For the past 8 years I’ve enjoyed designing for the Penny Black And More Challenge but the challenge has ended and is moving in a new direction with a new sponsor.
I have a sweet card featuring some adorable WPlus9 bees and bears.
I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, sponged the sky and grass with distress inks and added stickles to the wings. I fussy cut the bear on the ground and popped it on foam tape.
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I’ve been extremely busy lately so it felt great to create something, especially with fabric for a change. long before I started card making I sewed but after my severe RA diagnosis and surgeries I gave it up. but I missed it. so, I traded my decades old manual sewing machine for a computerized one – what a difference; I can sew again.
I started out with making face masks and have moved on to small projects just as a refresher and to learn to use my new machine. these ‘itty bitty boxy bags’ were fun to make and I’ll definitely be making more; I followed this video tutorial.
of course I had to make a sunscreen lip balm holder and I challenged myself to sew with cork; I followed these instructions.
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this is my mid month design team card for the ‘say it with flowers’ theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge that runs until September 2 so there’s still plenty of time to play along.
I painted this penny black floral image, unfolding, with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and spritzed all over with a gold shimmer spray before matting it with a thin frame and then onto matte gold card stock.
Remember, we are a stamping challenge so the focal point has to use a hand stamped image, any company’s, to be eligible for a prize from our sponsors Penny Black and Stamp Addicts. Also, the Design Team will be voting for their favourite entries using a Penny Black image. The winner will be announced in this months winners post and be invited to feature in our October challenge telling us a bit about themselves, why they love Penny Black stamps and showcasing a creation using one.
I’m submitting this to The Flower Challenge #47 Add Sparkle (shimmer spray).
thanks for popping by.
It’s the first Sunday of a new month so there’s a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and for August it’s ‘say it with flowers.’
I used this cute Penny Black Hedgie wooden stamp image, A Tender Hug, and painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper to create this set of cards.
This month we are doing things slightly differently, the Design Team will be voting for their favourite entries using a Penny Black image. The winner will be announced in this months winners post and be invited to feature in our October challenge telling us a bit about themselves, why they love Penny Black stamps and showcasing a creation using one.
Remember, we are a stamping challenge so the focal point has to use a hand stamped image, any company’s, to be eligible for a prize from our sponsors Penny Black and Stamp Addicts.
thanks for popping by.
this is my design team card for the July Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted By Maureen, where you have until the end of the month to play along for a chance for a lovely prize. all the rules are posted on maureen’s blog.
i’ve not had much success with slider cards, until now; i used Taylored Expressions’ discs and i’m very happy with them. i painted this sweet Avery Elle polar playtime image with Twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut it to place over the Lawn Fawn slide on over die cut hill. i used derwent inktense pencils on the house windows, a mama elephant die. the snow flurries were created by spraying a fine mist of water over a sponged distress ink watercolour paper background.
See it in action:
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just a reminder that there is still plenty of time to play along with the July ‘in the garden’ theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge.
This sweet image is from the same Penny Black stamp set that I used at the start of this month’s challenge, critter fun. as usual, I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and used an essentials by ellen die cut frame.
you can use stamps from any company, no digis, but your focal point needs to be hand stamped and reflect the current theme to be eligible for a prize from our generous sponsors – Penny Black and Blade Rubber.
thanks for popping by.
i almost forgot to upload my cards for the summer flowers theme at the Impression Obsession Challenge; since I’m on the road I used my phone for the first time.
I’m sending more cards to friends during this pandemic although the stay-at-home time feels the same as before to me. I used colour pencils for this Impression Obsession free covid themed digital image, ‘Dear Blank’ – so relaxing.
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it’s time for a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and for July it’s ‘in the garden.’
these cute gardening critters are from the Penny Black ‘critter fun’ clear stamp set that I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. playing along is easy; you can use stamps from any company, no digis, but your focal point needs to be hand stamped and reflect the current theme to be eligible for a prize from our generous sponsors – Penny Black and Blade Rubber.
thanks for popping by.
it’s hard to believe but it’s now 11 years ago today that my son passed away from brain cancer and every year I’ve made a card in his memory.
my son was an avid reader from a very young age; he would often enjoy his books outside in warm weather. when he was inside, his vivid imagination enabled him to draw and colour characters of his own while he listened to music; he was a fan of Sarah McLachlan. I got to know a lot of his favourite artists when we shared the family room while he was drawing and I was learning computer skills – of course I had to keep interrupting him to help me. I’m glad I listened to him and later switched to a Mac.
