in case you haven't met her....

you REALLY need to drop by my Sistah Scrapette, ZOE's blog. not only is she a bloomin' AMAZING artist and beautiful person with lots of crazy, wonderful ideas spilling forth from her overflowing noggin (seriously, when you go to her blog, CLICK those three images she's included and tell me your jaw didn't drop right down to the floor when you saw WHAT she's done... i'm rather in love with the tree popup card because the popup has always eluded me and she seems to have pulled it off effortlessly - and that tree is GORJE, as is her colouring! - but she once made this amazing functioning SWING card that had me squealing with glee - sheer fracking GENIUS), but she's got, uh, some candy. just a little smidgen of it. 'cuz she's celebrating, and she has big news, but isn't QUITE ready to share. i'd love to drop you a hint, but i'm afraid that might disqualify me from the candy. the little teeny tiny smidgen of candy. see how wee this is?

i know, i know. nothing to write home about, right? :) so go ahead, and DON'T enter. or do. but read the rules, for heaven's sake! or don't read 'em, and increase MY odds of winning. i could live with that on my conscience. it all wraps up May 31st, so sometime after that, i'll be happily playing with all my yummy new candy... er, i mean, well, i'll ACTUALLY be twiddling my thumbs, staring at this package of a whole lotta NUTHIN' that showed up in my mailbox from Zoe, 'cuz it's not very exciting, really.

okay, so very sorry for wasting your time, folks. move along now. :)

CHALLENGES at Design Dollies and The TownScrapper!

lots going on at the House of Orange this week! i'm working on wedding invitations for a friend and need to have them mailed by MONDAY (i only got the details from her this past sunday, so i'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants this week!). MONDAY! it's right around the corner! it's a small wedding, so i'm only making 25 invitations, but that's 25 cards with inserts and handmade embellies in one week... WHEW!

somehow, however, i've managed to get a couple of things done, while even incorporating some challenges into the mix. YAY!

for the brand new SKETCH challenge at Design Dollies - Kristy-Dollie has rocked us yet again and given us an awesome sketch to play with. i give you...

is it not brilliant? yeah, it is! i had photos i wanted to use, and decided it made more sense flipped on its side... et voici:





i have to say - figuring out HOW to get that tiny turquoise ribbon to stick where i wanted it was QUITE a challenge! it wasn't like i could wrap it around something and tie it and slap it down, so HOOOO-boy i struggled! happy with the result, but still a bit of a pain in the rump. ;) click HERE to check out the other awesome Dollies' creations, and play along in one of two ways: do the TRIFECTA by this SUNDAY at midnight, EST (combining the Color Challenge, the Elements Challenge, and this Sketch Challenge), or just try your hand at the sketch by next Wednesday, May 5th at midnight EST.

i decided to play along with the challenge to use KRAFT at Gingersnap Creations as well - how much do i LURRRRVE kraft? yeah, i blame HOLMES (aka Kristy) for that one!

i'm also entering this one for Tuesday Taggers' "Memories" challenge - these pictures were taken 16 years ago, yet it seems like yesterday! i miss those summer days, sitting out on my Gram's front porch and gabbing about who-knows-what.

and one more, the "not a spring chick anymore" challenge at Simple Doodles - they want to see something stamped (the yellow heart) and something OLD - the Basic Grey patterned paper is something i've had in my stash since, oh, probably two years ago, and the little piece of crackled chipboard (with the yellow ribbon in it) is some little embellie i made LAST SPRING when i first discovered Crackle Paint! i made it for a specific project, but decided it wasn't going to work, so it's just been sitting around collecting dust. :) i guess the photos would count as old, too.


ANNNNND we also have a brand new challenge up at The TownScrapper - this time it's a sketch, from our awesome Senior Scrapette, Ann. here's the sketch:

and my card, using "Beary Sweet Sophie" - one of the lovely Victoria Case stamps EXCLUSIVE to The TownScrapper!



