Friday, June 20, 2025

myasperations 6-20-25

   I made this card for the Snippets Challenge, which is a favorite because it inspires me to use up scraps of paper that I squirrel away in envelopes and folders (mainly because I just can’t bear to throw them away!) I first created the focal point of the card, a sweet pup that looks like “Dudley” the mascot of Snippets (and beloved pup of challenge sponsor, Di Wray! I then gathered up paper scraps in shades of blue and brown, cut them into strips and adhered them onto a card base that fits into a standard #6½ business envelope (short slimline). (I left the inside of the card blank for now, as I am unsure how I'll use it. Possibly next Valentine's Day?)
Supplies: 
·   Precolored Dog Digi-a freebie from TlC Creations (Blog has closed)

·   Some shading and highlights added with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Sentiments- Computer Generated

·   Pioneer Clear Photo corners- available from several sources

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

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

Entered into:  Snippets-Dudley
Snippets- Week #508

     There are several challenges right now with ocean/beach or circle-related themes. This trifold card will fit in all of them!  It features a pretty mermaid from Fred She Said, peering through a porthole created from the aluminum “aroma seal” inside a recently purchased 3# can of Folgers coffee. Circle dies, a small hole punch, and silver brads helped finish the porthole. Before taping the porthole to the card, I drew a circle on the card front that matches the size of the porthole, and is aligned with the porthole placement. I taped a scrap of acetate over the circle on the card front, then used foam tape to adhere the porthole on top of the acetate.  After coloring and fussy-cutting Emma, she was adhered to an underwater background of wavy patterned paper, which was then adhered to the front of the inside flap, so that she peeks through the porthole. I created a flowery “frame” for the underwater scene with patterned paper from my stash. The last task was to add the sentiments, embellishing the inside sentiment with the aluminum center cut from the porthole and a scrap of the wavy patterned paper.
(PS- The 3# can of Folgers Coffee was $15.00… which is three times the price of the last can we bought! So, upcycling the aluminum seal helped me to justify the purchase of the coffee!)

Supplies: 
·   Tri-fold Card Tutorial found HERE (I adapted it in several ways: circular opening vs. square one, the inside flap was decorated and held Emma vs. having a cutout, the inside of the card holds a sentiment vs. a focal point.)

·   Digi- from a Fred She Said digi set (Emma the Mermaid)

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

·   Wavy patterned paper- Hobby Lobby

·   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:  
Stop back later!

    This month’s sketch at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers group (BYSHC) Challenge on Facebook is a simple one that has inspired me to make many cards. This is the first one I’m finally getting posted. It features one of my favorite little gingerbread boy images from Beccy’s Place. (My nickname for this pudgy little cutie is “Pillsbury” because he's such a sweet little doughball!)  I printed Pillsbury onto Kraft cardstock, because it is the color of gingerbread, and using it also simplifies the coloring process.  
    An added note- Sadly, Beccy Muir, artist/owner of Beccy’s Place, is discontinuing her digi line on June 30th (she explains the reasons for this difficult decision HERE.) So, if you have plans to add any of her digi sets to your collection, or have any gift cards you need to use, you will need to do that within the next few weeks! Beccy added a “Digital Stamp Sale” section to her shop, in which she has posted a large number of individual digis and sets from the past, priced from $3.50 to as low as 31¢ (US rate.) The good news is that Beccy will continue to offer all the wonderful free digi images and tutorials on her blog. Plus clear stamps, cutting dies, patterned paper, and cut sheets will be available from several vendors in Australia, and also via the web. Check HERE for details.
Supplies: 

·   Gingerbread Boy Digi set from Beccy’s Place is no longer available, but a Clear Stamp Set (Sugar and Spice) is available through one of her vendors HERE

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white and gold gel pens

·   Gingerbread Boy Sheet Music is from a box of vintage sheet music and choral books that my husband’s grandmother, a church choir director, gave me a few decades ago. Most are dated from 1912 through the 1940s and are worn and/or damaged.  So they work beautifully for card making.

·   Gingerbread Patterned Paper is from Digi Doodle Studios 6x6 paper pad (Gingerbread Wishes)

·   Gingerbread embellies on inside sentiment are fussy-cut from the Digi Doodle paper pad

·   Inside sentiment “When what to my wondering eyes…” from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Here Comes Christmas)

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

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  Beccy’s Place set (Sugar & Spice) Clear Set (Gingerboy with music)
Stop back later!

