Tag Archives: Ways to Use It Challenge

Silent Gnight – Gnovember TCP Release

Posted on November 3, 2022 | Leave a comment

Happy Gnovember, Everyone!  Oh what fun I’m having with this month’s TCP release.  Alma shared several of the fun gnomes already, and I’m joining in the fun with this Gnome Christmas Trees Digital Stamp.  I made two cards to share today.  On this first one, I wanted to use some of the fun Christmas DSP that I have in my collection.  How much patterned paper do you have in your collection?  Sometimes I have to remind myself to use it.  And when I do remind myself to use it, I often look to old Sketch Challenges for layout ideas.  This one uses SC261.  For my second card I had an idea to play around with the digital stamp to make an icy reflection in front of the gnomes.

I’ve always been really bad at mirror image stamping with rubber or clear stamps, so I love how easy it was to reflect the gnomes on the icy ground with the digital stamps.  I also used today’s Ombre Ways to Use It Challenge to inspire my coloring of the gnomes’ hats and the sky.

And what would a Christmas card be without some glitter.  I hope you’ve enjoyed my cards and that you’ll have as much fun with this Gnovember release as I have.

Here are the products that I used today:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

  

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Penguins of October – TCP Release

Posted on October 23, 2022 | Leave a comment

I couldn’t let October pass without playing with the fun penguins from The Cats Pajamas October release!  My first card features the Happy Pumpkin Day digital stamp.  I made this card for this week’s Ways to Use It Challenge to use buttons. That challenge gave me just right idea to put my project over the top.  I little (but giant for the penguin) button on his scarf.  Doesn’t he looks so stylish?  I don’t know about you, but fall means plaid to me, and I had an idea to print out the buffalo check pattern from the Black & White Spring Digi Papers.  I never knew I needed digital paper until these came out.  I love the printer-friendly black and white and I love adding a little something to them.  This time, I used my Copic markers to make a colorful fall plaid.  You know a Jen card is never finished without a little bit of sparkle.  I couldn’t find a place to add Stickles to this one, so I went with Wink of Stella on the jack o’lantern face, the scarf, and the small pumpkin.

For my second card, I wanted to play with the Gobble It Up Digistamps.  This time, I checked the Free for All Challenge for inspiration–use dies.  I did use some retired dies on my card, but to go with the cutting theme, I chose to try out the Triple Side Step Cutable.

What a fun and easy to use cut file.  I love that it not only cuts the card base, but also cuts the matting pieces!  It was so easy, I made two!  I used my ScanNCut to cut two bases, then I cut the other pieces with two different papers, so I could mix and match.  I stuck with the same marker color palette, because turquoise just looks so good with orange.  You’ll notice I also couldn’t stop the plaid–adding some simple lines to give the tablecloth some character.  The sparkle on this card ended up on the leaves.

I hope you like what I’ve done with these fall penguins and I hope you’ll get a chance to play along with them too!

Here are the products that I used today:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

 

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Here I Am – Ways to Use It Challenge #918

Posted on October 14, 2022 | Leave a comment

For this week’s Ways to Use It Challenge, Polly challenged us to be inspired by a fairy tale. “Fairy tale” is a keyword that I use in my Color My Life stamps database, so that was easy. But I didn’t want a princess because I needed a card for my boss for Boss’s Day. Although, I have a new boss as of next week. This is one last card from the team before we break up. The entire sentiment is “Every once in a while someone amazing comes into your life.  And here we are.  You’re welcome.”

As is my usual routine, I made a second card.  But the second one said this:

As always, if you’d like to use this on your cards just right click on the images above and save it to your computer.  If you use it, I’d love to see it, so please tag me @cardsbyjennifrann and #thestampingactuary.

I started with the frog prince and felt like pairing him with a fun background from my background drawer. So then I had the card almost all finished with the background stuck down and the sentiment popped up and couldn’t figure out how to ground the frog. That’s when I turned and saw these two leafy branches left over from my last card. I tucked them in behind him and voila! I love it when a plan comes together.

Linking to the following challenges:

Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Let It Snow, Man – TCP August Release

Posted on August 14, 2022 | Leave a comment

We’re sticking with the Christmas/Winter theme in the August TCP release.  And this release includes one of my favorite sets ever!  Let the Flakes Fly.

For this card I also used the Home for the Holidays digi stamps to set the scene for these jammin’ snowmen.  I used my Brother laser printer to print a repeated row of houses and music notes to foil them.  Yes, I still think the foiling process is magic and I will never get tired of it.  I colored and cut the snowmen and set them down on some snow that I embossed with sheet music to keep the theme going.  Honestly, I never would have embossed the snow, but Polly’s Ways to Use It Challenge this week was Double Embossing.  Although she specifically said don’t heat emboss our embossing folder results.  I’m a rebel and I heat embossed the sheet music with glitter EP.  But also a rule follower, so I embossed the sentiments.

I told you that I already have the clear stamp version of these snowmen, but let’s chat about the advantage of the digital stamps.  You can make them any size you want.  What a difference to be able to let this sax player really shine!

Here’s an older card that I made with this set for last Christmas.  It was one of my favorites of all my 2021 Christmas cards!

I hope you’ll grab this set from the TCP store and Let the Flakes Fly!

Click the links below for the products that I used today:

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Happy Panda – Ways to Use It Challenge #852

Posted on July 8, 2021 | 3 comments

Thursday means it’s time for the Ways to Use It Challenge.  Cathy’s challenge today is “Some Like it Hot”. I decided to go with hot coffee, because this sweet panda was on my to do list. I swear I’ve used him before, but I cannot find any evidence of that. I still have a stack of cards from “Kendra’s Card Challenge #2”–a great card challenge to use six 6×6 papers to create 14 cards. I made the cards as bases to add critters to gradually.

I chose this one because it has the warmest color background. This is the beginning of a sentiment from Crackerbox & Suzy that says “Money may not buy happiness, but I’d rather cry in a Jaguar than on the bus”. I changed it to say this:

I almost always make two of each card.  As long as I’m making one card, I might as well make two.  That way I can really build up my stash.  For my second card, I had a card base that had a coffee theme on the background.

I also love this sentiment stamp from Crackerbox & Suzy.  Here’s the inside:

I generally have a tough time coloring pandas.  Coloring any animal with black on it’s face is hard.  I think I found a great color combo for this one.  I used BV23, BV25, and BV29.  It produced a black enough feel with a light enough color to not lose his facial features. His cheeks are R20 and R22, dishes are SN GT1 and GT2, coffee and frosting are SN EB5, EB6, and EB7, donut is E31 and E35, shading on white is C0 and C1.

This card is also for the following challenges:

Fun & Quirky

Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Ransom Letter Birthday – Ways To Use It Challenge #849

Posted on June 17, 2021 | 2 comments

It’s Thursday and time for another Ways to Use It Challenge.  Toni challenge us to use newsprint today.  I grabbed another piece of my very old newspaper (from 1888) to make a masculine birthday card. The bottom and right edges are naturally distressed. The left and top edges were torn this morning. This thin paper is very easy to tear exactly how I want it. Even though it is my nephew’s birthday tomorrow, this is actually for a friend who asked me to make a birthday card for her nephew. I thought the Big News sentiment would be awesome for this challenge, so I to the idea to combine pieces of different sentiments and make it into a ransom note style.

But it was kind of boring when I put it together. So I added some blueprint stamps to the paper and assembled the card. That’s when I realized it was still boring and I should have heat embossed the sentiments. But it was too late for that. So I added Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the colored letters and traced over the black letters with black glaze pen. Now it’s go the texture and shine that I want.

I also needed a First Communion card for a little boy and I like the way this old newspaper looks behind the First Communion  cut-out.  The newspaper happens to be The Congregationalist – a Christian newspaper.  I die cut “Smile, Rhys” from glitter fun foam.

