Penny Black and the CCC

This is the card I sent to Linda Wetterlin by way of Deborah Nolan's Card Chain Challenge.  Deborah is doing the big reveal on her blog today so it's time for me to share the card with you!


I used Penny Black's transparent sets Heart Swatches and From the Heart.  The card is finished with a banner diecut and an embossed background.  I love the look of crisp red and white!  And a touch of red and white gingham ... perfect!!  Those stamp sets made making a Valentine easy peasy.

I do appreciate your stopping by my blog ... I love sharing what I've been up to lately  ...

Speaking of what I've been up to ..... Be sure to stop by tomorrow for a very happy announcement!!  No, no, no ... I can't tell you today ... I promised!

Tutu Sweet by Penny Black

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Mo Manning creates such delightful people images!! This sweetie is from a Penny Black set called "Tutu Sweet". And she is!!

I've colored her with Copics and added Glossy Accents dusted with glitter to her tutu. Her spare pair of ballet slippers is hanging nearby ... just in case!

My Atlanta family has come through this dreadful snowstorm safe and sound. My grandkids arrived home from School only one hour later than usual. My daughter in law spent 5 hours in her car but was one of the fortunate ones to make it home at all Tuesday evening. Grandson Andrew made the best of a very bad situation by getting the sleds out of the garage and sharing them with neighbor kids. And to think they almost got left behind in Michigan when they moved south!

Our deep freeze is scheduled to be gone tomorrow!! Life is good. Thanks for stopping by!!

Roses by Penny Black

Once upon a time on one of the home decorating shows I love to watch on TV, a designer said "every good design should include a touch of black". After I made this very pink card, I added the touches of black and knew it was a good idea!

I began by stamping six rows of Penny Black's Rose Edging stamp on my white cardstock. I then added a layer of vellum that came embossed with tiny roses. Love the texture it added. I sewed the three layers together and then stamped my sentiment from Penny Black's From the Heart set.

I don't know of another flower die that has the intricate detail that this Rose die from Penny Black has!! I cut three layers and stacked them and let the last layer of leaves remain free of glue. I like the dimension that adds.

For balance, I added the little black dots and then sat back and pondered ... it needed something else. That little wooden heart was on my desk, just waiting to be colored and glued into place. Just right!

Making Valentines has been a distraction from the severe cold we are experiencing. As I look out my window, I see a dusting of snow on my neighbors' roofs. A snow storm is expected south of us later today. Imagine!! Southern Alabama and Georgia closing schools due to snow!!

Stay warm and thanks for stopping by!!

Valentine Dance by Penny Black

Edited to add:  Winner of the prize for commenting on my Hero Arts Blog Hop post is MagsB.  I have emailed you.  Thank you everyone for the kind comments.

I used Penny Black's slapstick/cling stamp "Valentine Dance" to make this card. I stamped and embossed the butterflies and then I wanted bold color a'la Jill foster! Well my Festive Berries distress ink was not giving me the thick layer of color I wanted .. and just then I noticed a tiny spot of embossing powder that hadn't melted. I grabbed the heat gun and zapped that spot and then just to be sure, heated up the entire image.

Well, when I applied the distress ink to that very warm surface, it was magical! The ink spread like warm butter! And I got the deep color I was hoping for. So, there's a little hint; apply Distress ink to a heated surface and see what happens!

I'm busy making Valentines for the family. I'm thinking if I take the bow off of this one, it can go to one of the guys in my family. Or maybe guys make an exception for bows when it is Valentine's day!!!

Have a great weekend. We are still colder than we should be here in Alabama. Great stamping weather!! Thanks for your visit today .. I love company.

Hero Arts 2014 Catalog Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the Hero Arts Hostess Hop, featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2014 release!  I've had fun playing with some of the new stamps and I'm excited to share what I've done.  If you’ve been following along, you’ve just arrived from the amazing and lovely Barb's blog.

• Hero Arts will be awarding prizes from randomly drawn comments. For a chance to win, simply comment on ANY of the stops along the hop on ANY day, including each day’s starting post at the Hero Club Blog. The more comments you leave, the better your chance of winning!

• If you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the Hero Arts Club Blog. Also, please report broken links to: blog@heroarts.com. 

