The Penny Black Blog

Today we bring you clean, simple, modern and marvelous project ideas featuring our Happy Heart Day collection.

And who better to bring a fresh take and modern style than our crafty friend Julia! For her first project, she shares with us a coordinating gift wrap and card set.

To begin, she simply stamped the adorable hedgie and rose from our miniature transparent stamp set, 30-529 Lovable, onto pink wrapping paper.

For her card, she die cut the balloons and bird from our Creative Die set, 51-493 Heart Balloons, from designer paper and then embellished them with thread.

And did you notice that sweet tag on the card above? It’s included in our Creative Die set, 51-491 Lovable Cut Out.  Speaking of, Julia combined this with the matching stamp set, 30-529 Lovable, on her next sweet card.

Julia simply sprinkled the roses, stamped in black ink, across her artistic watercolor background.

Another idea for using fun watercolor backgrounds is to use them with our Creative Die, 51-496 Strings of Hearts.

Simply paint with your favorite paints onto watercolor paper, allow to dry, and then die cut.  This is also a fun project to do with kids.

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies

30-529 Lovable
51-491 Lovable Cut Out
51-493 Heart Balloons
30-528 Kisses & Wishes
51-496 Strings of Hearts

*NOTE: Should any advertisements appear outside/beneath this post’s content, they are not affiliated nor endorsed by Penny Black.  We apologize for the technical “glitch” and are working on a solution so that your future experiences at our blog are ad-free. 

Thanks to everyone who partied with us as we celebrated the release of our Happy Heart Day collection!  Without further ado, here are our winners!

Blog Hop Winner #1: Daniela May
Blog Hop Winner #2: Momcat
Blog Hop Winner #3: Linnea S
Day 2 Winner: Rostamps4fun
Day 3 Winner: MKW_Cards
Day 4 Winner: Kirsty Vittetoe
Day 5 Winner: trainwithmeghan

Congrats, you have each won a $50 shopping spree to our online store. To claim your prize, send your selections to [email protected] with “Attn Susan: Happy Heart Day Winner” in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your shipping information as well.

And before we go, we wish you ALL fun and festive New Year’s Eve celebrations.

May 2019 be filled with all things inspiring and inky!

*NOTE: Should any advertisements appear outside/beneath this post’s content, they are not affiliated nor endorsed by Penny Black.  We apologize for the technical “glitch” and are working on a solution so that your future experiences at our blog are ad-free. 

With our new collection, Happy Heart Day, creating handmade Valentines and love-themed cards need not be tricky or time consuming.

Today Patti Kehl shares with us three fun card designs featuring stamps and dies along with bold red cardstock.

For her first card, Patti has used our Creative Die set, 51-494 Love and Miss You, as the string for her heart-shaped balloon (51-493 Heart Balloons).

This is certainly an adorable finishing touch that gives this card extra charm!

And while Patti’s cards are always crisp, clean, and achievable for all levels of papercrafters, she always adds that special something that makes them unique. For her next two cards, she’s used the heart/stitching die which is part of our Creative Die set, 51-486 Stitched XOXO.

When used with our Creative Die, 51-487 Love Train, it makes the perfect train track!

All aboard!

When combined with the pup from 30-523 Key to My Heart (exact match die 51-495 Key…Cut Out), the die cut stitching line gives him the perfect place to sit.

Who can resist these happy hugs?

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies

Card One: 51-445 Floral Half, 51-493 Heart Balloons, 51-494 Love and Miss You, 30-528 Kisses and Wishes

Card Two: 51-487 Love Train, 51-486 Stitched XOXO, 30-524 Happy Hugs

Card Three: 51-486 Stitched XOXO, 51-495 Key…Cut Out, 30-523 Key to My Heart, 30-523 Happy Hugs

*NOTE: Should any advertisements appear outside/beneath this post’s content, they are not affiliated nor endorsed by Penny Black.  We apologize for the technical “glitch” and are working on a solution so that your future experiences at our blog are ad-free. 

