Meet the New Family Member - Sweet Carroteen the Troll

 

My troll makeovers are continuing over the summer. Blue and Pearl, previously featured, have welcomed a new member to their family, Sweet Carroteen. She is one of three new trolls I picked up and the first of them to make over. 

I was inspired to recreate her when I was organizing my basement after last weekend's garage sale. I found a Dollar Store faux succulent and thought it would look nice atop a small vintage troll. I pulled out the troll's hair and it fit very well, reminding me of a carrot. And so the orange paint went on!

The succulent and the moss underneath it act as the greens of a fresh-from-the-garden carrot (use your imagination). At first I painted her body and dress orange, but her personality was lost in that wash of color. So I repainted her, giving her a paler skin tone. She wears a fancy orange dress that she blinged herself (with a little help from me).

Blue and Pearl have taken her in, as she was wandering around a thrift store without parents. She doesn't remember her name or  if she even has parents. So until she remembers or a troll couple come to claim her, they are fostering her, giving her love and guidance and 3 squares a day. She's a very happy girl!

I hope you like my newest troll makeover. I have two more vintage trolls to re-fashion in the coming weeks. It might take a while, as I have just signed up for a booth at a local craft fair to sell all my Halloween and Christmas decor I crafted last year. Wish me luck!

More Than One Fold at Ike's World Challenge Blog

Today I decided to try my hand at a swing card. I haven't made one in forever, and while I was cleaning out my craft area (again) I found a template for this kind of card, so I took a swing at it. Since the theme over at Ike's World Challenge blog is "more than 1 Fold, this was the perfect time to try it out.
I used a digi image of an elephant silhouette, from the African Animal Silhouettes Set. I changed the black silhouette to a rusty dark orange, then used Photoshop to print the first part of my sentiment onto the image itself.

I cut and folded my card base according to the template, then cut the patterned paper from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles to fit. My elephant image was adhered to the front piece, and I printed, cut out and adhered the second part of the sentiment to the back.

Then I added the bling around the image and sentiment as well as the front of the card. And it works! It swings! Yay me! LOL

When you create something this month, don't forget to  link up with Ike's World Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift certificate to the Store. Good luck and happy crafting!

Challenges I am Entering:

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crafty Cardmakers - Masculine

Make My Monday - Kinetic

613 Avenue Create - More than one Fold

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Goes
Classic Design Team - Anything Goes
Crafty Animals - Anything Goes
Fabrika Fantasy - For the Men/Boys
World Wide Open Design Team - Anything Goes

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! 

Graceful Living

Welcome to a new challenge at the Path of Positivity challenge blog. This month we are celebrating GRACE. Grace is an attitude, a way you act, or react, to any given situation. Grace can be achieved with practice, with patience, and with compassion. Grace can lift spirits from a depressing day, a stressful event, even an overwhelming disappointment. It can turn a life around, as my sentiment reads. We should all practice to live gracefully-the world would be a much nicer, more peaceful place in which to live.
The challenge has two sponsors this month, Pickled Potpourri 

and Decosse's Dynamite Doodles

I used an assortment of papers and elements from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles:
 Acts That Can Change Lives set- sentiment 2
 Mommy Dearest Collection- Doilies Pack: Doily 1,2 & 3; Textured Paper Pack: Texture 9; Buttons,  Bows, Brads Pack: Button 5
 Cotton Candy Collection- Tag Grab Bag 1: Flower 6, Leaf Spray
 Glitterati Paper Pack- Purple glitter paper
...as well as elements from other digital resources:
from Pixel Scrapper Marisa Lerin- Pretty Things Elements Pack- Scatter, Butterfly 18; from Janet Scott- Christmas Day Glitter Dot Swirl; from  Elif Sahin- Ribbons #7 Templates, Ribbon template #6
All of these digital elements and papers came together to create my DT card for the new challenge. Some crafters do not appreciate the time and energy that goes into making a digital card or layout. I love hybrid and digital cards because I can store them easily, and I can print them to send out to family and friends. I can even email cards to my sister who now lives in Germany (postage across the world is SO expensive).
I hope soon that there will be more challenge blogs that accept hybrid and digital creations. Meanwhile, the Path of Positivity challenge blog accepts any and all creations of a positive nature, and this month the positive theme is GRACE. What can you create this month?

