Fall, Faith and Fun

I was invited to be a guest DT for the Sunday “Songs and Rhymes” Challenges at Outlawz during September. I was excited to see that Decosse's Dynamite Doodles is the sponsor this month, as I’ve been enjoying their many freebies, sentiments and patterned papers, for several years. For this card, I used a sentiment digi from DDDoodles (you can find it HERE), a vintage wood-mount stamp from Embossing Arts, assorted ink pads in fall colors, a scrap of vellum and very sharp little scissors to fussy cut all the leaves!  

 

Entered into: 

Outlawz Challenges- Songs and Rhymes- See You In September
Bugaboo Stamps- Anything Goes             

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #402-403 Anything Goes                   

My next three cards were created to enter into a fun event named “Spectember” sponsored for Spectrum Noir products. I started using the SN alcohol markers a little over a year ago and LOVE them! Didn’t have enough cash to start with Copics, so picked up a few SN sets when they were on sale at JoAnne's, and am hooked. I did make a few of the cards that I posted in my blog last week but forgot to note that I was entering them into these contests. Then decided to dedicate more time to the task and made one for each of the days during the first week. Below are Days 1, 4 and 6

For the Day 1 Challenge, “Opposites Attract”, I used a wonderful Stampscapes scenery stamp, assorted ink pads and sponges, making sure to include several shades of purple and yellow (opposites on the color chart) in my card. I did add some blues and browns, plus some white highlights to finish off the creation. Ahhh sweet!

  

Entered into: 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Stamp It                                          

Crafty Catz Challenge- #473 Anything Goes (Simple greeting)

A2zscrapbooking Monthly Challenge- Anything Goes               

The Day 4 challenge needed to include a monochromatic color theme… with black and white. After a bit of thinking I remembered a wonderful digi set from Beccy’s Place named “Itty Bitty Bots” that would work perfectly. I printed off a few of the bots and got to work with my Spectrum Nior markers in black, six shades of gray, and a white gel pen. I didn’t even use my blender pen on this which is unusual for me!  The sentiments, printed on vellum,  come with the digi set, and the fun background paper is a freebie from Papercrafts magazine. You can find it HERE. (I did recolor the original multicolored background image to monochrome grey to fit into this challenge and reduced it to A2 size.)

 

 

Entered into: 

Beccy’s Place Challenge- Sept                                                                 

Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #598- Anything Goes

Di’s Digi Stamps- Hand colored Image                                                  

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- Sept                                 

The Day 6 Challenge is named “Sentimental”  so I looked through my many sentiment digis and picked a favorite. Tammy Tutterow has an assortment of beautiful coloring pages with sayings that inspire and encourage. This one, with its simple statement, has always blessed my heart. (You can find it HERE.) I colored the image very simply, using a few gray, green and pink Spectrum Noir markers plus a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen. The 3-D butterfly is from a packet that I pick up at either Hobby Lobby or WalMart. They come with sparkly silver on the base along the wing edges. I didn’t like the way that looks on the card, so I trimmed it off. With a sharp scissors it was easy-peasy! I’m entering this into a few more challenges including the Butterfly Challenge (Colors:Laser Lemon- touches on the flowers and butterfly and Languid Lavender-in the sponged and brushed background that I upcycled from a card AND theme: Layers and Butterfly) and Double D’s current photo challenge (I have just one butterfly… but she is a beauty and her 3-D wings really do flutter!)

 

  

Entered into: 

Butterfly Challenge- #128 Letter L for Lattice                 

Double D’s Challenge- Featured [photo]                  

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays                                                       

Stars & Stripes

It’s Friday, so time for another challenge at QKR Stampede!  Stop by the challenge, which is always “Anything Goes” and several prizes are awarded. Maybe you’ll be inspired to enter a card or two yourself?

