It's Boys' Zone at Joy's Life today!

Yay! It's Wednesday and that means it's the day that Joy's Life Design Team posts their inspirational projects. This week is Team 2's turn to post and that means me! I always get excited when it's our group's turn because I get to create another fun project using Joy's awesome stamps! This week we were tasked with creating something for the boys and/or men in our lives. Normally, associate trucks, fast cars and football when I think of the guys but right now, it's deer hunting season in Texas and one of my brothers, my brother-in-law and one of his sons are avid hunters. As I'm an animal lover through and through, I can't pass up an opportunity to poke a jab at them for "shooting Bambi"! It doesn't bother me nearly as much as it used to, mainly because they use whatever they shoot for food, even though I have never really acquired a taste for venison.

Anyway, long story short... I created this card for my brother-in-law and will give it to him the next time I see him. I'm not sure he'll appreciate the humor as much as I do but he'll just have to get over it! LOL I tried to keep it as masculine looking as I could with the plaid paper and brown ribbon.

As I often do, I left the inside blank until I can decide what I want it to say. I have a few friendship stamps but I'll have to decide which is the best fit for my brother-in-law and I haven't had a chance to go through them yet.  

Materials and Supplies:

Brown cardstock for card and mats - Core'dinations

DP - DCWV Halloween and Fall Stack

Image - Delicious Doodles (colored with Copics)

Greeting stamp - Joy's Life Wild Life Puns stamp set

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Leafy branch die cut - Sizzix 

Ribbon - my stash

Gold and white gel pens

I hope you'll take a few minutes and visit Joy's website to see the awesome project created by my very talented teamies and to check out all her stamp sets if you're not already familiar with them. They are super fine quality and so versatile. I think you'll love them as much as I do if you give them a try.  

Thanks for stopping by today. I should have another project or two ready to show you later in the week.  Last week was so busy with preparations for Thanksgiving that I didn't have much crafting time. So, until next time...

Happy crafting!

There's a new deal site designed for crafters!

In case you haven't heard, there's a new deal site called Blitsy starting up on November 25th!  It's supposed to work something like Groupon except that it's aimed at crafters.  It sounds pretty cool, right?  I hope it's as good as it sounds.  Follow the link below to check it out and to join the site.  Membership is free.  Then invite your friends, family and followers to join too and earn $10 credits for each one that joins by following your link and subsequently makes a purchase.

http://blitsy.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/5396/

Thanks and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everybody!

Anniebee

A Paper a la Mode Christmas Challenge!

It's Saturday and time for a new Paper a la Mode challenge at The Outlawz.  It was my turn to post the challenge which means I got to choose the theme too.  As I needed to start on my Christmas cards, I decided to use Christmas/Winter Holiday as the challenge theme.  I have already made a few cards using the free images I was given for participating in the progressive challenge at CDAC for them.  This card, however, features one of the 4 images I won from Delicious Doodles in a challenge a couple of weeks ago.  I really love some of the digi stamps she sells.  This one is a snowy scene and in the foreground is a lovely old postbox as seen in Great Britain.  Because I'm of English descent I thought it was fitting.  It's very difficult to see in the photos but I used iridescent Stickles to give the snow that glistening quality it has when the the sunlight or moonlight shines down on it.

The image is, of course, colored with Copics.  The dp is DCWV's Holiday stack from last year or year before.  I can't really remember.  The ribbon is from my stash.  The sentiment stamp is by Stampibilities.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:  TBD

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

My First Joy's Life Design Team Project!

Hi, everybody!  Well, the day has finally arrived for me to post my first design team project for Joy's Life!  Yay!  I have been anxiously awaiting this time and I can't wait to see what my teammates have created.  The theme for the new challenge is "Stamps".  We were asked to use a photograph of some sort and to use at least one of the Joy's Life stamps to convey what the picture is about.

I chose to make an 8 1/2" scrapbook page about my grandmother who passed away before I was born.  From the things my mother told me about her and from the photographs I have of her, I can tell that she was a character!  The photo I used in my layout shows her with some of her female friends, all dressed in turn of the century bathing suits at some sort of swimming hole, as we call them down here in Texas.  Anyway, I think the picture says it all...

My grandmother is the one on the far right in the foreground, in case you were wondering!  Isn't this an adorable bunch of "ladies"?  I really wish she had lived long enough for me to know her as I feel somehow as though I have missed out on an important part of my family's history.  Eventually, I want to make an entire scrapbook devoted to my mother's side of the family.  I have lots of old pictures like this of them and I would like to leave it as part of my legacy for my son and his family.  I just won't be able to do a lot of journaling because I don't know that much about some of them and my mother has now gone to be with them in heaven.  