CLICK HERE to go to the Sketch Challenge and see what the rest of the Scrapettes have done with Ann's awesome sketch, and PLAY ALONG! we have a SUPER-CUTE Victoria Case stamp up for grabs!

i'm entering this card into the following challenges:
365 cards - Day 56 Sketch - 'cuz it was so easy to look at both sketches and work them both! (the ball trim and the scallopy-topnotey border worked PERFECTLY!) see for yourself:


and for Allsorts - inspiration (the flourishes i used are actually wing stickers - while i didn't want to do a butterfly card, i wanted to mimic the look)

um, what else to share? i had traffic court yesterday and it was the PITS. i wasn't allowed to READ in the courtroom! i SO wanted to just dive into my book but that wasn't happening. :( all eyes were on us, and they weren't happy friendly eyes, either! it's a good thing some of the cases were interesting. i walked out of the courthouse $589 poorer, but with no points on my license. i hope i never have to go back!

that's about it - enjoy the weekend, folks, and i'll be back MONDAY! and i'll have lots MORE to share, because life is fun and fabulous and crazy-busy both here (chez la famille l'Orange) and in the blogosphere! :)

Dollies FINAL Elements Challenge for April!

there's a brand new Elements Challenge at Design Dollies - get on it! the prize is HOT, seriously, and this was a super fun challenge (which wasn't NEARLY as difficult as i'd originally expected when i read the recipe!)...

we want to see the following:
1) 3 different patterned papers from the same manufacturer (if you can swing it!)
2) a tag
3) an UNCOULORED stamped image
4) RED ribbon(s)
5) something lime green

i scoured and scoured, and found ONE thing i wanted to use, then the rest kind of fell into place. wasn't sure i'd be able to make it WORK, but these Hambly papers definitely surprised me!
here's my card:




there's Hambly woodgrain, dress forms, and frames (i just cut one of the frames out from the sheet). the tag is a teeny-tiny one attached to the red ribbon. the rest is self-explanatory. ;)

remember, this is the LAST Elements Challenge for April, so if you're hoping to score those yummy Thickers, those vintage-inspired die-cuts, the cute clear stamps, and all the chipboard yum (among other things), you'll be frantically scouring now, just like i was!

have fun with it! you have until next MONDAY, May 3rd at midnight EST to play along... OR if you wait until this Thursday, Kristy-dollie will be posting the next sketch challenge, and you can try your hand at the TRIFECTA by Sunday at midnight. we have faith in you!

my BIG NEWS! and COLOR POP with the Design Dollies!

so something really cool happened when i logged onto my intarwebs yesterday... i was cordially invited to be a NERDY GIRL! (yeah, i know, that's not much of a stretch, right?!) no, not a nerdy girl with a lowercase "n", but a "Nerdy Girl" at NVS!

CHECK IT OUT!

the concept at NVS is very cool - collage inspiration! the Nerds are awesome, and super talented, and i'm really excited to be playing along with them. :) THANKS, LYNNETTE!

you'll be seeing my first creation for NVS on May 7th, so stay tuned! but if you wanna play along NOW, there are still a few days left for the CURRENT CHALLENGE, which is sponsored by the very funky Snobby Walrus... here's April's collage:

i think i may have to play along before the month is over, just to get my feet wet! :D

okay folks, so now that my big news is out of the way...
yesterday ALSO brought us the last COLOR CHALLENGE for April at Design Dollies! i want to see that yummy kraft base with lots of BRIGHT COLORS, to make that project pop! so, kraft, bright colors, here we go:

think you can swing it? wanna see what our AMAZING Design Dollies have done with this combo? GO HERE and see for yourself, and play along! you have until SUNDAY, May 2nd at midnight EST to get 'er done, and you could win THIS:

and the new ELEMENTS CHALLENGE goes up today, so drop by for a visit - you won't be disappointed! :)

let's see... what else?
OH, we're at over 200 followers at Design Dollies now. we thought that was a good reason to celebrate.... with CANDY! (but i'm not saying more about it here - you have to visit us THERE to get the scoop!)

and while you're looking for things to do, why not drop by for the current Some Odd Girl challenge? NO PATTERNED PAPERS! but we're quite confident that won't stump you! :)

annnnd, yesterday started the big TownScrapper blog hop, which is off to a great start! the new stamps are SO cute - someone is going to be very lucky and will win two full sheets of rubbah - Victoria Case designs, exclusive to The TownScrapper! the hop only runs until THURSDAY at midnight EST, so get in on it! leave comments for the Scrapettes who played along this week, and those stamps could be YOURS!

any questions? :D

The TownScrapper is STILL hoppin, and we have a GIRLIE challenge!

