Obstacles ~ CYP Challenge #202

Woohoo! There's a new challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges this week and it's win/win in my books. First of all the challenge is to use Black, White, Red and Kraft which is one of my favourite colour schemes evah! Then our sponsor is QKR Stampede and you know how much I love their fun and quirky images.

I chose to work with this awesome image called One Man's Trash. I just love that Speedy (the snail) is so resourceful and won't give up, using someone's trashed teacup for a shell. Way to go, Speedy! I coloured him with Prismacolor pencils after printing him once on kraft and once on white cardstock. The cup part was cut out of the white and the entire image was fussy cut from the kraft so that the cup could be layered...and be a contrasting colour to Speedy.

The background started with a rectangle of kraft cardstock which I stencilled using white gesso through TCW's chevron stencil. Next I stencilled through TCW's Confetti stencil using black gesso to create the splatters. A scrap of red patterned paper was cut into a diamond shape using a Spellbinders die. Both the kraft layer and the red layer were matted in black cardstock. The sentiment, which was matted in black and popped up on foam tape, is by Create With TLC and seemed to suit the fact that Speedy overcame a large obstacle in a very creative way. He was adhered with foam tape as well to create added dimension. The finishing touches were the scrap of black border cut with an MFT die and the red heart button that still had its staple attached from being pulled off the card...love that!

Thanks for visiting Speedy and me today. We really appreciate your fine company and interest. If you get a chance, pop over to the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the fun projects created by my talented teamies. We'd love to see how you use the colour scheme of Black, White, Red and Kraft so come and join us. You may use skin,hair,fur etc.colours on your images. The rest of your cards/projects must only include the four listed colours. In the meantime, Speedy and I wish you a wonderful and creative week.
 I am entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create ~ #60 Anything Goes (although I have included Red and White for Canada)
Challenges 4 Everybody ~ #38 Anything Goes
Sentimental Sundays ~ #195 Make your own background paper + add a sentiment
Di's Digi Designs ~ Tic Tac Toe _ Digi, Die Cuts, Flowers (on cup)
Doodle Pantry ~  #43 Any digi goes

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Hit the right note ~ Craftitude Challenge 59

Whew! It's been a hectic week. My husband had knee replacement surgery on Valentine's Day (some people get chocolates...he got a new knee) and it's turned things upside down for the moment. All went well (yay!) but all of the formerly shared chores plus his care have fallen to me. It does make me appreciate how much he did around here before...lol. Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at Craftitude and our themes are Anything Goes or Hit the Right Note (music themed projects). Stamp n Doodle, which is closed due to illness,and the ever-awesome Meljen's Designs provided the images this round with Meljen's providing the prize. For my atc, I chose to play with this Meljen's Designs image called Girl Talk. What a fun and funky image to colour!

I coloured Miranda with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut her with a white border, and then matted her with black cardstock. Bling was adhered over the image dots and she was popped up on foam tape. The background paper is a scrap matted on black cardstock. A torn strip of music paper was matted in black and adhered horizontally behind the image. Two music note brads embellish two of the corners and a third was given silver star sequins to reflect the light and echo the shine from the bling.

Thanks for popping by today. I love that you did that. If you get a chance, stop by the Craftitude Challenge blog to see the cards and atcs from the rest of my talented teamies. I'm hoping you'll be inspired to join us. We had nearly 240 participants last challenge which was awesome!

I am entering this atc in the following challenges:
Meljen's Designs ~ #198 Bling It On
Milk Coffee Challenge ~ Girly
Little Red Wagon ~ #225 Anything But a Card---but with paper
Through the Craft Room Door ~ Always Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Cutie ~ CYP Challenge 201

We have a new challenge at Craft Your Passion this week and the theme is Girly Girl. We want to see your Girly Girl projects so bring on the ruffles, the pretty papers, the pink, and all those lacy feminine touches. Now I'm not much of a Girly-Girl kind of person. I like brights and funky, grungy and distressed. I decided to put my own spin on this theme and make it my version of Girly Girl...Girly With a Twist. I played with this adorable image from our sponsor, Crafty Sentiments Designs, called Harriet - Fancy Dress. She is so cute! I coloured Harriet with my Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut her, and then matted her in black cardstock. I love the energy that Hot Pink and Orange generate when combined. I added little flat black pearls to her eyes just 'cuz.

The background papers are from an older stack which no longer has it's cover...no clue who made it. The bottom layer was cut in a rectangle and matted with black. A rectangle of coordinating cardstock was embossed with a Swiss dot folder, matted in black and given a border of Idea-ology pleated trim. The top layer was punched in a scallop circle and also matted with black. Doodlebug letter tiles spelling Cutie were adhered to this circle layer with Glossy Accents before Harriet was layered over the layers with dimensional foam.

A pair of pink sunglasses, really a button with the shank removed, seemed to me to be pretty girly so they were added to the top left corner. Three pearls were adhered to decorate the opposite corner. The bottom right was given a pretty little doily crocheted by my 84-year-old neighbour and a Prima rose was nestled on top. The final corner has a photo corner cut with a Martha Stewart punch...not very girly but I like it...lol. A doodled line was used to frame the bottom layer and add a little more of that twist I was talking about.

