Penny Black Fave Challenge

This week's challenge on the Penny Black Blog is to create a card using your favourite Penny Black stamp. Ha ha, asking me to choose my favourite Penny Black stamp is probably like asking a mother of 10 kids to choose her favourite child (only in mycase it's more like 100 "kids", LOL)... I just can't do it, I love all my Penny Black stamps! However, as I already had 3989K joyeux noel out for last week's Sketch challenge, I thought I'd use it to create this card.

As you can sprobably tell, I still haven't quite had my fill of creating Distress ink sunset backgrounds, LOL J
I started by die-cutting a piece of white cardstock with Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17, then holding the die in place around the card to create a frame, I masked off the top part of the image with scrap card, and sponged on Brushed Corduroy & Crushed Olive distress ink to create the ground. I then masked off the bottom part of the image, and starting in the centre, sponged Spiced Marmalade, followed by Mustard Seed, Dried Marigold & Barn Door distress inks. When the background was dry, I stamped 3989K joyeux noel with Versafine Onyx Black. I didn't quite like how the image just ended rather abruptly on the right side, so I added a little bit more "branch & berries" with a black Sharpie marker to extend the image to the edge of the frame. I also darkened portions of the image with the black marker to give it more definition. A little bit of Opalite Golden Mist ink was sponged over the top to give a slight shimmer (not really apparent in the photo), and gold & red Stickles added to the berries on the image.

I was still playing with my distress inks when I created this card. Creation details are similar to the above card, except I used Penny Black 3623K quite dandy for the image (which I stamped twice) and 3424D thinking... for the sentiment.

I had a few tags leftover after creating last week's Sketch Challenge which I didn't want to waste, so decided to create a Tag card (to make the tags, check out this post). To create the background, I first covered a piece of white cardstock with Tea Dye distress ink - I did this by just rubbing the inkpad directly onto the cardstock. However, I wasn't quite happy with the colour - it did not seem quite dark enough, so I went over it with Walnut Stain distress ink. I then inked Penny Black 1999L letter background with Walnut Stain distress ink, and stamped randomly over the background. I think the background was still fairly wet, so the letters merged into the background slightly, and are not very obvious in the photo. I then stamped the music background from Penny Black 30-009 clearly in love randomly over the background with Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink. I also edged the sides with gold ink. The finished background was  attached to a black card blank, and the tags mounted on with foam tape. "JOY" from Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

APE 20 Sneak Peek & BONUS!

It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me and I haven't had much of a chance to get online. Unfortunately, this upcoming week is going to be no different... The Craft & Sewing Show starts this Thursday, and runs till Sunday (27-30 Oct 2011) at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. If you're coming to the show, do pop by to the Dragonfly Crafts Stand (No 192) and say Hi!

Anyway, just a quick share... this past week, I've been working on a Valentine's Day Feature for Australian Papercraft Essentials magazine, featuring the super cute "Piece of my Heart" clear stamp set by Penny Black and gorgeous Echo Park Country Drive papers. Although I would love to show all the cards here, I think I'll get in trouble with my editor, LOL, so instead, here's a little sneak peek to whet your appetite. The full article will be in Issue 20 which comes out in January 2012.

30-042 Piece of my Heart

I had a few supplies left over after finishing the article, so as a BONUS, I have an extra card to card to share that won't be in the magazine. Hope you like it!

Supplies Used:
Penny Black 30-042 Piece of my Heart clear stamp set
Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders clear stamp set (greeting)
Echo Park Country Drive patterned papers
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Two
Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallop
Die-namics Fancy Flourish
TRIA Alcohol markers
1-1/2" & 1-3/8" circle punch & 2" scalloped circle punch

Penny Black Dusk Challenge

"I was really happy to have won last week's Penny Black Collage Challenge (see my card here). I do realise the winners are now picked at random, and not based on merit, but hey, a win is a win! I'll take what I can get, LOL" J

Anyway, as I have been working at a papercraft show (Picture to Page) all weekend, I didn't manage to get to make my Penny Black Dusk Challenge entry until the very last minute... Having had so much fun creating a sunrise/sunset background (see my previous post) for the Penny Black Inspire Card Challenge a few weeks ago, I really wanted to try my hand at it again, and see if I could improve my technique.

