Author: Jean Manis

Penny Black Homemade

Cute mice in the kitchen!? What? The one time I did have mice in the kitchen, in a Victorian home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there was nothing cute about it. But with the Penny Black Homemade (30-119) stamp set, which is part of the Margaret Sherry Collection, there’s nothing but fun!

Penny Black Homemade

I watercolored the mice, stamped with Versafine ink and heat embossed with clear powder, with both Prismacolor and Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils. The patterned paper is from the Echo Park Sweet Girl collection.

Pinspired Challenge #15

Welcome! It’s time for another Pinspired Challenge. The photo is for you to interpret anyway you want. Be inspired by the colors, the style, the theme – it’s up to you!

Kiwi Lane is offering the winner of this challenge a $25 gift certificate to their online store.

Pinspired Challenge #15

For my card, I was inspired by the theme and the colors! I created the birds’ nest out of cut pieces of the Grapevine Wreath die, which I glued together in layers. I’d love to take credit for such a clever idea, but I found the idea on the blog of Pam Sparks. If you haven’t visited her site or seen her work before, you’re in for a treat!

Now, it’s your turn. Head on over to the Pinspired Challenges blog to see the creations from the rest of the “Pin Heads” and find out the details for playing along. Three runner ups will be chosen and win a “Pin Pal” badge for their blog. A winner, who will also be chosen by the “Pin Heads,” will win a “Pin Perfect” badge for their blog along with the prize from Kiwi Lane. We can’t wait to see your creations!

Hello, Friend

I purchased the Mama Elephant Tree Friends stamp weeks ago and have just now gotten a chance to play with it.

Hello, Friend

I was inspired by the way that Mariana Grigsby used this set on her card, and set out to replicate it. However, I struggled with adding the Distress Ink with embossing brushes (it might be because I don’t own the same brushes she used). After admitting failure (and restamping the tree!), I decided to watercolor the tree image with Distress Inks using a water brush. Rather than use water, I used the Ink Potion No. 9, which seems to help with warping. I added a few glossy accents like Mariana did. I like the effect and it definitely adds some texture and shine. I’ll have to remember to use them in the future on similar projects.

I’d like to revisit this stamp set with a different set of colors for the flowers. Maybe something in an autumnal color palette. 🙂

Penny Black Summer Fun

Tropical colors, relaxing at the beach, flip flops, an iced tea with lemon….it’s summer! I used the Penny Black Summer Fun 30-107 stamp set to create a summer-themed card.

Penny Black Summer Fun

To add variety, I cut the circles with three different sized dies. I adhered the card panel to a black card base for some punch.

Wishing you a sunny day!

SCC2: Shaker Card

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I’m still working through the material from the Online Card Classes Summer Card Camp 2. This shaker card, shared by Kelly Marie Alvarez of Lawn Fawn during the second week of class, is one of the projects that I passed up during class.

SCC2: Shaker Card

The trickiest, and most time consuming, aspect of this card was cutting the foam rings and adhering them to one another and their front and back pieces. It was tricky mainly because you want to make sure the pieces are well adhered and in line with one another. Kelly Marie had Copic-colored the balloons and created custom shaker elements. I simplified this project by choosing patterned papers from the Studio Calico Atlantic pad and using their matching sequins for the shaker elements. 🙂