It's time for PART TWO of The TownScrapper's BLOG HOP!

For Part One, we shared some of our Scrapettes' fabulous creations using Victoria Case stamps EXCLUSIVE to The TownScrapper! We also gave you a GIRLIE challenge, and invited you to play along. TODAY, drop by The TownScrapper blog to see who WON the challenge (and their choice of TWO exclusive Victoria Case stamps), and who was randomly chosen from commenters visiting all the Scrapettes' personal blogs last week... (there were a couple of other Scrapettes giving prizes away, so you'll want to drop in for a visit!)

And now, PART TWO! :) We're going to continue with the GIRLIE CHALLENGE, and we'll wipe the slate clean and give you ANOTHER chance to create something girlie for your chance to win some gorgeous stamps, PLUS we'll be giving away MORE candy to another lucky commenter, AND the following fabulous GRAND PRIZE, some BRAND-SPANKIN' new, HOT OFF THE LINE, Victoria Case rubber stamps -

• Too Cool Max
  
• Sweet Rose
  
• Sophie Birthday
• "Whatever", "Call me", and "Happy Birthday" sentiments
• Hockey Lola
• Hockey Evan
• "Go Team Go", "Puckin' Around", and "Shoots... Scores!" sentiments
• hockey stick, puck and ice skates
  

SOOOOOO, be sure to visit all the stops along the hop, check out our Scrapettes' BEAUTIFUL girlie projects, and leave comments on each blog for your chance to win the grand prize. We'll also be including all challenge participants in the draw, so you have MORE chances to win! Even if you created a girlie-themed project for Week One, you may play along during Week Two and increase your odds of winning!

You have until midnight EST this THURSDAY, April 29th to leave your comments and/or link your projects on The TownScrapper Blog. Remember, your projects must be created NEW for this challenge, and you MUST link back to us in order to be eligible for the prizes. Week Two and GRAND PRIZE winners will be announced next Monday, May 3rd.

If you can't wait to see if you've won, and would like to buy some of these amazing new stamps for yourself, Phebe can be reached by phone at 519-882-0623 or via email at info@TownScrapper.com. She ships worldwide!

Are you ready to HOP?! Here is the list of Scrapettes for this week - remember to comment on EVERY stop along the way, and you could be one of the big winners!

The TownScrapper

Katie

Kim S

Kylie

Lisa
Phebe
Shelly
Tricia
Zoe

HAPPY HOPPIN', and HAPPY MONDAY, crafting friends! :D

SOME ODD GIRL, NAKED!

ahem.
did i get your attention?
that's the idea!

let's talk CHALLENGES, shall we?
let's talk about SOME ODD GIRL, brand new images, and a brand new challenge, to be more specific!

two weeks have gone by quickly, and we're at our THIRD Some Odd Girl challenge already! this one's my Stash Challenge (Kristy's first Sketch Challenge was a hit!), and that means i get to make the rules. muah ha ha ha ha ha ha! :D

so i want to see NAKED projects! (just 'cuz i really wanted to say that) no, don't be putting images of naked people on your creations (we want to be able to sleep at night, you know!), but you are not allowed to use any patterned paper! you are, however, welcome to alter a plain paper to give it a pattern, 'a la stamping, resisting, embossing, misting, masking, etc. catch my drift?

