Wednesday 29 August 2012

A Flower Sprite in My Garden

Out in the garden this afternoon I happened upon a flower sprite. She was busy gathering the remaining blossoms of the season to prepare for the cool weather that was fast approaching. I watched in silence as she went about her work and soon, there wasn't nary a petal in site. She spotted me watching her and drifted towards me. Silently, she handed me a flower the size of a grapefruit. With a slight nod of her head, she disappeared in a cloud of sparkle dust. With the image still fresh in my mind, I carefully carried the flower back to the Guild Hall, set it on my bench and began crafting a card.
I started out with The Greeting Farm's ""Fancy Anya" stamp. (So cute). I stamped her on white first, then again on the green patterned paper and the pink patterned paper. I carefully cut the pieces out and paper pieced her together (after colouring her skin with Prisma Colors). This earned me +20 costume change exp points. The piece behind her I sprayed some Bubblegum Pink and Cut Grass Dylusions spray inks then used a stencil for the leaves. The sunflowers were also paper pieced using a stamp from the My Little Shoebox "Farmer's Market" set. The background started as a white piece of paper. I ran it through the Cuttlebug then inked it using the Salty Ocean Distress Ink. A quick spritz of London Blue spray ink finished it off, earning me +102 magic splatter exp points. The sentiment is from a cheap Inkadinkado stamp I got at Wal-Mart.
Super simple inside. That sentiment is from "Sophie's Sentiments" by Lawn Fawn.
Matching envelope...because I have issues with making matching envelopes. Those sunflowers are just so cute.

This sweet card will be entered into the following challenges:
The Greeting Farm Farm Fresh Friday Challenge: Paper Piecing
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Inspired By Summer Distress
Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog: Anything Goes

As I was finishing this card, the flower on my crafting bench woke up! Little arms and legs emerged from beneath the petals and sleepy eyes blinked open and looked up at me. I quickly called to the Lady Commander of Copics who came rushing into the crafting chamber. The squeals of glee from her have yet to cease.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Tuesday 28 August 2012

The Sparkle Strike

Alas...it was a busy night in the Guild Hall tonight. The dire wolves were restless, sensing a change in the air as autumn fast approaches and enemies draw nigh - enemies, bearing glitter. I spotted their approach as I was in the rookery, tending to the owls. It is hard to be stealthy when one is made entirely of glitter. Anticipating an attack, I quickly sent word to the Guardian of Glitter, knowing she would know how to best defend the Guild Hall from a sparkly strike. As the battle started, glitter dust rose in the air. Not wanting to waste any of it, I collected as much as possible. Then I made a card.
I started out with this super cute goth girl I got from Meljen's Designs. I coloured her up with my Prismacolors, which are my favorite medium to colour stamps with. They just blend so nicely with the Gamsol. The light purple paper I embossed with the gears embossing folder and my Cuttlebug. I used sandpaper to make it all "distressy" <-- just made that word up. I find you can make any word into an adjective by just adding "y". Totally legit! Anyways...went off on a grammar tangent there...I also distressed the edges of the polka dot paper. I stamped the banner from the Lawn Fawn "Bannerific" set and the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn "Clear to See" set. The final touch was some glitter on the little goth girl's skulls and the "whooshes" coming off her.
 Kinda hard to see...but it's there in all its glittery glory.
Simple inside...giving this card some purpose.
Matching envelope...because I like when things match. That cute skull stamp is from The Greeting Farm "Sweet & Toxic" set. I thought a girly skull would go with the cute little goth girl. I earned +53 dark magic exp points by crafting this card.

This cute goth girl card will be entered into the following challenges:
Paper Playtime Challenge #82: Polka Dots + Sentiment
Shopping Our Stash Challenge #66: Use Your Favorite Things (Prisma Colors are my favorite medium to colour stamps with!)
Meljen's Design Team Challenge #124: Sketch Challenge

Nikki, the Guardian of Glitter, was able to defeat the sparkly attackers, thus keeping the Guild Hall safe for another day. She collected the glittery bodies and loaded them onto a wagon to carry to her workshop to extract the glitter from them. Waste not want not. Blech.

~Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 27 August 2012

How Many Boxes of Cookies?

