Happy Halloween! Anything Goes

This week's the challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Anything Goes and/or Christmas. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge teammates, Carla, Penny, , Vannessa, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You should check out their blogs to see their gorgeous artwork. 

Our October sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Sweet Pea Stamps, who is offering our lucky winner three digis of his/her choice from the Sweet Pea Digi Stamp Store.  Play along with us for your chance to win!

Here's a card with Molly Harrison's October Winds (Sweet Pea Stamps).

October Winds was reduced in PhotoElements, printed out with my laser printer onto Neenah cardstock, colored with Copic markers, then die-cut with one of the dies from the A2 Card Creator Nestabilities die set (Spellbinders). Touches of Spica glitter pen (Copic) were added to the cats' eyes and around the circumference of the moon.

Since the stamp is rather detailed, I decided to go with a relatively clean and simple layout. Kraft cardstock was embossed with a Moroccan 5x7 embossing folder, then sponged with Gathered Twigs Distress ink (Ranger). Kraft cardstock was also die-cut with the D-Lites Flourish Trim die (Spellbinders) and one of the dies from the Victorian Tags die set (Spellbinders). Both die-cuts were sponged with Gathered Twigs Distress ink. The tag was stamped with the sentiment from the Sentiments 2 stamp set (Purple Onion Designs).

I must mention that Sweet Pea Stamps is going out of business, which is really sad since they had such a wonderful variety of rubber and digital stamps.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Left of Center Challenges: Halloween 
• Scrapy Land Challenges: Embossing  
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Anything Goes   
• Die Cuttin' Divas Challenges: Halloween 

Thanks and Anything Goes

This week's challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is "Anything Goes" with an optional Christmas/Holiday twist. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teammates, Carla, Penny, Laine, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You can use any color medium you like, just as long as you color! 

Our March sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Sweet Pea Stamps, who is offering our lucky winner four digis of his/her choice from the Sweet Pea Digi Stamp Store.  Play along with us for your chance to win!

Here's my card with Sweet Pea/Rebecca Sinz' The Protector. 

The Protector was resized in Photo Elements and printed out onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer. After checking Google Images to learn about foxes, the wonderful scene was colored with Copic markers. The Protector's cheeks received a wee bit of blush courtesy of a pink chalk pencil. A beige chalk pencil was also used to add a little shading to the sides of her face, her nose, and her neck.

The image panel was die-cut using one of the dies from Straight Rectangle Multi-Frames die set (Nellie Snellen).

The design of the card was inspired by a sketch from Try Stamping on a Tuesday, though I had to alter it a bit to make it work with the The Protector. The patterned papers are from the French Country 6x6 pad (Graphic 45). The fishtails are from the Fishtail Stax (Die-namics). Most of the layers were edged with Black Soot Distress ink. The "Thanks" die (Elizabeth Craft Designs) was used as my sentiment, especially since one can always use thank you cards!

Here's the sketch so you can see how I did.

Thank you for visiting today.

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• The Corrosive Challenge Blog: Animal Friends
• Try Stamping On a Tuesday Challenges: Sketch 
• Moving Along with the Times Challenges: Into the Wild
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Anything Goes

Color Challenge

This week's challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is a color palette/photo challenge. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teammates, Carla, Penny, Laine, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You can use any color medium you like, just as long as you color! 

Our March sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Sweet Pea Stamps, who is offering our lucky winner four digis of his/her choice from the Sweet Pea Digi Stamp Store.  Play along with us for your chance to win!  

 Here's the color palette courtesy of Design Seeds.

Here's my card with Sweet Pea/Regan Kubecek's The Kitty Collector.

If you know me, you know that I'm mad about cats. In fact, I want to grow up and be A Crazy Cat Lady. I've been told that I've already achieved half of that goal.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that I chose to work with The Kitty Collector this week. Isn't she lovely and aren't all those little grey cats adorable? Can't you hear the purring by the one she is petting? I know I can.

The Kitty Collector was resized in Photo Elements and printed out onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer. The wonderful scene was colored with Copic markers, chosen to match the color palette, though looking at the palette now, I'm a bit off and have veered more plum than violet. Too bad, so sad. Or it could be the photo that I took inside at night by the light of my Ott light.

Oops. I digressed. I used chalk pencils to add blush to her cheeks. The green baubles in and around her hair were highlighted with several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen to add dimension and shine.

The image panel was die-cut using a die from one of the Blueprints set by Die-namics. The patterned papers are from an old 6x6 pad by My Mind's Eye to match the Copic colors I had chosen. Most edges were distressed.

The Pastry Labels die (Memory Box), Missy Micro font die (Die-Versions), and corner dies (eek! I can't remember who made them) were used to die-cut patterned paper so that everything would be all matchy-matchy. Oh look! The second "r" in Purrfect is off. Bad me. Perfection is overrated or so they say.

Lace and pearls were added to reinforce the vintage vibe of the Kitty Collector  and finish the card.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Crafty Cardmakers and more Challenges: For that Special Woman (Crazy Cat Ladies)
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges: Lions and Lambs, oh my!
• Through the Purple Haze Challenges: For Your Mum or Other Woman in my life 
• The Corrosive Challenge Blog: Animal Friends

Going Green

This week's challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Green or St. Patrick's Day. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teammates, Carla, Penny, Laine, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You can use any color medium you like, just as long as you color! 

Our March sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Sweet Pea Stamps, who is offering our lucky winner four digis of his/her choice from the Sweet Pea Digi Stamp Store.  Play along with us for your chance to win! 

Here's my card with Sweet Pea/Teresa Sherman's Celtic Fairy.

 Celtic Fairy was resized in PhotoElements, printed out onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer, then colored with Copic markers. Palette chalk was used to add a bit of blush to her cheeks. Her earrings were touched with a bit of Clear Gelly Stardust Glitter pen to make 'em sparkly and several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen to add shine and dimension.

The patterned papers are from old Origins and Lime Rickey collections by Basic Grey. An older QuicKutz scallop border die was used, as was a Fishtail Flag die by Die-namics. Most paper layers were sponged with Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress inks. Some shamrock patterned ribbon was added to the mix for an additional touch of the Irish! The papers and ribbon were layered according to a sketch from The Deconstructed Sketch Challenge Blog. 

Here's the sketch, so you can see how I did with it!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges.
• The Deconstructed Sketch Challenge: #192
• Creative Moments Challenges: Anything Goes/Green 
• Simon Says Wednesday Challenges: Things that Fly
• Dies R Us Challenges: Monochromatic 
• Die Cuttin' Divas Challenges: St. Patrick's Day 

A Flower, a Ladybug, and a Dragon...

This week's challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Flowers, in honor of Plant a Flower Day, which is March 12th. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teammates, Carla, Penny, Laine, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You can use any color medium you like, just as long as you color! 

Our March sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Sweet Pea Stamps, who is offering our lucky winner four digis of his/her choice from the Sweet Pea Digi Stamp Store.  Play along with us for your chance to win!

Here's my card for this week with Sweet Pea/Lisa Victoria's Dragon Luck.

Dragon Luck was resized in PhotoElements, printed out onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer, then colored with Copic markers. The stamp panel was die-cut using one of the dies from Straight Rectangle Multi-Frames die set (Nellie Snellen).

The next largest die from this set was used to die-cut the semi-solid patterned paper from the Sweet Threads 6x6 pad (Basic Grey). A Scalloped Ribbon Border die (Die-namics) and one of the dies from the Conversation Bubble 2 set (Spellbinders) were used to die-cut the stripey paper from the Sweet Threads pad. The Hello die (Elizabeth Craft Designs) was placed in the center of the Conversation Bubble and run through my beloved oft-used Big Kick. Hello was also die-cut from semi-solid paper left over from the mat layer then inset into the Conversation Bubble. 

For some bizarre reason, I decided to run stitches through the holes in the Conversation Bubble. Since I'm needle-impaired, this step probably took longer than resizing the image, printing it out, coloring, and die-cutting all the elements of the card. Miraculously, no blood was shed in this process. 

All edges of the patterned paper were sponged with Gathered Twigs Distress ink, then sheer ladybug patterned ribbon was layered over the scalloped border die. 

Thanks for visiting today! 

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Creative Moments Challenges:  Anything Goes/Spring Greens
• Scrapy Land Challenges: Anything Goes/Dies
• Creative Card Crew Challenges: Green