Penny Black | Catered Crop

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
~ Dalai Lama

This past Friday night I was leaving work tired and frustrated (again) and I walked past someone who looked as tired and frustrated as I was. I realized after he passed that I didn't even offer a smile. Wow, I just made his day, well, if not any better, maybe even a little worse. That was when I realized I was letting my frustrations at work leak into my kindness outside of work. Basically, I was a grump and a grouch.

Well, that just wouldn't do. So, I sought some inspiration from my favorite philosopher, Winnie the Pooh:

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Well, who can possibly argue with Pooh Bear? It doesn't look like things at work are going to get better any time soon, but, well, I'm just going to have to keep a spare smile or two in my hip pocket compliments of Pooh bear.

Recipe

Oh my . . . so many fun things to tell you about this card.

I love using the 6" x 6" paper pads Catherine sells at Paper Garden Projects because it makes it so easy to mix and match patterns and colors. This Kaiser Craft La Chateau paper is so much more luscious than my poor photography skills show. The dots on the blue background paper are flocked. The base of the bottom panel and my pull-out tab are die cuts that are included in the paper pack. I didn't use even 1/4 of the pack, so I still have a lot of ideas for it.

If you like this stamp set (Penny Black's Kindness), it's currently on sale. Paper Garden Projects is having a Tinsel and Tools sale. All Christmas stamps, tools, and Copic markers are 20% off.

As you know, I usually get a lot of inspiration from challenges, and no exception here.

My sketch is from Friday Sketchers, Sketch 126.

Since this is a Penny Black stamp, I peeked at this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge, Week 125. There's lots of wonderful inspiration for Penny Black fans like me, and this week they're asking us to use zigzags or triangles. So, I pulled out my sewing machine and sewed the zigzag stitch around all the panels, even, if you look real close, the focal point panel.

Our Creative Corner's challenge this week was to draw inspiration from this Pottery Barn bedroom. Oh, I love Pottery Barn, so I took a stab at it. I really wanted my card to draw from it's soft colors.

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #83, Hide and Seek, asked us to create a card with a hidden sentiment. So, if you pull on the pull-tab ribbon to the right, the sentiment comes out: "Kindness feeds the heart."

Here's the rest of the recipe along with the Copic markers I used.

Fibers: May Arts ribbon, Stampin' Up! clear tinsel trim
Ink – Memento Rich Cocoa, Copic markers (20% off, see below).
Paper – Neenah, Prism Cardstock, Kaiser Craft La Chateau.
Stamp: Penny Black Kindness Cling Set
Tools: Nestabilities (20% off)
Embellishments: A button from Mom's button jar, Stampin' Up! metallic eyelets
Misc.: Flower Soft Polar White and Citrus Crush

You know you kind readers always make me smile. So, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from wonderful Winnie the Pooh:

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
"Pooh," he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."

siggy

November 1, 2010 | Filed Under: Christmas, Copic Markers, Paper Garden Projects, Penny Black Tagged With: Christmas, Copic Markers, Paper Garden Projects, Penny Black, Winnie the Pooh | 15 Comments

I heard the bells on Christmas Day; their old familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet the word repeat of peace on earth, good-will to men!
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Yeah, baby, I love this time of year – making holiday cards. Don't forget, October 31 is the deadline if you want to send holiday cards for Operation Write Home. Here's a little inspiration. And, guess what?! You can be rewarded for your efforts because today is the first day of the 4th Friday Fun challenge at Paper Garden Projects. And the challenge? Yep, you guessed it, Christmas cards. So, just link up your card to the Paper Garden Project site, here and you could win this adorable stamp set from Eat Cake Graphics.

Recipe

First, let me apologize for the quality of these pics. I think my camera battery was going low, and I couldn't find my backup battery. (Is it too late to still blame it on the movers?) Trust me, the colors are much more vibrant in real life.

I knew when I saw the Penny Black Jolly Follies image that I wanted to do something fun with it – like actually make the little mouse swing from a rope. The stamp has a rope drawn into it, but I cut the image out and attached it to a real rope, well, string and then cut out a window in the front of the card to reveal the inside of the card. Cute, huh?

I used Kazan's Sketch 64 from 2 Sketches 4 You to get me started.

And, because Caardvarks asked us to decorate the inside of the card, well, I kind of used the inside of the card for the outside of the card. The inside is the backdrop for the window. But, I didn't leave it at that . . . here's the inside. The sentiment is from the same Penny Black set, Jolly Follies.

Here's the rest of the recipe and the Copic markers I used.

Fibers: Bayberry Ribbon Pleats, household string
Ink – Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers (see below).
Paper – Neenah, Prism Cardstock, BasicGrey Jovial paper pack
Stamp: Penny Black Jolly Follies
Tools: .Nestabilities,
Embellishments: Stampin' Up! Vintage Brads, Self Adhesive Red Rhinestones

Here are pictures of some of the products used. (I don't usually provide pictures of products, so you'll have to let me know if this is helpful.)

Okay swingers . . . don't forget to link up your holiday projects to the Paper Garden Project 4th Friday Fun challenge, you have until October 30. See you soon.

siggy

October 22, 2010 | Filed Under: Christmas, Copic Markers, Paper Garden Projects, Penny Black Tagged With: Christmas, Copic Markers, Paper Garden Projects, Penny Black | 6 Comments

If you tickle the earth with a hoe, she laughs with a harvest.
~ Douglas Jerrold

I had so much fun with this Penny Black stamp. I ordered it from Paper Garden Projects a long time ago and have just been holding onto it until I had time to do it justice. If you look closely, you can see a little raffia in the buckets and the little guy's hat. He looks all dressed up for Sunday dinner but more interested in harvesting his frogs. He's kind of a tribute to my inner child. "In every real man [and woman] a child is hidden that wants to play." ~Friedrich Nietzsche

This image is so sweet, I knew I wanted the layout of the card to be simple – to make it all about the image. There are a lot of wonderful sketches out there among the sketch challenges this week and I probably spent about as much time searching for just the right sketch as I spent making the card – well almost. I did a lot of paper piecing which meant a lot of detail cutting, but it was worth it. Laura's sketch over at 2Sketches 4 You was perfect.

I took a lot of inspiration from both the color and concept from this weeks Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #77. Don't these cupcakes make you want to grab some apple cider and jump on a hayride?And the Just Us Girls, JUGS 51 challenge was a perfect fit, a color challenge using black, red and green. And lastly (yes, I really slammed the challenges this week), I took my sentiment from this week's Card of the Week challenge – to make a card about "thinking of you."

So . . . all that put together made this:

Ah . . .

So, loves, here's the rest of the recipe and the Copic Markers. Because of all the paper piecing, the only things colored with markers are the hair, skin, frogs, pussy willows, and grass. I used the grays to add shading to the paper pieces.

Fibers: linen thread and raffia ribbon
Ink – Memento Black Tuxedo, Copic markers (see below), Stampin' Up More Mustard and Creamy Carmel (sponged around the edges)
Paper – Neenah Card Stock, Basic Grey Oliver and Mortifica 6×6 paper pad, and Prism cardstock.
Stamp: Penny Black Hoppy Day
Tools: Nestabilities and EK Success 5/8" circle punch
Misc.: Stampin' Up! Vintage Mini Tags, Magic Mesh, Crystal Effects (on the frogs).