Sunday 29 December 2013

Peppermint Problems

Today I received a raven from the village of Crimson Cream. A couple nights ago a candy cane fairy had passed through the village handing out her sweet treats. Naive to the dangers of eating food of the fae, several villagers have since fallen ill. I knew their healers would not be able to help them with conventional methods; a strong magical antidote would be required. I tasked the Guardian of Glitter and Guild Apprentice Lindsay with creating the antidote while the Lady Commander of Copics and I located the candy cane fairy to destroy her before she could cause any further trouble.

This card was started by cutting the white and red shapes out using the Art Philosophy cartridge. I then stamped the Kraftin’ Kimmie “Noel” image and coloured her using Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is the one that comes with her. Some crinkle ribbon and a couple pearly looking flowers finished off the front.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment using the Unity “Everything Christmas” kit. The candy cane in the corner is also a Unity stamp.

The envelope was stamped with the same candy cane to tie it all together and earn me +90 peppermint exp points. I’m not certain how that will be advantageous whilst questing, but I am sure to have fantastic breath.

This card will sweeten up the following challenges:
Desert Islands Crafters Challenge #68 (2-die cuts, 4-ribbon, 10-red/green)

As the Guardian of Glitter and Guild Apprentice Lindsay are very high in white healing magic, they were able to quickly craft a cure and set out to Crimson Cream to administer the tonic. Meanwhile, my sister and I had tracked the candy cane fairy to the Sticky Forest where she had taken refuge with a clan of peppermint goblins. We cast our defensive spells, drew our weapons and headed into the goblin’s lair. Unlike most lairs I have been in, this one smelled minty fresh. I idly wondered if there was a way to harvest and bottle the peppermint scent...that is until an arrow whizzed by my head, bringing me back to the task at hand...slaying foes.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~ 

Saturday 28 December 2013

Pack of Chilly Volunteers

Salutations, traveller. Welcome to the Guild Hall. Even though the Winter Festival has come to a close, we are not done celebrating here in the realm. The market square was bustling with activity today as the villagers prepared for the upcoming year end countdown. As I strolled through the square, checking out the various wares, I noticed the Penguin Pack was back. They have not been seen in the village since being kicked out last February for selling out of season merchandise. I wandered over to where they were setting up an enormous Christmas tree to ensure no trouble was afoot. 

This ATC was created for the reminder about the Just Some Lines December challenge happening now. Our theme this month is Christmas or winter. Come play along with us using a Just Some Lines image for your chance to win!
Spaaaaarkly star :)
I started this ATC by colouring the Just Some Lines “Penguin Christmas Tree’s Final Touch” image using Prismacolor pencils. The star at the top was done up in gold glitter for an extra +289 sparkly exp points. The background was inked using Tea Dye and Walnut Stain DI. I used the Dylusions “Let It Snow” stencil and Iced Spruced DI for the snowflakes. Last I die cut and stamped the letters using the Lawn Fawn “Quinn’s ABCs” set and coordinating dies.

This ‘lil ATC will add some sparkle to the following challenges:

It seems the Penguin Pack has turned over a new leaf and instead of looking for ways to profit from the holidays, they came to the village to volunteer to decorate for the year end countdown. I still didn’t trust them after last winter’s incident and shall be keeping a close eye on the bumbling chilly volunteers.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 23 December 2013

OMG - It's Almost Time!

The Winter Festival feast is only one day away and the Guild Hall house gnomes are in an absolute panic to get everything ready. We have quite a few guests coming tomorrow including Guild Mercenary Kimmy, mine own lady mother, some of the Lady Commander of Copics’ monster friends, our little mousey friend Maxwell, Chilly Willy and various others travelling in from all over the realm. Even though I was in the midst of a quest with my fellow guildies, we hung up our weapons and armor and jumped into the fray to assist the house gnomes with preparations for tomorrow. 

This was created for the Creative Card Crew’s “Anything Goes” challenge that is happening now! Create a project and you could win a $15 gift voucher to Scrapping Center!
 http://www.scrappingcenter.com/
I started this card by colouring the KennyK “Total Drama” image using Prismacolor pencils. I stamped the Dec 25 calendar page using the Dylusions “Christmas Accessories” set, inking around the edges a bit using Tea Dye Distress Ink. I used a page out of an old manga comic and ripped it down the middle so my Christmasy design paper was showing through. This earned me +77 destruction exp points. I purposely chose this page because the dialogue you can see says “But it’s almost time…” Last I cut the OMG letters out using the Robotz cartridge. 

On the inside I stamped the sentiment using the Dylusions “Christmas Words” set and framed it by stamping the Unity “Stick With Me” image. I used the negative cut that was left over from cutting the OMG on the front as a stencil and sponged some red ink onto it.

So this envelope took about as long as the whole card did - lol. First I drew out all the lines to separate them into comic book type panels. I left the middle blank to write the address and then started stamping images in the other panels. The top left and middle were stamped with the Crafty Secrets “Coffee and Tea” set. The next one was stamped with the FlonzCraft “Cute Kids and Teens” anime set. The bottom left was stamped with the Tim Holtz “Christmas Memories” set. Next up I used the Lawn Fawn “Winter Sparrow” set and the “Winter Owl” set. Last I used the Lawn Fawn “Yeti Set Go” set. I sent this to my friend who is a comic artist and graphic designer and it looked so awesome after I wrote the address in the middle!

This card will shriek with terror in the following challenges:

Sometimes the most important quest line is happening right in your own home. With us guildies helping them, the house gnomes were able to complete all the outstanding tasks and breathe a little easier...that is until my lady mother shows up…that is a whole ‘nother quest in itself. *shudder*



~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Enchanted Turkeys

Today the house gnomes were busy getting the menu prepared for the quickly approaching Winter Festival. Olga was preparing a turkey when suddenly she shrieked and ran out of the kitchens. I looked at her in confusion as she ran past me and poked my head in to see what had happened. I was surprised to see a live turkey running around the kitchen, with bits of stuffing come from its rear end. 

I started this card by stamping the Kraftin’ Kimmie “Merry” image and colouring her with Prismacolor pencils. I cut the lattice looking background part out using the Artbooking cartridge, earning myself +33 holey exp points...not really sure what I will do with those. The sentiment is a Unity stamp, and just fits so perfectly with this image - lol.

On the inside I used another Unity stamp for the sentiment and frame and then stamped the oven mitts that came with “Merry” onto patterned paper and cut them out.

The envelope was stamped using the Dylusions “Christmas Borders” set and coloured in with Distress Markers.

This tasty card will cook up a storm in the following challenges:
Desert Island Crafters Challenge #68 (2-die cuts 4-twine 10-red/green)

“Where did you get this turkey!?” I called to Olga.
She poked her head around the corner. “From the market, mi’lady. There was a travelling caravan selling them for a very good deal.”
“I am fairly certain these are enchanted,” I said struggling to catch the wild bird, slipping on bits of stuffing.
I suppose I’ll have to cast some detect magic spells on the rest of the food now, lest it come alive during Christmas dinner!

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 16 December 2013

A Twilight Blizzard

On the way back from Twinkleton, the Lady Commander of Copics and I encountered a winter storm the likes of which we had never seen. The strong winds pelted the snow at us, stinging any exposed skin whilst the temperatures continued to plummet. We finally had to stop and take shelter in a cave we were fortuitous enough to happen upon. As we huddled together over a small fire, we watched the storm outside rage on until the snow was so heavy we could no longer even make out the inky sapphire night sky. 

I started this CAS card by stamping the snowflakes using the Lawn Fawn “Winter in the Park” set and heat embossing them. It was very hard to see them on the white paper, so I had to cast a reveal spell to assist me. Next I ripped a piece of scrap paper in two pieces and used it to mask off the top and bottom half of the card, earning myself +582 shadow exp points. This middle section was then coloured with Distress Inks. Finally I stamped the sentiment using the My Pink Stamper “Biggie Christmas Sentiments” set.

On the inside I stamped more snowflakes, this time using the Lawn Fawn “Making Frosty Friends” set. The sentiment is also from the “Biggie Christmas Sentiments” set.

The envelope was stamped with a cheap-o Recollections brand stamp. Chilly.

These snowflakes will cool off in the following challenges:

We must have fallen asleep for a spell, as I woke up with a start, completely disoriented. The angry wind no longer howled through the cave mouth and outside I could see snow softly falling to create a sparkling white landscape. The Lady Commander and I extinguished our fire, gathered our gear and headed out again to attempt to make it safely back to the Guild Hall.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Saturday 14 December 2013

An Eskimo Kiss-Mas

Today the Lady Commander of Copics and I donned our heavy winter armor and cloaks and made the journey far north to the village of Twinkleton. The land here is perpetually covered in snow and in the winter, shrouded in darkness and impassable without a sled or snowshoes. It was a difficult journey, but we were invited as honoured guests to their Eskimo Kiss Festival, having assisted them with many crafty quests in the past.  

This card was created for the reminder about the Just Some Lines December challenge happening now. Our theme this month is Christmas or winter. Come play along with us using a Just Some Lines image for your chance to win!


I started this card by colouring the Just Some Lines “Eskimo Kiss” image using Prismacolor pencils. 
On the furry parts of their parkas and boots I used some a lot of glitter for a bonus +927 sparkle exp points which allowed me to level up! My sparkle magic attacks will be extra strong now! The pink panel was embossed with a snowflake folder and my Cuttlebug. The snowflake border separating the two papers was cut using the Artbooking cartridge, as was the sentiment shape. I stamped the sentiment using the Lawn Fawn “Cozy Christmas” and “Harold’s ABCs” sets.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment using the My Pink Stamper “Biggie Christmas Sentiments” set then added some snowflakes on the bottom with a cheap-o Recollections brand set.

I used that same set on the envelope, stamping the snowflakes using Victorian Velvet Distress Ink.


These ‘lil eskimos will cozy up in the following challenges:

The Eskimo Kiss Festival was great fun, the entire village decorated in twinkling lights with music, games and food whilst above, the mystical aurora borealis danced overhead. Angela and I decided to spend the night in Twinkleton before making the difficult journey back to the Guild Hall on the morrow.


~ Guild Master Crystal ~