Sunday, September 13, 2015

Anything But a Card Challenges NEWS!!! #Cre8time to get to know all your creative friends...


Greetings friends! Even though the challenges here on the blog have been put to rest {so to speak}... the creative minds of Anything but a Card Challenges are moving our worldwide community of like creators to a new environment on Facebook. The online world is moving so fast and is ever changing and we want to grow this community we have nurtured here with all of you and have more interactive engagement. We are still all about anything and everything except cards... and carving out that piece of Cre8time to make your heart and muse happy.

So we invite all of YOU, our loyal followers, challenge participants, readers, and everyone to join us in our new Facebook Group "Anything but a Card CREATIONS".

This is just the beginning... so CLICK HERE, drop by and join us! Please share on your blog and spread the word!! Join up, introduce yourself and share one photo of what you are currently working on... I look forward to getting to know you all better!

many big crafty hugs ~ Susan :)

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Life's a #Cre8time CELEBRATION... Challenge No. 50 for Anything But a Card Challenges

Good Morning Everyone! What have you been creating?? Today begins the last week of our final challenge No. 50 - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the fantastic makes from our week one team of creatives; CLICK HERE for Week 2;  CLICK HERE for Week 3; and CLICK HERE for week 4  inspiration. 


The FINAL Challenge... in the spirit of our time together stretching and growing our creative muscles – we invite you to join us in a Cre8time CELEBRATION!


Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 is "CELEBRATION". Use this prompt to inspire your muse and share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... just not a card.

Challenge No. 50 is our final challenge here on the Anything But a Card Challenges Blog and we invite you to join us in a creative celebration! This may be bittersweet... but we want to go out with a colassal CREATIVE BANG!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along to have this be the BIGGEST and BEST creative Party. Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This final Challenge will go through midnight September 7th giving plenty of time to play and ENJOY the creative process! We will share more of our Design Team's creations each Sunday to keep you inspired.

Today we welcome back some
of our Design Team Alumni
to join in the Celebration!!

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!
What better way to celebrate than with a bunch of flowers. I have been working on a summer vase of handmade blooms these last few weeks to brighten the dining room table in the absence of any form of summer here in the north of the UK! The blooms are all made from inked white cardstock and there are tutorials on my blog for each of the flowers. As some of you know I love to make flowers! Please visit my BLOG here for more details on these beauties.

I have made some lovely friends during my time with ABAC, in addition to enjoying everyone's wonderful creations, both those of the DT and those entering the challenges. I would also like to add a huge thank you to Susan for "discovering" me and for all her hard work in running the challenge. So it's au revoir rather than goodbye as I am sure we will all continue to meet during our crafting journey.



For my project, I decided to work in my art journal and create an angel who tells us to embrace life and celebrate life's little moments. This was inspired by one of the lessons that we were taught in lifebook. I made a little boo-boo with the sentiment, but decided to take the advice of the angel and celebrate my mistakes. :-)

As you know this is the last ever challenge for Anything But a Card Challenges – I would like to thank Susan and my entire team for hosting and nurturing creative talent. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute and for the lovely encouragement. I wish all of you all the best in your future endeavors.



This tag is made from a single colour Gelli Plate print which has been embellished with DecoArt media fluid acrylic paint and Inktense pencils. Rub on letters are used for the word. Further details on my BLOG.

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We hope our designers have you INSPIRED to take some time to be creative!! Thank you for joining in with us for our Cre8time CELEBRATION. Drop back by at the end of the challenge as we will be having a special announcement you don't want to miss.


Sunday, August 23, 2015

#Cre8time Party Hats all Around... Week 4 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 "CELEBRATION"

Good Morning Everyone! What have you been creating?? Today begins week four of our final challenge No. 50 - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the fantastic makes from our week one team of creatives, CLICK HERE for Week 2 and CLICK HERE for Week 3 inspiration. 


The FINAL Challenge... in the spirit of our time together stretching and growing our creative muscles – we invite you to join us in a Cre8time CELEBRATION!


Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 is "CELEBRATION". Use this prompt to inspire your muse and share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... just not a card.

Challenge No. 50 is our final challenge here on the Anything But a Card Challenges Blog and we invite you to join us in a creative celebration! This may be bittersweet... but we want to go out with a colassal CREATIVE BANG!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along to have this be the BIGGEST and BEST creative Party. Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This final Challenge will go through midnight September 7th giving plenty of time to play and ENJOY the creative process! We will share more of our Design Team's creations each Sunday to keep you inspired.