Both the image and sentiment are Impression Obsession stamps and, as usual, I painted with twinkling H2Os and I’m playing along with this challenge:
As You Like It Challenge Favourite- Digi Or Rubber (& Why): it’s very rewarding to hand stamp images and bring them to life by water colouring them; it’s all part of the creative process, including the challenge to find dies to cut/frame them. I’ll rarely use digis – I haven’t yet found a printer that will handle 140 lb. watercolour paper so I usually just colour them on card stock with pencils, which is not as enjoyable as painting.
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it’s time for a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and for June we’d like to see your favourite stamps.
it’s very difficult to choose my favourite since I’ve been collecting penny black stamps since 2008 but overall margaret sherry’s critters, especially the hedgies and mice, are the ones I love and use the most. this sweet image good news! always makes me smile. I painted everything with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, die cut the image panel and popped it on foam tape. I don’t have a honeycomb stencil so I inked the chicken wire stencil, spritzed it and pressed cold press watercolour paper onto it.
playing along is easy; you can use any company, no digis, but your focal point needs to be hand stamped and reflect the theme.
thanks for popping by.
I’m playing along with two SugarPea Designs Challenges:
I used both the inspiration colours and the sketch, flipped/reversed, to create this card to send to my daughter who lives a couple of hours away – I really miss visiting her. we use FaceTime but it’s just not the same as an in person visit.
I stamped and fussy cut one of the cute monkeys in the SugarPea Designs Chunky Monkey stamp set and painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper; blue and yellow were mixed for the leaves. the sky was sponged with salty ocean distress ink and the monkey was popped on foam tape.
thanks for popping by.
it’s time for the May Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted by Maureen, where you are encouraged to create holiday cards/projects from the 25th to the last day of each month until November.
I used a new Penny Black image for my design team card, merry making, that i painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper; i also painted the sky with my twinks. my purple background was created by sponging seedless preserves and chipped sapphire distress inks on Bristol smooth paper and then i sponged white gouache through a Taylored Expressions snowfall stencil.
be sure to pop by Maureen’s blog for the full set of rules to be eligible for a generous prize and have fun working ahead on your holiday cards!
thanks for popping by.
there is still time for you to join us for the Penny Black And More Challenge and this month’s masculine theme.
I used pencil crayons to colour this penny black florals and feathers image on Kraft and I sponged the edges with distress ink. remember that the focal image has to be hand stamped to be eligible for a prize from one of our generous sponsors: Penny Black and Blade Rubber Crafts.
thanks for popping by.
Taylored Expressions is another company that is offering free digis and since i already had the big grumpy stamp/die combo, i downloaded some free Big Grumpy – COVID19 sentiments. Just login to your TE account, or create one if you haven’t already, then search download.
Taylor has a video to illustrate how to align the sentiment with acetate and stazon ink, which i don’t use, but i found vellum and versafine ink worked just as well. I also had to perform a bit of surgery to separate the sentiment so i could paint the images with twinkling H2Os on hot press watercolour paper. to finish the card, i stamped the neat and tangled dot background with broken china distress ink.
i’m playing along with these challenges:
Allsorts #571/2 – Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp – Animal Fun
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it’s time for a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and this month we’d like to see masculine creations.
I painted this sweet image, a Penny Black wood stamp, gifts sedan, with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, added mats and attached the image panel to some designer paper. it’s easy to play along – just be sure to hand stamp a focal image, any company, to be entered for a chance to win a prize from our generous sponsors Penny Black and Blade Rubber Crafts.
thanks for popping by.
as i’m in a high risk group in three categories, i’ve been self isolating for weeks but really, it doesn’t feel much different than my pre-pandemic life.
but i know family and friends are getting tired of the restrictions so i’m playing along with the Impression Obsession Challenge to create funny cards that i hope will make them smile. once again i’ve used the free Impression Obsession digi (NOLA003-DG Positive Pants) and pencil crayons to create this masculine card.
