Layer It Up at the Outlawz Greetings Challenge Blog

This week the team at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenges wants to see layers on your card - at least 2+ layers. Angie's Cards & Digis. My image is called Fairy Sitting and I colored my fairy "garden camouflage" with my trusty Copics (after all, fairies are not easily detected).
I used cardstock, patterned paper and handmade paper for my layers, and embellished simply with a few sequins and jewels. If you can't read it, my sentiment says:

Garden fairies come at dawn,

Bless the flowers and then they're gone.

So what are you going to create this week?  I hope I've inspired you to create with some extra layers, and I hope YOU don't forget to link up your card or project with the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenges for your chance to win 5 digital images from our sponsor, Angie's Cards & Digis.

Challenges I am Entering:
Cards in Envy - Purple & Green (I made these pastels)
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes w/optional Green & Gold)
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

The Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenges Us to Brighten Someone's Day

There's not a week that goes by that I can't think of someone who needs a pick-me-up, something that will brighten their day. So I was very happy to see the newest challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge this week. To brighten someone's day is to share with them your happiness, to lend them your smile, to give them hope.
My DT make this week is a Thank You card for one of the many caring and supportive staff at the VA Hines Hospital. My husband and I are veterans, and with me getting laid off, and my husband being handicapped now, we are spending one to two days a week at one appointment or another. We have yet to experience a "bad day" or discourteous staff member.
My card features a digital image from Sheepski Designs, this week's sponsor over at the Outlawz Greetings challenge. They are offering a prize of a $10 gift card toward a purchase at their Etsy Shop.

The image I used is called Annabell.  I colored her with Copics and colored up a little scene for her before framing and then placing her on my card. I embellished simply with Skittles and a K&Co sticker. My sentiment is on the acrylic heart I tied onto my card with some organza ribbon.

What will you create to brighten someone's day? A birthday card, a Thank You note, a funny note  card  that will  make him or her laugh out  loud? Whatever you create, remember to link up with the Outlawz Monday Greetings  challenge for your chance to win that Sheepski Designs gift card!

Happy crafting!

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Crafty Cardmakers - Lots of Layers

Ooh La La Creations - Anything Goes

Left of Center challenges - Butterfly

Friendship is the Theme at the Outlawz Monday Greetings this week

I like to send my friends a card out of the blue-- not for any occasion, just to let them know I am thinking of them. So I was really happy to choose this week's theme over at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge. Create with the theme of Friendship in your projects and link up for your chance to win digi images from two generous sponsors:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/theeastwind

and

https://www.etsy.com/shop/SLSLines

Today I created a card for my girlfriend and neighbor, Sue. I just went to see the movie "Florence Foster Jenkins." It was hilarious. Anyway, I colored up a digi image from The East Wind called "Untitled." Gathering up my leftover pieces of patterned papers, I used color blocking in my design. My sentiment was a rubber stamp I've had forever.

Although she lives just two blocks down the street, I'm mailing my card, because lt's face it, people like to get snail mail! LOL

Okay, you have the theme (friendship), the deadline (end of week) and the motivation (digi images from the sponsors' stores). Let's see what you create this week over at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenge.

Color Theme at the Outlawz Greetings Challenge

Today brings a new challenge to the Outlawz Monday Greetings, and it is a COLOR challenge: use Blue, Green & Red on your project this week. This week we have two generous sponsors, Robyn's Fetish

and My Stitch Back in Twine

I created a hybrid card using Copic-colored digi image called Mermaid Darcy from My Stitch Back in Twine, and a digitally-produced background for her. The background uses:

Pixel Scrapper Amanda Brown’s Hollister Crab Sticker; PS Janet Scott’s Winter Arabesque Ripped Paper, Strawberry Fields Sun Doodle & Work Day Red Dots Paper; PS Sharon Grant’s Fall Beach Vacation Embellishment 11; PS Melo Vrijhof’s Summer Splash Teal Zentangle Paper.  
 So, what's om your craft table this week? Hope there's some red, green & blue supplies so you can join us for this week's COLOR challenge at the Outlawz Greeting Challenge.

