The End of the MINI VSN

Phew... that was quite a night... after the last challenge I took more pictures and uploaded them to SCS so that I could be included in the judging part... I hope one of mine gets noticed. My wonderful sister thinks my lady silouette one will win that challenge because it was very original...


We'll see how it goes and I'll post if I do win one or more of the challenges...


This was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to Nov 14&15 when there is a full VSN - especially as I will be travelling to Linden to join my sister, mom and friends to participate as a group.

VSN Challenge #7... the final Challenge

I had quite a bit of time after the last challenge so I took some time to clean up and take some pictures of the finished artwork...

On to the final challenge...

direct quote from SCS "Most of us are familiar with the film version of "Cabaret." But did you know that there were several stage versions produced? In 1998, director Sam Mendes put together his own interpretation of "Cabaret" that included several changes to the original production and script. Most of those changes were a reflection of what was going on in the world politically and socially during World War II, the time frame of the story. In Mendes' finale, the Emcee character is on stage in an Emcee costume similar to that worn by Joel Grey in the film version - top hat, cane and tails. The Emcee's costume is stripped away (yes, the Mendes production was much more risque than the film version!) to reveal the black and white striped uniform worn by the Jews in the concentration camps in Hitler-occupied Germany. My challenge for you is to duplicate the dramatic transformation from the widely recognized Emcee costume to the concentration camp uniform by creating a card using the Emerging Color technique. It's an easy technique, especially as described in Beate's tutorial, and makes for dramatic results. I can't wait to see the results of your Quick Costume Change!! I'll be right here in this chat thread to answer any and all questions that you might have about this challenge. IMPORTANT NOTE!: YOU DO NOT NEED A BRAYER TO COMPLETE THIS TECHNIQUE. I GOT MUCH BETTER RESULTS JUST USING A CRAFT SPONGE AND INK DIRECT TO PAPER. I FOUND WITH THE BRAYER THAT THE COLOR WAS TOO STREAKY. A SPONGE WITH INK WORKED MUCH BETTER. HOPE THIS HELPS!"

O.....M.....G..... Another technique I was not familiar with... And although the gal said it was easy... it WAS NOT EASY!!!!! I really struggled with this challenge - I don't have a lot of stamp sets that would work with this... I tried using a tree and leaves but I didn't like the results I got.... however my husband and my sister both liked the finished card and I did get positive feedback on SCS... I guess everyone has different tastes...

Check it out and decide for yourself...

VSN Challenge #6

I almost ran out of time with the last challenge... and I was super hungry so I decided to stop for a dinner break with hubby...

After dinner - I was refreshed and ready for this next challenge...

direct quote from SCS "The accordion doesn't often feature in a modern cabaret, a much maligned musical instrument but the source of a valuable lesson in my life of learning to hold my tongue. Years ago on the job, we took a new boss out to lunch. Somehow the topic of musical instruments came up and for some reason we (the employees) chose to make fun of the accordion . . . yes, you guessed it. Our new boss was female and her husband was an avid accordion player. Really! Not much you can do to recover from that. A more enjoyable lesson is to learn to play the accordion , or in this case to learn to make an accordion card. There are actually many different variations on the accordion card but for today's lesson we will focus on this versatile little beauty, the accordion fold booklet."

O....M....G.... I'd never done one of these before... luckily for me they had provided a link to a U-Tube video tutorial (which took FOREVER to load) and also provided some written instructions....

Turns out this impressive technique is really quite simple... So with the time I had to spare I used another new technique I learned at Regionals to make the chipboard flowers and fabric flower shiny....

Check it out!!

VSN Challenge #5

Wow... I actually had a few spare minutes after the last challenge to take a potty break (both me and Gizmo had to go)...

I definitely feel more inspired and motivated towards papercrafting now... I'm planning on making my Christmas cards this year and I am so geared up now! On to the next challenge...

direct quote from SCS

"Come on babe Why don't we paint the town? And all that Jazz

I'm gonna rouge my knees And roll my stockings down And all that jazz

Start the car I know a whoopee spot Where the gin is cold But the piano's hot

It's just a noisy hall Where there's a nightly brawl And all That Jazz

When you hear this song, does it make you think of the opening scene in the movie Chicago? It does, for me. One of my favorite movies is Chicago. For those of you who might not be aware, Chicago takes place in the 1920's. I loved the costumes that they wore in the movie. (My girls have each dressed up as flappers for various halloweens too.) My challenge to you is to dress up your card using items reminiscent of this time period. Think feathers, boas, fringe, etc."

