The Outlawz Friday Coloring "Anything Goes/Christmas Twist" Challenge

Another Friday, and we are on to a new challenge. This is our monthly AG challenge, with the optional Christmas twist--I take advantage of that almost every month, because I am still woefully short of Christmas cards for this year. Anyway, you can color any image you like, with any coloring medium you wish to use. We certainly hope you play along, whether you go for the twist or not. And our sponsor this month is Karleigh Sue Digis, home to some really sweet images. Our randomly-selected winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to go shopping at Karleigh Sue. Good luck to all of our participants.

I had a much better week this week, for sure. Donovan is back to his normal self. Which means he barks because he is hungry, he barks while you are fixing his food, he barks at the microwave buzzer, he barks at the washing machine buzzer, he barks at the dryer buzzer, he barks at the doorbell, he barks when Gary comes home from anywhere, he barks when he wants to go outside, he barks and barks and barks. Thank god! I know his barking can be annoying, but it is so good to have him feeling good enough to bark again. Even Gary has been more patient about Don's barking this week. Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that Gary is on heavy-duty medication, pain relievers and muscle relaxers. He has somethin'-somethin' going on right now. Either he hurt his back doing all the yard demolition for the pool preparation, or he has another kidney stone, which is what the doctor suspects. But, at this point we are not sure, as he has not had a CT scan, which is scheduled for this afternoon. Yes, if it isn't one thing, it is another...

Anyway, good news on the pool front. The shotcrete was done last Friday, and on Monday the decking crew was here to start our travertine deck. They finished it on Tuesday, and it looks mahvelous, Dahlings! They also used our old surplus pavers to build a grill pad at the side of the house. Now the grill will be out of the way, and no longer choking us to death with smoke when Gary cooks on it! And the crew also slanted our paver sidewalk to go up to the new level of the paved patio. So no tripping over different levels! Kewl. The shotcrete is still drying out, but we should see the interior get done this next week, and then the pool will get filled. Can hardly wait to see that! And, yes, we are still taking photos of the various stages. They should fill an entire blog post at some point in the near future.

We saw quite the exciting, but nerve-wracking Cardinals football game last Sunday. I got so nervous in the fourth quarter, I left my seat and went down to the mezzanine to pace and watch the game on the big screen. (I was totally screamed out from the first three quarters.) We won with a defensive play on the last second of the game, so we certainly got our money's worth. And the Philadelphia Eagles fans showed up in rather large numbers. They were pretty loud, too, but not as loud as we were. Good thing I wear those ear plugs. Or I might lose my hearing like Gary seems to be doing. (Of course, it could be selective-hearing on his part, if you get my drift.)

This week we play at Dallas. I will pull my usual "tape-and-watch-if-we-win", I'm sure. Wow, am I a coward, or what? Give me a lion's suit, and I could easily be in the Wizard of Oz. Here's hoping we can do what Washington did to Dallas this past Monday night!

I will have a blog post this coming Monday, which is unusual for me. But you will see why. That's all I'm sayin' at this point. Stay tuned...

Okey dokey. On to my card for the week. I chose the Sweet Pea image, "Yule", by Norma J. Burnell. I printed this beautiful image on X-Press It BC, and colored it with my Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

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

Hair: E21, E25, E29

Bunny: E21, E25, E29, BG70, BG72, BG75

Partridge: E21, E25, E29, BG70, BG72, BG75, TTY44, TTY41, B32, B34, B37

Pears: TTY44, TTY41

Flower/Berries/Wings: R05, R08, R59, B32, B34, B37, BG70, BG72, BG75, TTY44, TTY41

Dress: B32, B34, B37, TTY44, TTY41

Leaves: G94, G99

Trim/Eyes: B34, B37

Tats: B32, B34, B37, TTY44, TTY41, BG70, BG72, BG75

My DP is from the Bo Bunny Elf Magic collection, and it was paired with Stampin' Up CS. I also used MFT Pennant dies, and that just about does it for this CAS card. I spent so much time coloring the image that I needed to keep the design simple--like my mind. And you know what they say--simple minds are easily amused. That's why I laugh so much...