Tonight while dining on some fresh venison and mutton, our dinner was interrupted by a loud knock on the Guild Hall door. The Lady Commander, who was back safely from her jaunt through the Sarkonian Grassland, went to answer it. A shrill squeal of delight followed. Sighing, I heaved myself to my feet wondering what kind of cute creature we would be adding to our ranks today. Sure enough, there was the cutest, fuzziest little green monster selling Adolescent Adviser Biscuits door to door. The little scout was trying to earn another badge to sew onto her sash by selling the sugary delights. The little guide member became the inspiration for my next crafting creation.
As I was creating this for a few challenges, there were numerous elements I had to incorporate. It had to be a one layer card. I learned my lesson from the 10 minute craft dash card, and this time cut a SEPARATE piece of paper to do all the "one layering" on because I knew the Dylusions spray inks would warp the paper when I dried it, and didn't want to warp the whole card again. So I used a separate sheet and glued it onto the card base to flatten it out...worked much better. 

The SUPER cute monster is from Stampotique and I love him <3! I started by stamping him out. Then I masked him off (earning myself +20 shadow exp points) and used my harlequin stencil and Distress Inks to ink the background. A few spritzes of Dylusions spray ink finished it off. I dried it with the heat tool, warping the paper as I expected. I was also entering into another challenge that involved "stitching" (real or faux). I don't have a sewing machine, so I went with "faux" and used my "stitch" patterned Cuttlebug border folder on the edges of the card, earning me +120 embossing exp. (It's easier to see in real life than in this picture). After the background was all done, I unmasked the monster and coloured him with my Prismacolors. I also went over his horns with some metallic gold paint.
Ooooooo shiny. And that was it. One layer of cute awesomeness. It was really hard to leave this one layer...I wanted to add more....but restrained myself.
I stamped a sentiment on the inside using the My Creative Time "Wow! So Many Candles" set.
Aaaaaaaand of course made a little matching envelope. Heehee...the monster is being all peeky. I also earned +591 kawaii exp points for this card, leveling up to SUPA-KAWAII.

This "monstrosity" (haha punny) will be entered into the following challenges:
Stampotique Designers Challenge #262: One Layer
Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #34: UFOs & Monsters In Your Closet
Divas By Design Challenge #49: Anything Goes
Crafting for all Seasons Challenge #34: Stitching - Real/Faux

The Lady Commander of Copics ended up buying 14 boxes of the Adolescent Adviser Biscuits then somehow convinced the little monster scout to play with her for an hour......siiiiiiigh....boy am I glad she's home.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Friday 24 August 2012

Slow and Steady Wins the Race...But Won't Complete This Quest!

There is not a lot you can do in ten minutes. You can't, for instance, play an entire board game or feed all the hell hounds or go to the market and back or wrap Super Mario Bros.....actually...wait...I do believe you can do that in six minutes or less - AT ANY RATE...ten minutes is not a lot of time - certainly not enough time to create an entire card! When presented with this crafting quest, I was skeptical it could be done, but I am never one to hit the decline button when presented with a quest.

Mistake #1 - Not having any sort of plan. My plan consisted of "I wanna use this stamp".
Not a great plan when working against the clock. So I got out that stamp, my ink pad and a piece of paper and started the timer.

Okay okay...think think....only got ten minutes. That is clearly not enough time to fight through the entire paper hoard and choose something for a background...what to do what to do....damn it...I've already wasted like 30 seconds. Hastily I grabbed the nearest Dylusions spray ink and gave the blank card a spritz. Hey...that'll work. I grabbed a few more colours and sprayed those on the paper as well. Luckily my heat tool was already plugged in. With one hand holding the heat tool, drying the sopping wet card front, I used my other hand to flip through my stamp book to try and find something else to use with this image. 

BAM! Found it. From the "Say What You Mean" Dylusions set. OH! ....and what was that? A Skull from the "Dependable Dotty" set. PERFECT. I removed those with my right hand (left hand still drying the card which was so wet it's now in the shape of a "u" after being dried). Yipe. That won't do. "Hmmm..." I think. "If I put that through the Cuttlebug it might flaten it out. Ya not so much. Ok....that wasted how much time?!? ARG. Plan B....finding an embossing folder to use so it will hopefully flatten the card out. 

Mistake #2 - Not having a plan {lol}.

Looking through alllllllll the Cuttlebug folders trying to make a decision probably wasted a good minute. I finally decided on a border folder and ran it through. Didn't really flatten it out. Oh well - not enough time left to think of a new plan. I just assembled the card front and tried not to worry about it.
After everything was stamped and glued on, I decided the embossing was hard to see, so I went over it with the "white picket fence" Distress Marker. Much better. Buuuut...the card was still a "u" shape and all crinkly. A quick glance at the timer revealed I still had enough time left to cut some paper out to glue on the inside, thus stabilizing the entire card. Did that. Then decided the inside was too plain, and quickly stamped some images.
BAM! Hit the stop button. *pant pant* I did it.....I managed to create a card within ten minutes!
Holy crap. I didn't think it could be done. Not my greatest creation, but not the worst either. If I had HAD A PLAN things would've gone a lot smoother. I earned +1200 speed exp points from this quest and leveled up my speed TWICE! I felt like a crazy person rushing around my craft room over the nine minutes.  

