Joy to the World by Penny Black

As hard as it is to believe that summer is actually over, it’s even harder to believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. I swore that I would start making holiday cards earlier in the year so that it wouldn’t feel like such a rush as the days grew near, but here I am – October – and I’m just now focusing on it. Luckily, I have a stash of stamps (from all the holiday cards I didn’t have time to make last year) to help get me started.

Living in a household of cats, it seems only natural that I gravitate towards the adorable felines from Penny Black. Although we currently have a clowder of tuxedo cats, I find that I often color the Penny Black cats as calicos. The images reminded me of a fluffy calico named Emma who adopted me many years ago. And although she’s long since passed on, I’m reminded of her good-natured, quirky spirit and outgoing personality when I color these stamps.

Supplies

Paper: Neenah Solar White 110#; X-Press It Blending Card by Copics; Devil Red by Bazzill; Vintage Christmas Four (*) by Authentique
Stamps: Joy to the World by Penny Black; Believe by Penny Black; Joyful Wishes (*) by Penny Black
Inks: Memento in Tuxedo Black by Tsukineko; Versafine in Onyx Black by Tsukineko
Dies: A2 Matting Basics A by Spellbinders; A2 Matting Basics B by Spellbinders
Copics: E00, E02, C3, C5, RV10 (cat); R35, R46, R59, YG03, YG67 (gift); E30, E31 (shadow)

Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer for free or at a discount. All other items were personally purchased.