Monday, November 4, 2024

myasperations 11-4-24

    I am honored to have served as a Guest Designer for Beccy Muir at Beccy’s Place and am now one of her “Contributors” (which means that she provides me with digis, or clear stamp sets several times a year and I get to create cards/other items with them!) It is always fun to see the images Beccy invites me to use. 
    This time, the dig set is named, “Snugglin Weather.” When I saw this set, I envisioned a card where the little snow baby shyly smiles at the snowman and got to work. After experimenting with a few different folds, I decided that a Pop Up Step Front Panel Card would provide the depth and layering I desired. (Beccy offers dozens and dozens of tutorials on paper folds, and the one I used is HERE, except I didn’t need the front panel, so I only used the first 8 steps.) I printed, colored, and fussy-cut the snowpersons, then positioned them on the card. A dozen gifts cut from patterned paper frame the sentiment and help fill out the bottom of the card in a fun and festive way!
Supplies: 

·   Card Base-Instruction from Beccy’s Place (Pop Up Step Front Panel Card)

·   Digis and Sentiment- Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Snugglin Weather)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Gifts trimmed from Patterned Paper from my stash

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge (AG)
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- AG
Allsorts Challenge- Week 805- Magic of Season
Park Hopping-My Happy Place (Nov)    Santa’s Village
      Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place (sponsor), I’m entering just for fun!

   I love coffee, and know that I’m not alone in that… so I regularly make coffee themed cards. This card features one of the first digital images that I ever found on the web. I posted a card made with it on my blog back in May 2017 (HERE.) I also just discovered that it was featured on the Dearie Dolls website HERE so this pudgy little chef has a special place in my heart!       
    This time I put the cute little chef on a Christmas-themed card so I could enter it into the 2024 Fall Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop Challenge.
  
Supplies: 

·   Digi- Freebie from Dearie Dolls (Coffee Chef)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Inside Sentiment- “Tis the season for coffee” from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Christmas Cheers)

·   Coffee Sticker (embellishment on inside)-Hobby Lobby

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
coffeelovingcardmakers.com- 2024 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop    
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #671-672
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Christmas)

    It features a cute little origami fox from a set of 12 origami “critters” that I found on sale at Oriental Trading Company a while ago. The original fox is cute. But I did a bit of fussy-cutting to create the look of “fur.”  When he looked nice and fluffy, I set him aside to create the front of my card using items from my background stash. When finished, I nestled the little fox into the scene. I had fun decorating the inside sentiment with a brown doily, plus assorted images fussy-cut from scraps of patterned paper.  
     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz Color Challenge: Photo Inspiration  (My card features orange, red, and light blue.)
Supplies: 

·   Origami Fox Digi- Oriental Trading Company (Everyday Origami Booklets)

·   Background scene and front sentiment are from my scrapbook stash

·   Inside Sentiment- We Are 3 Digital Sentiments  (Autumn)  Sadly company is no longer in business

·   All other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Anything Goes (optional twist- October colors)
Outlawz ChallengeOct 2024 Linky
Di’s Digi Stamps- Include a Pumpkin
The Four Seasons Challenge- Anything Goes Fall Nov 2024   

Thursday, October 31, 2024

myasperations 10-31-24a

These two cards were created for the Sweet November Stamps October Challenge.            

                    

     For this card, I layerered the adorable Sylvie png digi over a starry nebula background named, appropriately for this card, “Witches Broom Nebula” using a free Word program named Paint.net. (Paint.net link is in my supplies list. You can also find tutorials on the web to use jpg or png digis and pictures to layer scenes, add transparency, etc. I added a picture of the layered scene that I was able to just copy, size, and print off.)  Note-I used the Paint.net program to also add a WM image of this picture to respect the company's copyrights.  I saved the original ( with no WM) to my laptop so that I can make similar cards in the future and add the WM to the photo I take after the card is finished.
      I’m entering this card into several challenges including Cupcake Inspirations: Color Challenge (my card features all three of the colors, purple, black and Lime), Inspiration Station: Inspiration Photo (my card was inspired by the colors and holiday), including Outlawz: Tuesday Color Challenge (my card feature three of the five color options- Navy Blue, blue, and yellow- in broom, plus it fits into the optional twist of Make it Halloween),
                        

  Supplies: 

·   Z-Fold Card base- Instructions can be found HERE.

·   Witches Broom Nebula night sky- from my BING Screensaver Collection

·   Free Paint.net program can be found HERE (you can use it to  add watermarks, layer digis, and more!)

·   Digi- Sweet November Digital Stamp (Sylvie)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Inside Sentiment- Beccy’s Place Digital Set (Out of this World) Retired.

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  Sylvie (Witch) in Nebula-
Inspiration Station- Challenge #66 Inspiration Prompt 
Outlawz- Tuesday Color Challenge- Photo Inspiration  
Simon Says Wednesday ChallengeAG
Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #111 Spooky Season

   This card reminds me of the reason I love making cards! I always bring a bag of digis, markers, etc. when I travel so I can work on them en route… which is what I was doing on a recent flight home from a family reunion in Montana. On the shuttle ride home from the MSP airport, I was thrilled to meet a few passengers in the bench seat behind mine. The sweet young girl named Coco and her Grandma were excited to be on a trip together and shared a bit about their adventures. When Coco showed me her new coloring book. I asked if she’d ever used sparkly gel pens. When I learned she hadn’t, I showed her a few from my stash and her eyes lit up. Within seconds I gifted her with several from my stash and she settled in to try them out. While she and her Grandma colored together I made her this card with items I had in my craft bag. As I presented it to her, I told her that this little fairy could now “fly" and them on the rest of their trip! Coco giggled and smiled brightly! (This is my favorite way to spread a bit of JOY!)
                       
Supplies: 

·   Grunge Background digi- from The Paper Shelter Digi set (Casual Boy)

·   Digi- Sweet November Digital Stamp (Daphne's Ride)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment- DDDoodles Freebie (Oh Happy Day

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  Daphne's Ride
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends#240 AG                             

     These last two are for the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers {BYSHC} Challenge.                                                                    

     My final card features a row of snowpeople's sticker that I've had in my scrapbook stash for over two decades. So they were happy to be put to work! I added sentiments that I started receiving last year after signing up for Sande Woodson’s weekly emails with freebies (original patterned paper, sentiments and ephemera!) You can sign up HERE. You can also find some of Sande’s freebies on her FB page (Sande's Poema Card Making Community.)
      I’m entering this card into several challenges including and Park Hopping-My Happy Place (this is one of my favorite challenges. It’s introduced me to lots of places that are now on my bucket list, the host is talented, generous and all around sweet!)
Supplies: 
·   Snowmen Border Sticker- unknown source

·   X-stitch Bordered Sentiments- from Sande's Poema Freebies (Nov 2023 Nordic Winter Collection) Sign up for weekly freebies (HERE)

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Christmas)
Outlawz ChallengeOct 2024 Linky
Park Hopping-My Happy Place (Oct)    Badlands Snow Park (WI)

       This one features a sweet Santa from Gerda Steiner Designs, plus a strip of festive HOHOHO ribbon and scraps of black ribbon woven through a Spellbinders diecut tag.  
                                       
              
Supplies: 

·   Santa Digi- Freebie from Gerda Steiner Designs (No longer available, but other freebies can be found HERE)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   HOHOHO Ribbon- JoAnnes Crafts

·   Tag Die-from Spellbinders Shapeabilitites Fancy Tags set  

·   Inside Sentiment-Wishing You a Magical Christmas” a freebie from Birdscards.com (Blog now closed)

·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #671-672
Paper Funday- #69 Anything Goes      

myasperations 10-31-24

     I like making Halloween cards with this adorable ghost digi named Boo Loves Scary Larry from Sweet November Stamps, especially when paired with a night sky digital image of the “Witches Broom Nebula”! I wanted little Boo to be transparent, so traced him onto a scrap of vellum (added a bit of shading and highlighting to Boo with a marker and white gel pen), then printed off a copy of just Scary Larry which I colored, fussy-cut and tucked into Boos sweet little arms!
      I used a T-shirt pattern that I created for an A2 sized card for this card, and attached a copy of the pattern here! The “BOO!” sentiment on the front of the card was hand sketched and created from paper scraps.
     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz: Tuesday Color Challenge (my card feature three of the five color options- Navy Blue, orange and blue, and fits into the optional twist of Make it Halloween), and  The Paper Shelter: Make it Sparkle (the background of my card is awash with sparkly stars!)  
 
Supplies: 

·   Witches Broom Nebula night sky- from my BING Screensaver Collection

·   Ghost Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Boo Loves Scary Larry)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment- hand-sketched/created

·   Inside Sentiment- TLC Creations Freebie (FaBOOlous Halloween)

·   Scraps of vellum, cardstock and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Outlawz- Tuesday Color Challenge- Photo Inspiration  
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- AG
The Paper Shelter- #616 Make it Sparkle  
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Anything Goes (twist- October colors and holidays)
Allsorts Challenge- Week 804- Cute and/or Cuddly    

     A few years ago I discovered a great group on FB named Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers {BYSHC}. They offer monthly Christmas-themed sketch challenges which I’ve regularly entered ever since!  Not only does the challenge help me use up lots of bits and pieces of paper and embellishments from my stash, but it also provides a monthly Sketch to provide inspiration.
     This card features a wood mount stamp from Hero Arts, Mini Santa. It didn’t require much coloring. Just a few markers and a white gel pen added bits of color and the texture of thick curls to the little guy's beard! I wanted to add a Holiday embellishment to the inside sentiment, and this Santa snow globe sticker from Hobby Lobby is the perfect fit!
Supplies: 

·   Santa Claus-Hero Arts Wood Mount Stamp (Retired)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment “HoHoHo”- purchased from Oriental Trading Company many years ago.

·   Inside Sentiment- a freebie from Birdscards.com (Wishing You a Magical Christmas)

·   Snow globe sticker-Hobby Lobby

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #671-672
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Christmas)
Outlawz ChallengeOct 2024 Linky

    This is the third month that I participated in Moondrea Designs Progressive FB challenge, and this months digi has a strong Halloween vibe. Like the first card in this posting, the “BOO!” on the front of the card was hand sketched and cut from black paper scraps. The inside of the card features a free Halloween subway sentiment, a few digi embellishments, and vellum ghosts created with a freebie from Patties Creations Challenge.
     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Cupcake Inspirations: Color Challenge (my card features all three of the colors, purple- card base, black -“Boo”, and Lime-hair highlights/streaks), Inspiration Station: Inspiration Photo (my card was inspired by the colors and holiday), and Park Hopping-My Happy Place (this is one of my favorite challenges. It’s introduced me to many places that are now on my bucket list, the host is talented, generous, and all-around sweet! My card was inspired by the Halloween theme as it features witches... and potions... and spells... Oh My!)
 
Supplies: 

·   Woodgrain paper (background)- Hobby Lobby

·   Digi-Moondrea Designs FB October Progressive Challenge

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment- hand-sketched/created

·   Inside Sentiment-Subway Art from eighteen25.com (Printable Halloween Banner)

·   Embellishments on inside sentiment (pumpkin, books and potion) trimmed from this month’s digi, colored and fussy-cut

·   Ghosts-Freebie from Patties Creations (Oct 2020) check this month's freebie HERE

·   Other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Moondrea Designs Progressive Challenge FB-(October)
Inspiration Station- Challenge #66 Inspiration Photo 
Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #42 AG                                       
Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #111 Spooky Season