Today we welcome back some
of our Design Team Alumni
to join in the Celebration!!

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!
The party hat is made from some of my favorite media's (gelatos and inks). However, there is just the right amount of bling on it so it can be used for anyone's party. It is mostly for party decor but it can be worn as a photo prop. Please visit my BLOG for more details.
I loved being part of the ABAC team and I am glad they let me stretch my design wings in mine and their first team. They inspired me to try new things and styles. My all time favorite and most stressful challenge was Steampunk {CLICK HERE to view}. I still have that project displayed in my studio. I love that I tried something that I would have never have done if it wasn't for this site.



Often it is not the gift but the emotion and thought behind it that leaves a lingering impression. It is with fondness that I take this opportunity to share with you this altered and brightened metal installation that was a spontaneous and rare gift from my adult son. It began as a rather dull brown piece which B presented to me with the words, "You can make it amazing Mum!" Please visit my BLOG for more details.

Sharing it with you at Anything But A Card gives me pleasure as we celebrate the end of a marvelous Challenge Blog. We came from all parts of the globe to create and share our art. Over the years I've been surprised, excited and humbled by the wonderful posts that have tumbled into my home from you, our readers What a conscientious and inspired group our Design team has been too!

This is not goodbye, just a diversion in our creative endeavours. May you seek and find many art adventures that truly invite you to Celebrate. ~ Julie Short


Hi! It's Lynne from Her Craftiness to share with you an embroidered design from Urban Threads Celebrating Day of the Dead with a beautiful Bella Muerte Polilla. I know that's an oxymoron but I fell in love with this beautiful painted machine-embroidered butterfly which I adhered to a vase from the Dollar Tree, added a candle and viola! Come check out more pictures along with the tutorial on how I made this!

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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 more inspiration in our Cre8time CELEBRATION.


Sunday, August 16, 2015

Join our #Cre8time CELEBRATION... Week three of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50

Good Morning Everyone! What have you been creating?? Today begins week three of our final challenge No. 50 - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the fantastic makes from our week one team of creatives and CLICK HERE for Week 2 inspiration. Stay tuned throughout the month as there are some surprises in store.


The FINAL Challenge... in the spirit of our time together stretching and growing our creative muscles – we invite you to join us in a Cre8time CELEBRATION!



Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 is "CELEBRATION". Use this prompt to inspire your muse and share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... just not a card.

Challenge No. 50 will be the final challenge here on the Anything But a Card Challenges Blog and we invite you to join us in a creative celebration! This may be bittersweet... but we want to go out with a colassal CREATIVE BANG!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along to have this be the BIGGEST and BEST creative Party. Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This final Challenge will go through midnight September 7th giving plenty of time to play 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!

Let's celebrate with some wedding decor!
Hop on over to my BLOG to see the process.




I just wanted to say how much I am going to miss creating with all of you! This has been such a wonderful experience from day one, and I am so blessed with the friendships that have also been created by this group! My one happy thought of ending the challenges is that I was really on the fence about leaving anyway due to so many other things taking priority in my life right now. I feel like the timing was perfect for me and a sign that my other obligations need to be front and center at this time. 
My mom recently celebrated her 80th birthday and to celebrate her, I made a gift box and some handmade note cards. She has always loved peacocks (even owns a few!), so I thought this was the perfect paper to celebrate her years on this earth! Please visit my BLOG for more details. 
I am so happy that I was able to spend the past few years creating with the amazingly talented team at Anything But a Card! It has been a joy to be a part of this group and I have loved seeing all of the talent shared by team members and challenge participants! I will miss this, but wish all of you the very best in whatever you do!


I took this opportunity to make a Halloween shadow box for my Celebration project since Halloween is my favorite holiday. Pop by my BLOG to see how I created this project.

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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 more inspiration in our Cre8time CELEBRATION.


Sunday, August 9, 2015

Join us in a #Cre8time Celebration... Week 2 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 "CELEBRATION"

Good Morning Everyone! Last Sunday launched our final challenge No. 50 - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the fantastic makes from our week one team of creatives. Stay tuned throughout the month as there are some surprises in store.


The FINAL Challenge... in the spirit of our time together stretching and growing our creative muscles – we invite you to join us in a Cre8time CELEBRATION!


Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 is "CELEBRATION". Use this prompt to inspire your muse and share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... just not a card.

Challenge No. 50 will be the final challenge here on the Anything But a Card Challenges Blog and we invite you to join us in a creative celebration! This may be bittersweet... but we want to go out with a colassal CREATIVE BANG!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along to have this be the BIGGEST and BEST creative Party. Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This final Challenge will go through midnight September 7th giving plenty of time to play 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!



Today I'm sharing an art journal page. I'm so sad that this is the end of our amazing run here at anything but a card. And this whole month is a celebration of how far we have all come. I choose to celebrate in my journal. Hope you stop by my BLOG to see more!




For the final challenge "Celebrations" I went all out on colors with metallics and inks! What's inside the box is a lovely surprise. Do visit my BLOG for more details.




Well it is the end of an era and I have only been working with this fabulous team but for a few months, well quite a few actually but time has flown by.  It has been a pleasure working alongside such talented ladies and working for ''da boss lady'' Susan - Thank you all.  For the final challenge for Anything but a card ''Celebrations'' I have chosen to make a mini Christmas Album to celebrate the season of joy as a Christmas present for the recipient to hold their treasured memories.  Please head on over to my BLOG to see the detailed pages. Why not join in with our final spectacular challenge - see you there!


To celebrate our 50th challenge I created a tag with BIG chocolate cupcakes. Stop by my BLOG to view more photos and information on my creative process. 



I will admit I am all about summer weather and spending time outdoors. With that said, it is still fun to be in my craft room, but harder to stay indoors when the sun is shining brightly! That is the inspiration for this pillow box. Stop by my BLOG and see how easy it is to put together this shiny little gift holder that celebrates summer!



Celebration! I did this girl on canvas using water colors, acrylics, India Inks, papers, stamps, stencils and gesso... There are lots of layers to this piece and this was lots of fun to make... She is a girl Celebrating her Creative Journey... BonVoyage! I hope you get a bit of inspiration from this piece.  If you would like to see more of my artwork and the video for this piece, please visit my BLOG... Thank You! It has been a pleasure... xo  

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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!


Sunday, August 2, 2015

It's a COLASSAL #Cre8time CELEBRATION for Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50

Good Morning Everyone! We have reached a momentous occasion here at Anything But a Card Challenges... Challenge No. 50! It's been a long and adventurous Cre8time ride since this challenge began back in 2012 – and because of all of you, we have been able to reach this point. Our fantastic team of dedicated designers have generously shared their talents, as we have watched them grow on their own artsy adventures. We have also been inspired by all of you who share your love of getting crafty... but it's time for this chapter to come to close.

Challenge No. 50 will be the final challenge here on the Anything But a Card Challenges Blog and we invite you to join us in a creative celebration! This may be bittersweet... but we want to go out with a colassal CREATIVE BANG!

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the ANYTHING GOES Challenge #49... we had 106 creative submissions via inLinkz! If you missed out on seeing all of the amazing submissions... please CLICK HERE to view week number oneHERE for week 2; HERE for week 3; and HERE for the bonus week #4 of our Design Team inspiration.


The FINAL Challenge... in the spirit of our time together stretching and growing our creative muscles – we invite you to join us in a Cre8time CELEBRATION!


Anything But a Card Challenges No. 50 is "CELEBRATION". Use this prompt to inspire your muse and share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... just not a card.

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along to have this be the BIGGEST and BEST creative Party. Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)
http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/08/join-us-in-cre8time-celebration-for.html

**A REMINDER** This final Challenge will go through midnight September 7th giving plenty of time to play 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 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!




Weddings and Baby Showers are always such fun to CELEBRATE at with family and friends! They are also occasions where many photos and videos are taken. Here are two altered media folders I created to give the newlyweds and parents-to-be. Both DVD holders coordinate with the other gifts I made. Stop by my BLOG for more details :)
No party is complete without a cake... a fanciful three layer paper cake! Decorated in stamps, patterned papers and pretty ribbons and trims - a stamped cat bursts from the top proclaiming "CELEBRATE". Please drop by my BLOG for more details.



Agatha is having a birthday celebration, look at all her presents! Buzz over to my BLOG to find out how I created this dimensional ATC.


My project for this month is a birthday... I don't know what to call it really. LOL its on mat board. Think of it as a big postcard! LOL! 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 the CELEBRATION us! Stop back next Sunday to for more inspiration.


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Ready for #Cre8time FUN... an extra week of ANYTHING GOES! Anything But a Card Challenges No. 49

Good Morning Everyone! It's summertime and lots of us are on holiday so in lieu of a Spotlight + Mini Challenge... we have a better way to spend our Cre8time with one more week of challenge No. 49!! CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the lovely makes from our week one team of creatives, CLICK HERE for Week 2 inspiration and CLICK HERE for Week 3 inspiration.


The current Challenge... is OPEN! We all love a good prompt to inspire us and let us stretch our creative muscle. With summertime in full swing... we want to see what you're creating! Anything But a Card Challenges No. 49 is ANYTHING GOES. Share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... whatever tickles your muse and her fancy!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along and to be eligible for TOP 3 selection. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)
http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/07/summer-heats-up-with-cre8time.html

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go ONE MORE WEEK to play along and ENJOY the creative process! Challenge inlinkz will close midnight August 1st... we can't wait to see what you create.

This week Susan is inspiring us
with a few of her recent makes!!

We hope you’ll take a minute to go see her work up close...
and while you’re there – please leave a little love!



Christmas in July...
Recycled items combined with stuff from the scrappy stash creates this winter wonderland in a bottle. CLICK HERE to view more details!




Steampunk Superpowers...
A girl needs some geared up jewels to make Cre8time fun! CLICK HERE for details.


Vintage Girlie Grunge

Can you believe this is a Dollar Store frame revamped
with stamping! CLICK HERE for more details.




All that Glitters...
I've been traveling this summer on weekend getaways – learning to paint from Jodi Ohl, visiting family and more. These are my two latest whimsies created yesterday while on a Cre8time road trip... learning all sorts of mixed-media goodness captured in soldered glass with the Amazing Cat Kerr.

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We hope we have INSPIRED you 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 brand new Challenge.


Sunday, July 19, 2015

ANYTHING GOES during #Cre8time... Week 3 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 49

Good Morning Everyone! Today begins week three of challenge No. 49 - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the lovely makes from our week one team of creatives and CLICK HERE for Week 2 inspiration.


The current Challenge... is OPEN! We all love a good prompt to inspire us and let us stretch our creative muscle. With summertime in full swing... we want to see what you're creating! Anything But a Card Challenges No. 49 is ANYTHING GOES. Share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... whatever tickles your muse and her fancy!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along and to be eligible for TOP 3 selection. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)
http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/07/summer-heats-up-with-cre8time.html

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight July 25th giving you one more week to play along and ENJOY the creative process! We can't wait to see what you create.

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!



Recycled packaging made a perfect storage box. Pop on over to my BLOG to see how this was put together.






Bookmark using Armour Etch and mosaic tiles.
Hop on over to my BLOG to see the process.





I created a new page for my quotes journal featuring one of my 
favorite things-coffee! Please visit my BLOG for more details.




My project this time is something I made for myself. I have been meaning to decorate my guest bedroom for a while now and decided to try my hand at abstract piece. Since gold leaf is all the rage these days, I wanted to incorporate that into my project too. Please visit my BLOG for more details.



I needed to cool down a bit, so I created my Frosty Heart wall hanging. Pop by my BLOG to see how I created this project.

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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.


Sunday, July 12, 2015

How Does Your #Cre8time Garden Grow... Week 2 for Anything But a Card Challenges "Anything Goes"

Good Morning Everyone! Last Sunday launched a brand new challenge No. 49 - CLICK HERE to catch up and see all the lovely makes from our week one team of creatives.


The current Challenge... is OPEN! We all love a good prompt to inspire us and let us stretch our creative muscle. With summertime in full swing... we want to see what you're creating! Anything But a Card Challenges No. 49 is ANYTHING GOES. Share you're creations, whatever it may be... scrapbooking, collage, ATCs, tags, art journal pages, altered shrines... whatever tickles your muse and her fancy!

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

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please do us the favor to mention and LINK BACK to this challenge using this permalink so that your readers may find us and play along and to be eligible for TOP 3 selection. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)
http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com/2015/07/summer-heats-up-with-cre8time.html

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight July 25th giving you 2 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!




I have replicated a "grandma's treasury" here. An altered trinket box with lots of stenciling, Inka Gold and loads of vintage goodies. For more details do visit my BLOG.


without candle...

With candle!


For this challenge I've created an Altered Tea Light Jar using alcohol inks.
Pop on over to my BLOG to see more!



Hi Crafty peeps... I decided to alter a bubble gum machine to hold my pearl stash for my craft room. Hope you enjoy, stop by my BLOG for more photos. xoxo Toni



This month I am sharing an Artist Trading Card I created for a Birthday Swap.  ATCs are quick and fun to create and share with fellow ATC enthusiasts. Stop by my BLOG and check out how easy it was to create this beautiful little artwork. 



For this challenge I created this little water color on Mixed Media Paper... please check out my BLOG for details. Thank you! 

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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!