Christmas in July - Get a Headstart

Trying to beat the heat this month? Try challenging yourself to create a card or project for Christmas. That's right, Christmas (card-making) in July! Bugaboo Stamps is celebrating with a 7-day Christmas in July challenge, and today is Day 4 - a movie and BINGO-inspired theme.

I created my card by choosing the middle horizontal line as my inspiration, while keeping the holiday movie "Elf" in mind. I used a Bugaboo image called Christmas Girl 3, coloring her with Copics before popping it onto my 3-sided Christmas Ornament.. After putting the ornament together, I popped my elf onto one of the sides, using Stickles on her hair and her hat's white fur. With her is my handmade signpost. I don't know what Santa's elf turnover is, but I'm sure as the amount of toys needed for Christmas increases, so will his overhead, hence the Help Wanted sign!

On the second side, I popped a die-cut Christmas present, embellished with a few strands of floral decorations (lots of sparkle there). By the way, the line of gold sequins goes around all 3 sides of the ornament.

My 3rd side is of another die-cut present. I don't know if you can see it, but I popped a red jingle bell inside the ornament to add to the music from the 2 hanging jingle bells.

Here's a close-up of the Bugaboo Stamps image I used to create this sparkly handmade pyramid ornament.

Challenges I am Entering:
Catch the Bug - Day 4

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas Goes

ABC Christmas - N is for No Peeking/O is for Ornament

Sweet Stampin' Christmas - Anything Goes/optional Christmas in the Sun

Photo Inspiration for Christmas Cards This Month

Hello there crafters! Welcome to another challenge at The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up. It is the first day of September and that means there are only four months left to add to the Holiday Card Pile, so let's continue with that goal in mind!
This month it's a holiday-photo inspiration challenge. The great thing about pictures is that one person can be moved by one aspect while another may see something totally different. So, whether you are inspired by the colors, the shapes or the objects themselves, it doesn't matter. 

For my card, I chose to pull the colors teal and red from the photo, along with the package's striped wrapping. They inspired me to create a non-traditionally colored but very modern greeting with Peace as the central theme. The image is from Sparkle n Sprinkle and it's called "70's Peace Sign." SNS is the guest sponsor this month at the 12 Months of Christmas Link-Up Blog. I also used papers from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles"

and

 In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month, make sure that your Christmas card is inspired somehow by the above picture. The inspiration can be showcased in your image or your papers but they must be used prominently.  If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize. You will also need to let us know what inspiration you took from the picture. You can simply write a sentence at the bottom of your post next to the link up for this challenge if it would be easier.

Remember, you don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, and have your name thrown into the year end draw for some extra digital goodies. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of a $15 gift certificate to the Sparkle N Sprinkle store.

Happy crafting!

Challenges I am Entering:

The Merry Christmas challenge - Anything Goes

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Anything Goes

A Snowflakes Promise- Anything Goes

Show Us Your Favorite Designer at 4 Crafty Chicks

Well, crafters, this was one difficult project. When I learned that the theme this week at 4 Crafty Chicks was going to be to choose your favorite designer, I thought, "Who can choose just ONE designer from all the fantastic artists and companies in blog land?! I finally went with a designer who has pushed me out of my comfort zone and into broader and more creative outlets. That designer is Sue Eisenhauer from Ike's Art.

Today I created a mixed media canvas and popped it into a wooden frame that I spray-painted in gold and white. My background is patterned paper that I sprayed with homemade blue shimmer spray. I used an American flag from Oriental Trading Company, then used a strip of leftover star-patterned paper at the bottom on which to adhere part of my sentiment.
I colored my image, called Libby, with Copics before attaching her against the front of the frame, giving my canvas some dimension. I added glitter to my image's hair, crown and nylon-ed leg as well as adding a strip of die-cut glitter paper to give my canvas even more dimension (and a little shimmer). My last bit of embellishing is the silver spray behind my image.

I chose my sentiment carefully. It reads: "May we think of freedom not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what's right"
Which designer is YOUR favorite? Choose one and create something and link it up to 4 Crafty Chicks this week!

Challenges I am Entering:

Craft Rocket challenges - Spots and/or Stripes

Southern Girls challenges - Anything Goes w/Team Trace

Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes

Moo Mania & More - Summer (I was inspired by my country's Independence Day summer holiday)

Everybody Art challenges - Summer/Holiday

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes

Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Mixed Media/Altered Art Goes

4 Crafty Chicks Challenges Has All That Glitters

Today brings a new GDT make for 4 Crafty Chicks challenge blog. The theme is "All that Glitters" and I created a hybrid card. A hybrid card is the merging of digital and paper crafting. My paper crafting uses a digital image from Bugaboo called Dottie 2-Step, coloring her with Copics. I also printed out my sentiment. After adhering my image onto digital paper, I used Photoshop to complete my card. The details are below:

Copic-colored Image: Bugaboo’s Dottie 2-Step

Papers: Decosse’s Dynamite Doodles Grungy Christmas Textured Paper Kit, Red, & Glitterati Paper Kit, Gold; Bokeh Solid Color Set 1, Blue; Pixel Scrapper Marisa Lerin’s “Yesteryear” Paper 02

Sentiment: My Mind’s Eye Lil Cowpoke cardstock quote

Font: Rosewood Standard

Digital Elements: DeeDee’s Digis’”Happy Trails” stamp set- Wagon Wheel & Hat on Cactus; Pixel Scrapper Melo Vrijhof’s “Thankful Harvest Elements- Rope 2; Pixel Scrapper Pauline Thompson’s Star Brad 7 & Bright & Beautiful Glitter Scatter 1

Do you "do" digital? Or 100% paper-crafting? Or like me, creating hybrid canvases and cards? Whatever you create, link up to 4 Crafty Chicks to show off your art! Happy crafting!

Creating with a Quirky Flower Theme

If it's your birthday today, I hope it blooms with wonderful surprises! That is the sentiment inside my DT card for Quirky Crafts Challenge blog today. I got to play with a digi image called Peekaboo Lulu

from Bloobel Stamps. I colored her with Copics, then cut out the inside of the circle fro which she is peeking. After backing the image with purple paper from my stash, I cut a circle slightly larger than the image and "framed" her with it. Besides the flowers in the patterned paper, I adhered an assortment of jeweled flowers around the border. (Can you tell that the thee over at Quirky Crafts challenges is FLOWERS?! lol

A line of lacy border, a handmade bow and my birthday greeting finishes off my card. I hope it inspires you to create with flowers this month and enter the challenge. There are three sponsors in May, which means more bang for your buck, or rather more chances to be a winner. Besides Bloobel Stamps, the challenge is sponsored by Ike's Art and Delicious Doodles.

Happy crafting!

Anything Goes at the Outlawz Monday Greetings

Today brings us a new challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings. And they also have two sponsors-that's twice the prizes offered this week! My first card uses the digi "Wine Bottle w/Glass" from Angie's Cards & Digis. My sentiment was inspired by the theme song from the movie "Cabaret." However, the theme this week is Anything Goes!
After coloring my image with Copics, I added a little dimension with white gel pen. My papers, die-cuts and embellishments are all pulled from my magic bag of leftovers (magic because it seems to be bottomless). I think my color scheme of pink, green and ivory work well here, don't you?

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafting when We Can - Based on a song (Cabaret)
Corrosive challenges - Girls, Ladies, Women (girls' night out)
Great Impressions challenges - Ladies Night

Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday challenges - Add a Quotation (misquoted from Cabaret)

My second card today uses a digi image from Creative Bug Designs, also sponsoring the Outlawz Monday Greetings this week.

I colored an image called "Look at Me, Lolly." I love that he's peeking through a hole just to greet us! I found this fabulous paper (again, stash is endless) and popped him smack in the middle of the "rays" of sunshine, thereby inspiring me to continuously hum "Hello Sunshine" by Aretha Franklin from 1968.

I adhered tiny jewels around my circle of sunshine and added some sequins for sparkle. After adding some fiber for texture, I die-cut my song-inspired sentiment, and my card is complete. Now if I could just get the song out of my head...

Challenges I am Entering:

Not Just Cards challenges - Anything Goes
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Time OUT challenges - Celebrations w/optional die-cuts or fussy-cutting)

Although my art today was inspired by songs, the theme at the Outlaw Monday Greetings is ANYTHING GOES, so go create and link up with us for your chance to win this week! 

BELIEVE in the Path of Positivity's Last Challenger of 2015

Welcome to the last challenge of 2015 at the Path of Positivity challenge blog!! It has been a wonderful year, filled with happiness, uniqueness, laughter, growth, serendipity, perseverance, opportunity, sharing, dedication, resiliency and gratefulness. The challenge themes have inspired cards, scrapbook layouts, art journal pages, altered art and mixed media projects. I am so blessed to be a part of the Design team!
This month's theme is "Believe." I believe that next year will be filled with just as much inspiration and creativity as 2015 has been. I also believe that the holiday season brings more chances to believe in a better future. So I created a card today that showcases my belief in a better world, with the sentiment, "Star light, Star bright, A wish for Peace on Earth tonight." Let's make it happen in 2016, shall we? I believe in us!!
This month we have TWO fabulous sponsors for our challenge:  Fresh Brewed Designs:

and Pickled Potpourri:

For my card today, I used a digi image from pickled Potpourri called Christmas Collage.

I used several papers from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles, one if the Path's regular sponsors (and why not, as Lisa of DDD is the owner of this fabulous blog). She has a paper kit called Glitterati that is so fun and sparkly and in several colors that I couldn't resist using it as my card base, framed with a paper from her 12 Months of Christmas paper pack. I also use papers from her Christmas Grunge pack, especially to frame all my images and sentiments. The pack comes in a variety of colors as well. The strip of patterned paper in dark teal of Santa's sled and reindeer is one from a new set called "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and is available here.

Before I go into the prize details, please check out Teresa, from Tickell Expressions.  Teresa has been a supporter of the Path of Positivity and plays along quite often, and is our Guest Design team member for December. Don;t forget to leave her a little love.

Here we go:

PRIZES:

•A $7 gift certificate from Pickled Potpourri Designs for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.

•Three images from Fresh Brewed Designs for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.

•One digital image from Creative Bug Digital SnapShots for each person chosen as a DT Delight.

ALSO:

•A small selection of digital designer papers from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky person who leaves a comment on posts published during the challenge time frame.

•One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge. 

So, crafters, what do you Believe?  Show us in a card, an art project, a photo, a layout or tell us in a post. And as always, have fun!!