My Favorite Kind of Challenge at the Outlawz Greetings Challenges

It's the last Monday of the month, which means ANYTHING GOES is the theme at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge. Kitty Bee Designs is this week's sponsor, and I created my card using a digital image called Best Bun.
My card is all about friendship today, inspired by the many many times my BFF and I sat in front of fireworks, the lake, a garden, etc., It's so relaxing to sit with a friend, knowing that you will never be alone, even when she is far away. That's how I feel about my soul sister, Janie. She and I go back to college days.
I drew and colored my card face with a mix of Copics, colored pencils and white gel pen. After framing my Copic-colored image with cardstock, I added siimple embellishments and my sentiment.
The inside says it all:

What will you create this week when it's Anything Goes? Just don't forget to link up for your chance to win 3 digi images from our sponsor, Kitty Bee Designs.

  Challenges I am Entering:

Crafty Cardmakers - Summer

Life is a Phantasi at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenges

Welcome to the Outlawz Monday Greetings new challenge. This week crafters are asked to create using a new technique. The guest sponsor this week is Digi Stamps 4 Joy, whose digital image, Phantasi 7 is showcased on my card today. Isn't she lovely?
My new technique is using some fancy die-cuts I colored with Copics to frame my card. Usually I stick to my Nestabilities dies that don't take twenty minutes to get out of the dies and trim them. But it does look nice on my card. LOL
Inspired by the feathers in her hair, I embellished my card with feathers, and added a line of pearls as well. I created this card for my granddaughter's graduation, and she loved it! Of course, it came with an altered container topped with a grad cap which, when pulled off the top of the container, was followed by a number of one dollar bills taped end to end. It presented an almost endless ticker tape of money, so who wouldn't like that?!
So what technique have you been wanting to try? Do it this week and show us your project. Just link  up with the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge for your chance to win digi images from our sponsor, Digi Stamps 4 Joy.

Join the Summer Beach Party at the Outlawz Monday Greetings

Welcome back to a new challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenges. The theme this week is Summer Beach Party, and we have two generous sponsors this week:

Eureka Stamps, with which I used "Shell Border,"

and

Creative Bug Digital Stamps

Today I created a fun card using "Shell Border" from Eureka Stamps. I created my background using torn patterned paper. I punched yellow cardstock for my sun and placed it behind my image, which is colored with Copics and sparkled with glitter. I added some twine and my sentiment and my card is finished. 

Challenges I am Entering:

My next card is from this week's second sponsor, Creative Bug Digital Stamps. I got to play with Marcella Manchester who happens to be a sock monkey!

This card is a hybrid, in that all my images are hand-colored then placed digitally onto a scene I created. My scene is actually a photo that I took while in Australia. I framed my scene with textured glitter paper from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' Glitterati Paper kit. here are the rest of the items used to create this card: Flip Flops,Sand Pail, Beach Drink and sentiment from Scribbles Designs; banner and beach sign from pixelscrapper.com

The only thing missing from my card is the sun block Marcella Manchester is going to need! LOL

Now it's time to get your beach on and come play in this week's challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings. See you there!

New Challenge at the Outlawz Greetings This Week

Today brings a new challenge from the Outlawz Monday Greetings. We are mirroring the seasonal changes with a theme of April Showers and May Flowers. Lacy Sunshine is this week's generous sponsor, and I colored up this awesome image called "Floralia" with my trusty Copics, adding a tiny bit of shimmer with a couple glitter gel pens.
My flowers come in the form of a dry-embossed background which I colored with white gel pens for that contrasting pop of colors. I heat-embossed my greeting (it is, after all, the Monday greetings challenge).
Whether you choose showers or flowers, come play at the Outlawz Monday Greetings this week for your chance to win!

Challenges I am Entering:
Colour Your World with Lacy Sunshine - Anything Goes
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes
A Gem of a Challenge - Favorite Color Combo & Why (Again, I have to choose Teal & Pink-that white embossing really shows up well on the teal background, doesn't it?)
Alphabet challenges - E is for Embossing

Two for the Price of One

Today at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge blog, the theme is Anything Goes, and I took it and ran with it! There are two sponsors, Crafty Sentiments and Decosse's Dynamite Doodles, so I managed to create two projects for the challenge.
My first is a calendar page for my 2016 calendar. It is a perpetual calendar in that there are two acrylic boxes between which you can slip a calendar page. There are four sides and the middle is empty,  so I can place whatever I want in the middle-flowers, candy, etc., while displaying four months at a time. I started it last year.
I colored a Crafty Sentiments image called Just Relax. After creating the background with ink and brayer, I sat her down onto a snow bank with the month of January behind her. Since there is very little free  space between layers of acrylic, I embellished simply with tiny pearls and my greeting (it is, after all, the Monday Greetings challenge).

Decosse's Dynamite Doodles is also sponsoring the challenge, so I used Photoshop to create an inspirational digital canvas with some fun elements and papers from Lisa: purple papers from the Glitterati Paper Pack & Christmas Grunge Paper Pack, and 3 Button elements from the Spring Blooms Kit. I drew an outline of the crescent moon and then filled it with the buttons in varying sizes. My quote uses Butch font from The Hungry Jpeg (copyright pere esquerra). 
I hope you have as much fun with your crafting time this week as I had in mine. Don't forget to link up with the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge for your chance to win some nifty prizes.

Challenges I am Entering:

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers - T is for Technique (brayered background)
Crafting Musketeers - New Beginnings (every month, every day is the beginning of something new)
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

Firdt Challenge of the New Year at the Outlawz Monday Greetings

Happy New Year, crafters! The Outlawz Monday greetings challenge blog welcomes you into the New Year with a New Challenge. We want to see a TREE somewhere on your card. Now, don't get the chainsaw out! LOL Just create a car with a tree in the patterned paper, in the background, hand drawn, or maybe even an image of a tree.
This week's sponsor is Kitty Bee Designs,

and I've used the digi image called Owl. My trees are part of the patterned paper from the Green Stack by DCWV. I had this last piece left in my stash. I was very good in 2015 with using my stash up, and not purchasing any new papers. Unfortunately, I must extend my purchase ban this year as my stash is pretty hefty--still!! Did I say I was a paper-holic? Too true!
In fact, everything on my card is from my stash. The only thing new is the digital image. Which leads me to a very important question--did you receive any crafti-licious presents this Christmas? I received a roll of baby pink vinyl for my Cricket machine, and in fact, I was gifted with the "other" half of the Cricket. My DIL and I went in together to buy one to share, but she released her half to me for a wonderful gift (this is in addition to the awesome grandson she gave me earlier in the year LOL).
Whatever you received, or didn't receive, I hope you have fun crafting this year, and link up a project or card with the Outlawz Monday Greetings this week!

Happy Day of the Dead card

Twelve days until Halloween. Thirteen days until Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. "Dia de los Muertos is celebrated throughout Mexico. Many other countries around the world celebrate similar (or hybrid) versions of Day of the Dead as well, by having special days for honoring the dead.  It is a festive, joyous time of celebration, falling on November 1 and 2 of each year, coinciding with the Catholic holidays All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day."  (http://www.art-is-fun.com/day-of-the-dead-facts)

Today starts a new challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings. The theme is to "use flowers or brads" on your project. My DT project is a hybrid card, one made from both paper-crafting and digital crafting. I colored up an image from Rick St Dennis, one of our Guest Sponsors this week. The image is called Death on Saturday Night. After fussy-cutting the image, I created a scene in Photoshop and popped my image into it.

I like the way it turned out, and hubby asked me to print up a card for him. I'm going to give the Spanish teacher this card in a few weeks.

