Designed to Color on WORLD CARD MAKING DAY!

hiya!  okay, so it's officially HERE, and has been for the last 2 hours, but this girl's about to go to bed, so she can get up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to get her CRAFT ON! 

right now, however, we are CELEBRATING!  Designed to Color has a fabby little hop for you, complete with visits to a bunch of our designers' blogs, gorje eye candy along the way, and little tips and tricks for your card making whims.  :)

today is officially World Card Making Day! an opportunity to celebrate the creativity of handmade cards and the personal connection that they create between friends and family. a day to connect with fellow card makers everywhere, to applaud the creativity that powers the craft, and to provide resources that will empower, inspire, and encourage cardies in their hobby. it’s also a time to get a jump-start on the holiday card-making season!

 

we, the Color Crew at DTC, have decided to celebrate this special day with an awesome Blog Hop!! along with a few special guests, we have whipped up some goodies and are sharing them with you along the hop.  please leave a comment on each designer’s blog and then a comment at Designed To Color to let us know you have completed the hop. one random winner will be drawn for a prize package consisting of goodies from various sponsors including: 

 

Crafter’s Companion

Yumi and Fumi Handmade

 The Stamp Doctor (TSD)

(and more!)

 

you have until Monday, October 7^th, at 11:59pm MST to leave a comment on each blog. visit the Designed to Color blog on Wednesday, October 9^th to see if you're the winner!  happy hopping, happy crafting, happy WCMD! 

 

Here is the blog hop order:

Designed To Color

Carisa

Susie

Laura

Rosie

Alaine

Rebecca

Chitra

Lisa

Lyn

Leah l’Orange

 

GUESTS from The Stamp Doctor:

Lizzie

Cassandra

 

annnnnnd here's what i made for the occasion:

 

closer:

 

image is CC Designs, colored with my Prismacolor Pencils, sentiment is from Clearly Wordsworth, papers are from Studio Calico and... something else.  die is from My Favorite Things, inks are Memento Copper and StazOn Black Cherry, accents are Fancy Pants and Colorbok.  i went minimal, and i have to say that this image has been colored for AGES before i finally added it to a card!  my tip to you, crafty chickens, is when you PRE-color an image (or go on a mad coloring binge, like i did!), go for lots of neutrals and EASY colors that can be matched up later.  it's no fun digging out an image to find you have NOTHING that matches the crazy color scheme you chose.  if you know you have lots of red in your patterned papers, go for reds with greys, browns, tans, etc.  EASY to find a match!

and there you have it!  we hope you are inspired to create something special for World Card Making Day. if you do make a card, and especially if you use one of the tips provided by our designers, please stop by the Designed To Color Facebook Page to share your creations. we would love to see them!!

 

later, chickens!  :)

New challenge at Designed to Color - sponsored by Sweet & Sassy Stamps!

morning, chickens!  hope all's well in your respective corners of the world, and i hope your MONDAY was better than mine.  crikey, what a bunch of chaos!  glad i was able to finish it out with all the hair still on my head, because i sure felt like yanking it out!

anywho, it's time for a new challenge at Designed to Color, and this one's sponsored by the fabulous Sweet N Sassy Stamps!  our theme is DIES!  use any dies and be sure you have a colored image to play along - easy peasy!

i got to choose a digi to work with, and i wanted something that was not my usual character dealio, so i opted for a simple flower on which i could add some fun detail and folds.  the result?

colored up with my trusty Prismacolor Pencils and laid down with a simple design...  here's the close-up:

it was FUN!  here's my supplies list, for deets:

Prismacolor Pencils: Flower - 914, 916, 942, 1002, 1032, 1033; Stem - 1005, 908; Stamens - 1029; Background - 1081; Shading - 1097
Image: Daffodil Block digital stamp (Sweet N Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Copic X-Press It Blending Card (for image), Canvas Corp
Patterned paper: Basics White (BasicGrey), Confetti (My Mind's Eye)
Elements: Dies - Chevron Stripes (My Favorite Things Die-namics), Beautiful Wings (Sizzix Stampin' Up! Embosslits); Alphabet stickers - Teensy Type Beetle Black (Doodlebug); Washi tape (Love My Tapes)
Other: Foam dots (Scrapbook Adhesives)

ooohhh, i was tempted to busy and bling it up, but i wanted the image to pop and do all the talking, so not a speck of bling.  crazy, right?!   

well you're gonna wanna CLICK HERE because the Color Crew are doing the usual knocking-it-outta-the-ballpark thing and there's some fun stuff to check out!  play along and be sure you follow the theme, 'cuz there's a fabby little prize package up for grabs from our generous sponsor!  you have until the 14th to play along, so HAVE FUN!

Designed to Color new INSPIRATION challenge sponsored by Fresh Brewed Designs!

GOOOOOOOD Saturday morning, chickens!  are you suffering heatstroke too?  it's ridiculously hot this week in South Jersey and i wish i had a pool so i could just jump in to cool off.

instead, i'm packing boxes and moving things into my new house and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  yep.  NEW HOUSE!  so exciting, and can't wait to set up my craft room!

right now, i just want to share the brand new Designed to Color challenge because this is my first one as a member of the GLITTER CREW!  yep.  i've been with them since the magazine kicked off, and now we've started this new chapter for the blog and our challenges, and we have some AMAZING sponsors lined up for you!

our June challenge is sponsored by the super fun and cute Fresh Brewed Designs, who offer THIS little guy:

 cute, right?  that's Squeaker's Ride, and you can get him HERE!

here's the inspiration photo for our challenge:

take anything that inspires you from this photo and CREATE!  all we ask is that you colour an image - after all, we are working with stamps and images that are DESIGNED TO COLOR!  :)  i like the newsprint with the pops of colour, particularly the red and blue...  here's what i did with this one:

so take those patterns from a big room, put 'em down to a smaller scale, and voila!  that's what worked for me.  mostly a CAS kinda card here - Squeaker did all the work for me!  ;)

here's the breakdown...

Prismacolor Pencils
Colors: Mouse - 1052, 1054, 935 (nose), 928 (ear); Cheese - 1003, 1094; Car - 924, 1065; Lights - 1069, 917; Tires - 935, 1063, 1061, 1065; Smoke clouds - 1052, 1060
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific (for image), Canvas Corp
Image: Squeaker's Ride (Fresh Brewed Designs)
Elements: patterned paper - Out of Print (BasicGrey); tags - Chic Tags; twine - The Twinery; tape - #849 (love my tapes); pigment ink - Studio G (Hampton Art); bling - Lush (My Mind's Eye); other -
3-d Dots (EK Success)

and that's that!  CLICK HERE to play along with our challenge - you have two weeks to join in the fun!  if you have any Fresh Brewed Designs images, we'd love to see you use them on your project!  if not, that's okay too.  maybe you'll just win some to use on future projects!  :)  have fun, and i'm off to do some moving!

(linked up at Paper Issues for the new "Say Cheese" theme - there's actual CHEESE on the card!)

Designed to Color and Doodle Dragon Studios BLOG HOP!

WELCOME!  i'm so glad you're here!  

HAPPY 4th BLOGAVERSARY, DUSTIN PIKE!  :)

you've reached the Designed to Color and Doodle Dragon Studios collaborative blog hop!  prepare to see lots of cute little froggie critters along the hop, leave comments along the way, and grab some of these totes adorbs digis while you're at it!  the talented Dustin Pike has generously provided the Color Crew with these fun little Fairy Frogmother digis - they're super fun to color, and they've arrived just in time for SPRING!  :)  (yeah, it's been spring here for a few weeks, but it sure doesn't feel like it in South Jersey!)

we're hoppin' with the very talented Doodle Dragon Crew and i'm about 2/3 of the way down the hop list, so if you've arrived here from the brilliant Charlotte, then you're in good shape!  :)  if not, then you'll want to head on back to THE BEGINNING so you don't miss a thing!  be sure to comment at each stop along the way because there will be TWO prize packages given away to our lucky winners!  you must follow the rules (and pay attention - some of us want you to answer a specific question, rather than just leaving a comment).

so!  i saw this little fairy froggy girl chillin' on this mushroom,
and knew i had to color her up!  here's a close-up of my image:

but since i seem to have a thing with wings, i wanted to zoom in

a little closer to show you the deets (click to enlarge!):

and hey, my pleats don't suck!  *a little pat on the back*

here's the full creation:

i've been yanking out some of my older supplies (like, a year or more), and incorporating bits and pieces into my recent projects.  yep, that's part of the de-stashing process.  ;)  i'm not very consistent with it, but i'm making a concerted effort these days.  here's my supply list!

Medium:  Prismacolor Pencils
Skin:  1005, 1097
Eyes:  1103
Shirt:  993, 1030
Skirt, trim:  1070, 1052, 1054
Wings:  1026, 993, 1100
Mushroom:  1085, 1072, 1021, 1089
Grass:  1005, 908

Image:  Fairy Frogmother (Dustin Pike - Doodle Dragon Studios)
Paper:  Georgia Pacific
Cardstock:  Canvas Corp
Patterned Paper:  Sketchbook (American Crafts - Amy Tangerine)
Elements:  die - Large Deckled Rectangles (Spellbinders - Nestabilities); ribbon - Amy Tangerine (American Crafts); stickers:  fuschia Glitter Alphabet (Recollections), epoxy stickers (s.e.i. - Jocelyn); buttons - Button Bling (Forever in Time)
Other:  black marker (Sharpie), 3-d Pop Dots (EK Success), mini Glue Dots



and that's all she wrote!  :)  so here's my question for you... if you could ask this Fairy Frogmother for ONE CRAFTY WISH, what would it be?  leave a comment with your answer below, then mosey on over to visit Ginny with her rockin' creation!  :)  we wrap everyting up on Thursday, April 25th at midnight CST (that's 1 am EST), so you have plenty of time to have fun hoppin' ('cuz that's what froggies do!), and  winners will be announced on or before April 29th.  GO GO GO!  have fun!

here's our full hop list, just in case...

Designed to Color   http://www.designedtocolor.com

JennD   http://just4funcrafts.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-time-hop-time.html

Lori   http://byloridesigns.blogspot.com/ 

Veronica  http://kreativelicense.blogspot.com

Kerri  http://bigsmilesfromkbear.blogspot.com

Gramma  http://grammascards.blogspot.com

Lisa  http://lisabeesponderings.blogspot.com

Lelia  http://greengoddescreations.blogspot.com

Lizzie  http://www.ohsnaplizzie.com

Jan  http://scrapnsurprise.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-hoppin.html

Rhea  http://passionatepapercreations.blogspot.com

Charlotte  http://designsfromwithin.blogspot.com

Leah  http://thechroniclesoforange.blogspot.com  ****you're here!****

Ginny  http://my5bratzcreations.blogspot.com

Taylor  http://taylorusry.blogspot.com

CraftyGirl  http://craftygirlcardsandcrafts.blogspot.com

Dustin Pike  http://dustinpike.blogspot.com  

it's a HEX at Designed to Color! April Challenge!

heya chickens!  

join us for our April challenge!  Designed to Color is looking for your projects featuring HEXAGONS (uber-trendy, and uber-fun!)...  remember that you need to COLOR an image, in the medium of your choice, and share your project (link back to us so we can spread the word!), and you could be entered to win this month's goodies.  "what are those goodies?", you ask...  well i'll tell you!

you could win $25 from There She Goes Clear Stamps!  LOVE their stuff...  so many fun themes and sentiments that will rock your world.  so, yeah, $25 to spend at their shop...  it won't be difficult to spend, but it might be tough to choose!

wanna play?  well CLICK HERE to see what the Color Crew Challenge Team have done to inspire you - not only have they showcased some seriously FABBY projects using There She Goes products, but their hexagons are enough to make you wish you had 6 sides!

here's a little something i whipped up (you'll have seen it in a past issue of the mag if you're a subscriber!):

not only are there some hexie accents on the sides, but check out the snowflakes!  OOOHHH!  yep.  i noticed that.  all colored up with my trusty Prismacolor Pencils, and brought to you by the letters M and Q, and by the number 23.  :)

play along by April 14th - it's the right thing to do, and a crafty way to do it!

oh, and for those of you who have been following my little journey into homeownership (current house is in hubbin's name only - this is a new chapter for me/us!), the bank ordered the appraisal on the house, and i, personally, have a feeling we'll know by the end of this week whether they'll accept our offer.  if they do, and i'm feeling pretty optimistic about it, we'll be applying for a mortgage soon, and getting our condo ready to list!  WOO HOO!  wish me luck, folks!

and i'll see you tomorrow with some more fun stuff - hope the week's off to a nifty start for you!