Use Purple & Green at the Oultawz Monday Greetings This Week

It's a Color Challenge this week at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge, and those colors are PURPLE and GREEN. This week's sponsor is Crafty Sentiments

 and the digital image I chose to use is called Just Relax 2 on a calendar page.

I snagged a "perpetual" calendar whose four sides are clear acrylic pockets in which I can place each month's calendar page. I created a page for August and placed birthday-themed picks in the center of my calendar. I did that because my youngest grandson, Jonny, turns ONE this month. Last year I was staying with my son's family as the due date neared. I was lucky in that my hubby and daughter came up to drive me home and we all ended up being there for his birth.
Come join the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge this week. Remember to follow the color theme of Purple and Green, and to make sure you have a greeting or sentiment on your project.

Musically-Inclined at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenges

Greetings, crafters! A new challenge is starting today at the Outlawz Monday Greetings and the theme is Music. I  created a card for my true love--we'll be married 40 years in September, so I used the song Thousand Years sung by Christina Perri. You can listen to it HERE.
This week, Decosse's Dynamite Doodles sponsors the challenge, and I got to play with some patterned paper from Lisa's Familiar Refrain Patterned Paper Kit. I used a golden overlay from Krysty Designs before framing my card face with black cardstock. I used another Decosse paper from her A Grungy Christmas Textured Paper Kit to print out a couple lines from the song that inspired me, cutting it out and making it my focal point. A bit of lace and a charm were added as simple embellishments and mt card is finished.
I love plying with papers from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles so much that I made a second card.

This time I created a 100% digital canvas/card using the same patterned paper from Lisa Decosse along with images from Happy Trails, a digital set by Dee Anderson of Dee Dee's Digis and embellishments from the following Pixel Scrapper designers:

Melo Vrijhof’s Thankful Harvest Elements, Rope 2 and

 Pauline Thompson’s Star Brad 7

My sentiment includes a couple lines from an old camp song in Black Betty Font.

Another sponsor this week is Bloobel with its quirky and funny images. My card above showcases an image called Birdy in a Tree. Teal is my go-to color, so I tend to grab papers and embellishments that coordinate in the many shades of teal. This will go to one of the several young women who have been graduated this year.
Finally (yes, I have been busy!) I created a calendar page for my desktop calendar.

I colored up another Bloobel image, Flootiful, and paired her with 4th of July embellishments.

My daughter was born on the 4th of July, and for years she thought she was very special because there were parades, carnivals and fireworks for her birthday. She is very special, because she has grown up to be a caring, generous and intelligent young woman. Happy Birthday, Wendy!!

Challenges I am Entering:

Dream Valley Challenges - Colors of your flag (USA-red, white & blue)

Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Marker POP challenges - Let's Celebrate

What's on your playlist? What will inspire you to create with the theme of music in mind this week? Whatever you create, don't forget to link up at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge for your chance to win! And as always, have FUN!

Hoppy Spring!

Today brings us a new challenge from the Outlawz Progressive Freebie Challenges. This month our most generous sponsor is Gerda Steiner Designs, who offers this digital image, called Bunny with Glasses.
I colored my Bunny with Copics before creating my calendar page. Since the calendar's pages fit between two pieces of clear acrylic, I kept my embellishments few and skinny - just a few jewels and a tiny flower.
I pulled the die-cut sentiment from my stash pile and used a white gel pen to match the white embossing of the letters. The actual calendar grid is from Google images.
If you played with the Outlawz Progressive Freebie challenge last month, expect your own Bunny with Glasses image in the next few days. If not, head over to the STORE, buy this one, and link it up. That way you'll enjoy free digis every month this year!
Meanwhile, enjoy winter's goodbyes and the first signs of Spring! Happy crafting!

Anything Goes at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenge

I have a friend who turns 21 on February 29. It's a magical birthday, as it only happens once every four years.How many 84 year old women can say they're celebrating their 21st birthday?!
I couldn't let this special Leap Year month go by without making a calendar page for my desk calendar. It is literally an acrylic set of boxes, whose four sides sandwich my monthly calendar pages. Since the middle is hollow, I can fill it with whatever suits my fancy, and this month I must fill it with those adorable Valentine conversation hearts. Yum!
Today starts another Anything Goes Challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings. Our sponsor this week is Lacy Sunshine, and I got to play with a cuter-than-cute image called Rory - Catching Butterflies. Although it is still mighty cold this month, it's always wise to keep warm thoughts close to your heart. So Rory is showcased on my February calendar page to remind me that warmer weather will eventually wind its way to my neck of the woods.
After coloring her with Copics, I frame her with cardstock and cut her out and pieced the sentiment next to her. A few jeweled flowers keep the embellishments simple and flat enough to fit between the acrylic layers of my calendar box.
Be sure to link up your own creation for your chance to win images from Lacy Sunshine this week. Don't forget to check out the DT inspiration and leave a little love before you go--everyone needs a little love!