GOOD! play along? YAY!
here's my card, using Spike (the March freebie, who's no longer available!), and Tentacles ('cuz he's just silly and adorable!)...
~click to enlarge!~




see? your card doesn't have to be overly simple and dreadfully boring, just because you're not allowed to use that yummy patterned paper! but we want to see what you've got, and you could win two digi stamps of your choice from the Some Odd Girl store - including all the AMAZING new releases from this past tuesday!

go see today's challenge, and take a gander at what the amazingly talented Odd Girls have done with this, and then just TRY telling me you're not remotely inspired.... ;) it's just UNpossible!

you have until Wednesday, May 5th at midnight EST to play along, and you could win your choice of any TWO free digis from SomeOddGirl.com! go!

if you're looking for other inspiration, check out today's HOT new sketch at Design Dollies - our Dollies have knocked this one out of the park, and there's a serious Trifecta going on, too! only 9 more days to play along for your chances to win the April prize packs!

ANNNNND, if you haven't already played along with our GIRLIE CHALLENGE at The TownScrapper, whatcha waitin' for? how EASY could this challenge possibly be?! there's a big Blog Hop going on, too, so you can choose to play along for prizes, or you can do the Hop and check out the Scrapettes' blogs and leave comments for prizes, but we just hope you join us for some fun! :)

oh, and i have some serious mojo here. i hope i can squeeze in some crafting tonight!
i had to pick up a bottle of the brand new Inkadinkado spray when i was at AC Moore last night, and i'll be honest, i didn't have high hopes.
it's a bit stinky, but CHECK THIS OUT:


this is the royal blue colour - TWO SPRAYS of it got me this coverage. it's not horribly shimmery except for the spots where it pooled more heavily, but it dried almost INSTANTLY and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS!! like i said, i hope i can play tonight! :)

Posh Designs has.....

THIS up for grabs.
and i would weep tears of joy if i were to win.


(click the pic to check it out - ends May 4th)

NEW SOME ODD GIRL released today! and Design Dollies ELEMENTS challenge!

first... check out The TownScrapper's BLOG HOP, going on NOW! you can play along with our challenge, you can leave comments to win, and you can be entered for a YUMMY grand prize at the end of the Hop!


second, HOLY COW, have you been to Some Odd Girl today?! there's a brand new category, and you're going to FALL IN LOVE! (some people already have, and it's totally justified!) LOADS of new, adorable images! check out a few new additions to the Critters, Confections, and Creatures categories, too! (if you haven't grabbed the freebie, do it before it's too late!)

oh, i couldn't wait to play with this little miss! our new ELEMENTS CHALLENGE at Design Dollies is to incorporate a non-traditional FOUND ITEM into your project. i scoured the house to see what i wanted to do, but the answer was actually inspired by the Mae image i decided to use. i grabbed these little butterfly earrings:

and wanted to use them on her ears, but they were a bit too big. instead, i used them like THIS:

and since my card was already getting pretty heavy on the dimension, i thought i'd add some pretties, and a little red butterfly to go with Mae's pretty shoes (though i may go back and add some stickles on the butterfly just to make it POP!):

and i'm officially in love with Some Odd Girl images. i have a ton of them printed and on the ready, so i can just colour if i'm in the mood, and pick something for any challenge i might find.

SO, go HERE to see what the Nerdboy-Dollie has done with his non-traditional found item, and to ogle our little Prego-Dollie's beautiful vintage creation... you might be surprised! play along with us for a chance to win THESE

and do it by next MONDAY, April 26th at midnight EST. or combine this challenge with yesterday's COLOR CHALLENGE by SUNDAY, April 25th for a shot at BOTH prize packages!

entering this Mae card in:
the Sketch Challenge at the Shabby Tea Room
the Touchy-Feelie challenge at Cute Card Thursdays
and this week's Springy Challenge at PILE IT ON (why do mushrooms make me think of spring?)

and now YOU want to go over to Design Dollies to play along, right? and you want to visit Some Odd Girl to see what other new GAWJESS images are available TODAY, don't you?

and the super long post i thought i was going to post just took forever to type up with lots of things going on here today, so i'll leave you with that, and the knowledge that i'll be back soon with more fun stuff to share. :)

