Things are lookin' a little funny at Guylou's

It's time for another challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. I've got to admit that it was a hard one for me, but I lucked out. Once I figured out how I wanted to incorporate the orange, it all came together. Oh, wait. You actually want to hear what the challenge IS, don't you? Well, it's Chana's turn to play hostess and she has decided that we need to be a little off color. I don't think she means overtly inappropriate jokes, although the challenge does call for a funny sentiment, so who knows? I'm scared to ask. LOL. In addition to a funny sentiment, your card should be blue, grey, and orange. That was the hard part for me. I have never used this color combo before. It took me a little time to figure out what I wanted to do. Like I said, though, once the idea finally came to me, this card just came together.

Luckily for me, I had a paper pad with lots of blue and grey. Papers are My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Portabello Road. I added some pearls from my stash and used a punch for the photo corner. Sentiment is one I found online and just typed into Word and printed out. I figure it will make a fun "congrats on your wedding" card or even anniversary card.

The image was colored with copics. Blues on the jeans and folded clothes are B95, 93, 91. Orange is YG65, 61, 000. Greys are C3 and C1. I drew in a little hardwood floor, too. My original intention was to make this card pretty embellie-happy. However, it doesn't feel like it needs it to me. I've been asked several times how I know when to stop with the tossing of embellishments at a card and I can never answer, except to say "I just stop when it looks right." I decided this card looked right as-is, so here you go!

 

Please consider joining us for Chana's off color challenge. The challenge ends on February 14th, so you've got some time. You could win the chance to be a guest designer on a future challenge, as well as a gift card to the store. What are you waiting for?

There's no place like gnome!!

(Sorry for the lateness of this post. I had issues with blogger today).

It's time for another challenge at Guylou's! G has challenged us to add spots/dots to our projects this time around. That's an easy one, since I love polka dots. The hard part was picking the paper to use, because I've got lots of polka dotted paper. I let the image inspire me, which helped. I have a love of cutesy gnomes. Not so much that I actually have any of the little guys at my house, but enough that every little gnome embellishment comes home with me and I smile at every gnome-laden card I see on blogs and in online galleries. For some reason, G's new image of this little house just reminded me of a gnome's cottage. I decided to paper piece the heck out of it to make it even more gnome-friendly. Check it out:

As previously stated (that sounds so pompous, doesn't it? But once again, I digress...), I paper pieced the house. I popped up the windows and door for dimension, added flower soft on the windowsills, and used some stickers from Barnes and Noble. I have entirely too many stickers left in my stash, and just when I thought I had weeded them all out, too! Anyway, the sentiment is from Stampin' Up. The doily came in a pack of 500 that I got on ebay. Okay, it was probably closer to 100, but the stack was so high it looked more like 500. I always sucked at those "how many gumballs are in the jar" games.

Now it's your turn to play with some spots. Enter your project at Guylou's for the chance to win a gift card to her store and be a guest designer on a future challenge. You can also head by the store to pick up this cute little house as a freebie! How cool is that? Go on. Get over there. Go! Go! Go! (Yeah, I know I'm bossy. And when I forget, my baby brother reminds me).

I'm snow happy!

Ok, maybe not. Maybe what I am really hoping for is enough snow to go snow tubing later this month, but not enough to make me have to shovel my way out of my driveway. Is that even possible? I hate shoveling snow. Hate it, hate it, hate it. Driving in snow is even worse. Now, I love some snow if I can sit in my house and enjoy the warmth while I watch it fall.

Anyway, it's my turn to host over at Guylou's Inimitability. I decided on a snow theme, figuring everyone's pretty creations would show me the good about snow, right? Everyone knows I love kitty cat images, so I had fun with one of them from Guylou. Check it out:

I used Aleene's snow with glitter. I applied it with a speckle paintbrush. Then I added some liquid pearls for the snowflakes in the sky, and punches to create snowflakes in the corner of the image. This cutie is colored with copics, of course. The fur is C3, C1, and C0, with a bit of R11 for the cheeks and nose. I added glossy accents to the eyes, as well. The sentiment is popped up with pop dots on either end.

Now it's your turn. Show me some pretty snow, so that I don't dread it quite as much once it finally shows up for real!!! Enter your project at the Guylou's Inimitability blog for a chance to win a gift certificate to the store and the opportunity to be a guest DT in a future challenge. As always, thanks for visiting!

