Penny Black Saturday Challenge #63 and Papertake Weekly

So last week was all I expected it to be. I ended up working 3.5 extra hours on last week's timesheet and I was in on Saturday, so I already have 4.5 extra hours for this week. I like the extra money (more stamping things to buy!!) but it's hard to keep up with everyone's blogs and challenges. Vacations are over for a while, so it's time to catch up.

Starting the week off with Penny Black Saturday Challenge #63 and Papertake Weekly. Penny Black's challenge is stitching and Papertake Weekly is celebrating their 100th challenge with "Take Your Pick". You can use any of their 100 challenges for your inspiration. I went back through all the past PTW challenges and chose Katharina's Sketch 13. This was an early sketch and I thought it looked fun.

I used a transparent stamp from PB's new "Spooky" set. This kitty is so darn cute I just couldn't resist. I stamped him with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics (E00, E02, E09, R02, C1). (I'm not very pleased with the coloring, can't seem to get the right amount of "light" or "white" space. Guess I'll just have to keep trying.) My "stitching" is from the Technique Tuesday's "Hanging By A Thread" stamp set. The CS is Bazzill and one of the sheets of DP is from Doodlebug, but I don't know where the other paper came from. (I think I've had around for a while.) I used Nestabilities standard and scallop oval dies, two sizes of EK Success Retro flower punches, and the Swiss Dots embossing folder. There's a touch of Spica's on the kitty's hat, jewels and rhinestones from Doodlebug and Queens & Co.

Looking forward to more crafting this week (and not so much working). Thanks for stopping by. Comments are always welcome.

Cheers, Judi

House Mouse Monday Challenge #44 & Friday Sketchers 59

I decided to combine two challenges.... House Mouse Monday Challenge #44 and Friday Sketchers 59. I've never participated in Friday Sketchers, but I love sketches so thought it was time to give this challenge a try.

The House Mouse challenge is to use Paper Tole which is a layering technique. I've added one layer to the parts of the image that I feel would be "in front" (e.g. Itty Bit's arms, hat, cake and candles). This is a fun technique and really adds dimension to your image.

I used "It's My Party" (HMJR1059) and colored with Copics. "Birthday Wishes" (C131) is by Endless Creations. The DP is from Imaginisce's "All Kinds of Happy" collection and the CS is Bazzill. I also used the Nestabilities Small Labels die around the main image and the EK Success "Dotted Scallop" border punch along the bottom of the long strip. The jewels are from Doodlebug and the touch of glitter is from my new Spica pens.

These were both fun challenges and I hope you enjoy. Thanks for looking.

Cheers, Judi

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #52

I actually started this card last week for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge #51 but for some reason never got it done. So fortunately, I was able to make the card I started fit in to Penny Black Saturday Challenge #52 "Blooming Gorgeous".

I continued to follow the sketch from PBSC #51 and was easily able to incorporate flowers into it. I used Penny Black's "Purrr-fect Time (1467K)" colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with gamsol. The image was cut out using Nestabilities Label Four and there's a touch of black ink around the edge. The card stock is all Bazzill and the DP is "What's New Club" by A2Z Essentials. I picked this wonderful 2-sided paper up last year at the Great Lakes Mega Meet in Novi, Michigan and this is the first time to use it. The flowers are "Mulberry Street" by Petaloo and the jewels are from Doodlebug Design Inc. Lastly I tried for the first time "Flower Soft". I used the "Spring" mix in the flower basket. I think it's going to take a little practice.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks for visiting.

Cheers, Judi

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #43

Appropriately enough, the Penny Black Saturday Challenge #43 is "Easter".



I used the PB stamp "Easter March", Hero Arts stamp "Easter Greetings", the Nestabilitilies Small Labels die and the Scalloped Scallop border punch by EK Success. The image is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and blended with gamsol. The CS is Bazzill and the DP is Doodlebug Easter Argyle. The flower and the gems are also Doodlebug. The button is from stash and there's a touch of Stickles Diamond glitter glue.

Hope everyone has a happy Easter.
Thanks for visiting.
Cheers, Judi