In the Spotlight + Mini Challenge... with Diana Fernandez

 Happy Sunday!

It's time again for another mini-challenge/designer spotlight.

I am so glad that I get to host the challenge this week!

Hi by the way, I'm Diana Fernandez, (check out my blog here).

I've been here with Anything But a Card Challenges since the beginning! I have loved every challenge, and so enjoy all of the amazing entries we get!

I guess this is the part where

I'm supposed to tell y'all about me.

I live in the fabulously HOT state of Arizona, where it's sunny almost all the time, and hot hot hot in the summer.  The winters however make it all worth while.

I work as a 911 operator and police dispatcher.  I get asked all the time how I do such a stressful job, and all I can say is for some of us it's a perfect fit.  The stress is there of course, but the rewards outweigh that stress, and knowing that I did something every day to help another person is amazing!

 

"How about your crafting? "Well, I am sorta new to the papercrafting world, I really only started a year and a half ago, but I just love creating something from a bunch of paper and some embellishments. At first I was mostly just making cards, and then I did some Smash booking, and after meeting a group of crafters from Meetup.com I decided it was time for me to be a blogger. Yes, my husband looked at me sideways when I said "I'm going to blog that, but I have stuck with it, and I love hearing all the fabulous comments from my "followers," and I just adore playing along with Challenges. My blog * Creations For a Star * can be found here.

I wish I could tell you that I'm super innovative, and have invented the newest trend, but honestly I feel that I'm always learning – mostly through YouTube video's, and by reading lots and lots of blogs (I love tutorials!)... And then I just try it!

 

Most often my Big Kitty Koa is in the craft room with me. He's a big baby, and loves to jump in my chair when I get up to get something. It's hard to say say no to such a sweet boy though!

That's how I got into art journaling. It's a perfect vehicle to try something that you might be hesitant to try initially! And there are lots of video's and tutorials to give you idea's on how to get started!

So can you see where this is headed?? That's right, My challenge to all of you out there is to do an art journal page.... "But Diana, I don't have an art journal". Thats ok, you don't have to have a whole journal to try this out! Yep, you can do it on any sort of blank page you want. Then if you find it's something that you really like you could always bind all your pages together!

Soo, I have this fab page to share with you!

Lots of paint, and a fabulous daisy stamp from Stampendous in the middle. Plus I got to try out some of my "fancy" writing!
Ahh... I love my white gel pen!

And my challenge to you is to do an art page. 

 Go ahead and try something new! I look forward to seeing your creations.

* * * * * * * * *

Please join us next Sunday for a brand new Challenge - No. 32. Have a great week!

Balance Expressed as Inspiration and Zenspiration... for Week 3 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 31

Good Morning! Welcome to week 3 of our current challenge No. 31... BALANCE. CLICK HERE to jump over to the challenge intro or scroll to the bottom of post to LINK UP your creations. We also have a couple of new designers joining us this week - and we are excited for you all to get to know these talented ladies!

The current Challenge... Anything But a Card Challenge #31 - Balance! With the new year - everyone begins a fresh start – with the new beginning comes choosing resolutions and goals for the year ahead. So for this challenge we present this image for your inspiration for BALANCE.

You can use the image as inspiration - or share something that inspires you when you think of the word "BALANCE". We all juggle family, home and work in our daily lives which could be a source of inspiration of how you find balance. The imagery that the varied deifinitions of the word balance brings to mind... could set your muse off and running, too! This is just a sampling from the definition found on google... and there are many more {not including verbs}. CLICK HERE to see the entire list. Stretch your mind and think out of the box for this challenge – even our designers were a little bit; but found it refreshing to create from a new perspective. We look forward to seeing how your minds eye perceives balance.

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please mention and LINK BACK to this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight January 25th – one more week to play along and ENJOY the creative process! Next Sunday will be a new artist spotlight + mini challenge presented by one of our creatives.

Let's see what part of our DT has created!!

Please click on the designers' name to visit their blog. We hope you’ll take a minute to go see their work up close... and as long as you’re there – please leave them a little love!

Welcoming Becky Garrison!

Becky

I am really excited to be joining the Anything But A Card Challenges team! When I thought about what I wanted to do, I knew that I wanted to stay true to my true style, which is very vintage/retro and with lots of color. I found this image and loved how it really fit the theme of balance, and it really fit my style. I printed two of the images and fussy cut the children and see-saw from one of them and popped it up with foam dots to give it some dimension. I hope you enjoy my first project! Please click here to visit my blog.

Welcoming Diane "Di" Hasthorpe!

Di

I have done a yin-yang, with my zen-type designs on paper and canvas. My inspiration came from the art definition of balance: a harmonious arrangement of elements in a design. Please visit my blog for more details!

Margaret

I went with the emotional meaning of the word balance and created a scrapbook layout. Please visit my blog for more details!

Christi

This was a tough challenge for me as I feel like I lack balance in most everything I do! I felt something that was a daily reminder would work for me, so I decided to do a tag banner. I really did enjoy this challenge once I got the project down – I played like I used to when I first started to rubber stamp! I hope you enjoy the banner as much as I do! Please visit my blog for more details!

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We hope our designers have you INSPIRED to take some time to be creative!! We can't wait to see your creations and we hope that you will join in and share them with us! Stop back next Sunday for a new Artist Spotlight + Mini Challenge!

Have a fabulous week. ~ Susan :)

Life is Like Riding a Bicycle... Week 2 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 31

Good Afternoon Everyone! My sincerest apologies for the delay in posting. This weekend is the annual Craft and Hobby Association's {CHA} Winter Convention in Anaheim, CA - and I have been in a whirlwind of creative inspiration, projects and demonstrating in the Amazing Crafting Products Booth. It is truly amazing and it's quite a challenge to find BALANCE of any sort at this type of event that merges work, networking and play all in one... and with so many creatives in one place - the internet is very sluggish due to demand.

