Penny Black Don't Break It Anniversary Card

Hi everyone 😀

It is my husband's and my 34th Wedding Anniversary and this is the card that I made for him.  My husband is easy to make cards for because he doesn't mind cute and cuddly critters so that makes life a little easier.  The Penny Black critters are so timeless and adorable - and I have been using their critters for years and years.

The main image is called 'Don't Break It!' and is wood-mounted - and still readily available.

This is also my card for the following Challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - April - Anything Goes - Optional of Something Funny

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - #632 - Anything Goes - Optional Twist of Something Blue

Splitcoaststampers - Ways to Use It - WT920 - Teddy Bears

I stamped the image using Versafine Onyx Black ink and coloured it with a mix of Jasart Voyager watercolour paints and Faber-Castell watercolour pencils using a #2 round paintbrush.  I added some Glossy Accents to the heart that the teddy bear is holding.   I went over the black lines of the image with a Zig Millenium .005 black pen which had lost some of their blackness from the watercolouring.  The hearts around the image and sentiment are a mix of Sizzix Drifting Hearts Thinlets and leftover punchies from using my EK Success Arrow border punch.  I cut them from some of the designer paper.

The designer papers are really old - from 2012 - and are by Bo Bunny - Love Letters from their 6" x 6" paper pad.  Although you can no longer get them, there are so many Valentine's Day releases that you could substitute.

I diecut the main image using a Lifestyle Nesting Circles die using my Big Shot.  The red circle underneath was diecut from one of the designer papers and the black circle is American Crafts black cardstock.

I added a strip of black cardstock underneath the image and it looked like it needed something so added some dry embossing using a Cuttlebug/Provocraft Love Language embossing folder.

Here is a close-up of that adorable teddy-bear:

The sentiment is by Colorado Craft Company - Lots of Love and was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  I diecut it using a retired Spellbinder Labels Trio Shapeabilities die S3-147.   I added some more tiny hearts from my EK Success Arrows border punch.  All the hearts were glittered using my Wink of Stella clear glitter brush which adds some subtle sparkle so it is isn't too tizzy for a guy 😉

Both the main panel and sentiment are up on dimensionals.  Once I had finished the card front, I attached it to a white card base.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black 'Don't break it!' 3605F wood-mount, Colorado Craft Company 'Lots of Love' AJ418 clear set

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Bo Bunny Love Letters 6" x 6" pad (2012) - retired

Accessories:  Big Shot, Ranger watercolour cardstock, Cuttlebug/Provocraft Love Language embossing folder (retired), dimensionals, Tombow Mono Multi glue, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush, Glossy Accents, Jasart Voyager watercolour discs, Faber-Castell watercolour pencils, #2 round paintbrush, Perfect Layers Tools, Zig Millenium .005 black pen, Stamping Platform, cardstock - American Crafts black, white card base (Anko - K-Mart Australia)

Dies:  Sizzix Drifting Hearts Thinlets #663451A, Spellbinders Labels Trio Shapeabilities S3-147 (retired), Lifestyle/Quickutz Nesting Circles L-CC-001

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border

Penny Black Naughty or Nice?

Hi blogging friends

Today I am sharing a Christmas card using a fun image by Penny Black:  Naughty or Nice.  I had to make a bigger card base to accommodate the long image so used a business/DL sized base:

The image was stamped onto watercolour paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink and coloured with Faber-Castell + Lyra watercolour pencils and a small, round paintbrush.  I chalked around the image with blue chalk for the sky. I added Stampendous Cotton White fun flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter for the snow on the ground plus the snowflakes; I adhered it using Designer Dries Clear Adhesive.  Here is a wee close-up:

The sentiment is by Hero Arts and I added a red rhinestone at each end.  All the panels were trimmed to 1/8" using my Perfect Layers Tools.  The ribbon was attached in a 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.  I added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.

The side panel was embossed using an embossing folder from the Sizzix Powdered Sugar set.  The snowflakes are by Jesse James - Snowflake Collection - Snow Globe - and were glued on using Crafter's Pick Incredibly tacky glue.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - December - Christmas 

Splitcoaststampers Free for All F4A199 - Christmas Carols - this is my 2nd card for the challenge and this time my song inspiration is "Winter Wonderland" (one of my favourite Christmas songs) - in particular, the line:  "In the meadow we can build a snowman."

Thanks for stopping by and for any comments you care to leave - they are very much appreciated at this very busy time of year!  Can't believe it is only 1 week to Christmas!  Wow!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Naughty or Nice? 3282L wood mount, Sentiment from Hero Arts Merriest Christmas Wishes clear set CQ377

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Kaisercraft Be Merry 12" x 12" (from 2010)

Accessories:  140lb watercolour paper, Faber-Castell + Lyra watercolour pencils, Stampendous Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter, Perfect Layers Tools, Kaisercraft red rhinestones, Big Shot, Sizzix Powdered Sugar embossing folder set, Bow Easy, green satin ribbon, Fray Stop, Kaisercraft blue chalk, Jesse James Snowflake embellishments - Snowflake Collection - Snow Globe, Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky Glue, Designer Dries Clear Adhesive, cardstock - red, green

Punches:  EK Success Scalloped Scallops edge

Wings of Joy - Splitcoaststampers Christmas Fan Club

Hi blogging friends

I have some happy news!  I was asked to be a Guest Designer for the Splitcoaststampers July Fan Club Christmas Challenge!  WOW!   I nearly fell off my chair when Stacy (the Challenge Hostess) sent me a PM (private message on SCS) a few weeks ago and it took me about 2 seconds to reply "yes".  I feel so honoured to be asked.   The Fan Club Monthly Christmas Challenges only started this year and it is great to make a card each month to add to your Christmas Stash.  I only needed to make one card for the challenge, however, I decided to make 2 - one more layered and one clean and simple so that Stacy could choose which she preferred - and much to my surprise, Stacy chose both!  I do confess to being a little nervous when I was making my cards as I am a quiet and reserved person and never ooze with self-confidence.  Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed making my cards as I adore making Christmas cards - my favourite type of card to make!

My first card uses one of my favourite Christmas sets by Taylored Expressions:  Wings of Joy.  I stamped the image onto watercolour paper and coloured it with a mix of Lyra and Faber-Castell watercolour pencils and a paintbrush.  I added some Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine glitter to the bird's hat using Tombow Monoglue, and some Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the bird's wing as well as the holly leaves and berries.

The gorgeous designer papers are by My Mind's Eye - 12 days of Christmas.  I love, love, LOVE the colours in these papers - so pretty. 

The poinsettia was made using the Layered Poinsettia dies by Spellbinders and my Big Shot.  I used the 2 smallest dies for my flower then punched 3 circles from green glitter cardstock using a Carl CP-1 3/16" circle punch.  The Spellbinder dies come with the berries dies but they are too big for when you just make a smaller flower.  I bent the petals (technically, I think they are leaves) up to give them some dimension and used dimensionals for putting the flower together.  Here is a close-up - and you can see the Fun Flock on the bird's hat a bit better too:

The bottom panel was punched using my old favourite punch - Fiskars Threading Water. 

The grosgrain ribbon is by Dovecraft and the button which has had some sewing thread sewn through the holes, was glued on using Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue.  I added Fray Stop to the cut edges to stop them from fraying.

The layers were trimmed using my Perfect Layers Tools.  The red cardstock layer on the card base was trimmed to 1/16" and the green cardstock has been trimmed to 1/8".

Finished size is 5-7/8" x 4-1/8" imperial or 150mm x 105mm if you are metric.

My 2nd card is very simple:

The dry embossing is a Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder which was layered onto gold glitter cardstock then onto burgundy cardstock.  Both layers were trimmed to 1/16" using my Perfect Layers Tools. 

I again used my Spellbinders Poinsettia dies but punched the berries using my 3/6" circle punch out of gold glitter cardstock - and popped up the petals with dimensionals.

Finished size is 5-3/4" x 4-1/2" imperial or 146mm x 115mm if you are metric.

That's it:  easy peasy!

If you are a Fan Club Member of Splitcoaststampers, come and join us for the challenge and get ahead with your Christmas cards to avoid the rush later in the year.  Hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe - Card #1:

Stamps:  Taylored Expressions - Wings of Joy

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  My Mind's Eye - 12 days of Christmas 12" x 12"

Accessories:  Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue, 140lb watercolour paper, Lyra + Faber-Castell watercolour pencils, paintbrush, Big Shot, Spellbinder Rectangle Nestabilities + Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities + Layered Poinsettia dies, Perfect Layers Tools, dimensionals, Dovecraft ribbon, Fray Stop, Stampendous Cotton White fun flock mixed with fine glitter, Tombow Monoglue, Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue, green button + matching green sewing thread, cardstock - Christmas red and green

Punches:  Carl CP-1 3/16" circle, Fiskars Threading Water


Card Recipe - Card #2:

Stamps, Ink and Designer paper:  None

Accessories:  Big Shot, Sizzix Textured Impressions Joy w/Frame embossing folder #657981, dimensionals, Spellbinder Layered Poinsettia dies, cardstock - white, burgundy, gold glitter

Dasher - a couple of quick Christmas cards

Hi blogging friends

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted.  Time always seems to speed up once November hits; I am sure you know what I mean!  Good test results for my loved one has meant we can move forward although it is still very full-on at home helping them recover their strength and stamina.  Christmas will be an extra-special celebration this year as you can well imagine!  Thank you for staying with me and supporting my cardmaking/blog - and especially for your wonderful and caring comments and emails I have received from you over this difficult time - they have meant so much

Because I am so tired emotionally and physically and having trouble thinking after such a tumultuous year caring for my loved one, the cards I am sharing are similar to one I did last year.  Because I loved the simple layout, I thought I could play around with the basic elements to see what I could come up with to make them look a little different to each other.

I must admit, I have tried making a couple of other Christmas cards but got so frustrated in the process that I put them aside.  It was one of the those times where you stamp the sentiment crooked, smear the wet glitter glue and then drop the newly coloured image onto an open stamp pad!!  Grrr - I was so cheesed off - but then thought I should just start afresh and go with something that I know works and doesn't take too long.   I have had to buy (oh the horror!) many of my Christmas cards this year - fortunately people understand that I am very time-poor crafting-wise!  Anyway, without further adieu, here is my first card:

I stamped my favourite Stampin' Up! stamp "Dasher" with Versamark Watermark ink, poured on some silver embossing powder and heat-set it with my heat-gun.  I added a tiny red rhinestone to his nose so of course, now Dasher has become Rudolph.

I added a Scor-Pal line above and below the image and the bottom border was dry-embossed with my Cuttlebug using a border folder from the Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6.  I love how the swirls in the embossing tie in with the swirly antlers of Rudolph.

The silver cardstock bottom border was punched using a Martha Stewart Arched Lattice punch.

I added some Fray Stop to the ends of the twine so they wouldn't unravel and look untidy (just me being a fuss-pot!). 

Now here is my 2nd card:

As you can see, I just made some minor changes.  Dasher is stamped with Colorbox Sapphire Silk pigment ink and heat-set using Satin Pearl embossing powder.  I used a different brand of red and white twine (it has more red than the 1st card) and the red cardstock bottom border was punched with my EK Success Scalloped Scallops edge punch.

Challenges:

I am entering my cards in the following challenges -

Splitcoaststampers - Clean and Simple 200th Challenge CAS200PARTYF - Inspired by a song - my card is inspired by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as that is one of my favourite Christmas songs

Splitcoaststampers - Ways to Use It Challenge WT404 - create a card or project using your favorite things - my favourite things are everything I used to make my card:  my Cuttlebug, embossing folder, Dasher stamp, twine, Scor-Pal, bling, edge punches.   I think I have made more cards using the Dasher stamp than probably any other stamp in my collection.

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #103 - Christmas Birthday or Anything Goes for Christmas - obviously I did the 'Anything Goes'.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - What's your favourite?  Tool, Stamp, Product?  I have used all my favourite things as listed above in the SCS WT404 challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - Y is for your favourite punch/die.  I have used 2 of my favourite edge punches - the Arched Lattice which I love for elegant Christmas cards and the Scalloped Scallop which is an edge punch for any occasion and is suitable for any gender card.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  How are you going with your Christmas cardmaking? Only 8 days until.......



Wow - where does the time go?!!!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe -

Card #1:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Dasher

Ink:  Versamark watermark

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6, Basic Grey red rhinestone, Scor-Pal, red/white twine, white cardstock - KW Doggett "Knight", scrap silver cardstock, heat gun, silver embossing powder, fray stop

Punches:  Martha Stewart Arched Lattice

Card #2:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Dasher

Ink:  Colorbox Sapphire Silk pigment

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6, Basic Grey red rhinestone, Scor-Pal, red/white twine, white cardstock - KW Doggett "Knight", scrap red cardstock, heat-gun, satin pearl embossing powder, fray stop

Punches:  EK Success Scalloped Scallops

Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer - a final Christmas card

Hi blogging friends

I have decided to post one last Christmas card whilst it is still technically Christmas season:

The image was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto watercolour paper and coloured with watercolour pencils and a paintbrush.  I stamped some snowflakes which are from the same Reindeer set around the image with Versacolor Polar Blue pigment ink and added silver rhinestones to the centres.

Here is a close-up of the reindeer - isn't he adorable? 

The side panel was embossed with a Basic Grey/Sizzix Snowflakes #8 embossing folder and my Big Shot.  I added the organza ribbon in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.

I added some Kaisercraft Crystal Sparklets to the bottom RHS.  LOVE this new Sparklet range by Kaisercraft!  Here is a wee close-up - I tried to capture some of the sparkle from the sunlight (I always take my photos outside).  They look just like diamonds!!

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Crimbo Challenges - Challenge 5 - Snowflakes - this is a Christmas Challenge website and your entry must be festive and Christmas-related.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Simon Says "Anything Goes"

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Hero Arts Christmas Reindeer clear set

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Versacolor Polar Blue pigment

Designer Paper:  Echo Park - Wintertime

Accessories:  Big Shot, Basic Grey/Sizzix Snowflakes #8 embossing folder - #657251, light blue dotted organza ribbon, Bow Easy, Kaisercraft silver rhinestones, Kaisercraft Sparklets RS408 Crystal, 140lb watercolour paper, Faber-Castell + Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils, small round #2 paintbrush, Spellbinder Circle + Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, cardstock:  burgundy, ice blue

Stampin' Up Dasher Christmas Gift Card holder

Hi blogging friends  

Well, my little Stampin' Up Dasher stamp is getting a work-out this Christmas season - you will be tired of seeing him!   I was really looking for an excuse to use my new Marianne Design die (an early Christmas present for me!) - oh my goodness, I LOVE it - it is so pretty and lacey - and as I have stamped a whole lot of circles with Dasher ready to pop on cards, the image was going to fit the diecut perfectly.  A match made in heaven!!  Love it when that happens!

This particular card is going to the family member that we picked out of the hat from our family's Secret Santa Sibling draw.  We don't buy presents for each sibling/sibling-in-law at Christmas.  Every November, everyone fills in a form of their "most eagerly desired gift" (we usually list 4 choices) and we put all the forms in a hat, pick one out and spend a decent amount for that one person.  With family spread all over Australia, many of us just ask for a Gift Card because it is much cheaper to post than something big and heavy.

Of course, all the little nieces and nephews get a Christmas present - and I LOVE to watch the delight in their little faces as they tear open the wrapping paper - and honestly, if I got nothing for Christmas, it wouldn't worry me:  just seeing my own daughter and the nieces/nephews have so much fun is a gift enough in itself.  They are only little for such a short time!  Anyway, onto the card itself............

Dasher is stamped with Colorbox Sapphire Silk pigment ink and heat-set with Satin Pearl clear embossing powder.  And I popped the usual tiny red rhinestone on his nose to turn him into Rudolph.  This main panel is up on dimensionals.

The burgundy side panel was embossed with my Big Shot and one of the folders from the Sizzix Winter Set #3 which I thought matched Dasher's antlers really well the way the embossing looked all swirly. 

I diecut some snowflakes and inked the edges with Sapphire Silk ink, added Ice Blue rhinestones and popped them up on dimensionals, then added the same colour rhinestones to the bottom RHS.

Before I did the card inside, I picked up the card to show my DH only to realise that my card opened backwards!  Yep, my frequent trick of NOT checking that I am layering the front of the card the way that I should.  Ack - I can't believe how many times I do it!!  Still, it is not hard to fix as I just cut the front panel off and stuck it to another card base; it's just annoying and takes up time - and at least I didn't do the card inside before I found out - or you would be hearing my screams from here 'cos it HAD to be in the mail THAT DAY!!

The card inside:

I used the same Marianne die for the sentiment panel and inked the edges of the white cardstock circle lightly with the Sapphire Silk ink and heat-set it so I didn't smear it (it takes quite a while to just air-dry and I have no patience!!).   The sentiment is a Kaisercraft clear stamp and was stamped with Sapphire Silk ink and heat-embossed with Satin Pearl embossing powder.  This Kaisercraft sentiment set is good value as they are around $2.00 and you get 4 different Christmas sentiments all in different fonts - plus they have a good range of sentiment sets to suit every occasion so I have a whole bunch of them.

Where the gift card tucks in, I stamped the Hero Arts Holiday Background stamp with Versamark Watermark ink onto the burgundy cardstock, diecut the ice blue cardstock using a Nellie Snellen border die which seemed to match the other Marianne die quite nicely and adhered just the bottom and sides of the panel so that the Coles/Myer Gift card tucks in nicely.  Here is a close-up pick of this section:

Finished card size is 5" x 5" or metric about 12.5cm x 12.5cm

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

The ABC Challenge - F is for Frosty - Use snowy scenes, snowflakes, a snowman, or anything you can think of to get your frosty fun out.

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Last Christmas Card of the Year - this is their final festive challenge for the year.

My daughter is hoping for a white Christmas but well, it is Summer here and it is far more likely to be boiling hot!  Although I do remember one Christmas where it did actually snow on the Alps in my State and it was bitterly cold where we live - just a freak of nature that day!

My daughter loves snowmen and all things snowy as much as I do and this year, she wouldn't let me display my two (stuffed) snowmen that I always put out with the Christmas decs; she has taken them to bed with her every night instead!  They are about 12 inches (30 cms) tall and I usually put them up high on top of my buffet and hutch because my cat Ruby likes to grab them in a smothery hug and kick them with her back feet and bite them like it is some sort of prey that she has caught.  Looks cute but they wouldn't last long with that sort of treatment.  I have a sneaking suspicion that when all the Christmas stuff is packed away, they will still be sleeping with my daughter!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Dasher, Kaisercraft Mini CS926 Christmas clear stamp set, Hero Arts Holiday Background CG-324 Cling Rubber

Ink:  Colorbox Sapphire Silk pigment, Versamark Watermark

Designer paper:  Echo Park - Wintertime

Accessories:  Big Shot, Marianne Design die CR1201 (lacey circle), Nellie Snellen border die MFD 023, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities, satin pearl clear embossing powder, heat-gun, Basic Grey red rhinestone, Kaisercraft Ice Blue SB774 rhinestones, dimensionals, sparkly ice blue ribbon, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities, Sizzix Textured Impressions Winter Set #3 embossing folder, My Favorite Things 'Let it Snowflake' Die-namics dies, cardstock:  burgundy, ice blue, white

Stamp-It: The Angel Said - CAS Christmas cards

Hi blogging friends

I have made so many cards these past 2 weeks that I probably won't be able to share all of them before Christmas as I am running out of time to blog them.  And then last night, I had this "sudden" idea in my head for some clean and simple one-layer cards (well, one layer other than the border I attached at the bottom of my cards) - and it all seemed to go smoothly.  Sometimes I come up with ideas but nothing seems to work and I get frustrated - but not last night - it was smooth sailing all the way and it is SO NICE when that happens!!

So here is the result - well, actually I made a gold, silver and purple one, but first is the gold.  It is really hard to photograph gold embossing but I think you will get the idea.

The image is from Stamp-It Australia called "The Angel Said" and was stamped with Versamark Watermark ink and heat-embossed it with Stamp-It Queens Gold embossing powder.

The dry embossing is a border folder from the Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6 and I love how the embossing just seemed to tie in so beautifully with the Fancy Letter "A" on the sentiment.

There is a Scor-Pal line above and below the embossing and below the gold cord.  The gold cord is wrapped twice around the card.  I added some Fray Stop to the ends of the cord so they wouldn't keep unravelling as this cord tends to do.

The bottom gold border was made with a Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge punch (LOVE this for Christmas cards) and was punched out of gold glitter cardstock - which the punch didn't like too much as the cardstock is a bit thicker than regular cardstock.

Now, here is the silver version:

Again, it is really hard to photograph silver embossing but I just managed to get a bit of shine on it so you can see the silveriness.  The silver ribbon is also wrapped twice around the card and the bottom silver border was punched from silver Mirri card which the punched liked a whole lot better than the glitter cardstock.  It looks very dark in the photo but trust me:  it really is SILVER!

Now here is the purple version.  I love purple and white for Christmas cards; I know it's not traditional but it just appeals to me I guess because purple is my favourite colour.

The purple ribbon photographed a bit dark but matches the image perfectly IRL (in real life) and actually has gold flecks through it but you can't really tell from the photo.  I picked it up from Riot Art and Craft yesterday and is by The Paper Mill.  The sentiment was stamped with Heliotrope pigment ink and heat-embossed with Satin Pearl embossing powder.

Challenges:

I am entering my cards into the Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge CHNC #51 of "Anything Goes".

And on a final note for today:  here is a little pic of my cat Ruby catching up on some zzzzz's before the big day........

Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate it!   I will be back soon with another card.

Jocelyn

Gold Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stamp-It Australia 'The Angel Said' 2143F self-cling rubber

Ink:  Versamark Versamagic

Accessories:  Big Shot, Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6 - border embossing folder, heat-gun, Stamp-It Queens Gold embossing powder, gold cord, Fray Stop, Scor-Pal, cardstock - white, gold glitter

Punches:  Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge

Silver Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stamp-It Australia 'The Angel Said' 2143F self-cling rubber

Ink:  Versamark Versamagic

Accessories:  Big Shot, Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6 - border embossing folder, heat-gun, Silver embossing powder, silver Mirri card, Scor-Pal, silver ribbon 1/4" wide, cardstock - white

Punches:  Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge

Purple Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stamp-It Australia 'The Angel Said' 2143F self-cling rubber

Ink:  Colorbox Heliotrope pigment

Accessories:  Big Shot, Sizzix Textured Impressions Christmas Set #6 - border embossing folder, heat-gun, Satin Pearl clear embossing powder, Scor-Pal, purple ribbon by The Paper Mill - from Riot Art and Craft, cardstock - purple, white

Punches:  Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edge

Penny Black Teddy Santa - number two

Hi blogging friends

I have another Christmas card to show you using one of my favourite Penny Black images.  I made a similar one a few weeks back but I changed the layout and changed around a few of the colours.  Here is a link to my post so you can see the original one.

The image was stamped onto watercolour paper and coloured with Faber-Castell plus Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils. 

I added some Fun Flock mixed with Crystalina glitter to the hat using Designer Dries Clear adhesive - and added Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the present.

The tag was diecut using my Cuttlebug and a Cuttlebug Tiny Tags die and the sentiment is from a retired Elzybells clear set which I stamped using Versamagic Tea Leaves chalk ink.  I glued the tag underneath the ribbon knot to hold it in place.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #113 of Santa's Hat.

I think that's about it but if you have any questions, please feel free to either leave a comment and I'll update this post - or you can email me - my address is on my LH sidebar.  Have a fab weekend and not long till you know what!

Jocelyn
 

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Teddy Santa 3549F, Elzybells Mini Messages - Christmas 20-054 clear set (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black, Versamagic Tea Leaves chalk

Designer paper:  Kaisercraft 'Be Merry Collection'

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Tiny Tags die, Spellbinder Labels 12 dies, Sizzix embossing folder from Powdered Sugar/Snow Globe Textured Impressions set #657065, Stampendous Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with Crystalina glitter, Designer Dries Clear adhesive, sparkly green ribbon, green button, green sewing thread, Basic Grey red rhinestones, dimensionals, 140lb Watercolour paper, small round paintbrush, Faber Castell + Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils, Kindyglitz Crystalina, cardstock:  red, green

Hero Arts + Sizzix Collage background Distress Inks card

Hi blogging friends

I have been very busy these past few weeks with 2 weeks of school holidays and then my DD was off school sick = almost no crafting or blogging time.  

I also celebrated my mother's birthday, my birthday  and watched the Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race (I love car racing!), visited the cinema and Melbourne Aquarium among other things.  Any wonder, I only managed to make 2 cards!  I must admit I been a feeling a little "dry" cardmaking-wise, however, I went to a Craft Show last weekend which is the first one I have been to for a few years and it was AWESOME!  Came away with loads of ideas (and loads of really cool stuff thanks to my birthday money) so I shall be diving headlong into my Christmas cardmaking.  Yep, Christmas displays are already in KMart and mince pies are in Woolworths.....{sigh} seems to get earlier and earlier every year.....anyway, I am waffling as usual.......

Whilst I was at the show, I did a fantastic free make-and-take workshop and made a vintagey tag using several different coloured Tim Holtz Distress Inks and was really happy with what I made.  So I pulled out a recent purchase of a Hero Arts Background Collage stamp/Sizzix embossing folder combination set and thought I would give it a whirl.  It took me a few try-outs to figure out what cardstock worked the best for me and what colour choices worked well together - so here is the final result:  

Now I have to say that this sort of cardmaking is totally out of my comfort zone and I am not about to throw my coloured pencils away, but it was really nice to try something different especially as I have been feeling so stale.

To get the background effect, I used 3 Distress ink colours and smooshed them across a non-stick craft sheet keeping the colours all separate, spritzed them with a bit of water using a Ranger Mini Mister till I saw little droplets, then wiped my cardstock through it and moved it around a little to mix the colours but not too much or you will get a browny-kind-of-mess.  I used 140 lb watercolour paper as my ordinary white cardstock couldn't handle the amount of water.  I used 3 different Distress ink pads:  Spun Sugar (pink), Bundled Sage (green) and Tumbled Glass (blue) .  I dried off the watercolour paper using my heat-gun.  I actually did 2 sheets of watercolour paper so I could stamp the butterfly again* (see below) and cut it out.

Using a Ranger Inkssentials foam tool and pad, I went around the edges with Antique Linen Distress ink, then did the same using the Spun Sugar Distress ink.   I inked up my stamp with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and stamped it over the top.  Next I ran the watercolour paper through my Big Shot using the Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder that came with the stamp. The embossing doesn't show up super-well in the photo and looks heaps better in real life.   You can see it a bit of embossing around the sentiment and butterfly but that's about all.  The large flowers around the edges are also embossed but you can't tell from my photo.  I then sprayed the watercolour paper with Pearl Glimmer Mist to give it a bit of sparkle which again isn't visible from my photo but looks very yummy in real life.

I then inked up just the butterfly* and stamped it onto the 2nd sheet of watercolour paper and cut it out, inked around the edge with Antique Linen Distress ink then smothered it in Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue and popped the butterfly centre up on dimensionals and bent the wings up a little.

Using some Kraft cardstock, I rounded 2 of the corners and went around the edges with Spun Sugar + Antique Linen Distress ink.  I pulled out some pink seam binding which I dyed myself a while ago using Jo Sonja acrylic paint mixed with Jo Sonja Textile Medium and attached this to the watercolour paper in 2 separate elements (the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy), then layered the panel onto the Kraft cardstock.

I decided to add some Hero Arts heart pearls to the sentiment to make it stand out a little more.

Now it all sounds like a lot of steps and fiddling but now that I know how to actually do this type of card, ie: what colours look nice together, what cardstock works etc. etc., to make another card the same would probably take 1/10th of the time it took to make this one!  And I do love how it turned out and it was sooooo much fun to make a mess (which I am really good at doing!!) and make something totally different.  I am not sure where you would call this card Distressed, Shabby Chic or Vintage (or something from my compost bin??) - I am a bit clueless so I'll pop this card into all 3 categories on my blog sidebar. 

I found a video made by The Master himself (Tim Holtz) which shows how to do the inked background.  The type of background I did starts at 1 minute 56 seconds into the video.  Enjoy!

Challenges:

I am entering my card into the following challenge -

Splitcoaststampers - Free for all Friday F4A85 Make your own background

Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the world!  

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Hero Arts Collage background stamp #657766 (in set with emb.folder)

Ink:  Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Spun Sugar, Bundled Sage, Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen, Versafine Vintage Sepia

Accessories:  Big Shot, Sizzix Collage background Textured Impressions embossing folder #657766, Ranger Inkssentials Blending tool and foam pads, Ranger Mini Mister (filled with water), non-stick craft sheet, 140lb Watercolour paper, hand-dyed seam binding, Bow Easy, Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist, Hero Arts CH173 Heart Accent pearls, Kindygliz Crystalina, dimensionals, heat-gun, cardstock:  American Krafts

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner punch

Stampendous Beachfront Boat - a housewarming card

Hi blogging friends

My BIL and SIL have just finished building their dream retirement home by the sea in another state. I am sure they will love being away from the hustle and bustle of city-life and never tire of looking out on the ocean every day.  It is a long-realised dream come true for them - and this is the card I made for them as a "Welcome to your new home" - so that is why I chose a beach-scene and tried to make it a nice, warm inviting scene imagining them having a sail on the calm ocean on a summer's day with the first hints of the sunset in the sky.  Ahhhh - bliss! Wish I was there right now......

I stamped the image onto watercolour paper and coloured it with watercolour pencils.  To add the white highlights on the ocean, I used a scalpel knife to scratch the surface of the watercolour paper then used my Sakura clear glaze pen to add some shine.  I also used the same pen on the red sail on the boat.  I know you can't really see the glaze in the photo but it makes the sea look all sparkly IRL - but you can see the effect of the scratching with the scalpel knife.  Here is a wee close-up:

The side panel was punched with a Scallop Diamond edge punch then I added a Scor Pal line which made it easier to line the designer paper up straight.  As the panel looked a little uninteresting and flat, I decided to emboss it using my Cuttlebug and Sizzix Ribbon embossing folder then sanded it a little to highlight the embossing - ahhhhhhh, much better to have a bit of texture and it seemed to match the dp and rope perfectly.  I grabbed two pieces of rope and tied a knot in each end then glued the ends underneath the panel with fabric glue.  Because the rope was bulky, I popped the panel up on dimensionals.  The sentiment panel and the main panel are also up on dimensionals.

The sentiment is by Elzybells from a clear set of sentiments and images but there is no name on the set or a number; unfortunately, no longer available....sniff.....I miss my Elzybells......

I punched two tiny hearts from the orangey-red part of the designer paper using my Arrows border punch (the leftover punchies look like tiny hearts) and added them to the sentiment panel.

Lastly, I glued on 3 matching buttons.  I did sew threw the buttonholes with matching sewing thread before I glued them on.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Allsorts Challenge #113 - Free and Easy July - Anything goes

Craft your Days Away Challenges - CYDA Challenge #25 - Summertime

The Pink Elephant - Challenge #TPE109 - Fun in the sun

Thanks for stopping by!  If you are in a hurry to leave a comment, click on the "Reactions" at the bottom of the post after the Card Recipe.

Have a great week!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous Beachfront Boat CRN234 cling, Sentiment - Elzybells (name unknown)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black

Designer paper:  K & Co. Seaglass diecut small mat pad, code 626621

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions Ribbon embossing folder (comes as a set of 2 folders - #656980), 140lb watercolour paper, Faber Castell watercolour pencils, small round #2 paintbrush, 3 x buttons with matching sewing thread, rope, Scor-Pal, Sakura clear glaze pen, sandpaper, Cardstock:  teal blue, pale olive

Punches:  EK Success Scallop Diamond edge, EK Success Arrows border edge

JustRite Christmas Treasures - quick and simple Christmas card

Hi blogging friends and welcome to my new followers - it's lovely to have you!

No, your eyes are NOT deceiving you:  it really is a Christmas card.  As there are a few Christmas Challenges popping up here and there (not to mention Christmas in July sales - yippee!), I thought I should jump on board and make my first Christmas card for the year.  I went for quick and simple - and this one would be easy to mass produce.

The white cardstock embossed panel is one of the embossing folders from the Sizzix Winter Set #3 which I ran through my Cuttlebug using the same sandwich as for Cuttlebug folders.  I love this folder and it seemed to match the image perfectly with its stars - a match made in heaven!  I added the purple brads in each corner then popped the panel up on doublesided foam tape to attach it to the white cardstock base.

The main image and sentiment is from my JustRite Christmas Treasures 3-1/4" diameter set.  I love how you can mix and match the main images and the sentiments.  I stamped the image with Heliotrope pigment ink, poured on some satin pearl embossing powder and heat-set it with my heat-gun.  I inked around the circle lightly so the panel would stand out a bit from the white embossed background then popped it up on doublesided foam squares (dimensionals) to attach it to the cardstock.

The organza ribbon was attached in 2 separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.  That's it - easy peasy.  No colouring for a change!   Finished card size is 4-1/2" or 113mm.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts's weekly Christmas Challenge (CHNC) #27 - pinks and/or purples - where you can use any materials, any techniques - anything goes - as long as the end result is a Christmas card and it has pink and/or purple somewhere

Allsorts Challenge - Week 110 - Free and Easy July (anything goes)

On a totally different note, I finally went to the Doctor last week because my left wrist and thumb has been swelling up and getting very sore.  It has been sore for quite a few months, but particularly sore when I  was doing some embroidery these past few weeks.  The doctor sent me for an X-ray and ultrasound and it showed arthritis in the thumb and wrist joint.  Nuts!  I am waaaaay to young to get arthritis (I think so anyway!) and as a classical pianist as well as all my other crafty endeavours, I am NOT happy!   At least I am right-handed so I am thankful that it's not my right hand but I do use my left hand alot nonetheless.  Many years ago, I dislocated this wrist (twice!) and the doctor thinks maybe that my wrist was damaged from it.   I am having some cortisone injected into it this Thursday so my crafting will come to a standstill while I am not allowed to use my hand.  I have almost finished my DH's birthday card so I should be able to post it here on my Blog next week (well, as long as it stops raining and blowing a gale and I can photograph it!)   .

So, I shall leave you a happy note.  If you love cats, this video is for you.  It is a Simon's Cat video (there are around 14 on You-Tube) and there is even a website for Simon's Cat books, mugs, calendars etc.  I have no connection with them, but I do have the first book that came out that had me in stitches.  Enjoy!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  JustRite Christmas Treasures set 3-1/4" diameter

Ink:  Colorbox Heliotrope pigment

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder set - Winter Set #3 - #656586, Bow Easy, 1" or 25mm wide purple organza ribbon, foam tape, doublesided foam squares, heat-gun, satin pearl embossing powder, purple brads - Franceville Australia - from Love Mini Brads set #130004, Cardstock:  white