Ok... snag major... I don't have any fringe or feathers or boas... what to do??? I took a few minutes to think about the movie Chicago... there is a scene where the ladies were using chairs and I thought of a classic burlesque image of a dancer with one foot on a chair... unfortunately I don't have a stamp image like that... Ever resourceful I decided to draw one myself... I covered the lady in sparkly fabric (leftover from a halloween costume) and added some fancy fibers to imitate fringe...

I really liked the way it turned out - and its one of my hubby's favorites out of all of the cards I've made so far!!

VSN Challenge #4

I'm now totally grooving... even the sound of my husband playing Mario Kart on the Wii can't distract me... (well maybe a little to laugh when he keeps falling off Rainbow Road)

direct quote from SCS "Bonjour! This challenge is for the seamstress or costume designer lurking in all of you! Nicole Kidman has got to be one of the most beautiful actresses in the world! In Moulin Rouge, she was a Can Can dancer, and had the most gorgeous costumes that showcased her classic beauty to perfection! For this VSN mini challenge, you are to make a card inspired by one of the costumes Nicole wore in Moulin Rouge. Attached is a link of some of her most popular gowns and suits from the movie. Click on the link, scroll down, and you will see the designs. Click on each one, and thumbnails will appear below of more detailed images of that costume. Be inspired by the colors, the patterns, the BLING, the fabric, the jewelry...oh, and the BLING, hee! I recently read that she had 50 costume changes in the movie! If you have a particular favorite in mind that is not pictured, feel free to use it as your inspiration, and post a link to that costume in your gallery along with YOUR design!"

As I LOVE this movie... and all of the fabulous costumes in it I was SUPER excited to do this challenge... I used the Pink Diamonds outfit that she wore during her 'Diamonds are a girls best friend song' as inspiration... (insert n.kidman pic here)

I also learned my lesson about adhesives and chipboard... I used a wet clear glue instead of snail adhesive on my chipboard heart - much better results!!

Check out my homage to Pink Diamonds....

VSN Challenge #3

After the last delightfully easy challenge I was definately starting to get in the groove of things... On to Challenge #3

direct quote from SCS ""An Understudy is a theatrical term for someone who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a leading actor or actress in a theatrical play. Should the lead actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or accident, the understudy takes over the part. Usually, when the understudy takes over, the theater manager will make the announcement prior to the start of the performance." - Wikipedia When I think of a Theatrical Production, especially the countless hours of rehearsals, I have a HUGE respect for the understudies. They must learn all of the dialogue and be prepared at a moment's notice to take over for the lead. That is an incredible amount of work in spite of the fact that they may NEVER even be seen!! So in honor of the many, many hard-working and talented Understudies..........my challenge is to make a Layer Card. Did you catch the words Under and Over in that Wikipedia definition? Ahhh.......that makes me think of a card with lots of fabulous layers!!! A little time-consuming perhaps, but such beautiful results for that hard work!!! Please make a card using a minimum of 5 layers, 5 layers any way you'd like, it doesn't have to just be a base of 5 layers and..........you can definitely use more if you're an addict like me!!! LOL"

When I first started making cards and scrapbook pages, I really was afraid of using too many layers, it seemed like a waste of paper (expensive paper!!) but now that I have a couple more years experience under my belt I realized that adding layers whether just paper or adding texture with fabric ribbons metal... the possibilities are endless and you end up with a product that is so snazzy and amazing that other people want to buy them or at least learn how to make it themselves...

So here is my tribute to fall and layers...

VSN Challenge #2

After madly scrambling for the first challenge and then quickly cleaning my workspace I went onto SCS website and looked at the second challenge of the evening...

direct quote from SCS "You're filling in tonight because the main act got sick. The hustle and bustle backstage has you frantic. Hurry up, you need a costume....but what? Look! There's a skirt worn in act one...shoes from the 3rd act...a feather boa from the burlesque show. Yeah, you can put something together!! Hurry, its almost time!! My challenge to you is to use your scraps laying around to create a card. You may use ONE regular piece of cardstock to create your base and ANY embellishments you want, but scraps only must be used for the layers of your card. Do your best to create a fanstatic card, worthy of your audience."

As I am always making cards and crafts I ALWAYS have lots of scraps - I really enjoyed being able to try out some of the techniques I learned at Stampin' Up! Edmonton Regional... (see an older post about that!!)

This is a striking card and what I love about it is that it looks really hard to do, but it isn't... you just need to know the secret!!