Happy Anniversary............. CCMC319

Another beautiful Tuesday and my stamping friend Sheri and I spent some great quality time together this morning, starting with a walk in the sunshine.  We returned all revved up and ready to stamp.  

Earlier in the day I'd printed off some of this past week's sketch and colour challenges, so we spent some time looking at various ones before deciding to do the Create With Connie and Mary CCMC319 challenge.   

Although we both worked on the same sketch you'll see that our cards are totally different, and that's the whole point of doing a challenge.  To check out Sheri's card click here.   I hope you'll also check out the wonderful cards from the CCM design team and other submissions and leave them some comments.  
Here's the Sketch: 

Here's My Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Kinda Eclectic, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Full of Life (R)
Ink:  Momento Tuxedo Black, Smokey Slate
Card Stock:  Pink Pirouette, Smokey Slate, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper  
Accessories:  Beautiful Baroque Embossing Folder, Beautiful Wings Embosslit, Oval Framelits, Bitty Banner Framelits, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Basic Rhinestones, Trimmer, Glue Dots, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip.

How I Assembled It: 

1.  The card base was cut from Basic Gray card stock measuring 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and folded at 4 1/4".

2.  The Pink Pirouette layer measures 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" and was embossed with the Beautiful Baroque Embossing Folder.  Before adhering this piece to the card base, I put sticky strip down each long edge of the layer and adhered strips of Silver Glimmer paper that measured 1/2" x 5 1/2".  I attached this whole layer to the card base with sticky strip.

3.  The oval layers were made by cutting out two ovals, one in Smokey Slate and one in Silver Glimmer paper, with the #2 framelit from the Ovals Collection Framelits (see picture below).  Using the #3 size framelit I cut out a Basic Gray oval.  The smaller Smokey Slate and Silver Glimmer Ovals were offset so that the glimmer one only slightly shows on the left side of the Smokey Slate oval.  I used Glue Dots to adhere the glimmer paper to the cardstock, and then dimensionals were added to the back.  Once this piece was attached to the larger oval then the entire element was mounted to the bottom left of the card with sticky strip.

4.  The butterfly from Kinda Eclectic was stamped in Smokey Slate ink on Smokey Slate card stock and then punched out with the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  I punched out butterflies in Basic Gray and Pink Pirouette using the Beautiful Wings Embosslit and then adhered them below and above the stamped butterfly image.  

Beautiful Wings Embosslit is one of my favourite die cuts.  Just look at all those cute little butterflies

Basic Rhinestones were added to the smallest butterfly image.  The butterfly embellishment was then attached to the oval embellishment with dimensionals and glue dots.  I usually cut the dimensionals into smaller pieces and strategically place them on the underside of the butterfly to make it look like it's in flight.
 

Kinda Eclectic is a 6 piece stamp set that comes in clear and wood mount styles. 

5.  The sentiment Happy Anniversary from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set was stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black ink on a small strip of Pink Pirouette card stock.  This piece was then cut out with the Bitty Banners Framelits and adhered to the Oval with glue dots and dimensionals. 

The Bitty Banner Framelits are ideal for making small framelits.  They match the Itty Bitty Sentiments stamp and can be purchased for 15% off as a bundle. 

Teeny Tiny wishes is an ideal 24-piece sentiment stamp to have in your collection.  It covers almost every occasion.  This set comes in wood, clear and brush stroke versions (MDS).

6.  For the inside of the card I used a 3 3/4" x 5 " piece of Whisper White card stock with a stamped  sentiment from the retired Full of Life stamp set.  The sentiment I'd chosen was a love theme, however I have to confess that somehow I grabbed the wrong stamp and didn't realize it until I added the pictures to this post.  Can you see my red face?  It's glowing with embarrassment.   

Don't worry before I give this to the lucky couple that are celebrating their anniversary, I'll be redoing the inside of the card.  Lol!  That's a new one on me!

Okay here's one last look at this card.  Hope you'll leave me some comments and let me know what kind of goof ups you've made that have left you with a red face.  I'd love to hear about it, and will reward the funniest story with some card candy.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens  

Making A List and Checking It Twice....... PCCCSC#108

When I saw the sketch by Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch Challenge this week,  I had a pretty good idea where I was going with it. To begin with, the sketch simply screamed "letter or postcard", so I knew I had to roll out something with that theme in mind.  

Even though there are crystal clear skies and it's 30 degrees outside, one thing led to another and I was on my way to making my first Christmas card of the season.  I hope you enjoy the sketch PCCCSC#108 and my rendition. 

Here's the Sketch Challenge:

Here's My Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Santa's List (R), Post Card, Postage Due, The Open Sea
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede
Card Stock:  Crumb Cake , Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Small Star Punch(R), Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, Postage Stamp Punch, Modern Label Punch, Candy Dots (Neutrals - Soft Suede, Regals - Cherry Cobbler), Trimmer, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Sticky Strip

The Post Card stamp is timeless and I never get tired of creating with it.  This set comes in wood, clear and brush stroke images (MDS).

The Postage Due stamp set is perfect for those romantic travel type cards and scrapbook pages.  It has four beautiful images and comes in wood, clear and brush stroke images (MDS).

How I Made It:

1. Cut the card base from Crumb Cake to measure 8 1/2 x 5 and fold at 4 1/4"
2. Cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler to measure 3 6/8" x 4 7/8" for post card layer
3. Cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler to measure 2 3/4 x 6/8" to mount the sentiment on
4. Cut a piece of Cherry Cobbler to measure 1/2" x 5" for the strip on the inside panel
5. Stamp the Post Card stamp on a 4 x 5" piece of Very Vanilla card stock with Soft Suede Ink. On a 1 1/2" x 5" piece of Very Vanilla re stamp the post card stamp but just capture the top portion of the stamp.   Cut the full post card image to measure 4 3/4" x 3 3/8".  Sponge the edges with Crumb Cake. Stamp the list from the Open Sea set in Crumb Cake on the right hand side of the post card, and then stamp the Santa from Santa's List on the left hand side in Cherry Cobbler.  Mount this piece onto the 3 6/8" x 4 7/8" layer of Cherry Cobbler. Put dimensionals on the back side and set aside.
6. Cut the second image with the "post card" and scroll work image down to 4" x 1".  Sponge the edges with Crumb Cake.
7. Cut a 1/2" x 4 1/4" strip of Champagne Glimmer paper and adhere it to the left hand side of the card base.  I wanted to see a little bit of the Crumb Cake from the card base beside the glimmer paper, so I left a 1/8" margin on the outside edge.  Use glue dots on the back of the Post Card strip and position it over the Glimmer Strip leaving an 1/8" margin on three sides.  The reason you use Glue Dots instead of sticky strip is that they adhere better to the glitter base. 
8. To build the stamp layer, stamp two images of the 2 cent stamp from  Postage Due in Cherry Cobbler ink.  Fussy cut around the edges of one of the images and sponge edges with Cherry Cobbler.  Cut around the "2 cent square" on the second stamped image and sponge the edges.  Punch out a 1" piece of Champagne Glimmer paper with the 1" square punch and adhere the two cent square with glue dots.  Trim the glimmer paper to 1/8" on all sides of the 2 cent block. Pop this piece up with dimensionals to the center of the first stamp image.
9. Using the Postage Stamp Punch punch out a piece of Soft Suede card stock and then adhere the stamped image to this piece.  Adhere the layered stamp in the top right hand corner of the post card and place three candy dots beneath it. 
10. Stamp the sentiment "He's making a list........" in soft suede on a small scrap of Very Vanilla card stock. Punch out this piece with the Modern Label Punch and sponge edges with Crumb Cake.  Adhere the sentiment to the 2 3/4" piece of Cherry Cobbler and mount beneath the Santa image with dimensionals.  Note:  The sentiment is larger than the Modern Label punch so in order to get everything in I cut the strip I'd stamped the sentiment on to measure 1/2" by 3" with the sentiment centered in the middle.  I then inserted each end of it into the Modern Label punch from the top of the punch and just punched each side separately.  Once finished I sponged the sentiment with Crumb Cake ink.
11. Punch out two small stars from the Champagne Glimmer Paper with the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack and attach them to the sentiment label with glue dots.  
12. For the inside panel cut a piece of Very Vanilla card stock to measure 3 3/4" x 5" and sponge the edges with Crumb Cake ink.  Stamp the sentiment "Hope you're nice." in the top right hand corner in Soft Suede ink.  Punch out 2 small stars and one Itty Bitty star and mount with glue dots below the sentiment.
13. Cut a strip of Champagne Glimmer Paper measuring 3/8" x 4 7/8" and mount to the strip of Cherry Cobbler.  Attach this strip 1/4" from the bottom of the card liner with sticky strip.  

Although this looks like a lot of work, once I decided where everything was to go, it assembled really quickly. 
 

It's fun how the list from the Open Sea just seemed fitting for this card.  It's stamped in Crumb cake ink.  I deviated from the sketch by adding my stars to the outside of the sentiment rather than two larger sized stars beneath it.  It seemed to work better this way.  If you look really close to the left hand side of the picture you can see the Champagne Glimmer paper just peaking out beneath the post card banner. 

It's very hard to see in this picture but the glimmer square just beneath the 2 cent block adds just enough of a glimmer to add extra interest to this element.  I can't seem to get enough of these Candy Dots, they are so handy to use.  They come in each of the colour families and really add a nice finishing touch to a card or scrap book page, when just a small element is needed.

Here's a full view of the inside of the card.  The strip at the base of the card seems to pull the everything together and give it balance.

For the stars I used the retired Stampin' Up small star punch and the star from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack. They are the perfect size to group together and look so dazzling when punched on glimmer paper!

Here's one last look at my card.  Leave me a note and let me know if you've started making Christmas cards yet, and what your favourite seasonal stamp sets are.  I'm still using retired stamp sets first because I love them and secondly because I'm waiting for my Holiday Catalogue order to come in next week.  I can't wait to start creating with my new White Christmas and House stamp  sets. 

I hope you'll check out all the wonderful design team and participant cards over at  the Paper Craft Crew site and leave them a comment or two while you're at it.  As always, there's a really great selection of cards.

Happy Stamping! 
Penny Tokens 

Fancy Friday Blog Hop Challenge

Today I found a really fun challenge on Connie Collin's Constantly Stamping blog.  It's called the Fancy Friday blog hop. 

This challenge, presented by the Fancy Friday Blog Hop is to create a project using the beautiful color palette found on this chair from faceliftfurniture.com.  

The way this challenge works is really simple, you just have to use any or all of the colors in this palette plus neutrals to create a stamped project and post a comment on any of the Fancy Friday blog hop blogs, with a link to the project.  Now that is pretty simple.  Oh and did I mention that by playing along I'll be entered for a chance to win the Seasonally Scattered stamp set?   

Here's My Project:

 

The colours in the chair palette simply screamed "Fall" and "Thanks Giving" to me, so I knew I wanted to make a card with that kind of theme. As yet, I don't have any of the new fall stamps so I decided to dust off my Wonderfall* stamp set and coordinating  Autumn Accents Bigz Die Cuts .   I was stuck for a sentiment stamp until my friend Sheri loaned me her "Let Your Hair Down" hostess stamp set and once I saw it, I knew what I was going to do. 

The Autumn Accents Bigz Die contains 4 leaf images.  Although the Wonderfall stamp set is retired, you can still purchase the MDS Digital "Wonderfall" package for only $8.85.  Click here to see the Wonderfall Album on My Digital Studio.

The Let Your Hair Down hostess stamp set is available for free if you place an on-line order in my store for $200+ or hold a workshop in your home or mine with sales over $200.  Check out my event calendar for the month of September there are lots of opportunities for workshop nights.

I used all the colours in the colour palette plus Whisper White card stock for my neutral colour.  When you're making a card like this the "stamp-a-ma-jig" is your best friend in your stamping tool box, as it helps to keep your stamped sentiment perfectly spaced and aligned.  

Remember to clean your stamps before changing the colour for each stamped line.  TIP:  Since this is such an easy card to make I would suggest you stamp off several of the sentiment layers, a line at a time, and set them aside for other cards. I'd do the same with the leaves and stamp several of the images in various colours and then set them aside.  That way you are not having to clean and wipe off your stamps as much.

I simply love this bouquet of leaves tied up with some linen thread.  All of the layers are adhered together with glue dots, except for the acorn which was mounted with dimensionals. 

This is a view of the inside of the card.  The sentiment from the retired Friend to Friend stamp set is stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink.  The large leaf in Island Indigo was stamped directly to the card liner but the two acorns
were stamped separately and then adhered with dimensionals.  
 
