Delight in the Unexpected...

Sorry I have been so bad about posting. I always have great plans - just don't always seem to execute them as well as expected.

This card features Marcie - one of the characters from LaLa Land Crafts - which is one of the newer companies that we recently picked up for the store. In this image, she is sitting, which always poses a challenge for designing a card, so I had her "sit" on a piece of ribbon. She is colored with Copic markers and cut out. I used an EK Success border punch on 2 different pieces of cardstock - one is an embossed cardstock from Bazzill and the other is a print cardstock from Kaiser. After punching out the borders, I butted the 2 ends together on a lighter purple Bazzill layer, put that on a green layer and wrapped the ribbon piece around where the 2 pieces came together. Then I mounted all that onto a darker purple card and attached Marcie with foam tape so she is sitting on the ribbon. The words are from Hero Arts - I stamped them on green cardstock (same color as the green layer below), then punched them out with a circle punch and added a purple scallop circle cut from a Spellbinders die. That is also attached with foam tape.

Thanks for coming by today!

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

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

Blue Monster Card

This is another card made with the fun monster stamps from Art Gone Wild. I did this little guy in blues - also colored with Copic markers. The zig-zag layers are done with an EK Success border punch. The paper is a thinner paper (vice a cardstock) and it sometime gets caught up in the punch. What I did to combat that was to put the paper on top of the piece of black cardstock and cut both of them at once. This gave the punch something to grip on and the paper did not get mangled in the punch. I added a couple black dew drops as an embellishment.

Have a great 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

A Fall Goldfinch...

Yes, for those of us in the northeast, fall is upon us and the little goldfinches are starting to lose their bright yellow color and go into their "winter feathers" which is more yellow-brown for the males and all brown for the females. Another sign that winter is coming!

This card is using one of the images from the Backyard Birds collection by JustRite Stampers. There are 4 bird designs in the collection. This is one of them. I stamped the goldfinch on cardstock, colored and cut out with a Spellbinders circle die. I cut out another circle with the next larger circle die out of dark brown cardstock and layered the finch circle to it. Then I stamped just the border image on a piece of cardstock, colored it and cut that out separately with a SB scallop circle die. The finch layer is attached with foam tape for some pop. The brown layer on the card was scored in a double line pattern with a Scor-Pal. I started in the middle, then worked out side to side to keep the pattern even. I added the ribbon and corner adornments and layered it to a card with a dark brown highlight layer. The corner pieces are what is punched out with one of the EK Success Corner Adorner punches.

Enjoy the Fall!
Jeannette

Hedgies in Flight!

This is the last card we're going to be making in our "Spook-Tacular Halloween" class at the store. It's hard to pick a favorite, as all of the images have been so cute this year. Once again, colored with watercolor pencils and a blender pen. The "moon" is made by cutting a large circle with a Spellbinders die and then sponging a little orange around the edges. The words are also from Penny Black - with a ribbon covering a line that is part of the words. I stamped a spiderweb in silver on the black cardstock in both upper corners. The hardest part of this card is cutting out the hedgehogs! It really makes the card!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jeannette

Shades of Beige...

On this card I used shades of beige and several layers of Spellbinders dies. The cut-out flower is a Flourishes stamp from their Poppy stamp set, attached with foam tape. I colored it with several beige Copic markers. The happy birthday sentiment is from Serendipity rubber stamps. The designer paper is also beige shades, layered to black cardstock - the bottom edge is cut with an EK Success edger punch. The dotted organdy ribbon is from May Arts - I used a brown around the card and tied a piece of black into the knot to add some dimension. The last touches is a little distressing with Ranger Distress ink in Brushed Corduroy and some black pearls from Queen and Company.

Have a great stamping day!

Jeannette

Mimi and Friend

This is another image from the Penny Black "Mimi" line. These are cute images that are great for girlfriends and little girls. Certainly not guy material, but they are cute. Some folks that are freaked out with the mouthless Magnolia images like these because they have mouths. This is a pretty basic card - stamped and colored with Staedtler watercolor pencils and a blender pen. A band of Bazzill brown cardstock - cut with an EK border punch and a ribbon added. The striped DP has glitter on the brown stripes and I honestly cannot remember whose paper is is. The white ribbon is double-faced satin by Midori.

Pretty Flowers...

These pansies are another great image by Flourishes, stamped on a Spellbinders oval and colored with Copic markers. These are layered to another Spellbinders labels die cut out of a BoBunny Double Dot cardstock. The DP underneath is also a BoBunny paper. Add a strip of the double dot cardstock and an ivory strip punched with an EK Success border punch designed by Brenda Walton. The butterflies are a Martha Stewart Crafts punch that were distressed with some Ranger Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink that have a couple purple pearls added for accent. The green ribbon is double-face satin by Midori.

Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossoms set is another great selection of stamps from Flourishes. This card is made from one of the smaller images in the set - stamped multiple times along the left edge of the cardstock. I colored these with Prismacolor pencils. The pink bow is ribbon from May Arts and I overtied a second bow with a metallic twine also from May Arts. I LOVE the metallic twine. It comes in gold, silver and a white iridescent. The right edge of the natural cardstock is punched with an EK Success border punch and layered to a light green Bazzill cardstock, then to a mauve basecard with a metallic paper from Penny Black.

I hope you're having a great Labor Day weekend! The weather here in the northeast is gorgeous!

Jeannette

3 Circles of Violets

I wanted to try something different with the beautiful violets stamp from Flourishes. So, I stamped and colored it 3 times (used Prismacolor pencils for this card), the cut parts of the image out at different views with a Spellbinders circle die. Add a couple coordinating color layers and put them on a card that will fit in a standard business envelope. The border punch is a Brenda Walton design from EK Success. The butterflies are a Martha Stewart Crafts punch that have a few adhesive beads added to them.

Baby Girl Card...

In case you had not noticed, babies are HOT! We're in the middle of another baby boom, as the children of the baby boomers are now having their own children. This image from Whippersnapper is simply adorable and makes a great baby girl card. The DP is from Kaiser and I used an EK border punch and some lovely pink double-face satin ribbon from Midori. The little hearts are simply punched out of an old heart corner punch and added as an embellishment. Colored with Copic markers.