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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Sunday, 17 March 2013

Challenge #5 Winners - Let's Make a Quirky Mess

Wow, what a lot of wonderful entries for Lets Make a Quirky Mess, it seems you all loved getting messy! Because the entries were of such high quality it made it hard to choose, we had to leave out some entries that we really liked. Well done everyone on getting it so right and for sharing your wonderful creations with us.

Here are the winners:

In first place we have Merethe with this amazing LO with all the ink splatters.


Congratulations Merethe you have won 7 digi images from Bugaboo (for those that didn't win there is a great freebie and there are some half price bargains too).


In second place we have Nazneen with this lovely birthday card, with her hand doodled background in white pen on Kraft card, as well as a lovely background on the panel.


Congratulations Nazneen you have won the gorgeous gooseberry ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.


In third place we have Juhi with this lovely 3D card and background created with watercolour paper and inks.



Congratulations Juhi, you have won 3 images or sets from Squigglefly.

Well done to all of our winners! Please contact Cazzy by email (using the link in the sidebar) to collect your prizes and personalised winner's badges. We would love you all to join us as Guest Designers so please also let Cazzy know if you can join the team in two weeks time, or later.

Thank you to our three sponsors for providing these great prizes too.

Don't forget to mosey on over later today for our next quirky challenge!




The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.

Sunday, 10 March 2013

Midway reminder, lets make a Quirky Mess with no DP, make your own background with inks or paints etc

Midway reminder time! Here are some more DT examples to inspire you to enter our fun challenge  sponsored by:
Bugaboo .

Crafty Ribbons,

and Squigglefly!


I made my first ever journal page using the silhouette butterfly from Doodlebug and mounting it on a background made using paint (on my gelli pad), distress ink with various random stamps, doodling using white and black pens and gold glimmer mist.

I used the Silhouette Butterfly from Bugaboo too, but I made a set of bookmarks (because there's no point me just making one, I lose them all the time!). I used a mixture of acrylic paint, watersoluble crayons and gesso to make my messy background and then added the images and a few doodles. Now all I need to do is pick a few books to stick them in!

This time I've used a Squigglefly digi Artist Boy I made my paper by splodging blue and white acrylic paint thickly onto some paper, adding stars so when you peel them off, you can still see their outline, then covered  it  with some matt shimmering vanish.Once dry, I scanned it, then added the digi on the computer, printed it all out together, cut to size, coloured it with Promarkers, added the boarder, then added that to the card over the painted back paper. (so I've used both scanned and the original paper. I've also added candi, gems, eye-lashwool, and ribbon. The 'real' paint looks brighter as it shimmers, but the printed one is nice too, and can be re-sized and re-used!


 This time I made my background by first stamping a piece of A4 white card all over with my new toy - a Fiskars stamping wheel which I got at a bargain price in the sale. I only have the stamp that came with it, and I got pretty messy using that. Then I sprayed over the card with Glimmer Mist in Saphire blue and Bronze.
This image called A Little Bird Told Me is from Bugaboo. Printed spotty grosgrain ribbon from Crafty Ribbons.
For this card I used a Little Bird Told me and Ladybug stack, both from Bugaboo, kinda cute I think! Again ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons.


The Glimmer Mist got me! The nozzle was blocked and I used my pokey tool to work on it, before that I had tried spraying so it was pretty pumped up - and suddenly, while I was studying it, the spray released all over me! Good job I was wearing an old dark blue fleece, this is my hand, and it won't wash off!

For my background I used Glimmer Mist and then spray with water to remove the mini mister dot shape. After that, I used different colors of Adirondack Alcohol Ink and disperse with water. Then again Glimer Mist, water and baby wipes. Still wet, I used Gesso and stencil and mark an dragonfly and I waited for from absorbing different background colors. Finally with Distress Ink in various colors, color my digi stamp paste it.


Join in our Challenge click HERE


Please add a link to your blog post (not your blog) or your online photo gallery, SCS etc. here.
Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.

Sunday, 3 March 2013

Let's Make A Quirky Mess (no DP) with paints, inks etc in for your background.

Welcome back to Quirky Craft Challenge Blog! Please check the post below to see if you were a winner of our last challenge. 

It is my (Caro's) turn to set the challenge.  Now, I love getting messy with paint and ink, so I am challenging you all to put aside your designer patterned papers, and to get messy with inks, paints or any other medium to make your background.  Therefore this challenge is called:

'LET'S MAKE A QUIRKY MESS'
Please remember no patterned papers are allowed!  We welcome any form of crafting so let your imaginations run wild.

We have three lovely sponsors this week so that means three lovely prizes for you to compete for.

Bugaboo are offering the first prize winner 7 images from their amazing digital range
Crafty Ribbons are offering the second prize winner this gorgeous set of gooseberry ribbons

About us:

Crafty Ribbons is a ribbon emporium, we are passionate about ribbons and want to share our fantastic ribbons with others. Our range of Christmas ribbons is second to none.
Remember when we only used ribbons to add a bow to our hair, or tie up a birthday parcel?  Ribbons are now a "must-have" for all types of craft.  Whether your project requires satin, sheer, silk, grosgrain, gingham or polka dot ribbon we have them all!  Lots and lots of different colours in a range of widths.
Need a little bit of ribbon inspiration - then have a look at our projects on our blog,or visit our Inspiration blog,or maybe join in with us at our Challenge blog.  Go on, have a look... It's worth it !
Tony & Ali
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Challenge Blog http://craftyribbonschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Squigglefly are offering the third prize winner 3 digital images of your choice.

So let's see what a lovely mess our GDT and DT have got into to bring you their lovely creations using images from Bugaboo and Squigglefly:

Guest Designer Laura



Laura used Paint a Pretty Picture from Squigglefly, and said:

This is a bit of a self portrait.  This little girl [I've renamed her Laura ;)] has painted this canvas and made a hell of a mess whilst she was at it.  She used acrylic paints, ink, gesso, mists, oil crayons, mulberry tissue and rub ons on the canvas.
I've coloured the Squigglefly 'digi-me' with watercolour pencils and added Crafty Ribbons ribbon to her dress and hair.  To make the self portrait accurate she is also covered in ink and paint from the canvas... she even has some in her hair  :)  I've also added a neon bracelet to her right arm.
I know I said Chocolate was the best theme ever but Make a Mess has to be right up there with it!  I got very messy which was absolutely awesome!!

Guest Designer Monica

Monica used A Little Birdie Told Me from Bugaboo, and said: My Quirky Mess is all about spring. 

For the first project I used the wax paper technique with spring colors distress inks. I used a lever card cutting file from Svg Cuts.



For the second one, I worked with the emboss resist technique, with white Stampin Up embossing powder and an Stampin Up doily stamp. Then I used spring colors distress inks. The flower tower cutting file is from Creative Kuts.
Guest Designer Mary


Mary created a lovely messy canvas with Squigglefly Paint a Pretty Picture, it even has a messy sentiment!




Great challenge Caro! My first Quirky Mess is a card using Artistic Bear from Squigglefly. I tried to get clever by printing him in a position so that I could fold the card into a card blank, then I masked him and got out the acrylic paints which are the messiest medium I could imagine - at least when I use them! I painted the flower freehand, and then filled in with thick textured paint. The dripping paintbrush and puddles are done with 3d paint. and finally I removed the masking and coloured the bear with Promarkers, stamped Happy Mother's Day and added some Crafty Ribbon! I had to cut the front off the original card and mount it on some stronger card.

My next Quirky Mess was achieved by dropping three different colours of Distress inks onto my (appropriately named) Messy Mat, brayering them together and putting the card down on the ink. Then I stamped a background stamp of London by Hero Arts on top and cut my panel out. I used Guy New Job from Bugaboo, which is coloured with Promarkers and cut with Nestabilities, as is the sentiment. Again some Crafty Ribbon, which looks like tie material!

This art journal page was made from layers of handpainted papers and india ink. The gorgeous image is from Bugaboo, and I added a bit of colour using pencil crayons, I outlined the elephant in black so that it really pops off the background.
As you might notice, I got a little carried away making things for this challenge! I made eight cards using the African Giraffe digi stamp from Squigglefly! I'm going to share a tutorial for these cards on my blog tomorrow so make sure to swing by!


My first project is mounted upon canvas and has much Gesso and ModPodge, tissue paper, lace, flowers, leaves, different types of figures in metal, wood and cloth. Bugaboo Images, Stella and Gus - Marriage Curable, are painted with watercolor pencil, and then colored with Lindys Stamp Gang.
My second project is a wooden picture frame, covered with gesso paste. On top of this, it has several textures such as lace and metal embellishments adhered and sealed with ModPodge. Once it was dry I  spray painted in different colors and added the shoes, by Bugaboo, that I printed on various papers to which I added lace, flowers and ribbons. Finally everything was sealed with ModPodge glitter.
                                      
For this project I used acrylic paints as base and ModPodge as a sealant. I painted the Squigglefly digi stamp with watercolor pencil and then seal with ModPodge. For textures I used Gesso and paint with alcohol inks. I made a mixture with stickers and a palm print of my son's hand using paint, and this will serve as a gift for a golfer dad.
In my blog, you can find pictures of the different processes used in these projects.

 This was fun, I still have pink fingers! Well, I cheated a bit and didn't get as messy as I could've done! I've used JJ-Painting  by Bugaboo, on two of my cards, which are almost the same, but not quite! My Quirky mess was very easy, as I don't do hard! First I drew stripes on paper with my Promarkers, using colours I'd used on the image, and then went wild with the only Cosmic Shimmer Mist I have (My swivel chair is now pink!) added brads, a brush button, eye lash wool and computer generated sentiments. The corner die cuts were left over from another card made years ago (I throw nothing away!) Links to freebie font and my home-made papers are on my blog.(Or will be later, as I'm not here!) Inside the card looks like this...
 
 I used  the same idea on my second card, but this time, cut a strip off the front of the card and the sprayed it all over with the Cosmic Shimmer then added the Promarker stripes and glimmer with the digi already printed on it, covered that with another image (minus the fiddly bits) and then 3D-ed her dress. Another card coming up later!!
Inside

My first make is a wall hanging for my son Alex (age 5) and uses 'the cat in the hat' from Bugaboo. I made the background with yellow, red and blue splodges of paint onto a gelli plate, then brayered them and made patterns using a comb, bubble wrap and the end of a paint brush, before laying the paper on top. I finished it off with glimmer mist, then the promarker coloured cat image, some star brads, blue gems and mounted onto navy blue card.

My second make is the cover of an art journal for Alex and uses the painting boy from Squgglefly. This is also on a gelli plate background this time with stripes of paint and then masking with hearts, leaves and writing. I finished it off with HeroArts and PaperArtsy stamps, and then the painting boy image coloured with promarkers.

We now publish a midway reminder and you will see some more great examples next week, some using different images from our sponsors, so watch out for the reminder post!

Also if you haven't visited our Facebook page we now feature entries that comply with our challenge brief, you could have been featured already if you have entered the last few challenges, or you could be featured from this challenge.

Aren't these fun! Please add a link to your blog post (not your blog) or your online photo gallery, SCS etc. using the button below.
Have Fun - The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.
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Winners of Challenge #4 2013 - Supernatural Love Story

Welcome back to Quirky Crafts Challenge Blog.  We hope you enjoyed Daire's first challenge 'a supernatural love story', sponsored by two awesome sponsors:


and


The idea of a  'supernatural' love story was obviously quite challenging so we didn't have many entries and sadly not all entries were 'supernatural' and so were not eligible for the prizes.
Please read the challenge descriptions carefully if you want to be in with a chance of winning.  The ones who did get it right were all really good and voting was very close, so if you didn't win this time please don't give up!
Without further ado our winners are:

In first place with this stunning canvas is Moni who has won twice running now!


Congratulations Moni!  You won the first prize of a $10 gift voucher from Doodle Dragon Studios.

In second place is Judith with a really romantic card.


Congratulations Judith!  You won the second prize of  3 digis of your choice from Limited Runs.

In third place is Blackdragon with her ATC.


Congratulations Blackdragon!  You won the third prize of  a $5 gift voucher from Doodle Dragon Studios.


Well done to all of our winners! Please contact Cazzy by email (using the link in the sidebar) to collect your prizes and personalised winner's badges. We would love you all to join us as Guest Designers so please also let Cazzy know if you can join the team in two weeks time, or later.

Don't forget to swing by later today for our next quirky challenge!

The Quirky Crafts Challenge Design Team.