Today Peet Roeven is here to inspire and explore the creative possibilities of our new collection of stamps and dies, Happy Heart Day.

She’s papercrafting with her whimsical and fun layers to LOVE.

To begin, Peet has stamped and colored the adorable pup from our transparent stamp set, 30-523 Key to My Heart, and then cut him out using the exact match die, 51-495 Key…Cut Out.

To create her lovely layers in the background, Peet has used our Creative Dies, 51-493 Heart Balloons and 51-485 Hearts Around.

To create a window/frame look with the Heart Balloons die, Peet simply ran two dies through her die cutting machine at the same time.

On her next card, Peet’s focal point was created with our miniature 3 x 4 inch transparent set, 30-534 All My Love.

After fussy cutting her sweet bear, she layered him on top of two rectangular pieces of paper.

She splattered one with light pink watercolor paint and the other was cut with our Creative Die set, 51-484 Lovely Border.

While her first two cards featured furry friends, these next two cards from Peet feature friends of the feathered variety! Her sweet birds were stamped using our miniature 3 x 4 inch transparent stamp sets, 30-524 Happy Hugs.

Peet’s background was created by simply layering our Creative Die, 51-496 Strings of Hearts, over an abstract watercolor design.

Instant interest and depth!

And for Peet’s last card for us today, she’s combined several of these die cutting, stamping, and layering techniques along with a sweet sentiment from our transparent stamp set, 30-525 Words Sweet.

So much cuteness, whimsy, and fun… thanks for all of the inspiration, Peet!

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies

Card One: 30-523 Key to My Heart, 51-495 Key… Cut Out, 51-485 Hearts Around, 51-493 Heart Balloons

Card Two: 30-534 All My Love, 51-484 Lovely Border

Card Three: 30-524 Happy Hugs, 51-496 Strings of Hearts, 51-493 Heart Balloons, 51-494 Love & Miss You

Card Four: 30-524 Happy Hugs, 30-525 Words Sweet, 51-485 Hearts Around, 51-493 Heart Balloons

*NOTE: Should any advertisements appear outside/beneath this post’s content, they are not affiliated nor endorsed by Penny Black.  We apologize for the technical “glitch” and are working on a solution so that your future experience at our blog is ad-free. 

From our hearts to yours, we wish you the merriest of holidays filled with joy and peace!

Card design by Micheline “Mimi” Jourdain featuring 40-580 Berry Bramble, 40-495 Cones & Berries, 30-512 Joyful Sentiments, 30-497 Joyful Holiday, 30-518 Stillness

Once a month, Penny Ward joins us with her inspiring and gorgeous Bible journaling pages featuring our products! You can read more about Penny and her Bible journaling tips HERE. We love her approach to Bible journaling: “I journal in a Bible to show my love of God and particular scripture most of the time. God gave me the crafty gene and I am showing him what He gave me. I am sure He loves it in His book no less. I also have a second Bible for reading.” So whether you are new to Bible journaling or a card-maker looking for stamping ideas and techniques, we welcome both you and Penny as we celebrate another EXTRA fun Friday with our fabulous friend.

Penny Ward’s page this month captures the spirit of love at Christmastime.

Using simple masking, Penny has combined our miniature 3 x 4 inch transparent set, 30-521 Nose to Nose, with our cling stamp, 40-632 Christmas Foliage.

So special.
So touching.
So sweet.

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies

30-521 Nose to Nose
40-632 Christmas Foliage
30-501 Joy & Merriment

Hello, dear Penny Black friends!  As you read this issue of Runs with Scissors, Mr. RWS, Cooper and I are literally driving over the river and through the woods to Atlanta to spend Christmas with the Atlanta son and his wife and the two teen-aged grandkids.  The Minneapolis daughter will fly in for a few days and we will eat, drink and be merry.  Our Atlanta hosts are magnificent chefs and this Grandma will bring treats and a few presents.  How wonderful to have this time with family.

