Tuesday, January 16, 2024

myasperations 1-16-24a

      I had fun making another card using a vintage holiday sentiment from The Paper Shelter. Gold photo corners, a scrap of music score paper, burgundy mulberry paper (remember that fun embellie?!) and Nuvo Drops add texture and a lovely vintage feeling to the card.
Supplies: 

·   Front Digi Sentiment- The Paper Shelter (Vintage Xmas Designs)

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

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

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
The Paper ShelterAnything Goes
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  (Christmas)
Outlawz Challenge- Jan 2024 Linky

    One of my annual resolutions is to organize my collection of stamps, supplies, papers, etc. To regift items I rarely use. In the process, I often find lost treasures like this stamp from Denami Design, which was one of the companies that we carried in a little stamp store I co-owned in South Dakota in the 90s. The owners of Denami, Gary and Nami Nakamura, were kind and gracious to a clueless couple of new business owners, so I was happy to learn that their business is still going strong. You can find them HERE.)
Supplies: 

·   Wood Mount Stamp-Denami Design (This stamp appears to be retired. However, a similar one is available HERE)

·   Stickles- Ice Blue  

·   Tips for stamping with Bleach can be found on Pinterest. My favorite is HERE.

·   Front Sentiment-Upcycled from an old card

·   Inside Sentiment-“It’s a Day to Celebrate” from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Keeping it Simple)

·   Navy Blue Victorian die-cut postcard, household bleach and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Colorful Options Monthly Challenge:  Jan-Blue Lagoon  
Paper Funday- #61 Anything Goes   (Optional Twist: Let's Celebrate!)

     My final card also features a wood mount stamp that I unearthed when organizing my many treasures! This one is from Biblical Impressions, another of the companies that were favorites at our wonderful little store in South Dakota named Stampers Den. I’ve had this since the 90’s and it still works like new! I decided to use black pigment ink and fine black embossing powder to provide a bold black outline, which I colored in with a small number of colors (to be able to enter it into the current Cupcake Inspirations challenge.) Dots of several colors of Stickles add bling to the pretty card. 
Supplies: 

·   Wood Mount Stamp and front sentiment from Biblical Impressions (Unsure of status of this stamp line.)

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

·   Front Sentiment hand-lettered with a pilot fine-line black pen

·   Inside Sentiment- source unknown (I pulled the stamp from the wood base years ago!) 

·   Stickles, prehistoric decorative scissors, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Cupcake Inspirations- #585 Color Challenge
Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #663 (Optional twist- No Decorator Paper 

myasperations 1-16-24

Hello from the Midwest where we are enjoying blustery 30 below zero wind chills this week. NOT! At least my brain is in working order so that I can get this card posted before the deadline!
    I had fun making a simple rocker card with an adorable digi from The Paper Shelter.(You can find lots of rocker card tuts on Pinterest. Here are my two favorites (which have very different looks when finished); one is made with a circle folded in half and the other starts with a rectangle.)
    I’m entering this card into several challenges including Park Hopping-My Happy Place (I discovered this challenge several months ago and it has become a favorite of mine as I’ve learned lots about amusement parks. Many I never even knew existed, and I learned a few fun facts about others. The challenge host, Makira, provides a listing of “inspiration” to help learn more about Amusement Parks around the globe. That is where I learned about “The Cats of Disney.” As a grade school student, I remember seeing the always sweet and gracious, Walt Disney, talking about the park he had built in far-off California, and it looked both amazing and magical. Little did I know that there were cats that actually got to live there! Thanks to a link that Makira posted, I learned about them… and you can, too!)
Supplies: 

·   Digi- The Paper Shelter (Cozy Christmas Together)

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

·   Front Sentiment a Freebie from birdscards (Wishing You a Cozy Christmas)

·   Back Sentiment- “Friends Warm the Heart” from Beccys Place digi set New Friends (retired)

·  All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
The Paper Shelter-  Anything Goes
Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #722: Dots and/or Stripes
Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge- Furry Thing Goes (#96 Jan)  
Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Celebrations
Outlawz Challenge- Jan 2024 Linky
Park Hopping-My Happy Place (Jan)   

This card features one of my favorite winter digis from Sweet November stamps, a cute penguin named Percy. I love his glasses… and since he is all decked out in a warm hat and scarf, I created a snowy background (that literally says “SNOW”!) using a hand-sketched lettering template built with paper scraps from my HUGE scrap collection. (The pile of scraps in the photo are just those from my snowflake papers, die cuts and stickers!)   
I’m entering this card into several challenges including Snippets (this is a fav of mine, as it encourages me to use up some of my many collections of patterned paper scraps.
Supplies: 

·   Digi- Sweet November Stamps (Percy Penguin)

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

·   Front Sentiment “Let it snow…” from a Hobby Lobby Sticker package

·   Inside Sentiment- “Thoughts of You  Warm My Heart” from Polka Dot Orchard Digi Set (My Love Mug)

