylic paint, fine paint brush, Kaisercolour blue chalk, Star brad by Making Memories, Cardstock: green, red, KW Doggett "Knight" white