Flirty Seniors

This week's challenge at Make it Colourful is to color monotone, sepia or black and white. I made this card using a new image from Make it Crafty called Flirty Seniors, but this is only Gramps! I colored him with Prismacolor Pencils on Kraft cardstock using only blacks and white.


I've seen this technique done several times and thought I'd give it a try. This time I blended the pencils with Winser Newton Blending Medium and a blending stump which worked better. However, I had problems printing on kraft paper with the laser printer and had to manually heat set the image with a heating gun.

DT Challenge: Make it Colourful - Challenge #3
Challenge: Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Challenge #72 (new stamp)
Challenge: Pile it On - Challeng #3 (Anything Goes)
Challenge: Gingerloft Challenge #9 (celebrate dads)
Challenge: The Cheerful Stamp Pad - Challenge #9 (relax)
Main Stamp: Flirty Seniors (MiC)
Patterned Paper: Snow Pear (Pyrus)
Dry Embossing: Cuttlebug Embossing Folders Heritage
Prismacolor Pencils: Black, Dark Warm Grey and White

Did you know? Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! The legend tells that years ago every casino in Las Vegas had a three-piece chicken dinner with a potato and a veggie for $1.79. A standard bet back then was $2, hence when you won a bet you had enough for a chicken dinner.”
[Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!, Urban Dictionary]

Miss Anya Dressy

Welcome to another day at Club Anya and Friends and today we have a perfect sketch to use for our Saturday Sketch challenge! I colored up another Miss Anya Dressy and cut her out to sit on a Park Bench for Two from Make it Crafty.


Because I wanted Miss Anya to stand out, I used neutral colors on the card and a simple layout with minimal embellishments. The Park Bench for Two was colored with earth tones which the mind usually reads as neutral colors.


DT Challenge: Club Anya and Friends - Saturday Sketch
Challenge: Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Challengr #45 (sketch)
Challenge: Quirky Crafts - Challenge #2 (garden, green & pink [coral])
Challenge: The Corrosive Challenge #99 (pearls and lace)
Main Stamp: Miss Anya Dressy (TGF) and Park Bench for Two (MiC)
Patterned Paper: Vintage (CM)
Copic Colors:
-skin/hair: E11, E13, E15, E17, W1, W4, W6, W8
-clothes: E50, E51, YR01, YR02, YR09
-bench: E53, E55, E57, E59, C3
-greenery: G40, G82, G94, G99, YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97, BG93, BG96, BG99, G20, G21, G24, G28
-flowers: Y32, Y35, Y38, YR01, YR02, YR09, R24, R29
-ground: W0, W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6

Did you know? Lad: A Dog is a 1919 American novel written by Albert Payson Terhune and composed of twelve short stories first published in magazines. The novel is loosely based on the author's real-life collie, Lad. Born in 1902, the real-life Lad was an unregistered collie of unknown lineage originally owned by Terhune's father. Lad's death at the age of 18 was mourned by many of the story's fans, particularly children. Through the stories of Lad's adventures, Terhune expresses his views on parenting, obtaining perfect obedience without force, and the nature and rights of the "well-bred".
[Lad, A Dog, Wikipedia.org]

Update: I was the voted winner at Quirky Crafts for this challenge!

Marvin with Flowers

Welcome to the 3rd Day of the Valentine's Blog Hop from The Stamping Bazaar and today is also a challenge day! Our challenge this week is to use stitching, faux or real, and on my card I changed out my thread and used red this time. :D


Another different aspect of this card are the Prismacolor Pencils! After my last fiasco it was hard to get them out again but this time I was able to blend the colors better. I mainly used the pencils for blending with a little bit of the paper stump in the lighter areas. Now the only difficulties remaining to deal with is smearing and one heck of a hand cramp!

The three lovable digis illustrated by Marina Neira will be released this Saturday, January 22, but you can have to chance to win them now! There will be lots of prizes given away each day for commenters... so make sure to leave everyone luvs along the way! Finally, at the end of the week one lucky winner will be chosen to win the entire set of three (3) digis!!

