Moxie Fab Thanks Blog Hop! We Love You, Cath!

Image is by Mo Manning for Penny Black and is called Her Heart.

Hola!  Welcome to my second post of the day and to the largest blog hop in the history of blog hops!  Why so many?  Because we're showing some love to a wonderful lady who has inspired us in so many ways...Cath Edvalson of Moxie Fab World.  

Though I never participated in the Moxie Fab World challenges, I visited frequently to see what inspiring treasures Cath had to share and to see the wondrous creations of the artists she showcased.  I was never disappointed and always found loads of loveliness to quench my creative thirst.  Cath's impeccable artists' eye always managed to hone in on just what I needed to kickstart a stalled project.  

Sadly, Cath is stepping down from Moxie Fab and there are crafty hearts breaking all over the world.  Today, we have united to show her just what she has meant to us over the years and to give her a send off befitting a Queen.  Thank you Cath, we love you!

With 285 hoppers listed, you're journey may take you a few days, but there are some of the finest paper artists in the world listed here and you will undoubtedly see some amazing creations as you hop around.  If you're following the hop order, you should have arrived from Unity Stamp Company.  You're next stop is Jennie Harper's blog where you will definitely find something fabulous awaiting you.  If you get lost along the way, you can always pop into Moxie Fab World to get back on track.  I have included the full hop list, as well.  It's a doozy...lol! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and joining us today in celebrating Cath :)
   

I Used to be Funny...oh yeah, and I made a card.

Hello Bloggers!

Welcome back.  I don't have a new card this week, but I did run across a card that I made a few weeks back and forgot to post.  How fortunate!  This is a cutie patootie penned by Mo Manning for Penny Black Stamps and it is part of a clear set called "Ahoy".  I made this card as a store sample for The Hen House Paperie.  We still have a few of these sets available if you want to pop in and pick one up.  There are just not enough cute boy images out there, but this one definitely fits the bill.

Okay, that was the card portion of my post, now onto the deeper more thought-provoking part.  Actually, there is no "deeper", "thought-provoking part", just my cheesy attempt to reel you in and force you to listen to my tale of woe.  Are you ready?

During the life span of my blog, I have written over 600 posts.  WOW!  Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?  Now, I know there are other bloggers out there who can easily boast twice, triple or even quadruple times that number in posts, but they are obviously overachievers and have not received an invitation to my pity party.  Tonight as I scrolled back through some of my older ramblings, I came to a jarring realization...I have lost it.  No, not my mind, but rather my "funny".  Don't get me wrong, I was never hilariously funny like Steve Martin or David Sedaris, but I occasionally managed to jot down a few choice words in a particular order that might elicit a small chuckle if the timing was right and the moon was full.  Not anymore.  Heck, I don't even try.  

When I posted a card, I used to interject random musings and share some of the more absurd moments of my life.  Now I don't bother.  I cut and paste a prefab post onto the screen outlining the details of my project and call it a day.  If I do bother to summon up the brain power to add my own personal touch, it resembles a crafty caveman's incoherent ramblings..."me color Copic, me cut cut, me make card...bye-bye".

Here's how I know I've lost it...even my mother doesn't read my posts anymore.  Yep.  It's true.  I can tell by the comments she leaves, she already knows that I'm not adding anything original, so she basically does what every good mother is expected to do and gently pats me on the head and says "that's nice dear".   Isn't she bound by some sort of Maternal DNA Contract to slog through my posts even if she knows they're the same every time?  Watch...I'll conduct an experiment to prove she's not reading them.  I'll post a silly, nonsensical statement about her that would normally get her attention and then we'll see if she acknowledges it in the comment she leaves.  Hmmm, what should it be....?  How about...my mother used to be the Queen of France, but her royal obligations cut into her crafty time, so she gave it all up to spend more time with her buddies Tim Holtz, Wendy Vecchi, and Penny Black.  Heehee!  Let's see what happens ;D

What exactly does all this mean?  It means I have been a bad blogger, at times even boring myself.  Let's face it, MOST times even boring myself! It means I need to find my "funny" much like a golfer needs to find his swing or a crafty diva needs to find her mojo.  It means that right now, I suck, and I must learn to suck less.  That's a pretty lofty goal, but I'm gonna try before I fully lose the ability to form complete sentences  or correctly spell words consisting of more than 3 letters.  Wish me luk!  Darn it!  It's already happening ;)

Signing off!  Until next time, stay crafty!                 

It's a Girl!

Hey, all!  Just a short post to share a card I made for my husband's boss.  He and his wife recently had their first child and Kirk asked me to make a card welcoming the little one into the world.  As you know, my timeline is not quite in sync with everyone else's timeline, so I was pleased that I was able to complete it before her first birthday.  Actually, she's only about 6-weeks old now, so I'm not doing too badly...right?  

I used a super sweet image by Mo Manning for Penny Black called An Angel Among Us.  Mo creates such amazing images, I just can't get enough of them.  Plus, they're an absolute joy to color.  This image is a bit on the large side, so a lot of extra embellishments were not needed.  I'm in a button and twine phase right now, as you have probably noticed.  

I have more cards to share this week, so please pop back in.  Thanks for stopping by and stay crafty!  

Tales from the Garden

Hey, all!  Hope this post finds everyone doing well and soaking up the sunshine at your end of the keyboard.  We're on sunshine overload here in the Land of Enchantment and could use a little rain.  Or a LOTTA rain.  Let me know if you have some extra wet stuff laying around; maybe we can negotiate  a trade.

With the official start of Summer just a day away, my mind starts to drift and fill with thoughts of all the good things that arrive with that sunny season...the kiss of warmth on my skin as I spend more time outside, the heady fragrance of BBQ emanating from my husband's smoker, the romantic lure of dining alfresco (doesn't a meal always taste better when enjoyed outside?), the wonder of witnessing a fiery sunset, and the glory of beholding the bold blooms found on nature's floral gifts. 

 I don't really possess a green thumb.  If I had to assign it a color, it would be more of a brown thumb.  For those of you who speak Copic, it would be along the lines of an E37 (Sepia).  Not quite a 100 (black), as I DO manage to keep the poor things going even though they no doubt pray for death on a daily basis.  I am barely keeping the 3 medium sized planters in front of my house alive even though they are filled with sage and zinnias which I was assured were hard to kill.  Challenge accepted.

Fortunately for me, I have flower stamps and a boatload of Copics, so bold, bright, blooms are only just a few markers away.  The card I'm sharing today features a beautiful stamp by Penny Black.  Believe it or not, I actually made this card a while back and forgot to share it.  I love the collage-y (is that a word?) feel to the image and the fact that I can add color wherever I feel like adding it (or not adding it) and it still looks finished.

SO...even though my real life "garden" is a bit on the lean side, my Copic "garden"is plentiful (and harder to kill).  Plus, my "Sepia" thumb can be any color I want it to be ;)

Until next time, stay crafty!

Flower Charm by Mo Manning

Hello, bloggers!  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent a crafty weekend with my buddy Shay at a retreat in Capitan, NM a couple of weeks ago.  This is one of the cards I made while I was there.  It features a wonderful image illustrated by Mo Manning for Penny Black and I just fell in love with it the moment I set eyes on it.  

I was trying to hold off posting it as it was intended for my mom for Mother's Day, but unfortunately mom wasn't home over Mother's Day so I didn't mail it out.  She's comfortably back at home now, so I'll pop this in the mail tomorrow.  Of course, now the card is not a surprise, but Mo's Digital Pencil is having a DT call and that's a team I would give my right arm to be on, so I thought I would share it.  Unfortunately, that's my Copic hand and having to do without my right arm would not be a good thing...LOL! Let's hope it doesn't come to that ;)  Anyway, sorry mom.

Wish me luck...with my mom and the DT call!  

One last Christmas card before the big day!

Copic colors used:  skin- E00, E000, R20, BV00, E11 hair- E15, E13, Y21, Y000 wings- YG17, YG13, YG01 red accents- R59, R29, R22 white- C3, C1, C00, 0 bells, YG28, YG26, YG21, YG00 purple halo- BV02, BV000, BV0000.V0000 dot background- BV02, BV000, BV0000, V0000 ground-C5, C3, C1, C00 gray shading around image- C3, C1

Hey, all!  Time for one last Christmas card  before the end of the year.  Yes, you guessed it, this sweet image is by none other than Mo Manning for Penny Black.  I can't seem to get enough of her amazing images these days and out of all of the ones I've colored lately, this one, by far was the most fun.  This is Christmas Fairy Holly and she is also available in Mo's online shop at Mo's Digital Pencil.

