A Very Long Two Years

Greetings Everyone -

I wanted to let everyone know I have not fallen off the face of the planet, I have been in school and working outside the home.  I am happy to report I have completed school, which means I will have time to start drawing again.  I can say I have not done much creative items since 2014 and I am quite excited to start again.  Drawing has always been my outlet, I am quite excited to get back into drawing!  I am not sure how much time I will be able to dedicate to the Digi Shoppe but I do know it will no longer go unattended.  I miss blogging and I miss drawing so at least one of those things will start happening again.

Thank you for your continued support over the past two years and I look forward to see what 2016 brings!

Amanda :) 

Freebie Friday - Football

The Superbowl is this weekend and if you are like me you do not have a horse in the race this year.  I do love football but I could really care less who wins this year (sorry bitter Packers Fan here).  Anyways in honor of this grand tradition I drew the Football Trophy (not sure the Copyrights on Lombardi Trophy so I named it Football Trophy).

My husband and I go to a Superbowl Party every year and eat copious amounts of Chili I personally cannot wait to eat my friends chili (he only makes it once a year for Superbowl).  I am making my Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes but am going to attempt them Gluten Free (I really hope they turn out, fingers crossed).

Don't forget today was Newsletter Day!  The first of every month I release a Newsletter featuring a new unreleased digital stamp set or paper pack.  I also offer a free unreleased digital stamp with the Newsletter (this month stamp is in honor of Donald Driver who retired yesterday).  If you missed our Newsletter visit our Facebook Page for the link to our Newsletter (of course we love New Fans!)

Click the picture to download your stamps

I hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys the game!

Freebie Friday - An Alien For Christmas

We listen to some pretty non-traditional Christmas songs in our house this time of year.  The Star Wars Christmas Album (yes it does exist), Banjo music, Charlie Brown, Dogs Barking Jingle Bells, the Nutcracker and a hodge podge that my husband downloaded years ago when Napster was big.  One of the "hodge podge" Christmas CDs we listen to has a song called, "I Want An Alien For Christmas" it is by Fountains of Wayne.  It is a funny song, very catchy and Booga LOVES it, last year he would dance and scream "I WANT ALIEN!"

I am not quite in the holiday spirit yet, I am sure after this weekend I will be, we are decorating this weekend.  I did have my first Peppermint Hershey's Kiss which did help move me towards that Christmas Spirit.

Click the Alien to download your Freebie

Don't forget to sign up for our Monthly Newsletter which comes out December 1st!  A new unreleased stamp is provided in each newsletter.

Love is Eternal

Bookmarks have been my project(s) this week and I made this one using A.J.'s Digi Shoppe's digital Hearts paper and the Foxes freebie that was available in February's A.J.'s Digi Shoppe Newsletter.

Front and Back pictured

I love that A.J.'s Digi Shoppe now offers its fabulous digis in color as well as black and white.  I printed the digis much smaller than I would have if I had to color them in by hand.  I also have been inspired by the many varieties of hearts paper that Amanda created, these two are particularly fun. 

Project Design: Dawn Taylor
Digital Stamps/Papers Design: Amanda Marks
Acrylic Stamp (sentiment): Autumn Leaves Stampology
Paper: Staples Cardstock
Inks: Colorbox pigment ink
         Ranger Tim Holtz Distress ink
Adhesive: Beacon 3-in-1 advanced craft glue
Misc: acrylic yarn from stash

Moon & Stars Ornaments

I like to add a few new ornaments to my Christmas Tree every year.  This year I have been feeling less than energetic so I made very simple ornaments using A.J.'s Digi Shoppe's Cow over the moon digi stamp (minus the cow) as the template.  You can find digi's from the 'Hey Diddle Diddle' collection here.  I printed the stamp onto regular cardstock then cut out the images and traced around them onto some stiff, glittery felt I found at my local Dollarstore.  I glued the stars onto the moons and used some wrapping cord from the Dollarstore as a hanger. This is very simple and could be done by children and yet the finished effect is quite pretty and will be a nice addition to our tree this year.

