Artistic Inspirations Challenge #42 - Cards for Men

Hello Crafters!

This weeks challenge from Artistic Inspirations is all about the guys! Lets make those cards for the men in our lives. And our wonderful sponsor is:

Please visit their shop for a host of great images to choose from. You won't be dissapointed!

Right, on with my project. I chose "Fish Whisperer" as my image this week. I could see this image used in a variety of different cards for guys but, Father's Day seemed to be the best idea at this time.

So as not to make this gentleman look toooo old, I colored his hair with a base of gray and went over it with a tan color and added the beard. I mean, really, have you ever seen a clean shaven fisherman? I just loved this image. I colored him with my spectrum markers and added a little green to the ground to give the appearance of sparse grass. I used Old Olive card stock (SU) for my base then a layer of craft stock. On top of that I added a wood grain designer paper onto which I scored a few lines and sanded for a worn look. The mesh on the angle is actually dry wall tape (it's already sticky on one side). I have a whole roll of that stuff. You can ink it up with other colors of ink too. How cool is that? Ok, so then I added the natural twine over the the right side. Mr. Whisperer was popped up on Old Olive card stock as was the sentiment (SU). The sentiment was punched out using a small oval punch (SU). I used chocolate chip ink to sponge all the edges to make it a little more rustic.

So, there you have it. My first Father's Day card for this year. Haven't decided who the recipient will be of this card yet but...there are a couple of possibilities.

Head on over to the Artistic Inspirations blog and check out the rest of the DT's projects for more inspiration. Then, won't you join us for this challenge? Can't wait to see your entries.

Happy Crafting!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #2 - Flowers

Hello Crafters!

Whoo Hoo! It's time for challenge #2 at Fat-Tastic Tuesday and we have a great theme for you this time 'round. Our sponsor:

Lacy Sunshine will be offering something from her shop for you. Wow, does she have some great images. I just love everything in her shop.

So, following this sketch for the next two weeks entries:

and add all the flowers you like!

Here's my project for the first week.

Now, isn't Miss Eleanor the Clown just the cutest? I could not help picking her as my image this week because my alter-ego is Pokey-Dot the Clown. Emphasis on pokey for polka dots. I just fell in love with this little gal and had to use her for this challenge. I did turn the sketch a quarter turn to the left.

As usual I made a 4x4 card. The base is Certainly Celery card stock from SU as well as the polka dot designer paper. I used a balloon stencil for my oval from the sketch and popped up Miss Eleanor after coloring with my Spectrum markers and cutting her out. I like the understated 1/8" ribbon for the stripe down the side. I decided to get a little creative with it and bring it up through my big yellow flower and tie in a bow. Interesting effect I think. Anyway, I cut out the sentiment from some glittery designer paper in my stash and popped it up on foam tape then added the little flower buttons (SU) to add a different texture to the mix.  I don't do a lot of "bright" cards but seem to be doing more of them lately. All in all I am happy with this one. Let me know what you think.

Well, now you should get on over to the Fat-Tastic Tuesday blog and check out the rest of the great projects from our DT. There's plenty of inspiration there! Then, come on back and enter the challenge. You can enter 2 times per week for a total of 4 - 4x4 projects. How fun is that? Never done a Fat Page or 4x4 card before? Well, give it a try - you'll be hooked!

Oh, don't forget to come back to FTT on week 2 of the challenge for some more inspiration and the announcement of the winners from the last challenge.

Happy Crafting!

Artistic Inspirations Challenge #41 - Lace & Flowers

Hello Crafters!

The challenge this week at Artistic Inspirations is all about Flowers and Lace. I rather enjoyed this combination. Our sponsor is Eureka with 5 digi's of winner choice.

Please check out their shop for all their images. You won't be disappointed. I used "Garden Square" for my image.

I used black card stock from Paper Studio, the soft plaid paper is from K&Co and the lace doily is from my stash. The polka dot ribbon is from Offray. I used my Spectrum markers to color the image. The shimmery flowers are from Michael's and the brads are from my stash. The sentiment is from SU and the tag punch is from Paper Shapers. I also use Pink Passion ink from SU and Stazon ink to ink up the edges. The image and the sentiment are both popped up on foam tape. The tag is punched from Certainly Celery card stock from SU. The cording on the tag came from Hobby Lobby. The butterfly stamp, punch and card stock are from SU as well.

So, won't you play along with us this week? It's sure to be fun. The inspiration from the Artistic Inspirations Design Team is great so go check it out.

