Splitcoast Dirty Dozen January 2025

 

This card uses Spellbinder's quilt dies and Stampin' Up paper.

This card was definitely an adventure. I threw away 3 finished cards before settling on this one. It was settling, I am not very happy with this one either. I had a lot of difficulty using the glaze for the tiles. This one did turn out better than the other three, but not by a lot. The tiles are still not as smooth as I would have liked them. The image is colored with Copic markers.

I got this image probably ten years ago. I can't recall who offered it. I have wanted to color it for years. I finally got around to it.

I found an old image on the internet to use for this card.  I used a Stampin' Up stamp for the wood look background.

I found this image somewhere in my vast collection of digital images. I didn't write the maker down when I pulled it from the file, unfortunately. This is one of my favorite cards for this challenge.  I drew lines with a fine tip markers to extend the points of the poinsettia and colored the image with Copic markers. The papers are from Stampin' Up.

 I have used this image a few times, first in 2010. I call this "faux dotted swiss." I always color the dress the same way. I love the dotted swiss look.  The image is colored with Copic markers and the paper is from Stampin' Up.

Morgan's ArtWorld July 2025

 

 

 

I chose Wild 8 as my Creative Team entry for Morgan's Art World this month.  I used Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils and pastels to color this image. I colored this image last year, it was published on my blog in May 2025. I prefer the way that one came out,  oh well.  I have been trying to color the fur with small pencil strokes.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Dream Valley Challenge:  Anything Goes/Twist: For the Guys 

L'il Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations  Our Furry Friends 

Creative Fingers ; Anything Goes 

Krafty Chicks:  Masculine 

Moving Along with the Times:  Masculine 

 

July 2025 Special Cards

 

I made this card for my son-in-law Gabriel.  He is commissioning into the Arizona Army National Guard Reserves as a Chaplin Candidate.  He has been working on his Divinity Degree for a number of years and doesn't have long to go.When he completes his Masters in a few months, I believe.  He will be a Chaplin.  When he met my daughter he was in the Army training for Explosive Ordinance Disposal (Bomb Squad.)

My other projects this month are the Fourth of July cards for my five grandsons.  It is a tradition now that I make a crda for each grandson on every holiday.  I add a ten dollar bill in each one.  It''s not a lot, but it is 50.00 every holiday.  My oldest daughter shows them the cards and puts them back in the envelopes with the money so when they get older and understand about money they will have a little stash to spend on the fun things in life.

All images below are from Silhouette.  It saves a lot of time to use pre-printed images when I have to make so many. 

Lucas, age 12

 

 

Ethan, age 10

 

 

Logan, age 4

Aidan, age 2

 Ari, age 1

 

Splitcoast Dirty Dozen December 2024

 The Dirty Dozen theme for December 2024 was Wintergreen.

This is an image from Lili of the Valley.  Such a cute, chubbie little bird.  

I believe it is colored with pencils.

             The above image is from the Spellbinder's Betterpress Collection. 

It is colored with pencils.

              This is another image from the Spellbinder's Betterpress Collection. 

 It is colored with pencils. 

 Lastly, is another Betterpress image.  I have a stencil for this image, 

but I preferred to color it with pencils.

I actually ended up being two cards short.  I had re-injured my back.

Lighthouse

 

I used a lighthouse image that I got from Etsy.  I got a whole set and hey were very inexpensive!  I use the when I need a quick birthday card that involves almost no work.

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge Blog June 2025

 

I chose this beagle image for my card this month.  It is available at Morgan Fitzsimons Art Studio.  I colored the image with Copic markers.

Card for Aunt Katy

 

I made this birthday card for my Aunt Katy.  She's my favorite aunt.  Funny story, my second daughter was named after my Aunt Katy Brown, although I spelled it differently. Of course, my daughter had the last name Ahlers.  She ended up marrying someone with the name Brown.  Now there are two Katie Browns in my family!  Anyways I got my love of country decorating from my aunt.  I decided to make her a quilt card.  This was cut with my silhouette.  I went through mu stash of embellishments and found these cute flowers and bow already tied up perfectly.

Splitcoast Dirty Dozen-November 2024

I was on the design team for Morgan's ArtWorld for several years. I have a very large collection of her images due to design team work. This is one that I have done before. I have recently begun working on using pencils to add to areas with hair or fur. I like this one quite a bit better than the last time I colored it. I really enjoy learning new techniques, I study the work of artists I like. Then I try to replicate how they color. I don't copy their images just apply their techniques to whatever I want to color. This image was colored with Copics, Prismacolor pencils and pastels. The theme is "Into the Woods." I had almost forgotten how much I used to love coloring animals.  Maybe you'll see a lot more of them.

 

Christmas Cabin

I have had this Power Poppy image for quite a while. I had never colored it. When I saw the theme could include a cabin I remembered it right away. I added some Stickles to the snow. The small rope came with a hummingbird I bought last week. I had it sitting on my craft desk trying to figure out what to do with it. The light bulb finally turned on and I thought of using it to frame the image. It worked perfectly!

For Eileen

 I loved coloring this image. I have colored it several times over the years. She's just so adorable. The image is by Mo's Digital Pencil .  I colored it with Copics This is for my sister-in-law's mother. Unfortunately, she is nearing the end of life. I have been making cards and sending them to her over the past year. Unfortunately, she has recently lost her vision so she won't be able to see this darling baby fairy.

