Warrior Woman Blog Hop Winner!

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day eating candy and spending time with your loved ones!

Yay for Sherry!

Today, we're wrapping up the Warrior Woman Blog Hop, a celebration of our good friend, Sherry Goodloe, who has conquered breast cancer, and of all women and men who have faced this health challenge. Our hop was sponsored by the generous Daisy Sparks from eclectic Paperie, and the winner of her fabulous pink prize package has been announced at Sherry's blog, Got Art! Be sure to check it out-- Sherry has an incredibly generous prize of her own up for grabs right now!


I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who shared their heart and their talent for this hop! There was some truly incredible art created, and it was such an honor to organize this event with my amazing co-hostesses, who are:

• Ellen Vargo
• Hels Sheridan 
• Jennie: The Artistic Stamper 
• Judy Wood 
• Nancy Crissinger 
• Sharon Sutton 
• Tracy Jacobs 

I have a $20 gift certificate to eclectic Paperie to give away to someone who left a comment on my original post, and the randomly drawn winner is...

 #7 -  2amScrapper, a.k.a. Helene Huber! 

Congratulations, Helene! 

The Warrior Women Blog Hop Flickr Gallery is still available for your viewing pleasure, and will remain until we do this again next year!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this such a wonderful experience! 

Big hugs,

Linda

Drunken Stampers Lose Their Copics!

It had to happen at some point. A few too many Mexican Pumpkin Punch Cocktails, and next thing you know, we've lost our Copics. But the Drunken Stampers will always seek out a way to turn adversity into triumph, and therefore are pleased (as pumpkin punch) to invite you to join our Before There Were Copics Challenge!

And, truly, we mean ANYTHING but Copics. If you want to color your art with beet juice and eyeliner, go for it.

I dug out my long-neglected Sakura Glaze Pens to color this sugar-addicted witch. I'd forgotten how cool these pens really are! You can't tell on the computer screen, but in real life the effect is very dimensional and glossy and glass-like. Sweet! See, once you lose the Copics, you never know what you might discover...

The background is pre-embossed Grungeboard shaded with chalk and spritzed with the brand-spanking-new Perfect Pearls Mist, which bonded the chalk to the paper really well. Plus, it's just fun to go around spraying things with shimmering mist anytime you get the opportunity. There's a little Tim Holtz Tissue Tape and a couple of Grungeboard bats for extra-added Halloweeniness.

What's your favorite Trick or Treat candy, by the way? Just curious.

Our Copic-less Challenge is open through next Friday, November 5, and my teammates, Peggy, Spike and Tracy, have designed some really gorgeous examples to inspire you. Check 'em out, hide your Copics, and come bask in your own brilliant artiness with the Drunken Stampers!

Hugs and Happy Halloween!
Linda

E-Team Special Mission: Suzi Blu Stamps!

Let me begin by saying that I love, love, LOVE Suzi Blu's art. I initially learned about her through my brilliant artist friend Theresa at the Fairie Moon Creations blog, who's taking a class from her. One look at Suzi's website and I was—and I don't use this word lightly—ensorcelled. Yep. Ensorcelled. So when Daisy from eclectic Paperie announced that Unity Stamps was releasing a line of Suzi's images, and that our next E-Team assignment was to make something using one of them, I rejoiced like...well, like me set loose in a chocolate factory!

I will collect them all. Trust me on this.

Truly, Suzi Blu's images are so inspiring and fun it's an absolute a joy to work with them. My own creation is a 5 x 7 canvas, textured with gesso, crumpled tissue paper and handmade papers, then painted with a bunch of Claudine Hellmuth Studio paints. The moon and flowers were haphazardly cut from leftover paper scraps, and I embellished with a little gold heart bead and various Trinket Pins.

The Suze Blu image is called "Love Yourself," and she was stamped in black and then colored with Copic Sketch Markers. The dots on her skirt were made with a Tim Holtz stamp from his Bitty Grunge collection.

I'm so excited for you guys to check out the gorgeous creations my E-Teammates came up with for this blog hop! Please visit Suzi Blu and my friends at the links below, then finish at the eclectic Paperie blog and leave a comment telling Daisy which of Suzi's stamps you like best. Be sure to do this, because someone is going to win their favorite Suzi Blu image!

Hey, it's the E-Team: 

Suzi Blu, Our Special Guest!