This week I made an extra DT card using a few wonderful patriotic digis. I’m working in gift packets of cards and needed some 4^th of July cards so was excited when I remembered that I had these wonderful images. Each of the cards features the Eureka Stamp sentiment [ES-digi37801-Declaration of Independence] that you can find HERE. The Happy 4^th of July sentiment is computer generated with a font named Asiyah Script, which I feel looks very similar to the font on the other sentiment.

The first card features a cute cat image from Eureka Stamps (ES-digi33001 Patriotic Kitty) colored with Spectrum Noir markers and a white Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen. Scrapbook paper added color and contrast.

Entered into: 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #402-403 Anything Goes                   

Polkadoodles Challenge Week 36-Anything Goes                                  

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays                                                       

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- Sept                                 

The second card features a cute pup image from Eureka Stamps (ES-digi33103 Patriotic Puppy) colored with Spectrum Noir markers and a white Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen. The blue paper is actually a scrap of vinyl wallpaper from a give-away wallpaper book that I picked up at a paint store many years ago. A bit of checked ribbon and a sprinkling of white star stickers finished the card.

Entered into: 

Outlawz Challenges- Songs and Rhymes- Walking the Dog

Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #598- Anything Goes

Pink Gem Challenge- Week 17 Anything Goes

2craftycrittercrazies Challenge- #30                              

My final post for this blog is a card for the current Double D’s Challenge that requires our entries feature one of the items in the inspiration photo. I chose a to stamp a single, beautiful tulip using a Posh Impressions wood-mount stamp. I inked the image with two shades of pink pigment inks and two shades of green, them firmly pressed the stamp against a scrap of very light pink mulberry paper. (You can't see this layer of mulberry paper very well in the photo, so I took a closeup. You can see that this unusual mulberry paper, which I've had it in my paper stash since 1997,  has threads of white, pink and yellow.) I backed it with a piece of white cardstock, and then a piece of pale green mulberry paper. The sentiment is a Couture Creations die-cut named MINI HELLO FRIEND that I purchased from Simon Says Stamps. The final touch was to add a touch of bling with a tiny pink rhinestone heart sticker.

 

 

Entered into: 

Double D’s Challenge- Featured                  

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge – Lots of Layers

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Stamp It                                          

Crafty Catz Challenge- #473 Anything Goes (Simple greeting)                       

Let's fly away

Hello! It’s the first Thursday of the month so time for new challenge at Imagine That Digi Stamps. For my DT card I used a fun image and sentiment from a digi set  named Airplanes. I used patterned paper from my scrapbook stash for the background and colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen. When finished, I fussy cut the image, and attached it to a card base. I did alter the original image by printing off a copy of the wing without the little mouse hanging on from one of the other planes and layered it onto the card with foam tape.  I also turned the bear into a dog by coloring the cap flaps brown (I thought they were ears. But looking at the colored image on the set, it is easy to see that he can also be a bear. What a versatile happy mistake!) The sentiment is also from the set, and was pretty easy to make it float on the banner behind the plane. The little strings tying it to the tail of the plane are sketched with a fine-line black marker. 

One added note- The designer/owner of Imagine That, Kris Breach, provides her DTs with a coupon code that allows any friends a discount on their next digi order. If you stop by the shop I know that you'll find lots of digis you'll want to add to your collection. Then, make sure to enter your card into this months challenge with an "Anything Goes" theme for a chance to win a $12 coupon to the Imagine That Digistamp shop, or a Top 3 award which includes 2 free digi sets of your choice and an invite to be our Guest Designer in the next challenge!  You can find the full rules HERE.

 

  

Entered into: 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #402-403 Anything Goes                   

Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #598- Anything Goes

2craftycrittercrazies Challenge- #30                                                     

I try to keep packets of assorted cards on hand to use as gifts for weddings, graduations, and other events, and had given all of them away.  So, you might notice that I’m making cards for several holidays and themes during the last few weeks. For this card I used a die that was a gift from a friend, plus added a bit of bling and two lovely sentiments. The one on the front is from a Beccy’s Place digi set named “Baby Robin” and the one on the inside is a freebie from Birdscards. You can find it HERE.

