It's No Costume!

     I have an old college friend (a guy) whose birthday falls on Halloween.  It's hard to do cards for him year after year without falling into the trap of just sending a Halloween card.  But this year, Sassy Studio Designs came to the rescue without even knowing it.  While they have "Halloween" as their theme, this wonderful sorceress just filled the bill for what I wanted to do.  Since it's a guy card, it had to be CAS.

     I did it all in just black and white because adding orange would have made it even more Halloween.  I grant you, I'm entering this into several Halloween theme challenges, but my purpose is really a birthday card for a 'dirty old man' who will love this image and the sentiment.  Sorry, Bobbie!

     The papers are from DCWV's 'Le Creme' stack and I've had them in my stash for well over a year.  I used Promarkers, glitter gel ink, and Sakura Glaze pen to color the image.  The sentiment is mine.  The three buttons are very sparkly because they are faceted but I had to tone that down in the photo.  They've also been in my stash for a long time.  Why I tend to forget about using buttons as embellies, I just don't know, but I do.

     Challenges:
Craft Your Passion -- Witches
Celebrate the Occasion -- Male birthday (+ tall card.  This is tall but the photo software "squashed" it!  Unfortunately, it makes most of my cards look like square cards.  This one is business envelope size.  Sorry)
Creatalicious -- Halloween
Everybody Art Challenge -- Add bling
Heck of a Challenge -- Spooktacular
Ladybug Crafts -- Halloween
Lia Stamps -- Halloween
Papelitos Stamps -- Witches
Raise the Bar -- Witches
Shopping Our Stash -- Trick or Treat
Through the Craftroom Door -- Anything goes

      Today may be another "twofer" day but if not, I'm sure to have something for tomorrow.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Eclectic Is Finally Here!

     I know you've all seen the Eclectic Ellapu DT badge on my sidebar and probably wondered why you hadn't seen me posting cards for their challenges.  After all, that's what we do when we serve on a design team, right?  Well, today begins the first challenge and I have the honor of serving on the Pink Team which is posting this week.  We have two teams, Pink and Purple (yes, I know, I know, a purple freak on the Pink Team!) and we will have weekly challenges, with each team serving every other week.

     Our new challenge blog is all about FUN, FUN, FUN.  We are purely a badge awarding challenge blog rather than being sponsored.  That means the DT members, and anyone wanting to join in our weekly challenges, have the autonomy to create whatever they wish just as long as it fits the theme for that week.  What freedom! Our challenge this week is "Anything Goes" and that means you have no restrictions on what you create.

     This being the birth of a new challenge, I've done a birthday card and I did it in purples!  lol

Sketch by My Time Made Easy, leaving off the vertical strip, which just took away from that wonderful background dp.   Apologies to MTME.  :-D

     Everything on or about this card came from a drawer, pile, or stash with forgotten or hoarded items.  Can you believe I used a rubber stamp and not a digi? Yep.  I've had this "Cherry Blossom" stamp by Rubber Stampede for at least three years and have never used it.  I colored it with Copics, and added Stickles to the flower centers.  The Stickles bottle was in my drawer of glitters, and had been used only once before.

     The purple paper was in the dp stash and I can't even tell you how long it had been there, unused, but it was in my 12 X 12 scrapbooking papers so that means at least 3 years!  The neutral dp onto which I stamped the cherry branch is an old scrap piece left over from another project long ago (from SU.)

     The round rhinestones I've had since I got them at an estate sale and I've always thought they would be just too big to use on a card.  Now that I used them, I think they're perfect.  The bow is one I made from ribbon scraps and put in my stash several months ago, probably last spring.  Finally, the butterfly gem -- I had several of those in different colors but I keep hoarding the purple ones!   What's the point in having them if they are never going to see daylight?  The sentiment is also a rubber stamp, this one from Sparkle n Sprinkle.

     Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T. -- Monochromatic
Craftymess -- Anything goes
Delicious Doodles -- Monochrome
Divas by Design -- Anything goes
Hiding in My Craftroom -- Super Scraps Saturday
My Heart Pieces -- Monochromatic
Outlaws Paper A La Mode -- Use what you don't (hoarded or forgotten items)
Paper Crafting Journey -- Add some bling
Whimsy Inspirations -- All things sparkly

     Now, we really want to see you play along with us at the Eclectic challenge this week.  You are completely unfettered as to what you can create and enter since our Anything Goes theme leaves it wide open.  Hope to see you there.  Happy Stamping. NanaConnie