Snowdust At Dusk

For this card, I first diecut a piece of white cardstock using Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles. Keeping the die in place around the cardstock to create a frame, I masked off the portions of the card, and sponged on Forest Moss & Crushed Olive distress ink for the green "hill" and Antique Linen & Brushed Corduroy distress ink for the brown "hill". I then masked off the two hills with scrap card, and starting in the middle to create the sunset, I applied Spiced Marmalade distress ink with a dauber to create the sun, then applied Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Fired Brick & Faded Jeans distress ink around it with an ink blending tool to form the sunset. When the background was finished, I stamped Penny Black 4102K snowdust with Versafine Onyx Black. I added a few more dots to the image with a black Sharpie fine point marker, then decorated with various colours of Stickles glitter glue.

I am also entering this card in the Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge, as it falls within the Challenge Guidelines. (To see my previous two entries, click here and here).

Inclinations At Dusk

This second card was simpler than the first. After diecutting the white card stock, I simple sponged on Distress Inks in bands across the cardstock - no masking required. Then I stamped Penny Black 3984K inclinations with Versafine Onyx Black, and decorated with various colours of Stickles glitter glue. Die-namics Fancy Flourish diecuts were stuck to the card with Glossy Accents, and Thinking of You (made by Hero Arts) was stamped and punched out with McGill Vintage Label Punch.

Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge 2

Here is the second card I created for the Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge  (to see my first card, click here).

To create this card, I diecut a piece of white card using Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles die. Keeping the die in place as a frame, I masked off the top part of the label and sponged the bottom with Scattered Straw & Antique Linen Distress ink. I then masked the bottom and sponged the top with Tumbled Glass & Broken China. I then stamped Penny Black 3997K majestic with Versafine Onyx Black, & dotted on some black Enamel accents and various colours of Stickles glitter glue & Liquid Pearls. The finished piece was attached to a blue card blank.

Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge

This is the first time I'm playing in the Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge. The October Challenge is to use this picture as inspiration (see below).
 

Here is my take on the challenge. To create this card, I first diecut a piece of white card using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17. Keeping the die in place as a frame, I masked off the top part of the label and sponged the bottom with Aged Mahogany & Fired Brick Distress ink. I then masked the bottom part and sponged the top with Mustard Seed & Scattered Straw. I then stamped Penny Black 3880K fantasy with Versafine Onyx Black. A few punched sakuras & rhinestones were attached, then various colours of Stickles glitter glue applied. The finished piece was attached to a red card blank.

Here is the inspiration picture:

Also entering this in the Lily Pad Cards Simon Says Stamp Bling Challenge.

World Cardmaking Day Penny Black Guest Designer Card Challenge

Would you believe it?? I didn't even realise that World Cardmaking Day was on Saturday the 1st of October 2011. Unfortunately it fell on the same day as the AFL (Australian Football League) Footy Grand Final here in Melbourne. Although I am by no means a mad keen footy supporter, but you can't live in Melbourne and be married to an Aussie bloke and ignore the Footy Grand Final!! Cardmaking didn't even enter my mind all weekend.

So it was only when Monday came around, and I was busy uploading my Penny Black Winter challenge entries that I realised that there was a Penny Black Guest Designer spot up for grabs for World Cardmaking Day! The dateline was midnight Sunday PST, which actually was Monday 6pm here in Melbourne (we are ahead by 18 hours). Either way, I had less than 3 hours to create, photograph & upload my *best* card! No small ask indeed!

It really was bit of a mad scramble for me to create a a few decent entries. I knew that in the given time limit they weren't going to be my best, but as they say "something's better than nothing".

As I already had my Distress inks and my Big Shot/Spellbinders dies out to make my Winter Card Challenge entries, I decided to quickly ink up a few backgrounds using the Spellbinders Labels 17 die. I rummaged through my stamp collection and grabbed a couple of stamps that I hadn't used in a while.

For this first card, I used Penny Black 4201K adorned tree  and stamped it with Versafine black. I debated between placing brads, rhinestones or buttons on the ornaments on the tree, but in the end decided to punch some sakura flowers from red cardstock and embellish them with small rhinestones. This was then stuck onto a red card blank, with a couple of yellow corners & faux stitching added. The leaves were decorated with 3 different clear stickles - Star Dust, Crystal & Diamond. I love using all 3 clear stickles together because they each have a different iridescence, as you might be able to see in the photo. The greeting is from PB30-013 critter party.

