Penguin Christmas Cards using Wild Rose Studio

I know, it is only the summer, but I am deep into planning and prepping for the Christmas season already. I have even started to create a few cards and tags, so I thought I would share!  Craft show season comes up quick, and these things always get away from me, so better to be extremely early, than not at all!

For these two cards, I worked with Wild Rose Studio Stamps. I have several different stamps from them, and boy, are they cute! This little guy and the owl set, are some of my most beloved stamps.

I have had this penguin stamp for a few years, and he has been used plenty of times, but I pulled him out anyways past all the new stamps I have, and started colouring.  He is so darn cute, I couldn't pass him up on the shelf!

To start off, I got out my Gina K. Designs Artist Choice 110lbs cardstock, and black Amalgam Ink.  As I was not sure if the penguins would be copic coloured or pencil coloured, this awesome ink by Gina K Designs allows me to use any colour medium, once I decide.   I went ahead and stamped a couple dozen, that way they are ready to go for a quick project another time. I decided to use my Copic markers for them.    

                   


Penguin C1, C3, C5, C7 
Feet Y13, Y35, Y38, YR04
Present  BG10, B02, 
Ribbon Y11, E31, E33, R37
Scarf  YR000, R11, R83










Penguin C1, C3, C5, C7 
Feet Y13, Y35, Y38, YR04
Feet Y13, Y35, Y38, YR04
Present YG03,YG63, G94
Ribbon Y11, E31, E33, R37
Scarf  R22, r24, R29, R35





Once these cuties were coloured, I set off on a hunt in my scrap pile for papers that would match. I have such a leftover stash of bits and pieces on my work space right now, I knew it would not be a problem to find matching papers, even if they weren't Christmas patterns per se. I cut the frame using a Lawn Fawn - Stitched Scalloped Die - from Bazzill paper, as well as the the red sentiment from Bazzill. The background  papers are from some very old Poppystamps leftovers, and the red denim is from Recollections...........not bad for a scrap pile offering!

Once the cards found matching papers to hang out with, it was just time to assemble and embellish. For that, I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment with a Stampabilities stamp using Versafine ink, added sequins with Simon Says Stamp - Assorted Moonshine, and last, but not least, I dug out the bells, twine and wood snow flake from my stash. Of course, Stickles for a touch of glitter on their hats.

The Red and Green card front is popped up on two pieces of craft foam, just to give it a little dimension and to not make the card front bumpy on top of the wrapped twine. 

While I was colouring these guys last week, I put a fun poll on my Instagram account @thecreativecard, asking which colour combo folks liked better. For several days, the pink/teal combo won, but as of today, the red/green has won by a landslide! Sorry pink/teal!

Anyways, hope everyone is enjoying the end of summer and the routine that the fall season often brings. I know in our house, we are looking forward to the schedule of school and work. 

Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.

 Kim

Valentines Cards

Valentine's Day Cards using 

Valentine Penguins by Gerda Steiner Designs

This past Christmas, I did not make holiday cards to send to all my friends and family. I had made and sold close to 1100 cards for crafts shows and customers, so that thought of making more sent me over the edge! Just wasn't in me. I really did want to send something though, so I thought about Valentines Day. The more I thought I about it, the better it sounded to me. Think about, we often get lots of cards around Christmas time, and then nothing, so I set out to make and surprise lots of folks with Valentine's Day cards.  A nice little treat in the mail, in the thick of winter.

I wasn't sure what I wanted, so I started peaking around at different sets and when I saw Gerda Steiner Valentines Penguins set.....I was in love and knew it would be perfect!

Once they arrived in the mail, I set out to create as many as I could pull off, which happens to be 57! I just stamped in Memento black ink, and kept the colouring very simple with copics. 

I really did not put a lot of planning into them, the goal was to mass produce and keep it as simple as I could. After a ton of little penguins were coloured, I made card bases and gathered several coordinating papers and started assembling them. Making sure all the scraps were used as well. The fact that the penguins themselves were fairly neutral because of the their grey scale, matching papers to them was a breeze.

Each were different to the next, but certainly similar, which helped the production of them all. 

It felt soooooo good to pop them in the mail and then hear from so many of my crafty friends how much they enjoyed receiving them. 

Valentines Day is a day to share how much someone means to you, not just your spouse or partner. We all need to be reminded we are thought of and loved. We all need our friends and our family to get through this hectic, stress filled life, so take a minute and send them a text, a an email or the old fashioned phone call to let them know they are on your mind.  If it takes a day on the calendar to remind you to do that, then all the more reason to tell someone.  

Happy Valentines Day everyone! 


Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.

 Kim