myasperations 7-18-23

I had fun entering several cards into the Friends of Sweet November Stamps (SNS) FB page May celebration, named, appropriately, MerMay. I posted several of the cards I entered during the month to my blog … but didn’t have time to post all of them. So, I planned to occasionally post the new ones on my blog… and also share some of my favorite entries that I didn’t get posted during May. (Since I know that I can’t enter cards that I’ve already posted to social media, I will note this and not enter them into any new challenges.)

      This first card features a SNS mermaid named Skipper. My printer acted up when I was printing the digis, and several of the images were smeared and ripped. However, Skipper’s head survived the disaster, and I just couldn’t toss her adorable face into the trash. So… I have her peeking into a porthole for a fun birthday card.

I'm entering this card into several challenges including Simon Says Wednesday's "Shimmer and Shine" (silver paper and brads both add shine, and I used white gel pen to create the look of shimmering ocean out the porthole.) 

I’m entering this card into several challenges, including Cupcake Inspirations (mermaids live in the sea, in many of our imaginations, so I hope they fit the theme?), Inspiration Station (like on the inspiration photo, my card includes ripples in the ocean depths, where Skipper is peeking in on us), and Time Out Challenge (I remember my mom reading us fairy tales since I was very young. Today I listen to audiobooks whenever I am crafting, and still prefer stories with happy endings, where good triumphs over evil and true love endure. Oh, and if they include humor, even better!) 

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Skipper)

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

·   Porthole created with a circle template from my scrapbook stash, plus vellum, white colored pencil, silver paper, and brads.

·   Sentiments- Computer Generated

Entered into: 

The Paper Shelter- #562 Birthday Celebrations

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Shimmer and Shine

Cupcake Inspirations- #573 Inspiration Challenge  Sea Life

Inspiration Station- Challenge #51 July 

Time Out Challenge- #242 “Words”  

This second MerMay card features the same sweet little Skipper but this time you can see the entire digi. She is such a cutie! The sentiments are both freebies from SNS! 

Supplies: 

·   Digi and inside sentiment- Sweet November Stamps (Skipper)

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

·   Front Sentiment-Sweet November Stamps Freebie (Hubba Hubba)

·   Inside Sentiment- Sweet November Stamps Freebie (Be Your Own Kind Of Beautiful) 

·   All other items from my stamping and scrapbooking stashes.

This card was created for the Butterfly Challenge, one of my favs! Mrs. A, the sponsor, offered several changes for the summer. We can use any colors, themes, folds, etc. that we desire. The only requirement is that our card must feature a butterfly. Easy Peasy!  The butterfly on my card is from a Fred She Said digi set. I attempted to stamp the image on acetate, and emboss it with black EP. However, when I hit it with my heat gun, the acetate twitched into a squiggle! So, I did a bit of research on the web and found an article that described how to print on acetate. I had some acetate sheets left from back in the day that Overhead Projecters reigned and gave it a try. Everything worked until I realized that the ink wouldn’t dry completely. I’m thinking the acetate sheets weren’t inkjet compatible but I wasn’t willing to head out into the night to find the right kind. (The rest of the story is not pretty… but after a few hours of experiments, with a hair dryer, a sticky struggle with scraps of a Self-Stick Laminating Sheet, a permanent marker, and a white gel pen, I finally ended up with a presentable butterfly for my card AND a very messy craft table! (So… let me just say, if you want to replicate this butterfly, the best plan would be to read the article and make sure you use the correct type of acetate sheets for your specific printer!) 

I’m entering this card into several challenges, including Snippets (I love using scraps that would often end up in the trash. This card shows that in two ways- I salvaged the poor butterfly, plus the beautiful blocks of color in the middle of the card were clipped from the ends of a box of decorated A2 card fronts (see photo and supplies list). I loved the way it looks behind the scraps/snippets of sheer ribbon. Win Win!)

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Fred She Said Digi Set (Distressed Butterfly & Blossoms)

·   Web Article that details how to print on acetate found HERE.

·   Clear Self-Stick Laminating Sheet (I use the Avery brand, but there are other options on the web)

·   Front Sentiment- Gina K’s Sentiment Set (includes 128 stickers)- Mixed Messages

·   Abstract Ink Box Of Cards- Hobby Lobby

·  All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Butterfly Challenge- #18 Anything Goes with a Butterfly   

Snippets- Week #458

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #603-604 Anything Goes   

Allsorts Challenge- Week 737: AG  (Mood Board-Butterfly) 

TRIPLE B Challenge (Birds, Butterflies or Blooms)- July 

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Anything Goes  

Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Elegant or Rustic  (Elegant!)

Outlawz Challenge- July 2023 Linky