Broni Holcombe

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter (That's me!)

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

Daisy Sparks, the eclectic Paperie Blog

Suzi was kind enough to answer a few questions for us, and we're each posting one at our blog, so you'll get the whole shebang as you hop! Here's mine...

E-Team: Do you have a medium that you currently are loving to work with? Do you have a favorite?


Suzi Blu: Currently it is Self Leveling Gel. I've been working with beeswax for a few years, using it to seal my paintings, but since I started my Mermaid class I have fell in love with a more glossy dreaminess. It is like a very thick varnish. I still use beeswax even in the same painting, so that some parts are glossy and some are not. I like the contrast.

(Isn't she cool? Now I'm all jazzed to play with beeswax.)

Have a great time hopping with the E-Team!

Big Hugs,
Linda

Gingersnaps Color-Coordinated Challenge!

We host a color-themed challenge every month at the Gingersnap Creations blog, and October's is the perfect-for-autumn combination of pumpkin, avocado and eggplant. Think "the Brady Bunch" kitchen with some deep purple thrown in, and you've got the idea. 

I'm just thrilled silly that Claudine Hellmuth's Creative Layers stamps are finally on the market! I used them for all the imagery on this card, and had a blast doing it. I adore her style, anyway, and the "offset print" look you can get by combining these foam and clear stamps is so totally, coolly retro. Check out the little into here if you want to see 'em in action:

Claudine Hellmuth Creative Layers Stamps

I used Adirondack dye inks for the stamping, and embossed the layers of cardstock with Tim Holtz Texture Fades. 

Why don't you cruise on over to the Gingersnap Creations blog and join our Pumpkin, Eggplant and Avocado challenge? We'd all love to see your take on this color palette, and you have all the way until November 21 to add your submission!

Have an awesome, pre-Halloween Thursday, everyone!

Hugs,

Linda

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge 19!

Extreme Masking!

Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp

Welcome to the spookiest week of the year, everyone! Seeing as how Halloween falls during Challenge 19, it seems only right to make this our EXTREME Masking challenge! Please open your Compendium of Curiosities to page 61, home of this fun, dramatic technique!

You can make this as simple or complex as you wish, and for the purposes of this challenge, Step 5 is optional (although it's really fun and looks pretty cool!). And if you have those shiny new Perfect Pearls Mists, you're welcome to use them in Step 2. Just sayin... ;-)

Before we talk prizes, it's time for my regularly-scheduled reminder that in order to qualify to win, you truly must not post the technique instructions on your blog. Post the colors you used, the names of the stamps, and all that great info, but please, leave the instructions out. You're more than welcome— encouraged, in fact!— to include a link to Tim's website where your readers can purchase an autographed copy of the Compendium of Curiosities of their very own. It's a win-win that way!

This week's sponsor is the wonderful Simon Says Stamp, which is stocked to the rafters with all kinds of Tim Holtz goodness (and lots of other goodness as well). This week's lucky, randomly-chosen winner gets $25 to spend there!

As you probably know, the lovely folks at Simon also host a very cool weekly challenge of their own called Simon Says Stamp and Show, and it's not unusual for folks to create a piece of wonderful art that fits the criteria of both challenges, which you're welcome to do!

Of course, the lovely and talented Gloria, List Mom at the All Things Tim Yahoo group, will also send a sweet prize to one of this week's participants! Please add your image to the Compendium of Curiosities folder at the ATT home page, and be sure to tag your photo "CCC #19." Gloria will choose her winner from that folder.

To be eligible to win one (or both!) of this week's prizes, simple create your own work of art that incorporates the Extreme Masking technique and link it to this blog via the InLinkz button below. This challenge is open until 8 pm MDT on Halloween night! 

Have a fabulous week, everyone! I can't wait to see what you create. 

Hugs,

Linda

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Congratulations, CCC 18 Winners!

Welcome to a brand new week, everyone! I'm still in awe of all the amazing art that was submitted for the 18th Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, and as I so often do, I wish I could send every participant a prize. You guys are brilliant!

Right now, it's time to give away the prize I do have, the brand new Configurations shadow box, which comes courtesy of the always generous and much beloved Mario!

Huge congratulations to:

Netty Goatley, of Netty's Craftings!

Click the photo for a closer look at Netty's stunning card!

Gloria from the All Things Tim group has been traveling this week, so we'll announce her winner at the ATT message board when she's had the chance to see everyone's submissions there. Stay tuned!