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i made another card for the Impression Obsession Challenge to create funny cards.
this digi is so fun to colour that i had to make a second card using the free Impression Obsession digi Color Your Hair (NOLA001-DG).
i used colour pencils and sponged ink around the image and i have another card to mail that will bring a smile to someone.
thanks for popping by.
i’m playing along with the Impression Obsession Challenge to create funny cards, an appropriate theme.
like so many people, i’ve been sewing masks for family members since we’re all supposed to be wearing them but i took a break to create this card with a free Impression Obsession digi (NOLA003-DG Positive Pants).
i used pencil crayons, matted the image on pink card stock and attached it to some memory box paper – nice and flat for mailing.
thanks for popping by.
Digi stamps are new at Impression Obsession and are available for download once you sign in to your account. I downloaded some free images illustrated by IO designers Lindsay Ostrom and Nola Chandler that are very timely and positive.
i’m not a big fan of digis only because i love to paint images and my watercolour paper is too thick to feed through my printer. but my second favourite medium to colour with is pencil crayons so that’s what i use with digis.
this is the first fun image to send to my hair stylist; it was fun to colour and i simply added a mat with the new ellen hutson essential rectangle dies. of course first i had to add a bit of extra glue to the upper left corner; i didn’t even notice it lifted until i edited my photo.
thanks for popping by.
I’m back with a reminder that we’re mid way through April so there’s still time to play along with this month’s anything goes theme at the Penny Black and More challenge.
i love this penny black image, the sweetest sound, but it’s one of those solid cling stamps that challenges me because it’s the opposite of outline stamps that i love to paint. still, i thought i’d give it a go and struggled with distress inks and markers so in the end, i painted it with gouache.
remember, to be eligible for a prize from a generous sponsor, your focal image needs to be hand stamped, although it can be any company’s stamp.
thanks for popping by.
i’ve been practicing painting stripes so i made a quick and easy card to join the new Impression Obsession Challenge – Easter Fun!
i used my painted stripes for the Impression Obsession happy easter die (DIE367-J); the IO die cut bunnies (DIE168-C) were painted with twinkling H2Os on cold press watercolour paper and then i sponged the edges with walnut stain distress ink. i finished off the card with some scraps of paper in coordinating colours.
thanks for popping by.
the Clearly Besotted Spring Plushies is a small stamp set but it’s perfect for spring and easter cards; it includes cute characters, spring florals, eggs and a sentiment. no surprise, it’s out of stock right now.
i sponged the sky with salty ocean distress ink and grass with mowed lawn distress ink. everything else was painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press w/c paper, fussy cut and popped on foam tape for dimension.
i’m playing along with the Allsorts #567challenge – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue: my distress inks are 8 years old, my stamps are new, the sky is blue and i borrowed the sketch from Michelle, who designs for Clearly Besotted.
thanks for popping by and enjoy your day.
This CNN article, Why some people just won’t stay home despite the advice, satisfied my curiosity about those who defy the guidelines.
i used the Taylored Expressions BIG GRUMPY STAMP & DIE COMBO and die cut the bear shape on a fold to create these little cards. as usual, i painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and added glossy accents to their noses. i’m playing along with the As You Like It Challenge Favourite – Animal Or People (& Why): i love adorable and humorous animal images that make me smile; they’re always fun to paint.
thanks for popping by.
it’s time for a new monthly theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge and it’s an easy one – Anything Goes!
this is the easter card I made for my daughter, using penny black ‘chick to chick,’ painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. Ellie, my PB and More teamie made some cute cards with dotted backgrounds so I was inspired to use the Altenew dots stencil and wild honey distress ink here.
along with an easy theme this month, it’s so easy to play along! just be sure to hand stamp a focal image, any company, to be entered for a chance to win a prize from our generous sponsors Penny Black and Swedish House Crafts.
thanks for popping by.
I’m cutting it close to today’s deadline for the new Impression Obsession Challenge – Pour One On!
I couldn’t resist making another card with this adorable Impression Obsession cutie, H13747, this time using more spring-like colours. As usual, I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, matted and popped the image on foam tape. To finish it off, I stamped the sentiment, B20782, with versa fine onyx black ink on patterned paper.
