Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

Yup, it's time for another TTCRD challenge. Always Anything Goes. And this week we are being sponsored by the one and only Mayzy! How cool is that? So get your entries in for a chance at a fabulous prize, OK?

Well, I was really running late with my design this week. I honestly was worried that I would not be able to create anything for this challenge. But I didn't want to waste the darling image that Mayzy gave me to use. So...I came up with the fastest thing I could think of--and that was a CAS design. Now we all know that I. don't. do. CAS. Ever. But I had to really try, so that I could get my assignment done on time. So be gentle with your criticisms, please. This is so far out of my comfort zone that it is somewhere beyond the Milky Way.

I received Prom Zilpha from Mayzy to color. I printed her, (Zilpha, not Mayzy), on MICBC. Then I used the following Copics for coloring:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, R22

Eyes: E25

Hair: E11, E13, E15, E18

Dress: G00, BG32

Dress Trim, Petticoat, Hair Band: YR20, YR21

I also used Wink of Stella Brush Gold on all the stars, the belt, the bracelet, and the shoe straps, although it is hard to see in this photo. 

My CS is from Stampin' Up. My sentiment is from Create with TLC. I added couple of pieces of Washi tape, some ribbon, and a bit of bling to finish my design. That's it? Yup, believe it or not, that is it.

My teammates have some wonderful creations over at the challenge--do go see them, OK? Have a wonderful rest of the week!

The Outlawz Greetings Card Anything Goes Challenge

Wow, has it actually been a whole week since I posted anything? It doesn't seem like it, but I guess it has. I have been busy, making an anniversary card for my sister & BIL, which I'll post this week. But I was mostly busy with taking care of Donovan, the dog. Who had a bad week. He developed intestinal problems, poor baby, and on Wednesday night he needed to go out every hour, on the hour. He didn't get much sleep, but neither did I.

He seemed better on Thursday until the evening. Then he started his trots again. Fun. Not. So I gave him some yogurt and hoped he would have an OK night. Which he did, but then had problems again in the morning. So off to the vet we went on Friday. Almost $130 later, we had three medications and a special canned diet for him. But, hey, it was a much cheaper trip than his emergency visit to remove the rawhide chew that was stuck in his esophagus. So there is that. Hmm. I think I have a problem child, don't I. Good thing he is so cute.

He had a good weekend. No more desperate trips outside, thank goodness. Of course, I had to miss the two Diamondbacks games that I was supposed to attend. Couldn't leave him alone for several hours with the situation he was in. I did get to see the games on TV, so there is that, too.

I have to have a surgical procedure on Wednesday to remove a skin cancer from the back of my right shoulder. The doctor found it when I went in for my itchy skin condition. So he did a biopsy, and found that it is basal cell, so no big deal. Just needs to be removed. Except I have no idea how sore my shoulder will be right afterward, so I hope I get my assignments done for the week before Wednesday. I may not feel like it afterward.

OK, now for today's card. Our sponsor this week is Creative Bugs Crafts. I chose the Bouquet and Wine image, which I printed on MICBC. I colored it with Copics, and was amazed by how many colors I used on such a tiny image! I used the following: E0000, E40, E41, E42, E50, E51, E53, E55, RV00, RV21, RV23, RV25, BG90, BG93, BG96, BG99, W00, W0, V0000, V000, V01, V04.  

I chose DP from the Prima Romance Novel collection. I distressed it with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All. I paired Stampin' Up CS with it. I added several die cuts to this card; they were done with the following dies: Memory Box Macarena Corner, Corner Bow, Victorian Frame, Tender Leaves, and Precious Hearts; MFT Rolled Flower, Mini Rolled Rose, and High Tea Party Doily. I added my own sentiment and the following embellies: clock, MIC dragonfly, wine glass charm, a safety pin, two Tim Holtz Adage Tickets, some netting for a bow, ribbon, cheesecloth, Queen & Co. pearls, and a Prima flower. Lots of stuff for a little image, huh?

Do check out the fab creations by my teamies, and our GDT, Joan LaBelle! Then, be sure to play along with our Anything Goes challenge! And have a great week!

The Outlawz Greetings "DIY Pattern Paper" Challenge/Ed's Retirement

It's once again Monday. And time for The Outlawz Greeting Card Challenge. We are being sponsored this week by the great Bugaboo Stamps! And I know you can find something to fit your needs if you win this challenge! So get your thinking caps on and create your own design paper to enter.

 

I had created some alcohol ink backgrounds a few years ago by using transparencies with the ink. This time I chose to use CS, and it certainly made it more challenging than I remember! But I kept adding Copic Various inks and blender solution until I had a blotchy pattern that I liked. So, if I can do it, you can, too! Or try other mediums or stamping. Have fun with it!

We had a great weekend of dining. Yeah, I know, it's me with a food story again. I imagine you are soooo surprised. Like "falling off your stool" surprised. Right. "More like falling asleep reading this" surprised. 

Friday night Gary brought home salads from Kona Grill, that were fairly healthy, and quite yummy--oriental salads with grilled salmon. Mmmmm! And I ate all of mine because I was starving. Starving, I tell you. 

Then Saturday we tried out a little strip-mall Chinese restaurant in Chandler called Chou's Kitchen. They are a tiny place, but they do a huge business! And from the sounds of the language being spoken there, a lot of Chinese-born people frequent the place. And happily so. We were happy, too, with the food and the prices. We ordered hot-and-sour-soup for two for $6. And got delicious, but not overly spicy, soup enough for four. Couldn't believe the size of the portions! Huge, I tell you, huge! We also tried the green onion pancakes. Again, delicious, inexpensive and generously portioned. We added the pork & shrimp dumplings to our order and were so glad we did. We got eight of them--I let Gary have 5, though, because I was getting full--and they were so flavorful! YUM! Fortuitously, the waitress left one item off of our order. We didn't have room for it, so we were glad she forgot it. But we will try those pork-filled buns the next time we stop there. And we will stop there again. Gary said he could get take-out on the way home from work some night. I am 100% for that!! Mmmm, mmmm, good! 

Then yesterday, our daughter, Angela, stopped at our place on an errand. We took her out to the Olive Mill in Queen Creek for lunch/brunch. She had never been there, which totally blew my mind. Whaaaat? Of course, she lives quite a long way from there, and just never made the drive before. (Well, it is a good 20 minutes from our house, so it isn't close. But well worth the trip!) Anyway, Gary and Angela had sandwiches, while I ordered the egg & ham breakfast, as I hadn't eaten yet. And breakfast sounded really good. Everybody was totally happy with their food, although it took 50 minutes to get it from the time we ordered! Needless, to say, they were really busy! It gave us time to window-shop their grocery. And, after eating, we actually made some purchases. Angela got olive-oil cupcakes for her family, and we bought some wine. 

I got an email from Angela last night. She said her cupcake may have been the best she'd ever had. And that it was a good thing she didn't live closer or she'd gain 10 pounds for sure. I know all about that. That's why I don't buy the cupcakes! 

OK, on to my card. I chose Bugaboo Clyde Birthday for my image, even though I was doing a retirement card for a friend of ours. Ed took an early retirement last month and is celebrating it with family and friends in a couple of weeks. I thought that the dragon would be a really cute image to use. And, since we had to make our own DP, I picked colors that I wanted to use on Clyde. I'm selfish that way. And then I matched those colors with Stampin' Up CS.

I printed Clyde on MICBC and colored him with the following Copics, (which I also used on my DP): B06, BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG02, BV11, BV13, BV17. I also added C0, C2, and C4 for shadows at his feet. I added a bit of Pearl Pen around Clyde and some Wink of Stella Brush on the star, hat, and balloon. I printed out Happy Retirement, which I added to one of the balloon die cuts on the card. The balloons were made with Whimsy balloon dies, and the corner die cut was made with a Whimsy corner die. I added a bit of SU Baker's Twine, white gel pen, and bows made of netting to the balloons. A little dragonfly in the bottom corner finished my card.

I am going to enter the following with this card:

Bunny Zoe's Favorite Color Combo Challenge
Simon Says Stamp and Show Color Challenge
The Corrosive Life's Special Occasions Challenge

Do check out the darling cards my teammates made! And let's see how creative you can get with your DP! Have a great week!

Jellypark Friends Make Us Laugh And Smile Challenge

Well, if it's time for another Jellypark challenge, it must be Friday. The two go hand in hand.

I went to a new dermatologist yesterday. And I actually got to see him. (You know how you can tell that a dermatologist has a new practice? Because you can get in to see him/her, not a physician's assistant!) Of course, once Dr. Woods establishes himself, that will change. But perhaps, since I was one of his original patients, I will always be able to see him. I can only hope. Because I may be a repeat patient.

You know why? Well, I'm old and I apparently have a hereditary skin condition that appears when you get old. Probably inherited from my dad, who was younger than I am when he passed and hadn't developed this skin condition by then. My mom lived to be 87 and never did have this problem. So, all I can say is, Gee, thanks, Dad. You old poop.

Anyway, this skin condition causes itchy patches. Very itchy patches. And creepy crawly sensations--like the willies, if you get my drift. Fun. I have these patches on my back. Where I cannot reach. So my method of scratching is to madly rub my back on a door frame. I finally got tired of it and went to the doctor. His cure was to use liquid nitrogen on the four patches on my back. Yeah, that stung. It felt a lot like it does when you have shingles and hot water hits them. (Ask me how I know that. I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.) Dr. Woods also zapped a white spot on my arm that he said was pre-cancerous. That stung, too, but not as much. Oh well...nothing I couldn't deal with. What I really want to know is: how many of you would come to my house right now and give me a hug?

Yeah, that's what I thought. It grosses you out. No more than it does me, I can assure you. But it is not contagious. And I honestly have no idea of how bad it looks because I cannot see any of the spots on my back. When Gary looked at it last night he said, and I quote, "Holy smokes." Which is Gary-speak for OMG.

If this is the worst thing I have to face in my future, it will be a pretty healthy one. I refuse to get things that require major medical care. I don't have time to deal with them. So they can just leave me alone. Besides, Gary will more than make up for me. Just ask him. He never met a doctor he didn't want to visit. This week, in one day, I had three, count them, three calls for reminders of his doctors' appointments. Apparently I am his social secretary. And so it goes. (I know, I know, it's the least I can do for all the money the man lets me spend on my hobby.)

Now that we have my latest drama out of the way, I can get to my Jellypark Friends card. "Make Us Laugh" was really tough for me. Not because I don't have a sense of humor. I do.  It's just a bit warped--like my dad's. And most of the sentiments I wanted to use were really warped, too. Somehow, that just didn't fit with the sweet JP image I was using for today. I do intend to try some warped ones on you in the future, though. So stay tuned for that. Because a couple of them are real doozies!

My sweet little girl image is Jellypark Friends Girl with Sign. And my sentiment is from Graphicat. If you want really sweet images, you go to Jellypark. And if you want really sarcastic sentiments, Graphicat will definitely fill the bill. Or fit the bill. Whatev.

I wanted a DP that was childlike and cheerful. I found a sheet of the SEI Sunny Day collection that was perfect. So I paired it with some Stampin' Up CS, from which I made several die cuts. I know that shocks and amazes you! Yeah, riiiiight. I used the following dies: SCACD Classic Timepiece, Ornate Hinge, and Alice's Clock Statement. I'm getting itchy to buy a couple more of SCACD's dies. Or maybe that's just my skin condition talking.

My image was printed on Make It Colour Blending Card, which I am really tired of spelling out. I would rather just say MICBC. Is that wrong of me? Will that upset anyone? Tough. MICBC, it is.

I colored this naughty, but sweet and pretty, little girl, (she's a lot like me, except much younger, and she doesn't itch yet), with my Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: E42, E44, E47

Hair Band, Dress, Shoes: YR12, YR14, YR16 

Then I slapped her silly and called it a day. No, not really. I would never do anything like that. Though I can think of a few politicians that deserve it. But I digress yet again.

I thought this adorable girl just needed a bit more embellishing. So, I dotted a bit of Pearl Pen around the image.  I also added some Hero Arts flower gems, because they went with the DP. Then I adhered a clock face to a die cut--I can't remember where I got it, I've had it for years. (The clock face, not the die cut.) I put a SU brad in the middle of the clock face, because a hole looked stupid, and I had no clock hands that small. And then I added a small chipboard dragonfly from Make It Crafty. In Australia. They're the ones who make MICBC. Which is why color is spelled colour. Just thought I would clear that up for you. 

Hey, have a fantastic weekend! And be sure to stop by Jellypark Friends to check out my teamies' fab creations. There is a new release today as well. And then get busy and make us laugh. We could all use it right about now.

Little Miss Muffet Challenge

Well, here's a surprise for you! I am a Guest Designer this week for the Little Miss Muffet Challenge. I was lucky enough to win a nice prize from Barbara, on her blog, Forgotten Scraps, a few weeks ago. When I contacted her about the prize, she asked if I would like to participate as a guest designer. Yeah, well, she didn't need to ask me twice, that's for sure! I got such a cute image from her to work with: Agent Cupcake. If you like this image, you will also like the other fun stamps at the Little Miss Muffet Stamps store. Check it out!

This week's challenge is Food, Glorious, Food. As most of my followers know, I am an expert on food. Eating it. Certainly not preparing it. But really, really good at eating it. And cupcakes are definitely on my food pyramid. As a health food. Go look. I'll wait..................................you found it, right? See, I told you it was there. Some people just need proof. (And I bet you stayed up to see Santa when you were a kid, too, didn't you? Pffffffffffffffft!)

Well, anyway, I am really happy for the chance to work with one of Barbara's images. I had originally planned to use some of the new LMM tea party stamps with Agent Cupcake. But I didn't like the way she looked with the fancy tables--since she is in shorts and barefoot. Of course, that could work here in the desert, because nobody really cares if you go barefoot. Unless you are going to a tea party at the Phoenician. Then they might frown on that. Or you might frown if you tried going barefoot here in the summer. 'Cuz all the skin on your feet would be burned off by our warmish sidewalks. So, probably not the best idea. But I digress, once again. Sorry.

Anyway, I decided Cupcake needed to be outside to eat her health food. So I created a little scene for her with several dies: MFT Fresh Cut Grass; Poppystamps Madison Park Bench; Memory Box Grand Oak Tree; and Marianne Designs Decorative Elegance. These were made with Stampin' Up CS, and were set against a background of Basic Grey Hello Luscious DP.

Agent Cupcake was printed on Make It Colour Blending Card and colored with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: E50, E53, E55, E57

Clothes: RV23, RV25, RV29, YG91, YG93, YG95

Cupcakes: E55, E57, E59, Y02, Y04, Y06

Cherry and Hairband: RV23, RV29

The sentiment was my own. (And I bet you thought I paid big money for it. Or not.) I guess that about does it for me. But be sure to check out the wonderful inspiration by Barbara and her DT. They are a super-talented bunch, and it's always fun to see what they have created. 

Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

Our sponsor this week is Michelle Perkett. I chose her Olive image for my card.

I am not really feeling very chatty at the moment. I am still trying to process what happened in Boston yesterday. So I will just get to the deets on my card, and save my extraneous comments for another day.

I printed Olive and her sentiment on Make It Colour Blending Card and then colored the image with Copics: 

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hat & Swimsuit: B12, B14, B16

Hat Band & Pail: RV23, RV25, RV29

Shovel: Y13, Y15, Y18

Starfish: W0, W2, W4

I added a bit of Ultra Fine Flower Soft to the sand under her feet. I chose DP from Best Creation, Inc. Splash Fun collection and paired it with Stampin' Up CS.  I added some shells to the design, as well as several die cuts. 

Dies used were: Marianne Designs Sea Shells, Sea Side, and Pointy Circle Frame & Flower; Memory Box Big Splash Border. The sea shells and starfish die cuts were sponged with Stampin' Up ink. I was not happy with my coloring on this card, nor with the color that I got on my photo. I did try to touch it up, but the sky is actually bluer than shown. Oh well...some days are like diamonds and some days are like stones. Yesterday was definitely a stone day in so many ways.

Wishing you all a great rest of the week, and hoping you will join our challenge at TTCRD. Be sure to check out the latest issue of the magazine. There is a preview available in the video at the top right of my blog.

The Outlawz Greetings Card "Spring Flowers" Challenge

Once again we are sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps, which should please just about everyone! And this challenge is so easy, even I could do it!

It felt really weird  not to write a blog post on Saturday night. And really sad to see that Stamptacular Sunday Challenge is going on hiatus until some things are taken care of in Priscilla's life. I wish her the very best and hope that the challenge will be back soon.

I took time this week to read a book. Yes, I can actually have some reading time once again, now that I am no longer swamped with DT assignments. It feels really good to do something else in my life that I love. And I sat down and watched some taped TV shows with Gary last night. It was nice to spend some time together catching up on Grey's Anatomy and Smash. 

And I managed to watch the D'backs win three games in a row from Milwaukee! Sorry to any Brew Crew fans, but it was really cool to see our team sweep a series on the road. The D'backs' record is 5-1 right now--so they have been fun to watch this past week. Hopefully, they will manage to have a really good season. If they stay healthy, I don't see why not. I'm looking forward to them coming back here, and seeing them in person again this next weekend. 

I get my sutures out today. Really looking forward to that! Almost all the swelling is gone now, thank goodness. Of course, that means that my wrinkles on my upper lip have returned. Drat! I do hope he says I can eat real food again, instead of blended mush! I did manage to have some scrambled eggs last night for dinner, which was a real treat! (So you can see how desperate I am getting to actually chew food again. You'd think I was teething or something.) 

OK, on to my card for this week. I thought that Ava Flower Patch was a really cute flower image to use--as I seem to gravitate toward images with people in them. No, really? I bet you'd never guess, right?

Anyway, I printed Ava on Make It Colour Blending Card and then colored her with my Copics: E000, E00, E11, E31, E35, G40, G43, R20, BG0000, BG000, BG53, BG57, C00, C0, C1, C2, B60, YR20, YR21, YR23, RV10, RV11, RV13. (Sorry I didn't take the time to sort them. Will try to next time.)

I chose my color scheme from my DP, which came from Bazzill Basics Vintage Marketplace collection. I paired this with Stampin' Up CS and DCWV CS. (And I want to bi*** for just a moment here. SU is retiring some colors which I go to all the time. What the heck? Why, SU, why? I need Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, and Bashful Blue in my life--they go with so many of the DP pads I have. Curses!)

Maybe I should just start buying CS by other manufacturers and quit worrying about the SU colors. I could go to a store in Mesa and match all my papers to Bazzill. That might be the easier way to go in the future. I'll have to think about that.

Anyway, back to my card. I found a sentiment online that I really liked for this challenge. And I made flowers with the following dies: Cheery Lynn Daisy Strip and Cheery Lynn Embellishment #1. I added some leafy pieces cut with the Cheery Lynn Fanciful Flourish die. And added a couple of cuts from a Whimsy Corner die. My other embellishments were some SU brads and a bow from SU Regal Rose ribbon. (Am I really upset that RR is no longer going to be available? Yes, yes, I am. Sigh....)

Before things get really ugly on here--and my evil twin takes over--I will close with this wish: have a really great week! And check out the cool creations by my Teamies! Then get busy with some flowers, 'K? 

Jellypark Friends New Release and "It's About A Book" Challenge

Yes, it is time for another adorable release at Jellypark Friends! And a new challenge! We're bookin' it this time, so stop by and check out the fab creations by my teammates!

Before I get to my card, I want to thank everyone who sent me kind thoughts & positive energy on Wednesday! You helped make my oral surgery go smoothly and painlessly! Who would've thunk? Certainly not me, as I was dreading this like nobody's business. But, lo and behold, dentistry has come a long way, baby, since 1967!

I didn't have the shots in the roof of my mouth. And the injections in the front were painless due to the thorough application of topical anesthetic beforehand. The endodontist worked quickly, and the procedure was over before I got too antsy! He prescribed Vicodin for me--to take care of the pain after the numbness wore off, but I didn't need it. I am sore, to be sure, and have definite restrictions over the next several days. Drinking through a straw, nothing hot for the first 48 hours; nothing chewy or crunchy until after the sutures are taken out on Monday--and I guess there are several of them. But the sutures kept me from bleeding like I did after my first apical root canal in the olden days. And I never had actual pain, so that is fabulous!

Of course, even though I did the ice pack treatments, I do have a little swelling. Which, at the moment, means the wrinkles on my upper lip don't show. So there is that advantage. Too bad I can't keep that; well, I suppose I could if I did botox, but, that appeals to me about like a severe sunburn would. Anyway, I survived, fully intact; well, mostly intact. Except for the brain leakage during surgery. Apparently that didn't do too much damage. Neither did the cadaver bone they injected into my head. Hmmm...cadaver bone around one root and mercury inside another. I wonder what's next?

I watched the Diamondbacks win their third game on Wednesday night. I drank too much iced tea and was wide awake, and this was the longest game in their history. It lasted over 5 hours--until after midnight. Crazy. But I was up, icing my face, so I kept watching. Got a little sticky, too, from the icing. Why didn't they explain that part to me? No wonder my face is swollen. Perhaps that brain leakage did do some damage, after all...

I had fun making this card with the Jellypark Friends Bookworm image. He looks so happy to be reading. I can relate. I love to read. One of my favorite things to do. Always has been and always will be. I read books after I was supposed to be asleep when I was a child. I would safety-pin my bedspread around the reading lamp on my bed so my parents wouldn't see the light under my door and tell me to go to sleep. Of course, there was always a danger of fire--because that lamp was metal and got super-hot! Luckily, I turned it out soon enough, I guess.

Anyway, I printed the little guy on Make It Colour Blending Card and colored him with Copics: W0, W1, E000, E00, E11, E13, E15, E18, E21, E31, E33, E34, E35, R20, G40, G43, G46, BG45, BG49.  Then I fussy-cut him and mounted him on top of some Magic Mesh. Which was mounted on Bo Bunny Weekend Market DP. Which was mounted on Stampin' Up CS. I also used Queen & Co. Trendy Tape, and an MFT Fishtail Flag die. The quotation is one I found online. Pretty CAS for me, don't you think?

Do check out the other creations at Jellypark! And have a great weekend. Eat something hot and chewy for me, will you? Like a pizza, or a filet. Or even a bagel. Gosh, I'm hungry.

Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

This week we are once again sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. There are so many fun images on their website that our winner will surely have a great time shopping!

Hopefully most of you know that our newest issue of TTCRD magazine has been published. If not, please check out Jo's video at the top right of my blog. It's definitely worth a look-see! And with all the wonderful tutorials and digis available, the magazine is certainly worth the price of admission! If you don't have a subscription, please consider getting one. You won't be disappointed!

Hey, last night was opening night for MLB in Phoenix, as our Diamondbacks took on the St. Louis Cardinals. And a very good night it was! We purchased a partial season, 28-game pack, which included opening night! Yay! I had never been to opening night before, and it was fun to drink in the atmosphere at the park.

But what was really fun was watching all the kids work really hard to bring in that first win of the year! Lots of hits by our team--so much to cheer for! We did leave after the 7th inning, because the score was 6-2 by then, (which was the final, btw), and Gary did have to work today. He needed to get home to get his beauty rest adequate night of sleep. So we saw all the true highlights of the game.

Oh, and I took a photo of our pitcher with my new Samsung Galaxy S3, and I have to say the camera is pretty darn good! Got a really cool shot of him in his wind-up. Looks like I actually knew what I was doing. Bwaaaahahahaha! Not!

So I shall enjoy today by remembering last night. And try to forget what is happening tomorrow. BTW, thank you for sending me good vibes for my dental procedure. I shall need them. 'Nuf said.

OK, to today's card. I chose Brat Girl Balloon Sitter. I find that a really odd name, but a cute image. And I knew I could use an extra birthday card for my stash. You can never have too many of those, right?

I printed her on Make It Colour Blending Card and colored her with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, E21, R20

Hair: YR20, E31, E35

Socks & Patch: Y15, Y18, Y19

Bow, Shoes, & Heart: YR12, YR14, YR15, YR18

Balloon: B0000, B000

Jeans: B93, B95, B97

I added a bit of Wink of Stella Brush Clear to the edges of the die-cut balloons. I used Whimsy Balloon dies to make the balloons and stamped a Whimsy sentiment on one of them. I added a bit of baker's twine to a few of the balloons, but it is a bit difficult to see that. The corner die cuts were made using a Whimsy Corner die. My image was mounted on die cuts, which I made using Spellbinders Marvelous Squares and Decorative Labels 1 dies.

I paper-pieced her shirt using DP from the Basic Grey Picadilly collection. For my card panels I distressed the DP with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All and then with Distress Ink. I paired it with CS from Stampin' Up and DCWV. And that about does it for me. 

However, there are some great cards to see at the challenge, done by my talented teammates. So be sure to check them out before you submit your creations! Hope your week is going great! I'll be back on Friday, knock on wood, with another post. 

 

The Outlawz Greeting Card "Anything Goes" Challenge

I expect that we will see lots of entries this week, as we have "Anything Goes" for our challenge. I am looking forward to seeing the creativity in full bloom! We have a new sponsor this week, one I dearly love: Rick St. Dennis. His images are unique and uber-fabulous! I heart them. I heart them very much! 

I have quite a collection of Rick's images, and was thrilled to add to it for this challenge! I chose "Marionette", one of Rick's new images this year. Speaking of this year, it is already 1/3 gone. What the heck? How did that happen so fast? I would like to know, seriously, well, maybe not so seriously, but I would like to know if the earth is traveling faster around the sun. Because time seems to have sped up at an unreasonable rate, at least for me. What a pain!

Oh, and on the subject of pain, I went to the endodontist last Wednesday. He is very nice. His office is very nice. His assistant and front desk personnel are very nice. But, what he has to do to me this Wednesday morning is not very nice. He is going to do an apical root canal treatment. And I am really. not. looking. forward. to. it. Can you tell? 

This is the same procedure I had done on my front tooth in 1967, although this very nice endodontist tells me that treatment now is much better than it was back then. Ha! He still has to give me injections in the roof of my mouth; he still has to cut open my gum tissue, (although he is going to use the old incision); he still has to drill inside my head. Sigh....how can that be better? Oh, and he will clean out the apparent infection I have in there and then fill in the space with cadaver bone. Oh, goody. I can't wait. Gary said he will be married to the walking dead. Nice.  This surgery is supposed to take an hour. Longest hour of the year for me, I am sure. Especially with the way time flies when I am having fun.

On the bright side, he saw no infection or cracking in the tooth in the back of my mouth. Which was evident after his assistant took six X-rays of that tooth. I think it was six, but I may have lost count. She couldn't get the shots she wanted; then to add to the fun, the X-ray apparatus was too big for my mouth and I kept gagging on it. So I am really happy that he doesn't need to do a root canal on that tooth at the present time. 

Please send me some positive energy on Wednesday morning about 9:30 MST, (or PDT.) I could really use it; thank you, thank you very much.

Well, now that I have my dental trauma out of the way, I can continue with my card. As I said, before I so rudely interrupted myself, I chose "Marionette" by Rick St. Dennis. I thought I could come up with something fun using that image. 

I printed her on Make It Colour Blending Card and colored her with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20

Hair: Y21, YR23, E33, E35

Leotard: W0, W1, W2

Shoes & Bows: W5, W7, W9

Stars: B12, B14

I added Copic Spica to her earrings, shoes, and stars. Then I sponged some Stampin' Up ink around the edges of the image. I chose DP from the Authentique Journey collection and paired it with SUCS. (Sorry Stampin' Up. Just couldn't resist.) Die cuts were created using the following dies: Spellbinders Classic Stars, Cheery Lynn Bow & Bell, MFT Chevron Stripes, and Whimsy Corners. I sponged a bit of SU ink on the star with the sentiment, (which I took from an old song--the sentiment, not the star). A string of black beads, some ribbons & feathers, and netting from my stash completed my design. 

Do check out the cards by my teammates. They are fabulous! And be sure to get your entries into this challenge. The prize is too good to pass up! Have a good week! (It should be better than mine, don't you think?)