Thanks again to Mario for sending the Configurations (and being the Twitter King!), to Tim for creating them, to Gloria for being the most awesome list mom... and to all of you, who make my eyes and heart happy every day!


Let's do it again, shall we? Challenge 19 posts in just a few minutes!

Drunken Stampers Go Trick or Treating!

Halloween!

Halloween!

Oh, what funny things are seen!

Witches hats

Coal-black cats

Broomstick riders

Mice and rats!

That's a little song my mom used to sing that to me when I was a  kid, and back then, I pondered why the black cats were "cold," and how exactly one might "write" with a broomstick. I think I was in my twenties before I finally figured out the actual lyrics.

But never mind that. Today, along with my Drunken Stampers cohorts, Peggy, Spike and Tracy, I'm raising my cut of hot spiced cider to everyone's favorite October holiday (c'mon, it's not like we get to dress up and eat candy on Columbus Day!). Yes, indeed, it's our very first Halloween Challenge at the lounge!

My card uses stamps from Tim Holtz (Haunted Mansion), Character Constructions (Bird and Bee #3) and Artgirlz (oh, how I miss Artgirlz!), along with various Halloween papers of unknown origin and some Artgirlz metal arms and legs. There's some ripped up black netting, too, which is, I think, the most perfect of Halloween-y embellishments. It's cheap, too...

The Great Pumpkin's flyover is but a mere week away, so while you're figuring out where the most sincere pumpkin patch is your area might be, how 'bout joining the Drunken Stampers for our Halloween Challenge? You know you wanna...

Hugs,
Linda

Getting Arch-y with the Gingersnaps!

No, no. Not "The Archies" (although that certainly does bring back fond, Saturday-morning memories!). ARCH-y! Like, gothic arches. This is our theme at Gingersnap Creations this week, and you really can't help but have fun with it!

My own little arch was hand drawn onto glossy white cardstock, embossed with the Tim Holtz Dot Matrix Texture Fade, and colored with Alcohol Inks. The cute little stamp is a new (to me) image from Catslife Press, and she's colored with Copics and glimmery Spica pens and edged with black Adirondack Paint. The clock face, pointers and metal flowers are all Tim Holtz Idea-ology, and the trinket pins came from eclectic Paperie.

I bet you have some really fabulous ideas about how to use arches in your art. C'mon, show 'em off!

This challenge is open at Gingersnaps all the way through November 14, so you have plenty of time to ponder the arch... embrace the arch... create the arch! And even watch "The Archies!" ;)

Hugs,

Linda

Compendium of Curiosities, Week 18!

Challenge 18: Dabber Resist

Well, friends, as of this post, we are officially halfway through the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge Series! It's going by so quickly, isn't it? I plan to keep posting challenge every week, except during the holidays when we'll probably extend the challenges to two weeks for sanity's sake. For now, though, it's time for Challenge #17!

So, please open your Compendium of Curiosities to page 37, where you'll find Tim's instructions for his fun (and kind of magical!) Dabber Resist Technique!

I'm really excited because I get to "pay it forward" for the prize this time around. Last week, I noticed that Mario had Tweeted something about the Tim's new Configurations shadow boxes, and I replied that I was really looking forward to them hitting the market. Next thing I knew, sweet Mario informed me that he was going to send me one. Well, being the generous guys he and Tim are, they actually sent me three in various sizes! I'm going to offer the medium-size Configuration for our prize this week, and will throw in a little extra Tim-tastic surprise, too!

I was excited about the product from the moment I first heard about it, and guys, it's even cooler in real life! These babies are SO sturdy and well-designed, and oh, what fun we're going to have altering them!

To be eligible to win this hot-off-the-press Configurations goodness, simply create your own work of art that incorporates the Dabber Resist technique and link it to this blog via the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. Please honor these two simple rules:

1. Follow the technique as it's written in the Compendium of Curiosities; and

2. Out of respect to Tim, please don't post the technique instructions on your blog.

As she does each week, Gloria, the fabulous List Mom at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo, will also send a special gift to one of this week's participants! Just upload your image to the Compendium of Curiosities folder at the ATT home page, and be sure to tag your photo "CCC #18." Gloria will choose her winner from that folder.

If you're not yet a member at All Things Tim, get on over there and join the party!