Oh, and I should note that this card is also for:
Papertake Weekly - white or snow

I'm twisted!!!

As if you didn't know that already, huh? It's okay; I embrace my neuroses. I'm in my own little world, but they know me here and it's all good. Anyway, it's time for another challenge at Guylou's. It's time for a twisted Christmas, courtesy of our host and awesome illustrator (as well as my good friend), Guylou. The twist? Make a Christmas card using non-traditional Christmas colors.

When I think of "traditional" Christmas colors, I think of reds and greens, even silver and gold. I don't tend to associate brown with Christmas, so when I found this brown paper in my stash, it called to me for this challenge. And what looks better in brown than puppy fur? Heck, who doesn't love a cute little puppy? Check it out:

I colored the image with copics. The fur is E51, 53, 55, and 57. The bow is B91, 93, 95, and 97. Then I grounded him with some greys. I am trying to make some cards that are flat and won't cost extra shipping. Everyone knows how hard that is for me, the embellie-happy queen. (Ok, so the title a friend gave me was actually "the embellishment queen", but in true embellishment-loving fashion, I...well...embellished it).

Now it's your turn to be twisted! Post your card to Guylou's Inimitability for your chance to win a $10 gift card to her store (so you can get your own cute puppy) as well as a chance to be a guest DT on a future challenge. And while you're add it, check out the blogs of my fellow DT members. There's some fabulous, inspiring work to be found!

Always so thankful...

...for our troops! On Veteran's Day, I was putting the finishing touches on my care package for my adopted soldier. I needed a card to send, as well. I'm so thankful to our troops for all that they do for us, plus his care package should get there right around Thanksgiving, so a thank you card seemed very appropriate. Luckily for me, Carla is challenging us to make a thank you card for this fortnight's challenge at Guylou's. I love when things fall into place like that.

Every once in a great while, I get the chance to search out some blogs that are new to me. I love to learn from and be inspired by other people. This time, I lucked upon Mariska's blog. Talk about some serious talent. She does this really cool technique where she paper pieces and layers different parts of a stamped image for this awesome 3D effect. I decided to try it, but I don't have the patience she has. She cuts each and every tiny piece and layers it. I mean, every tiny piece! For the image I chose, she would have probably cut the hat band, collar, and arms into separate pieces. Yeah, not happening in my house. I've got patience, but not that much. LOL. So, I left the hat as one big piece. I kept the two arms together rather than separating them, etc. I still think it turned out pretty cool, though. If you want to try it, she has videos on youtube giving step-by-step instructions.

It was a really fun technique to try, too. I didn't have the kind of glue she uses, so I used my always faithful KI Gloo. I think I need something a bit thicker and less runny, though. Maybe I just need more practice (that is the most likely explanation).

Here is a side view, to show you a bit better about how many layers there are:

 

So, the arms are a bit lower than the shirt, which is layer lower than the hat, with the face and hair on the uppermost layer. I tried to puff up each piece like she does, but it doesn't show as well in my pic; I think I needed to go over the pieces a bit harder before gluing them down next time. Anyway, this little guy is Dominique from Guylou's Inimitability digi shop. He's also the mascot for her store. I love how he can be placed on top of things, to look like he's leaning on them with his folder arms. Now it's your turn to show us a project to share your thanks! You have until November 29th to enter to win a gift card to G's store. While you're at it, don't forget to enter my Veteran's Day RAK. If you've done something good for a soldier, just leave me a comment with your email by Saturday, November 17th, telling me about it and you'll be entered to win my RAK.

You don't really want to hear me sing

So, the challenge at Guylou's Inimitability is to include something related to music or dance. My DT buddy Carla came up with the idea. She's always so chipper and happy, it's no wonder she came up with such a joyful theme. Me, I can be a bit of a cranker. Plus, I can't dance. I have no rhythym whatsoever. Furthermore, I can't sing to save my life. I mean, it's bad. People covering their ears and running bad. If I sent one of my friends or family a card that made them in any way think of me singing, they'd probably cringe instead of enjoy it. So needless to say, I didn't want to go with any images of someone with a microphone, although G has quite a few wonderful ones in her store (go check it out!). Instead, I decided to use music note paper and a bird, because everyone knows that birds sing all pretty-like. Except when they are sqwuaking (or however you spell that word. You get the gist). Then they sound like me.

