myasperations 3-30-25a

    I have occasionally donated handmade cards to a local residential drug treatment center for several years. After retiring, I’ve wanted to increase my donations, but also wanted to make sure that I was meeting the client's needs. After checking, I learned that they like cards for their children (of all ages) plus also thinking of you/miss you type cards with blank insides for parents, spouses and friends, in assorted themes. 

      This is the latest card for my donation box. It features a wonderful wildlife stamp that I’ve had since the late 1990's when I co-owned a stamp store in South Dakota. The company, named Northwoods Rubber Stamps (NWS), was one of our anchor companies. I did a little web research and found that NWS  is still in business. This stamp appears to be retired, but they have a wide range of themes/images available. That said, their scenery, wildlife, and rural/farm-related stamps were among our best sellers, so you might want to check them out!

 

 

Supplies: 

·   Owl Image- Wood Mount Stamp from Northwoods Rubber Stamps (retired)

·   Colored with Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils, with additional shading and highlights by Spectrum Noir Classique markers, and Sakura Gelly Roll white pen

·   Weathered wood background upcycled from an old calendar

·   Front Sentiment “You’re a Hoot”- a freebie from papercraftsmag.com (no longer available) 

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

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

Entered into:  

Double D’s Challenge- Birds  

The Paper Shelter- #631 Anything Goes  (Opt Twist- Fur or Feathers)

       I wanted to make a few more cards to enter into the current sketch at Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers group (BYSHC) Challenge on FB. This is the first one. It features three of my favorite things, coffee, snowflakes and the jolly old elf!

      The Santa mug is from an Angie Bloms digi set that I added to my collection last Christmas.  Markers, my trusty white pen, a short burst of snowflakes and assorted items from my stash brought the card to life! An added note- I didn't want to color his hat re, because the whipped cream looks so yummy. And leaving it white looked to blah to me this AM. So, I opted for a light pink marker. Who doesn't like a flood of  peppermint cream on their coffee (or hot chocolate?!  

 

             

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Angie Blom Digital Designs (Christmas Joy Mugs)

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

·   Front Sentiment “Have Yourself…”  from Polka Dot Orchard digi set (Merry Little Coffee)

·   Inside Sentiment “Sending Love this Christmas” from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Gingerbread Season)

·   Snowflakes- Cheery Lynn Designs Die (C146 Snowflakes) Retired

·   Snowflakes- Lawn Fawn LF995-Mini Snowflakes Die Set

·   Green Polka Dot paper- Hobby Lobby

·   Coffee Beans photo- freebie from Dreamstime.com (HERE)

·   Pioneer Black 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:  

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge FB- #55 March 2025      

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #692-693

      This sweet card is my final entry into the Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers group (BYSHC) Challenge on FB. It features a fun Digi/Sentiment set from Whimsie Doodles which is sadly no longer in business. (However, the blog is still posted, and has some excellent tutorials that I have found helpful, especially on coloring hair and eyes with alcohol inks. You can find them HERE. (Tuesday Tutorials are listed in the right panel on this link.)

     I’m entering this card into several challenges including ABC Christmas Challenge- 'G is for Girls' (Elf on the shelf, Elf the movie and other Elves are usually boys, so I decided to use a girl elf for this card. Yay!) 

 

Supplies: 

·   Digi and inside sentiment from Whimsie Doodles (Elves Watching) No longer available/Shop closed

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

·   Patterned Paper- Hobby Lobby

·   Front Sentiment- “Thinking of You at Christmas” from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Christmas Cardinals)

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

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

Entered into: 

{BYSHC} Sketch Challenge FB- #55 March 2025         

ABC Christmas Challenge- “E, F and G  are for…? ”  'G is for Girls'

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: March (Christmas) 

Outlawz Challenge-March 2025 Linky  

myasperations 3-30-25

    I enjoy finding new folds to use, and this one was much easier to make than it looks! I decided to make a card for Double D’s current bird-themed challenge by using a set of quirky chicken digis from Beccy’s Place. Other items from my collection of digis, papers, etc. helped create a card with a nice WOW factor… and one that also packs a chuckle!

     An added note- Beccy Muir, artist/owner of Beccy’s Place, is discontinuing her digi line on June 30th (learn the reasons for this difficult decision HERE.) If you have plans to add any of her digi sets to your collection, or have any gift cards you need to use, you have several months to go digi shopping. In addition, Beccy added a “Digital Stamp Sale” section to her shop, in which she has posted a large number of digis and sets from the past, priced from $3.00 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 before they are gone forever! (Sad sigh!) 

