Penny Black ATC Challenge

Hopefully, you aren't getting tired of my little Hot Diggity Dog dachshund, because here I am using it again! :)   This was created especially for the Penny Black ATC challenge this week. 

In case you don't already know, Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are miniature works of art the same size as baseball cards, 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches.  I've made lots of them in the past and participated in various swaps, but its been awhile.   As you'll see below, when I finished the ATC, I took it and created a greeting card using more of the same coordinating "Granola" designer papers by Basic Grey. 

Wrapping it up with more of my chocolate brown and white baker's twine and another one of Debbie's crocheted flowers.   What are the odds that I would have the perfect blue one?!  Had to use it!  :)

This morning is foggy and drizzly, but they say it's supposed to be sunny and 70's today.  That would be awesome and I really hope our weatherman is right.  If so, I'm going outside to clean off the flower gardens and soak up some sunshine!   

Wishing you sunshine in your world today! 

Quote for Today ~

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home. ~Twyla Tharp

{Many of you have commented about enjoying my quotes.  Thank you!  I *love* quotes, own several books of quotes and there are many great quote sites online too.  One of my favorite sources is The Quote Garden. }

Business Card Blog Contest { Heartfelt Greetings }

One of my favorite bloggers ~ Amy at "Heartfelt Greetings" is having a blog contest to create business cards for a chance to win some yummy patterned paper by DCWV. I couldn't pass this up, so here is my entry...


It's very simplistic. Actually, I'm having a difficult time controlling myself from embellishing it a bit! Doesn't it need ribbon or brads or such?! :) Amy's instructions say "We're not looking for "which card has the most layers" or "who's card is distressed the best". What my celebrity judges (yes, celebrity!) will be looking for first and foremost, is functionality, followed then by great design elements! Don't bust your hump trying to make it stunningly gorgeous, ok?"

Isn't she hilarious? You've got to check out her blog, if you haven't already got it in your favorites like I do!

Back to my "business card"... I've printed the info on patterned paper and stamped the black dots with my PapertreyInk set. Then it was cut out and layered on black cardstock.

Now, I'm off to the patio to soak up some SUNSHINE and color a few images for cardmaking later.... Smiles, Pam :)

Quote for Today ~

" It's good to play, and you must keep in practice." - Jerry Seinfeld

Another Hedgie?! { Friends Forever }

Really, I had no intention of making *another* hedgie card this week, but here it is! It's funny how some cards just happen. I had this floral patterned paper out on my craft table for another project and noticed that the colors "went" with this image. I debated that it may be a little too "busy", but I went with it anyway.

The hedgehog stamp is by Penny Black, colored with prismacolor pencils, punched out the image with the Marvy Uchida mega circle punch, layered with retired SU color - marvelous magenta - punched with the giga scalloped circle. The "friends forever" sentiment is from a $1 Michaels Studio G acrylic set that my sweet DIL Jami (Crazy Daisy Creations) bought for me.

Hooray, another weekend is here already! I'm hoping to ink up my new Stampin' Up! Petals & Paint set this weekend. Also, I couldn't resist the 50% off cardstock sale at Hobby Lobby this week and have some fun new patterns to try out.

Have a WONDERFUL fun-filled weekend! Smiles, Pam :)

Quote for Today ~

"Light tomorrow with today!" ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

She's a Country Lady! { Penny Black Hedgehog }

This cutie patootie hedgehog by Penny Black is called "Country Lady". I've punched the image out with my marvy uchida mega circle and layered with a scalloped circle of Stampin Up pretty in pink cardstock. The pink & green plaid paper is my Bo Bunny Press. The card is 4-1/4 x 4-1/4 square before adding the image to the top. The sentiment I've used is from the Stampin Up set "Small Sayings" ~ happy today, happy tomorrow, HAPPY EVERYTHING! :)

Are you getting tired of all these "Happy Hedgie" cards"? If not, please check back tomorrow for just one more! :) I don't know the name of the image, but I will tell you it's a colorful birthday card.

Smiles 2 U! ~ Pam :)

"Happy Hedgie Week" continues...

"So glad to catch you" is the name of this sweet little hedgehog stamp by Penny Black. This is the third card I've made this week with the images sent to me by my generous Stamp Shack friend Nancy.

For this card, I've used a peach colored textured cardstock from DCWV (diecuts with a view) and the floral designer paper is "rosey beach house flower" by Chatterbox. The hedgie image is colored with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol. "Hang in there" seemed like an appropriate sentiment for this image and I just happened to have this stamp that I bought with my Changito monkeys (Stampendous).

"Happy Hedgie Week" isn't over yet! Stop back tomorrow to see what I do with the "Country Lady". : ) Smiles, Pam :)

Quote for Today ~

"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world". ~Leo Buscaglia

Graduation Hedgie! { Penny Black }

On Saturday, I mentioned that it was going to be "Happy Hedgie Week" on my blog because Nancy (directmailscrapper) at the Stamp Shack sent me an envelope FULL of images of these cute little hedgehogs by Penny Black. They are such FUN to color with prismacolor pencils, but I'm still practicing on getting the colors right on this little critter! :)

It just so happens that I needed a congratulations card for a friend who recently graduated from college, so this image was perfect! I used my Cuttlebug congrats embossing folder on a royal blue cardstock with white core, then sanded it lightly so the words were more visible.

