Challenge #32 - Hey Hey Good Looking - What Ya Got Cooking?

Our theme this week plays upon the idea of cooking; here in the U.S. we're getting closer and closer to Thanksgiving, in which we share our thanks for the blessings we have received and spend time with those near and dear to us with delicious food - often, this has deep significance to us as family favorites or new traditions. Then there is Hanukkah and Christmas, holidays that are often celebrated with traditional foods reminiscent of our religious and cultural heritages. But the common theme is that we often express ourselves in our foods.


So, this week you have a lot of leeway in considering how to fulfill this theme and your only limitations are those you impose on yourself. Do you use food motifs on your cards? Do you enjoy cooking for family and what do you like to make? Just a few ideas to throw out there!




Rosemary here:

I have two options to share with you on my approach to this theme:

The first is a simple card. The checked paper makes me think of a tablecloth and the circles for the center are reminiscent of a diner plate. So, here's one sassy take.


The other take I have is this link to my personal blog where I talk about food and Thanksgiving. I am hosting Thanksgiving for the first time in years (although I've cooked at all the interim ones) and I'm excited but a bit behind the eight ball when it comes to being prepared! Oh well, it will all work out!


Jana here:

I took a bit of a different approach. I journaled about cooking in an album I am creating which is all about ME. I took an online class where we were to document ourselves using the alphabet. Sounds really silly. And to some it might be. But to me it was difficult to seperate my likes/desires/habits from those of my family. It seems as though most of my time is spent taking care of others and catering to those others' needs/wants. I am still working on finishing this project. My goal is before the end of the year. Sort of like a Christmas gift to myself. (Click on the photo to see what I wrote.)

So, let's see what YOU cook up!

Here's who accepted the Tom the Turkey challenge last week!

Divya Rao submitted this really great card for the challenge - she made Tom look so darn cute! I love a tall card and the image lends itself so well to different formats! This is a fun card!

We also received another absolutely adorable card from Jess - check out the googley eyes on Tom and the beautiful coloring on his lovely feathers! Also notice how she used Tom's hat! She has a great eye for composition on her cards doesn't she?

Our buddy Electra used Tom to remind us to have an attitude of gratitude for our blessings. He looks very resplendent in his feathers and T is for Thankful!

and last, but certainly not least, a card from our benefactress of this adorable image - Miss Kristen and her take on Tom in card form - fun, fresh, and just a little sassy. That's our Kristen as well!

So, take a break and take on our challenge - we'd love to see what you make of it!

Challenge Below

Challenge is posted below review of last weeks entries.

Scroll down for details on this sweet little guy.

Who Played With Us and Our Apple Theme?

We had a great variety of submittals for this challenge. That's the fun of making these open to your interpretation, you each have a great way of making it entirely your own - which just makes us so happy you like trying them out!

Our dear friend Fran made an absolutely adorable card with her Cricut; happy, bright and so darn cute! That Cricut is very versatile and she made excellent use of her negative space from the cutout - we like that too!

Miss Electra also made us a project using our crispy delicious theme; she made this layout that has lots of color and textural appeal - makes me want to take a walk around an orchard and soak in a little more autumn!

One of our new friends, Alma7, made the cutest little shaker box with apple cutouts inside. She was also nice enough to let us know that apples are a symbol of the Jewish new year and we're really glad the theme had a broad appeal.

and another of our new friends to the Opus Gluei blog, Katie, made this gorgeous little beauty sitting on her apple and being all cute - isn't that edging great? Also, it's a gift bag - that's a great idea for using card sketches in a different way!







Thanks to each of you for participating, we love seeing your creativity and hope you enjoy the variety of themes! We try to be a little different but it only works because of each of you taking time to play along! THANKS SO MUCH!

Challenge #31 - Tom the Turkey

Kristen, one of our loyal Green Horns, has generously offered up one of her digi stamps, Tom the Turkey as a freebie on her blog and is letting us use it for our challenge this week.

Thank you so much Kristen.

FIND TOM HERE.

This little guy is really very versatile.

You can get the image on her blog. You should also check out all of the wonderful digi images in her shop, KAH-wink-E-dink. Go visit her blog and her shop. She is very talented. And has a wonderful sense of humor.

Let's see what you can do with this sweet little guy.

Jana here: The United States is celebrating Thanksgiving this month. One of the symbols of this holiday is the turkey. We know that not everyone is celebrating this holiday this month, but we still want you to play with us. I made Place Cards for our Thanksgiving dinner table. We are hosting dinner here. We don't dress up. We wear jeans and t's or sweaters depending on the temperature.

As you can see, I flipped the image and printed out and colored them.

I thought it would add a little interest.

