Penny Black Garden Friends birthday card

Hi blogging friends  

Long time no blog!   My loved one had another scheduled operation, was home for less than 24 hours and then became very sick with viral gastro so they were admitted to hospital and stayed for quite a while.  Thankfully, they were released yesterday and it is sooooo nice to be home:  there is nothing like your own food, bed and 'stuff'!  I guess it makes you appreciate those things even more when you are away!!  Anyway, it was nice to have a little bit of crafty time today..........

My daughter's 9th birthday isn't until July but the way the time is flying by and my general extra-busyness of running to and from medical appointments, I thought I had better make it whilst I had the opportunity.

I have seen a few cards around blogland that have the main image framed, and in particular, by a white frame so that is what inspired this card.  

I used 3 different Penny Black stamps to create my scene:  the bunny/bird are from the Garden Friends clear set, the butterfly is from the Critter Party clear set and the sentiment is from the Tiny Wishes clear set.  I did actually stamp the butterfly twice:  once on the cardstock base and again on a piece of scrap cardstock which I cut out and popped on top of the base image to give it a little dimension.  I drew in the dotted lines with a Zig Millenium .005 black pigment ink pen. 

All the images were coloured with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils plus Odourless Mineral Spirits using paper stumps.  I added Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue to the flowers and the butterfly's wings.

I lightly chalked around the image with blue chalk for the sky and green chalk for the grass.

I made my own pink glitter cardstock for the sparkly heart next to the sentiment by using the same colour pink cardstock layer and rubbing a small section of it with a Versamark pad then poured on some Polysparkle clear embossing powder then heat-set it.  Then all I had to do was punch 2 hearts (I have a double layer of hearts just to add a bit of extra-dimension) using a Martha Stewart Looped Hearts edge punch (they are the leftover punchies after using the punch).  To see my tutorial on making your own glitter cardstock, click HERE (just scroll down a little on the post).

Here is a wee close-up:

The white lacey frame was made using a Marianne Craftables die (I cut the inside square with a craft knife) and the large white square scallop frame was made using a Go Kreate Scallop Square die.

I ran the pink cardstock through my Big Shot using the Crafts Too Sweet Flowers embossing folder but by the time I cut it to just the size I wanted and corner-punched it, you could barely see the embossing!  Oh well......it adds a teeny-tiny bit of texture I guess.......

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges - 

Penny Black and more at Allsorts - June Challenge - open theme of using your favourite things (mine is my favourite brand of stamps - Penny Black - diecutting, pencils and dry embossing).

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything goes - with optional extra of making card for Father's Day or for a boy/man (obviously I didn't do that option).

Well, I think I might go and have a nap.  I didn't get much sleep in hospital with all the noise and now that I am home and relaxing, I feel totally exhausted.  It is cold and foggy today (so much for the predicted sunny afternoon) and we have the open fire going so I won't feel a bit guilty curling up on the couch with our cat!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black clear stamp sets - Garden Friends 30-021, Tiny Wishes 30-026, Critter Party 30-013

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black, Versamark Versamagic

Accessories:  Big Shot, Go Kreate Scallop Square die, Marianne Craftables die CR1203, Polysparkle embossing powder, heat-gun, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, OMS, paper stumps, Zig Millenium .005 black pigment pen, Perfect Layers Tools, Kaisercolour chalks, Kindyglitz Crystalina, cardstock - KW Doggett 'Knight' white, rose pink

Punches:  Stampin' Up! corner, Martha Stewart Looped Hearts edge

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

Penny Black 'For goodness sake' card number two

Hello and welcome to my little world :-)  

I haven't had much time for cardmaking this week because my DD was off school all week with a chest cold - which I have now as well :-(   Still, us Mums just keep going, don't we?!

I made another DT card for Fat Cat's Card Corner using the gorgeous Penny Black For Goodness Sake slapstick stamp that they sent me in my DT Kit.  Check out the first card I made with this set here.   

I stamped the image onto Watercolour paper and watercoloured with my acrylic paints.  I added some fine crystal glitter to the flower on the girl's hat and poncho, and on the 3 dots on her shoe, as well as the bunny's tulip and heart.

The large flower was diecut with the Marianne Design Creatables flower die that was part of my kit - there are 2 sizes of flowers in the set (plus 1 leaf die).  Once I diecut the flower, I ran it thru my Cuttlebug using the Textile embossing folder just to add some texture to the designer paper.  The flower is up on a 2mm mount (dimensional).

