Stamptacular Sunday "Gents & Gems!" Challenge

This week’s challenge is going to be so much fun!  We can’t wait to see what you create!

This week's challenge is a…

“Gents & Gems!”

For this week's challenge you will create a card for a guy using an image with a guy/boy/man and don’t forget GEMS!  The theme and colors are your choice!  Oh…and don’t forget to STAMP!  After all…we don’t call this the STAMPtacular Sunday Challenge for nothing!      

You will have from now until midnight (EST) February 9^th, 2013 to complete this challenge and post a DIRECT LINK to your submission into our InLinkz in order to be entered into the drawing for this week's fabulous prize donated by:

MARIANNE DESIGN

PRIZE:  IT’S A SURPRISE…but I promise, it’s something FABULOUS!

AND

STAMPFAIRY

PRIZE:  $10 GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Hey, I think those sound like pretty good prizes, don't you? So do play along with us this week, because somebody is going to win them!

I am feeling so uncomfortable right now. It is midnight on Saturday night, and we got home from dinner about an hour ago. I am too full. I wouldn't be able to go to bed even if I didn't need to write up this post. I could never get to sleep on such a full stomach.

We tried a new restaurant tonight with some friends of ours, Bob and Connie. We have known them for over 30 years and do not get together often enough. We have such a great time--lots of laughs--every time we see each other. And they, like us, love good food and good wine, not necessarily in that order.

Anyway, we went to downtown Phoenix, which is a pretty happening place right now. Amazing. I remember when it was a ghost town at night. Not that long ago. Nowadays there are lots of hotels & restaurants & shops & entertainment. What more could you ask for? (How about being 30 years younger so I could enjoy it longer?)

We went to the Blue Hound, which opened in June last year. It is a modern, classy hotel restaurant on a second floor with two-story ceilings and windows. Very chic! A bit noisy for us old peeps--and we were the oldest people in the place--but with a fun vibe and comfy armchairs at our table. They put us in the quietest spot in the place, no doubt because we are old and hard of hearing. Are you laughing? I can't quite tell. It sounds a bit like it, but I am not sure.

We started with a nice bottle of Merlot. Then we had a huge cheese plate appetizer, and man, those cheeses were delish! They came with figs, yum, and nuts, and pieces of flat bread. We also had a plate of chex mix, (though we couldn't find a chex in it anywhere, so we called it fish mix, because of all the fish crackers), and olives, and nuts, and bison jerky. I don't know how good the bison jerky was, because I didn't want to try it. But everything else was tasty and the fish mix was quite spicy!

I moved on to a shot of cauliflower soup, which was ultra-yummy, and just the perfect size. Gives you a great taste, but doesn't fill you up. I waited for my main course to do that. I had Monkfish Schnitzel, which came with fabulous celeryroot kohlrabi slaw, delicious potato coins, and a wonderful violet mustard sauce. The only disappointing part of my meal was my fish, which turned out a bit too greasy for me. What did I expect with a schnitzel anyway? It was pan fried, not deep fried, but it was still greasier than I would have liked. However, the rest of the food I had, including the fantastic pineapple upside-down cake with salted caramel sauce, was really wonderful. And everyone else loved their main dishes--Gary had short ribs that must have been from a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Bob and Connie both had scallops, which I had considered, and if I get back there, I will order them. So it was a really good meal, fantastic service, and a pretty place. The only real downside was the bill. Expensive. Although, to be fair, we ordered a great deal of food & two bottles of wine. So we could have gotten by for much less than we did.

Like I said, I am so uncomfortable right now. I am stuffed. Like a turkey. Are you ready to baste me and pop me in the oven? Don't bother; I am sure I would cook up tough as nails.

I was going to show you more photos of our trip. So I will. But just a few...in order to get to the Sheraton on the Big Island, you had to drive down a rather steep hill. There is a look-out near the top of the hill that I wanted to visit. So we did on Thursday the 10th. I am glad we stopped. In the first photo, you can barely make out our hotel, which is at the middle left of the photo (but the bottom left of the hill). The second photo is a zoomed shot. It is a bit hazy, due to the vog on the island. Vog comes from the volcanic eruptions and is a bit like our smaze in Phoenix. The third and fourth photos show why this hill is important in Hawaiian history. I would imagine you need to click on the photos to read the plaques. Anyway, I thought this was an interesting spot to see. And beautiful and wild and dry as shown in the fifth photo. And in the sixth photo there is Gary! Imagine that.

We also went and checked out beaches that day, to see if we could find a good place to snorkel. Of course, there were those high surf warnings, which scared me off. So we did not snorkel that whole first week on Hawaii. Bummer. (If we ever get back there, I will overcome my fears and go snorkeling. That's going on my bucket list right now!) But we did have fun exploring anyway. The first shot is Hapuna Beach, which was nearly an hour from our hotel. Beautiful beach and park, btw. The second shot is of Mauna Kea Beach, which is also really pretty, and much less crowded than Hapuna.

These photos have not been edited--when would I have the time?! I can hear the waves if I concentrate. Oh, how I love the ocean. Sigh...

OK, I'll pick up tomorrow where I left off today and show you a few more pics. But I need to get on with my card description as it is now 1:00 a.m. on Sunday. Yikes!

So I chose a StampFairy image, "Barry Diet". It seemed appropriate to color him in January, since that is the month of dieting for so many of us. Yup, and then we fall off the wagon. Oh, I'm sorry, perhaps I should only speak of myself. You probably stuck to your diet. Well, raspberries to ya. (And, if you don't mind, would you please tell me how you did it?)

Anyway, I printed Barry on X-Press It CS, and colored him with the following Copics: Y32, Y35, Y38, W1, W3, E51, E53, E55, E57, BG10, BG11, B000. I added just a bit of white gel pen to the image. Then I die-cut him and rubbed on some Stampin' Up ink around the edges, and framed him with another die cut.

My other die cuts were done with S'U CS, (that will never cease to make me giggle, but then simple minds are easily amused). My DP, which I distressed, is from two collections: My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday Everyday Fun and Bo Bunny Weekend Market. I printed my Create with TLC sentiment on a Tim Holtz Journaling Ticket, and then added a Tim Holtz game spinner and a couple of staples to it. I used a wooden tag from my stash to which I added the letter "b", a MS gem, and some baker's twine.

Last, but not least, my die cuts were made with the following dies: Memory Box Typewriter Lower, Spellbinders Labels 11, and Cheery Lynn Victorian Picket Fence. That's it. My gent and gem. Singular. Oops. Oh well....

I will have another post tomorrow. For today, I hope you have a great Sunday, enjoy the Super Bowl or the golf tournament, or both, or neither. Do check out my talented teamies at Stamptacular Sunday. And then make a card and join us! Looking forward to your creations!