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!

myasperations 5-8-24

     I am honored to have served as a Guest Designer for Beccy Muir at Beccy’s Place and am now one of her “Contributors” (which means that she provides me with digis or clear stamp sets several times a year and I get to create cards or other items with them!) It is always fun to see the images Beccy invites me to use and this time my two cards feature images and sentiments from Beccy’s new digi set,  “Pond Pals”. 

    I've always appreciated how Beccy creates personality to her characters, even down to naming each of them!  My first card features the adorable seal named Sylvie.  I used the set’s precolored digi, mainly because I knew I couldn’t color this cutie nearly as well as Beccy did!

    A bit of fussy-cutting was all that was required before I adhered Sylvie onto a scenic background (trimmed from an upcycled calendar page), and used a white and grey gel pen to sketch in some "waves" around the bottom to anchor her into the water. After adding sentiments from the set, I added a touch of cuteness to them… mainly because Sylvie is the queen of cuteness… by using a pencil to lightly sketch little hearts into the openings in a few letters. After placement and size looked right, I colored the hearts with alcohol markers and framed in the scene with black photo corners.  

    I’m entering this card into several challenges including Park Hopping-My Happy Place where the challenge is anything inspired by a theme park. (This is a favorite challenge… as it has introduced me to many new places to add to my bucket list! I used the “inspiration” listing that sponsor Makira provides, and found a theme park that features seals, Sea World! I spent some time on the website learning a lot about seals including that they are classified as “Pennipeds,” and are related to critters like Walruses and Elephant Whales that can weigh up to 3000 pounds- more than a car!! The site even includes audio recordings of all types of creatures. Did you know that seal pups bark? So cute!) 

Supplies: 

·   Digi and Sentiments- Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Pond Pals)

·   Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white and grey gel pens.

·   Pioneer black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   Upcycled calendar page and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge (Anything Goes)

Outlawz Challenge- May 2024 Linky

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #647-648

Park Hopping-My Happy Place (May)    Sea World- Pennipeds

     The second card features a playful Otter named Obie. This time I colored the little guy, and I think he turned out fine. I knew fussy-cutting around those wonderful whiskers would be tediously impossible, so I framed him within a circle. This time, the top part of the card is a hazy photo of trees (from a trip my DH and I took to the Black Hills in South Dakota many years ago), while a strip of blue wave-patterned paper fills the lower part.

    After positioning Obie onto the wavy background, I didn’t like that the white circle stood out so starkly. So I used a pencil to lightly sketch the waves to look like they continued across the white circle. When satisfied, I lightly colored them in with alcohol markers and, as with Sylvie, anchored Obie into the water with a few gel pen ripples. I added black photo corners and was Ta-Done!   

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Path Of Positivity: The Power of Words-Art/Creativity (I am pretty creative in using materials I have on hand, and upcycling. This card demonstrates that, plus the sentiment sends a positive message!) 

Supplies: 

·   Digi and Sentiments- Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Pond Pals)

·   Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white and grey gel pens.

·   Pioneer black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   Personal photo and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #645-646

Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #671 (Optional twist- Summer )   

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

Paper Funday- #65 Anything Goes   

 

      My final card this post also features a digi from Beccy’s Place, but this is one of Beccy’s many freebies!  Although it’s name is, appropriately, “Gnarled Wreath”, the addition of little flowers, satin ribbon, and bow give it a lovely almost vintage look.  Since I love adding lots of details on my cards, I used my trusty white gel pen to add veins in the leaves, sheen to the ribbon, and touched the center of the flowers with a dot of Buttercup Liquid Pearls.

   An added note- Beccy is a wonderfully generous person, which you'll see if you check the link in my supplies list where you will find a line image, a pre-colored image AND a gnarled wreath with no flowers or ribbon. And you can nab one, two or three of the set easily and at no cost. Sweet! 

  

Supplies: 

·   Wreath Digi- Beccy's Place Digital Stamp (Gnarled Wreath) 

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

·   Liquid Pearls-Buttercup

·   Front and Inside Sentiments- Polka Dot Orchard (Younger Than Tomorrow)

·   Patterned paper, vellum, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Feminine

We Love Stamping-Vintage

Outlawz Sunday Challenge- All the Worlds Alive Again   

The Four Seasons Challenge- Anything Spring (May 2024)  

Inspiration Station- Challenge #61 Inspiration Prompt 

Double D’s Challenge- Pretty Florals for Mom  

Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #738: Birthdays

Beccy’s Place Challenge- May   

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

Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Flower Power   

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

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Spring Flowers)

myasperations 5-7-24

     A few years ago I was introduced to a wonderful line of stamps and digis when a stamping friend gave me a giftcard for Sweet November Stamps (SNS). I started building a collection of their beautiful images and was happy that I had a few SNS mermaids to enter into their 2023 MerMay challenge. Since then, I’ve added several more cute mermaid images, so I printed off a few dozen of them for the current MerMay challenge.  

     This is my first entry, featuring an SNS digi image named “The Lookout.”  I used my much-used free Paint.net program to place her into a tranquil night scene, using a free photo (see the link to it in my supplies list.) It was a challenge to get the shadows and highlights from the moon glow figured out. They aren’t quite what I planned, but not bad for a first try!

    I’m entering this card into several challenges including Park Hopping-My Happy Place where the challenge is anything inspired by a theme park. This card, with the mermaid looking like she is longing to see her Prince was inspired by Disney Parks The Little Mermaids Undersea Adventure (Magic Kingdom, CA & FL USA).  

Supplies: 

·   Background Scene- Free Photo found at wallpapersafari.com (moon over ocean)

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (The Lookout)

·  Free Paint.net program can be found HERE (add watermarks, layer digis, and more!)

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

·   Front Sentiment “Mermaid Wishes and Starfish Kisses”- Source Unknown 

·   Stickles- Diamonds and Stardust versions (to add sparkle to scales and waves on water.)

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Feminine

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

Colorful Options Monthly Challenge: May-Royal Blue   

Friends of Sweet November (FB) May 

Friends of Sweet November (FB) Mermay)  

     Several years ago, I found a package of rose-embossed invitation cards at a thrift store. They surfaced last month when organizing my craft room, and I turned them into Mother’s Day cards.  First, since the inside of the card was a template for a wedding invitation, I cut the front from the card. I planned to cover the “Please Come” sentiment, but first I used a light touch to apply pale pastel shades of pink and green to the embossed rose and leaves on the front of the card. (One of the pictures below shows the bottom of the embossed image, on the back of the card front.) A blender pen smoothed the colors out, and I finished by highlighting them with my white gel pen. Since the ink bled through the embossed images, I added a layer of paper with light pink stripes to cover the inside of the card front.

Supplies: 

·   Embossed Rose Image- from a set of Thank You cards I found at a thrift store years ago.

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

·   Front Sentiment “Thinking of You”- Victorine Originals Digis (Company no longer in business)

·   Inside Sentiment- “Grantastic Mothers Day” is a retired freebie from Love SVG (Search for other options HERE.)

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Double D’s Challenge- Pretty Florals for Mom  

The Four Seasons Challenge- Anything Spring (May 2024)   

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #645-646

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

Paper Funday- #65 Anything Goes      (Optional Twist: Flower Shop!)

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Mother's Day) 

     This final card is for a challenge I enjoy… partly because the challenges focus on either specific colors or a theme, plus the inspiration photo always features decorated cupcakes!  The current challenge requires the colors pink, orange, and poppy in the finished creation. I dug through my stash to find those colors and found several items that helped me create this fun, and colorful, card.

Supplies: 

·   Beach scene background is upcycled from an old calendar

·   Beach Sticker from my scrapbook stash

·   Tropical flowers cut from scraps of patterned scrapbook paper

·   Inside Sentiment- “… current takes us” from a Beccy’s Place digi set (Floating By) Retired

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

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

Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #671 (Optional twist- Summer )   

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #229

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge (Anything Goes)

Outlawz Challenge- May 2024 Linky