Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes

And here we are beginning another week of Team A for TTCRD. BTW, have you gotten your subscription yet? If not, you might want to consider doing so--it is really a great magazine; the holiday issue is currently out--check out the video to the right. And another edition is being prepared while I type, so look for that soon, along with new free digis!

This week we are sponsored by Squigglefly, who is providing 3 images, and by Oozak, who is providing a $10 gift card.

Can you believe I am posting again already? I can't, and neither can my brain, fingers, or butt--which are all sore from sitting at the computer too much! Oh, and of course, from creating cards. I desperately need to read a book again--it's been a couple of months now since I have read anything, and I am really going through withdrawal. I must carve out some time for reading soon.

Gary ate at an Iranian restaurant in Cambridge that he loved. He said they made the best hummus he had ever eaten. I had another frozen Amy's. Sigh....hey, any of you out there want to come over and cook for me? (I don't cook, as I think some of you know. Yes, yes, I know--I'm a real catch, aren't I?)

Oh, and I thought I should mention that I gave myself a treat yesterday--popcorn, which I very seldom have at home. I decided to melt some margarine for it. And while the microwave was busy zapping my margarine, I was turned away watching the popper. I was turned away until I heard the loud bang coming from the microwave. Yeah, I zapped the margarine too long. It not only melted, it exploded all over my microwave. No, I didn't cry, and I didn't even swear. I just swung into action to mop up the mess. Quite proud of myself for my restraint. And also confused--where the heck did that come from?

But, as you can see, I need someone here to make my meals. I can't even make popcorn! Gary, where are you? Oh yeah, in England. Eating hummus. Pfffffft!

Well, I have to get back to another card in-process, so I will get on with the deets for this one. Surprise, surprise, I made another Christmas card! Will wonders never cease! I chose Squigglefly Old Fashioned Winter Girl by Inger Harding for my image, which I printed on Cryogen CS. I also printed my Create with TLC sentiment on Cryogen CS. My DP is from the Echo Park Christmas This & That collection, and I paired it with Stampin' Up CS. I distressed my DP with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All and sponged it with SU ink. In fact, I sponged just about everything, except my dog, with SU ink.

My image was colored with Copics: E000, E00, E02, E07, E11, E25, E31, E40, E41, E42, E43, E50, G40, G82, G85, W00, W1. I then used Copic Spica on the skate blades, the holly berries, and her lips. I accented the image with a white gel pen, and added Liquid Applique to the hat and jacket trim. That was the first time I tried this product, and I think I need practice. But I do like the raised effect you get with it.

I cut out my image and framed it with Spellbinders Labels 4 dies. I used Whimsy's Holly & Berries die, as well as Cheery Lynn's Poinsettia 2 die for embellishments. I added lace and red netting from my stash and SU ribbon to finish my card.

Looking forward to your creations this next week. Have fun making them!

That's it. That's all she wrote. The end.

Lady Anne's Anything Goes Challenge

I do apologize for posting a second time today. I know it can be somewhat trying to read my blog once a day, much less twice! Please bear with me; I will try to make this as painless as possible. Our new challenge is being sponsored by:

The winner will receive four free digital images of her/his choice! This challenge will run from November 12th through December 10th. As always, it is anything goes, which sets you free to design whatever your heart desires, although now there is a limit to four entries. As I have previously mentioned, I am in dire need of Christmas cards. (Why I don't start them earlier in the year, I wish I knew. I think it is because Procrastination is my middle name.) Anyway, here's another holiday card from me.

We were able to choose a Sassy Studio Designs image, and I picked Victorian Holiday Sassy, as she looked like a great image for a Christmas card. I printed her on Cryogen CS.  I decided to use Sweet Sketch Wednesday Sketch 179-109 for the design of my card, and then created a scene on Stampin' Up CS with my brayer & some inks, (SU and Distress), for the central portion of the design. I wanted the sky to be dark, so that I could use my new Memory Box Star of Wonder dies with it. Oddly enough, the only other die I used was a Nestabilities Classic Square for my Create with TLC sentiment, which was printed on Bazzill Kraft CS. The body of the card is also Bazzill Kraft CS, and my DP is from the Glitz Joyeux Noel collection. I distressed my DP with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All, and then inked the edges with Distress Antique Linen. 

My image was accented with Copic Spica pens on her earring and lips, and  Glossy Accents on her eyes, (before I foolishly cut the bottle tip too short, which I did because I broke off a toothpick inside it, while trying to unplug it, sigh...). I used up almost all of my bottle of Stardust Stickles on the stars, which left me with barely enough to do the card on my previous post. (I did the posts in reverse order of actually making the cards. Just to confuse us both. Keeps us on our toes, don't you think?) Let's see, what else do I need to tell you? Oh, yeah, I accented the image with a bit of white gel pen after coloring with Copics: BG70, BG72, R20, R21, E000, E00, E11, E40, E41, E42, E43, E44, E47, E49, E51, E53, E55. And I finished the card by wrapping it with a bit of twine from my stash.

I hope this wasn't too painful for you. I must get on with my next card before I get back to commenting on your blogs. I do so enjoy visiting them to see what you have created. And I very much love all the wonderful comments that you leave on my blog--it does my heart good to read each of them--thank you all!

Here's hoping you will add something to our new challenge! I am looking forward to it!

The Outlawz Greeting Card Challenge- Craft Your Stash and Trash

Hey there, this month's Greeting Card challenges are sponsored by:

                            Eureka Stamps--Providing 5 Free Digital Images

Stamp-N-Doodle--Providing 3 Free Digital Images

Squigglefly--Providing 3 Free Digital Images

And I have chosen another Christmas image--GASP! Yes, I am doing a lot of Christmas images right now, why do you ask, Grasshopper? I need to make many more cards for this holiday and am running out of time. I do feel like I'm in Wonderland--"I'm late, I'm late for a very important date"!

I  heard from Gary this morning. He spent the day walking around downtown Cambridge, and eating. Yes, eating. He had a Cornish pasty, which he said was very much like the ones we get here in the Valley of the Sun. Yes, for you Brits, we do have Cornish pasties here--and they are delish! (Apparently, the chef moved here from the UK and missed the food from home. So he opened up his own restaurant in Tempe, making many different pasties. Oh, and a scrumptious pudding for dessert. And he was so successful that he opened up a second location in Mesa. But I digress.) Gary said that for dinner he ate at an Indian restaurant; he went to England with another program manager from Phoenix, who is originally from India. Hence, the Indian food. But that's a story for another time. Suffice it to say, Gary was full of good food when he called me, and I am jealous, because I am eating frozen Amy's....

I was able to complete my card for my Tuesday DT on time--hooray! Which you will see tomorrow, although I am writing this on Sunday, which means that you will see it two days from now. Confused yet? I am. I am also hungry since it is dinner time on Sunday, and I have just been talking about food. Well, I suppose I could always drive over to our new McDonald's and get something to eat. Unfortunately, even though our Mickey D's is so new that they opened just this week, they still serve the same crappy food as every other McDonald's. Besides, I am in my jammies--hey, nobody saw me today, and I have worked since I got out of bed. So don't judge me too harshly, OK? (See what happens to me when Gary leaves me alone?)

So, before I go heat up my frozen Amy's entree, I will give you the scoop on my card for today--which is now Sunday, but you are reading this on Monday. So glad I straightened all of that out for you!

My Christmas image today is Stamp-N-Doodle Carollers. And before my fellow Americans give me a bad time about the spelling, please understand that is how the digi is spelled. I assume, (which I should not do, because I make an "ass" of "u" and "me"), that this is a British spelling of the word. Which, since English was their language before it was ours, means that we spell the word incorrectly here in the States. Right? Kind of like the word colour. It looks wrong to me, but my word color looks wrong to the Brits. And they had the word first, so there!

OK, so I chose DP from the Teresa Collins Christmas Cottage collection. I paired that with Stampin' Up CS. I printed my image on Cryogen CS. I chose my sentiment from Create with TLC, printed it on Cryogen CS, and cut it out with a Spellbinders Labels 20 die.  I used a Cheery Lynn Colonial Lamp Post die also. I have a new die, SCACD Alice's Clock Statement Corner, which I used for two corners of my card. The other corner dies that I used, from the Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco B collection, were from my just-about-to-trash stash. I seem to cut out way too many pieces and then have a problem storing all of them. So I often just toss them out--I know, I know, baaaad Penny. Anyway, my other crafting-my-trash items were the two finishes that I used--I am tossing both of them out. The Glossy Accents is getting trashed because I cut the tip waaaay too short. When I use it, the stuff goes all over everything! I did manage to carefully add it to the lamp, the little girl's boots, and the eyes & glasses of each character. The other bottle I am tossing is one of Stardust Stickles, just because the bottle just ran empty--I did manage to squeeze the last bit on the trim of the red hat.

I accented the image with a white gel pen after I colored it with the following Copics: YR0000, YR000, Y000, Y00, E000, E00, E08, E09, E11, E19, E30, E33, E35, E37, E42, E43, E44, E47, E49, G40, G94, G99, W0, W2, W3, BG90, BG93.

I am entering this card into the following:

CMC All About Kids Challenge
Oozak Winter Vibes Challenge
Papertake Weekly Anything Goes
Penny's Paper-Crafty Lots of Layers Challenge

That does it for this edition. I am looking forward to your creations from your stash-and-trash collection!

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge "For the Love of Tilda!"

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…

“For the Love of TILDA!”

For this weeks challenge you will create a card or project using at least one of the many famous Tilda stamps from Magnolia!  We hope to see all our participants getting creative with the endless possibilities this week!    

You will have from now until midnight (EST) November 17^th, 2012 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:

WHIMSY STAMPS

PRIZE:  $15 Gift Certificate!

AND

BUNNY ZOE’S CRAFTS

PRIZE:  It’s a SURPRISE!

Well, it's been a few days since my last post. And many momentous things have happened, especially on a national level. On a personal level, I have been madly crafting for my DT's, as they all seem to be due at once. What the heck did I do that to myself for? Plainly poor planning on Penny's part, don't you think? I am limping in to the finish line as I write this. I am desperately hoping that I get all the cards done on time, but I am not going to hold my breath. Nor should you. It's bad for your health.

I am alone right now. My husband has left me. But, before you start feeling too sorry for me, I must tell you that he went to England, (Cambridge to be exact), on business. He is taking some sort of week-long training class at his company over there and left on Friday to do so. He said he wanted to get there early so he could get over his jet-lag before concentrating on a class. I can well understand. When you get to be our age, it's all you can do to focus when you are well-rested. When you are tired, all bets are off!

Actually, I lied when I said I was alone. No, the pool boy is not here. We no longer have a pool, so I didn't see the need to keep him on staff. He was getting a little long in the tooth for my tastes anyway.

I lied, because I do have someone here. You know, that ding-dong dog of mine, Donovan. He keeps me company, if you can call it that. I think he must be getting over-the-hill himself, with all the running-to-the-door-to-let him-out-and-running-back-to-the-door-to-let-him-in that he makes me do. Possibly his memory is poor or his bladder is now weak. I couldn't say. I can say that he is driving me CRAZY. So sorry, but I just had to shout. I feel so much better now.

I must get on with things, since I am still trying to meet a deadline with another DT. So, here's the scoop on today's card. I wanted to make another Christmas card, (I am getting desperate now for quantity), and the only Tilda images I had to fit the bill were mini's. Oh, well....

I chose Magnolia Mini Tilda Hanging Ornaments and Magnolia Mini Christmas Tree for my design. I stamped them on Cryogen CS with Memento ink. They were colored up, (or down--whichever way you care to look at it), with my Copics: E000, E00, E11, E21, E25, E29, R20, R81, R83, R85, C0, C1, YG61, YG63, YG67, BG70, BG72. These colors co-ordinate with the paper I chose from the Carta Bella Merry & Bright collection. I combined that paper with Stampin' Up CS. I accented the image with a white gel pen and a Copic Spica pen.

My design included die cuts from the following dies:  Cheery Lynn Pine Branches, Spellbinders Labels 22, La-La Land Crafts Christmas Tree, and Memory Box Winterland Tree. My sentiment comes from Create with TLC.

Now, let's see what you have up your Tilda sleeve! Looking forward to it!

The Outlawz Greeting Card In Flight Challenge

Hey, Peeps! This week at The Outlawz Greeting Card Challenge we are looking for "an astronaut, hot air balloons, air planes, helicopters, balloons, or showing appreciation for a service man or woman" for our "In Flight" challenge. I think everybody should be able to find something in this challenge to make, don't you?

Luckily for us, this month's sponsors also have fabulous images. They are:



















Before I get to today's card I want to mention a couple of things. One is that I seem to have caught a cold. Will wonders never cease? This means that I may be MIA for blog comments for a couple of days. All I really want to do is crawl back into bed. But I will get to everybody's blogs ASAP, I promise. The other thing is that I am so glad we got to go out to dinner Saturday night before I caught this blasted thing, because I was able to really enjoy my meal that night.

For my foodie fans, let me just say that we had a spectacular meal. We went to Wright's at The Biltmore in Scottsdale for dinner. Love how they've changed the menu there--the chef has taken traditional dishes and given them each a great twist. And to add to that: you can get a small or a large portion of each dish. That makes it easy to have an appetizer, a main course and a dessert without getting overstuffed. Plus they have a wonderful wine list, with lots of great wines by the glass.

I have to say that we didn't get our meal underway until an hour after our 6:30 reservation. Too funny, that, because our dinner partners called to say they were running a little late, since they had to do some car shuffling, and would be about 15 minutes late. Ah, no problem, Gary and I each got a glass of wine to sip until the other couple arrived. Well, 6:45 came and went. It was now about 6:55 and Gary received a call from Chad asking where we were. Gary said that we were sitting at our table waiting for them to arrive. Apparently, they went to The Phoenician instead of The Biltmore, and were wondering why they couldn't find us at any of the restaurants there! Chad said he thought the valet barely got his car parked before he had to retrieve it for them! So they got to Wright's about 7:10, which was a pretty fast recovery. (Don't tell anybody, but I think he was speeding!)

Anyway, I ordered the salmon rillette for an appetizer and it was so lip-smacking good that I didn't even share with anyone! Just a delicious spread of smoked wild salmon, sea salt capers, egg, creme fraiche, chive and caviar for the toast points they served with it. I could have made a meal of that by itself! Gary opted for beef tartar, served with quail egg yolk, horseradish aioli, grain mustard and capers. He loved it! Following that was a dainty portion of a yummy chef's palate cleanser, and I couldn't tell you all of the ingredients, but it was sooo good! I do know it had creme fraiche and chorizo in it, with some tiny greens.

Then Gary and I each had lobster thermidor for the main course. Wow, lovely roasted lobster, lobster jus, served on a sage bechamel brulee. So spectacular! The only thing I was not crazy about was the romanesco. It tasted like broccoli, but had the texture of raw cauliflower, making it a bit difficult to eat--and it cooled off way too rapidly. I was wondering if it had been a tad under-cooked. However, the lobster was so wonderful that I was still happy with my entree.

And for dessert, Gary had the pumpkin souffle, which I tasted, and it was fabulous. But my chocolate souffle was even better. Ooooh, tasty! We left Wright's pleasantly full and very, very happy! This was our second visit there, and both times the meals were superb--so, if you are in the Phoenix area, I can highly recommend a visit to Wright's. Just remember, it is really dark in The Biltmore area, and you have to keep driving a long way to get to it, so don't give up and turn around before you get there!

Well, I'd best get this card recipe recited so I can go lie down and rest. I am really not feeling well, but I'll take two aspirin, and I'll be better in the morning.

I chose a Squigglefly image: Birthday Balloon Boy, by Cheryl Alger for my card--this is going to be a birthday card for one of the three males in my family who have November birthdays. My sentiment come from Create with TLC. I selected my DP from Basic Grey What's Up collection, and co-ordinated that with DCWV CS. I added VersaMagic chalk inks to the edges of my DP, and distressed my DP with my Zutter Distrezz-It-All. I used a lot of dimensional adhesive on this card. My die cuts were created with these dies: Memory Box Ticket, Large Hot Air Balloon, and Small Hot Air Balloon; La-La Land Crafts Hot Air Balloon; Cheery Lynn Lace Corner Deco B; and Spellbinders Classic Rectangle. Lace and ribbon from my stash were also added to my design.

I colored this image with Copics: C0, E000, E00, E11, E31, E35, YR20, YG91, YG93, YG95, YG97, BG93, BG96, R02, R05, R08. I added a bit of white gel pen for accents.

I am entering this card into the following:

Basic Grey Anything Goes
Penny's Paper-Crafty Birthday Challenge
The Paper Shelter Anything Goes Challenge

Will be looking forward to all the creations you add to our challenge!

Stamptacular Sunday Sketch 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…

“SKETCH Challenge!”

For this weeks challenge you will create a card or project using the above sketch as your inspiration!  Feel free to flip it, flop it, twist it, turn it and add any embellishments your heart desires as long as we can still see the original sketch in your final results!  Oh…and don’t forget to stamp!  After all, we don’t call this STAMPtacular for nothing! 

You will have from now until midnight (EST) November 10^th, 2012 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!

It has been a busy two days since I last posted. I have finished a DT card to be posted at a later date, and I am working on a DT card that was due yesterday, but I just couldn't quite finish it. (Well, at the moment, I am actually typing. But, if I wasn't typing, I would be working on the DT card.) For one thing, I had to go out to dinner with Gary and some friends of ours last night. For another, it got dark and I cannot photograph my cards after dark. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! But I shall have that card done this a.m. and apologize to my teammates for its late appearance. 

Another reason (I can come up with lots of excuses, but, this one is real) that I couldn't quite finish my card yesterday (which is actually going "live" tomorrow--and is that confusing enough for you?), was because my sister, Barbara, and I had a date with the Rubber Stamping Convention in Mesa. We were among the crazolas that arrived before 9:00 a.m. with tickets in hand, ready to storm the booths. And Barbara is doing really well walking; you would never know that she just had knee replacement surgery! Anyway, I spent the better part of Saturday shopping and having lunch with her. It was great fun, but oh, how my feet hurt.

I am not the brightest bulb on the planet. (I freely admit that. You may spread that around, if you are so inclined.) I wore some comfy shoes, meaning they feel good on my feet when I am sitting down, not that they feel good to wear for walking about and/or standing for hours on end. They have very thin soles. Which translates to aching feet after wearing said shoes for 3 hours at a stamping convention. Sigh....I should have worn my thick-soled tennies. But did I think of that? NOOOOOOO! Oh, sorry, didn't mean to shout at you. 

And then last night, when we went out to dinner, I wore my lovely boots with 4" heels. What the devil was I thinking? Well, let's put it this way. My size 7-1/2 feet are now approximately size 9 from all the swelling. Luckily I have zippers in those boots, or I never could have gotten them off my feet. Which now look like Bigfoot feet. Only not so hairy. Thank heavens for small favors.

BTW, do you think I spent money at the convention? Really? Moi? Ding, ding, ding! You're right! I did spend money. Tons of it. We are now broke for the next 10 years, give or take a week or two. Gary blew a gasket when I came home and told him how much I spent. He stomped around the house for at least 15 minutes, yelling his head off. Just kidding. He wasn't even home when I got here. He has no idea how much I spent--he didn't even ask. And I was actually really good and spent less than I ever have at a convention. Why? Because most of my images and sentiments are digital now, so I don't "do" rubber much anymore. (Oh, that actually sounds a little kinky, but, sadly, it's not.) I mostly got a few dies and an item for my upcoming blog candy. 

Oh, here's an update for you. An unofficial one at that. But remember when I told you that an urgent-care doctor diagnosed granddaughter Kelsey with pneumonia? Maybe not so much. Her sister has been coughing like crazy, too, so Angela took Brynn to their pediatrician. The preliminary diagnosis: whooping cough. OMGosh! How is that possible when they both were immunized as babies? Well, apparently, the vaccine can wear off before it is time for their booster shots at age 11. (Kelsey is 10-1/2 and Brynn is almost 9.) We will know for sure this week when the tests come back. Meanwhile, the girls have to stay home and the whole family was put on antibiotics. Oh, my....

I think the girls will get their Halloween cards in time for Christmas. I am not hand-delivering them yet, as I don't want to end up with the whoops, too! My sister, Merrilyn, had it when she was in third grade. (Yes, I know, that was back before there was dirt, as she is even older than I am.) But she was very sick with it--no antibiotics in those days--and she missed two months of school and coughed for almost 3 months total. Poor baby. It hurts everywhere to cough that much. Let's hope the girls get over theirs quickly!!!

Changing gears here. I need to finish describing this card in order to get to my other one. So, without further ado, (gosh, does anybody really talk like that anymore?), here goes my description. I really loved this sketch! I thought it was a great starting point for another Christmas card. Slowly, but surely, step by step, inch by inch, I am getting a few cards done for the holidays.

I love this image "Stockings" by Saturated Canary. I printed it on Cryogen CS, which gives the image a nice shimmer. I also printed the sentiment from Create with TLC on Cryogen. I sponged Stampin' Up ink around the edges of both, but not before I colored the image with my Copics: BG53, BG57, YG61, YG63, YG67, R20, R81, R83, R85, E000, E00, E07, E08, E09, E11, E31, E53, YR20, YR21, C00, C0. I also accented this image with a white gel pen, added Glossy Accents to her eyes (with her permission), and put Copic Clear Spica on her lips and thumbnail. (She has shiny polish on her other nails, too, but you just can't see them from this view.)

My fun Christmas paper is from the Jillibean Soup Winter Tortellini and Spinach Soup collection. My CS is from both Stampin' Up and DCWV. My die cuts were made with the following dies: Memory Box Eyelet Stocking, Poppystamps Simple Banner, and Spellbinders Classic Rectangles. My embossing was done with a Sizzix Stampin' Up Textured Impressions Snow Burst folder.  I added four SU mini clothespins, which I really do love. (Just in case you hadn't noticed. Because I seem to use them a lot.)

I am entering this into the following:

Crafty Ann's Christmas in October
Dilly Beans Anything Girl Challenge
Divas by Design Feeling Festive
Inky Impressions Lots of Layers
Love to Create Lots of Layers

Crafty Ann's Christmas in October ChallengeDilly Beans Anything Girl Challenge

Well, this has been real. Gotta get back to my other card. And now it is up to you peeps. Show us your takes on this fun sketch! I am looking forward to seeing what you create this week!

Jellypark GDT

Today is a first for me. I am  so tickled to be guest designing for the Jellypark Friends Friday Challenges! The theme for this week is Back to Nature. Now, for those of you who know me really well, you will be laughing hysterically at this. For those of you who don't, I don't really want to explain. But I will.

I am like the last person you will find out in nature. Unless, of course, there is an ocean nearby. Then, Calgon, take me away: I am in that water, snorkeling, if at all possible. But, if it is just going outside to sit, unless I am in the shade, you won't find me. If it is hikes on trails, you won't find me. If it is gardening, you won't find me. If it is riding a bike, you won't find me. If it is sitting on a beach, under a shady umbrella, you may find me. That's kinda the way I am. A house potato.

So, in doing a back to nature theme, I had to take myself back about 50 years. I was raised in the Montana Rockies, in Whitefish, to be exact. As a child I was outside all the time. My parents had trouble getting me to come home. Unless I was deep into a book. Otherwise, I was always doing something outdoors: roller skating, bicycling, sneaking to Whitefish Lake to swim, (and getting spanked for it later), playing softball, and in the winter, sledding and ice skating. So what happened? I think I'd need to lie down on a psychiatrist's couch to figure that out, because I have no idea. All I know is I quit the great outdoors when I got to be a teenager, and my family moved to Minnesota. Perhaps the shock of going from a small town to a big city did it. I am really not sure.

Anyway, I thought about what I loved seeing outside as a kid, and it was always the animals. Even the bears. From a distance. We didn't have the same kind of squirrels in our area as we saw in Minnesota. In Montana they were chipmunks, tons of them. Saw them in the trees pretty much everywhere. Just too cute, even though they are from the rodent family, and I really wouldn't want to get bitten by one.

So I thought I would do a rodent squirrel for my back-to-nature themed card today. I think this Jellypark digi, "Squirrel, I'm Nuts About You" is darling, and I had to color him up. Or down. But mostly up. He was printed on Make It Colour blending card. I brayered the background for him. Everything else was created with paper from a distressed piece of Authentique's Thankful collection, and card stock from Stampin' Up and Bazzill. I added a Memory Box Orchard Tree Frame die-cut around him. I also used a Memory Box Acorn die, as well as a La-La Land corner flourish, and several leaves from a Spellbinders leaf die. Then I finished die-cutting with a Spellbinders Classic Circle die and a Labels 8 die for framing my sentiment from Create with TLC, which I modified slightly by paper-piecing the acorn. A bit of baker's twine behind the frame, and I'd call him done.

He was shockingly, (oh, not really) colored with Copics: E04, E07, E09, E15, E17, E19, E40, E41, E42, E43, E44, E47, E49, E81, E84, E87, W00, W0, W2, W4, W6. If you are familiar with Copics, you will note I used colors mostly from the Earth collection, which was quite fitting for the theme, don't you think? I did a small bit of accenting with a white gel pen.

That's it for me. Over and out. But not before I encourage you to show us your back-to-nature side. Looking forward to seeing what you create!