Big Project

Remember all of these butteflies I shared a few weeks ago?

Well, I can finally share what they were for!

After the January CHA show, I was honored to create a Penny Black sample board for retailers. I created several samples of the card you see above.  The board also had 3 more cards which I will be sharing with you over the next couple of weeks.  After that I will be back with more inspiration from the lovely Nancy. :)

All stamps by Penny Black: 2025M Music Note Background, 40-111 Breezy, 30-095 Flower Festival, and 30-104 Sweet Wishes



PB&J Video Tutorial

Today's new video tutorial is up on the Penny Black blog, watch it by clicking HERE.

Thanks for visiting- hope you all had a beautiful weekend!

Nancy *Day 2*

I love the simple elegance of this next inspiration card by Nancy.  The beautiful stamping in that warm yellow just makes me smile. I love the subtle gray of the sentiment, too, combined with the twine. 

Here's my take:

I began by stamping Penny Black 4240K Flamboyant after inking it with Distress Stains (Wild Honey, Forest Moss, and Vintage Photo).  After stamping, I added additional shading with Faber-Castell Art Grip colored pencils.  The background was stamped and inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink (Penny Black 4242K Flower Garden). I also inked the edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

And I just had to mention that Nancy has some great Faber-Castell blog candy at her blog- check it out HERE.

Thanks so much for your visits and comments- it means so much to me.
Have a wonderful weekend, my stamping friends!

Inspired by...Nancy

I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be featuring Nancy's work over the next couple of weeks.  She was a featured artist here a while back and I love her work so much I had to share some more. :)  And besides being a wonderful artist, she is a wonderful person. I've had the pleasure of meeting Nancy at CHA and her warm smile and great hugs always make my day!  Our first inspiration piece by Nancy is this awesome canvas:

And here's my take.  I was especially inspired by her cheery color scheme and lovely die cuts and embellishments.

I began by stamping Penny Black 30-103 Wishes using Versafine ink in the color of Imperial Purple.  The flowers were colored with Faber-Castell Art Grip colored pencils.  The rosette (Tim Holtz/Sizzix die) was cut from Penny Black Mix and Match cardstock and inked with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink.  The leaves, die by Sizzix, were inked with Pine Needles Distress Ink.  The background (Spellbinders Labels 8) was inked with Elderberry Memento Ink and stamped with this same ink (Penny Black 4239K Scented Message).  To highlight the flowers and leaves of the background stamping, I colored them with a white Faber-Castell Art Grip colored pencil.  Finally, the bottom portion of the card was inked with Wild Honey Distress Ink, rubbing the ink pad directly onto the paper. Bling by Prima.

See you soon with another masterpiece by Nancy! Thanks for visiting!

PB&J Video - Watercolor Canvas

Today's PB&J Video tutorial features watercoloring on canvas...

Click HERE to visit the Penny Black blog to watch the video.

See you soon with our next featured artist- I can't wait to share her work.

She's a total sweetheart (and uber-talented, too!).

Mimi Mania

NOTE: If you are here for the Faber-Castell and Prima blog hop, please scroll down or click HERE.

Last weekend I was really in the mood to color with my Copics so I stamped several Penny Black Mimi images onto tags.  Once they were all colored, I added a bit of Distress Ink, sentiments by SRM stickers, and some ribbon. Here's a look at each tag individually:

Thanks for popping by! I'll see you soon with a new featured artist. HUGS!

Faber-Castell & Prima Blog Hop

Welcome to the Prima and  Faber-Castell blog hop. If this is your first stop on the hop, you can find a listing of all participating blogs at the end of this post. 

On this first card, I stamped Penny Black 40-101 Mosaic onto Prima Poppies and Peonies Canvas ATC Cards.  I then colored directly onto the canvas with Faber-Castell Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils.  I blended the colors using a water brush.  The Prima canvas plus Faber-Castell Aquarelle pencils are a match made in heaven! The bottom portion of the background paper is from Prima's beautiful Sun Kiss Collection.  I added a touch of Faber-Castell Gelatos onto the bottom corners, coloring directly onto the patterned paper and blending with my fingertip. Background script and sentiment by Penny Black- 1999L Letter Background, 30-103 ...Wishes.

Next, I loved creating with this beautiful floral embellishment by Prima, Bretton Vines Script.  I used a  waterbrush to pick up color directly from the tip of Faber-Castell Gelatos and then painted it onto the flowers and leaves. The background cardstock was stamped using Penny Black 30-114 Puzzle Parts using Faber-Castell Stamper's Big Brush Markers.  Sentiment by Penny Black, 40-132 So Blessed.

This final card features some beautiful bling by Prima. I just love how the lace and gems are mixed together.  The butterflies, Penny Black 30-117 Free Flight, were colored with Faber-Castell Stamper's Big Brush Markers. Patterned papers by Prima, Sun Kiss Collection.

Thanks so much for your visit!!
Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win fun prizes!

Visit the Faber-Castell blog and Prima blog for a list of all participating bloggers, or follow this list below:

• Prima Marketing Blog: www.prima.typepad.com/prima
• Sharon Laakkonen: http://sharonlaakkonen.blogspot.com/ 
• Heidi Kelley: http://seesterk.blogspot.com/
• Marie-Nicolas ALLIOT http://ma-ni.creation.over-blog.com
• Maiko Kosugi http://maimaipiano.blogspot.jp/
• Stacey Young: www.staceyeyoung.blogspot.com
• Emeline Seet : scrapvilla.blogspot.com
• Leslie Ashe: www.leslieashe.blogspot.com
• Jamie Dougherty: http://www.jaylynnscraps.com
• Anna-Marie Mondro: http://annamarie-mondro.blogspot.com/
• Anna-Maria Wolniak : http://annamariawolniak.wordpress.com/
• Anna Dabrowska: http://tworzysko.blogspot.com
• Cari Fennell: http://meandmymaryjanes.blogspot.com/
• Faber-Castell: http://designmemorycraft.typepad.com/design-memory-craft/
• Jill Foster: http://stampinginspiredby.blogspot.com/ <--- YOU ARE HERE
• Jennifer Matott: http://arttalk-sigmagirl.blogspot.com/
• Rita Barakat: http://letsembellish.blogspot.com/
• Mou Saha: http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/
• Tiffany Johnson: http://iheartartblog.com/

Stay tuned...

There's no PB&J video this week, but stay tuned... I'm working on some fun projects for an exciting blog hop tomorrow.  See ya! :)

Sketch *Day 3*

Here's one more card using this sketch from Monday's post:

All stamps by Penny Black: 30-096 Flowers Sweet, 1999L Letter Background, 40-132 So Blessed.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and a happy Mother's Day!

HUGS!

Sketch *Day 2*

I was having so much fun playing with the sketch I used in this week's PB&J video that I made a couple more cards using this sketch as inspiration.  Here's another look at the sketch:

I began by stamping Penny Black 30-102 A Little Bird... with VersaMark Onyx Black Ink and embossing with clear embossing powder.  I then colored the image with Copic markers and distressed with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.  The background was inked with Wild Honey and Scattered Straw Distress Ink and stamped with Penny Black 40-135 Floral Thread using Memento Peanut Brittle Ink.  The blue Penny Black Mix and Match cardstock was embossed with Sizzix Gridlock embossing folder and then sanded to reveal the white core of the paper.  The touches of red cardstock were first inked with Fired Brick Distress Ink and then stamped with Penny Black 1999L Letter Background.  Sentiment by Penny Black, 30-097 Hello Gorgeous.

Thanks for the visit-- see you soon with one more card using this sketch!

PB&J Video Tutorial - Card Sketch

Click HERE to visit the Penny Black blog to watch the video.

In this week's PB&J video I'm sharing 3 cards created using one sketch. 

Here's the sketch:

On this next card, I rotated the sketch on it's side:

All Stamps by Penny Black (40-132 So Blessed, 40-113 Inspiring, 2025M Music Note Background, 3371F Alyssums, 30-117 Free Flight, 40-137 Brick Wall, 30-114 Puzzle Parts, 1999L Letter Background, 30-106 Word Express, 40-123 Never Stop Dancing) 

Thanks for visiting!

See you soon with more cards using this same sketch. :)

Inspired by...Stephanie *Day 4*

I love Stephanie's beautiful use of a brushstroke stamp on this next inspiration card. I also love the overall design of her card as well!

Here's my take on Stephanie's beautiful design:

I began by stamping Penny Black 40-099 Soft Wings using Memento Ink in the color of Peanut Brittle.  I then colored the image with Faber-Castell Art Grip Colored Pencils and cut it out.  The background was inked with Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, and Crushed Olive) then flicked with water.  All other stamps by Penny Black: 30-103 ...Wishes, and 40-112 Wow... .

I want to extend a big thanks to Stephanie for allowing me to share her awesome work these past two weeks!  And another BIG thanks to all of you for your visits and sweet comments.  Have an great weekend!

Inspired by...Stephanie *Day 3*

This next inspiration card from Stephanie is going to knock your socks off!

Stephanie's card is a true work of ART!
Here's my take:

I began by stamping Penny Black 40-102 Dreamy using Faber-Castell Stamper's Big Brush Markers.  Then I added darker shading to the flowers with very sharp Faber-Castell Art Grip Colored Pencils.  The background was inked with Old Paper and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.  I then stamped Penny Black 2025M Music Note Background, removing some ink with a baby wipe before stamping. The brown butterflies (Penny Black 30-117 Free Flight) were stamped with VersaMagic chalk ink.   I adhered patterned paper to the back side of this stamped piece before folding down the corners.  Sentiment by Penny Black, 30-117 Free Flight.  Punched butterflies by Martha Stewart.

Thanks for visiting! I can't wait to share our next inspiration card by Stephanie!