This stamp is from the Joy's Life Wild Life Puns Stamp set, which you can purchase on her website.  If you have never used Joy's stamps before, they are awesome!  She has a brand new limited edition stamp set to be released soon too!  It is available for pre-order now so you should definitely check it out!  I can't wait to get my hands on them to use on my Christmas projects.  I have already started making some of my Christmas cards but I always have some last minute ones that I make for neighbors and co-workers.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing this little scrapbook page as much as I enjoyed putting it together.  The dp is from DCWV's All Dressed Up stack and K & Company's Black and Ivory collection.  Black, red and white cardstock is from DCWV and Recollections.  The black glittered fourishes and the sequined butterfly is from my stash as are the leafy vine die cut and the rhinestone jewels in the upper right corner.

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to visit Joy's Design Team blog to see what my mega-talened teammates have created to inspire you.  If you have time, I encourage you to visit their personal blogs as well.  I'm sure you won't regret it.  I am entering this layout in the following challenges:

TBD

That's it for today.  I hope your week has been blessed so far and that you'll visit my blog again very soon.
Until then...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

5th and final entry for Round 6 of the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challange (cdacpc6)

Okie dokie!  Here I am again... back with my last entry for the 6th round of the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge.  This one, which also happens to be my favorite, is a very traditional image by Daisy Doodles of Christmas candles.  I have always had a candle fetish so it's not surprising that I liked this image best even though every one of the ones we received was a lot of fun to color, traditional and non-traditional alike.  Of course I had to use traditional colors on this one.

Ta da!  That's it for this round unless I manage to color the bonus image and get a card made with it before the challenge closes this weekend.  I seem to either be suffering from a severe allergy to mountain cedar or I have contracted a head and chest cold.  Either way, I am feeling rather crummy and I'm not really in a crafting mood.  I already have a couple of projects ready for my first design team post for Joy's Life that I'll put up on Wednesday morning.  I'm not sure yet which one I'll use so you'll just have to come check it out and see! :o)

I've had enough for one day so I think I'm going to turn in early and try to get some extra rest in hopes that it will help with whatever this crud is.  Have a wonderful Tuesday and until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Fourth entry for CDAC Progressive Freebies Challenge - Round 6 (cdacpc6)

Hello again!  If you were here earlier to see the two mermaids I made for my guest designer spot on CMC Classroom Challenge, I am back again with my 4th entry for the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge. I showed you the first 3 entries yesterday but in case you missed them, you should be able to scroll down to see them if you want to.  All of the images we received this round are related to the Christmas holidays although a couple of them could be used for any occasion.  This adorable elephant girl, which was provided by Inked Treasures, has obviously been shopping for gifts.  She has gift bags in both hands and is still holding her credit card with her trunk! LOL  I colored this cute girl with non-tradional colors for Christmas as I just felt they better suited her personality.

I'll be right back with the 5th and final entry for round 6.

Anniebee

Two Michelle Perkett Mermaids for Color Me Creative Classroom Challenge

Happy Monday, everybody!  I promised you that I would be posting my final two entries for the CDAC Progressive Freebie challenge and so I will.  But first I wanted to show you a couple of cards I created for the Color Me Creative Classroom Challenge.  Because one of my Halloween cards was selected by the design team as one of their top choices, I was invited to be a guest designer for the current challenge, an honor I share with Angela Wood of Angelwood's Crafting Corner.

So without further ado, here are two cards I made especially cor this challenge, the theme of which is "Colors of the Sea and Sparkle".  Michelle Perkett Studio is the sponsor of the challenge and I was able to choose one of her wonderful digis to use in my design.  This lovely ocean dweller is called Tutti Frutti and with a name like that I had no choice but to make her colorful.  Well, I had so much fun with her, I colored her twice, first as a blonde and then as a redhead, and made two cards instead of one. Then I couldn't decide which one I liked better so I sent photos of both of them and they used BOTH!  How awesome is that?!?  I feel so special!

All of the materials I used were scraps and embellishments from my stash so I can't tell you where they came from.  The grass and vine die cuts were included in some swap items I received from one of my JustWrodz teammates.    The sentiment stamps is from the Joy's Life "You're So Punny" stamp set.  The tiny hook is made from a metal staple, believe it or not!  I just used some jewelry pliers to bend it into the shape I wanted.  It is suspended on a single strand of silver metallic embroidery floss.  I don't know how well you can tell in the photographs but Tutti Fruitti's tail is glittered with Stickles and then covered in Judikins Diamond Glaze.  I also used the Diamond Glaze to create the sparkly pearls in Tutti's hair, the little air bubbles floating up from the fishes' mouths as well as their eyes and pectoral fins.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.  I hope you enjoyed seeing these two projects.  I really enjoyed making them and want to thank Susanne, Charlene and the Design Team of CMC Classroom Challenge Group for giving me this wonderful opportunity to show off a little of my work.  Until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Project #3 for the CDAC Progressive Freebies Challenge - Round 6 (cdacpc6)

(Please note that this is my third post for today.  Please scroll down to see the other two posts.)

