Dude Time Doodles New Release BLOG LEAP

Welcome to your first stop on the Dude Time Doodles New Release Blog Hop Leap (Happy Leap Year!) The Design Team is featuring three fantastic new DTD images: Father Flanagan, Wes Wrestler, Jon Jogger, and Billy Amish.

Here's the hop order:

CG (You're here)

Ruth (Next stop)

Anne

Dawn

Kevin

Michelle

Mags

Tammy

Dude Time Doodles

One of the Dudettes - or Dude - will be named our MYSTERY HOST at the end of the hop and one lucky person who comments on that blog will win a free Dude Time Doodles image of their choice; So be sure to comment on each blog. You have a whole week to hop, I mean leap (through next Tuesday)!

I used Jon Jogger to create a motivational card:

The Sky background & Attitude Quote are freebies from Create with TLC. I created the scene in PhotoShop (I added a slight green hue to the sentiment), but I did reprint Jon and piece him on top after coloring him with Copics. The sentiment is printed directly onto the background. I printed everything onto some beautiful artist paper I had in my stash. I used DTD's Winner's Ribbon for the inside.

I was inspired by the staples in the sentiment image, so I used actually staples as an embellishment. Precision stapling isn't as easy as you might think!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Your next stop is the fabulous Ruth!

Prickley Pear Cardinals

For Christmas, Mom gave me this Clearly Beautiful set and matching Cardinal die from Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps, and I just can't get enough of them. So I couldn't resist using them for this month's Prickley Pear Sketch Challenge.

I used the last of a lovely vintage-style, music-themed DP from Paper Pizazz. I stamped the cardinals onto the same paper with Tim Holtz distress inks, and added detail to the eyes & beaks with colored pencils. I hand-cut the cardinals out, but I used the Cardinal die to cut the mats from TH glassine paper.

I love glassine paper, even though it's not the easiest to adhere. I used it for about everything on this card! The rosette was cut using my TH die, but I scaled it down a bit and used a flower from the MS border punch for the center. The little flowers were made from  flower & starburst punches and put together with Recollections brads. I colored the brads & gemstones with Copics (YG25, YR12, R27).

I had lots of fun making the ribbon with three separate stamps!

The sentiment is from a Stampendous set, but all the other stamps are from Pickley Pear's Clearly Beautiful Cardinal Set.

Prickley Pear

This is my first card for the December Holidays...sure am getting a jump on it this year!


Challenges/Inspiration:

Christmas Card Challenge Week #13: Music

Prickley Pear Challenge: February Sketch

Your chance to win StitchyBear Stamps!

I decided to make my version of a Clean and Simple (CAS) card today, partly to inspire you to join along in a few fun challenges this week:

• One Stitch at a Time (OSAAT) Challenge #102: Collab 'Use a Digi' Spring/Easter
• Card Crafter's Circle Challenge #11: Photo Inspiration
• Clean&Simple Fall-to-Layout #179: CAS Sketch

I used this lovely word art with roses from Delicious Doodles, one of the great artists whose images are available at StitchyBear Stamps. I digitally colored the swirl, and then printed the image onto vellum & heat-embossed it in Kaleidoscope glittered embossing power by Stampendous. I colored the rose with Copics, on the reverse side.

StitchyBear Stamps
March Mega Collaboration

This week's challenge at OSAAT is extra-special, because it features the release of the awesome March Mega Collaboration (left)!

These images are exclusive to StitchyBear Digital Stamps; If sold separately, this collaboration is worth over $35.00, but right now you can get it FREE if you spend $12.00 anywhere in the store.

You could win this great collection simply by making a Spring/Easter project, using a digi stamp, for OSAAT Challenge #102!

Fall-to-Layout #179

Card Crafter's Circle

I used my handy "Fiber Friend" piercing template to create the stitching; the vellum and DP are simply sewn together with this delicious Twinery twine.

Anne-Marie inspired me to check out this week's Card Crafter's Circle challenge. The patterned paper had a lot of white roses, and I colored most of them with a yellow marker. The ribbon rose is from a white, shabby-chic ribbon. I dyed the rose with a yellow Tattered Angels glimmer mist, and dried it with my heat gun right up to the point where the threads started to melt (but not so long that it burned!)

I put the message portion on the back:

Thanks for the inspiration everyone!

Piling on a Fancy Fold (Dude Time Doodles Scarecrow Card)

This week's challenge at Pile It On is one of my favorites: Use a Fun Fold. There are so many groovy folds out there, and the Design Team has some great inspiration. One lucky winner will receive a $15 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp, so pop over there and pile it on!

This was a perfect opportunity for me to try a Gate Fold Latch Card, which I first saw at Clearly iStamp. This happy scarecrow is from Dude Time Doodles; I haven't chosen a specific sentiment for this card, as I think it could be used for several occasions.

I printed Scotty Scarecrow onto yellow & plaid fabrics from a Heidi Grace swatch book, as well as a white linen paper that I used for the eyes. I colored Scotty with Copics,  and then pieced on the hat & eyes, and sealed it with Modge Podge. I added some Flowersoft to the straw hair and black OCL Sparkly Fluff to the eyebrows.

Here is the card closed flat (notice the little fly that snuck in...I didn't have the heart to photoshop it out!):

I stamped both sides of the card with a chicken-wire background stamp from Raisin Boat in Gold ink from ColorBox. The yellow background paper on the front already had a slight color distress on it; I ink-distressed the whole thing in Antique Linen. I made the circle frames in SCAL & cut them on my Cricut; then I added some faux stitching with and awl & an Elmer's gel pen.

The feather is from a K&Co. ephemera pack, the birds & haystacks are from a sticker set, and the inside scarecrow border is cut from a Graphic 45 DP (the Halloween Wizard of Oz series).

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge Week 143: Anything Goes

Rogue Redhead Rebel Challenge #8: Use a Stamped Background

Cardmadfairy's Digi Days Challenge #27: Don't be Square

Crafty Creations Challenge #158: Fancy Folds

Update: Lucky me! This won the prize for Rogue Redhead Rebel Challenge #8. Their stamps are so gorgeous; you know I have mine picked out already! 

Crafteezee Giveaway plus Stampin' Dymonz Domino Swap

Crafteezee Giveaway

Hi All, I wasn't going to do a post today (well, at least not until I finish gluing some stuff!), but I couldn't resist posting about the cool giveaway from Crafteezee. She designs specialty envelopes for crafters, and is giving away a pack of 25 of her new 6.75x6.75 envelope boxes. So hop over there and sign up before March 7th.

And be sure to glance over at my left sidebar for a few other candies.

I also thought I'd take this opportunity to finally post my photos from the Stampin' Dymonz Domino Swap.

Here is the beautiful collection I ended up with:

I just love them!!! That's mine on the far left. Here's a photo of the dominoes that I made for the group:

My mom works at the rummage sale at her church, so she sent me an old box of dominoes she found there for a quarter... they're really cool and old. They're "Whitman" brand and have that carved so beautifully on one side that I couldn't resist making a mini book with a Whitman poem! I got the book-flap idea from Calamity Kim. I printed the mini-books and then stamped/embossed "green grass" on them:

If any of my sweet readers would like to make one of these, but you don't want to tackle the design part, just email me the text you want and I'll put it together for you and send you a PDF. My little gift to you!

Unscripted Sketch with Dude Time Doodles

Happy Wednesday! Usually I post my Dude Time Doodles' Design Team project on Wednesdays, but it's a free week so I thought I'd just make a card and take the opportunity to remind you that Bonibleaux Designs/Dude Time Doodles has some great February deals!

Unscripted Sketch #146

CR84FN Color Challenge

I used this week's Unscripted Sketch, with the "piggy-back" challenge of Stitching, and the cool combo of chartreuse, gray & pink per the CR84FN Color Challenge. I was also inspired by the Print It challenge at The Pink Elephant. 

I created the print pattern for the background paper in InDesign, using several fonts. If you'd like it, let me know and I'll send you a TIF or PDF (your choice).

I dry-embossed the cut background pieces with a polka-dot pattern, and then sanded it.

These great image & sentiment freebies are from Marlooney. You can find her hilarious images at Dude Time Doodles as well as Squigglefly.

Desert Island Camel

I love when I discover a new-to-me challenge! I had already settled on a "desert" theme when I ran across the recipe-type challenge at Desert Islands Crafts. Seemed like a sign!

I got 8 out of 10 from Taylor's Itinerary this week:

1. stars 
• MS border punch
2. green 
• three green inks
3. sparkle/bling 
• sentiment is heat-embossed in copper 
4. kraft 
• Recollections brand kraft paper
5. polka dots
1. Sizzix texture folder 
6. twine 
• Brown bakers twine from the Twinery, bought from CYDI
7. 2 or more die cuts 
• Image, sentiment, and circle pieces embossed & cut on my Big Shot with Spellbinders dies
8. stickers
• Camels are cut out and run through my Xyron sticker machine 
• Orange circles from Eyelets Rain Dots set from Fiskars

This was my second attempt at the Faux Silk technique, as seen on the Annabelle Stamps blog. 

The camels are a wooden-block stamp Mom bought in India and sent to me to play with. The sentiment stamp (from the BaZooples #4 set by Inky Antics) actually reads, I'll never "desert" you, my dear friend!, but for design purposes I edited it down. It got a huge eye-roll from my husband, but I couldn't resist! I'll send it to someone who appreciates the punny!

And the inside:

May you have as many blessings as the world has camels...Which is a lot!

Vellum Obelisk

My childhood best friend's father is turning 72 this week, and, for probably the first time in the 29 years I've known him, I made a card in time! I'm not very good at keeping up relationships, so I love being able to make & send cards to people; it helps me say much more than I ever could in words.

The birthday boy was also the High School art teacher. I took some lessons with him, but we both understood that I was much more inclined to concept than production; I remember him saying once: the perspective in this piece is interesting; everything is coming from a different perspective! He is a very talented and generous artist in his own right, and when I look back I realize that between him & my mom, we always had the best art supplies. Coincidentally, he's going to be visiting my parents this week as well. I really need to call his daughter!

I learned a lot about art from him, mostly by example. He had some gorgeous pieces in their home, including a wonderful collection of Obelisks, which is what inspired this card.

This was my first attempt at the Faux Silk technique. Right after making my card for the Gingersnap Creations' Faux Technique Challenge, I saw this technique on the Annabelle Stamps blog. Please do check it out, especially if you have a sticker machine, which makes the whole process much easier!

This is the second time I've entered this Color Combo challenge at Chocolate, Coffee & Cards; I just love it! What can I say, I love working with brown. My first card is here.

For the "silks", I stamped a Ditto pattern stamp with teal Versamark chalk and watermark inks.

For the Obelisk pieces, I stamped the same pattern in brown Memento ink onto Recollections Transparent paper (vellum), cut it into strips, and pieced them together and onto the white piece with vellum tape. I colored-in the pattern with a Copic marker.

Inspiration/Challenges:

Annabelle Stamps Challenge: Background stamps

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenge #6: Brown, Orange, Teal

Stampin' Royalty Challenge #111: Sketch (right; missed the deadline garshdarnit!)

Silky Puppy Love

Since I spend the majority of my days with our two sweet dogs, I always feel almost obligated to enter dog-themed challenges! There are at least two such challenges out there this week: Can You Digi It? Challenge #3 and Crafty Ribbons Challenge #13.

I don't have either of those company's images / ribbons (yet!), so I "made due" with a Mo Manning polymer stamp I acquired from Stamp and Create and a homemade silk, paw-print ribbon. Oh, and a bunch of other stuff!

I used the Faux Silk technique for the circles (see tutorial). I colored the image after adhering the tissue paper to the cardstock and cutting out the shapes with Spellbinders dies in my Big Shot. To be honest, I really expected my Copics to bleed quite a bit on the tissue paper, but they actually blended beautifully.

For this card, I used my new Tea Dye distress ink pad; love this color. The base cardstock is a two-toned Core'dinations piece which I embossed with one of the embossing folders from a Tim Holtz set I just bought (Gift Cards + 50%-off coupons + Tim Holtz = One Happy CG). I sanded it and added some design with a background stamp from a Prickly Pear set. The sentiment on the inside is from the same set. The sentiment on the front is from a Hero Arts set; I heat-embossed both in Zing! copper.

I used the Fork technique to make the bow, a must for one-sided ribbon!

You know I couldn't resist the Joy Fold Challenge at Mark's Finest Papers:

The back, message portion:

Inspiration/Challenges:

Can You Digi It? Challenge #3: Puppy Love

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenge #6: Brown, Orange, Teal

Crafty Ribbons Challenge #13: Paws for Thought

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #122: "My Sentiments Exactly"

Mark's Finest Papers Challenge #95: Joy Fold Card

Faux Silk technique tutorial: Annabelle Stamps blog 

---

I just want to take the opportunity to thank Crafty Ribbons for their early-Sunday-morning contest! The first 14 emailers are receiving some of their new Baby ribbons and then get to make two projects! I'm so excited to be one of them! The the contest was posted around 10:30AM UK time, and I've never been so happy to be up at 5:30AM on a Sunday!

And since I'm sharing good news, a very special thank-you to Christi for offering her great blog candy, which is on its way to me thanks to her husband Mickey who picked my name out of his proverbial hat!

Here's my thank-you to you all: one of my favorite photos of my Allen & Walt:

Thanks for visiting, and have a great day!

One Stitch at a Time #101: Digi or Don't

I'm so honored and happy to share my very first project as part of the One Stitch at a Time Design Team! I'm looking forward to becoming more familiar with the StitchyBear Digital Stamps creators, and I'm already having a great time with my very talented teammates; Wait until you see their gorgeous projects!

This week's OSAAT Challenge theme is Digi or Don't: Either use a digi or don't use an image (no rubber stamps).

I decided to cheat a bit and use Walking The Dog Digital Die Cut File by Stitchy Stamps. I guess it counts as an image! I took the file into SCAL & kept making layers with increasing shadows widths, and then cut the pieces on my Cricut (Shh, don't tell ProvoCraft! Wish they had a Mac version of their software when I was buying!); I used the inverse pieces for the front and the reverse pieces for the "tunnel" element inside:

I used a Sizzix embossing folder & my Big Shot for rhe front black piece. The sentiment pieces are cut with a Spellbinders die. I stamped this sentiment from Verve Stamps and heat-embossed it in Recollections Red. I used white & black adhesive pearls around the sentiment (and for the corners on the inside, see below), but used Liquids Pearls for the frame. That's a little black pearl on her belt too.

This card features some of my favorite ribbons & fibers. The buttons on the front are actually brads from the Oriental Trading Co.

I made a "Book Card", but used the "Tunnel Book" technique:

I'm entering this project into the following challenges (thank you all!):
Allsorts Challenge #142 : Anything Goes
Crafty Ann's Challenge #59: Bold & Bright
Simply Create Too Challenge #7: Add Sunshine to Your Day
Pretty Little Ribbon Shop February Challenge #7: Anything goes...with ribbon (my second entry! My first is here)


Hope you'll join us for the Digi or Don't Challenge at One Stitch at a Time -- one lucky winner will receive a £10 UK gift certificate from Joanna Sheen! Wow!

Can't wait to see what you will create!

Faux real.

The Faux Technique challenge at Gingersnap Creations has really caught my interest. Their Design Team is providing lots of inspiration, with lots more promised before the March 18 deadline...I may have to enter again!

For this card, I tried the Faux Linen and Faux Metal techniques. I'm not sure either looks like faux anything, but I'm happy with the result! I also added some Faux Stitching with my awl and a copper Sakura gel pen.

For the Faux Linen piece, I used the beautiful FREEBIE digi paper that Funky Hand is providing for their Get Funky! February Challenge. Since the theme is Flying High, I also used stamps from Funky Hand's Our Betty series.

It was such a difficult decision to only color Betty's balloons...but I really liked the look, and my Design Consultant (husband) agreed!

The Stampendous Impressions Challenge February theme is Texture, which I created mostly with heat-embossing. The image is stamped on vellum and heat-embossed in copper. I mixed the "Faux Metal" technique with Stampendous' "Frantage" technique for the sentiment.

The rosette is actually the first one I ever made, last week when I bought the Tim Holtz die. I cut it on scrap -- the cover of a package for Recollections Gold Metallic cardstock. I stamped it in watermark ink before starting the embossing process (for the Frantage technique, you heat the paper from underneath).

I even made some tissue tape for the right-hand-side element (I thought I was making Faux Tissue Tape, but I think I just made tissue tape!). I stamped a Stampendous! border in Copper onto tissue paper (which came between pieces of acetate), cut it down to half an inch with my papercutter, and adhered it onto a piece of vellum tape. Easy-peasy! No, really!

Inspiration/Challenges:

Deconstructed Sketch #39 (right)

Get Funky! February Challenge: Flying High + Funky Hand paper or extra

Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge #139: Use a Faux Technique

Stampendous Impressions February Challenge: Add Some Texture

Tutorials from Splitcoaststampers: Faux Linen and Faux Metal

Happy, down to my bones

Man, I am getting my pennies' worth from Dilly Beans' Girlie Skellie digi collage sheet; I rarely buy pre-colored images, but they are fun! For this card, I printed the Sugar Skull image on vellum, then reversed it and printed it onto a thin metal sheet (Making Memories). I wasn't sure how well that would work, but I dried it with my heat tool and sprayed it with a matte coating, and was able to handle it fine. The flowers are made from the rest of the same metal sheet; more on that later. The backing piece is a red vellum that I cut in my Big Shot, using the same die set as I used for the sentiment, which I made by combined the flowers from the collage sheet and the wonderful sentiment from Create with TLC.

Fetch-a-Sketch #17

Inspiration/Challenges:

Aud Sentiments: Happy (digi sentiment provided by sponsor, Create with TLC)

Fetch-a-Sketch #17 (right)

Shopping Our Stash Challenge 39: Metal Mania sponsored by Dilly Beans Stamps

This card is more fun in person, because there's so much texture:

I bought the Spellbinders Flower Creations die to use for my sister-in-law's wedding invitations (which turned out great!), and of course it just went on super-sale at Jo-Ann's! But I'm still glad I bought it from CropStop; the big box stores get enough of my money!

After cutting out the skull, I had exactly the right amount of metal left for the die plate. It embossed like a dream, but I didn't get a great cut even after running it through my machine many times, so I ended up cutting them out. Then I heat-embossed each piece with a different color and put the flower together with a brad (the top, purple piece is glued onto a small brad).

I gave this to my husband last night...he came home with a new laptop, which in our house is a little like getting a pair of feet! He's been saving for it for so long; I'm so happy for him!

Sweet Peas

I received this beautiful Sweet Pea Flowers digi by priscillastyles as part of my prize from MMSC 133/134, and I just had to use it for their February Sketch Challenge. I have a special place in my heart for sweet peas; several wonderful people have given me that nickname, including the woman I plan to send this to (the mother of a friend; my friend is "Sweet Pea" and I'm "Sweet Pea #2"!).

Inspiration/Challenges:
Midnight Madness Challenge #193: February Sketches
Paper Pretties Challenge #193: Unique Fold
Pretty Little Ribbon Shop February Challenge #7: Anything goes...with ribbon
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Anything Goes (+ Vintage)

The image on the right shows the card closed with a tiny clothespin; here it is opened:

I chose these gorgeous papers (two double-sided sheets) from My Mind's Eye's Lost & Found series, and distressed all the pieces with Antique Linen distress ink. I cut all the pieces with a Spellbinders die in my Big Shot...it worked out okay, but I'm not going to try to emboss/cut a stack of embossed glitter paper again! It left a cool texture tho! But I still have glitter on my embossing pads...!

The first image is printed on vellum; the second image is printed on Hammermill, and I made it into a Notch Swing Card element. The concept is simple: secure a piece of paper slightly larger than the cut-out space by cutting small slits, or notches, in both.

And another view:

And the back:

My favorite part of this card is the little bag on the inside (see close-up on right). I've been saving this Seed Packet image from Beyond the Fringe Crafts ever since it was posted way back in August (as I said, I really like sweet peas!). I fashioned the bag from a small envelope; I used deckle scissors for the top and distress it all with Antique Linen distress ink. I printed the image (reversed, at Best settings) onto acetate, and then transferred it onto the envelope/bag. If you've never tried it, check out my tutorial.

I added a little color to the image with Copics, which I used for the rest of my coloring as well. I'm very pleased with this card; now to just remember to put it in the mail!

Have a beautiful day.


Update: I was the bonus winner for Midnight Madness Challenge #193! Whoop!