In the Spotlight + Mini Challenge... Pallavi Iyer

Hi! This is Pallavi and today its my turn to take the spotlight and post a mini challenge for you.

Here is a little bit about me:

I am 30 something, happily married and live in the western part of India. I started my crafting journey a couple of years back. I have always been interested in beautiful things,be it art, crafts, décor or writing.

With my full time job though, I did not have enough time to pursue anything seriously (that's my excuse and am sticking to it). 2012 was a bad year for me because I lost my father due to cancer and had to deal with a scary disease myself. After that I suddenly lost interest in the corporate rat race and looked for solace in arts and crafts. I resented the time I had to spend at work and couldn't wait to get home to work on my craft projects.

I quit my job exactly two years back and that was the best decision ever. The plan was to take a sabbatical and go back, but I love being home and being able to indulge in my passion so much that I don't think this is going to happen.   :-)

As far as crafting goes, I am still trying to find my style. I have tried my hand at Cards, tags, altered projects, canvases etc. My problem is that I am interested in too many things and want to try them all, so my work is all over the place. For now, I know that I gravitate towards a shabby chic style and creating textures, mixed media and altering things are my favourite works of all. This year I am focusing on art journaling and honing up my sketching and water colouring skills. I write about my crafty endeavours on my blog which is appropriately named " Dazzled by life ". Do come and visit me if you feel like it. I would love to see you there.

Now enough about me and onto the challenge!

Lately I have been fascinated with Black. It is such an important component of any artwork. A little touch of black automatically brings the whole project together, don't you feel? However, I have lately been enamoured with the combination of black and metallics. I feel that a black background provides the perfect base for metallic paints/mediums or glitter to shine through and do their thing. 

So my challenge to you is to create a project with a combination of black and metallic components. You can use metallic paint, gold leaf, mica flakes, glitter. The options are endless.

Here is my project for the challenge: I altered a wooden mini chest of drawers. I used modelling paste and stencils for the texture.

Everything was given a coat of black acrylic paint. Once that dried, I used some Decoart antiquing creams to highlight the textures. Using the antiquing cream gave a nice patina to the whole texture but something was missing. I could not figure out what was wrong , just that it was dull and not what I had envisaged in my mind. Next attempt to salvage the project was to use Silks acrylic glaze to add some more color.

Still not happy! In my frustration, I decided to try using Viva Décor Inka gold as my last attempt and am glad to say that I am finally satisfied with the whole look.

I hope my project gave you some ideas and really hope that you play with us in this challenge. Would love to see your projects.

Please join us next week for a brand new Challenge!

Till then,

Cheers

Pallavi

An InLinkz Link-up

Featured Artists for Anything But a Card Challenges No. 43 "New Beginnings"

Good Morning!!! Thanks to everyone who joined us for our "Friendship" Challenge #44... a creative celebration of relationships! If you missed out on seeing all of the amazing submissions... please CLICK HERE to view week number one; HERE for week 2 and HERE for week 3 of our Design Team inspiration. All of the submissions are AMAZING so you don't want to miss out on all the amazing creations!

Presenting the Featured Artists
for Challenge No. 43
"New Beginnings" 

Senna

Donna

Alison

Congratulations! 

Feel free to snag our badge for your blog!

We hope you join us later today for a new Artist Spotlight + Mini Challenge. Have a fabulous Sunday! :)

Celebrating FRIENDSHIP at #Cre8time... Week 3 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 44

Good Morning Everyone! Welcome to week 3 of Challenge No. 44 – a celebration of "FRIENDSHIP" here at Anything But a Card Challenges! CLICK HERE if you missed the fabulous creations by our week one team of designers and CLICK HERE for week 2 inspiration!

The current Challenge... is one that that can be expressed in just one word... "FRIENDSHIP". For Anything But a Card Challenges No. 44 use our prompt of "Friendship" to inspire your muse... and gather all of your creative goodies to come out and play. As our name states Anything But a Card = NO CARDS.

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Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge.  To be eligible for TOP 3 selection -- Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink provided so that your readers may find us and play along { http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/02/cre8time-celebrates-friendship-for-week.html }. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight February 21st giving you one more week 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!

Jennie

I love this Friendship Quote but it is quite small and does get rather  lost on a larger page. But it is just perfect for an ATC and I have tried to create an old book feel using papers from an old book. There are more details on my BLOG if you wish to join me!

Di

I've made a large tag using some favorite products at the moment: modeling cream and stencils. The inspiration saying is one I've come up with, after thinking how some of my friendships have lasted both time and distance and conversations seem to pick up from where they left off, regardless of either. I'm sure you all have friendships like this. Pop on over to my BLOG to see what else I made this tag with.

Brenda

I created an Award Winning plaque to commemorate my FRIENDSHIP with 3 lovely ladies that I so enjoy spending time with. Please hop on over to my BLOG to see how easy it is!

Margaret

It was a dreary wintry day when I made this and I think this led to my unusually bright color palette.  I must admit that looking at this page makes me long for the beautiful spring colors that will be making their appearance in about a month! Please visit my BLOG for more details.

Jo

Hello there fellow crafty fans. Here is my take on the friendship challenge. Its taken me a lot of bumps and bruises along this path called life but I have finally come to realize its not how many friends you have but the quality of those friendships. I struggle with making friends as I find it hard to trust people but when I make that friend I hold them dear to me always. This heart plaque is a testament to all those people I have met in my life that have been my 'rock' in times of trouble. They may not be in my life at the moment, for various reasons, but 'Thank you' for being there at all – xx. If you would like to see how I made it then please take a quick peek on my BLOG here. 

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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 Spotlight + Mini Challenge to wrap up February.

