Some Bunny Loves U

Here's another challenge I've been meaning to enter more often.  I adore Lizzy's quirky images at Oddball Art and I've used Betty Biter and Lindy Lamebrain for the Oddball Art All You Need is Love Challenge.  They're both colored with Copics, in some of my fave zombie colors, and when I decided to use a mixed media background, I outlined my quirky fussy cutting with black.  I'll be the first to admit I have trouble with "artsy" backgrounds.  I totally admire those who can stamp and stencil and doodle and splatter and it turns out all layered and fab.  I buy everything I think looks cool to try and then get frustrated when mine turn out like THIS!

THIS is my first attempt using Brushos.  YUK!  I did a few more and promptly put them in a box, possibly never to be experimented with again.  However, today I found the box, and my first feeble attempts, and lo and behold the BACK of this crap piece ended up being the base of my card.  I guess I must have sopped up the leftovers from my craft sheet.  WooHoo!  (Does that count as technique?  Wouldn't want to piss Edna off.)  Then, I actually used a rubber stamp, Dinky Splattered Heart by IndigoBlu, in the background, some letter stickers, and an ancient alpha die set by Cuttlebug for the sentiment and a scrap of DP to ground the images.  I kinda like it.  Maybe I'll mess around with this stuff again.

I'm also entering this in  the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers "T" is for Technique challenge, 

the Oddball Art January FB challenge, the Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode ATG/Use Two Different Media Challenge, Left of Center ATG, Simon Says Wednesday ATG, Where the Heart Is #5 ATG and Forever Dark ATG.

artbymiran Anything Goes

Here's a one layer CAS card for another challenge I've been meaning to enter more regularly.  It's for the artbymiran ATG Blog Challenge as well as the ATG Challenge on the FB page.  Both the stamp and paper are  from artbymiran, the DP is a freebie from the FB group page that I recolored to red (yes, I used it yesterday, too) and the gorgeous girl is Coraline #106.  I flipped Coraline before placing her on the digi paper because I thought that orientation looked better with the paper design and added the sentiment before printing.  Then I colored her with Copics and Prismacolor pencils.  I considered embellishments, but thought none were needed with the beautiful image.

I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Monday Love is in the Air+Red, the Craft Rocket CAS Challenge, Inspiration Destination ATG, the Outlawz Monday Greeting Cards ATG, Creative Fingers ATG and Simon Says Wednesday ATG.

Wicked Wednesday ATC "Hearts" Challenge

One of my New Year's resolutions is to get back to joining in some of my favorite challenges, like my dear friend Jenn's Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge.  The theme this week is "Hearts".  I just joined the Sandra Caldwell Stamp Fans FB Group so I couldn't wait to color up her adorable 526 Arrow In My Heart and use her for the challenge. What a cutie, eh?  She's colored with Copics, fussy cut and mounted on freebie digi paper from the Artbymiran FB Group.  I changed the color of the digi paper (from black to red) and shrank it down to ATC size in my Printmaster Platinum Program.  The little epoxy hug and kiss is a sticker from American Greetings.

I'll also be entering this in the Sandra Caldwell (FB) January Progressive Challenge, 613 Avenue Create ATG, the Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode Not Your Usual Size challenge and Simon Says Monday Love is in the Air + Red.

New release at The East Wind

Well, it's no secret I love me some kitties, so I'm thrilled to show you the latest release  from The East Wind called Aurora 'Gorogoro'.  SWEETNESS OVERLOAD, eh?  Couldn't wait to color and was I ever thrilled to get my new Die-Versions Oriental Screen die from JUST in time for this.   

Here's the closeup.  She's colored with Copics, and I'm really thrilled with how her hair came out.  I often struggle with black hair and here I used only BLACK. I think perhaps my marker was a little low on ink which led to the soft edges of the strokes.  Made me quite the "happy camper" and now I don't want to refill my marker.  LOL  We'll see....  Anyway, doesn't her expression just tug at your heart strings?  Wonder who she's thinking of?  So glad she has Goro to snuggle with.  I added fur detail with Prismacolor Pencils to Goro and some shading to the window that doesn't seem to show in the pic...sigh.  So who's Goro? Well, I had no idea what "Gorogoro" was, so I Googled it.  He's the star of a CAT BLOG (with his brother Niko)! No huge surprise, since Unky (The East Wind Artist, in case you live under a rock) is such a cat lover. Anyway, that's all for now.  

 Come join the fun!

Here are of all the important links you need.

Challenge Blog

Show Room Blog

FB Group

FB Fan Page

Etsy Shop

P.S. you've GOT to check out this recipe for making "Catloaf".  

I'm entering this in SUYP Furrything Goes, Simon Says Monday Best Friends, Simon Says Wednesday Create with Critters, Creative Fingers ATG, Crafting with an Attitude ATG, Inspiration Destination ATG and Penny's Paper-Crafty Cats/and or Children .

