24 Days of Christmas - Day 19 - Merry & Bright Wall Decor

 

Hi, crafters!! Less than a week away now--are you ready for Christmas? I have another Christmas decor project to show you today. I used a well-discounted 4th of July metal star decoration that I had bought at Hobby Lobby eons ago. By the time I got to the store, the discount was 90%!! I just can't pass up a good deal like that. I've used it for the last three summers, hanging it on my front porch.

Today I gave it new life by first painting the red, white and blue star with white acrylic paints. After it dried, I added the words Merry & Bright using a green and red Posca paint pens (these are so nice if you don't have a Cricut). I put a protective coat of gloss varnish on the star, adding an outline of gold adhesive-backed gems while the varnish was still wet. I just don't trust the sticky backing of gems, especially when the project will be outside in the elements.

I sprinkled some shiny clear glitter, using up the last of my Stampin' Up glitter I had bought before the turn of the century! I don't normally use glitter on projects because it gets everywhere, but Christmas often calls for the shimmer and shine...

I'm going to hang it under the front porch light so the light catches the glitter. So now 'm down one Independence Day decoration, but have a new Christmas one. I'd call that an even trade, wouldn't you?

P.S. (Okay, you caught me. When I painted and decorated my star, I didn't realize I had turned it so that the chain with which to hang it was not centered. But it doesn't look bad).

2nd Patio Table

I finally put the last coat of varnish on the second patio table top. I created the design using fluid acrylic paint pour. I decided to add a little sparkle by adding glitter on a few choice areas like the one below

Here are both my tables, curbside freebies that were rusted black wrought iron and tiled mosaic tops, now brought into the 21st century. They are the last items I'm packing in my car when I drive out to open my "cabin in the woods" for the season (depending on the stay-at-home orders). Can't wait to get out there and relax.

Challenges I am Entering:

Creatalicious Challenges - Anything Goes with optional add Sparkle

Get Creative -  Make It Sparkly

It's Cool to be Square at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog

Today marks the halfway point of the challenge at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog. The theme is to Make It Square. Since America's Independence Day is literally a few days away, I created this card to celebrate the holiday.
I used #a87 Peek-a-boo digi image from the Scribbles Store. After selectively coloring my kitty with gold glitter pen, I used my Copic marker to draw the red stripes on a piece of white cardstock to frame him. The sentiment is from a Stampin Up rubber stamp set I've had for almost 20 years!
Scribbles Designs has a lot of adorable images, and when you link up your card or project to the main blog, you'll have a chance at winning free digis from the store. Good luck and happy crafting!

Challenges I am Entering

Always Fun - Patriotic
Classic Design Team - Anything DT Goes
Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
Creatalicious - Anything Goes w/optional Spots or Stripes
Worldwide Open Design Team - Anything Goes
Corrosive Challenge- Anything Goes

It's White on White at Ike's World Challenge Blog

Sometimes, not always, colors can be highly over-rated. Sometimes, it's nice to surround yourself with an absence of color. That's why this fortnight, the optional theme at Ike's World Challenge Blog is to create "white on White."

For my DT make, I used Ike's Igloo from her World Series Tour  Inuit Set. You can't get whiter than snow and ice, right? I used Stickles and glitter for the snow, and used Glossy Accents for the ice. My card background is embossed white cardstock. I embellished with adhesive and die-cut snowflakes.

I created my card to give to my hubby. It looks to be a long, cold winter for the two of us. I want him to keep in mind that we will always be together to weather whatever weather comes our way, metaphorically speaking. I used a little Glossy Accents to create icicles dripping from the top of my sentiment and then bordered it with more glitter. As Mal would say. "Shiny." (Firefly/Serenity quote)

What inspires you to create without color? Remember, this is an optional theme, so you can always create anything you wish, but are you up for a little challenge? Don't forget to link up with Ike's World Challenge Blog for your chance to win free digis from her store!!

Good luck and happy crafting!