Hello again!  I'm back with my third (and the last one for today) project for round 6 of CDAC's Progressive Freebies Challenge.  This card features an image created by Ginger Loft.  This scene reminded me very much of rural Louisiana where my ex-husband's family lives so I colored it to look like one of the thousands of country homesteads that litter the highways and byways of that state.  It rarely snows there around Christmas so I didn't put snow on the ground, which is very sandy.  The area where they lived, close to Lake Charles, is known for its lumber industry and there are huge pine trees everywhere.  In fact, that area of East Texas and western Louisiana is known as the Piney Woods.  The shack, or shed as they are called in Louisiana, is also a familiar sight so how could I had to call this one "A Louisiana Christmas".  My mother-in-law loved to quilt and the dp I used looks very much like some of the old traditional quilt patterns.  I also made my greeting resemble quilt blocks with patterned paper that reminds me of quilt fabric and faux stitching around the edges of the "blocks" and letters, which spell NOEL.

Well, here... have a look for yourselves.

So there you have it!  I hope you have enjoyed this eclectic collection of Christmas projects.  As I said earlier, I'll be back tomorrow with a couple more.  This is the last round of this particular progressive challenge at CDAC but I think they have plans of starting another round as soon as this one is finished.  So if you like free digi stamps and enjoy coloring with Copics, I encourage you to give it a try.

Aside from the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge, I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TBD

So until next time, my friends...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Project #2 for the CDAC Progressive Freebies Challenge - Round 6 (cdacpc6)

I'm baaaaack... with my second project for round 6 of the CDAC Progressive Freebies Challenge.  This is a cute card, which measures 4" by 9" and will fit in a standard business size envelope.  Normally, I make my own envelopes to match my cards but I'm not sure I'll have time to make all of them this year so I am trying to make most of my cards in standard sizes so I can use store bought envelopes if I need to.  However, I have made a couple of cards that are either oversized or the embellishments are very chunky, requiring a box style envelope to keep from crushing the dimensional elements.  This isn't one of those cards though.

This cute image from Ellephantastic, is a bear flying what reminds me of a WWII fighter plane!  Compared to the war planes we have today, these prop planes were slow and not very agile but they got the job done in their time.  Anyway, I couldn't resist the temptation to have him pulling a flying banner.  It just seemed the natural thing for him to do.

As you can see in the photo of the inside of this card, I have not put a sentiment in it yet, which is the case with all of these cards.  I very often select the sentiment as I decide who will be receiving the card.  Okay, that's all for Project 2.  Now on to # 3!  Be right back with that one...

Aside from the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge, I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TBD

Anniebee

New Projects for Round 6 of the CDAC Progressive Freebies Challenge (cdacpc6)

Good Sunday morning to you all!  In two days we'll be at the mid-point of November and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Right on its heels comes Christmas and New Years so we are already at the beginning of the busiest time of year. With that in mind, some of the awesome digital artists have given CDAC images for the participants in their Progressive Freebies Challenge to use in making Christmas cards and other projects this round. If you recall, in the last round we had some Thanksgiving and some Christmas images and they were all really cute! But I like the set of images even more than the last ones. I enjoy making my own Christmas cards so this challenge suited me to a tee! As I have done before, I will post 3 projects today and two tomorrow.  My posts will be short (after this one!) and I won't list the materials and supplies I used on each card so save you from having to scroll through it each time.  As always, if you have any questions regarding a card, just leave me a comment with your question included and I will get back to you with the information you need.

To start things off, I am going to show you  a cute little gift bag I made with the image by Designed 2 Delight.  It's an adorable polar bear sliding down a snow hill on his/her rump!  So cute!  I colored the image with Copics and used it to decorate a gift bag.  I thought it turned out really cute.

I am going to get some tissue paper that matches the pretty pale turquoise of the ribbon but I haven't had a chance to shop for it yet. The front of the bag as well as the snowflake charm are covered completely in silver glitter and the circles on the bow are white iridescent glitter so this little bag, which measures approximately 10" by 7", really sparkles in the light.

Okay, Project 1 complete!  Please stand by for Project 2... I'll be back in a flash!

Aside from the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge, I am entering this card in the following challenges:

TBD

Anniebee

Thursday and a new Scrapbook layout

Good evening, everyone! It's Thursday and I have for you today a new scrapbook layout that I made for Quick Quotes' Friday Challenge #7. Lately, I have really started enjoying creating pretty layouts and I have Quick Quotes to thank for that. Before I discovered their challenges, I made a page once in every great while but now I am wanting to make them all the time. I have so many ideas and not enough time to make them all.

