Let's revisit Penny Black

Hi Everyone,

Hope you had a great weekend! We had some gorgeous weather here in Helsinki, and we spent a lot of the weekend outdoors - so much fun!

I am revisiting some of my old stamp sets recently (I guess I got inspired by Anna Kossakovskaya's challenge in some way), and I decided to play with the gorgeous Delicate Florals by Penny Black again. Wow, the possibilities with this stamp set are seriously endless! 

I went with a simple enough design, ready for any occasion - cards like that do come handy quite often! I not only revisited the stamp set, but I also tried the same technique I already applied with that stamp before, just in a different colour combo - that partial masked-off ink blending is really quite cool, don't you think? And that floral image is just made for it! I even used a little bit of ribbon - wow, how long has it been since I have used ribbon?! 

I went over the fluffy bits (now here's professional terminology for you!) of the floral image with some Wink of Stella, and I love the effect it created --> slightly fading the colour of the background. 

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Penny Black and More - May colour/photo inspiration - I went with the colours
SSS Work it Wednesday - April showers bring May flowers

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - The great outdoors

Have a great week!

Oh, and if you like destashes - do check out my Instagram account here :o)

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

Birthday card with Penny Black

Hi Everyone,

Hope that the new year has been treating you well so far? I have definitely been treated well in the crafty world - I was chosen top 3 in the Sparkle and Shine challenge (see post below), and I won some crafty surprise goodies which are currently on their way to me - so yay and let's hope it continues that way ;o) I am hoping that as the year progresses, I will also have more crafty time as such - for now I'm still struggling but I'm trying!

Today's project is a birthday card I made for a special lady - the card has not been delivered yet so that's all I can say for now! :o) Love this Penny Black "Dreamy" stamp - this has been on my wishlist for years and I finally got it at the end of last year. Lots of distress ink blending, some vellum, and - of course - some bling, using sequins this time (and not Wink of Stella LOL). The sentiment is from WPlus9 "Unforgettable". Oh, and let's not forget the Mama Elephant Femme Frames, of course!

Hope you like it!

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Penny Black Saturday - Anything goes

QKR Stampede - Lots of Layers

Penny Black and more - One for the girls
Seven Hills Crafts - January 2016 Challenge (middle photo colour inspiration)

Have a great day,

M.

The big come-back?!

Hello Everyone, I'm back!

Truth be told, I probably won't be here too regularly yet, as the Little One still needs a lot of attention and takes a lot of my time, however if I do manage to get my fingers inky every now and again, I will most certainly do my best to pop by! The plan is to be back on a regular basis in 2016, but we shall see how that goes! :o)

Today I am sharing a card I made using the same Delicate Florals stamp by Penny Black that I used in my last (August) post - I just love this one so much! You can also see that it's easy enough to play around with different techniques, and get a completely different end result, which is great!

The colour inspiration came from the Sparkle and Shine challenge. I stamped the image with the VersaFine Ink in black, and then heat embossed it. The coloured strip was added using Distress Inks. I then went over the flowers with some clear Wink of Stella which bleached the colour a bit and added some sparkle - LOVE this effect! The sentiments come from 2 different stamp sets - one by Mama Elephant and one by WPlus9. I also used the Femme Frames dies by Mama Elephant for the layers. And, to finish off the card, I added a few sequins, too! 

I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the result, so hope you like it too!

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

Sparkle and Shine - Photo inspiration

Penny Black - November. Dies and/or punches

MAWTT - Leaves and/or trees

Have a great week,

M.

Cotton wedding anniversary with Penny Black's "Delicate Florals"

Hi Everyone,

This is most probably my last post before the baby's arrival, hence please don't be surprised if this blog gets a bit quieter for the next few weeks, maybe months? I have no idea how quickly I will be ready to get back to crafting and blogging... Hopefully soon enough, as it's so nice and relaxing! However, my new little Bundle of Joy will be, of course, taking priority! :o)

Today I am sharing a 2nd wedding anniversary card I made for my hubby (and myself, LOL). I just HAD to use this Penny Black "Delicate Florals" stamp the moment I got it in the postbox, and I decided that - since the 2nd anniversary is "cotton" - I will try to use some cotton wool on the flowers. All my ProMarker colouring got covered that way, unfortunately, but the colour still peeks through the cotton wool bits, which I think gives quite a nice effect. Other than that, I decided to keep the card simple enough (yeah, I know, I did add some sequins!), as the hubby likes the "Keep it Simple, Stupid" rule ;o)

Since my fingers were already inky & crafty, and I had a lot of supplies out, I also made another card using the same stamp, with a completely different effect & technique - I will have a feeling this will be my "go to" stamp set for a while now! I will share this at some point, surely! 

In the meantime, have a peek at my anniversary card and let me know what you think of the "cotton" idea:

I am entering the card into the following challenges:

I Love ProMarkers - In the garden

Passion for ProMarkers - Summer Lovin

Penny Black August challenge - Hot summer colours

Penny Black and More - Summer Flowers

Sparkle and Shine - Challenge 11, photo inspiration

Take care!

M.

Love is in the air...

Since Valentine's Day is close, I decided to take a risk and make a few cards for sale "in advance". I usually make cards based on the order & people's requests, but this time the gorgeous Penny Black images were just there, looking at me, and asking to be used... I couldn't resist and say no! ;-) Even if I used the little cuties only on a few of the cards, they were definitely my inspiration anyhow! 

Below are a few of the cards are made. More to follow in the coming days... 

Ingredients: Penny Black Every Which Way stamps, Anita's Square Quality Cream Cards, some black cardstock from my stash, Neenah Solar White paper for stamping, Copics for colouring, Glossy Accents, Stickles, red ribbon, gems & little hearts from my stash. Backing paper: 1st card - K&Company Designer Mat Pad - Julianne Vintage, 2nd card - made from white cardstock, with use of Barn Door Distress Ink by Ranger & Floral Fantasy Cuttlebug embossing folder. Apron Lace Fiskars border punch.

I would like to enter these into the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss - Love!

Penny Black - Love and Marriage

Creative Creations Challenges - It must be love
Inky Chicks - Valentine or Anniversary
Forever Friends - Monthly Challenge (Animals/Butterflies/Birds)
Inky Impressions - Love
Cute Card Thursday - Love Struck

And what happened with the "sale"? I am proud to say that all cards sold out in just one day, and I was asked to make more! I did have a plan B, however... I would simply have a stash of Valentine's Day cards ready for the coming years for my Other Half ;-)

M. 

First Valentine

Today I would like to share with you the first Valentine's Day card that I made in 2013. Not sure yet if it's going to be for sale, or if my OH will receive it - regardless, I have to say that I am rather happy with it! It's pretty much a CAS (Clean & Simple) card, and to be perfectly honest - it's probably what I most like about it (this, and the cute image!).

I just couldn't wait to use one of the Penny Black Every Which Way stamps - I fell in love with them when I first saw them online, and even though it was getting close to Christmas and I should have had snowflakes and baubles on my mind - I just had to get the stamp set! Stay tuned for more projects with some of the cuties from this set, cause there will surely be more!

Just a few Copics, a teeny bit of Glossy Accents on the hearts, a ribbon from my stash, an embossing folder for the background (Cuttlebug Swiss Dots), some Distress Inks for edging, and done! Oh, and the Apron Lace Fiskars border punch... And then for the rest - "all you need is love..."

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp - Black/White with a splash of colour

Divas By Design - Anything goes
Totally Gorjuss - Spotty
Inky Chicks - Anything goes

Thanks for visiting me, 

M.