Monday, February 22, 2021

One Year Closer to Magnificence!

Happy Monday and new week, everyone. Honey and I continue to be extremely fortunate in the aftermath of Snovid 21 (what the locals are calling it - even selling "I Survived Snovid 21" t-shirts, lol). The Boil Water Notice was lifted Sunday and we've tested out our dishwasher and washing machine. That was the last of the piping and everything's a-okay! We are worn out, though, from all the stress, so we are taking this week off! haha winkwink ;-) Translation: back to regular retired schedule. ;-)

My card share today is another birthday card for a special girlfriend. I used Art Impression's "Crazy Friends" stamp set, along with ancient Mobe (anyone remember them?) number stamps and the tiny Elizabeth Craft Happy Birthday sentiment stamp.

   
I used the current Cheerful Sketch, resizing it to 6x6" and did my usual "wonking" of the elements, making the top layers slightly askew as that fit the humor and mood of the card well, I thought.

For the paper, I dipped back into Cosmo Cricket's 8x8 Summer Love designer paper collection. I've cut some of the paper layer pieces with either Spellbinders A7 Matting Basics dies or their Hemstitch Squares or Rectangles. I thought the Hemstitching added a bit of interest/texture. The only other papers used are an SU cranberry card stock for the matting and Office Depot Index stock for the base.

I colored these gals with my Promarkers and then coated their eyeglasses with Sakura Star Dust gel pen. I outlined them in a light grey and then left the background alone. I had colored them during the blackout and once I assembled the card, I decided to give them the spotlight!

Inside I've matted more Cosmo Cricket and stamped on it with AI and Uniko stamps.

The back of the card is matted with Cosmo Cricket leftover from the front and a siggie by Impression Onsession.

And a final view. The recipient's second grandchild was born the day before her big day, so she got quite an awesome present! Mom and baby are doing fine, and I don't think it has even sunk in yet to my friend that she's 65! Until next time, Stay Safe and Craft On! XOX

 MY CHALLENGES PLAYLIST:
2.   Art Impressions Challenge 2/11-2/24: Best of 2020 AI Share -- #1/2  This Art Impressions Crazy Friends stamp was a 2020 birthday present to me and began my interest in AI, so even though I now have 8 water coloring sets and 12 funny/sweet sets, this one is kinda my favorite...for now! :-) 
5.   Colour Crazy Craft Challenge Week 6: AG with Colouring -- #2/2 Used Promarkers on focal image
6.   Passion for Markers #579: Use 3 or More Papers -- Used Promarkers on focal image
7.   I Love Promarkers #429: AG + Opt. Birthday -- #3/3  Option played! Used Promarkers on focal image
9.   TTCRD 2/16-2/23: AAG -- #2/2
12. Double Trouble Challenge #77: Layer It On Thing 1 Only -- #1/4  I have 8 layers of paper on my card base.  
13. Classic Design Challenge Feb. 2021 #2: AAG  
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Saturday, February 20, 2021

Chef Freddy Bakes A Birthday Cake

 Hello, me again with another Card by Candlelight, lol. Hope you are all doing okay! The card I'm sharing today was made during the rolling blackouts, so I was able to heat-emboss most of the sentiments. 

I've been following Imagine That Digi Stamps' 8th birthday celebrations this month with weekly birthday project challenges. I was able to participate the first week and everyone who did received this Chef Freddy image, which I printed out immediately, thinking I'd use him the 2nd week, but I didn't get to play. So I used him to play this week. The catch was, we had to make a tag or a tag on a card. So, that's what I've done.

  
I wanted a square card sketch and remembered the sketches at Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2, so I surfed over there on my phone and as soon as I saw Sketch 201 I thought perfect GATEFOLD and a nice center mat on which to place my tag, so I saved it to my phone photos and was in business. I took a legal size of 110# Office Depot index card stock and cut it to 6x12, then scored that at 3" and 9" to get my gatefold shape. Used my corner rounder punch on the folded inside edges, then cut my dp to fit each section less 1/4". 

I used Basic Grey's Color Me Silly designer papers once again. The 12x12 collections each came with tags so I used one I had left as my tag base. I colored Freddy with my Promarkers, fussy-cut him and then stamped/heat embossed an Avery Elle sentiment on his chef's hat. I die cut a Lawn Fawn fishtail banner and stamped/heat embossed a Clear Dollar Happy Birthday sentiment. I tied two colors of baker's twine at the top.

On the center rectangle element, I dry-embossed my top mat with a Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder and added my tag on top with big glue dots. I finished the card front with My Favorite Things die cut scalloped photo corners and Eyelet Outlet cupcake brads in each corner.

  
Here's the inside of my card. More BG dp and a mash up of different stamps. The outer "gate" ends were stamped/heat-embossed using Papertrey Ink and Technique Tuesday sentiments. The center uses sentiments by ITDS and PTI.

On the back of the card, I've layered more BG papers and an Impression Obsession stamped siggie.

And a final view. This card was very satisfying for me to make. Even though I strayed a bit from simple, it was a much-needed distraction to busy myself with paper measurements and dimensions. I just wish I had some cake! LOL Thanks for the visit. Stay well and safe! xoxo

MY CHALLENGES PLAYLIST:
1.   ITDS 8th Birthday Celebration Week 3 Challenge 2/15-2/21: Tags -- I used the ITDS digi image Chef Freddy on my tag and then put the tag on my card as the focal image.  
2.   Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2: Celebrating 200th Sketch -- I made mine into a gatefold card.
3.   Die Cut Divas: Fun Fold + Die cut/Emb. Folder -- #2/4  I made a gatefold card and used die cuts and an embossing folder.
6.   I Love Promarkers #429: AG + Opt. Birthday -- #2/3  Option played!
7.   Passion for Markers Week 579: Use 3 or More Papers -- Used Promarkers to color my focal image and 4 different papers from Basic Grey Color Me Silly
8.   Colour Crazy Craft Challenge Week 6: AAG with Colouring -- #1/2 I've used Promarkers to colour my focal image.
10.  Double D Challenge: Anything with a Heart -- #1/3  Hearts are on Freddy's feet. :-)  
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Thursday, February 18, 2021

Crafting by Candlelight

 Hello again - I'm back online. Honey and I have survived! We lost power Sunday evening and throughout much of the week. Monday night was the worst of it, 19 degrees outside and 50 degrees in the house. I told Honey I now know why all the old-timey pictures showed people in their bedclothes with head coverings! We had to wear our ski caps and scarves, lol. Then, rolling blackouts, which were worse in my opinion, because I would get confused between the two. Habits are hard to break. Then our municipal water plant failed, so no water. Luckily we lived on our bottled water supply and melted snow/ice water to fill the toilet tanks. 

Anyway, life this past week was at times minute by minute survival for WE the uninitiated so when I could, I took possession of one of our battery lanterns and a couple of candles into my playroom and tried to craft. First I colored a bunch of images and then I tried putting together some cards. It was hard not being able to look on my computer at my stamp files, sketches and other supplies, so I simplified. No heat embossing, used only color-coordinated papers, etc. Luckily, I was able to find a few sketches when I was able to get enough bars on my phone to navigate the web. 


I found this Split Coast Stamper Sketch 420 and used a premade 5x5" square red DCWV card base along with Basic Grey's Color Me Silly 12x12" designer paper, my new-to-me Crafters Companion Gemini Torn Edge Square dies and a Bugaboo digi image called 4 Block Tulip Square colored with my Promarkers.

  
On the inside I used stamps from Crafty Secrets and Clear Dollar with BG paper. On back, more BG paper and a Technique Tuesday stamped and circle-punched siggie.

And a final view. Candlelight crafting simplified! And lots of fun to color a Spring image, too. Thanks for visiting - I still am way behind in my blog visiting and I hope you will forgive me. I will catch up with ya! Oh, and...

Yes, it snowed! Just a dusting, but it stayed for days because of sustained freezing temps and I cannot ever remember seeing that before. 
  
I took photos the first night with more snow, but they came out really dark. These photos were taken the second day, a "panoramic" of my view from my front porch, left to right. The last of the snow on our roof melted yesterday, so it was on there almost 4 days, quite rare for us. 

MY CHALLENGES PLAYLIST:
5.   I Love Promarkers #429: AG + Opt. Birthday -- Option played and focal image colored with Promarkers
7.   Creative Finger #201: AAG --  #3/3 Used sponsor image
11. YSBP Feb: AAG - #2/3  Entering regular monthly challenge
17. Happy Little Stampers Feb AG with Dies -- Used CC Gemini Torn Edge Square dies  
18. Use Your Stuff #416: It's My Favorite -- My favorite go-to is always COLORING
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Sunday, February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Hope everyone is having a nice Sunday! It's quite dreary here - cold, cloudy and drizzling, with snow forecast later tonight. It will just be a dusting but I'll try to take a few pics if it happens. We are cozy now and have our game plan: keep the faucets dripping at both ends of the house, pipes and plants are covered, and cranking up the heat. Now, I just wish I was a bear and could hibernate until Friday, may try it anyway! I feel for all y'all in similar or worse weather. 

I decided to go humorous for my husband's Valentine's card: Punny for Honey! And, I also went with digital stamp images from Imagine That Digi Stamps. I used two of Kris' sets that I've had for awhile but have never used: 
  
With all the stress and effort in getting ready for this storm, I went the most digital that I've ever gone with a card. I used all pre-colored images. They were already to go as I had printed them last year, hoping to use. So this was a quick card to make, but the best part was, no stress! Omygosh, I felt the difference!

I had printed them on glossy presentation paper and was amazed at how unfaded they were! I still love to color by hand and always will, but it's comforting to have a good Plan B in the wings.

I matted the front and back with SU card stock and on back, I adhered another ITDS image along with a Technique Tuesday siggie and then a Lawn Fawn die cut out of Recollections 110# white card stock. I used a shim and it cut like butter, plus it retained its shape as I was adding glue and did not stretch out hardly at all. 

This card is 8.5x 6", a weird size I had no envies for, so I made one with a 12x12 scrap sheet. I literally placed the card diagonally in the center of the sheet and folded around it, used my scoring tool to crisp the folds, then glued it. I was pleasantly surprised!

Now, onto our Valentine's Day. I had requested latex rainbow roses last year instead of real, and I have enjoyed them so, so much (no maintenance and they last longer than real). So this yer I requested pink tulips. Honey did not disappoint! I surprised him with 3 flavors of Daelman's Authentic Dutch Stroopwafels to try. I had to help, of course. They are very delicious and shipped in perfect shape! Not one crumble, smash or break. All varieties are good, but my fave is the chocolate. Honey's fave is.the Honey one..DUH! heehee

This year's cards we exchanged on display where last year's roses sit. Honey's card to me color-matched the tulips. <3 I did not notice it until I looked at the pics, or I would have taken a pic of them together.

I save all our received cards and decided to decorate the bar with some of the prior year Valentines cards that Honey and I have exchanged. Here's a funny: I did not realize, and neither did Honey, that he gave me the same card two years! Hahaha One's a little larger than the other, but inside word for word inside and out the same. 

And my little art corner. I made the Mail Art 4x6 in front center, but all of the displayed ATC's are ones I received during my swapping years. So, "Mail Art" is pretty fitting, don' you think? winkwink

Thanks for visiting. Hope you had a wonderful day and a good week ahead. Stay warm and dry! XOX

MY CHALLENGES PLAYLIST:
6.   Time Out #181: Photo Inspiration -- I was inspired by the colors, the hearts and the roses!
7.   Scrapping 4 Fun #185: Friendship, Wedding, Valentine Themes  --  #3/3 cards   Valentine Theme
15. Mod Squad Challenge: All About Love (Word Must be on Front) -- #2/3  Well, it's spelled LLOVE for the llama pun, hope that's okay!
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