Runs with Scissors

Oh my, oh my! Here in the United States it is the weekend before Thanksgiving! I am delighted you are taking time out from the grocery shopping and holiday preparations to spend some time with me on the Penny Black blog.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that we have much for which to be grateful. It’s not always the big stuff; sometimes it’s a letter from a friend, a phone call from a loved one, or even good news from the doctor’s office. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday; much less stressful than preparing for Christmas. It’s about being with family and friends, sharing a special meal and reflecting on all that is good in our lives.

I did take time today to make “Gratitude” cards. I love working with the fall colors and the theme of being thankful.

The Nature’s Silhouette transparent set includes these awesome birch tree trunks and the pretty branches with leaves. I stamped the branches twice and colored the leaves with Distress markers. I love the watercolor look the markers create and it is so easy to blend the colors. And since I have an enormous supply of glittery paper I happily added the bird from Bird Amidst Holly die. I love it that our holiday dies can add to our cards all year long.

Speaking of versatile stamps and dies: the transparent set Birds and Blooms is not all about Christmas. This wonderful branch of maple leaves is included. Here I stamped the image twice and once again had fun coloring with my Distress markers. Don’t ask me how I remembered that there was a tiny bird die included in the Berry Branches die set. Sometimes I just amaze myself. I thought he was the perfect finishing touch for that gold bow. It is all in the details!

Time to ‘fess up’ … I misplaced this lantern stamp from the Cones and Berries cling set the first time I played with it. As soon as I realized it was missing, I went through the wastebasket several times, certain it must be there because it wasn’t anywhere else. I have misplaced stamps before but usually they are the almost invisible transparent stamps that manage to stick themselves where they don’t belong and show up pretty quickly. This lantern set a record for being MIA. Imagine my surprise when I opened the container of some seldom used watercolors and there it was! Well, watercoloring didn’t work very well so I blocked off the candle part and just stamped and heat embossed the lantern, adding color to the candle and flame with my Tombow markers. Thank you, MISTI for your help. The background is designer paper from the Wintertime collection, with a layer of vellum to soften the color.

Snowy’s Story or There is no Business like Snowbusiness

2521K Snowy

 As you know, we learned recently that our beloved Snowy is not the bachelor we all assumed he was. This shocking discovery was the result of a portrait of “Snowy’s Family” done by Birgit Edblom of the Penny Black family and recently posted on Facebook.

Of course I had to follow up with Birgit who was happy to share Snowy’s story with me. How did she come upon Snowy’s family? Do they live in Sweden? How come Snowy is part of the Penny Black family? Oh, my .. so many questions.

Well, dear Reader, I learned Snowy’s family is originally from Birgit’s hometown, Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. (There should be dots over some of the letters). Birgit knew Snowy’s parents years ago as Ornskoldsvik is a community of a little less than 30,000 people and Snowy’s family was quite well known. Birgit arranged to do the portrait of Snowy’s family when they were in Ornskoldsvik recently for a visit. It is a surprise gift for Snowy’s Christmas.

How did our Snowy end up connected to Penny Black here in the United States from his home town in Sweden more than 5,000 miles away? Why did he leave Sweden (that’s easier to spell than Ornskoldsvik) in the first place?

First, let me tell you a bit about Snowy and Birgit’s home town. Ornskoldsvik is a busy industrial city which also includes a harbor. There are not a lot of passenger ships that dock in Ornskoldsvik, but there is shipping traffic. The people in Ornskoldsvik enjoy their cold and snowy winters. There is cross country skiing, Alpine skiing and ski jumping, much of which takes place in the city’s downtown! The favorite spectator sport is hockey and Ornskoldsvik has contributed many professional hockey players to the world of sports.

Due to the cold temperatures and huge amounts of snow, Snowy’s parents were able to find employment in their city as lawn decorations and hockey team mascots. They lived in a small neighborhood with other snowpeople and their families. Snowy grew from his early days as a cute little snowball into a fine young snowman. He often helped his parents with their snowbusiness duties and in every way was a son they could be proud of.

Ahhh, but as so often happens to either humans or snow people, life became complicated. Snowy had grown into a handsome young snowman with an abundance of cuteness which did not go unnoticed among the lovely young snowwomen in Ornskoldsvik.

But Snowy only had eyes for the snowgirl next door, lovely Alma. True love does not always run smoothly and poor Snowy soon found this out. It seems Alma’s father had hopes and dreams for Alma’s future, and they did not include a snowguy who made his living by being cute. Alma’s dad was hoping for a snowdoctor or snowlawyer to woo his daughter and claim her hand. Alma, in the meantime, was studying at Blizzard U. for a degree in Climatology. She was torn between following her heart by acknowledging her love for Snowy or pleasing her father. Unwilling to ask Alma to disappoint her father or give up her studies, Snowy made plans to leave Ornskoldsvik to make his way in the world. He would not return to claim Alma’s hand until he had become successful in his own right.

Knowing saying good-bye would be difficult and salty tears would be damaging, Snowy quietly left his home one moonlit night and made his way to the harbor. His hope was to find work on a freighter headed to the United States, where he had heard from a cousin that there were opportunities for a snowman with a dream who was willing to work hard.

To Be Continued

I have many Penny Black favorites, and this Rose die is among them.  I am missing flowers and decided I needed to create a Christmas rose. This was also an opportunity to display another awesome sentiment from the Penny Black collection of awesome sentiments. This one came from the Winter Joy transparent set.

Good things come in three’s they say. So how about three Snowman Joys in a row, with two little bunnies keeping watch. The background is more designer paper from the Wintertime collection. I love the tiny tag die that comes with the Gift Card set. Actually, there are a total of 16 dies in that set, probably a record of some sort. The little dies create an endless variety of embellishments for not only a gift card holder, but on any card you make. The snippet sets of sentiments are perfect for stamping on the mini tags.

Well, it’s Snowy card number 13 and this time it looks like snowdad is in charge of the two snowkids while snowmom is busy shopping for Thanksgiving groceries.   I like to see dads of any kind being involved in raising the offspring. This time the scarves are all about polka dots. Once again I’ve used designer paper for matting. This card would not be the same without the rim of snowflake paper from the Holiday Trimmings pack.

Cooper has just returned home from his appointment at the groomer’s. The softspun fur doesn’t last very long. The curls take over in a day or two. My plan was to have Cooper work with me in some sort of pose, possibly at the table with his plate and silverware in anticipation of the Thanksgiving meal. But I did not have the heart to disturb him when I came upon him as he was soaking up the sunshine in his favorite spot by the front door, waiting for Mr. RWS to return from golfing. He is thankful for sunshine and Mr. RWS.

We are thankful for the fun and love he brings to our home.

And now it’s time to put away the scissors and bring our visit to a close. While you are reading this blog post, Mr. RWS and I will once again be with our Atlanta son and his family to attend our granddaughter Lauren’s Confirmation.   The Minnesota daughter, Kathy, will fly in for the weekend, too. We will have a lovely dinner together, thanks to the magnificent cooking talents of John and Sue, and call it Thanksgiving. The gathering fits all the criteria of a perfect Thanksgiving: family, food, and lots of love. Since it’s not my home and I will not be in charge, I don’t think I can ask that we go around the table and each mention what we are most thankful for. I believe one of the benefits of becoming an adult is that you don’t have to do things anymore just because your mother says so.

I wish for all of you a Thanksgiving spent doing what makes your heart happy. I do know that the time I spend with all of you and reading your lovely comments is on the list of what makes me thankful. I will be stopping by the Penny Circle Flickr Gallery on my way home. I hope to see your wonderful Penny Black work there.

Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies

 

• Card No. 1: 30-380 Nature’s Silhouettes, 30-356 Treasured Sentiments, 51-260 Bird Amidst Holly
• Card No. 2: 30-377 Birds and Blooms, 51-071 Words of Gratitude, 51-178 Berry Branches
• Card No. 3: 30-382 Yuletide Wishes, 40-495 Cones and Berries, 51-249 Winter Garland
• Card No. 4: 30-374 Winter Joy, 40-470 Script, 51-023 Rose
• Card No. 5: 30-307 Holiday Snippets, 51-161 Into the Woods, 51-191 Gift Card Pocket, 51-272 Snowman Joy, 80-013 Holiday Trimmings
• Card No. 6: 2521K Snowy, 2526K Snowy Family, 51-264 Conifer, 51-266 Frosty/Snow Match, 80-013 Holiday Trimmings