Anything Goes at Your Scrapbook Place

Happy November, crafters! Today starts a new challenge at Your Scrapbook Place challenge blog. Our sponsor is Sweet Pea Stamps, and we are sad that the store will close very soon. There are so many talented artists whose images have brightened our days. Look for them on Etsy and Facebook.
Meanwhile, I created a card using  an image from Sandra Caldwell, one of my fave artists from Sweet Pea.The image is called Three Stooges. These guys were my hubby's favorites when it came to slapstick and guaranteed laughter.
Which makes my sentiment perfect for my card: "A good time to laugh is any time you can"
The challenge at Your Scrapbook Place runs the full month of November, and has an Anything Goes theme. So get crafty and link up with us for some fun, inspiration and a chance to win free prizes!!

Extra Fries?!

Well, I just booked our family vacation and we're headed to swim suit country. Which leads to spending what little free time I have on my spin bike. I'm up to 30 minutes, part (a very small part) of that time at 30 mph. So when I wanted a killer sentiment for my card, I was compelled to use the one I did. I think it's hilarious!
Today I colored up a Sweet Pea image called Spa-de-ha-ha by artist Lynne Stansbery. Don't those women look like they're having a fabulous time? The feel of this card is in sync with my Birthday Blowout celebration this month. If you haven't already, go to my original party post and read how you can be one of many winners of such prizes like digi goodies from Ike's Art, Creative Bug Designs, Decosse's Dynamite Doodles and Bugaboo. I also have crafting products from Stampin Up, Simpy Betty and much much more.
ALL my Followers who comment there will receive a special digi paper from Decosse's Dynamitr Doodles, and everyone who wishes me a Happy Birthday on that original post will receive the Ike's Art digi image I colored up for the card there. So you're already a winner just by Following my blog, wishing me Happy Birthday and placing my Birthday Blowout badge on your sidebar!! Woot, Woot!

Are you going on vacation this summer? Where are you going? If you have no plans, where would you go if you had the time and the money?? Comment today for your chance to win!!

Other Challenges I am Entering:

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - J is for Just Kidding

Crafty Catz - 2 or More Patterned Papers

Sister Act - Anything Goes
Sweet Sketch - (I turned mine 90 degrees and tilted the image)

Tuesday Throwdown - Friendship

A Little Beach Magic

Finally got some time to craft, and wanted to use up one of snags I made at my local Goodwill store, thinking how nice it would be to alter it.  The most difficult part was deciding what the theme would be--should I dig deep into my steam punkiness, or would a dark Halloween theme be better?

But it's summer, and the waves are calling me, so a Beach fantasy scene it is.  I started with a raw wood window frame with a flower shelf (a garden scene did tempt me, but I'm allergic to flowers, subconsciously allergic to fake flowers) that I picked up for $2.

I used acrylic paints until I got the frame the colors I wanted, then used the following mermaids for each window.  From top left to bottom right, they are:
Sweet Pea's "On the Shore" by Terra Bidlespacher, QKD's Porcelain Mermaid, again by Terra, and my newest purchase,  another Sweet Pea digi called "Wait for You" by artist Ching Chou Kuik.  I also used a stamped image from High Hopes of two friendly jelly fish.

I colored them all with my trusty Copics, and with my signature technique, fussy-cut them to put into my handmade scenes.

I love mixed media, which has to be my newest most favorite technique, so each "scene" has bits of surprises in each.

"On the Shore" features torn paper background, Stickled sandy beach, glitter button sun and a stray pearl or two.

A few tiny seashells are scattered along the wood frame as well.

In the "Porcelain Mermaid" scene, I actually used four pieces of dimensional tape so that my mermaid looks like she's sitting on the seashell I adhered to the wood frame.

I added some Liquid Glass bubbles, some Stickled shimmer, some pearl stems, seashells and fibers for misc. ocean stuff.

I had this gorgeous but large white starfish that I wanted to incorporate in my project, but no matter where I placed it, it blocked too much of one of the "windows.'  So I created a background from shimmery ribbon and cardstock and adhered a beach-themed ATC to it.

My next window features "Wait for Me", which I printed twice so that I could use dimensional tape so that the moon is "behind" her.  An adhesive accident with the moon caused me to apply a liberal dose of Stickles to cover it up.
I like to use feathers in my work, so her tail features one.  I hand-stamped the background patterned paper, and hung a seashell from the tip of the moon.  More seashells decorate the bottom of the window.