If you know me, you know I like a matching envelope to go with my card, so after cleaning up the mess from the whirlwind which was me, I made a matching envelope.
See...messy...just like the card. Now they match and everyone (especially my ocd) is happy. Lol.

This crafting quest was for 10 Minute Craft Dash Challenge #1.

It will also be entered into the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge: No Rules! and the Divas By Design Challenge #49: Anything Goes.
Even though it was stressful, as I'm not used to working under that kind of pressure (especially with no plan in mind), it was still enjoyable and I look forward to conquering the next crafting quest for the 10 minutes craft dash!
QUEST COMPLETE!

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Thursday 23 August 2012

Zombie Rabbit Attacks!

It was an interesting evening at the Guild Hall last night. One of the house gnomes found an injured rabbit while doing a sweep of the grounds before locking up for the night. He brought him inside, insisting the poor creature could be saved. As I was surely unable to reach the village healer at this hour, I called upon a white mage that I knew was passing through town and lodging at the inn for the next couple of days. The mage arrived and began her magic upon the rabbit. Before she could finish her healing spell, the rabbit arose and began feasting upon the flesh of a rat that was scuttling by! It was a zombified rabbit! The white mage and I managed to defeat it in battle, getting lucky on a couple of rolls. It was a good thing she was there to help. Imagine the carnage should that rabbit have awoken during the night. The rabbit, although a zombie, was super cute and inspired me to create a card (as most of these encounters tend to do).


Errr...don't mind the corner of my ink pad in the picture; I needed something to hold the card shut while I took a picture. Here's what it looks like opened:
The bunny image is from Meljen's Designs which I won with the cupcake card from another crafting quest. I coloured him up using Prismacolors. I then used the Lawn Fawn set "On the Mend" and stamped the turtle with the water bottle on his back, and just cut out the water bottle to put on the bunny's head. It just fit so perfectly. This earned me +40 dress up exp points. The sentiment is also from that same set. 
That cute tissue box and sentiment inside the card also came from "On the Mend". I also used the little bug from that same set to create a subtle patterned paper on the orangey-brown paper. It's a little more noticeable in person.
I used the bugs on the inside panel of the card as well. I just couldn't leave that panel "plain" and those bugs are just too cute not to use! 
I used the little bug on the envelope as well. I also used the little "bug trail" from the Lawn Fawn "Happy Summer" set. 

This super cute get well card will be entered into the following challenges:
The Corrosive Challenge Blog Challenge #156: Cute as a Button
Card Crafter's Circle Challenge #36: Rich and Earthy Colours!
Lawnscaping Challenge #40: Make your own patterned paper with stamps

I'm glad the Lady Commander wasn't here to witness the slaughter of the cute zombie rabbit. Hopefully she doesn't find out.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Tuesday 21 August 2012

The Sepia Tea Party

A messenger crow arrived today with news about a large supply of tea that was stolen from a local merchant. He was seeking help from any willing hero and would provide a reward to anyone who could recover the crates of missing tea. I sent a message to the Guardian of Glitter for assistance, knowing she was a tea lover, and we met up and set out to find the missing tea. Turns out it was stolen by the notorious Captain Jack Java who was in the process of disposing of the tea into the Lake of Liquid Pearls. Nikki used her glitter beam to stun him while I sliced him with my great sword - Kraft Blade. We then returned all the stolen tea to the grateful merchant. I felt I needed to make a card based on our tea-capade.

This was the first time I've ever attempted this "double pocket fold" card after watching a bunch of different tutorials on YouTube. My only regret is the patterned paper I chose, but I powered through anyways. Before I get into everything that I used, here is what it looks like with the stuff out of the pockets.

So because I was entering this into the Lawnscaping Challenge that involved creating your own patterned paper with stamps, I used the Lawn Fawn set "My Cup of Tea" to stamp the teacup pattern and the pattern on the tag. I used that same set to stamp the spoon and sentiment on the tag. Then I used the Crafty Secrets "Coffee and Tea" set to stamp the retro lady, tea kettle and the sentiment on the front. I coloured them using Prismacolors trying to go for a sepia tone.