Please play along with us this week! Check out the inspiration created by my talented teammates: Carla, Kathi, and Laine, and our also-talented GDT for the month, Joan LaBelle! (And I think Dawn will be back from hiatus next month.)

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Outlawz Friday Coloring Make a Scene Challenge

Yup, another week, another Friday, another challenge. Brought to you by our sponsor this month, Karleigh Sue Digis. And our randomly-selected participant will win a $10 GC to this fun, unique shop. I hope our winner enjoys shopping for such cute images!

Where to start with an update on the Mulls...well, first of all, I had to get rid of the graham cracker crumbs Gary left on the keyboard. Can't stand typing in grit...

OK, so we were supposed to be in Cancun this week for a mini-vacation. But we are not. For various reasons: like there are thunderstorms all week down there. Didn't think that would be especially fun to deal with. I mean, I don't want to try snorkeling in a thunderstorm--or even walking on the beach, for that matter. Then there is the work on the pool. (Which we didn't want to be gone during--and we had originally figured they couldn't start until after we got back--wrong. There has been so much done--enough that we needed to be here for decisions.) But, and here's the kicker reason, and it kicked me right in my gut: Donovan got sick. As in so, so sick with vomiting and diarrhea. Oh, joy, huh?

It started last Friday night. Puking all night long. He and I finally laid down about 4:30 a.m. for a couple of hours. And then I took him in to our vet. Where they gave him some sub-cutaneous fluids, anti-nausea meds, and did a barium study to see if there was blockage. They also did prelim blood tests, which showed an elevated level of lipase from his pancreas. The barium was sluggish to move through him, but it did, finally, which should indicate that there is no blockage problem, but that he has pancreatitis. Which causes vomiting and diarrhea. And you just have to wait the attack out. With some meds to sooth his digestive tract, and to fight a possible bacterial infection.

He took a turn for the worse on Monday night, so we went to the ER vet. And they also gave him a shot for nausea and took blood for more definitive testing. The testing came back with slightly elevated levels indicating pancreatitis, but no other problems. Thank goodness! Of course, he had to have another bad night Tuesday--you know, just to keep me on my toes. And I was ready to take him in to the vet again for another anti-nausea shot, but he rallied Wednesday morning. Was hungry for some yogurt. And then we cooked ground turkey and rice and he ate that with no problems! Ate fine all during the day. No nausea, no icky pooping. YAY!!!!

Awakened Thursday with him acting so completely like himself, right down to the chase-and-spin game he likes to play on our bed in the morning. He hadn't done that for over a week. I am soooo relieved. His weight feels sooooo much better, too! Oh, the power of prayer...

Here's how fast they are moving on our pool. They laid it out last Thursday and yesterday they filled it with shotcrete. My head is spinning. Literally. I have to grab it to keep it from flying off my body. I have never heard of pool construction moving so quickly. Gary, bless him, has been taking photos of all the phases, so I'll show you those on a future post.

FYI, there has been a party going on this week at The Outlawz. And I have not been participating, sadly. I thought I was going to be gone, and instead have been too busy/frazzled to do much of anything. Not even comment on blogs. So, if you haven't received any comments from me this week, rest assured that if you regularly comment here, I will be back to reciprocate. ASAP, I promise.

My card this week is fairly simple. Just a cute image, Jellypark Skating Polar Bears, (printed on X-Press It BC and colored with Copics), and some die cuts. The dies used were Cheery Lynn Merry Christmas, Cheery Lynn Nautical Wheeler Doily, and LaLa Land Crafts Christmas Tree.

Bears: C00, C0, C2, C3

Skates: C1, C3, C5

Scarves/Trees: G21, G24, G28

Sky/Ice/Snow: BG0000, BG000, BG01, BV0000

Oh, yeah, and my cardstock is from Stampin' Up.

Do stop by and check out all the wonderful creations by my teammates: Carla, Kathi, Laine, and our guest designer this month, Joan LaBelle. (Dawn is on a bit of a break.) And then color up an image, using any coloring medium, and be sure to include a scene in your creation this week! Am looking forward to you playing along with us!

We are headed to the Cardinals game on Sunday if all continues to go well with Donovan. It will be good for me to get some screaming in after this week, don't you think?

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Outlawz Friday Color/Photo Inspiration Challenge

Whew! Got through another week, huh? So happy this week! Our pool is supposed to be dug today, which is a miracle almost. Well, not quite, but, considering we just signed the contract last Friday, it is almost a miracle--you have to go through the permit arrangements before the pool can be started. I understand our city makes it is easy to get permits, which is really cool for us. Our yard was pretty well cleared out on Wednesday. They cut down our 35-foot tree, and removed it, the stump, and all the shrubbery in the yard. Gary had gotten all the pavers pulled up on Monday, so it looks like a bit of a wasteland out there now. However, I expect it will look lovely in a few weeks!

And, while signing all the paperwork for the pool, I found out that my driver's license expired on my 65th birthday in July. Well, the nerve! I haven't needed to get a new one for four years, so really just forgot about renewing mine. (No jokes about my senior moments here, OK? I have already heard that from Gary, though he should talk.) Anyway, I couldn't go on Monday, as it was a holiday. So Gary drove me on Tuesday, (yes, now that I knew I had no license, I didn't want to drive!), and it took two hours!!! Oh, for goodness sake. It seemed that everyone in Gilbert was getting something done at the DMV that day.

Oh, if you run into a short, dark-haired, middle-aged lady at the DMV desk in the office off of Greenfield, be afraid. Be very afraid. She has a rather short fuse. She gave me my vision test, and I couldn't see the blinking lights in my peripheral vision. She kept trying the test, I kept saying I couldn't see the lights, and she lost her temper with me. She came around the desk and said since she could certainly see the lights, I should be able to. And I had no answer for her, just kept apologizing. So, after a bit of back-and-forth, she finally tried me at a different machine. Lo and behold, I could see the flippin', blinking lights. So I finally passed the vision test. I then went to get my photo taken, (which shows me looking slightly dazed--I wonder why), and told the photographer about my experience. She took one look at my glasses and said that they were the reason I couldn't see the lights at the first machine. Apparently, my bows are too wide for that particular machine. She says she always has people take their glasses off for the peripheral test if they are wearing glasses with wide bows. Oh, for Pete's sake. That's all it was? Much ado about nothing. Sigh...

Hey, did we ever see a fabulous game on Sunday! Yes, that does mean our football team won. Snicker. It was close, too close for comfort, but we are now 4-1, and at the top of our division. Which happens to be the toughest in the NFL. So there is that! This week's game is in Oakland. And we will be watching on TV. If I can stand to. I find it easier to tape the televised games and watch if we win. It's too stressful otherwise. Gary thinks I am nuts for not being able to watch the out-of-town games live. But I have figured out why: it's because I can't do anything to help our team win--like making noise when the opponent has the ball. And that really does help--the team and me. (I burn off stress that way.)

Alrighty, I guess it's time to tell you about my card this week. I used my Karleigh Sue image, Country Pumpkin, printed her on X-Press It BC, and colored her with my Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

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

Hair: E11, E13, E15, E18

Blouse/Skirt: YG61, YG63, G99, R12, R14, R17, YR38

Hat/Boots: E19, E18, TTBR98

Pumpkins: YR21, Y35, Y38, YR27, YG61, YG63, G99

My DP is from the Bo Bunny Autumn Song collection. It was Zutterized along with the image, and then paired with Stampin' Up and DCWV CS. I added a bit of Washi tape, some Prima Tiny Junkyard Findings, and die cuts made with Cheery Lynn Fall Pumpkins and Hello dies. And, baby, that's all she wrote. The end...

Well, not quite the end. I have to mention that we have wonderful inspiration created by my teammates: Carla, Kathi, and Laine, and our guest designer, Joan LaBelle. (Dawn is on a bit of a break.) Do check them out and then color up an image with any coloring medium you like for your creation, and play along with us, OK? Really looking forward to what you create!

Have a wonderful weekend! 

The End. (For real.)

The Outlawz Friday Coloring "Celebrate World Postage Day" Challenge - Anniversary Card for Jon/Angela

Yes, it is once again time for a new challenge. And why? Because it is Friday again. Every seven days. Funny how that works, huh? And this week we are asking you to come up with postage-related creations: postage stamps, mailboxes, make a postcard, and so on. Just be sure to color an image on your project--with any medium you wish. Easy peasy, right?