Challenges I am entering:

International Art & Soul - Monochromatic 

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Somewhere Over the Rainbow at Ike's World Challenge Blog

One more week before the challenge over at Ike's World Challenge Blog ends. It's always Anything Goes with an Optional Twist. This month the Twist is Over the Rainbow. I used an image from Ike's Art called Shhh! on one of my watercolors that I printed out on glossy cardstock.
My sentiment is difficult to read. It is:

"I can only eat Glitter and Rainbows. Darn my sensitive stomach."

Her hair is colored with a mi of Copics, pencils and metallic gel pens. and yes, the bird is part of the card. LOL I snagged 4 of these cute tiny bluebirds from an antique store for a quarter each. Great deal!

You have until Sunday night to link up your project (anything goes) for your chance to win free digis from Ike's Art store. Good luck and happy crafting!!

It's Still Cold at Scribbles Challenge Blog

Today is the MIDPOINT of the BABY IT'S COLD OUT THERE challenge at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog. I created a card using Scribbles' Snow Kisses. I love the snowmen and penguin characters that Sandy has created for her store. 
I also love the color teal, which is featured on my card by the light teal glitter paper, ric rac paper and my Copic coloring. The patterned paper is from a new paper kit from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. The set is called Angelic Nature.
I finished off my card with some glittery alphas to spell out Brrr (which happens to be the penguin's trade name if you go to Scribbles Designs). A spray of silver and a snowflake bow dipped in glitter and my card looks, well, like winter! ...which Chicago has returned to, after enjoying an unseasonable week of T-shirt weather.
This challenge runs through the 14th of March, so pull out your winter embellishments and come join the fun at Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog.

Challenges I am Entering:

Anything Goes w/optional twist - Use a bow

 The newest challenge at Ike's World Challenge blog has reached its midway point. Their challenges are now Anything Goes, with some months offering a Twist. This month the Twist is to Use a BOW. I created my card with an image from Ike's Store called Spanish Dancer. I love this image because my cousin dances with a Spanish Dance Company, and she also teaches Flamenco classes.

My card has a surprise in that the image is part of a removable bookmark. My family and I love to read, and we're always losing our bookmarks, so demand is high. Mine folds over the top of a page. My bow  is actually a glitter sticker at the top.
My sentiment reads, "Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances. I'll talk more about that in the next challenge for Ike's World Challenge Blog. Meanwhile, share your art with us for your chance to win free digis from Ike's Art store.
Happy crafting!

Anything Goes at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenge

Good morning, crafters! It's Anything Goes at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge and this week Rick St Dennis is our very generous sponsor, offering 2 digi images to a winner. I colored up an image called Sister Jubilata, then inked the edges of my image and let it sit on my craft desk for a couple days.
Time did its trick and when I came back to my Copic-colored image, I knew I wanted to use it on a recyclable container headed out the door. I rescued it and covered it with patterned paper and sprayed the cover with gloss Black spray paint.

I pulled out boxes and drawers of embellishments for this Blessings Jar featuring Sister Jubilata. Leftover die-cut, flowers, jeweled flourishes and trim went onto my jar. Then I added glue and glitter to make it shimmer and sparkle.

I finished off my project with a leftover flower on top of my lid. Any guesses as to what my Blessings Jar started out as? (I'm really proud of this upcycle project)
Meanwhile, grab your craft supplies and join us in our monthly Anything Goes challenge that starts today! And as always, crafters, have fun!

Confidence is the Theme at the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog

A little canvas with a big message! Today I created a mixed media canvas to try to convey the theme of CONFIDENCE at the Path of Positivity Challenge blog.
Let me tell you, it takes a LOT of confidence to dance in front of others. Of course, most of my dancing happens in the store aisles where they insist on "entertaining" shoppers with a little mood music. Like it's going to subconsciously convince us to grab more groceries, clothes or craft supplies!
But I grew up with American Bandstand, where teens danced on TV and got to "rate" a new song. Their most positive comment (and most often uttered)? "It's got a good beat I can dance to." And I can hear that beat over the store speakers and first I start humming, then my pace matches the beat, and soon I'm swinging my hips as I reach for the laundry detergent. When this happens, whoever came in with me quickly disappears down another aisle.
Any time you say to the world, "Here I am. This is me," whether you're stepping into a roomful of strangers, dancing to "elevator music" or showcasing your art on your blog, you are exercising that Confidence muscle. When you realize that your only competition is yourself, and you quit making comparisons with others, you are on the path toward happiness and success.
Speaking of paths, you have a whole month to confidently create something that follows the theme of Confidence. A card, a tag, a photo with a description, an altered art piece, a journal page,even a canvas--the sky's the limit, as long as it inspires Confidence in yourself and others.
There are two sponsors this month with some great prize offerings. The first sponsor is Ike's Art, whose image I colored up with Copics and placed confidently on my canvas.

The second sponsor is Scribbles Designs, and I'll get to show you my DT make using one of Sandy's images later in the month.

Confidence can manifest itself many different ways. How will YOU interpret this month's theme? Check out the Path of Positivity Challenge Blog for inspiration, and I hope I see you over there with a link to your creation this month. 

Happy crafting!

Challenges I am Entering:

A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes (no cards/ATCs)

Animal Friends challenges - Summer (with an animal)

Crafts & Me - Anything Goes

Doodle Pantry - Anything Digital Goes

Sisters of Craft - ANything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge - Animals

Going Green at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge blog

Hello, crafters! Welcome to a new challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings. This week's theme is Going Green - use something green on your project. Our generous sponsor this week is Moonflower Digistamps, whose image I used to create my card. She's called Gypsy Flower.

I decided to create an acrylic card. This is my second attempt. My first was just too "invisible." It was hard to photograph and brooked no embellishments at all. So I gave my card a cardstock base, adhering some leftover patterned paper to it. The pie e of acrylic is attached to a slight overlap of cardstock from the back, and I had to add a strip of the same to keep the front from sliding forward all the time it was open. I added a line of pearls to the strip.

I popped my image onto the acrylic face of my card, added a bow to her hair, and decided to place one butterfly onto this part of my card. I added a smaller butterfly to the inside, along with my sentiment. I finished off my card by adding a row of glittered brads and Gypsy Flower is ready for her close-up.

Now it's your turn to play with a "bit o' green." Create a project (don't forget a greeting or sentiment needs to be on the front of it) and ink up with the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge for your chance to win digis from Moonflower Digistamps.

Challenges I am Entering:

ABC challenges - C is for Cute

Card and Scrap - Shabby Chic/Vintage 

Crafter's Cafe challenges - Inspired by a Song (Just the Way You Are-Bruno Mars)

Just Keep on Crafting - Anything Goes

Naughty or Nice challenges - At the Movies (nice-Romeo & Juliet)

Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Celebrate with the Quirky Challenge Blog

Another winter-y Sunday keeps me holed up in my craft room, warm and cozy. Not complaining!! Come on, Old Man Winter, bring it on! Any excuse to play in my craft room...

So today, the snow outside inspired me to play with this Stitchy Bear digi image for my DT make for the Quirky Crafts challenge blog. Stitchy Bear is the sponsor this month. The image is called Lake Winter, and I couldn't wait to use the lacy paper doilies I snagged at my local thrift store on this card. I gave the image a light teal color wash with Copic BG10 before framing it onto a card using assorted shades of teal. The bright white really makes my image pop!

I used a toothbrush  and some white acrylic paint to flick a flurry of snow over the lake. I found a floral spray of silver along with a tiny bow to add to my snowflake embellishments.A spray of tiny pearls "lifted" from an old flower arrangement and some hand-drawn stitching complete my card today.

Have you linked up your celebration card or project with the Quirky Crafts challenge blog yet? This is the midpoint, so you have plenty of time to come join the fun! Whether it's freezing outside, or starting to boil over, depending on your hemisphere, I hope you have some time to craft!

Stitchy Bear is offering some great prizes this month:

 1st prize: 3 images of choice from the entire Stitchy Bear store
 2nd prize: any 3 images used by the DT
 3rd Prize: any 2 images used by the DT

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafts & Me - Anything Goes/Optional Winter (linked to Facebook page)

Dream Factory - The Snow Queen

Stitchy Bear (on Facebook) - Anything Goes

Dedicated to the One I Love

Are you a dedicated person? Do you have goals that you work hard to achieve? This month's theme at the Path of Positivity is Dedication. I am dedicated to my family. I am dedicated to the families in the educational program in which I work. I know many others who are dedicated to people, to causes, to lifestyles.
And then there is the spirit of Christmas! Santa is dedicated to bringing joy to children worldwide, and speaking from one dedicated person to another, our willingness to focus our dedication toward something specific requires some major downtime. 
So today my DT project is a funny "after the holidays" card that showcases  Santa's dedication to children. you may only see him once a year, but he works the entire year to make Christmas morning the delight that it is to children everywhere--except the day after Christmas. That's when Santa can unwind, and dedicate a few days toward relaxation and simple pleasures, like wiggling his toes in the warm sand and not worrying that all his reindeer are flight-ready!
You have from today through October 4th to create a card that showcases in some way the theme of dedication. If the theme isn't obvious in your card or project, please write in your post or comment on the challenge blog the reason how dedication plays into your project. We love to read about the themes, it inspires us in our own creativity.
Our guest sponsor this month is Sparkle N Sprinkle, who is offering two prizes for this challenge, which will be:

• $15.00 worth of digital images for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.
• $15.00 worth of digital images for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.

There will also be:

• One digital designer paper (made to order in a couple different ways) 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

My project today showcases an image called Southern Santa from Sparkle N Sprinkle. He is definitely on down time. I colored Santa with Copics, "sprinkling" some "sparkle" on the scene by making a few waves. I used a couple papers from my "de-stash" box of leftovers, and played around with the last of my lovely teal webbing, a broken bracelet of starfish charms and beads, a few beach-y buttons and a couple sentiment labels. I do believe someone should warn Santa that it's time for him to turn over or he may be mistaken for a lobster!! I am willing to fly out to the beach and join warn him. LOL

Challenges I am Entering:

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes

Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes

Digitally Sweet challenges - Anything with wings (seagulls & flamingos)

Simply Papercraft challenges - Anything Goes

Stempelsonnen challenges - Alles Geht (anything Goes)

Sparkle & Sprinkle challenges - Anything Goes w/loose glitter, powders, etc

Anything Goes from the Outlawz Freebie Progressive Challenges

Hello, crafters! Today brings a new challenge from the Outlawz Freebie Progressive challenge. If you played in last month's Anything Goes challenge, using Elephant with Birdie from Gerda Steiner Designs, then you will receive the digi image I used above from Encino Stamps. It's called Freddie, and he is so much fun!
The rules are very simple: join the challenge, send us an email and then enter a project made with the image supplied before 6.00pm Outlawz Time on the last day of the month and you will automatically get the next image. If for any reason you don’t get your project made and you would like to rejoin us you can buy the image of the month from the sponsors store and as long as you enter it before the end of the month you will get the next one free and you will then get them automatically each month you enter a project.
I decided to take Freddie into a new color realm, since it ain't easy being green. Using leftover patterned paper from Basic Grey for my background, I cut a lily pad out from cardstock and Freddie hopped into place. I can't remember where I heard the words I used on my card, but it was easy to print them up on Microsoft Word. I drew the flies freehand (don't laugh). I tossed some very fine glitter over the lily pad, and used Stickles on Freddie. To finish my project, I added chipboard stickers and jeweled flowers, and finally a slim piece of ribbon.
If you missed last month's freebie, you can go to Encino Stamps and purchase Freddie and join in the fun. Just remember, you must register at the Outlawz Freebie Progressive challenge and link up your project in order to receive the next month's free digi. We have some wonderful sponsors set up throughout the year-don't miss the fun!! 

Other Challenges I am Entering: