Sisters of the Crafters Guild: 2012

Friday, 28 December 2012

Heads Will Roll

Today as I was strolling through the snow covered forest, my direwolf bounding playfully ahead of me, I came across a sad sight. A lone headless snowman stood in a clearing, some stray brown leaves blown up against his snowy body. His head lay a few feet beside him. Was this the same snowperson I had come across before? I looked around for the tattered top hat, wondering if it would help bring some life back to this broken snow-chap.

For this CAS card I only had 10 minutes to complete it, so it was quite the rush. I cut the papers and stamped my Stampotique “Global Warming?” stamp in the middle. I quickly cut a banner and stamped the sentiment from the BugBites “Mistletoe” set. The snowflake was cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge, then it and the banner were quickly inked using Tumbled Glass Distress ink. I added a blue gem in the middle of the snowflake and this card front was done.

On the inside I quickly stamped the sentiment using the My Pink Stamper “Biggie Christmas Sentiments” set and added the star from the Tim Holtz “Christmas Memories” set.

I stamped that same star onto the envelope to tie it all together. This card was completed in 9 minutes and 27 seconds (cutting it close I know). It did manage to earn me another +201 speed exp points.

This speedy snowman creation will be zooming into the following challenges:
CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #83: Dashing Thru the Holidays
EmergencyCrafters Challenge: Winter Wishes
Poisoned Peas Please Challenge #10: Twisted Holidays
Chocolate Coffee and Cards Challenge #29: Snowmen

As I approached the headless snowperson, my direwolf’s hackles went up and he started to growl. Trusting his instincts, we quickly vacated the clearing, leaving the sad snowman untouched.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

The Legend of Natsuko

Welcome to the Guild Hall. Thank you for stopping by today on your crafty travels. A special welcome to anyone who may be popping over from the Use It Tuesday Guild. Come in from the cold and warm yourself by the fire; the direwolves won’t bite.

Last week we were visited by a mysterious woman from the far eastern realm of Aziana. She was passing through the land and stopped at the Guild Hall along with her nest of slithering snakes. She introduced herself as Natsuko and performed some impressive magics using numerous rare and foreign powders and stones. We were fortunate enough that she was willing to trade some of these magical supplies with us, as they are extremely difficult to obtain in these parts.

I started this card by stamping “Natsuko” by Kraftin’ Kimmie and colouring her with Prismacolors. Because 2013 is the Chinese year of the snake, I cut out some snake silhouettes using the Four Legged Friends cartridge. I cracked open the packing on my lantern embossing folder to emboss the gold paper using the Cuttlebug, then embossed the red paper with a cherry blossom pattern, earning myself +55 impression exp points. The banner was stamped using Lawn Fawn’s “Bannerific” and “Jessie’s ABCs” sets then inked with Wild Honey Distress Ink.

On the inside I used a sentiment from the My Pink Stamper “Biggie Christmas Sentiments” set. The other two images came from the Stampin’ Up “Dream Gardens” set.

I stamped the woman from the “Dream Gardens” set on the envelope to make it all matchy-match.

I created this project as a guest designer for the Use It Tuesday challenge “2013”, but this eastern delight will be appearing in the following challenges:
Divas By Design Challenge #66: Anything Goes
Creative Card Crew Challenge #26: Chinese New Year
Challenges 4 Everybody Challenge #10: Anything Goes
Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #52: Anything Goes
Winter Wonderland Challenge: New Beginnings
Card Crafter’s Circle Challenge #55: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Anything Goes
Pixie Dust Studio Challenge: Any Celebration
Stampotique Designers Challenge #80: Out with the Old, In with the New
Spark Your Creativity Now! Challenge #4: Anything Goes

With the rare ingredients we received from our mysterious visitor, we will be able to create some powerful magics which will aid us in our upcoming quests in the next sun cycle. Now to break the news to the Lady Commander of Copics, that she cannot keep Natsuko...*sighhh*

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

Undercover Santa

Sometimes the best laid missions don’t always go according to plan. Our rescue of the enslaved elves last night was in process, all the little guys getting loaded onto the sleds, when the man in the red suit returned earlier than expected! It’s a good thing we had the snowflake army to fight with us as there was a fierce battle that ensued. I rolled a +17, adding to my flame spell which weakened the fat man. The Guardian of Glitter used her Sparkle Blast to blind the chap while the Lady Commander of Copics went in for the kill. After the slave driver was vanquished, we realized that we’d need a replacement to deliver all the presents next year. Really...how hard could it be?

To make this quick Christmas creation, I cut out the bird Santa Claus from the 3 Birds on Parade cartridge. I embossed his hat and beard with the Cuttlebug. The sentiment came from the My Pink Stamper “Christmas Wishes” set. I added some blue rhinestones for some extra bling.

This card in disguise will sneak into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Merry Christmas
Card Crafter’s Circle Challenge #54: It’s Christmas
Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #51: December Celebrations
Paper Playtime Challenge #91: Winter Fun
CHNC Challenge #104: Anything Goes for Christmas
Little Scrap Pieces Fun Friday Challenge: Santa Baby
Hooked on Craft Challenge #27: Christmas
Die Cuttin’ Divas Challenge #95: More Holiday Spirit
Christmas Cards All Year ‘Round December Challenge: Santa
Spark Your Creativity Now! Challenge #4: Anything Goes

I’m certain this little bird will do a fine job next year delivering gifts across the realm. With his disguise, no one will even know the difference. He will also surely treat the elves better than that overweight fellow we felled. Quest complete!

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday, 24 December 2012

The Snowmen Mobilize

Once the snowflake army had arisen, some of them merged together to create even more monstrous soldiers - snowmen warriors. I was worried how these newly formed snowmen were going to fit on the sleds and still leave room for the elves we were rescuing, due to their massive breadth. They took care of that issue themselves though, creating motorized vehicles to ride in. Their high intelligence level and ability to create incredibly complex machines was beginning to worry me.

I started this card by stamping the “Snow Mobile” image by Whipper Snapper Designs onto watercolour paper and colouring him with Distress Markers and the Hydra Brush. This earned me +392 exp points in wielding the Distress Markers, allowing me to level up that skill. I stamped the tag from the Tim Holtz “Odds and Ends” set and inked and distressed the edges. I used a cheapo Recollections brand set to stamp the snowflakes and snowmen in the background.

I used that same set to stamp more snowflakes on the inside and added the sentiment from the Tim Holtz “Christmas Memories” set.

I stamped the envelope to match the background paper on the card.

I shall be mobilizing this card into the following challenges:
Pixie Dust Studio Challenge: Nontraditional Colors Christmas Creation
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Merry Christmas
Card Crafter’s Circle Challenge #54: It’s Christmas
Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #51: December Celebrations
Paper Playtime Challenge #91: Winter Fun
CHNC Challenge #104: Anything Goes for Christmas
Penny’s Paper-Crafty Challenge #107: Merry Christmas
Creative Craft Challenges2: Non-Traditional Christmas
Chocolate Coffee and Cards Challenge #29: Snowmen
Crafts and Me Challenges: Winter Wonderland

Hopefully we can get through the elf rescue mission tonight without any of these snowmen going rogue. I fear we will have to destroy them after the mission has been completed, lest they form together and rampage.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Sunday, 23 December 2012

A Snowflake Soldier Army Awakens

The Guardian of Glitter has been working tirelessly creating some glittery soldiers to assist us in the jailbreak of the elf slaves, which is to happen tomorrow night. The snowflake soldiers she created will be perfect as their shine will be a beacon for the elves, hopefully allowing for some order as we flee with hundreds of slaves from the toy maker’s sweat shop. It will be a difficult journey across the snowy tundra. We have the direwovles and hellhounds resting, as they will have a tiresome night tomorrow pulling all the escapees on their sleighs. The Guardian of Glitter’s design looks good, now we just need to get the dark mage, Nicardu to come and animate these shiny soldiers.

I started this card by inking the background with Distress Inks. I then used the Dylusions “Let It Snow” stencil to add some snowflakes to the background. I ran the sheet through the Cuttlebug to emboss it (and hopefully flatten it out as it was mega curly after spraying all that water on it). I inked the embossing with Chipped Sapphire to make it stand out a little more. I then stamped the snowflake blueprint from the Tim Holtz “Christmas Blueprint” set. The sentiment was from some cheap Recollections brand stamp. Added some buttons on the bottom and called ‘er done!

The inside sentiment is from the My Pink Stamper “Christmas Wishes” set. I added some snowflakes using a Recollections brand stamp.

I stamped those same snowflakes on the envelope to make everything ultra mega snowflakey, earning me +395 ice magic exp points.

This snowflakey card will be entered into the following challenges before it melts:
The Paper Players Challenge #126: CAS project featuring snowflakes
Creative Craft Challenges2: Non-Traditional Christmas
Card Crafter’s Circle Challenge #54: It’s Christmas

We still have a lot of work to do in the next 24 hours before we free these elfen slaves. That breaking and entering scheme is a whole other plot to thwart...we’re coming for you, fat man.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Saturday, 22 December 2012

A Time Demon Emerges

Sometimes it’s best not to dabble in things you are not adept in. We learned that lesson the hard way here at the Guild Hall. As the Winter Festival draws nigh, panic has start to set in amongst the house gnomes and even us guildys, as we try and complete everything before the big day. The Lady Commander of Copics proposed we attempt a Time Shifter spell to lengthen the amount of time we had to complete the necessary preparations for the Winter Feast. I vehemently protested, insisting it was an ill thought plan as she had never attempted a spell such as this and her exp level wasn’t high enough yet. The Lady Commander however was confident she could successfully complete the spell and did it anyway. That’s when she summoned a time demon. A horrid woman with ticking clocks for hair, she approached us, an evil look in her wide eyes.

I started this bookmark by stamping “Violet” from The Octopode Factory and colouring her with Prismacolors. I stamped the background using the 7 Gypsies “Steampunk” set and inked the edges with Distress Ink. I finished it off by adding the tick tock phrase, also from The Octopode Factory.

This timeless bookmark will be entered into the following challenges:
The Octopode Factory Friday Challenge: Anything Goes
Tammy’s Scrapin’ Corner Challenge #41: Anything Goes
Spark Your Creativity Now! Challenge #4: Anything Goes
Divas By Design Challenge #66: Anything Goes

I quickly called the Guardian of Glitter to the crafting chambers to assist us in vanquishing the time demon. After a lengthy battle with some lucky die rolls, we managed to banish her back to the Time Dwellers Realm. I made the Lady Commander clean the crafting chambers of the debris from the fight.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Return of the Skinny Armed Snowman

You may remember the young lass from the village who had charged the Guild Hall with a quest to slay a skinny armed snowman and transfer his likeness onto a card. It was some dark magic indeed to complete that task, but it went over so well, that she wanted another one. The Crafters Guild is not an organization to turn away crafty requests from young ladies in need - especially during the holidays.

I started by cutting out a shape from the Art Philosophy cartridge then stamping the snowman image by Whipper Snapper Designs on it. This time I coloured him using Prismacolors as I didn’t want this card to look too similar to the previous one I had made her. I inked the edges with Distress Inks and added some glitter to his hat. Let’s tilt the card to see the sparkliness better.

Ooooo....ahhhhh....This earned me +130 glitter exp points, which I flaunted in front of the Guardian of Glitter. The sentiment came from the s.w.a.l.k. “Let It Snow” set. It was already in the perfect arc to go over the shape I'd cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge. I added some silver snowflakes that are really “table confetti” that I’d saved from ages ago.

The inside sentiment was from a cheap Recollections set. I also used the Cuttlebug to emboss that circular snowflake.

I stamped some snowflakes on the envelope to complete this snowy card.

This holiday creation will be entered into the following challenges:
Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #50: Snow
Cardz TV DT Challenge #21: I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas
Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge #138: Snow
Jingle Belles: December to Remember
Challenges 4 Everybody Challenge #9: Anything Goes
CHNC Challenge #103: Anything Goes for Christmas
Love to Create Challenge #46: Winter Fun
Tammy’s Scrapin Corner Challenge #41: Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp: Merry Christmas
Paper Playtime Challenge #91: Winter Fun
Hooked on Craft Challenge #27: Christmas
The Perfect Sentiment Challenge #59: Anything Goes With Christmas
Spark Your Creativity Now! Challenge #4: Anything Goes
Penny’s Paper-Crafty Challenge #107: Merry Christmas
Crafts and Me Challenges: Winter Wonderland

With another skinny armed snowman slain, it was another quest complete. With less than a week left until the big day, I’m curious as to how many more requests the Guild Hall will receive.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

A Holly Jolly Jailbreak

Thank you for stopping by the Guild Hall. The Crafters Guild has been busy laying plans for the freeing of the enslaved elves. We have decided that the best date to spring the elves free would be the night before the Winter Festival begins, when it is guaranteed the man in red will be out breaking into houses all evening. I sent Barkle, one of the house gnomes, undercover into the sweat shop to start spreading the word of the breakout. He reports there is much confusion amongst the elves as to what is happening. They have lived in slavery for so long a lot of them are unsure as to where they will go once released from the tyranny of the man in the red suit.

I made this card for a friend who saw this card and loved it so much she wanted one like it, using the vintage Santa. I started this card by cutting out a tag shape from the Art Philosophy cartridge. I then stamped the vintage Santa image from the Tim Holtz “Christmas Memories” set, earning me +93 vintage exp points. I used Distress Ink to colour the tag and then attacked the edges with my blade, Paper Distresser. I stamped a little pine branch using the Dylusions “Christmas Accessories” set. I added on the ho-ho-ho with the Dylusions “Ho Ho Holly” stencil. I tied on a ribbon and sprayed it and the tag with Perfect Pearls mist for some shine. I stamped a piece of paper using the Tim Holtz “Reflections” set and placed it in the corner, tearing away part of the background paper to expose it. Finally I added one of the Christmas bingo cards I’ve been hoarding forever.

The inside sentiment came from the My Pink Stamper “Biggie Christmas Sentiments” set.

On the envelope I stamped the holly from the “Christmas Memories” set using my Distress Markers.

This creation will be entered into the following challenges:
It’s All About the Vintage and Beauty Challenge #33: Christmas
Pixie Dust Challenge: Christmas Traditional Colors
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge: Vintage Christmas
Christmas Cards All Year ‘Round December Challenge: Santa
Try it on Tuesday December Challenge 2: Lucky Dip (die cuts, ribbon, distressing, stamped image)

Hopefully Barkle is able to organize the elves for the escape in five days time. The last thing we need is a mob of confusion come Christmas Eve.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Sunday, 16 December 2012

The Holidays Are Nothing To Wine About

The countdown is on to the Winter Festival! The Guardian of Glitter and I have been enjoying a few flagons of wine while wrapping gifts today. When we came across a gift that was wine itself, we were tempted to drink it, as we had just finished the last flagon. Instead, we decided to craft and make that drab bottle of wine more festive.

I made this combo wine tag/gift card holder for my sister-in-law, who’s name I’m sure you’ve deduced by now {lol}. This little project earned me +549 dual technique exp points! Let’s see it in action.