3-D monstavision!!!!!

or at least...

...a vision...

...of 3 monstas!

these three, actually:

(monstas cut from paperchase giftwrap; patterned paper: basic grey, dcwv, doodlebug, creative imaginations + vintage sheet music; chipboard button: love elsie; rub-ons: creative imaginations; other: dymo labeller, colorbox inks, zig pen, scrap of ribbon)

text reads, "3 kings were busy so we came instead"

in the course of my recent & extensive research into the field of xmas monstas, i have found the pink ones to be much more silly than the others. these might just be the silliest ever...thus they are my favorites!!!

xmas bonus (sketch)

you know, i have a bone to pick with those ladies over at 2 sketches 4 you: every single week, in addition to a awesome design by kazan or laura they also give us a BONUS SKETCH by one of the amazing design team, as well! how's a girl supposed to keep up with all that fabulousness??!?!?!

last week's bonus sketch was by hanneke van dalen. get used to the name...and the sketch...i will be repeating it. possibly quite a lot. :)

hanneke's sketch (& her breathtakingly cool card) calls for the cool artisan label i love so much to actually *BE* the card's shape...her fellow design team member katie anderson* compromised by making a clear acrylic card and putting the shape on top. i tried both of those ideas and my card just did not want to cooperate. so i made a plain old square card and put the cool sketch-based part of it on top. cause that's the way i roll, ok??!?!

(patterned paper: basic grey + vintage sheet music; cardstock: core'dinations; cardstock diecuts: k&co; rub-on: creative imaginations; other: colorbox inks, zig pen, foam tape)

i managed to make a few more cards over the weekend and also finished up my projects for the very special caardvarks design team gallery that kicks off the next challenge on friday. meanwhile, you still have until midnight on wednesday (12-3) to enter a card in the current caardvarks' photo challenge, for which the prize is a guest designer spot on yet another very special challenge which will kick off on january 1st! oh yeah...and did you see the cool spotlight interview our own jenyfur pohl conducted with jennifer mcguire? what??! you didn't?!!! well then, WHY are you still here???!???!?! :)

*my fellow caardvark & 2S4Y dt member heidi van laar also made an exceptionally cool version of this sketch which you can see on her blog...altho...DO NOT go there if you don't have like 30 minutes to scroll around and drool over her creations, ok?! trust me.

no card left behind!

'member monsta thanks from last week, that i made a while ago and forgot to post??

yeah.

did it again.

this one is s a *timecard* CARD...geddit??!

and yes, it has a(nother) monster onnit.
(not to worry...there are actually EVEN MORE monstacards on the way...b/c you know me: when i get obsessed...i get OBSESSED!) :)

(vintage timecard, eyelet lace & slide mount courtesy of the lovely debb--thank you!!! vintage sheet music & russian text from my own stash; monster cut from paperchase giftwrap; pink sparkly paper: doodlebug; flowers: prima; bling frame: heidi swapp; rub-on: american crafts; epoxies: michaels $-spot; inks: colorbox; other: dymo labels, foam tape)

this time i used the timecard as my card base...and i really love how it came out, although, as usual, in my "more-is-more" embellishment enthusiasm, i fear i have covered up way too much of it! (sigh) luckily, a bit more shows on the back:

apart from the vintage goodies, i have used mostly scraps and leftover bits to make this little greeting, which is only fitting as it's a card for my dear friend, the simply elegant june houck. now, if you don't know her, you may be wondering, "what makes june such a lovely lovely lady?" so let me give you just one small example: suppose she knows you like daniel craig...and daniel craig is featured in the parade magazine that comes with her sunday paper...she will email to check if you have seen it...and if not...she will send you hers. but she won't just cut out the article and fold it into an envelope--no sirree bob! not when said british stud crumpet is the cover boy! no, she will sandwich said magazine neatly between two sheets of cardboard, wrap the whole thing in brown paper, and stamp it "do not bend" to ensure that mr. craig will arrive unshaken, unstirred and unwrinkled!

and that, darlings, is what you call

a TRUE FRIEND!!!

this year, black friday is officially renamed:

pink-n-green sketch card friday!!!!!

(a trend i am sure is just moments from catching on all across the usa!)

yes, having finished kazan's fabulous sketch 14 over at 2S4Y

i am pleased and proud to show you this:

(vintage xmas postcard & sheet music from my stash; cardstock: core'dinations; patterned paper: love elsie & flair designs; cardstock stickers: pebbles inc & making memories; other: foam tape, colorbox inks, zig pen)

once again i have flipped the sketch left-to-right; this time it was at the very last minute when i realized that lining my items up in the other direction not only covered up the adorable reindeer's adorable tail; it also created an unfortunate text accident: the postcard covered up
just enough of the text on the love elsie paper that instead of "noel, noel, noel" it just said, "no no no"...which isn't particularly xmassy, now is it?! :)

thankfullness, i haz it!!!

for friendship:
for family:

for love:

on this very

happy thanksgiving day

wherever you are

(whether you are celebrating or not!)

i wish you all of these

and more!!!

she's right you know, he's no john nettles!

missus trash sent me this on friday. i'd've posted it sooner, but i only just now stopped laughing enough to be able to type!

i don't want to ruin it by telling you anything about said video, so i will just say that it's a clip from the catherine tate show's comic relief special...it's about 5 minutes long...it's G- or PG-rated at most...and if you have any medical conditions which might be complicated by hysterical and prolonged bouts of hilarity, you should probably watch it in a doctor's office. oh yeah...there's another (unrelated) clip, from the same special...which features david tennant, that i also found very amusing indeed; that can be found here, should you need it.

happy tuesday, darlings!!!

monsta thanks

lemme ask you this: does anyone else ever make a card they totally love...and photograph it...and send it off excitedly to its intended recipient...and then sit practically counting the minutes until said card arrives... (so that it can be posted without blowing the surprise) ...and then--here's the "does anyone else do this" part--i figure everyone has pretty much been with me until now:

totally forget all about it until two weeks later??!??!

this is not the first time i have done such a thing. i suspect it will not be the last time, either. in fact, at some point i will probably stop remembering that i forgot!!! will that be more or less upsetting, i wonder?? hmmmm...

well anyway, i apologize for the MONSTA bad lighting, but hopefully you can get *something* of an idea of the card i made for debb to thank her for the cool goodies she sent me! i typed "thanks" in lots of languages on one of her awesome vintage time cards...and of course there is a MONSTA... (this was officially the first monstacard; in case historians ever ask) ...and a bunch of other stuff. i am pretty sure she won't have received another of these...not ever!!! :)

(patterned paper: bo bunny, basic grey, cherry arte; + monster glued to index stock & cut from giftwrap; + vintage timecard; letters: k&co, miss elizabeth, ki, sei, american crafts; epoxies & stickers: mambi, best creation, love elsie, michaels $-spot; flowers: making memories; rub-ons: love elsie, basic grey; other: colorbox inks, provocraft roller stamp; zig pen, foam tape)