Welcome to Quirky Crafts Challenges

Welcome to Quirky Crafts Challenges the place where any craft project is allowed.

We're a small design team with big inspiration.

On the first Sunday of the month, at 6pm UK time, we will set a new challenge which will close on the 28th of that month at midday. The DT will pick their top three favourites and you could win a prize and join us as a Guest Designer. Winners are posted on the first Sunday in the month (midday usually) before the new challenge - don't forget to come and check if you are a winner.
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Thursday, 22 November 2012

Midway challege reminder



Just to remind everyone that our current challenge is Come to the Dark Side - no cute images! And here is another non-cute cat from Dustin Pike's Doodle Dragon Studios, I used leather effect brown card with Kraft card and DCWV papers. Sentiment is from a Hero Arts set heat embossed in gold, and fish eyelets where from Eyelet Outlet I think.
This is the inside, I made an easel card. I stamped Dad with a Papermania stamp and heat embossed it in gold, and I used some leftover bits to make a matching gift tag. I remembered I had a jar of metal buttons and eventually found them.

To join in add your link to the challenge post below, you have until 1st December.

Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.

Sunday, 18 November 2012

Challenge #24 Come to the Dark Side - no cute images!

Welcome to another Quirky Challenge. If you want to find out who won the last challenge please click here. (insert link when winners posted).
It is my turn to set the Quirky Challenge and I am in a very Quirky mood (or maybe a dark mood) as you will see.

We get such a lot of cute images, well not this time! I want to see lots of none cute images, or no images at all, but dark colours or subjects (or both) are the theme of this challenge.

We have two great sponsors therefore two prizes, and the sponsors are:


Who are giving our first prize winner $10 of images of their choice.


Who are giving our second prize winner 3 digi images of their choice. The Stamping Boutique have their own very dark alternative art challenge blog called Poisoned Peas which sort of inspired this challenge.

Using images provided by our sponsors the team have created some examples to inspire you.


Guest Designer Doris

Doris used Medusa from The Stamping Boutique with some purple and black embellishments. She also added pearls to the dress.



Now this is a challenge for me as I don't usually use a lot of dark colours or non cute images, so I had to run this one by my Daughter first, just to make sure I was on the right track. I used the Goth Girl Digital Stamp from Stamping Boutique. I had a lot of fun colouring this actually, I wish I was young enough and brave enough to have purple hair streaks! Coloured, as always with Promarkers, layered with various papers and hand made flowers, with a swirl and a butterfly and bow just to make it a bit more feminine.
I've used Zombie Girl from The Stamp Boutique... I wrote the sentiment, and who can spot my mistake? ... Maybe you won't notice! Will change it later (excuses on blog!) And for my second card....

 I've used Dustin's cat! I love this cat..  (he is cute...Cazzy said he wasn't!)Because I was sooo out of time I've used the coloured digi and Dovecraft papers. Again I had to write the sentiment...here's the inside too...

For mine I chose to make a tag using 'Medusa' from The Stamping Boutique, with the snakes in her hair coloured in red with sakura stardust added on top to make them 'pop' a little (it doesn't show up too well in the photo sadly).  I used Hot off the press papers for the background, layered up to frame medusa.  I then heat embossed red round the edge. I then added a black gem to the bottom left, and a tiny one on her sash and in the centre of the flower at the bottom. Finally I added the two 3D mulberry flowers and the ribbon.

Cazzy
I used Grave Dolly and Rotten Apples from Doodle Dragon Studios on this card, and I found some great paper that says "nothing is crazier than family" which I thought was perfect! Images coloured with Promarkers, though if you are in a hurry the images come coloured and plain.

This is Zombie Girl from The Stamping Boutique coloured with Promarkers, and matted on to a Spellbinders die cut and DCWV papers, with a bit of Crafty Ribbon added, can't think of a sentiment, I was going to add Time for Tea or Lets Have Tea, what else could I put?

Medusa from The Stamping Boutique is coloured with Promarkers and Trias, and die cut with Nesties lables 8 my favorites, and matted onto DCWV Rockstar paper, Crafty Ribbon added. Again no sentiment yet, I thought Bad Hair Day? what do you think?


I too love the Scaredy Cat from Doodle Dragon Studios and let me make one thing clear - he is not cute!. Somehow I think he should be attached to a car window! I coloured him with Promarkers, and cut out a panel of pattered card with Nesties to mount him on, I think the card was from Payperbox, the papers are DCWV, ribbon by Crafty Ribbons, sentiments by Papermania and Hero Arts.
I will be adding another card later, I had an accident and decapitated the character and now the printer won't play nice!



Now let's see what you can do, any craft project is acceptable as usual. You have two weeks (almost) to add your project, this challenge ends on 1st December at midday UK time.


Please add a link to your blog post (not your blog) using the biggest blue froggy at the top of the collection, the other one (at the bottom) doesn't do anything that we can tell, and please comment after you have linked. Don't forget to mention Quirky and add a link back to here (please read the rules and if you realised you haven't followed the rules and won't be included in the top three, and you want your entry removed to try again - please email us using the link in the side bar).
Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.

Email Entries:

Challenge #23 Winners - snow and layers


This was a very popular challenge (60 entries WOW) and very seasonal, and of course we have three great prizes to give away which loads of you want to win! So without further ado lets get on with the announcements!

Note about last challenge: The winner has not claimed her prize, and I will give her 2 more days and if I don't hear I will give it to someone else.

Each of us had to look at 60 great entries, which were all so good it is a shame we don't have 60 prizes, and then come up with a list of those that really stood out and met the challenge brief the best, personally I had a list of 16, and it was difficult to prune that down to my top 6. What I do is go back to all 16 on my list and look at them all carefully again, and then decide if I like one better than another, it has to be done and in a short amount of time.

With so many lovely entries it is really difficult to choose the best, and unlikely that the DT will have the same top six, or in the same order of preference, and so we have to each pick our favourites, score them from 1st with 6th (where 1st gets 6 points, second gets 5 points and so on), and then everyone chosen is listed and scores noted against them, finally the scores are added together (and in the case of a tie, re-voting for the tied ones has to be done) and the combined scores add up to the following winners:

In first place with this gorgeous easel card is An.






Congratulations An, you have won $10 of Doodle Dragon Studio images! Please email Cazzy using the link in the sidebar to claim your prize (if you know which images you would like please tell us and we will pass the choices on to Dustin), We hope you will join us as a Guest Designer in a couple of weeks time so please let Cazzy know if you can do that and she will give you details.

In second place is Scrappellen with her very detailed and gorgeous card.







Congratulations Scrappellen you have won the exclusive Let it Snow ribbons from Crafty Ribbons. Please email Cazzy using the link in the sidebar with your address and she will arrange for you to receive your prize.We hope you will join us as a Guest Designer in a couple of weeks time so please let Cazzy know if you can do that and she will give you details.


In Third place is Bettina with a gorgeous layered card, such a cute image.




Congratulations Bettina, you have won 3 sets of digital images from The Cutting Cafe! Please email Cazzy using the link in the sidebar to claim your prize (if you know which sets you would like please tell us and we will pass the choices on). We hope you will join us as a Guest Designer in a couple of weeks time so please let Cazzy know if you can do that and she will give you details.

All of you can help yourselves to a winners badge from the sidebar and don't forget to come back later today to find out what the next challenge is.


Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

Potential Sponsors please read

We are currently putting together the schedule for 2013 sponsors and challenge dates, and we welcome applications from any new sponsors that would like to be considered, particularly non digi sponsors.

Please email Cazzy using the link in the side bar if you wish to be considered.

Thank you.

Quirky Crafts DT.

Sunday, 4 November 2012

Challenge 23: Layer it up & Let it Snow!

Evening Quirky fans! It's my turn Spyder, Lyn, to set the challenge this time and after scratching my head for about five minutes I thought we'd have a nice easy one...
*Layer It Up! And Let It Snow!*
Yes! I want to see loads of layers, pile it high! And Snow! Obviously not real snow! Try flower-soft, glitter, Liquid Applique or just plain white paper. Use up those papers you've had lurking around for ages for your layers. You can create anything you want, as long as we can see... 

Layers and Snow!
This fortnight we have Three Fantastic Sponsors!! So Three Winners which means, more yummy prizes!!
 
 ..Our First placed winner will receive $10 to spend at Doodle Dragon Studios.
  
  
 
We have these fantastic 'snow' themed ribbons from Crafty Ribbons for our second placed winner! and....!!!
 

The Cutting Cafe
 Our third placed winner will receive 3 sets of digital images from our generous sponsor


So, just to recap.... You can make anything that you want, but I want to see layers and snow on your creations in our next challenge! (of course, it doesn't have to be real snow...)
 Here's some fabulous makes from our design team, first let's see what our lovely guest designers have come up with, using digital images from our sponsors...

Guest Designer Doris
Using the Fun with Frosty de Snowman Cutting Café file, I cut two small and four medium snowflakes from glitter cardboard light blue. I also cut from the same file a snowman in black and light blue and combined them. I used a white base card and embossed it with snowflakes. Using pastel chalk, I highlighted the embossed snowflakes on the background then added the cut out snowflakes, fence and snowman. Finally, I used light blue gems in the center of snowflakes and added a sentiment to this non traditional coloured Christmas card. See Doris's blog for more great projects. (Doris is on The Cutting Cafe DT too).


Doris has used the Christmas stockings from the Christmas Banners set, and if you go to her blog you can see many more examples using this file and all of the other files.


This one is also using the banners file. You must go and see the rest on Doris's blog it is a real treat!


Guest Designer
  Daire

Daire made three sets of tags in her unusual artistic style, the first set features images from The Cutting Cafe Fun with Frosty Da Snowman files. Layers for this set are:
1. doodles in watercolour paint
2. scrapbooking paper
3. doodles in dimensional paint
4. digital stamps
5. glitter


This set uses the Let it Snow background (from the same file set) cut into strips.


and finally a blue set which has the following layers:
1. glittery acrylic paint
2. scrapbooking paper
3. digital stamps
4. blue acrylic paint
5. gel pen doodles/snowflake embellishments
6. white out paint

Guest Designer
Gill


Gill said: the snowflakes were printed in two sizes, to use as my card blank and a matching layer, and I distressed each layer with TH inks. I added glitter to the small snowflakes before covering them with a layer of acetate.I mounted the snow-globe (which I coloured with Spectrum Noir pens and cut out) on top with pinflair glue gel to give it a 3d effect. I finished my card with peel offs and bling. See my blog for more photos and details. There are 5 layers.


Gill used a Doodle Dragon image for her second card, which features die cut snowflakes and brads that look like snowballs, and a fluffy bobble on the hat.



I used the Fun with Frosty Da Snowman and somehow managed to get the snowflake background to go 3d (I was trying to change the colour to blue, which I did as well) which looks rather good, each panel is the printed design layered on blue metallic card, then layers overlap, the tag is another layer, and the snow folk layered again. Ribbon is by Crafty Ribbons, and is the same ribbon you could be lucky enough to win this time!

Surprise! It is an easel card! and I think the snowmas poop sentiment is so funny that I had to use it, and there inside the card is another panel from the set, the snowman poop circle and some snowman poop!

My Doodle Dragon card will follow soon and a second Cutting Cafe card!


Here is my first Doodle Dragon card, This little bird just said Robin to me! Coloured with Promarkers and with Polar White Flower Soft (the only Flower Soft I have bought) added to the snowy bits, die cut with Nellie Snellen dies, sentiment was free on a magazine.


Here is my second The Cutting Cafe example, this time using Penguin snowglobe and Christmas banners and the background from Frosty Da Snowman with and without 3d effect, all changed to blue. Ribbon by Crafty Ribbons
Another Doodle Dragon Studios image, coloured with Promarkers and with Flower Soft "snow" added.