This image is super large and really takes up a lot of real estate on the front of a card, but that's okay.  There's no real need for much else.  I again used that pop of purple around the image, a technique that I stole...err...umm..borrowed from my mom.  It really makes that white skirt stand out and I love that!  In addition to the purple halo, I've shaded around the image in light cool gray tones as a finishing touch.  This gives the image a bit more depth and really causes the image to stand out from the background.  I'm almost having more fun playing with the backgrounds as I am coloring the main images ;)

Okay, that's probably it for a few days.  If I don't pop back in with something new, I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!  I hope you bask in the love of friends and family and really enjoy the spirit of the season.  I cherish each and every one of you :)  

Ragged Santa

Copic colors used:  skin- E00, E000, R20, BV00 beard- C3, C1, C00, 0  white trim on suit- B000, B0000 reds- R59, R29, R22  greens- G28, G24, G21  gold accents- Y28, Y26, Y21, Y00 black boots- C7, C5, C3, C1 ground- C5, C3, C1, C00 halo background- BV02, BV000, BV0000, V0000 dots- BV02, BV000, BV0000, V0000 gray shadow around image- C3, C1 

Hey, all!  Welcome back!  I hope you had a great weekend and that your Christmas chores are all behind you :)  Not for me, however.  I still need to put up the tree, decorate the house, buy gifts, wrap them...sheesh!  There is just not enough hours in the day!  How do I go about getting Santa to send me some of those elves?  LOL!

Anyway, I'm still having fun with those images created by Mo Manning for Penny Black.  This one is called Ragged Santa and he is also available in Mo's shop, Mo's Digital Pencil.  I keep forgetting to log my Copic Colors, but I managed to jot these down.  I've been adding some purple halo and dot effects around my images lately, particularly the ones featuring some white.  The purple really makes the white pop.  I picked this little trick up from my insanely talented mother, who gave me a holiday card over Thanksgiving that featured a snowman.  She shaded him with light shades of purple rather than the usual grays or blues.  I totally fell in love with this idea!  Let's hear it for mom :D

I'm going to keep this post short and I will catch you tomorrow with one more Christmas card :)  Until then, stay crafty!  

Another Penny Black Christmas Card

Hey, all!  I'm back...again!  I have posted a record number of cards this week and it's not even a release week at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...LOL!  I should get a cookie!  Maybe a pat on the back?  Awe, come on!  Throw me a bone here, people ;D

Today I'm sharing another card using a couple of mages by Mo Manning for Penny Black.  You can also find each of these on Mo's site at Mo's Digital Pencil, one is called Winter Window and the other is Christmas Lamp Post.  I had such a great time coloring these and used the colored photos on the packaging as my guide.  Again, I kept the embellishments simple and let the images be the star of the show.  I can't tell you how much fun I've had playing with these images this week.  AND that's not all...I've still got more cards to share :D  

Pop back in tomorrow and I'll have another card to show you!  Until then, stay crafty!  

A Penny Black Christmas Card

Hey, bloggers!  I'm back today with a Christmas Card.  This adorable image is by artist Mo Manning for Penny Black.  I used the cling version from PB, but Mo has this image on her digi website, Mo's Digital Pencil,  available for purchase here.  It's called Hanging the Stockings and is just plain ol' fun to color.  I'll be coloring up more of Mo's fabulous images over the next few days so pop back in from time to time.       

Catch ya next time!  Until then, stay crafty!

A Card for Mom

Hey, all!  Welcome back.  I usually don't do a Monday post, but I had a  card to share so I thought I would make an exception.  

A couple of weeks ago, I made a Mother's Day card for my mom and featured it on my blog as part of a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps challenge, but I thought it would be better to make her something that she hadn't already seen.  I decided to use one of those sweet images from Penny Black penned by Mo Manning.  Each one is absolutely adorable and crazy fun to color.  This one is called You Are a Peach and I just love the expression on her face.  So full of delight.  Mo does an incredible job with these images. 

Not only are they fun to color, but they are on the large side too, so there's no need to fuss with the layout or a bunch of embellishments.  The image becomes the star of the show.  A couple of little details to make it more interesting, but that's about it.  You got to love that.  

The other reason I wanted to pop in today, was to mention that I will probably be thin on posts for the next couple of weeks.  We are in the final stages of packing up our townhouse this week and will do the big move over the long weekend.  WOO HOO!  We are in the last leg of this journey and couldn't be more thrilled.  Next time I load a post, it might just be from our new location.  Wish us luck ;D

Okay, that's it for now.  Until next time, stay crafty!    

Feel Better...A Penny Black Cutie by Mo Manning

Hey, everybody!  I know my posts have started to become even fewer and further between than they were a few weeks ago, and they might become even more scarce as we move through May and into June, but I have a pretty good excuse.  Kirk and I sold our townhouse!  WHOOP WHOOP!  The timing could not have been any more perfect.  

