critter friends at Charisma and a sad goodbye!

hey there, chickens...  hope all's well in your proverbial necks of the woods this week - it's been super dreary weather here for the last couple of days and i just wanna sleeeeeeeeeeeeep! 

but there is still fun to be had, and for those of you looking for some mojo, we have a new challenge at Charisma.  i'm saddened because this is my last post as a Charisma Gal.  i have been a part of this awesome team for 3 years, and i have loved every minute of it!  it's organized, well-planned, well-executed, easily understood, and led by a most AMAZING girlie with whom i've become quite close over the years.  Carlyann, darlin', thanks so much for inviting me to be a part of this little adventure all those months ago!  i love ya, girl, and i wish i could stay longer, but you know i'm always around.  you and the kitties can't get rid of me that easily.  ;)

SO.  our challenge?  it's all about the ANIMALS.  surely you can whip something up for this one, yes? 

well i colored this with my Speccies when i had a super limited stash, so there are some things i'd do differently, but overall i think it's pretty cute in its simplicity.  :) 

here's my critter card, for the occasion:

seriously SIMPLE!  a little snip of burlap, a sweet little Chic Tags birthday tag, twine and buttons, inked edges, and DONESIES.

wanna play along?  well if you DOOOOO, you'll be playing for fab prizes from these sponsors:

(3 digis from their fun shop!)

and

(5 digis from Pink Cat Studio!)

alllll you have to do is create something that's animal-themed, link up, post a link back to our blog, and you can only enter up to 10 challenges.  OH, and i insist you go see what the rest of the Charisma Galz have done to inspire you!  they have some FAB critter creations for this one!  you have until next Wednesday to play along.

ANNNNNND, if you're looking to join a fab team, you could be my replacement!  Carlyann is looking for a few good crafters to join the Charisma Cardz Challenges team!  CLICK HERE for deets!   :)

innies and outies at Charisma!

WHEW!

i'm a little late, but it's been something of a frantic week here.  LOTS going on in la Maison l'Orange, and my mind is kind of, well, elsewhere. 

but i'm sharing a project today that i made for the current challenge at Charisma, and we want to see you decorate the INSIDE of your card, as well as the outside! 

here's what i did:

and the inside....

hee hee.  the other Charisma Galz have rocked the heck out of this one - i am quite often blown away by the ideas they have, and how much of their talent goes into each and every creation.  CLICK HERE to see what the girls have done, and play along by WEDNESDAY, for your chance to win stuff from:

and from

there are 6 digis up for grabs from DigiStamp Boutique, and 3 from Crafty Sentiments, and not a whole lot of people have played along yet, so your chances are GOOD!  :)  whatcha waitin' for?  hmm?

JUST ONE at Charisma this week!

hey there, hi there, ho there, chickens.

it's time for another Charisma challenge, and this time *I* set the theme.  you know i LURRRRVE to make the challenge a challenge, right?  well this time, i want to see just ONE of everything.  one image.  one sentiment.  one embellie.  one color.  one patterned paper. 

BRING IT.

i brung it (heh) with this pretty little lady, courtesy of one of our awesome sponsors, Time For Tea Designs... 

she's colored up with my Spectrum Noir pens (getting a little more comfy with them and spent many hours yesterday tinkering around!)...

BUT.  in addition to my image being colored with my Speccies, i've also used them for the frame:

LOVE the way the ink clings to the foam, and what a great way to customize any embellishment!  :)  have i mentioned how much i'm diggin' my Speccies?  and i'm a sucker for Cosmo Cricket's Tiny Text, just so you know.  (swooooooon)

okay, so there you go.  not an easy challenge, i promise you!  heck, i had my card finished when i realized i had stuck WASHI TAPE down, and realized that made TWO embellishments, which simply would not do!  so have at 'er, and CLICK HERE to see what the other Charisma Galz have done to inspire you! 

not only can you win one of the gorgeous Time For Tea Designs digis, but there are 6 digis up for grabs from Digi Stamp Boutique, and 2 digis from Dr. Digi's House of Stamps!  LOADS of fun stuff to choose from!  :D

you've got until next WEDNESDAY to play along, so hop to it!  go rock your craft, and share your brilliance!  :)

Black and White and ONE COLOR at Charisma! Check out our sponsors!

howdy, chickens!  yep, i've been a little more active around these parts lately - well, i'm all fired up and will have my own crafty space soon, so get USED TO IT!  :)

today, i'm sharing a little something i FINALLY pulled together yesterday in celebration of our new challenge at Charisma Cardz...  our sponsors ROCK, and i was provided with this fabby image, but i just couldn't get it right.  i was trying my usual combinations for skin and black hair and then did the dress and boots and it was awful.  twice, i mucked this image up, before finally settling on my monochromatic coloring technique, and i really should have just gone with it in the first place.  anyway, when i tell you i was beating myself up over it, that's an understatement!  not only was i too close to the deadline, but i was embarrassed because by now, i should just be able to pick up my pencils, color, and be done with it.  NOPE.  amateur!  okay, okay, it's not self-deprecating Thursday.  and i'm rambling. :)

here's my card, using an image called Becki from the awesome Saturated Canary (one of our sponsors for this challenge):

 

Our challenge?  BLACK AND WHITE AND ONE OTHER COLOR.

so it may be a little hard to see, but she's all blue.  i literally used 4 different blue pencils, and that's it.  how much do i love using this technique?  it really takes a lot of guesswork out of the whole thing when you limit yourself.  some papers there from Teresa Collins and Bo Bunny, bling stickers from Jolee's, ribbon and pin from i-have-no-idea, bingo card from, well, i'm not sure because i thought it was Jenni Bowlin but the font has me thrown off (i didn't buy 'em so i have no packaging).  Martha Stewart butterfly punch and teeny tiny pearls from Kaisercraft.  oh, and a Sharpie.  :)

close up, anyone?

 

the brightness on my computer monitor is the PITS, so i have no idea whether this is too bright or too dark or too saturated (no pun intended), but there she is.  i'm kind of in lurve with her HAIR!  (but much to hubbin's chagrin, i am NOT cutting my hair off)  Becki rocks the bob.  :)

SO. there's m'card.  there's our challenge.  there's one of our sponsors (Krista is giving away a $10 gift certificate to spend at Saturated Canary!)... the other one?  Marker Pop!  $10 to spend there, too!  WOO!  'cuz you're going to need more markers to use when coloring your fabby images, right?!

CLICK HERE to go to the challenge, and check out the fun things our Charisma Galz have done!  their projects are GORGEOUS (and blue was popular, for some reason!).  you have until next Wednesday to play along (but be sure to read the rules!).  xoxox

and i'm joining in the fun at:

Creative Card Crew - they want BLING (so bling i brought!)
Cute Card Thursday - they're looking for something BLUE (how about a BLUE GIRL?)
Really Reasonable Ribbon - they want Sparkle, Bling, and Ribbon (check, check, checkity check!)