Our sponsor this month is Karleigh Sue. Our randomly-selected participant will win a $10 GC to the shop. And whoever you are, you will have fun shopping at Karleigh Sue! I will be using my darling image next week.

Before I get to the nitty-gritty, I must mention that I finally finished the Outlander series. Thank goodness! I was so disoriented traveling back and forth through time for weeks on end. It took almost forever to read all eight books. Well, not quite, but it took a lonnnnng time, and I am a fast reader. (About the only thing I can do fast at my age.)  I can see why the author takes so long to write each book. Glad I read them on my tablet--they would have been so heavy to hold otherwise! I will not spoil anything for you. But I really, truly, enjoyed each book. 

I am actually writing this in advance, because I am going to be busy on Thursday evening. Even though you may see this Friday morning. But it is really Wednesday afternoon as I type this up. Have I confused you sufficiently? Oh, good. I don't want to feel so all alone...

Anyway, because of the time I am writing this, I don't know what our final pool bid is. It may be here by the time you read this, or it may not. But I will update you next week. One good piece of news--we have a guy coming out next week to take down our dirty acacia tree and remove our shrubbery. The plants are in the way of the pool, and the tree needs to go bye-bye. It drops way too many pods that we don't want in a pool. We will be planting a much cleaner tree--we think a mastic at this point. And then we will put in the obligatory palms. We had them around our last pool, and I did enjoy the tropical look. (And, for some reason, Gary has to have palm trees around his pools.)  

We have a Cardinals football game this Sunday. They lost last week in Denver, which I actually expected. (That's why I didn't want to travel up there for that game.) That is not such a terrible thing, but we had way too many players injured in Denver. That. is. not. good. Am really concerned about effect all the injuries will have on the team going forward. Guess we shall see, hey? (If you should happen to see the Broncos' Julius Thomas anywhere, do me a favor and boo him a bit, won't you? He made such an uncalled-for, dirty hit on one of our best players. Deliberately hurt him. Wrong, wrong, wrong thing to do, imho.)

Okay, now that we've got all the preliminaries out of the way, I can get down to brass tacks. But not thumb tacks. They hurt. Especially when you sit on them. Like I did in fourth grade, when some little wretch set one on the seat of my desk. Ouch...

This week I needed to make an anniversary card for Jon and Angela. Their 16th is on Friday. And I chose to make a very CAS card for them this year. I used two Tiddly Inks images: Cave and Cave Couple, from the Cave Folks set. I have wanted to use this cute set for quite a while. 

My images were printed on X-Press It BC and colored with my Copics:

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

Hair: Y21, YR23, E15, E18

His clothing: E34, E37, E39

Her clothing: E02, E08, E09

Club: E34, E37

Jewelry: E02, E09

Cave/Ground: W0, W1, W2, W4, W6

My finishing touch was adding a Whimsy mini postage stamp sentiment, using a Whimsy mini postage stamp die. My cardstock came from Stampin' Up. And that really does it. 

Do check out the fabulous creations by my talented teammates: Carla, Kathi, Laine, and our guest designer, Joan LaBelle. (Dawn is on a bit of a break right now.) And then please play along with us--we are looking forward to seeing what you come up with this week!

Have a great weekend!

The Outlawz Friday Coloring Alice in Wonderland Challenge

Now it's Friday. I bet that confused you when I posted on a Wednesday, huh? (It confused me, too, but don't tell anybody, OK?) Anyway, it's time for a new challenge at The Outlawz, in honor of Mad Hatter Day, (October 6th). I seem to be doing a lot of Alice-related things lately. Fun, though. I love all the different digis I have that work for that story-line.

This month we are sponsored by Karleigh Sue digis. The prize is a $10 GC, and will be awarded to a randomly-selected participant. So get your entries in this month, so you can shop for her darling digis! All you have to do is color an image on your project with any coloring medium you wish! Really looking forward to seeing what you come up with each week!