Speaking of wonderful, even though it is almost Christmas, it is time to share cards made with the newest Penny Black release, Happy Heart Day. The really good news is that this release is now available in the Penny Black store!  No more waiting.

I love “cute” and this release allows me to overdose on cute if I so wish.

I started out with a more male-themed Valentine using the Love Train die set.  The letters spelling LOVE are part of the set and fit perfectly on the little train cars. The Hearts Galore die fills the sky with red hearts, a few of which I added to fall into the center of the “O”.  I know a little boy who will love this Love Train Valentine.

To create this double border, I stacked the two larger Lovely Border dies and then ran the cardstock and dies through my die cutting machine.  I stamped the little sweet bee from the Fairy Love set on separate cardstock, colored her with Copics and then fussy cut the image and placed it onto the card stock.  The background was made by blending Distress Oxide ink.  The flowers are part of the Lovable mini stamp set and I used the matching die to cut them out.  Yellow was just the right color for this Bee Mine valentine.

I liked that double border so much, I used it here, too.  The “Love” sentiment is part of the Lovely Border set and fits nicely in the center of my card.  The Teddy is the little guy sitting on the moon in the Space Reserved transparent set.  Versatility is a good thing!

Christmases Past 

I hope no one minds my posting snippets from Christmases Past that I’ve shared with you previously. And a few “bursts of brilliance” that have occurred to me while writing about Christmas.  First is from Christmas 2014, the story of the Christmas Lights Bus Tour:

At one point in our marriage we were finally down to one child at home.  I was determined that our mini-family needed to establish new Christmas traditions, just for us. I thought that joining a Christmas Light Tour offered by a local tour bus company would be something we could do together to jostle our Christmas Spirit.  Not so little Miss Thirteen.  If it involved being seen with her parents, she was not interested; more like stubbornly opposed.  I was not to be deterred.  It wasn’t quite “over the river and through the woods’, but being December in Wisconsin it was over icy streets to the other side of town to board the bus. Expensive tickets in hand, we got on board and sat back as the bus carefully made its way to the chosen decorated neighborhood.  My husband and I began sharing questioning looks as we started to figure out where the bus was headed.  Even Ms. 13 unfolded the arms she had kept close to her chest as she, too, realized the impossible truth.

Yes, it really did happen.  The bus was driving through our very neighborhood, on our very street, right past our very house – which unfortunately was in total darkness because I forgot to turn on the Christmas lights before we left.  Perhaps a traditional approach to Christmas is over-rated anyway.

Ah yes, Christmastime. As I said, it is a time of memories. I can close my eyes and it’s like a film of Christmases Past plays in my head.  I recall vividlyA Special Christmasthat took place when I was about six years old.

My Dad enlisted in the Army when I was about five years old.  As it turned out, this was the start of his 30 year military career.  I remember clearly the dark early morning he left our house for basic training.  From there he was assigned to Oak Ridge, Tennessee as a member of the Military Police.

 While we were able to join him there eventually, that first Christmas he was away from us was a very sad time for my mom.  But that Christmas eve, she dressed my sister and I in our Christmas dresses (along with the dreaded long cotton stockings hooked to our mini garter belts) and we ventured to my grandmother’s home where my mother’s siblings and my cousins all gathered for Christmas Eve.  It was not easy for my mom to display any Christmas spirit knowing her husband was so far away.  My sister and I had been wishing for months that Santa Claus could bring my father home so that our mother wouldn’t be sad at Christmas.

 Just before it was time to gather at the table for the Christmas Eve meal, we kids sensed something was happening.  The grown ups were whispering to each other and my grandparents were speaking loudly in Polish, something they did when they didn’t want the kids to know what was going on.  There was a feeling of electricity in the air.  Suddenly, we heard loud thumping on the steps leading to the second story duplex where we were.  Then there was pounding on the kitchen door.  My sister, our cousins and I were all wondering if this could be Santa … and then, finally, the door flew open and there he was … my Dad!!

 My sister and I could not believe our eyes.  There was our Dad in his army uniform, which we had not seen before, reaching out to hug and hold my Mom who had totally been taken by surprise and was crying big tears of joy.   I don’t really remember anything more that happened that Christmas.  I do remember being totally amazed that such a big wish could be granted.

 I couldn’t think of any better stories to write than those two.  The funny and the wonderful; Christmas can be the magic it is advertised to be or it can just be one more day when things don’t go as hoped.  It is up to us to choose how to react.

This Christmas Present finds me enjoying my improved ability to do the things I used to do without thinking about it.  I could not have imagined a year ago that I would be feeling this well.  My one wishprayer when I was diagnosed was to be able to travel to see my kids and grandkids.   Like my six year old self, I am totally amazed such a prayer could be answered.

Valentines do not have to be pink and red only!  A little purple is fun, too.  Here I’ve used a single Lovely Border to frame my card.  The Big Love die cut fills the center and the sweet rabbit from the Loveable transparent set is enjoying his view of the world.  I cut the rabbit out using the matching die from the Lovable Cut Out die set.  That little bunny will be happy on future Easter or spring cards, too.

Peek a Boo!  Another sweet teddy, this time starring in the All my Love set.  I colored the image with Copics and added a few punched out hearts.  This would be an easy card to make in multiples! This Happy Heart Day release contains so many images that could be used to make cards for children, anniversaries, birthdays and even new baby cards.  There are so many sweet and cute critters!

If he is nothing else, Cooper is a good sport!  As long as I don’t make him wear some silly Santa hat or other costume, he will pose whenever he is asked.  Cooper adds so much joy to our Christmases and every other day!  He is wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

This Snowy may seem a bit familiar!  This card is one of the fifteen Snowy cards I made last year.  It just seemed appropriate to end my Christmas Runs with Scissors blog post with a Snowy.  We have been through a lot together and he seems like one of the family.

I admit to feeling very sentimental as I write this Christmas blog post.  Christmas is a time that stirs up memories: we remember how things used to be during the various stages of our lives.  There were our own childhood Christmases, the Christmases we were responsible for creating for our own children, and now Christmases created in different homes, with different families, and in different parts of the country.

I previously wrote on this blog:  As a philosopher named Heraclites wisely said back in the fourth century, “There is nothing permanent except change”. Indeed, our Christmases have changed. 

No matter how or where or even when we spend Christmas, we take with us in our hearts those that we loved the most.  We treasure the time we have with those who love us and call us “Mom”, “Dad”, “Grandma”, “Grandpa”, and all the other titles that family members have.  Christmas is memories.

A few years ago I wrote: I saw a “billboard” once on Facebook posted by “Trulife” that stated, “Sometimes memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks.”  I predict there will be memories rolling down my cheeks this Christmas, too.

And if we don’t have family around, we treasure the friends who love us like family and share their holidays with us.

Cooper and I are privileged to call all of you friends.  Over the past five years we have shared our lives’ ups and downs; the happy and crabby; the past and the present; the ins and the outs.  You have been patient enough to listen and to comment and to share similar experiences in your own lives.  To all of you, and to Penny Black who shares their blog with us, we say “Thank you” from the bottom of our hearts.  We wish you happiness, blessings and good health in the coming New Year.

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies

Card No. 1:  51-487 Love Train, 51-492 Hearts Galore

Card No. 2:  51-491 Lovable Cut Out, 30-529 Lovable, 30-530 Fairy Love, 51-484 Lovely Border

Card No. 3:  51-484 Lovely Border, 51-491 Lovable Cut Out, 30-535 Space Reserved

Card No. 4:  51-484 Lovely Border, 30-535 Space Reserved

Card No. 5:  51-375 Snowflake Stitch Frame, 30-534 All my Love

Card No. 6:  2521K Snowy