Sunday, February 15, 2026

Penny Black Love Tail Valentine's Day Card

 
Hi everyone,

Today I am sharing a Valentine's Day Card that I made for my daughter:


This is also my card for the following Challenges:
  • Penny Black Saturday Challenge - February - Anything Goes or Romance
  • Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday F4A833 - Valentine
  • Critter Crazy Challenge #107 - Anything Goes - with a Featured Critter (real or fantasy)
  • We Love Stamping - February - Hearts or Anything Goes
The main image is by Penny Black - Love Tail - which is from 2006.  I still love this image as much as the day I bought it!  I stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto Ranger Watercolour Cardstock, then coloured it using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers using a Zig Blender Pen for all my blending instead of water.  I only recently found out that Zig makes this Blender Pen and this was my first try out with using it.  I absolutely LOVE it and it is so easy to use.

I went around the image with a Lyra Sky Blue Watercolour Pencil.  First, I scribbled the pencil onto some scrap watercolour cardstock and added some water, then picked the colour up with my #4 Round Paintbrush and smooshed it around so it is very light but takes away the stark white of the watercolour cardstock.  I went over the image with an Anko 0.05 Black Pigment Pen to darken up the black lines.  Here is a close-up:


I diecut the image using a QuicKutz Nesting Card Templates Die and my Big Shot, then diecut the next size up from Colormates Dark Racy Raspberry Cardstock.

All the designer papers are by Simple Stories - Love and Adore - which first came out in 2016 so are 10 years old.

The sentiment is by Lawn Fawn - Love Letters - and was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  I diecut the panel using a Lifestyle Nesting Circles Die, then diecut the scalloped circle using a Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Small Circles Die.

The main image panel is popped up on scraps of white cardstock and the sentiment is popped up on the top and RHS with 1mm Self-Adhesive Doublesided Foam Pads.  The bottom LHS of the sentiment panel is glued flush to the main image panel.

I punched some tiny hearts from Dark Racy Raspberry Cardstock using my EK Success Arrows Border Punch.  The leftover punchies look like tiny hearts and are perfect for adding a little something extra to your card.  I glued three around the sentiment and two on the main image panel using Art Glitter Glue fitted with a fine nozzle.

I thought about adding a ribbon or some rhinestones but didn't really have the right colour to match so just left the card as-is; I guess I am just keeping it simple.

Once I had finished my card front, I glued it to a White Kaisercraft Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

As a final touch, I added some Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush to the hearts and flowers as well as the tiny hearts.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Love Tail 3608J Wood-Mount (2006), Lawn Fawn Love Letters LF1292

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Papers:  Simple Stories Love and Adore 6" x 6" #7614 (2016)

Accessories:  Big Shot, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers + Blender Pen #999, #4 Round Paintbrush, Lyra Sky Blue Watercolour Pencil, Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush, 1mm Self-Adhesive Doublesided Foam Pads, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Art Glitter Glue, Stamping Platform, Anko 0.05 Black Pigment Pen, Cardstock - Black + Scraps of White + Colormates Dark Racy Raspberry, Kaisercraft White Card Base

Dies:  All retired - QuicKutz Nesting Card Templates DC0431, Lifestyle Nesting Circles, Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Small Circles Nestabilities S4-117

Punches:  EK Success Arrows Border (retired)


Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Penny Black Where's Dinner Masculine Card

 
Hi blogging friends,

My Craft Room has been a whirlwind of activity lately making cards for the Splitcoaststampers Dirty Dozen Design Team AND for family birthdays - but I am loving being more creative and spending LOTS of time in my Craft Room now that my husband and I are officially retired.  Woo hoo!  We both have lots of hobbies so it is great to be able to just have more time to read, relax and create and not have the constraints of doing that around a work schedule.  My husband's friends were already retired so it means they can catch up more often.

So onto the Birthday Card that I made for my brother-in-law:


This is also my card for the following Challenges - click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge:
  • Crafty Catz Challenge #706 - Anything Goes
  • Penny Black Saturday Challenge - February - Anything Goes or Romance
  • Critter Crazy Challenge #107 - Anything Goes with a Featured Critter Real or Fantasy
Of course, if you have been around my blog for a while, you will already know that I adore Penny Black Stamps, so I couldn't wait to ink up this super-cute (but puzzled) dog.  I have had this stamp forever and it is a wood-block one and was designed in the year 2000.  I find that the Margaret Sherry critter stamps just don't seem to date and I still love them as much as when I first bought them.

I stamped the image onto Ranger Watercolour Cardstock using Versafine Onyx Black Ink, and coloured him using a mix of Watercolour Pencils and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and my #2 Round Paintbrush. The sentiment is from a Penny Black Set - Make a Wish.