Thanks for joining Harriet and me today. We appreciate your fine company, your time, and your comments. If you get a chance, pop over to the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the sweet projects my talented teamies created. I'm hoping you'll feel the urge to get Girly and join us.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create ~ Challenge 58 Anything Goes
One Stitch at a Time ~ Challenge 200 Use a Digi

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Don't Call Me Honey ~ eP post

Hi All! I had the urge to play with my pan pastels a little and try out some new (to me) techniques so I decided to play in my Bee-themed altered children's board book for my eclectic Paperie post this week.. This is my third double page spread and all I knew was I wanted to use pan pastels and this fabulous bumblebee image.

The pages were already gessoed so I began by covering the background with two shades of yellow pan pastel. Versamark ink was used to stamp the Hampton Arts honeycomb stamp. Before it was dry, I took the Yellow Ochre pan pastel and covered the wet ink to create the darker pattern. I went back and darkened in spots with Raw Umber PP. When I was happy with the background, I used Fixative to set it. Butterscotch and Chocolate gelatos were added to the outside edges, blended with a dry finger. Black Big Brush pen was used to edge the outside of the pages.

With Matte Medium, I added two papers from MME's Follow Your Heart-Be Amazing paper pack: one torn, the other fussy cut. Corrugated cardboard was peeled and adhered as well. Stamping with Vintage Photo Distress ink and Unity's Reversed Punchinella stamp as well as a Penny Black background pattern stamp addded additional texture and interest to the background. My favourite TH spotty stamp was also brought into play for the splatter dots.

The bumblebee image was in my computer stash but the bee girl is a Hidden Studios image which I fussy cut and popped up on foam over cheesecloth. I wasn't happy with how the two images blended into the background as you can see in the third photo so I printed each again, fussy cut, matted in black, and popped up on foam tape over the originals. It made a huge impact making them more focal and weighty.

The lettering for the words "Don't Call Me Honey" are a combination of Idea-ology Ransom Alpha Parts letters (Don't), Idea-ology Alpha Tiles (Call), wooden letter tiles (me), and a honey bottle label (honey). The frame around honey is from my stash and was brushed with both gesso and White Fire Treasure Gold. The wording makes me laugh because I imagine the bumblebee says this all the time to her other insect friends  who mistake her for a honeybee and the bee girl doesn't look like she would tolerate being talked down to so don't call her honey either :)

At this point, I still wasn't sold on the overall look of this spread. Upon re-evaluation, I felt that there was too much "noise", busy pattern, all the same intensity, and my eyes didn't know where to look. That's when I decided to brush white gesso across the background, including the corrugated cardboard, and to add some pops of black. The die cut arrows help the viewer follow the wording and move the eye through the pages.

The three black hexagons, cut with a Spellbinders die, have some Christy Tomlinson rub-ons to add interest. The arrows and ransom letters were given white dots. Idea-ology Remnant Rubs were applied in five spots around the pages. The Black Big Brush pen was also used to widen the black border around the pages. Three pieces of torn washi tape and a whole lot of doodling brought the page to where I was happy.  Someone (I can't remember who) said there was no need to panic if you weren't happy with your project. It just meant that you weren't done...yet. That is so true and if you trust the process, you can relax and just keep playing until you like what you see.

Anyway, that's it for my bee friends and me today. We thank you for popping by...love that! I hope you get a chance to play and get messy soon.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Here are links to the eclectic Paperie store for some of the products I used:

PanPastels - Landscape Colours - 7 Color Set	VersaMark Stamp Pad	Faber Castell - Gelatos - Neutral Colors	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black
Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Unity Stamp Co. - Reversed Punchinella (Christy Tomlinson)	Scotch Foam Mounting Tape	Findings - Alpha Parts, Ransom
Idea-ology - Tim Holtz - Remnant Rubs - Words	Pink Paislee - She Art (Christy Tomlinson) - Doodle Art Stitches Rub Ons	Liquitex Acrylic Gesso	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - WHite

You Lucky Dog! ~ CYP Challenge 200

It's a special week at Craft Your Passion Challenges. We are celebrating our 200th Challenge...pretty amazing! I'm so happy to be along for the ride :) 

The theme is...

200th Challenge Special - Pick any challenge from the past year!

So you can choose your own challenge from February 2013 up to and including last week's challenge!

Please be sure to tell us which number and theme you've chosen in your post  :)

I had quite a time settling on which challenge to replay...so many favourites! I finally decided on Challenge 187 - More than One Fold. Our sponsor this week is 2 Cute Ink and I chose to play with Party Chihuahua because he makes me smile. I coloured (Mad) Max with my Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut him with a narrow white border, and then matted him with black. I didn't want his tiny legs or the balloon string to tear and this gives them protection. I also added tiny flat pearls to the highlight in his eyes.

The base for the center step card is black cardstock and the background paper, including the fussy cut candles, comes from a Paper Wishes Birthday pack. The zigzag border is cut from black using an MFT die. The sentiment at the bottom of the card comes from Create With TLC and is matted with black cardstock. 

