The Outlawz Alcohol Markers Anything Goes/Christmas Theme Optional

It's Friday and time for a new Alcohol Markers challenge at The Outlawz. Again, we have an Anything Goes theme with an option to do a Christmas project. And I am all for making Christmas cards year-round. It sure beats trying to get them all done in December, which for me is an impossible task!

So are you looking forward to the weekend? I hope to make a couple more Christmas cards to add to my meager stash. And, of course, there is always football. And the Arizona Cardinals Pop Warner team. At least they are playing away this week, so I don't have to witness the carnage first-hand.

Gary got his bandage and brace off his wrist yesterday. They actually had to fix a large tear, not a small one, as he pointed out to me twice. And they went in through the back of his hand and wrist--weird, that. He has three holes, just like when he had his shoulder repaired last year. Remind me to never get any joints fixed--three holes for the price of one is at least two too many. Seriously.

So onto my card for the week. I chose another darling image; this one by Lacy Sunshine, called Eleanor & Pickles Jolly Holly Elves. I printed this on MICBC, and colored it with my Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair: Y21, YR23, E33, E35

Eyes: E40, E42, E44

Holly: YG95, YG97, YG99, R24, TTBR91

Pickles: YG91, YG93, YG95

Clothing: YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97, YG99, E40, E42, E44, R24, R27, R29, TTBR91 

Shoes: E40, E42, E43

I added Frosted Lace Stickles, Wink of Stella Brush Silver & Clear, and Stampendous Frantage to my image. My DP is from Simple Stories Handmade Holiday collection, distressed with my Zutter, and paired with Stampin' Up CS. My die cuts were made using the following dies:

Memory Box Jolly Jingle Bells

Memory Box Snowflake Corner

Whimsy Ticket and Mini Ticket

LaLa Land Crafts Holly Flourish

My sentiments are from the Whimsy Holiday Mini Tickets set and the Holiday Ticket Sentiments set. My finishing pieces were a couple of Martha Stewart gem stickers. And that's it for this week.

Do stop by The Outlawz to see the pretty creations by my talented teammates. I hope you join in the fun this week. And have a wonderful weekend! 

Anniversary Card for Jon and Angela

Well, I suddenly realized that I hadn't entered the anniversary card I made for my daughter and SIL into any challenges. Silly of me, don't you think? So I am rectifying that right now, before the challenges close. Before I list them, here are the deets:
Saturated Canary Puppy Love printed on MICBC and colored with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Eyes: B91, B93

Hair: E31, E33, E35, YR20

Stockings/Petticoat/Apron/Shirt/Shoes: E40, E42, E44, E47, E49

Bow/Dress/Stockings: V12, V15, V17

Jeans: B91, B95, B97, B99

Stockings/Belt/Petticoats: R11, R14, R17

The DP is from the Prima Engraver collection; I distressed it with my Zutter and paired it with Stampin' Up CS. I added Tim Holtz Alpha Tiles, Stampin' Up Vanilla Flower Trim, a key charm, twine, a chipboard clock, burlap, cardboard, cheesecloth, and a chipboard dragonfly. And, of course, there are die-cuts. These are the dies I used:

Poppystamps Bookcase & Attic Keys

MFT Chevron Stripes

MFT Fishtail Flags Stax

MFT Mini Film Strip

MFT Mini Tabs Foursome

Memory Box Typewriter #'s

Cheery Lynn Italian Flourish and Mini Italian Flourish Doilies

We had the granddaughters for Saturday night and enjoyed their company. My, they are growing up fast! And Jon and Angela stayed overnight at The Boulders and had dinner at Binkley's. What a great celebration for them! And, yes, they did love their meal! (How could you not at Binkley's?)

So here are the challenges I am entering with this card:

CMC Anything Goes Challenge

Cheery Lynn Vintage Challenge

Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge

I'll be back tomorrow with a DT card.

The Outlawz Alcohol Markers Fall/Halloween Color Inspiration Challenge

I have taken to eating dark chocolate, which I am not very fond of. But "survey says", (what TV show is that phrase from?), that dark chocolate is very good for your brain. And heaven knows, I need all the help I can get. Of course, the best chocolate for you has at least 60% cocoa. So Gary bought some extra dark chocolate with 85% cocoa. OMG! Is that stuff nasty or what? I gag it down. So bitter, and I am a sweet person. Well, not technically a "sweet person", but a person who loves sweets. So don't bring home that bitter stuff for me!

