A WINNER, indeed!

I am DELIGHTED by the momentum and FUN generated by the Color Throwdown and their fabulous 100th celebration... It was SUCH an honor to be a part of that WONDERFUL party ~ my head is still spinning! hee hee I can't get over the amount of participation - you all, ROCK!

As promised, the WINNERS are in! There are SO many, and SUCH generous prizes... it's a COLOR-COMBO MIRACLE, my friends! LOTS AND LOTS OF FANTASTIC prizes! SERIOUSLY!

However..., it should be known that the MOST fabulous prize {IMHO!} is given by the fine folks at CLEAR & SIMPLE STAMPS..... Yes, friends, that's right... THAT'S the award and WONDERFUL sponsor that supported my little corner of fun....

THE WINNER of the 100th Color Throwdown Prize Extravaganza is......

#179 - Nancy Ward!

Nancy wins a $25 gift certificate to Clear & Simple Stamps! {You can get even busier with all of those Christmas cards, now, NANCY! Hee Hee} ~ She's a little Christmas Elf, she is...! I hope you'll go by her blog [SHE has the most DARLING blog-header!] and give her fantastic work a gander, and sprinkle a lil' love upon her site - SHE'S a lucky gal! {Who knows, maybe it will rub of on some of the rest of us!}

In the meantime, there is TONS of loot and judging by all of the participation, there's a good chance you may have won at another blog if you played along with the FANTASTIC Color Throwdown Celebration! {See the CTD blog for the particulars - you NEED to check in with them by the 19th to claim your prize... YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!}

Run along and GET SOME GOODIES! { I sure hope you won! }

AND!!! Don't forget, there's already a new THROWDOWN palette to play with! Lovely Laura is the hostess this week... She did the majority of "designer wrangling" during the planing of the CTD celebration and WHAT A DOLL! She'll take good care of you, I'm sure! Wahooo! And happy coloring!

LOOK ~ Up!

That's my motto for the day!

Things are looking UP!

I've had to go underground for a few days to get some work complete for ANOTHER local fair, here in Sonoma County, Ca. However, I've been blown-away by the fun y'all are having with the Color Throwdown FESTIVAL! {Wahoooo!} And I'm hopeful that I can get a chance to catch up with the crazy action later in the weekend! The response to the super generous give-aways has been overwhelming! Thanks for all of the fun comments and the wonderful participation - I can't wait to inspect all of the creations you have made with the Color Throwdown Colors! If you are looking for my 100th challenge celebration post, please scroll down or click here!

In the meantime, I've been taking that romantic vision of local color, fairly seriously! I don't have time to share a card, but, instead, a little something I have submitted in the Fine Arts Category, of the Sonoma County Fair, under watercolor + VITICULTURE! {I think I'm falling in love ~ again ~ with where I live!}

And then in another Fine Art category, my personal FAVE ~ animal art!

Unfortunately, I'm not able to share pictures that really display my husband's participation in my fine art submissions ~ he MADE the frames, himself! And with NO time to spare, I'll say. I would, ordinarily have my PERSONAL, favorite framing goddess, Helene, of Helene's Framing and Scrapbook Store do this for me, but since I finished up these babies with only a few hours to spare, Husband had to pitch in. Although he is supportive of my art, the whole thing still mystifies him, quite a bit. It was nice to include him in the fun - MAYBE he'll even go to the fair to see how "we" did! hee hee

Anyhow, sweet friends ~ THANKS, for stopping by! I'll have A LOT more craft to share with you as the week progresses! It's always a delight to share and ENJOY what you have been up to ~ I'll see you SOON!

Celebrating 100 Challenges....

with the fantastic crew from the Color Throwdown!



It's TODAY, it's today! The big BLOG HOP and CELEBRATION to honor 100 Challenges-o-FUN! And those funny, talented and sassy girls who throw-it-down EACH and every week, dazzling us mortals and inspiring some of the most fun color combinations - EVER {!} have put together one SUPER-FABULOUS celebration! I have such a soft spot in my heart for the personalities of the gals who give and give, over there! I had the honor of being a guest designer for a month last year, and all I can say is that I felt like a most cherished guest of a big, warm and wacky family... all of whom are MASTER PAPER CRAFT GODDESSES, generous and FUN! I was thrilled, beyond thrilled when they invited me to take part in this celebration. Not only are we hoping that you'll take the time to visit each and every gal on this list, but we're practically BRIBING you! Wait! Oh, just WAIT, until you see the booty and the bounty of prizes and fun that await you as you make the rounds! Because the CTD is so loved and respected and ESTABLISHED after 100 {Hello!) challenges, they have some AMAZING sponsors! You will have a chance to win some fabulous prizes from each stop on the blog hop! {Hey! I like the sound of THAT!}

Speaking of sponsors.... I was given the extreme privilege of representing Clear & Simple Stamps ~ what AWESOME folk they are! I was allowed to pick out a stamp set of my choosing, to play with the colors of the current CHALLENGE ~ Check it OUT, babies!



A little vino with that? YES, please!!! But, wait, let's hold off on HOW awesome these stamps are, for just a sec... Check out this slammin' color palette!



I was SO excited, I made another!




Here's the FANTASTIC set I got to use for the fun, and trust me ~ I LIVE in the Sonoma County, Wine Country! {You'll be seeing a lot more from me with this powerful little set!} It's a keeper!



YOU! You, as a visitor of my lovely little blog, are eligible to WIN * WIN * WIN a gift certificate for $25.00 from Clear And Simple Stamps! Just leave me a comment {which, WHO doesn't love comments to begin with.... HEYYYYYY!} on THIS post and link a creation {including direct links only, PLEASE!} at the Color Throwdown Site, before the 12th of July, and YOU might be in some SERIOUS crafty-craft material goodness! Check out THIS post for all of the details, rules and prize sponsors....! What fun! MEANWHILE, there's just a few other inspiring stops for you to visit and the bounty keeps flowing!

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy

Broni Holcombe - Splashes of Watercolor
Barbara Anders - Paper Pursuits
Danielle Kennedy - Wild Dragonfly Designs
LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings
Laura Pryor - Lil' Inker
Kisa Peters - Kisa's Paper Cuts
Carol Longacre - Our Little Inspirations
Deb Horst - Sendable Sentiments
Debi Southard - Debi's Crazy Life
Elise Durenberger - MamaCow Creations
Juliana Swanson - Stampin With Inky Fingers
Lisa Kind - Kind Creations
Makiko Jones - Makink Studios
Maria Gurnsey - Scraps By M
Pam Speidel - Stamping With Serendipity
Sylvia Nelson - Sylvia's Stamp Corner
Teresa Kline - Enjoy the VA Sunshine
Wanda Cullen - Cullen-ary Creations

CHECK OUT THE JUICE - AND refreshments (aka PRIZE PACKAGES!!!) provided at these exciting blogs! I guarantee you'll find something that looks incredible and the odds of winning wonderful prizes is GOOOOOOOOD! BUT WAIT! Don't forget - PLAY the Color THROWDOWN this week and win, win, win! Just think, how easy: visit the designers & leave a comment...GET INSPIRED, make something... link YOUR fabulous creation to CTD and ENJOY the fun!

Maybe they should have called this CHRISTMAS in JULY! YEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAWWWW!!!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Basic Grey
Stamps - Clear & Simple Stamps - wine images and sentiment background; Clouds - Practicing Creativity; Stampin' Up! - "Delight In Life" sentiment
Ink - Stampin' Up!; Staz On!; Versa Fine; Color Box Chalk
Stickles - Tim Holtz / Ranger
Border Punches - EK Success & Fiskars
Chipboard Letters - American Crafts
Ribbon - Michael's

My name is Elise...

Hello, Elise.

This is my first meeting of "Embossing Tools Anonymous..." I used some embossing folders today..... {APPLAUSE!!!!!!!!}

And it W-A-S.... R-E-A-L-L-Y ...... FUN!!!!!!!! Fun, fun, fun, WICKED fun!

***************************************************************************************

Are you a member?

Ask yourself this question... Do you now, or have you ever owned more than ONE embossing folder for each day of the week? Better yet, do you own, old school EMBOSSING plates! The little brass beauties, the kind that could double as Christmas ornaments.... You thought you'd use them like crazy, chalking, tracing, maybe to push some plaster through and get REALLY artsy, or, possibly, REALLY and truly embossing with them? Well, if you answered YES to any of the above questions, then you must run, click and slide right on over to the Just Us Girls Challenge this week! It's WILDCARD time, babies!

What a terrific reason to join "Embossing Tools Anonymous!" It's my {mythical} support group to encourage myself, AND OTHERS, to use their fabulous embossing tools! How timely that the JUGS girls got busy with a dry embossing challenge! After I just carted off, almost more than I could or should carry, T!m Holtz embossing folders from that wonderful LSS I shared about in my previous post.... {*Swoon!*}, this worked PERFECTLY for me!

On this card, I even OLD school embossed with a big oval plate and even some little circles for this adorable little pup's "thought balloon!" He had some VERY big thoughts, for a lil' pup. I guess I was feeling a little sarcastic in my state of embossing... Oh, and..... COLOR!!!!!!

Oh, HAPPY DAY! I have finally found a little slice of time to PLAY some good, old fashioned CHALLENGE!!! Whooopeeee! The Color Throwdown GIRLS, at last I can proudly post your juicy swatch of color upon my wee-little blog! "Hey, guys! Mom said I could play until supper!"

Aw, forget supper - I've got my CRAFT-ONNNNN!

I felt like really FEELING these fabulous colors, so I busted out some very wonderful WATER-COLORABLE images from Pink Persimmon! {If you can't locate Pink Persimmon on the web, e-mail me! They've got some awesome stuff!} Holy 1950's READER images - ain't they the cutest! In this one set, Little Red Wagon, there are images and sentiments a-plenty! I've played with these guys a LOT, and when you have the urge to color, or even paper-piece your little heart out, thems the guys! I love the playful vintage potential, and even though they come with a host of terrific sentiments, I was feeling a little sarcastic and silly today. Once I had created my little scene, I wanted them to say something kind of sassy... That's when the dog told me he had something to say. Suddenly, I pictured an engagement card... A real fun, sarcastic one. The kind you give to a couple, who has, say, been living together for a VERY long time..... So long, they are almost legally married, anyway! So, I hope no one takes offense to doggy's thought balloon. I couldn't find a stamp that did the job I needed, so I created a little paragraph, and then embossed the whole thing oval style. I cut away sort of a cloud shape and the bubbles to the dog's head kind of followed.... A fun, but unexpected path for this card.

Just so there was no mistake, I created a sentiment for the inside of the card, as well. I like it SO much, I'm wishing I'd thought of it before my big bro got married to his longtime sweetheart in March.... He's a COMEDIAN, he could totally handle it!

Anyway, fun friends of blogland! Hope you're enjoying the first part of the long Memorial Day Weekend! I took a NICE lil' break from the "end of the school year to-do list", to play in Scrapland today, but tonight, it's back to costume production for the little girl's end of the year play... I'm probably going to have to share then final results with you when it's all done. { I hope you don't mind...} For now, here's a quick pic of my darling BANANA PEEL #2..

{Horsie GRAIN SACK art!} We had fun with these! Stay tuned for more wearable art and costumes with RECYCLABLES!

See ya soon, sweet friends!


Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Pink Persimmon
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Embossing Folders - Tim Holtz/Sizzix & Cuttlebug
Oval Shape Embossing Plate - (?) So old, I have NO idea!
Small Circles Embossing Plate - Stampin' Up!
Font - Jester

Brilliant color and fun, fun, fun!

Have you herd?

The Color Throwdown Girls are FUN! And I and been depriving myself of their COLORFUL influence and creative inspiration... Too many cool projects and materials and NEVER enough time {*wah!* } Well, I'm drying my eyes and tossing this little number in for the latest combo...

Pant! Pant! {I'm right at the wire, of course!}



Here's the festive color swatch!


I hope you're having a COLORFUL weekend! I'm rushing around trying to finish my chores before the Academy Awards get off the ground, but whatever YOU are doing, I hope it's colored with fun! Yipeee!

Supplies -

C/S - Card Stock
Stamps - October Afternoon (Cow and sentiment); Studio G (Barn)
Ink - Stampin' Up!; Versafine
Ribbon - MM
Texture Folder - Cuttlebug
Mini Staples - Tim Holtz

Seasonal Celebration ~ GIDDY UP!

Season's Greetings, friends-o-blogland!

I suppose there's no turning back on the old Christmas thing, now! We've got holiday commitments popping out from every direction, the to-do list has not shortened by one item, but I'm still insisting that I jump in for a few challenges, regardless... So let's celebrate with some juicy seasonal color, stamps, die cuts and composition! Yee Haw!



Isn't this Santa adorable!?! He's yet another October Afternoon gem that has definitely made MY season a little brighter! I had to wipe down the keyboard after I saw this FABULOUS swatch of color from Broni, the sweet and ever so crafty designer, from the COLOR THROWDOWN!!! She, {*clearing my throat for emphasis....} SHE......, S-H-E was inspired by Eskimo Kisses from Basic Grey! {Imagine! Being inspired by that delicious collection!} And, oooooh, just looooooooook at these colors!




And then, BAM! A hugely inspirational composition from CARD PATTERNS! What a terrific combo! Two great things that go together "like peas and carrots!" What a groovy sketch for me to combine some ACTUAL Basic Grey, some fun stamping, water color work and a lil' paper piecing {...cause I just love it so!} ....


And here's my lil' seasonal, roof top scene! I created a little chimney with paper and a watercolor brush, with vellum "smoke" for effect and balance! But don't worry, my wee girl has been assured that Santa has magic powers to keep from getting burned by they fireplace! (hee hee) Those "Santa Claus" movies with Tim Allen are a huge help for filling in with some terrific, visual effects to calm worried children... Anything to help them sleep at night, right!?!



So, there it is, friends! A little seasonal craft to help me point my sleigh towards a busy weekend! {*sigh!} Thanks for stopping by and PLEASE, have a wonderful weekend, yourself! Be safe, keep warm and I hope you sneak in some craft-time, too! Don't forget that The Color Throwdown, color challenge & Card Patterns, sketch challenge, are... two great challenges that GO GREAT TOGETHER! Yipeeeeeeee! Have a WONDERFUL time!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Basic Grey
Vellum - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!; October Afternoon; Hero Arts
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Stickles - Tim Holtz/ Ranger
Ribbon - Recollections (Michaels)
Die Cut Sentiment - Sizzix

Thank YOU, Color THROWDOWN!

It's been a pretty special month for me, card-making wise! I had such a lovely time as the Guest Designer for the Color Throwdown Challenge, which was a total hoot! AND, I got some special love and confirmation from CARDS magazine ~ my first ever published card actually hit the news stands! {OMG!} Anyway, overall, a very happy time for the "E-stir" as a paper crafter, so I thought a little "thank you" card, in honor of my feelings of gratitude to the CTD gals, was a nice way to play with the colors of the week!




Here are the GORGEOUS colors!

Ribbit ~ Ribbit! Check out THIS adorable frog image! I busted out this fun set that includes two frogs, two mushrooms and little crown and a flower... Adorable fun from those cool "Pink Persimmon" gals, whom I met at a local craft fair last weekend... {Please google them or email me, if you'd like more info!} This was a super fun set is called, appropriately, "Ribbit!"

I so love a little watercolor work, so these images are FABULOUS fun, for me! Violet stickles really brought out the magic of my lil' evening toadstool scene! {Life is much more fun when you color with a little STICKLE!}



So, here we are ~ the moment of gratitude! THANKS to all of the darling, talented and super sweet designers of the Color THROWDOWN! What a super place to play, to learn and to be inspired by! If you have never partaken in the Color Throwdown challenge ~ I sure hope you'll give it a try!

So, there you go! I'm thankful for many things in my blogging and card making pursuits... But most of all, I'm thankful for all of the darling friends I have met! Thank you for sharing a little of your time with me, and have a wonderful day!

Supplies ~

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Pink Persimmon, Hero Arts
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts
Glitter - Stickles
Die Cut Circle and Sentiment - Sizzix/Stampin' Up!

Santa's coming! {I KNOW him!}

I KNOW him! I really do!

Ain't he THE REAL DEAL! Holy A-U-T-H-E-N-T-I-C-I-T-Y! This is the best Santa ever! And with his divine assistance, I created my sample as GUEST designer for the fabulous gals of The Color Throwdown. I was, seriously, THIS excited to have this gorgeous, most beautifully illustrated stamp set to use for this week's color challenge... Indulge yourself and play this:





Oh, yeah! THAT'S what I'm talking about! {OMG! I sure hope that WORKED! tee hee} I am THAT excited, we're talking "Buddy the Elf" excited about this, here, Santa from the Flourishes stamp company! I would love for you to learn more about this and other fabulous stamps from Flourishes, so please visit the Color Throwdown Site for links and to learn more about this week's fantastic sponsor. Here are the fun colors of inspiration!



In addition to having an extra excuse to get around to all of you and see YOUR fabulous creations{!} I'm enjoying my super month of Guest Designer-ship at the old THROWDOWN site! I've had such a blast contemplating the colors and even getting a bit of "sponsorship" booty to play with! So when these babies showed up in MY MAILBOX ~ I knew the REAL SANTA had come to MY town!




{Thank goodness, I remembered to take a picture of him in MINT condition!~Never mind the glare! DOH!}




{In a whisper: "He's like the REAL Santa, from the Coca Cola ads!"}





Now, with just a hint of color!



Popped with MORE color, a little watercolor to make the hat, fun punching and ribbon....


THIS Santa is so FABULOUS, I simply had to feature him in a BIG way! That's why I acclimated this card to open from the top and be more of keepsake than card! (Below is "closed")


I harvested some VINTAGE Stampin' Up! self stick magnetic sheet and added strips to the back of this card, so it can be displayed on a refrigerator.... (Here it is "OPEN!")



A little {last year's, SORRY!} family photo and a custom "hybrid" greeting (OMG!) with sentiments from this set and some custom greeting, adorns the inside of this lil' baby!



Fun, fun, fun! Color, color, color! Don't WE just love COLOR! And paper... AND beautiful stamps.. and crafty challenges with fabulous FRIENDS and talented hosts and .....


EGGNOG!

Merry Christmas ~ overload about 37 days EARLY! Wahooooooo! Thanks for visiting, thanks for letting me share the JOY of the Color Throwdown site and the impending HOLIDAY season!

"I love ya, man!"

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
D/P - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Flourishes
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Snowflake Border Punch - Martha Stewart Crafts
Corner Punch - Stampin' Up!
Large Oval Punch - Stampin' Up!
Large Scallop Oval Punch - Sizzix and Stampin' Up! scallop scissors
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Computer font - Stage Coach

Color FESTIVAL!

It's a festival of color ~ THROWDOWN STYLE!

Brought to you by my dear and crafty friends at the Color Throwdown! This week, the lovely and talented, Broni is hostessing... Type and click fast, VERY FAST, to see the terrific samples on the Color Throwdown Site and if you have time, check out the DT's private blogs! They have some heavy hitting TALENT on team THROWNDOWN! Lot's of inspiring work! I hope you'll be as excited as I was to play with these fab colors! I'm delighted to start my second week as guest designer for November! Wahooo! Perhaps you'll find a bit of inspiration RIGHT HERE!

Say "Hello" to my litte friends:

So much potential for FABULOUS CRAFT contained in this gorgeous lil' swatch! Wouldn't you agree? Why, THIS card practically made itself.... ! Tee Hee.... Well, with a little help from some fabulous supplies! This week's sponsor is Simon Says Scrap ~ for more info about their awesome resources, check out the link at the GRAND old Throwdown! I have to boast that I won a gift card from them a month or so ago, compliments of a CTD random contest, and I had a DELIGHTFUL shopping spree just last week! Good, clean and inspirational fun, I'll tell you...!

Singing ~ "I went to the dessert on a card with no name, it felt good to get out of the rain!" {Wait, WHAAAAAT?} No, seriously, I can't remember the last time I made a card without a sentiment! This was a big step for me!!! I just had so much fun with these colors: when I finished, there just didn't seem to be a big need for a sentiment! { My M-I-D-D-L-E name is "DANGER!" ~ shhhhh!}




I'm still having an affair with this background stamp! I busted out a BRAYER and re-inkers with the colors of the THROWDOWN! Using some wax paper I loaded my brayer...


And then inked up the cloud stamp and made this:



And with some heavy transparency material, I stamped this beautiful butterfly with Staz-On and let it dry.... THEN, using my trusty CRAFT & RUBBER scissors, I was able to cut this baby out, quite detailed, mind you! Just because S/U! die cuts their stamps now, there are still many uses for the original craft scissors from S/U! LOOK at the antennae! I was shocked that they cut so easily and did NOT break! They look kind of real! WAhooo!




I treated the back side of the butterfly with Tim Holt'z alcohol ink - YIPEE SKIPEE! Pure transparent magic! Alcohol ink works soooooo beautifully with transparent material and dries relatively quickly! Also, after the butterfly was cut out, it was pliable and I was able to pose it in a flight position, bending the wings where they attach to the body. That way, I glued the body direct to to background paper, but the wings are freely floating just above the background, which gives a lovely source for light to shine through and illuminate the image even further. I also used alcohol ink to alter these pearls ~





I hope you can see them here. I'm fairly sure they are from Kaiser Craft.... Watch what happens with a few drops of espresso brown alcohol ink ~




I wound up using these for the butterfly's body! I can't wait to try this with OTHER colors! Yipee!

This truly was a ROMP through color! I had such fun! I can't wait to see how your wrangle the mighty colors of the THROWDOWN! I'm so delighted that you've dropped by! Now, run along to the fine, fun and fabulous Color Throwdown Challenge Site ~ you'll be glad you did! Yee Haw!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Hero Arts
Ink - Stampin' Up!; Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink; Staz-On
Die cut shapes and texture folder - Sizzix/Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Michael's
Half Pearls - Kaiser Craft
Heavy Transparency Material - Hambly

Embrace Life!

Sounds simple enough. I've embraced life with blog for nearly eight months and I must say, I sure am a better person for it! I've met sooooooo many wonderful, crafty and often downright zany and hilarious personalities out there ~ what a shame it might have been to miss YOU! Included in the "short list" of favorite discoveries in blogland was this challenge site: The Color Throwdown! Not only are the designers some of the craftiest, most color savvy artists on the internet, but they are FUN! Their personal blogs are always upbeat and inspirational and the Throwdown site is fun and welcoming all the time! They give lots of great feedback, prizes and, well, aw shucks ~ they invited lil' old me to be their guest designer for the month of November! Now that's a horse of a FABULOUS color that I can saddle up to! Thanks CTD gals! I'm thrilled!

I am DEEEEEEEEE-lighted to throwdown my first official {guest} design team offering:



HELLO, beautiful stamps, that I've kept "in the barn" for way too long! These colors, selected by none other than the super-fabulous, Tammy Hershberger, brought these images to life!


Gorgeous, huh!?! Can you believe I didn't make a WESTERN card with these super earthilicious colors? I was trying to S T R E T C H myself! And, like I said, I had to turn these stamps out into the field for some exercise! Oh, goodness! Such pretty images, and to think I used the most of the set in this one card ~ double bonus points right thar'!



It seems that I can barely make a card without using some bit of watercolor technique, these days. One of the most magical discoveries that drew me to card making, like no other creative pursuit, was the first time I saw what chalk could do to a stamped image. I was instantly infatuated with the effect and the "printed" quality of the look.... Why? I ... don't ... uh, know, actually! I don't know why, someone as inky-handed as myself, is obsessed with the professionally printed feel to aspects of my cards, when clearly, I love layering and use of diverse materials, but there's still something "old school" and magical about printed work and the pursuit of emulating it, yet still being crafty! Crazy? I think that hours of pouring over Curious George and Go Dog, Go! when I was a wee-gal, just shaped me as an artist. Now that I'm pretty much over "chalking", adding water color techniques directly to a card just makes so much sense... (Don't get me wrong, there is still a huge place in my heart for chalk! But the time and places are much more technique specific.) I think water color work is timeless and I'm in love. Ahhhhhh. {Shhhhhh, don't tell my husband!} Hee Hee ~ Well that was a LOT of info that I doubt you were shopping for! I simply wanted to say that I had a gas adding water color to these images! My favorite technique continues to be: smaller aqua brush+ drop of re-inker or from Water Color Wonder Crayons! In this card I didn't even use Staz On, so you can see how easy it is to apply water color with a small brush/pen! I was pretty pleased with the look and then, just for fun, added some Stickles to some of the flower centers!

I hope that this card might perk up some interest, if you've never played with the Color Throwdown ladies ~ give 'em a whirl! You won't be sorry! Go by the site and check out the fantastic and diverse samples... get ready to palpitate your crafty-lovin' heart! And, if you jump in for the first time, please, PLEASE, tell 'em I sent you! {And no, I don't get "color discount" for sending you! Tee Hee It will just make me feel PROUD!} It's soooooo easy to play, but be sure to get your card in by Sunday, November 8th (midnight, me thinks...) to be eligible to be a featured stamper! And, check their rules for proper "link-up" if you have any questions on that particular topic! I'm always happy to help, too, if you have any questions, just e-mail me!

So there you have it, friends! I'm delighted, AS ALWAYS, that you stopped by! Embrace life, and by all means THROWDOWN some extra color this week! YEE HAW!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Ink - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - Stampin' Up!
Aqua brush - Stampin' Up!
Scallop punch - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Stampin' Up!
Stickles - Tim Holtz

Have a SCREAMIN' good time!

I had a screamin' good time tonight ~ making stuff! Spent most of the day "cleansing the palette, " or cleaning "Scrapland," my haven of crafting and art...and sanity! Oh, goodness, it was in a pretty sorry state! But, there was light... at the end of my journey and .... A CARD!



Roar! Yep, that's how I feel: hear me! Let me hear YOU! And while we're at it, look at these!


Is YOUR mouth watering? I just think these are JUICY! And since I've been a bit out of the loop, I was surprised and delighted that Lovely LeAnne from the Color Throwdown is leading this week's challenge! {I'm a huge fan!}

When I first set eyes on these colors, having been in "Autumn" mode for so long, I was a bit concerned with how I'd wrangle them... I just find it so amazing how we are inspired and I hope you'll share the humor when you see what kicked it into gear for me:




Isn't this lovely! Lavender fields from the Mount Shasta area of way Northern California. And the painting is by a dear family friend, and super talented water color artist, Virgil Harton. Virgil is most well known for his architectural water color renderings, but I had the privilege of visiting his studio a few months ago, and I must share that his landscape paintings are MAGNIFICENT! I wish he had a website I could direct you to, but he's pretty low-tech and private. However, since he shared this print with me that was made into cards for a local lavender company, I'm able to share a slice of his fabulous talent! So many of these colors were similar to LeAnne's and simply by knowing that, I came up with this!



My husband got all excited, thinking I was going to post something that was inspired by Virgil, but I'm not exactly sure he'd get the connection! {Hee Hee} Great thing though, I know YOU will!

Since I was having fun and getting all excited with "challenge," I decided to use this sketch from the lovely gals from Card Patterns.....


I wish you could hear me purrring! FANTASTIC inspiration for a gal who's been kept away from all of this spectacular card crafty fun! I had a super time adapting these colors to this sketch and a ton of fun with these darling stamps by MyCuteStamps, more stamping on glossy (coated) card stock... some resist and, of course, water color work and viola! Scrapland is BACK IN BUSINESS! Yeeee HAW!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are "being challenged!" Yipeeeeeee!

Supplies -

C/S - Stampin' Up!
Stamps - MyCuteStamps (main image, city-scape, sentiment); Stampin' Up! (Stars and "H")
Background Stamp - Impression Obsession
Ink - Stampin' Up! & Staz On
Grungeboard Shapes - Tim Holtz
Diamond Plate Embossing Folder - Cuttlebug
Silver Cord - Stampin' Up!
Black Glitter - Doodlebug