So, you can see where the grey flowers embellish the upper corner of my card, but I also used tiny flowers on top of my image. Where are YOU going to add your flowers (or brads) to your card or project? Don't forget to link up at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge blog for your chance to win prizes this week!

Here's what has gone into my project:

Digital image from Rick St Dennis: Death on Saturday Night, colored with Copics.

Papers from Decosse’s Dynamite Doodles Christmas Grunge set Purple; from RUCOLA DESIGNS by Ildi Geist Dead or Alive Collection patterned paper 12.

Elements from RUCOLA DESIGNS by Ildi Geist Dead or Alive Collection: Flower 1 & 3, Clouds (behind my sentiment), Tomb 3, Tree, Gateway 2; Pink Lotty Designs: Human Skeletons 2, 3 & 4; Krysty Scrap Designs Overlay 09.

Challenges I am Entering:

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Halloween

Left of Center Creative challenges - Good Old-Fashioned Horror

Quoth the Raven - Color challenge

Our Creative Corner - Halloween Horror

One More Time with the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenge

Have you checked out theinspiration at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge this week? Not only do our sponsors, Scribbles Designs and Melonheadz, have prizes to offer, but one of our own DT members, Christina Hor, is also an artist. Se created this wonderful autumn-themed digital image set, called   . The set comes with the image and three sentiments. I used it to create one last card for the challenge of autumn colors and twine.
Now for the good news. Christine's set will be the prize in a second bonus draw!

Only crafters who enter the challenge this week get a chance to win this set, so have fun creating!!

Waiting for Fall

The season has definitely changed. Leaves are changing colors, temps are lower, and winds are a bit crisper. This week the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge blog asks for a card or project that "uses Autumn colors and Twine."
My DT project uses an image from Scribbles Designs called "Leafy Brrr." I used twine to tie my tag to the card, and made up the tongue-in-cheek humorous sentiment, printed with Microsoft Word. One of the things that MUST be on your project is a sentiment or greeting. Link up your project using twine and Autumn colors for your chance to win. And just to sweeten the deal, there will be a second drawing for a digital stamp set from one of our DT, Christine Hor, "So Thankful":

What are you waiting for?? LOL

Challenges I am Entering:

My Time to Craft - Autumnal Colors

Chicolate, Coffee & Cards - Animals

De-Stempelwinkel challenges - Halloween/Autumn/Fall

Service Comes in All Sizes

I love playing with Kenny K's digis, and when I saw this Girl Soldier digi image, I had to create with it for the Outlawz Greetings challenge this week. Kenny K is one of our generous sponsors this month, and is offering 3 digi images as a prize to one lucky winner.
The theme this week is Buttons! and I have been experimenting with merging paper and digital crafting techniques again. My card is 1 part digital and the rest cut and color. Can you tell which is which? LOL
I colored my image with Copics, going back in time to when I wore fatigues and they were a mix of greens and browns. I was never as buff as this soldier, but I did put in my time for my country, and proud of it. That's why I support programs such as Operation Write Home, Honor Flight, and Wounded Warrior. This card will join others in a mail out to deployed troops. There's a Reserve Unit close to home (I should know, my son is an Army Reservist) and they have at least one company deployed.
I have to admit, the digital elements on my card are my buttons, the necessary element to qualify for this challenge (well, that plus a greeting). I was struck by inspiration for my card, and had no idea at the time what the theme was, so had to add them in last minute as it were.
So when you create a card for the Outlawz Greetings challenge this week, Don't Forget Those BUTTONS! LOL And as always, have fun crafting!