Happy Crafting!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #29 - Pink, Black & Skulls

Hello Crafters!

We have a new challenge at Eclectic Ellapu this week for the purple team. Jacki is heading up this challenge and she just loves the dark themes so that's what she chose for us. BTW, I should mention that Jacki is starting a new challenge blog just for dark themes if you are interested. Just click on her name above to go to her blog then she will direct you to the new one.

Ok, so skulls and stuff are not in my comfort zone for project ideas but I gave it a shot so as not to dissapoint my teammate. What do you think?

 I started with a layout from Page Maps (see right side bar for a link). I tried to make it as girly as I could by starting with the pink card stock (SU) and the flowered designer paper (Stamping Station). The plaid designer paper is just a scrap layered on white card stock which seemed to call for a little something extra so I added the pink trim to jazz it up a bit. The scallop circle was done on black card stock with a Nestabilities die and I added white dots with my gel pen. The circle punches are from Stampin' Up. The girlie skull stamp is one I had stashed in with some miscellaneous Halloween stamps (unknown). I liked the bow on her head so I accentuated it with a little ribbon. I popped up on foam tape the white layer and the black layer. I chose the organdy ribbon (SU) to fill in some open space. I popped up the sentiment piece with foam tape after stamping the lace border stamp (unknown) and adding the pink trim. You will notice that I inked some edges in white (color box) ink and some edges in black (Stazon) ink. The last to go on was the pink bling dots which don't look like they match here but in real life they look nice (still working on my photo editing skills).

Well, that's my card for today. I hope you like it. Now why don't you give it a try and get on over to Eclectic Ellapu and join in the challenge. I'm looking forward to seeing all your projects as well as the rest of the DT. Be sure to check out the DT projects while you are there for a little inspiration, there is plenty to be had!

Happy Crafitng!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge #1 Inspiration Week

Hello Crafers!

This week is Inspiration Week at Fat-Tastic Tuesday and it looks like we need a little more inspiration for you all so we can get some entries for this challenge. Don't forget you can enter up to 4 times for each challenge as long as it's a different project each time.

 Remember the sponsors are:

                                                     

                    

  They are each offering a prize for winners of the first challenge here at FTT. So be sure to check out their shops to see all the great images they have to choose from.

My project is using "Presents Stacked" form Dillybeans. I chose a bit more masculine theme this time. I don't seem to make enough of those kinds of cards so I gave it a try.

I just love this image and the choice of blue and brown together. I used SU card stock and designer paper as well as the sentiment stamp and small oval punch for the balloons. It's a pretty simple card but, I rather liked it that way. 

Well, I hope you will check out the rest of the design teams inspiration projects and join in the challenge. Making 4x4 fat pages and cards really is fun! There's only about 6 days left so you better get busy!

Happy Crafting!

Sir Your Stash (SYS) Saturday

Hello Crafters!

Well, here is another month beginning and time to Stir Your Stash. Before I get on with my project I would like to put a shout out for the new blog I have started with Abbie from Artistic Inspirations. It's called Fat-Tastic Tuesday. You may remember we did a DT call a few weeks ago. We chose a wonderful design team for our new blog and it is now up and running. Please stop by and take a look and why not play along with the cahllenge while you are there.

Now, on with today's project. I have a cute card to share with you today that I know you will want to make. The smallest of designer paper leftovers will work great for this card. Take a peek:

Each of the little flags here are no more than 2" long. The widest one is only 1" with the smallest being only 1/2" wide. I love the different coordinating scraps. The flowers are from some tissue paper I found in a drawer. I cut 10 layers of flowers and used a brad in the center to hold it together. I found the heart from left over Valentines Day supplies and the bling is from my stash. When I was all done, I sprayed Shimmer Mist (Stampin" UP)  over the whole card front. This card also fits in the "Clean and Simple" catagory. Hope you give this a try. Leave me a comment if you do with a link so I can check out your work.

Happy Crafting!

Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenges Start Today! Challenge #1 - Birthday

Hello Crafters!

I've been waiting for this day for a long time. We are so excited over at Fat-Tastic Tuesday to finally be starting our challenges. Our challenges will run for two weeks and not only will we give you a theme to follow but we will have a sketch for you as well. We will also have an inspiration post on week two just to keep you interested (kind of sneaky, huh?). You are allowed to enter 2 times per week and must use the sketch to eligible to win. The top winner of our challenges will get to come back as the Guest Designer for our Inspiration Post in the next challenge. Our challenge is for 4"x4" Fat Pages, 4"x4" Cards, or 4"x4" Mini Books. We have some great sponsors lined up for you too. So, won't you join us? It's sure to be a fun time!