Here's a close up of the cute kettle on the tag. I used the "steam" stamp from Lawn Fawn's "My Cup of Tea" for the background on this one. The bands of kraft I added on the tag and outside of the card because they reminded me of those "sleeves" they put on your cup at coffee shops so you don't burn your hand.
I used the kettle from the Lawn Fawn set to make the "patterned paper" for the inside of the card. They weren't all uniform but I liked that better because it added to the "vintagey" feel of the card.
Then I added another retro lady from the Crafty Secrets set and coloured her as well. I kind of messed up on her, but oh well. The phone and the "call me" came from the October Afternoon "9 to 5" set and the super random splotches came from the 7 Gypsies "Steampunk" set. 
Of course I also stamped the envelope to match the card because it makes me happier when they match. I earned +400 combo exp points for using four different stamp sets to make this card.

This card will be entered into the following challenges:
365 Cards: Day 174 - Surprise Inside (the tea bag)
Emergency Crafters Challenge: Tea & Cake
Lawnscaping Challenge #40: Make your own patterned paper with stamps

The merchant ended up paying us in tea. I needed to hook a cart to Ruffles just to haul it all back to the Guild Hall as it was too much to fit into her saddlebags. The Lady Commander will be pleased to see all that tea upon her return as she is a fan of warm beverages. Quest complete.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

The Pink Watchers

Greetings, traveller. Not a whole lot has been happening at the Guild Hall in the Lady Commander's absence. The other day I was riding my horse, Ruffles, to the neighbouring village to collect some more crafting parchment and passed a house with strange decorations in front of it. Dozens of pink bird-like creatures adorned the property. They weren't alive, mind you; they were crafted out of wood and paint. In amongst the birds was a sign which read "Lordy Lordy...Walden's 40!" What a cruel jape! Who would go to the trouble to construct these pink monstrosities, then transport them here, just to let everyone know that it is Walden's 40th name day. Strange. The odd bird creatures did provide me with some inspiration to create a card after I had procured more crafting parchment.

Everything on this card is from the Lawn Fawn "Gnome Sweet Gnome" set except for that cloud. That came from the My Little Shoebox "Home Tweet Home" set. I coloured the flamingos and the bee with Distress Markers and used Distress Ink to fill in the grass at the bottom. This earned me +20 simplicity exp points.
Super simple inside. I left it blank so I could just write whatever on the inside when it came time to give this card to someone.

And I stamped the same bee image on the envelope to make everything all matchy-matchy.

This super simple card will be entered into the following challenges:
Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #33: Flamingo Pink
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Animal Antics

I did later learn that Walden drank one too many ales at the village tavern during his name day celebration and got into a fight with some orcs he encountered on the road back to his dwelling. Unfortunately, the orcs got the better of Walden with a roll of 19 and he shan't be seeing his 41st name day.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~
 

Sunday 19 August 2012

Mini Cake Anyone?

While at the market yesterday, I decided to buy something sweet to cheer myself up as I was missing the Lady Commander of Copics and our long nights of crafting until the candles are no more. Trying to talk about ribbons and inks with the house gnomes just isn't the same (although one did give me 99 alternate uses for buttons). As I meandered from stall to stall, I came across a lady selling mini cakes. One bite and I was hooked! This was just the kind of artificial mood boost I required. I bought a dozen and went back to the Guild Hall to stuff my face with the sugary delights. Riding the sugar high I was inspired to make a card.

This is like a clash between office and birthday. Don't ask me what I was thinking. The clock, "rush" and tack were stamped from the October Afternoon "9 to 5" set. The "giggle" ticket is obviously from Tim Holtz Adage Tickets, but the one behind was stamped out using his "Odds and Ends" stamp set. The sentiment is from the "Birthday Crazy" stamp set by My Pink Stamper. The circle do-dad was cut from the Accent Essentials cartridge. That brings me to the star of the card - "Birthday Anya II" by The Greeting Farm. I coloured her using Prismacolors and Gamsol. This was the first time I've ever used Gamsol, and I was pretty impressed with it.
It just gets rid of the sometimes harsh pencil lines you can get when using coloured pencils and blends everything together oh so nicely. I have since coloured numerous other TGF characters and can't wait to give them a card to call home. I earned +170 Prisma points and leveled up my colouring skill.
The inside I stamped with "Flower Flourishes" by Inkadinkado using the Spun Sugar Distress Ink. Then I stamped the sentiment using "Birthday Crazy" again.

I will be entering this into the following challenges:
The Greeting Farm's Farm Fresh Friday: Happy Birthday Challenge
Diva's By Design Challenge #48: Sketch Time!

Well after eating all those mini cakes I sure had quite the upset stomach and had to send Mixie, one of the house gnomes, to the apothecary for an elixir. Hopefully the Lady Commander returns soon so I don't resort to sugar binges to fill the craftless hole in the hall.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Saturday 18 August 2012

The Gnome Games

I awoke this morning to quite the racket outside my sleeping chamber - shouting, cheering and general merriment. I am not a morning Guildy, and didn't appreciate being roused from my slumber in such a manner. I sleepily pulled on a tunic and plodded down the stone steps to see what all the fuss was about. I pulled open the heavy wooden front door and stepped out into the morning sunshine. The roads were lined with carts, wagons and horses as far as the eye could see. I asked a passerby what was going on and was informed it was the annual Gnome Games. Curious, I mounted my mare, Ruffles, and went to have a closer look. It appeared to be some sort of tournament in which the little gnomes were hitting a ball with a wooden stick and running around a field. Interesting. I decided to make a card based on my observation.
I cut the bird from the "3 Birds on Parade" cartridge and embossed him with the well loved Swiss Dots folder. The paper behind him was in my scrap bin. I punch some holes in it then put each hole on a binder ring and just ripped it out. Pfffff....who needs a notebook punch {lol}. I drew on the ball diamond then embossed the diamonds parallel to the lines using a border embossing folder. Shaded the edges with some Distress Ink, added some dots and a sentiment, and called 'er a day. 
Thought this would make a good "boy" birthday card (of which I'm seriously lacking), so stamped the inside using the "Wow! So Many Candles" set from My Creative Time to turn it into one. This move earned me +193 transmogrification exp points.
I also stamped a little birdy on the envelope to match the bird on the card. A plain envelope is a sad envelope. This bird was from "Gnome Sweet Gnome" and the music note was from "Sophie's Sentiments" - both Lawn Fawn stamps. I don't know that I've made a card without using something Lawn Fawn. I just love their stamps so much. (The sentiment on the outside was also done using Lawn Fawn stamps). 

This little card will be entered into the following challenges:
Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #124: 2012 Olympics (sports theme)
Cardz TV Cricut Cardz Challenge #114: Critter Cuties
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Animal Antics

I still don't understand the game the gnomes were playing. One of them told me it was called "Bace Bawl" and they learned it from a distant land over the great Inky Ocean. I don't know...seemed like a lot of standing around to me. 

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Friday 17 August 2012

I "Moose" You Already!

Angela has been busy preparing the horses and wagons all day, ensuring everything is ready for her difficult journey ahead across the fields of the Sarkonian Grassland. Tomorrow the Lady Commander begins her trek to her cabin in the woods for some quality time with the Prince of Popsicle Sticks and his family. As such, there will be no crafty crops until her return to the Guild Hall. Somberly, I decided to make a card to express my feelings on this situation.

I cut the moose and the sign post from the Campin' Critters cartridge. The leaves and foot prints I stamped with the "Camp-a-Lot" Bo Bunny stamp set. The leaves were stamped on patterned paper and cut out, earning me +29 precision exp points. 
Simple inside with matching leaf stamps.
And of course I stamped the envelope to pretty it up, as I have issues with plain envelopes. Those leaves on the envelope are from the "Doodle Parts" Dylusions set.

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:
Cricut Cardz Challenge #114: Critter Cuties 
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Animal Antics 
My Craft Spot Challenge #66: Under the Stars (Camping Theme) 

I hope the Lady Commander of Copics doesn't get attacked by brigands on the road. Or eaten by one of the Gray Griffons that are known to roam the Sarkonian Grasslands. Many perils await her journey and I wish for her safe return to the Crafters Guild Hall. May the d20s roll in your favour, dear sister.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~    

Thursday 16 August 2012

Saving the Colour Sprouts!

Last week the Lady Commander of Copics and I embarked on a quest to rescue the carmine colour sprouts. The plantation where these pigment plants were grown was under attack by the Dark Dwarf Brigade. We had dealt with these foes before, thwarting their constant attempts to rid the realm of our colour farms. We had never been to Rusty Red's Farm where he grew the carmine colour sprouts, and boy were we surprised to see how cute these little sprouts were! Angela was delighted when Rusty Red gave us a bunch to take back to the Guild Hall as thanks for ridding his land of the Dark Dwarf Brigade. As we were riding back she had already named them all. The cute little guys did provide inspiration for my next card.


