Runs with Scissors with Judy

Swoooosh! I think that was January that just whizzed by. Welcome to February everyone and to the Penny Black blog. I’ve been looking through Penny Black’s cupboards and drawers today and found some favorite stamps to play with.

Not only am I using some favorite stamps, but I’ve decided I need to use up some of the 1,462 pads of designer paper that I have been hoarding collecting. That number is probably a slight exaggeration, but if I continue collecting the way I have been, eventually it won’t be too inaccurate.

The Simplicity Sisters at Penny Black have inspired me to try doing more Clean and Simple style cards. Here I’ve created a suede-look background for the tree with Distress inks and then heat embossed with white. In the botanical world, maybe flowers are for the ladies and trees are for the men in our lives. This tree is from the transparent set Enjoy Life.

I was inspired by a recent post of Alexandra’s to use the Distress ink color Weathered Wood. I love the soft tone it provides as a background for another botanical image from the Enjoy Life set. And I’ve added my favorite butterfly of all time from the Flutters die set. It always adds just the right touch and often balances out a design (not to mention covering an occasional oops).

I have a new toy! Actually it’s been in the craft room for a couple of months and I finally decided to play. It’s my set of Koi watercolors. What an awesome surprise to discover the high quality of these paints. There is just no comparison to the inexpensive watercolors I’ve used in the past. The colors react with the water immediately and create creamy, intense color. As you will see, once I started playing with them, I couldn’t put them away.

This vase of flowers image is from the Garden Blooms transparent set. I painted the flowers and jar with watercolors and added a banner sentiment. Once again, adding designer paper to the card base, then layered with diecut mats.

Another favorite floral is this collage cling stamp Botanical Notes. I’ve water colored the image, added an extra butterfly with dimensional tape and used designer paper to add a “frame”.

With February, comes thoughts of Valentine’s Day and the different types of love we celebrate that day. Of course, our families are a source of a unique love, which fills a huge space in our hearts.

Almost as important, is the love we share with friends. I was raised as an Army “brat” and learned to make friends quickly and to accept that these friendships would be interrupted when somebody’s father was transferred. We learned to warmly welcome the new kids to our school because we knew eventually we would be that new kid looking for a friendly face.

I’ve been fortunate to stay in touch with my best friend from 5th and 6th grades and several of my high school classmates. These are treasured relationships because these friends so completely understand what life as a child in a military family is like. We are fiercely proud of the way we grew up and wouldn’t trade that experience for a more traditional childhood.

I treasure my women friends. We share our stories; we encourage each other; we listen to each other, knowing we are not expected to solve each other’s problems. We can be apart for years and pick up where we left off when we are reunited.

Many of us have formed friendships with the women who share this hobby by way of our blogs and social media. We share our knowledge, teach each other and work cooperatively with little competition. There are even random acts of kindness, with little packages showing up now and then, “just because” we like to share. Indeed, a good kind of love to celebrate.

Everyone loves poppies! This image from the transparent set Blooming Garden is a joy to color! Happily, I used my Koi watercolors and added some designer paper for accent. I told you once I got started I couldn’t stop.

Can you tell how much fun I was having with my water colors? This background is lots of water brushed onto the paper and then placing the brush loaded with color into the puddled water. How fun to watch the color find its way around. The bird image is from the woodblock stamp Ode to Christmas, which isn’t just for Christmas any more.

We are celebrating friendship with a Swedish meatball dinner at our house on Valentine’s Day. The invitations are going to friends who spent every Wednesday evening at our home for two years, for what was mainly a study group, but often just became good fellowship. We used to joke that it was the food we shared that kept us together. Yes, we enjoyed the food but it really was the laughter and tears and sharing our stories that cemented our relationships. (If everyone can make it, there will be 16 of us. That is a lot of meatballs!)

There is another special kind of love that needs celebrating: Grandchildren love!

Here’s the latest photo of Evelyn who is now almost 20 months old and Jack who is now almost 3 months old. Evelyn does without her pacifier all day at child care but Daddy says she is desperate to have it the minute she gets into the car for the ride home!

Ev and Jack’s parents keep me involved with them by way of Facetime or Skype. I am so grateful for the visits and love singing and chatting with Ev and gushing over baby Jack. However, I do wish it was possible to have advanced warning. More times than not I am caught with my “scary hair” and in my pajamas. Poor grandkids have no idea that sometimes Grandma wears makeup and curls her hair.

Cooper loves toothpaste! Notice I did not say he loves having his teeth brushed, just the tooth paste. After the trauma of having his teeth cleaned by the vet, I decided to keep up with Cooper’s dental hygiene. He is willing, bless his heart, but he loves the beef flavored toothpaste so much he keeps licking at the toothbrush and I can’t reach his teeth.

Well, I see it’s time to put the stamps and dies back in their neatly labeled cupboards and drawers. I wonder who keeps this studio so organized? And I wonder if they do house calls. For now, I’ve tidied my mess, holstered the scissors and packed up my watercolors.

I’ve enjoyed our visit and I certainly enjoyed and treasure the lovely comments you left on my “love letter” issue of Runs with Scissors two weeks ago. Comments are another form of love! See you next time, on the big day itself.

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies:



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