The Snarky Sisters are Celebrating!

The Snarky Sisters are celebrating their first anniversary! And you are of course invited to join in on the shenanigans by participating in our first anniversary challenge... The Best of Edna: Snarker's Choice! If you participated regularly over the past year, perhaps you have a particular challenge you remember as a favourite, or missed one you'd like to go back and try. If you are new to our challenge, or only participate occasionally, look back in the blog and find one you like! Or simply watch the graphic below... ;)

After looking back over our past year of challenges, I decided to go for Steampunk with a side of Iconic.
Allow me to geek out just for a moment. If you happen to watch Doctor Who, you will have noticed the just-finished season's opening theme is totally steampunk! I'd been thinking that would be a great inspiration for a card, so when it came time to choose my challenge, I had the perfect idea ready to go:

I am not generally one to gush over my stuff, but I have to say... I love that background! So time-wimey, swirly-whirly and shimmery-shiny! I started by embossing the clock background before using lots of Twinkling H2Os to colour the panel. I was so pleased with how it turned out, I actually remembered to take a close-up photo! 

Ooh, shiny. :) While the background was drying, I stamped the Tardis with distress ink, then used a damp paintbrush to pull the outline colour into the image. After I stamped and embossed the sentiment, I inked the edges with a blending tool, then lightly wiped it over the Tardis to tone down the white a little more. I used a couple of the clock parts left from our previous Steampunk challenge as embellishments. 
You know the Sisters will be pulling out all the stops for this challenge! Be sure to check out their inspirations, as well as that of our current guest designer Paige. And with 25 challenge themes to choose from, there is no excuse not to celebrate with us! 

Supplies: Colorbok mauve card base, Strathmore mixed media paper, VivaLasVegaStamps Doctor Who & Hero Arts Time to Stamp stamps, Versamark & chipped sapphire distress inks, Stampendous aged silver frantage & Zing clear embossing powders, Twinkling H2Os, pop-dot squares

Dude.

This week, the Simon Says Wednesday challenge is called "It's a Guy Thing". Is it just because the majority of cardmakers are female that masculine cards seem to be a challenge for so many? And how about a double challenge... needing a sympathy card to send to a man? The fallback floral theme just might not cut it. Here is my solution: 

Yep, swap out flowers for fern fronds, go monochromatic, and it suddenly becomes more of a guy card. I confess, I hadn't picked the fern stamp when I made my little trio of background squares, and were I to do this over, I would likely just have a rectangle instead. But let's pretend I was inspired by the patterned paper to use squares. Yes, when you look closely, they're circles... what's your point?
And since it just so happens I hadn't used the fern stamp or that patterned paper before, I am also linking up to this week's CASology cue word, and Darnell's NBUS (never-before-used-schtuff) challenges.

Supplies: Stampin' Up old olive cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Stampin' Up patterned paper (bought at a garage sale, so no idea what collection), Local King Rubber Stamp music background, Memory Box fern & Hero Arts chandelier with birds stamps, bundled sage, shabby shutters, peeled paint & antique linen distress, Versamark & Memento cottage ivy inks, Zing clear embossing powder, EK Success 1 1/4" square & Stampin' Up ticket corner punches, pop-dot tape

Just Us Critters

Here I am with a second Christmas card in less than a week! A January week, that is... it would be much more normal in November or December. The current Merry Monday Christmas Challenge is looking for Christmas critters, so that was too good to let pass by. I decided to combine it with this week's Just Us Girls challenge to use stencils:

I started by creating a shimmery wintery sky using three colours of Twinkling H2Os. I used the same colours in a more concentrated form to paint the dogs' hats and cat's scarf, then used watercolour pencils to colour in the animals themselves. By this time the background was dry, so I could use my stencil and embossing paste to add snow. I also misted the foreground snow for more shimmery goodness. And of course Stickles on the one dog's hat.  Lots of texture and shimmer in this card that just didn't want to appear on camera. This at least catches the snow shimmer a little better:

The sentiment bothers math me, but cardmaker me liked how it looked, so I went with it. 
And with that, I think I will get Christmas cards out of my system for a few days. ;) 
(P.S. Do you not ♥️ the Merry Monday bunny picture???)

