We’re Throwing A Surprise Party!

Pennywise Arts is 9 years old today and to celebrate we went and got a total image makeover!  Surprise!!

In addition to our new face we are giving away free goodies to five random customers!*  The lucky winners will receive a handmade goodie from yours truly along with their order.    We are also gifting our customers with free shipping all day with minimum $25 purchase**. 

  FREE

PRESENTS!

 Our new website is clean, sharp, easy to navigate and has been programmed so that all updates are quick and simple for me to do without needing to know all the html mumbo jumbo. 

I especially love the art gallery automatic feed from Flickr!  I have a lot of work to do to add in all of our bazillion photos and as I upload them the amazing new website will automagically update the gallery with all of the newest photos.  This means it will be changing all of the time, how cool is that?!  Plus, now you can leave comments on Flickr to give some love to the artists that so generously share their artwork with us.

We are not quite done moving in yet, so there will be lots more content added as it all gets converted from the old site.  Much gratitude goes to Amy Hamerly for her artistic vision and creation of the new Pennywise brand.  Amy designed it all, logo, look and layout.  It all feels so modern, I love it!

Hugs!  Suzanne

* Winners will be selected at random from all orders placed between Friday, March 9 and Sunday March 11, 2012.

**International orders will receive a credit of $5.45 towards actual shipping costs.

Happy 9th Birthday Pennywise Arts!

When I was a kid my dad often told me that the older you get the faster time goes.  I couldn’t comprehend that then, but I sure do now!  This Sunday PWA turns 9 years old!   (Can you believe it?) Wowee, how did that happen so fast?! 

If you can indulge me for a paragraph or two of mushy stuff, keep reading.  Otherwise jump to the last paragraph for the prezzie*!

I feel certain that when I’m old and gray and reflecting back on my life that “The Pennywise Years” will always be at the top of my “I’m so glad I experienced that!” list. 

Best of all are the friends I’ve made and the relationships we’ve shared.  Some have been there since the beginning and others have hopped on board somewhere along the way.  All of you hold a special place in my heart and have enriched my  life more than you know.  Thank you for being there to help me “Bead The World” and for being my community.  Group hug!  Ü

*Here’s the prezzie part!

In celebration Pennywise Arts is giving back to YOU with free shipping now through Sunday night on any tangible product order over $25.  Digital items are already shipped/emailed free and international orders will receive a credit of $5.45 towards actual shipping costs.

Happy Birthday to us and many more!

Suzanne

Congratulations and Happy Birthday!!

Congratulations Swing Shift Designs and Pennywise Arts for celebrating 5 years artful collaboration!

Time sure flies when you're having fun! Over the last five years Michele Aiello Zendejas has created over 150 different collage sheets for PWA. She has been a part of our Design Team and has offered generous donations and freebies for PWA events . Thank you Michele!!!

This week we celebrate good friends, good fun and creative collaborations! Happy Birthday Swing Shift Designs! We are so proud to offer your gorgeous collage sheets to our customers!

Every birthday party needs cake, presents, party favors and a guest book. Somewhere on the Pennywise Arts website we have hidden this cake graphic: Find the cake, click on it and then save the collage sheet to your computer. It's our gift to you!

Michele would love for you to stop by her blog and sign her guest book this week! If you leave a comment you will be entered to win free prizes!   Michele is also offering free daily party favors on her blog - so check back there every day this week!

Hugs,  Suzanne

Love Is In The Air

Of all the holidays, I think Valentine’s day inspires me the most.  The bright papers, pretty hearts, lace and love,… are always what seems to get me jump started after the Christmas holidays are over.

This card has been kicking around my studio for YEARS!  It was originally created for a Pennywise Arts Yahoo Group swap and has been on the PWA display boards at conventions.  I’m still taking flack from friends that were around back then - for having so much of this patterned paper left on my shelves.  What can I say?  I loved it!  This year I made up a bunch of similar cards for a Relay For Life fundraiser so I don’t have very much of the paper left.  Just enough to feel, um, secure.  Ü

When squiggling glue over a stamped image, be sure to use an ink that won’t run when it gets wet from the glue.  Use a light hand and just go for it.  Ultra Fine Micro Beads work really well for adding just a little something without taking away from the overall design.

Hugs, Suzanne

You Make My Heart Sing

This is my February atc card for the Pennywise Arts Yahoo Group 1-4-1 swap.  Though we aren’t required to send them to the whole list, I made one for each person (17 I think) because they were just so much fun to do.The base cardstock and the music sheets were distressed with Antique Linen Distress Ink from Ranger.  I deckle cut the music paper and layered it onto red cardstock.

The heart cut out was done using my Cricut die cutter and my Sure Cuts A Lot software.  It was easy to lay a heart inside a heart to get this shape within the program and now I have a bunch of the inside hearts left over to use on something else.

I coated each heart with red Stickles glitter glue and then sprinkled Red Opaque Micro Beads over the top and allowed it to dry completely.  The words were printed on vellum paper with my laser printer.

All of this was inspired by a card I got in the mail several years ago.  Unfortunately I don’t remember who made/sent it so I can’t give credit, so very sorry.

Whoever it was, thank you for the inspiration!  And let me know if you know who made it!  Maybe it was you??

Hugs, Suzanne

A New Take On An Old Favorite

I really love it when new people get hooked on micro beads!   Yes, I admit that it’s good for sales but the best part of all is that they bring new eyes to the table and inspire me with different ways to do the things I’ve been doing the same way for years.  This shaker card by Laura Davis is one of those things.

Look closely at the hearts and instead of acetate you will see  ribbon mesh holding the beads inside.  Brilliant!

For this atc card, Laura cut a piece of patterned paper slightly smaller than a piece of lavender cardstock.  Holding the two together securely (without adhesive) she then used a handheld punch to punch hearts through both layers of cardstock. 

 

 

This picture shows the ribbon that Laura found at a dollar store.  She is trimming off the gold binding edges to use for other projects and adhering  a piece of the mesh between the two pieces of punched cardstock.

 

Next, Laura makes a foam tape box around the edges of the back of the card taking care to make sure the corners meet tightly so the beads won’t escape.

Some of our small beads wouldn’t stay behind the mesh, so Laura chose to use our Golden Opaque “Bigger” micro beads.  They work quite nicely! 

Before putting the beads inside the box, it’s important to take the liner off of the tape.  That way all of the jiggling won’t cause the beads to spill out.

Be sure to put in enough beads to make it shake nicely.

Place a piece of coordinating cardstock over the opening to seal the beads inside.

 

So very clever!

Hugs, Suzanne

Sweet Valentine Card

Michele Aiello-Zendejas’s art has a very unique style.  She uses lots of layered die cuts and embellishments to create cards that look complex and elegant. 

For this card Michele used the following items:

Swing Shift Designs To My Valentine 1 Collage Sheet, Pennywise Arts Clear Ultra Fine Micro Beads, Pennywise Arts Mega Roll O'So Sticky Tape, Spellbinders Dies, Quickutz Dies, K & Co Paper, Card Stock, Vintage Buttons, Double Stick Tape, Tacky Glue, Martha Stewart Paper Punch.

May your Valentine’s Day be filled with thoughts of those you love and a few unexpected surprises too!

Hugs, Suzanne