I have used the Let it Snow frame from Cutting Cafe. Layers immediately made me think of the Double Concertina Card...so that is what I have done. I have been meaning to create a cut file for this style for ages. Making the card from a printed template is not a problem, but it drives me mad making all the decorative panels every time, so now I have a cut file for those too. A simple design, but quite effective.

My first card features the Snowman and Winter wonderland sentiment from Cutting Edge Cafe's 'Fun with Frosty the snowman'. I decoupaged Frosty (3 layers), then mounted him on dark blue card which was also mounted onto patterned paper, which in turn was mounted onto a white card base (6 layers in all!).  I used Promarkers and a Sakura stardust pen for colouring and topped it all off with an embossed Cuttlebug snowflake, with added stardust and pearl.

My second card was a lot simpler (I am a clean and simple girl at heart), with lots of matting to create the layers.  The little scene was actually made up from two of Dustin Pike's images; it amused me to think of a monkey and a dragon building a snowman together! I coloured them in with Promarkers and used pearlescent glue for highlights in the snow. The background paper is from My Minds Eye (free with a magazine last year!).
Well, I've made two cards...I'll show you one now, and the other one later. I've also used two digi's from Doodle Dragon Studios. They seem to want to be together! Most of my layers are the digi's, by cutting tails and ears and legs off, I've added another three to four layers on top of the layered card. On the front I've used Papermania ' Home for Christmas' backing papers  and matching ribbon. The Snowy Sky behind the digi's is my own freebie, which you can find HERE.  

Can't wait to see what you all come up with!! Don't forget to scroll down to the post below to find out who our winners were in our ABC (Any But a Card) Challenge. And don't forget, if you fancy joining us on the Design Team or just becoming a Guest Designer, come and link with Mr Froggy HERE
That's it! You have two weeks from today! Over to you! Thanks for stopping by!

Please add a link to your blog post (not just your blog) using the biggest blue froggy at the top of the collection, the other one (at the bottom) doesn't do anything that we can tell, and please comment after you have linked. Don't forget to mention Quirky Crafts in you post with a link back to here (please read the rules! If you realised you haven't followed them, so won't be included in the top three, you can email us using the link on the side bar that you'd like your entry removed to try again.)
Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.

Email Entries:

Challenge 22 Winners. ABC Anything But A Card Plus...

Hi Quirky fans! Lyn here...I nearly wasn't, I forgot what day it was! Thank you to everyone who joined in with our  ABC Challenge. Any thing but a card using Autumn colours. And yes, I know a few of you entered a card using Autumn colours, but we still loved looking at them! Really really hard to pick our winners as we had such a range from tags, fat pages, atc's and scrapbook layouts to, Christmas decorations, trick or treat bags and altered recycling! You are all such a talented lot!! Our sponsor last time was...

Who were offering the lucky winner, (as chosen by the design team) 5 digi stamps of their choice! So, all our votes are in and our winner of 5 digital Stamps of their choice is... (bit of a drum roll there, if you like...)

                                                                   Chana
 Well done!!  Please e-mail Cazzy using the link in the side bar and she'll sort out your winnings for you and please take a banner from the side bar, linking back here! Also, as a winner we'd love you to be a Guest Designer in one of our up coming challenges!

Our Joint second place entrants are....




Sorry there's no extra prizes this week, but we'd love you all to take a banner from the sidebar to display on your blog, and we'd also love you to be Guest Designers for one of our next challenges. This of course means we'll supply you with a digi from our sponsor to use!

Please don't forget that we're having a Design Team call at the moment, that's a 'proper' team member, or, if you think you'd rather be a 'guest' just let us know by linking up with the Mr froggy. (See here for details) That's it from me....don't think I've forgotten anything...don't you forget to pop back later to see what our next challenge is...it's my turn to set the theme...and I want to see lots of.... I'll tell you later!! Thanks for stopping by!!


Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.