Stacked Dogs!

And who says dogs are not talented! Nothing like 3 dogs stacked on each other to make someone smile. This is a fun image from Whippersnapper. I colored the dogs with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. The border punch is a fun pawprint punch from EK Success. I added some grosgrain ribbon to dress it up a bit.

Have a great day!
Jeannette

By the Sea...

I've had a great time playing with some of the new seaside images from Stampendous. This is another one that I colored with watercolor pencils and a wet paint brush on watercolor paper. the background is created with a piece of blue cardstock, stamped with 2 different background stamps from Impression Obsession and 3 colors of Ranger Distress ink.

Just a fun little card - starts making me think about summer!

Have a great day!

Jeannette

Watercolor Pencils with a Paintbrush...

I generally use watercolor pencils with a Dove Blender, but I decided that I wanted a more washy look for some beach cards and decided to use a paintbrush with water instead of the blender pen. The stamps used in this sample are both by Stampendous. A few tips - first, use watercolor paper, as it is designed to get a lot of water on it. I used a smooth 88-pound white watercolor paper. Second, stamp the image with an ink that will not bleed with a lot of water. I used Ranger's Archival ink in black and dried it with a heat gun. Third, apply the pencil colors all at once, before you start adding water - you can add additional color from the brush later, but it is difficult to apply color from a pencil once you have introduced a lot of water to the paper. It spreads! See first picture:


Now get a cup of water and a nice soft brush and start blending. The colors will blend very quickly, as you have a lot more water at once than you do with a blender pen. I really liked the effect you can get for the sky - without nearly as much work!

After blending out the color, I cut the cardstock and stamped the wording. I then took the blue pencil and put lines around one side of the words. I blended it out with a paintbrush, then took a white Twinkling H20s paint and added a little pearl effect to the words and the beach surf.

This adds a slightly different look to your watercolor pencils!

Jeannette

Gone Fishin'!

I needed to make a retirement card and I know that the guy likes to fish, so when I saw the Fishing Riley stamp on my shelf, I knew it could make the perfect card. I stamped Riley with black VersaFine ink and colored him with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove Blender pen. I used a BoBunny stripe and double dot cardstock for layers and added a blue strip cut with an EK Success border punch. The words are from Impression Obsession. I added a few antique copper brads and a card is born! Relatively quick and easy. I actually made the identical card with a birthday sentiment for another person's birthday, as it is almost as quick to make 2 cards as one.

Thanks for stopping by! Jeannette

Baskets of Bunnies...

Here's another fun Easter card using stamps from Northwoods Rubber Stamps. These little bunnies in baskets are great fun and make a cute Easter card. The images are stamped in VersaFine ink and colored with watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. I used blue chalk to create a more sky-like background around the bunnies. Underneath the stamped images are 4 colors of BoBunny double dot cardstock in a tile pattern. The words above the bunnies are also a Northwoods stamp that is stamped, colored, cut out and layered with foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by! Jeannette

Whippersnapper Snowman...

We started doing a Christmas class every month at the store and the response has been incredible! I think everyone likes the idea of getting a bunch of Christmas cards done throughout the year so that the holiday season is not so stressful.

This card is using a great snowman image from Whippersnapper Designs. The little bluebirds add a great dimension to the image. The Merry Christmas image is from a JustRite Stampers set. I stamped the image with VersaFine ink and colored it with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. Added a couple layers and used the Spellbinders Lacey Squares die. I love the lacey dies - and now we have ovals! I punched 4 snowflakes from a glitter cardstock and added them to the corners. Instead of pearls, I used a blue Viva Pearl Pen in the center of the snowflakes.

Hope you had an enjoyable weekend!

Jeannette

Riley Celebrates St. Patrick's Day!

In honor of St. Patty's Day, Riley is toasting with a glass of Guinness! Or at least I think that is what he has! Who knows, maybe it is a Black and Tan. Remember, this is coming from a non-beer drinker!

I started with a green Bazzill base card and scatter stamped some shamrocks in Tsukineko Green Tea pigment ink. Then I stamped and colored Riley. I tried stamping in brown ink, but that did not work out at all! Went black to my favorite ink - Onyx Black Versafine. Colored him with watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. Next I stamped the wording from Stampendous in Green Tea ink on a piece of lighter green and added the ribbon (one of my favorite patterns from May Arts!). Layered the who thing and up and, voila! A pretty quick card!

Hopefully you're seeing more green in your life. The snow here is slowly melting. I am probably down to a foot on my lawn! Come on Spring!

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

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

Think Spring with Tulips!

If you live in the northeast, you are probably really tired of snow and cold. I know I am! In my former life, when I was a skier, I welcomed snow. Now it just becomes something that has to be cleaned up! So, to get into the Spring spirit, I am going to show a springy card!

This is a Hero Arts tulip stamp - colored with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. I used a Sissix 3-dot embossing folder on the front of the card and some ribbon, pearls and DP for embellishment. A little pink in the middle of winter is a good thing!

Thanks for popping in today!

Jeannette

Happy Birthday Ideas!

I used this cute monkey from Stampendous to make a simple and fun birthday card. Stamped and colored with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. I scatter stamped a random dot image from Printworks on front of the card and added a couple strips of a lined DP. I layered the colored image over the top and added some words to the bottom of the card. This card was done in blues and greens but I have also done it in pinks and greens in a more girly style.

Enjoy your day!
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

My Favorite Things - Pure Innocence

This is one of the images in the MFT line "Pure Innocence." These are ultra-cute images that work well for little girls and big girls! I realize that an umbrella design might be a little out of season, but after the warm weather we had here in the northeast last weekend, maybe not. Temps in the 50's in January is pretty amazing! Reality has set back in this week, but it was a nice break from the cold!

I stamped the image with Tsukineko VersaFine ink and colored with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender pen. I paper-pieced the umbrella. The flowers are from an MFT die and the DP pattern is the reverse side of the umbrella pattern! The border strip is another MFT die - trimmed to the cardstock and then I added some Midori double-face satin ribbon and a bow. I opted to leave this one blank for words - making it usable for several events!

Thanks for stopping by!
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

Last Minute Card #1

Where would we be without the last second crunch to make a few things? This morning I got up and had 2 cards to make and 3 little cardstock "tote bags" that look like the boat bags sold by some of the outdoor stores. I have the cards done - this is one of them. It is using the Alleluia Angel set from Flourishes and is done in ivory, gold and blues. I embossed the angel in gold and colored her with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender. I did the wings with Twinkling H2Os. Layered to a piece of dotted swiss Bazzill, I added a strip punched with an EK Success border punch and some bone color Midori double-face satin ribbon - theirs is truly the nicest! Added a couple layers and success! This is an A-6 card, if you're wondering - which measures 4-1/2 x 6-1/4 folded. It is really a great size to work with.

Off to make those tote bags!

Jeannette

Define Good...

I am sure that there are a lot of kids saying exactly that during this month as they impatiently wait for Christmas! This adorable image is from The Cat's Pajama's and I just LOVE IT! The image is stamped on a circle cut out with a Spellbinders circle die then layered to one of the Spellbinders labels die. I took the stripe DP and ran it through an embossing folder, then rubbed a Ranger Distress pad (Brushed Corduroy - my fave brown) over the embossed design so that the design was highlited. It totally changes the look of the paper and I love the way it "de-stripes" the paper a bit. I punched a few snowflakes and added gold pearls.

Thanks for visiting today!

Jeannette

A FUN Birthday Card!

I have had this stamp since the mid 90's and I cannot count how many cards like this I have made. This is the first time I have actually taken a picture of one, however. I tend to use it for milestone birthdays (40, 50, etc) and have used it for a lot of guys. I needed just such a card for tomorrow and knew exactly what stamp to pull. The lady and the scruffy cat are by Art Impressions (and I do not know if it is even currently available) and the birthday words above are from Printworks. I colored them both with watercolor pencils and a blender pen and cut them out. This cutting is not for someone who does not like to cut! You could certainly stamp and color them without cutting them out, but I really like the popped effect when they are cut out and mounted with foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Jeannette

Send chocolate!

Here's a card for all of you choco-holics out there! The cute little puppy image is by Whippersnapper, colored with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a Dove blender. The ribbon has little paw prints on it - which works well with the dog image. This is a great image that can be used for a lot of things - even the always challenging "man card." The image is stamped and then punch out with a scallop oval, then another scallop oval layered underneath.

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