I'm going to apologize now if there's spacing issues or anything once I inserted the pic. My computer at work (where I am posting from...shh...) seems to hate Blogger. I can only see half of the screen, so I'm working kind of blind here. Because of that, I'm going to stop this post now. You have until July 26th to enter the challenge. Head on over to Guylou's Inimitability for more details about the challenge, and you can also check out my sidebar for links to the blogs of my fab DT mates!

Kraftin' clean and simple style

Time for another challenge at Guylou's Inimitability! I swear, my fellow DT members take this "challenge" word entirely too seriously. They really, really end up challenging me every two weeks, I'm telling you! This time around, Kim decided to make us practice our CAS (clean and simple) styling again. Plus, she added the twist that we have to use kraft paper. Now, I'm okay with that part of it. I love kraft paper and I'm having fun learning how to color on it. However, CAS just isn't my thing. Frankly, I suck at it. I am always in awe of those crafters who have this style mastered, because it really is difficult. In fact, it's a misnomer. It's not simple at all!!! Ok, enough whining.

I needed a card for a dear friend who's going through some tough times. I saw this sentiment on a card somewhere and have been dying to use it. I figured this image was perfect for it. What do you think?

It's a little card, only about 4.5 x 4.5 or so. I didn't need a big card to write out a quick little note. I colored the paint with copics and added some glossy accents to make it shiny.

Now, please show me some examples of your kraft and CAS style, because I really need the inspiration!!! Upload your creation to Guylou's Inimitability by June 28th and you could win a gift card to her store. Pretty please - just do it! I really need the inspiration, people. Really.

Grab your wings and fly!

It's time for another challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. This time, it was my friend Sara's turn to play host. Unfortunately, Sara recently had to step down from the DT. We sure do miss her, and in honor or her, we're going forward with her challenge idea. All you have to do is make a project that features something with wings. That's it! Things with wings!!

For my project, I used this adorable fairy. She makes me smile.

 It's hard to tell in the pic, but I added some bling to all of the flowers. The image was colored with copics. I wanted her to be bright and happy, and really capture the eye, so I went for some really saturated color. I also tried to keep the card mostly flat, as it will be sent to Operation Write Home so a soldier can wish his/her mom a wonderful Mother's Day.

You have until 10 pm EST on Thursday, March 15th to enter your project featuring things with wings. You could win a $10 gift card to Guylou's store, as well as the opportunity to appear as a guest designer on a future challenge!

I'd also like to take this opportunity to welcome Roxann to our team. She's been an active participant in our challenges and has guest DT'ed a time or two. We're happy to have her on our team permanently! You can check out her blog to see just how lucky we are to get such a great talent and a great personality. The link is in my left sidebar. Welcome to G's DT family, Roxann!

Happy crafting!

Oh, my goodness! I almost forgot. I know I've told you in the past about G's generosity. Well, she's decided to help out all of you wonderful people in blogland. She's giving away a freebie, for 24 hours only on March 2nd. Just go to www.guylou.com on March 2nd, add the fairy bear to your cart, and enter the code 201203-FAIRY-BEAR to get her for FREE. She's perfect for this challenge, too!

Go ahead, it's okay! Clutch your pearls!!!

It's time for another challenge at Guylou's Inimitability. This time around, we WANT you to clutch your pearls. Yeah, I know, it's often a derogatory term to call someone a "pearl clutcher." In this case, though, we will applaud you for it. My dear friend Brenda is hosting our challenge and she wants us to make a project using lace, and...you guessed it...pearls! Now, we're calling this a "girly girl" kind of challenge, but only because it involves pearls and lace. You don't have to make a feminine card. In fact, I challenge you to think outside the box.

Here's my example:

As you can see, I used both lace and pearls, but my card is not about being girlie. It's a bit early, but Merry Christmas! LOL. I keep thinking to myself that if I can make a few Christmas cards per month, I might actually have enough made by December to actually send them this year. We'll see.

My card uses one of Guylou's wreaths that I cut with a spellbinders circle die, then added another spellbinders die behind it. I colored the image with watercolor pencils, so the leaves are a very light green. Then I used liquid pearls to make the berries. I used my copic opaque paint a bit liberally on this card, too. It has a bit of a vintage feel, I think.

Now it's your turn. Go ahead, clutch your pearls! Upload your project to Guylou's Inimitability by March 1 at 10 pm EST. See the GI blog for details on prizes and rules.