Love & Kisses

I found a blog a while ago that offered many free digis that are wonderfully whimsical. This Valentine Card is an example of the delicate artwork that artist Joanne Fink creates. (Find it here- zenspirations.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Valentine_Love_Card.pdf) I printed the card then colored it with Tombow dual tip markers and white gel pen before embellishing it with over 2 dozen rhinestones in assorted sizes, shapes, and colors. Isn't it lovely?

Entered into: 

Power Poppy- Love to Sparkle                                             (powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-power-spark-love-to-sparkle.html)

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes           (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- It Must Be Love     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

This card is also made with stamps from a company that is no longer in business, Embossing Arts. The Hugs and Kisses sentiment is embossed with a burnished silver powder. I made placed a post-it heart cutout over the sentiment and laid a striped stencil over that. Gently sponged light rose ink stripes.  Glued some smooshed Hershey's Kisses wrappers to the front. Then added the finishing touches- "chocolate fingerprints" (made with brown ink.) I haven't made a CAS card for a while, but am thinking that this one has enough white space to qualify for this week's AAA Challenge.

Entered into: candy kiss wrappers

AAA Card Challenges- All you Need is Love      (aaacards.blogspot.com/)

Art Impressions- Sweet Treats                              (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Love Is All Around        (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Cute Card Thursday- #516 Love                            (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

This card features one of the first stamps I ever purchased. Got it at the first Stampin' Up party I ever attended in 1998. Back then SU didn't have a very large line of stamps and few stamping supplies, so they sold stamps and supplies from other companies. This stamp, named "Fuzzy Bear" is from the company named Personal Stamp Exchange (PSX) which went out of business a few decades ago. Their stamps are now collectors' items. I haven't used it for a while, mainly because I seldom use wood mount stamps anymore. However, this one still stamps a perfect image! Added a fun sentiment that I've had in my files for many years.  Am entering it into several challenges including the SumMoreFun Challenge, because the colors match the mood board, and the little heart on his chest looks like the little hearts on the chalkboard and The Cutie Pie Challenge because my mom would have loved the sentiment and sweet fuzzy-face on this card!  

                 

Entered into: PSX fuzzy bear

SumMoreFun  Challenge- Mood Board                         (summorefun.com)  

Artistic Inspirations Challenge-Challenge #193           (artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.com.au)
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge               (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

QKR Stampede- #282 Anything Goes                            (qkrstampede.blogspot.com)

The Cutie Pie Challenge- #120 Valentines or Mums   (cutiepiechallenge.blogspot.com) 

Critters

I fell in love with this image when I first saw it, not just because it is adorable, but also it made me think of my mom, who loved, loved, loved kittens! So when I found this pale mint colored cord in my stash, I put it to good use. I glued the yarn ball image to a piece of cardboard, then started winding the cord around it. (Next time I'll color the yarn ball to match the cord color so that the white background doesn't peek through. The ball is much thicker than it would have been if I'd colored it first.) Colored the little furball with my Spectrum Noir markers, then draped the cord over the drawn yard outlines, gently gluing it down with Tombow glue. Used the current Saturday Sketch as my layout, layering paw print paper (isn’t it adorable?) plus a few scraps of grey and dark green. Then mounted the yarn ball with double stick tape and the kitten with foam mounting tape to create depth. (Used lighting to show the depth.) Note- we are supposed to name the person we love that will receive the card.  If my Mom was still alive, this card would have been given to her. Instead, it will go to a member of my staff whose beloved cat passed away a few months ago. The sentiment is a freebie from TLC Creations (createwithtlc.blogspot.com)

 

Entered into: 

The Paper Shelter- #325 For The One You Love        (thepapershelter.blogspot.com.ar)

Sketch Saturday- Week #500                                         (sketchsaturday.blogspot.com) 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes       (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

Pixie's Snippets-  Week #319                                           (pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com)

The Cutie Pie Challenge- #120 Valentines or Mums     (cutiepiechallenge.blogspot.com)                

I discovered a wonderful new challenge last week named The Butterfly Challenge. I love butterflies, so plan to enter this one on a regular basis! There were several "letter c's" to choose from. I selected Crimson. And, not sure if the little butterflies count as charms? But if they do, I have two "C's" on my card! The sequins on the butterfly wings allow me to enter the card into the Double D's and Power Poppy Challenges.

Entered into: 

Butterfly Challenge- The Letter C                              (butterflyspotchallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Power Poppy- Love to Sparkle                                     (powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-power-spark-love-to-sparkle.html)

Double D’s Challenge- Sequins                                   (daranddiane.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge          (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Artistic Inspirations Challenge-Challenge #193      (artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

I love this wonderful subway art digi, which is a freebie from TLC Creations (createwithtlc.blogspot.com) The original digi is full-colored. I decided to print it out as grayscale so that the red hearts pop! The adorable bear is a Little Scraps of Heaven image.

 

Entered into:

Doing Life- Create with TLC Challenge                                   (desiref.blogspot.co.za)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Love Is All Around                           (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- It Must Be Love           (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Cute Card Thursday- #516 Love                                               (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

CAS-ual Fridays- #192 Hearts, Hearts & More Hearts       (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

A2zscrapbooking Monthly Challenge- It's a Love Thing    (a2zscrapbookingblog.com) 

Penny's Challenge- #366 Anything Goes                     (pennyschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

Robots, Cyborgs and Snowmen, oh my!

I love this sweet digi from The Paper Shelter. But I made this card for my hubby, so it includes two little cyborgs making eyes at each other! (Although it might be a little cutesy for him, I think he'll chuckle when I point out that after 40 years he still has the power to make my heart light up. But, thank goodness… not my ears!) I used a flash when I took the photo so that you can see that the layer behind the pair is metalic silver. And, this card illustrates why I enjoy working with digital images. You can resize and even flip them when creating! So, one cyborg easily has a mirror image! (I know you can make mirror images iwth stamps, but I've never been able to get a crisp image that way. With digis... it's super easy!) Am entering it into several other challenges, including the current Sketch Saturday because that layout worked perfectly!

Entered into: 

The Paper Shelter- #325 For The One You Love                 (thepapershelter.blogspot.com.ar)

Sketch Saturday- Week #500                                                  (sketchsaturday.blogspot.com) p

A2zscrapbooking Monthly Challenge- It's a Love Thing    (a2zscrapbookingblog.com) 

Cute Card Thursday- #516 Love                                              (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- It Must Be Love          (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Love Is All Around                          (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

The Cutie Pie Challenge- #120 Valentines or Mums           (cutiepiechallenge.blogspot.com)                

Since I was in a robot mood, I finally used a wonderful digi set designed by Beccy Muir at Beccy's Place. It has three robots, all very different, plus a few fun sentiments. Not sure who I'll give this to yet, but I know a few little guys that might get a kick out of it. (Oh, I printed the colored version off on vellum, and added some additional shading and eye coloring from the back, then highlighted them with a smidgen of white gel pen! The large one was stapled to a piece of silver foil paper and then mounted onto graph paper. The smaller one was taped directly onto the graph pape so that it shows through the vellum.)  Am entering it into several challenges including the Simon Says Monday Challenge that requires use of note paper, etc. I used graph paper which should work!

 

Entered into: BP Robot

Beccy’s Place Challenge- February                                (beccysplace.blogspot.com)

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Take Note                (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Penny's Challenge- #366 Anything Goes                    (pennyschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

QKR Stampede- #282 Anything Goes                         (qkrstampede.blogspot.com)

Artistic Inspirations Challenge-Challenge #193       (artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

Had fun using a Bugaboo image named "Three Snowmen" for the current Bugaboo Stella's Sketch challenge. The sentiment is from Beccy's Place digi set "Seasonal Windows" (which is one of  my favorite digi sets!)

Entered into: Bugaboo snowmen trio stellas sketch

Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge                           (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #372 Anything Goes   (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge                                (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Play Time at Last!

I've been working on several grants so have not had much time to play in my craft room. Have the day off so am doing some "catch up" crafting. Here are the first results of my time at play!

A while ago I stumbled upon a wonderful site for free digis. (sliekje.blogspot.com, July 16, 2013 post)  I saved lots of this artists amazing sketches for later use. When looking for Valentine type images, I decided this is a perfect (or should I say purrrrfect) fit?! Isn't it adorable? I used a silver gel pen on the buttons and hair elastic. They really reflect the camera flash. 

Entered into:

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Love In The Air              (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Love Is All Around                        (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

The Paper Shelter- #325 For the One You Love                (thepapershelter.blogspot.com.ar)

Cute Card Thursday- #516- Love                                          (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 
Bugaboo Stamps- Anything Goes                                         (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge                   (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

I've not used many sketches in my decades of card making, But… the Sketch Saturday Challenge, and also the Bugaboo Stella's Sketch challenges are helping me learn to like using sketches. They simplify all of the struggles with layouts, which can take me loads of time! For this card, I tipped the sketch on its side and used a loop of ribbon in place of the smaller banner. Plus, lots of layering... which I always like to do!

Entered into: 

Sketch Saturday- Week #499            (sketchsaturday.blogspot.com) 

The current challenge at Di's Digis is "Winter."  Since it’s been very cold here the last week, it was nice to stay indoors and make a winter card instead of being outside shivering because of the real thing! And coloring this sweet image named "Izzy" in her fur lined coat and warm mittens (I'm imagining that they are wool!) helps add some beauty to an otherwise bleak time of the year. I also added a few sequins to add some sparkle and allow me to enter the card into Power Poppy and Double D's Challenges. So fun! (I provided a closeup so that you can see the sparkle, plus the exquisite details that Di puts into her creations. Doesn't that fur look soft enough to touch?) 

Entered into: 

Di’s Digi Stamps- Winter                                (disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Word Art Wed Challenge- Anything Goes  (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

Penny's Challenge- #366Anything Goes     (pennyschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

Double D’s Challenge- Sequins                     (daranddiane.blogspot.com)

Power Poppy- Love to Sparkle                      (powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-power-spark-love-to-sparkle.html) 
Calling All Sista’s- Color Challenge             (callingallsistahs.blogspot.com)

Sketch Challenge II

Another card for the current sketch challenge at Bugaboo. This Bugaboo unicorn image is one of my favorites. The sentiment is developed on my computer.

Entered into: 

Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge      (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)   
Bugaboo Stamps- Anything Goes                              (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

                             

Another card for Craftin' Desert Diva's monthly Mood Board. The sweet fairy is from the set named "Magical Day." For this card, I have the little cutie popping out of a pink hydrangea. I marker stamped the flower, then muted the colors with a white gel pen to more closely match the pastels on the mood board. Mounted the image on a piece of cardstock that looks like the rustic wood, also on the mood board.  The sentiments are from a Beccy's Place digi set named "Iris Garden." (The inside sentiment reads, "You're on my mind and in  my heart." Also, I used a few translucent heart stickers to add a bit more color and whimsy to the card front.  Also added sparkle to the wings… because… well… BLING!

Entered into: 

Crafting Desert Diva- February Mood Board                       (craftindesertdivasblog.com)

Penny's Challenge- #364 Anything Goes                              (pennyschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge                      (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Cute Card Thursday- #515- Anything Goes                          (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

CAS-ual Fridays- #192 Hearts, Hearts & More Hearts      (CAS-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Power Poppy- Love to Sparkle                                                (powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-power-spark-love-to-sparkle.html)

A2zscrapbooking Monthly Challenge- It's a Love Thing   (a2zscrapbookingblog.com) 

My final card for today is for the Little Scraps of Heaven challenge that requires paper piecing. For this card, I used a few different pastel background papers for the quilt and brown vellum for the cute little bear. (He was a Friday Freebie back in August of 2017) I enjoy these digis because they work well for cards and also for scrapbooking. Plus I love fussy cutting for paper piecing is relaxing for me.) I used a sketch from Sketch Saturday for the layout. So cute! And was inspired by the SumMoreFun mood board colors, plus the dots on the background paper reminds me of the wooden stumps circling the center heart. 

Entered into: 

Little Scraps of Heaven (FB)   Valentine Challenge      (lshdesigns.blogspot.com)

SumMoreFun  Challenge- Mood Board                          (summorefun.com)  (Add what inspired you; photo, colors, theme)

Sketch Saturday- Week #499                                            (sketchsaturday.blogspot.com) 

QKR Stampede- #281 Anything Goes                             (qkrstampede.blogspot.com)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes         (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)

                         

Sketch Challenge

Had fun creating a card using the current sketch challenge at Bugaboo. The cute image is from Bugaboo. The sentiment is from a very old SU set.

Entered into: 

Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge              (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)   

I've had fun creating cards to reflect the beautiful mood board at Double D's current challenge. For this card, I upcycled an old greeting card that I've saved for many years because I loved the sweet images. Was fun to finally put them to use by fussy cutting the sweets. I used a circle stencil to fussy cut the sentiment so that I could center it into the flower (which is actually a post-it. I made the leaves from scraps. When I first laid out the card, I didn't think that the sentiment and sweet stood out against the brown heart background. Then, I slid a square of red vellum behind them… and liked the way it looked!

Entered into: 

Double D’s Challenge- Kitchen is the Heart of the Home   (daranddiane.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge                        (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)     
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes                 (wordartwednesday.blogspot.com)
Art Impressions- Sweet Treats                                                 (artimpressionsstamps.blogspot.com)   

I love this sweet image from Craftin' Desert Diva's set named "Magical Day." She fits so beautifully into this month's CDD  Mood Board. The sentiments are from a Beccy's Place digi set named "Iris Garden."  I actually upcycled a greeting card to make this. Love the fold of this card, with its striped flap. The original cards color scheme is grey and white. I added color to the flowers to match the mood board and adhered dotted swiss patterned cardstock to the inside of the card and to the backside.  

Entered into: CDD Fairy

Crafting Desert Diva- February Mood Board              (craftindesertdivasblog.com)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Anything Goes   (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Cute Card Thursday- #515- Anything Goes                 (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

QKR Stampede- #281 Anything Goes                           (qkrstampede.blogspot.com)

Bugaboo Stamps- Anything Goes                              (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)
Penny's Challenge- #364 Anything Goes                      (pennyschallenges.blogspot.com.au)