Duncan Street Designs

Through the Purple Haze

Creative Crafters

Sparkles Monthly

Winnie Sunshine Delights Cutest by Polkadoodles

Hi Friends and Happy Tuesday! I have some exciting news to share...I'm honored to announce I'm now part of the Polkadoodles Design Team and today is my inaugural post for the Digi Choosday Challenge. I'm thrilled to be part of such a talented team and working with the adorable images is definitely a plus!

For my project today, I've colored up the Winnie Sunshine Delights Cutest Digital Stamp with alcohol markers to create an A2 sized card (4.25" x 5.5").

The designer papers are from the Carta Bella "Summer" 6x6 paper pad, the focal die cut is from Spellbinders and the mini tags are from Alina Crafts. I've added Baker's Twine and Carnation Pink Nuvo Crystal Drops for the butterfly trail and die cut accents.

Please stop by the Polkadoodles Digi Choosday Challenge Blog to see what my teammates have created and join in the fun!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

TTCRD

Colouring in Scrapland

Monday, May 30, 2022

Bubble Tea You are Amazing

Hello, Happy Monday! For those of us in the States, today is Memorial Day and we take this day to remember and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. My Gratitude goes out to my husband, father, brothers, father-in-law and brothers-in-law for their sacrifices for me and our great country.

Today I'm sharing the adorable Boba Tea digital image from Not 2 Shabby. This image is part of the Bes-Teas Digital Release for May 2022.

I've colored the image with alcohol markers, fussy cut and adhered to a card panel that has been ink blended with a Catherine Pooler ink. The die cut star and sentiments were in my stash.

I've applied Glossy accents to the sentiment die cut for that extra shine. The sentiment strip has been popped on craft foam and a few specialty sequins from Kat Scrappiness were added for extra interest.

Have a wonderful day, hug your Veteran and until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

CD Sunday

WW DT Open

Double Trouble - partnering with Use Your Stuff

Use Your Stuff

Colouring in Scrapland

CCC Digi Creations

Sunday, May 29, 2022

Make Art

Hello Crafty Friends and Happy Sunday! Today is a quick share featuring the new to my craft stash Colorado Craft Company Set titled Make Art. The Anita Jerum images are precious and I'm a huge fan.

I've kep the design CAS, allowing the artistic mice to take center stage. They are quite the Artists!

I've colored the scene with alcohol markers and matted the focal panel. Wink of Stella has been added to the flowers but it's always hard to see in photos.

That's all from me today. Now I'm off to have a pedicure, go to the grocery for tomorrow's holiday meal and then home for a swim..barring rain doesn't spoil it for me. Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Colouring in Scrapland

We Love Stamping

Friday, May 27, 2022

Colour Crazy Challenge - Ching Chou Kuik

Hi Crafty Friends and Welcome to Friday! I hope this is the beginning of your weekend and you have something fun planned. Today begins a new challenge at The Colour Crazy Challenge Blog and our sponsor this fortnight is Ching Chou Kuik. For my project, I've used the Keep in Faith digital image to create a page for my Art Journal.

I still have the People and Country of Ukraine on my heart and in my prayers so this page was created with them in mind. I think the sentiment describes them perfectly.

I don't work directly on the card that's in my journal, I prefer to cut pieces of watercolor card measuring 5.25" x 7.75" and work on that, then adhere to a page in my journal. Here I'm using a Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Art Journal and the pages can handle the products but I prefer to work outside of the journal first.

To start my process, I've colored the digital stamp using alcohol markers, fussy cut and set aside to work on the background. I've used Catherine Pooler Inks in shades of yellow and orange and the smooshing technique to create a subtle background. The background was too bright for my liking so I dry brushed white gesso over top and allowed to dry.

After the background was dry, I stenciled and splattered, set aside to dry again and set out to fussy cut some ephemera. I have loads of ephemera in my stash so I picked out some vintage images I thought would look nice with my composition.

Using Gel Mat Medium, I've adhered all images and washi tape to the background. I've covered the images with gel medium because I wanted to use my PITT Artist Markers to highlight the images and to be able to smear the india ink in the markers, the syrface needs to be non-porous.

For the finishing touches, I've added gold sequins and a sentiment from a booklet of sentiment strips by Tim Holtz. That's all for my journal page...it's complete and now living comfortably in my journal. Do you Art Journal?

Please visit us this round at The Colour Crazy Challenge, we hope to inspire you with our projects. Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Hero Arts Stay Crafty

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Potted Geranium

Hello! I hope you're well and enjoying Tuesday. Today I have a quick share using the Potted Geranium digital stamp from Power Poppy. This is a lovely image and I've kept my design clean and simple today.

The image has been colored using alcohol markers and the card size is 5x7. The cardbase is 110 lb. Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card, the sentiment is included in the digital set and the focal panel has been matted with black card.

Even though the image is very detailed, it's an easy color. I went with the traditional Geranium color of Red, I've not actually seen a Geranium in any other color but I'm sure there must be several varieties.

For the finishing touch, I've added clear droplets from Kat Scrappiness. Thanks for stopping in today and until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

TTCRD

Casology

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Power Poppy Monthly Challenge

Monday, May 23, 2022

Happy Birthday Blast

Hello All and Happy Monday! I trust your weekend was lovely and you did something you love. Here it was stormy, hot and humid. Today the forecast is a bit of the same so we shall see.

Today begins a new challenge week at Pammie's Inky Pinkies. Our sponsor this round is Sheepski Designs and for my team project, I've used the Retro Rocket digital image to create a Birthday Card.

I've colored the images with Alcohol Markers, then masked them to ink the background with shades of blue Catherine Pooler Inks. CP inks are also water reactive, so I've added water splatters to get that outer space look and feel.

I originally printed the sentiment on the card but didn't like how it looked once I inked the panel. To cover up the sentiment and prevent having to create another card panel, I've used a label maker to create the sentiment. It's ok..the strips always look blurry in photos but it will work in a pinch.

Please join us at Pammie's Inky Pinkies this week and enter your projects for an opportunity to win a prize from our sponsor Sheepski Designs.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Creative Artiste Mixed Media

AAA Birthday

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Magnificent Branch Happy Birthday

Hello And Happy Sunday! Today is forecast to be another stormy day here in Central Florida so my plans are to stay in and be crafty. During the rains yesterday, I created a birthday card for a 96 year old who loves flowers. I hope she also appreciates my "mixed media" background.

To start, using acrylic paints, texture paste, stamps and found objects I created a mixed media background on a 5x5 mixed media card panel. The floral image is from the newest Altenew Build-A-Garden Magnificent Branch Set and I've colored with alcohol markers, then fussy cut.

I noticed the white texture paste that was stenciled on had picked up color as it dried so not as white as I wanted. To correct this, I went over each of the wonky textured squares with a Posca White Paint pen. TIP: Make certain the paste is completely dry or you will ruin the tip of your pen(s).

Everything was adhered flat to the panel, which was matted with black card and adhered to a card base. The Sentiment die cut and stamp are from the Happy Thoughts set by Crafter's Companion. For the finishing touch, I've added Gold Sequins for extra sparkle.

I've really been enjoying mixed media and art journaling lately. It's been fun to sit and create a card that is not my usual style...it's very liberating to just have fun.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

Challenges Entered:

Outlawz Festive Fridays

Craft Rocket

Tic Tac Toe - Floral, Free, Embellishments (can't post graphic here as it's a WEBP format)

Simon Says Stamp Wed Challenge

Altenew May Inspiration Challenge

Addicted to Stamps and More

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

An Abundance of Hollyhocks

Hello Friends and Happy Wednesday! Today I'm sharing a card created using one of the newest digital floral images from Varada Sharma Designs. This is a gorgeous image of Hollyhocks from the Abundance of Joy Mini Set , which is part of the larger Abundance of Joy May 2022 Release.

I haven't colored with pencils in a long time so I decided this card called for colored pencils. Using my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol, I've colored the hollyhocks in a bright pink and spring green. This is a mini slimline measuring 6.25" x 3.25" and I sized the digital stamp to take up as much space on the focal panel as possible.

The panel was trimmed with a Kat Scrappiness Mini Slimline Scalloped Edge Nesting Die and adhered flat to a cardbase of Neenah Solar White Classic Crest 110 lb. card. The sentiment, included in the set, was trimmed and popped on craft foam for dimension and additional interest. For the finishing touch, faux black gems were added for that extra bit of sparkle I must have on my cards.

Thanks for stopping by and I invite you to visit the Varada Sharma Designs Shop HERE. There are so many wonderful and pretty sets to choose from.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Lil Red Wagon

Addicted to Stamps and More

The Sisterhood of Crafters

Monday, May 16, 2022

Inspiration Station Challenge - Inspired by a Flower Shop

Hello and Happy Monday! Today begins a new bi-weekly challenge round at The Inspiration Station Challenge Blog and the inspiration photo is the inside of a Flower Shop:

I will admit this challenge was an easy one for me as I love to create floral cards and own loads of floral images and die sets. For my team project, I was inspired by the colors of orange and yellow in this photo and used the Altenew Craft-A-Flower Daffodil layering die set to create my card.

I've slowly been using up, and not purchasing any more, colored card stocks with the plan I will create colored cardstocks as I need them with inks. That's what I did in the case; I used Catherine Pooler Inks to create the colored card layers for the daffodils.

The focal panel was cut using the Altenew Cube Cover Die and adhered flat to the card base. The flowers were assembled using liquid adhesive with the flower centers popped on craft foam for dimension. I covered the floral centers and petal tips with Wink of Stella.

The sentiment was heat embossed on vellum, adhered to the card using enamel dots to hide the adhesive, with additional dots added to visual interest.

That completes my card for the challenge. Please visit us at The Inspiration Station Challenge, we would love to see how the inspiration photo inspired you. Also, the prize this round is a lovely Die Set from Spellbinders - the Kerria Japonica Flower Set.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

SSS Mon challenge

Altenew May Challenge

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Make My Monday

Get Creative

Dare 2B Artsy

Word Art Wednesday

Happy Little Stampers Dies

Sunday, May 15, 2022

I Pick You by Not 2 Shabby

Hello and Happy Sunday! I hope you're well and enjoying your weekend. Today I'm sharing a card created using the Stamp and Coordinating Die Set of the Month from Not 2 Shabby This month's set is titled "I Pick You" and features an adorable strawberry loving Gnomie couple!

I've colored the images with Spectrum Noir Illustrator Alcohol Markers and the die cut panel was made using a slimline die set from Alina Crafts. This is a standard slimline card meauring 8.5"x3.5".

The images were die cut with their coordinating dies; which are included in this monthly subscription. The images are quite large, as you can see against the slimline card measurements. The die cut windows in the focal panel have been backed with a subtle blue and white checked patterned paper from Carta Bella.

Stop by the Not 2 Shabby Shop and check out all the monthly subscription offerings. There is someting for everyone and every budget.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Happy Little Stampers Die Challenge

INTAAS - 3+ strawberries, 3 Die Cut Windows

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Fairy and Unicorn

Creative Fingers

Penny's Challenges

Birthday Kisses

Hello Crafty Friends! I'm on the Kat Scrappiness Blog today with a Birthday Card that features a mixed media vibe and one of the newest stencils. Before we get to my card, I want to remind everyone of the 50% off All Clearance Sale that is currently on offer at The Kat Scrappiness Shop. Stop by and check out the Clearance Category, now is a great time to get your hands on some crafty items!

Now for my card! I love stenciling on projects and have been active in my Art Journal so I've been "Mixed-Media" minded lately. This birthday card has a stenciled and inked background that is similar to how I break a blank page for my Art Journal.

Using shades of Pink and Purple Ink Sprays, I inked a background panel of watercolor card. Once completely dry, I've stenciled using the new Falling Hearts Stencil and a new Mini Stencil and Ink Blending Brush with ink in a shade of deep violet. I've added splatters of white and silver watercolor paint to the background for that artsy look.

To finish off the design, using the sentiment shadow from the Birthday Kisses Sentim ent Die, I've die cut from the panel, cut the wording from silver mirror card, adhered all together and popped on craft foam for dimension. Lastly, Pretty Pegasus Dual Colored Pearls and a doodled frame were added for additional interest.

That's all I have for you today. Have a wonderful day and until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Stargazer Lily by Varada Sharma Designs

Hello Crafty Friends! Today the team at Varada Sharma Designs is hosting an Instagram Hop and there are (3) $10 Gift Vouchers up for Grabs. You can find the Hop HERE starting at 10 AM CST (11 AM EST).

For My Hop project, I've colored the amazing and gorgeous Stargazer Lily Floral digi image. The image is so lovely and I wanted to keep the design Sweet and Simple, so I've created a Mini Slimline Card. This image is part of the larger Abundance of Joy Release for May 2022, which contains other great sets.

Using alcohol markers and a googled image, I've colored the flowers as close to a real example as I could get. The focal image has been cut using a Mini Slimline Cross Stitched Die from Kat Scrappiness.

The focal panel has been popped on craft foam for a bit of dimension and light pink gems have been added for added interest and shine. The sentiment is included in this digital set and I love the font.

That's all I have for today, a sweet and simple card. Please join us on Instagram for the Hop. You may be one of the 3 Lucky Winners!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

CRAFT

The Sisterhood of Crafters

Lil Red Wagon

Addicted to Stamps

Penny's Challenges

Word Art Wednesday

Elliebelle's Corner

Digi Choosday

Happy Little Stampers CAS

Ally's Angels

Sweet Stampers

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Bes-Teas by Not 2 Shabby

Hello Everyone! Today is new digital release day at the Not 2 Shabby Shop and the theme is Boba Tea. I have to admit, I did not know what Boba (also called Bubble Tea or Pearl Tea) was so I had to look it up.

"Bubble tea is a tea-based drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s. It most commonly consists of tea accompanied by chewy tapioca balls"

My card features several of the Bubble Teas, all hand colored with alcohol markers and placed on a stenciled background.

I've fussy cut all the bubble teas and popped them on craft foam. The Sentiment is included in the digital set and the background has been stenciled with the floating dots stencil from Kat Scrappiness.

In addition to stenciling with ink, I've went over the stencil with Cosmic Shimmer Glitter Paste for added sparkle and shine.

Starting Today, the Not 2 Shabby Digital Design Team is hosting an Instagram Hop! You'll want to Hop along HERE for your chance to win a $25 Gift Voucher to the Not 2 Shabby Shop.

Hope to see you at the Hop and until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Little Patch of Crafty Friends

Monday, May 9, 2022

Pammie's Inky Pinkies - Awesome Chick

Hello and Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed their Mother's Day yesterday and if you're not in the US and celebrated Mother's Day yesterday, I hope you had a lovely day anyway. My eldest son took me to lunch and then for ice cream afterwards, it was great to spend time with him and enjoy his sense of humor.

Today begins a new challenge week at Pammie's Inky Pinkies with a theme of Anything Goes. Our generous sponsor this round is Jan's Digi Stamps and I've had the pleasure of using an image from the Awesome Chick Digital Set for my card.

This chick just makes me smile, I think it's the adorable eyes and face. I've colored the scene with alcohol markers and die cut the focal panel with a frilled edge die from Crafter's Companion.

The sentiment is included in this digi set and I've die cut using an oval die, the focal panel was trimmed with gingham ribbon and popped on craft foam prior to adhering to card base. To finish off the design, I've added enamel dots from Kat Scrappiness.

Please join us this week at Pammie's Inky Pinkies, we would love to see your Anything Goes projects. Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Classic Design Challenge

Sunday, May 8, 2022

Varada Sharma Designs May 2022 New Release - Abundance of Joy

Happy Sunday! Today we celebrate Mothers here in the States but I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers all over the world.

Today is new release day at Varada Sharma Designs. The May 2022 release is titled Abundance of Joy and this set contains lovely images, sentiments and a cut file.

For my project today, I've colored an image from Tons of Love; this is a lovely Elephant image with gorgeous florals.

The image has been colored with alcohol markers and fussy cut. The background panel has been embossed with a leafy vine folder from Altenew and lightly inked.

The sentiment, which is included in this set, has been mounted on craft foam as well as the elephant image. Lastly, peridot green gems have been added for additional sparkle and shine.

Please visit the Varada Sharma Designs Shop to pick up a set from this new release or better yet, the entire release is available to purchase as a bundle.

Please check back on the 12th of May at 10 AM CST (11 AM EST) as the VS Team will be hosting an Instagram Hop and there will be an opportunity to win a Gift Voucher!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

CD Sunday

INTAAS

Stamping Sensations

We love Stamping

2 Crafty Critter Crazies

C.R.A.F.T Challenge - and entered at all stops along the Hop

The Fairy and the Unicorn

Use Your Stuff - Inspired by Movie "Out of Africa" with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Rise and Shine

Happy Saturday! It's time to Rise, Shine and be Sparkly. I've a quick post today sharing a card created with my new Visible Image Set titled Rise and Shine. This set has become a favorite of mine already.

I love the elements in this set and I purchased primarily for Art Journaling but it created a lovely card too. This card measures 5.5" square; you can compare the size of the Sun to the size of the card.

The images were stamped and heat embossed on watercolor card and panel was trimmed to allow a black mat to be placed behind.

Using Gansai Tambi watercolors, the panel was colored and splattered with white and silver splatters. No additional bells and whistles were added, I wanted this card to shine on it's own.

That's all I have for you today. Have a great day and until next time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Outlawz Festive Friday

Krafty Chicks

AYLI = my go to layout is an A2 but I also love creating 5.5" square cards

Crafting Happiness

Thursday, May 5, 2022

You Are Beautiful

Hi Crafty Friends! I'm on the Kat Scrappiness Blog today sharing a card created with a few of the newest products released in April 2022.

My card today features a Bokeh technique created using the new Floating Dots Stencil and the Stencil and Ink Small Blending Brushes.

To create this card, I first inked a panel of watercolor card using Dylusions Ink Sprays by Dyan Reavely. After the panel was thoroughly dry, I stenciled white pigment ink; turning the stencil in a couple of different orientations and varying my blending pressure, in order to get the Bokeh effect.

I trimmed the panel diagonally, cut off the points and adhered flat to the cardbase. Using the Friendship Greetings Stamp Set, I heat embossed the florals and sentiment on a piece of extra inked card. This strip was mounted on craft foam, a nesting of gold thread was added behind and strip was adhered with liquid adhesive. Lastly, Jasper Stone Dual Color Pearls were added for additional interest and shine.

This card was fast and fun to create. I love playing with ink sprays and the Bokeh Technique never disappoints. That's all I have for today, thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Until Next Time, Happy Crafting!

Donna

**Challenges Entered:

Creative Knockouts