As many of you know, I have been laid off for almost 15 months now but that has ended, at least temporarily, as of today.  I started working contract and today was my first day.  Working as a contractor, the position pays less than half what I was making prior to being laid off... that and having less time to craft are the down side!  The upside is that I have my foot in the door and the company I am working for is eventually going to hire two people to do what another contract employee and I are doing now so if I perform up to their expectations and keep my nose clean, I have a chance of getting hired into this position permanently and that would mean about another $5.00 an hour.  Still not close to what I was making but it's far better than unemployment and there are benefits!  Yay! And to make it even more attractive, it's not that far from where I live and the dress code is "comfortable"!!  How awesome is THAT??? LOL  And get this!  The other person working with me has a masters degree and she has been unable to find a decent job too!  So it's not just me as I was beginning to think.

Okay, now on to today's project.  This little scrapbook page is a rather loose interpretation of the sketch provided by Quick Quotes Blog for their challenge.  As I said, I had lots of pretty cool ideas for this sketch but I decided to make a layout featuring two of my nephews; brothers who are the sons of my younger sister who passed away in May of 2010 from breast cancer.  I have had these adorable pictures since they were little boys.  The older boy is now an electrical engineer and was married last May and the younger one is about 3 years out of high school, is engaged and is working full time.  It just astounds me that all my siblings' children are grown now.  It sure makes me feel old!  Anyway, I'll show you the sketch first and then my layout.

Here's the sketch.  Pretty cool, right?

Okay, now here's my layout.  Like I said, it's a loose interpretation but I hope it works well enough.

Actually, other than the location of the journaling, it's pretty accurate.

Weren't they adorable little guys?  They're still pretty cute and they're definitely sweet but nothing close to what they were then.  Anyway, that's it.  I hope you enjoyed seeing it as much as I enjoyed making it.  I'll be posting several new cards starting tomorrow night.  One will be for my guest design team feature on Color Me Creative Classroom Challenge and 4 plus a gift bag for CDAC's Progressive Freebie Challenge.

I am entering this layout in the following challenges:

Quick Quotes Friday Challenge #7 - sketch

Before I go, I'd like to mention that Joy's Life's new design team posted their first projects on Wednesday so stop by the brand new Joy's Life Design Team Blog to see their beautiful creations and enter to win some awesome prizes.  As I mentioned before, we are divided into 2 groups and next week will be my team's turn to post.  I got a quick look at their projects today and let me tell you that Team 1 did an awesome job!  Check 'em out and visit their personal blogs if you have a few minutes.

Thanks for stopping by and wish me luck on this job thing.  I sure could use a break!  Until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

A New Paper a la Mode Challenge at The Outlawz

I'm so sorry to be posting this so much later than usual. It was my turn to post the Paper a la Mode challenge at The Outlawz and by the time I was finished with that at 1:30 this morning, I was really tired and not feeling great so I decided to turn in. I must have been REALLY tired because I didn't wake up until 10:35! Normally I would have typed this up ahead of time and had it scheduled to post at 3 AM. Anyway, enough of that drivel. I'm here now and I'll have this up in a few minutes.

This week our theme was Thanksgiving or Fall Harvest, but with a twist. We were to use a technique and tell what that technique was. I used this awesome image from Phee McFaddell and colored it with Copics.  It's not a traditional cornucopia in that it's all veggies instead of fruit and it's a basket instead of a horn of plenty.  If you'll look closely, you'll discover 4 tiny fairies too. My cornucopias never attracted fairies so I guess they prefer vegetables to fruits! If you click on the individual pictures, they will enlarge to show more of the detail.

The technique I used was to apply Diamond Glaze to some of the veggies to give them a sheen and also to add dimension and texture. The close up above shows the glaze on the Indian corn. This piece was the most difficult and took considerable time to achieve the appearance of individual kernels. First, I put a think coating of the glaze over the entire ear of corn. After that dried, I applied tiny droplets to the individual kernels but I could not apply it to adjacent kernels or the glaze just ran together to form more of a blob.  I had to let it dry thoroughly between each application until I had all the corn kernels applied. Then I went through the process again to build up the layers of glaze to make it more pronounced. I also used the glaze on the peas (but not the pods), the eggplant, bell pepper, tomato and yellow squash. All of these vegetables have a natural sheen to their outer skin so the glaze makes them look more realistic as well as dimensional. I also used a little bit of Stickles on the tiny fairy wings to draw attention to them.

I'm not going to list all of the products I used in creating this card but if you have any questions, please feel free to include them in a comment and I will be more than happy to respond. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I have 6 cards and two layouts to make this weekend so I'll be plenty busy with the crafting.  Look for these new projects to be posted here during the coming week. Until then...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee