Mimi is the Teacher's Pet



Penny Black's woodblock stamp "Teacher's Pet" caught my eye this week, as many schools are celebrating Teacher Appreciation day.  I think Mimi is perfect to say "Thank You".

 

I pulled out my Creative Dies to make this background and the chat bubble.

 

4216H Teacher's Pet; 51-003 Chat Bubbles: 51-042 Petals; 30-230 Sunny Hello

Mimi is colored with Copics and fussy cut and mounted on the Petals diecut background.

4216H Teacher's Pet; 51-009 Dots; 51-032 Pennant;  51-003 Chap Bubbles;  30-230 Sunny Hello

Another Mimi colored with Copics and mounted on the Creative Die background Dots.  I added some pennants, and of course the chat bubble for the sentiment.

4216H Teacher's Pet; 30-230 Sunny Hello; 51-003 Chat Bubbles

Just another color combination, using my Copic markers.  I am liking the simplicity of this one.

4216H Teacher's Pet; 30-230 Sunny Hello; 51-003 Chat Bubble

I think this is my favorite!  I stamped Mimi directly to the circle and  paper pieced the hat and dress.  I kept this little card very simple and could easily have made multiples.  Anytime I can use red and white gingham ribbon, I am a happy stamper.

I am happy that a Teacher Appreciation day has been added to the school calendar.  However, every day should be a day to appreciate the teachers who have the responsibility of ensuring our children can read, write and do their math; along with everything else teachers are required to do!

We just experienced two days of severe storms with tornadoes touching down around us.  It's a scary experience, being at the mercy of the elements!  A week of pure sunshine ahead of us now.

Thanks for popping in!  Mimi and I love visitors!

It's a Running With Scissors Day!!

I'm doing the best I can to stay out of trouble on the Penny Black Blog today!  Just click here and see what I'm up to.

But before you go, take a peek at the card I sent to Evie for Easter..







 

 

This little Sweetie was colored with Copics and fussy cut.  This image is a slapstick stamp called "Bunny Kisses.  I added some diecut corner decoration and a few enamel dots.  It was sent with lots of love for Evie's first Easter.

Come see me "Run With Scissors".

School Colors Mimi

Mimi was still sitting on my desk when it occurred to me that this stamp is perfect for using your graduate's school colors!  Red and black were the colors for the school my kids graduated from.  Here's a tribute to Sauk Prairie High School in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin.

4264J Graduate Mimi;  51-042  Petals

I stamped and embossed the Penny Black Mimi image, colored it with Copics and then fussy cut it and placed it on the background cut from the Creative die "Interlocking" by Penny Black.   Since Mimi was an honor grad, I surrounded her with stars for a job well done!

This combination of stamp and die by Penny Black allows for endless color combinations to honor the graduates in your life. 

There are no graduations in our family this year ... but it won't be long.  The years go by so quickly and before we know it, Pomp and Circumstances will be our favorite song.

Lovely day here ... hope Spring has sprung where you live.  And for those down under, hope it's a lovely Fall day!!  Thanks for your visit!! 

Sunshine by Penny Black

It was a bright and sunny Easter day and as we were having a quiet Easter this year, I had time to play with Sunshine, a large woodblock stamp by Penny Black.

4235L  Sunshine;  30-159 Dahlias

This sunflower is a delight to color!!  Lots of room for shading.  And it would be a great image to paper piece, too.  I added the little black gems to keep your eye going all around the card.

4235L Sunshine;  51-029 Interlocking;  51-027 Triple Banner

This sunflower was fussy cut, mounted on a rectangle which was then attached to the die cut Interlocking by Penny Black.  The card base is black cardstock which shows through the Interlocking pattern.  Finally, the sentiment was created using the Triple Banner die.

Penny Black floral stamps are a joy to work with.  I love this sunflower because it is large enough to be the focal point of any project.  It looks great stamped directly onto the card front or fussy cut and layered with a textured background.

I know I haven't used up all the ideas I have for this sunflower! 

As I said earlier, our Easter Sunday was quiet.  We spent some part of the beautiful day outside and part of it indoors just "doing our thing".  There was a golf tournament on for dh; Cooper had a new toy from the Easter bunny and I was able to stamp.  Most of the kids called home and Evie visited by way of Skype. 

It must now officially be Spring!  The dogwoods are in full bloom here in Alabama.  I look forward to the Knock Out Roses blooming and the grass needing mowing!  Hope all your snow is melted and you, too, are enjoying sunshine!!  Thanks for stopping by!

A Lifetime of Happiness by Penny Black

Once again, I've made a wedding card with "Mimi's Big Day" by Penny Black, but this time I've featured the sentiment "Happiness" on the front of the card.

4249K  Mimi's Big Day; 4185F Happiness;  51-042 Petals
 

I think this image would be appropriate for anniversary cards, too.  No need to confine it just to weddings.  And the sentiment could be used for graduations, anniversaries and of course, weddings.

I stamped, embossed and colored with Copics the bride and groom image and then fussy cut it and mounted it onto a circle.  I created the background using Penny Black's creative die "Petals", attaching the diecut to a lavender card base.  Mimi has some jewels on her veil and the groom has some falling onto his top hat. 

The sentiment has been heat embossed onto a strip of vellum, which I sewed onto the card front.  If you choose not to sew, you can attach vellum with tiny drops of Glossy Accents.

Mimi's veil is sparkly with Wink of Stella, as is the groom's hat band.

Don't you love it when you can get more than one use from a stamp?? 

Getting ready for Easter here ... mostly wishing for warmth and sunshine.  Have a great weekend!

Mimi's Big Day by Penny Black

Now that she's graduated, Mimi is celebrating the next big step ... a wedding!!  

4249K Mimi's Big Day;  30-014 Salutations
 

I love this adorable image of Mimi and her love on their big day!  The image included confetti and tiny hearts raining down on the happy couple.  I decided that this would make a great shaker card.

I colored the image with Copics and then stitched a sheet of acrylic over it on three sides.  I then put a mix of sequins into that "pouch" and a couple of wooden shapes to provide space for the sequins to move about.  After stitching up the fourth side, I went around the edges with Washi tape and then stitched around the edges again for a decorative look.

Shaker cards are easy and fun to make using this method.  And the sequins don't get caught in the edges and become immobile.

I'm so glad to be revisiting some of the classic Penny Black stamps.  They remind me of why I fell in love with Penny Black!

Sunny, but not much warmer today.  A bride would be wearing a warm jacket if she were being married here today.  Even the beautiful blooming dogwood trees are shivering. 

Thanks for stopping by .. be sure to grab a piece of wedding cake before you go! 

Graduate Mimi by Penny Black

 I am going through my Penny Black collection to revisit favorite stamps and came across Graduate Miimi.  Graduation time is quickly approaching and I thought this stamp was timely, indeed.





4264J Graduate Mimi: 40-137 Brick Wall; 30-176 Sentimental; 51-027 Triple Banner

I stamped and embossed Mimi and colored her with Copics.  I then fussy cut the image and used dimensionals to attach her to the Brick Wall background.  I die cut the banner for the sentiment and punched out a few stars, for of course the graduate is the star of that big day!!

I wish the Wink of Stella showed up better on photos!  It adds just the right touch of twinkle to the pink stars.

It's a "turn the heat pump back on " kind of day here.  What is up with this weather??

Thanks for stopping by ... sorry you caught me in my pajamas!!

Penny Black Moody Monday

Well, it is a moody (and muddy) Monday today.  April showers and all that.  And how did I spend this day?  Challenging myself!  I've had this Penny Black stamp "Sparkle" for several years and after only one unsuccessful attempt at using it, put it back in the box.  Knowing that I still loved the image, I decided to spend some time working with it.

Sparkle 4183K    Love Expressions 51-025

For this card, I stamped the image in a very light colored Memento ink and then colored it.  I kept the stamp in front of me while I worked to reinforce where the lines on the stamp were as they tended to disappear with the light colored ink.  I then used a fine line black pen to draw in the petals.  I fussy cut the flower and mounted it on Penny Black's diecut "Interlocking, which was then placed over dotted patterned paper.  The sentiment is Penny Black's creative die "Love Expressions". 

Sparkle 4183K   Leaves 51-002

This is another venture into coloring with Copics and using a Penny Black diecut "Leaves" instead of the leaves that are included in the stamp.  A little patterned paper, and a little stitching and my latest favorite thing enamel brads.  I went to Michael's for enamel brads over the weekend and my bill was $50.00!!  How does that happen?

Sparkle  4183K   wishes  51-036  Leaves 51-002

Last, and not least, is my watercolored version.  I stamped the image with Distress ink, Brown Corduroy and used my Inktense colored pencils to watercolor the image.  The brown from the Distress ink blended a bit with my pink pencil, so I ended up with my own custom color!!  I highlighted the petals by going over the lines with the Inktense pencil.  Once again, I added a diecut from "Leaves" and a sentiment from " Wishes".

So there you have it!  Glad I didn't back down from the challenge. 

Thanks for stopping by on this moody Monday!  Why not take the challenge and pick up that stamp that has been neglected for awhile and see what happens!!

I'm not home today ... but you can find me at the Penny Black blog.

Thanks for stopping by!! 

I Have Retreated

I arrived home from the crafty retreat in Cincinnati on Monday evening and I am still trying to recover!  Many late nights (early mornings) in a row and long treks through airports have taken their toll! 

The craft room was filled with 38 amazingly creative and very hard working women, some of whom are in this photo:



Because I wasn't very good at being a part of the pyramid, this is how I spent my days:



I had an incredible time and it seemed surreal at the time and even more so now that I am home. 

Can't wait to do it all over again!!  I will share more next week when I've recovered.  Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Saturday!!

I'm not home today ... but you can find me at the Penny Black blog.

Thanks for stopping by!! 

New Memory Box Die

Oh, oh.  I don't remember the name of this new Memory Box die and it is packed for the trip to Cincinnati!  But I do know I love it and will enjoy using it. (Edited to add:  Joyful Bouquet).  Thanks, Sally.

 

The background is made of Distress inks blended with a blending tool.  I overstamped that background with a rain drop stamp and then added the diecut.  A little "hello" and a few enamel dots finish it all off.

 

Guess I should have written this post before I packed!!  If you need further info on the die and the rain drop stamp, let me know.  

 

 I'm all set to catch my plane tomorrow morning.  Imagine: four day with no responsibilities and friends to stamp with all day!

 

We had temperatures in the 80's yesterday.  Mother Nature seems to be trying to make up for the long cold winter.  Hope the warming trend is in your part of the country, too. 

 

I will be back Monday evening.  I will be Running with Scissors on the Penny Black blog on Saturday.  Hope to see you there!