Design Dollies COLOR CHALLENGE, and a bit of an insight into LEAH

for The TownScrapper blog hop, CLICK HERE!

and now, i bring you a brand new Design Dollies COLOR CHALLENGE! decided to do something a little different this time, although you are welcome to create anything you'd like using these colours:
BROWN, ORANGE and TEAL


a lovely variety of projects from our Dollies to inspire you can be found by CLICKING HERE - do it! you won't be sorry!

i thought i'd dig out my basket of THINGS - i know you are familiar with The Basket of Things, because you have one too, right? mine is overflowing with things like random clips, postcards, leftover pieces (i.e. negatives) of chipboard, tags collected from clothing, loose buttons, old tins from candies or giftcards, the acrylic blocks that i never use (i have my three go-to sizes, so these are the oddballs), general stuff i see lying around that i think i might put to good crafty use, and a couple of THESE (from the dollar store):


and made something i probably should have done a long time ago!
here's my book/journal of "US-isms"....
the front


the back


the plan is to document those weird little moments and things we say to one another, especially those that come from way out in left field. for example, i have no clue what it was that led us to add the letter T onto the end of a word that ends with S.
"us" translates to "usst"
"this" translates to "thisst"
"yes" translates to "yesst"
and you get the picture. and i don't imagine there's another person in the world whose pet name for their spouse is "Flippity Chee" (or "Chippity Flee", depending on my mood)

it's no secret that i have a tendency to invent my own words, and speak my own language. :) this book will HOPEFULLY help me to remember the ones that start with the hubbin and me.

wanna do something with BROWN, ORANGE and TEAL?
wanna win this?


CLICK HERE to play with the Dollies! as always, submissions must be created new for the Dollies, you must link back to us in your blog post, and you must do this by next SUNDAY, April 25 at midnight EST.

and just so you're forewarned, my post tomorrow is going to be GINORMOUS. :)

TownScrapper BLOG HOP and GIRLIE challenge!

IT'S A BLOG HOP! :) good morning, friends!

welcome to stop number 6 of 8 on The TownScrapper's BLOG HOP. if you've come from Crafty Little Pigtails, you're on the right track! if not, pop on over to The TownScrapper and follow the links from there.

we Scrapettes are spotlighting some of the new and exclusive (and fabulously awesome!) Victoria Case images. the HOP will run for 2 weeks and each week will feature the wonderful inspiring creations of half of our design team.

you might notice a recurring theme during the HOP - we've decided to combine the Hop with our challenge, which is FOR THE GIRLS! we want to see your girliest creations, and there are LOTS of chances to win! you have until midnight EST on Saturday, April 24, to link your creations on The Townscrapper Blog. one random lucky challenge participant will win a Victoria Case image of their choice, and week one of our Hop will have two lucky winners, so be sure to leave comments on ALL of the Scrapettes' blogs as you visit! week one's challenge and Hop winners will be announced on Monday, April 26.

so how about something GIRLIE?! :) i created this card with Victoria Case's beautiful Help for Haiti stamp, and my Labels 8 Nesties, plus a bunch of Primas - all available at The TownScrapper:

there are LOADS of gorgeous new Victoria case stamps in stock and available for purchase at The TownScrapper. Phebe, the lovely owner and our wonderful leader, can be reached by phone at 519-882-0623 or via email at info@townscrapper.com. if you can't make it to the store in Petrolia, Ontario (Canada), remember that Phebe also ships worldwide.

here's the list of the Scrapettes' blogs to visit for this first BLOG HOP week and be sure to leave a comment at EVERY STOP! two lucky random commenters will win one Victoria Case rubber stamp of their choice. ANNNNNNNNNND... there will be one grand prize winner at the end of the whole shebang. wanna know what you could win? well you'll have to wait and see, because we're not showing you until next week! *snicker*

are you ready to HOP with the Scrapettes?! here we go!

THE TOWNSCRAPPER

ANN

JANET

KELLY

KRISTA

*LEAH* (you are here!)