We had made a contingency offer on another house almost a month ago.  Everything was coming together perfectly except for one tiny detail...we needed to sell our house before we could move forward on the other one.  One momentary delay or timing difference might mean we could lose this house to someone else.  Oh, yeah!  NO PRESSURE!!!  

The days slowly, almost agonizingly crept by and what only amounted to 28 days felt like 28 years.  Everyday, sometimes more than once, I would pull up the listing on the other house to make sure it was still on the market.  This was a completely insane, compulsive action on my part, because we had First Right of Refusal if they received another offer, meaning they would contact our realtor to see if we could remove the contingency and proceed with the purchase.  What did I think?  That the realtors were going to get together and conspire on ways to break my heart, laughing maniacally behind the scenes as I burst into tears as someone swept in and secretly bought this house out from under us?  I don't know a lot of realtors, so yes, maybe.  Actually, that's not how it works.  If another offer came in, we would get a call, however, it wouldn't really change anything.   We, like lots of folks, would not be able to juggle 2 mortgages, so selling our townhouse was an absolute must.  

Each time a realtor scheduled a showing, I was put off when an offer didn't arrive the next day.  Strange dialogues danced through my head...What?!  You don't like my house?!  My house is GREAT!!  What's wrong with YOU!!!!  Soon these thoughts turned into...nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I'll go eat worms.  Emotionally I became a super needy 12-year old, and not selling our house became a symbol for how I could not attain society's approval...LOL!!!  Deep stuff, I know!  

Friday, after I had decided to sit down and throw myself a Pity Party, complete with an Evite to my friends and a creepy party clown, we received the news.  A couple had made an offer on our house!  And not a moment too soon.  We found out that another offer was received on the other house just 3 hours after we lifted the contingency!  That is crazy timing!  I'm kind of thinking we were meant to buy this house.  Too many signs too numerous to list have pointed us in the direction of this new place.  

I know, we are very blessed to have sold our house in under a month, but when you're in the midst of selling a house, you just don't know what tomorrow is going to bring.  Will one month turn into two?  Three?  Six?  Twelve?  So many uncertainties.  So many horror stories.  Lucky for us, ours has a happy ending.  To anyone with their home on the market right now, I'm sending out positive home selling vibes.  May your home sale be swift and without complications, and may your dream home be just around the corner :)

By the way, I made a card.  It has absolutely nothing to do with this marathon post, but I'll tell you a wee bit about it.  I used an image by Mo Manning for Penny Black called Wishing You Well.  These images that Mo is doing for PB just really make my heart skip a beat.  They are a joy to color and make the perfect focal point for a card.  No need to add a bunch of embellishments, because the images are so fabulous.  I picked up this one and several more from my local stamp store, China Phoenix 2, and I just can't wait to squeeze in some more coloring time to use them.  If you're in or around the Albuquerque area, drop by the shop to check them out, otherwise, find them online in the Penny Black Store. 

That's it for now.  Until next time, stay crafty!     

Hello again!  What fun things have you been up to this weekend?  Well, yesterday I had the good fortune to spend an evening with some crafting buddies and I also made some new friends in the process.  My friend, Denise, had a card making party at her house and asked me to teach a couple of card projects, which I was more than happy to do.  

We decided on two cards...one a Halloween card, the other a non-traditional Christmas card.  For the Halloween card, I decided to pull out my box of Penny Black "cute" images and see what popped out at me.  Yes, I really do have a whole box devoted to these sweet, quirky Penny Black characters.  I don't get to use them often enough, but they are wonderful and some of my favorites animal themed stamps.  The roly poly tabby is a reoccurring character and I love him because he reminds me of my big, fat fluffy black and white female kitty, Charlie.  She's a tiny young lady clocking in at a youthful 14 years of age and a svelte 18 lbs.  I kid you not, she really looks like this floofy kitty on my card.  She actually waddles when she walks and guess what...her brother is even bigger...LOL!  He is appropriately named Max ;D  

I colored the images with Copics, but tried to keep the colors to a minimum.  I believe I only used 9 or 10 colors on this.  I sponged a little Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans on the die cut panel and grounded everything with some fun orange and black DP.  Pretty simple card.  That yummy twine is by a company called Divine Twine and my mom actually sent me whole spools of this in black, red, and gray.  Yes, that's right.  WHOLE spools!  Am a spoiled brat, or what?  LOL! 

Okay, that's it for card number one.  Pop back in tomorrow and I'll share card number two.  

Until then, stay crafty!   

