Beach Challenge from Queen & Co.

Yes, I know I said I was going to use a greater variety of products. I will. Seriously. However, I love the beach, and Demo Donna of Queen & Co. has a challenge going with a beach theme, and they are offering a $25 gift certificate to 2 people. With hospital bills and DH on disability, my spending money is limited these days, so I decided to give it a try. The chances of my winning are slim, but it's worth a try. There are some fabulous entries. I don't know if it's luck of the draw or whichever one they like best, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I was itching to have a reason to get creative anyway.

I used a variety of kits to create this card, and in some cases, such as the Surfboard Rental booth, crab, clams, and bait bucket, I used dies that cut completely different items when used as they were originally designed.

My Favorite Companies and a Disclaimer

I haven't seen it recently, but the debate comes up on message boards from time to time, as to what bloggers and YouTubers are truly unbiased vs. those who are promoting companies and products because they receive freebies. I don"t represent any company. I never have. It's in the About Me section on my blog, but I don't know how many people read it.

I get nothing free from anyone. Because I purchase everything that I use on the cards and projects that I post, I do not feel obligated to use or praise any particular company's products. I have been using a lot of Queen & Co. products lately, because I have bought more from them over the last year, ever since the COVID shutdowns.

I started stamping about 34 years ago. I started scrapbooking 25 years ago. I have been collecting stamps, dies, and pretty papers for a long time. My current favorite companies (who get most of my spending money) are:

Queen & Co.

Heartfelt Creations

My Favorite Things

Lawn Fawn

Art Gone Wild

Karen Burniston

Hero Arts

Graphic 45

BoBunny

Paper Wizard

They are not listed in order of preference, although I did base my list somewhat on companies whose products I have purchased over the last couple of years. I have probably missed a few, so I may add to this list later. I found many of these companies at conventions, and I have continued to shop online when conventions weren't an option. 

I haven't had time to craft as much over the last several months due to my husband's health problems, but he is thankfully recovering, and I hope to be posting more frequently. I will also try to use a wider variety of products from various companies instead of focusing so much on Queen & Co., although you will probably continue to see me frequently using their Foundation dies.

Heartfelt Creations Card for 85th Birthday

I made this card for one of my neighbors, who is turning 85 this month. I got out my somewhat neglected Heartfelt Creations stamps, dies, and papers for this one. Their Lush Lilac collection has been my absolute favorite and most used out of all of their design collections. The bird cage die is part of the collection and is the largest bird cage on the card. I cut it from a metallic white card stock. The smaller bird cages are part of the paper. I used their lilac flower shaper and prills to add dimension to the flower cluster, and I popped the banner in a couple of places. I also added a subtle shimmer to the banner, flower cluster, and areas of the background with Wink of Stella. The birthday banner is also Heartfelt Creations, but was from their (now discontinued) Young at Heart Collection.