MY HOUSE MOUSE DESIGN TEAM FINAL CHALLENGE ENTRY

Hey All!  Happy weekend to all of my favorite blogging friends, and if you are reading this, that means YOU!  LOL

Well, it is time to reveal my entries into the House Mouse Design Team final challenge.  But before I do, I want to thank each and every one of you who left me the most remarkable set of encouraging comments I've ever seen.  Honestly, I couldn't believe how sweet, nice, positive and encouraging you all were with your comments.  Seriously, when I think about all the responses, I get a little watery around the eyes . . . so thank you so much for being so kind.

OK, here they are.  As you know from the previous post, we had to submit two cards using the exact same image on both. . .One had to be very simple "less is more".  So here is my "simple" card:

I thought that you can't go wrong with a clean and simple combination of black and white.  When you throw in a third color (orange in this case for a traditional Halloween color combo) it really makes your image pop with little effort.  When you first look at this, it almost looks like a framed gallery print.  The image is certainly the focal point of the card and not distracted from by embellishments or patterned papers.  You don't know how hard it was to "leave it alone"!  LOL  I so wanted to add "things".  I even stamped the sentiment right onto the card which I normally don't do.  The only "extra" I used on the card was some glitter on their wings:

You'll need to click on the picture to see it better.  I picked this image because my Mom had asked me to do a card for one of her good friends that she is seeing on Tuesday.  So when I made the card below first, I decided to stick with it and use the image for the challenge.  Also, this is the perfect Halloween card for those who are more religious and don't like traditional Halloween images.

So, now for the "over the top" card.  Honestly, it is so hard for me to do that.  I don't like to clutter up cards with a lot of distraction.  However, that is why it is called a "challenge" huh?  So here is the card using the same image:

I photographed it at an angle to show that the inside is decorated too.  I do have a lot going on with this card.  Here is the list:

1.  Black and yellow brads on each side of the computer generated sentiment

2.  A double looped yellow bow with black contrasting stitching

3.  Black photo corners surrounding the image and on the inside framing the writing area

4.  Hand colored yellow pearls added to their antennas for more dimension

5.  Bright yellow checked background paper matted with black

6.  Quadruple matting

7.  Glitter on the wings

8.  Foam squares used to lift the image and sentiment panel from the card for dimension

Here is a close up of their wings which shows the glitter even better than the first:

So, this completes my entry for the DT challenge.  I was going to add a few more things to this card, but decided against it.  I have a certain style of my own, and I didn't want to compromise that.  One of the comments made on my last post reminded me of that and that thought kept running through my mind.

So, I hope these are good enough to get me in.  I would so love to be a part of their team.  Their design team is top notch, and as some of you have commented on several of my posts, that the House Mouse images are my forte.  I appreciate that because I do LOVE these stamps.  I find that the images and the cards that I make with them, make me smile.  And we all need a lot of things these days to make us smile.  I just find a little magic in these images and they bring out the kid in me.

OK, that's it.  I don't know when they are making the decision, but I will let you all know the outcome as soon as I know.  I'm up against some great competitors and I wish them all the best of luck.

Again, thanks so much for being a part of this.  I couldn't ask for better people to be behind me.

Love ya Kiddos!

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST OCTOBER 21ST

Hey All!  I'm afraid that I'm going to have to disappoint some of my Wednesday Evening Post fans tonight.  I have no cards to share with you tonight.  But I do have some exciting news that is part of the reason for no cards tonight.

Before I get to that though, I have to announce the winner of my blog candy!!!!  I entered everyone's name onto Random.Org and the person that popped up in the number 1 spot after I randomized the list was. . . . . .CARMEN O!!!!  Yea Carmen!  Congratulations!  I'm so happy for you!  I need your address, so email me at curt.obrien@gmail.com  Thanks to all who left me such great comments.  I wish you all could win!


As some of you may have heard, I made it to the finals at the House Mouse Monday Challenge Blog in their Design Team search.  Our last phase to go through before they decide who they are going to chose is to do the "finals" challenge.  They will chose the DT members based on what they submit for this challenge.  I have to say it is a doozy for me. . .the challenge in, a nutshell, is 2 parts.

