myasperations 5-10-24

      I needed a retirement card and couldn’t find anything appropriate in my collection of rubber and digital stamps. So… I checked the web for inspiration and was excited to find this colorful- and free- clipart sentiment. The translucency of the letters made me think of balloons, so I decided to make a few from scraps of plastic index divider sheets. (If you follow my blog you’ll know that I use these wonderful items quite often. Sometimes called document file folders, they 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 cut with a sharp pair of scissors. And you can trace shapes onto them with a permanent fine-line marker. I used a balloon template from my scrapbook stash for this task.)

     I’ve collected saying in a file box since I was a teen, and that is where I found the funny sentiment on the inside of the card. I created it with a font I found many years ago, named Waltograph (it does have a Disneyesque look doesn’t it?!) Its playful tone was a good fit for this card! So fun!)

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including the Time Out Challenge: Alphabet Magnet Day (my card features a colorful sentiment as the focal point, and I was excited to find this free digi because the letters even resemble Alphabet Magnets both in color and font type,) Cupcake Challenge (my card features all the required colors,) and Path of Positivity Challenge (since I’ve in the process of retiring, I know that the sentiment on this card is sure to be appreciated by anyone going through the long-awaited event. Plus…the inside sentiment, a definition of retirement "Noun- where every day is Saturday!") adds a positive twist!)   

Supplies: 

·   Happy Retirement Sentiment “Happy Retirement”- Free from clipart found HERE

·   Sentiments- Computer Generated

·   Free Downloadable Waltograph (Disney inspired) can be found HERE

·   Cardstock, plastic index divider sheets, heart template, and other items from my stash.

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Time Out Challenge- #263 Alphabet Magnet Day     

Cupcake Inspirations- #593 Color  Challenge  (Pink, Orange, Poppy)  

Path Of Positivity Challenge- Challenge #121  (Anything Goes Positive) 

Paper Funday- #65 Anything Goes  

    It’s MerMay again on Sweet November Stamps (SNS) FB age… and I finally have a few days to create beautiful underwater and beachy scenes… often with a nice amount of bling!  This is my second entry for the challenge, featuring a beautiful SNS mermaid named Shimmer RedKelp. The stunning background is one of the many photos that my from a Free Bing wallpaper program on my laptop some time ago. (I love learning about all the beautiful places in the world, with new photos and info every day!)  The amazingly blue and crystal-clear water is from Thingvellir National Park in Iceland, which snorkelers love to visit (perhaps in search of merpeoples?!) I used a free Paint.net program to layer Shimmer into the scene (which means no fussy cutting along those beautiful tresses.)  After printing off the scene, I colored Shimmer. Deciding the card needed some texture, depth and more color, I trimmed a piece of a blue plastic index divider sheet to serve as semi-transparent “water” adding gentle “waves” along the top edge. (Note- this is the same item I used to make the balloons on the Retirement card above, so check there for details.) The final touch was to add a few “ripples” to the water nearest Shimmer and to add the sentiment.

     (A few added notes- I think that I need to check the ink in my printer as the rock wall has light patches of pink that aren’t in the original photo. That said, I like how it adds a bit more color to the card! Also, I added a photo of the screensaver that became my background, and a photo that shows how the print.net program allows me to insert digis into the background. I added a large WM on this to protect SNS’s copyrighted digi!)

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Park Hopping-My Happy Place, where the challenge is anything inspired by a theme park. (I love mermaids… and the movie, the Little Mermaid. So The Adventures of the Little Mermaid at the Magic Kingdom, CA would be a fun place to visit!)

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Shimmer RedKelp and Otto)

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

·   Sentiment from Sweet November Stamps (Empowering Sentiments Pack)

·   Background photo from the free daily Scenic Wallpaper program on my laptop- downloaded HERE

·   Cardstock, blue plastic index divider sheet and other items from my stash

Entered into:  

Friends of Sweet November (FB) May  

Friends of Sweet November (FB) Mermay  

Colorful Options Monthly Challenge: May-Royal Blue 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #647-648

Park Hopping-My Happy Place (May)    The Little Mermaid

     As the days are warming, and the earth is waking up, I’m looking forward to the arrival of butterflies and bees. With the help of two busy bees from a Beccy’s Place digi set, and assorted items from my stash, this card went together pretty easily. It reminds me of when my sweet DH and I visited his retired parents, who were “snowbirds” who spent winters in Mesa, AZ

I especially loved it when the lemon and orange trees in their yard were in bloom. I remember I once stuck my head out of the window as we pulled into their drive so that I could more fully enjoy the richly perfumed air. It was heavenly!

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz Sunday Challenge: All the Worlds Alive Again (I love when the earth, and bugs, wake up in the Spring and Summer!), and Outlawz Twisted Thursday: Flower Power (my card features one elegant flower on the front, and two smaller sequin flowers added to the inside sentiment) and Inspiration Station (the inspiration photo has assorted flowers, including white ones that help the brightly colored flowers to stand out even more!)     

Supplies: 

·   Bee Digi- from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Bees and Blooms)

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

·   Front Sentiment from SnapClickSupply.com digi set (Sweet As Can Bee Word Art)

·   Inside Sentiment- Freebie from Gingerhouse.blogspot.com (Keep Pressing Forward!)

·   Liquid Pearls-Buttercup (add a yellow dot to the center of flowers.)

·   Paper Doily, small white flower sequins, foam tape, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Inspiration Station- Challenge #61 Inspiration Prompt 

Outlawz Sunday Challenge- All the Worlds Alive Again   

Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Flower Power  

     Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place (sponsor), I’m entering just for fun!

Outlawz Challenge- May 2024 Linky

Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #671  

Beccy’s Place Challenge- May   

        Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place, I’m entering just for fun!