The image panel was diecut using my Big Shot and Lifestyle Nesting Rounded Squares Dies.  Note that I popped up the panel a little on scraps of white cardstock.

All the designer papers are old - Basic Grey - Max and Whiskers - which are from 2009.  I love Basic Grey Designer Papers and really miss them as they were really different to other brands.

The Mustard Cardstock and Dark Brown Cardstock on the card base were trimmed to 1/16" and 1/8" respectively using my WRMK Perfect Layers Guides.

The dry embossed panel across the middle was done using a Crafts Too Bone and Paw Print Embossing Folder.  I have had this folder for a long time so is no doubt retired.

I added some Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Pen to the candle flame and the glow around it.

The top RHS embellishments are 3 x Dark Brown Candi Dots with diecut stars glued on top.  Just having the Dark Brown Candi Dots seemed to disappear into the busy background - so I came up with the idea of adding the stars which were diecut from papers from the Max and Whiskers pad.  The stars are by Memory Box - Hearts and Stars.  The Candi Dots were popped up on 2mm Self-Adhesive Foam Pads.

I left the rest of the card unfussy - although I thought about adding a dark brown ribbon across the centre, however, I was in a rush and glued the main image down so it was too late.  I guess it looks OK without it (?).  I just love ribbons and find it hard to NOT put them on my cards!

Once I had finished my card front, I glued it to White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

Finished size is:  5-7/8" x 5-7/8" or 138mm x 138mm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Where's Dinner 1705J Wood-Mount, Sentiment - Penny Black Make a Wish 30-052 Clear Set

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Basic Grey Max and Whiskers 6" x 6" (2009) - retired

Accessories:  Big Shot, Crafts Too Bone and Paw Print Embossing Folder (retired), Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, Lyra + Derwent Watercolour Pencils, #2 Round Paintbrush, Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Brush, Dark Brown Candi Dots - Choc-a-Mocha, We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Art Glitter Glue, 2mm Self-Adhesive Foam Pads, Cardstock - Mustard + Dark Brown + Scraps of White, Ranger Watercolor Cardstock

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Rounded Squares L-CC-002 (retired), Memory Box Hearts and Stars 98755 (2014) - retired


Saturday, February 7, 2026

Stamperia Hortensia Birthday Card

 
Hi everyone,

Today I am sharing a Birthday Card that I made for my sister-in-law:


I used some gorgeous Stamperia Hortensia Designer Papers for my card.  These papers were released in 2020.  On one of the 12" x 12" sheets, there are four 6" x 6" individual card fronts and I simply trimmed one of them out but did cut it down a bit so that I could have some cardstock layers and then pop it onto a white card base.  I needed the finished card to be able to fit in my square envelope.

I used Versamark Watermark Ink to stamp the sentiment which is from the Stampin' Up Layering Leaves Stamp Set, then heat-set it using Ranger Detail Gold Embossing Powder.  I went around the edge of the designer paper using a Versamark Watermark Pen fairly roughly so that when I heat-set it with the Gold Embossing Powder, it looked a little distressed.  

I layered the image panel onto Pale Pink then Rose Pink Cardstock.  I watered down some Jo Sonja Pale Gold Acrylic Paint then used my Fan Brush to splatter the panel.  It looks so gorgeous in real life.

The Pink Organza Ribbon was attached in two separate elements, and the bow itself was made using my Bow Easy.  I glued the bow on using Helmar's Fabric Glue.  I added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.

The pink butterfly above the sentiment is by Mintay - Lilac Garden - from their paper diecuts.  I glued down just the centre so I could bend the wings up a little.  The colours on the diecut matched the pinks in the designer papers so perfectly, it was just meant-to-be.  I added some Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Pen to the pink butterfly, the white butterfly and a little on the hydrangeas.

I glued the panel onto a White Card Base.

As a finishing touch, I added 3 x Kaisercraft Rose Pearls but added a dot of Art Glitter Glue underneath so they didn't slip down like they seem to over time (for me anyway).

Finished size is 5-11/16" x 5-11/16" or 143mm x 143mm.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Layering Leaves #161277 (retired)

Ink:  Versamark Watermark Ink Pad + Pen

Designer Paper:  Stamperia Hortensia 12" x 12", Mintay Lilac Garden Paper Diecuts MT-LIL-LSC

Accessories:  Heat-gun, Powder Tool, Fan Brush, Jo Sonja Pale Gold Acrylic Paint, Bow Easy, Pink Organza Ribbon 3/8" / 9mm wide, Fray Stop, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Art Glitter Glue, Helmar's Fabric Glue, Kaisercraft Rose Pearl SB786, Uniquely Creative Clear Sparkle Pen, White Card Base, Cardstock - Pale Pink + Rose Pink