Baseball Kitty

This was commissioned by my daughter some years ago for her then boyfriend. They were going (or had been.. can't remember) to New York, including going to a baseball game at Shea Stadium (NY Mets former baseball park, up to 2008). I'm a big fan of baseball, personally, and love Penny Black's kitty stamps. I had to colour him Mets, and fussy-cut him out and raised him up slightly. The stars are silver brads, by the way.. not black as they look on here! 

Ballet Cat

Penny Black's ballet cat is the one prancing around in the tutu, waving a pink rose in the air. I stamped the cat on acetate, as well, and cut out the tutu and slippers. The pink glitter was applied underneath the acetate with Art Institute glue. The image is layered onto pink mirror card and then onto a kind of white fibre sheet, shot through with silver sparkle.

For my Scottish pals....

No matter how I try, I cannot get past my love for feathered mulberry. It just bubbles to the surface every now and then, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is.

And yes, I know it should be a heilan' coo, but Penny Black don't make them, and as this was for a  Penny Black Saturday Challenge on a farmyard theme, I had to make do. (sigh)

Message on the inside reads: ".. to see what's moo with you?" (I know... grrrooaannn!)

The Fragrance of Roses

This one uses a Penny Black verse, a little heart and flourish stamp and paper rosebud. The 'border' is just a couple of pencil lines drawn across the card with a ruler.

Santa's Hat

 There was a request a couple of days ago on the Simply Crafts & Papercraft Facebook group to send a card to two children in California, Caleb (13) and Maddie (11). Their family lost everything in Paradise in the wildfires that broke our hearts night after night in our news bulletins for so long.

Of course, other families lost everything as well, but this is the only family I have an address for.

So.. this is Caleb's card...

And this is for Maddie...

And this is for a friend's baby in this country, and was the initial inspiration for these three...

Greetings:  Computer-generated (of course)
Stamp: Penny Black 'Santa's Hat' - Ref: 4283K
Colouring: Koh-I-Noor Progresso pencils, blending stumps with Zest-It
Extras: Glossy Accents and glitter on the fur, and Christmas Red Stickles on the hat.

Christmas Card 2009

Thought it was time I posted something vaguely crafty! This is my main Christmas card for 2009, and I made thirty of them (all slightly different) a couple of weekends ago. Have been waiting for an opportunity to take photos in daylight, but have given up waiting, lol! ;o)

For colouring the mouse, I've used Koh-i-Noor pencils with Zest-It and paper stumps for blending. In the past, I have always avoided using rubberstamped images that need colouring because I'm rubbish at it! A five year old can manage it without any difficulty, but I can't! lol ;o) However, I took Elizabeth's recommendations about these special pencils (that's Elizabeth from Elzybells), and they make it all so easy and quick, and it looks great! Who needs Copics, Pro-Markers and Prisma pencils when you've got a set of Koh-i-Noors?! I couldn't be happier with them. :o)

I used up some A6 card blanks from Madaboutcards.com, using Great Impressions Pine Twig stamp with a Kaleidolcolor inkpad for a graduated effect as the base for the decorative corner, then a Woodware holly punch, with Marth Stewart Pine Branches, ribbon (or twine) bow, a McGill snowflake with a gem to finish it off. The greeting is an SU stamp, and the main image is (of course) Penny Black's Xmouse Ornament, coloured with Koh-i-Noors and blended with Zest-It & stumps, a dab of glitter on the snowflake, then matted and layered onto white card.

Carol's Sketch Fun #15 and Penny Black Saturday Challenge #69: 'Autumn Breezes'

This is for two challenges. Actually current ones! I was determined to enter something ON TIME, for once! lol

I haven't done anything on the Penny Black challenge for probably a year, and I love this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, so it was a delight to enter their current challenge, which is:

AUTUMN BREEZES

And of course, the card layout is for Carol's Sketch Fun #15, here on the left. Great sketch! I loved using it.

I've used Penny Black's Xmouse Ornament stamp. Am loving that little mouse, and think I will get lots of use from him.. with ~ or without ~ his snowflake! ;o)

The leaf is from the PSX stamp I used for the border, watercoloured, as is the mouse, along with Distress Inks for the shading around the edges.

Bazzill cardstock, raffia, autumn leaf brads and punchies and a copper word embellishment, "Wish". The leaf is also touched with Decoart glamour dust.

Party Mouse..

For my sister-in-law, who handed in her phd thesis at Dublin Uni last Friday, after working on it for four years. I understand there were some sore heads last Saturday morning! ;o)

How well do you know your stamps? Recognise which one this mouse is from?

