Hi There! Penny Black cuteness and an award!

Good evening!!

I have loved Penny Black stamps ever since I saw them for the first time over 7 years ago. But do you think I ever bought one?? Why I hold off on getting things I love I do not know.

Well, I went into Archiver's yesterday. Need I say more? Penny Black is now offering their adorable images in clear stamp format and in sets!! Now I have no excuses. I was totally taken with the Micey Day set. I couldn't wait to get them home and color them!

And do you know what I found to be a perfect mouse-y color? True Thyme. Remember True Thyme, one of those Stampin' Up "In Colors"? It is PERFECT. Perfect Perfect Perfect. I hardly ever use that color even though I like it. But I can see that there will be more opportunities now that I have mice to color, and cats and dogs! (more on that when the time comes) If you have any True Thyme ink and you have any animal stamps you'd like to color, I recommend it as a wonderful color choice!

I want you to know that I could not get the colors adjusted right in these pics. The purples are redder than they really are and the blues are bluer than they really are. I used Pale Plum and Perfect Plum and Bordering Blue and Brocade Blue to color with. So try to imagine that when looking at these.

I was so taken with Tosh's Wisteria card and Amy's also, that I grabbed a Basic Grey Wisteria pad while at Archiver's. It's colors are just perfect for the inks I chose.

This sketch is from this week's Mojo Monday (week 88). I went a bit outside the box and used the Labels One Nestabilities dies to create my 2 columns behind the circle. I hope you can see the tiny greeting to the left of them. I bought that in a set by TAC years ago and can't recall the name. If anyone knows it could you educate me so I can write it on the stamp storage box they're in? I thought it went so well with this image. So sweet!!

You'll notice, no Cuttlebug embossing! I know, hard to believe! I just decided to skip it for a change. I thought there was enough busyness on this card already. I did add the Sizzix Architectural Accents die cuts, though. The corner on the top left just needed something. Then I felt it needed to be balanced on the bottom right.

I had so much fun watercoloring this image! I used Versafine Onyx Black ink on Canson watercolor paper (found at Hobby Lobby). Then I colored with markers, water brush and ink pads.

In case it's hard for you to see, I wanted to point out that I took a scissors blade to the edges of the Wisteria papers as I wanted a really rough edge on them. The thread cutter does a nice job for a light distressing, but the scissors really rip that edge!

Now, on to the award! Sandee over at Simply Southern Sandee has awarded me the Exalting Christ award! This is my second time receiving it and I feel honored that Sandee would pick me as one of her recipients! Thank you, Sandee!! You're a dear!

Well, thanks for looking and have a wonderful day tomorrow! Can you believe that the weekend is already so near?

Stamps: Micey Day set by Penny Black, "hi there" sentiment by TAC

CS: Black, Basic Grey Wisteria, Canson watercolor paper

Inks: Versafine Onyx Black, True Thyme

Markers: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Bordering Blue, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss

Other: Nestabilities Labels One, Standard Circles Large, Standard Circles Small; Sizzix Architectural Accents die, Basic Grey Porcelain brads, 3D-Dots, Sticky Doos, water brush, black rick-rack ribbon, sewing machine, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Xyron 150 Create-a-Sticker, scissors for creating rough edges on dp, Inkssentials opaque white pen (for highlights on cup handle)