I will be using my Karleigh Sue image later this month. Today I have colored another Make It Crafty image, called Alice and Caterpillar. I printed this image on X-Press It BC and colored it with my Copics and Twin Touch Brush markers:

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

Hair: Y21, YR23, E15, E18

Stockings/Dress: BG10, BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18

Trim/Apron: YG0000, TTGY163, TTGY48

Lace: W0, W1

Pipe/Cup/Shoes: R000, R00, R12

Chair: R000, R00, R12, R01, R02

Smoke: BG10, BG11

Caterpillar: YG0000, TTGY163, TTGY48, BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18

I searched the internet for something that the caterpillar had said to Alice. But you know how the internet is. So it may be true or not. I didn't check Snopes. Hardeharhar. Oh, and I also added a silly frog button, just because he matched the greens I used in coloring. And that's it.

BTW, I thought I was done with the Outlander series after book seven. My sister, Merrilyn, informed me that there was a book eight out. Pooh. Well, you know I had to buy that book too, right? And it was expensive, relatively speaking, for an ebook, since it was just released in June. Sigh...and please don't mention this to Gary, if you happen to see him in the next, say, two years or so, 'K? Thanks, Peeps. I appreciate that. I am devouring this one so that I can at last be done with time traveling, which is so exhausting, right?

Pool update: we have narrowed the bids down to two pool companies. Will be deciding which one within the next week or so. Gary has driven the salesmen crazy, I have no doubt, with all his questions. Egads, he has driven me crazy, too. I know just how those guys feel. (Of course, they haven't had to put up with him for 44 years, either. I know, I know. I am a saint.) Pfffffffffffffffffft. (We all know Gary is really the saint for putting up with me day in and day out for over 16,000 days. But don't mention that to him, either, please. He doesn't need to know he is a martyr, too.)

Do check out the fabulous creations by my talented teammates: Carla, Kathi, and Laine! We also welcome our guest designer for the month, Joan LaBelle! She has a great creation this week as well! And then be sure to play along with us, OK?

And have a wonderful weekend! (Yay, the Cards play on Sunday this week! Boo, they play in Denver, so we have to watch on TV.)

SCACD Digi Day and Ed's Birthday Card

No, it is not Friday! I am actually posting on a Wednesday! And there is a very good reason for it:

Today the sweet Friends of SCACD group and the SCACD DT are showcasing Fall images, even some with a twist.

If you want to see all the peeps presenting their inspirations today, not to mention a shot at some yummy blog candy, and Susana's offering a sweet FREE digi image thru 10-5, head to the SCACD Store Blog for details: http://heartsandhugz.blogspot.com/ 

Susana graciously gave me SCACD The Hatter, by Carmen Medlin, to work with this week. I love this image. Fun, quirky, and crazy to color. Which I did, with my Copics, after printing it on X-Press It BC:

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

Hair: T2, T4, T6

Hat: T0, T1, T4, T6, T8, T10, E53, E55, E57, BG72, BG75, BG78

Goggles: E53, E55, E57, BG72, BG75, BG78

Jacket: BG72, BG75, BG78

Shirt collar/Ascot: T0, T1, T2

I must confess that I went out of my mind with my E50's. They are too gunky to work with anymore, even after cleaning and refilling. So I ordered new ones online, and altered the coloring a bit--I substituted other colors for areas that I had planned to make golden brown. Oh well...stuff happens, right? 

I added a bit of Pearl Pen to the image after Zutterizing it. I also Zutterized my DP, from the Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells collection. I paired that with Stampin' Up CS, which I also used to make several die cuts from the following dies:

LaLa Land Crafts Steampunk Corner

LaLa Land Crafts Wings

Cheery Lynn Gears

Cheery Lynn Steampunk Pocket Watch

Whimsy Ticket

My sentiment is from the Whimsy Ticket Notes set. And I believe that about does it. I chose this image for a good friend of ours, Ed, whose birthday is on the 17th. Wild that I have it done so far ahead of time, hey? 

Anyway, I do hope you check out all the fabulous creations by the SCACD Friends and DT! And be sure to look at the new digi images on the website. There are so many fun ones to choose from!

Here's hoping you have a wonderful Wednesday and start to the new month!