EDIT: Well, Kath guessed it is a Penny Black, so that narrows it down a bit. Here are a couple more clues: Take off the doodling, change the angle and consider what might be missing from the picture? Think Christmas!
Yayyy! Well done, Leah! :o) He should indeed be hanging from a snowflake! :o) Happy Xmouse!

Bazzill CS, Doodlebug rub-on lettering, opaque white embossing powder, and star brads by Making Memories.

Calling all eco-queens...

Stamped images that have to be coloured in rarely make it onto my cards because I am so rubbish with a paintbrush/marker pen! But having lost both breasts to cancer (and having a sense of humour about it), I have wanted to do something with this image for YONKS! But didn't have the stamp. I mentioned this in a comment on someone's blog a while ago, and before I could blink, an envelope plopped through my letterbox containing some lovely stamped images!! How lovely!! :o)

Would love to give credit to this person, but my thanks have to remain private at the request of the person concerned who prefers to be anonymous. She knows I am grateful. :o)

I hope you like the card.. I think it's perfect for anyone undergoing a mastectomy, or even breast augmentation (minus the breast cancer ribbon, of course!) Feel free to copy it (for personal use) if you know someone who is facing that kind of trial and could do with sending a smile. (Click on the pic below for a larger image if you struggle ~ like me! ~ to read the writing.)

BG Euphoria paper again, and the image is, I believe, Penny Black.

Branching out...

Something a little bit different to my usual style. This has been created for a charity I deal with on a regular basis through my work. They invited me to attend a celebration they are having soon to celebrate their 15th anniversary, but I can't go, sadly, so decided to make them a card instead.


Basically, it's a bare branch stamp (Penny Black, I think), stamped on high white CS in Dark Brown Chalk Eyes, then cut out. I used a birch leaf punch to make leaves out of green DP, which I shaped and embossed.. inked the edges with Versacolor Olive, then glittered with Craft Planet irridescent glitter glue. Each one was stuck individually to the ends of each twig, and where there was room to put a sticky pad between them to create different levels, I have.

By hand, I drew the squiggly square around the card using a fine tip fibre pen, and then stuck the branch down loosely on sticky pads so that it's secure, but has movement. I created the 15 using Wordart, cut them out, inked the edges, glittered the surface and stuck in place.

Computer-generated letters for the name of the charity at the top, and stamped 'Congratulations'. Three square gold brads complete the card.

Not happy with the balance, and feel it needs more, but didn't want to go overboard, as this is for a professional contact. Prettier in real life with the 3D quiver on the leaves. Hope they like it!

Card for Sammi's Blog Candy + Two Challenges...

This card was made for Sammi's blog candy challenge to "make a 'Celebration' card which includes the colour purple and some form of sparkles".
Well, I hope you can see that I've included some purple (!), but ~ as usual ~ it's hard to capture sparkles on camera. They are there, though! The parcels have some Stickles on, as does the icing on the cupcake.. the rosebuds and the insect wings have been painted with glitter glue.

The card layout is based on Laura's sketch #6 from last week on the 2Sketches4You challenge blog. More evidence that I'm having trouble keeping up with the card challenges at the moment!

Ooh!! Have just realised that this also qualifies for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge, to create a card using ribbon, with at least one Penny Black rubberstamp!! :o)

Most of the materials used will be easily recognised, but if you would like to know about any of the items, please feel free to ask in a comment or by email.

Yayyy.. a Crafty Post!

It's an old one, I'm afraid, and borne of desperation. My mojo's gone on his hols. I am just hoping that it's not a gap year like last time.

This one was made for one of my girl's ex-bf's birthday. They had been on a trip to NY, and ~ following my teaching them about baseball ~ they went to a Mets game...

I am submitting this as my entry into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge which requires 'No Pink'. I think this qualifies!

Oh.. the stars are not black.. they're silver. (It's an old photo, too... sigh)

Funky Little Christmas...

Three very simple cards using just one of the themes on the lovely 'Funky Little Christmas' download from Funky Hand. The cards virtually made themselves! Aren't those toppers fab? (Also on the download! Even the doodling is done for you!) I love these, and they are just the tip of the iceberg. Plenty more where these came from, when I have a little more time on my hands.

While I am here, I need to thank my Funky Hand DT mate, Ruth of Tip Top Toppers' fame. What a kind, thoughtful person she is.. All the other girls were cracking on with their designs, and I was bewhinging on our DT blog about running out of ink, and couldn't afford to get any more just yet, so she printed off a whole sheaf of papers from the downloads for me, so I wouldn't be left out and sent it to me as a surprise! What a sweetie!! :o)



Papers (incl. trees & toppers): Funky Hand 'Funky Little Christmas' download
Snowflakes: Kaleidopunch (Amethyst & Citrine)
Christmas verse stamp: Penny Black
Snowflake stamp: From a cube of four snowflake stamps.. can't remember whose! Sorry!
Glitter glue: Stickles Crystal
Embossing: Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, swiped with white Versamagic to pick out the dots.

Card for Katharina..

This card was made in response to an irresistable Guest Designer Call for the 'Whiff of Joy' stamp producer, Katharina. I'm sorry I missed the original DT call, but the team she has chosen are exemplary! To find links to their blogs, and Katharina's own inspirational site, follow the link HERE which will take you to her 'Guest designer Call' post, and you can explore from there.

You have to make a card to Katharina's cool sketch (on the right), and the call is open until 30th July, so there is time to get your entry in if you fancy your chances! :o)

CS: Bazzill

DP: HOTP

Stamps: Penny Black ~ 'Lace Flower' 3140H

Hero Arts ~ 'Graceful Leaves' F4321

Autumn Leaves ~ Rhonna Farrer's 'Elegant Flourishes'

MSE ~ 'Thank You'

Everything else from stash

Black Prince...

This card was made to Kazan's beautiful sketch this week from 2Sketches4You (see left), but also meets the criteria for this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge which calls for a 'snow' theme, using at least one PB stamp. The stamp I used is 'Prance'.

Black cardstock was 'Cuttlebugged' with the Swiss Dots folder, and 'distressed' with Cotton White Staz-on, a white gel pen and Versamagic. I tipped fine white Art Institute glitter onto the surface of the ink while the Prance image was still wet.
Silver thread wrapped around to echo the white distress lines.
Snowflakes cut with two different Kaleidopunches.. Amethyst and Citrine. Also added a snowflake brad from stash, and some faux gems.
Frame around stamped image hand-drawn and cut.
Making Memories 'Heidi' alphabet rub-ons

Clearly Purple...

This one is for the current sketch challenge on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog. I tried to stick to the sketch pretty rigidly, but one of the panels didn't work, so I just left it out. The acetate dragonfly (similar to the butterfly I made for my 50th birthday card in the slideshow above) is a double layer, with two pairs of wings.

Acetate 'card' has been glittered around the edges with transluscent Ixie Dust (that is not a typo! ;o)

Background paper was made using the 'Lace Flower' stamp from Penny Black, firstly using Versamark & clear embossing resist technique, then overstamped in Ultramarine Staz-on. The stamp was also used on the acetate using Cotton White opaque Staz-on.

The vellum panel was Cuttlebugged with the Fantasy Flower embossing folder.

Draonfly stamp is from Elzybells.

Brads and silver thread from stash.

Buttons & Bows Ballerina...

For this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge, which called for the use of brads and/or buttons.


Papers: Laura Ashley paper & Bazzill cardstock, Cuttlebugged with the Birds & Swirls folder
Stamp: Penny Black (of course!)
Scallops achieved using edge of Fiskars shapecutter template
White doodle dots by Sakura Soufflé pen
Buttons, brads, lace and padded star embellishment from stash

Penny Black Challenge #3

This card is also 'one I made earlier' for a friend who had just found a nest of baby hedgelings in her garden. (Was made for Carol, Funky Hand design team mate. See her blog for pics of the hoglets, and some awesome cards, to boot!)

The only hedgie stamp I had was this Penny Black 'Xmas Kiss'. Hedgie is holding some holly on the stamp, so had to conceal that somehow! By co-incidence, it matches the colours required for this week's challenge on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog... pink, brown and green! hehe :o)

Papers: From the Shabby Saturday download, available on the Funky Hand web-site, HERE.
Stamp: 'Xmas Kiss' from Penny Black; 'Elegant Flourishes' from Rhonna Farrer. Coloured using Prismacolor pencils, with Zest-It blending solution and stumps.
Scalloped mount created using Fiskars scalloped-edge scissors
Ribbon and brads from stash

First Penny Black Stamp..

Have dug through all my stamps to segregate the Penny Blacks, and - shockingly - there are very few of them, considering how much I love the Penny Blacks! And I can't recall for the life of me which one came first, so I am going to cheat. Yes.. again!! And once again, as this is catch up time, I don't feel too guilty about it.

So.. with apologies to those who've already seen this.. this is my submission for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge #1.

Papers: The papers and letters are all from the V. Funky CD from Funky Hand.
Stamp: 'Baby Kitty' from Penny Black.
Glitter glue, Glossy Accents, stars, brads, ribbon and fibres from stash.

The Fragrance of Roses..

This card is a couple of months old now, but that's OK, as I am submitting it late anyway for last week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge! lol ;o)