Monday 30 June 2014

Some Extra Bit of Intel

We woke up in Stuffton to the shouting of a newsie. Sleepily I donned my armour and travelling cloak and went to purchase one of the papers the young chap was hawking. As I dropped a bronze coin into his hand, he touched the brim of his cap, subtly tipping it in thanks before he started hollering again. The Guardian of Glitter emerged, rubbing her tired eyes as I scanned the news. Suddenly one article caught my eye and made me stop.
“Gotcha,” I whispered to myself.  

This card was made for the Creative Card Crew ‘Masculine” challenge that is happening now. Make a masculine themed project and come play along with us for your chance to win a prize from our sponsors!
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I started this card by colouring the QKR Stampede “News Boy” image using Prismacolor pencils and cutting him out. The background was cut from an old newspaper and attacked with Distress Paint, earning me +112 messy XP points. The circular images were stamped with a Unity stamp. The letters were cut with the Birthday Bash cartridge, which I use for its font more than anything else. You may recognize the paper as it was left over from this other news themed card I had recently made. 

On the inside I stamped the top sentiment using the My Creative Time “Wow! So Many Candles” set and the bottom one using the Crafty Secrets “Party Queen” set.

The envelope was stamped with the same circular coffeecup stain like images, matching the front and inside of the card.

This card will spread the news in the following challenges:

“Nikki!” I exclaimed. “I’ve found him! I know where we can find the Duke of Dies and hopefully the Lady Commander of Copics.”
“What? How?” the Guardian of Glitter asked, still not fully awake.
“This newspaper article,” I said, holding the paper out to her, “It has all the information we need to find his lair. Let us go. We have no time to waste,” I declared.
“Can’t we at least have coffee?” Nikki grumbled.
I stopped and slowly turned to her. “You’re right. We can’t quest caffeine free. To the cafe!”

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Stuffy with a Stuffy Nose

Following the information we had received from the grumpy dancer, the Guardian of Glitter and I headed to Stuffton. The small village is home to a peaceful stuffed bear clan and we found it odd that the Duke of Dies would keep his lair so close to such a people. Although, my sister is partial to fuzzy cute things, which would easily lure her in. When we arrived in Stuffton, there was quite the commotion as one of the poor bears had taken ill and the village doctor was away, collecting more medicines from the Fuzzy Forest which was at least a two day ride away. Being that her healing skills are such a high level, the Guardian of Glitter offered to help the poor bear.

I started this ATC by stamping the Kraftin’ Kimmie “Cuddle Up & Keep Warm” image. I paper pieced his head and the patches on his blanket, colouring the rest with Prismacolors. I decided he needed to look more sick, so I stamped the band-aid from the Lawn Fawn “Get Well Soon” set onto patterned paper along with the medicine bottle. 
I used glossy accents on the bottle to make it more….glassy...and you know...bottley. This earned me +88 breakable XP points. I’d best assign them to a skill before they're ruined. The background was stamped with the steam from the Lawn Fawn “My Cup of Tea” set and the sentiment is from the Lawn Fawn “On the Mend” set.

This ATC will snuggle into the following challenges:

The Guardian of Glitter was able to use her high level healing magic and help the poor sick bear, nursing him back to good fluffy health. As she had drained most her mana with this, we decided to rest the night in Stuffton and continue our search on the morrow.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Tuesday 24 June 2014

The Sassy Informant

Greetings. Thank you for stopping by the Guild Hall today. The Guardian of Glitter and I are off exploring the Floundering Reef looking for signs of where the Duke of Dies has the Lady Commander of Copics locked up. Our investigating finally lead us to a derelict looking building in the slums. We had heard whispers that there was a lass here who knew where the Duke of Dies had his lair. When we opened the door to the run down shack we were surprised to see a dance studio inside with girls in tutus, practicing ballet. Nikki and I stood off to the side watching when one of the girls finally noticed us and stomped over. She was wearing a kawaii pig headed hat and a little curly pig tail could be seen poking from her skirts.
“Who’re you?” she snarled, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, miss. I am Guild Master Crys…”
“Ya, ya, ya. Whatcha want?” she demanded, tapping her foot.
“We are looking for,” I consulted my parchment, “'Sugar Ganache'.”
“That’s me. Make it snappy,” the girl said, glaring at me.

I was invited to guest design over at Try it on Tuesday where the theme this week is Tags Anywhere or Just a Tag. I’m not well adept at making tags as I usually make cards, so this was truly a challenging crafty quest, but I did have fun making it and like how it turned out.
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I started this tag by stamping the Kraftin’ Kimmie “Angry Ballerina” image and colouring it with Prismacolor pencils. I then worked on the background, stamping the Unity “Worn Music” image and heat embossing it. I sprayed the tag with pink Dylusions spray ink and then used a stencil and some Black Soot Distress Ink, wiping off the music notes with a baby wipe. The borders were cut using the Artbooking cartridge. Last I added the cheeky sentiment from the Dylusions “Say It How It Is” set earning myself +333 sassy XP points and leveling up!

This tag will dance into the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: I ought to use this more (Dylusions spray ink. I have a bunch of them and hardly use them anymore.)

After some prodding we were able to ascertain the location of the Duke of Dies lair thanks to Sugar’s information. After she was done with us, she stomped back to the group, her pig ears flapping as she walked, and continued on with her dancing. I had never met someone with a more ironic name - a sassy brat named Sugar - go figure.

~ Guild Master Crystal  ~

Friday 20 June 2014

Skip to the Loo

After gathering our supplies and casting some protection spells, the Guardian of Glitter and I set out to the Floundering Reef. We bought passage upon a trading vessel and headed to the harbour to catch our ride. Before we left I asked the Guardian of Glitter numerous times if she had to use the restroom and she assured me each time she already had and was fine. Of course as soon as we got to the harbour and were waiting to board the ship, she suddenly had to pee. 

I started this card by cutting the shape using the Art Philosophy cartridge and stamping the toilet from the Unity “AH Crap” set. I coloured the plunger and toilet using Distress markers and then paper pieced the tank top and lid using the same paper I used for the background. The “father” was stamped with the Crafty Secrets “Favorite Fellas” set and the bottom sentiment came from the “AH Crap” set. I used some thread in the background for visual interest and +130 binding XP points.

On the inside I stamped the image using the Unity "Crappy Day" itty bitty and the sentiments using a couple other Unity stamps. 

The envelope was stamped with the Unity “Heavy Chevy” stamp, tying in the triangular like thingies in the background paper.

This card will swirl into the following challenges:

Being that there was no proper water closet at the harbour, the Guardian of Glitter was forced to relieve herself in some nearby bushes while I stood guard.
“Sorry,” she apologized sheepishly as she came from the bushes, tightening her leather armour.
I shook my head and we made our way to the ship, which was almost done loading their wares, and set to head out to the Floundering Reef. Our search for the Lady Commander of Copics was now officially underway.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

A Birthday HIT

Today the Guardian of Glitter and I set to some physical training in anticipation of the battle that was sure to ensue when we set out to rescue the Lady Commander of Copics from the Floundering Reef. To keep our melee battle skills high, we had a ninja from the Tumbled Glass Clan come to the Guild Hall and train us in some new kickboxing moves.

I made this card for a trainer at the gym I go to. Since the name of it is 30 Minute Hit I wanted the “hit” portion to be super prominent. I started this card by creating the background using the Tim Holtz “Dot Fade” stencil and Distress Inks. I chose the blue and pink colours since those are the colours of the gym (my boxing gloves are pink - teehee). I didn’t have any fighty stamps, but I did find this clip art on my computer and used that as my image, colouring it with Prismacolor pencils. The sentiment I stamped using the Lawn Fawn “Jessie’s ABCs” set and the “hit” was cut out using the Birthday Bash cartridge and then embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment and image using the There She Goes “Ninja Skillz” set. 

The envelope was inked using the Dot Fade stencil and then stamped with her name using “Jessie’s ABCs”, making it match the front and earning me +88 coordination XP.  

This card will pack a punch in the following challenges:
Penny’s Challenge #182: Favourite Embellishments (eyelets and brads are my 2 favs)
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After our training session, the Guardian of Glitter and I were spent. We did however manage to gain three levels in our melee damage! Feeling more confident, we sat down to figure out the details of our rescue mission.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 16 June 2014

A Fairy Anticipated Message

Today, filled with melancholy over the absence of my sister, I took to Glitter Grove for a quiet stroll. I had not heard from the Lady Commander of Copics since her departure a fortnight ago, and wondered if she had made it to the Floundering Reef with those pirates. I sat beneath the shade of a willow tree and was completely lost in thought when a small voice pulled me out of my reverie.  
“Guild Master?” came a soft whisper from above me.
“Tis I,” I replied, standing and turning to see the speaker.
A tiny glittering fairy sat upon a low branch looking at me. “I have news of your sister.” 

This card was made for the Creative Card Crew “Fairy Day” challenge that is happening now. Make a fairy-licious project and come play along with us for your chance to win a prize from our sponsors!
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I started this card by colouring the Day For Daisies “Fall Fairy Friend” image using Prismacolor pencils. I then cropped it, cutting it so that her wings, foot and the leaf were hanging over the edge of the box. The sentiment was stamped with a Unity stamp and some stitching was added with a white gel pen.
Her wings are painted with shimmery gold and bronze paint, earning me +77 shiny XP points.

On the inside I stamped the top sentiment using the Crafty Secrets “Glamour Girls” set and the bottom one using the Unity “Happy Everything” kit.

The envelope was stamped with an flourish from the Crafty Secrets “Glamour Girls” set.

This card will fly into the following challenges:

It turns out that the Lady Commander had indeed made it to the Floundering Reef alive and was last seen entering the Duke of Dies lair. She had not emerged since. This news troubled me, and I set out at once for the Guild Hall to formulate a plan with the Guardian of Glitter. We had to save our missing guildy!

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 2 June 2014

Pirate's Life For Me

Today I found the Lady Commander of Copics at the harbour, booking passage aboard a ship to take her to the Floundering Reef where she would search for the Duke of Dies who failed to arrive at the Guild Hall the other day. When I saw the captain of the vessel, I was agast. A beautiful woman with curly black hair cascading down her back stood upon the ship, ordering her deck hands to prepare to disembark. Her right eye was covered with a patch and she wore a sword at her hip.
“That is most definitely a pirate,” I said to my sister.
“Well obviously. But what choice do I have? I am but a poor adventurer. I haven’t the gold coins to book passage upon a proper passenger ship.”
“But…a pirate ship? There is sure to be danger. Who knows if they will even take you to the Floundering Reef!” I exclaimed.
“That is where they are headed. They found an old treasure map and it leads them to the reef. All I have to do is cast a simple location spell when we get there, and they are letting me come along for free.” 

This card was made for the Creative Card Crew “Nautical” challenge that is happening now. Make a nautical themed project and come play along with us for your chance to win a prize from our sponsors!
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I started this card by colouring the Delicious Doodles “Gothicka” image using Prismacolor pencils, blending them with Gamsol. The map I stamped using the There She Goes “Shiver Me Timbers” set, cutting it out and inking it with Distress Ink to make it look old and more...mappy. The sentiment also came from the “Shiver Me Timbers” set and earned me +244 punny XP points.

On the inside I stamped the top sentiment using the There She Goes “Ship Happens” set and the bottom one using the My Pink Stamper “Friends and Family” set.

The envelope I crafted using some patterned paper and my scoreboard of great creasing. I slapped a blank address label to the front so you could actually write someone’s name or address on it.

This card will sail the high seas into the following challenges:
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I worried about this arrangement that the Lady Commander had worked out with the shady looking captain of the pirate ship. The fact that she wore a crown with a skull, surely meant that there would be trouble on this voyage but nothing I said would convince the Lady Commander to stay and simply send a raven to the Duke of Dies. I silently cast a protection spell upon her as I waved from the docks, watching the pirate ship sail away, wondering if this was the last I would see of my dear sister.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Fairy Magical Skin Care

When the Duke of Dies didn’t show up yesterday, the Lady Commander of Copics was convinced that he had somehow found out about her skin malady. In a blind panic (literally, as she was still wearing the silly paper bag on her head), she turned to the fae for help, allowing them to cast a suspicious spell upon her they claimed would help the mysterious rash that now sprawled across her face and was spreading to her arms.

I started this ATC by stamping the Kraftin’ Kimmie “Lilybelle” image and colouring her with Distress Markers. The background I coloured with Distress Inks, earning me +40 blendy XP points. I stamped and die cut the stars and magic wand using the Lawn Fawn “Critters Ever After” set and then stamped the sentiment using the same set. I added some Ice Stickles to the wand and stars, cuz you know….glitter. Lol.

This ATC will cast a spell on the following challenges:

The spell sent the Lady Commander into a deep slumber, but when she awoke, her skin was clear of the rash. Happily she crumpled up the bag she had been wearing and began to pack her rucksack, intent on head to the Floundering Reef in search of the Duke of Dies. Not trusting the fae, I was concerned with what other effects the spell may have that could manifest themselves later (that’s what we call foreshadowing….)

~ Guild Master Crystal ~