At the risk of losing you on the *very* first sentence of this post, I am going to share a revelation I had… there are just 67 days to Christmas! Yikes!!! I have a bigger Christmas card list this year than ever before, so I need to get started and ASAP! And this is a great time to remind you that you have until November 1st to enter the Jan’s Digi Stamps Challenge. So with that, I present today’s card using this fun set from Jan’s Digi Stamps called Over the River.

I am going to get so much use out of this set!!! I love that the stack of presents can be used not just for Christmas but also for a birthday card too when paired with another sentiment. But for today’s card I used the car image and one of the three sentiments included in the set. I printed the black and white version of the image not knowing what patterned paper I would use and if the colored version would coordinate. I found this great village scene paper in my stash with non-traditional Christmas colors which I thought was fun. It made it a little tricky to color but it was good practice for my coloring mixing skills with Prismacolor pencils. In addition to colored pencils, I also added silver gel pen for the trim and I added Crystal Stickles to the snow in the image. My focal point was just the right size and shape to work with the current My Favorite Things sketch, so I cut some paper strips to use as the other elements. Here is a picture of the sketch #511:

The patterned paper and focal image were die cut with Pink and Main Rounded Stitched Rectangle dies. The lighter green strip of paper is actually white paper covered in Evergreen Bough Distress Oxide ink as I didn’t have cardstock to match and the pink and green together was a little… much. The focal is popped up in fun foam for dimension. I’m actually really pleased with how this turned out and it reminds me of a custom, mint colored VW Bug an ex-boyfriend had back when I was in high school. I was thrilled to find that I had sequins in my stash that matched, and the shimmer of the Stickles has a pink and green flecks to the glitter that just makes this card come together in real life!!! I know the picture doesn’t do it justice, but you know I just gotta try to share the shimmer in a close up (or two)!

That’s it for me, but you, my friends, still have work to do!!! LOL! You should hop over to the Jan’s Digi Stamps Challenge to see what beautiful creations my teamies made for you! And while you are there, you should link up your most recent project or two in the challenge! We are truly an Anything Goes challenge so it need not include digi stamps or paper…. your latest quilt, beaded project, crocheted scarf, or baked cookies are perfect entries too. Whatever your craft, you can enter it here for a chance to win Jan’s digis from the Jan’s Digi Stamps Store! And you can enter up to 5 times per challenge, so remember to come back again throughout the month. I hope you have gotten a start on your holiday cards so you can relax and try to enjoy the Christmas season in this strange year. Cards have never been more important than now, when we can’t always see our friends and family but we can always let them know they are in our hearts when we send them a card made *just* for them!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

• My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge – #511 – ends 10/20
• Crafty Creations – October – #414 – Anything Goes – ends 11/3
• Creative Moments – #200 – Anything Goes – ends 10/20
• Fezziwigs Festive Frolics – Christmas Textures – ends 10/20 NP
• The Paper Funday – October – #22 – Anything Goes – ends 11/1
• Word Art Wednesday – #460-461 – Anything Goes – ends 10/20
• Crafty Sentiment Designs – Anything Goes – ends 10/19
• Digi Choosday – Week 41 – Anything Goes – ends 10/22
• Ike’s World – #137 – V is for Vehicles – ends 11/3
• TTCRD – October 13 – Anything Goes – ends 10/20
• Colouring in Scrapland – October – Anything Goes – ends 11/1
• Corrosive Challenge – #10 – Anything Goes – ends 10/30
• A Gem of a Challenge – Week 21 – Anything Goes – ends 10/20
• Jingle Belles – I’m Dreaming of a Pink Christmas – ends 10/22 NP but for Breast Cancer Awareness
• Crafters Cafe – #253 – Use Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness – ends 10/30
• Creatalicious – #197 – Anything Goes – ends 10/30
• Creative Inspirations – October – Anything Goes – ends 11/3
• Christmas Kickstart – #40 – Pink Christmas – ends 10/26
• A Bit More Time to Craft – #126 – Anything Goes – ends 10/30
• A Perfect Time to Craft – October – #10 – ends 10/28
• Artsy Stamper – October – Travel – ends 10/31
• Crafts Galore Encore – October – #80 – Anything Goes – ends 10/30
• Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper – October – ends 10/31
• Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas – #512 – Anything Christmas Goes – 10/23
• CCC Digis – #119 – Anything Goes – ends 10/31
• Colour Crazy – Week 41 – Anything Goes – ends 10/31
• 12 Months of Christmas – #70 – Colour Challenge – ends 10/31
• Color My Heart Color Dare – #415 – ends 10/22
• Cardz TV – #125 – Anything Goes – ends 10/22
• Little Patch of Crafty Friends – #144 – Anything Goes – ends 10/30
• Polkadoodles – Week #42 – Anything Goes – ends 10/27

I’m always so excited to bring this post to you each month! This is my favorite project to work on because it not only makes me use all the goodies I’ve squirreled away but I get to share with you some of the best crafters you will ever find but may never of heard of before! Our little hop group has SO much talent! And its always fun to see their takes on the monthly prompts. If you haven’t been here before, welcome to my little home on the internet! If you arrived here from Martha Lucia Gomez of Joy Clair fame, than you have already seen some of the goodness this hop produces! After me, your next stop is the spectacular and talented Danielle Brown, who designs for Joy Clair and Dare 2B Artzy! You don’t want to miss out on her post!!! I’ll link to her again at the end too for your convenience, as well as the full hop schedule. This month the prompt is Halloween/Fall cards and/or Sequins. So many possibilities! Let’s get to it!

It wouldn’t be a Collected Crafty Collabs hop if I didn’t include a squirrel image (or two)! I started with this adorable squirrel from Gerda Steiner’s Happy Fall and colored him with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. For the background, I used an assortment of Distress Oxides and ink blended on bristol paper. I wanted to die cut leaves, and glue them on the card base in the same place they were cut from the ink blended panel so I made a template with copy paper to help me. It would take longer to type out the steps than it did to do it and I know y’all have probably done this yourselves so we’ll skip the details (if questions, pop them in the comments!). I then *painstakingly* glued color coordinating sequins to the die cuts and adhered the negative ink blended piece over top with with foam tape. I die cut a larger leaf out of vellum to ground my little squirrel, added a sentiment strip, popped it up on the front and this card was complete! Here is a closer look:

This process gave me another idea, so the overachiever in me whipped up another card! Same, but different!

This time I simplified the process by making it a shaker card. I randomly ink blended a bristol card panel, this time with another assortment of Oxides. Again I die cut a bunch of the leaf dies but this time we’re not using them for the background. Instead, I ink blended a lighter color on the card front to shine through the apertures. I added acetate and foam tape to the front panel, making small wells for each die cut leaf. I added a ton of sequins and microbeads to each well and then lined up my ink blended card base and pressed to secure all those shiny goodies within! I used sentiments from Neat & Tangled’s Into the Woods (which sadly does not have a squirrel image) and (bravely) stamped directly on the ink blended piece. Had I not forgotten to stamp the sentiment until it was assembled, I would have heat embossed the sentiment. Here is another view of the card:

And because I can’t help myself (and I have more squirrel sets than we have months in the hops) I have a 3rd card for you!

Sweet, right? This uses a scene stamp from Darcie’s called Autumn Scene and a sweet squirrel from the Hello Bluebird Woodland Littles set. I could have masked the squirrel into the scene but I didn’t think of it until it was too late so I fussy cut him out. Once again I used my Prismacolor pencils for the coloring on this card. I stamped a background stamp from Impression Obsession aptly called Woodgrain directly on the kraft card base. I used another IO set called Gourdous for the small sentiment, which was die cut with a Creek Band Creations tag die. I added a tiny twine bow and of course the monthly prompt of sequins! Here is a closeup:

I could have made another 3 cards for Halloween if I had started sooner, but I simply ran out of time. I did not come anywhere near close to running out of sequins… those things must multiply in the drawer! OK, as promised here is your hop list:

• Karen Page – YOU ARE HERE
• Danielle Brown
• Charlotte Ehrukainen
• Yvette Olea
• Anna Mahtani
• Teresa Russell
• Donna Perisic
• Boryana Yankova
• Marie Bingaman
• Lisa Cmay
• Lounon Riviere
• Tracy Shultz
• Virginia Fairchild
• Valerie Powell
• Mary Ellen Driggs
• Natasha Davies
• Sam McLean
• Martha Lucia Gomez

Thanks for visiting me today! Subscribe if you like what you see or check me out on IG @misplacedmojo to follow me there! I hop you take the 20 mins or so to hop along because I know you will be blown away!!!

I am submitting one of these cards to the following challenges:

• Colour Crazy – Week #37 – Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz – #520 – Anything Goes w/opt Colors of Autumn
• Cut it Up – #209 – Happy Fall Y’all + at least 3 layers
• Crafty Gals Corner – #211 – Fall Colors
• Mod Squad – Autumn Foliage
• Simon Says Stamp – Animal Antics
• The Card Concept – #140 – Fanciful Fall (classy & elegant… well, for a squirrel card!)

• The Paper Funday – #21 – Anything Goes w/opt Autumn/Fall
• Always Fun Challenge – #182 – Die Cutting
• Bastel Traum – #93 – Autumn – ends 10/15
• Creative Craft Cottage – #133 – Add an Animal
• Kleurin Met Potloden – September – Animals
• The Crafting Challenge – September – Anything Goes
• 613 Avenue Create – September Anything Goes – ends 10/2
• Stamping Sensations – September – The Great Outdoors

#samesetsyndromeaugust

Welcome to the August Same Set Syndrome hop! If this is your first time here, I’m Karen and our hop group showcases a small independent stamp company each month to promote them and hopefully introduce you to new-to-you products! You should have come here from the talented and sweet Michelle Margaret. Your next stop after me is the amazing and spectacular Renee Moran! I’ll be sure to link to her again at the bottom of the post.

This month, we are showcasing Create and Inkspire, the newest company on the block, owned by Courtney Kreeber. In addition to an online publication, Create and Inkspire offers a monthly themed card kit, and I’ll be using the July kit along this hop. If you are a follower of mine, you know I’ve been getting crazy crafty with the debut kit for the last month. If you aren’t already a follower of my blog, consider leaving this tab open when you hop onto the next stop and check out my other posts. I’d love if you would subscribe to my blog and/or follow me on Instagram @misplacedmojo if you like what you see! This is my take on the C&I July card kit:

Until this card, I had used everything else in the kit at least once except the cloud and grass stencil so I was eager to use that for today’s card! I used makeup brushes and Distress Oxide inks to create a simple and soft background for my floral scene. Once the inks were dry enough to handle, I die cut the panel with a Pink & Main stitched rounded rectangle die. I stamped multiple floral images and watercolored them with Tombow markers, my go-to medium for flowers as it provides me the most control without getting too fussy. Speaking of fussy, I fussy cut the images out which is very simple to do with these images. I popped them all up on foam tape, adding a 2nd layer to the middle flower, and placed them on the panel. The kit comes with a 3×4 stamp set of just sentiments, which I love. I cut my sentiment at an angle for interest. I used a Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen to add some shimmer to the flowers. Here is a couple close ups:

Next on the hop is Renee Moran, who will knock your socks off!

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop!

I am submitting this card to the following challenges:

• A Perfect Time to Craft – Sept – #9 – Anything Goes
• The Artistic Stamper – Sept – A Stitch in Time – ends 9/30 I used a stitched rectangle die from Pink and Main to die cut my focal panel
• Classic Design Challenge – Sept – #9 – Anything Goes
• Creatalicious – #194 – Anything Goes
• Happy Craft Challenge – Aug 15th – Sept 15th – Anything Goes
• Pearly Sparkles – #55 – Traci’s Recipe – Pink/Pearls/Sparkle
• The Crafting Challenge – Sept – Anything Goes
• Dare2BArtzy – August – Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Craftty Friends – #140 – Anything Goes
• Gem of a Challenge – Week 18 – Anything Goes
• Time Out Challenge – #169 – Season (summer)
• Crafty Creations – Sept – #413 – Anything Goes
• Crafty Gals Corner – #210 – Summer Fun
• Simon Says Stamp – Wednesday – Stamp It
• The Paper Funday – Sept – #21 – Anything Goes