MARIA

MELANIE

there you have it! your next stop is Maria's Studio! hope you have fun, hope to see your GORGEOUS girlie creations, and hope you're inspired by all the lovely work you'll be seeing along the Hop! :)

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:)

QUICK Papertake card using Some Odd Girl

check out "Mocha"! he's another BRAND-SPANKING-NEW image from Some Odd Girl, and he'll be released on April 20th. bet you can't wait, right? :) (there's still time to get in on our sketch challenge over there, and the Mae freebie is quite popular, you won't want to miss out!)

i made this card for the CUTE challenge over at Papertake Weekly - using their awesome sketch from last week:


i'll be back with more goodies to share soon, and hopefully i'll be able to HEAR again! it's no fun being deaf!

new DOLLIES COLORS are up! and i have an ear infection.

please bear with me, folks! i do apologize for the delay in posting here on my personal blog, but oh my GOOMIE, it's been a day. i'm just glad it's coming up on bedtime (i actually just napped and decided it was time to get up, do some dishes, brush my teeth, and go back to bed), and hopefully my antibiotics will have kicked in my morning...

anyway, without further ado, i bring you the new Color Challenge at Design Dollies!

here's the combo:


here's another look at the prize:


and here's a BRAND NEW MAE, coming April 20th at Some Odd Girl! :)




i LOVE her. that's really all there is to say about THAT, but holy moley, just wait until you see the rest of the April 20th release - you'll want to circle that date on your calendar! at $3 each, Some Odd Girl digis will give you PLENTY of mileage! (there's also a CHALLENGE BLOG, with digis up for grabs, PLUS the April Freebie is flippin' FANTASTIC - grab Mae's Bouquet before April is gone!)

play with my Black, Pink and Yellow Dollies challenge HERE, and visit again tomorrow to see Adina's next Elements Challenge! :)

got some other stuff i'm working on, so i'm HOPING i'll be back tomorrow to show you finished projects. unfortunately, today's yuckies have resulted in my missing the deadlines on a couple of challenges, so the projects i'd ALMOST completed will have to be revised somewhat.

OH, but here's one:




i did this for TallyScrapper - the challenge i accepted was to use plain cardstock (kraft, in this case),a black and white photo, staples, distressing, and three patterned papers (all Sass!). check, check, checkity check!

also submitting this to Kraft It Up's April challenge, which is to use a monochromatic colour scheme. i went with orange, and went a step up and a step down to include yellow and orange-red as well. i just discovered their blog, and as i've become rather obsessed with kraft, i simply had to follow and play along!

'kay.
'night!

YOUR CARDS EQUAL *SIX* BUCKS FOR AUTISM

yeah, sounds a little weird, right? but it's true!

we have a new challenge up at The TownScrapper, and to celebrate Autism Awareness Month, it's PUZZLE-THEMED. anything puzzly will work, as long as it's fairly obvious that it's puzzly. meaning, we aren't looking at your projects with puzzled looks on our faces. :)

so, here's the deal. for EVERY CARD submitted, including those from the Scrapettes, i am donating a dollar to the Kennedy Krieger Institute. WHO?

here's a little blurb from their website:

WHO WE ARE

An internationally recognized institution, Kennedy Krieger provides research, treatment, education and community programs for more than 14,000 children annually. We believe that early identification, intervention, and treatment of disabilities are key to maximizing potential and preventing major problems throughout a child’s life. We are dedicated to understanding, unlocking, and overcoming the problems and injuries that affect a child’s developing brain and nervous system.

Unlike other institutions that concentrate on one specific area, ours is an interdisciplinary approach that brings together the expertise of a team of professionals from various fields and departments to create treatment plans tailored to the special needs of each child.

Visit Kennedy Krieger Institute's main website to learn more about our research, patient care, education, and community programs.

"The reason we give our time and money is because of what Kennedy Krieger has done for a beautiful little boy named Frankie." —Frank and Gayle Kelly

it's a fantastic organization, and i'm happy to help them out this way. so with 15 design team cards, i'm at $15. but NO! FOUR of my Scrapette Sisters are MATCHING what i donate! so we're at $75. and for each project submitted to the challenge, another $5 goes to Kennedy Krieger Institute. you're gonna play along, right? ---EDITED to say that FIVE of my Scrapette sisters are matching my donation, so your projects are worth six bucks each now!

