Monday, April 22, 2013

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!


23 comments:

  1. This is gorgeous and its a wonderful striking colour combo.
    Hugs
    Desíre
    {Doing Life – my personal blog}

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  2. WOW!!! This is is wonderful Penny. I LOVE the way you have created your backing paper. The image is so cute, your colouring is amazing and the balloons look fabulous too.
    hugs Sue xx

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  3. Fantastic card, Penny! Love the bold color combo and adorable image! Great background! Always envious of your eating out stories! Now very hungry!

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  4. Hi sweetie, this is just fabulous, gorgeous as always sweetie, big happy hugs Pops x x x x

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  5. This is way to cute! I love the dragon, love the balloons and love the background. You just have the most fab ideas and they always turn out great. Love this card Penny.

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  6. so fun card! love the colors and your coloring
    hugs
    céline

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  7. Oh, my - so super cute! Love the image, purple and balloons! Great one! .)

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  8. Hi ya, Penny! I love the background, it's really pretty! I like cute images and this one is super cute especially how you colored him. Your food escapades sound so yummy.. i think i missed the part about Ed's retirement..and i looked again at your post.

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  9. simply stunning Penny. The colour combo is amazing
    wow wow wow
    And the image is so super cute
    Big hugs and a fab week
    Doreen xx

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  10. Hey Penny,

    Thanks for the story, now I'm hungry...lol I do love Chinese food, and if I could I'd eat it every day..no kidding. Totally adorable card, and love your DP. Something I will have to give a try some day.

    xo

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  11. Delightful fun and remarkable coloring, You have an eye for talent and so creative. Thanks for the story, ready for something yummy.
    Hugs

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  12. Passing by to say hello. Have a great day.
    Hugs

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  13. Gorgeous card, Penny! Those blue tones are mesmerizing!!! Gorgeous!!! All I know is that after reading your blog entry, I am suddenly ravenous!!!! going to raid the fridge right NOW!!!

    Love and hugs to you my DT Sistah!

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  14. Gosh I love your colors here! This is so adorable (-:

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  15. What a darling card!!! Sounds like you had a great time. MMMM I wanna a cupcake. Have a great day! Hugs, Kim

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  16. Penny, I love the dragon in blue and purple, he is so adorable. Just look at his face and you fall in love with him. Love the balloons and the background papers.
    Hugs, Patricia

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  17. Too, too cute! Just love that little dragon, totally adorable and the colour scheme works so well too - along with your fabulous colouring :)

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  18. Wonderful card Penny, I love the balloons :o)
    Hugs
    Tracey
    xx

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  19. Hi Penny,
    your card is absolut cute!! I like the colors and the image!!
    Big hugs,
    Conny

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  20. Awww how fun is this! Love the purple! Thanks for joining us at Corrosive Challenges!

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  21. What an adorable dragon. Sweet shades of blue! Glad you joined us at Simon Says Stamp and Show!

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  22. Seriously fab card. I love that cutie dragon and love how he was colored. I especially love his dotted hide. Very, very cool how you did that. I also love your background papers and that color scheme, which is one of my favorites.

    Your food reviews were fun to read. I like eating a dinner of appetizers.

    I have never had an olive oil cake. It sounds kind of nasty to me. Maybe I'll actually have to try it one day.

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Thank you for visiting my blog! I appreciate the kind comments more than I can say! :^)
Hugs, Penny