If you were ever wondering how much random junk you can put on one card, it turns out a lot. I seriously had no plan for this when I started other than using that little pepper stamp. The rest was just me grabbing random things and putting them on. The background was sprayed with Dylusion Spray Inks. I also used the Dylusions alphabet stencil for the background, but it's pretty hard to see in the picture. The lady is stamped from the Dylusions Traveling Travis set. I cut the yellow and orange thingys from the Accent Essentials cartridge. But I didn't stop there. Out came the tissue tape, a piece of ribbon and some yellow paper clips. Blam blam blam. I earned +280 chaos exp points putting together this super random card.
As this card is super random, I just kept the inside sentiment-free and stamped some accents from the Doodle Parts Dylusion stamp set.
 
I also made an envelope for this monstrosity. Here is why I hate wood block mounted stamps...it's impossible to see where exactly you are stamping - hence the crooked & uneven lemon/orange stamps. Oh well...the card is utter bedlam anyways...why not have an envelope to match?

This crafty confusion will be entered into the following challenges:

Paper Playtime Challenge #81: Hot & Spicy (+die cut or punch)
4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #103: Circle, Circles and More Circles

Angela has got the carmine colour sprouts refiling her copics from the red family when she's not playing with them. I've been noticing numerous red blotches all over the Guild Hall. I think they're going to have to start sleeping outside to keep the scarlet smudges to a minimum.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Wednesday 15 August 2012

The Farmers of Yore

Time to do some archiving again. I instructed Angela to take an allergy pill as we were about to descend into the dusty caverns where we store the ancient photographs (I still haven't gotten around to hiring those house gnomes). The Lady Commander and I found some old pictures of our parents playing around on our Grandmother's farm circa 1976 and thought they would go nicely with the farm paper we had recently procured.

For this super simple layout, we cut the phrase and the cow from Country Life. Then we went outside and broke some twigs off a nearby tree and adhered them to the page. Nothing like using actual nature to enhance the outdoorsy pictures. This earned us +39 nature elemental magic points. My sister also had some metal snaps in her random box of beads and buttons, so we used those as the truck wheels.

This farm layout will be entered into the following challenge:

Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge #32: Around the Farm 
 
Judging from these old photographs, it would appear our parental units are not the agriculturalists our forefathers were. We have added this page to the ancient, worn tome and carefully returned it until the next time we will be indexing the records.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Lessons Resume at the Schoolhouse

Even though we are still amidst the summer months, there is a definite crispness in the air today, reminding us that autumn draws nigh. That means it is time for summer romances and carefree play to come to a close as the children return to their lessons. I do not have any offspring to prepare for this, but my husband is an instructor and he will be returning to the schoolhouse in a couple of weeks. As such, I created a card for him to congratulate him on his new teaching position he was awarded this year.

I used Wednesday from the Greeting Farm because her outfit has always reminded me of a school uniform. I wasn't too pleased with the colouring, but at least it's practice which earned me +89 pencil exp points. The background paper is some school themed chalkboard sketchy paper that I've had in my stash FOREVER and decided would be perfect for this. I also cracked open the package of "Smash Stickies" that I bought a long time ago and have never used to peel off a sticky with the scissors picture to add in the background. 

I cut the books and apple from Hello Kitty Greetings. I tried glossy accents on the apple, but it really didn't turn out too well. I'm not 100% sure if I'm using that stuff properly. It seems really hard to spread out evenly. I think I need to use more of it because some parts of the apple didn't have any on it. That did earn me +90 exp points for trying something new.

The chalk board was just black card stock and some "wood grain" patterned paper I cut into strips. Then I wrote on it with the white picket fence Distress Marker. I also made another chalkboard for the inside.
This I stamped with white ink. I made the card "attitudey" because the school my husband will be teaching at this year has a lot of problem kids with not only bad home situations, but learning disabilities too. It will definitely be a challenge.

Speaking of challenges...this card will be entered into the following:

Farm Fresh Friday (TGF): Back to School
Shopping Our Stash #64: Technique Time - Try something new or revisit an oldie (the glossy accent on the apple which didn't turn out super great *shudder*)
Use It Tuesday #37: All About School (background paper and "Smash Stickies")
Cricut Cardz Challenge #113: School's Cool

As excited as my husband is to go back to school, he did purchase himself some new fire-branded armor from the smithy to give him +50 defense points against these kids...he's going to need it.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~