myasperations 7-26-24

      Hello all. I didn’t plan to take a week off… but spending time with Rich, my sweet hubby. has been my priority. As he moves slowly through the last stage of MS, biking, hiking, and going on short road trips are a thing of the past. Now, when he has “good days” we binge-watch movies from our large collection and stream our favorite TV series. Since I have never been able to just sit and watch TV, I spent those hours together getting images colored and fussy-cut while spending many relaxing hours with my bestest friend! (I think we’ve watched our Lord of the Rings Trilogy five or six times over the last few years. Plus all seasons of the amazing detective, Monk, at least four times! Oh, and we've watched Bruce Willis’ Die Hard and Red movies even more often!) Am thankful that Rich was feeling better this AM… so will post two of the cards below. Then, I'll work on finishing more of the partial cards for one of my favorite Christmas in July challenges and post them throughout the day. So… get ready for a flurry of holiday cards to appear before midnight!

     This card features images and sentiments from a cute digi set from Not2Shabby named “Carrots the Bunny.” I decided to make the little bunny into a quilted toy for Carrots. (One of the sentiments inspired me to name him Somebunny!) After printing, coloring and fussy-cutting the two friends and sentiments, I created a standing-shaped card. The final touch was to give Carrots googly eyes. (Because… well… they are googly!!)

Supplies: 

·   Images and sentiments from a Not2Shabby Digi Set (Carrots the Bunny)

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

·   Sparkly Heart Stickers- Hobby Lobby

·   Pioneer Clear Photo corners- available from several sources

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #657-658

Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #677  

Not2Shabby Monthly Challenge- July Mood Board 

       (My card includes all the palette colors-moss green, red, pink, yellow, and lime green.)

     The next two cards were created for the annual Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers {BYSHC} Christmas in July Linky Party!  There are 16 generous sponsors, providing a total of nearly $300 in prizes via random draws after the weeklong challenge ends.

     Since Not2Shabby is one of the sponsors, I used their Carrots the Bunny digi set, turning the images into a Christmas scene.. This time little Somebunny plays the role of a little sibling, peeking from behind Carrots while excitedly, and a bit nervously, meeting Santa. I paper-pieced their sweaters with scraps of holiday plaids and added a red heart to Carrot's sweater.  A dark plaid background helps the adorable pair of bunnies take center stage. (One of the pics shows that I used foam tape on Carrot’s left side to provide depth, firmly placing the little guy behind the protection of his ‘older’ sibling!)

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Not2Shabby (Carrots the Bunny)

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

·   Front Sentiments- Computer Generated

·   Inside Sentiment-a freebie from LoveSVG  (Believe in the Magic)

This sentiment has been replaced with a few other versions. Click HERE to search for them.

·   Pioneer Black Photo corners- available from several sources

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2024 Linky Party (via Pinterest)     

Polkadoodles Challenge- Week #29 AG                                       

Park Hopping-My Happy Place (July)   Bunny Hop

Papercraft Challenges- Challenge #107 Holiday Time 

    This is my third entry into the annual Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers {BYSHC} Christmas in July Linky Party!  Angie Blom Digital Designs is one of the sponsors for the BYSHC Christmas in July Linky Party and I had fun using a favorite Angie Blom digi named “Birthday Girl Sass.” The set contains birthday sentiments which all have a snarky sass! It was easy to use the digi for a Christmas-themed card by using traditional red/green coloring, and a festive frame upcycled from the cover of a 6x6 pad of Christmas papers. (No matter the size, I never throw paper pad covers away!) I attempted to color her dress to look like it has a soft lace patterned collar, and a green velvet bodice and skirt. This sentiment has holiday sass, provided a freebie from a favorite free sentiment site. Although the site has not been updated since 2017, its owner, Ginger Brown, has left it open for us to enjoy!

Supplies: 

·   Background frame- upcycled from an old 6x6 paper pad

·   Digi- Angie Blom Digital Designs (Birthday Girl Sass)

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

·   Scrap of thin red ribbon and all other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2024 Linky Party        

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends- #234

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Beautiful Blooms  

ABC Christmas Challenge- O is for Off the Edge

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Christmas)

Outlawz Challenge- July 2024 Linky

myasperations 7-20-24

For some reason my blog has recently started reformatting in odd ways whenever it feets. NOTHING I have tried corrects the odd formatting. Sorry it might be hard to read. Ack! 

    For this month’s “Anything Goes” challenge at Sheepski Designs my DT card features an beautiful work of art named “Beccas” by artist/owner Andrea Norris. I was excited to find a digi with dainty flowers resembling those on Becca's umbrella. The free digi is precolored so all I had to do was print and fussy-cut them to use as embellishments. They also inspired the color theme of my card.

    PS-Stop by Sheepski Designs to learn more about the monthly challenges. Maybe you’ll be inspired to enter a card or two yourself and have a chance to win some wonderful digis created by artist Andrea Norris! Also, this digi is actually a freebie on Andrea’s Sheepski Designs FB group. You can access it (and many other freebies)  after you join the group HERE. After you are a member, click “album in the toolbar, scroll down to the very bottom and you'll find the “Freebie” folder.

     I’m entering my card into several challenges including Double D’s Challenge: Basket Full Of Posies (I wasn’t quite sure if the flowers on this card fall into the category of “posies” so I did a bit of web research and learned at an interesting site named “Creating a Posy Plant Garden” that almost any flower can be called a posie or posy… especially when they are selected to convey a special message/meaning!) 

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Sheepski Designs Free digi (Becca)

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

·   Front Sentiment- Freebie from Desert Diva (Let Your Dreams Take Flight)

·   Floral Embellishments- Freebie from Graphics Fairy HERE

·   Swirly Paper-keepitsimplepaper.com (Penguin Party Pack 6x9)

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Passion for Markers Challenge- Week #748: Pretty Pastels

Double D’s Challenge- Basket Full Of Posies ) 

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #657-658

Allsorts Challenge- Week 790: Flowers

     This card features a fun Beccy’s Place digi set named Flockstar. I love that Beccy names all of her characters, and the flamingo on the front is is named Beverley. And the elegant bird inside is named Carole. Note- I hand-colored the flamingos on my card. However, I wanted to show you how great Beccy’s pre-colored images look, so I posted a second card that shows my hand-colored PLUS Beccy’s pre-colored card (Beccy's Beverley flamingo is the one on the left. She is brighter pink in color and has just two stripes on her beak/bill!)

     I’m entering my card into several challenges including Park Hopping-My Happy Place (a fun challenge that has introduced me to many new amusement parks. This flamingo card was inspired by: Kilimanjaro Safari in Animal Kingdom, Disneyworld, FL); Time Out Challenge: Vacation  (I love vacationing anywhere near a beach… and would love also seeing flamingos while there!) and We Love Stamping: Sun, Sea and Sand (once again… the BEACH, plus wanted to take another chance to wish the challenge “Happy 15th Birthday!”)

 

Supplies: 

·   Digi and Sentiments from Beccy’s Place Digi Set (Flockstar)

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

·   Upcycled calendar pages, pink feathers  and other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Inspiration Station- Challenge #63 Inspiration Prompt Beach Photo

Beccy’s Place Challenge- July  

        Since I’m a Contributor for Beccy’s Place, I’m entering just for fun!

Park Hopping-My Happy Place (July)   Kilimanjaro Safari 

We Love Stamping-Sun, Sea and Sand 15^th Birthday!

Time Out Challenge- #268 Vacation  

      In April 2022, I stumbled upon a Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers group {BYSHC}, which was new to me. They offer monthly sketch challenges, plus several times a year host special events” to help us build a nice stash of Christmas cards before the busy holidays roll around.

     This year's (BYSHC) Christmas in July Linky Party started on Friday with 16 sponsors, providing nearly $300 in prizes via random draws after the weeklong challenge ends.

     I was organizing my craft room last month and found this tag that was in a wonderful prize pack of papers, ribbons, tags and other fun embellishments that I won in the first Linky Party I attended in 2022.  It was from a sponsor named “Fresh and Renewed with Teresa” and  was jammed full with all kinds of treasures including three different kraft tags!. (See photo below) I shared cards made with two of the tags from this prize on my blog HERE and HERE

     I used one of the JOY tags to make this card, embellishing it with a ornament made with a circle cut from striped Christmas paper, a silver foil "cap" and a cord hanger. Outlining the silver letters on the tag with my trusty white gel pen, and also adhering the striped ornament onto a scrap of white cardstock and trimming it closely to provide a white outline helps the sentiment to stand out! Paper and ribbon scraps, a strip of silver sparkly washi tape, a few paper-punched hearts, and a free sentiment finish off the festive card.

