- POLAND -

Find the lovely Daria, and our latest Issue 003 in our Warsaw stockist:

ASPHALT

Bah! Humbug! Penguin Challenge

This may be a really lean week of crafting for me so I'm gonna apologize in advance. Besides several appointments (just got back from the dentist, YUCK!) I've got tons to do for our annual 4th of July party and houseguests, so I'm scramblin' to complete NEXT week's DT cards. Or Tiddly Inks challenge has been postponed for a week (which is why you didn't see a Tiddly Tuesday card yesterday) but don't forget to comment on my BBTB2 Blog Hop card HERE for a chance to win a $40 gift certificate to Custom Crops. I have, however, managed to do my Bah!Humbug! card for the week and the challenge is penguins. Since I've done a few penguin cards in my time, I was looking for something new. This cutie from Winter Frolic fit the bill. (I'm actually starting to like that cart now, who knew?) Anyway, I made a shaped card in DS and flocked his little bod. I embossed the hat and added a pompom and Flower Soft to the rim. Initially I just used Glossy Accents on the lolly pop, but it just wasn't enough so I cut off the stick used more Glossy Accents to adhere it to the back of a Tim Holtz Fragment. Then I added a colored toothpick and bow.

The Snowflake is from a Cuttlebug cut and emboss combo that was lying on my work table from??? The little guy looked a little plain (and actually there was a smudge of black flock at the bottom of his tummy from my grubby fingerprint to hide) so I stuck it on there and added a Jolee sticker to the center. Kinda weird but not so totally out there, do ya think? Anyway, not much dimension but I needed this to be quick so there he is. I'm also adding this as my 5th card to the June Anything Goes challenge at Christmas Cards All Year 'Round.

Another good PRINTOUT! night coming up!

Same deal, come and be inspired by a few heads who know a thing or two about a publishing gig. Marc Valli from Magma and Elephant, and even ex-Smash Hits (!!!) David Hepworth. Enough said.

July 6th.

7pm | The Book Club, London.

DETAILS HERE.

Another event by the wonderful folk at Stack.

Steez

( Part 1. You either have it or you don't)

 

Motion in the ocean.

Latest from KP/MW.

white out from Mark Whalen on Vimeo.

The Burtonesque Dolls Put Me in a Burton Movie Challenge

This is my second post of the day, only because I'm scrambling to join this challenge. If you're looking for the BBTB2 Blog Hop, please scroll down. The Burtonesque Dolls are back in business and I've been trying to play along. This week in particular the prize is something I covet: your choice of 3 of the new Burton-weenies stamps from Simply Betty! The challenge is put an image, any image, in a Burton movie. I had tons of ideas for this one but I just couldn't pull it together. Then finally, when rifling through my Stampotique Stamps, I came across '3 in a Round'. Aren't they cute? Kinda like ET and friends. So anyway, I thought they looked like they might just be peeking out of the scary tree in Sleepy Hollow. So I found a tree on Oct 31st cartridge and stretched it in DS until there was enough room on the trunk to cut a hole for the little guys to peek out of. Then I cut the Headless Horseman from Happy Hauntings. The background is done with Distress Inks. Added some Rain Dot bats and a jack-o-lantern epoxy sticker and there ya go. I got a little slap happy because I'm tired, so I hope you find the computer generated sentiment amusing. Don't they look apprehensive? And wouldn't you be?

DETAILS....

hello sweet friends. hope each one of you is doing FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

graduation party is getting closer and so are preparations. my husband will be cooking and i will be his assistant along with some other helpers. hehe...that will be some FUN! for a change ;p

anyhow, for de-stressing and taking my mind off things i worked on this card on and off like for two days, lol

Details

4.25 x 5.5"

i used a few cartridges and welded a few images using my gypsy.

the card base is from "just because cards" page #63 image #40. the banner is from "christmas" image #29 and the mat for the sentiment is from is from "cindy loo" and is image #10 manipulated for my purposes--hehe. the font for the word "details" is from "graphically speaking" image #25 using the type feature and welding the letters. 

i had to cut things a few times and tweak them here and there but i am happy with the results.

the butterfly is a chipboard accent from k&co.

those little epoxy flowers i believe they are from some dollar bin or maybe from sticko brand, they are really cute.  -----------TIP: when i use cheap products i do not rely on their adhesive so i always use my adhesives and in this case i used "zip dry".

the patterned paper is from dcwv: the cafe mediterranean matstack.
absolutely stunning colors.

 a bit of messing up trying to add the small pieces to the negative of the word--  :(

i was very pleased to find the butterfly. the colors matched so very nice!
i love when you find a perfect match in different brands.

a side view.

and the inside sentiment compliments the one on the front very well
"DETAILS"
LIFE IS TOO SHORT...LAUGH WHEN YOU CAN!
also................. it is my best piece of advice to you.
the sentiment is from one of "my pink stamper" clear stamps set called:
"everyday sentiments".

i sure hope you enjoy it and it serves as some kind of inspiration.

love you all!
*_*

BBTB2 Watermelon Challenge and Blog Hop!

WooHoo! It's the last Monday of the month and you know what that means, don't you? It's Blog Hop time at BBTB2. I'm kicking off this blog hop, but if you get lost along the way, check back at BBTB2 for the full list of participants. This week our fabulous fearless leader, Heather, as gone "old school" and chosen the watermelon from one of the "oldies but goodies" cartridges, Stretch Your Imagination. Of course, if you don't own that one, any watermelon will do but please make it a "new" creation. My first thought was to have a little kid taking a bite so I welded the shadow of the face from another oldie, Doodlecharms, to the shadow of the watermelon. I was gonna stop there, but then thought of the coming holiday and decided to go all patriotic, adding the fireworks and flag from Stand and Salute. There was method to my madness, because I really wanted to join the Whimsicle Wednesday Let's Get Patriotic Challenge and didn't think I could get to it unless I combined. (Sorry Steph, one of these days...) I glittered the fireworks and added gems and a glittered foam star (from M's) and embossed the flag and added tiny adhesive stars by Recollections. The little dude looked mighty bald so I added a curly paperclip for hair, much better!

Only the watermelon portion of this card opens because of the weird design, but it was fun to do something a bit different for a change. The bite was done with a simple hole punch. The rub-on sentiment is from Melissa Frances. There's not a ton of dimension, but I got a kick out of popping his mouth open so he looks like he's taking a giant bite. Now hop along to my sweet and beautiful DT sis Krista has in store for you. I'm sure it's just yummy! But don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a $40.00 gift certificate from Custom Crops. They have some cool new products that I have't seen elsewhere, so be sure to check it out. I'll be drawing the winner using Random Org on Friday, July 1.

Macabre Monday From the Bone Pile

This week's Macabre Monday is From the Bone Pile. Translation: must use only scraps from your stash (except card base and main image). Hey no prob. My scraps remain on my desk, my table, my floor for MONTHS! Seriously, my scrap room is a MESS! Recognize the top layer here? It's the negative from a card I did for MM on May 9th. You can view it HERE. It was still hangin' around so how could I NOT use it? I spritzed it with this groovy new stuff called Goosebumps to give it that awesome texture. The fabby stamps I filled the holes with are all Stampotique by Torrente /Penney. How convenient that the current Stampotique Designer's Challenge is also Use your Scraps. A match made in heaven me thinks. I've used Halloween Cube 1, Gobby Lin and Gog Lin, so cute, in a creepy sort of way...PERFECT!

Now just in case you doubt that this was made with all scraps, I've snapped a pic of the rust colored mat See the big cut outs from Nesties? I had to hide those with another scrap of kraft also sprayed with Goosebumbs and inked with Distress. It acts like a resist, how cool!

Just barely enough room to pop my negative mat and then add the fussy cut images that were colored with Copics. The spider web corners are MS from more of the same kraft scrap and actually, even the card base was a scrap from a 12 x 12 piece of card stock that I'd cut my B!H! card from earlier last week (you can't see it because I could only cut it 6x6 and that was the size of the rust mat but you can take my word for it). It felt pretty darn good to use the stuff I usually toss (after I get so buried in stuff I can't find my work surface) so be sure and play along. You'll feel so virtuous if you do!

Tiddly Inks Sugar and Spice challenge

TGIF! It's Fabulous Inky Friday at the Tiddly Inks Challenge blog where the winners of the previous week's challenge are revealed and we spotlight cards by our fans (and some of the designers as well). Loads of inspiration, and if you're featured, you may grab a button and display it proudly on your blog. Our current challenge is Sugar and Spice with a Twist; create a humorous or sarcastic card. I nabbed this freebie sentiment from Graphicat Designs and immediately thought of the gorgeous Cast your Spell Tiddly, one of the many Gothic Cute digis available, who seems to be tossing fairy dust all over the place. After coloring her with Copics, I doused her liberally with Stardust Stickles and cut her out and embossed with Nesties Wonky Rectangles. I cut another mat and punched a border out of glitter paper. Then cut the sentiment and small mat with smaller Wonkies, embossed and ran them through my Xyron and glittered them with MS fine crystal and Doodlebug pink Sugar Coating. I ran terrifically Tacky tape around the outside of the card front and used Doodlebug glitter on that as well. DP is K&Co.

Here's a better look at the sparkle on Cast your Spell. I found the little metal flower (star?) in the $1.)) bin at J's. If glitter is her Prozac, she must be feeling mighty fine! If you haven't stopped by the Shop lately, you're in for a surprise. Christy has been hard at work bringing you tons of new images in the What's New section. There is truly something for everyone! I'm also entering it in the Crafty Creations Let it Shine Challenge and Magical Monday Challenge which is punches and embossing (the Nesties mats are embossed after cutting)

Meggs | Inner Demons | Solo Show | London

Last night saw the exhibition launch of one our favourites from Melbourne, Australia. 

We've been keeping an eye on him for some time now (Melbourne Stencil Forum days - '96?), and it was great to see his work had progressed so much.

 

 

Bah! Humbug Scarves and Mittens Challenge

Poor Max was ill and Ann is a giddy new Grandma, but the fab guest designers as B!H! carried the torch and brought fab inspiration to this week's Bah! Humbug! challenge which was Scarves and Mittens. Honestly, I've been running on empty and why I decided to do a Cricut shaped card at the 11th hour is beyond me, but I managed. All DP's are from the DCWV Homespun Stack.

It's a shaped front card with all the front cuts coming from Winter Wonderland, welded to the rounded rectangle from George.

Not quite as much dimension as I planned but I ran out of steam. I did flock the mitten cuffs and did a bit of doodling and added some ribbon bows, but that's about it. Note to self: Don't start designing one of these after lunch or it's gonna be a LONG afternoon. LOL Also pretty tough to work on when it's near 100 outside. YIKES! Short post, can you tell I'm dead tired and it's only 8:00PM? I'm also entering this in the Christmas Cards All Year 'Round June Challenge.

We're at Bright Tradeshow, for ART BRIGHT once again this year.

A fine looking space for Champ x FixedgearLondon.

Come visit us throughout 7-9 July,

and check out the nice write-up on page 112 of the new Bright Mag, with easy online navigation on the bottom panel +

++

The Creators Supplement on SOLD-OUT +

don't miss THIS.

Izrock published Mark Gonzales x Benjamin Deberdt! Coincides too with the extraordinary exhibition and accompanying events for Public Domaine at the newly established Gaite Lyrique. I checked in on the weekend, and I must say it's one of the best exhibitions I've seen.

Sophie Bramly !! +

À PARIS

HEADS UP....

i receive updates from the "scrapbook update" website, who the owner is a very nice lady called nancy nally. this morning i received this one where she is talking about a new place called:

MY CRAFT CHANNEL

(clicking on the name will take you to its site)

and, this is the link to "scrapbook update" where you can read what miss nancy nally knows about this fabulous new online community.

i just needed to share it with you guys.

i think it will be lots of fun!!!!!!!!!!

***************

here is a card i made the other day to "escape" from all the turmoil around me.

hope you like it. 

the sentiment is from My Pink Stamper, of course--- :P 

patterned papers are from "my mind's eye"

*************

Daily Life: 

UPDATE ON LULU---lulu still SLOWLY improving. she needs to be calm and when she gets excited she still coughs like having an asthma attack :( i know that cough very well since my son suffered from asthma when younger. we still waiting for the results of the "trachea wash" and other tests they did on her. i will keep you updated and THANKS SO VERY MUCH for your get well wishes and prayers for LULU. you touch our hearts and we appreciate it.

Miss RHONDA, we couldn't believe you take insulin 5 times a day. we will be praying for you too. 

hugs and love to all!

Better Late Than Never BBTB2

So how many people totally freaked that I didn't have a BBTB2 project on Monday? Yeah sure, fess up. It wasn't intentional. I had my card design in DS and then IT WOULDN'T CUT! My dear friend and fabulously talented DT sister Susan chose the Sunny Days cut from Celebrate with Flourish. I'll admit my Macabre Monday project took WAY longer than expected, and I'm sorry to those of you who don't appreciate my "creep factor," but sometimes just the process of doing something new becomes really exhilarating so... Anyway I started to cut my BBTB2 card and it wouldn't cut in DS. I was really late so I emailed my DT sisters and Susan came to the rescue telling me that Celebrate with Flourish was listed twice in DS, once as Celebrate With Flourish and once as Celebrate With Flouris which was a correction for the screwed up first one. Yup, this one I'd done with the wrong one so it wouldn't work and as it was late in the game, I just couldn't redesign it with the right one. Monday I had stuff to do and this morning I had a dentist's appt. I was gonna blow it off (because technically we're only required to do 2 projects a month) but I take this DT position VERY seriously and I've only missed two weeks in the several years I've been on this team (and those were when I didn't have the required cut and there were no substitutions.) So here it is. Not exactly how I envisioned but... Shaped card, no surprise.

Not as much dimension as I'd hoped but it's okay. The colors were inspired my the Whimsical Wednesday Color Challenge as I'm entering this in that challenge as well. I'm hoping the pix speak for themselves because I'm really tired. Getting up at around 4:00 am every morning takes it's toll and tomorrow I have yet ANOTHER eye appt. Anybody know a good seeing eye dog? We have great inspiration on BBTB2 this week (well, when don't we?) and remember the challenge runs for 2 weeks. If you don't have the cart, you may substitute and do the phrase from another cart. Please remember we'd like new projects only, not back dates and be sure to link your challenge to BBTB2.

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Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse feat. David Lynch - Dark Night of the Soul

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BEACH | LONDON

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We are very excited for the launch of the new . Beach London . 

Beach London is an Art Gallery in Shoreditch, London, on Cheshire Street, just off Brick Lane. Over two floors, Beach has a café serving fresh coffee, snacks and drinks on our ground floor, and a Fine Art gallery, featuring a revolving series of exhibitions and events, in our basement.
We also stock an awesome range of prints, many of which are available framed, and a range of limited edition and small-press artists' books, zines and magazines. We're open 7 days a week (From July 8 2011) so pop in and hang out. 

All this from their website.

They are opening their doors to the public July 7th. Make sure you're there to celebrate their launch!

CAN'T | WAIT

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