myasperations 3-24-26

     I created this card for the current “TicTacToe challenge” at The Paper Shelter. I have always liked this sweet digi, inspired by Elvis Presley, named “My Elvis Teddy Bear.” I remember watching my first Elvis movie on a B&W TV in the living room of a motel my parents managed in a small South Dakota town in the mid-1960s. My young mother was a major Elvis fan, so I remember watching many Elvis movies over the years. I paired this sweet digi with background paper from my stash, and I trimmed a few vintage images from the patterned paper to embellish the inside sentiment.

      I’m entering this card into several challenges, including the current Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge, which has a Greeting theme of All things Mother! Since my mom was such an Elvis fan, she would have loved this card! And since she checked into her heavenly mansion in 2012, I made this in her memory and will send it to my older brother on his birthday, since he might also remember watching Elvis movies with Mom. (Or should I say he “endured” watching them!!) And also Inspiration Station/Inspiration Photo- My card features shades of green in the background, lettering, and even a greenish grey in the vintage paper.

                                  

 

Supplies: 

· Digi- The Paper Shelter (My Elvis Teddy Bear)

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

· Front Sentiment- Mudmaven Freebie (Wishing You a Very Happy Birthday)

· Inside Sentiment “You’re Officially vintage”- from a Beccy’s Place digi set (Wheels) (Beccy recently closed her digi shop. She now sells clear stamp sets online. Check HERE  to see which sets are available!)

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

· Background- Vintage patterned paper from my stash

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

Entered into:  

The Paper Shelter- #666 AG (TicTacToe middle row-handcolored image, FREE, and Stripes)

Inspiration Station- Challenge #83 Inspiration Photo 

Colorful Options Monthly Challenge: March 2026  Color Board  

Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- March 2026- Greeting Scheme

Outlawz Challenge Monthly Linky- March 2026

 

      This card is my third entry in the current Time Out Theme challenge “In the Clear.” It features a pretty mermaid from Fred She Said, peering through a porthole created from the aluminum “aroma seal” that I upcycled from a recently purchased 3# can of Folgers coffee. A scrap of silver cardstock, a large circle punch, a mini hole punch, and silver brads helped finish the porthole base.

     I taped a strip of silver grey paper to the front of a white A2-sized card base, then punched a large circle on the card front and layered paper to align with the porthole placement. A scrap of acetate was taped over this hole, and foam tape helped adhere the porthole to the acetate.

     I needed a center flap for the card, so that Emma could enjoy a swim while peeking into the porthole. (I made a top flap, but next time I think I’ll make a side flap, which will be more stable and easier to adhere in place.)

     I printed, colored, and fussy-cut Emma, then taped her on a beautiful underwater photo, from a free Bing wallpaper program I installed on my laptop some time ago. (I love learning about all the beautiful places in the world, with new photos and info every day! This picture is titled “Algae Ocean Bloom.”) When finished, I positioned this section onto the flap, trimming as needed to make sure that Emma's placement allowed her to smile through the porthole…then taping things in place.  The last task was adding sentiments, embellishing the one on the flap with sparkly sequin paper I've had in my stash for many years, and the one on the inside of the card with a fish and balloons digi from the Fred She Said digi set.  (You can see the clear "glass" in the porthole on my photo of the open card... because it reflects the phone/camera that took the pic!) 

  

Supplies: 

· Bing Wallpaper ap can be viewed/downloaded HERE (the photo I used is no longer available, but a different beautiful bloom is HERE)

·  Mermaid Digi (and fish with balloons digi on inside sentiment)- from a Fred She Said digi set (Emma the Mermaid & Friends)

·  Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white & silver gel pens (stray hairs added with a Brown Sakura Pigma Micron 005)

· Nuvo- Glitter Drops (used to add "bubbles" to the underwater scene) 

· Front Sentiment- Desert Diva Freebie (Hello Birthday Girl) Freebie is no longer available, but a similar one can be found HERE

· Flap  Sentiment- “Happy Birthday” Computer Generated

· Inside Sentiment “Have a Fintastic Day”- freebie from Simply Cards/CraftWorld Magazine (no longer available)

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

· Silver grey paper strip, sequined paper, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Time Out Challenge- Challenge #309 (Theme Challenge- In the Clear)   

Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #3-2026 March/April (Optional twist- Fun/Fancy Folds) 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #744-745 (AG/Family Friendly)

    This is my second card for the 3-D challenge at Art Impression stamps. It features one of my favorite wood-mount rubber stamps, a beautiful, spunky diva named Eunice from their “Golden Oldies” collection, which is now considered vintage!

     Eunice was a best seller at the stamp store I co-owned in South Dakota in the late ‘90s. I have always loved paper-piecing her blouse, this time I decided to go all matchy-matchy with daisies on the background (paper punched and layers to meet the 3-D theme) that mirror the daisies on her blouse. I finished the card with a snarky sentiment (which fits many of the people that receive my handmade Birthday cards! A few of them are even older than moi!) 

    I’m entering this card into several challenges, including the current Pick 3: my card features text, flowers made with two punches, and wings (I think that the extreme feathering on her hair can classify them as wings? However, if that is too much of a stretch, feel free to omit this card from the prize draw!) 

 

                           

Supplies: 

·   Vintage Art Impressions Rubber Stamp- (Eunice)- Retired

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

·   Sentiments- Computer-generated

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

·   Flower punch, small circle punch, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Art Impressions Monthly Challenge- March #423 (3D)

Pick 3 Challenge- March-April 2026  (Board- Text, Wings, Punches)

STAMPlorations- March 2026       

Crafty Catz Challenge-#709 AG

     I had fun coloring this sweet digi image from Polkadoodles named "Ruby Birthday Cake" for a fun and colorful birthday card. Even the inside sentiment of the card is “all decked out” for the celebration with the addition of an extra birthday cake (that I printed off, colored and fussy-cut) plus two gifts made from scraps of patterned paper!

      I’m entering this card into several challenges, including the current Pick 3: my card features text, flowers made with two punches, and wings (I think that the extreme feathering on her hair can classify them as wings? However, if that is too much of a stretch, feel free to not enter this card into the prize draw!) 

                                            

                                                

Supplies: 

· Digi-Polkadoodles (Ruby Birthday Cake)

· Front Sentiment-a Freebie from Desert Diva (Happy Birthday strip-black background)

· Inside Sentiment- “Hope your day is the sweetest ever” -from a Beccy’s Place Digi set (Sweet as Candy) (Beccy recently closed her digi shop. She now sells clear stamp sets online. Check HERE  to see which sets are available!)

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

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

Entered into:  

Polkadoodles Challenge- Challenge 3, Wk 4- AG   

Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #830: Think Pink

Paper Funday- March 2026 #84 AG 

myasperations 3-22-26

        This card is my second entry in the current Time Out Theme challenge “In the Clear.” I remembered I had a digi set from Jan’s Digi Stamps named “Glasses” that I’d used a few years ago, and adding acetate “glass” lenses provided a fun touch of realism to the card. I had fun using it to make a Valentine’s card that featured two types of glasses- vintage “cat's eyes” plus traditional black rectangular frames. It took a little time to cut the centers from the two frames and replace them with strips of acetate, but I love how they turned out. The final touch was to add black photo corners to hold the eye-chart in place.

  

Supplies: 

·   Free Eye Chart- found HERE

·   Digis from a Jan’s Digi Stamps set named “Glasses” (Sadly company is closed)

·   Shading and highlights added with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white & silver gel pens

·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   Papers, acetate scraps, adhesive, and foam tape from my stash.

·   Sentiments-Computer Generated

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

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

Entered into:  

Time Out Challenge- Challenge #309 (Theme Challenge)

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #744-745 (AG/Family Friendly)

Paper Funday- March 2026 #84 AG 

    I like upcycling old calendar pages as backgrounds on my cards, which will be easily apparent when you see my next three cards. 

    I used a floral calendar photo and a sweet digi image and sentiments from Not2Shabby to create this beautiful Easter card. The digi named “I Pick You” is actually a young girl dressed in a dress with apple designs, holding a basket of apples. I had fun using the digi on an Easter card,  easily fitting into that theme by paper-piecing her dress with a scrap of patterned paper, and filling the basket with Easter eggs made with scraps of pastel paper, decorated with gel pens. A sentiment from Not2Shabby was divided to fit onto both the front and inside of the card. 

Supplies: 

·   Background scene is upcycled from an old calendar

·   Digi from Not2Shabby (I Pick You)  

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

·   Sentiments- from a Not2Shabby Digi set (Carrots the Bunny)

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

·   Scraps of polka dotted and pastel papers, a strip of pink satin ribbon, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Not2Shabby Mood Board Challenge-March- (Color board/Mood Board- Spring) 

Double D’s Challenge- Easter/Church/Cross 

Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes #3-2026 March/April 

      

  The theme of the March challenge at Sweet November Stamps (SNS) is ‘Use Green’. I dug through my collection of old calendars to find a photo that held enough green foliage, to allow a sweet digi from SNS, named “Slow Ride,” to take center stage! I am thinking this card will be sent to a dear friend who recently retired and is enjoying life's slower pace, but I'm not sure of the sentiment I’ll attach. So for now, it is just a pretty picture!

     (I had no idea how to color the snail, so I did some web research and found lots of options. A poster provided a nice color image of a Garden Snail, which inspired the coloring of this little trailblazer. A bit of research told me that snails really do leave a “trail” wherever they go. Since this snail's rider is a beautifully dressed fairy, I opted to add some bling to this snail trail with a few dabs of Stickles.)

Supplies: 

·   Background scene- upcycled from an old calendar

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Slow Ride)

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

·   Chart of Snails used to assist with coloring found HERE

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

·   Stickles- Diamonds

·   Other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

Friends of Sweet November (FB) March 

STAMPlorations- March 2026     

     Back in the mid 1990’s, a new friend named Linda invited me to a Stampin' Up! Party at her

home on the plains of South Dakota. Almost immediately, I knew I'd soon be “hooked” on this

new hobby. What I didn’t know was that Linda would quickly become my BFF, and a few short

years later, we opened a stamp store! It was such a fun adventure to share with my best friend,

who had a business degree and a warm heart that drew people to the store! We loved spending

time together, sharing our favorite hobby with customers who came from near and far (a few

from 200+ miles away!) to share in the fun… and also enjoyed our classes and sales.

    It was so fun to get to know the artist/owners of stamp companies that provided stamp

lines which grew into our customer favorites! Included were Denami, Printworks, Eureka

Stamps, Stamplorations, and especially Art Impressions. 

     The Art Impressions Front & Back stamps were so popular that they almost flew off our

shelves. In the years since, my hubby and I have moved several times, and I’ve changed jobs

three times, but my love of stamping still runs strong. In all the moves, I’ve downsized my

rubber stamp collection, but I still have many Art Impressions Front&Back stamps.  I pulled

out a few of these wonderful vintage treasures to create this fun… no, this MAGICAL...

Christmas card for the current challenge at Art Impressions! I love the sense of wonder on the

ittle girl's face as she peeks at the surprised little Christmas elf perched upon a neighbor's tree!

(Can you say "Awwww?")

Supplies: 

·   Background scene is upcycled from an old calendar

·   Vintage Art Impressions Rubber Stamp Front & Back Digi- Peeking Child (in snow suit)- Retired

·   Vintage Art Impressions Rubber Tiny Christmas Elf- Retired

·   Vintage Art Impressions Wooden Country Fence- Retired

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

·   Front Sentiment- “Santa Claus is coming to town” from a Beccy’s Place digi set (Simply Santa) (Beccy recently closed her digi shop. She now sells clear stamp sets online. Check HERE  to see which sets are available!)

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

·   Stickles- Diamonds (Dabbed on to add magic to the sweet little elf peeking from the tree bough)

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

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

Entered into:  

Art Impressions Monthly Challenge- March #423 (3D)

Neglected Stuff Challenge- March 2026  

ABC Christmas Challenge- E,F & G are for… ?  ‘'E is for Elves'

Outlawz Challenge Monthly Linky- March 2026

Outlawz Christmas Only Challenge- March 2026