 

 

 

Entered into: 

Sheepski Designs- #30 Diecuts and/or Punches                   

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #453 Anything Goes                 

Christmas Crafts All Year Round- Winter Food/Drink       
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays

My final card for this post was created with a vintage wood mount stamp from Inkadinkadoo. I created a nice crisp image with a black pigment ink and black embossing powder, then colored it with Spectrum Noir markers in pretty pastel colors and added a few highlights with a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen. I layered the colored image atop  swirly red patterned paper, I added a sentiment with a vintage wood mount stamp from Printworks.

 

Entered into: 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Stamp It                                          

A2zscrapbooking Monthly Challenge- Anything Goes               

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- Sept                                 

Outlawz Challenge- Crash Your Stash- Embossing Powders                 

Critters Galore

It's Wednesday! So time for another challenge at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog where challenges are always Anything Goes and prizes are awarded from one or more sponsors.  Stop by the blog to check it out! The sponsor this week is Sheepski Designs and the image is named “Winter Robin.” I do have to explain that my robin looks much different than the colored picture of the image on the Etsy site. I had colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen using that as my guide. However, when I showed it to my hubby, he said “Why did you make the chickadees breast red?” So… I did some googling and learned that the robins that we have here in the Midwest and Prairies of the USA look very different than what the websites call the "British robin" or "European robin.” Although I do love their delicate little bodies, (which make ours look like overweight body builders!)  I recolored mine to resemble the robins that look for worms in our front flower garden. I shared a few photos so you can see the difference. The sentiments are from Beccy's Place digi sets. (The one on the front is from a set named “Baby Robin” and the one on the inside is from a set named “Lamb of God.”) Oh, and the cloudy background is made with a light blue inkpad, a makeup sponge and a template cut from cardboard. 

 

Entered into: 

A2zscrapbooking Monthly Challenge- Anything Goes  (Logo)     

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #453 Anything Goes    

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- Sept       

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #402-403 Anything Goes              

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays

This next card was created for a dear friend that I’ve met in blogland. Di runs a wonderful challenge named “Pixies Snippets” that requires us to use scraps and snippets of paper that might otherwise get tossed. She also posts adorable pictures of her pup named Dudley. So… when I saw this wonderful digi from Aurora Wings named Puppy In A Boot (in a free Kit & Clowder offer on FB), I knew that I had to request a copy and create a Snippets entry with it! I printed the image on kraft paper and then printed just the puppy part on white cardstock. I colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers, a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen, and a white colored pencil, then fussy-cut and attached it on the kraft image with double-stick tape. The card layout is from the current Stella Says Sketch Challenge, and I raided my scrap box for the paper that I used to die cut two circles. The little paw prints were punched from an upcycled card and the inside uses one small scrap of paw print paper (I didn’t have enough to use on the front, and they were out of it at Hobby Lobby, so I showcased the little snippet here.) The sentiments are freebies from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles ("I WOOF You") and Desert Diva ("i miss you").

(Sadly, it appears that the little Pup in the boot is no longer available from Aurora wings. I did find a photo of the original digi from 2014 that I provided below. Also, I found a cute little Christmas puppy  digi that is currently  available. You can catch him HERE.)
An exciting note- I discovered that this digi is available as a freebie on the Aurora Wings FB site. Here is how to obtain it- Join the group HERE then click on "files" on the left bar, scroll down (you might need to hit the "more" button) and you'll find the "Puppy in a Boot" image. Yay!

Entered into: Aurora Wings-Snippets

Pixie's Snippets-Week #360                                  

Bugaboo Stamp- Stella Says Sketch Challenge #713     

Outlawz Challenges- Songs and Rhymes- Walking the Dog

The Sisterhood of Crafters- Paper Piecing

2craftycrittercrazies Challenge- #30     

My final card for this post features an adorable image from Little Scraps of Heaven (LSOH) named “Panda Takeout.” Sadly, this digi is no longer available. However, Tricia, the artist behind LSOH offers a freebie every week and the current one is an adorable little green Frankie! Stop by to pick him up, or see  the current weeks freebie (and you can sign up for an email reminder if desired.) Here is the link.

