myasperations 7-19-21

It's 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!
For this challenge, my DT card features a yummy digi from Hetty Clair  named “Chocoholic.” A checked paper napkin provides a shout of color and a nice base to reinforce the food theme. The sentiment, a freebie, adds a bit of snark to the card. (Heh heh!)

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Hetty Claire Digi Stamp (Chocoholic)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Sentiment- Freebie from Ginger’s House (I scream… Ice cream)
·   Red checked paper napkin- from our local Dollar Store
·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources
·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Food and/or Drink
Cute Card Thursday- Challenge 690- Anything Goes
Outlawz Challenge- Twisted Thursday Anything Goes
Polkadoodles Challenge-Week #29 Anything Goes                      
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

The Paper Shelter- Anything Goes

I decided to use another of the red plaid napkins on a card, this time to add some contrast to a Christmas card featuring a journal card from my scrapbook stash, computer-generated sentiment (inside), a flurry of die-cut snowflakes and a generous sprinkling of bling with Stickles! A Z-fold is so easy to make and adds a bit of flair to a card, you can find a link to instructions in the supply list. (Please note- I flipped the orientation of the paper to accommodate the size of the front panel.)

I’m entering this card into several Christmas in July challenges, plus Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- (I used a Lawn Fawn snowflake set available from Simon Says shop!) 

  

                                    ``    

                                    

Supplies: 

·   Journaling Card from my scrapbook stash

·   Red checked paper napkin- from our local Dollar Store
·   Inside Sentiment- Computer Generated (source unknown)
·   Instructions for Z-fold card can be found HERE.
·  White photo corners available from several web sources (WXJ13 13 Sheets 13 Colors Photo Mounting Corners)

·   Snowflakes- Cheery Lynn Designs Die (C146 Snowflakes)

·   Snowflakes- Lawn Fawn LF995-Mini Snowflakes Die Set (from Simon Says Stamps)

·   Stickles- Star Dust (dotted amid the snowflakes)

·   Inside music sheet paper- Hobby Lobby 
·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Out with the Old In with the New
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #501-502 Anything Goes                   
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #551 AG  (Optional Twist- Die Cut)
Christmas Craft Creations challenge- July Anything Goes    
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #162 Christmas in July
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday
Di’s Digi Stamps- Christmas in July

myasperations 7-19-21

One of my favorite monthly challenges is called the "Twofer Card Challenge" which requires the use of the exact same stamp or die to make two cards with distinctly different designs for two different occasions. The July Challenge is named "Birds.” I dug through my stash and found a stamp set that included a bird image with lots of possibilities!  

                              

                              
Supplies: 
·   Stamp- Gerda Steiner Designs Clear Stamp Set (Go Wild)
Entered into:  
Twofer Card Challenge- #40 Birds
Gerda Steiner Designs- Share Your Designs Challenge- July      

My first card features the bird, colored as a Toucan, and a giraffe friend. (I used a photo from the web as my guide when coloring the Toucan’s beak. The colors look a bit blah here, but they are brighter in real life.) I used a freebie “hello” plus a birthday greeting from the stamp set as my sentiments. It was fun to use the branch die which is special to me. (A few years ago I’d mentioned in an email with a stamping friend that I had purchased a used Big Shot, and was slowly growing a collection of dies. A package of happy mail soon arrives as this friend gifted me with over a dozen assorted dies! I think of her every time I pull out my die collection!)

Supplies: 
·   Stamp- Gerda Steiner Designs Clear Stamp Set (Go Wild)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Front sentiment- Freebie from Desert Diva (Hello)
·   Inside Sentiment- Gerda Steiner Designs Clear Stamp Set (Go Wild)
·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources
·   Die cuts- Sizzlits: Flowers, Branches and Leaves Set (Gifted to me!)
·   All other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Cute Card Thursday- Challenge 690- Anything Goes
Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #28 Anything Goes                     
2craftycrittercrazies Challenge- July 2021                                     
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- July                        
 
My second card celebrates the 4^th of July, and the bird becomes a majestic Eagle! I dug into my scrapbooking supplies for the beachy base of the card, plus the picnic basket, heart, and star stickers (I easily turned the star into a balloon by adding a white scrap of paper “tail” and sketched in the string with a black marker.) Paper scrap banners decorate the computer-generated sentiments for a colorful and festive card!
I’m entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz Sunday “Songs and Rhymes” (the current rhyme named "The Open Road" mentions birds and skies. Where I live we have beautiful clouds and also occasionally see eagles. One flew over our home a few days ago, probably heading to a nearby lake to do a bit of dive fishing!)
                                      

