It's time for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. The theme, as always, is Anything Goes. The optional element this month is 'Inspired By A Song.'
My card was inspired by the song 'Be My Little Baby Bumblebee,' by Doris Day.
Penny Black stamps/stencil:
Fairy Love 30-530
Special Thoughts 30-338
Dotlets 25-007 (stencil)
I stamped the Fairy Love stamp onto a piece of bristol card stock, and colored her with Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils, and a water brush. I masked the image, and brushed distress inks over the background. I used a die to cut the image.
For the background, on a white A2 card front, I used distress ink through the dot stencil. I layered the stamped panel onto the card front with craft foam for dimension.
I added the stamped verse from the Special Thoughts set.
I hope you are inspired to join us in this fun challenge. Pick a song, and see how it inspires your card making. Who knows, your entry just may win you a gift certificate to our sponsor, 1,2,3 Stitch!
Thanks for stopping by today.
Blessings,
Fairy Love 30-530
Special Thoughts 30-338
Welcome! Today I have a card on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog.....
Stamps:
Penny Black Spontaneous Joy - flower
Penny Black Thinking of You - verse
I stamped the flower image onto Strathmore bristol vellum card stock with distress ink in Antique Linen. I used my Misti for stamping, and chose the light color so I could visualize the flower as I added other colors. I used the mini distress ink cubes, adding first the lightest color, then increasing in intensity as I went along. I used a damp paint brush to move the color around just a little, to try to achieve a watercolor look, yet maintain the shapes and details in the petals and leaves. I repeated stamping, adding colors and a little water as I went along.
I added some colored pencil when it was dry to deepen the shadow areas. For the verse, I embossed it in black onto vellum, and attached it. I added some black splatters and a black shiny card stock strip along the edge to bring in more black to balance the verse. A little sparkle from my Spectrum Noir shimmer pen adds that special something something to the petals. That's it....easy-peasy!
I hope you will join us at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge. You have until November 2nd to enter, and be eligible to win a prize! The theme is always 'anything goes'; the optional element this month is to use at least two of the colors black, orange, green, purple. I look forward to seeing you on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge!
I am entering my card in these other challenges:
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - Feminine
Addicted To Stamps - Make your mark
Crop Stop - Anything goes
The Flower Challenge - Add sparkle
Thanks for visiting. I always appreciate you taking time to stop in, and enjoy your comments.
Blessings,
Merry Christmas! I know, I know, it's NOT Christmas. It's not even technically fall here is the good ol' USA! But, it feels like fall and winter in my craft room. My fall stamps and mediums are keeping me busy, and Christmas projects abound.
Today's project is this card for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge this month. The theme is always Anything Goes...and today's optional is a sketch. Since I've been busy creating Christmas cards, I decided to omit the optional this time around.....
I used Penny Black stamps Berry Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays for the image and verse, and Damask and Letter Background for the background stamping.
I created the background by sponging festive berries, candied apple, and spun sugar distress ink onto watercolor paper, and adding some water to create a watercolor feel. When dry, I stamped the background stamps lightly with brushed corduroy distress ink.
I stamped the berries using my Misti. I inked the berries carefully, using the same colors distress ink mini pads and wiping up stray ink with a cotton swab. Then spritzed and stamped. I repeated until I achieved the desired look.
I stamped the verse with my Ranger archival potting soil ink pad. Some distressing along the edge, and mounting with craft foam for dimension onto a pink card base finish off the card. I used white acrylic ink mixed with a little water to flick on the 'snow flakes.'
I am adding my card to these challenges:
Craft Stamper Challenge - Anything goes
Cards In Envy - Fruits of your labor
Tuesday Throwdown - One layer
Watercooler Wednesday - All about occasions
Penny Black Facebook Page Challenge - Creative Christmas Challenge
Thank you for stopping by today! I appreciate your visit, and your comments.
Blessings,
Today's card is one of those that, as I was making it, I thought, ehhh. You know, one of those that could go either way early on. But, I persisted....
I really liked the background, which I created by sponging on TH distress ink abandoned coral, then dropping splashes of water onto it and dabbing them dry. Then a few spatters of the abandoned coral, and some white acrylic paint spatters. Here's a close-up of the background detail....excuse the poor lighting on this photo...
I added the leaf (Penny Black Leaf Spray 2026H), and that's when the 'ehhh' hit. So, I added the verse (Penny Black Gratitude 30-105). Better, I thought. But still needed something.
So, when in doubt, grab a die. I used Penny Black's Dots and Swirls die to create the dotted strip along the bottom of the card. A narrow strip of black and white striped patterned paper, with the layering, brought my card into the 'keeper' category.
