'Words, Words, Words' Top Talent

 Welcome back to another Top Talent spotlight at Our Creative Corner!

   This month we are shining the spotlight on the winner of the 'Words, words, words' Challenge hosted by Alison, also known to many of you as butterfly.

    Our Creative Corner is so happy to be welcoming Manu from Vintagesavonette  who won the Words challenge with her gorgeous 'Poem in a box' If you haven't been to her blog to see her amazing work then you really should head over there!

     Manu has created a wonderful piece of art for us today....but before we show you the amazing creation - let's find out a little bit more about this very talented lady.......



1. Where do you live?

Berlin - Germany

2. How long have you been crafting and what made you start crafting?

I have been crafting one way or the other for all my life. As a child I drew paper dolls to create dresses for them, a little older, I forced my cats into self-made and well-decorated carton board homes (which they certainly tore to pieces). Then I grew older and forgot about my "artistic" talent because cruising a big city and trying myself out with 20, finding a husband and having a child in my thirties, needed so much attention on another creative field.

Then, short before 50,  I met a friend who is a craft addict. We came together like two pieces of a puzzle, same tastes, same techniques. That's were my inspiration got a fresh start again.

3. What if anything, do you consistently draw inspiration from?

Consistently? Yes, I must admit, I draw my inspiration above all from my blogging friends. The internet has become the ultimate source for me. Not only from the technical point of view, but also from all those stories shared, the different aspects of a theme...

And then again, there is pinterest.  I can browse it for hours, my mouth watering, needing to reproduce all those beautiful ideas at once. The thing then again is getting up, leaving the pc and really getting to craft myself.

4. How would you describe your art for the general public audience if they have never seen it before?

I am still testing myself. So I may change from a shabby, soft and lacy look one day, to a more rustic, dark-toned style another time.

I have started to alter books as this gives me enough "canvas" to work on, but which can easily be stored away without taking too much space. I use whatever falls into my hands when I am in a creative mood. So "mixed-media" is the word describing my craft.

5. What do you enjoy most about crafts?

I love to let my mind go on a journey. Most of times, like this time, too, I need a topic, a challenge to follow along. A word, a poem, a motto. Then I browse my mind to give my ideas a concrete structure. The result is the "cooperation" between thought and hands. This is what I enjoy most. That your hands and head are both occupied and convey positive energy.

6. Are you an impulsive buyer of craft items?

YES, YES, YES! Somebody uses unknown material, I need it, too. A new stamp? Give it to me. Technical equipment to facilitate crafting? On top of my Santa-Claus wishlist.

7. What other hobbies or talents do you have that you'd like to share with us?

 
I love to read: Thrillers to get my blood pressure up (others have a glass of champagne), crafting books to get an idea, love novels where lovers with pointed teeth meet in the twilight...

My house: Decorating, re-decorating (not so much cleaning and tidying).

Gardening: But, admittedly, one hour gardening is balanced by several hours deck-chair-dreaming.

Sewing is another hobby I love and I am not talking about repairing seams or tightening my daughter's jeans.

And then there is always curiosity leading me into various fields of interest and experimenting.

 And now lets take a peek at Manu's amazing creation in the Top Talent Spotlight...

 Thank you so much Manu for being here today in the Top Talent Spotlight and creating such beautiful canvas for us......

If you want to see more photos and details of how it was made then please go along to Manu's blog Vintagesavonette and say "Hello" - I am sure she would love to see you there! 

Would you like everyone to see your work here under the 'Our Creative Corner' Spotlight? You could be here as our 'Top Talent' with the spotlight shining on something you have created! All you have to do is enter Julia's 'Halloween - Lets tag it on' challenge.  There is one more week of her challenge left, so why not have fun creating! 

Make a spooky tag...and don't forget to include some surface texture!
         

      We all hope you will come back to see us on the 1st November when Claudia will be presenting her exciting challenge for all of you....We also have some news for you! 

See you then!

It's Halloween - Let's Tag It On! Part Two.

Hello Everyone, Julia here again with Part Two of our Halloween Challenge. We've had some wonderful entries so far but if you're still looking for extra inspiration, just scroll down and take a look at the fantastic work on offer from the rest of the team!

Just remember that you are asked to make a TAG as your main project using the theme of Halloween. We must also see some surface decoration on your tag. You'll find all the details and the link to add your entry here. We'd love it if you found time to play along with us this month and we can't wait to see what you come up with.

Now, a collection of  fabulous Halloween themed tags, with some awesome surface texture from my hugely talented teamies:

Anne

I love Julia's challenge this month and I adore Halloween.  To me Halloween is all about black and orange and I have used it in abundance in my textured tag.  Julia asked us to create a TEXTURED BASE and I have used dry embossing and wet embossing to create texture on mine and I added die cuts to give extra dimension.

Linda

I love vintage style Halloween art so this challenge was a blast for me!  I broke out the distress paints, silver embossing powder, silver embossing paste and the yummy new distress glitters and went to town!

Alison

I'm a texture junkie... so Julia's challenge was a joy!  I've got some dry-embossing as the surface texture on the actual tag itself, and other textures - crackle and Distress glitter - on other elements.  And my Halloween tends toward the twilight spooky colour zones, which means I get to use my favourite blues!

Claudia

I LOVE texture!!! For my textured Halloween tag I used a lot of die cut Tim Holtz goodness alongside some dry embossed Kraft Glassine and crumpled sandwich paper which I glued to the die cut branch tree and blended with DI "gathered twigs" afterwards to make the creases pop out even more! 

How stunning are these tags?!! If they don't wet your appetite to play along with us then I don't know what will. All that delicious texture on the tags and huge amounts of Halloween fun for the theme - it's your turn now!

Forgotten Things - Winner and Top 3

 Hello everyone, welcome back to Our Creative Corner.  Anne here, with the winners of our September challenge 'Forgotten Things'.  We had an amazing 135 entries into our challenge, I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at each and every entry (several times!) and I had a few chuckles along the way at all those things that have been forgotten about.  Thanks so much to everyone who took the time and effort to enter with your wonderful creations.

Choosing a winner and top three was incredibly difficult and I could easily have chosen a list that was three times as long!  But as I could only choose one winner and a top three, each one is definitely worth a visit,  here we go:

The Winner of the 'Forgotten Things' Challenge is:

No. 75 Julie Ann Lee  - Magpieheaven

Julie Ann has created the most wonderful dimensional piece, I love how it folds up into a beautiful little house shape.  She has used a whole variety of techniques and I just adore the little handmade Pierrot sitting in the middle, holding the dice, contemplating his fate. Beautiful work Julie Ann and well done on your win and we look forward to seeing what you create for our Top Talent feature!

And now on to the Top Three - in numerical order.  Well done to each and every one of you!

94. Jennie Atkinson -  Live the Dream

Jennie chose a lovely photo of her Mum and Dad to incorporate in her beautiful layout, the textures, colours and layering are all wonderful and really let the photo shine and take centre stage.

96. Nicola  -  Paper Profusion

I love the way Nicola has embossed the clock face onto acetate, the sparkly reindeer are delightful and the whole card has a wonderful vintage feel to it.

126. Terry - Terry2dogs

This is the most wonderful textured piece, full of detail and interest, so much to see, I feel I want to reach out and touch it - spooky bits and all!

Well done to the  latest 'Our Creative Corner' Winner and Top 3! Feel free to grab your badges from the sidebar - we hope you will proudly display them on your blogs.

Don't forget, the very talented Julia's  'It's Halloween - Let's Tag it On' challenge is well under way.  We hope you will have a look at what it's all about and get creating/entering. Who knows, you too could be joining Julie Ann in our 'Winners Corner' next month and be invited to create something for a special spotlight feature as a 'Top Talent'!!

See you all back here on the 15th October for more inspiration from the rest of our very talented Design Team (and me). You really don't want to miss seeing what they have in store...

It's Halloween - Let's Tag It On!

