Tuesday, June 23, 2026

myasperations 6-23-26

       This card features an adorable digi named “Hawaiian Luau” from Cute As a Button. I created it for the Tropical Challenge at Double D’s (the flowers, and cocktail with an umbrella scream tropical to me!), the Time Outs Pick 2 challenge (my card reflects these three words- Sun, Vacation and Summer), and the  Pick 3 Challenge Board (my card includes Yellow, a Sentiment, and I created a simple “frame” for the card by trimming the scrapbook digi to be a bit smaller than A2 size, thus creating an apricot colored frame to match the color of her lovely sundress!)
  
Supplies: 

·    Background is made with items from my scrapbook stash

·    Digi- Cute as a Button Digital Stamp “Hawaiian Luau”” (Sadly, company was closed in 2022 due to family health issues.)

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

·    Sentiments and flip-flops inside of card are freebies from LoveSVG (Sadly it appears this blog has closed.)

·    Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·    All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Double D’s Challenge- Tropical      
Time Out Challenge- #315-Pick 2  (Vacation, Summer, Sun)  
Pick 3 Challenge- #6 June/July 2026  (Board)   
Polkadoodles Challenge-  Challenge 6 Wk 4- AG
Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #131 Theme- AG (Twist- Sunny Days and Bright Hues)

    The sweet (pre-colored) gnome on this coffee-themed card is from a favorite FB site, Free Printables for your Junk Journaling with TLC. (See details in my supplies section.) I included one of his “twins” on my last blog, but with a snowy theme and cool color palette. This card features a traditional Christmas color scheme, complete with holly-themed paper.

Supplies: 
·    Pre-colored gnome digi is from Free Printables for your Junk Journaling with TLC (on FB) After you join HERE, use the search option for  “gnome” (There are gnomes available for many occasions!)

·   Front Sentiment- is from the Oriental Trading Company several decades ago.

·   Inside Sentiment “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas”  is a freebie from YouTube@Sassy’s LLC (learn more Here)

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into: 
Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #6-2026 June-July                                                                                                                                         
    I made this card to enter into two challenges- June's Colorful Options Challenge and the ABC Christmas “L is for Let is Snow” challenge. A friend shared the technique with me, and I was surprised how quickly this card came together using a Christmas card and its matching envelope that I picked up in a package of new cards at a thrift store several years ago! 
     The video link was helpful, and so were two tips that my friend provided- in her words. 1) Really tape it (the card) down while tearing...mine kept shifting otherwise! And 2) Make sure you reverse the 2nd side when tearing or you end up with the white core showing and a nice edge on the other side! I found if I flipped to the opposite side (so I'm tearing the same way each time) it worked so much better!
Supplies: 

·   Christmas Card from a box of cards I picked up at a thrift store years ago. (I used both the front and inside sentiment on my card.) And, the card had a matching envelope, which works beautifully with my adapted card!

·   Torn Edge Card Technique- Instructional video found HERE (the info starts 6 minutes into the video.)

·   Front Sentiment-Upcycled from inside of original Christmas Card 

·   Inside Sentiment-Computer Generated

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   Metallic Siver paper, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Colorful Options Monthly Challenge: June 2026 Color Board  (Option 2-Supporting Colors) 
ABC Christmas Challenge- L & M are for… ?  'L is for Let it Snow' & 'M is for Mice'

     My final card for this post features a beautiful Sunflower digital image from a STAMPlorations Coloring book. It was fun to color the bright blooms and embellish them with patterned paper and little buzzzzy bees!
     Note- the section I colored and trimmed from the coloring book was longer than my card front, so I trimmed the excess and used it to embellish the inside of the card. The inside sentiment is one I created a few years ago. I've provided a JPG you can copy for your own use if desired.
                              
