Penny Black Frolic Birthday Card!

 

Hi everyone 😃 

Today I am sharing a Birthday Card that I made for my niece:

This is also my card for the following Challenge:

Retro Rubber Challenge #251 - Anything Goes - RRCB251.  This Challenge requires you to use stamps that are over a year old and you must state how old - or roughly how old - your stamp is.  I was using this cat stamp back in 2014 so it is at least 11 years old.  The sentiment I was also using back in 2016 so is at least 9 years old.  Click on the underlined link to take you to the Challenge. 

I used the same layout as my previous card because it was easy and I really liked it.  I think this layout will be another one of my "go-to" card sketches which is especially useful when my mojo has disappeared.

The main image is by Penny Black - Frolic.  As I already stated,  I have had this wood-mounted stamp for a really long time and is one of my favourites.  You just can't help but smile at that adorable cat!  I stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto Ranger Watercolour Cardstock and coloured it using Watercolour Pencils + Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush Markers and a #4 round paintbrush.

I went over the black lines using a Black Copic Multiliner to darken them up after my colouring.  The sentiment is by Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 which is retired.  I have used this sentiment set many times over the years because you can just add a small sentiment to an image panel when there really isn't room to add a larger one.  I diecut the main image using my Big Shot and Spellbinders Labels 1 Nestabilities.

Here is a close-up:

All the designer papers are by Cocoa Vanilla - Happiness.  The paper on the base is from their 6" x 8" pad and the Daisy paper down the centre is a 12" x 12" sheet.  The papers are a few years old and retired.

The ribbon is from my stash and was glued on using Helmar's Fabric Glue.  I added Fray Stop to the cut edges to stop them from fraying.  The Pink Enamel Dots are by Stampin' Up from their set 'It's my Party' and are retired.  

I used an EK Success Arrows Border Punch to punch tiny hearts from a scrap of pink designer paper (the leftover punchies look like tiny hearts) and glued them around the sentiment and main image using Tombow Mono Aqua Glue.   

Finishing touches were Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue to the butterflies + the tiny hearts - and Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops to the flower centres.

Once I had finished the card front, I glued it to a white card base.

Here is a picture of the card inside:

The Happy Birthday is from a retired Stampin' Up set called Sweet Icecream.  I stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black then added lots of the punched tiny hearts around it plus Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue to the hearts for some sparkle.

On a personal note, my partner has been on Long Service Leave since November 2024.  It has been great to have him around more and he has been enjoying catching up on jobs around the house that he has been wanting to do for quite some years.  This has also given me more crafting time because he is doing things like going up to the shops and other running around that I normally do which is a great time-sucker.  

I have also been on a mission for over a year to sort through and set up my craft room better so I have been able to concentrate on that and are 95% there.  I used KMart, Target and Amazon storage solutions for most my storage so done it on a small budget.  I am finding that I am more creative because now everything has a place and it is so much easier to put things away and it's easier to find things.  I was lucky enough to find a 2nd-hand 4 x 4 Ikea Kallax Shelf Unit on Facebook Marketplace in the next suburb for the bargain price of $20.  It just needed a bit of a clean and it has been fantastic for rejigging my storage.  I put in some over the wardrobe storage baskets that I got from Target and it has been brilliant because I can see what I have.  If I can't see what I have because it's behind the wardrobe door, I forget it's there so I don't use it.  And so far, my room is working really well for me and I am alot happier.  

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe - Card Front:

Stamps:  Penny Black Frolic 3972K wood-mount, Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 WP16 clear set (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Cocoa Vanilla Happiness 6" x 8" and 12" x 12" (retired)

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stampin' Up It's My Party Enamel Dots (ret), Watercolour Pencils, Kuretake Clear Color Real Brush Markers, #4 round Paintbrush, Black Copic Multiliner, Stamping Platform, Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue, Nuvo Glitter Drops - White Blizzard 758N, Ribbon - 6mm or 1/4" wide, Fray Stop, Helmar's Fabric Glue, Kaisercraft Trimmer, Cardstock - Dark Teal + Navy Blue, Ranger Watercolour Cardstock, White Card Base

Dies:  Spellbinders Labels 1 Small S4-308 and S4-161

Punches:  EK Success Arrows Border

Card Recipe - Card Inside:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Sweet Icecream (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Cocoa Vanilla Happiness 12" x 12" (retired), Scrap of Pink

Accessories:  Cardstock - Dark Teal + Navy Blue + White, Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue

Punches:  EK Success Arrows Border

Penny Black Butterfly Bear Thank You Card!

 

Hi blogging friends 😁 

Today I am sharing a Thank You Card that I made for a lady who recently helped me: 

This is also my card for following Challenge:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - March - Anything Goes or On The Farm (obviously I did Anything Goes).  

Back in 1970 when I was very young, my Father (who has been gone around 30 years now) gave me a set of Staedtler Watercolour Pencils and told me how special they were because you could paint with them.  I was completely blown away at this concept and I filled my books with countless paintings of birds because I loved Australian birds.  Birds were always a passion of mine even from a very young age and they still are.   I took very good care of my pencils but did somehow manage to lose one of them over the years.  

Recently, I have been swatching my other pencils eg: Derwent Inktense, Lyras etc. and it was easy to find colour charts online but I couldn't find one for my old pencils.   A couple of weeks ago, I contacted Staedtler in Australia to see if they had a colour chart for these pencils and eventually they tracked one down for me.  No easy task for 55 year old pencils!  The lady was so helpful and really went out of her way to find one which I really appreciated.  So I thought it was fitting that I send her a card that I painted using those pencils.

After painting the image, I re-stamped it and fussy-cut the butterflies then glued them on the base image to give a bit of dimension to the butterflies.  I went over all the black lines using an Copic Black Multi-liner to darken them up.

The sentiment is by Impression Obsession from a set I bought years ago so long retired.  I was careful to use a Stamping Platform so if it didn't stamp clearly the first time, I could re-stamp.

The main image panel and subsequent cardstock layers were diecut using my Big Shot and Labels 1 Nestabilities.  All the designer papers are by Cocoa Vanilla - Unforgettable from their 6" x 8" paper stack which was released in 2019.  

I glued on the teal satin ribbon using Helmar's Fabric Glue then added 3 x Aqua Couture Creations Self-Adhesive Gemstones underneath the main panel.  I added some Fray Stop to the cut ends of the ribbon to stop them from fraying.

Finishing touches were adding Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue to the butterflies and the teddy's cheeks.  Here is a close-up:

Once I had finished my card front, I glued it to a white card base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black Butterfly Bear 3696H wood-mount, Impression Obsession Sentiments 1 WP16 clear set (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Cocoa Vanilla Unforgettable 6" x 8" Paper Stack (from 2019 and retired)

Accessories:  Stamping Platform, Copic Black Multi-liner, Teal Ribbon 9mm - 3/8" wide, Fray Stop, Big Shot, Couture Creations Gemstones Aqua, Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue, Fussy-cutting Scissors, WRMK Perfect Layers Tools, Helmar's Fabric Glue, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Staedtler Tradition Aquarell Watercolour Pencils, #4 round Paintbrush, Ranger White Watercolour Cardstock, Other Cardstock - Navy Blue + Teal, Square White Card Base

Dies:  Spellbinders Labels 1 Small S4-308 + Labels 1 S4-161

Altenew Cube Builder Stencil - a Masculine Card!

 

Hi everyone 😄

I thought I would try something new that took me out of my comfort zone a little.  I have often admired cards made with stencils but felt a bit intimidated to use them.  One of my favourite cardmakers is Ardyth Percy-Robb who is a master of stencils and card design and inspires me so much.  You can check out Ardyth's Blog HERE.  I guess I am more comfortable colouring in a cute critter and using designer paper rather than making my own background with a stencil.  One of my cardmaking resolutions this year is to try new things - whether it is a fun-fold, product or a technique.  

So, this is what I came up with:

This is also my card for the following Challenge:

Daring Cardmakers - Try Something New - You can create anything you like eg: tags, cards, 3D projects (my something new is stencilling)  

The stencil is by Altenew - Cube Builder - which is a layering stencil and is still readily available.  I have seen so many amazing cards on Pinterest using this stencil and I thought it was a really versatile one that you could use limitless colour combinations with and for masculine or feminine cards.  I will say that you have to be super-accurate with lining up your layers so I made sure I taped each layer down so it didn't move as I ink-blended.

I used 3 different Distress Oxide Inks in the colours (from light to dark):  Speckled Egg, Broken China and Uncharted Mariner on Bristol Smooth White Cardstock which was a dream for ink blending.  Even though it is white cardstock, it really is more of an off-white colour - certainly not a bright white.

I dried each colour with my heat-gun as I did them so I didn't smear them.

The Happy Birthday Sentiment is an old die by My Favorite Things called Big Birthday.  I diecut the sentiment using the same Bristol White Cardstock then diecut a second set using Teal Cardstock and offset them slightly so it look like a shadow.  I actually used the diecut piece as a guide to placing my letters on the card so they were perfectly aligned.  They were glued together using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

I layered the stencilled panel onto Bristol White Cardstock then onto Teal Cardstock.  This was trimmed to 1/16" and 1/8" respectively using my We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides - then glued to a White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

Lastly, I glued on some matching teal plastic domes using Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.  These domes are from my stash and was a purchase from EBay years and years ago & has no brand name on them.

All in all, I am happy with my card and it was really fun to try something new and different to the norm.  Hope you like it too 😃

Finished size is 5-3/4" x 5-3/4" or 147mm x 147mm.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps and Designer Paper:  None

Ink:  Ranger Distress Oxide Uncharted Mariner + Broken China + Speckled Egg

Accessories:  Heat-gun, Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Adhesive, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Bristol Smooth White Cardstock, Teal Cardstock, Big Shot, Ink Blending Tools and Domed Pads, Teal Plastic Domes, Square White Card Base

Stencils:  Altenew Cube Builder SKU ALT1728

Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers Just a Note Card #3

 

Hi everyone 😃

I am on a roll playing with the Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers designer paper and diecuts as this is the 3rd card that I have made so far - and there is still plenty of it leftover!

Today's card is another card for my stash that I can use for any number of different occasions which is why I didn't put a Happy Birthday sentiment on it.

I diecut a white cardstock circle using my Big Shot and Memory Box Pinpoint Circle Frame Die which added the dotted detail just for some interest.  Not sure if this die is still available as I have had it for ages.  I popped this on top of the already diecut wreath.  One thing I really love about this Frames and Flowers set is that the diecut pieces literally just fall out as they are cut very cleanly so you don't need to use scissors to trim anything.

I worked out roughly where the diecut bunch of flowers/leaves and the punched elements were going to go so I knew where to stamp the sentiment.  The sentiment is by Stampin' Up from their Simply Said Stamp Set and was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black.  In a perfect world, I would have stamped the sentiment using Pretty Peacock Ink but I don't have that colour yet.   I popped the diecut bunch of flowers/leaves on dimensionals so I had room to glue the punched elements behind it

I punched some leaves from Stampin' Up Cardstock in the colours - Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce and Garden Green - using two Martha Stewart Punches:  Frond and Pine Branch.  I glued them on using Tombow Mono Multi Glue but just the bottom portions so I could bend the foliage up to add more height and texture.

I used an old embossing folder by Cuttlebug called Textile to dry-emboss some Peach Coloured Cardstock from my stash - then snipped the bottom with my scissors to make a banner.  This was then layered onto some designer paper then onto Pretty Peacock Cardstock which was trimmed to 1/8" using my We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides.

Finishing touches are the Peachy coloured Satin Ribbon from my stash, Kaisercraft Blush Rhinestones for the flower centres and Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush for the flowers and the peachy elements on the wreath.

Lastly, I glued the card front to a white card base.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Simply Said #163756

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Stampin' Up! Frames and Flowers including diecuts 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Cuttlebug Textile Embossing Folder (retired), Dimensionals, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Helmar's 450 Quick Drive Adhesive, Kaisercraft Blush Rhinestones BS716, Peach Satin Ribbon (stash), Scrap of White Cardstock, Stampin' Up! Cardstock - Pretty Peacock + Shaded Spruce + Garden Green, Kaisercraft White Card Base, Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush

Punches:  Martha Stewart Frond + Pine Branch

Dies:  Memory Box Pinpoint Circle Frame #99760

Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers Get Well Card

 

Hi everyone 😊

I made another card using the fabulous Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers designer paper and diecuts.  

The wreath came already diecut and I added a scrap of white cardstock behind it so I could stamp a sentiment.  The sentiment is by Stampin' Up from their Simply Said Stamp Set and was stamped using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  I popped the wreath up on scraps of white cardstock.

I added some punched foliage using my Martha Stewart Frond and Pine Branch punches.  I used Stampin' Up cardstock in the colours Pretty Peacock, Shaded Spruce and Garden Green.  I glued them down using Tombow Mono Multi Glue but was careful to just glue the bottom portions so I could bend up the tips to add some dimension.

The flowers are diecuts from the Frames and Flowers set.  I added some Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush to them - not that you can tell from the photo.  

The designer paper on the base panel was layered onto Pretty Peacock Cardstock trimmed to a 1/8" border using my We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides.

I popped the card front onto a Kaisercraft White Card Base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue with a tiny white border showing.  I love using Kaisercraft White Card Bases as they are thick and really good quality.   I like to stock up when they have 50% off.  Every other week they have 50% off Kaiser branded products so that is really helpful for my budget 😃 plus I have a Kaisercraft store very close by - less than a 10 minute drive.  Uniquely Creative - another Australian company - also has excellent quality white card bases and I love that you can get slimline ones as well as the standard rectangular and square ones.   No connection to these companies - just a happy customer.

The peachy coloured satin ribbon is from my stash and was glued on using Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Adhesive. As a final touch, I added three Kaisercraft Champagne Rhinestones.

Finished size is 4-5/8" x 4-5/8" or 117mm x 117mm.

I sent this card to my sister-in-law who broke her arm and needed to have surgery to repair it.  I saw the X-ray and boy, it looked nasty - like a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle.  It must have been incredibly painful.  How in the world a surgeon can piece it all back together is quite incredible!   I hope my card brightened my sister-in-law's day just a little.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Simply Said #163756

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Stampin' Up! Frames and Flowers including diecuts

Accessories:  Peach Stain Ribbon (stash), Kaisercraft Champagne Rhinestones RS404, Stampin' Up! Cardstock - Pretty Peacock + Shaded Spruce + Garden Green, Scraps of White Cardstock, Kaisercraft Square White Card Base, Helmar's 450 Quick Dry Adhesive, Tombow Mono Multi Glue

Punches:  Martha Stewart Frond and Pine Branch

Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers Just a Note Card

 

Hi blogging friends 😃

Today I am sharing a card that I made using the Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers designer papers and diecut elements.

I just ADORE the colour palette of this range - right up my alley.  Frames and Flowers is still current so if you want to get your hands on it, I would do so before the catalogue finishes at the end of April as it may not carry over to the new catalogue.  I bought a second set as it is only $17.50 here in Australia and you can make tons of cards with it.   If you do a search on Pinterest for ideas of how to use it, there are many, many cards so it is obviously very popular with cardmakers. 

Anyhow, onto my card:  

The foliage tucked in and around the top and bottom flowers and leaves were punched with my Martha Stewart Frond and Pine Branch punches using Stampin' Up cardstock in the colours Pretty Peacock, Garden Green and Shaded Spruce.  The palest leaves (the ones with the rounded leaves) are diecut elements from the Frames and Flowers set.  I glued the leaves on using Tombow Mono Multi Glue but just the bottoms so I could bend the leaves up to add some dimension.  Although I bought these punches a long time ago, I have seen some second-hand ones on EBay - but you could use dies instead as there are plenty of leaf dies available these days.

The designer paper on the bottom is a diecut frame and was layered onto some Peachy coloured cardstock that I had in my stash with a 1/16" border.  This was then layered onto Pretty Peacock cardstock with a 1/8" border.  

I added some white cardstock underneath the diecut frame so I could stamp a sentiment.  This sentiment came free with a stamp set from a Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine ages ago and is called Sincere Sentiments - SC Design by Simone Clay.   I have used many of the sentiments in this set and I love all the different fonts.  I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black.

I added some Kaisercraft Champagne Rhinestones then added some Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush to the flowers.

Lastly, I glued my finished card front to a white card base using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.

I think you could use this card for many different occasions - thank you, friendship, birthday, thinking of you etc.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:  

Stamps:  Sincere Sentiments - SC Design by Simone Clay (freebie with magazine)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black

Designer Paper:  Stampin' Up Frames and Flowers #163765 including diecut elements

Accessories:  Kaisercraft Champagne Rhinestones RS404, Tombow Mono Multi Glue, SU Dimensionals, Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush, We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides, Kaisercraft White Card Base, Scrap of White Cardstock, Peach Cardstock (unknown brand), Stampin' Up Cardstock - Garden Green + Pretty Peacock + Shaded Spruce

Punches:  Martha Stewart Frond + Pine Branch

Penny Black Stuck on You Valentine's Day Card + Essentials by Ellen Bear Hugs Felt Bear

 

Hi everyone 😊

Today I am sharing the Valentine's Day Card that I made for my daughter as well as a little felt Bear that I sewed:

If you have been a regular visitor to my blog, you know that I just adore the Penny Black critters.  They are so fun and easy to colour.  I stamped the cat using Versafine Onyx Black Ink onto Ranger Watercolor Cardstock and coloured him/her using Lyra and Faber-Castell Watercolour pencils + Derwent Inktense pencils and my #4 round paintbrush.  I went over the black lines of the image with a Black Copic .03 Multi-liner to crisp them up after my watercolouring.

I diecut the cat with a Lifestyle Nesting Circles Die and my Big Shot then layered it onto Light Teal Cardstock that I diecut using a My Favorite Things Pierced Circle Stax Die-namics.  The Rose Cardstock was diecut using a Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Small Circles die.  This main panel was popped up on scraps of cardstock.

The Rose Cardstock across the middle was dry-embossed using an old embossing folder by Cuttlebug from a set called 'With Love' which has 5 embossing folders - all borders.  I love to use old supplies from my stash.  I still get such a kick out of using my Cuttlebug embossing folders.  The Swiss Dots folder was the first one that I ever bought and I still use it on a regular basis.  

The sentiment is by TPC Studio - Hugs and Kisses which is long retired.  I bought it from my local scrapbooking store here in Australia many years ago.  I stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black ink onto the same Ranger Watercolor Cardstock then diecut it using a Spellbinders Labels Trio die.   I went around the edges using Versacolor Raspberry Ink as it just needed a little something to match the rest of the card.  I popped the sentiment up on dimensionals.  

The designer papers are by Simple Stories - Love and Adore - from 2016 and therefore long-retired.

The light teal cardstock on the card base was trimmed to 1/16" using my We R Memory Keepers Perfect Layers Guides.  The rose cardstock was trimmed to 1/8".  

I used an EK Success Arrows Border Punch to punch tiny hearts from Rose Cardstock.  They are the leftover punchies after using the punch and look like tiny hearts.  Again, if you are a regular visitor to my blog you will know that I use these leftover punchies all the time for my tiny hearts.  I glued 3 around the image and 2 around the sentiment using Tombow Mono Aqua Glue.  I added Kindyglitz Crystalina Glitter Glue to those hearts as well as the cheeks on the cat and the heart on the envelope.

Lastly, I glued the card front to a White Card Base.  Finished size is 123mm x 123mm or 4-13/16" x 4-13/16".

***************************

I made a cute Felt Bear to go with the card:

Isn't the bear just soooo darned ADORABLE?!!   I used a die from Essentials by Ellen called Bear Hugs and Wool Felt from my stash.  I sewed everything using 3 strands of DMC Stranded Cotton and it was super-easy to put together.  The leaves and flower were diecut using some free dies that came with an order from Sunny Studios and were glued on with Helmar's Fabric Glue.  Here is a close-up:

The eyes and nose are part of the Essentials by Ellen die set and were also glued on using Fabric Glue.  I embroidered the mouth using Black DMC Broder 25 Thread.

I stuffed the bear using Fiber Fill.

I am sure I will be making more of these bears as this die set has a present in the set which you can use for Birthdays or Christmas.

Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day!  Thanks for visiting my corner of the world😃

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Penny Black 'Stuck on You' 30-062 clear set, TPC Studio 'Hugs and Kisses' ST94019 clear set (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black, Versacolor Raspberry Pigment #156

Designer Papers:  Simple Stores Love and Adore #7614 6" x 6" pad (from 2016 - retired)

Accessories:  Big Shot, Cuttlebug With Love Embossing Folder 37-1171 (retired), Dimensionals, Scraps of White Cardstock, Rose + Light Teal Cardstock, Ranger Watercolor Cardstock, WRMK Perfect Layers Guides, #4 Round Paintbrush, Lyra + Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils, Derwent Inktense Pencils, Tombow Mono Multi + Mono Aqua Glue, Kindyglitz Crystaline Glitter Glue, Copic .03 Black Multi-liner

Dies:  Spellbinders Labels Trio S3-147 (retired), Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Small Circles Nestabilities S4-117 (retired), My Favorite Things Pierced Circle Stax (retired), Lifestyle Nesting Circles

Punches:  EK Success Arrows Border

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Felt Bear Recipe:

Accessories:  Wool Felt in various colours, Fiber Fill, DMC Stranded Cotton, DMC Black Broder Cotton, Big Shot, Helmar's Fabric Glue, Sewing Needle

Dies:  Essentials by Ellen - Bear Hugs by Julie - EEDIEJ-097-17, Sunny Studio Flower and Leaf Dies (free with order)