To finish off my project, I used some miniature scrabble tiles to spell out Beach Magic along the "ledge" and stuffed the ledge with raffia and seashells.

It took about two days to finish my project, and now it's in its new home.  I gave it to my son and daughter-in-law within one hour of the glue drying for their first anniversary.  Their wedding theme was tropical, and hubby and I hosted the reception in our backyard, going all out with tropical decorations and menu to boot.  It was a lot of work but worth it.

I'm entering my project in the One Sweet Challenge blog August challenge, which asks participants to use their favorite technique.  Mixed media and fussy-cutting are my faves--for the moment. LOL

A Few of My Favorite Things



Today I want to showcase three of my favorite cards.  I could say I'm feeling nostalgic, but there is a method to my madness.  Delicious Doodles is having a Design Team call and asks for a post of three fave projects.
The problem was I had trouble choosing just three, so one of the ways I whittled down my selection was to choose just from the cards I've made, no altered art, no decor, not gifts or layouts.  Just cards--I hope you like them!
The first uses a stamped image from Crafters' Companion on an easel card.  Making easel cards is easier than crafters who've never tried them think. But I wanted to create a twist to the "open" or stand up part of it. The reason this is one of my faves is the pure architecture of the card.  The colors coordinate, the image isn't lost in the embellishments, but mostly the lines of the card are beautiful.

Next up is a pretty stamped image from Sweet Pea.  I like this card because I used patterned papers to set my scene, and the colors are not your normal ones.  I also like that I set the image by herself, yet she is so much a part of the whole scene.
You can also tell I love to distress!  By crumpling,sanding and inking the "sandy beach", it has more dimension to it.
The whispy white bow makes a nice cloud, don't you think?

Last, I made a card using a HouseMouse image.  It's a simple card, mostly image, paper and a couple embellishments.  I chose this one for two reasons:  the first is I love chocolate! LOL
The second is that I love how the chocolates came out, using my Copic markers.  They look so yummy, and I hope that's because of my coloring!
The colors really pop on the card, and the sentiment just seems to say it all!


So, there you have it--my love of cards and coloring in a nutshell.  Wish me lucl with the DT call, and if you have time on your hands and the need to create, check out Delicious Doodles blog!

Sweet (Pea) Valentine

One of my 2013 crafting goals is to play in more challenges, so here's a card for the February Sweet Pea Challenge Blog.
Their theme is anything Valentine.  I used a Sweet Pea stamp from artist Terra Bidlespacher called "The Shore".  Her stamp is a beach scene, but I fussy-cut her out along with a crab and a starfish.
I colored her with my trusty Copics and adhered her to my card base of ripped papers-some distressed core-dinations cardstock and some CTMH paper.  I stickled the ripped edges to look like sea foam glittering in the sun.
I added some ink to the card edges and to the "Sandy" cardstock.  I tied a bow and put it in the sky, as well as some seagull buttons.
I added a computer-printed sentiment, part of the lyrics of a song from Disney's Little Mermaid:  "Go on and kiss the girl".  A lone (punched) heart puts the final touch on my card, and I'm ready to play in the challenge!
A random winner will receive a gift certificate for their store, so what are you waiting for?  Everyone can use another stamp (or seven). LOL

Singing (and crafting) Those Blues

My last card for the month of January at Forever night Creepy Challenge Blog features an image from Ike at Smudgtastic, this week's sponsor.  It's called Scheherazade and the challenge is to use shades of BLUE.

Blue is one of my favorite colors to use on cards, so I decided to make another one.  This is a Sweet Pea stamped image from artist Ching Chou Kuik called INTO THE WIND.

Now you may say that my cards don't look ery "creepy" for the Creepy Challenge, I ask you:
"What is she doing sitting on the moon in the dead of night, with bats flying all around her?"  And as far as the first card, don't you find it a little creepy that your life depends on telling a story every night for 1001 nights to stay alive??
LOL, creepy enough for me!!
Check out the Forever Night Creepy Challenges Blog for more inspiration, and while you're at it, Smudgtastic has some awesome images, which you can use for this week's challenge.