Kenny K 30th Birthday Card

TGIF, everybody! Another weekend is upon us and the weather here has suddenly turned spring-like with temps around 80 F. I had my doors and windows open all afternoon and just closed them around 10:30 tonight. The moon and stars were shining brightly with only the wispiest of clouds in the sky. It's hard to believe that it's the middle of winter and that it's freezing cold in the northern sections of the country. I hate the Texas summers but the rest of the year is almost perfect.

Today, as promised, I have a card I made for the Friday Copics/ Promarkers challenge at The Outlawz. I actually posted the card there last night because I knew I would get a late start writing my post for my blog and that challenge ends tonight. The theme for the challenge was "Milestone Birthdays" and I used a Kenny K digi called Happy Hour, which is available for purchase in Kenny's online store.

I used a blue monochromatic color scheme with accents in silver. All three of the papers I used for the background have been in my stash for several years so I'm not sure who the maker was.

As you can see, I kept the design relatively simple in comparison to my usual style so that I can use it for either male or female. 

I used Judikins Diamond Glaze on the martini glass and the eyes to give them a glassy effect.

   The "Big 30" was created with stickers.

Here's a closeup of the image. I love the retro feel of it.

Above is the inside of the card, again a simple design using a different blue paper.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

The Outlawz Firday Copic/Promarkers Challenge - Milestone Birthdays
Oldie But A Goodie Challenge - Glitz and Glam
Crafting By Designs - Polka Dots
Inky Impressions - #94 Celebrations
Perfect Sentiments - PSC63: Blue, Silver, & White
Craft Room Challenge - Monochrome

That's it for today but I'll be back in a couple of days with another new card. I'm still working on the giveaway I'm planning and that will be coming up soon as well. Don't forget that there is a challenge going on at Kenny K's Krafty Krew and a new will be starting on Sunday with Team B at the helm. This week the theme is "Vintage". You still have time to get your entry in. Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog. Your comments are always appreciated. So until next time...

Happy crafting!

Anniebee

From My Heart to Yours

Happy Hump Day, crafty friends! I have for you today a little card I made for the Color Challenge at The Outlawz. This image is by Sugar Nellie. I used this same image a few months ago to create a case card in honor of my friend's,
Colleen Holmes, birthday. If you're not familiar with her by name, Colleen is the spearhead of the NING group, The Outlawz, where I served on the design team for the Paper a la Mode group for a while. She is also the new owner and publisher of the awesome e-zine called "Through the Craftroom Door".

I digress. Anyway, this image is more like a sketch than the line drawing that most digis are and therefore it presents a different challenge in coloring it.  It already has some degree of shading, which I normally accomplish with my markers so adjustments had to be made in the colors I used. I was pleased with the results.

I entered this card in the following challenges:

The Outlawz Color Challenge (June 5) - Slate blue, maroon and crisp white

I'll be back tomorrow with another Saturated Canary card featuring one of Krista's newest images. Thanks for stopping by.  I value each and every one of you and appreciate your lovely comments.  Until next time...

Happy crafting!

Anniebee

A cute card for The Outlawz' Paper a la Mode challenge...

Okay, so I've decided to extend your break a little bit. And I took a couple of days to take photos of all those new cards I told you I have been working on. This is one of the cards among the many that I finished up the past few days. This cute image came to me from one of my online crafting friends along with several Tildas so long ago that I can't remember who the artist was. I know it; I just can't think of it right now so if any of my readers happens to know, leave me a comment and I'll edit this post to include it.  One of the Outlawz, Elaine Lagford-Pugh just  reminded me that this sweet image is by Lily of the Valley. Thanks so much, Elaine!

I colored this ages ago but never got around to putting it on anything until this week... as a matter of fact, until TODAY!!  I told you I had been on a binge and when that happens, I just have to roll with it because I never know when my muse might take a leave of absence again. LOL

Anyway, I made this one specifically for The Outlawz Paper a la Mode challenge, which is a recipe.  One image, 2 words, 3 papers, 4 embellishments and 5 colors. See for yourself if I was successful in following the recipe.

