Before and After - Penny Black Vintage Stamp

No matter how long the winter,

spring is sure to follow. 

Penny Black vintage stamp, Tonic Flip Card die, flower and butterfly dies,
white gel pen, lace sticker trim, mounting foam tape, Nuvo drops, designer paper

Hey there,

The blessing of extra time in my craft room lately has meant going down memory lane with some boxes of my very old card creations.  I've kept a few of my originals because I wanted to revisit some of my favorite vintage stamps and do a "before and after" project just to see how far I've come.  I've been stamping since 1995, so things have changed a lot since then. I remember when the advent of heat embossing rocked my world.  This little cutie from Penny Black has always been one of my favorite stamps, and I was excited to dust her off and color her with some pretty pastel copics for spring.

I felt a little constrained because I couldn't size her like I do my digi stamps, but  her smaller size made it possible for me to put her on this  fun flip card with a fancy border that's perfect for some spring blossoms.  

I added the slightest hint of a smile to her face because she's eyeing a pretty butterfly and is obviously delighted to have picked the most humongous flower in the garden. The butterfly and small flowers are die cuts and the flower centers are Nuvo drops.  I also added white gel pen dots to her dress and Stickles to the center of the large flower and the small flower print on her dress. 

I haven't chosen the recipient of  this card yet, so I added a more generic sentiment, but one that I think goes with my image.  

Yikes, here's my first card created almost three decades ago!  What an enlightening and encouraging exercise to document my progression. Time flies and our skills...and tools.. improve. I think I colored her with water color pencils, which I thought were the greatest invention known to man at the time. And a paper crimper was a must in any crafty tool kit. As for embossing folders, well they weren't even born yet.

I challenge you to do a "before and after" yourself.  I'll bet you have some cards you'd like to update with some new techniques and modern savvy. And you probably have a little extra time, for now. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and make something old new again and see how far you've come..

Nancy

Playing along with:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - March

Retro Rubber Challenge - Tic Tac Toe (bottom across)

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #627

                                                   Sisterhood of Crafters Spring Challenge

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge - March

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #116

Stinkin' Inkers Challenge - Pastel Palette

Unicorn Challenge #52

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #382

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #128

Jeremiah Ketner Beautiful Butterfly Girl

Adversity is the foundation of virtue.

Japanese Proverb

Jeremiah Ketner digi, Copic markers, hot pink foil card stock. silver leafing pen,
 white gel pen, black gems

Hey there,

When Jeremiah Ketner's amazing Asian art calls to me from my digi collection,  I always answer, because I know how delightful it is to color his gorgeous detailed beauties. I've had THIS beautiful coloring page collection from his Etsy store in my digi file for a while.  Because Jeremiah's water color art is such a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors,  I like to use vivid hues and a painterly style when I  color his  images with my copics.

My friend recently picked out several pieces of foil card stock in multiple colors for me at a store near where she lives and I was thrilled to find just right color for my frame. I love how gorgeous and reflective this card stock is when embossed! I edged both my image panel and my foil panel with a silver leafing pen before I  mounted them to my card base. The image panel is attached with mounting tape for dimension.  I used a white gel pen and some faceted black gems to embellish my butterflies and flowers. 

I've been trying to remember to add sentiments to my cards because I think they are an important finishing touch.  But I never remember to leave enough space for them so I end up tucking them somewhere. I found a subtle place for this one. Subtle is good. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and use all the colors. 

Nancy

Playing along with:

Through the Craft Room Door Challenge 17th March

Through the Purple Haze Challenge #165

Color Crazy - Week 11

Arty Divas Challenge #17

Love to Craft Challenge #44 - March

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge - Spring Fling

Crafty Creations Challenge #407

Digi Choosday Challenge - Wk 11

Life is Beautiful - Santoro Gorjuss Z-Fold Card

Let your mind be quiet, realizing the beauty of the world, and the immense, 

the boundless treasures that it holds in store.   Edward Carpenter

Santoro Gorjuss stamp, Spellbinders frame die, copic markers, white gel pen, iridescent gems 

Hey there,

This sweet Gorjuss image reminds me of my darling daughter who has loved the beach since she was a toddler.  She always dreamed of living near the ocean and, as an adult, has fulfilled that dream in her home in Monterey, California.  I created this card for her to remind her of those delightful sunny days at the beaches in Santa Cruz, Carmel and Monterey near San Jose where our family spent many wonderful years.

