BBTB2 Monogram Challenge

This week at BBTB2 I've got an easy challenge for you- Monograms. Better yet, monograms from ANY cartridge. I'm always in need to a note card of some sort and think monograms are a nice personal touch for any correspondence. I chose the Art Nouveau cartridge because I think those mongrams are particularly elegant and made a shaped card in DS by copying, flipping and welding the swirly base and then hiding all of the inner contours to make the card more "solid". Note: in DS, you have to close the file and reopen it to hide contours on a copy and pasted image (kind of a PITA, but...) I chose a classic cream and black color scheme and some DP from my fave K&Co 8x8 stack.

My original plan was to keep this card flat for ease of mailing but...well, you know. I added a bit of texture too with my Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots, some adhesive beads to further deck it out and there ya go. My DT sisters hit it out of the park this week. Some used cartridges I'd not even heard of yet. Eiyiyi, clearly I'm not keeping up. So hop on by BBTB2 to be inspired, please play along with a new card, hook it up to Mr. Linky with a link to your post, not your blog and a shout out to BBTB2 with a link back to us to spread the word. Thanks so much!

I'm also entering this in the Gingersnaps Creations challenge #140 use only Two Colors.

BBTB2 Vulture Challenge

OOps! a little late today. I'm not sleeping well and my schedule is all off. Today my dear friend and DT sis Agnes (Flowerdisco) has chosen the BBTB2 challenge this week which is the vulture from Life's a party. I can't believe it's ANOTHER cart I don't have. Too many too fast, these days. Well, there is another vulture on Zooballoo, but try as I did, I just couldn't make that pitiful little thing work for me so I chose the raven from Oct 31st instead. I thought he would be a good substitute, lovin' tearing apart dead carcasses and all. However, when I read Agnes's intro she was talking about cute...ahhh, well, not so much. But hey, I all but exhausted my cutesy quotient last week with that frog so it is what it is. Sorry Agnes.

Yes, it's a shaped front card done in DS using the raven and moon from Oct 31st, the drippy swirl from Happy Hauntings and the skull from Wall Decor and More. The background paper is from the 6x6 Blackbird (how fitting!) collection from Memory Box which lead me to emboss the moon with the Goochie Script (5x7) embossing folder. (In case you can't see it, there's script on the DP as well.) Shades of Poe, eh?

Lots of layers and the raven is glittered with Doodlebug Sugar coating after running it through my Xyron right side down. The swirl is enhanced with Glossy Accents and adhesive gems. Both the moon and the skull are cut from iridescent card stock but the glimmer doesn't really show up well here. All edges were inked with Distress. My DT sisters have done an amazing job on this challenge so be sure to stop my BBTB2 and have a look. We'd love to see your take as well. Remember, the challenges run for 2 weeks, you may substitue the cut for another similar one, please enter new creations only and link them back to BBTB2. I'm also enter this in the Gingersnap Creations Theme Challenge, Horror Stories.

ADFD Texture Challlenge

I finally got a chance to play again with A Day For Daisies. The current challenge is Gimme Some Texture. I've used the adorable image Pumpkins and Butterflies. My original plan was to use a Cuttlebug folder for texture, but I'd already colored my image and made it fairly large so the folder I had chosen was too small. What to do? At Gingersnap Creations, the Spicy Supply Challenge is crimpers. Oh yeah, I have one of those...somewhere. Found it crammed in a bottom drawer and ran my kraft mat through. LOVE how it looks on kraft. (as a matter of fact, I love this particular kraft which is quite a rich color (for kraft, anyway) and comes in 12x12 sheets in a value pack from J's. I'm thinkin' it's from The Paper Company. The card base is soft suede from Stampin' Up. The combo...YUMMY! Of course my image is colored with Copics and I spent a really long time trying to get a truly saturated color on that pumpkin so I could enter the Copic Creations challenge.

I cut both the image and frame with my Nesties Octagons and popped the mat for dimension. For further texture I added some felt daisies I'd picked up for a buck at J's. I did a bit of coloring on them with my Copics as well, to make them look more Fall like. Then just a gingham ribbon to enter in The Ribbon Carousel Anything Goes Challenge and some adhesive beads and I was done. You've got a bit more time to enter these challenges so why not pop by ADFD, Gingersnap Creations, The Ribbon Carousel and Copic Creations and get inspired by the wonderful work of their fabulous DT's.