Here's the complete blog hop list:

Barbara {me}

Emma & Susan
Lynda Nielsen

Marley Van Der Heijden

Penni Vickers

Tina Guigui

Tori Wild

...and then it's back to The Stamping Bazaar Blog.

DT Blog Hop: The Stamping Bazaar - Valentines Blog Hop Day #3
Challenge: Crafty Cardmakers (Spotlight on Pencils Challenge)
Challenge: Meljen's Designs - Challenge #42 (Pink and Red)
Challenge: Oh, Alice! - Challenge #46 (mostly red)
Challenge: Guylou's Inimitability Challenges (Red)
Main Stamp: Marvin with Flowers (TSB)
Patterned Paper: scraps
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Seventeen
Prismacolor Pencils

Did you know? The Care Bears are a set of fictional characters created by American Greetings in 1981 for use on greeting cards. In 1983 they were transformed into plush teddy bears and made their debu TV appearance in 1983. Each Care Bear comes in a different color and has a specialized insignia on its belly that represents its duty and personality. Adding to the Care Bear family are the "Care Bear Cousins", which feature a lion, rabbit, penguin, raccoon, and other such animals.
[Care Bears, Wikipedia.org]

Monster Bubbles Freebie

Whoo-hoo! 400 Followers already and in such a short time! So as promised here is another Monster FREEBIE!! My Mom (at Grandma's Pearl) is also climbing just as fast and she has a new freebie too... Easter Lamb. Do you think we'll increase another 100 before the Blog Candy ends?? Spread the word and lets find out!

Reminders:
(1) Update your blinkies on the sidebar with the new ones
(2) Be sure to enter in the Blog Candy if you haven't already
(3) Head on over to Grandma's Pearl for the other half
(4) Use your new freebies and enter Forgotten Scraps Challenge #1

(We love to see what you create with them!)

Monster Bubbles

CLICK HERE to download
(Update: This image is no longer available for free,
but check the sidebar for more freebies if they're available.)

This freebie will be available for a limited time so get him while you can!! When I reach 500 Followers then I'll offer a 4th one - so spread the word and grab the blinkie from the sidebar! I've enjoyed all your wonderful comments - thank you!!

From my design team who are 100% motivated by chocolate chip cookies! :D
Cassandra and Lydia:

Monster Bubbles

What do you think of this little guy? He'll soon be available for FREE once we reach the 400 Followers mark and we're so close!! So far I think this is my favorite color scheme and with this pose you finally get a glimpse of the horns on his back!


I made this card for the Lollipop Crafts challenge this week which features an inspirational sketch to use. There is only a few more days left so come on over to play along! The bites punched out of the card is direct inspiration from Dorcas who participated in the Forgotten Scraps current challenge. She let her monster take a chuck out inside her card and I loved it!


Remember those hearts and wings I did last time with Liquid Pearls? This time I tried pink Stickles Glitter Glue on a wing. It applies evenly but I'm not so sure about the transparency. (Although it worked for this card.) Perhaps if I cover it with decorative paper first? I have a whole package so I'll continue to experiment more.

DT Challenge: Lollipop Crafts - Challenge #22 (sketch)
DT Challenge: Forgotten Scraps - Challenge #1 (use freebie)
Challenge: Res-Q Challenges #66 (bright colors)
Challenge: 2 Sisters Challenge #22 (flowers)
Challenge: Totally Gorjuss - Challenge #63 (Cuddly)
Challenge: Simply Create - Challenge #35 (Punches)
Challenge: Cooking it up with Katie - Challenge #45 (make it cute, use some green, add some brads)
Main Stamp: Monster Bubbles (LMMS)
Patterned Paper: Lemonade (BG)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Small Scalloped Circles and Circles
Copic Colors:
Y000, Y11, Y13, Y15, Y19, Y17, E000, E00, E02, E93, R11, R12, R114, W00, W2, YR12, YR14, YR18, G40, G82, G94, E42, E41

Did you know? The term framing device refers to the usage of the same single action, scene, event, setting, or any element of significance at both the beginning and end of an artistic, musical, or literary work. The repeated element thus creates a ‘frame’ within which the main body of work can develop. Framing devices are very common in storytelling. They are often employed to hold a story together and provide context, to create interest, to provide resolution and/or to move a story along.
[Framing Device, Wikipedia.org]

Update: I'm the winner at Cooking It Up With Katie for this challenge!

Tips, Tricks & Techniques 0x01F

I'm always on the look out for great storage ideas but today I wanted to share an idea with you. I needed a way to store my Prismacolor Pencils because finding one color in the pile was too time consuming. I came across these containers at the hobby store (Michaels) and thought they would be perfect.


I created a specialized chart because my pencils are very old so there are a lot of retired colors and names that have changed. To do this, I arranged them all out on the table and fiddled with the rainbow until I was happy. Then I transferred the number order into a spreadsheet, printed it and finally colored it in.


The containers come with one large one and two smaller trays in a bundle. I combined two bundles and used four smaller trays for the pencils which correspond to each column in the color chart. Then I tacked on one of the large trays to carry around the extra equipment and other small items.

This also makes it easy to color on the go... just store a couple extra stamped sheets in the bottom tub then grab and go! I hope this gives you some ideas too and good luck!

Louisa and Leoncio

Welcome to Day 2 of the Valentine's Blog Hop brought to you by The Stamping Bazaar and the fabulous Marina Neira! I made this card using Louisa and Leoncio which will be released this Saturday, January 22. Louisa is one of my favorite TSB characters so I was excited to see she had mate. I'm tring to get back to the basics with embellishments so I used a few of my "staples" on this card including lace and pearls. I'm always surpised at how well stitching will finish off the look of a card and alternating between stright stitching and zig-zag was fun.


There will be lots of prizes given away each day for commenters... so make sure to leave everyone your thoughts along the way! Finally, at the end of the week one lucky winner will be chosen to win the entire set of three (3) digis!!

Here's the complete blog hop list:

Barbara {me}

Emma & Susan
Lynda Nielsen

Marley Van Der Heijden

Penni Vickers

Tina Guigui

Tori Wild

...and then it's back to The Stamping Bazaar Blog.

DT Blog Hop: The Stamping Bazaar - Valentines Blog Hop Day #2
Challenge: Tuesday Throwdown - Challenge #32 (Valentines)
Challenge: Copic Creations - Challenge #42 (New digi)
Challenge: Wags 'n Whiskers - Challenge #44 (With love)
Main Stamp: Louisa and Leoncio (TSB)
Patterned Paper: Vintage (Creative Memories)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Dahlia
Copic Colors:
-lions: E43, E44, E47, E49, YR20, YR21, YR23, YR24
-clothes: R43, R46, R59, E41, E42, G40, G85, G99, B91, B93, B95
-other: W2, YR12, YR14, YR18, Y32, Y38

Did you know? Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an animated series created, produced, and hosted (in live action bookends) by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985. The show, based on Bill Cosby's remembrances of his childhood gang, focused on the lovable, oversized Albert, with his signature rumbling exclamation "Hey hey hey!", and his friends.
[Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Wikipedia.org]

Chickie's Valentine

Welcome to another fabulous blog hop from The Stamping Bazaar featuring three new designs by Marina Neira!! This week we'll be featuring Valentine cutsies which will be released this Saturday, January 22!

For this first day, I made this card using Chickie's Valentine and added simple embellishments to complement the cute Valentine design! I tried using Liquid Pearls for the heart and wings similar to the lasercut embellishments before, but I don't like the solid effect. I think embossing or glitter will be better and will have to try that out nextime.


There will be lots of prizes given away each day for commenters... so make sure to leave everyone luvs along the way! Finally, at the end of the week one lucky winner will be chosen to win the entire set of three (3) digis!!

Here's the complete blog hop list:

Barbara {me}

Emma & Susan
Lynda Nielsen

Marley Van Der Heijden

Penni Vickers

Tina Guigui

Tori Wild

...and then it's back to The Stamping Bazaar Blog.

DT Blog Hop: The Stamping Bazaar - Valentines Blog Hop (Day 1)
Chalenge: Stamp Something Challenges (Anything Goes)
Challenge: Phindy's Place - Challenge #38 (Valentine Card)
Challenge: Delicious Doodles - Challenge #8 (3 Colors)
Challenge: Pattie's Creations - Challenge #10 (Anything Goes)
Main Stamp: Chickie's Valentine (TSB)
Patterned Paper: Vintage (Creative Memories), Farm Fresh: Chicken Coop (October Afternoon) and scraps
Metal Die: My Favorite Things Die-namics Scalloped Edge
Copic Colors:
-chick: YR21, YR23, YR26, YR12, YR14, YR18, E04
-other: R02, R05, R08, E09, B32, B34

Did you know? Toss bombing is a method of bombing where the attacking aircraft pulls upwards when releasing its bomb load, giving the bomb additional time of flight by starting its ballistic path with an upward vector. The purpose of toss bombing is to compensate for the gravity drop of the missile in flight. A more dynamic variant of toss bombing, called over-the-shoulder bombing, or the LABS (Low Altitude Bombing System) maneuver (known to pilots as the "idiot's loop"), is a particular kind of loft bombing where the bomb is released past the vertical so it is tossed back towards the target. the maneuver had allowed the bomber to change direction and distance itself from the target.
[Toss Bombing, Wikipedia.org]

Challenge #1 - Reminder

Just a reminder about the challenge I have going on - my Mom and I would LOVE to see how you are using the FREE digis!! :D Plus we've updated the prizes too which now include something from both of us:

"Christmas Dino"

(Although it's just as suitable for a birthday!)

"Monster Nom-Nom"

One lucky winner with get BOTH digi stamps!! Everyone is welcome to join including family, friends and fellow design team members. You can enter as many times as you like and combine them with as many challenges as you can find too!

Challenge Rules:
1. Use Monster Love, Monster Sweet Tooth, Valentines Bear,
Monster Bubbles, Birthday Bunny or Easter Lamb!
2. Link to this post
(3. Make monster noises while you color)

Enter your submissions by January 31st and a random winner with our top three choices will be announced together with the Blog Candy winners on February 1st!

CLICK HERE to go to the challenge post.
Good luck - we can't wait to see what you create! :D

Pergamano Fairies 2

This card has been waiting for weeks to be published - and here it is finally! I made it using a Pergamano Fairy and Pond-a-Lily from Make it Crafty. Because I had bright and busy decorative papers, I keep the embellishments to a minimal and only added a few Dew Drops. The dragonfly was unplanned but I decided I didn't want to cover it so I cut it out before possitioning the fairy over that area. It worked out nicely and I didn't have to color another one!


You can see most of the background already but here is a detailed look before it was put through the Cuttlebug. I really debated about coloring the frog a different color but green would have blended in too much and orange or yellow would have been too much next to the flowers. So in the end, I used my E70's Copic colors. As a final touch, I added sparkles to the flowers and dragonfly wings - because we all need a little sparkle on our cards.


Challenge: Stampavie and More - Challenge #124 (Glitter)
Challenge: Stampin' B's - Challenge #93 (Use diecuts)
Challenge: Digi Doodle Shop - Challenge #42 (Pink & Green)
Main Stamp: Fairies 2 (P) and Pond-a-Lily (MiC)
Patterned Paper: Olivia (BG)
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Two
Copic Colors:
-water: BG10, BG11, BG72
-frog: E70, E74, E79
-reeds/gravel: E41, E42, E43, E44, E49
-dragonfly/wings: BV01, BV02, G21, B000
-girl: E000, E00, E11, E3, YR220, YR21, YR24
-clothes: E70, E74, R12, R14, R46

Did you know? The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars. The fifty stars on the flag represent the 50 states and the 13 stripes represent the original thirteen colonies that became the first states in the Union. The last revision of the design was 50 years ago on July 4, 1960 with the addition of the 50th star representing the state of Hawaii.
[Flag of the United States, Wikipedia.org]

S.S. Hoppity

Welcome to the first challenge of the year at Lollipop Crafts! Today we have a fun sketch for you and I used our sponsor's image S.S. Hoppity by Robyn's Fetish. I'm seriously lacking in guy cards but I'm not sure this one qualifies with the stitching and cute rabbit but it will have to do! :D


One thing I try to do is keep it simple without over embellishing the cards - although that is hard to do sometimes. On this card, I used a decorative bottle cap but needed something to put in it. After hopelessly searching my stash for a suitable trinket, I ended up drawing a fish instead.


DT Challenge: Lollipop Crafts - Challenge #22 (Sketch)
Challenge: Moving Along with the Times - Challenge #81 (Dreams - gonna catch that fish!)
Challenge: Crafty Ann's - Challenge #32 (New die, stamp and fish, old paper and twill)
Challenge: Stamping For the Weekend - Challenge #1 for 2011 (New stamp and Blue paper, water)
Challenge: Totally Papercrafts - Challenge #49 (Birthday)
Challenge: AiFactory Challenge #64 (Anything Goes)
Main Stamp: S.S. Hoppity (Robyn's Fetish)
Patterned Paper: Vintage (Creative Memories)
Metal Die: Tim Holtz Alterations Mini Baroque
Copic Colors:
-rabbit: E41, E42, E43, E44
-clothes: E08, E18, E19, B91, B93, B95, B97, B99
-other: YG91, YG93, YG95, Y23, Y26, W0, W1

Did you know? The Founding Fathers of the United States were political leaders and statesmen who participated in establishing the American Independence by signing the Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American War for Independence, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some other key contribution. Within the large group known as the "Founding Fathers", there are two key subsets: the "Signers of the Declaration of Independence" and the "Framers of the Constitution".[Founding Fathers of the United States, Wikipedia.org]

Dressy Joyce

Welcome to another Mystery Monday with Club Anya & Friends! This week we're CASE'ing a cute card by Tasha Beasley which has some really fun elements! I used Dressy Joyce for my card and for the large embellishment I used a huge daisy. Then to finish up the card, I could resist "sprinkling" on a few sparkling gems. :D I hope you'll like her and can play along with us this week!


DT Challenge: Club Anya & Friends - Mystery Monday
Challenge: PaperPlay Challenges (Cutie Patootie)
Challenge: Sassy Studio Design - Challenge #55 (Old Stash, flower)
Challenge: Anything Goes Challenges (Eyelets and Brads)
Main Stamp: Dressy Joyce (TGF)
Patterned Paper: Olivia (BG)
Copic Colors:
-skin: E000, E00, E11, R13, R12
-hair: W1, W4, W6, W8
-clothes: R12, R35, R37, R39

Did you know? Malpaso Productions is Clint Eastwood's production company established in 1967. The name is derived from Malpaso Creek, located south of Carmel, California, where Eastwood has spent much of his life. The name "Malpaso" is Spanish for "bad pass" or "bad step." When Eastwood agreed to take the role of the Man with No Name, his agent told him that it would be a "bad step" for his career. After the Dollars Trilogy made it big and Eastwood decided to run his own production company, he thought "Malpaso" would be an appropriately ironic choice.
[Malpaso Productions, Wikipedia.org]

Monster Sweet Tooth Freebie

Here it is - the freebie I promised!! And can I just say "Wow!!" Y'all have been spreading the word like a wild fire and we've upped the Followers count another 100 in such a short time - THANK YOU!! My Mom (at Grandma's Pearl) and I are sticking with our themes during this Blog Candy promotion... so I've got the monsters and she has the snug-able gifts.

Remember there is still time to enter the Challenge too for more prizes!
We REALLY want to see what you create with them! :D

"Monster Sweet Tooth"

CLICK HERE to download!

(Update: This image is no longer available for free
but you can check the sidebar for other freebies if available.

This freebie will be available for a limited time so get him while you can!! When I reach 400 Followers then I'll have another one - so spread the word and grab the blinkie from the sidebar! For those who have the older blinkies - you can now replace them with the newest blinkies. :D (I'll have to start now and get an early start on the next one!) I hope you like him and please leave a comment. ;D

Here's some inspiration from my very own über-talented Design Team...

Cassandra and Lydia:

Monster Nom-Nom

Y'all are fantastic!! I had a spur of the moment idea to create and share Monster Love as a freebie for reaching my Followers Goal so quickly... but now my expectations have been exceeded even further by reaching 300 within less than a week's time! On top of that - my Mom (at Grandma's Pearl) has also matched her second goal and has already reached 200! So you know what that means?? We're putting together MORE FREE digis for an even bigger THANK YOU!! Those will be uploaded as quickly as possible - so stay tuned and keep spreading the word!! :D


So for my card today, meet Monster Nom-Nom... who likes to munch on everything! Maybe he's teething and getting his second tooth in! LOL This little guy is being offered as a prize in our First Challenge! We're challenging you to use any of our free digis.... Monster Love or Valentines Bear. (Plus any new ones we release this week!) and as participation grows then the prizes might get grow too!

DT Challenge: Forgotten Scraps - Challenge #1
Challenge: Sketch & Stash - Challenge #52 (Sketch)
Challenge: Cupcake Crafts - Challenge #124 (New digi)
Challenge: Crafty Cardmakers - Challenges #37 (Red & diecut)
Challenge: Tallen's Place Challenges (Ribbon)
Challenge: Easy Craft Projects - Challenge #29 (old paper)
Challenge: Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings - Challenge #16 (Heart and a bow)
Main Stamp: Monster Nom-Nom (LMMS)
Patterned Paper: scraps
Metal Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Squares
Copic Colors:
R22, R24, R27, R29, E41, E42, G20, G21, G24, G28, BG91, BG93, BG95, E000, E00, E11, E13, E04

Did you know? The King's Speech is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper from a script by David Seidler. The film won the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award. The film stars Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as speech therapist Lionel Logue, who helped George VI overcome a stammer.
[The King's Speech, Wikipedia.org]

Princess Tilda

Shocking! Can you believe it? I made another Magnolia card... and added another face! I tried out a different style nose and smile on this Tilda but might like the other one I did earlier, however, I think she's still cute with a little grin. ;D


I made this card using Princess Tilda from Magnolia and another Love Carriage from Make it Crafty. This one is done in soft pastel colors suitable for a princess! I even added glitter to her shoes - every princess needs glittered shoes.


I kept the colors to a minimum but piled on lots of embellishments including buttons, brads, lace and even Dew Drops. The layout is a simple one, even though it's mostly covered, and I distressed the edges a little. As a final touch, I added a little bit of glitter here and there.


Challenge: StampFairy Challenges (Layers and buttons)
Challenge: Creative Cottage - Challenge #30 (new stamp)
Challenge: Tuesday Throwdown - Challenge #31 (background samp)
Main Stamp: Princess Tilda (Mag) and Carriage of Love (MiC)
Patterned Paper: Sweet Pea (TPS)
Copic Colors:
-face/hair: E000, E00, E11, E13, R12, E43, E44, E47, E49
-the rest: C00, C1, C3, Y32, Y38, Y38, R11, R12, B41, BV02, BV04, BV08, 0

Did you know? Barbie is a fashion doll created in 1959 by an American businesswoman, Ruth Handler, who credits her inspiration to a German doll called Bild Lilli. The Bild Lilli Doll was a German fashion doll produced from 1950 to 1964, based on the comic-strip character Lilli by Reinhard Beuthien. Reinhard was ordered to make a "filler" to conceal a blank space in the Bild-Zeitung (German newspaper) of June 24, 1952. He drew a cute baby, but his boss didn't like it. So he kept the face, added a ponytail and a curvy woman's body and called his creation "Lilli". The cartoon was an immediate success so Beuthien had to draw new ones each day.
[Bild Lilli Doll, Wikipedia.org]