For the sentiment, I diecut lavender cardstock with my Cuttlebug and Spellbinder Scalloped Heart Nestabilities die then punched the white cardstock with my old Carl CP-2 Heart punch (which I have had forever).  The tiny heart in the centre of the panel is a leftover punchie from using my EK Success Arrows Border punch - I added some Crystal glitter to the heart too.

The bottom panel has been punched with a Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop edge punch - I seriously love this punch - it's so pretty.  I ran the panel thru my Cuttlebug using the 'oldie-but-a-goodie' Swiss Dots embossing folder then attached the ribbon.  The bow itself was made with my Bow Easy, then I sewed on a gold heart charm before I glued the bow onto the card.

All the designer papers are digital and are from NitWit Collections Fat Quarter Bundle Series "Just Ducky" ©2010 by Mary Fran of www.nitwitcollections.com 

I think you could use this card for lots of different occasions: birthday, friendship, thank you etc.

I'm popping this card in this week's Splitcoaststampers "Ways to use it" Challenge WT272 of "Paint".  Of course, I used paints for watercolouring.

Thanks again for visiting and have a great weekend - hopefully back in a few days with another card.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black 'For goodness sake' 40-021 Slapstick unmounted, Sentiment: Impression Obsession - Sentiments WP16 clear stamp set

Ink:  Stazon Jet Black

Designer paper:  NitWit Collections Fat Quarter Bundle Series "Just Ducky" ©2010 by Mary Fran of www.nitwitcollections.com

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Swiss dots & Textile embossing folders, Spellbinder Scalloped Heart Nestabilities, Marianne Design Creatables LR0109 flower die set, Carl CP-2 Heart punch, Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop edge punch, EK Success Arrows border punch, 140lb/300gsm Watercolour paper, Jo Sonja acrylic paints, paintbrushes, gold heart charm, lavender sewing thread, mounts (dimensionals), organza ribbon 3/8" - 10mm wide, .008 crystal glitter, green button, Cardstock: lavender, buttercream, rose (tiny heart)

Flower Pot card using Marianne Design Creatables dies

Hello, and thanks for popping in :)

I have been wanting to make a Flower Pot card for ages, but just never got around to it until a few days ago when my Design Team pack from Fat Cats Card Corner arrived in the mail with (among other things), some Marianne Design Creatables flower dies - which gave me the little push to make this little Flower Pot card.  

There are a few tutorials around the web about how to make a Flower Pot card but the one I used for mine was from Andrea Walford's Blog.  

The flower dies that I used were diecut with my Cuttlebug using the same sandwich as Spellbinder Dies, ie: A-plate, C-plate, die face up, cardstock, B-plate, and they cut easily and beautifully.  Here is a little pic of what the dies look like plus the pieces of cardstock that I diecut.  After diecutting the flowers, I glued the two flower pieces together and ran them thru my Cuttlebug with the Textile embossing folder.  I also embossed the leaves with the same folder.  I glued on the buttons and threaded some embroidery floss/stranded cotton thru the centres and tied a knot

.

All the flowers have been popped up on 2mm mounts (dimensionals) so that they overhang the pot lip easily.  The leaves have just been glued behind the flowers.

The green cardstock flower pot lip is a separate piece which was popped up on 1mm mounts (dimensionals).  The punched border was made with my Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop edge punch which was also part of my DT pack.  Really pretty isn't it?!

Here is a pic of the inside:

The sentiment panel just pulls up out of the pot.  Easy peasy!  The ribbon was attached in 2 separate elements and I made the bow with my Bow Easy.  Now that I've made one, I will make a few to have on hand because you can use them for any occasion. 

Thanks again for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Sentiment from PSX C-2509

Ink:  Stazon Jet Black

Designer paper:  Cosmo Cricket Honey Pie - Ella

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Swiss dots & Textile embossing folders, Marianne Design Creatables dies LR0109, 1mm/2mm mounts (dimensionals), Martha Stewart Pinking Scallop edge punch, DMC stranded cotton, Buttons - American Crafts Elements 82130 Taffy (7/16"-11mm wide), grosgrain ribbon 10mm-3/8" wide, Bow Easy, Cardstock: white, buttermilk, dark olive, Colormates medium racy raspberry