Mix 'n Match Victorian Steampunk Release with Make it Crafty and Tiddly Inks

It's finally here, the day we've been waiting for. The collaborative Victorian Steampunk release from Tiddly Inks and Make it Crafty is a reality and wait 'til you see all of the fab new images. For my card I've used Steampunk Flying Machine from Make it Crafty and the adorable Tanker Fairy from Tiddly Inks. I've colored the flying machine with metallic gel pens and Copics and cut it out as if it's in a cloud and popped it on a mat embossed with the Cuttlebug Gears folder.

Tanker Fairy is colored with Copics and fussy cut and popped on the wing. Could she be any cuter?

I've added some metal gears from Tim Holtz and tiny tag Nostalgique stickers by Rebecca Sower for Sticko. They're popped and I've added adhesive beads. Inspiration abounds on the Landing Page HERE where you can view more samples and find out how to play our fun game of I Spy. There's even a coupon code for 15% off the new release stamps for 1 week only! Woo Hoo! See ya there! I'm also entering this in the Gears, Cogs and Watch Bits Challenge at Gingersnaps Creations.

Macabre Monday Kuriously Korroded with Kenny K

This week's Macabre Monday Challenge calls for a card that is "kuriously korroded" as in sanded, torn or otherwise distressed, sponsored my the fabulous Kenny K. The Minions cackled when I chose my Kenny K image, which is Mae Western, but I couldn't help it, it was RODEO Weekend here in Livermore. How could I not? And while she's hardly macabre, I do think she has a bit of a nasty streak, don't you? Korroded it is. The denim paper is torn, the C'oredinations is embossed with Tim Holtz Woodgrain and sanded and chewed with my Distrezz-It-All and there's quite a bit of inking going on. Mae is colored with Copics and fussy cut and she's sittin' on one gigantic spur, cut with the Old West Cartridge on my Circut. So is that fab barbed wire.

So here's where the nasty somes in. She's been ridin' that cowboy HARD! See that blood on the spur? And a bit on the barbed wire, too. Did that cowboy try to escape?..Nah... Too much pleasure in this pain...Oh, that was LAST week...my bad! LOL

A little rope action inside and the sentiments were computer generated and cut and matted with Nesties Labels Seventeen. YeeHaw! Now get along and see what the rest of the Minions have in store for you and be sure to play along for a chance to win some Kenny K's! (try to make you're a little darker than mine, though. I was almost drummed out of the corps. ;) I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp and Show which is Distressed or Torn Edges and the Gingersnap Creations Denim Rust and Dust challenge.

You're Just My Type

Instead of working on DT stuff I'm here screwing around on some "just for fun" challenges. First is Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead challenge which this week is typewriters. (Ya didn't think I'd let THAT one go by, did ya?) I KNEW I had some Graphic 45 paper I hadn't used so I was all up for this one and figured I could make a quickie. The typist and typewriter images are from the Communique Collection and the typewriter keys are punch outs from the Domestic Goddess Collection that I covered with clear epoxy stickers from J's. I designed a quick frame for them in Cricut Design Studio using George and then a tab from the From My Kitchen cartridges and printed it on my computer and stapled it on. Both the receipt and tiny calender are Tim Holtz Traveler Tissue Tapes (on SALE now at Custom Crops!)

The frame and keys are popped for dimension on a 5 1/4" square card. The corners are rounded with my Cropadile Corner Chomper. I'm also entering this is the Little Red Wagon Challenge which is Office Supplies. Finally, I'm entering this in Guest Designer Michelle's Challenge On Yvonne's (Do More With Less)Blog which is to do something out of your comfort zone. I'm a Cricut cutting, Cuttlebug embossing, stamp coloring kinda gal so I RARELY make a card that I "assemble" using primarily images, stickers or punch outs, etc that I didn't make myself. Okay, there's a little Cricut, but hey, you can't tell me that this looks remotely like my usual style. LOL

On Friday I scored BIG TIME at the Pleasanton Scrap Expo. All day yesterday I was lamenting the stuff I DiDN't get because I ran out of time but when I unpacked it all...HOLY SMOKES! I'm surprised my credit card didn't self destruct! So I'm outta here. Back to working on BBTB2. Yes, I ALWAYS wait 'til the last minute.