Hi everyone, Julia here ready to host the new October challenge for you.

I have a real obsession with tags and this month we are asking you to come up with a fantastic tag for the October challenge at Our Creative Corner. So, here we go. . . . . . . . 

IT'S HALLOWEEN - LET'S TAG IT ON!

For your entry this month, you must make a tag which can be any size you choose but it should be the main project, not simply a tag you have attached to your work. Your theme is, of course, HALLOWEEN!

There is a further twist though: your tag must include some SURFACE TEXTURE. Think modelling paste, thick gesso or clay with texture from stamps or other items, dry embossing or powder embossing, texture sprays, crackle glaze, fabric, corrugated cardboard – the list is endless really!

Does that get the ideas flowing? Still need some further inspiration? Scroll down and have a look at the DT's fabulous work. Don't forget that this is only half of us though - come back on the 15th October and you'll find some more amazing inspiration.

Make sure that you have a quick read of the rules if you haven't been here before - you'll find them at the bottom of this post.  We really don't like to skip your entry but we have to be fair to those who follow the rules.

We had some wonderful entries for Anne’s ‘Forgotten Things’ challenge last month. Thank you so much one and all!  Anne will announce her winners on the 8th October so remember to check back for the all important results. If that isn't enough, Laura will announce the top talent from Alison's Words, Words, Words challenge on the 22nd October!

Scroll down now for some fabulous inspiration from my Teamies. . . . . . how much fun is it to work with these talented ladies?!

Laura

Lots of Halloween colours, dusty cobwebs, a ghostly skull and of course plenty of the required texture added in the form of embossed card was my choice for Julia's challenge - And I knew I was right to add a glass vial of 'Green Grubs' because when my kids saw it they yelled "Yuck!...that is soooo cool"

 Jenny

I saw a fabulous tag created by Vivian Keh and was inspired to create my own Halloween version. Find out more about the way I used embossing paste in a more organic way by hopping over to my blog.

 Julia

I've made a large size tag so I could fit on lots of surface texture, using as many mediums as I could get my hands on! This tag is one that needs to be seen in real life or as a series of close up images - why not pop over and have a look at what's really going on and find out how I made all that surface texture?

What are you waiting for? Get out all your texture creating supplies, find a tag and think Halloween then link up with us at the bottom of the post! We can't wait to see all your amazing creations and we certainly won't mind scary - it is Halloween after all!

(Please check out the rules at the end of this post to make sure your entry can be accepted).

Challenge Winners

The winner and Top 3 from this challenge will be announced on the 8th November.

The winner will be invited to appear as 'The Top Talent' here at OCC, have a short interview so we can find out all about them and there will be a 'Spotlight' on a new project they have created. This will take place on the 22nd December - just in time for Christmas!

We have a page on this blog called 'Winner's Corner'.  The winner's name will be featured on this.

For entrants who have won our challenges and been featured as 'Top Talent' three times there will be a very special 'Gold Winner' badge for you to display proudly on your blog - now there's a challenge for you.

Of course, there's only one way to collect your badges and have your name placed in 'Winner's Corner' for all to see - let's see your entries!

Remember, Anne  will be back on the 8th October to announce the winner of the 'Forgotten Things' challenge, and on the 15th October, the rest of the Design Team will showcase their creations for this month's challenge.

 THE RULES:

1. You may enter this challenge a maximum of THREE TIMES - they must be different creations and posted on your blog separately.

2. If you post any more than three entries they will sadly have to be deleted.

3. NO back-linking. Please do not enter a creation that was published on your blog before the start of our challenge.

4. Please link to your actual post, not just your blog. If you just link to your blog the team will not be able to find your entry and leave any comments.

5. Please include a link to our challenge in your blog post.

6. You may combine our challenge with as many other challenges as you wish.

7. If you want the team to comment on your entry then you have to link to a site that does not require us to sign in/become a member.

This challenge is open until 11:55 pm Monday the 28th October.

Thank you so much for visiting. We can't wait to see your Halloween tags with all that wonderful texture!