1.  Simplicity.  We have to use a HM image on a card and make it very simple.  As they stated in the rules "less is more".  You are to try to avoid putting anything on the card that would distract from the image.

Then. . .

2.  Over the Top.  We then have to use the same image as we did on the first card to make a 2nd card that is over the top using embellishments, bows, ribbons, bling, or whatever to make the card over the top.

I think I can handle the 1st phase, but I'm not an "over the top" kind of guy, so the 2nd card is going to give me fits.  The other challenge I have with this challenge is to find a HM image that can be used on both a simple card and one that is over the top.

My entry has to be submitted via my blog by this coming Monday!  I'm a little stressed out over it because I want to make them both the best they can be and to put my best effort forward.  So I've been working since Monday playing around with different images to see which one I'm going to settle on and then  tackle the cards.

So,  please forgive my lack of content on this post.  I also finished a 17 note card set for a very good friend of mine who is going to Vegas for her 50th birthday with 17 of her girlfriends.  She is putting together gift baskets with Vegas themed items in them for each guest.  I wanted to do something for her birthday, so I decided I would do note cards for her so that she can include personal notes in each of the baskets.  I made them with the hotel where they are staying in mind, the Flamingo.  They are finished, but I can't put them up here yet because she reads my blog and she hasn't seen them yet (she knows about them though) so I don't want her to see them here until she sees them in person.  I'll post them in next Wednesday's post.

I will be posting my entry for this DT final challenge on Saturday afternoon.  So watch for it.  I'll be so anxious to see what you all think.  Your feedback is invaluable to me.  So please send good, extremely creative vibes my way to help me knock this out of the park. . .will ya?  I'd sure appreciate it!

So back up stairs to the drawing board.  I'm out of my head over this!  LOL  Thanks again for your support!  You are the best!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

ONCE AGAIN IT'S MONDAY!

Hey All!  Happy Monday!  An oxymoron if ever there was one!   Since it is Monday, we know what that means. . .It's another Magical Monday over at the "There's Magic in the Air" blog.  Nina May has a wonderful Fall/Thanksgiving image for you this week called Harvest Geese.  This week it was my turn to come up with the challenge.  I chose to challenge everyone by using pop dots or foam squares to make the image pop!  Here is my card:

It's kinda hard to see where I used my dimensionals in the photo above.  I used them for the pumpkins and also on the horizontal fence posts.  I also used dimensionals to pop up the entire matted image.  I think you can see them better if you click on the pic.  I went WAY out of my comfort zone with the placement of the matted image on this card!  As most of you have probably noticed, most of my matted images on my card are safely placed in perfect alignment with the card size and shape.  I decided that I would be different this time so I angled it for a little more interest.  It almost has a post card feel to it.  I colored the image with my ccp/oms and I sponged the morning sky with Colorbox inks.  I matted it onto Bazzill card stock and then onto paper by The Paper Studio that looks like crackled wood.  The background paper is some of my favorite also from The Paper Studio.  The leaf thingys in the corner are cut with Nestabilities.   Here is a closeup:

The paper I used to cut them out was stain samples (like paint samples).  They have great texture and wonderful colors.  You can find them at any hardware store.  I found mine at Lowe's.  The little berry thingys are pearls that I colored with a Bic marker.  I love how you can make any color you want.  The sentiment is computer generated and cut out using my round and scalloped Nesties.

So there you have it.  Seriously, be sure to go over to Nina's "There's Magic in the Air" to pic up this digital image for free.  We'd also love for you to play along with the challenge this week!

On a final note, for those of you who have not yet signed up for my blog candy, you have until  tomorrow at 6 PM Eastern Time to leave a comment.  You can go HERE for the details and a pic of the goodies.  Good luck to every one who has entered and thanks so much for the great comments!  You guys are the coolest!

OK, that's it for now.  I'll see you all on Wednesday!  Until then, stay safe and have a wonderful week!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST

Hey All!  It's time for another Wednesday Evening Post!!!  Boy I'm tellin' ya, this one is HUGE!  LOL  I'm so excited about this post.  Remember last post I told you that this one was going to be a special one????  Well, here's why. . .This is my 100th post!!!!  Wow, that amazes me.  And I'm going to celebrate that and the fact that I now have over 100 followers too!  This is just too much fun!  So now that you know why this was a special post, let's get on with it.  I have a ton to share and some BLOG CANDY to give away!!!

OK, to start, October is a huge month of Birthdays for me.  My sister's is the 1st, Jay's is the 2nd,  my best friend's is the 4th, my Mom's is the 10th, and my aunt's is the 17th.  I'm not going to show you all the birthday cards I made, but I will show you the ones that I made for my Mom (because I told her I would LOL).  Here is the first:

I wanted to make her something elegant, so I used that mirror finish matte board that I got at HL for the matting behind the sentiment piece.  I gold embossed the leaves around the sentiment piece and also did an extra one and cut it out to also put on the sentiment piece.  Here is the inside:

She really loved it.  I also made her a funny card as well.  I hadn't used this image in awhile, and I thought it was perfect for the sentiment I wanted to use.  I have seen this sentiment several places on the web, and it makes me laugh every time I read it.  Here is the card:

Isn't he cute?  I honestly forget how makes this set.  I got it before I knew I was supposed to keep this kind of stuff for posts.  All I remember is one of the character's name is Bert.  I colored him with my ccp/oms, and sponged the background sky.  I also stamped the cat tails on a separate panel and use FlowerSoft on the cat tail part.  Here is the inside:

Makes me laugh every time.  The dragonflies were made with a punch.

Now, her "Granddogs" had to give her cards as well.  Here are theirs:

This image is from "Gunther's Greetings" which was the stamp set inspired by my sweet Gunther.  It was done by Jami Bova.  I stamped the paw prints on the card stock and the image was colored with my ccp/oms.  Here is Shotsy's card for her:

This is an "altered" Inkadinkado" stamp so that I could make it look like Shotsy.  I Fun Flocked him in black and added the screw brad to look like a picture hanging on the wall.

OK, on to the projects. . .As you guys know, I'm a freak for Fall and for Halloween.  I found these really cool copper colored metal frames at JoAnn Fabrics for $1.  So I bought several because I had the following in mind:

I always loved this wooden stamp set by Martha Stewart.  It has the four leaves you see in the pic above.  I stamped them in Versamark ink and then embossed them with copper ep.  I colored them with Staz-On pumpkin, olive green, and mustard inks.  I then cut them out and mounted them on various papers then dropped them into the frames.  I love to have lots of Fall decorations around the house, and these are perfect for setting on a bookcase or small shelves.  They really add a charm where ever you put them.  Here is a close up of one of them:

I also was so excited this week because I received the stamp set that I ordered from Stampin Up for Halloween.  They are the sweetest images and I bought it specifically for one of the images.  I plan on using the one image for the Halloween dog treats for the neighborhood dogs.  I thought that these frames would also work with this stamp set.  Take a look:

Aren't they cute?  I LOVE these frames!  I've got to go get some more!  The skeleton up there is the one I'm using for the neighborhood dogs.  What a riot that image is and so perfect for dogs!  LOL  Here is a close up of the sweet little pumpkins:

These were so easy to color (ccp/oms) and so quick to put together.  I've got them sitting in one of our bookcases in the living room.  OK, enough of the frames. . .on to the next project!

I loved this Stampin' Up set so much that I decided to make one of my famous (snicker) Spam Can Note Card Set.  Here are all the pics:

Are they not the sweetest images?!?  I love how the cards turned out.  Love my Spam cans!!!

Can you believe it. . . . .I have MORE!  LOL  I'm so tired I can't stand it. . . .LOL

Remember last post I said that I had a fabulous cookie recipe to share?  Well here are some of the pics of my cookies:

Do these not look yummy???  OMG they are so good.  A lot of you probably already know about these, but I sure didn't, and when I tasted them, WOW I had to make them.  Here is the Halloween project that I am using them for:

I packaged them in a regular sandwich bag with a decorated strip of card stock and another Stampin' Up Halloween image from last year called Tableau of Terror.  Another one of my cherished Halloween images.  I again colored it with my ccp/oms and stamped the background with Colorbox inks to make it look like a ghostly moon is behind them.  I cut it out with my Nesties and then attached it to the strip.  The strip is folded over the bag and then stapled to hold the bag in place.  Here is a close up of the colored image so you can see the detail of this great stamp:

OK, here is the recipe for the cookies:

Devil's Food Sandwich Cookies

2 boxes of Devil's Food Cake Mix

4 eggs

1 cup of vegetable oil

Mix the above together until a firm dough forms.  Roll dough into small balls (I used a teaspoon to measure).  Drop onto greased cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 - 12 minutes.  Let cool before applying icing.

Icing

3-4 cups of powdered sugar (I used 3 cups and it made plenty)

1 package of cream cheese

1 stick of butter

3 tsp. of Vanilla

This recipe made about 42 sandwich cookies.  They are just melt in your mouth good.  I kept mine in an air tight container in the refrigerator.  They stay soft and chewy if you do that.  Also, if they come out a little over done don't worry.  Once you have them iced and refrigerated, they soften up and become chewy.

OK, now for the end of this post. . .(some of you are now saying "Thank God"!  LOL)  On to the Blog Candy!!!   Yeah!!!!  Here is what is up for grabs:

What do you think?  Worth leaving a comment????  That's all you have to do.  Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw a winner next Tuesday (October 20th) after 6:00 PM (Eastern Time) and will post the winner's name on next Wednesday's post.  I'll use Random.Org to pick the winner.  Whoever comes up #1 will be the winner.  Here is what is in the prize package:

3 different sizes of scalloped circle punches by The Paper Studio

2 rolls of Halloween ribbon

1 package of letter stickers by Tag Type

1 package of glitter butterflies rub ons

1 package of Creative Keepsakes silk flowers

1 package of Making Memories Page Pebbles

1 Snag'em Stamp Flip Flops

1 package of 3 mini albums

1 package of Colorbok magnetic frames

1 box of K & Company 24 long cards in Fall Colors

1 box of K & Company 24 long cards in Pastels

OK, there you go.  I'm done!  I haven't even had my dinner yet!

Thanks so much for your support over these last 100 posts!  You guys have made my days more than you will ever know.  I hope you've enjoyed this post, long as it might be.  I just have so much to share and love doing it.   Don't forget the pic of the week below!  I'll be seeing you all on your blogs in the next few days!  Good luck to all of you on the draw next week!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

ANOTHER MAGICAL MONDAY

Hey All!  Didn't we just have one of these???  LOL  Well, since today is Monday, we have another new FREE digital stamp from the ever so talented Nina May to play with today.  It is another Halloween image just in time for the holiday!  The image this week is called "Spooktacular Pumpkin".  The challenge for this week is to use the 3D elements like liquid applique, flowersoft, glitter, and or stickles, crackle, liquid glaze, fun flock, etc.  So, here is my card:

So, how cute is he???  I used a recessed window card for him.  When I first saw the image, I knew it would be easily cut out, so I thought "scene" in my head.  I love pumpkin patches, and the look on his face looks like me when I find the perfect pumpkin each year!  LOL  I printed the image off twice so that I would have extra pumpkins to use.  Inside the recessed area, I popped in the big yellow moon and stamped a couple of bats on it.  I used a silver glitter gel pen to make "pinpoint" stars in the night sky.  I then colored the image with my ccp/oms and then carefully cut him and all the extra pumpkins out.  I place the main image on top of the moon, but bent it out for a true 3D effect.  You'll see it in the upcoming pics much better.  Take a look:

You can see by the shadow he casts how dimensional it is.  I then took the other extra pumpkins and attached them to the outer part of the recessed card for even more dimension.  IRL, it looks like one of those 3D cards.  Now, you can see in the pic above that the paper I used to create the frame on the card is pretty sparkly (don't know who made it.  I had already cut it up for this project and couldn't find the piece that had the company on it), but I didn't stop there.  I wanted my ghost to shimmer and shine too.  See  below:

He looks so beautiful IRL.  I used a Martha Stewart glue pen (my most favorite glue pen ever because of the ease of use.  Just like coloring with glue using a fine tipped pen).  I then sprinkled on diamond glitter.  I was very precise where I put the glue so that the glitter didn't blot out the line detail of the image.  It really makes a big difference when adding sparkle to elements of cards.

So, there you have it. . . my DT sample for this week!  What do you think?  This is a really cute image for a kid's Halloween card!  So what are you waiting for?!?!?  Get on over to "There's Magic in the Air" and pic up this image for FREE!  You only have a limited time before it is no longer free!  We'd love to see you play in the challenge too.

Again, as always, thanks very much for visiting me.  I love you guys.  I'll be back on Wednesday for my next loaded Wednesday Evening Post.  Not only will I have a ton of cards and projects to share, but I'll be also sharing a recipe for the most FABULOUS COOKIES ever!   They are so amazing, easy, and perfect for this time of year.  So come back and see me!  Take good care all!  I also have a feeling that Wednesday's post is going to be a very special one. . .so be sure to stop by and see why!

Best,

Curt O'Brien

God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST

Hey All!  How's your week going?  Well I hope!  I almost didn't make the post tonight.  Time got away from me!  Lots to share in this post, so I'll get busy!

Many of you have encouraged me to try out again for the DT spot over at House Mouse Monday Challenge.  So, I've thought about it and have decided to try out again.  I so love the HM images, and their design team is simply awesome.  It would be an honor to be a part of that group.  So, the first thing I need to share is my card to show them what I can do.  Here it is:

I've used this image one time before and this time I've used it to create a more Fallish feel and to use it in their challenge this week which is to use buttons.  See 'em there along the bottom under the image?  They are little bone buttons.  I used my ccp/oms to color the image.  The leafy background paper is from the Paper Studio.  The bow is the final result of the mini tutorial at the end of the post.  Here is a close up of the bone buttons:

But before we get to the tutorial, I have another project to share with you.  I had been seeing these really neat boxes all over the internet and they kept referring to the "ones found on SCS".  I did no less than 5 different searches on SCS and found nothing like I was looking for.  So I winged it and came up with my own.  Here are 3 that I have completed:

What do you think?  I really like how they came out.  Take a look at the pics below of each, then I'll give you the deets:

Here are a couple of close ups:

The picture below is what it looks like opened:

As you can see, they are perfect for holding 2 of the single Reese's peanut butter cup packages.  The box itself is an origami box folded from an 8 1/2 X 8 1/2 piece of Bazzill card stock.  The box size ends up being 3" X 3" X 1 1/2 ".  The bottom and top are made with my Nesties Label dies (the largest die in the set).  The skull is an Inkadinkado stamp as is the spider web.  The spider is a MS punch, and the witch is also a stamp by MS.  I added ribbon and bling to decorate.  The bottom is attached to the box with red line tape and the lid is attached to a strip of card stock and sandwiched between two identically die cut lid pieces so that it is hidden and seamless.  There might be an easier way, but this is how I figured it out.  I've decided on future boxes that I'll decorate the inside lid more, but I had already attached them before I thought of that.  So I just stamped the sentiment, which by the way is a $1 stamp.

OK, now to the tutorial I promised.  I came up with this idea out of frustration.  The Bow Easy (you can purchase one from Sharon Johnson - go HERE) does help make consistent bows of several sizes, but that is all. . . a bow. . . which you have to use glue dots of dimensionals to attach to your project.  Well, when I would attach them to ribbon, it didn't look like it should.  So I came up with a way to slide a piece of ribbon in during tying process so that your bow looks like it was tied all in one piece.  I know, it sound confusing.  Pictures are worth a thousand words:

I started out with two pieces of ribbon.  The first is 24" long (for the bow part) and the second piece is the piece that the bow will be tied to.  I'm using the largest part of the Bow Easy for this bow.

Start the bow as directed by the Bow Easy directions:

You will go to the part where you put the ribbon through your loop as shown above.

Once you've gotten to this part (the part right before you tighten the bow itself) flip the Bow easy over, and you should see this above.

This is where my "tip" begins.  Take the second piece of ribbon and slide it through the loop on the back (above) so it looks like this below:

At this point, flip it back over and continue making your bow as usual.

Your bow is now tied and should look like this picture above.

This is what it looks like (above) when you slide it off of the Bow Easy.  Your bow is now tied to the other extra piece and it stays in place.

Trim your tails.

You can see above that all you have to do now is attach the extra piece you added to the bow by wrapping each end and taping them to the back of the matted piece.  And as a reminder of the finished use of the bow my card again below:

Took a bunch of pics to show that, but believe me, it is very simple to do if you use the Bow Easy.  My bows are getting better, but I'm still in the "novice" stage.  But I do hope this tip helps those of you who have the Bow Easy.

All righty then.  I'm done and tired of typing!  LOL  I'm sure you are tired of reading!

I have to say one more thing.  Don't forget to look at the "pic of the week" below.  It is the most beautiful FUNGUS that I have ever seen!  LOL  I have never seen anything like this, and the first thing that struck me about it is that it is perfectly colored for not only Fall, but for Halloween too!  It reminds me of a smashed pumpkin!  I took this photo this week in a park very near my house.

Thanks all for stopping by.  I hope I made it worth your while.  I try hard to give you something in each post, and I hope I did this time as well.  Again, thanks for all of your comments and support.  It means the world to me!  Take care of yourselves!  I'll be seeing you on your blogs~

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

MAGICAL MONDAY

Hey All!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  But now that it is officially over, that can only mean one thing. . . . .It's Monday and time again for a Magical Monday at "There's Magic in the Air".  Today's image is really fun and just in time for Halloween . . . it is titled "Mouse Candy"!  Here is my card:

The challenge this week is to use orange and black on your card and one other color.  I've never been good at this challenge, because I'm a stickler for having everything colored the way it is supposed to be.  But I've been assured that I have done this correctly.  That my third color is technically purple.  Even though I've colored the mouse grey, the pumpkin stem and broom brown, and the pumpkin squiggles green!  LOL  But there you have it.  I colored the image with my ccp/oms as always.  I added some purple glitter on the star on his hat and around his treat bag.  I cut the image out with my Nesties and soft sponged the outer edge of the cut out with distress ink called "soot".    I also embossed the edge around the image with my Nesties and then colored the embossed edge with black marker to define it a bit.  The background paper has little Halloween words (if you click on the pic you'll be able to read what they say) and is matted on black card stock.  I then added the black photo corners with a little orange bling and then the ribbon to finish it off.

I've begun decorating the inside of some of my cards like I've seen so many of you do, so here is the inside:

Simple but decorated all the same.  The sentiment is from a House Mouse Halloween set I have which I thought was perfect for this image.

So, there you go.  Another great image from Nina May.  Again, get on over there and snag yours for FREE before next Monday or you'll have to pay for it later!  We'd love to see your cards for the challenge, but be aware, you don't have to play in the challenge to get the FREE image.

I'll be back on Wednesday with another Wednesday Evening Post which will contain the Bow Easy tutorial tip I promised.  So until then, stay well.  I still haven't made it to all of your past posts yet, but I'm working on it.  So if I haven't left you comments yet, I will soon.

One final sad note, my sweet blogging buddy Judy at "Designs by Nanny" had a very serious heart attack last week.  I was just stunned by the news.  So if you have a few moments, could you drop by and send her some words of encouragement?  I'd appreciate it and I know she would.  Thanks!

Until Wednesday Kiddos!  

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."