  

 Supplies: 

·   Floating Gate-fold Card- Instructions and video provided HERE  and HERE

·   Chicken Digis from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Spring Chickens)

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

·   Weather Wood paper with fairy lights- Hobby Lobby

·   Happy Birthday Banner- Fussy-cut from a DDDoodles Freebie (Birthday Bash Banners)

·   Front Sentiment- Dr Digi’s House of Stamps (Grumpy Sentiments Sheet)

·   Inside Sentiments from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Spring Chickens)

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

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

Entered into:  

Double D’s Challenge- Birds  

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Birthday Wishes (March) 

Outlawz Challenge-March 2025 Linky  

The Paper Shelter- #631 Anything Goes  (Opt Twist- Fur or Feathers)

      The Time Out Challenge's new theme is “Favorite Movie,” and since I am an avid movie lover, I plan to enter several cards! My first card is inspired by the movie “The Little Mermaid” who longed to find her one true love. 

      My card features a Sweet November Stamps (SNS) digi named “The Lookout.” I printed the digi, plus one extra set of her tailfins, fussy-cut and set them aside.  The background “ocean scene” is created from an upcycled calendar page and watercolored patterned paper in shades of blue.  I created a base for the mermaid at the bottom of the cardfront, the tore several strips from the remaining paper to create crests of wave on the water.

     I colored the mermaid and positioned her in the water. Next, I cut a small slit in the “water” along the bottom of the digi. into which I could “anchor” the mermaid and her rock in place. But first, I added ripples around the slit with markers (light grey and light blue) and a white gel pen, slightly smudging the ripples in several places. When finished, I slipped the bottom of the mermaid digi into the slit, and added a strip of clear tape to the backside of the scene to hold it in place. I adhered the rest of the lovely lookout in place with adhesive, then created a bit of magic with the tailfins!

     Coloring the fins to match the mermaid’s body, I used lighter shades of pink on the upper fin. This helped me to give it a look of translucency by adding a bit of light grey to resemble cascading hair shining through it.  Like with the mermaid, I anchored the tail and fins in place by cutting two small slits into the “water” and adding ripples before slipping the fins into place.

     The final touches to the card were to add sparkles to the mermaids scales, fins and water spray plus to add the sentiment and heart embellishment. I do love hot this card turned out. Maybe one of my favorites EVAH!! 

 
                
Supplies: 

·   Photo of sky-upcycled from an old calendar

·   Water and waves created from blue watercolor paper- Hobby Lobby

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (The Lookout)

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

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

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes

Time Out Challenge- Challenge #285 (The Challenge: Inspired by your favorite movie) 

     I made this card for the current Path of Positivity Challenge: Embracing the Unexpected, i.e.: make something you wouldn’t normally make!)

I love the look of shabby chic card, but much like CAS, I have a very hard time using the technique. When I saw this wonderful set of papers from The Graphics Fairy*, I just had to give it a try! All of the items on this card came from this paper set except for the pink striped paper, ribbon scraps, gold paperclip, and sentiment.  

    *Note- The Graphics Fairy is one of my favorite “go-to” places for vintage inspiration and freebies. Sign up for their newsletter (on the top of their website) and receive  a monthly email that links you to freebies, plus wonderful tutorials for making cards and so much more!  

                                

Supplies: 

·   Digis- Freebie from The Graphics Fairy (Book Page Tags)

·   Front Sentiment “Never Underestimate the Power of a Smile” from my scrapbook stash

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

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

Entered into:  

Path Of Positivity Challenge- Challenge #129 (Embracing The Unexpected)

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #692-693

Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge-AG March 2025 (optl twist- Encouragement) 

Allsorts Challenge- Week 820- Spring Flowers  (Optional- AG)  

myasperations 3-28-25

       Last weeks challenge at the We Craft Cards Forum was to upcycle a store-bought card to make as many cards as you can.  I immediately knew which card I'd use, a beautiful  Hallmark pop-up card that I received at my retirement party last fall. It was a sweet gathering of people I'd worked with for many years, plus a few new ones, and guests from across the region. This card had four layers of bright spring flowers. Below are photos of the card "standing" in its paper "vase", and of it flat and ready to slide into a card. (Note- the photos don't show the true beauty of the flowers are they are sprinkled with lots of sparkles! 

        I was able to make three cards with this upcycled beauty, setting aside blooms from the last layer to make a bookmark for my Bible to remind me of the God who orchestrates the changing of the seasons, including the beautiful flowers! 

    Here is my first card, inspired by the Newtons Nook "Inky Paws" Photo Challenge Theme- Showers and Flowers. I used brightly colored polka-dot papers for the base of this card and the boot, to create a feeling of Spring. I fussy-cut/trimmed one of the floral bunches from the Hallmark card, and slid it "into" a Spring boot, created with a scrap of burgundy polka-dot paper.  (I used a template found on the Whimsie Doodle bog many years ago to make the boot. Sadly it is no longer available, but you mgith be able to find other options via some web research.) The sentiment (Bloom) and digi (Ladybug on Sunflower) are both Freebies from Newton’s Nook. I colored then trimmed the ladybug from the free digi to attach to the sentiment. The sunflower portion of the free digi was colored and used to embellish the inside sentiment. 

 

Supplies: 

·   Rain Boot template from Whimsie Doodles (sadly no longer in business)

·   Sentiment- “Bloom” and Digi- “Ladybug on Sunflower” both from Newtons Nook Freebies 

·   Digis- “Ladybug AND  Sunflower” (colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and

      Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen)

·   Bouquet fussy-cut from an upcycled Hallmark card

·   Inside Sentiment -“Spring Wishes” from the Not2Shabby Digi Set (Carrots the Bunny)

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

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

Entered into:  

Newtons Nook Inky Paws Challenge- #238 Week 1  Theme- Showers & Flowers  

Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #781: Spring Colors (

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Weeks #692-693

Crafty Catz Challenge- #690 AG- Optional: Spring Green 

        This card features the same bright spring bouquet, but this time it has a soft vintage look. Cloud-patterned paper creates a spring backdrop.  The bouquet was then laid upon a paper doily, which was folded over it, adhered in place, then topped with a pretty pink bow.  When completed, the floral nosegay was adhered to the card front and the sentiment was attached. The cloud paper and a chipboard dragonfly embellish the inside sentiment. 

 

Supplies: 

·   Bouquet fussy-cut from an upcycled Hallmark card

·   Front Sentiment- “Bloom” is from Newtons Nook Freebies

·   Inside Sentiment -“Spring Wishes” from the Not2Shabby Digi Set (Carrots the Bunny)

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

·   Cloud patterned paper, Dragonfly Sticker, paper doily, all other misc. items and tools from my stash.

Entered into:  

  (via Pinterest) Newtons Nook Inky Paws Challenge- #238 Week 1  

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes

Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #117 Spring Blooms 

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday: March (Spring) 

Outlawz Challenge-March 2025 Linky  

     My final card creates a playful and whimsical card with one of the upcycled bouquets! It features a little bunny, who will soon be sent on a trip to spend Easter with Kiana, one of my grandnieces. Although I hid Carrots down in the blooms, you can see his ears rising above them. I attached a magnet to his back so that Kiana can attach him to their fridge when she isn't playing with him... or when she wants to give him a break from the flower bouquet. The inside sentiment is made up of two sentiments clipped from the Hallmark csrd. So pretty!

    I’m entering this card into several challenges, including Not2Shabby Mood Board Challenge- March (My card is inspired by the mood board as it includes flowers and leaves. It also displays various shades of all five colors on the color board.)

  

 

Supplies: 

·   Bouquet fussy-cut from an upcycled Hallmark card

·   Digi and Front Sentiment -“SomeBUNNY loves you” from the Not2Shabby Digi Set (Carrots the Bunny)

·   Inside Sentiment -Pieced together from the front and back of the upcycled Hallmark card.

·   Sparkly flowers trimmed from the bouquet embellish the inside sentiment.

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

·   Patterned paper- Hobby Lobby.

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

Entered into:  

Not2Shabby Mood Board Challenge- March 

Classic Design Challenge: Anything Goes March-April 2025 (optional- Bunnies, Blooms)  

Inspiration Station- Challenge #71 Inspiration Prompt (rabbits)

  Park Hopping-My Happy Place (March)     Bunny Hop Universal Studios, Florida, 

Paper Funday- #74 Anything Goes