Patterned Frenzy and NBUS take 2

Do you know what I love best about New Year's? It's one of those holidays that I don't feel obligated to spend with other people. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good social gathering and the old-fashioned inhalation of turkey and stuffing, but I also love me a day shut up in my craft room with only myself, a glass of wine, and the smell of a new paper pack. 

Aaaaand that's what I did yesterday! I love DCWV paper packs because they coordinate SO nicely together. And they have way cute cutouts in the back of most of their packs. Did you know DCWV has a blog?! With challenges?! I recently won a $50 prize pack of DCWV paper and product and boy was I inhaling that stuff yesterday!

The above picture is an image of two of the paper packs, plus some NBUS - my new Cricut, an amazing pack of metal ephemera sent to my by Cathy Parlitsis of Stamps and Scrapbooks  (thanks!!), and some Mowed Lawn Distress Ink. All of which were used for the very first time during the creation of my card.

What is NBUS you ask? It's the moniker coined by the fantastically whimsical Darnell Knauss of DJKardKreations and it means Never-Before-Used-Schtuff. Darnell is running the third NBUS challenge over at her blog and is giving away $100 in prizes! WHAT?! So if you have brand new product and want to win some prizes, go check it out! Click on the image below to be transported to her domain. 

We all know that I love playing around with patterns and adore mixing and matching to create the perfect card. Well Shopping our Stash gave me a little nudge this week to do just that. They are having a "Thrice is Nice" challenge, in which you have to use three or more patterns. 

Here's the result:

FOUR different patterns were used in the creation of this guy all from the DCWV Sweet Tangerine Pack. I also got to test my Cricut Explore with the creation of that "happy" die cut, which is cut from the glitter paper stack. Lemme just say that there will definitely be a learning curve with this Cricut. I've got some exploring to do, for sure. 

Check out that sweet metal arrow! It's from Stampin Up's "Hung Up" clip pack. So cute! My sentiment is from STAMPlorations Bloom Sketches set.

I stamped the inside with a sentiment from STAMPlorations Thank You Sentiment Builder set because I have a million-and-one thank you cards to send out now, after Christmas. It's good to be this blessed.

My layout for my card came from TechnoStamper's Monday Lunchtime Sketch Challenge. Also sending this over to STAMPlorations Anything Goes challenge.

Thank you all for stopping by! We're forecast to have a blizzard this weekend with a high of -15 degrees. HOORAY! Now I have a legitimate excuse to lock myself away, lounge in my pajamas, and create!

Leave me a comment and follow my blog and I'll be sure to return the favor! 

Mixed Media Mojo Guest Design and NBUS!

I am SOOO honored to have been asked to guest design this month over at the Mixed Media Mojo challenge. I love mixed media cards the most. As we all know, the more ink I can slather on a card and the more bits and bobs that get cut and glued, the happier I am with my finished card. What can I say, I like chaos (as long as it's beautiful in the end). 

The theme over at Mixed Media Mojo this month is "New" with the optional twist to use 15. 

For the new part, I busted out some of new products that I hadn't opened yet. 

This is actually the first card that I ever made using the STAMPlorations Trendy Leaves set and the Amy Tangerine wood veneers. I know I posted some cards this week that also used these, but this was the very first card I made with them - I just had to wait for Mixed Media Mojo to post before I could!

I actually have had these stamps in my arsenal for over a month without using them because I have been so obsessed with Christmas cards. Which really makes them perfect because I am showing off my NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff)! If you haven't been introduced to the one-woman-wonder that is Darnell Knauss, you need to go immediately to her blog and binge read. I promise you'll be laughing and inspired! She runs the self-coined NBUS challenge whenever she reaches a landmark in bloggy followers - and the third challenge is OPEN!!

So I have the "New" part covered, but I also wanted to play around with the "15" twist. 15 can mean anything you want it to - 2015, 15 items, 15 techniques... for me I went looking for a photo of myself when I was 15. I couldn't find the one I was looking for, but while digging around I found this gem! It's my yearbook from 15 years ago. It's completely made out of paper and has survived a flood. so it got this wicked cool tie-dye marbling technique going on on the front cover. 

It served as the PERFECT inspiration for my "15". It even had some very apropos signatures inside, my favorite of which was this one:

That's right folks - I was cooky even back then! Ha!

But back to the card. I started by smooshing Distress Inks (Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed) onto a craft sheet and spritzing with water. 

Then I used the dipping technique and dropped my paper into the ink. I dried with a heat tool between each time I dipped. 

The sheet on the left was dipped three times, and the sheet on the right was dipped twice. You can see that you get more and more depth which each layer you dip. 

For an extra "15" element, I used page 15 of an old Shakespeare tome and stamped some of my  leaves onto it before fussy cutting them and layering them. I also stamped some leaves directly onto the background, to create depth and texture. 

After I had my leaves in place, I used a concentric stencil from Spellbinders to paint on some random coppery circles (drawing from my inspiration image). 

I added the wooden veneer and then embossed the word "Fabulous" from the CityGirl set over at STAMPlorations. And then I glued!

I'm also going to support the following challenges:
Mixed Media Monthly challenge - Something New for the New Year
STAMPlorations - Anything Goes
Mixed Media Card challenge - NEW

So go check out Mixed Media Mojo and play along this month! And also check out Darnell's NBUS challenge! 

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and follow my blog and I'll be sure to return the favor! A big thank you to the five of you who just started following. It made my day!!