Our sponsors for this challenge are

3 digis of winners choice

5 digis of winners choice

3 digis of winners choice

As I said, our theme this week is birthday. Here's the sketch we have for you to use:

And here's my project for the first week:

Isn't this bear just the cutest image? I printed her out twice and colored her with my Spectrum markers then cut out her face, arms and foot pads from the second image and popped them up here. It really adds dimension to her. I also (although you can't tell here) put crystal lacquer on the little heart she's holding to add some dimension there as well. I started this project with craft card stock and layered with Recollections coordinating designer paper. The little pennants were punched from a SU punch but, I did cut them down a bit to fit this card. The bakers twine is from Memory Keepers and the bling is from my stash. I did turn the sketch 1/4 turn to the right in order to accomodate the image (totally allowed in the challenge).

Well, that's my first project for the first challenge for our brand spanking new Fat-Tastic Tuesday Challenge blog. Please check out the other designers projects as they are wonderful and be sure to play along! We would love to have you!

Happy Crafting!

Artistic Inspirations Challenge #39 - Lots of Layers

Hello Crafters!

This weeks challenge over at Artistic Inspirations is all about layers. We want you to pile them on. Our sponsor

 

is offering 4 digis of winners choice from their shop.

My project this week includes an image called "The Greatest Gift".

  

 I used Stampin' Up card stock, designer paper & die cuts as well a some ribbon and flowers from my stash. The image is layered and popped up on some foam tape. Of course I inked the edges all around and added a little bling to dress it up a bit. 

So, I hope you will play along this week. The DT have created some beautiful projects so go check them out and enter our challenge. We would love to have you play along.

Happy Crafting!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #27 - Anything Goes

Hello Crafters!

We have an awesome challenge going this week at Eclectic Ellapu. You can make absolutely anything you want this time around. This is right up my alley and I hope its up your alley too. So here's my project.

I just love making craft type projects and really need to make more time for them. I made this little tower for a friend who has limited space in her craft "area". I started by making 16 drawer boxes with the help of my Silhouette machine. Handy little machine to have it is! The box bases are made from craft card stock while the drawers are made from Always Artichoke card stock. I found some beautiful papers that were given to me by the friend that this happens to have been made for. Not a coincidence. ;-)

The boxes are 2" square with the drawers being ever so slightly smaller. After I assembled the boxes using white glue (recommended for sturdiness). I started stacking them layer by layer using more white glue. I alternated the boxes so that on any given side I had 4 drawers to open. Once I had all that done and dried overnight I applied the paper squares to all sides. I ended up using 2 of each pattern paper per side.

For the drawer handles I used office supply brads that were a bit longer than the usual scrapbooking/card making brads to make them extra sturdy. I layered the handles with a washer on the bottom then a hex nut, and then the brad on top. Here's a close up.

After completing this step, with wet glue I attached a piece of card stock to a 4" lazy susan base that I picked up at Ace Hardware and trimmed to fit (both layers). Once I let that dry (another overnighter) I glued my tower to the base and weighted it down while it dried. Once the whole thing is dry I attached the card I made here.

This really was an easy project, just a little time consuming. I had so much fun though that I want to make drawers for a cubby cabinet I picked up at the scrapbook store. Ok, I actaully have 4 of these cabinets and they each have 9 cubby holes. Not sure how soon I will be working on this project but it will take me a while once I get started. I just hope I can manage the time to do it as I am giving my craft space a major cleaning right now. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. Just trying to be positive!

So,what are you going to make for our challenge at Eclectic Ellapu? I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Happy Crafting!

Artistic Inspirations Challenge #38 - For the Ladies

Hello Crafters!

Our newest challenge at Artistic Inspirations is "For The Ladies".

Our sponsor is

They are offering a voucher to spend in their shop.

I have chosen "Artsy Flower" for my image this week. Here's my card:

With the exception of the Floppy Lattes image, most of my supplies are from Stampin' Up. I did use my Spectrum markers and the paper flowers are from Prima. I used the note die from SU to cut out my image or at leas part of it. I just loved the way all the elements came together on this card. I do think though that the next time I use this image I will most likely paper pierce the dots around the flower.

I hope you have enjoyed my project today. Please stop over to Artistic Inspirations and see the rest of the teams wonderful projects then join in the fun. Remember there's a voucher to be won!

Happy Crafting!