Hope I've inspired you to keep going when you feel you aren't liking the card you're working on. Sometimes just a little tweaking, a different slant, some patterned paper, or a fabulous background technique can rescue your card.
Stop on over at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge mid-way inspiration post for some ideas from my fellow design team members. You have until July 6th to enter for a chance to win a $20 voucher from 1,2,3 Stitch!
Hope to see you there.
Blessings,
What's cuter than a Penny Black hedgehog? A Penny Black hedgehog floating with a balloon, of course!!
STAMPS: Penny Black Balloon Hedgehog 1720J and Live It Up 30-259
I stamped the balloon hedgehog onto a white A2 card. I colored him and the balloon with Arteza real brush markers and watercolor. For the verse, I stamped it with Ranger archival ink.
Some light brushing of Tim Holtz distress ink along the edges, fading to inside, finish off this card!
I had to stop myself from adding 'stuff' to jazz it up a little, as I wanted to keep it one layer and CAS!
Stop by at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge to see the rest of the Design Team's inspiration! Hope you'll play along. You have until July 6th to enter. Use Penny Black stamps for a chance to win a $20 voucher from 1,2,3 Stitch
I am entering my card in these challenges:
AAA Cards Challenge - Birthday (Happy 4th AAA!) 
Addicted To Stamps - CAS
Penny Black At Allsorts - Anything goes
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes
The Daily Marker 30 Day Color Challenge
Thanks for visiting. I enjoy your comments, and appreciate you taking the time to say hello!
Blessings,
Good morning, peeps! It's a lovely, sunny day, albeit frigid! Church was a bit sparse this morning. I suspect many people didn't want to brave the cold. The sunshine this morning gave me a much needed boost. I came home and immediately got into my 'comfy, not for public' clothes. Short of pj's, there's nothing better.
So, first things first, I wanted to get this blog post done, then it's up to my art studio to create some more. Today's card features an awesome stamp from Penny Black. Actually two stamps: berry kissed 40-492, and special thoughts clear set 30-338.
I used my Misti and some Strathmore bristol smooth paper to stamp and watercolor the berry branch. My technique is to ink the stamp in my Misti with a very light color. Usually I use antique linen in the Tim Holtz distress inks. Next, I use distress mini ink pads and/or markers to 'ink' up the various areas. After inking, I use a watercolor brush and a little water to paint the areas, and add details and highlights. I repeat stamping and watercoloring several times until I get the look I'm going for.
When dry, I use my Faber Castell polychromos colored pencils to add the final details, such as deep shadows and stronger highlights.
The spatters are made with FineTec gold paints, flicked on with a brush. The verse is embossed with Ranger gold embossing powder, as is the panel along the left edge.
Here's a close-up of the spatters and coloring details....
Challenges:
Penny Black At Allsorts - Something new (berry stamp)
Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Anything goes!
Allsorts Challenge - No patterned papers
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Winter blues
I hope you are able to relax today, and spend some quiet time, reading or doing what you love. Or go out and enjoy the sunshine. Whatever your 'thing' is, make some time to refresh your spirit.
Blessings,
I just adore this precious little snowman from Penny Black! He makes me smile!
I used Penny Black stamps:
Sweet snowman 40-006 (main image)
Salutations 30-014 (Thank you)
Winter whites & greens 30-057 (tree and embossed snowflakes)
Inside of card: Jolly friends 30-058 (hat and snowflake)
I stamped the snowman onto an A2 card and used watercolor and Tombow markers to paint him. I masked him and stamped the tree behind him, and added some Faber Castell pastel with a cotton ball. I made some 'hills' by cutting a paper scrap into curved shapes, then rubbed the pastels over the paper onto the card.
The snowflakes are embossed with Judi-Kins agean silver embossing powder. In real life these snowflakes twinkle with lots of sparkly, colors.
Inside I stamped the thank you, and fussy-cut the hat from the snowman in the jolly friends set, along with some snowflakes.
Inside:
I am adding my card to these challenges:
Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Thank you
Make My Monday - Snow fun
Happy Little Stampers watercolor challenge - Anything goes
Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge - Anything goes
Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper challenge - case featured stamper card
I'm so glad you stopped by today. Thank you for visiting. Check out the challenges above if you have a moment. Lots of fun and great cards there.
Tomorrow I will
be making my pies for Thanksgiving, and getting the house ready for the
'kids.' I love family gatherings, especially at the holidays. We are
blessed, indeed, to have our family, and I cherish every moment with
them.
Blessings, and happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!
lynda
I am finally getting around to posting my card for the Penny Black at Allsorts challenge this month.