You can see part of the 1888 date on the top of that photo.  I think it’s amazing that this paper is in such good shape still.  I feel kind of guilty cutting it up and using it for cards, but at the same time, it’s pretty neat to give it a new life.  I hope these cards are cherished for a long time.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Do Epic Stuff – Ways to Use It Challenge #848

Posted on June 10, 2021 | 2 comments

Today’s Ways to Use It Challenge is torn paper.  I always love the look of torn paper masking, so that is my choice for Sabrina’s challenge. I tore some mountains and sponged them and stamped them with the Weathered stamp according to the Faux Tearing Tutorial. Then I tore another paper to sponge the ground and stenciled in some clouds. I just got this stamp set in the mail yesterday. The Cat’s Pajamas has 1/2 off everything right now and you know I can’t resist a sale like that.  I was excited to get this and another graduation stamp set.  I’ve felt like I don’t have any graduation card mojo lately.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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All Dressed Up – Ways To Use It Challenge #845

Posted on May 20, 2021 | 2 comments

We are dressing up the gallery for Toni’s Ways to Use It Challenge today. I chose this Bugaboo digi that I’ve never used. I think she looks rather fashionable in her high heels. And I went to the Bugaboo Challenge Blog for some extra inspiration from this week’s Stella Says Sketch Challenge.

To really dress up my card, I stamped these two-step Waffle Flower dresses all over the background.

I find the stamps a little bit difficult to line, but they have a more handstamped look, right?  That’s what I tell myself at least.  I colored the Bugaboo image with my Spectrum Noir and Copic Markers.

Skin: R20, YR02, YR00, E00 | Hair: E23, E25, E29

I was never as skinny as this girl, but I do fondly remember when buying jeans didn’t make me cry.

Linking to these two other challenges:

Word Art Wednesday – Anything Goes Challenge

Bugaboo Bi-Weekly Anything Goes Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Paper Pieced Scene – Ways to Use It Challenge #844

Posted on May 13, 2021 | 2 comments

Thursdays mean Ways to Use It Challenge.  Cathy’s challenge today is to “Take the Scenic Route.”  You know how much I love to make a scene. I had just the right stamps that I just got with some of my Waffle Flower winnings from a recent Weekly Challenge.  This sweet Summer Time stamp set. I decided today’s scene would be made on a postage stamp and combined with the Waffle Flower Weekly Challenge which is Paper Piecing.

I really took that paper piecing challenge and ran with it. Took out my drawer of small scraps of paper and picked out good pieces for each image.  I really like the sky.  It’s actually cut from a get well card that a friend sent me last year when I had my gallbladder removed.  Never throw anything away.

This was really fun, if a bit fiddly and time-consuming, to make.  So much fussy cutting.  And glue.  And just a bit of Stickles in the flower center to make it sparkle.  Make sure you check out the Waffle Flower Weekly Challenges!  They’re really fun and all the entries have been pretty fabulous.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

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Baby, Yoda Best! – Ways to Use It Challenge #842

Posted on April 29, 2021 | 2 comments

Today’s Ways to Use It Challenge is to use washi tape.  Actually, I think the challenge may have just been to use tape, but that translates in my head to “use up some of that washi tape you’ve been collecting”.  I needed a card for my godson’s birthday, and, well, you’re never too old for Baby Yoda, am I right?  I bought this “Baby On Board” set from The Ink Road Stamps purely because I wanted to put hats on his head.  The party hat is from a Fiskars birthday set.  I printed the sentiment and stamped on Fabriano Hot Press paper, so I could watercolor him with my Spectrum Aqua markers:

So quick and easy.  I said that I bought this stamp set to put hats on Baby Yoda, and while that is true, I also couldn’t quite resist this image that I put on the inside of the card.  The sentiment is one of my favorites from the Power Poppy “Short Stacks” stamp set.

For the background, I dug through my little drawer of washi tape and picked out the most silver, metallic, space-age tapes that I have. I thought it would look the best randomly taped over a galaxy-type background. For this galaxy background, I grabbed a piece of blue cardstock and randomly sponged a few different blue and black Distress Oxide inks all over it. Then I smeared some black Stickles around the paper and finished with a splatter of white acrylic paint.

I’m entering this card into two “Anything Goes” challenges today:

Word Art Wednesday

Simon Says Stamp – Wednesday Challenge

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

 

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