Life is Good if You're a Cat on the Beach

Coffee of the Day - Coconut Macadamia

Today starts a new challenge at Add a Little Dazzle, based on this inspiration photo. someone will win a $15 gift certificate to the store, and it could very well be YOU if you play along!  :)

for my card I decided to make some waves - well, not the kind I usually make (tee hee!), but this time by using a bit of perfect peacock metal run through my Big Shot using the Basic Grey Curly 2 die. you can actually punch out the inner portions, but I chose to leave them in to help mimic the look of waves. I then sponged 2 shades of alcohol inks over the top to help create a bit more color as well as age. in certain parts, I was able to distress the metal, which is just sooooo cool for me! you know how I love to distress things! :)

the cutey image is 'One Cool Cat' by Crissy Armstrong for Whimsy Stamps. papers are Spice Market by Basic Grey, sentiment sticker is by SRM, buttons are all vintage, large rose colored flower is Prima while tiny orange flowers are WOC. crystal effects was added to the glass of lemonade and sunglasses. some sequins and cord finish the card.

Challenges:
SRM - summer
Craft-room Ch - sun, sand, & surf
Fan-tastic Tues - summer at the beach
Paper Pretties - summer fun
Penny's Paper Crafty - fave embellies (vintage buttons, flowers)
WAW - anything encouraging goes
PDE Linky Party - beach/ocean
TTCRD - anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - anything goes/summer
Craft Your Passion - 3 or more embellies ( metal waves, buttons, flowers, sequins, cord)
Incy Wincy - bright funky colors
Ditzie Digi Design - anything goes
Squirrel and Fox - use metal
Just For Fun - here comes summer
Natalie and Amy - 4 legged friends
Sparkles - at the beach/summer fun
Catch the Bug - summertime
Outlawz Paper a la Mode - use metal
Brown Sugar - summer
Craft for the Craic - something summery or with flowers
Crafty Catz - use 2 different dies (Spellbinders and Basic Grey)
Get Inky - summer
Lia Stampz - summer fun

Congrats, Graduate!

Coffee of the Day - Caramel Vanilla Creme

It's a new challenge over at Add a Little Dazzle, and boy howdy, am  I in for it.... first time in forever that I overslept! yikes! here it is almost noon and I just woke up! boy am I scrambling to get my post going, and that is on no coffee, folks, so bear with  me. ;)  I am trying to adjust to all of these DT posts hitting at once, so next week will be much much better!

anyhow, y'all just wanna see my project, I know! but please stop by the Add a Little Dazzle blog today to see what the rest of the Dazzling Divas have in store for you. this is such a talented team! I am really blessed to be on some pretty fab teams, I must say! you know you wanna play along and maybe win yourself some of these amazing metal sheets of your own to play with! as you can see, I am using them on EVERYTHING! tee hee!

Since our theme this week is 'Graduation,' I chose to use the Graduation digi stamp set by Doodle Garden. dies are all by Spellbinders. for the bg, I took a piece of the Aluminum metal sheet and ran it through my Big Shot using the Basic Grey Diamonds embossing folder. I then took slate alcohol ink and sponged it all over the metal sheet. I love the hints of blue that came through! some grosgrain ribbon, buttons, and handmade enamel dot finish the card. simple, because it is going to a guy. and his school colors are blue and grey, which come through nicely!

Challenges:
Stella Says Sketch - sketch 211
Crafty Sentiments - Father's Day/for a male
Papertake Weekly - for the boys
Oldie but a Goodie - Father's Day/masculine (Spellbinders Label 1 die, ribbon, and buttons are old)
Craft Your Passions - Father's Day/ for the boys
Ooh La La - Father's Day/male

I'm Not a Normal Monster

Coffee of the Day - Coconut Macadamia

Since I played along in last month's Progressive Challenge at Sparkle and Glitter with Rick St. Dennis, I received this fun little monster in my emails. His name is "You're a Winner - Nyner the Little Monster."  The challenge theme will continue to be Steampunk. if you would like to play along and didn't join last month, I think all you have to do is buy the image and create you project. then link up along with everyone else! :)

I have to admit I was a bit stumped with how to begin with this fella. I originally thought I was going to make a tag, but once I got him colored up, decided to go ahead and make a card instead. the tag was sponged using the Crafter's Workshop Mini Gears stencil and was then sprayed with olive glimmer mist. gears were cut from an Add a Little Dazzle metal sheet using Tim Holtz dies. sentiment is by Ginger's House, and flower is Prima. actual watch gears were added all higgeldy piggeldy. lots of touches were added to the main image with shimmerz paint and glitter gel pens.

Challenges:
A Step in the Dark - anything goes
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes
Through the Purple Haze - show some attitude
Lacy Sunshine - goth or non-traditional hair color
OSAAT - use a digi
CCC Digi Creations - digi and a die cut
Ditzie Digi Design - anything goes
My Time to Craft - no designer papers
Left of Center - at the movies: 'Monsters, Inc.'

Mr. Tool Time

Coffee of the Day - Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

It's time for a new challenge over at Pile it On and we want to see you use your designer papers! We are sponsored by the ever so fun Doodle Garden, and you KNOW you want a chance to win some of those cuties!

for my card I used one of the newer images to the store, Daddy's Helper. papers are from the Basic Grey Bowties collection. tools from the MFT Tool Charm dies were cut from brushed bronze metal by Add a Little Dazzle. I actually used both sides - one is the great bronze color and the other is a shiny silver. edges were inked with black to give a look of wear and tear - perfect for a garage or workshop! household twine was perfect to tie the 3 charms, as well as using the label maker to create the sentiment. a bit of washi tape, some buttons, and a belt loop from a pair of the boys' shorts add the finishing touch!

I am giving this card to Tyler as he heads off to Camp for the summer. he is going to be the Maintenance Director, so this seemed perfect for him. :)

Challenges:
Outlawz Wed Sketch - sketch
A Creative Need - anything goes
Bloggers - for the boys
The Stamping Boutique - Dad or masculine
Crafts 4 Eternity - for the boys
Sister Act - any card goes
Aud Sentiments - any sentiment for a guy
CRAFT - Father's Day/male
Delightful Ch - all tied up
Crafter's Cafe - masculine
Crafting for All Seasons - boys will be boys
Paper Pretties - hip to be square
Simon Says Stamp - Father's Day/masculine
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Cardz 4 Guyz - Father's Day or the man in your life
Digi Choosday - all about the men
Papertake Weekly - anything goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Digi Makeover - anything goes w/a digi
Incy Wincy - for the men in  your life
Melonheadz - when I grow up
Crafty Creations - 'S' is for smile, saw, stripes, silver, sentiment, sketch
Milk Coffee - for Dad or special male
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes with patterned paper
Crafty Sentiments - anything goes
A Little Bit Crafty - Child's Play
Bearly Mine - one for the boys

A Get Well Kangaroo and Fun News!

Coffee of the Day - Toffee Creme

Hello to all of you, and Happy Hump Day! say what you will, but man oh man, that camel makes me giggle every single time! ;)

One day last week I received a coolio email from Monica over at Add a Little Dazzle. you might recall that she sponsored our metal challenge at Pile it On. Imagine both my surprise and excitement when she asked if I would be interested in joining her Design Team! of course I said 'yes' right away! the metal sheets I had tried were so much fun to use. I knew I wanted the chance to play with them a lot more often!

so today is my first official post as a team member. we have a new challenge and the theme is to use some vellum on your projects.  Please be sure to stop over at the Add a Little Dazzle blog to see what everyone has created to inspire you. you are not required to use products from the Add a Little Dazzle store on your projects, but if you do, you'll get an extra entry into the prize drawing!

To create the sentiment, I took a portion of the Perfect Peacock sheet metal and cut it in my Big Shot with a Paper Smooches 'get well' sentiment die. I know I have said this before, but gosh, this stuff cuts like soft butter! the edges stay so nice and smooth, so no chance of getting cut. I use my Tombow all purpose glue in the green and white bottle to adhere it. (or staples like I did here)

My card also uses a precious kangaroo image from A Day for Daisies, paper from the Basic Grey Fresh Cut collection, and Prima flower. the vellum was first embossed with the Basic Grey Snow Cap embossing folder, then lightly inked in pale pink. the card base was spritzed with Calico White Mr. Huey's.  a bit of washi tape, some buttons, and pink wired ribbon tied in a bow complete the card.

Challenges:
A Day for Daisies - kraft
Inky Chicks - metal embellishment (staples & sentiment)
Tuesday Throwdown - use paint or mist
Craft-Dee Bow Z - anything goes with a handmade bow
Cutie Pie - embossing
CCC Digi Creations - digi and die cut
East Wind - embossing
Cupcake Inspirations - photo inspiration and flowers
Ditzie Digi Design - anything goes
Lacy Sunshine - dies and/or punches
Sunday Sketch - sketch
Catch the Bug - recipe: kraft, embossing and a pop of color
Sister Act - any card goes
Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards - embossing
Crafting at the Weekend - anything goes
Scribble and Scrap - anything goes
Nutcrafters - animals or insects
Whimsy Inspires - bingo: ribbon, flowers, sentiment

Metal and Steampunk and Mermaids, Oh My!

Coffee of the Day - Butter Rum

The new challenge over at Pile it On is to use metal on your projects. We are sponsored by a new to me store, Add a Little Dazzle. they were very generous and sent all of the DT several sheets of their metal for us to try. gosh, what a beautiful assortment of colors I received! the winner of this fortnight's challenge will receive a $25 gift certificate to the Add a Little Dazzle store. whoa nelly, that is a fabulous prize!!!

for my project I decided to play around with one of my metal sheets a bit. I took the turquoise one and first cut it down to size - 5" x 5". I then ran it through  my Big Shot using the Tim Holtz Steampunk embossing folder. I used several shades of alcohol inks and sponged them over the metal. it was fun to see how the colors reacted with the metal.

the image is by Rick St. Dennis and is called Atlantis.  boy howdy, did this ever take me a while to paint, and ever so intricate, too. I added pearl drops to her crown, lots of touches with a spica clear glitter gel pen to highlight the water swirlies, and then shimmerz paint to her tail & crown. oh yes, stickles were added to the bubbles. flowers are Petaloo and ferns were punched with a Martha Stewart punch to look like seaweed.

Challenges:
Kathy's Sketch File - May sketch
Crafty Creations - recipe: flowers, die cut, ribbon
Divas by Design - anything goes
Paper Pretties - flowers
Rick St. Dennis Progressive Ch - steampunk
Inky Impressions - bingo: punch, stamp, ribbon OR flower, ribbon, bling OR die cut, stamp, flower
Emerald Faeries - flowers, ribbon, and/or lace
Crafting Cafe - creatures
Artistic Inspirations - anything goes/punches and/or dies (both)
Craft-Dee BowZ - anything goes w/a handmade bow
Crafting From the Heart - anything goes
Digi Makeover - sting/twine/ribbon
Incy Wincy - embossing and bling
Love to Scrap - anything goes
Little Miss Muffet - anything goes
Outlawz Twisted Thurs - anything goes/use metal or foil
DRS Designs - feeling punchy
Crafty Catz - embossing
Brown Sugar - anything goes
Craftitude - anything goes/use a die
Sister Act - any card goes
SanDee & Amelie's Steampunk - Heavy Metal Steampunk
Open Minded Crafting - fairy tale or fantasy
Craft Hoarders Anonymous - use metal or glass (stash: fern punch, ribbon)
Add a Little Dazzle - Father's Day or anything goes (thank you for the wonderful metal sheets!)
Corrosive Ch - anything goes
Glitter 'n Sparkle - add some metal