More Fun with Butterflies...

Sorry I have been so bad about posting. It was a very busy week at work - followed by my niece coming out from Colorado with the new baby! I guess that makes me a "great aunt," but I like the term my sister came up with better - grauntie! We had a lovely weekend here - sunny and not hot, so everyone had a wonderful time.

Back to stamping... This card is back to one of my favorite things - butterflies. I used a die from My Favorite Things to create these double butterflies. I cut them from Bazzill cardstock and again from vellum. Attached them only at the center, then added a couple pearls to their bodies. The stamp image is a Penny Black image that I stamped and embossed with white embossing powder on white cardstock, then spritzed with a couple colors of Luminarte Radiant Rain spritzers. After it slightly dried, I wiped off the excess with a paper towel to get the white flowers to pop out. The ribbon is from May Arts - of course!

I hope you had a glorious weekend!

Jeannette

Glitter and Copics

Several weeks ago I published a card sent to me by Elizabeth Crafts Glitter using Copic markers to color glitter. Today I decided to play with this technique for an upcoming class. I used the warm highlight glitter and then carefully colored the white with various colors of Copic markers. You start with a color, then blend it out with the "0" blender pen. While I do not use the "blender pen" when I color with Copics on cardstock to blend colors, it works wonderfully on glitter! The biggest trick is keeping the glitter out of the tip. First you make certain that you remove all the loose glitter and then try to limit brushing the marker tips and do more of a dab with the brush tip. The wording on this card is by Penny Black.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jeannette

Happy Mother's Day!

I would like to wish a very happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there - especially all the ladies who are celebrating their very first Mother's Day as a mom!

This is the card I made for my Mom. I used a Penny Black stamp called Butterfly Suite and added a little "Happy Mother's Day" image from Great Impressions in the lower right corner. I stamped the image a 2nd time and cut out the 2 butterflies and popped them over the other ones - attaching them with Ranger's Glossy Accents - which is pretty much my "go to" adhesive for stuff like this. I also went around the ivory cardstock very lightly with Ranger's brushed Corduroy Distress Ink - so lightly that I did not even add any ink to a foam dauber I used yesterday for something else! I wanted it subtle. The card is a Bazzill Bling cardstock and I tied a bow from ivory ribbon, then added a second bow out of gold twine and attached that to the ivory ribbon with a micro glue dot.

Have a great day!
Jeannette

Last Minute Easter Card....

I am sure I am not the only one out there working on last-minute Easter cards! This is one that I can give personally tomorrow, so I am all set! I used a clear set from Stampendous with a couple elegant eggs (it also has a gorgeous butterfly). I stamped the eggs with Onyx Black Versafine ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. You have to be quick with VersaFine when embossing, as the ink is designed to dry quickly. Then I colored the eggs with Copic markers - colors are shown below. The words are by Penny Black and I added a white satin ribbon down the side. This is an A-6 card (folded card measures 4-1/2 x 6-1/4"). A-6 cards are a great size - sometimes the standard A-2 cards are just a little too small and the A-6 is perfect. The pink dotted cardstock is BoBunny Double Dot (of course!). The rest of the layers are classic Bazzill cardstock.


These are the colors I used for coloring the eggs on the card. I chose to leave the main part of the egg white, as I thought it gave a little more contrast.

Thanks for stopping by today. I should have another post later today if I get all my Easter prep stuff done to show you!

Jeannette

Easter Lily Card

Who doesn't love the white Easter lily? They are such a majestic looking flower. This is a very simple, yet effective card. The Northwoods lily stamp is stamped with black VersaFine ink and colored with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. I think I might have put a tad too much yellow on the flowers. You then cut out the right side of it - which is really the hardest part of the card and attach it to the Celtic Eyes Bazzill dotted swiss cardstock.Add a few layers and a wording by Penny Black and you have a relatively simple Easter card.

Thanks for making us a part of your day today! Jeannette

More Flowers...

One last pretty flower card for the month. Of course, as I sit here typing this, there is a snowstorm bearing down on us - looking to drop 5-12" of the white stuff on us by the time it is all over - no foolin'!

I started with an open flower image by Penny Black. Colored with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. Then a did a free cut with a pair of scissors. I attached a silver strip of cardstock down the cut side and trimmed the silver to match the cut line of the white. Then I layered it to a piece of pink cardstock that was stamped with a Printworks vine stamp with VersaMark ink. I added 3 flowers made from punches and a saying to the bottom.

Thanks for coming by!

Jeannette

Large Cut-Out Flowers...

This flower stamp is one of the newer stamps released from Penny Black early this year. I love to cut out big flowers and layer them onto cards - the cut-out petals give some extra pop! The card was made with a Spellbinders large die - to make a completely shaped card, I first score and fold a piece of cardstock in half - this is out of a white piece of cardstock, that you will not see from the front. I place the die so that the fold is slightly below the top edge of the cutting edge of the die. Now when I cut it out, the upper edge has the fold and the rest of the card is cut to the shape. The front of the card that you are seeing is a single cut of a pink cardstock that is layered to the top of the folding card. Before I attached it to the folded card, I stamped and embossed the same large flower image with white embossing powder. The white and purple strips running across the card are also cut with the die - so that that edges match perfectly. This can get a little tricky for this card, because you want the edges of the strips to be even but then you want to emboss the white piece with an embossing folder. The best way I have found to do this is to use SMALL quantities of removable tape. Once you run this through a die cutting machine, the pieces are harder to get apart, so be careful when separating them. Then you can emboss the white layer. the other option is to emboss the white piece before cutting, but it tends to destroy the embossed look when it goes through with the cutting die. Now it is just a layering game and you attach the flower and fluff out the petals!

Have a great day! Jeannette

JustRite Daffodils

This is another image from the JustRite Breath of Spring stamp set. I LOVE daffodils - they are a happy flower and one of the things that we look forward to seeing every spring!

For this card, I started with the daffodil pitcher image and one of the borders that comes with the set. That was cut out with a Spellbinders classic oval die. The image is colored with Copic markers. I like to do the cutting first, just in case something moves when going through the machine, I have not spent a bunch of time coloring yet! That piece is layered to a blue cut out from the Spellbinders Labels Ten die set. The "background paper" underneath that is actually a very light striped designer paper that I stamped over with a Penny Black stamp in Ranger "Stormy Sky" Distress ink. It was just enough color. After that, I punched a border design out of navy cardstock and layered that to the stamped piece. I wrapped some May Arts ribbon around the layers and attached a bow with a glue dot. Layer that all up to a card with some KaiserCraft paper, add a few pearls and you're done!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Exploding Flowers...

Wow! Where did the week go? Not to mention the Spring weather! We got 2-3" of snow on Tuesday and are looking at a couple today! Yikes! It was in the 60's last Friday!

This stamp is one that I have used several ways over the years. This time I colored it with pinks, blues and purples - and painted the flowers with Tombow marker ink painted on with a waterbrush. The harlequin row stamp was inked with a light pink Ranger Adirondack lights ink and stamped over the stems of the flowers. I added a soft ribbon and wrapped it around the design. Add a few brads and you have a good all-purpose card.

Thanks for coming by today!

Jeannette

Let the Good Times Roll!

I needed a card for a guy's birthday - and one that owns a Harley! The new Penny Black images just came in last week and this biker hedgie is one of the new images! PERFECT! I stamped the image with black VersaFine ink and colored it with watercolor pencils and a Dove Blender Pen. The DP is both by BoBunny. I added a dark blue strip punched with an EK border punch and a birthday sentiment layered with a couple Spellbinders dies. A fun little card that was quite easy to make!

Have a GREAT day!
Jeannette

Great snuggling weather...

Looks like Old Man Winter just does not want to loosen his grip on most of the United States! Good grief! And I had great hopes that the groundhog was going to be correct and we were going to have an early Spring!

So, in honor of cold, crappy weather, a snuggling card! This is a cute mouse image from Penny Black with 2 of the little ice snuggling under a daisy! The yellow piece underneath the mice image is created by embossing the yellow cardstock with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, then carefully applying Ranger Spiced Marmalade distress ink to the top with a brayer. You have to be gentle to keep the ink only on the raised portions. Because distress ink is designed to react with water, I spritzed the cardstock with water, which made the ink run a bit, blotted the excess off with a paper towel, then completely dried the piece with a heat gun. You can really accentuate the embossed design this way! After that, add some ribbon and layers and you have a cute card!

Thanks for coming by and the sun will come out - TOMORROW!

Jeannette

Showering with Flowers...

The little mice images from Penny Black have always been images that bring a smile to my face. Penny Black has taken a lot of the older images and them into clear stamps - in a somewhat smaller size. This image comes from a set called Hugs. The pink background layer is made by taking a piece of pink cardstock and putting it through a Cuttlebug embossing folder then brayering clear embossing ink over the embossed piece. Then I put clear embossing powder on it and heat embossed it. This gives an interesting shiny appearance to the piece. You can do this with opaque embossing powders - which gives a very different effect.