OH, and there's a prize, too. well, TWO, actually. here's my card:






so, those cute kids on the card? they're Lola and Zeke (i flippin' LOVE them), designed by Victoria Case, and they're the prizes! BRAND NEW TO RUBBAH at The TownScrapper! play along and you could win them both! :D not to mention you'll be "giving" five dollars to a fantastic charity.

there's ALSO a new challenge going on at Scrap It Forward - they are doing this in support of AUTISM SPEAKS, and they're looking for people to participate or sponsor team "WE CAN" for their annual walk. CLICK HERE for info on pledging them or being a "virtual walker" for the cause! i'm entering my "we fit" card into their challenge, and i'm so happy to see that their team is doing well - they're about 2/3 of the way to their goal! :)

so whatcha gonna do? help spread the word? make a puzzly themed thing for the challenges? even if you don't participate, please post the links to either or both of these drives so that others will see - maybe they'll be motivated to help, too! :)

Some Odd Girl's next challenge - a SKETCH!

okay, so at the Some Odd Girl challenge blog, we do the bi-weekly thing, every other Thursday. we have Stash challenges, hosted by MOI, which will encourage you to pull stuff that you have and make that your starting point. and then we have Style challenges, hosted by Kristy, which will provide a technique or something specific like a sketch to get you going.

i can't believe it's already been two weeks! it's thursday, and it's STYLE challenge day!

today, we offer you one of Kristy's awesome sketches (she's relatively new to the card sketches, but clearly she's a natural!):

piece of cake, right? i LOVED the sketch, and think this will be a total go-to dealio when i'm stuck. here's what i did using Ellie:


and a close-up, to show you how stupidly cute that little bird is! (YAY, Paperchase!)


when i was up in Canada for easter, my BFF sent me home with his entire collection of Prismacolor pencils to play with, and i'm in HEAVEN! GOOMIE, but they are so smooth and velvety and they blend beautifully. i need to invest! but first, i must find some actual Gamsol, because i'm using Sansodor, and while it works fine, it's a little more oily than i'd like and can leave a messy stain if i'm not careful.

anyway. play along HERE, and check out what the rest of the Odd Girls have done with the sketch (stay awhile - you'll be drooling in no time!), and enjoy some sneak peeks! we'll have a fabby little prize, plus our two favourite submissions will earn an Oddity blinkie for their blogs (wear 'em proudly!). :D

ANNNNND, each of the Odd Girls had a giveaway with their introduction to the Some Odd Girl design team, so visit their blogs, say hello, ogle for a bit, and check out the yummy candy!

back with some big happenings tomorrow, a new challenge for The TownScrapper, and OH! before you go, be sure to drop by and visit with us Design Dollies to see this week's challenges! the TRIFECTA is ready to be taken on, and there's some serious YUM up for grabs!

TWO MINUTES TO FRIDAY! WOOT!

Abby's giving away some Cosmo YUM!

go see for yourself! wouldn't you love to play with the new CC Material Girl line? (why yes, Sir Penguin, i sure would!)
CLICK THE PHOTO

and when you leave your comment, tell her Leah the Orange sent you! :) good luck!

HERE WE GO! winners, challenges, and life in general

ahoy-hoy, fellow crafters and other random-ish friends! :) still can't believe so many of you swing by to say hello and see what i'm up to, but i think it's fabulous and i'll take it!

so Happy Easter - i hope you all enjoyed the weekend, some fantastically GORJE weather, and time with family and friends. i was lucky enough to get up to Canada for a GREAT visit, a bridal shower for a sweet friend, yummy food, delish bubble tea, a stop into the LCBO where i found my FAVOURITE wine and brought a couple of bottles back with me (to hoarde - i won't share these with ANYbody!), and overall a very nice little getaway with my fellas.

now that i'm home and back into the usual routine, work's busy, our "season" is picking up, hubbin is all about open mics this week, and he's going away next weekend (which means a few late-night crafting sessions for me!), and we're still trying to find room for all the candy and snacks we brought home with us! :D

so i'm here, and time is limited, so imma get down to bidnizz!

first of all, WINNER! the Some Odd Girl "Mushes" digis go to.......
BRANDY!
please send me an email at spazzicassi@yahoo.ca and i will happily send the Mushes along to you for your crafting enjoyment. :)

i had a bunch of comments, but not everyone qualified for the draw (by either not following Some Odd Girl, or not leaving a random fact from my intro on the Some Odd Girl challenge blog) - but THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by and read about lil' ol' me! the intros are wrapping up, but there's still time to get in on more of the giveaways, so hurry over and DO IT! :) our very first challenge finishes up tomorrow night, so you still have another day to play along (you can use ANY image on your project; it doesn't have to be a Some Odd Girl image, but since there's a fabulous FREEBIE available, why not double your chances?!)

speaking of which, have you SEEN the new FREEBIE?! this is Bouquet Mae:

yeah, she's a free download (click her to take you to the download page). and is she not AMAZING?! wait until you see the Maes that will be released later this month! (keep the napkins handy to wipe up all the drool!) Kristy-Dollie rocks something ridiculous - so much so, she's getting a layout published in a BOOK - holy wowzas! congrats, lovie! SO proud of you!

NEXT UP! we have a challenge going on at The TownScrapper - we Scrapettes challenge you to use CHARMS (of any kind) on your projects! and if you swing by, you'll see more of the amazing new Victoria Case stamps in action! i wasn't here to post my card on Friday, so maybe this post can act as a reminder for anyone wanting to play along... here's my charm card for the occasion:




LOVE that stamp, and the sentiment is from CC Designs, also available at The TownScrapper - isn't it cute? i thought it fit the image well, because it looks like Sophie and her pooch are totally happy just being in each other's company - not a care in the world. :D

play along with us HERE, and you could win one of the six already-released-to-rubbah Victoria Case stamps, created for and available EXCLUSIVELY at The TownScrapper! (check out THIS POST to see all six of 'em!)

and in Design Dollies news, our new Dollies are throwin' down the gauntlet (hee hee) and pumping out some AMAZING work already! we have a winner of the March Color Challenge prize (congrats, Alin!), and kicked things off for a fabulous April with the very first combo:

DARK GREEN, RUSTY ORANGE and YELLOW
these need to be the PREDOMINANT colours of your project, which must be created new for the challenge.
here's where it's at (you HAVE to go see what the others have done - SENSATIONAL creations!), and here's my card:

LOVE the stamp - i bought that (it's double-sided, with the word on one side and the definition on the other) at StampScrapArtTour as well, and have probably made six projects with it already! i'm playing along at the Simon Says Stamp challenge blog for their DISTRESSING challenge this week - lots of t!m's Distress inks were used, and no animals were harmed in the creation of this card. :)

i was up a bit late last night because the mojo struck at an odd hour, so i thought i'd have a little play in the Simon Says Stamp group at PaperCraftPlanet... challenge number 4 is a sketch, and while i often struggle with turning sketches with so many blocks into a small project, i bought some new K & Co. borders that i thought worked perfectly for the strips, and of course i HAD to use a Some Odd Girl image (Ice Cream Cone - isn't he adorable?!)... here's m'card!



(close-up for maximum BLING effect - shield thine eyes!) :D
come and play in the Simon Says Stamp group at PCP and tell 'em i sent ya! it's so much FUN over there (and the prizes are ALWAYS yummy!).

i've got about a dozen other projects started, so i will definitely be back! last night before getting the card making mojo runnin', i spent two hours just colouring at my inlaws' house. it was GLORIOUS! and i have a whole stack of stuff waiting to be used on cards now, so i've got a big itch!

whew! i need to NOT miss any posting, because falling behind is ROUGH! i THINK i'm all caught up now, so thanks for stickin' around, and happy Tuesday, everybody! xo