For this next card, I diecut white cardstock with Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles then sponged on Distress ink (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Shabby Shutters & Scattered Straw) to create the background. I then stamped Penny Black 4102K snow dust with Versafine black. I usually stamp this stamp in a horizontal/landscape fashion, but decided to try it vertically for a change. The greeting is from Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders clear set. The trees were then dotted with stickles and liquid pearls. I must say, I am quite happy with the result, considering I made this card in under 30minutes!

For this card, I tried to create a frame by using a smaller diecut of Spellbinders Labels 17 as a mask before sponging on the distress ink - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade & Barn Door. I then stamped the two little mice from Penny Black 30-020 hugs! in the middle using Memento black and coloured with TRIA markers. I chose the image because it was fairly quick & easy to colour. I stamped the flower portion of the image again, coloured it, cut it out  and attached it on with dimensional foam. The greeting is from Penny Black 30-028 micey day. I'm not sure if it is obvious in the photo, but I tried to add a bit of interest to the distressed portion of the frame by stamping the flower bouquet from Penny Black 30-066 eat cake randomly around the frame with Distress Spiced Marmalade ink. I then outlined the frame with a black marker to define the frame, and added stickles to the flower portion of the image. To be quite honest, I wasn't entirely happy with this card, and wished I had had a bit more time to work on it, but time was fast running out. Less than an hour to go before the dateline and I had to get my 3 cards photographed and uploaded!

After uploading the preceding cards, and with half an hour to go, I decided to quickly do one last card. I have to admit, this last card was a bit of a cheat... I already had an extra image (from Penny Black 30-066 eat cake) stamped, coloured & diecut for the the Penny Black Critter Challenge a couple of weeks ago and a few precut diecuts in my craft stash, so I quickly assembled this card from bits & pieces in under 15 minutes.

Penny Black Winter Card Challenge

I've had a busy start to the week and have only just gotten a chance to blog about the Penny Black Winter  Card Challenge. This challenge ran last week on the Penny Black Blog.

Supplies used:
Penny Black 4105J starlit
Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders
Penny Black 4117H the gift of peace
Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles
Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Faded Jeans
Versafine Onyx Black & Majestic Blue
Stickles & Liquid Pearls - various




This was the first card I made, and once I made one, I had so much fun that I had to make a few more. To start, I diecut a piece of white cardstock using Spellbinders Nestabilties Curved Rectangles die. Keeping the die in place to create a frame, I masked off the bottom part of the card, then sponged on Tumbled Glass distress ink on the top. I then stamped PB 4105J starlit randomly over the top using Versafine blue. I then masked off the top part of the image, and sponged Versamagic Aspen Mist chalk ink on the bottom part, then carefully inked the "winter wonders" part of the sentiment from the winter wonders set with Versafine black. Liquid pearls and stickles were dotted onto the trees, and extra clear stickles spread over the bottom for sparkle.

Penny Black Color Trio Card Challenge

For this week's Penny Black Card Challenge, the theme is to use a trio of colours: purple, green & cream. I chose to do a couple of simple cards in the challenge colours.

For the first card, I stamped Penny Black 4200K berry wreath using Encore Ultimate Metallic Honeydew ink onto cream cardstock. I then diecut it with Lifestyle Crafts Rounded Nesting Squares die, and matted that onto a slightly larger piece of purple cardstock. This was then attached with foam tape to another two mats diecut with Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Frame 4. I attached a purple bow on with glossy accents, then stuck a few rhinestones to the wreath, and decorated with a mix of stickles and liquid/dimensional pearls. The little greeting is from Penny Black 30-018 crystalline clear set, and is stamped with Brilliance Victorian Violet. All in all a fairly simple card, but I do love the slightly non-traditional Christmas colours.

Would you believe I've never made an Easel card before? Well, I decided to try it out for the next card, and actually found that they were surprising easy to do. Can't believe it took me until now to actually make one! For this card, I first diecut a piece of cream cardstock with Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17, then stamped it with Penny Black 40-083 twinkling using Honeydew ink. "Celebrate the Season" from Penny Black 30-086 let it snow was stamped with Encore Ultimate Metallic Purple. The tree was decorated with stickles and liquid/dimensional pearls. The completed image was then layered onto several layers of coloured card, then attached to a card blank, which had had the top piece folded in half.