Two for the Price of One

Today at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge blog, the theme is Anything Goes, and I took it and ran with it! There are two sponsors, Crafty Sentiments and Decosse's Dynamite Doodles, so I managed to create two projects for the challenge.
My first is a calendar page for my 2016 calendar. It is a perpetual calendar in that there are two acrylic boxes between which you can slip a calendar page. There are four sides and the middle is empty,  so I can place whatever I want in the middle-flowers, candy, etc., while displaying four months at a time. I started it last year.
I colored a Crafty Sentiments image called Just Relax. After creating the background with ink and brayer, I sat her down onto a snow bank with the month of January behind her. Since there is very little free  space between layers of acrylic, I embellished simply with tiny pearls and my greeting (it is, after all, the Monday Greetings challenge).

Decosse's Dynamite Doodles is also sponsoring the challenge, so I used Photoshop to create an inspirational digital canvas with some fun elements and papers from Lisa: purple papers from the Glitterati Paper Pack & Christmas Grunge Paper Pack, and 3 Button elements from the Spring Blooms Kit. I drew an outline of the crescent moon and then filled it with the buttons in varying sizes. My quote uses Butch font from The Hungry Jpeg (copyright pere esquerra). 
I hope you have as much fun with your crafting time this week as I had in mine. Don't forget to link up with the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge for your chance to win some nifty prizes.

Challenges I am Entering:

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - T is for Technique (brayered background)
Crafting Musketeers - New Beginnings (every month, every day is the beginning of something new)
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

Anything Goes at the Ourlawz Monday Greetings Challenge Blog

Time for another challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings group. This week's theme is ANYTHING GOES. I decided to continue creating pages for my desk calendar, using a digi image from this week's sponsor, Di's Digi Stamps. The image is called Snowbabes Sleigh Ride, and my sentiment wishes everyone who comes into my office some :Winter Wishes."
Because each page of my four-sided calendar is nestled in between two pieces of clear acrylic, they must be CAS, but just because something isn't chunky doesn't mean it has to be plain. I embellished with die-cut snowflakes and tiny jewels to give it some shimmer.
Now that I think of it, I should be making 2016 calendar pages, but then I couldn't show it off at work yet! I also need to put some pens and pencils in the open center, so it's not only pretty but useful.
Anyway, the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge is open through next Sunday evening, so stop by for some inspiration and don't forget to link up your ANYTHING GOES project for a chance to win prizes from or sponsor.
  

Gerda Stein Designs Sponsors the Outlawz Progressive Freebie

Now that the school year has truly started, I needed a desk calendar that would change with the seasons. I found a cool acrylic calendar/pen holder at my local Goodwill store for 99 cents and threw away the 2012 monthly pages.
I started with the month of October, using a digital image called "Kid with Pumpkin Handcart" from Gerda Steiner Designs. GSD is this month's wonderful sponsor at the Outlawz Progressive Freebie challenges group.

Everyone who played in last month's challenge will receive this image for free. Didn't play last month? Just go to the Shoppe and purchase it, create something with it and then link up with the Outlawz and the next month's image is free. Keep doing this and you will receive a free image every month. It's that simple!

After printing my image, I colored with Copics, and found and printed a 2015 monthly template for the rest of the year and into 2016.I chose a paper from my never-ending (or so it seems) stash. Since the space between the inner and outer acrylic faces is very thin, I had to go easy on embellishments, settling for some ribbon, a flower, a bow and a few scattered sequins.
Right now my calendar is holding a few Fall flowers and leaves, but once I bring it to my office, I'll add some pens and pencils. And maybe a few personal business cards in case people like my artwork!
Don't forget to check out all the lovely images at Gerda Steiner Designs. Hope you'll play along this month!!

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes

Crafty Girls Creations - Always Anything Goes

Scrap & Craft challenges - Autumn Colors

Share joy challenges - Color Palette

The Craft Garden - Autumn Colors