I'm Running With Scissors this Morning!!

Once again, I've found my way onto the Penny Black Blog where they let me run with my scissors.  This time it's all about Friends and Family.  To see what I've been up to, click here.
 

 
And here is Pampered Mimi, being happy in her bubble bath!!

 
I love when you stop by and I hope to see you on the Penny Black blog today

Oscar by Penny Black

Well, we are home from Atlanta!  A short but sweet visit with family.  We filled the two days with good food, family, and baby cuddles. 



51-046 Fresh Breeze;  40-306  Oscar
 

This is Oscar, a new Slapstick stamp set by Penny Black.  I love having some guy images for birthday cards.  I've added ferns from the Penny Black Creative Die Fresh Breeze just to give the card more texture and some visual interest.

The trip to and from Atlanta was the smoothest ever!  There is no direct route from Huntsville to Atlanta and we have tried a dozen different ways.  This route was a keeper; and it helped that we began each trip at 4:00 am!  Great time to be on the road.
 

 
And here are the three youngest grandkids:  Evelyn, Lauren and Andrew.  Evie just adored her cousins and it was hard for this Grandma to win her away for some cuddle time.
 
Thanks for dropping by!! 

Dainty by Penny Black

Who doesn't love gingham?  And gingham with tulips?  Perfect!

 

51-043 Dainty  51-050  Sweet Things  30-243  Amazing



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tulips are made with Penny Black's creative die Dainty.  I've added some dimension to two of the flowers by drawing an extra petal freehand and attaching it to the diecut.  I've also use the creative die set Sweet Things to create the tiny leaves at the base of the petals on two of the tulips.  Just adds a little interest, I think.  Thanks to Birgit for the inspiration!  See her awesome card here.

I am trying to be more about sending out the cards I make rather than collecting the cards I make.  This card is on its way to a friend from church who has been dealing with some health issues but never seems to slow down!  Friends called to check on her last week and she said she was a bit tired ...from her exercise class!!  Amazing, indeed .. she is 84 years old.

This is scheduled to post on Monday, Memorial Day.  It is the day to honor those service people who have given their lives in the service of our country.  How amazing is it that young people are willing to fight for freedom for all of us .. knowing that they could lose their life doing it. 

I think of the Gold Star mothers who have lost their son or daughter and live with that loss every day.  How proud they can be of that child; and how profound is that loss.

My flag is flying to honor those heroes and their families.

 

Hooray!

I'm having fun at the Penny Black blog today!  Would love to see you there.

But before you leave, enjoy this happy card.



Love how easy it is to color the candles with a water based marker!  Color, huff and stamp.  The sentiment is three layers of the Hooray diecut, glued onto a strip of vellum.  I find that the easiest way to attach vellum is with a few stitches on the sewing machine.

This card would brighten the birthday of anyone ... guy or gal.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!  See you on the Penny Black blog!



Dotted Fusion Background

Penny Black's new release Sunny Stamping includes some great masculine images, but it's not all about the guys!!  I love this new background stamp called Dotted Fusion.  I predict I will be reaching for it a lot.

40-278 Dotted Fusion;  30-243  Amazing

I white embossed the image onto patterned paper and then went over it with Distress inks.  I then embossed the flower image and sentiment with black VersaFine ink and clear embossing powder.  I love the way the background doesn't need much help to be the focus of the card.

Today I start in the kitchen making goodies to take to Atlanta this weekend.  I hope your holiday weekend includes some fun times with friends and family .. and some time to reflect on the men and women who served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice.  My flag is flying proudly today.  My extended family included a Gold Star Mother who proudly rode in the annual Memorial Day parade in honor of her son.

See you tomorrow on the Penny Black blog where I will be running with my scissors!!

Lost Without You

30-248  Lost Without You

Penny Black's latest release Sunny Stamping includes images for making masculine cards.   Hooray!!  The Transparent set Lost Without You will make Father's Day cards easy peasy!




For this card, I used a thin sheet of green cork for my card base and everything but the suit jacket was stamped on cork.  I like how the texture adds to the "guyness" of the card.

It's hard to believe we are in the last days of May.  I've always felt that May was our reward for all of the dreary and brutal days of winter. 

 

Thanks so much for your visit ... I am back to house cleaning mode which happens every time we plan to be away.  Love coming home to a clean house!! 

 

 

 

Its the Season!

Lots of graduations taking place lately.  I put this card together using only Creative Dies from Penny Black.  Not a stamp in sight!

51-029 Interlocking; 51-038 Hooray; 51-002 Leaves

I used the Interlocking die to create the patterned background out of cork "paper" and placed it onto a red card base.  A strip of kraft paper is the base for the Congrats die cut.  I love that font!!  I tied a twine bow around the stem of the elements from the Leaves Creative Die set.  And just for fun, I added the two white stars.

With a family our size, you can be sure I have listened to (endured) MANY graduation speeches!  The only one that has remained in my head is the woman who spoke ENDLESSLY at my son's Law School commencement of her own achievements over the decades!  I could see my son plotting his escape but caught his eye at the last minute and stared him into his seat!!

My brother video-taped the speech at his wife's advanced nursing degree commencement .. wonder how many times they have watched it?? 

Anyway, I firmly believe commencement speeches should be brief, should be humorous, and should be about the graduates, not the speaker!! 

A graduation from any program deserves congratulations and celebrations!!  The graduate has worked hard and persevered and sacrificed to claim the title "graduate"!

Life is good here in Alabama.  The weather has been perfect this week after a weekend of needed rain.  We are preparing for a weekend trip to Atlanta to visit the Atlanta family who is hosting the Wisconsin family for the holiday.  This means time with Lauren, Andrew and baby Evie as well as their parents.  I am cooking some family favorites to take along and look forward to serious family time!!

So good to spend time with you, too!!

Live, Laugh, Love

Live, laugh and love:  a great way to experience life! I am fortunate to be retired from the work world and have the gift of leisure time to spend doing what I love ... stamping and playing with my crafty "stuff".

 

30-225 Petal Power;  51-029 Interlocking;  30-162 Eloquence

 

This time I chose to use a transparent set by Penny Black from the "Bloom" collection called Petal Power.  This set includes solid flowers as well as outline flowers.  I stamped the flowers and sentiment with Luxe ink Teal Zeal and the leaves with Distress ink.  The background is a diecut using Penny Black's Creative Die Interlocking placed over white cardstock.  I love the huge collection of flower stamps available from Penny Black!

 

I thought of my stamping/blogging friend Lin Brandyberry when I designed this card.  She uses flowers and the color blue to perfection!

 

I do love the sentiment.  Nowhere does it mention "clean house", "do laundry", "cook meals".  Perhaps that all falls in the category of "Live Fully"!

 

I want to spend more time with this set as there are other flowers that will be fun to work with.  But for now, the mop and bucket are beckoning and my ingrained work ethic is saying "work before play".  Perhaps I need to take this sentiment as my mantra and make it powerful enough to block out mops and buckets!!

 

Have great day ... whether it's working or playing!!

Polka-Dot Sprig by Penny Black

4304H Polka-Dot Sprig;  30-162 Eloquence

This is another of my favorite Penny Black woodblock stamps.  It is called Polka-dot Sprig.
  
I created the background by watercoloring with several colors of distress inks.  Then I stamped the image twice using VersaFine black ink.  I overstamped with Delicata Gold ink,  After carefully drying with a heat gun, I then stamped with VersaMark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  I added the sentiment and a few sequins and used a white pen to create faux stitching.

There are some stamps that become classics and I think "element" type images are in that category.

I am having a lovely day but trying to shake off the disappointment of seeing one of my favorites get voted off "Dancing with the Stars" last night!!  I strongly felt that there were others who did not qualify to be in the finals!!  I keep telling myself it is just a tv show, but Charlie White should be in the finals!! 

Be sure to revisit some of your favorite stamps .. stamps need loving, too!

Berry Tree by Penny Black

Hello!!  Hope all the mothers had a day that made them feel very special!!  We were privileged to have a barbecue luncheon with dear friends who have become family.  We topped it off by going out to dinner at my favorite place for Chinese food.  Oh yes, and while dh mowed the lawn, I took a trip to Michael's just to browse and pick up a few "necessities"!

There was time for stamping, too!



4342K Berry Tree  30-162 Eloquence
 

I've been going through my collection of Penny Black stamps lately, especially the wood block stamps.  I understand the convenience and economy of cling stamps, but my wood block stamps feel like old friends. 
I love the Tiffany blue and tan combo, brightened up with a cheerful ribbon pinched with twine.  This was an easy card to make once I thought of blue accents.

The image is stamped with VersaFine black onyx ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder.    "Element" stamps such as these are so versatile and can be adapted to any occasion.

I hope your Monday is going well!!  Beautiful May is in full bloom here.  The grass hasn't turned crispy from too much sun yet and the Knock Out roses are in full bloom.  Be sure to take some time for yourself today. 

Penny Black Website Wonder Winnder!

 The winner of Penny Black's Website Wonder contest is featured on the Penny Black blog today.



 

 

Congratulations to Swarup Murthy, an amazing watercolor artist who also goes by the name Sanketi.  You can see the full reveal of this card on Penny Black's blog today.  And for more of her amazing work, visit her blog here.

Honestly, I gasped when I saw this beautiful card and was inspired to try my hand at sunflowers and watercolors. 



I used Penny Black's sunflower image from the transparent set Sunny Hello.  I used distress inks and a water brush.  The added leaves are from the Petal Power set, stamped with distress ink.  My style, I noticed, is much more careful and limited than Swarup's confident, flowing, transparent layering of colors!  I did manage to splash a few dots of color from my brush in a burst out of the box!!

My sentiment is a diecut from Penny Black's creative die set Hooray, painted with glossy accents.

Indeed, hooray for this very talented winner!!  Be sure to visit Penny Black's blog for the official announcement!

Garden Blooms by Penny Black

Mother's Day is this Sunday and flowers are a part of the celebration!

30-215 Garden Blooms;  40-310 Star Ivy

This delightful flower arrangement is an image included in the transparent Penny Black set "Garden Blooms".  I stamped and embossed the image on some deliciously smooth cardstock and then colored with Copics.  The really smooth coating on the cardstock allowed time to move the colors around until I was satisfied with the look.

I matted the smaller rectangle with cardstock on which I stamped the slapstick background stamp "Star Ivy".  The final matt was polka dotted patterned paper.  A pretty green bow and a few sequins finish the card. 

I am entering this card in the Simon Says challenge this week that is featuring Penny Black flower stamps.

This card will be given to a lovely woman who is not old enough to be my mother, but who has taken us into her family with motherly love! 

My wish is that all mothers everywhere are honored and spoiled this weekend.  And it is a time for all mothers to reflect on the privilege of being a Mom!! 

Thank you for stopping by!!  Enjoy the weekend, however you choose.

You Are My Sunshine

Deborah Nolan hosts a Card Chain Challenge every month and I love taking part.  Deborah always offers several options  in order to make it as welcoming as possible.  I chose to include an umbrella, used the three color combo and made a card with a friendship theme.  Since Deborah has posted all the cards here, I am free to share the card I sent to Helen in Ohio:

40-303 Sunshine

I used the Penny Black slapstick stamp Sunshine to make this cutie patootie.  I colored her with Copics and paper pieced her umbrella lining and her boots.  I'd happily walk through puddles with this little one!!

Deborah is always seeking more entrants to her Card Chain Challenge.  There are states and countries that have never been represented and you can check that out here.

Our April showers (and tornadoes) are behind us now and we are enjoying green grass, trees and blooming rose bushes!!  Hope you have put winter and gloom behind you, too!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Backgrounds in Bloom

40-283 Floral Tapestry;  30-162 Eloquence;  51-035 Dots and Swirls

This week on the Penny Black blog the designers are featuring projects using some of the new backgrounds from the latest release, Bloom. I have my own favorite from this release and here's what I did with it.

 

This background stamp is called "Floral Tapestry" and it can take on different personalities depending on the color of ink used with it.  I chose a delicate pink and white theme this time.

 

I stamped the background on only three quarters of the card leaving some white space for sequins.  I used the Dots and Swirls die to create a swirly strip covering the "seam".  I stamped the sentiment in VersaFine Smokey Grey ink, to keep things delicate.  The dragon fly is stepping in for the little butterfly die that I can't find anywhere!!  I am thinking his curvy graceful lines are in tune with the delicate theme so it all works out!

 

The Bloom release is full of beautiful florals, background stamps and Creative Dies, just in time to welcome Spring. 

 

After some terrifying storms, we are enjoying lovely Spring days and the Knock Out rose bushes are in full bloom already!  Hope you are enjoying lovely weather and some time to spend crafting!