      I’m entering this card into several challenges including ABC Christmas Challenge: O is for Off the Edge (the swirly paper on the card front fits this requirement.)

Supplies: 

·   Kraft tag with sparkly White “JOY” lettering embellished with a round ornament 

·   Clear stamp set and inside sentiment- Art Impressions (Crazy Cat Lady)

·   Inside Sentiment- a freebie from LoveSVG (All Hearts Come Home for Christmas)

·   Sheer black dotted Swiss ribbon- JoAnne’s

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Add some Sparkle!!  

The Paper Shelter- #605- Holiday Time  

ABC Christmas Challenge- “N and O are for…?” O is for Off the Edge

{BYSHC} Christmas in July 2024 Linky Party        

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Christmas)

Outlawz Challenge- July 2024 Linky

myasperations 7-19-24

    This is my final entry into Di’s Digi Stamps current challenge, “Hand-Colored Image.”  It features one of Di’s sweet digis that I recently added to my collection. I used the B&W digi, but wanted to embellish the boat with real newspaper scraps. I didn’t have any on hand, so upcycled an old map instead. I wanted the coloring on the digi to be in lighter shades, so opted to color the little sailors with Watercolor Pencils. The background scene is from an upcycled calendar page, and I “grounded” the boat on the water by adding ripples and a reflection in the water with my Sakura white and colored gel pens.  

    I’m entering this card into several challenges including Inspiration Station’s Photo Prompt: Beachy theme (although the beach that is visible in this photo is rocky, I think these two sailor mice are sure to find a stretch of sandy beach along this river, creek or lake along their adventure route. And... both of the cute mice are wearing hats to protect them from the sun) 

Supplies: 

·    Background scene- Upcycled calendar

·    Nautical Digi from Dis Digis (Dreamboat Mice)

·    Colored with Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils and Sakura Glaze gel pens

·    Sentiment “There is one ship…” (divided in half for front and inside of card) from a WeAre3 Digital Sentiment set (Sadly, this wonderful Etsy Shop is closed) 

·    All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Di’s Digi Stamps- Hand Colored Image

Inspiration Station- Challenge #63 Inspiration Prompt- Beach

Outlawz Challenges- Monday Greeting Challenge (Summer Fun)

Outlawz Challenge- Festive Friday (Summer)

Outlawz Challenge- July 2024 Linky

Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge- Anything Goes

 

    I used most of my grad stamps this Spring and like to have a few on hand to add to gift bags…so I printed off a few of my favorite little grad digis, colored, and fussy-cut them. When perched upon a foiled card base (boxed wedding cards I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby), and surrounded by gold stars, this little guy looks ready for a celebration!  

Supplies: 

·   Digi- Bugaboo Stamps (Deacon Grad Sitter) Company is no longer in business

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

·   Gold Star Stickers- JoAnnes

·   Inside Sentiment- Freebie from Desert Diva (Congrats You Did It!)

·   Pioneer Gold Photo corners- available from several sources

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Add some Sparkle!!  

Crafty Catz Challenge- Anything Goes #676    

Paper Funday- #67 Anything Goes    

    I wanted to make another card for the current Cupcake Challenge but I don’t have many jungle animal stamps/digis. So… I did a little research and was glad to learn that a frog is classified as an animal, and that there are lots of different types of jungle frogs! Not sure if this is one of them, but one of my young nieces loves frogs so I know that this card will surely make her day. The dragon fly and little frog brads are also sure to fascinate her.

Supplies: 

·   Frog image- upcycled from a card I’ve had in my files for a while (If you recognize and can tell me the name of the company that sells it, I’d love to have that info so I can make more of these cards! Thanks!)

·   Sentiments- Computer Generated

·   All other items from my stash.

Entered into:  

Cupcake Inspirations- #598 Theme Challenge- Jungle Animals   

Park Hopping-My Happy Place (July)   Dollywood Frogs and Fireflies

Word Art Wednesday Challenge- #657-658