myasperations 1-16-22

I apologize that I am posting this a day late. The last few days have been difficult ones. 

     

     After being in hospice for about a week, my sweet MIL passed away this AM. Sally had lived a long life and left a legacy in children in grandchildren. I couldn’t have asked for a better MIL and my sweet hubby was so blessed to have her as his mom. She was actually in pretty good health until recently, when she suffered one of the many infections that are typical for a person her age. She became increasingly confused and hasn’t recognized Rich during his weekly calls to her the last few months. So, Rich and I are glad she is in a better place right now. We imagine her drinking coffee with my mom and his aunts in their mansions and enjoying baked goods that are... well... heavenly!!

      Rich posted the following info to his FB page this AM. I share it because it so beautifully reflects my husband’s heart… and the love for his dear mom! We will miss her dearly! “My mom passed away this morning.  She was 98 years old.  My dad passed away 62 years ago.  She raised my three older sisters and I until all of us were out on our own before she remarried.  When she turned 80, we had a big shindig for her with the extended family and each of us wrote something about what she meant to us.  My sisters and I each wrote separately of how safe we felt growing up in our home.  Now, it’s her turn.  She’s safe and at home.”

     Sally loved receiving cards from us… and was always thrilled when I gave her gift packets of cards to send to friends and family. Up until the last year she never missed a birthday, anniversary, or graduation. So, I’m pretty sure she will be smiling down on me as I work through my grief over the next few weeks in my craft room. Now on to my posting!

      It’s the middle of the month which means it’s time for a challenge at QKR Stampede which is always “Anything Goes” and several prizes are awarded. Stop by the challenge and maybe you’ll be inspired to enter a card or two yourself?

     My DT card features a QKR digi and sentiment that work so beautifully together. I had fun using them on a Triangle Fun Fold card (which is super easy to make!) I had fun cutting out the inside of his helmet and slipping a scrap of acetate down over his head and face to create a clear view of the beautiful galaxy behind him. Silver metallic cardstock and silver holographic stars complete the card which really is out of this world!

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge-(my car includes a few of the colors in the photo, plus the bright points of stars mimic the sunlight through the trees.)  

Supplies: 

·   Triangle Fun Fold- Found on Pinterest HERE

·   Digi- QKR Digital Stamp (Star Catcher) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white & silver gel pens

·   Galaxy Patterned Paper and Star Stickers- Hobby Lobby

·   Inside Sentiment- QKR Digital Stamp (Catch Your Dreams) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

·   Cardstock, a scrap of acetate, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
The Paper Shelter-#494 Color It
Passion for Markers Challenge- Week # 623 Going Dotty
Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge-Inspiration Photo 
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

      A recent episode of the YouTube program, Craft Roulette, featured a wonderful blogger named Jessica Taylor as a guest stamper. She was challenged by Mary Gunn FUNN, the host of the program, to create a card-live on camera-that featured four randomly picked themes. Jessica beautifully met the challenge then invited her blog followers to create a card. I had fun creating this card which meets the four required themes: Pocket- stamped Teddy bear sits on a pile of hearts with a pull tab; Colors- Purple + 3 (gray, pink, and green/teal); Transportation- truck; and Oval- sentiment.

     My card features a beautiful classic truck from a Beccy’s Place digi set that is soon being retired. (On sale through April for 50% off, which means I got it for just $3.64 US. I pasted a WM of the set and also the retiring sets flyer so you can maybe do some shopping?!) I copied the colored (deep rich red) truck jpg, dropped it into a Word document, then before printing it off, I clicked the picture format option, then color option to change the color to grey so that the bright red wouldn’t overpower the pastel hearts.  

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Beccy’s Place Digital Stamp Set (Cruisin)

·   Classic Truck (colored digi) shaded with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and highlighted with Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Scenic Tree Paper- Hobby Lobby

·   Teddy Bear- Rubber Stamp from a retired Stampin’ Up set ( maybe from the late '90s?)

·   Front Sentiment- Desert Diva freebie (Hello How are You)

·   Inside Sentiment “Loads of Love” From Beccy’s Place Digi Set (The Long Haul)

·   Cardstock, and assorted valentine stickers from my stash.

Entered into:  
Simon Says Monday Challenge- Transport It
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #173 Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #525-526 Anything Goes                   
Beccy’s Place Challenge- January  Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place, I’m entering just for fun!