Challenges I am Entering:

Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes

Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Cutie Pie challenges - Cute as a Button
Get Creative challenges - Stars
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Use Your Stuff - Anything Goes

613 Avenue Create - Moon and/or STARS
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Celebrate Mom at the Outlawz Greetings challenges

Just wanted to show off the CAS card I gave my mom yesterday. I used some digi goodness from DeeDee's Digis, one of this month's sponsors at the Outlawz Greetings challenges. The set is called Blooming Blessings and comes with 4 outline images, 4 pre-colored images, 4 white-filled layering images, and 4 sentiments, in JPG and PNG formats.
 I created my square card base using an oversized patterned tag from K & Co. The images used from DeeDee's includes a colored frame and three colored bouquets. The golden yellow background paper and green brads are from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. Once I put the two forms of crafting together, I added a few jeweled butterflies, some ribbon trim with sparkle and a couple very thing gold lines and my card is complete.
Come show us what you've made this week at the Outlawz Greetings challenge, where the theme is Mother's Day and you always must have a greeting or sentiment on the front of your project.

Other Challenges I am Entering:
Lisa Somerville Blogger's Challenge - May Flowers
Crafty Catz - CAS
Digitally Sweet - April Showers Bring May Flowers
Sentimental Sundays - Happy Mother's Day (must have sentiment)
Hiding in My Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday (everything I create uses my scraps; I haven't bought new papers in forever!!)

Get Well Theme This Week at Outlawz Greetings Challenges

I need to get busy making several Get Well cards for the many friends who seem to be feeling off this week. Besides a couple girlfriends with long term illnesses, I have a friend who came down with the flu and could use some cheering up. So I pulled out a lovely image from All Dressed Up called "Little Dreamer."
All Dressed Up has the most delectable images to color and create with, and the Outlawz Greetings challenges is so lucky to have them as one of this month's sponsors. This week, the challenge is to create a Get Well card, and I thought this little dreamer would be perfect to do so.
I cut up a piece of leftover patterned paper from my stash into several smaller pieces, then framed them with dark card stock and moved them around my card front until I liked the arrangement. After coloring her with Copics, I popped Little Dreamer onto the same card stock and adhered her to my card. The sentiment is from a vellum sticker stack from K&Co (also on same card stock.
There wasn't much room to embellish, but I found a space for a couple paper flowers, as well as my butterfly. That should definitely cheer her up, don't you think?
I hope you have some time to create this week. If so, come join us at the Outlawz Greetings Challenges. 

Other Challenges I am Entering:

All Dressed Up _ Anything Goes
Card Mania challenges - #66 Spring

Crafting from the Heart - Anything Goes

Crafty Boots - Spring

Crafty Cardmakers -  Spring Has Sprung
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
Mema's Crafts - Anything Goes
Ooh La La challenges - Fashion
Through the Purple Haze - Anything Goes
the Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Show Off Those Ribbons & Bows at the Outlawz Greetings This Week

Today brings a new challenge from the Outlawz Greetings challenges: make a card with Ribbons & Bows (and as always, a sentiment must be on the front). I colored up an image from All Dressed Up, our sponsor this week. She's called Sweetie Pie, so I had to make a sweet card with which to showcase her.
Now, I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Chicago, we still have lumpy hills of snow and ice in our yards. So when I saw this little sweetie, I thought she looked like I have been looking for the last week, thinking that Spring would never come!

My card is actually a gate fold card, and the photo above shows off one of the "gates." Here's a photo of the card open. The quote is from a poem/song by Gertrude Tooley Buckingham and reads, "Gentle Spring's around the corner, Waiting just to show her face
And to bring us flowers and sunshine; Winter's almost run its race!"
Like her, I have hope that Winter will soon disappear until next year, and Spring is already working its magic under that frozen blanket.
Got some time to create a card this week? Come play in the Outlawz Greetings challenge, where all you need is a sentiment and some ribbon & bows!
Don't forget to check out all the lovely images over at All Dressed Up! There are some freebies as well, which you can use on their challenge blog.

Make It Glitter and Shimmer on the Outlawz Greetings Challenge

I had fun today making a card for the Outlawz Greetings challenge. The challenge is to make a card with a sentiment and put some glitter & shimmer on it.
The sponsor this week is Creative Bug Designs, and I got to play with a cute image called "Bed Jumping Sock Monkeys." I grew up with a love for chimps, and used to watch Curious George all the time. Of course, as soon as I saw this image, the children's rhyme came to mind (and never left, to my regret).
I started out with an awesome patterned card front from DCWV. After coloring my image, I decided to embellish with jeweled flourishes, and went a little crazy, but that's my shimmery part of the card. I added some glitter polish on the bed linens for the glittery part of the challenge. I typed up my sentiment using Microsoft Word, putting the rest of the rhyme on the inside of the card.

I thought my card would make a cute get well card for a child, like maybe if my granddaughter Bella got sick, I could mail it to her. I think she'd like it.
And you will like all the inspiration you'll find at the Outlawz Greetings this week. Go check them out  and come play with us!

Other Challenges I am Entering:
Crafting by Design - Anything Goes
Crafty Gals Corner - Movie Madness (Curious George)
Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
Scribble & Scrap Challenges - Always Anything Goes
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

Love Is in the Air at the Outlawz Greetings CHallenge

 This week I am still making and sending Valentine's cards to my good friends. Which is perfect for the Outlawz Greetings challenge that starts today - Make a card about LOVE or using RED, WHITE AND PINK. I made a Z-fold card using a digi image called Time with You by DeeDee's Digis. DeeDee's is one of the Outlawz Greetings sponsors this month. As you can see above, part of my image is just peeking from the inside of the card. When opened you see the whole thing.

The clock came with several sentiments. I cut mine apart so that it could grace both the outside AND inside of my card. It reads: I love spending time with you. I colored my image with Copics, added a little shimmer, then framed each word with cardstock before adhering it to my card. I used bakers' twine to give the card balance by attaching the first part of my sentiment to several tiny hearts that I punched from scraps of leftover papers, and finally to the cute bunny holding onto the last heart. I embellished with a few cardstock stickers and doodled a border around the edges.
I'm sending this card to my daughter-in-law, who has captured my heart with her commitment to my son almost two years ago.
In the mood to make a new card? Try the LOVE theme, or use pink, red and white and come pay in the Outlawz Greetings challenge this week.

Other Challenges I am Entering:

Splendiferous Creations - Love is in the Air

-Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Love is in the Air
Fussy & Fancy - It's All about Love
Jo's Scrap Shack - Valentine
Patti's Creations challenge blog - Valentine's Love (must use image)
Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
Sister Act Challenge blog - Anything Goes
That's Crafty challenge blog - Be My Valentine
Wags & Whiskers - For Someone You Love
Just Add Ink - Inspiration

4 Crafty Chicks - Valentines

Scrap & Craft challenges - Valentines/Love/Romance

Speed Craft Challenges - Animals (must create & finish in 15 minutes or less--who takes more than that to make a card?!! LOL) 13 minutes
SLS Lines challenge blog - Anything Goes

Hiding in My Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday
We Do Dobabdoo - Hearts & Flowers

Time for Twine

It's time for another challenge at the Outlawz Greetings Challenge. This week it's all about the TWINE. Beansie Doodles is one of this month's sponsors, and I got to play with one of their images. It's called Sexy Bunny, and I know a certain husband who has been very nice lately and could use a little card to remind him how much he is loved.
After coloring my Bunny with Copics, I added Stickles to her shoes and bunny ears, punched the top corners and popped her onto cardstock. I also distressed the edges with ink, then added a few adhesive-backed pearls to the bottom.
After I had my image in place, I added bakers' twine to divide the two patterns, attaching an inked and sentiment-stamped tag. I finished off my card with a paper flower, and this is about as close to a CAS card as I can get. I usually don't stop embellishing my card until there's no room left! LOL
So now it's your turn to use some twine on your card or project and enter it into the Greetings challenge at the Outlaw. Don't forget, all cards or projects need a greeting or sentiment on the front to qualify. I hope to see you over there this week!

Other Challenges I am Entering:

Sister Act – Anything Goes

4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes