Denise *Day 3*

Today is our last day of inspiration with the wonderful Denise. You can see lots more of her FAB cards on her BLOG and PHOTOSTREAM. I saved one of my ALL time favorite cards of hers for today: How stinkin' adorable is her card? Seriously! I love her coloring and of course I love her color scheme as well. The orange and light aqua are perfect together! Oh, and who could forget those cute embossed clouds?
Here is my take. I was especially inspired by her color choices and overall design/sketch (I turned it on it's side): The flowers, Penny Black 3633K Clusters, were stamped on white cardstock. I colored the flowers with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft PITT Artist pens. Next I applied a light layer of Glossy Accents on the flower petals and sprinkled with Sparkly Fluff (close up below). The background was distressed with Broken China and Crushed Olive Distress Ink. For the embossed panel on the left hand side of the background I used Penny Black Mix and Match cardstock. I love that this paper has a white core allowing me to emboss and sand it down for a little more texture. The orange background was created by distressing white cardstock with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. Again, here's a bit of a close up of the Sparkly Fluff:

Oh, you will also definitely want to check out the Penny Black blog today. Each designer has been playing with beautiful PB stickers. Shall I tease you with a peek at my card? :) Go HERE to see more!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am going to be doing LOTS and LOTS of stamping. What do you have planned? I hope you will have some time to be crafty, and remember, if you do, please upload your Penny Black stamped projects on flickr to the Penny Circle...

I'm still looking for featured artists for my reader inspired blog week next week on the Penny Black Blog! HUGS!

Denise *Day 2*

This card by Denise has such a soft and simple elegance! I love the way she has stamped the floral image as if it is cascading down and across the background!
Here's my take: The background was stamped with Penny Black 3645K Modesty and colored with Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft PITT Artist Pens. The sentiment, Penny Black 3852E, was stamped on a Spellbinders Die Cut. Both the background and die cut sentiment piece were inked with Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

And just a quick update on Toffee. He is feeling better with each day on meds, minus a few ups and downs. Unfortunately our St. Bernard, Dafne, is having the same symptoms so she is being treated as well. The vet still thinks they must have both eaten something that made them sick or they have a flu bug. We are hoping that in 2 days they will be better, if not we will be moving on to our next step which will include a full panel of bloodwork. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and positive thoughts. Both my husband and I TRULY appreciate your kindness! HUGS, HUGS, HUGS!

Inspired by...Denise

First of all, I want to thank you again for the kindness and prayers you sent my way yesterday for Toffee. I think we need a group hug!! :) I am still quite worried about him because he is just not himself yet, but am hoping that he will be getting into his usual trouble soon! I updated yesterday's post HERE.

Now onto some crafting! This week's featured artist is an incredible cardmaker with coloring skills that are to-die-for. Please join me in welcoming Denise Marzec to "Inspired by..." You can check out lots of her stamping on her BLOG and PHOTOSTREAM. Here is our first inspiration card by Denise:

Could Denise's card be any more elegant?! I love the soft colors. And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (ummm.. did I say LOVE??) the overall design. That folded corner with the pearls is perfection! Here is my take: The main panel of this card began entirely as white cardstock. I began by adding Distress Ink (Tattered Rose, Broken China, and Wild Honey) to small areas around the edge of the card. Next I masked these areas with circles and removable adhesive. While masked, I applied Worn Lipstick and Fired Brick Distress Ink to the background. Next I lightly misted this background with Glimmer Mist. I removed the masks and stamped the flourish (Penny Black 3859H) with Fired Brick Distress Ink. I stamped the floral image (Penny Black 3949H) onto the background as well as another piece of white cardstock. The flowers were colored with Copic markers and then cut out and and glued to the main panel. Sentiment by Penny Black (30-032).

And before you go I just wanted to mention that next week will be my first week hosting at the Penny Black blog. I'm soooo excited! I will be sharing cards in the same format as I do here on this blog, only there will be a new artist each day AND I will be choosing my featured artists from the Penny Circle flickr group. I'm already starting to search for my inspiration cards.... Oh, did I mention the inspiration card and artist will be posted on both this blog AND the official Penny Black blog? And one may even sneak into a PB&J video.... So if you've been waiting to upload to Penny Circle card pool, why not jump in?? :) I'm on the hunt for some fresh inspiration!

Big hugs to you all and thanks again for your kindness and prayers for Toffee!!!! I feel like I just can't thank you enough!