FAQ - When are the links to submitted projects due?

Answer - We're really easygoing about this - we post the new challenge on Saturday and usually don't summarize the previous challenge submissions until Saturday.

We're new, we're trying entice you here so we're easy. Easy like Sunday morning...yeah.....

CHALLENGE #2 - This Week's Challenge: The Theme is Go Green!

What is in your recycle bin? Pull it out, wash it off, and use it. Make something you can use around the house. It seems as though lately there is so much waste. You would think that snail mail junk mail would be a thing of the past. But it keeps on showing up.

Let’s see if we can re-use some of it.

I drove my DH crazy this last week having him save ANY piece of mail that had a blank space big enough to write on. Here's what we collected in a week:

And here's what I am using this collection for: phone notes, grocery lists, scratch paper for homework, generally anything that would normally require a notepad. This little, growing collection will live by the phone in a folder that I rescued from the trash at work.

Another re-cycled project is.....using product packaging (cookie box and cardboard casing from a couple of DVD's and the cardboard insert from a toy my 9 year old DD just bought) and an old notebook cover (14 year old DD likes to purge on a daily basis. I don't know who her real mother is) ...

...and making postcards. I haven't sent any yet. But plan on getting some out after this challenge posts. You never know when you will have to re-do a photo shoot....

...and bookmarks. My family loves to read and everyone of us is constantly losing and thus looking for bookmarks.

And to keep these little beauties contained and out of the way, I took a discarded composition notebook and binder dividers. (my 14 year old had them in the trash pile Tuesday night. Again, don't know where she came from. Certainly not from this packrat.)

I took the pocket divider, tied ribbon into the binder holes and stamped the words "READ" on one side for the bookmarks and "WRITE" on the other side for the postcards. I'll keep it on the shelf next to the scratch paper folder.

I covered the composition notebook with the binder dividers. Inside and outside covers. (This is the one 14 yr old DD had in the trash pile.) She had doodled on pretty much every surface and had already torn out some of the pages. So it wasn't a tight fit to get the notebook to close with the extra paper thickness on the inside. I haven't decorated it yet. I'm waiting to see what I end up using it for. You'll more than likely see it in the future...

For my birthday last year Rosemary made me this card. It is so pretty. I just couldn't throw it away. So instead I am re-cycling it. I simply very carefully peeled the pink top layer off and ...

....here it is on a pink card. Still as stunning as the one Rosemary made. hehehehe

(Jana, I'm so impressed by this item in particular!!!)


And of course I made an ATC out of packaging and magazine images.

You can tell from the summery images that this is an old magazine.

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And now for Rosemary's projects this week:

Hi everyone! Rosemary here and it is tough following Jana - she's got a lot of innovative projects that really lived up to the idea of reduce, reuse, recycle. I'm going to try and see if my projects fit the bill as well.

Do you have some old sweaters that you can't part with? Too many fond memories but you can't or don't want to wear it again? Then cut it up and make something new with it.

This is tricky with a non-wool sweater but it can be done. I free handed a heart pattern in felt and pinned it to the front of my old sweater. After cutting it out, I blanket-stitched the edges but you could zigzag it on a sewing machine. Otherwise, you will end up in Fray City (population - you) and that's no fun (and terribly frustrating).

If you do use an old wool sweater then wash it in hot water and dry on high. Your wool sweater will have shrunk and be fray-proof! Then you can play.

So, here's what I made with my sweaters

A little accent pillow

A little doorknob decor!

(Lovin the hearts, Rosemary.)

and here's a little flower brooch (kind of Mary-Engelbreit-ish)

(This is just darling. Love it Rosemary.)

My next project I used as my submission for the challenge at Awfully Big Art Adventures - the theme was "Birdhouses" and so I made a birdhouse tag. So, I am already re-using!

But it gets better, the items comprising the tag are all from scraps I save from my paper crafts. But WAIT, there is more. I used a thin chipboard/cardboard base for the tag - how is that interesting? Well, I have been saving old bathroom tissue (that would be toilet paper in our home but I'm trying to be classy here) rolls and paper towel rolls.

Why not use it? It's simply thin carboard and it's just a bit tricky to get it flat (lots and lots of books). Or have patience when you are adhering all the layers and it will eventually lie flat from the weight. I even shredded some of it and the remaining paper scraps to make the "nest" in the house. This challenge got me really getting innovative - in fact, you could say I was "on a roll." (do I hear crickets?)

(Very clever combination of challenges. Adorable little birdie too.)

I hope that we've inspired you to give a second thought to something you'd normally throw away. There might be a little treasure in there just waiting to be found.

So, please share with us your creativity, we love seeing what you create!

Flight of Fancy Challenge Entries

Our First challenge was a bonafide success. Thank you ladies for joining us in our Crazy Adventure. We surely welcome you to stick around and play with us some more.

We'll be your best friends.....

Rosemary here, I stopped by to see what Jana was doing - I agree wholeheartedly

And without further blathering, I am proud to present to you the entries:

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Heather at Creative Solace helped kick-off our Challenge in BIG style.

I absolutely LOVE this creation. So very springy and whimsical. I love all the colors.

I adore all of the layers here. And of course the colors speak to me. Did mention that I love the colors in this piece?!?!?!?!

Rosemary again - I'm a big fan of Creative Solace and love to see what Heather has created next

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Karen at A Little Bit of That approached our challenge from a different perspective with her Spring Album:

I love seeing all of her personal signs and favorites of spring.

Go over to her blog. I have only posted a couple of the pages.

She has posted the rest of the album. It is amazing.

R again - I know, Karen is amazing - she had that great album put together so quickly and I love it!

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You really should check out both of these ladies' blogs. They are both very talented.

(I second that emotion)

We here at OPUS GLUEI are very honored to be in the presence of such creative spirits.

And as a surprise, we have a little token gift for each of you. So please contact us via email with your mailing address and we'll pop a little something over to you.

Welcome Ultimate Blog Party Attendees!

Hi - welcome to our blog and allow me to introduce ourselves: we're the Opus Gluei challenge blog. Once a week we post a theme and ask you to create something (anything that inspires you) using the theme and then post a link to your blog in our comments.

You are only limited by your creativity - our mottoes are listed above and we're terribly terribly NOT serious about everything. (c'mon, check out our profile pics - do we look serious?)

I hope that if you are attending the biggest blog party on the Internet that you will come back and visit and maybe take us up on our challenges - we'd love to have you participate!

Happy surfing!

Welcome to a new Challenge Blog-CHALLENGE #1

Does the blogosphere need another challenge blog? We sure hope so, because we've been working our tailfeathers off to get these projects done! But we're having fun --- and we are all about the having fun! That's the biggest thing we want you to come back here for, some fun and maybe to stretch your concepts of what you can do and what you might find appeals to you.

Although our name MIGHT make you think we are only and all about the crafts, that's not the case really. We're going to be shaking things up OFTEN, so stop by and see what's happenin', hot stuff.

Our first challenge is entitled "Flights of Fancy," because it is Springtime and the return of the winged ones is but one marker that Winter is indeed leaving. We're asking you to create something with birds or butterflies or whatever Flights of Fancy means to you.

It can be anything - an ATC, an inchie, twinchie, a mini, a moo, a scrapbook page, tag, bookmark, card, you get the picture.

If you ever feel overwhelmed, refer back to our Opus Gluei Oath. May I repeat - WE ARE ALL ABOUT THE FUN!

Here's my soft sculpture birds. I posted the first bird I made on my own blog but it was intended for use over here all along. I enjoyed it enough to make another one and was thrifty and used leftover fabric from the first bird. Second bird has black button eyes and a belly done in a similar weight fabric as opposed to the felt that was used in my first attempt- to me, this made a huge difference in ease of sewing.

To find a pattern for birds, I simply Googled for a couple and voila! Instant gratification. This bird pattern is available here: http://nelliedurand.blogspot.com/2008/04/bird-tutorial.html

Oh my gosh, her example is so beautiful. As you will see if you compare her example to my wild girls above, I made the pattern my own and I love the results. (Jana here - Rosemary made these birds so whimsical and fun, I would love to have a couple in my craft space. They are really making me smile.) There are loads of bird patterns out there and I think they are so easily adaptable for sewing or papercrafting.

Now, here's Jana!

Hello - Jana here. I started out by making some easy projects for this challenge because I want to make sure that everyone knows that we are here to enjoy the creative process AND that it doesn't have to be intricate or time consuming. My first creation is an ATC. I am taking this challenge as an opportunity to create a deck of Opus cards. A Tribute in the works, so to speak.

Second up are these little medallions. I will probably use them on a scrapbook page, but who knows they may end up on a greeting card.

I had these little square shadow box frames from the $ store that were just screaming for some color. So I obliged. I am very craft-accomodating.

Next I decided to use some scrap papers to make a cover for my notepad. It is my favorite.

Or at least it was my favorite of these projects until I made this Butterfly bracelet. I know that I made too many "things" for this challenge, but I just couldn't help myself.

(Rosemary here again - oh my gosh, are these not cute as can be?- Jana was very very productive in preparation for our grand opening and I love everything she made)

All we ask for you to do is post a link to your blog entry (try to link to your specific post) for this challenge in the comments section. We're going to let this run for a week - to give you at least one weekend to work on something. Have fun, we can't wait to see what you create!

Coming soon to a screen near you...

Stay tuned for the debut on March 21st.............