An InLinkz Link-up

#Cre8time makes the Best Friends for Week 2 for Anything But A Card Challenges No. 44 "Friendship"

Good Morning Everyone! Last Sunday we launched a BRAND NEW Challenge No. 44 – a celebration of "FRIENDSHIP" here at Anything But a Card Challenges! CLICK HERE if you missed the fabulous creations by our week one team of designers!

The current Challenge... is one that that can be expressed in just one word... "FRIENDSHIP". For Anything But a Card Challenges No. 44 use our prompt of "Friendship" to inspire your muse... and gather all of your creative goodies to come out and play.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. To be eligible for TOP 3 selection -- Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink provided so that your readers may find us and play along { http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/02/cre8time-celebrates-friendship-for-week.html }. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight February 21st giving you two 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!

Rupa

In my dictionary, a girls best friend's are bags and shoes! And a friend is someone who understands this crazy creative side of you! Here's how I altered a plain jane jute sling bag gifted to me by my friend on my birthday. She gave lots of scope for alteration... a TRUE FRIEND! For more details, please visit my BLOG. 

Elaine

Diamonds – a Girls best friend! Stenciled canvas painted and highlighted with inka gold. Audrey Hepburn picture and crystals for hair and velvet for top. Thick layer of glossy accents over her face. Visit my BLOG to see more details and a stunning close-up of Ms. Hepburn.

Toni

This month is all about friendship so I couldn't think of anything better but to do a layout of my daughter... my very best friend. Drop by my blog HERE to view more pictures and details regarding my layout... xoxo Toni

Lynne

My first love is quilting and I believe quilting was actually the first form of scrapbooking. Quilters autograph their quilts along with journaling life event - weddings, anniversaries, births, and friendship. This is a quilt that is a work in progress as I need a few more additional quilt squares. The center of the squares are actually signed, dated, along with a little message from my friends. As a teaser, I'm sharing with you a lay-out of the quilt squares that are tentatively in my possession. Check out more information at my BLOG Her Craftiness.

Neva

There are so many sayings that give us an understanding of friendship... and I have several that are stamps in my collection! Artist Trading Cards are one way to make new friends and share art at the same time. I have a collection that dates back to 2006 from a now defunct online forum. I have remained friends with many of my ATC trading friends through new forums and now in blogland too. Another reason to dabble in ATC creation is the small "canvas" size that allows experimentation with a number of fun techniques. Please visit my BLOG to check out the quick techniques and the ATCs that I created for this ATC booklet.

Rita Marie

It's fun to be with your Best Friend! The one who understands you, will look out for you, and loves being with you even if you're not in the best of moods. Someone to laugh out loud with in good times and bad. The person that you can call anytime of the day or night with good news or bad. If you are lucky enough to have a friend like this... keep them close in your heart even if you are miles away. To share your heart with your Best Friend is a wonderful gift. I have a short tutorial up on BLOG if you would like to check it out. Thank you! xo

Pallavi

For this month's theme – I went literal. I recently met up with my bestie and loved spending time with her, so these theme was perfect. I created this mixed media piece in my art journal. I am not into bright colors, but this was fun! It's a mix of collage, painting and stenciling and heavily inspired by the art of Junelle Jacobsen. Please visit my BLOG for more details.

* * * * * * * * * * *

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!

An InLinkz Link-up

#Cre8time Celebrates FRIENDSHIP for Week one of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 44

Good Morning Everyone! It's a brand new month and time for a brand new ABAC Challenge to excite your creative muse. Last Sunday we featured Elaine and she hosted a Shabby Chic Mini Challenge - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the lovely makes.

Now we get down to business... it's time for a new challenge today here at Anything But a Card Challenges... let's get ready to play and have some fun! Thanks to all who joined us in our "New Beginnings" Challenge #43. If you missed out on seeing the amazing creations... please CLICK HERE to view week One, CLICK HERE for week 2, and CLICK HERE for week 3.

The new Challenge... is one that that can be expressed in just one word... "FRIENDSHIP". For Anything But a Card Challenges No. 44 use our prompt of "Friendship" to inspire your muse... and gather all of your creative goodies to come out and play.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. To be eligible for TOP 3 selection -- Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink provided so that your readers may find us and play along { http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/02/cre8time-celebrates-friendship-for-week.html }. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight February 21st 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!

Lisette

I've created a friendship stone, something to act as a lasting reminder of the special bond between two friends. If you buzz on over to my BLOG, you 'll find out why this is not quite set in stone!

Diana

I have some very wonderful friends that I've made throughout my lifetime. I have been working on my hand lettering, so I drew the words and then used some watercolors to fill them in and to paint the page. For more info check out my blog HERE.

Sheri

While going through my boxes in my craft room, I came across this 6x6 canvas that I got last year at goodwill. I decided to use it for this months challenge. Please visit my BLOG for more details!

Julie

Do you have a stash of small gifts that you can use as "You're Terrific", "No Reason At All" or always about to happen, "Happy Birthdays"? When my drawer gets a bit empty I add a few more. These notebooks cost cents. They did require a little time and truly it was as easy to make six as it was one. You'll find the "what and how" on my BLOG.

Ruth

So let’s talk about friendship. As the month of february is supposed to bloom from love and care, we have not only family to think of but also friends. So I made a friendship tag. I distressed and embossed and die cut. Why don't you jump over to my BLOG to check it out?

Heather

This is a digital scrapbook page I made for the Friendship Challenge at Anything But A Card Challenges this month. I made it to celebrate my longtime pen pals. Stop by my BLOG for a tutorial showing how I made it using the My Memories Suite V6 software. 

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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 "FRIENDSHIP" 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!

An InLinkz Link-up