New Release from The East Wind

There's a gorgeous new release today from The East Wind celebrating the lunar new year called Happy 2017 the Year of the Rooster.  I've used the no background PNG version (one of several versions included with the stamp) so I could add her to a digital background from Gecko Galz.  I've also used another digital paper from the Mori Girl pack.  The lovely lantern die is from Die-Versions.

Here's a closeup of Happy 2017 Year of the Rooster. The words in the moon behind her are stickers, and to be honest, it took me awhile to actually see that there is a rooster behind her, making this image more versatile than you'd think.  I've colored her with Copics in the colors of the background papers.  Her outfit is called a hanbok which is traditional Korean dress.  I think it's just beautiful, don't you?  

Unky is also offering the entire new release for the month of February for one low price.  You get all 4 new digis before they are available individually for just $12.00 (for a limited time).  

Grab them HERE.

Stay tuned for a new challenge coming to the Challenge Blog this Friday. 

Here are of all the important links you need.

Challenge Blog

Unky's Coloring Therapy

FB Group

FB Fan Page

Etsy Shop

I'm entering this in the DL.Art February Linky Challenge, Crafting by Designs February ATG, Crafty Creations ATG, Inspiration Destination ATG, Scrapy Land ATG/w brand of dies sold there #59, the Crafty Addicts Feb ATG/use a sentiment, the Outlawz Saturday Paper ala Mode ATG, TTRCD ATG week starting January 31, World Wide Open Design Team #18, Crafting From the Heart ATG, 613 Avenue Create ATG and Come and Get It 3 or More Layers.

The Outlawz Progressive plus Wednesday Sketch

Well, the month is almost over and there still are a number of challenges I'm wanting to enter, but may not be able to make tomorrow's deadline.  I finally managed to color the adorable Butterfly Kisses from All Dressed Up for the Outlawz January Freebie/Progressive challenge but was stuck on a design so I opted for their Wednesday's Sketch for a two-fer (or is it a one-fer two?).

I took some liberties with the sketch because I'd already cropped the image and couldn't manage a rectangle but I think you can still see the inspiration. Butterfly Kisses is colored with Copics with a little help from Prismacolor pencils and I tried to do an ombre look to her knits and a tweed look to her jumper. The gorgeous crinkle ribbon is from the Sweet Treats Bundle at DL.Art.  Yummy, eh? I don't see this exact bundle in the shop right now, but all of her ribbon is hand dyed, so when you see it, you gotta nab it.  There is a similar one right HERE, though.  The flowers are "wedding confetti" from Michaels, colored to match with Copics and I've added gems to the centers.

I'm also adding this to the DL.Art January Linky Challenge, the DL.Art Thankful Thursday #197 ATG, All Dressed Up January Magical World FB challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #50 ATG and Crafty Addicts Monochromatic.

Guest Designing for Outlawz Sunday CAS

It's a busy week for me at the Outlawz Forum as here I am Guest Designing for Sunday CAS, too.  The mission this week is to incorporate bubble wrap into your design.  OOOH, fun!  I grabbed a hunk and hit the Distress Ink, Pickled Raspberry, one I hadn't even opened (and I had TWO, how'd that happen?) and dabbed it on some plain white card stock.  Whoa, kinda bright, but I have tried this technique before and since the bubbles don't all take the color evenly, it helps to have a vivid one.  Cut the center with my Spellbinders Nested Hearts and made the decision to use the negative.  Dabbed the inside of the cut to further define the heart and laid it on a white panel I'd embossed with a tiny hearts Cuttlebug folder (from a Baby set) and then a lighter pink card blank. The sentiment die is from Lawn Fawn.  I actually cut several of them and glued them together for strength.  I wanted a little more pizazz so I decided to pop the mat with foam and laid the sentiment across diagonally, gluing it on either end and the multiple layers made it less likely to tear.  Added a tiny bead to dot the "i" and called it done.

I think I may be getting a hang of this CAS business after all.  Thanks so much to the fabulous CAS team for letting me join them as Guest Designer this week (and next!  Shhh don't tell!)

I'm entering this in the DL.Art January Linky challenge, CAS on Sunday Hearts, and Simon Says Wednesday ATG.

Good Luck in the New Year

Here's a real quicky for the Outlawz Sunday CAS challenge calling for no designer paper.  In case you didn't know, it is New Year's Day for those who celebrate according to the Lunar calendar.  It happens to be the year of the rooster, but I couldn't resist making an Asian inspired card using my new little Maneki Neko (Lucky Cat) die by the Frantic Stamper and my new double stitched circles from Kat Scrappiness.  I  inlaid the circles and glued Lucky cat on top, then inlaid his eyes, nose and medallion.  I cut him again to color and paper piece the collar because I afraid to mess up the lines.  Added a few sticker embellies and sentiment and there ya go.  Good luck in the New Year no matter when you celebrate.  I'll be off to spend some girl time with my friend and next door neighbor.  WooHoo!

I'm also entering this in the DL.Art January Linky Challenge, Simon Says Wednesday ATG and SUYP January Furrything Goes (cats only).

Bloobel Stamps Progressive Challenge

Well, it's pretty obvious that I love me some Bloobel Stamps and this is for the January (very first) Progressive Challenge. Early in January Lisa invited members of her FB Group to sign up for a special Progressive Challenge Newsletter that would include a coupon  to download the Progressive image for free.  Those who downloaded the image then have the entire month to color or create a project with it.  Those who downloaded the image with the coupon MUST do something by the end of January and share it in one or any number of specified places to get the next month's image for free.  Those who did not sign up or missed the free download deadline still can enter by purchasing I MUST PROTEST, fill in the sign and upload accordingly (meaning, if you hurry, you can still get next month's image for free by purchasing her HERE).  

True to form I procrastinated, partly because a number of my protest slogans might have gotten me kicked off FB, 😉 but also because I get a bit discombobulated seeing all the great work that came before me, so I had a hard time deciding what to say.  I finally came up with this and couldn't resist adding a little friend, called Big Message because the only thing better than coloring one Bloobel is coloring TWO!   Couldn't decide on a tee shirt color for I Must Protest either, so I finally slapped on a smiley face and added the annoying sentiment "Have a Nice Day".  That sucker has been around since I was a teen and I'm less than thrilled that it has endured.  Ya think this is too sarcastic for a birthday card...???  NAH!!!!

I'll be adding this to the Bloobel January 2017 Progressive Challenge, the DL.Art Thankful Thursday ATG Challenge, Lil Patch of Crafty Friend #50 ATG, 613 Avenue Create ATG/ Totally Technical (merging images) and Simon Says Wednesday ATG.

Guest Designing for The Outlawz Twisted Thursday

Well, it's no secret that I've been having a ball playing in the various challenges on the Outlawz forum, but today I'm joining the Twisted Thursday Team as Guest Designer.  WooHoo!  Although the theme at TT is always ATG, this week there's no twist and the Design Team has come up with a fabulous variety of projects.  I'm thrilled to be able to join them.  

I decided to use a sweet image from Scrap N' Dipity called Fenna Snowflake  because it gave me a chance to use my new Stitched Snowflake die from Lawn Fawn and new die cut sentiment from Kat Scrappiness.  It's monochromatic because I seem to be stuck in a "Winter blues" phase (besides, the current Scrap N' Challenge calls for Monochromatic), so there ya go.  I've added a smattering of pearls to the snowflakes and some sparkle to those on the image itself with some Stardust Stickles.

Here's a closeup of Fenna Snowflake.  She's die cut with Spellbinders Labels Four and inked with Distress (Stormy Sky) while still in the die.  I've colored her with Copics and added detail to her curly hair with Prismacolor pencils.  It doesn't really show up well in the pic, but I've also added a bit of extra texture to her hat  and scarf by dabbing it quickly with terry washcloth dipped in 91% an isopropyl alcohol.

Thanks so much to the Outlawz Twisted Thursday for allowing me to join them this week.  I hope you can come join in the challenge as well.  Not a member of the Outlawz?  Just ask to join.  It's a lovely Group of supportive crafters with a new challenge starting every day of the week.  Great place to kick start your mojo and meet new friends.  Come play with us.