Naturally, I much prefer milk chocolate, but am willing to eat the dark chocolate with sea salt. Oooooh, sweet and salty together: perfect pairing. Of course, this stuff only has 47% cocoa in it. So I fixed their wagon. I ate two pieces instead of one--that way I am getting 94% cocoa. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it; please don't question my math.)

The reason I let you know how I am trying to improve, (or, at the least, rescue), my brain at the beginning of my post is simple. I screwed up with my colors on my card. I saw the colors: black, gray, orange, lime green, and peach. I even wrote them down on my to-do list. But for some strange reason, my brain turned peach into purple. Whaaaaat??? In my defense, they both start with a "P". For that matter so does my name. I have no idea where I am going with this, so forgive me. It must be a brain-thing again. Note: see color inspiration below.

On another note, I have some very sad news to report. My Arizona Cardinals stunk up their stadium last night. I know this because I was there to witness the debacle and the stench. PU! It almost looked like Pop Warner vs. Goliath and his gang. Good grief, I was ready to leave almost as soon as the game started. Unfortunately, we rode to the stadium with friends, so we had to wait until they had had enough "fun". Which was the end of the third quarter. By then, I had experienced so much fun that I had a splitting headache. Cow. C-O-W-E-I-E-I-O.

And would someone mind telling me just where all those Seattle fans came from? (Surely they didn't all fly down here during the middle of the week. Did they?) And why did they manage to make more noise that we did? If I never hear "Sea-HAWKS" screamed at me again, I will die a happy camper. 'Nuf said.

Okey dokey, on to this week's challenge. I decided to make another Halloween card, (with purple instead of peach, oops), so that I could give one to each of my granddaughters. (I have one card I made for the TTCRD Fall Issue, using a Marci image.) I decided to use another LaLa Land Marci image for this card--Pumpkin Marci. She was printed on MICBC and colored with my Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair: T4, T6, T8, T9

Shoes: T1, T2, T4

Hat/Socks/Lollipop: V12, V15, V17

Leaves/Handle: YG21, YG23, YG25

Pumpkins: YR12, YR14, YR16

I made some die cuts, (oh, be still, my heart from the shock), using the following dies:

Whimsy Ticket

Memory Box Creepy Web

Memory Box Pumpkin & Perky Pumpkin Face

Cheery Lynn Fall Pumpkins

LaLa Land Scary Tree

And I printed my sentiment on a stamped ticket image from The Whimsy Treasured Moments Tickets set. My CS is from Stampin' Up, and my DP is from the Doodlebug Design Haunted Manor collection.

So, I'm done. With my card and my post. (And possibly with the Cardinals.) Now do check out the other creations by the talented colorists on our DT. And please join us in this week's challenge, and, if you use purple instead of peach, I'll send you some 85% dark chocolate. Oh, wait, no, I won't. It's all gone. And just forget about me sending you my salted dark chocolate. It ain't happenin'.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Gary's wrist surgery went very well on Tuesday. The doll-face doctor repaired a tear, and Gary has had virtually no pain. He does, however, have a brace wrapped in a large bandage on his arm. He is able to use his fingers, which is good, as he can still flip the bird. (Not that he does that. Much.)

Jellypark Friends New Release/Pinktober Challenge

Hi, y'all! (That's from my years in Georgia, doncha know.) It's Friday and time for another release from Jellypark Friends. Claire designed the coolest Breast Cancer Awareness Flower! Love it! I did a CAS card with it, printing it on MICBC and coloring it with my Copics:

YG05, YG07, YG09, RV10, RV21, RV13

I added a Thinking of You sentiment, my Jellypark watermark, (which you can order here), and that's it! BTW, profits for both the new release and the watermark will go to charity.

I am going to add another post later, so I thought I would keep this one brief. As always, do check out the other creations by my talented teammates, including those for our newest challenge, "Pinktober", which I hope you will enter!

Friday Sketch Challenge #54

So here's a new one for you: I am now a member of the Friday Sketch Challenge DT. I know--it surprised me, too! But there you have it; and I am very happy to be part of this group!

This fortnight's challenge is sponsored by Stamp Fairy.  

They are offering one lucky winner a $10 Gift Certificate.

The sketch this fortnight looks a little like this:

And, of course, I modified the sketch a bit--I rotated it 90 degrees. But if you turn your head sideways, I think you can see the original sketch. Just don't hurt yourself.

I requested this cutie-pie image, Stamp Fairy Molly Winter 2-1, to color. I printed her on MICBC and used the following Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair: E11, E13, E15, E18

Sweater/Skirt/Headband: TTGY48, TTGY163

Boots/Scarf/Sled: G12, G16, G19

Sled Runner: T0, T1, T2

I added Wink of Stella Brush Clear to the sled runner and Star Dust Stickles to the ground. 

My DP is from the Crate Paper Sleigh Ride collection; it was paired with Stampin' Up CS. The mini ticket sentiment is from the Whimsy Holiday Mini Tickets set, and was die-cut with a Whimsy Mini Ticket die. The banner sentiment is from the SU Teeny Tiny Wishes set, and was die-cut using the LaLa Land Crafts Folding Banner die. I added a bit of Washi tape and a Me & My Big Ideas icon. My other die cuts were made using the following dies:

Spellbinders Grand Circles

Memory Box Snowflake Corner

Memory Box Country Landscape

Memory box Country Landscape

My Favorite Things Cloud Trio

And that wraps it up for my first card for the Friday Sketch Challenge DT. Do check out the other takes on this sketch by my talented teammates! And please join us for this challenge.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, wherever you are, and whatever you do. I will suffer more Fantasy Football losses if last night's results were any indication. I honestly have no idea why I persist in playing this year after year. It takes far too much time to figure out moves each week, and causes far too much stress and anguish. I think life is too short, don't you? If only I lived near the ocean, so I could go snorkeling every weekend instead. That sounds like a much better alternative. Perhaps I shall move. Perhaps not. More than likely not. But a girl old lady can dream, can't she?

The Outlawz Alcohol Markers Awareness Challenge

Hey, everybody, welcome to my little piece of blogdom! Hope you are having a fantastic Friday, and are ready for a new challenge with us at The Outlawz A.M. group.

(How's that for a better introduction to my blog today than the following: "Today marks my first post for the Alcohol Markers group at The Outlawz. I had so much trouble getting the spacing fairly consistent that you could easily call me exasperated right now. Arrrgh! However, in the vernacular, 'it is what it is'. So there.")

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we are asking for colorists to make an awareness project for anything that features a ribbon. I chose Breast Cancer Awareness and found a cute little beribboned bear at McMahon Five. I printed her on MICBC and colored her with Copics and Twin Touch Markers:

RV11, RV13, RV17, RV19, TTBR107, TTBR109

My DP is from the Bazzill Basics Vintage Marketplace collection; it is paired with Stampin' Up CS. My sentiment is from the Whimsy Everyday Mini Postage Sentiment set and was die-cut using the Whimsy Mini Postage die. Other die cuts were made with the following dies:

Cheery Lynn Polynesian Sails Oval Doily

Cheery Lynn Manon's Wedding Garland

Cheery Lynn Silver Stackers L-7 Oval

Cheery Horizon Oval Boutique

Whimsy Corner 

An awareness ribbon made with SU ribbon and a brad finishes my card. I have to mention that, once again, my dear darling husband does not like my creation. Hmph! Old poop! Of course, that's only two cards in the past six months or so that he hasn't cared for, so there is that. 

We went to our Cardinals' game last Sunday and they won! So happy about that! Not holding my breath for the next win, but so far the season is not a lost cause. And that's a good thing. 

I will be back in a bit with another post. I hope you stop by to check out the fab awareness creations made by my talented teamies! And then, grab a marker and play along this week! 

The Outlawz Alcohol Markers World Animal Day Challenge

OK, we have a fun challenge for you this week. You need to feature an animal on your creation. How easy is that? Of course, I had trouble deciding which cute animal to use from my collection. In the end I chose Tiddy Inks Dragon Friend, selecting the dragon by itself.  I printed this on MICBC and colored it with the following Copics:

V09, V12, V15, V17, YG91, YG93, YG95, N0, N2

I added a bit of Copic Spica Lavender to the claws and spots on the dragon.

My DP is from the SEI Couture collection, distressed with my Zutter, and paired with Stampin' Up CS. And believe it or not, (ya, sure ting), I made some die cuts! I used the following dies:

Cheery Lynn Chrysanthemum Strip

  Cheery Lynn Japanese Garden Lace Oval

  Cheery Lynn Manon's Wedding Garland

  Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Oval

 Whimsy Mini Postage Stamp  

My sentiment was stamped using a Whimsy Everyday Mini Postage Stamp sentiment. Embellishments: a Stampin' Up brad, tulle, ribbon, lace, and a brass leaf charm. That's it. For my card, anyway.

Now to my last meals during Arizona Restaurant Week. Last Friday my sister, Merrilyn, and I went to Bink's Midtown for lunch. It was selected as the Restaurant of the Year in the Phoenix Magazine. And I thought we needed to try their food. And am I ever glad we did. Holy moly, Rocky!

The restaurant is so bright and cheerful. The interior is white and cream and filled with beautiful photographs of fruits and vegetables. Really lifts your spirits. The service, by really good-looking young men, (hey, I can look), is impeccable. Items were served quickly and dirty plates were removed promptly. We had fresh silverware with each dish. And what dishes we had!

We started with the most scrumptious jicama salad: with chick peas, dried tomatoes, cucumber, sesame, herbs, feta, chili and yogurt. Oh my. And it was a healthy salad, too. Love that combination!

We also opted for the dates platter, with arugula, chevre, pecans and balsamic vinaigrette. This was so delicious--just wish there had been more of it!

For hot dishes we ordered a sweet onion tart, with a fabulous crust and oven-dried tomatoes, thyme, and ricotta filling. The onion was a slice about a half inch thick and so tender. Yum! 

We also had the summer squash gratin in a wonderful Parmesan sauce. Fabulous veggie dish! What a great way to get your vegetable portions for the day, huh?

And we split a strawberry shortcake dessert. Not your ordinary shortcake. Oh, no. This was deconstructed! The shortcake chunks, made out of old-fashioned shortcake biscuits, were sprinkled over macerated strawberries, and the whipped topping was actually sitting next to them. The topping had white chocolate in it. Can you say "awesome"? Oh, my, what a meal! So glad we went!

Now, I told you last week that we were to go to Vincent's on Camelback in Phoenix for dinner, which would have made me very happy. What I didn't tell you was that we were wait-listed for dinner at Binkley's in Cave Creek. We were second on the list, but made reservations at Vincent's just in case we couldn't get into Binkley's. 

Lo and behold, right after lunch was finished at Bink's Midtown, (another Kevin Binkley restaurant), Gary called to say that we could go to Binkley's for dinner, as there had been two cancellations for that evening. I laughed, because I was not expecting to go to both the midtown location and the flagship restaurant on the same day. How lucky was that? 

We had dinner with friends from our dinner club that night. They were all in favor of trying Binkley's, too! Who wouldn't be for the screaming deal of $40/pp for three courses? (Binkley's is a very expensive restaurant, which is one reason we have never been there. Another reason is that the restaurant is on the far north side of the Valley, and we are on the far south side. Miles, and miles, and miles apart! BTW, it was very dark driving up there. No lights at the north end of the desert, doncha know.) We opted for the wine pairings, (another $30), for the meal--there were four wonderful wines, which paired beautifully with the food we had. 

Actually three courses is a bit misleading. Because Binkley's doesn't just give you three dishes. Oh, no, not at all. You get to choose bread from an assortment, and get served as many times as you would like. And the brioche and whole wheat with fruit were fantastic. I had two helpings of each--little piggie that I am.

The other items were four Amuse Bouche, or as RK called them, "Amusing Bush". Take that however you like, but it did make all of us LOL. And I promised him that I would put that in my blog post. So there. (I did not photograph them--the Amuse Bouche, not the Amusing Bush--and kicked myself in the butt for that. Which wasn't easy to do, as I am not a pretzel.)

The first Amuse Bouche, (no, Spell-Checker, not douche!), was delivered in four parts: a tiny glass of yummy butternut squash soup, a large spoon of flash-frozen Greek salad--really tasty, but weird texture, a piece of fried okra in an aerated Ranch sauce (totally delicious), and a compressed miniature Muffaletta, (so, so good and gone in one bite).

Our first course was a crazy Chilled Plum Consomme. It was poured over a dish containing curry sweet shrimp, kiwi, avocado, radish, pomegranate, cilantro, and a bit of balsamic. OMG! Sweet and savory, and perfect for leading into the next course.

But first, an Amuse Bouche: a ginger-lime soda, which refreshed and cleansed our palates. 'Cuz you know we were all expecting that. Seriously. No, not really. JK.

Our second course, Braised Beef Short Rib Tips, with shitake mushroom, mire poix, fingerling potato, and wasabi, was indescribably delicious. (Which is really odd, as I don't care for short ribs. Kind of like those items at Kai that were so wonderful, but normally I wouldn't eat them. And Gary and I decided that Binkley's gives Kai a run for their money!)

And now for another Amuse Bouche: a lemon glazed donut hole. Wow. Loved it. The lemon flavoring was just perfect!

And, for our third course, dessert, we were given a Caramel Boston Creme Pie Parfait. Yeah, I died and went to heaven. It was white cake, caramel custard, and topped with lots of little dark chocolate bits. Who has the patience to make all these courses? I realize none of them were large, but you were able to comfortably eat each one without feeling stuffed. And, yes, we did get full. 

We were also served a fabulous basil/hibiscus tea. One of the best cups of tea I have ever had--which is saying something, as I drink lots of varieties of tea. They made it in the strangest contraption, and RK and I both took photos of the tea brewing. Doesn't this shot make RK look like an unknown food critic?

That should have been the end of the meal. But wait, there's more: yes, one more Amuse Bouche. It was a tiny macaroon filled with mint creme. Perfection!

We ate outside on the patio. The weather was a little cool in the desert that evening, but there were shades that sheltered us from the breeze, so it was really lovely out there. A fitting end to Restaurant Week. Doncha wish you ate like me? I would love to go back to Binkley's someday.

Big giggle here: I did go back to Bink's Midtown already. In fact, we went the very next day before our last Diamondbacks' game. We ordered that fabulous jicama salad, which Gary also loved. We also had a couple of new items: scrumptious mussels in a curry coconut broth, accompanied by scallion focaccia. Some of the best mussels we have ever eaten! Wow! We also had the fried red potatoes, with herbs, garlic, poached egg, brava sauce, and creme fraiche. Very, very good, but my least favorite dish of all I have tried there--which goes to show you that their food is superb! And then Gary wouldn't share a strawberry shortcake, so I ordered the cake donut holes with Mexican chocolate mousse, thinking it would be a smaller dessert. Not. They were huge pieces and about six of them. Really good, but the shortcake is better. I ended up taking half of my dessert, sans mousse, home with me. 

So Gary claims I am now "Binked out". Hey, I could go back anytime. Anyone want to take me? Pretty please, with sugar on it? Oh, be that way, then. Pfffffft!

Be sure to check out the wonderful creations by Carla, Dawn, Linda, Jen, and Tress this week! And then join us, won't you? Have a really great weekend!

Jellypark Friends Anything Goes Challenge

Oooh, a Jellypark Friends AG challenge this fortnight! Should be lots of wonderful entries! For my part, I picked a cute Christmas image to use--yay, another Christmas card made! (I love it when that happens.) My image is Christmas Window Scene.

I printed this on MICBC, and colored it with Copics:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20 (thank you, Alyce)

Hair: E15, E18, YR21

Cat: E31, E34, E35, E37

Tree/Shirt: G82, G85

Frame: R24, R46, R59

Curtains: E31, E33

Snow: C0, C1

I added some Pearl Pen and Wink of Stella Brush Clear to the snow on the scene, as well as a bit of Wink of Stella Brush Gold to the stars.

I chose Bazzill Basics Believe DP and paired it with Stampin' Up CS. A snowflake charm was added to my other embellishments: burlap ribbon, cheesecloth, and several die cuts made with:

Poppystamps Sitting Cat

Cheery Lynn Snowflakes #3 and #6

Cheery Lynn Winter Neighborhood Border

LaLa Land Crafts Christmas Tree

And last, but not least, is my sentiment, chosen from the Whimsy Holiday Ticket Sentiments and cut with the Whimsy Ticket die.

Do stop by and check out the variety of fun AG creations by my talented teamies! And please be sure to join our challenge. 

I will be back with another card shortly. And will give you the highlights of our last Arizona Restaurant Week dinner. (I know you have been chomping at the bit for this. Yeah, right.)

Jellypark DT Call

FYI, Jellypark Friends is having a DT call. This is a fun group, led by a wonderful artist, Claire Keay, and a super DT administrator, Mel Harding! This is a great DT for anyone who loves to color darling images and keep in touch with caring people.