Gotta love Gus!

For the Christmas in July Mini Challenge today Catch the Bug has the following sketch:

I decided that I just had to use this fun Gus image that I've had forever...

I colored him w/ my Bic markers & colored pencils, added some glitter to the "fluffy" areas & then added some glossy accent to make his glasses good & thick. (doesn't show in the photo, but they are like Coke bottle bottoms lol!)

The reindeer dp is K&Co & the stripe is Pink Paislee. I added some sparkly mini tree brads- I think they are Making Memories, but am not sure-I've had them in my hoarders drawer for a while.

I am also entering this on the following:

Make It Monday, anything goes w/ a linky party

ABC Christmas O is for Older- user an older image

My Grafico, Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes, Christmas in July

So have you joined in on the fun over at Catch The Bug? There is still time! Tomorrow's mini challenge is "Snow Business"- make a project w/ a snow theme. And there is a blog hop going on until Friday Night. 

Oh, For the Love of Coffee!

Ok, so I admit it.. I do so LOVE my coffee! The very smell of it makes me smile & feel a little giddy. So when I was sitting last night very uninspired & thinking I would just go to bed early & forget about the challenges I wanted to play in I looked one more time thru my images that I had in front of me & BAM! the idea for this card hit me:

The super sassy image of Ruby(colored w/ pencils & then chalked around edges) is from Bugaboo If you get a chance pop over there & check out the great Freebies Jodie is offering from her new Wizrd of Oz collection-very cute! The sentiment I printed out using Microsoft Publisher (can't remember the font) the brown dp is from My Minds Eye & the blue is a scrap from my stash from year's ago.. not sure where it came from. The ribbon is off of a Christmas package (reuse!) and of the course the coffee beans are from my pantry lol!

The challenges that helped inspire me are:

CPS #203

Sketch from CPS

Theme "Friends" at Going Grey with Scrap-Creations

Colors "Chocolate & Blue" at Fab -n- Funky (this is my first time playing along w/ them-I just found them)

And then "reduce & re-use" challenge at Kraftin Kimmies (also my first time playing along-my reuse items are the blue dp, ribbon & the coffee beans-but I have been casing the blog for a while) Oh & if you hurry, drop by  Kraftin Kimmies Stamps before the end of the day.. It is Kimmies birthday & she is offering a discount! Yippee! Happy birthday Kimmie! (BTW.. I will be celebrating that milestone next year:))

Beat those winter blues!

Ugg. I am usually a "winter" person for the most part but after having a few teaser days with temperatures near 60, it is really hard to face a day when they return back to the around 35 mark. This wonderful image of Scarlette from Bugaboo makes me feel a little better! Of course I am still green with envy that my mom & sister are flying off to warm Cancun this weekend (lucky dogs!) but I do know summer is just around the corner!

DP: Die Cuts With a View for all but the yellow tone on tone dots, it came for a QVC kit from many yrs ago
Sun, beach balls & sentiments are from The {Stamps} of Life
 I used pencils to color Scarlette & the little beach balls(with glossy accent over top) & chalks for the background

I got the "recipe" for this one from  Sweet Sketch Wednesday
I am also entering it on:
Do You Stack Up? Where the challenge is all about patterned paper
Totally Stampalicious Where the theme is no reason at all/just because

I hope you enjoy & that it helps shake a few of those winter blues!
:) Candi

Catch the Bug Mini Challenges #4 & #5

Wow this week has flown by! So for the last two mini challenges, #4 was to do a birthday themed card. I used my all time favorite color PURPLE & cupcake Dottie who I think is absolutely FABULOUS!!

I used glitter on the frosting of the cupcake & then used glossy accents which I covered in glitter on her ear rings & bow center to add a little extra pizazz

Up Close

You can see it a little better here. Like I said before, I am still trying to figure out this photographing thing. :) I colored her w/ my colored pencils, DP is from Imaginesce, card stock is African Violet by Paper Adventures, the ribbon is a scrap I dug out of my ribbon stash, & I hand wrote the sentiment (not super fond of it) & popped the punched pieces up with a pop dot

And for challenge #5, It was an anything goes challenge, so I threw caution to the wind & tried something new! I have been admiring easel cards on other blogs & finally decided to make one of my own. It's for my mom (Hi mom!) to celebrate her being cancer free for almost 2 yrs now. Plus, pink has ALWAYS been her signature color! tee hee! I am also entering this card for the challenge at Do You Stack Up? where the theme for this week's challenge is Think Pink. I am really starting to dig this!

Too Pink!

Here is my supply list: kraft & white cardstock, I made the back ground paper & "Think Pink" sentiment using microsoft publisher, DP is Making Memories Cheeky Collection- Abby set, ribbon scrap from my stash pile, white brad is Making Memories, and the glitter pen used on her hand bag & flower I believe came from a little set I picked up in the dollar bin at JoAnn Fabrics. When I saw Pink Ribbon Gals at Bugaboo, I instantly just HAD to get one!

Ok, here I go!

So here it is, my very first post... This year instead of resolutions, I set a few goals: #1 be more creative! It is a great stress reliever however it isn't so good on my sleep schedule-always looking up to see its 1 AM! #2 Actually participate in some challenges, calls for submitions, etc (thus the new blog-hard to enter without one!) #3 Use my Cricut more after all I didn't get it to just gather dust & #4 Quit being such a hoarder lol! Actually use my stash of supplies & try not to go on crazy buying binges just to end up adding to a pile that doesn't get touched.

So it is January 20th & so far, so good. New blog CHECK! And thanks to the big birthday bash at Bugaboo, I have created 5, yep 5 cards this week & the only "new" product I used was the super cute freebie they posted for one of the challenges. YAY! Check out all the fun stuff at Catch the Bug. See ya there tomorrow when I actually post photos of my cards. Woo Hoo, no looking back now!