Sunday, April 27, 2025

In Sympathy for Vancouver's Fillopino Community - FMS#683

Last night in Vancouver BC Canada a most terrible and senseless tragedy took the lives of 11 people and injured many more who were attending festivities during the Lapu-Lapu Filipino festival. A 30 year old Vancouver man plowed his car into these innocents, committing such a heinous act that words cannot even describe. 

I'm using today's sketch to design a sympathy card for all those affected by last night's loss. Obviously I can't make or send a card to all the families, first responders and others affected by this tragedy, but hopefully by posting my card and my message of condolence I can express my sadness, grief and offer my prayers for healing to those who need it.   

Freshly Made Sketches 

Here's My Card: 


Supplies:

Stamps and Dies:
  • Textured Notes #165548 - basket bottom and leaves 
  • Country Flowers #163405 - sentiment "With heartfelt sympathy" 
  • In the Moment #157987 - sentiment "You're In My Thoughts" 

Cardstock and DSP:

  • Basic Beige 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for card base
    • scraps for sentiment on card front, basket and leaves 
  • Early Espresso 3 1/4" x 5 1/4" front panel 
    • 1" x 5 1/4" strip for bottom inside detail
  • Pecan Pie 4" x 5 1/4" for front matte 
  • DSP - Woven Textures 12 x 12 #165560
    • Cut 3" x 5" strip of DSP cut this piece in half at 2 1/2" flip one side over and adhere to early espresso panel. 
    • 3/4" x 5"  strip of DSP cut in half, flip one side over adhere two panels to 1" x 5 1/4" early espresso panel on inside bottom of card. 
Ink and Blends: 
  • Tuxedo Momento Black 
  • Pecan Pie 
Accessories: 
  • 2" circle punch for basket
  • Dimensionals 
  • Adhesive
  • Gold Sparkle Gems (R) 


The detail in the Textured Notes distinktive stamps is amazingly crisp.  The trick to stamping with distinktives is to not over saturate the surface with ink.  You'll get a clearer image by reinking and stamping a few times.


Well that's it for today's card.  Thank you for stopping by and having a look at my card.  Appreciate it. 

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Sweet Birthday Wishes - Storybook Moments Ephemera and #626 AHSC

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #626 is a throwback to 2013 when the sketch challenge first started.  Here is the current sketch and below it the original one.  



Here's My Card: 

I made a feminine birthday card using a combination of beige, blue and red cardstock (see below), a piece of neutral designer paper and several ephemera images from Stampin' Up!s Storybook Moments 12 x 12 designer paper.  

I'm quite happy with the way this card came together.  It took a bit to figure out what I was going to use for the background paper to keep this card in the Clean and Simple format.  Because the focal point is so busy along with the banners the decision to go with the neutral striped DSP worked well.


Here's a view of the inside of the card.  Although I love stamping images on the inside of my card along with the sentiment, I have to admit it's easy to just add an ephemera image because there's no colouring involved and the pictures pair up pretty well.  

I purposely changed the direction of the banners on my card front so they are facing the opposite way to those in the sketch.  For some reason, the focal just sat better going in this direction.  Also, I was able to move my sentiment a little higher on the card.  Sometimes you just have to try a different approach to make it work, so don't worry about changing up the sketch and trying something different, that's always an option you can choose.   

I like to mixup old and new products from Stampin' Up! so that I continue to use up my stash.  As you can see in this card, I used three old products starting with the retired dsp, then the cross hatch design embossing folder from the Basic D embossing folder collection and the bright red dots. The new products are the sentiment which is from the most recent Paper Pumpkin kit and the ephemera from the Storybook Moments paper collection.  Old or new all these materials compliment each other and really helped to bring this card together. 

Supplies: 

Stamps and Dies: 

  • Daisy Daydream stamps from March 25 Paper Pumpkin - Sentiment "Sweetest Birthday Wishes"
  • "Wishing you the Happiest birthday yet" sentiment stamp Stampin' Up! 2006
Cardstock and DSP: 
  • Crumb Cake cardbase 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
  • Boho Blue cut two 4 x 5 1/4" mattes for front and inside 
    • Banner 1" x 3 1/2" 
  • Real Red Banner 1" x 3 1/2" 
    • Scrap for sentiment backer
    • 2 1/2" circle for focal base
  • Basic Beige
    • Scrap for sentiment 
    • 3 3/4" x 5" matte for inside 
  • Neutrals DSP 6 x 6 #163773 - striped Crumb Cake design 3 3/4" x 5" matte for card front 
Ink: 
  • Real Red for sentiments 
Accessories: 
  • Brights Candy Dots #130931(R) - Real Red x 3 
  • Ephemera gardening images for focal point
  • Dimensionals
  • Basic D hatched image embossing folder for red banner 

Thanks for dropping by and checking out my version of the AHSC#626.  Come back again and leave me a comment if you like this card.  