Monday, June 16, 2025

myasperations 6-16-25

     It's June 16th, time for my mid-month card at The Path of Positivity! I love how this challenge inspires a positive mindset and encourages positive actions! This year's goal is Embrace the Unexpected in our lives, and June's theme is to Send an Unexpected Correspondence.  Lisa, the challenge sponsor, shares some wonderful reasons and benefits of taking such action, and even offers suggestions HERE.) 
    I made a card to send to my hubby's best bud, Kerry, for his 72nd birthday.   Kerry has been part of our lives since the mid-80s, so he's received many of my handmade cards. But... never a shaker card! So it should add an extra festive touch to his big day! 
      My card features a Scribbles digi named, appropriately, Beer Mug. I printed the digi onto white cardstock, colored the inside panels with varying shades of yellow, and added shading around these yellow sections with a light grey marker. Next, I trimmed the foam off the top, and set it aside. I added thin strips of double-stick tape along the sides of the mug, then attached a piece of acetate on top of the mug to provide a glassy finish. I traced over the lines with a permanent black marker to create a bold outline, but you can skip this step if desired. Then comes my favorite embellishment- condensation droplets! Using the permanent marker, I drew little water droplets onto the front of the acetate, then used a grey alcohol marker to add a bit of shading. When the shading was dry, I added a little dollop with a white gel pen to get a realistic look. (Just a heads up, I practiced this technique a bit on a scrap of acetate before I tried it on the card front!)  
 
Supplies: 
·   Digi- Scribbles Designs (Beer Mug)

·   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.

·   Acetate, sequins, patterned paper, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Park Hopping-My Happy Place (June)  Alcohol: Drinking Around the World (Epcot, Orlando,, FL) 
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge-AG June 2025
Outlawz Challenge-June 2025 Linky  
Paper Funday- #77 Anything Goes 

For some reason, the rest of this post has wonky formatting! Not sure how/why it happened, but I cannot figure out how to easily fix it. So... happy reading!  

This is my first entry into the Sweet November June Challenge “Under the Sun” and it was so fun to create! I used a sweet digi named “Christmas Pixie, Twilla” to make a 4th of July themed easel card. The star she is holding is what inspired me… and made me think of all the fun my family had celebrating the holiday with firecrackers and smokebombs (during the afternoon we held “Wars” with cousins.) The evening came alive with sparklers, Roman candles, fountains, and many other loud and sparkly wonders! As noted on the inside sentiment, our holiday always had a “Celebrate with a Bang” theme that lasted from noon until long after dark!
Supplies:  
·   Easel Card- Instructions found HERE   
·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Twilla)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers, Sakura Gelly Roll white & silver gel pens
·   Background for the card was discovered when decluttering my craft room. (I made it a few decades ago at a stamp shop class.)   
·   Front Sentiment “Happy 4th of July” from Gerda Steiner Stamps (retired)
·   Inside Sentiment “Celebrate with a BANG!” from Eureka Stamps  (Currently Not Available)
·   Sookwang double-sided tape- Available from several sources on the web. 
·   Small star punch, silver paper, other misc. items and tools from my stash.
Entered into:  
Friends of Sweet November (FB) June (Under the Sun Fun) 
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #702-703
 
     I created this card for the current Time Out “Pick Two” Challenge and it includes several
items I found during my ongoing decluttering gig. A rubber stamp that depicted a sailboat
and light house was the initial inspiration. I had ripped it from its wood base when I got my
Misty many years ago, so I’m not sure of the company, but I think it might be from
Embossing Arts. The beautiful nautical frame is from Patties Creations (and it’s available in 
her Etsy shop for just $2.00 US Rate!) One thing I love about using digital images is that you can adjust their dimensions if needed. The rubber stamp image wouldn't fit within a circle, so I stretched the shell circle a bit to create an oval shape that beautifully frames the scene, while not distorting the shapes of the lovely shells. Paper punches, and paper scraps helped add embellishments that sparkle and shine!
     The Time Out Challenge “Pick Two” items I included in my card are Weather (My 
memories of the few times I’ve gone sailing included blue skies and a nice, but not too 
strong wind!) and Place (I love lighthouses and my dream home would be a little cottage 
near an ocean. Not sure if that will happen this side of heaven, but the times I’ve been able
to spend on ocean beaches always fill my heart!)
      I selected the sentiment on this card because I am sending it to an old friend... meaning we've been friends since 1967! Her name is also Kathy, and I'd planned to travel back to South Dakota later this week to stay with her and attend our 50th class reunion together. However, two weeks ago, Kathy suffered three strokes in a row, which has caused major problems, especially with memory and mobility. I feel so helpless, as texting, calling and emails are not an option right now. So am thankful that I can keep in touch with Kathy by sending cards. This one will go into the mail tomorrow.  Prayers for Kathy and her family are appreciated! 
 