I'm also entering this in the DL.Art January Linky Challenge,Simon Says Stamp ATG, the Crafty Addicts Monochromatic,TTRCD ATG Week of January 24-30, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends ATG, the CHNC Christmas Challenge #317 ATG/Use a Sentiment, Creatalicious #107 ATG/optional Winter, CCC Digi Creations #65 Use Die Cuts or Punches, Happy Little Stampers January ATG with Dies, Dies R Us Winter Blues, the CHNC January Christmas Challenge Extra and Christmas Cards All Year Round Add Snowflakes.

At the Movies!

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenges are Always Anything Goes but the twist for this last week is "At the Movies".  It gave me another chance to use a fun image by Bloobel Stamps called Charlie (big surprise, eh) and gave me the opportunity to get hubby's b-day card done in advance.  Problem is, it's not for another 11 months, so who knows whether I'll be able to find it again when the time comes. (Wouldn't be the first time...)  I tried to be monochromatic, after all, Charlie was a film star way before color or even "talkies" for that matter, so he's colored with Copics in the W and N Grey tones with a little help from my Prismacolor pencils.  The clap board and film strip are free clip art from the net that I layered behind Charlie after removing the background from the image.  I couldn't find where the backing paper came from (Hate to say I actually ripped it off a previous project because I couldn't find any more of it in my stash.  Does anybody else do that?) but I do know that the little tickets and leading lady film strip is from the old Graphic 45 Curtain Call Collection.

I'm entering this in the DL.Art January Linky Challenge, Simon Says Stamp ATG, the Crafty Addicts Monochromatic, TTRCD ATG Week of January 24-30, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends ATG, Incy Wincy For the Men in your Life, and 613 Avenue Create January ATG.

Tuesday Color with Bloobel

Before I say anything else, I want to thank those of you who made it through my little rant the other day about blogging vs FB and your kind responses.  It's nice to know that at least some people still enjoy the personal connection blogging affords and my efforts don't always fall on deaf ears eyes.  LOL  It did my heart good.  xxx

This one is for the Outlawz Tuesday Color Challenge, which should have been done a whole lot sooner today since I started coloring at 3:30 am.  That's pretty early, even for me, but I'm not sure if I should blame the hour or perhaps possibly a "senior moment" because I actually used the colors from last week's inspiration, probably because they were still on my desk, I guess. (Although I never finished that one)  So ignore that big honkin' PINK balloon. It was supposed to be ORANGE but I didn't check the pic again this morning because I thought I had it down.  I managed to change her dress by coloring it over with orange and yellow, but I was chicken to mess with the balloon so PINK it shall stay.  The cloud paper is digital from AMBillustrations. 

I'm pretty sure I won't be drummed out of the corps because it actually has a photo inspiration and it's pretty obvious what inspired me.

The adorable image I used is from Bloobel Stamps called Up and Away.  She's colored with Copics and I've added butterflies punched from a Martha Stewart punch that I've colored to match.  Added gems to the centers and a sticker sentiment and there ya go.

I"m also entering this in the DL.Art January Linky challenge, Simon Says Monday Spread Your Wings, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #50 ATG, Get Creative Challenge January #54 ATG and HIMCR #285 Color It.

You're a star!

I don't know about you, but the CAS style is really a struggle for me (although my last card HERE turned out to be that way too.  LOL)  I'm kind of a "more is never enough" kind of gal which really poses a problem, so I've been trying to play in the CAS challenge at the Outlawz each week.  I was excited about the Stars theme because it was a chance to use my new Stitched Stars dies from Gina Marie.  Stitched dies in every shape have really become popular but I just got a bunch.  Seems I'm a little late to the party.  I found they coordinated  with my old Spellbinders Stars 5 dies so I ended up using both, the stitched ones to emboss (using the embossing mat and plate so they wouldn't cut through) and the regular ones to cut. The gold one is popped with foam, then I added some tiny sticker stars and sentiment and called it done.  This was made for a congratulations on a new job and inside says "You're a STAR!"

I'm adding this to the DL.Art January Linky challenge, Crafty Calender Something New (stitched star dies),Crafty Friends New Beginnings, Less is More New Beginnings, Come and Get it No Designer Paper and My Time to Craft Something New.

It's a Girl!

The Outlawz Saturday Paper a la Mode called for "full of hearts" so I was excited to use my new Spellbinders Cascading Hearts card creator die.  I also wanted to use the adorable new little Cupid (scroll down to find him) I'd won from Limited Runs.  I'd planned on doing a Valentine's card but none of the die cut sentiments I had in mind worked that well with the background.  Then I remembered this Cuttlebug one, so I switched background color from red to pink and made it a New Baby card.  WooHoo! Sorry for the short post but it's my second one today and I'm tired.

I'm adding this to the DL.Art January Linky challenge, Crafty Calender Something New (stamp, die, and new baby), Crafty Friends New Beginnings, Less is More New Beginnings, My Time to Craft Something New, and In the Pink What's New (stamp, die, and new baby).

Snowball Fight!

I seem to be a bit behind on blogging.  It takes me forever to write a post, I suppose because I get a little chatty at times.  I know 90% of the people just look at the picture of the project and never even read what I say or care, but maybe there's one or two who do.  When I go to blogs I like to read something personal, or at least a little bit about the process and supplies.  Not just a list, but that's just me.  I suppose it's just a matter of time when everything goes to FB where a "Like" suffices, just like a text is replacing an actual phone call. Makes me sad.

Anyway, here's another one for the Outlawz Festive Fridays for the Snowball Fight theme.  The hilarious image is another by Sandra Caldwell called #1144 Snowballed Kitty.  Poor little guy is getting nailed and I really get a kick out of the snowman head lying there looking all worried.  Just a matter of time.  LOL We had a kid in our elementary school class that used to scare the crap out of me.  Big red headed bully that attacked with any means available, including snowballs.  He reminded me of that Farkus kid in "A Christmas Story"...shudder! But I digress... (Still feeling chatty, I guess) 

It's kind of a simple design that grew out of scraps on my desk, including the Snowflake border die cut from Joy!crafts.  I hadn't originally intended to go monochromatic again, but there ya go.  I've colored with Copics and my BG 10-15 are getting a workout these days.

I'm entering this in the DL.Art Thankful Thursday Winter Challenge, SUYP (cats only) Furrything Goes, Crafty Catz Monochromatic, Cut it Up It's Snow Fun, Pattie's Creations Design Challenge Use an Animal image, the Paper Shelter Shades of Blue, The Crafty Addicts Monochromatic, Christmas Cards All Year Round January Add a Snowflake and Sisterhood of Crafters Celebrating January.

Let's Go Skating!

I made this cute tag for one of the Outlawz Festive Friday themes.  Naturally I got it in just under the wire (new themes started today) but I HAD to do this one, for sure.  There are always 4 themes to choose from each week and the first I decided to do was "Let's Go Skating".  The adorable image is #957 Ice Skating Girly by Sandra Caldwell. The background is from the Let it Snow Jewel It set from Gecko Galz on which I've digitally added a skating rink from a photo I'd cropped and tweaked  to fit my background.  Then I used Flower Soft snow to blur the crop and better integrate it into the design.  The gorgeous crinkle ribbon is from a combo of Steel Blue from the Blues Bundle and  Silvery Hues Sea from the Mermaids Tale Second edition from DL.Art.  I've also added little skates from Tim Holtz, attached with a tiny paper clip.

Here's a closeup of Ice Skating Girly.  I removed the background from her in the Lunapic photo program and added her the the digital background in my Printmaster Platinum program before printing the scene.  Then I colored her with Copics, cut a pom pom in two and glued the fluff to her earmuffs with Fabric Tack.

Ice skating is dear to my heart because I took lessons from the time I was 5 until age 12.  It was a special Daddy and daughter time.  Here's a picture at an outdoor rink when I was just starting to skate (circa 1959 or early 1960).  I still have the sweater he's wearing and it actually fits me now.  LOL  My Dad was a fabulous skater, an ice dancer actually, and I always felt so special skating with him.  He even built a rink in our backyard for me to practice on for years when the weather permitted.  Very fond memories but I better stop now.  Getting kind of teary eyed.  Once a Daddy's Girls ALWAYS a Daddy's Girl.  xxx

I'm adding this to the DL.Art Thankful Thursday Winter Challenge, the Craft Rocket Challenge Add a Bow, Simon Says Wednesday Anything but a Card, and the Sisterhood of Crafters Celebrating January.