Saturday, October 10, 2015

October Challenge

Hi friends! By now you're probably wondering what happened to the October challenge. Well...life happened...and I completely forgot about the challenge until a few days ago. 

Let me explain...After being unemployed for six months, my hubby finally found a job! Yeah! However, it's in another state, which will require us to move. Insert sad face. We had a week to get our house prepped for photos and listed for sale, which included packing up the majority of my studio and a major clean in our attic and garage (so thankful the hubby got that job!). And then...we went on a week long vacation (it was needed!) Half way through our vacation I remembered the challenge for this month...ugh...

I am so sorry about the unexpected and unexplained break! However, we plan to be back to our challenge next month. I already have a project completed...yeah for making ART!

Thanks for hanging in there and we hope to see lots of participants next month! Please share our challenges with your social media groups, we'd love to see more folks making ART!

Oh, and, does anyone want to buy a house in NH? **wink**


Friday, September 25, 2015

September Make ART Challenge Winner

Hello ladies! It's time for me to announce the winner of the September challenge...Raise your hand if you bought lots of Wendy's new products..WooHoo!  Our winner this month is...


Congratulations, Wanda! You've won a prize package from Ranger! Please email me at ksdm@comcast.net to claim your prize. Be sure to check out Wanda's beautiful tag on her blog. 


Thank you so much to everyone who participated in this month's challenge! Spread the word about Wendy's challenge blog..we'd love to see more people participating in the challenges! We're so happy to see everyone's work each month. Stay tuned for next month's challenge, which will be announced on Thursday, October 1! 

Friday, September 4, 2015

Make ART Challenge - September - NEW Product Inspiration

Sorry for the delay, Wendy fans, but we have some exciting news to share and we had to wait one more day for he good news...Today is the release of Wendy's NEWEST products...WooHoo!!!

This month's challenge is going to be a little different...we're only sharing the cover of Wendy's new catalog, aren't the colors divine (and they're going to help me hold on to warm weather just a little bit longer), and Wendy has posted the full reveal, with projects on her blog!

Your challenge this month is to visit Wendy's blog and create a project inspired by one of hers or one of her new products. Be sure to share, in your blog post, what product or project inspired you.


As for the new release, let's just say that I can't wait to go shopping...there are some fabulous new goodies!! Before you head to Wendy's blog, let's review the challenge rules:


  • Our September challenge opens today and anyone can participate!  Just link a photo of your project (on your blog or gallery), using the Linky Tool, at the end of today's post.  (If posting from your blog, please only insert the URL of the specific challenge post, not just your blog title)
  • The challenge ends on Thursday, September 24 at midnight (EST).
  • A random winner will be selected from all of our participants and announced here on the blog on Friday, September 24.  You may enter multiple projects, however, your name will only be entered into the drawing once.
  • Each month we will have a sponsor and the sponsor will award the prizes.
  • You must use at least one Wendy Vecchi product in your project.

This month's sponsor is...Ranger!  Ranger will be awarding one winner, chosen from a random drawing, a prize pack of Wendy's products.

Interested in sharing your ART?  We'd love to see what you create based on Wendy's new products! To share, just add your blog post (the specific post, please) link below.  Once your project is listed, you'll be entered into our drawing.  Thanks so much for playing along this month!


Friday, August 28, 2015

Make ART Challenge Winner - August

Hello ladies! It's time for me to announce the winner of the August monochromatic challenge...It is...


Congratulations, Julia! You've won a prize package from the queen of ART, Wendy Vecchi! Please email me at kim@eclecticpaperie.com to claim your prize. Be sure to check out Julia's beautiful Wendy-inspired card on her blog. Julia also has lots of other beautiful art on her blog as well!

A a GIANT thank you to all of the other challenge participants! We're so happy to see everyone's work each month. Stay tuned for next month's challenge, which will be announced on Thursday, September 3! 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

August Make ART Challenge - Monochromatic

Hello all of you Wendy Vecchi fans! Are you ready for this month's challenge? Kim here, and I'm super excited to be hosting Wendy's challenge this month. Wendy just returned from a whirlwind trip to the UK and is now rushing to meet some looming deadlines. Before I share the details on my project, let's review our monthly challenge rules: (PS - How do you like my kid's Kiwi Crate easel? It's perfect for holding art projects! **giggle**)


  • Our August challenge opens today and anyone can participate!  Just link a photo of your project (on your blog or gallery), using the Linky Tool, at the end of today's post.  (If posting from your blog, please only insert the URL of the specific challenge post, not just your blog title)
  • The challenge ends on Thursday, August 27 at midnight (EST).
  • A random winner will be selected from all of our participants and announced here on the blog on Friday, August 28.  You may enter multiple projects, however, your name will only be entered into the drawing once.
  • Each month we will have a sponsor and the sponsor will award the prizes.
  • You must use at least one Wendy Vecchi product in your project.

