Craftin Desert Divas September 2016 Monthly Challenge

Welcome to the new Monthly Challenge over at the Craftin Desert Divas Gallery on Facebook!  Instead of having a separate Linky Party and Digi Challenge, CDD has combined them into one awesome challenge!  For September, if you create something based on the theme above using CDD products and as long as there are 8 people or more who participate, you could win some CDD bucks to be spent in the store!  Play along!  Create something and upload it to the Challenge Folder on the Gallery Facebook Page and share your creation!  Here's my Challenge Project:

Love these cute little Bunny In Carrot Patch digis!  I flipped one before I printed them so the bunnies faced the opposite ways!  And I printed the Giraffe Tractor digi but cut off the giraffe because I didn't want to use him on this project... I did save him for a future project so stay tuned for that!

I just love the Greeting Word Dies and I decided to just make this my sentiment and backed it with one of the Flag Banner Dies... this is the one with two tails and I cut the one end off and added it as a second banner under the ribbon.

Aren't these guys so cute!?!  They're helping to harvest the carrots!

And I didn't have any sunflowers the right size so I just used the flowers from the Home Sweet Home stamp set and colored them like a sunflower... I think it works!

And that tractor... 

So thanks so much for stopping by today and be sure to head on over to the Craftin Desert Divas Gallery on Facebook... if you're not a member, just request it and join in on the fun!  Let us know if you have any questions regarding the new challenge rules!

The CDD products I used are:

Bunny In Carrot Patch Digi http://craftindesertdivas.com/bunny-in-carrot-patch-digital-stamp/
Tractor Giraffe Farm Digi http://craftindesertdivas.com/tractor-giraffe-farm-digital-stamp/
Outdoor Landscape Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/outdoor-landscape-dies/
Flag Banner Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/flag-banner-dies/
Greeting Word Dies http://craftindesertdivas.com/greeting-word-dies/
Home Sweet Home Clear Stamp Set http://craftindesertdivas.com/home-sweet-home/
Doodlebug Kraft In Color Paper http://craftindesertdivas.com/kraft-in-color-paper-pad/
Doodlebug Sprinkles in Bumblebee http://craftindesertdivas.com/bumblebee-sprinkles-self-adhesive-glitter-enamel-embellishments/

I'm now an affiliate of Craftin Desert Divas and if you shop through my link I do benefit, so should you decide to shop, I'd appreciate if you do so through this link to the Craftin Desert Divas shop!

Lessology Handmade Invitation Challenge September 2016

Welcome to the September Lessology Challenge to create a Handmade Invitation.  Although I didn't actually create an invitation.... but I made this using an invitation:

Well... this was not my plan for this challenge.  My plan was to cut out the floral part from this invite and use it on a card... and when I went to actually cut it I decided the entire invite was so pretty and had an idea for a gift for the Bride & Groom.  So I pulled out one of my handy dandy canvases and went to town.  I prepared my canvas by painting it with white gesso.  When that was dry, I modge podged the invite onto the canvas.  After that dried, I dry brushed some more white gesso over the edges of the invite.  Next, I took some of my gold glitter paint and painted over the whole thing... I love that paint because it's clear and just leaves a trail of glitter.  I kind of let it be heavier in some areas then others.

My final treatment on the canvas was to use some clear texture past and my new favorite Tim Holtz Lace stencil over the parts of the canvas and since it was clear I was able to also have it go over the invite... I will do this again for sure... love the way it looks!

I then used many other parts of the invite, such as the card with location and hotel information and the strip that held it all together.  I used these for the leaves (with my new favorite leaf dies from MFT) and my plan was to have the back show because it was plain, but when I flipped them over and saw the printing on the other side I decided that was perfect because after all... it was part of the invite and that's the whole point, right?  And the "D" was over the part of the strip that held it together.

I cut out the flowers from the response card (which I obviously did not send back... slapping myself on the hand) and added some more lacy texture paste to that as well.  And my new best friend?  Inka Gold...smooshed it all over those pretty flowers and really enjoyed looking at my gold fingertips for a while...  yup... LOVE!

So... I can't wait to see what you make for this invite challenge!  Hope you play along with us this month!

I'm playing along with the Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge and it's Anything Goes this month!  Check it out and play along!

Color Dare Boss and More Atlantic Hearts!

So a little while ago, I won a Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge and because it was a special challenge, I won the opportunity to be Boss of the Colors for one future challenge and this is it!  (So... to be honest... that's not really the words that were used... they didn't really say I'd be Boss of the Colors.. but I'm hardly ever boss of anything so I'm proclaiming myself... Boss!)  The colors I chose were Pomegranate, Sorbet, Pear, Black White, and .. well... of course... Gold.  Now when I chose said colors, this was not my intention.. my thoughts were of the stripey black and white and lots of bright and pretty flowers and leaves... and then the September Stamp of the Month came into my life and well... this is what happened.

 I made my Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge project using Blessed Beyond Measure and had cut lots of extra maple leaves and had colored them with my Ken Oliver Color Burst powders and some of them just happened to be the color of sorbet so then I thought... well, yeah... I can use them with this color challenge.  And when I sat down to do it, I had loved that Sketch so much I decided to use it again.  I took a few of the leaves and edged them with the Pomegranate and then sponged some Sorbet ink on them for good measure.  Then I used my Hero Arts Gold Shadow ink to stamp the loopy images from the stamp set onto them.  I also stamped a bunch of the tiny leaves onto a piece of paper and used my new toy, the Brother Scan N Cut 2 to cut them out... um.... Love!  I stamped some in black and colored them in with my gold Wink of Stella marker and the berries with Pomegranate and stamped some leaves in Pear.  And did you catch that awesome black and gold ribbon that is in the Uptown ribbon pack??

And the flower?  Well, it was white... my favorite.. and the plan was to make it Pomegranate, but it was just too bright yet not bright enough next to my leaves so over the Pomegranate I went some some Sorbet until I got it just the right shade.  I colored the center with my gold Copic marker and then over that with my gold Wink of Stella.  I colored the stamens with my black Shin Han.  It's what I do... I just work it until it's what I want... start over??  Nevvvaaaa!!! (ok... maybe once in a great while... but Hardly Evvvvaaa!!!)

And how excited was I that CTMH has come out with some awesome shaped dies... these hearts!!!  I love that when you cut them out you get the outline and the center... no waste...  will use them all!!  I cut them from our old gold glitter paper.  You may have noticed it was on the discontinued list however never fear... it's been repackaged in three sheets of just one shade of gold and it's awesome!

So I moved the sentiment on this one to the bottom.  I used the set that goes with the Artistry cartridge on a banner I had sitting around on my table cut with my CDD Flag Banner Dies.  Finished it off with some yummy gold sequins!

So!  Play along with both of these challenges this week if you Dare!  

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge

Welcome to this week's Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge!  It's another fantastic sketch!  Had fun with this one using some of the awesome new products available in the Annual Inspirations Idea Book and the Holiday Seasonal Expressions!  I used the new Fundamentals papers.. I just love how versatile they are and they will coordinate with all of the specialty packs as well because of course they come in all of our CTMH colors.

I am playing along with the Southern Ridge Trading Company Challenge to Use Your Favorites.  You  really need to check this one out!  I've just discovered this and I think I'm going to love it!  ... I mean.. mini wood horseshoes???  My favorites I've used on this card are some gold glitter paper, gold sequins, gold shimmer spray... do you see a theme here?  Oh!  And my Ken Oliver Color Bursts... I have a lot of favorites...

Have you gotten your Stamp of the Month yet for September, Blessed Beyond Measure?  Love the leaves on this set!  They coordinate with the maple leaves on the CTMH Artbooking Cricut Cartridge as well as one of the pumpkins.  I cut a whole page of the sizes indicated on the stamp set sheet and will keep them right in my stamp envelope for future use.

I colored the leaves with some Ken Oliver Color Burst Powders and a little water bottle spritzer.  LOVE the way they came out.  Once they dried, I stamped them with the coordinating images from the Stamp of the Month.  And that pretty wreath was laying around on my table ... rejected from a previous project but perfect for this one... I cut that using one of the Stitched in Circles dies from CDD.

And I pulled out my Misti for my pumpkin so I could easily re-ink up the edges and stamp again to create darker edges for a little dimension.

Beyond Measure has some really awesome sentiments on it all about being Grateful and Blessed.  I'm thankful every day for the many many ways I'm blessed and this set offers a wonderful way to express that.

Here's the sketch and I can't wait to see what you create with it!  Thanks for stopping and don't forget to come back Wednesday for my Lessology project!

Cutting Cafe Inspiration-Autumn Greetings

Happy Second Saturday!  (Sorry if it's not for you!)

It's time for some Cutting Cafe Inspiration and this time around we're using the Autumn Sentiment Card Frame Printables set from The Cutting Cafe.

And here is what I created for you today:

Loved using these sentiment frames because I didn't have to worry about where or how I was going to add my sentiment... love the mix of fonts and placement and if you need them you can also print just the sentiments.

 

I was excited when I found out we were doing a Fall Themed project because I knew I'd have the opportunity to use some of the stamps from the custom stamp Regina made for me that goes along with my Elisha Jean and Friends stamp set.  So my little girls are from the Everyday Elisha Jean and Friends stamp set available in the Cutting Cafe Shop.  I stamped the separate dress on some Echo Park and Carta Bella papers also carried by Regina.  And of course I felt the need to add one of the cute little owls on the From Owl of Us stamp set.  And you know that Hempotique Twine Cord that Regina says is the best... well, turns out she's right!  I got some of this twine from an awesome friend for my birthday and I am in love with it!  You can get the white and natural colors in The Cutting Cafe Shop as well!  It's soft and pliable and while I thought all twine was the same... I was wrong!

I used some more of the stamps from my custom set to stamp these leaves on my background and again the pumpkins.  All of the stamped images on these two cards are also available at the Cutting Cafe in digital form if you prefer that.

I'm playing along with the Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge #148 to use Autumn Colors and Ribbon on your project... as you can see I did...lol!  Check out this challenge and the awesome projects.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the Cutting Cafe Blog on the 7th so you can see all of the awesome DT projects and comment for a chance to win some free files!

Three Amigos Blog Hop September 2016

Welcome to the September 2016 Three Amigos Blog Hop!  So glad you stopped in!  We are three Close to My Heart Consultants and good friends that challenge each other each month to create something with some awesome CTMH products based on a theme.  This month it's all about techniques... three to be exact... however, I think I'm over a bit!

Couldn't help myself!  I used a few on this card that I started while I was visiting with Mitra during my recent vacation.  While we were waiting for spray painted cans and jars to dry I joined her in some papercrafting.  So the paper is CTMH... one of my favorite papers and zip strips from Chalk It Up.  So the flowers aren't CTMH... they are from a rub on and sticker set that Mitra had and was trying to use up... it's a rubon and I colored it in with my Zig Real Brush Markers.

Have you checked out the new Complements??  They are awesome!  Those two little glittery arrows and heart are from the pack as well as the banner below.  That sentiment is from one of the stamp sets that comes with the new Cricut cartridge, Flower Market and that pretty ribbon!  Yes!!  We have ribbon again!  Those sequins... when we were crafting at camp, we were gonna throw them away because they had no adhesive and we had no glue, but I threw them in the bag with the rest of the stuff and so glad I did!

So remember I told you I was gonna be doing some spray painting in the future?  How about that spray painted metal paint just like what we used on the canister and if you look closely at the white piece the flowers are on you'll see some spray paint splatters there too!

So, my techniques... oh idk... edge distressing, embossing, spray painting, water coloring, rub-oning?, heat embossing, sequining, die cutting... ok some of these probably aren't techniques... but I think I've met the challenge!

Now hop on over to see what Susan and Donna have created for you!

And come back this weekend for some more fun!  It's almost time for some more Cutting Cafe Inspiration!  Atlantic Hearts is on Monday!  Lessology is next week!  Lots going on here in September!

Spraypainting on Vacation?! Highly Suggested!

So you may or may not know that I was on vacation.  It was a little over a week, but it felt like I was gone forever and although I missed my craft room, I did manage to squeeze a little bit in while away so that helped tremendously (more on this in a bit).  These are the faces that I've been wanting to see for so long!  I don't miss the Buffalo area really... but I do miss these faces terribly!  This night I got to go with my favorite faces out to Food Truck Tuesday downtown and normally one of my least favorite things to do is stand in line for food... but this was fun... great food, great music and perfect company!  Best part is... I got to see both Corey and Ryan because Ryan drove up from Maryland for a couple days... thank you Ryan's boss for making that happen!

The initial reason for the trip to Buffalo was for Patti's son's wedding.  These two are my co-besties.  I'm way too much for one to handle .. lol.. this was a beautiful wedding at the Hayloft In The Grove in East Aurora... gorgeous gorgeous venue... a little melty on this hot day as there was no air conditioning, but there were lots of fans... so many in fact that I had a hard time walking around without sporting a Marilyn Monroe Over The Sidewalk Grate kind of pose.  It was a fun day and night!

So another awesome part of my vacation was getting to meet one of my artistic mentors and bloggy friends, Mitra Pratt and you can check out her blog here!  What an awesome time I had visiting her and her family out at the KOA Campground in Grand Island!  If you don't know.. she's a wiz with the spraypaint can and she prepared a project so she could help me get over my fear... and she did.. and you will be sorry!

These awesome pics were taken by Mitra with a phone... love Mitra's pics!! So first we added some embossed metal tape to a plain old tin can that Mitra procured at the Restore in her town.. and then we went to town spraypainting said tin.  She brought the beautiful aqua paint because she remembered that I LOVE that color and I have a project coming sometime in the near future (now that I know how to wield a Paint Can O' The Spray).  When I asked her about her mirror paint technique, we hopped in the car and headed to Hobby Lobby and got some... along with that pretty metal flower and knob and maybe just a couple other items.  I wish Mitra lived close to me so we could hop in the car and go to Hobby Lobby more often... although I think we might be bad influences on each other.  And then Mitra who doesn't seem to be afraid of too much, wrangled a more than happy to help official Camp Driver Around in a Golf Cart Fixing Things Guy to bring over a drill to help us install said flower and knob to the lid of my awesome can.  You'll be seeing these projects again with maybe a few more flowers .. or some bling or ribbon or both.. so happy they made the trip home in good shape!  And thank you so much Mitra and family for making me feel so comfortable!!  I felt like I'd known them forever and can't wait 'til our next chance to visit!  (I can't believe I didn't get a pic of my new friend Duncan as well... and if you want to know who that is you're just gonna have to visit Mitra on her blog... it will be worth it!)  And her post about our fun together is here!

This is my wonderful Aunt Judy (Uncle Lynn preferred to not be in the We-fie... Wee-fie?.. feel free to use this term-my son thinks it won't catch on, but I feel like it's got some legs).  This is Judy helping me to figure out my new We-fie stick (I don't take Selfies... so it's a We-fie stick)... 

So... saw the giant rubber duck downtown with Corey, got to see his band, Dreambeaches, play and although Corey was less than happy with the performance it was awesome to me-you can hear them on Spotify and Bandcamp.  Such an awesome night because I also got to spend some time with some wonderful friends that came out to support him and spend a little time with me.. Renee and Tony, Arleen and Dave, Julie and Chris.... Love them all!; managed to be a bad influence on Kathy and made her get her tattoo from Mike at Designer Pain while I was there and there's Ryan and Aunt Judy while we waited to surprise Ryan's friend Andy with his visit.  I also got to go to the stamp show with some more of my favorite people, but alas I cannot find those pics!!  But that's ok... I'll need a whole 'nother post for that one.. wait 'til you see what I got!! Hey Betsy!  If you are reading this, can you forward me all of the pics from the stamp show?  (This is my secret way to find out if Betsy is reading my blog... tee hee... sneaky)

Just a few highlights... so much more and hopefully you'll be seeing some of it soon on some scrapbook pages... these are some of my favorite people and I had a fantastic time and came home to some very happy mail... I'll be posting about that one soon...

Thanks for stopping and come back tomorrow for Three Amigos!