Merry Cactus!

Hello everyone - time for my Die Cut Diva inspiration post! I'm sharing the first card below at the Divas HERE but you can only find the details, plus bonuses, right here!!

Supplies: Paper - Neenah Solar White; 

Paper Studio Holiday

Digi - Whimsy Lounge Lizard 

Stamps - Hero Arts Merry Cactus to You (retired)

Dies - AJVD Stitched Dot Rectangle Backdrop Set;

Hero Arts Tag Frame Infinity Dies (retired)

Other - Copic Markers; foam tape; 

Hero Arts Sparkle Lacquer; Glossy Accents

The Divas have no "sponsor" this month but Whimsy has donated a lovely $15 gift card to their online store. Thanks Whimsy!! We will award the prize by random drawing on February 3rd. 

I love Whimsy & have enjoyed seeing their digital releases but hadn't been able to buy any until now. Now that I finally have a new printer - woo hoo, I invested in a few of them. I downloaded Lounge Lizard last week and it's getting first play here - so fun to color!!

Sized the image in Word and printed. Allowed to dry thoroughly, then die cut with a stitched rectangle. Colored with Copics and added sparkle to the star & Glossy Accents to the light bulbs and the lizard's eyes. Stamped an old HA cactus sentiment on a scrap of white & die cut it with a label, plus a shadow. Assembled on an A2 card - done!

I'll add my card to Darnell's January NBUS Challenge #70 since Lounge Lizard is newly used. My card will also go to Merry Little Christmas Challenge #60 (my 3rd entry). 

Ready for a couple bonus cards? You saw a tag card with penguins for Craft Roulette early this month. Well, I made several sets of penguins in one sitting with my new Whimsy Penguin Pals set and used a couple of them on cards I needed:

Supplies: Paper - Recollections A2 card; Neenah white;

scraps; dotted paper by unk

Stamps - Stampabilities (Hobby Lobby) Birthday

Dies - Whimsy Stamps Penguin Pals; 

Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders;

Sunny Studio Layered Snowflake Frame;

Spellbinders Balloon Birthday Wishes (DOML-May23)

Layered Mix & Match Sentiments (retired) 

Other - Copic Markers; foam tape; gems

Besides the penguin set being new, the label was from a Spellbinders subscription box from May 2023 that got first play. Funny thing though, I found it on sale in Arizona & bought it for my sister's stash - so it was newly used there. My own set is around here somewhere... Also newly purchased for my sister's stash - the Sunny Studio snowflake frame set which included the sentiment Winter Wishes. I squeezed in a Spellbinder's birthday die cut to make this a winter bday card for my great-niece, Annika. Stamped and fussy cut the cupcake and gift, then colored with Copics. The dotted paper was in a make & take we did in Arizona; I didn't catch the brand. My sister liked part of the make & used it, but not the dotted paper. I repurposed it here.

Update: thanks to Gundi for the referral, I'll link my penguin birthday card to Dream Factory Challenge #135 - Surf's Up. The movie is about penguins so you can take inspiration from that critter, not just surfing.

Here's another penguin card; the Whimsy set makes three different sizes.

Additional supplies - BoBunny Tuxedos & Tiara's patterned paper

Dies - Doodlebug Designs Many Thanks (retired)

label by unk

Other - Diamond Stickles

That's it for today friends. Happy crafting & I hope to see you in the January Diva gallery!