Two for Spring

Welcome to the weekend!  I'm so happy the weekend has finally arrived that I am going to keep this post super short.  I made this Easter card at the request of a friend.  I used an older image by Penny Black.  I just love their line of animal images.  I know I don't use them all that frequently, but trust me when say that I have a storage container devoted just to them and most of them have touched ink at one time or another.  If you need a little something sweet to satisfy that sugary craving, turn to Penny Black.  

Well, that's it for now.  Come back Sunday when I will share the new Kenny K challenge theme with you .  Stay crafty!  Tootles!

Simple But Elegant Part 3

Hello! Today I am featuring a card using one of the fabulous new images by Penny Black. I basically used the same formula as I did with the other cards I have posted this week in an effort to give them some consistency. They might even make a nice set to give someone as a gift.

I started by smudging the edges of the oval die cut panel with Tattered Rose Distress Ink while the panel was still in the die. The die acts as a mask and maintains a nice fresh white border around the edge. Next I stamped the Poppy Poem image in the center and colored with Copics. I tried to keep the coloring simple since I was making multiples of these cards. My goal was to use no more than 5 or 6 Copic colors per card, which is true restraint, so I should get a pat on the back...lol! Have you ever set out to color up a simple image only to look down after you have finished to find that you have 20 or 30 markers piled up on the table? I know...me, too!!

Next I added a thick layer of dimensional lacquer to the poppy and the buds and followed with an outline of glitter glue in Stardust around the edge of the panel. The glitter papers are from a pad by DCWV. I just love coordinated paper pads! They really cut down time on trying to match papers up and find patterns that compliment each other. Bravo, paper companies...keep up the excellent work!

And, of course, no card is complete without a few paper flowers and gems. They are my absolute favorite way to finish a card ;D

See you tomorrow for one more Simple But Elegant design.

Eureeka!! January Class Samples are Finished!

Good Afternoon! I finally completed my January class samples and can breathe a little easier for the moment. I was really sweating it for a while ;D

I know in a previous post, I confessed my relentless obsession with Christmas and how I love to begin the celebrating right after Halloween and continue clear through New Year's Day. However...once the new year walks its happy butt through the door, then I 'm done. Finished. Kaput. No more Christmas. The tree comes down, the decorations get packed away, and the Yuletide tunes sit untouched on the iPod until Walmart rolls out the holiday chotchkes next year. Long story short, I put Christmas to bed for a looooong nap and moved on to the next holiday lurking around the corner...Valentine's Day.

The Valentine's Day cards I created for my class are not over-the-top, but are more on the subtle side. I was shooting for cards that were a little more versatile and could be used for a number of other occasions. I was craving a bit of whimsey when I started putting these cards together and nothing satisfies a "sweet" tooth like the adorable critters by Penny Black. These images are great, because it only takes a bit of color to bring them to life as you can see with the hedgehog and cat cards. The froggy queen was a bit of a diva, however, and it took me a while to make her look presentable. Did I get frustrated? I started to, but then I realized that this little obstacle meant that I needed to add more soft greens and yellows to my ever-expanding Copic Marker library. Any excuse to buy more Copic Markers is..., well, as Martha would say "It's a good thing"... ;D To finish the cards, I added a non-traditional paper palette and a few embellies and called it a day.

Now, what on earth will I do for my March class?

Birds of the Air

Good Morning! Today I am featuring another box card that promotes visions of warm Springtime weather, because it seems like it is going to be a another chilly day here in Albuquerque. However, it is New Mexico and that means that we could have another string of warm days waiting for us just around the corner. While this weather diversity makes for exciting meteorological predictions, it also makes it virtually impossible to break out the cozy winter wardrobe, because we will still be juggling between wearing turtle necks one day and capris pants the next, for quite some time ;D

Today's card features a cloud stamp made by Alextamping, a leafy branch made by Memory Box, a flourish made by Penny Black, and the wonderful bird silhouette by Tim Holtz for Stamper's Anonymous. All of these images are truly some of my favorites :) I started by stamping the clouds on a white die cut panel. I swiped the panel with an embossing buddy, then I stamped the bird and embossed him with clear embossing powder. No Turquoise Iridescent Super Sparkle today, but, oh...how I wanted to. Next, I colored the open areas of the bird with Copics. Then I covered the entire bird and branch image with Versamarker pen and embossed with clear embossing powder twice to achieve a nice smooth, lacquer-like finish. Then I added the leafy branch and the flourish. I edged the panel with glitter glue to give it a bit of sparkle. I combined the stamped panel with some gorgeous K & Company scrapbook papers and added a few embellishments to finish it off.

Inside the card contains a pocket and the opposite side is where the sentiment resides. It reads, " The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. - psalm 104:12". How lovely is that :)

Thanks for visiting with me today ;D