Farm Fresh

Before you start, I apologize for such a looooooong post. I got carried away with photos, but really didn't want to delete any. So... grab a favorite beverage and enjoy. 

A second card for the current Simon Says Monday Challenge "Down on the Farm" that uses an image from a Beccy's Place digi set named "Farm Fresh." The punny sentiment, "Hello, Cow are you?" is a freebie from DesertDiva. You can find it HERE. 

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Down on the Farm           (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Beccy’s Place Challenge- April                                                  (beccysplace.blogspot.com)

Bugaboo Stamps- Back to Nature                                            (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

Word Art Wed Challenge- #382-#383 Anything Goes       (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com) 

This week I'm hosting a challenge at the wecraftcards Forum. Am inviting Forum members to create a card that includes their favorite fold. It can be a simple or complex fold. And, if they didn't already have a favorite fold, invited them to visit my "go-to site" when I'm looking for inspirations- Beccy'sPlace. Paper crafter and artist/digi image designer, Beccy Muir, is also a really sweet and generous person. [I'm a member of Beccy's design team and really enjoy working with her.] She has put together a large collection of tutorials for dozens of different folds from very basic (A-fold) to very complex (Serviette/Napkin Fold). An added note- when I just visited I noticed that some of the links appeared to be broken. I checked with Beccy and discovered that the list is actually a work in progress. The links that don’t work are tutorials that have not yet been created. So, if you visit and see any of these "holding spots" stop back in the future and they might be active.

For my card I used a very basic tri-fold. It is so basic that I couldn't even find a tutorial that I could share. I basically cut a strip from cardstock, 5.5 x 11 inches. I scored the strip at 4.25 and 8.5 inches. When folded, this leaves a flap that is about 2.5 inches wide. I attached the main pirate image here... so that he can peek through the frame on the front of the card. So fun.

The frame image on the front of the card is a retired wood-mount stamp from Stampendous. The inside image from Polkadoodles is named "Pirate Little Dude." You can find it HERE.  I colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers and white gel pen. The inside sentiment is from Birdscards. You can find it HERE. 

 

 

Entered into: 

We Craft Cards Monday Challenge- Fold it!                              (wecraftcards.com/forum)

Polkadoodles Challenge- Week 15-Anything Goes                   (polkadoodle.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- April               (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Outlawz Challenges- Twisted Thursday-Fleur de Lis              (Outlawzchallenges.ning.com) 

When I first discovered digital stamps years ago, Tiddy Inks was one of my favorite sites. Artist Christy Croll's images are wonderfully detailed, often have a bit a whimsy and are so fun to color. She also offers a nice assortment of freebies… which is what first drew me to her site. She occasionally offers additional freebies- like this sweet Merfriends image, which Christy has very kindly added to her shop for the April challenge.  You can get it for free before the month ends HERE.

A little girl at my church LOVES mermaids, so I knew that I wanted to use this image to make a special card just for her. When I saw this package of bracelets at the Easter basket aisle in the local WalMart I came up with this card idea that would also provide a pretty bracelet [which is sure to thrill the recipient.]

I first printed the image, colored it with Spectrum Noir markers and white gel pen, then fussy-cut it. I selected a bracelet to compliment the colors, traced the shape onto the front of an A2 card front and cut the shape out with an Exacto blade. I selected a sheet of pretty wave background paper that I recently found at Hobby Lobby, and lightly traced the cut out onto the back of the wave paper with a pencil. I enlarged this image, cut it out and set it aside.

Next, I used a small paper punch to add three small holes into the card front and then used small strips of sheer ribbon to tie the bracelet to the card.

Used several larger punches to create "bubbles" from the wave paper and set them aside. Added the same free sentiment from Birdscards as I used on the Pirate card. A little bit of tape and glue and the creation is ready to deliver to my little friend.

[One added note, after putting the card together, I decided to turn the mermaid image into a refrigerator magnet. So… added a few strips of an adhesive backed magnet- available at any craft store-and reattached the swimmers to the card with double-stick tape. I'll add a note to the card letting her momma know that the magnet can be easily removed and provided a new "home." So fun!]

Am entering this into several challenges including Power Poppy's Just Go 3-D [attaching the bracelet plus adding the magnets hopefully qualifies as "other than a card"], Outlaws Tuesday TicTacToe Challenge [diagonal row from the upper left- magical, free image and bright colors], The Paper Shelter Add Some Stars [bracelet and background star], and Art Impressions Best Friends challenge [these two look pretty chummy.]
I had to show a close up of the image because I had so much fun adding the little details to the octopus and their "clothes."  I also have been enjoying using a set of ultra fine pens that I received as a Christmas gift to add more definition and whisps to hair. 

  

Entered into: 

Tiddly Inks- Challenge 224- Showcase [Mermaids]                (tiddlyinkschallenge.blogspot.com)

Power Poppy- Creative Confetti- Just Go 3-D                           (powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2019/04/creative-confetti-just-go-3-d.htmll)

Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge-TicTacToe    (Outlawzchallenges.ning.com)

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays                                            (Outlawzchallenges.ning.com)

Art Impressions- #254 Best Friends                                           (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com)

The Paper Shelter- #378 Add Some Stars                                 (thepapershelter.blogspot.com.ar)