Time to Get Serious

I cannot believe that life has changed so much in the past few years. I look at the world now and I cannot say that I recognize it any more. I imagine that is what my grandmother thought when she was looking at the world when the Great Depression hit. She had 8 children to raise. She was luckier than some, as my grandparents lived on a farm, but still, money and shortages still would have affected them greatly. 

At times, I wish my grandparents and parents were still here. I could definitely use their wise words of wisdom. Yet, I'm also happy they are not here, so they don't have to see the problems the world is facing. They had their trials and hardships and I hope I've paid enough attention to all their stories of those times.

I have to admit, my skills had gotten a bit rusty. The kids grew up and penny-pinching wasn't as necessary, so I got a bit comfortable and didn't mind my pennies as much as I used to. Guess it looks like we'll be going back to that challenge again. I'm not complaining, because I used to really love the challenge of seeing how far my money could stretch. Hubby used to tell everyone that he found someone cheaper than he was and I took that as a great compliment!

All over YouTube, you can find preppers giving their doomsday advice. Some of their videos are downright scary! Should we put things up? Sure - you find something on sale, you buy a few, but ONLY if you used that item. I've seen the lists of things to store and some are really off the wall. If you don't use certain things, don't buy and store it for a time when you think you will need it. Food storage needs to be rotated and used. 

If I find fresh foods like carrots, celery, etc at a great price on sale, I'll buy extra, dehydrate it and put it aside for making my own mixes or for soups, stews, or anything I need to cook awhile that has a water base. I've found times that the grocery store didn't have celery when I needed it, so I turned to the dehydrated jar I had on the shelf. Thank heavens there was some there! I know you can freeze these things, but freezer burn and freezer space can be an issue. Dehydrating is better for me in the long run. I also dehydrate frozen veggies I find on sale. No blanching or prep work - just dump on the racks, rinse and dehydrate. Another way to save money without worrying if you have freezer space!

 I heard people say they couldn't get canning jars or supplies. With dehydrating, you don't need them. Any glass jar that has a lid with a rubber seal (the ones that pop when you open them) will work. For long term storage, you can use a vacuum sealer or oxygen absorbers to give them a decent seal until you are ready to use them.

I have always done this as a way of life - not to prep and not for doomsday. These were the methods I used to save money and get me from sale to sale. I learned to cook from what was on hand and never did a menu when I purchased the items needed for the menu. That's how Mom cooked and I still do it to this day.

I am looking forward to getting down to business again and challenging myself to a tighter budget. Sounds strange as other complain, but challenges keep life interesting!

House Mouse Challenge - Spring

I've been a fan of House Mouse for a good 20 years, so it seemed appropriate to join in the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge. I've had a few HM stamps in my stash for a while now, but they are so detailed, that I was absolutely intimidated by them. With a set of watercolor pencils, this stamp came alive for me. Now I wonder why I ever waited so long to try!

Materials Used:

• Neenah Solar White Cardstock
• Distress Oxides for background
• Strathmore Watercolor cold press 140 lb. paper
• Norberg & Linden Watercolor Pencils
• House Mouse "Crocus Droplet" by Stampendous
• Embellishments: Dew Drops

"Crocus Droplet" is the first cling rubber stamp I ever used on a card. It came in a kit of the month that I had gotten when I first started seriously stamping. I was elated to get a House Mouse stamp but was intimidated at the same time. It sat in a box until this challenge got me motivated to finally try creating something with it. 

The first thing I did was stamped my image on Neenah cardstock and then colored/water colored the image. I like using the watercolor pencils for both control and shading. They get into small spots without going outside the lines, allowing me to get the look of watercolors in small areas without having to mask or using the embossing or resist methods. I also like being able to easily layer and shade. 

Next was the background. I used Distress Oxides for the background. I blended Worn Violet, Faded Jeans, and Mowed Lawn, added a few drops of water and then dabbed off with a baby wipe for a more distressed and rainy day look. After putting my card together, dew drop embellishments were added for the water drop look.

"Crocus Droplet" features sweet little Monica. I don't know if it's still available any longer.

If you have a House Mouse stamp that is begging to be used, come join in the fun and try the House Mouse and Friends Challenge!

Festive Friday Challenge #FF0079

 

I just happened to stumble across a challenge that I had to try. It's Festive Friday Challenge #FF0079 World Frog Day. Anyone that knows me knows I love frogs, so this was perfect! I went straight to my craft table and dug out an adorable frog stamp and went to work. 

You might notice a little wrinkling, as this card is still a bit wet. I didn't have time to let it dry and be able to take the photo. It's now under some weight to smooth it out. I think next time I'll be using some double sided tape instead of glue to prevent any bubbling or rippling in the future - especially when I need a card quickly! 

The rules require at least 3 items off their list. Mine include:

• Frog
• Water
• Green
• Circle

So without any more chatting here, I will hurry and get this posted before I miss the deadline. 

Materials used:

• Pink & Main "Rain Frogs" stamp
• Echo Park "Spring Market" 6x6 paper
• Neenah Colored Cardstock
• Die Cut paper doily
• Neenah Solar White Cardstock
• Heathrone Watercolor Markers
• Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black

Wooly Lucky Llama

It's that time to do a challenge. I saw Simon Says Stamp has an "Add Some Green" challenge for their Monday challenge, so I thought I'd squeak under the wire with a card made from their Wooly Lucky Stamp set. I love the Llama and the sayings that come with it. I really don't have a lot of green on the card, but it was fun to make. It's done in a clean and simple style and I decided to keep the focus strictly on the llama, so I stamped the sentiment on the inside. The Llama is colored with alcohol markers.

My color choices were inspired by the Inspiration Challenge #150 "The Luck of the Irish" by Card Concept. The whites, yellows, green and the hat - well, it's all here in my Clean and Simple style Wooly Llama card - all the way down to the envelopes. I got the pearlized gold envelope from Simon Says Stamp. (I'm not sure if it's still available). I love the inspiration challenges because they give me a nice color palate to work with. I'm terrible with putting colors together, but the challenge really helps me. 

I have never really tried a Clean and Simple style card, and I was inspired by the following 2 challenges:

Stamplorations is new to me. I was looking for adding some stamps to my small collection and came across their website and their challenge. Their challenge focuses on dark green and mint green. I used them in the colors on the llama and the border. 

CASology has their challenge theme as Luck - and what's more lucky than a Wooly Lucky Llama? From his hat to his blanket, he's covered in green and shamrocks, so he's certainly a poster llama for luck. 

I made 3 of the Llama cards and had so much fun doing them and the challenges. They are on their way to their new homes and hope the recipients enjoy them as much as I did making them.

Materials used:

• Simon Says Stamp Wooly Lucky Stamp Set
• Scrapbook.com Premium Hybrid Ink - Black
• VigorFun Alcohol Markers 
• Simon Says Stamp Tacky Glue
• DCWV Cardstock
• Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium Cardstock
• Neenah Solar White Cardstock

Sunday Stamps Challenge #SSC251 HAVE A SLICE

Time for another Sunday Stamp Challenge! This one is really cool and  is called "Have a Slice". I was excited as soon as I saw it, because I love the colors and had the perfect colors for this challenge in my stash. I had so much fun making this card. I love using dies to create my cards. I love the dimension I can get from them! 

I cannot tell you the exact papers I used. They came from a past kit from Maker's Mart. The dies were from Spellbinders and the ink was an unbranded cube from a past card kit - I just don't remember what one it was, but one from a few years ago.

The challenge states you must use a minimum of 3 colors from the graphic they posted on Sunday. The challenge runs from February 21st until March 5th at 6pm EST. Have a look at the graphic below and if you'd like to join in, you can got to the challenge page here and find more details to enter. I hope you'll join in the fun!

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #477-#478

I had never heard of Word Art Wednesday before and when Karen stopped by and invited me to join, how could I resist? I really wanted to use their posted verse, however, my printer is not printing a nice crisp image and is ghosting, so I decided to take the "Anything Goes" theme from their Weeks #477- #478 Challenge and pull out a Spellbinder's KOM and see what I could come up with. This kit was one of their first kits (KOM-003) when it was sold under the name Maker's Mart. I had purchased a bunch of back kits a couple of years ago and I'll be honest - I had a hard time making the cards from the old kits. I just didn't have the vision to use the items in the kits. The old kits didn't have the tons of ephemera and other goodies that they provide with their kits that they now sell.

I had made 5 cards using the flowers and other goodies that came with the kit, but I used up a lot of the embellishments and just sat and stared at what was left. I packed the rest back up for "someday". Someday has happened and this challenge spurred it on. I pulled the kit out, dumped things on the table and decided I was going to finish the other 5 cards. Three down, two to go. 

I saw the sentiment "You Can Never Have Too Much Sparkle" on one of the stamps and decided to have fun with it. I used the textured white card base (that always comes with their kits) and then layered a light blue paper, a textured silver, and an extremely shiny teal paper that also came in the kit. I cut the sentiment tag from a piece of 100gsm vellum (purchased from Amazon) using one of the included dies. There was no ink provided, but I found a matching ink in one of the other Maker's Mark kits. All embellishments were provided with the kit. 

I had a bear of a time trying to get a photo to show how shiny and sparkly the card is so my photo is not the best. My apologies. 

I will be posting photos of my other finished cards from this kit soon. As I wind down with the amount of embellishments left, it's getting a bit more difficult to come up with something. I'm not a creative person, so the challenges are really pushing me on and making me think outside of the box. I'm having so much fun!

If you would like to join in with the challenges from Word Art Wednesday you can visit their website and learn more about them. I'll just be making the deadline, as it ends today and can't wait to see what the next one brings!

Combined Card Challenges

I haven't made a card in a long time. Mostly because of a lack of place to make them. Since everyone is now working at home, it made it hard to try to craft. I have been knitting and crocheting as well as a little beadwork over the past year, but trying to lay things out and doing piecework is difficult. This year, we are slowly working on a crafting space for me in the basement. I now have a table and need to put together some shelves - but I have a table and I can let things sit until I can return!!! Such luxury!

My first card was a sketch challenge from Sunday Stamps combined with The Card Concept Challenge #148 {Sweetheart Sweets}. I needed the inspiration and a starting point. It's been a while since I made a card from scratch so I decided to make a Valentine card for my son. I used things from my stash so I can't list the exact names of papers, etc., just where they came from. (Please note: the black background is not part of the card).

Supplies: 

• Sprinkles Background - Simon Says Stamp Feb '19 KOM
• Sparkle paper - Christmas wrapping paper
• Chocolate looking paper - Kaiser Krafts
• Candy Box Stamp - Brutus Monroe Stamp of the Month
• Sparkle Heart stickers - Brutus Monroe Inspiration Box
• Ink - Brutus Monroe Inspiration Box - Rouge
• Prism Art Colored Pencils
• Ranger Glossy Accents

This was a really fun challenge to do and here's the sketch I had to work with:

Sunday Stamps posts a new challenge every fortnight, so I'm hoping to be participating more. If you would like to join in on the fun, just hop on over to their blog for more information.

The Card Concept Challenge posted a photo and the photo is to inspire your design. 

For me, the colors were perfect and it was centered around delicious sweets, so that was the color inspiration for me. I went with what I think was the Shabby Chic and Vintage style. For me, these two challenges went together perfectly!!! If you'd like to try your hand at this type of challenge, you can visit their site here.