Without further delay... Welcome to week 2 of our current challenge No. 31... BALANCE. CLICK HERE to jump over to the challenge intro and where to LINK UP your creations.

The current Challenge... Anything But a Card Challenge #31 - Balance! With the new year - everyone begins a fresh start – with the new beginning comes choosing resolutions and goals for the year ahead. So for this challenge we present this image for your inspiration for BALANCE.

You can use the image as inspiration - or share something that inspires you when you think of the word "BALANCE". We all juggle family, home and work in our daily lives which could be a source of inspiration of how you find balance. The imagery that the varied deifinitions of the word balance brings to mind... could set your muse off and running, too! This is just a sampling from the definition found on google... and there are many more {not including verbs}. CLICK HERE to see the entire list. Stretch your mind and think out of the box for this challenge – even our designers were a little bit; but found it refreshing to create from a new perspective. We look forward to seeing how your minds eye perceives balance.

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please mention and LINK BACK to this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight January 25th giving you 2 more weeks to play along and ENJOY the creative process! We will share more of our Design Team's creations each Sunday to keep you inspired.

Let's see what part of our DT has created!!

Please click on the designers' name to visit their blog. We hope you’ll take a minute to go see their work up close... and as long as you’re there – please leave them a little love!

Lisette

The presence of butterflies shows us that everything in nature is well balanced.
Please visit my blog for more details!

Sheri

For this challenge I created this inspirational art journal page with stencils and Dylusions spray! Check out my blog for more details!

Jennie

I took the colours from the photograph as well as the vertical emphasis of the balanced stones and created a hanging using Fresco Finish Chalk Paints and stamping on tissue paper.  There are more details on my blog of the individual stages. Please visit my blog for more details!

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We hope our designers have you INSPIRED to take some time to be creative!! We can't wait to see your creations and we hope that you will join in and share them with us! Stop back next Sunday to see more of our Design Team creations!

Have a fabulous week. ~ Susan :)

Finding Inspiration and BALANCE in the New Year for Anything But a Card Challenges No. 31

Good Morning Everyone and Happy New Year! Can you believe its 2014??? Thanks so much for all of the wonderful comments and those that created handmade flowers with Jenni's mini-challenge. Stay tuned for a new "Spotlight and Mini-Challenge" at the bottom of January at the end of Challenge No. 31.

It's time for a new challenge today here at Anything But a Card Challenges... so get ready to play and have some fun! Congratulations to all of you who were able to create during the busy holiday season and share your creations here to inspire us all for Challenge #31 "Anything Goes with a Holiday Twist". If you missed out on seeing all the amazing submissions... please CLICK HERE to check them out.

The new Challenge... Anything But a Card Challenge #31 - Balance! With the new year - everyone begins a fresh start – with the new beginning comes choosing resolutions and goals for the year ahead. So for this challenge we present this image for your inspiration for BALANCE.

You can use the image as inspiration - or share something that inspires you when you think of the word "BALANCE". We all juggle family, home and work in our daily lives which could be a source of inspiration of how you find balance. The imagery that the varied deifinitions of the word balance brings to mind... could set your muse off and running, too! This is just a sampling from the definition found on google... and there are many more {not including verbs}. CLICK HERE to see the entire list. Stretch your mind and think out of the box for this challenge – even our designers were a little bit; but found it refreshing to create from a new perspective. We look forward to seeing how your minds eye perceives balance.

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please mention and LINK BACK to this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight January 25th giving you 3 weeks to play along and ENJOY the creative process! We will share more of our Design Team's creations each Sunday to keep you inspired.

Let's see what part of our DT has created!!

Please click on the designers' name to visit their blog. We hope you’ll take a minute to go see their work up close... and as long as you’re there – please leave them a little love!

Julie

So many acts need wonderful Balance in the Circus.

So many skills are needed to balance our lives.

My inspiration was the word and the serendipity heart that appeared in a piece of printing I have been experimenting with. Please visit my blog for more details!

Diana

This little clock has been on my desk waiting to be altered for a couple of months. What is more about balance than the precise movements of a clock. I went with a Steampunk look because all other attempts I've done at Steampunk have been fails. I think I finally succeeded this time! Check out my blog for more details!

Julia

I had to think quite hard for this challenge! Eventually I decided to take the word Balance and use it in a fairly literal sense. I've made an ATC which depicts my interpretation of the theme 'Balance'. Please visit my blog for more details!

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We hope our designers have you INSPIRED to take some time to be creative!! We can't wait to see your creations and we hope that you will join in and share them with us! Stop back next Sunday to see more of our Design Team creations!

Featured Artists for Challenge No. 30

Happy New Year!!! We hope everyone had a wonderful and happy holiday season and that 2014 is starting off with a creative bang. Thanks to all who shared your fabulous creations {88 total entries -- WOW} from our "Anything Goes with a Holiday Twist" challenge #30... and providing so much seasonal inspiration that Christmas crafting can start in January... or change out the patterns/colors and a handmade creation can be transformed for any occasion! The entire ABAC Team is so grateful for your support and we look forward to expanding our creative community in 2014.

Presenting the Featured Artists

for ABAC Challenge No. 30... 

Becky G.

Andrea-schnipsel

Kerry {sweetroses}

Congratulations! 

Feel free to snag our NEW badge for your blog!

We hope you join us later today with with our first challenge of the new year with Anything But a Card Challenges No. 31! Have a fabulous Sunday :)