Looking for Her Prince

I thought of this image by Mo's Digital Pencil instantly when the theme was "In the Woods." It includes frogs.and a hollowed out tree This is another image that I have never colored. I am so happy that I am getting to use images that I hadn't used yet.This was colored with Copics.  I used a Spellbinder's die to frame this pretty little princess.

I love this "Into the Woods" theme. My passion has always been coloring animals. When I saw that animals were one of the things we could use I was thrilled. I haven't colored animals in so long. I had almost given up card making. The Dirty Dozen has brought joy back to my card making.

 This is my final card for the "In the Woods" theme.  Seemingly looks like a blizzard is taking place.  I was a little heavy handed on the snowflakes!  The image is from Lili of the Valley   He is such a sweet little snowman.  It is colored with Copic markers and Carbothello pastel pencils.   I'm not sure who the paper is from.  The sentiment is from LOTV, also.

 

 This card doesn't use the in the woods theme, but does use the card layout for November.  I used a Whimsy image and colored it with Copic markers.

 

Ari's First Birthday!

 

Our fifth grandson, Ari, is turning one.  I used this Mo's digital image that I've had for years.  I've gotten to use it a lot with five grandsons.  I colored the  image with Copic markers and used Spellbinber's dies to cut the card and papers.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

AAA Birthday - Anything Goes 

A Perfect Time to Craft - Anything Goes

Craft Galore Encore - Anything Goes 

Crafty Animals - Must Include an Animal 

Love to Craft - Anything goes 

Love to Scrap - Anything Goes

 

Morgans ArtWorld Challenge Blog May 2025

 

I chose the image Tiger 1 for the May 2025 challenge.  I have used this image a few other times.  I colored the image with Copic markers.  The paper is from Stampin' Up.

 

                                    I am entering this card in the following challenges - Birthday 

     Krafty Chick - Birthday

TicTacToe Challenge - Designers Picks 

Passion for Markers - Birthday

Digi Choosday - Anything Goes 

Dream Valley Challenge - Four Legged Friends

 

 

Some Cardinal Cards for Xmas

 

 

 

I made these cardinals and greens with dies from Honey Bee.  I recently saw some cards made from these dies on Pinterest.  I really loved them.  I did some research and found out who made them.  I signed in and looked at my account and realized I had allready purchased them.  Anyways, I cut out enough pieces to make four cards.  I have this years cards done already, but I want to make enough for next year also.  Now that I'm in my seventies I realize I never know when something might happen and I won't be able to get them done.  Right now, I'm being tested for glaucoma.  I won't get the results of that testing for another three weeks.

 

Now on to the cards.  Dies are by Honey Bee.  The paper is from Stampin' Up.  The sentiment is from Spellbinder's (on the top card). 

 

 

 

Dirty Dozen/ October 2024 (I had to wait 6 months to post)

 

 

This is a digital image purchased on Etsy from Coloring Books 2020.  I finally got around to coloring her.  She is colored with Luminance and Polychromos pencils.  The papers are from Stampin' Up.

I've had this stamp for a while and haven't used it. This is perfect for the current theme. I met all these wonderful ladies when I worked in Manzanita Elementary. We worked together for over twenty years and we became quite good friends. This stamp reminds me of a get together we had at my house years ago. We got together and I made homemade pizzas and everyone brought something wonderful to eat. We decided to play with my kids' Nintendo system. We did bowling, tennis and a few other games. A bunch of older ladies trying to learn how to play the Nintendo. One of the funniest memories was Miss Christine always letting go of the bowling ball while her hand was moving back. We would all scream as if the ball was actually going to hit us. We never laughed so hard,

I have always loved this image. I made this for my dearest friend who puts light into everyone's life. Mo's Digital Pencil is my go to for stamp images. I must have close to 1,000 images. I was in the mood for pencils today so I used them on all today's cards. I don't recall who the paper is from. It could be Stampin' Up, but I'm not sure.

 Both of my daughters are having significant weight loss. One has lost about 150 pounds so far and the other 75 pounds, and is at her goal weight. Me? I'm just moseying along losing a pound here or there even though I am working my (you know what) off at the gym! I'm very proud of my girls. This is another image from Mo's Digital Pencil. I swear she has an image for every occasion! It is also colored with Prismacolor pencils. The paper is from Stampin' Up.

My brother has ridden motorcycles since he was about ten. He still does. Last year he went to Sturgis, South Dakota for the motorcycle rally. This was the first year my sister-in-law went along. Well, actually she flew out there from New Jersey and flew back, but she did ride around Sturgis with him in his sidecar. I don't blame her for not wanting to cross the country in the sidecar. The motorcycle rider looks quite like my brother. My sister-in-law is going to kill me when she sees her image. Not really, she will take it well. After all, I did not draw the image!

 My final card for October used their sample layout.  It's a Halloween card for my grandson Ethan.  I used images from Bontik Vintage Designs on Etsy.  The ghosts and bats are from Spellbinder's dies.

Birthday Card for Ethan

 

I finished this card right before leaving for Ethan's birthday party so I completely forgot to photograph it.  It's nice to have a picture of him holding it, though.  This was a quickie cut with my Silhouette Cameo.  His mom just redid his bedroom in a space theme as his birthday gift.

Easter Cards for the Grandkids 2025

 

 

 

These card kits were purchased from Paper Craft Secrets.It was meant to be cut on my Silhouette, but I couldn't get it to work.  I'll have to figure that out.  I ended up fussy cutting everything.  This wa my first attempt at shaker cards.