I entered this card in the following challenges:

The Outlawz Paper a la Mode - Recipe (see post for details)

Oozak.com Challenge #3 - 2 papers and embellies

I may be back later with another card or group of cards after I finish editing all the photos.  Until then...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Saturated Canary Thank You Card

Hi, crafty friends! Well, I ended up not posting yesterday after all.  I was finishing up a picture tutorial that I did for a friend of mine and time just got away from me.  But before I crash for the night, or early morning as the case may be, I have yet another Saturated Canary card for you.

This sweet girl is called "Dreads" and I think she is probably my current favorite of all the digis in Krista's shop right now.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

The Outlawz - Copic/Promarker Challenge June 1

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet so I can crawl into bed.  I'm pretty beat tonight.  I hope you have enjoyed my card and I hope you'll keep coming back to see what else I have up my sleeve. Thanks so much for stopping by today.  See you tomorrow, I hope!  Until then...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Happy Birthday to The Outlawz' Colleen!

Good morning, everybody! This past week was really hectic at work and I was so tired when I got home each evening, I had just enough energy to feed myself and my menagerie before I collapsed on the sofa. But things are starting to look up a bit so I'm hoping that I'll not have to work quite so many hours going forward. I love the overtime pay but I really like crafting a little bit every day which is something I haven't been able to do in a while. 

Colleen's Card (mine is below)

My friends at The Outlawz asked me to be a guest designer on their Greeting Cards challenge this past week and in honor of their founder, Colleen Holmes' brithday they hosted a case study of two of her own greeting cards that she made recently. I chose this one to case for my project. 

The idea of a case study is to use the case card as inspiration and you have to change at least 3 things, however large or small, but still be able to see some of the elements of the original design in the new one. The things I changed were rather small because I really, really LOVE Colleen's card. The most obvious thing is the image, which, like Colleen, I colored with Copics. I stayed with the overall color scheme but used different papers. Colleen used a dark panel over a lighter background and I reversed that order. I also changed the small flowers to a different type and even though I used a circle shape, I didn't use the lacy circle Spellbinders die. Instead, I used a lacy paper doily behind my circle to create the scalloped edge. Like Colleen, I didn't put a greeting on the front of my card though that's a requirement for entering the challenge. Being a guest designer, I'm not eligible to win so I guess it doesn't really matter so much. The truth is that I completely forgot about that rule when I was making my card! LOL

So here's how mine turned out.  I hope Colleen liked it. I really enjoyed casing one of her beautiful creations for this project and also being back among my friends at The Outlawz. I'm so sorry that it took me this long to get this posted but better late than never, I suppose! Happy belated birthday, Colleen! You're a great mentor and a wonderful friend! Love ya, sistah!

 

And because the weather has been so gorgeous and the flowers are blooming, I couldn't resist playing around with some different camera shots in natural lighting while I was at it!

  

Thanks for stopping by today. As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.  I'll have a layout and a card coming up this week so don't forget to check back.  I hope you all have a wonderful week!  

Until next time...

Happy Crafting!!

Anniebee 

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Oozak Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

A New Card For a New Paper a la Mode Challenge at The Outlawz

Another week has ended and the weekend is here again! These weeks have been flying by so fast lately!  It's hard to believe that we're halfway through October already and that Halloween will be here in a couple of weeks.... then Thanksgiving and then Christmas!!! Yikes!!! I need to get busy on some Christmas cards! In case you haven't been here for a while, I have been making Halloween and fall cards and have posted several of them here. I have a few more too but most of them are already up.

It's my turn to post the Paper a la Mode challenge at The Outlawz this week and I have chosen the theme as well, which is Halloween/ Pumpkins. Because some people don't do Halloween, I didn't want to exclude anyone so I added the alternate theme of pumpkins so everyone can play along. I happen to love Halloween and have never associated it with anything other than a fun holiday when people don fun costumes and eat a lot of candy! LOL Some people don't realize that the origin of Halloween is rooted in Celtic history and later, Christianity. It is not rooted in devil worship as some believe even though superstitions were involved to some degree, even after it became a religious holiday. It is similar to The Day of the Dead that is celebrated in Latin American countries including Mexico.

Okay, enough of this history lesson! On to my project. I have made a Halloween card using two wonderful images by one of my favorite illustrators, Phee McFaddell. If you're a regular follower of my blog, you have seen many of her images before now. I love dramatic artwork and therefore, this image thrilled me to the bone when I saw it! LOL It was a challenge to color because I wanted to convey the mood I feel when I look at the illustration. Well, here... I'll show you what I mean.

The light shining behind he jack-o-lantern is not very accurately placed but I wanted a definite contrast between light and shadow so I placed the light source more behind the pumpkin rather than having it emanating from the hole cut in the top as it would be in the real world. That's called artistic license! LOL  I really love the result though so if you can look past the inaccuracy and just enjoy the effect, I think you'll like it better. As with a few other images I have colored lately, I have colored two different versions of this one. The other, which I'll likely post another time, is more dramatic still.  In the other one, I gave the female vampire fangs! Ooooooh, spooooooky!

Here are the details, in case you're interested:

Base card - DCWV Summer Dreams cardstock stack
Mats- DCWV Shimmer stack and Recollections black economy cardstock
DP - DCWV Halloween and Fall stack
Images by Phee McFaddell
Medium - Copics
Die cut borders - Sizzix
Gold ribbon - my stash
Corner punch - Stampin' Up!
Writing spots - Jo-Ann's in the wedding stationery section (these are actually note pads with magnets on the back for hanging on a refrigerator.  I love them as they are the perfect size for this purpose.)
Inside sentiment - Rub-on (sorry, but I don't remember who made it)

So there you have it!  Tomorrow, I'll be posting another dramatic card I just finished today.  It's not for Halloween but it has the same kind if "feel" to it.  I'll give you a little hing: it's another Phee McFaddell image!  I hope you'll join us for the Paper a la Mode challenge and let us see your Halloween or Pumpkin-themed project!  Until then....

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Through The Craft Room Door #12 - Halloween with the color orange
Challenge Up Your Life #53 - Halloween
Drunken Stampers #76 - Halloween
One Stop Craft Challnege #153 - Halloween
Alphabet Challenge Blog - S for Soon to be Halloween
Card Makin' Mamas #31 - Halloween
Crafts 4 Eternity #41 - Color recipe (purple and orange)
If the Shoe Fits, Scrap It! #93 - Girls/Women
Forever Night Freaky Friday #13 - Black and Creepy

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Another New Paper a la Mode Challenge at The Outlawz and the kickoff of the 1,000 Member Party has begun!

If you're looking for my entry in the Sweet Magnolia Rose Honey Bee's Corner Color Challenge, click here.
If you're looking for my JustWordz Design Team Friday post, click here.
If you're looking for my 4th entry in the CDAC Progressive Freebie Challenge, click here.
And for my 5th entry in the CDAC challenge, click here.
_______________________________

Oh, my gosh!!! It seems like I have been taking pictures and typing blog posts all day long! I already posted 2 entries for CDAC's Progressive Freebies Challenge, an entry for Sweet Magnolia Rose's first color challenge today and now it's time to post my project for the Paper a la Mode challenge at The Outlawz which went live at midnight. It is now 12:26 CDT and I'm still typing! Can you tell that I love my craft? LOL

Because we are celebrating reaching our 1,000 member milestone in a huge way beginning Sunday at midnight, we decided to make our regular challenge easy and fun for everybody. The theme is Anything Goes!  Yippee! So I made a tag with a winter holiday theme. This is a large tag, approximately 5 1/2 inches long and 2 3/4 inches wide. So without further ado, here it is!

The winter fairy image is another of Phee McFaddell's that I love so much and I colored it with Copics!  Phee is one talented artist and I am so glad that I discovered her coloring pages and other illustrations as they have provided hours and hours of coloring entertainment for me these last few weeks.

The base tag I used is manila cardstock and I covered both sides of it with dp from K and Company.  The snowflakes were from a purchase I made last year of supplies for making Christmas cards and I can't remember where I got them or who makes them though I am pretty sure that the white ones are by Dress It Up.  I added a little bit of Stickles behind the fairy figure but I'm not sure how well it shows up in the pictures.  I also fastened an assortment of ribbons and fibers through the tag hold by looping them instead of tying them and added the silver metallic letters to the back to spell "Let It Snow!".  Other than coloring the fairy, this was a pretty quick and easy project and I think the results are more than worth the effort.  I enjoy making tags just to work on something other than cards and layouts.  It's about time to make another mini album too.

I am entering this tag in the following challenges:

Pollycraft Monday Challenge #112 - tags and bookmarks

Well, that's about it for this week's challenge.  Be sure and join us at The Outlawz for opportunities to participate in all of our fun activities and win some really cool prizes.  I sure could use one of those $100 gift certificates!  Several of my Copics have run dry and I need more ink!  Until next time...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee

Saturday Paper a la Mode Challenge at The Outlawz!

Good morning, my crafty friends! It has been a busy week and I'm glad the weekend is here at last. You'd think since I'm not going to work at a full time job every day, that I'd have plenty of time to get everything done, right? WRONG! I seem to work harder and get farther behind on my chores since I have been off. It amazes me too, believe me! I get more crafty things done than I used to though so I guess it's more a matter of priorities! LOL!

Since it's Saturday, it's time for a new Paper a la Mode challenge at The Outlawz! Woo hoo! As we're sliding into the last 4 months of the year and all the fun and exciting holidays are before us, our challenge themes are really starting to be fun. I was getting pretty tired of summertime themes, especially with the horrible heat wave we were under for 4 months, so I'm happy that the weather is finally turning cooler, even if we still aren't getting much rain. Anyway, this week our team leader, Rona, came up with a sketch for us to follow for our inspirational projects. I don't know why I don't use sketches more often because I really enjoy them and they cut out some of the work in creating a layout, at least for me. So here's the sketch we used.

Pretty cool, huh? I wasn't sure how my own layout would look but after I got it finished, I just loved it! I followed the sketch pretty strictly really, but not 100%. See what you think.

This beautiful young woman is my niece, Kirsten, who we call K.C. She was the subject of my very first scrapbook layout almost a year ago. She is so photogenic that it's a dream working with pictures of her. I'm planning to make another layout of her for the 1,000 Member Party that starts next week at The Outlawz.  Oh, have you not yet heard about our party? Ohhhh, well.... we're having a week long celebration because we are nearing 1,000 members and we'll be hosting special challenges, a blog hop, games and there will be lots of fabulous prizes, of course! We will be giving away 2; that's right... TWO $100 gift certificates among other things! If you're not a member, you might want to consider joining the best challenge site on the web by October 2nd so you can join the party and play along with us. Also, if you're interested in sponsoring one of the challenges or games, please contact me here on my blog. Sorry, I digress, but I'm so excited for this celebration that I can hardly stand it! I'll have a minimun of 3 projects posted during that week and I hope you'll come back for a visit between 10/2 and 10/8 to see what I have made for this special occasion.  I'll also have a couple more cards posted here tomorrow for the Progressive Freebies Challenge at CDAC.

I hope you liked my layout and I hope I inspired you to try using sketches in your own crafting occasionally.  If you have never tried it, you should at least do that much. Until next time, my friends, have a lovely weekend and...

Happy crafting!
Anniebee