Before I forget, I wanted to share a few other Beccy’s Place digis and sentiments that I used to decorate my office door for a contest during the holidays. I printed the digis vertically on 8.5 x 14-inch copy paper, taped them together, colored then fussy-cut the snarky critters before attaching them to some wonderful, patterned Christmas wrapping paper. I printed off the snarky sentiments, sketched word bubbles around them, fussy cut, and added them to the door.  There was some major competition-one door included a bowl of real, hand-baked cookies in small baggies for easy grabbing, and another included a 3-D snowman made from white solo cups with flashing lights and music!!) … it did bring in lots of comments and giggles from people passing by. I guess that many of my co-workers can understand the truth in those sentiments. (My fat pants got dangerously stretched this year!!)

      I’m entering this card into several challenges including Digi Doodle Studios- (One of my favorite things about stamping is always looking for new ways to use my stamps, digis and supplies. And if my efforts bring a smile- or chuckle- well, that makes me happy!) 

Supplies: 

·   Goose Digi  “Fat Pants”  and “Naughty List” Sentiment from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Grumpy Goose)

·   Chicken Digi from Beccy’s Place Digi Sets (Poultry in Motion)

·   Colored with Assorted markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Chalkboard Christmas Wrapping Paper, scraps of vellum (to create "steam" rising from the coffee cup), Santa patterned paper and cardstock from my stash.

Entered into:  

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  (Animals)

Digi Doodle Studios- #45 Be Happy and/or Your Favorite Thing

myasperations 1-14-22

It’s Friday and time for the Colour Crazy Challenge. This challenge is “Anything Goes” but it adds a requirement; the creation needs to include coloring in “any colouring medium you like, onto any project you like, and in any colours you like.” I’ve never outgrown my love for coloring… which is why making cards is stress therapy for me!! 
This week's sponsor is Ching-Chou Kuik Digital Stamps and my DT card features a digi named Dark Lilies. I printed the beauty on white cardstock and used Spectrum Noir Classique Markers and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen to add color, shading, and highlights. I used a few photos from the web for guidance when coloring the lovely lilies. Some patterned paper, photo corners, and a sweet sentiment finish off the card.  
Note- The sentiment is from a beautiful Beccy’s Place digi set that is soon being retired. (On sale through April for 50% off, which means I got it for just $2.19 US.) I love the image in this set, and use the sentiments from the set quite often. They are so versatile for many types of cards!

I’m entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge (My card reflects the pastel colors and lacy details of the inspiration photo.) 

Supplies: 
·   Digi- Ching-Chou Kuik Digital Stamp (Dark Lilies)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Front Sentiment “Hello Friend” from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (True Beauty)
·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources
·   Cardstock, patterned papers and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- For the Girls
Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge-Inspiration Photo  
Outlawz Challenge- Twisted Thursday Anything Goes (Optional Twist- Feminine)
Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #5 Anything Goes                        
The Paper Shelter-#494 Color It
Ching-Chou Kuik's Digital Stamps Inspiration & Challenge- “Something New" 
Ching-Chou Kuik's FB Challenge- “Something New” 

Decided to add a few more cards to this post to help increase the number of viewers… which I feel I owe to the companies/challenges for which I’m a DT! This Christmas card features a Tree Shaped die cut tag as it’s base, sweet little gingerbread cookies from another Beccy’s Place digi set that is soon being retired. (On sale through April for 50% off.) Sadly the elf digi is no longer available (I miss Bugaboo Stamps!) because I love that I was able to bend his little fingers around a cookie. The colorful pile of gifts is upcycled from a sale ad from Simon Says Stamp!

Supplies: 

             ·  Digi- Bugaboo Digital Stamp (Deacon Elf) Company no longer in business.

·   Gingerbread Cookie Digi- from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Gingerbread) Now 50% off (which means I got it for just $2.92 US)

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

·   Inside Sentiment- LoveSVG Freebie (May Your Christmas Be Sweet)

·   Christmas Tree tag Diecut- from a Package I found at a thrift store a few years ago

·   Gifts under tree upcycled from a Simon Says Christmas flyer.

·   Cardstock, snowflake stickers and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Digi Chooseday Crafting Challenge- Week #1 Anything Goes     
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #525-526 Anything Goes                   
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #576 AG
Beccy’s Place Challenge- January Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place, I’m entering just for fun!

Since my cards usually involve layers, fussy-cutting and coloring/shading/highlighting, I love how easily this card came together. Using a Sheepski Designs digi with an incorporated sentiment, the card is almost CAS- at least for me! I created the cloudy sky background with chalk, a makeup sponge, and a cloud stencil. (Note- the stencil I used is no longer available. However, I checked one of my favorite stamp supply shops, Simon Says Stamp!, searched “cloud stencil” and 70 options popped up!) 
I’m entering this card into several challenges including Simon Says Stamp Challenges Monday (Balloons are a non-conventional way to transport greetings, notes small gifts and a smile!) and Wednesday (I used a stencil, blue chalk and a makeup sponge to make the billowy clouds. Plus, I provided a link to Simon Says Stamp shop which offers many designs and sizes of cloud stencils plus thousands of other items. It’s one of my favorite “go-to” online shops!) 

Supplies: 

•  Digi- Sheepski Designs (Happy Birthday) 
•   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen 
•   All Night Media Cloud stencil (no longer available) but lots of cloud stencils HERE 
•   Cardstock, blue chalk (clouds), a scrap of satin ribbon, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:

Double D’s Challenge- 6^th Birthday Party Balloons 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Transport It

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Fun With Stencils

STAMPlorations- CAS Challenge January (Optional- Rainbow) 

STAMPlorations- Stencil Challenge January (Anything Goes)      

Incy Wincy Designs-Pastel Colors and/or sketch

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Birthday)

Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

myasperations 1-11-22

This festive card features a fun image from The Paper Shelter named "Rooftop Party."  I love the title’s play on words, especially since Rudolph looks less than happy about the situation! Red, gold and bronze glitter paper add some bling to the card. I also printed, colored and fussy-cut an extra little bird to embellish the inside. The final touch was to add one lovely puffy heart sticker to add emphasis to the “All Hearts Come Home” freebie sentiment.

Supplies: 

·   Digi- The Paper Shelter (Rooftop Party)

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

·   Front Sentiment “Let’s Celebrate!”- Computer Generated

·   Inside Sentiment-Freebie from LoveSVG (All Hearts Come Home)

·   Puffy Heart Sticker- Sticko's 

·   Cardstock, patterned paper, scraps of glitter paper and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
The Paper Shelter- Anything Goes
Gem of a Challenge- Week #1 Anything Goes                                
Digi Chooseday Crafting Challenge- Week #1 Anything Goes     
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #525-526 Anything Goes                   
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #173 Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #576 AG
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- January                 
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Animals)
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

myasperations 1-5-22

It's time for another challenge at Penny's Paper Crafty Challenge Blog where challenges are always Anything Goes and prizes are awarded from one or more sponsors.  Stop by the blog to check it out!
For this challenge, my DT card features a Beautiful digi from My Besties. A sheet of gold foiled scrapbook paper from my stash provides a gorgeous background, especially when I colored the Fairy Geisha to compliment the colors in the paper. I fussy-cut the Geisha many of the extra flowers and leaves to build up a frame around the little beauty. A bit of vellum helped mute the background a bit so that the Geisha could really stand out! Some extra bits and pieces of scrapbook paper also helps frame the inside sentiment.

I’m entering this card into several challenges including four with the theme “Something New" (the Digi is new for me), and the Outlawz Festive Friday challenge (my card features pretty florals inside and out!) 

Supplies: 

·   Digi- My Besties (Fairy Geisha & the Fox Doll 12)

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

·   Inside Sentiment- Eureka Digital Stamp (Wonderful Day)

·   DCWV Far East 12x12 Paper Stack-JoAnn Fabric And Craft Store

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Something New
Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #1 Anything Goes                        
Ching-Chou Kuik's Digital Stamps Inspiration & Challenge- “Something New
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Something New
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

I’m getting low on baby cards, so decided to cut out a few of the BABY templates I created several years ago. Made up one quick card using some items I had on hand. Easy Peasy and Cute to Boot! (Ha… I just rhymed twice!!)  I included a copy of the A2-sized template for your use if desired. Just right-click the image to save it to your computer. Then paste into a Word document and print onto any colored or patterned paper you prefer, fussy-cut, and embellish as desired. (I added stitch marks with a standard yellow pencil!) Or, use the template to create a stencil on acetate or cardboard. 

    The cute little balloons are created with a scraps of plastic index divider sheets. (These wonderful items- sometimes called document file folders- come in a pack of assorted colors and can be found in the office supply section of most stores. They're cheaper than colored vellum and more translucent. Punches and dies don’t work on these sheets, but they are easy to fussy-cut with a sharp pair of scissors. And you can draw shapes onto them with a permanent fine-line marker, which Is how I created this balloon. The elephant digi is holding balloons, so I traced them separately onto the colorful scraps, fussy-cut, overlapped and adhered them with small bits of double stick tape. When everything was placed where desired, I used the fine-line permanent black marker to add strings to the balloons.)

Supplies: 

·   Elephant with balloons digi- Freebie from Tiddly Inks (No Longer Available)

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen and Sharpie black fine-line pen 

·   BABY lettering- hand-sketched, fussy-cut and pencil stitching added  

·   Patterned paper- Hobby Lobby

·   Cardstock, scraps of plastic index divider sheets, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #173 Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #525-526 Anything Goes                   
Gem of a Challenge- Week #1 Anything Goes                                
Cute As A Button- January: CH #76 Anything Goes 

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- January 
Outlawz Challenge- Saturday Paper Ala Mode- Pretty In Pink

Happy New Year!

The 1st of the month finds me making a DT card for the challenge at QKR Stampede. Stop by the challenge, which is always “Anything Goes” and several prizes are awarded. Maybe you’ll be inspired to enter a card or two yourself? 

For this whimsical Christmas card, I created a tri-fold base with a strip of white cardstock, measuring 5½ x 12¾ inches. I scored every 4¼ inches on the long side, and folded both ends into the center on the score lines. I then printed, colored, and fussy-cut the tree digi to determine how much of the card's front to cut off on a diagonal. (I wanted to add a bit more color, so layered some pale green patterned paper behind the tree, and some lovely rose paper behind the front flap, trimming it diagonally. I then adhered the tree, added the sentiments and a large number of pretty little pink plastic butterflies that I’ve had in my stash for a few decades!

                                       

Supplies: 

·   Tree digi- QKR Stampede (Tree) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

·   Sentiment on inside flap- Eureka Digital Stamp (Legend of the Butterfly) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

·   Tree and butterflies colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen and Stardust Clear gel pen

·   Inside Sentiment- QKR Stampede Digital Stamp (Merry Christmas) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

·   Cardstock, rhinestone butterflies, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #523-524 Anything Goes                   

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #575 AG

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  

Outlawz Challenge- Saturday Paper Ala Mode- Pretty In Pink

Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks

Since it’s the first of the month I’m also sharing my DT card for the January Sheepski Designs Challenge. This month’s theme is “Squares” and I had fun creating a card using one of Andreas’ sweet digis. This one, named “Waiting” features a beautiful fairy gazing into the distance as she patiently waits for… a loved one, the morning to come, a bright future? The spotlight technique helped to provide the required squares to my card (I used a stencil to lightly trace the three squares, which I trimmed from the digi, colored, and set aside. I used chalks to add color to the rest of the digi, then layered a scrap of vellum over it to provide a lovely, misty feeling to the scene. I adhered the fairy, her furry friend, and colorful mushrooms in place then added a few sentiments and “ta-da” the magical scene was “Ta-Done”!  

PS Stop by the Sheepski blog to learn more about the monthly challenges and have a chance to win some wonderful digis created by artist Andrea Norris! 

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Sheepski Designs (Waiting)

·   Instructions for Spotlight Technique can be found HERE

·   Spotlighted areas colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Non-spotlighted areas colored with decorative chalks and white gel pen, then muted with a vellum scrap

·   Stardust Stickles added to Fairy wings

·   Front Sentiment “Make a Wish”- Freebie from Papercrafts Magazine (No longer available)

·   Inside sentiment- Birdscards Freebie (Spread Your Wings)

·   Cardstock, vintage patterned paper, vellum, and other items from my stash

Entered into:  

Crafty Sentiments Challenge-AnythingGoes

Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #52 Anything Goes                     

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- January