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT!
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006


Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Store 

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

FREE SHIPPING April

Have You Heard?

Free Shipping - 3 Days Only!

It's a good time to take advantage of Last Chance Products and stock up before prices go up in May with the launch of the new catalogue. 

Sales Period:         April 23–25, 2025

Ordering Deadlines 
Phone: April 25 at 6:59 p.m. (MT)
Online: April 25 at 11:59 p.m. (MT)
  • All order types qualify for this promotion.
  • Free shipping is for three days only. Orders must be opened and closed April 23–25.
  • Free shipping automatically applies to your cart after the qualifying amount has been met, which is $100 CAD (before tax).
  • Coupon codes and product credits are non-commissionable and will lower your order’s retail amount. Orders must meet the qualifying amount to be eligible for free shipping.
  • The additional cost for expedited shipping is not covered by this promotion.
  • Prepaid 3-, 6-, and 12-month Paper Pumpkin subscriptions and month-to-month subscriptions do not qualify for free shipping. Refills, past kits and add-ons do qualify toward free shipping, but you must be a subscriber to purchase. Subscriptions billed and shipped this month will be charged for the normal amount ($25.00 USD | $34.75 CAD shipping included) + tax.


HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT  
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006



Monday, April 21, 2025

Take Me Out To the Ball Game - FMS #682 by Judy Rozema

If you follow my blog you know that I make a lot of masculine cards.  The Freshly Made Sketch #682 is hosted by Judy Rozema, who pointed out that it's baseball season and the sketch has a baseball diamond feel about it.  That was all I needed to get my creative juices flowing and create a masculine card.  How about you, were you inspired by this sketch? The sketch challenge is open until 3:00pm EST, so why not come up with a card of your own.  Here is the sketch:

The triple cut design is wonderful for creating multiple cards and it's such a great way to use up your paper stash.  I love it!  Unfortunately when I was making these cards I made my second cut from the corner instead of about 1 1/2" down the right side of the card, which changes up the look a bit.  Next time I'll look at the sketch a bit longer, lol!  Oh well my "miscut" still worked out okay for me.  

Here is my card: 
Whenever I make a triple cut card, I'm always amazed at how fast the three cards come together. Probably the hardest choice for me is mixing and matching the DSP and cardstock. The retired "Hey Sports Fan" dsp made it super easy to choose my mattes and card base colours.




Here is the inside of the card.  I copied the stamping on three pieces of Very Vanilla cardstock and mounted each one on a piece of coordinating cardstock. 



Supplies:

Stamps and Dies:
  • A Goodman #149270 - "It's Your Day" sentiment
  • Good Old Sport - Graphic 45 - "baseball player, and baseball"
  • Sporting Goods 2004 circ. Stampin' Up! "bat and glove" for inside
  • Perennial Birthday - "Happy Birthday" sentiment 
Cardstock and DSP:
  • Real Red
  • Night of Navy
  • Very Vanilla
  • Crushed Curry 
  • Hey Sports Fan 12 x 12 DSP
Cutting Instructions: 
  • Very Vanilla 8 1/2 x 5 12" scored at 4 1/4" for card base.  Cut three
  • Very Vanilla 3 3/4" x 2 1/2" matte for focal matte
  • Very Vanilla scraps for sentiment - baseball
  • Real Red 4 x 5 1/4" x 2 for Mattes on front and inside of one card and one piece 2 3/8" x 3 5/8" for focal matte
  • Night of Navy 4" x 5 1/4" for Mattes on front and inside of one card and one piece 2 3/8" x 3 5/8" for focal matte
  • Crushed Curry 4" x 5 1/4" for Mattes on front and inside of one card and one piece 2 3/8" x 3 5/8" for focal matte
  • Three coordinating pieces of Designer Series Paper (DSP) measuring            3 3/4" x 5" - stack the three pieces making sure all edges are in alignment and then cut on angles to match the sketch lines. 
  • Small scraps of Very Vanilla, Real Red, Night of Navy and Crushed Curry for the 1 1/4 circle matte for baseball. 
Ink and Blends: 
  • Momento Black Ink
  • Night of Navy
  • Real Red
  • Pecan Pie - baseball bat 
Accessories:  
  • 1" and 1 1/4" circle punches 
  • Dimensionals
  • Enamel Dots - Brights - Real Red and Crushed Curry


I hope you liked my interpretation of Judy's  Freshly Made Sketch.  Let me know if you struggle with making masculine cards? What's your stash like, do you have sports stamps or paper on hand for masculine themes?  I'd love to hear from you, as I find your comments are motivating and inspiring.  Thanks for dropping by! 

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT!
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online shop 



Sunday, April 20, 2025

Darling Dino Birthday - AHSC #625

Welcome to my blog and Happy Easter weekend!  Today I'm using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #625 to make a child's birthday.  This little guy loves  loves dinosaurs so I created a scene by replacing the rabbit in the sketch with a dinosaur coming out of its egg.  I flipped the sketch on it's side so I had room to get all the little elements together.   

Here's My Card: 


I am really falling in love with the Basic Beige cardstock Stampin' Up! began stocking this past year.  When you compare the rocks which are in Crumb Cake cardstock in this photo to the Basic Beige there is such a significant difference.  I really like this lighter tone, and it's such a fabulous neutral.  It works perfectly with the Timeless Plaid dsp matting on this card. 


I kept the inside of the card fairly simple.  Again I used  a matte from the Timeless Plaid DSP and I stamped the "Happy Birthday" sentiment from Perennial Birthdays, one of my most favourite birthday celebration stamp sets.  
Supplies:

Stamps and Dies:

  • Darling Dinos #164728
    • Balloons x 3
    • Dinosaur
    • Flowers x 4 
    • Grass
    • Rocks x 2
    • Sentiment on front - "Hope Your Birthday is DINO-mite!"
  • Perennial Birthday - sentiment inside matte "Happy Birthday"
  • Darling Dinos Dies #164734
    • Three Balloons
    • Rocks
    • Dinosaur
    • Egg Shell top and bottom
  • Perennial Postage Dies #162607 - "Happy Birthday" inside card
  • Decal Rectangle Dies (R) #159173 - Basic Beige matte on card front

Cardstock and DSP:

  • Basic Beige 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4" for card base
  • Basic Beige 3 3/4" x 5" for inside matte
  • Basic Beige scrap for dino egg shell
  • Mossy Meadow 3 1/2 x 4 3/4" for postage stamp layer 
  • Basic White scraps for balloons and dinosaur
  • Designer Series Paper:  Timeless Plaid #164678
    • Inside Matte - 4" x 5 1/4" 
    • Outside Matte - 3 3/4" x 5"
  • Crumb Cake scraps for rocks

Ink:

  • Mossy Meadow Ink 
  • Momento Black ink
  • Blends:  Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, Boho Blue, Mossy Meadow, Cajun Craze, Old Olive
  • Black Fine Line marker for balloon strings

Accessories: 

  • Dimensionals 

Stamp sets like Darling Dinos are perfect for creating fun background scenes along with the main featured stamps.  All of the stamps on the card front come from that set.  What do you think?  Do you like to make cards with scenes?

Thanks for dropping by and checking out my card.  I look forward to your comments. 



HAPPY EASTER AND
HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

Click here to visit my 24/7 Online Shop 


Tuesday, April 15, 2025

I'm A Princess! FMS #681


Just a note of gratitude for the Design Team and especially to Kim at Freshly Made Sketches who chose my card as one of the Princesses for this week's sketch challenge!  
Congrats to the other 8 Princesses .... well deserved! 

Donna Mikasa was chosen as the Queen of Clean for her beautiful card.  I love to participate in their sketch challenges, so getting some recognition like this is really meaningful for me.  

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006


Sunday, April 13, 2025

Life's A Journey - Masculine Birthday Card FMS#681


Hey everyone.  Welcome to my blog and thanks for taking a look at my entry for this week's Freshly Made Sketch #681 hosted by the very talented Amy O'Neil

This sketch is so simple, yet so great.  If you haven't attempted to do a sketch challenge before this would be a perfect starter.  Remember to make it your own design.  And, while the sketch has a pocket shape for its focal, you can substitute any shape you want.  This sketch is open until Monday April 14th 3pm EST so if you've got a minute why not join the fun and play along.

Click here to check out the Design Team and participant entries. Awesome!

 Here is My Card:
I'm always on the lookout for sketches that have a masculine appeal. This sketch with it's clean lines and the pocket instantly conjured up the badge in the "One Wild Ride" stamp set.  So, with that image in mind, I began to design my card.

While looking through my stash of masculine papers I found the remainder of a kit called Easy Rider, by Reminisce. A piece of grey dsp with motorcycle treads across it caught my eye so I paired it up with a basic black card base. I stamped the motorcycle from One Wild Ride in Momento black ink across the bottom of the dsp. I also found a silver cardstock die cut from a bundle called Geared Up Garage, added some texture to the card front.

The next step was to stamp the badge in Momento Black ink on a scrap of Whisper White and punch it out with a coordinating punch.  The badge was mounted with dimensionals to the pocket die cut.  I used one of the medium sized dies from the Stitched Nested Labels dies to create the basic grey pocket.  To get the pocket shape I merely measured a 1/4" past the badge and cut across the die cut with my scissors. It worked perfectly. In this photo you can see a little more of the card's detail including the splotches, gears and the black stud embellishments I added.


I kept the inside of the card fairly clean, only adding the sentiment from another biker themed set called Legendary Ride #160754 and a few dark grey splotches using the very old Grunge stamp set. 

For the base mat I cut an additional piece of the Easy Rider dsp. Using dsp instead of cardstock is a great way to not only use up your paper stash, but it reduces the overall weight of the card for mailing.


Supplies:

Stamps and Dies:
  • One Wild Ride (R) #141724 - badge and motorcycle
  • Legendary Ride #160754 - sentiment for inside 
  • Geared Up Garage (R) dies #148590 - gear image in silver cardstock
  • Gorgeous Grunge (R) #130517 - splotches on card front
  • Stitched Nested Label Framelit Dies #149638 - pocket


Cardstock and DSP:
  • Card Base Basic Black - 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 5 1/2"
  • Cut two DSP mattes 4" x 5 1/4" for front and inside from Easy Rider Kit - Reminiscence Designer Paper
  • 3" x 3" Basic Grey for Badge
  • 2" x 2" Basic White for Badge
  • 3 3/4" x 5" Basic White matte for inside
  • 4" x 3 1/2" flat silver scrap for gear die cut
Ink:
  • Momento Black ink
  • Basic Grey for splotches 
Accessories:  
  • Dimensionals
  • Adhesive Backed Studs black #160767
I'm really happy with the way this card turned out.  All in all once I located the supplies in my stash the rest of the card came together pretty quickly.  I love that.  

How about you, do you keep a stash of materials that work for your masculine cards?  I'd love to hear if you do and how you keep those materials together.  I have one of those 12 x 12 plastic  containers from  the big box store and keep my dsp, neutral cardstock and masculine style stamps and dies in it.  This works really well for me.  

Okay that's it for this week.  Don't forget to leave me a comment before you move on, and come back again.  I love having visitors and I so appreciate your feedback on my cards.  Cheers and happy week ahead!
HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo Since 2006 

Click here to shop or browse in my 24/7 Online Store


Friday, April 11, 2025

Zoo Crew Birthday Wishes - AHSC #624


This has been such a busy week, with very little "me time" or "stamp time". Yesterday I was cleaning and busy getting ready for dinner guests but it was such a dismal rainy day, I didn't mind puttering about and cooking.  

I made one of my favourite meals of Mississippi Pot Roast with Yorkshire Pudding, yellow mashed potatoes, mixed veggies and a Caesar Salad.  We finished off the meal with a tart lemon meringue pie for dessert.  What a treat and especially on a rainy day!  
Today I have some time for card making, so I'm using the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #624 as my inspiration. This challenge ends on Sunday April 6th Eastern Standard Time.    Here's the sketch: 


Here's My Card:  
By moving the card stock strips over to the opposite side of the sketch I was able to have the fox in my focal point riding his motorbike in the right direction. The fox was cut from one of my favourite designer papers called Zoo Crew.  What fun! To add some interest I drew the little road squiggles and puffs of exhaust with a black marker, and I glued on the little daisy embellishments.  

Supplies:

Stamps and Dies:
  • Paper Pumpkin March 25 Kit (Happy Birthday)
  • Deckled Rectangles Dies (R) #159173
  • Stitched Oval Dies (R)
  • Unknown Birthday Greeting Stamp - Stampin' Up!
Cardstock and DSP:
  • Zoo Crew 12 x 12 DSP #161304 (Fox on Motorbike)
  • Whisper White card base 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" scored at 4 1/4"
    • 3 3/4" x 4 3/4" matte for card front
    • 3 3/4" x 5" matte for inside 
    • 31/2" " x 3 1/2" scrap for stitched oval
  • Peach Pie 4 x 5 1/4" for front and inside mattes.  Cut 2.
  • 1/4" x 3 3/4" strips for design element in Peach Pie, Petunia Pop, Shy Shamrock and Pretty in Pink
Ink:
  • Petunia Pop
  • Blends
    • Light Smokey Slate
    • Petunia Pop
  • Fine Black Marker 
Accessories: 
  • Loose Daisy Embellishments (R)
  • Dimensionals  
What a fun card to make and a terrific way to use up your scraps. Whenever I see the characters from the Zoo Crew paper I smile, they are so sweet.  

Well that's it for today.  I hope you enjoyed this card and will leave me a comment.  See you next time.......

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNYTOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT 
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006





Mixed Media Florals Birthday Card - FMS#685

Spring has arrived and that yearning to get out in the garden has taken over. I've spent lots of  time weeding and planting my flower be...