Ornament Design: Dawn Taylor
Digi Stamp Design: Amanda Marks
Paper: Staples Cardstock
Glue: Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
Misc Supply: Glitter felt and Wrapping cord from the Dollarstore

Snowy Owl



Wintery Wonderland



 For my second A.J.'s Digi Shoppe design team submission this month, I tore myself away from Amanda's adorable Halloween designs and made a Christmas card.  I think this Christmas Owl is very cute and he looks so cozy in his scarf and toque (that is winter hat, for all you non-Canadians out there.)  Find Owls here. I also used Amanda's Let it Snow/Snowflakes Freebie which is available here. 
Card Design: Dawn Taylor
Digital Stamp Design: Amanda Marks
Paper: Recollections Cardstock
           K and Company Seasonal Paper Pad (code:655713)
Cut with: Fiskars Paper Edgers (Ripple)
              Tim Holtz Tonic scissors
Colored with: Laurentien Studio Series Coloured Pencils
                      Bic Mark Its
                      Perfect Pearls Spray
Adhered with: Duck brand double sided tape
                      Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced craft glue
Misc. Supplies: Inkssentials Glossy Accents

 

Too cute...



One of the many perks of subscribing to A.J.'s Digi Shoppe Newsletter is that you receive an exclusive free digi every month! This adorable Mummy Monster digi is the lastest free offer to subscribers.  Don't miss out on these great free digis ever again! Subscribe here. I used seasonally patterned papers to turn this cute digi into a too cute card for Halloween.
Card Design: Dawn Taylor
Digi Stamp Design: Amanda Marks
Colored with: Laurentien Studio Series coloured pencils
Paper: K and Company Seasonal Paper (card and edging)
           K and Company Kelly Panacci Specialty Paper (sentiment)
           Staples cardstock
Adhered with: Scotch Quick Dry adhesive
                      Elmer's rubber cement
                      Dollar store foam tape
Misc. Supplies: Inkssentials Glossy Accents
                        Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Peeled Paint

You had me at GRRR!

Frankly my dear...
Digi stamps & papers: Frankenstein and Mrs. Frankenstein, and Leaf Paper Pack

Markers: BIC Mark-Its

Accessories: Club Scrap paper roap, Sakura Hobby Crafts 3D Crystal Lacquer, Foam Tape, Zots Bling Dots 

You all know I LOVE these owls and the leafy papers from AJs Digi Shoppe...I just had to create one more card with the Franken-owls. My huband Bill and I love the movie The Young Dr. Frankenstein so I thought this would be a fun thinking of you card to send to him around Halloween. 

I layered my digital cardstock in my Microsoft Publisher program and created my sentiment there as well. I then printed out the stamps, layered cardstocks and sentiment. After coloring the digis with BIC Mark-Its, I highlighted the owls' eyes with Sakura Hobby Crafts 3D Crystal Lacquer and trimmed out the papers, sentiment and owls. The owls were attached with foam tape to the leafy paper, The paper rope was attached with Zots Bling Dots. The whole thing was layered onto a card base with foam tape. 

I hope you enjoy my card--it made the husband smile! Thank you for looking!

Not Finished Folder

12 inch x 18 inch Folder  I made for Works In Progress

I created a folder for my 'works in progress' from the front and back cover of a dollar store children's scrapbook.  I used several Deco Arts paints mixed with Deco Arts Blush and Blend extender and Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist in perfect pearl to create my background. I used Amanda Marks' adorable caterpillar and the very realistic mushroom from her A.J.'s Digi Shoppe Bugs collection which are available here.  I drew the large flowers myself and colored the stamps and my flowers with school grade Buffalo watercolor paints and Stabilo Funcolor pencils.  I used Elmer's Rubber Cement as a masking agent  for the swirls on the mushroom cap.  I used a scrap of K and Company Paper and Bic Mark Its to make the banner and added dollar store 3D stickers as embellishment.  I used Elmer's Craft Bond Spray Adhesive to afix all of my paper elements to my folder, and held the folder together with Reflectix Metal Tape, covered with dollar store ribbon.