It's one of the advantages of working with digital stamps.

I made them simple but I think they look good anyway.

(Look good? I LOVE THEM, they look so darn cute says Rosemary stopping in to say hey)

Hi everyone! It's Rosemary and my take on cute ol' Tom here is to print him out on a neutral colored cardstock, color him in (using ye olde Crayola crayons - which I think gives him a cute playful look), and then fussy cut and adhere to a tag on a bag of autumn candy mix. A little tag printed out and glued on and then some ribbon and voila - a cute little treat bag!

Let's see what you can do with this sweet little guy.

Our recap of last week's submittals for the theme "Apples" will be on Wednesday.

Challenge #30 - You are the Apple of My Eye

Fall makes me think of crisp leaves and even crisper cool weather along with pumpkins and hay bales and.....apples! Bushels of apples right off the tree that smell heavenly and beg to be put into pies, tarts, salads, and eaten out of hand. YUM and so good for you! Their simplicity and beautiful form is also probably why you see decorating shows often use bowls of apples to give a fresh, clean, natural element to a room's decor.

Rosemary here - My submittal is a card of fall motifs with a happy little sentiment. Unfortunately, some of my adhesive (how Opus Gluei of me) is showing - obviously, I'm not very modest to have my glue hanging out there for everyone to see - but I have to go back to sickbay now.

Jana here: I love this card. The colors are perfect for fall. So warm and cozy feeling.

So.....the challenge this week is for you to incorporate an apple or apples into your effort - remember, that can be anything from papercrafting to a blog entry to well...whatever you want!

*************HOCUS POCUS MAGIC FOCUS**************

Let's see who played with Magic and created some Hocus Pocus with us last week for our theme!

Electra made a beautiful fairy with all the elements; swirls and pearls and bling (OH MY)!!!! Love the feminine touches!

and then Electra comes back with another entry! It is spooky but I have to admit I really like the colors - and it is reminiscent of The Shining hotel.

Kristen, that crafty gal, loves Halloween and decorates with a lot of personal flair and unique touches sure to "scare" up some fun - for her Opus Gluei submittal she shows us some realistic looking bones to go into her Halloween pantry!

A Halloween theme needs a black cat doesn't it? Well, we have Chat Noir and she's the kind of black cat you want crossing your path because she has great ideas. For this challenge, she created a very spooky card with perfect touches; she got to use black (her fave), the cobweb (I have to find that embossing folder), the image, and the embossed "Escape." Very cool indeed!

Irit Shalom doesn't celebrate Halloween in Israel but you wouldn't know it by her submittal. She created a really cool card that has all sorts of cool touches - I love the cauldron and I think painting the haunted house in crackle paint is a great idea - as is the button full moon!

Jessica made a great card; so much to love!!! I love the expression of embarrassment on the dog's face! Yep, what they do for love of their humans. The colors just pop and the design is fantastic - I am never so clever with my cards but I'm getting inspired! I'm going to have to consider Copic markers, those of you who use them make such cool projects! Fran came back for this challenge and brings a sweet card with two very cute and mischievous kitties playing about the pumpkins. The embossed background is perfect and makes the image pop! Welcome back, Fran!

Here are first time Opus Gluei submittals - Welcome - we sure hope you come back for more challenges with us!

Another cool blog and an even cooler name - Black Dragon (spooky eh) - is submitting here for the first time and she's made a scary ATC - somehow, I think the lady is going to escape the ghoul (I'm an optimist that way) - in fact, I think she's calling her flock of bats to carry her away! (okay, I'm the one hiding under the covers at scary movies on tv, I admit it)

Now, you have to love a blog named "Krazy's Place," that's just a given. Then you get to see all the great projects she does. For her first submittal to an Opus Gluei theme, she's created a Halloween card that just says FUN! I love the little touches - she used the Martha Stewart border punch I used a little while ago, and the Cuttlebug embossing folder of the cobweb that Chat Noir used - and isn't it cool how we each make them our own in our projects? Love those brads too!

And another new first time submittal to Opus Gluei from Alma7 who made a card of a sweet trick or treater who is too cute to spook!

Li-Bee-Ti submitted a cute card - and I love a good pun! Hope we been witchen you for future themes too!

Challenge #29 - Hocus Pocus & a Treat

Hocus Pocus is the challenge.

Wave your wands and make a project appear.

Anything Magic goes.

Jana here: It's not too late to send out a Halloween hello. So, I made a card. I layered and had fun. I also colored my first image. I haven't broken down and become the owner of any Copics or Promarkers. Yet. But after trying to make due, I think it will be on my birthday wish list. I'll email a link to DH. Just need to do a little more research. If you use either one of these, let me know what you think. If you have used both, let me know which you prefer.

Anyway, back to the card. The base is Wasau black cardstock, the background paper is K&CO, the white spider web is Martha Stewart, ribbon is from my stash, image is from In Style Stamps, orange spider is one of those rings the girls got in a goodie bag, scallop punches from my stash, Stampin Up "creepy crawly" stamp and the drippy goo punch from Martha Stewart. I had to go old school glue with the Martha spider web. It's felt and wouldn't stay put with glue dots.

HI! Rosemary here, the magic I've created is I started and finished this stitching piece in one week. Yeah, right, okay...Here's the real deal. The magic of this challenge for me is...I finished this myself.

Which is truly Magic because in the past I've spent oodles of money at AC Moore, Michaels, Ben Franklin, etc. getting my stitched pieces blocked and stretch and framed. In reality, this isn't that hard and I think it looks pretty!

Also, another Magical aspect of this is that I actually have this on the wall. Not sitting in a box in my craft room.

I mounted it on backer board which was adhesive and acid free (very important so that when my descendants sell this in a yard sale as Crazy Auntie Rosemary's craft crap it will still have vibrant color) and then into a frame.

Now, for photographic purposes, I took the glass out and sometimes I've had projects framed without glass, but I tend to keep the glass because I have furballs and their fur magically attaches itself to anything of value of mine.

They're good like that.

So, this is my project - please to enjoy!

Closeup is tweaked a little to show the difference in the pattern (The pattern, by the way, is designed by Vicki Hastings from The Cricket Collection of the Cross-Eyed Cricket and is entitled,

Seasonings - booklet No. 100)

Jana here again. We throw an annual Halloween Sleepover Party.

Last year I made these little albums for the girls.

I put them in little bags. And made matching tags

I used my Quickutz to make little tiny scenes for the pages.



Not a fancy album. Or a big one. Only 8 pages.



Just a little something for them to remember the party.


(OMG - says Rosemary, how does she do all of this? It's all the coffee she drinks, has to be. I'm in awe of how cute these are.)



I got carried away and made too many albums.

I have some left over, so I want to give away. (Sorry, I don't have the little bags.)
All you have to do is be one of the first five to join and post the challenge this week.
I have them ready to go. I just need to know to whom to send them.



Now go conjure up something magical.
(Rosemary again, a recap of our "Blue Blue Blue" projects is posted below. Make sure to check them all out and visit their blogs to leave some love.)

Let's see what you did for the theme "Blue Blue Blue"

Once again, the good followers of Order of the Opus Gluei have outdone themselves. I love the different perspectives and takes you each bring to your projects. I am inspired, touched, and very interested in your submittals - they give a little glimpse into you and your inspiration and it is an honor to visit and see what you're making.

This theme is no exception; you each had a unique way of answering the call for this challenge and you did so beautifully.

We have a new participant - Maria - and if you get a moment, go over and drool over her pretty cards. Her blue project is a lovely little mermaid with an embossed bubble background. Beautiful and the little sentiment on the front is adorable.

Our dear Opus Gluei greenhorn, Kristen, made a blog entry submittal - a soulful and heartfelt poem for her brother that is very touching.

Chat Noir (aka Carolann) made a spectacular card - it's going to be for her dad for Father's Day. May this ability to be organized rub off on me in 2010. To me this is the epitome of elegant! It's got a gentle color, and subtle touches of just classic elegance.

Electra, another of our newer Opus Gluei friends, made an altered project that you are going to swoooooon over; it's beautiful with lots of texture and interest to draw you in and yes, there is plenty of blue in it to qualify. She does such cool projects in all sorts of formats that I'm just thinking - how does she do it all? But she does and we're all the better for getting to see it!!!

Jessica, another of our recent friends of the blog, made an elegant card that is so beautiful in its shading. She also has a link to a cool technique that I didn't know how to do and now I want to make something with it! Check out her other cards too, you are going to just love love love them!

Christine also made a card and WOW - that a pretty card! Who wouldn't love to find this in their mail??? It's got such lovely elements - flocked paper, charms, beautiful patterned paper, and bling (oh my)! YUMMY eye candy!

Irit Shalom submitted a sweet and lovely scrapbook layout of her daughter (what a cute girl!) that is also full of the pretty touches I love - bling, soft shading, lace and the butterflies are so perfect!

After a long absence where we missed seeing her beautiful work, our friend of the blog Desi (aka Ivolina) is back! YAY!!!She brings a great 3-D card with paper piecing that she does beautifully (I'd make a mess of it but she is awesome with it) on a blue background. This card has such fine details and lovely elements. Welcome back!