·   Snowflake stickers and die-cuts, patterned papers, and other items from my stash.
Entered into:  
Friends of Sweet November (FB) Jan-Winter Blues 
Snippets- Week #471  Celebrations 
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  (Fun in the Snow)
Allsorts Challenge- Week 763 AG 
Gem of a Challenge- Week #1 AG                                                    
The Four Seasons Challenge- Anything Winter (Jan 2024 
    
  This card features another cute penguin, this time from Beccy’s Place. His name is Finn and he looks pretty cozy on a wintery day! (He is also going into retirement soon (*see details below) so you might want to invite him to your place soon!
    I’m entering this card into several challenges including the Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge: Coffee + Snowflakes (if you look closely you'll see large flakes outside in the dusky sky and a few more on Finn's coffee cup), and  Outlawz Sunday Challenge: New Beginnings (I start every day with a cup of freshly brewed coffee… and in the winter, end the day with a cup of hot chocolate that occasionally has a shot of Peppermint Schnapps and a dollop of whipped cream. Ahhh yummy!)  

   (*Beccy Muir is holding a retirement sale of several digi sets for 50% off. A few of them are favorites of mine so I’ll be posting cards made with them between now and March 31st. Check them out HERE!)

Supplies: 
·   Digi from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Finn’s Hot Chocolate)
·   Colored with Spectrum Noir Classique markers and Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen

·   Front Sentiment- “Hi there…” from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Paw Prints)

·   Inside Sentiment- “You Warm My Heart” from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Christmas Cheers)

·   Window made from a paper scrap, Exacto blade, and a few gel pens.

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Beccy’s Place Challenge- Jan 2024  
            Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place, I’m entering just for fun! 
Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge Jan-#25 Coffee + Snowflakes 
Outlawz Sunday Challenge-New Beginnings
Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge-Happy Hello’s: AG
Di’s Digi Stamps- Celebrate Winter
Paper Funday- #61 Anything Goes    

Thursday, January 11, 2024

myasperations 1-11-24

I apologize that this posting is a little late we've had a rough week at our house fighting yet another one of the many cruddy viruses that are exploding in our area. For me, it meant zero energy and my brain couldn’t make the words to write up details! Ack!
     I am honored to have served as a Guest Designer for Beccy Muir at Beccy’s Place and am now one of her “Contributors” (which means that she provides me with digis or clear stamp sets several times a year and I get to create cards or other items with them!) It is always fun to see the images Beccy invites me to use.  This time I used 1 digi and 1 sentiment (which I printed off as two to provide the ”rest of the story” on the inside of the card!) from one of Beccy’s new yummy food themed sets named, appropriately, French Fries, I love that the set includes a newspaper wrap for the fries, so opted to go with a neutral color scheme… with a bright yet transparent splash of color from a red plastic index divider sheet. (If you follow my blog you’ll know that I use these wonderful items quite often. Sometimes called document file folders, they 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.) I also paper-pieced the image, printing off an extra copy of the news wrapping layer and adding it with foam tape to add depth to the image. So fun!
Supplies: 

·   Digi and sentiments are from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (French Fries)

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

·   Cardstock, red plastic index divider sheet, heart template, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #629-630
Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #1 AG                                             

Beccy Muir, from Beccy’s Place is holding a retirement sale of several digi sets for 50% off. A few of them are favorites of mine so I’ll be posting cards made with them between now and March 31st. Check them out HERE!
   For this card, I took a photo of a recipe card that I’ve had in my collection for over 4 decades. Sandbakkels are a Norwegian sugar cookie that was one of the family Christmas holiday traditions in my hubby’s childhood home. He is the primary baker in our family, and early in our marriage,  his sisters gave him a tray stacked with their mouthwatering Sandbakkels, a set of tins so he could carry on the tradition, and this recipe. (This recipe is from my sister-in-law, Louise. It was passed down to her from her mother-in-law. The original is handwritten so is actually an heirloom, right?! And the almond extract stain, accidentally added by my sweet hubby, makes it even more precious to me.)  
Supplies: 

·   Digi  from a Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Tied Up With String)

·   Inside Sentiment- Eureka Digital Stamp (Currently Not Available)

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

·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
Beccy’s Place Challenge- Jan 2024  
Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday  (Christmas)

I had fun making this sparkly card using a circular sentiment from The Paper Shelter, and assorted items that I had on hand. Fits into a standard Business sized envelope so was quick and inexpensive, plus I love how it turned out!
Supplies: 

·   Front Sentiment- The Paper Shelter (Vintage Xmas Designs)

·   Background scene- upcycled from an old calendar

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

·   Sparkly Snowflake Stickers- Hobby Lobby and JoAnnes Crafts

·   Inside Sentiment- (Peace Joy Love) Seeking source in my digi collection!

·   Stickles, assorted snowflake die-cuts, and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  
The Paper ShelterAnything Goes
Di’s Digi Stamps- Celebrate Winter
Christmas Craft Creations challenge- Jan-Glitter & Sparkle   
Colorful Options Monthly Challenge:  Jan-Blue Lagoon