Supplies: 
·   Bzzz patterned paper and front sentiment from Imagine That! Digis (Sadly, company is no longer in business.)  
·   Sunflower Digi- Stamplorations (Color Blooms Coloring Book)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
· Inside Sentiment-“May Your Day Be Blessed!” (Computer-generated using Edwardian Script ITC Font, available
to download from several free online sites, and Calibri)  NOTE- I provided a copy of the jpg sentiment  I
developed using these fonts. Just click on the sentiment, then right-click and save it to your laptop, etc.! 
·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.
·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.
·   Bee Digis- from a Beccy’s Place digi set (Beccy closed her digi shop last year but still sells clear stamp sets online. Check HERE  to see which sets are available!)
Entered into:  
Pammies Inky Pinky Challenge #2625 (AG except 5th Monday)
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Things with Wings 
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #756-757 (AG/Family Friendly)
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- June 2026-Color Challenge  (Color Mood Board)
Outlawz Challenge Monthly Linky- June 2026
Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #843: Add Flowers

Sunday, June 21, 2026

myasperations 6-18-26

    This card, created for the Inspiration Station Challenge Photo, features an adorable digi named “Breakfast for Mom” from Cute As a Button. This sweet daughter, who appears to be a messy baker like me, whipped up a batch of pancakes topped with mounds of strawberries. The sentiment, from PowerPoppy, is a perfect fit for the sweet digi!
 
Supplies: 
·   Digi- Cute as a Button Digital Stamp “Breakfast for Mom” (Sadly, the company closed in 2022 due to family health issues.)

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

·   Front Sentiment- “Sweetest Thing” is from a Power Poppy digi set (Cherries and Berries)

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   Red checkered napkin, B&W striped paper, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into 
Inspiration Station- Challenge #86 Inspiration Photo (Strawberries)  (photo)   
Pammies Inky Pinky Challenge #2624  
Paper Funday- June 2026 #88AG  (Optional Twist: Polkadots and Stripes)

     My second entry for this month's challenge from Sweet November Stamps (SNS) features an adorable digi of a mermaid and her otter friend! The beautiful, deep blue underwater photo, named “Algae Ocean Bloom,” is from a free Bing wallpaper program I installed on my laptop some time ago. (I love learning about all the unusual and often beautiful places in the world, with new photos and info every day!)
   I’m entering this card into several challenges, including Colorful Options Monthly Challenge: Option 2 (my card features several shades of blue, and an ocean.)
 
Supplies: 
·   Watery background scene- Bing Wallpaper ap can be viewed/downloaded HERE (the photo I used is no longer available, but I found a similar one HERE)

·   Mermaid, and Otter digi’s are all from a Sweet November Stamp digi set  (Shimmer RedKelp and Otto)

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

·   Sentiments are from a Bugaboo digi set (Company no longer in business)

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Double D’s Challenge- Tropical  
Colorful Options Monthly Challenge: June 2026 Color Board  
Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #6-2026 June-July (Optional twist-BDay) 

    This card features a gold embossed image from one of my all-time favorite wood mount rubber stamps, an heirloom from Personal Stamp Exchange (aka PSX Stamps) named “Floral Wreath” that I’ve had in my collection since the 1990’s. I store my wood-mount stamps in the garage, and pulled this one out a few months ago to use at a stamping class I was offering through a community group for retirees! They absolutely loved the cards they made using this stamp, especially when they embossed the image with gold embossing powder. This is one of the sample cards that I’d made. The butterfly digis are freebies from Papercraft Secrets (seedetails in my supplies list). All other items were all from my stash.
     I’m entering this card into several challenges, including two that require “Things with Wings” (since I can see butterflies fluttering around the flower bed I can see outside of our front window, they seemed like a lovely option!).
 