Supplies: teal cardstock, Strathmore mixed media paper, Simon Says Stamp Furry Christmas Friends stamps, Memento Luxe grey flannel & Brilliance pearlescent lavender inks, Twinkling H2Os, watercolour pencils, Simon Says Stamp Radiant Rain shimmering mist -- ice, icicle Stickles, Simon Says Stamp falling snow stencil, Dreamweavers glossy white embossing paste, pop-dots

First Christmas Card of 2015

I know, I know, most of us have only just recovered from Christmas 2014. Why would I want to make a Christmas card now? Several reasons, really... first, I feel like I need gloves on while I'm typing (yes, I am indoors), so the weather is fitting. Also, as it came down to crunch time last month, I started thinking, hmm, maybe those people who make Christmas cards all year long are onto something. Finally, the current challenge at Jingle Belles spoke to me. Lauren and Stephanie are looking for cards featuring wrapping paper or gift tags. I have been saving remnants of pretty Christmas paper for years. Have I ever used any on a card? Of course not. One piece I have features Lesley Anne Ivory's artwork. (Does anyone else remember her? Seems she got somewhat supplanted by Laurel Burch.) I trimmed a panel from my piece, then realized, out of context, it had remarkably little to do with Christmas:

So I trimmed a second piece that at least had snow and stars...

Better. As I looked at my trimmed  and matted panel, I realized it would work quite nicely for this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

 
Although I'm not generally a big fan of wonky-looking stars, this die cut was just the size I wanted, and it does match the stars on the paper. I chose my sentiment partly because it seemed to go well with the image, and partly because, if my plans to have a couple of adolescent kittens running around come December hold true, the peaceful part may not be happening. :D 
I'm not saying I'm going to resolve to make Christmas cards regularly this year, but I think one once in a while is not a bad idea. ;) 

Supplies: Stampin' Up real red cardstock, American Crafts Pow! glitter paper, parchment paper, really old wrapping paper, Unity September 2011 Kit of the Month (All Seasons) stamp, Stampin' Up real red ink, Spellbinders Pagemaps Potpourri die, Creative Memories corner-rounding punch

Baby, It's...

Here we are, well into January, and in my part of the world, we've had a bit of a deep-freeze going on. So what better timing could there be for our latest Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers challenge?

W is for Wow It's Cold -- we'd like to see your winter-themed cards. I have to admit, if it's not for a Christmas card, I have little interest in making winter cards. Yes, you've guessed it, I'm not really a winter person. But as I was tidying some of the Christmas crafting *stuff* recently, I spotted some patterned paper that gave me an idea...

Wintry, but looking ahead more to Valentine's Day than back to the yuletide season. If, by chance, there is a February heat wave and I don't feel right using it, I won't complain. ;) The snowflakes were randomly stamped and the five different ones came from just two sets, which made things easy. Although you can't tell in the photo, I traced over the snowflakes and dots (blobs?) on the centre of the journalling card with a Sakura clear glitter pen. 
I had the best thought on how to make this snarky, by the way... turn it into a sound card with an especially cheesy version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that would become an earworm for days. Don't you think that would work? :P
Please visit our blog to feast your eyes on all my sisters' projects, including our latest guest designer/Queen of Snark Nanette. Please join us... maybe you have a leftover from your holiday crafting that will work perfectly, too! 
Edited to add: As often happens when I have a scheduled post, I forgot to link this up to someone else's challenge! I am adding this to Quirky Crafts Challenges (Clean and Simple). 

Supplies: Ivory & Stampin' Up bravo burgundy cardstock, Fancy Pants Winterland Cards patterned paper, Hero Arts Snow Much Joy & Christmas Reindeer stamps, Stamping' Up bravo burgundy ink, Marvy-Uchida corner-rounding punch, Sakura Stardust clear glitter gel pen, pop-dot tape

Season's Givings Blog Hop Winner!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog for the Season's Givings blog hop. I was overwhelmed with the number of comments! I asked random.org to find the winner of my stamp set giveaway:

The 24th commenter is Lisa! Congratulations, Lisa; hope to hear from you soon.

It's a NEW Year!

Please scroll down or click here for my Season's Giving post!

(There is a giveaway!)

Happy New Year! Here we are, the first day of a brand NEW year... and with that comes a new Naughty or Nice challenge! In keeping with all this new talk, we are looking for a naughty or nice creation that uses something NEW. Maybe a new stamp you found in your stocking, or a new die that you picked up during Boxing Week sales, or even something you've had for a while and just haven't had the chance to use yet. 

I received a beautiful new stamp for Christmas, and decided to make it the basis for a card:

Definitely nice, not naughty... it's never too early to start banking a few checkmarks on the nice side of the list. ;) Could that book-reading cat be any more perfect for a former teacher-librarian and ongoing avid reader and cat fan? A brown and beige colour scheme is not often a first choice for me, but seemed just right here. The sentiment is in the other category of *new* -- it's the first time inking up anything from a stamp set I bought in the fall. Conversely, the patterned paper has been in my stash quite a while. 
Be sure to check out the new creations, naughty and nice, of my teammates! You have until the 25th to join us... a perfect excuse to break out those new things! And again, happy new year, it's great to have you spend a few minutes here. 

Supplies: Cougar ivory cardstock, Canvas Corp Tan & Ivory French Script patterned paper, Stampendous Cattum Librum & Simon Says Stamp To Thine Own Shelf stamps, Memento rich cocoa ink, pop dot tape

Season's Givings Blog Hop

Happy New Year! Welcome to my blog and a stop on the Season's Givings blog hop. If you're a regular reader here, thank you and welcome back, and if you're new to Bashful Blogging, it's great to have you visit! The purpose of the Season's Givings hop is to thank you, the blog reader, for your visits and support throughout the year. Every blog on the hop will have a giveaway of some kind! For my part, I am offering a clear sentiment set from My Favorite Things, called Smile: 

This set is unused, although I did ink it lightly just so the stamps would show up in the photo. :D I will have random.org make a winner selection for me from all comments received between now and January 5th at midnight EST. No need to become a follower, although I'd be honoured if you did! 
Here is the entire (HUGE!) blog hop list, just to help you hop along! 

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

Lawn Fawn

Spellbinders Paper Arts

Reverse Confetti

Clearsnap

Ice Resin

My Favorite Things

Technique Tuesday

Paper Smooches

Sweet & Sassy Stamps

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Avocado Arts

A Jillian Vance Design

Latina Crafter

Die-Versions

Unity Stamp Company

Splitcoaststampers

Verve Stamps

Latisha Yoast

AJ Otto

Vera Yates

Julia Stainton

Judy Hayes

Kim Watson

Yana Smakula

Chari Moss

Taheerah Atchia

Shemaine Smith

Emily Spahn

Kimberly Crawford

Lee Murphy

Lovely Linda

Laura Williams

Lori Tecler

Chaitali Narla

Darsie Bruno

Lydia Fiedler

Giovana Smith

Teri Anderson

Beth Pingry

Dina Kowal

Daniela Dobson

Lisa Adametz

Piali Biswas

Kelli Green

Keri Lee Sereika

Jocelyn Olson

Julee Tilman

Michelle Woerner

Lori McAree

Theresa Momber

Anita Autore

Melody Rupple

Sean Fetterman

Bunny Vance

Tricia Traxler

Lisa Arana

Lorena Cant�

Amy Tsuruta

Jodi Collins

Tenia Nelson

Kelly Klapstein

Jill Cornell

Emily Leiphart

Becky Williams

Margie Higuchi

Lee Ann Barrett

Lisa Hoel

Heather Campbell

Lisa Henke

Sheri Holt

Michele Kovack

Ashley Harris

Sharon Harnist

Lori Craig

Nicole Nowosad

Laurel Beard

Michele Boyer

Christiana Reuling

Laurie Schmidlin

Jennifer Priest

Stacey Schafer

Heidi Blankenship

Heather Pulvirenti

Anita Madden

Gloria Stengel

Sarah Gough

Rachel Kleinman

Natalie Dever

Lorine Mason

Loretta Lock

Meihsia Liu

Sarah Martina Parker

Angeline Choo

Christine Emberson

Karen Hightower

Sabrina Alery

Debbie Seyer

Dana Joy

Cat Tidwell

Deborah Saaranen

Ceal Pritchett

Lisa Lara

Colleen Schaan

Anabelle O'Malley

Megan Hoeppner

Monika Davis

Marisa Ritzen

Wanda Guess

Jenny Peterson

Annette Allen

Gracie Chavez

Christina Griffiths

Niki G.

Kristi Schurr

Jennifer Ingle

Karolyn Loncon

Camille Robinson

Lindsey M-P (me!)

Kathy Clement

Maria Levine

Savitri Wilder

Savannah O'Gwynn

Teresa Horner

Laurel Seabrook

Libby Hickson

Yvonne Van de Grijp

Leigh Penner

Lisa Lee

Tina McDonald

Nina Yang

Angel Johns

Still with me? Oh good. :) I thought I'd finish up by sharing a few cards that I made in December, but ran out of time to share. Hope you don't mind a few last Christmas and holiday cards! 

Memory Box stencil and die cut

Memory Box and Angel Company stamps

Unity stamps, Echo Park patterned paper

 Thanks again for visiting, and I hope 2015 brings all good things your way!