As you might have noticed,  I like to add faces to faceless stamps. Simple ones are easy to draw and color, and I think they add life and personality to an image. After coloring my adorable bathing beauty with Copics, I fussy cut her and mounted her on a white die cut circle frame that reminded me of a clam shell and waves.  I backed it with a matching aqua circle and glued it the front of a z-fold card.  The panels on the card are designer paper with shells and fish patterns.  The front panel is pale blue ombre to mimic the sky.  

Anyone visiting the magnificent Bir Sur coastline would have to agree that the world around us and life in general are, indeed, amazingly beautiful. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and take a delightful nature walk...alone for now. 😄

Nancy

Playing along with:

A Gem of a Challenge - March 14

Allsorts Challenge # 563

Challenge Up Your Life - Challenge #121

Crafty Calendar Challenge - More than One Fold

Simply Create Too - Challenge #158

Aud Sentiments Challenge #246

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Challenge #128
Just Add Ink Challenge #496
Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #127

Paper Shelter Bookworm Fairy - Kit and Clowder Meets Jennifer McGuire

Her eyes sparkle because she sees magic everywhere. 

Hey there, 

This mystical little bookworm from the Paper Shelter has been calling to me from my Kit and Clowder class library for months. Vivid colors and glitter never fail to beguile me!  I have been watching Jennifer McGuire's YouTube videos to make my treadmill workouts more palatable and I saw this glitter technique that I was excited to try.  I thought it would make a perfect whimsical background sky for this magical fairy.  The directions on the video were simple to follow, although I always make everything around me sparkle when I use glitter.  I used a swirly stencil and fine Glitter Rttz glitter in three colors.  They coordinate with my eyes and my furniture, so I'm good.

I  added some white gel pen dots for stars on my glittery sky.  After I colored my image with Copics and fussy cut her out, I realized the bright glitter was a little too intense behind my image, so I added a vellum circle moon to tone down the colors. A little touch of glue in the center and the mounting tape behind my image helped to hold the vellum in place invisibly.  I mounted my finished panel on a glossy silver panel and then a white 5 x 7 card base. 

I had such fun creating a proper magical fairyland for my sweet fairy to relax and read her book. I hope you find a sparkly corner to do something you love today. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and spread your own kind of sparkle everywhere!

Nancy

Playing along with:

Allsorts Challenge #562

The Fairy and the Unicorn April Challenge

Cute Card Thursday Challenge #624

Digi Chooseday Challenge Week 9

Classic Design Challenge #3

The Creative Crafters Challenge #25

Createful Heart Design Challenge #17

          Pearly Sparkles Challenge #49           

DT For Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #3 - Morgan Fitzsimons Fantasy Fae Digi Stamp

Morgan's ArtWorld digital image,  Copic markers, Cricut Design Space die cuts and lettering, 

assorted gems, leaf die cuts (glossy silver card stock)

Hey there, 

It's the lucky month of March and time again  for another fabulous Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge.  I feel very fortunate to be a member of Morgan's Design Team and have the opportunity to create cards with Morgan's amazing digital stamps. I hope this inspires you to create something wonderful of your own  for our challenge.   I used Morgan's  THIS beautiful Fantasy Fae image to create a St. Patrick's Day themed card.

The gatefold card base was created in Cricut Design Studio and I used the matching design elements, along with some small shamrocks, to embellish the panels, both on the front and back.  I printed the sentiment vertically using the writing feature in Design Studio.  I colored the rose and leaf portion of the image separately and used mounting tape to add some dimension to my scene, along with  a few small flowers, silver foil leaves and a bejeweled butterfly.

The ornate gates close to show matching design elements on the front of the card .

Click HERE to go to the current challenge.

We would love to see you join Morgan's ArtWorld Facebook Group.Group Link HERE!

Morgan has a new shop that will be fully open soon but there are some digi images available for purchase now. HERE

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and find the joy in entering a Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge. 

Nancy

Playing along with:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #24

Crafty Creations Challenge #406

Creative Moments Challenge #185

The Paper Shelter Challenge #416

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #260

Digi Chooseday Challenge - Wk 8

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Go Green

Di's Digi Challenge - Show Some Green
Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - Make it Feminine
A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #3 - March
World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #2