New DTMs & winners

Before we announce the winners of last month's challenge, a little about our DT call...

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who applied, we had 18 entries which we are delighted with. Every member of the team has been involved in the decision making  - we can tell you that it was a very close run thing and we wish we could have appointed more. I'm sure you'll join in and say congratulations to our new DTMs who are:

Sue Carrington of 'Stamping Sue Style'

&

Donna of 'Donna's Little Crafty Corner'

Well done ladies!

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Now to our WINNERS of last month's 'Something spooky' challenge....

We were very disappointed that when we reviewed the entries as a few of you disqualified yourselves by either not stating what the theme was or putting the theme as Halloween which was wrong. PLEASE do read the rules - they're quite simple.

The WINNER of the £20 shop voucher (chosen by random.org) is:

Congratulations to #74 Christi Conley of Art-Without-Anxiety  -  A £20 shop voucher and blog badge will be with you shortly Christi!

Our fabulous Top 3 have been selected by Gabrielle this month and they are:

#46 Hazel H of Hazel's Creative Moments

 

#62 Pauline A of Pollycraft

#115 MaggieH of CAPRICORN CRAFTS

Lastly, our DTMSM award goes to:

#101  Laura of Laurart

 Congratulations to you all, blog badges and GDT invites are on their way!

Well done everyone that joined in,  stunning entries!  xxx

It's Terry's day!

We're off and running and first off the bench and onto the field today is the very talented Terry of TERRY'S WORK IN PROGRESS with this fabulous project!

http://www.terry2dogs.blogspot.co.uk/

"It was such a pleasant surprise to be one of the chosen "Top 3" for September and even more exciting to be offered the opportunity to be a guest designer for November! Thank you!

For my "Letters," I first started with an oversized Cuttlebug folder, which was Distress inked, spritzed and then highlighted. Distressed the edges and curled a couple of corners. The woman's face was stamped, water colored and masked, before I inked the tag, stenciled (letters of course) and some stamping. The top "Letters" panel was colored using Distress Markers and then hand torn around the edges and shaded and I added a little more stamping on that piece. I did ink and stamp the "L" in letters a second time for a little dimension. The key and journey metal pieces were colored with alcohol inks to match the metal heart (colored) with wings."

THANK YOU Terry for joining the team this month, this is gorgeous!  You can find more details and pic's on Terry's own blog so please HOP over and share some crafty love with her.

We hope this has added to your inspiration - we can't wait to see what you make from this month's theme. 

More in a few days. xxx

Challenge #9 - November

Thank you for another bumper crop of entries for last month's challenge, some of the interpretations were amazing, so creative! Winners will be announced in a few days so please watch for them.

Today is the 1st of a new month so we announce the new challenge which has been chosen by Brenda - it is:

'LETTERS'

You can put whatever spin you like on this theme but it MUST be CLEAR what it is eg entering a card that just has a sentiment on it WILL NOT COUNT as the letters. Please read the RULES to ensure that you don't disqualify yourself and if you're new to entering challenges you can find a link to help with entering (linking) your project on the sidebar.

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Here are some beautiful projects from our talented Design Team to get you started (more info' and pic's on their own blogs). We're missing our lovely Trace for the next 2 months as she's having a well-earned break but don't worry, she'll be back with us in the New Year....

Gabrielle

http://www.gabrielle-price.blogspot.co.uk/

"For my first project this month I chose to use dictionary paper to stamp the my images on to as well as to write the sentiment in large letters. The background was one I created in my journal from Dylusion inks but thought it far too bright so I left it for ages! I decided that I really should do something with it so to knock it back I sprayed layers of White Linen Dylusion Ink until I liked the colours! Sometimes giving a few days (or weeks!) to think about something you've made gives a new perspective! I really like the background now! I was then reminded of a Dylusions sentiment that I changed so I could use a Dylusions stars stencil!!!"

Jennie

http://www.jennie-livethedream.blogspot.co.uk/

"I love collecting text style scrapbooking papers as I feel they can usefully be used for any type of layout.  As most of you know I have avoided buying baby or child papers for layouts of my grandson and these text papers just suited this colourful photograph of him taken last year.    I used a single 12 x 12 piece overlaid on a light turquoise border for this layout and used scraps of other text papers for the embellishments."

Brenda

 http://www.bumblebeesandbutterflies.com/

"For my 'letters' challenge I have used a wooden letter holder that has been sitting, unloved, by my desk holding tags and altered it into a mixed-media home decor piece which means it can now be used for what it was intended for. I have used lots of paint, modelling paste, stamps and die-cuts and had great fun with the transformation."

Chris

http://www.mycornerofheaven.com/

 "I was looking for something to hold my special documents, things like my driving license, TV license, etc and any current correspondence awaiting action or reply (ie couldn't be filed away yet). I couldn't find anything appropriate so I decided I would make something to do the job. This is what I came up with."

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As usual. we will be closing the challenge at the end of the month and the lucky winner (chosen at random by random.org) will receive a £20 shop voucher from our fab and generous sponsor, Country View Crafts. We will also be choosing our top 3 projects as well as a special mention for the entry we think has demonstrated the most originality and creativity on the theme. All winners receive a blog badge and offer of guesting with us next month.

For those of you who have responded to our DT call - THANK YOU! We are reviewing the applications as a team and will be back in touch with you shortly.

We'll be posting new projects every 3 days throughout the month, more from our permanent DTMs and some from our very talented guests (previous winners) so do come back and visit us often. We hope you will hop over to our guests' blogs and share your love and comments there too.

Thanks for your support and GOOD LUCK!

DT call

We are looking to add another permanent DT Member to our team, if you're interested please click HERE.

Normal challenge posts continue below.

Last in our spooky line up is..... JENNIE!

Our fabulously talented Jennie is ending our spooky challenge with a fantastic tag that she's conjured up. (Can we just remind everyone that Jennie had virtually nothing of a Halloween or spooky nature in her stash, we think she deserves a pat on the back for her creativity!! Well done Jennie!!) 

www.jennie-livethedream.blogspot.co.uk

"A Halloween Damsel! Her tattered dress is made from strips of muslin, scrim and lace all dyed a wonderful orange with Dylusions sprays (and yes I had matching hands!).  Her wings are gently crackled and I managed quite a bit of embossing here and there.  Again lots of fun with limited Halloween stash"

Well done Jennie, you've been so inspiring with your creation and this is such a brilliant idea!! Please visit Jennie on her own blog to see what she's been getting up to (and see her fab tutorials, of course).

This, sadly, is our last DT post for this month. You still have 3 days to get your entries finished and entered. Good luck everyone!!

We hope you all have a great, spooky and safe Halloween! xxx

Whoooo-hoo...... Here's Debbie's project, are you scared yet?

Closer and closer we get, are you getting scared yet? lol Today it's the turn of our third Top3 GDT to show what she can do and..... oh my.... get ready..... it's Debbie aka Daqa with a VERY scarey card!

www.daqadoodles.wordpress.com

"Peek-a-BOO! When I opened my mail I was surprised, I was a winner of the August challenge! That allready is an honour, and on top of that the invitation to be a guest designer! Wauw. I ofcourse said yes, even promising I'd skip sleep to finish my cards on time. I almost had to. What a difficult subject (for me). Spooky. I thought Halloween (although it's hardly celebrated in my country). I thought ghosts, chesspieces (yes I consider those optionally spooky, don't evil masterminds always play chess?), paintings with holes for eyes, being watched, evil creatures, spooky fairytales.

This is my 4th try at spooky. It all started (this fourth attempt) with the word BOO, and remembering I had glow-in-the-dark embossing powder, which just screamed to be used. (Well it more like insisted to be used for something spooky.) The background is self-made, the result of a previous attempt for a spooky card. I stamped the Steampunk letters in black and embossed it with glow-in-the dark embossing powder. The cat peeking through a hole is originally a cute cat image which I made a bit more feral - narrow eyes, fangs and claws. The frame stamp is a bit idyllic, which adds to the horror part of my card. I also was thinking about more horror, placing a happy, unaware victim in front of the cat, but decided I'd go for a bit more subtlety. I think many cat owners (or should I say, visitors of cat owners?) can imagine a (young) cat jumping you from out of nowhere.

The water droplets, raindrops and trickling water are stamped in Festive Berries (oh the irony) and Clarinet Stazon for a bloody effect. Remember the dead mice. The mangled rats, frogs and even small bunnies. I inked the edges of the card a bit and then it was time for more glow in the dark embossing: a tiny brush, my embossing ink and quite some patience resulted in an embossed cat's eye, and embossed and enlarged fangs and claws. Yep, remember your hand after playing with them? (Oh I should have added scratches!)

Before matting the card onto the black cardstock I restamped the frame stamp on the black card and embossed the image with black embossing powder. Finished! Now all that was left, was just to take good pictures to show the effect. Right... "just"...

A more detailed description (and a lot more pictures) about the creation of this card (including mistakes) and used materials can be found on my blog. (I'll try to use less parentheses there!)"

Wow! It might not have been your first attempt Debbie but look what you ended up with! Very creative and definitely one that says "Boo!" Thank you! Do CLICK HERE and visit Debbie's blog to see what else she's up to.

We sill have another project to come and, oh my, it's definitely worth waiting for.... in a few days.... lol.  xxx

Brenda's second project...

Time is flying by and the spooky day approaches -  we have just 10 days to go! To keep you motivated we have this stunning second project from our inspiring and talented Brenda...

www.bumblebeesandbutterflies.com
"For my second DT sample this month I have made a textured halloween card using the Tim Holtz cobweb texture fade and paper stash and inked the embossing folder to get the ink into the recesses. Hope you have a Happy Halloween and a fun time on the 31st October."

What a great card Brenda, an unusual colour palette but it so works! Thank you!

Do please CLICK HERE to visit Brenda on her own blog to see more of what she's up to!

Here's a reminder - WE'RE COUNTING DOWN, you have just 10 days left to get your entries finished and entered. Just because we're almost there please don't think we've given up - oh no, we keep going right to the very end, bringing you fabulous projects and ideas right up to the deadline. So, keep your eyes wide open for we have another two projects yet to come and they're stunners!

Have fun! xxx

Another from Chris...

We're a little over the halfway marker so today our talented Chris has joined us with another fabulous project...

"Yes, I'm definitely in love with the Steampunk Spells collection...

www.mycornerofheaven.com

Having created the Halloween cabinet as my first DT piece I decided on something a little less ambitious for the second. I had great fun making this card using lots of new, kewl things including Ice Resin and Decolourant."

This is lovely Chris, thank you! (We notice you still managed to get Tim's ravens in there with your G45! lol)  To see more details and pictures please CLICK HERE and visit her blog.

We hope that you're loving this diverse range of projects this month as much as we are.....? As a team, we're all very different - different likes and dislikes, different styles and different genres but above all we try to make you things that are creative, inspiring and, when we can, inventive too so please let us know what you think - we love feedback!

Our purpose is to inspire and encourage YOU so please keep your entries coming!

More in a few days. xxx

Here's Manu - our DTMSM winner!

We're half way through the month so what better than to introduce Manu, of Vintagesavonette, who won the DTMSM (Design Team Members' Special Mention) Merit award in August and this is her fabulously inventive GDT project for today...

 www.vintagesavonette.blogspot.de

www.vintagesavonette.blogspot.de

"I used Edgar Allan Poe's Poem "The Raven" as the inspiration for my altered book. I have carved two "Windows" into the book. The first portraying the raven. It can be closed by a dye-cut embossed cage which I added as a page. This is followed by a printed bat on transparency, cut out to shape and also added as a page which can be flipped either left or right. The second window is a little diorama with cut-out houses which are glued into the window in layers. The window can be opened from the back and I have put a little flickering artificial candle behind the scene which illuminates the houses from the background. Unfortunately, however, I was not able to show the great effect with my camera. So you have to take your imagination."

Wow, this is sooo beautiful Manu, thank you!! Do, please, CLICK HERE to pop over to Manu's blog to see what else she's up to.

Well? How are you doing out there? Have you finished, working on another? We want to see them please! There are some fabulous entries so far, thank you to all that have submitted a project already.

Don't forget, the winner receives a £20 shop voucher and all winning entries receive an appropriate blog badge and the chance to guest with us the following month!

Keep your eyes on our blog as there will be even more in a few days. xxx

Our talented Trace...

We're half way through the month already, can you believe that!!??  To give you more inspiration we're posting another project from our very talented Trace - what a corker !!

www.inkypinkycraft.blogspot.co.uk

"For my second make I used my much loved chemist, lots of bottles, some of the new colour Distress paints, texture paste and layering stencils to create this hanging piece . I loved stamping with picket fence to create spooky skulls that seem to appear and disappear into the background."

How stunning, loving the colour work! Thanks Trace!!  If you have time, please go and visit Trace on her own blog and see her inspirational work there.

We hope you're busy crafting away and getting ready to share at least one project with us so we can all see what you're up to....?

More in a few days. xxx

Another Top 3 project - from Linda...

Yes, today is the turn of the talented Linda Levoir, another of our Top 3 winners. Linda, of Sticky with Glitter, has donated this stunningly spooky card...(and who said spooky can't be beautiful too!!?? lol)...

www.stickywithglitter.blogspot.co.uk

"When Chris from County View Challenges emailed me to tell me that I was one of their top 3 for August it was a very happy surprise, so imagine how super excited I was when she told me that they'd like me to create a GDT piece for their October challenge!  Of course I said yes!  The theme given to me (which I had to keep all these weeks as a secret....no pressure lol) was to create 'Something Spooky' I knew right away which image I wanted to use. Withering Fairy by Saturated Canaray, it screamed Gothic Romantic at me....think Miss Haversham in Great Expectations, in her wedding dress surrounded by her rotting Wedding Breakfast, or Catherine from Wuthering Heights coming back to haunt her true love Heathcliff....or again Giselle, dying from unrequited love and coming back as a vengeful spirit.  The project started life as a card, but as I worked on it I decided  I wanted to make her into a wall hanging for Halloween.

I've used a lot of die cuts and elements and lots of products to achieve this effect, Tim Holtz's Rickety House and Branch Tree and Cheery Lyn's clock, Black Soot Distress Ink and Clear Crackle Paint, tulle and cheesecloth, antiqued seam binding,  well the list is extensive and I've included a full list on my blog.  I hope you enjoy it cos I had so much fun making it :) xx"

This definitely has 'the wow factor' Linda, thank you!!

If you like the more contemporary art style then this is a terrific example of how it can be used for a Halloween project - very creative. CLICK HERE to share some crafty love and visit Linda's blog to see more of what she does.

How creative are YOU? Can YOU step up for our challenge this month? We do hope so because we're dying to see what you all come up with. It's time to get your mojo in harness and create something to float your apples and pumpkins (sorry, poetic license, lol). 

Above everything, HAVE FUN!  More in a few days. xxx

More from Gabrielle...

Today's post is from our very talented Gabrielle who has made this fabulously grungy project...

www.gabrielle-price.blogspot.co.uk

"'Something Spooky' prompted me to create a second decor piece, this time using a Five Panel Frame. Like my first project this month, I used added many layers of Fresco Finish paint, including crackle glaze, and inks until it looked grungy and aged. The back piece was painted so it would be darker and give a greater contrast to the Grungepaper images from Tim Holtz. Each image was coloured with Antique Linen Distress Stain and edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I am looking forward to decorating the house ready for the hoards of Trick or Treaters we have in our neighbourhood - though this year I'm planning to go quite ambitious on my pumpkin carving! Time will tell if I'm successful!!! I'm looking forward to seeing how you have interpreted our theme this month!"

We're loving this Gabrielle, fabulous, thank you!  CLICK HERE to see more of what Gabrielle is up to on her own blog.

So how are YOU doing? Have you entered already? Don't forget, there's no limit on the number of entries you submit BUT PLEASE do make sure that you follow the rules and don't disqualify yourself inadvertently.

More in a few days. xxx

September’s winners

Hoorah! It’s time to announce the winners of September’s ‘layers’ challenge!

Those of you that follow us regularly will know that we use random.org to choose our outright winner of the £20 shop voucher and this time the number generated is….

#224 is Fiona of Handmade by Fiona McCarthy Congratulations Fiona – Your £20 shop voucher will be emailed to you shortly! You also have the opportunity of being a guest DT with us next month if you’d like to.

Next we have the Top 3 award winners who win a blog badge and also have the opportunity to do a guest project next month. This month they’re chosen by Brenda. They are (in numerical order):

#72 – Barbarayaya of yaya scrap & more Congratulations Barbarayaya! An email with a badge will be in your in-tray shortly!
#233 – Terry of TERRY’S WORK IN PROGRESS Congratulation to you too Terry, you’ll also receive a  Top 3 badge shortly.
#284 – Gro Tjeltveit of grotjeltveit.blogspot.no Well done Gro – your Top 3 badge is on it’s way to you too.

Brenda’s special mention and winner of the DTMSM merit award badge for the most original and creative entry is:

#113 – Julie Ann Lee of magpieheaven Congrat’s Julie Ann!  Your blog badge is on it’s way together with an offer for guesting with us next month! Brenda said: ”I particularly liked this tag as it has many layers created through the laying down of numerous coloured paints as well as adding papers, card and embellishments. Julie Ann has used a beautiful range of blue/teal colours and I love the additional gilding to add shine as well as the overall design. This is a beautifully creative piece of art Julie Ann.”

Well done to everyone else that entered, I wish we could mention a lot more! Thank you all for taking part and supporting us and we wish you good luck for this month!

More tomorrow. xxx