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Flowers and Butterflies...

This is not a new image from Penny Black, but it is one that I love. The card also uses a trick that you can do with a piece of chipboard and a personal die cutter. To create the "pocket" that the image is in, I first stamp the image on the cardstock (in this case, a white linen). I wait to color it in case something goes wrong in the next step. Then a cut a square of chipboard the size I want. Using removable tape, I position the chipboard over the image where I want the indented area to be and then run it through a die cutting machine with the same sandwich stack I use for embossing folders. This presses the cardstock around the chipboard and creates the indented section. Next I color the image and complete the card. In this case, I used Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. I also colored some butterflies (also from Penny Black), cut them out and attached them in the middle section. I added a little glitter around the edge of the white cardstock before layering it to the rest of the card. It looks complicated, but it actually quite simple.

Thanks for coming by!
Jeannette

New Penny Black Images...

These are some cards that were on display in the Penny Black booth showing off some of the new "non-cute" images that are in the new supplement. Very elegant and classy. We'll be doing a class with these - likely in April, as the March calendar is already set. They should be in the store by the end of February. These designs are of the same style as some that were introduced about a year ago that we made some wonderful cards with.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Jeannette

And now back to our regular programming...

My plan was to upload a card every day during all the information on the new items coming out at CHA. Hmmmmm....did not quite work out that way. So, we're going to sneak one in today. Who can resist a hedgie in heart underwear? Holding a heart balloon no less! This is another great image from Penny Black. I stamped the hedgie on a piece of card stock a little shorter than the size of the stamp. Then I stamped the balloon part of the image on a scrap of cardstock, cut it out and colored it. It was layered to a Spellbinders scalloped square and some designer paper. The words are stamped on a petite oval Spellbinders die, layered to a scalloped oval. I used a couple little "gold pearls" on either side of words. The balloon is put on with foam tape for a little pop. Just a fun little card that will certainly make someone laugh!

Thanks for coming by the blog today!
Jeannette

Hedgehog Love...

Nothing like flowers for a lady! See, even hedgehogs know that a woman cannot resist flowers! This is a fun image from Penny Black with those infamous hedgies! I colored the image with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. The words are from Inky Antics and are stamped on a piece cut from the Spellbinders Fancy Tags die set. I added a few punched hearts around the hedgies and some silver pearls.

Enjoy our day!
Jeannette

Celebrate Pig Style!

This is another of those stamps that I have had in my collection for YEARS! I love this image from Penny Black. It is not even in their catalog anymore, but I begged them to press a couple for me - which they did, and I have a couple in stock at the store. The pigs are colored with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the green cardstock for the base (only on the top) and the celebrate words are from a Hero Arts clear set. The printed grosgrain ribbon is from Creative Impressions. A pretty simple card, but it is cute and good for all ages!

Have a great stamping day!

Jeannette

A Valentine Cat!

I just love the little cats from Penny Black! This is a great image and makes a fun card for Valentine's Day. The image is colored with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. The little hearts on the mug are covered with Ranger's Glossy Accents to add a little shine. The designer paper is from BoBunny. Lots of layers and punching makes it a fun card.

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Caroling Crew...

This is one of the new holiday images from Penny Black. These mice are wonderful! This artist has been with Penny Black since I first established an account in 1996! They have been refined over the years, but are wonderful and always bring a smile to someone's face.

I colored them with watercolor pencils and a Dove Blender. The DP underneath is some of the 2010 BoBunny holiday paper. I added a little navy grosgrain ribbon in the middle.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jeannette

Layered Flowers

Bold stamps sometimes create more of a challenge than outlined images that are colored. With this stamp from Penny Black, I started by inking the entire image with sand beige VersaColor pigment ink and stamping it multiple times to create a soft background. Then I inked it again withe several other colors and stamped it over the beige images. It was layered to a couple layers and gold colored brads added to each corner. The base card is the green - with a leafy image stamped in a similar color for a soft effect. I added a piece of dark pink Bazzill that I ran through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder and layered a strip of gold before attaching it to the top of the green card. The flower image was added on top. The nature quote was stamped with black VersaFine ink over the stems of the flower. The wording stamp is by Printworks.

Have a great Fall day!

Jeannette