One More GDT Card for Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog

Every once in a while I'll forget someone's birthday and have to send a card out late. This image makes me want to send cards out late! LOL what a fun image from Scribbles Designs. Bloggers who know me say I have a quirky sense of humor-well, it takes one to know one, and I have several friends who would laugh out loud upon receipt of this off-key card.
This is my final DT make for Scribbles Designs Challenge blog, and I have had a blast with Sandy's fun and funny images and sentiments. The last three months I've stretched my comfort zone so much, trying new techniques like oil pastels and alcohol ink backgrounds, creating new card designs and reviving some old ones. I am so blessed to be given opportunities to showcase my artistic endeavors around the world.
If you get a chance, Scribbles Designs offers new challenges every month, with free images from the Scribbles Store to winners. Tell them Patacake sent you!!

Challenges I am Entering:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Corrosive challenges - Anything Goes

A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes

Crafty Time challenges - Birthdays

Hope Springs Eternal

Today brings a quick reminder that very very soon (April 1) I will be celebrating another year of glorious life on this planet with a Birthday Blowout. There will be games, questions, and challenges, and of course, PRIZES, from generous sponsors like Ike's Art, whose image, Shhh, is showcased in a card above. Other sponsors include Decosse's Dynamite Doodles, Creative Bug Designs, as well as prizes from Queen Kat Designs, Simpy Betty, Stampin Up, and many more.
For my card today, I wanted to help those still in the throes of winter temps, like Chicago. We had one fantastic day of Spring, where short sleeved shirts and capris could be seen against a background setting of mucky old hills of icy snow. Well, the snow finally melted, but Spring hid from our cheers and temps fell back into the 30s and 40s.
So I created this card to warn my peeps to be cautious in welcoming Spring. She's a little shy this year. I colored her with Copics, then popped her onto a shimmery card from DCWV. I added ribbon, jeweled flowers, a butterfly charm, a couple pearls, and even doodled a tad on one edge. My sentiment continues from the word "Shh" to the inside of the card, which reads, "You'll scare away Spring."
I am entering my card in Ike's World Challenge blog, whose challenge for another couple days is "Coloured Hair." I gave her the rich colors of Spring flowers (trying to get her to return). Wish us luck here in the windy city!
Other challenges I am entering:
(Pin)spirational challenges - photo inspired
Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
The Crafter's Cafe - What Season Are You In?
Fab n Funky - Spring into Color
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
Scrappers' Delight - Always Anything Goes #43
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes #51
Crafty Boots challenges - Spring
Monday Morning challenges - Think Spring
Stamp & Create - Is It Spring Yet?
That Craft Place - Add a Charm

Anything Goes with an Extra Fold

Today brings a new challenge to the Outlawz Greetings. This week you are asked to use an extra fold in your card or project. I made an easel card, so my card front folds down, resting on the card inside.

 One of this month's sponsors is Bugaboo, and as soon as I saw this funky chicken, I knew I had to play with it. The image is called Kitchen - Chicken Soup. While chicken soup may be the standard for making the sick feel better, I thought it a little odd that a chicken would be tasting, well, chicken soup!!  And so my sentiment was born..."Sick people should not self-medicate." Inspiration comes from the most unusual places, doesn't it?! LOL

SO, run, don't walk, to your craft area and make a card or project with a sentiment and an extra fold! Show us what you got!! Challenge runs until Sunday night--good luck, and have fun, crafters!

Other Challenges I am Entering:

Digitally Sweet Challenge - Anything Goes

Jo's Scrap Shack - Anything Goes

 Sister Act challenges - Anything Goes

C.R.A.F.T. challenges - Get Well