CL756 Owl Be Missing You

 

The images in this clear set, Owl Be Missing You,  are easily colored or paper pieced.  I have paper pieced the moose, and added some Copic coloring.

 

CL755 OWH lil Hoot

This time I colored the bears with Copics.  The squiggly frame is a sticker and I punched out a couple of clouds for interest.  These Operation Write Home stamp sets are perfect for grandparents, too!

CL755 OWH Lil Hoot  S5881 Tiny Flags

Can you tell I love doing "cute"?  I cut the elephant image out and popped it onto a fancy circle diecut, which was then mounted onto a book mark, giving the child who receives this something to keep close.  My favorite part of the card is the Tiny Flags background!  On this card I've stamped it in grey, but I've discovered it is the most versatile background stamp ever; all colors and all styles work with this stamp.

S5881 Tiny Flags  CL750 Butterfly and Flowers  K5897 Petals of Beauty

See what I mean about that Tiny Flag background stamp?  Here I've used it behind the fabulous Petals of Beauty woodblock stamp.  That's just one inkpad, one color on the flower; the stamp provides the shading.

CL750 Butterfly and Flowers

The Butterfly and Flower clear set will be one I reach for often!  It includes the sentiment and most fun of all, the tiny butterfly stamp.  There are other flower and butterfly images as well.  I am loving the squiggly sticker frames; wish I had more of them!

Thanks for hanging around for this long post!!  To thank you, I will have a little prize for one commenter, drawn at random. 

Click on the captions under each photo to take you to shopping information.

Your next stop on the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop is Lin's blog, Sending Hugs.  I know Lin will inspire and amaze you with her lovely work.

Watching Evie Grow!

This sweetie pie is 7 months old today!! 

 

 

 

A card I made using two of my favorite stamps in the new 2014 Hero Arts catalog.  The background is Tiny Flags and the floral image is Petals of Beauty.  I love that flower stamp; the shading is built into the rubber and it stamps beautifully any time, any color!

Be sure to join us Monday when the Hero Hostess alumnae start their week-long blog hop.  Hero Arts will be offering prizes to random commentators.  You can be sure there will be inspiration and a smile or two!!

See you on Monday!!

Hero Arts Coming Attraction

 

The Hero Arts Hostess Alumnae group will be doing a Blog Hop next week, featuring stamps from the Hero Arts 2014 Catalog.  Each day there will be five blogs to visit where you can be inspired by the Hero Hostesses.  And because it is Hero Arts, there will be prizes!!  

 

 

I had fun making this card using Hero Arts' Operation Write Home clear set "Li'l Hoot".  I colored the bears with Copics and used a die cut circle and banner to mount them on the background stamped with Hero Arts' woodblock stamp, Tiny Flags.

 

I hope you will join the Hero Hosti's next week for the blog hop.  There's going to be inspiration at every stop!  We are all looking forward to seeing you.

Amour by Penny Black

I stamped and fussy cut the bunny image from Penny Black's transparent set j'aime Pari. After coloring the bunnies with shades of gray, I rubbed them with Copic blender fluid on a terry cloth for some texture ..the squiggly frame is a sticker. I added the heart punch outs and a gingham ribbon. I love the fresh look of red and white!  I used embossed paper as the background.

 

I'm entering this card in the Sending Hugs Challenge that is going on at the Penny Black blog.  Click here for the details.

I am anticipating the month of February for what it brings:  Valentine's Day and warmer temperatures and longer days here in Alabama.  Like the rest of the country, we are experiencing extreme cold.  Tomorrow will be warmer and by Saturday, it will be 63 degrees!!

Thanks for your visit. 

Pure Innocence

 

Some wisdom for the first of the year!! We do, indeed, hold the key to our potential! This is a Pure Innocence image along with a Cuttlebug folder for the dry embossed background. I colored our Ms. Key Holder with Copics. I need some lessons on how to make fabric look like fabric!!

I will be entering this card in the challenge at Cas Ual Fridays where the theme is "In a Word". 

Hope you are having a good start to your new year. We are settling in to watch the Green Bay Packer game ... Go Pack!!

Thanks for your visit.