Thanks for popping by.
i’m back with another entry for the Altenew March 2020 Inspiration Challenge:
the Altenew Book Club stamp set was one that i purchased with my Ellen Hutson 12 Tags 2019 winner’s gift card. i made three bookmarks, all painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and attached to shimmer card stock bases.
this one was created for one of my daughter’s retiring professors:
someone saw the first and asked me to make another:
i decided i wanted one for myself, a bit softer:
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i’m up on the Rudolph Days Challenge blog this month, hosted by Maureen, to encourage you to create your holiday cards from the 25th to the last day of every month; there’s also a prize waiting for one random winner.
this was a very easy card to make because i didn’t paint this time; i cut out one of the sweet images from a 12 x 12 sheet of Bo Bunny Christmas Treasures. the impression obsession swirl was stamped in plum ink and i used burgundy linen cardstock to die cut the hero arts snowflake swirl and border before i popped the image on foam tape. This is a great way to embellish upcycled images or card toppers.
thanks for popping by.
i just finished two and half weeks of antibiotics for a recurring RA complication but now my thoughts are happy since i’m up to creating again.
i’m playing along with the Altenew March 2020 Inspiration Challenge:
more happy thoughts – the cool colour palette has always been my favourite.
i started with an Altenew heart cut from Arches hot press watercolour paper and stamped the Altenew weekend doodles floral image with Wendy Vecchi watering can ink and painted with twinkling H2Os (twilight, wild plum, sweet alfalfa); the sentiment is from the same set. i masked the image to stamp the Altenew swiss dots background with dusty concord distress ink and attached foam tape. i sponged distress inks on the shimmery white card stock: faded jeans at the top and dusty concord at the bottom. to finish off, i cut a blue shimmer card stock frame with the new Ellen Hutson essential rectangles dies.
thanks for popping by.
I’m back with a reminder that we’re mid way through March so there’s still time to share your spring flower creations at the Penny Black and More challenge.
i painted this Penny Black cling stamp, easter basket, with twinkling H2Os and Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils. I added yellow nuvo drops and a Swiss dot embossing folder background.
Also a reminder that to be eligible for a prize, images from any company must be hand stamped and follow the challenge theme – it’s that easy!
thanks for popping by.
i’m just going to make the deadline for the Impression Obsession Challenge – Tag You’re It!
i always need a set of 6 christmas tags so i’m ready ahead of time this year. the images are from the Impression Obsession Holiday Icons clear set (CL980) and i coloured with caran d’ache luminance colour pencils on kraft.
thanks for popping by.
it’s time for a new monthly theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge. i wish i could say spring is here but the next best thing is to make creations that focus on spring flowers.
i painted the Penny Black tulip bouquet with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. the sentiment from the Penny Black smile today! clear stamp was a generous DT gift from Maureen at the Rudolph Days Challenge and was stamped with Archival plum ink; i added splatters.
you can use any company’s image, as long as it’s hand stamped, is the focal point and suits the theme to be eligible for a prize from our generous sponsors: Penny Black, Blade Rubber, Lost Coast.
thanks for popping by.
i made four QAE (quick and easy) Christmas cards using Penny Black stickers; unfortunately, they are being discontinued but they are still for sale at penny black inc: berry delight.
all the sentiments are clearly besotted and were stamped with versafine inks.
as a design team member for Rudolph Days Challenge, it’s my month off but i’m playing along just for fun and to build up my stash of cards. the Jingle Belles inspired me with their ‘Stuck On You‘ sticker theme, otherwise i might not have been able to join the challenges.
thanks for popping by.
while i had my paints and supplies out, i made another card for the SugarPea Designs Mix It Up Challenge 64 sketch:
this time i used just one of the cute SugarPea Designs cups (Mugs & Kisses), painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and attached to foam tape. i painted washes on Canson cold press watercolour paper and cut strips to attach to a smooth cardstock base.
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i’m in the mood for colour, especially since it’s another dull day and it’s snowing!
i painted the cute SugarPea Designs cups (Mugs & Kisses) with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and the stripes on Canson cold press watercolour paper; the cups were fussy cut and popped on foam tape. i didn’t add a sentiment but i’m thinking of using it for an anniversary card.
i was inspired by the sketch at the SugarPea Designs Mix It Up Challenge 64:
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this is my mid month DT post for the Penny Black and More Challenge and this month’s Animals, Birds and Butterflies theme.
i made a bookmark using the penny black Illumination clear stamp set and a brilliance tricolour ink pad that was overstamped with the penny black text background in blue ink. playing along is easy; to be eligible for a chance at a prize from one of our generous sponsors just follow the theme and make sure your focal point is a hand stamped image from any company.
thanks for popping by.
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