Not Now...I'm Reading

It's time for another contest on The East Wind FB Page.  This time the theme is "Not now...I'm Reading". (Not up yet, but it's coming.)   We want to see reading/book related images or book pages on your project.  I've chosen an older image called Bedtime Story with Kitty Cat.  Isn't this adorable!  Reminds me of ME as a little girl.  I loved cats so much I even started a club called "The Red (my fave color) Cats Club".  I patterned it after Girl Scouts and had my Mom make sashes for badges members could earn for learning about cats...but I digress...

Anyway, here's a closeup of the sweet image.  See the kitty reading with her? Tooo cute!  (And she's a BARGAIN at only $2.00!)  She's colored with Copics and cut and matted with Spellbinders Circles.  The DP is We are Memory Keepers Friends Furever and I've added a book die cut (Spellbinders Labels Seven) sentiment, lots and lots of CATS (Impression Obsession) and some Card Candy to finish it off.  

Come join the fun!

Here are of all the important links you need.

Challenge Blog

Show Room Blog

FB Group

FB Fan Page

Etsy Shop

I followed a sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches and am entering there.

I'm also entering this in the SUYP Furrything Goes Challenge, Ruby's Rainbow Animal Magic, Simon Says Wednesday Create with Critters, Simon Says Monday Best Friends, the Outlawz Festive Fridays National Hat Day, Penny's Paper-Crafty Cats/and or Children, Fan-Tastic Tuesday ATG/Girly, and Crafting from the Heart ATG.

Aurora Wings Ice & Snow

EEEK!  It's the first Aurora Wings Challenge of 2016 and I'm beside myself with excitement.  Besides LOVING the theme of Ice & Snow, I managed to get my rear in gear early enough to do a mixed media project I've had in my mind FOREVER, using the gorgeous Icy Snow Queen, also available HERE in the AW Digi Shop.  WooHoo!  I started with an 8x8" canvas that I primed with DecoArt Media Gesso.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to stop procrastinating and explore new avenues of crafting, so I'm especially thrilled with this.  (And to organize my craft room, but don't hold your breath on that one.  LOL)

Then I colored the gorgeous Icy Snow Queen with Copics in the B0000-B05 range. I really wanted her to sparkle, so after coloring, I applied a sheet of Be Creative Tape to the entire image, but before I sprinkled on the Microfine Transparent Art Glitter, I applied fussy cut eyes from another print, because I didn't want them to be frosty looking.  This particular glitter is so fine, you can actually color over it with your Copics without damaging the nib, although I did that only minimally here.  I do wipe the tip off though, in case a few particles come dislodged from the tape.  Then I added some DecoArt Liquid Glass to her eyes and lips for shine.  

I tore around the image to avoid a harsh edge and used DecoArt Matte Medium to adhere it to the canvas.  Then I applied DecoArt Modeling Paste with a palette knife and sprinkled it with some Mica glitter and waited (impatiently) for it to dry.

Now the fun really began.  I had a serious stash of stuff to embellish this project, wired stems of crystals, faceted gems, garlands of tiny snowflakes and icicles that I cut apart with nippers.

Then I painstakingly glued them to the gorgeous image  and surrounding "snow" using DecoArt Liquid Glass until I was satisfied...

and added acrylic glitter snowflakes from MAMBI (hoarded for years!) that I layered with various others by JoLee's.  Finally, I adorned the peaks of "snow" with Stardust Stickles and I've gotta say, I haven't been this excited about one of my projects in a long time.  I'm already itching to play with more mixed media.

Be sure to check out the Aurora Wings Challenge Blog for more frosty goodness from my teamies.  We can't wait to see what you come up with.  And BTW, if you've ever wanted to join the Aurora Wings family, check out our Open DT call HERE for a brand new DT.  Applications and Blog Link up due by January 29th, so hurry.

Here's how to keep up with all that's happening at Aurora Wings.

Aurora Wings Challenge Blog

Aurora Wings Showcase Blog

Aurora Wings Etsy Shop

Aurora Wings Digi Shop

Aurora Wings FB Group

Aurora Wings FB Fan Page

I'm also thrilled to be entering this in the DecoArt Mixed Media Winter Wonderland Challenge.  WooHoo!  It's about time I get around to using some their fab products that I've amassed in my stash.

I'm also entering this in the Crafty Time January Make it Sparkle Challenge, the Creatalicious Snowflakes Challenge, Creative Craft Cottage Release the Glitter, Dream Factory The Ice Queen, More Mixed Media "Blue", The Sparkles Monthly January Blues Challenge, Left of Center Winter Wonderland, Allsorts Girly and Sparkly Challenge, the Corrosive Challenge New Resolutions, Crafty Friends ATG, the Digi Designs Snow or Snowflakes Challenge, Winter Wonderland Glitter and Shine, Craft Your Passion ATG, the C.R.A.F.T. Not a Card Challenge, 613 Avenue Create ATG/Stylish and Elegant, Clear it Out Theme: Winter Stash: Snowflakes, Inspiration Destination ATG, Crafting with an Attitude ATG, the ABC Christmas Challenge "A" is for ATG, Crafting for All Seasons Monochrome, A Snowflake's Promise Challenge 14, Glitter and Sparkle Monochrome and The Paper Shelter Shades of Blue.

A Little Naughty Coloring! LOL

The holidays sort of zapped my creative mojo, so I decided to take a bit of a break and do some "just for fun" coloring using the coloring pages from the Karleigh Sue January Color Club Pack.  I've started with those that can be added to the Karleigh Sue FB Color Club Contest, but there's loads of individual images, as well.  These make great card toppers on their own.  Nothin' like a little sex to get you out of the doldrums, eh?

Here's another.

And another.

I still have a couple more to do, but I've had great fun, so far.  Hee Hee!

Ballerina Kitten

Here's a fun little project I did for my Jezebel, who dreams of being a "boofy"(beautiful) white prima ballerina kitty.  She also wants to remind everyone that "Warm and Fuzzy" are her middle names and Saturday is your last chance to join HER (everything's about HER) Warm and Fuzzy Challenge at Aurora Wings.

Here's a closeup of the adorable Swan Lake Ballerina Kitten (I mean Jezebel). She's colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencil for the fur details with a good dose of Stickles and Perfect pearls on her lovely costume.

I've made the ornament from a recycled ribbon spool with DP from MAMBI, cut with Spellbinders scalloped circles, on either side.  I've wound marabou trim around the middle for more fuzzy goodness and added a bow and gems so it can hang on her pink (of course she loves pink, she's a girly girl) Christmas tree. 

Please note that although Jezebel admits the trim is soft and fluffy, it isn't nearly as soft and fluffy as she. (Ya think?)

Jezzie also wishes to remind you that here is now a monthly "Kitties Only" challenge Blog called "Show Us Your Pussies" which Mommy will be harassed regularly to enter.  LOL  This month's challenge is Furrything Goes.  Now it's nap time...TA!

I'm also entering this in the C.R.A.F.T. Not a Card challenge, Crimbo Crackers ATG, the Outlawz Twisted Thursday ATG/optional twist favorite card shape, Crafty Ribbons Anything but a Card, In the Pink ATG, TTPH ATG, the ABC Christmas Challenge "A" is for Anything Goes and the Southern Girls One for the Girls.

Ho, Ho, Ho! (Better late than never)

I'm having a bit of a tough time, not only crafting, but blogging, since I took some time off during the holidays to enjoy more time with friends and family, but here's a little ornament I made for one of the Gecko Galz FB challenges using an image from the Gecko Galz Blue Christmas Craft Kit.

I sized the center portion to fit the ornament with the snowflake edges popping out and printed it 3 times so I could fussy cut and decoupage the layers.  I used Pinflair (sort of a silicone gel that doesn't give off fumes) between the layers, instead of foam, because of the small size.  There was still room for a sparkly pom pom for his hat, as well.

For the back I sized one of the sentiments from the Gecko Galz Words of the Season Collage Sheet , recolored it red in my Printmaster Platinum program and glued it to the back of Santa.  I inked the edges of the snowflake, added some Stickles and popped it in the ornament with some Tim Holtz silver tinsel around the edge.  I so enjoyed my year as a DT member at Gecko Galz, but I've stepped down from all but 2 of my DT's in order to (hopefully) organize and remodel my craft room.  I certainly will miss the fab team but hope to continue to participate in their challenges when I'm able.

I'm entering this in the ABC Christmas Challenge "A" is for ATG. 

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season and 2016 brings you all good things.  I chose to do minimal crafting and focused on family, friends and avoiding my usual holiday melt downs, hence the few blog posts.  Sorry about that, but Yea, ME!  For once I was fully decorated BEFORE Christmas Eve. Today I have the new release from The East Wind called Masquerade.  Isn't she fabulous!?! 

 She was giving me a sort of Lady GaGa vibe so I decided to go DRAMATIC with my fave color scheme of red, black and white.  I used a combo of Copics and Prismacolor pencils and had a ball coloring her up.  Added a couple of jewels and some tulle and she was good to go.

Unfortunately, the sentiment isn't all that visible in the big pic with the glare, so here's a closeup, with crappy lighting, done with my Dymo.  Thought it made a good New Year's Resolution.  LOL

So it's a New Year with more new releases from The East Wind, as well as a new Blog Challenge which starts today.

Come join the fun!

Here are of all the important links you need.

Challenge Blog

Show Room Blog

FB Group

FB Fan Page

Etsy Shop

I'm entering this in the  LOC All Things New Challenge, Forever Dark 2 Challenge 7, Creative Knockouts All Things New (brand new stamp), the DL.Art January Linky Challenge, Crafty Gals Corner ATG, and the Outlawz Monday Greeting Cards ATG challenge.