Supplies: 
·   Wood-mount rubber stamp ”Floral Wreath” from PSX (Company no longer in business)

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

·   Butterfly digis from Papercraft Secrets (You can sign up for access to freebies, vidoes and more HERE and join FB page HERE)

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #842: Things with Wings
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Things with Wings  
Neglected Stuff Challenge- June 2026  

     The sweet gnome on this coffee-themed card is from a favorite FB site, Free Printables for your Junk Journaling with TLC. (See details in my supplies section.) Because coloring is my favorite stress-management technique, I seldom use precolored images; this little guy was too cute to pass up! The rest of the card went together quickly with items from my stash.
 
                        
Supplies: 

·  Pre-colored gnome digi is from Free Printables for your Junk Journaling with TLC (on FB) After you join HERE, use the search option for  “gnome” (There are gnomes available for many occasions!)

·   Front Circle Sentiment- “Warm Winter Wishes”- from birdscards (blog no longer available)

·   Inside Sentiment “Sweet Holiday wishes and lots of delicious coffee ” (First half is from a Beccy’s Place digi set and second half from Polka Dot Orchard digi set (Merry Little Coffee) (NOTE- Beccy closed her digi shop last year but sells clear stamps, check HERE to see which are available.  

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
ABC Christmas Challenge- 'L is for Let it Snow' 

Thursday, June 18, 2026

myasperations 6-18-26

    For this card, I printed off a free digi from Scribbles Designs named Pitcher & Drink onto white cardstock. I used a fine-line permanent black marker to trace the glass portion of the digi onto a scrap of acetate, creating a clear pitcher and glass. A few scraps of yellow vellum cut to size, slid into place, became the lemonade when adhered to the acetate with very small strips of double-stick tape! I fussy-cut the ice cubes and straw, added a bit of shading to the ice and stripes on the straw, then used an Exacto blade to cut along the front lip of the glass. Sliding the straw up through this cut, I adhered it in place. I also trimmed a lemon slice from patterned paper, added a bit of shading and highlights with markers and a white gel pen, and adhered it in place. It was finally time to add my favorite embellishments- condensation droplets! 
   Using the permanent marker, I drew little water droplets onto the front of the acetate, then used a grey alcohol marker to add a bit of shading. When the shading was dry, I added a little dollop with a white gel pen to get a realistic look. A bit of Glossy Accents added to each of the drops provided an additional texture and depth. (Just a heads up, I practiced this technique on a scrap of acetate before I tried it on the actual card front!)  
   After creating the icy drink, I adhered it atop a teal “frame” cut from an old greeting card, then attached both to a beachy background digi from artist Sande Woodson, who offers freebies via a weekly email and on FB. The final step was to add sentiments and tropical flower embellishments, fussy-cut from patterned paper which I've had in my stash since 2005. (I know the date because I bought it, and several other packets of paper from Oriental Trading Company just before a major family move. My hubby still teases me about how much room my "paper collection" took up in the U-Haul we had rented!) 
  
 
Supplies: 
·    Background digi scenery- from Sande's Poema Freebies. Details to sign up for weekly freebies (HERE) or find some of her other freebies on her FB page (Sande's Poema Card Making Community)

·   Digi- a freebie from Scribbles Designs (Pitcher & Drink)

·   Black Fine-line Sharpie Marker is used to trace the digis and condensation droplets onto acetate scraps

·   Shading and highlights on digis and droplets added with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Glossy Accents from Ranger- used to make the water drops on the glass.

·  Front Sentiment- a freebie from LoveSVG (Summer Chillin’) (Sadly, it appears that this blog has closed.)

·   Inside sentiment “Sweet Birthday Wishes” from Beccys Place Digis (Hello Cupcake) (Beccy closed her digi shop last year but still sells clear stamp sets online. Check HERE  to see which sets are available!)

·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   Embellishments (Tropical flowers and Lemon slice) are cut from patterned papers in my stash, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into: 
Time Out Challenge- #315-Pick 2 
Double D’s Challenge- Tropical 
Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #6-2026 June-July (Optional twist- Anniversary or BDay) 
Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #131 Theme- AG (Twist- Sunny Days and Bright Hues)

   The 4th of July, a national holiday here in the USA, is just a few weeks away, so I’m working on cards to send to my siblings. When we were growing up, "The 4th"  was one of our favorite holidays. Every year, as we joined cousins at an uncle’s farm in Iowa, we enjoyed an afternoon creating lots of noise! We were each given our own “punk,” which we used to light hundreds of firecrackers and smoke bombs. (I only remember getting injured once during all those years of holiday fun, when I accidentally poked myself in the cheek. The damage was minimal, so I didn't miss out on much fun, AND I  only have a small scar to show for it!)
   Late in the afternoon, we enjoyed a feast of burgers, hot dogs,  potato salad, pork 'n beans, and all the yummy dishes (many included Jello!) that were provided by our mom and aunts! This was followed by fresh-picked strawberries, piled atop vanilla ice cream that we “made” in a hand-cranked contraption. (It was heavenly!)  As sundown approached, our excitement peaked because that is when the Sparklers, Bottle Rockets, Roman Candles, and Fountains filled the air with snaps, crackles, pops, whooshes, and bangs! (As an adult, I can’t imagine the amount of money that was spent on this event… but the memories are truly priceless!)
   I don’t usually make collage-type cards, but have accrued so many wonderful bits of patriotic-themed ephemera over the years, that it was fun and easy to whip up the cards that I needed. After talking with my hubby, and learning that his family also celebrated a food and fireworks-filled "4th",  I'm making one to send to each of his sweet sisters, too! 
   I’m entering this card into several challenges including Snippets (it includes not just scraps and upcycled treasures, but also invoked all the snippets of memories that I enjoyed while pulling all those things into this wonderful card!) and Pick 3 (my card includes a few bits of Blue, Numbers (date), and Plaid (I did web research and found that in North America, “laid” is used as umbrella term for almost any crisscross, grid-like pattern. While in Scotland, “plaid” refers strictly to a specific type of draped blanket or shawl, and the patterns, called “tartans” vary by both families and regions. That is so cool!)
Supplies: 

· Digi- QKR Eureka Digital Stamp (Waving Flag) Currently Not Available

· Hobby Lobby

· Front Sentiment- a freebie from Create with TLC (4th of July)

· Inside Sentiment- Computer Generated

· Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

· Parchment and other papers, star stickers, used postage stamps,  other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Pick 3 Challenge- #5 May/June 2026  Blue- Numbers- Plaid
Pammies Inky Pinky Challenge #2624 
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #756-757 (AG/Family Friendly)
Snippets- Week #534
Paper Funday- June 2026 #88AG  (Optional Twist: Polkadots and Stripes)

  I had fun creating this card to enter into two Christmas-themed challenges, Coffee Loving Paper Crafters/Caffeinated Christmas Card, and the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers (Sketch). Sadly, most of the items I used on this card are no longer available. (This is an issue that is happening more and more often over the last few years. And, with all of the artwork that is being pirated by companies like Temu, Shein, other sellers on Amazon, and a few I’ve seen on Pinterest and even Etsy…I fear we’ll lose more of our amazing stamp and digi artists/business owners.)  
  I’m entering this card into several challenges, including Outlawz Twisted Thursday Color Challenge (although my card is for Christmas, I used a non-traditional color scheme that includes all of the colors on the mood board, although the shade of blue in her silver white hair is really pale… just like mine!)  
  
Supplies: 

·   Coffee themed Digi – a freebie from Papercraft Magazine (no longer available)

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

·   Wood and sentiment papers-Hobby Lobby.

·   Front Circle Sentiment- “Warm Winter Wishes”- from birdscards (blog no longer available)

·   Inside Sentiment “Tis the Season for Coffee” from a Beccy’s Place digi set (Christmas Cheers) (Beccy closed her digi shop last year but still sells clear stamp sets online. Check HERE  to see which sets are available!)

·    Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web.

·   All other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- June 2026-Color Challenge  
Outlawz Challenge Monthly Linky- June 2026