Never Too Late :)

Be sure to subscribe to be entered in our weekly drawings to the right*:)   This week's giveaway is a surprise (I will tell you that it is a brand new release this month :)  ------------>

Wow what a week!   Unfortunately because of buying and selling a house and getting ready for a big trip I have not had the time to make cards this week.  Hopefully I will this weekend.  We will be celebrating my Dad's 76th birthday on our trip and I have been instructed to make multiple birthday cards and a banner for his suite.

I am excited to announce the winner of the Art Impressions Wildly Cute Giraffe Stamp is.......Michelle George.  Congratulations Michelle!  I have sent you an email and look forward to sending you your stamp :)

My little niece loved her giraffe and card last week.  Here is a video of her opening her gift.  The reaction is completely priceless.  If you didn't get a chance to see that post CLICK HERE to check it out.  Please note:  This video requires Flash player which may not be on all devices.

When they woke up in the morning apparently the Giraffe was stinky and this is how it had to be fixed :)

This gift was such a  win-win.  I loved giving it, she loved receiving it and WWF gets to continue their works saving our wildlife.  It's a beautiful thing.

*  Please be sure to go to your email and validate your registration.  Only validated subscribers can be entered into the drawings.  Drawings are open to everyone no matter what country you are in.  Please be aware that if you live outside of the United States you will need to pay a small postage fee for the delivery of your prize. 

Charity Blog Hop -- Gifting A Giraffe + Giveaways

Be sure to subscribe to be entered in our weekly drawings to the right*:)   This week's giveaway will be this adorable Zoo Babies Wildly Cute Stamp Set (there are also prizes for participating in the charity blog hop so check on those below :) ------------>

G'day to y'all from this Aussie in Texas.  This post is a stop on the super fun and inspiring Charity Blog Hop.  Be sure to check the other blog stops listed below (and here) for other great charity gift ideas and projects to go with them.  Awesome companies are helping inspire you to hop along and leave comments on all the blogs - Altenew ($30), Lawn Fawn ($50), My Favorite Things ($25), and Ellen Hutson ($25)! Be sure to go say thanks to them on their social media sites for helping get the word out about giving … and leave comments by Wednesday, March 22, 2017. Winners will be announced on Sandy’s blog on Thursday, March 23, 2017, along with the total amount we’ve raised together!

When I heard about this Hop, I was so excited and instantly knew exactly how I wanted to participate.  I have a little niece, Mila, who turned two on March 4th.  She is a huge giraffe fan and I had to make sure she adopted one of her very own.  

I chose World Wildlife Fund as my adoption agency as I have done many times over the years.  They have different donation levels to fit any budget and the money goes to help conservation efforts around the world.  There are many animals to choose from as well, making it a great gift for almost any animal lover on your gift list.  

I chose the animal/level that included an adorable stuffed giraffe, along with an adoption certificate, photo, and fact card, pictured above. The package also included the adorable reusable gift bag so the gift was all taken care of except for a card. And that's perfect for a card maker like me since, of course, I want to make my own card for my niece.  That's how this little cutie came to be.

Layers:

• one 4 1/4" x 11" 100lb cardstock folded in half to create an A2 top-folded card
• one 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" 100lb cardstock for Fancy Scalloped Rectangle die
• one piece each  green and blue Watercolor Wonder Petite Paper for grass and sky
• one purple plaid piece from Perfectly Plaid Rainbow Petite Paper pad for mat.

I used the Wildly Cute Zoo Babies Stamp from Art Impressions for my giraffe,  I have several giraffes to choose from.  This particular one is irresistible and I think it is perfect for my two-year-old sweetie, the giraffe lover :)

To create a no-line color technique, I stamped the image lightly in Distress Antique Linen Ink.  This is a lovely light color that blends beautifully with many colors, fading away to create the illusion that it is not a stamped image.  I then proceeded to color the giraffe with the Copic colors listed in the supplies below.  I colored the head first, covering it with a good coat of YR20.  I then colored the areas I wanted shaded with YR23 and blended it all out with the YR21.  I went slowly and repeated the process until I was happy with the result.  I used the YR27 for the giraffe's spots and the YR20 for her ossicones (horns).  I colored the hooves in various warm gray colors and the bow in violet.  My niece, like her mom, is a big fan of purple.

My coloring was completed with the little chick partygoers (Party Animal Stamp set from Lawn Fawn).  They came to life with a couple of yellows and an almost orange for their beaks, as well as magenta and violet for all of the party hats.

I set the scene for the card by using a variety of dies and a petite paper pack from Lawn Fawn, one of my favorite companies.  

The brilliant Watercolor Wishes Petite Paper Pack answered my prayers for an easy, beautiful background on-the-go.  Here is an easy list of all of the layers:

1. Purple layer -- Largest die from the Large Stitched Rectangles dies.
2. Scalloped layer -- Largest die from Fancy Stitched Rectangle dies.
3. Blue and green layers -- Largest die from the Small Stitched Rectangle dies.  
4. Green layer -- Cut a Grassy Hillside border from each end of the Small Stitched Rectangle.  Attach the tallest one to the blue layer.  Stamp Happy Birthday from the Party Animals Stamp set in white onto the shorter grass piece. Sprinkle with embossing powder. Heat set. Pop grass up on the front of the card with Scotch Foam tape.
5. Cut three clouds out of some scrap white cardstock and, for some added dimension, pop one of the clouds up with Scotch Foam tape.
6. I also popped up the chicks and the giraffe with Scotch Foam tape.  What can I say, I love dimension!

Thank you all for visiting me today and participating in the Charity Blog Hop. :)  Please be sure to subscribe to my blog for weekly giveaways and remember to hop along and learn about all of these wonderful charities.  Next up is Melissa Miller  and here is a complete list for your hopping pleasure .

• Sandy Allnock 
• Lisa Stein 
• Caryn Davies
• Carly Tee Minner 
• May Sukyong Park 
• Lisa Spangler 
• Aimes Gray 
• Jessica Frost-Ballas 
• Ellen Hutson Blog
• Julia Stainton 
• Emily Midgett 
• Taheerah Atchia 
• Joanne Soukup 
• Melissa Miller 
• Libby Hickson 
• May Flaum 
• Cindy Lawrence

I hope it inspires you next time you have an occasion to give a gift.  

Cheers for today :)

Joanne

*  Please be sure to go to your email and validate your registration.  Only validated subscribers can be entered into the drawings.  Drawings are open to everyone no matter what country you are in.  Please be aware that if you live outside of the United States you will need to pay a small postage fee for the delivery of your prize. 

Supplies:

Zoo Babies, Wildly Cute Set, Art Impressions
Party Animals Stamps & Dies, Lawn Fawn
Watercolor Wishes Petite Paper Pack, Lawn Fawn
Perfectly Plaid Rainbow Petite Paper Pack, Lawn Fawn
Simply Puffy Cloud Frames dies, Lawn Fawn
Simply Grassy Hillsides dies, Lawn Fawn
Small Stitched Rectangle Stackable dies (largest die), Lawn Fawn
Large Stitched Rectangle Stackable dies (largest die), Lawn Fawn
Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackable dies (largest die), Lawn Fawn
Antique Linen Distress Ink, Ranger
Copic Markers:
     For bow and hats --V01,V04, V12, V25
     For hooves, nose, and eyes  -- W4, W5, W6, W9
     For giraffe -- YR20, YR21, YR23, YR27,
     For chicks -- Y04, Y13, Y38
     For hats -- RV09
Scotch Foam Tape, 3M

Weekly Prize Winner 3/13/17

It's been a busy week.  We have sold our home and our new home is getting close to being done so no card today.  I am also preparing for a very special event coming later this week.

Keep posted for more information on this very special bloghop that is guaranteed to inspire us all.

and now without further ado...

CONGRATULATIONS TO:  Brenda Lilley of Texas.  

This week's lucky winner of the Easter Blessing set from Art Impressions :)

To Copic or to Zig plus......Weekly Prize Announcement - A Day Late For A Good Reason

Be sure to sign up to be entered in our weekly drawings to the right*:) ------------>

Please be sure to go to your email and validate your registration.  Only validated subscribers can be entered into the drawings.  Drawings are open to everyone no matter what country you are in.  Please be aware that if you live outside of the United States you will need to pay a small postage fee for the delivery of your prize.  

It's a question I am often faced with.  Do I Copic or do I Zig?  They are both wonderful mediums with which to color.  When I get a stamp set like this beautiful Kind Soul set from Wplus9 I can normally choose one or the other but in this case I opted to Copic color one and do some cheerful no line watercoloring with the Zigs on another.  I was so excited to finally have the time and the inspiration to participate in The Daily Markers 30 day color challenge.

Layers:

one 4 1/4" x 11" 100lb cardstock folded in half to create an A2 card top folded card

one 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" 100lb cardstock folded in half to create an A2 side folded card

two 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" 100lb cardstock for the Copic coloring and embossing

one 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Strathmore Bristol Smooth Paper for Zig coloring

The process for both cards is quite straightforward.  I colored the Copic card using 3 colors for each flower.  I started by coloring the whole flower in the lightest color.  Then I used the flicking technique to create some depth and dimension from the middle, darker parts of the flower outward.  I accented the centers of the flowers with my Uni-Ball Signo White Pen.  I used two colors of green to color each of the leaves and finished by stamping the sentiment that is included with the set in Onyx Black Versafine Ink.

I started the Zig card by stamping the image with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  It's a nice light shade that is easily covered up by the bold, beautiful Zig colors I chose to color these flowers.  With the Zig coloring I drew around the outline with a very thin line of the Zig marker color and then flicked in some color in the areas of the flower that I wanted to appear darker.  I blended the color out with my favorite watercolor brush dipped in water.  

The real trick to no line watercolor is to never color 2 petals next to each other at the same time.  I would color a petal and then skip a petal and so on so that the colors would have plenty of time to dry.  This ensures that the colors don't run together.  

After the petals were all colored and completely dry I added accents with the same marker except this time I did not blend them out with a wet brush.  I then let this dry before adding some white accents with the Uni-ball Signo White Pen.

I didn't want this second card to look too much like that first card so I decided to fussy cut the right edge of the image to place it on an embossed background.  I used the We R Memory Keepers Next Level Woven embossing folder, an absolute fave, to create said background.  Nothing fancy here I just attached the colored image onto the front of the embossed cardstock.

I grabbed a Happy out of my pre-stamped and die cut stash from the Happy, Happy, Happy Stamps and Dies from Lawn Fawn and finished off this card with Wishes created with my Dymo label machine.  Gotta love it :)

I hope this inspires you to bring some of your stamps to life with color very soon :)

Please check below for a list of supplies used in today's cards.

********** TODAYS PRIZE **********

This should typically be a Friday post but we got an offer on our house yesterday and were wrapped up in dealing with that.  So excited to not have to show the house anymore.  Now we can look forward to our new home.  Yay!  

Please refer to this LINK to read the rules for participating in our weekly giveaway.

This week's prize will have the lucky winner hopping to make adorable Easter cards.  The Easter Blessings set from Art Impressions includes four adorable mischievous bunnies guaranteed to make anyone smile.

Supplies:

1. V04, V12, V25, Y13, Y15, Y18, YG03, G14, RV11,  RV14, RV17 Copic Markers, Imagination Int'l
2. May Green, Persian Green, Violet, Lemon Yellow, Pink Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, Zig
3. Signo White Gel Pen, Uni-Ball
4. Antique Linen Distress Ink, Ranger
5. #6 Silver Black Velvet Watercolor Brush
6. Happy, Happy, Happy Stamps and Dies, Lawn Fawn
7. Kind Soul Stamps, Wplus9
8. Versafine Onyx Black Ink, Tsukineko
9. Label Makers, Dymo

Lawn Fawn Happy Dance....and Weekly Prize Winner Announcement

Be sure to sign up to be entered in our weekly drawings to the right*:) ------------>

Please be sure to go to your email and validate your registration.  Only validated subscribers can be entered into the drawings.  Drawings are open to everyone no matter what country you are in.  Please be aware that if you live outside of the United States you will need to pay a small postage fee for the delivery of your prize.  

When a new Lawn Fawn release comes out I do a happy dance.  February's release was no exception and they had a stamp set to go with my feelings.

Layers:

5 1/2" x 8 1/2" 100lb white cover card base folded in half 

6" x 6" Rainbow Plaid patterned paper

4 1/4" x 5 1/2" 100lb white cover card stock for scalloped die

I die cut the Rainbow Plaid background with the largest stitched Rectangle from the Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles and the scalloped die from My Favorite Things Blueprints #1.

I used the brand new Happy Happy Happy Stamps and Dies from Lawn Fawn to create the sentiment.  I die cut 5 blanks of the bold Happy and glued them together to pop up the word.

I was very busy last week as I mentioned in my last post so stamping and die cutting the flowers from Lawn Fawn's new Fab Flowers Stamps and Dies was a great way to relax and get some crafting in.  

                                    

When I had some time available everything was ready to start making some cute cards with these pretty florals.  Check out my last blog post for the color combinations I used to make the flowers, butterflies and leaves.  I popped up the flowers with some foam tape to add to the dimension I created with the popped up Happy.

                                                     

I finished the card off by selecting some coordinating copic markers and coloring in the bold, popped up happy.  It created just the contrast I needed to complete the look.

FIRST WEEKLY PRIZE WINNER

Congratulations to Lynn Antle :).  

She is the winner of the Summer Bloom Stamp set from wPlus9.

Supplies:

Blueprints #1, My Favorite Things
Stitched Rectangle Die, Lawn Fawn
Fab Flowers Stamps, Lawn Fawn
 & Dies
Happy, Happy, Happy Stamps, Lawn Fawn
 & Dies
Rainbow Plaid Petite Paper Pack, Lawn Fawn
Bubblegum, Blue Jay, Merman, 
Peacock, Butter, Sunflower, Moonstone, and Ballet Slippers inks, Lawn Fawn
Versafine Onyx Black Ink, Tsukineko

Scotch Foam Tape
RV11, Y11, and BG45 Copic Sketch Markers, Imagination International

WEEKLY GIVEAWAY INTRO.......

Be sure to sign up to be entered in our weekly drawings to the right*:) ------------>

Please be sure to go to your email and validate your registration.  Only validated subscribers can be entered into the drawings.  Drawings are open to everyone no matter what country you are in.  Please be aware that if you live outside of the United States you will need to pay a small postage fee for the delivery of your prize.  

WEEKLY PRIZE DRAWING BELOW 

It's been a busy week so I worked on making some random flowers and butterflies so I can make cards with them in the future.  I had so much fun with the new Fab Florals set and the delicious inks from Lawn Fawn.  

Stay tuned for my next post and I will show you the cards I will have made with them.

WEEKLY PRIZE INFORMATION I PROMISED :)

I will be posting a picture of the weekly giveaway prize on my blog every Friday (except in April on the 14, 21, and 28th).  The rules are very simple.

RULES:

1.     Subscribe to PerkyPennyPaperArts.com.  Be sure to validate your subscription by replying to the email that is sent.  If you can't find the email check your junk mail.   Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any issues at js@perkypennypapers.com.

2.     Live in the United States or be willing to pay postage.  Unfortunately overseas postage makes it cost prohibitive as mailing can be expensive. 

 If you live out of the United States and would like to participate I would need to charge postage.  So if you live outside of the United States,  feel free to subscribe if you don't mind paying postage.

3.     Help me out by commenting on my posts and sharing my blog with your friends :)  Thank you.

Winner will be drawn on the following Monday (so in this case March 6th) and will be contacted via email as I will only have email addresses.  This will give people a chance to subscribe before the drawing.

Rules are subject to change without notice.

********** TODAYS PRIZE **********

Summer Blooms from wPlus 9

Check out the samples on the wPlus9 website to see the stunning cards you can make with this adorable and versatile set.

Roo-Star

Be sure to sign up to be entered in our weekly drawings to the right*:) ------------>

Please be sure to go to your email and validate your registration.  Only validated subscribers can be entered into the drawings.  Drawings are open to everyone no matter what country you are in.  Please be aware that if you live outside of the United States you will need to pay a small postage fee for the delivery of your prize.  

******* NEXT TIME:  Our first prize announcement*******

When I first saw the Layering Rooster Stamp from Hero Arts I gasped.  My mind started racing with all the color combinations I could create for these beautiful stamps.  A Rainbow of roosters would be so much fun.  I am one of those people who just simply likes chickens and roosters.....and it didn't hurt that there were adorable little coloring layering chicks included in the set.

I decided to start out with a more traditional combination of colors that Hero Arts suggested.  I created this cute and whimsical good luck card.  Perfect for someone starting a new job or possibly going to college.

Layers:
(1) 4 1/4" x 11" 100lb white cover card stock folded in half
100 lb white cover to stamp rooster, die cut oval, and create wheat frame

Process:
I wanted contrast for the border so I took the wheat and stamped repeatedly to surround the scene.  I did this by tracing around the largest oval with a pencil and filling in the outside edges.

This is a background I could use over and over again.  In the future I plan on using this wheat to create a beautiful sun background :)

I cut the two ovals I would use for my center panel using the My Favorite Things Stitched Oval dies.  I created the red panel by applying the ink directly to the edges of the oval so it would coordinate with the rooster.  I then sponged a simple sky and ground backdrop with Mowed Lawn and Tumbled Glass distress inks.  I used a stamp block and angled the stamps so they would surround the rooster with their cheerful message.

After stamping and die cutting the rooster I attached all of the pieces to the card base, popping up the rooster and the red oval with Scotch foam tape to create some dimension and added interest.

After I was done with my card I also experimented with the different layers and creating background patterns.  These stamps work wonderfully for creating an interesting and colorful background.  Watch for a post about these backgrounds coming soon.

Supplies:

Color Layering Rooster stamps & dies, Hero Arts
Classic Cherry ink, Ranger
Blue Jay and sunflower ink, Lawn Fawn
Mowed lawn and tumbled glass distress inks, Ranger
Mini Round Ink Blending Tools, Ranger
Stitched Oval dies, My Favorite Things
Scotch Foam tape