Challenge 18 is open until 8 PM Mountain Time on Sunday, October 24. As always, the winners will be announced super early the following morning, right before the next Challenge is posted.

I hope you all have a completely wonderful week, and I'm so excited to see your Dabber Resist art!

Hugs,
Linda
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Congratulations, CCC 17 Winners!

Happy Monday, everyone! Before we dive into the new Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, let's give a round of high-fives to our Challenge 17 winners!

The Random Number Generator has randomized, and the winner is: 

Donna Lewis of the Scrappin-Scrappin blog! 

Click the image for a closer look at Donna's gorgeous necklace!

Donna, you've won these two awesome, new Tim Holtz Alterations dies from Steph and Heidi and all the wonderful people at Simon Says Stamp!

But wait! There's more!

Gloria, List Mom Extraordinaire of the All Things Tim group, has chosen her winner as well:

Sherry Goodloe, the Warrior Woman at Got Art!

Click for a closer look at Sherry's stunning charms!

If your name didn't come up this week, take heart: A new challenge— with cool new prizes— will post just moments from now!

Congratulations to Donna and Sherry, and huge thanks to Simon Says Stamp and Gloria for being our "sponsors with the most-est!"

See you in a few minutes for Challenge 18!

Drunken Stampers Strap on the Feed Bag!

Okay, just so we're clear: I am NOT a crazy cat lady. I mean, yes, I'm crazy about my cats, and the general consensus is that I'm crazy, period, but it's not like I have 87 feline housemates or wear little crocheted vests covered in needle-felted kittens or anything. I have my standards, you know. So, even though my cats do make appearances in my artwork with somewhat alarming frequency, this is not in any way an indication that I need professional help. No, it isn't. Put down that butterfly net.

Over at the Drunken Stampers Crafting Lounge, the new challenge for this week is "FOOD (But not cupcakes)." When the assignment originally came in, I figured I'd make a shrine to chocolate and Starbucks— my two main food groups— and call it good. But, then I found this photo of miss Gray Kitty with her post-dinner "Is that all there IS?" look, and, well...

It's a look I see from three pairs of eyes every single day, but no one pulls off angry pathos quite like this little girl.

The layout is pretty simple, with the only "high-tech" component being the die-cut window frame that was created with the Silhouette SD machine. I painted it green and then "white washed" over it with gesso. This was layered over the photo, which was layered over the zig-zaggy paper, and the text was ink jet printed. Easy.

What's you're favorite food? Or your dog's favorite, for that matter? Whatever it is, I know you can create some utterly fabulous art to celebrate it, and we can't wait to see what you do! The Drunken Stampers FOOD (But not cupcakes) challenge is open through Friday, October 22. Pull up a chair and dive on in!

(Disclaimer: The choice to prohibit cupcakes from this challenge in no way indicates anything less than an absolute, nearly worshipful reverence for them. Cupcakes are the material expression of perfection, in fact. It's just that the cupcake thing has been done before, and wanted to expand our culinary horizons for this challenge. Just so we're clear: If you put a cupcake in front of me, I'll Hoover it so quickly you won't even see it disappear. Especially a chocolate cupcake with toasted coconut frosting. Just sayin...)

E-Team Special Mission: The Tim Holtz Rosette Die

It's always like Christmas and Mardi Gras combined whenever Tim Holtz puts a new product on the market, but few have spiked the excite-o-meter quite like the Sizzix Alterations Paper Rosette Die!

So, it makes perfect sense that our fearless leader—Daisy of eclectic Paperie—sent down a Paper Rosette Extravaganza Assignment to the E-Team. "Take this and play with it and create something cool," was the gist of it. Were we excited? Does Mr. T like jewelry??

I had an absolute blast with this die, and I can already tell it's one of those craft supplies I'm going to be tempted to use every single time I make anything.  Good grief, this thing is addictive! And it really works. Yes, that flat little strip of perforated paper really CAN be transformed into a perfect flower. It's kind of magical, really. 

I could go through the instructions here, but it's way, WAY more fun to watch Tim's video on how this fabulous die works. Let's all go do that right now, shall we?

Tim Holtz Rosette Video

How fun was that?! I know, I'm ready to make more rosettes! (And on a related note, eclectic Paperie is taking pre-orders for that already-legendary Vagabond, Tim Holtz's ingenious, automatic die cutting machine. If you haven't ordered yours yet, it's time! )

Since my Vagabond is on pre-order, I used my Sizzix Big Shot with the Extended Spacer Platform and the 13-inch Cutting Pads with the rosette die, and they worked perfectly. And, in the process of making a gazillion little flowers, I learned a couple of tricks that might be helpful to you. Here they come...

The only real challenge I had with the rosette was the fact that it kept tearing at the perforations during the flattening out process. This is no doubt because I'm a crafting brute who needs to develop a gentler touch. In the meantime, though, I found that putting a strip of clear packing tape across the back of the cut paper prior to doing the accordion fold completely alleviated the issue. The tape doesn't show in the finished rosette, and it gives thinner papers a little more heft and durability.

The other suggestion I have is to experiment with cutting the strip lengthwise before folding it to create smaller rosettes. You can see on my picture frame that I've stacked smaller flowers onto larger ones, and that's how I created those. You can get really creative with color and texture combinations using varying sizes of rosettes stacked together. I mentioned the word "addictive" already, didn't I?

Obviously, I'm completely smitten with the Paper Rosette Die, and this seems to be the general consensus of the entire E-Team. My Design Team friends made some absolutely stunning art for this challenge; you've just gotta check out their mad crafting skills!

The E-Team

Broni Holcombe

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter (That's me!)

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson

So, here's the deal: Visit each E-Team member’s blog, then head over to the eclectic Paperie blog and tell eP which paper rosette project(s) was/were your favorite/s. And why would you do this?

Because Daisy is going to be giving away a Paper Rosette Gift Package on the eP blog!!!

Okay, my art-y friends, I'm off to (cut more rosettes) do some Very Important Projects. I can't wait to hear about your experiences with the Paper Rosette Die!

Hugs,
Linda

Warrior Woman Blog Hop!!!

Show me a woman who can climb the highest mountain

Show me a woman who can sail across the widest sea

Women need women who lead lives as bold, as daring

Tell me their stories they inspire me!

—"Inspire Me," by Libby Roderick

There's no one more bold and daring than a woman who faces breast cancer, and whether her battle is fought with humor, quiet reflection, primal screams, copious tears, or all of the above, make no mistake— she's a Warrior.

This month, we're celebrating the healing journey of our dear friend, Sherry Goodloe, who's recovering from her recent double mastectomy, and has just learned that she won't have to endure chemo or radiation! Sherry is our official Warrior Woman Muse for this hop, and is someone we all love and admire. Of course, so many of our friends and loved ones— if not we ourselves— have faced breast cancer, and our art is intended to honor each and every woman who has, is, or ever will fight this battle.

Sherry, our Warrior Woman Muse!

I'm also celebrating my friend and partner in Drunken Stamper-hood, Peggy Toole! Peggy is an artist, the mom of three young boys, and one of the kindest women you could ever hope to know. Like Sherry, she's kicking cancer's ass with grace, and her creative spirit inspires me every day!

Peggy, with her beautiful smile!

The Pink Ribbon Warrior Women Blog Team is:

• Ellen Vargo
• Hels Sheridan 
• Jennie: The Artistic Stamper 
• Judy Wood 
• Linda Ledbetter (That's me!)
• Nancy Crissinger 
• Sharon Sutton 
• Tracy Jacobs 

And, our fabulous sponsor is eclectic Paperie!

Please help us celebrate these Warriors by visiting our blogs and finding some inspiration for your own art. In many cases, there's blog candy to be had for those who leave comments! After visiting each blog on the hop, please create your own work of art in celebration of the Pink Ribbon Warriors, and upload your masterpiece at the:

Warrior Women Blog Hop Flickr Gallery!

Please make sure your photo privacy is set to "Public" so we can all admire your art. This won't affect the privacy settings of any other photos you might have at Flickr. 

You're welcome and encouraged to dedicate your art to someone specific (or any number of special people!), and please use the "Add a Description" field in the gallery to tell us about them. Every Warrior Woman has a story to be told; let's celebrate their courage and perseverance in both art and words!

Submissions will be accepted through October 30. On October 31, our Warrior Woman muse, Sherry, will choose a winner who will receive this amazing prize package, courtesy of Daisy at eclectic Paperie:

Prize package includes a Basic Grey Precision File Set, Pink Scotch Advanced Tape Glider, and a Pail Full of Assorted Stickles (because, as Daisy said, "Every girl needs some sparkle and glitter in her stamping arsenal, right?..."

As I mentioned earlier, several of us who are hosting this hop are offering a little blog candy of our own, and I have a special treat for someone who leaves a comment here at my blog and uploads a work of art to the Warrior Women Gallery:

$20 to spend at eclectic Paperie!

Our blog candy winners will be announced on October 31.

To every women who's ever faced breast cancer, to her friends and loved ones, and to those who work tirelessly to find a cure, we send our deepest admiration. You are all Warriors in the truest and most honorable sense of the word, and your courage and conviction are creating a better world for everyone.

With love,
Linda

Compendium of Curiosities, Week 17!

Challenge 17: Fragment Charms

Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp

Welcome back, everyone! I hope all you New England cruisers truly had the time of your life, and that everyone has enjoyed a wonderful, creative and fun couple of weeks! You guys certainly did rock the Wrinkle-Free Distress challenge—your art was spectacular and inspiring and so, so gorgeous. Bravo to everyone!

I have to tell you, it felt so weird getting up last Monday morning and not having a new challenge to post, and I've really been looking forward to getting back into our regular weekly schedule. So... without further ado, let's get to it!

Please open your Compendium of Curiosities to page 64, where you'll find Tim's technique for making Fragment Charms! I'm a total jewelry hound, so I've been looking forward to this particular challenge since the very beginning. They are so easy and such a blast to make, and people just love to admire them. Truly— find an image you like, turn it into a fragment charm and hang it on a chain around your neck. You will get both "oohs" and "ahhs" and feel very stylish and cool.

Our sweet friends at Simon Says Stamps have a completely fabulous prize for this week's winner! Hot off the press (or however it is that dies are made):

That's right! TWO of the awesome, brand new Tim Holtz Alterations Halloween Dies!!! Yeah, baby!

To be eligible to win, create your own Fragment Charm art and link it to this blog via the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. Please honor these two simple rules:

1. Follow the technique as it's written in the Compendium of Curiosities (adding your own special flair, of course!); and

2. Out of respect to Tim, please don't post the technique instructions on your blog.

And as always, our much-loved (and fresh off the cruise!) Gloria, List Mom at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo, will also send a sweet surprise to one of this week's participants! Just upload your image to the Compendium of Curiosities folder at the ATT home page, and be sure to tag your photo "CCC #17." If you're not yet a member at All Things Tim, please join! They're the nicest people, and it's a great place to make friends and learn lots of cool stuff!

Challenge 17 is open until 8 PM Mountain Time on Sunday, October 17. As always, the winners will be announced super early the following morning, right before the next Challenge is posted.

Ready to rock the charms? I'm so excited to see what you create! Have an awesome week, and have SO much fun!

Big hugs,
Linda

My steampunk necklace and earring charms were made using papers from the Tim Holtz Lost & Found collection and the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutant pack. The lock and key are grungeboard shapes, and all other charms are from Tim Holtz's Ideaology line. 
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Congratulations, CCC Week 16 Winners!

Holy cow, guys, we had NINETY-NINE entries for Challenge 16! How cool is that?! And every single one of them was wonderful. Every one. You're amazing, brilliant, and so, so talented. And, I'm the luckiest hostess in the world!

Let's hand out some prizes!

First, the winner of the magnificent eclectic Paperie Halloween collection is:

Celina Matthews

of the Scrap Vamp Blog!

Click the image to visit Celina's gorgeous blog!

Celina, I know we're ALL looking forward to seeing what you create with those cool embossing folders and holiday masks!

Since the last Challenge was "super-sized," it only seemed right to super-size the prize possibilities, too, so I dug through the Beautiful Box of Happiness from Arizona and found this gorgeous autographed Fabulous Flourishes stamp set:

And who won? Why, none other than the amazing

Hels Sheridan

of the Ink on My Fingers blog!

Click the photo to bask in the wonder of Hel's Magical World!

Hels, you're going to ROCK those stamps!!!

Now, lovely Gloria is still in re-entry mode from her New England cruise with Tim and the gang, so we'll be announcing her winner at the All Things Tim group a little later, and I'll come back and add the info to this page as well. So stay tuned for that... 

Huge gratitude and love to Daisy of eclectic Paperie, Gloria, and Tim and Mario for their incredible generosity and all-around wonderfulness!

Check back here at 6:00 Mountain Time this morning for the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #17! Woo hoo!!!

Drunken Stampers Go Mono

How pathetic is this? I completely forgot to post this for the new Drunken Stampers Challenge yesterday. You know, the Drunken Stampers...where I'm a Design Team member. If they still want me, that is. 

Is this what menopause is going to be like for me? And have you seen my freaking car keys, because I CAN'T FIND THEM ANYWHERE!

Anyway, as you probably already know because you remembered that a new Drunken Stampers challenge posts every Saturday, our challenge this week is "Monochromatic (But NOT Black and White)." This is my second attempt at the theme, and I got to use that brand-spanking-new Stampotique Angelboy image, which I adore. The background paper is Glitz Design, which I dry brushed with a little Studio Gesso to tone it down a bit. The text was computer generated using the American Typewriter font. 

So, what happened with my "first attempt" at this theme? It's better not to speak of it. Let's just say that Scott, who can always find SOMETHING positive to say no matter how crappy my art turns out, looked at it long and hard (which was painful for him, I'm sure) and finally settled on, "Well, it's not your BEST work..." 

He was being incredibly kind. 

YOU, however, are going to rock this challenge on the first try, I'm sure, so pick your favorite color and bring it on! This challenge is open through next Friday, October 15 (wow-- half-way through the month already...). I can't wait to see what you create!

Hugs, 

Linda

Gingersnaps Go Goth!

The newest challenge at Gingersnap Creations is based one of my favorite themes: Gothic Elements. Being a fan of both Jane Eyre and The Cure (Scott and I are currently arguing over whether The Cure was a goth band, and I say they were), I was especially excited to work on this one!

As things tend to go in my crafting life (and my regular life, come to think of it), this piece is not at all what I'd originally had in mind for this challenge. I was thinking, in fact, that a Gothic theme would be a great time to bust out some of those creepy-cool Stampotique images. But it was not to be, as Andrew Lloyd Webber stormed in and roundhouse kicked my muse out of the way so he could insinuate himself into the project. Let me tell you, Sir Andy is one stubborn dude.

"You WILL do a 'Phantom of the Opera'-inspired card, Ledbetter. And I will continue to play 'Music of Night' in your head, over and over, until you submit."

What was I supposed to do? I can't go around singing "Music of the Night" all the live long day. I have work to do. So I acquiesced, and made the card you see above.

I drew the mask, printed the lyrics using the Atomic Sushi font, and embellished with Tim's Tissue Tape, black netting and some inked-up silk flowers. The background involved many layers of black paint, tissue paper, and Golden Glass Bead gel mixed with red reinker (which, sadly, doesn't show up in the photo at all).

I still have "Music of the Night" in my head, by the way. Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous tune, but come on, Andrew!* Five days? Enough already.

Hopefully, you'll join this challenge without intrusion by Tony-Award-Winning composers, but either way, we're really looking forward to seeing what you create! This Gingersnap Creations challenge is open through—you guessed it!— October 31.


(*For the record, I adore Andrew Lloyd Webber.)

Mark Your Calendar with a Pink Pen!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in honor of my friend Sherry Goodloe-- and ALL our loved ones who have, are or will ever fight this battle-- I'm taking part in a Warrior Woman Blog Hop! 

Mark your calendar now to join in! All the details will be revealed here next Tuesday, October 12. 

 Sherry Goodloe: Warrior Woman!

Drunken Stampers: Think Pink!

This one's for the Warrior Women.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Drunken Stampers are raising a glass of pink champagne to the survivors, the fighters and the memory of those who left their noble and brave legacy behind. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone whose life hasn't in some way been affected by this—excuse my language—effing disease, and this month we applaud every woman who has, is or ever will stand up to this battle.

Every woman who, as my friend Sherry Goodloe says on her blog, is willing to Fight Like a Girl.

In addition to Sherry, there's another craft artist dear to my heart who is gracefully kicking cancer's ass: Our own beloved Peggy Toole, who along with Spike founded the Drunken Stampers blog. I dedicate this card to these two amazing women, and any other of my blog friends who've faced The Big C, as I know there are others whose stories I have yet to hear. Your strength, perseverance, dignity and unstoppable sense of humor inspire us all.

The Drunken Stampers Think Pink Challenge is open through next Friday, October 8. Please join us in celebrating the pink ribbon warriors!

Hugs,
Linda