The greeting on the inside was stamped with Penny Black 4116H a wonderful christmas using Brilliance Victorian Violet, and diecut with Nestabilities Curved Rectangles, before layering onto coloured cardstock. This was then was attached to the card with foam tape, which allows the front of the card to rest against it when the card it opened, forming the easel.

Supplies Used:
Penny Black 4200K berry wreath
Penny Black 30-018 crystalline clear set
Penny Black 40-083 twinkling
Penny Black 30-086 let it snow clear set
Penny Black 4116H a wonderful christmas
Penny Black 3878F simple scroll
Encore Ultimate Metallic Honeydew & Purple
Brilliance Victorian Violet
Lifestyle Crafts Rounded Nesting Squares & Nesting Frame 4
Spellbinder Nestabilities Labels 17 & Curved Rectangles
Stickles Glitter Glue
Liquid Pearls & Dimensional Pearls

CR84FN38 Colour Challenge

Guess, what?? I found another Challenge Blog CR84FN and decided to play for the first time in the CR84FN38 - Bright Pink, Black & Gray Color Challenge.

Supplies Used:
Stampendous CRW061 Cling Cupcake XL stamp
TPC Studio Cupcakes rubber cling stamps
Die-namics Fancy Flourish Die
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17& Curved Rectangles
TRIA alcohol markers

I love Cupcake stamps, and have quite a few of them, probably many more than I need, but I find them hard to resist - much like real-life cupcakes, LOL J. I've had this XL cupcake stamp from Stampendous for a while now, but haven't gotten round to using it so decided to get it out for the CR84FN38 Color Challenge. The great thing about cupcakes is that you can pretty much colour them any colour you like. I stamped the Cupcake with Memento Tuxedo Black, coloured in with TRIA alcohol markers, cut out and added a bit of stickles glitter glue. I stamped "You're the sweetest" from the TPC Studio Cupcakes set with Versafine Black, then diecut with a small Nestabilities Curved Rectangles die. The large background labels are Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17 (my current favourite - just love the beautiful curved shape of it), with the bottom corners trimmed off. The Flourish is diecut from light vellum using Die-namics Fancy Flourish die (it is so elegant & pretty - love it!) and attach with a small amount of Glossy Accents. A few rhinestones, a ribbon bow, punched flower and button, and all done!!

Hero Arts September 2011 Challenge

It's been a while since I played in the Hero Arts Card Challenge, but I decided to give it a go this month. The Challenge theme was Everything Autumn, or a Color Challenge based on autumnal colours. I had so much fun making backgrounds with distress inks in last weeks Penny Black "Inspire" Challenge that I decided to use the same technique, based around the Challenge colours.

To start, I diecut a piece of white cardstock using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Seventeen. I taped the die in place around the diecut with some removeable tape. I then masked off portions of the diecut with scrap card and sponged on various colous of distress inks to create the hilly landscape background. I then stamped the flowers from Hero Arts CL428 Earth Flowers with Versafine Onyx Black, and decorated with Stickles glitter glue. For the greeting, I stamped "JOY" from Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings on white cardstock, punched it out with a circle punch, then lightly distressed the edges with Brushed Corduroy. I layered this onto a scallop circle which I had stamped and fussy cut from Penny Black 30-086 let it snow, then layered this onto a 2" scallop circle punched from cardboard. A scallop border was diecut from cardboard using Die-namics Small Scallop Border Die, and dotted accents added with a white gel pen.

The second card was created in virtually the same way as the first, except I varied the distress ink colours slightly, stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia, added a few clear rhinestones along with the Stickles glitter glue to the flowers and layered the image onto an additional label diecut from cardboard. I also coloured the rhinestones with TRIA alcohol markers in order to match the colours. The greeting is from one of the Hero Arts Ink 'n' Stamp tub sets.