 
Supplies: 
·   Stamp- Gerda Steiner Designs Clear Stamp Set (Go Wild)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique marker, Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen and Sharpie Black Permanent Fine-Line Marker
·   Basket and star stickers and beach journal card- from my scrapbook stash.
·   Sentiments- Computer Generated
·   Cardstock, cloudy sky, and patterned paper scraps from my stash.
Entered into:  
Incy Wincy Designs- Red/White/Blue and/or Sparkly/Glitter  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #499-500 Anything Goes                   
Cute As A Button- July: CH #70 Anything Goes 
Outlawz Sunday Challenge- The Open Road
       Since I’m a DT for Sheepski (sponsor), I’m entering just for fun!
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

myasperations 7-16-21

It’s Friday and time for the Colour Crazy Challenge. This challenge is also an “Anything Goes” but it adds a requirement; the creation needs to include coloring in “any colouring medium you like, onto any project you like, and in any colours you like.” I’ve never outgrown my love for coloring… which is why making cards is stress therapy for me!! 
This week's sponsor is Hetty Clare and my DT card uses a wonderful digi named Birthday Chef with Candles. One reason I love using digis is that I can change the size of the image on my cards. For this card, I enlarged the digi, then cropped it to fit snuggly upon an A2-sized card front. To provide the card with a crisp, clean feeling, I kept my coloring to a minimum with lots of white, adding the candle glow with die-cut circles of yellow and white vellum. The balloons “tied” to the freebie sentiment on the inside of the card were also created with circles of vellum.

Supplies: 
·   Digi- Hetty Clare Digital Stamp (Birthday Chef with Candles)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Inside Sentiment- loveSVG Freebie (Happy Birthday)
·   Balloon strings added with a Sharpie black permanent fine-line marker
·   Inside Sentiment - We Are 3 Christmas Sentiment can be found HERE.
·   Cardstock, vellum scraps and other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #499-500 Anything Goes                   
Cute Card Thursday- Challenge 690- Anything Goes
Besties Challenge- July Anything Goes

This delicate Sympathy card features a Bugaboo image and an Imagine That sentiment. I wanted the card to have an elegant look, so used rich colors, plus a few strips of ribbon that include beautiful stripes of satin and gold thread. The delicate vellum butterfly is from a free set of digi butterflies that I found on a website a few years ago. I like printing them on vellum to add a bit of translucent realism. After fussy-cutting and attaching the butterfly to the card, I cut a body/head from a scrap of black paper that has a fuzzy texture (upcycled from an old card.) I added antennae with a fine-line Sharpie black marker (after first sketching them with pencil to determine size and placement.) 
I’m entering this card into several challenges including the Butterfly Challenge (two colors- Quick Sand/Light Yellow and Quince/Green, plus two themes-Quarts Gem and  a butterfly), Outlawz  Monday Greeting Challenge- Add Sparkle (One single crystal gem adds a touch of sparkle to the candle flame), Incy Wincy Designs- Enchanted Garden (gardens are often filled with flowers and butterflies that add a magical touch to any environment!) and  Outlawz Color Challenge- (I used two cool colors- teal and blue, plus two warm ones- yellow and pink. Since the challenge noted 1 warm color,I wasn’t sure I could use more than that number. So feel free to delete this entry from the draw if that isn’t allowed!)

Supplies: 
·   Digi- Bugaboo Stamps (Thoughts and Prayers Candle)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Pastel Vellum Butterfly- Freebie available from HERE
·   Butterfly antennae added with a Sharpie black permanent fine-line marker
·   Inside Sentiment- Imagine That Digistamps set (Sentimental Thoughts)
·   All other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Butterfly Challenge- #159 Q is for Quad Easel    
Bugaboo Stamps- July Anything Goes  
Incy Wincy Designs- Enchanted Garden
Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge- (Color Wheel- 2 cool, I warm)       
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Add Sparkle 
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

myasperations 7-15-21

It’s the middle of the month which means it’s time for a challenge at QKR Stampede which is always “Anything Goes” and several prizes are awarded. Stop by the challenge and maybe you’ll be inspired to enter a card or two yourself?
Since there are so many “Christmas in July” challenges right now, my DT card features a QKR winter scene named Snowy Cabin. The snowy background paper is a freebie from a company named Free Pretty Things For You (FPTFY), which offers a treasure trove of patterned papers (and many of them are free!)  The one on this card is from a set of freebies (six different designs) named “Winter Wonderland.” To give my card a monochromatic-ish, rustic feeling, I printed the snowy background in greyscale.I decided to make an easel card (the tutorial in my supplies list is super easy!) And the card was finished with computer-generated sentiments and a flurry of die-cut snowflakes embellished with sparkly stickers!

I'm entering this card into several challenges, including one that is brand new to me! It's called Christmas Craft Creations challenge and there are four fabulous prizes offered for the current Anything Goes Challenge. (Check it out... and if you enter a card, and say that Kathy at myasperations sent you, we'll both get an extra entry in the drawing!)

Supplies: 

·   Digi- QKR Digital Stamp (Snowy Cabin) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

·   Colored with Decorative Chalks and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen 

·   Free Winter Wonderland Digital Paper you can find HERE 

·   Computer-Generated Sentiment (source unknown) 

·   Easel Card- Instructions found HERE  

·   Snowflake Stickers- Hobby Lobby

·   Snowflakes- Cheery Lynn Designs Die (C146 Snowflakes)

·   Snowflakes- Lawn Fawn LF995-Mini Snowflakes Die Set

·   Stickles- Star Dust (dotted amid the snowflake dies and sticker)

·   All other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #160 Christmas in July
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #499-500 Anything Goes                   
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #550 AG
Christmas Craft Creations challenge- July Anything Goes  
Digi Doodle Studios- #40 Christmas In July 

      Outlawz Challenge- Twisted Thursday Anything Goes (Twist- Christmas in July)

I enjoy being a DT for QKR not only because of their huge assortment of images, but also

because they have tons of excellent sentiments that I use regularly on cards. This card features

one that I use often!  I first embossed the pretty floral border which is from one of the first SU

sets I bought… back before the turn of the century. Oh… that makes me sound old. I mean 

before 2000!) After coloring the image, the red from one of the roses bled a bit. I tried to fix it 

with a blender pen… which just made it worse. Finally decided to just pull the red near all the

roses with the blender pen adding a light wash of color. It sorta worked… but took me a while

to get the red out of my blender pen tip!

Okay, next up-the digi sentiment. An oval template from my scrapbook stash, and a scrap of

brushed gold which enhances the gold embossing takes care of the task. After adhering it, I

decided that the card looked unbalanced (the strip of white cardstock at the bottom of the card

front looked bare!) So, I fussy-cut around it, adhered a strip of the shiny gold paper behind it,

added a few delicate swirls with my white gel pen to tone the red color wash down a bit and my

card was finished! (I left the inside empty so I could use it for several occasions.)

I'm entering this card into several challenges including Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge (I

used two colors from the color wheel, blue and green, and one warm- the culprit- RED!)

Supplies:

·   Wood-mount Floral Border stamp- Stampin’ Up! (retired)

·   Front Sentiment- Eureka Digital Stamp (Thinking of You) Also available in unmounted or cling-mounted

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

·   Cardstock, gold Pigment ink, gold embossing powder and gold paper from my stash
Entered into:  
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Emboss It
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday- Thinking of You    
Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge- (Color Wheel- 2 cool, I warm)      
Outlawz Challenge- Inlinks Challenge

myasperations 7-14-21

I was asked to be a Guest DT at Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge, and was excited for the opportunity, especially because it introduced me to a company that is new to me. Named Free Pretty Things For You (FPTFY), this company offers a treasure trove of clip art and patterned papers, and many of them are free! The snowy background paper on this card is from a set of freebies (six different designs) named “Winter Wonderland.” The Yeti digis are from Oddball Art. I brought the two cuties to life with Spectrum Noir Classique Markers and a Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen. (The challenge requires the use of one warm tone and two cool tones from the color wheel. The Yeti’s pink cheeks fit the warm tone, and the blues and teals provide the cool base!) To help the Yeti on the card front stand out, I layered it atop a piece of a blue plastic index divider sheet. (These wonderful items- sometimes called document file folders- 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 fussy-cut with a sharp pair of scissors.) The card was finished with computer-generated sentiments and a flurry of die-cut snowflakes!