  
Supplies: 

·   Nautical Rubber Stamp- source unknown

·   Digi- Patties Creations (Nautical Shell Circle Frame

·   Sentiment (divided in half for front and inside of card) “Friendship” from We Are 3 Digital Sentiments (Etsy shop no longer in business)

·   Easel Card- Instructions found HERE  

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

·   Small star and anchor punches, silver paper, cardstock, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Time Out Challenge- Challenge #290  (Pick Two Challenge-Weather and Place) )     
Pattie's Creations Challenge- #231 June
The Four Seasons Challenge- Summer Season June 2025  


 

Thursday, June 12, 2025

myasperations 6-12-25

     I had fun creating a grunge card using this great digi from Createful Heart Design, Spectrum Noir alcohol markers, and recycled cardboard scraps. My grandpa had a truck like this, but it was in much better shape and also had wood accents on the back. So, I cut some scraps of woodgrain paper into thin strips to create a wood truck bed (I think that is what they call it?!)   
    I colored the truck aqua to resemble my grandpa’s. It looked a bit odd with its nice "paint job" but broken windows and other signs of age until I decided to add some “rust”!  I started the process by adding patches of several shades of brown, then added small touches of teal and greys. That worked, but I knew that much rust would create rough textures. So, I experimented by adding a light wash of water to the rusty sections and a sprinkling of table salt. When dry, I brushed the salt off … and loved the result! You can’t see it in the photos, but the rust looks pretty realistic and complements the other worn features of the old truck. 
     I’m entering this card into several challenges including Time Out’s Pick Two: My card features Weather (or rather the effects of weather, i.e. rusty patches, on the old truck0, and Recycle (I was tearing up a cardboard box and loved the textures on the corrogatued sections, so just had to use them on my card. So fun!)      
                                    
Supplies: 

·   Digi- Creatful Heart Designs (Worn Out Truck) Etsy shop is temporarily closed

·   Colored with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pel

·   Front Sentiment “You are a CLASSIC!”- Computer Generated

·   Inside Sentiment- Eureka Digital Stamp (Dad You're the Best) Currently Not Available

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

·   Assorted background papers and texture items from my stash

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

Entered into:  
Time Out Challenge- Challenge #290  (Pick Two Challenge-Weather, Recycle)   
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge-AG June 2025 (optl twist- Make it Masculine!) 

    It’s almost time for the roadside Strawberry stands to pop up in our region, which means summer has arrived. Creating this card makes me think it can’t come fast enough this year! The strawberry digi is a freebie from Beccy’s Place. I love that they include the sweet little white flowers!
    I’m entering this card into several challenges, including Park Hopping-My Happy Place (This is one of my favorite challenges and has helped me to develop a hole bucket list of parks I want to visit before I… well… kick the bucket! I searched for a park that offers strawberry treats and discovered that Disney offers lots of strawberry options in their parks… and even provided a yummy recipe for Strawberry Shortcake!!)
Supplies: 

·   Strawberry digis are from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Strawberries)

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

·   Sentiments- from Imagine That! Digi stamps (Company no longer in business)

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

·   Sheer black dotted Swiss ribbon- JoAnne’s

·   Polka dotted papers, polka dot butterfly, burlap scrap,  other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Floral Greetings (June) (twist- Polka Dots)   
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Fur, Feathers and/or Flowers
Park Hopping-My Happy Place (June)      Disney’s Strawberry Shortcake (free recipe!)
Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge: June 2025

    The jingle bell digi on this set is gorgeous, but I especially like the three Christmas sentiments in the set, which are among my favorites! It took a little bit of work to get a nice patina on the silver jingle bells, but a bit of layering of grey Spectrum Noir markers, Marvy Silver Marker, plus Sakura Gelly Roll white and silver gel pens provided success! The rest of the card has a traditional color scheme, and a background featuring a free digital sheet music score completes this festive card!
    An added note- Sadly, Beccy Muir, artist/owner of Beccy’s Place, is discontinuing her digi line on June 30th (she explains the reasons for this difficult decision HERE.) So, if you have plans to add any of her digi sets to your collection, or have any gift cards you need to use, you will need to do that within the next few weeks! Beccy added a “Digital Stamp Sale” section to her shop, in which she has posted a large number of individual digis and sets from the past, priced from $3.50 to as low as 31¢ (US rate). Since I often use sentiments from Beccy’s digi sets on my cards, I made sure to pay attention not just to the images but also the sentiments in the sets as I filled my cart with these treasures! The good news is that Beccy will continue to offer all the wonderful free digi images and tutorials on her blog. THAT is such great news!
Supplies: 

·   Free Jingle Bells Sheet Music can be found at michaelkravchuk.com

·   Digi and sentiments are from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Jingle Bells)

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

·   Black photo corners available from several web sources (WXJ13 Photo Mounting Corners)

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

·   Black dotted Swiss ribbon- Hobby Lobby

·   Embellishment for inside sentiment is upcycled from an old Christmas card, other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  
ABC Christmas Challenge- “L and M are for…? ”  'M is for Music’
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: June (Christmas)         
Outlawz Challenge-June 2025 Linky  
The Paper Shelter- #642 AG  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #702-703