The theme is Flower Power, so I went with this beautiful stamp from one of my PB oldies but goodies (Winter Glow 2808L).
I inked the stamp with Tim Holtz distress inks, placed a piece of Strathmore vellum bristol in my Misti, and stamped the flower. I started with a light shade, and gradually added darker shades to build up the color. The Misti is great for this technique.
When the image was dry (ok...so I hurried it along with a heat tool), I used a VersaMark embossing pen to add some gold embossing to areas of the image, then embossed it. I also embossed the 'believe' (from a Fiskars small Christmas set).
I am also adding my card to: Happy Little Stampers Watercolor Challenge and Addicted To Stamps Challenge (Make your mark).
I added some extra shading and details to the poinsettia petals and leaves with my Prismacolor colored pencils. With my Clarity brush, I added a light purple haze around the flower, then stamped some Penny Black background stamps (Letter Background, swirl, and swirl border) for interest. Some spatters, a few crystals, and some gold cording finish it off.
My design team duties have been keeping me busy, so I haven't been as active here on my blog. I was honored to be asked by SCS moderator, Lydia, to join the Dirty Dozen Design Team at Splitcoaststampers last month. Can't believe I'm in my second month as a 'Dirty Girl!' I love the community there, and have been enjoying getting to know everyone. If you haven't been to the SCS site, do pop in and say hello. Check out the amazing galleries, and the fun forums. There are also lots of challenges available to join. If you are not a SCS member, it only takes a minute to join. It's a wonderful resource for inspiration and ideas. And there are tons of free tutorials on the site! Here is a link to my gallery. The cards I've been making for the Dirty Dozen Design Team are in the Fan Club section. You can find information about the Splitcoaststampers Fan Club HERE. The rest of my cards are in my gallery. My SCS identification is JustCallMeNana. The 'my gallery' link above will take you there.
I also received an invitation to join the Technique Junkies design team a couple of weeks ago. I have been busy, busy, busy getting my cards ready for my first post on that site in late November. I hope you will stop by to check out the TJ blog and say hello! You will love the stamp designs. You can see a card I made a while ago, using TJ's stamps on my blog HERE. And another one HERE.
Now that I have worked out all the techie stuff (I hope), I will be around here more often. I miss my little Cafe! I will be back to my normal posting schedule very soon.
I appreciate you taking the time to stop by. If you feel inclined, let me know in the comments if you prefer traditional Christmas colors or tend to go for the non-traditional, as in this poinsettia. I love both, just depends on my mood!
Blessings,
lynda
Sunflowers are a basic part of many fall floral arrangements and fall wreaths and decor. It's no wonder, as they are one of the most glorious flowers you can find. From the rich golden curly yellow petals, to the fabulous seeds inside the center, these flowers display magnificently!
I have several sunflower stamps. This one from Penny Black (2669K 'Sunny') is one of my favorites. It is a solid image, with an artsy, watercolor feel to it. For my card today, I chose to stamp it on black card stock, using white ColorBox pigment ink. I let the ink dry while I went about my chores, and came back and colored it with my Polychromos colored pencils. I added some white lines here and there with a nib pen dipped in Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay white india ink. I added the white spatters of the same ink with a fine paint brush which I tapped to spray the ink.
I die cut the panel with Our Daily Bread Designs double quilted dies, and mounted it to yellow/gold card stock panel, which I die cut, as well. I used fun foam to mount it to a brown panel, then a black A2 card. I hand lettered 'happy fall' along the bottom. A strip of black and white dp along the edge for interest, and a bow and little sunflower charm I found in my stash, and that is it.
I've had several people ask me about my bows. I have had a Bow-Easy tool (by Posi-Bendr Company) for years, and use it all the time. It is so easy to use, and makes perfect bows each time. It takes all the guesswork out of bow-making. I love it.
I am submitting my card to the Splitcoaststampers Falliday Fest Challenge (Fall Splendor). Falliday Fest is an annual fall challenge on Splitcoaststampers. You can read the details HERE and check out all the fabulous entries HERE.
The challenge deadline is October 31st, so you still have time to enter. Hope to see you there.
I am also entering my card in these challenges:
Penny Black At Allsorts Challenge - Close to nature
House of Cards Challenge - Halloween colors
The Flower Challenge - Favorite flower
I am going for prize # 4 ($25 Gift Code for The Ton)
Thanks so much for stopping by. I know how busy weekend days can be, so I really appreciate you visiting.
What is your favorite thing about fall? If you feel inclined, please leave a comment and let me know.
Blessings,
lynda
Penny Black stamp links:
