Cashing In by Using My Stash

 

Today I'm featuring another birthday card made completely with leftovers from my stash. The die-cuts were from a bag of birthday greetings and elements. The felt flower is so old I have no idea where it came from! The card front is from a pack of cards, a leftover piece I used to attached to a piece of cardstock I folded today.

It was a quick make, so I made two. My sister's coming in from Germany with her husband, and she always brings back a handful of cards from my stash. I have made some of them in German. Mostly she prefers notecards that she can write something in and hand to someone. Just a decorated front and blank inside.

That's it for today! 

  

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

It's Coming...

 

I created another "two-fer" today. That's what I call it when I create two cards i/o one with pretty much the same supplies. The papers are both from a DCWV paper stack, as well as the greetings. On the featured in the forefront, I used a brand-new-in-the-package set of acrylic stamps that I bought years ago (!) from Michael's. It's one of their own Recollections stamp sets. 

I also changed the orientation of the two cards, but not much more than that, besides the focus of each. Like I always say, It's just as easy to make two cards as it is to make one...

Are you filling up your stash of Halloween cards? There are only two months left before we get our scary on! See you at the Halloween & Other Occasions Challenge Blog this month!

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

A Little Bovine Humor

 

I love a good pun, especially when I create a card. The inside continues the punny theme, as  it reads: "Celebrate 'til the  cows come home".

I colored the cow with a very pale blue, adding yellow for the flower. The DP is all one piece (!), To embellish, I added some black adhesive jewels and part of a black paper border I had left over. Do you like to make square cards? I have a box full of square envies so finding one is no problem. Mailing it, however, takes2 stamps if you don't have any forever stamps left. I don't, so I guess this card will be hand-delivered.

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

One for the Guys Today

 

I used a playing card from a box of assorted, mismatched mini cards I've collected through the years. This one is of Charlie Brown and Snoopy.  I decorated the card to be given to any gender with its browns and blues. I used a punch on a paint chip for the card face, as well as punching my birthday greeting with a circular punch.

The inside reads, "How many fingers are you?" I think that sentiment is hilarious. It could be a card from a child, or a card to a a child, or to someone who has a good sense of humor. I like making funny or punny cards. Anything to give the recipient a smile or a chuckle. How about you?

Another Month, Another Birthday Card

 

I love the sentiment on this card. It's a two-part greeting. And it goes  perfectly with the image I chose. The image is from Lynn Stansberry of Squigglefly. I colored her with Copics and double-framed her. All the papers I used are leftovers from previous projects.

The inside of the card reads: "and on my birthday, you must tell me that I look marvelous!" Isn't this the perfect image?! LOL

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Day if the Dead card

Day of the Dead, or "Dia de los Muertos" is celebrated throughout Mexico. Many other countries around the world celebrate similar (or hybrid) versions of Day of the Dead as well, by having special days for honoring the dead.  It is a festive, joyous time of celebration, falling on November 1 and 2 of each year, coinciding with the Catholic holidays All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.

I started with coloring a Rick St. Dennis image called Death on a Saturday Night with my trusty Copics. The image is one of my favorites from RSD. I made the background digitally with a paper from Rucola Designs. The moon and paper flags are free clipart from Google. In order to have the "family" appear naturally in my setting, I fussy-cut it after coloring it so it looks like it's truly part of the scene.

This is my DT make for November's challenge at Halloween & Other Occasions All Year 'round.. Besides offering Halloween all year round, as implied, each month offers challenges for each month's celebrated holidays as well. I chose Day of the Dead as my heritage may be German-Irish but my heart is Mexican...

 

Look at That! I Made a Card!

 

After several months of having "card block" I finally created a happy winter card using a freebie image from Scribbles Designs. It's called Penguin Pals #264 and can be found on the Scribbles Challenge Blog, where the newest challenge is to feature at least one penguin on your project.

I loved the image so much, I printed it several times, flipping it around and even changing the size slightly. Then I had to use multiple colors for my pals, whether they were realistic or not. You'll even find a few of them inside my card, which is a pop-up.

I am so happy that Sandy, the SD designer, and the DT team, inspired me to create a card after all this time!

I Love (Virtual) Cats

I do love cats, real cats, but they don't like me. At least, they don't like my sinuses. I'm allergic to them. So this is unfortunately as near as I can get to these cute bundles of furry love. And my card today features an Ike's Art digi image called Chillin'.
I colored this precious puss with Copics and fussy cut her to pop her onto my background. I created the background with three patterned papers and a strip of ribbon. I have been de-cluttering my craft stash and all unorganized supplies have been going into a box. I am creating cards and projects from this box only, and this is my newest "use your stash" creation.
My sentiment is a two-parter; here's the second (inside) part:

I think that I am part cat! How about you? LOL
I am entering the following challenges:

Show Us Your Pussycats - Anything Goes

Ike's World Challenge Blog - Anything Goes (and a belated Happy Birthday, Ike!)

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything w/a Critter Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything Goes w/an Animal

A Day for Daisies Sponsors the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog

Life is short. Many people doubt their own worth (we are our worst critics). So if you are impressed by someone - her talent, his achievements, their generosity, her love - speak up! And since a picture is worth a thousand words, say it in a card like I did today.
Yes, the optional Twist for this month's Anything Goes challenge at the Path of Positivity is to create something to show your admiration for somebody. It can be a card, a scrapbook layout, a canvas - wherever your Muse takes you. 
I made a card for my daughter. Her strength, honesty and support have helped me through the process of grief. She is a ray of sunshine when my days are cloudy with loss, and is so very creative when it comes to showing me that grief is normal, but not to wallow in it. I hope she can say that I, in turn, am her rock of support and love when it comes to her days of grieving the loss of her dad.
I decided to print an image from A Day for Daisies, one of the guest sponsors this month for the challenge. The image is called "A Special Flower." I printed it directly onto my patterned  paper, a great piece from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles called "Poppy in Wheat Field" from the We Remember Set. I decided to also print the sentiment onto the paper as well.
Printing it twice gave me a second image to color and then pop onto the first using dimensional  tape. I framed it with a paper doily and blinged up a couple corners of the image itself. Since it's almost the end of the semester (and looking toward a killer Final soon), I used a ready-made card base from DCWV and attached a glittery butterfly. I used Stickles to leave a trail of butterfly magic behind it.
n order to be considered eligible for this month's prizes, all projects must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature. Prizes this month include: 

An $8 gift certificate from A Day for Daisies, our guest sponsor for this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all qualifying entrants.

ONE image (value of $5 or less) from Scribbles Designs, for the post or project that the team deems most inspiring of the bunch based on all qualifying entrants.

One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight

Remember what I said at the start of my post. This is an excellent opportunity to tell someone how much you admire them, while being creative and possible winning some prizes. Of course, the theme is optional. Either way, have fun and craft your heart out. Just don't forget to link your projects with the Path of Positivity blog!!

All Dressed Up at Your Scrapbook Place

A new month brings a new challenge at Your Scrapbook Place. The theme is always Anything Goes, and this month the guest sponsor is All Dressed Up. I used a digi image called Time to Celebrate. I think the sentiment is perfect, don't you? BTW, if you get a chance, try some Barefoot Bubbly. My fave cheap champagne to serve at girls' day in. Yum!
My card is filled with die-cuts and jewels. I found a baggie with them in it, as well as the gold and black paper, and ran with it. How about you? Do you have any mystery bags in your craft area? I'm doing a clean-out (again) and am finding all kinds of goodies. You never know what you might have forgotten...
Meanwhile, you have all month to create and link up your project at Your Scrapbook Place for your chance to win prizes from the Guest sponsor, All Dressed Up.

Get Inspired on the Path of Positivity

The Path of Positivity Challenge Blog is offering an optional twist on its Anything Goes theme: focus on INSPIRATION. If you would like to challenge yourself, create a project to uplift and/or motivate someone in your life. However, remember that the optional twist is just for fun.

This card is for my neighbor. She adopted a dog around this time a year ago. He is a rescue, a cute senior beagle (except when he howls). LOL She had lost her husband a few years ago and decided to fill her empty house with barks and dog hair. She also got cuddles and licks and unconditional love.
Using an Ike's Art image called "Kindness", I colored it with Copics and placed it onto a card front created from embossed and stitched metallic paper. The greeting didn't show up well against that background, so I crimped some red (for love) to back up the words, "Happy Adoptiversary!" I helped my image pop out from the background paper by using dimensional tape and a die-cut snowflake peeking out from behind it.
So I made this card to celebrate her dog's Adoptiversary! We rescued our dog, Wilson, a senior Silkie Terrier, three years ago. He's one of the family now, and we couldn't be happier. If and when we're ready to adopt again, my daughter and I agreed to look for another senior dog. It makes your heart melt to see their blank stares turn into looks of love after they know they have found what it is to be loved and cared for (again or sometimes for the first time). Don't we all need just that?
If you're trying to decide if you're ready to get a dog, please consider adoption from a shelter. They have dogs and cats from 4 weeks old to seniors, playful to mellow, all of them just looking to be loved and to love in return. Go ahead and, "make their day!" 
And if you're interested in playing along with the challenge at the Path of Positivity, please note that ALL projects must be positive, encouraging or uplifting in some way (so make sure you mention you are following the theme this month).
 Prizes this month include:

A $15 gift certificate from Ike's Art, our guest sponsor for this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all qualifying entrants.

ONE image (value of $5 or less) from Scribbles Designs, for the post or project that the team deems most inspiring of the bunch based on all qualifying entrants.

One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

You have until February 3rd to link up to three projects to the first challenge of 2019 at the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog!  Go for it, crafters!

Challenges I am Entering:

Get Creative - Anything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes w/a Critter

Happy Craft - Anything Goes

Sweet Christmas at 12 Months of Christmas Challenge Blog

Everyone has a sweet tooth, and the 12 months of Christmas blog is catering to that by offering the optional theme of CUPCAKES this month! I was inspired to create cupcake toppers using a digi image called Santa Head from Limited Runs, our guest sponsor for December.

After baking the cupcakes and piping on frosting, I colored and printed my Santa Heads, printing half of them as mirror images. That way you can see the same happy face from the front and back. I used a toothpick covered by a holiday-striped straw to hold my Santa Head toppers in place. For variety, i added some jingle bells onto extra cupcakes.

I would have put put a cupcake for Santa this year, but they have mysteriously disappeared! Oh well, that's what happens when you bake for the holidays a little too early!

For my DT make, I needed to create a card, so I used a photo of my holiday-inspired sweets and came up with this:

I framed the photo with Pink glitter paper from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' Glitterati1 Paper Kit and used dimensional dots before adding it to my card base. The base uses patterned paper from a new paper kit from Decosse called Sweet Confections 1: Cupcakes, backed by another Decosse paper from her A Grungy Christmas Paper Kit.

Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards to the challenge blog during the month of December will earn ONE of the digital papers from this set. The specific paper up for grabs will be shown during the winner announcement post. One random winner will earn the full set of papers.

Have your say in determining which paper will be offered to those who link up a minimum of two cards this month by completing the poll offered at the challenge blog.

Remember, CUPCAKES is an OPTIONAL theme, but in order to have a chance to win the prize from our guest sponsor, be sure to have a cupcake of some nature on your card. It can be the image itself or in the paper(s) you use but it must be featured prominently. If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize.

You don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of a $10.00 gift certificate from Limited Runs.

Show Off Your Embossing at Ike's World Challenge Blog

MEOW'S IT GOING, CRAFTERS? Today I created a card with that phrase as my sentiment. It's the purr-fect fit for my digi image from Ike's Art. It's called Kat Woman, and I think it's become one of my favorites from Ike.
So, today marks the midway point of the Embossing challenge at Ike's World Challenge blog. As you can see, I framed my Copic-colored image with an embossed paper before adhering it to my card base. I was in a frivolous mood, so I sifted through my leftovers drawer and piled on whatever I could find - a ticket to frame out my sentiment, some black jewels, half a flower, pearls, even a feather!

Challenges I am Entering:
Show Us Your Pussies - Furry-thing Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
the Outlawz Color Challenge - 

Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Find LOVE at the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog

Welcome to the midway point of the February challenge at the Path of Positivity challenge blog. While it's always ANYTHING GOES, the optional theme is Expressions of Love. Our sponsors for this challenge are:

AND

My card today is for my sister Dee, whose support and love have carried me through some tough times this month. I thought she would like this card because, like me, she loves puns! The digi image I used is called "Love You 2 Pizzas" and is offered in the Imagine That! store.

SPONSOR & PRIZE INFORMATION: 

• $10 gift certificate from Imagine That! Digistamp for the post or project that is deemed most inspiring of the bunch. To be eligible for this prize, you must follow the optional theme of Expressions of Love.
• The same three digis used by team members, provided by Mari Digis for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.  To be eligible for this prize, entry must be positive, inspirational, motivational or encouraging in some nature.
• One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

Whether you choose to express love for someone in a birthday card, a sympathy card, a scrapbook layout, or other media, be sure to link it up at the Path of Positivity Challenge blog for your chance to win prizes!

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafty Calendar Challenges - Love is in the Air

Crafty Cardmakers - Add Some Texture

Get Creative Challenges - Use Red + Another Color

*Anything Goes Theme*

Crafting from the Heart

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Imagine That

Anything Goes w/optional twist - Use a bow

 The newest challenge at Ike's World Challenge blog has reached its midway point. Their challenges are now Anything Goes, with some months offering a Twist. This month the Twist is to Use a BOW. I created my card with an image from Ike's Store called Spanish Dancer. I love this image because my cousin dances with a Spanish Dance Company, and she also teaches Flamenco classes.

My card has a surprise in that the image is part of a removable bookmark. My family and I love to read, and we're always losing our bookmarks, so demand is high. Mine folds over the top of a page. My bow  is actually a glitter sticker at the top.
My sentiment reads, "Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances. I'll talk more about that in the next challenge for Ike's World Challenge Blog. Meanwhile, share your art with us for your chance to win free digis from Ike's Art store.
Happy crafting!

Lest We Forget...

The new challenge at Ike's World Challenge blog is Remembrance/Military Tribute. Did I ever mention I served in the US Army? It was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away (the mid-70's). I wanted to do something different, go places. learn skills I'd never learn at home, see the world. So, instead of heading off for college (which neither I nor my parents could afford) or finding a secretarial job, I up and joined the Army.
While serving my three year stint, I flew in an airplane for the first time, learned a trade, lived in California, and got to spend some time in Europe. I also met and married my husband of 40 years. While not involved in any wars or conflicts at that time, the government could choose to send me, my husband, and every other serviceman and woman anywhere they chose. We were ready to defend our country if needed.
Times have changed - while I may have been the first female mechanic to work on vehicles at my post, the VA hospital today has a whole wing for Women's Health. Nowadays both hubby and I rely on the Veteran's Administration for our medical needs. I see a lot of veterans from World War II through the most recent injuries in the Mideast. I feel very privileged to be among these true heroes of freedom.
So today I created a card to celebrate the differences made by women willing to put themselves out there as soldiers. Often people forget that there are female veterans as well as men. I just read a post on Facebook of a woman veteran who parked in a parking space reserved for veterans and got yelled at for parking there. Just like some disabilities are not obvious, not all veterans are male.
I am leaving my card in the lobby waiting room for any and all veterans. I want to show them how proud I am to be counted among them.

Image used: Ike's Art Army Female

Spooky Love at Ike's World Challenge Blog

Time to remind you of the newest challenge over at Ike's World Challenge blog. The theme this week is "Spooky Love." I created my card using a digi image from Ike's Art called Beauty and the Beast, sticking with Fall colors to celebrate in the new season in the northern hemisphere.

 I have some music to inspire you as you get inspired and create your own project for this theme. Don't forget to link up at Ike's world Challenge blog for your chance to win free digis!

Challenges I am Entering:

Cards 4 Galz - Fairy Tale/Fantasy (Beauty & the Beast)

Alphabet challenges - R is for Recipe (pearls, digi stamp, lace)

A Bit of Luck at the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog

Lucky you! You still have time to create a project with the theme of LUCK for the Path of Positivity challenge blog! This month there are two generous sponsors, Imagine That! Digi Stamps

and Limited Runs

Today, I created a card with an image from Imagine That! called Hitchin' a Ride. Autumn is right around the corner, so I pulled out my Fall-themed papers and embellishments. I like to remind my friends how much I appreciate them with handmade cards, and this one will work just fine.

Do you want to show someone how lucky you feel that they are in your life? Or do you want to wish someone you know good luck in a future venture? Take whatever inspiration comes your way and link up your project with the Path of Positivity challenge blog today!

SPONSOR & PRIZE INFORMATION:

• A $10.00 gift certificate from Imagine That! Digi Stamp, one of our guest sponsors this month, for the post or project that the team deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• A $10.00 gift certificate from Limited Runs, one of our guest sponsors this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.


Challenges I am Entering:
Cards in Envy - Fall/Fall Colors
Crafty Cardmakers - Fall
Make My Monday - Autumn/Fall

Featuring Woodland Creatures at Scribbles Deesigns

What's cuter than woodland animals?
Woodland animals digis from Scribbles Designs!
This month the challenge theme over at Scribbles Designs blog is to use woodland animals on their projects. I used this cute little Duck, coloring him with Copics before popping him into a small woodland pond. A few Fall embellishments to frame my (Clash of the Titans) movie quote and I'm ready to show off my DT make for this challenge.
There are several FREEBIES at Scribbles Designs Blog Store,  or you can use any image on your card. Just don't forget to link it up for your chance to win Scribbles Designs digis! And as always, crafters, have FUN!

Challenges I am Entering:

As You Like It - Favorite Song/Movie (Clash of the Titans)

Sasayaki Glitter - Animals

Through the Purple Haze - Some Attitude (my duck has a LOT of confidence)

New Challenge at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog

Mason jars are all the rage now where I live. You see them at restaurants, parties and stores. They're painted, be-ribboned and decorated.They hold flowers, candy, fireflies, jams and vegetables, and iced tea.
This month the challenge theme at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog is to create with a mason jar. There are quite a few fun and whimsical images at Scribbles Designs store, but you aren't required to use a Scribbles image for the challenge.
I used two images, Mason Jar (which is empty) and Crayons, which was a freebie on the challenge bog a couple months ago. After coloring three sets of the Crayons digi, I "placed"them in my jar and fussy cut the filled jar. Everything on my card is from my stash--the good news is I haven't had to go to a craft store in months as I have owed to use up my stash. The bad news is I haven't been able to justify going to a craft store in months... LOL
What will you put into your mason jar? Or how will you decorate your jar? What will you create this month for Scribbles Designs Challenge blog??