This month Wendy is our sponsor! She's going to be sending our winner a prize package filled with some of her favorite goodies.


And now...on to this month's challenge...It is to create...a...

...MONOCHROMATIC project...

Did you guess that by looking at my project? **smile** Monochromatic means that you'll use shades of just one color...and I chose brown! Any guesses why I chose brown, besides the fact that I love the color brown? Well..I was digging through my scraps and found a discarded pocket watch die cut (from Tim Holtz) that I had die cut and embossed ages ago, but never used. I had cut out the middle part of the pocket watch die and as soon as I found this piece, I knew what I wanted to make!

I started by die cutting a circle and stamping/stenciling. I started with the Checkmate stencil, added the Price Chart stamp, and then used a blending tool and Potting Soil Archival Ink to add just the branch from the Stamp It, Stencil It Build a Blossom set. The last step was to age the circle edges with Gathered Twigs. You can just see the background peeking through the black text in the photo below.

After my background piece was complete, I die cut another circle from Clearly for Art and stamped text from an older stamp set, Parisian Art, onto the plastic. The plastic piece was attached directly to the pocket watch die and then I separated the background piece from the plastic with foam tape for some added dimension.


One of the tricks to keeping a monochromatic project visually appealing is to use different shades of the same colors, incorporate texture, and add lots of layers.

After I assembled the pocket watch background, I inked an Art Parts flower, using Distress Inks, and stamped the Mesh pattern on to the top of the flower. I added little gold dots, using a gold paint pen, and used Potting Soil to emboss the flower middle.

The swirls and sentiment are from the My Kind of Art stamp sets (one of my favs!) and both were stamped on scrap paper and fussy cut. I, of course, added more Gathered Twigs to everything that was cut out. To finish my project, I added some hand dyed ribbon and that cutie bird (I love that bird!) from the License Plate Art stamp set.

Now that you've read about my project...it's your turn to create! To be entered into the challenge, simply add your blog post (please link the specific post instead of your blog name) to the link list below. Once your project is listed, you'll be entered into our drawing. Thanks so much for playing along! 


Friday, July 31, 2015

July Make ART Challenge Winner

Hello Wendy Vecchi fans! Believe it or not, another month has passed us by and that means it's time for me to announce the winner of this month's Polka Dot challenge...It is...


Congratulations, Peg! You've won a $25 gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique! Please email me at kim@eclecticpaperie.com to claim your prize. Be sure to check out Peg's beautiful Wendy-inspired creations...not only did she make this beautiful framed art piece, but she also created a number of cards all sporting lovely polka dots!

A a GIANT thank you to all of the other challenge participants! We're so happy to see everyone's work each month. Stay tuned for next month's challenge, which will be announced on Thursday, August 6! (Seriously, August??!!)


Thursday, July 2, 2015

July Make ART Challenge - Polka Dots

Hello crafty friends and welcome to the July Make ART Challenge! Today we're featuring the lovely artwork of Jenny Marples, design team member for our July sponsor...The Funkie Junkie Boutique! You can read more about Jenny's beautiful project on her blog.

Wendy is knee deep in show and new product (YEAH!) prep so Jenny is standing in for her this month. A big THANK YOU to Jenny and Funkie Junkie!  Let's get on with this month's challenge...


  • Our July challenge opens today and anyone can participate!  Just link a photo of your project (on your blog or gallery), using the Linky Tool, at the end of today's post.  (If posting from your blog, please only insert the URL of the specific challenge post, not just your blog title)
  • The challenge ends on Thursday,July 30 at midnight (EST).
  • A random winner will be selected from all of our participants and announced here on the blog on Friday, July 31.  You may enter multiple projects, however, your name will only be entered into the drawing once.
  • Each month we will have a sponsor and the sponsor will award the prizes.
  • You must use at least one Wendy Vecchi product in your project.

As mentioned above, this month's sponsor is The Funkie Junkie Boutique and they will be rewarding one random winner a $25 gift certificate to their store!
And now on to the challenge!


....This month's challenge is to use POLKA DOTS on your project....

Wendy has lots of fun polka dots products, from stamps to stencils, you're sure to find a great product to use....or include one of Wendy's other beautiful stamps with polka dot paper. Show us how you incorporate polka dots into a project...can't wait to see what you create!  

To share your art, simply add your blog post (please link the specific post instead of your blog name) to the link list below. Once your project is listed, you'll be entered into our drawing. Thanks so much for playing along!