Supplies: 
·   Digi- Oddball Art Digi Set (Funny Yeti Faces)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen
·   Free Winter Wonderland Digital Paper you can find HERE
·   Sentiments- Computer Generated
·   Snowflakes- Cheery Lynn Designs Die (C146 Snowflakes)
·   Snowflakes- Lawn Fawn LF995-Mini Snowflakes Die Set
·   Cardstock, scrap of a blue plastic index divider sheet and other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Outlawz Challenges- Tuesday Color Challenge- (Color Wheel- 2 cool, I warm)      
Outlawz Challenge- Twisted Thursday Anything Goes 
Cute Card Thursday- Challenge 690- Anything Goes
Outlawz Challenge- Saturday Paper Ala Mode- Fur, Feathers or Fins

I used another of the free papers from the Winter wonderland set, in a rustic worn wood pattern, for my second monochromatic card. The sentiment is one I’ve had in my collection for a few decades. I don’t have a clue of its source… but am thinking I jotted it down from a vintage Christmas card that my mom had in her craft stash. (She’d been collecting cards and other items for nearly 5 decades. I know that they might now be referred to as “ephemera”… but I call them treasures!) A sprinkling of clear gems adds some bling to the lovely die-cut snowflakes, some of them are heart-shaped to reflect the inside sentiment… which is so beautiful!
 

Supplies: 

·   Free Winter Wonderland Digital Paper you can find HERE
·   Computer-Generated Sentiment (source unknown)
·   Silver Self-Adhesive Photo Corners- JoAnnes Fabric
·   Clear gems, Heart-shaped and round- JoAnnes Fabric
·   Cheery Lynn Designs Die (C146 Snowflakes)
·   Snowflakes- Lawn Fawn LF995-Mini Snowflakes Die Set
·   All other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #160 Christmas in July
Di’s Digi Stamps- Christmas in July
Incy Wincy Designs- Enchanted Garden and/or Christmas in July  
Cute As A Button- July: CH #70 Anything Goes + (Option) Use Punch and/or Die
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge- Add Sparkle
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #499-500 Anything Goes                   
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge- #550 AG
 
Back in 2016 I made a Tinkerbelle card. I found a photo of it recently and decided it was time to make another one. So I looked on Pinterest where I had found the original that inspired my card… and I found it HERE. The cardmaker mentions being inspired by a Disney movie poster, so I searched a bit and found “The Secret of the Wings” poster HERE. To make the wings, I copied the poster image into word, reduced it to card size, and printed it off. Then I created the beautiful Tink with bits and pieces of paper and vellum from my scrap box. First, I traced her wings, and their lacy veins onto vellum scraps with a white gel pen, smudging the ink occasionally. When finished, I cut them out and covered the white ink side with sparkly clear sticky paper (which I've had in my stash since I owned a small stamp store in 2001. Yep… it’s old but still sticky! I think that you could also use clear packing tape dusted with a wee bit 'o glitter for a similar look.) I traced around Tinks image so that the sizing was appropriate for the wings, then paper pieced the body, leaf dress, and hair with cardstock scraps. A few scraps of brown became shiny hair and a perky bun when I added texture with watercolor pencils and a white gel pen.
I gave this card to an amazing young woman who is a valued member of my prevention team while also being a full-time college student. In truth, Kenzie reminds me a bit of Tinkerbelle, as she is playful yet also very passionate when she throws herself into the many tasks she undertakes. And magical? Oh yeah! You should see how she makes our social media platforms sparkle with color and impact. I loved Kenzie's bright smile when I gave her the card earlier today, and can just imagine that Tinkerbell is already comfortably perched in a place of honor at her apartment. (Tink might even have enough spunk to keep her curious cat, Jeffry, at bay!)

Supplies:
·   Paper-Pieced Tinkerbelle inspired by Disney Movie Poster
·   Colored with Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils and Sakura Gelly Roll white pen
·   Freestanding card is a variation of a fold I found HERE.
·   Galaxy background cardstock- Hobby Lobby
·   Sentiment- Computer Generated
·   Scraps of vellum, cardstock and sparkly sticker paper from my stash.
Entered into: 
Outlawz Sunday Challenge- The Open Road (my card is inspired by the mention of fairy folk) 
The Paper Shelter- Girly
Pixie's Snippets-Week #407
Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #28 Anything Goes                     
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge- July