The tag sentiment "You did it!" is from my first ever Stampin' Up! stamp set ~ Mini Mates. I still use it often. I punched it out with the 1" scalloped punch by Martha Stewart and then layered with SU punches 1-1/4 & 1-3/8". I added an eyelet and 1/8" grosgrain ribbon and attached with dimensionals. The little tab on the left side is made using the word window punch and an eyelet.

I've got a couple more of these images here... so STAY TUNED!
Have a GREAT week! Smiles, Pam : )

Quote for Today ~

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Happy Hedgies! { Penny Black }

It's "Happy Hedgie Week" ! :) Nancy (directmailscrapper) at the Stamp Shack sent me an envelope FULL of images of these cute little critters! All I had to do was leave a not so subtle hint on a post of hers. ; ) She's a sweetie and I know that I must owe her a book of stamps by now for all the images she's sent to me. Thanks so much Nancy!!!

This rubber stamp image is called "Hedgehog Bouquet". I couldn't find a Penny Black website, but I did find a LOT of the stamps for sale at Addicted to Rubber Stamps. There are SO many that I would love to have! The sentiment stamp is from a Hero Arts Clear Design set called "Friendship Messages".

For this card, I used my brand new Stampin' Up! "Wild Wasabi" green cardstock. I love this shade of green and think it's prettier in real life than in this photo. Also used are summer sun, pumpkin pie and the patterned paper is "harvest stripe" by Karen Foster. The ribbon is from JoAnn's - the little 99 cent mini spools. The green is called "kiwi" and the orange is "creamsicle". That makes me hungry for a Jamba Juice! :)

Some cards come together easier than others and for some reason, this one took me awhile. Maybe I was trying too hard. Coloring the image was relaxing and fun, but this layout just wasn't happening for me. Anyway, I hope you like it!!

Smiles 2 U,
Pam :)

"A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something." ~ Frank Capra

a romantic dog smiles for you! { Penny Black }

Don't you just love this little doxie stamp "a romantic dog" by Penny Black? Recently, I saw this quote "dogs smile with their tails" and I knew that I had to make a card using the quote with this image. I typed it up in Word, using my Stampin' Up! font CD and printed it off on white cardstock. I colored the image with prismacolor pencils to match the paper. :) Can we say OCD?

The cardstock is a retired SU color marvelous magenta that I thought went well with this striped paper by KI Memories. The card is 6x6 folded in half to make a 3x6 card. I like the long narrow card for this image. I've added some polka dot ribbon (Walmart) and a Stampin' Up! flower punch with large brad. How do you attach ribbon to your cards? I've found that using "sticky strip" works perfectly. It is a double sided narrow tape that is super sticky. Mine is by Stampin' Up! but I know there are other brands of it too. I've got a couple different rubber stamps here that would be perfect for the inside sentiment: "My heart smiles with thoughts of you" and "Sending smiles your way". This was a FUN card to create and I hope it makes you *smile*! :)

Eeeks, I think I'm boiling my green beans over on the stove! Later....

Hello Friend! { Hedgie by Penny Black }

First, it was the cute little mice and now I'm in love with this adorable little hedgehog! I received this image in the mail awhile back from Sherri @ Sherri's Flip Floppin' Blog and wasn't really sure how to color a "Hedgie". Recently, I saw this rubber stamp by Penny Black online and noticed how it was colored.

Anyway, I hope you like it and it makes you SMILE! :)

Card info: the patterned paper is by The Paper Studio ~ green w/spring flowers. The cardstock is Stampin' Up! barely banana, distressed with the canvas background stamp. The sentiment "hello friend" is from a TAC set - Tag Tidbits. Scalloped circle is the 1" Martha Stewart punch.

Friendly Flowers { Penny Black }

This wonderful Penny Black "Friendly Flower" image was sent to me by Nancy (directmailscrapper) for her Virtual Swap at The Stamp Shack. I am in *love* with it and had a great time coloring it in with prismacolor pencils. I don't even want to tell you how long it took me. :/

I tried a variety of different layouts for this card and finally settled on this very simple 5x5 square. Don't you think the image speaks for itself?

For the sentiment on the inside, I was thinking of something to do with friendship and flowers, such as:

"If friends were flowers, I'd pick YOU!"

“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”

"If I had a single flower for every time I think of you, I could walk forever in my garden." ~ Claudia Ghandi

{Penny Black} Music Collage Birthday Card

There are a couple reasons I haven't posted since Tuesday...first, it's been a crazy, busy week at work with longer than usual hours. By the time I got home, I wasn't feeling very creative. Secondly, I've been dwelling on this card all week and wasn't sure how I wanted to complete it.

I received this beautiful Penny Black "Music Collage" image from Michelle at Stamper's Dream. I've bought some stamps and cuttlebug embossing folders from her on eBay and she always encloses some special little surprise in my package. You gotta *love* that! and I DO!

Michelle stamped the image on a luscious watercolor cardstock and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink, then embossed with detail clear embossing powder. I colored it with prismacolor pencils and blended with gamsol.

I've used three different Stampin' Up! background stamps on this card... Print Pattern, Filigree, and Canvas. Also, I've used the SU 1-1/4" circle punch, the Tab punch and the 1" scalloped circle punch by Martha Stewart. The birthday sentiment is from SU "Circle of Friendship".

On the inside I printed this quote: "Art and music wash away from our soul the dust of everyday life." My nephew Ben is an artist and a musician and his birthday is July 5th. I hope he likes his card. : )

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to check back later. I'm hoping to get creative with some patriotic cards! Smiles, Pam :)