Supplies:
Stamp Sets:  Wonderfall (R), Friend to Friend (R)
Ink:  Island Indigo, Tangelo Twist, Blackberry Bliss, Real Red, Early Espresso 
Card Stock and Measurements: 

• Card front measuring 4 1/4" x 11 was cut from Early Espresso and then embossed with the Hounds tooth Embossing Folder (R).  
• The next layer on the card front is a piece of Real Red measuring 4" x 4 3/4"
• The final layer of Whisper White measures 3 3/4" x 4 1/2"  
• The inside layer of Whisper White measures 5 x 3 3/4" 

Scraps of Whisper White were used for the leaf images.

Accessories:  Stampa-ma-jig, Autumn Accents Bigz  Die, Big Shot Machine, Hounds tooth Embossing Folder, Linen Thread, dimensionals, glue dots. 

Okay folks that's it for today's stamping!  Glad you dropped by for a visit, and I hope you liked this card and will follow the links in the blog hop.

Happy Stampin'
Penny Tokens 

Tea Party Friendship Card

 I'm starting off September with a sketch challenge by the Paper Craft Crew PCCCS107 and a Colour Challenge by Create with Connie and Mary CCMC318.

Here's The Sketch:

 Here's the Colour Challenge:

Here's My Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Set: Tea Party, Friend To Friend (R)
Ink and Markers:  Basic Gray, Pool Party, Hello Honey
Card Stock:  Basic Gray, Pool Party, Hello Honey
DSP:  All Abloom
Accessories:  Oval Collection Framelit Dies, Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots and Delicate Designs Embossing Folders, Basic Rhinestones, 3/8" Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon (R), Trimmer 

I have to apologize for this fuzzy picture of the inside of the card.   I'm embarrassed that it's not in focus, however I think you can tell enough through the blurriness that I coloured the flower vase with markers.  The sentiment is from a retired stamp set called Friend to Friend. 

I love using the Tea Party Stamp set and trying different colour combinations with the main image.  For this one I stamped the image twice - once in basic gray, and a second time in Hello Honey ink.  I then fussy cut around the central part of the image and glued it to the basic gray one.  I used Tom Bow glue so I had a little bit of lee way in making sure that the Hello Honey image centered perfectly.  

This versatile collection of five stamps comes in Wood or Clear Mount, and coordinates with the Oval Framelits, Large Oval Punch, Large Tag Punch.  Great value for the money!

Because the Oval Collection Framelits are not true nestabilities with a 1/4" or less between ovals, I wound up fussy cutting around both the stamped images.  This enabled me to layer them onto the Hello Honey oval.
 
I added three rhinestones in various sizes from medium to large in the left hand corner of the image to comply with the sketch.  There are also a couple of other rhinestones on the circular designs in each of the corners.........just can't get enough bling!  

Well that's it for today folks.  I hope you enjoyed this card and will stop at the challenge sites to check out all the great cards that've been posted.  I'm leaving you with one last look at my card.

HAPPY STAMPING!
PENNY TOKENS  
03/09/14  Post Script: I just found out that I was one of the Top Three Picks for this card on Connie and Mary's Sketch Challenge CCMC318.  I hope you'll check out the fabulous cards made by the other two picks Julie and Laurie. 

This card also got me on the Artisan's Picks for the Paper Craft Crew challenge, which is awesome. I was honoured to be chosen along with Heidi Weaver and  Cynthia Richards who made awesome Halloween theme cards. Make sure you go and check out both sites.
 

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #151

It's Labour Day weekend and, as usually happens on a long weekend, we've had a mixed bag of weather, with cooling temperatures and some rain.  I feel sad that the beautiful warm weather we'd been having didn't hold for all those families trying to get in one last camping trip or day at the beach before the bustle of September and back to school starts. Oh well, it's the prelude to fall. 

Today I've made a Sympathy card based on a sketch from Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #151.  I liked the simplicity of this sketch designed by Kim Singdalsen the Freshly Made Sketches August Guest Designer.  It was her first ever sketch, and she's done an awesome job!  Check out all Kim's other great cards on her blog Joyful Creations With Kim.  

Here's Kim's Sketch:

Here's My Card:

Supplies:
Stamp Sets: 

• Four Frames
• Teeny Tiny Wishes 
• Friend to Friend (R)
• Gorgeous Grunge
• Papillion Potpourri
• Stippled Blossoms

Card stock:  

• Crumb cake for the 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" base, the 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" layer and the 1/2" x 3 1/8" banner.
• Soft Sky for 3 x 3" layer and scrap for the Decorative Label layers
• Very Vanilla 5 x 3 3/4" for first layer, 2 7/8" x 2 7/8" for stamped layer and a scrap for the Decorative layer and butterfly.

Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Soft Sky

Accessories:   

• Decorative Label Punch
• Bitty Butterfly Punch
• Square Lattice Embossing Folder (R)
• Honeycomb Embossing Folder 
• Aqua Painter
• Basic Pearls
• Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Adhesive Strips

 

The Very Vanilla layer measuring 5" x 3 3/4" was embossed with the Honeycomb Embossing Folder and then randomly and lightly stamped with the speckled stamp from the Gorgeous Grunge set and Soft Sky Ink.

The banner strip was cut from Crumb Cake card stock and embossed with the now retired Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  Three medium sized basic pearls were added for some interest.

For the 3rd layer on the card I stamped the floral image from the Four Frames stamp set in Crumb Cake on a piece of Very Vanilla card stock.  Details on the flowers were touched up with Soft Sky ink and an Aqua Painter.  One small basic pearl was added to the top flower to tie it in with the flowers on the 2nd layer.  This piece was punched out with the Decorative Label punch and a border was added in Soft Sky card stock.  Some small sprinkles were added in Soft Sky with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp.
 

Decorative Label Punch coordinates with the Four Frames Stamp Set.

Four Frames Stamp set - a very stylish stamp set.

I started the design on the 2nd layer of Very Vanilla card stock by randomly stamping the sprinkle image from Gorgeous Grunge in Crumb Cake ink.  The large rose and smaller detailed petal roses from the Stippled Blossoms stamp set, were then stamped randomly in Crumb Cake  ink. I used an Aqua painter and Soft Sky ink to add shadows and hints of colour to the roses and then finished off this layer with a smattering of tiny basic pearls in the flower centers. 

I

 I wanted to keep the inside of the card simple with lots of "white space".  A 5 x 3 3/4" piece of Soft Sky was added to the inside of the card and topped with a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock measuring 3 1/2" x 4 3/4".  The sentiment "Thinking of You" from the retired Friend to Friend set was stamped in Early Espresso and the large flower image from Stippled Blossoms was stamped in the bottom corner in Soft Sky.

The beautiful little butterfly was stamped twice in Soft Sky ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and then punched out with the Bitty Butterfly punch.  The edges of the butterfly were sponged with Soft Sky and Crumb Cake inks.  The butterflies were nested with a Glue Dot and then added to the card with a dimensional.  The wings were fluffed up with the bone folder to give an appearance of flight and finally a small band of pearls was added for the body. 

Here's the finished card.  I'm pleased with how it turned out. 

Well that's it for today folks.  I hope you'll take the time to go and check out all the other entries and guest designer cards for this sketch on the Freshly Made Sketches blog site.  There is so much creativeness and awesome ideas there. 

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

Host a Party and get "Good Greetings

Now's your chance to get the "Good Greetings" stamp set for FREE along with all the other freebies you'll earn when you host a home party with $325 in sales before S&H and tax. 

This special offer is only available between now and October 31st, 2014. So don't delay.  I've marked some dates that are now available on my event calendar, so call me now to choose one. 

The Good Greeting's Stamp Set comes with 19 clear or wood mount stamps and is perfect for all occasions.  

Did you know that Stampin' Up! Party's and workshops come in all different shapes and sizes? It doesn't matter how you get together with your friends and family to share your love of stamping, they're all fun, so pick one that works for you and your friends.  Here are some fun ideas to get you started:

*Host a party in your home with friends and family
*Host a fundraiser
*Host a Stamp Night in your home with friends and family
*Host a workshop or class in my home and bring your friends and family
*Hold a catalogue party- virtual or over a cup of coffee
*Host a  "Coffee and Chocolate" stamping party in your favourite bistro

Call me for more information on hosting a party and all the hostess benefits.  

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens

New Holiday Catalogue Goes Live Today!!!

August 28th is finally here, and it marks the official start of the new "Make It Fun, Make it Together" Holiday Catalogue.

I've just added the PDF version of this catalogue to my right side-bar under Current Catalogues, so you'll have easy access to it when you visit my blog.

I can't wait for you to view this Holiday Catalogue, there are so many exciting new features like - fun kits, framelits and coordinating stamps, ribbons and seasonal designer papers.  So whether your thing is Fall, Halloween, Christmas, you'll find it all here in this one catalogue.  This catalogue is available until January 5, 2014.

Happy Stamping!
Penny Tokens