Supplies Used:

Hero Arts CL428 Earth Flowers
Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings
Penny Black 30-086 let it snow
Distress Inks - Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Brushed Corduroy, Aged Mahogany, Crushed Olive & Shabby Shutters
Versafine - Onyx Black & Vintage Sepia
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Seventeen
Stickles Glitter Glue - various
Rhinestones
Scallop circle, circle, oval & photo label Punches

Penny Black "Inspire" Card Challenge 2

Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I had so much fun making backgrounds for the Penny Black "Inspire" Card Challenge that I thought I'd share a few more of the cards I made. (For supplies list and detailed instructions, check out my previous post).

I was trying to create a sunrise/sunset background on this card, and was really quite happy with how it turned out. The greeting on this card from  Hero Arts LP221 Very Merry Christmas.

This card is pretty similar to my first two, except I used a mix of rhinestones and stickles glitter glue to decorate the tree. I also outline the "twinkle" greeting from Penny Black 30-086 "let it snow" clear set with black diamond stickles. 



Ha ha, I admit I went a little crazy with the colours on this one. Unfortunately as I was stamping the tree image, I slipped a little and ended up with a slightly smudged impression. To remedy that, I thickened the lines on the tree using a black marker to cover up the "smudgy" bits. The greeting is made by Stamp-It Australia.

Penny Black "Inspire" Card Challenge

This week on the Penny Black Blog, the card challenge is to create a card inspired by one of the Penny Black Designers. Cool! What an exciting challenge! I had quite a few ideas buzzing around in my head, but which one should I go with? Well... to start I decided to make a card inspired by Kathy Racoosin. I absolutely love how Kathy created the landscape background for her card. The gently rolling hills and blue sky are just so pretty. I really wanted to try my hand at creating this type of a landscape background, and had so much fun that I ended up making a whole bunch of them. I will post the first two completed cards here first, and perhaps the rest a bit later. (You can see them here).

Stamps Used:
Penny Black 40-083 twinkling

Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders clear set
Penny Black 30-086 let it snow clear set
Penny Black 30-018 crystalline clear set

Other Supplies Used:
Distress inks - various colours
Versafine Onyx Black ink
Inkssentials Ink blending tool & foam
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Seventeen & Labels Eight Die
Stickles glitter glue - various colours
Liquid Pearls - various colours

For the first card, I die cut a piece of white card using labels seventeen, then leaving the die in place to create a frame, I created the background by masking off parts of the image in turn and sponging on various colours of distress inks. (Kathy has excellent detailed instructions on how to do this in her blog post.) I then stamped the tree stamp (Penny Black 40-083 twinkling) with Versafine black and decorated with various colours of stickles and liquid pearls. I layered this onto a label diecut from cardboard, and then onto a dark green card blank. I then stamped the circular scalloped stamp from the "let it snow" set, and fussy cut around the circular scalloped image. I then stamped "just for you" from the "winter wonders" set, and punched it out with a circle punch. I layered this onto my cut circular scallop image, and then onto a circle scallop punched from cardboard.  

The second card was created in pretty much the same way, except I used the "merry christmas" greeting from the "crystalline" clear set, and tied some twine around the card before attaching the greeting on.

Penny Black Gold Card Challenge

"OMG!! I can't believe I won last week's Penny Black Nature Card Challenge. This is my first time winning a card challenge and I am absolutely thrilled! For details on my winning card, please check out this post." YMel

This week on the Penny Black Blog the card challenge was to create a card using a gold-red-cream colour combination.

Stamps Used:
Penny Black 3986J crystal wreath
Penny Black 3900H christmas flourish
Hero Arts CL343 Holiday Sayings (JOY)

Other Supplies Used:
Distress Inks - Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Fired Brick, Barn Door
Ink blending tools
Brilliance Rocket Red & Galaxy Gold
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight
Stickles - Various

To make the background, I stamped crystal wreath and christmas flourish with distress ink on white cardstock, then sponged on more distress ink to fill in most of the white spaces. Over the top of that, I sponged on some brilliance galaxy gold. To make the wreath, I stamped on cream cardstock using brilliance rocket red, then cut the image out, & sponged on some distress ink to define the edges. Then I embellished with rhinestones & stickles glitter glue. I also stamped JOY on cream card, punched it out, and then added some distress ink to the edges and lightly in the middle. I cut a frame out of red cardstock using the labels eight nestabilities die, and then mounted all the elements onto red cardstock with foam tape.