The Panda Takeout was a colored image. I just added a bit more depth and high lights to the coloring with Spectrum Noir markers and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen. I then fussy-cut the little cutie, then adhered him atop some patterned papers and a layer of vellum with foam tape. I  remember purchasing a few takeout containers years ago and found one in my stash, although the wire handle was long ago used for other purposes! The box still worked as a perfect treat holder, which will be filled with goodies and delivered to a panda lover in the near future.

The current Freebie is Little Frank!

Entered into: 

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Anything Goes        

Cute Card Thursday- Challenge #597- Anything But A Card

Polkadoodles Challenge Week 35-Anything Goes            

Pink Gem Challenge- Week 17 Anything Goes

Holiday Weekend Creations

As a DT for Imagine That Digi Stamps. I occasionally will be making cards for challenges that the company sponsors. I loved making this card for the September Outlawz Progressive Challenge using one of Imagine That’s new digi sets named “Lorie's Mocha for all Seasons.” I colored the image with Spectrum Noir markers and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen, fussy-cut it and set it aside.  I also printed off and fussy-cut a free circle digi (from HERE), centered  it on the background and attached the colored image.  Since the peppermint sticks overwhelmed the image, I slid I rectangle of vellum beneath the sentiment and image. The inside sentiment is computer generated.
One added note- The designer/owner of Imagine That, Kris Breach, provides her DTs with a coupon code that allows any friends a discount on their next digi order. (You can grab the code below.)  If you stop by the shop I know that you'll find lots of digis you'll want to add to your collection. Then, make sure to enter your card into this months challenge with an "Anything Goes" theme for a chance to win a $12 coupon to the Imagine That Digistamp shop, or a Top 3 award which includes 2 free digi sets of your choice and an invite to be our Guest Designer in the next challenge!  You can find the full rules HERE.

Entered into:

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #453 Anything Goes                 

Christmas Crafts All Year Round- Winter Food/Drink          

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Anything Goes                                

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Fridays                                                                                   

I was honored when artist Ching-Chou Kuik choose one of my cards as the winner of the July 2019 "Artist's Choice Award.” And was also thrilled when my offer to be a Guest DT was accepted for September. I selected Ching-Chou’s wonderful image named “Fall Squirrel” and had fun creating this card. I used a square card base which allowed space for strips of gorgeous autumn colors and a section of beautiful patterned paper. I printed the image on white cardstock, then cropped and printed additional sections of flowers, leaves and butterflies, plus cropped and printed an extra copy of the squirrel on Kraft paper. After coloring the images with Spectrum Noir markers and a white Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen, I fussy-cut and layered them onto the image with foam tape. (I provided a few close up photos to show this detail.) The sentiments on the front and inside are from a Power Poppy digi set named  “Autumns Opulence.” I’m entering this card into several challenges including Simon Says Monday Challenge “S” is for… (Squirrel.)

  

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- “S” is for… 

Ching-Chou Kuik's FB Challenge- Fall                                                   

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- Sept                                 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #402-403 Anything Goes                    

My final card for this post is a CAS card using some sweet bunnies from a Tiddly Inks digi set named “Somebunny Loves You.” I colored the bunnies with Spectrum Noir markers and a white Sakura Gelly Roll gel pen. The sentiments are computer generated. An added note- When I turned 40 (several decades ago!) my youngest sister gave me a sweatshirt with a grey rabbit on the front… and the sentiment “Oh No! A grey hare!” So, I’m dedicating this card to her… and think I’ll  send it to her when she turns 58 later this month. It’s only fair, right?!)

  

Entered into: 

Tiddly Inks- Challenge-#228- Anything Tiddly Ink Goes     

Polkadoodles Challenge Week 35-Anything Goes                                  

Bugaboo Stamps- Recipe Challenge- CAS                

2craftycrittercrazies Challenge- #6