Six brads in the candle colours accent the two sides of the sentiment. The sentiment at the top, You Lucky Dog" was created on my computer, pinched with a 1.5 inch circle punch and then a die cut scalloped circle. I also faux stitched the outside edge of the circle JFF. Both Max and the candles have foam tape behind them for added dimension. That tiny black corner triangle is an piece that came out of the diecut border.

Thanks for visiting Max and me today. Your wonderful company is always appreciated. PIf you get a minute, be sure to pop over to the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the awesome projects my teamies created. I'm excited to see what challenge they decided to re-play. Hope you'll join in the celebration and play, too.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create ~ #58 Anything Goes

Challenges 4 Everybody ~  #38 Anything Goes

Pile It On ~ #6 Stripes (in the candles) and/or Dots (Hat, balloon, brads)

Robyn's Fetish ~ #198 Animals or Birds

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Craftitude Challenge 58 ~ Anything Goes or Valentines/love

Another fortnight has passed and it's time for a new challenge on the Craftitude Challenges blog. The theme for this fortnight is Anything Goes or Valentines/Love. It'll be that special day before we know it. Our fabulous sponsor this week is Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps and More. I chose to play with this fun sweethearts image called Hog Wild Over You. These two crack me up. I coloured the images with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut it with a narrow white border, both so that it would stand out against the background and also so I wouldn't lose those tiny hearts.

The background was a scrap of red dot on red paper and was matted in black before being faux stitched around the edges. A piece of a tiny doily was layered behind these two before they were adhered to the background. Three black bling hearts were lined up in the top right corner and a reflective "Love" word from my stash was matted in black before being popped up on foam tape. To balance the other corner, three skinny strips of black cardstock were adhered in a graduated row. Easy peasy...don't you just love ATCs?

Thanks for stopping by today to check out these two cuties. If you get a chance, pop over to the Craftitude Challenges blog to see the fun makes by the rest of our talented DT. We'd LOVE to see you join in with this challenge :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

eP February Get Altered Challenge ~ Altered Playing Cards

Woohoo! It's time for the new eclectic Paperie Get Altered Challenge which begins the first Thursday of the month. This time, our lovely and talented Broni Holcombe is hosting and she has chosen altered playing cards as her challenge theme...something near and dear to my heart. I'm pretty sure that I will be creating two entries for this challenge just because I love them so much. If you have visited before, you know that my backgrounds begin the way that Mary Jane Chadbourne taught in her The Spoken Soul class. I won't go into those details out of respect for her copyright for the dvd but I will tell you that I use a combination of Neocolor II crayons, gelatos, and Big Brush Pens to apply colour to the background. The layers of paper are mainly scraps and the lettering is done on the computer.

On the first altered card, I stencilled white gesso through TCW's Art Is stencil. The turquoise paper is a remnant of a watercolour paper which was sprayed with water and Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise. Holes had been punched for another project so I used the leftover piece behind the boy. I liked that the background colours show through the randomly placed holes. The stars are tiny sequins attached with Glossy Accents. The boy is from Deviant Scraps and the message is popped up on foam tape. Both the boy and the card are edged with Black Big Brush pen along the sides. I love that he looks so serious and almost matter of fact with his message like it's something we all know but sometimes forget.

The second altered playing card has gesso applied through the same Art Is stencil. The dots are stamped with Jet Black Archival ink. The image was a freebie which was fussy cut and then matted with black so it didn't disappear into the background. The scissors were cut with an MFT die and some metal foil tape used to seal heating ducts. Again, the sentiments which are mounted on black cardstock for more visual weight and contrast, are popped up on foam tape. Two little threaded buttons are adhered to the top left corner with Glossy Accents. To me, she looks like the person you would least suspect of running with scissors which is often the way. Don't make assumptions based on her appearance.

The third playing card has a dramatic blue background. The arrows were stencilled with gesso through TCW's Chevron Arrows stencil. The circle behind her is punched from a leftover Distress inked paper, a combination of Scattered Straw and Spiced Marmalade. There are actually four different scraps of paper layered onto the background, in addition to Jet Black Archival stamping, and black gesso rings. The images are from Deviant Scrap. Both the moon and the wording altered slightly from Dr. Seuss were popped up on foam tape for added dimension

Thanks for stopping by today. I always appreciate that. If you get a chance, pop over to the eclectic Paperie blog to see Broni's fabulous altered cards. Other DT members will add their creations to the thumbnails below along with our wonderful participants in the challenge. We'd love to see you there, too.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie
These are links to some of the products used which are sold at the eclectic Paperie store:

TCW 6x6 Template - Mini Art Is	TCW 6x6 Template - Chevron Arrows	Liquitex Acrylic Gesso	Claudine Hellmuth Studio - Black Gesso
Dylusions Ink Spray - Vibrant Turquoise	Inkssesentials - Glossy Accents 2 oz.	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pen - Black	Faber Castell - Gelatos - Yellow Colors
Faber Castell Gelatos - Red Colors	Faber Castell - Gelatos - Blue Colors	Archival Ink - Jet Black Ink Pad	Distress Ink Pad - Scattered Straw
Scotch Foam Mounting Tape