Saturday Recap - Life's a Beach and other RECAPS (finally right?)

Okay, so this is a super long post because I'm not only going to recap Challenge #58 - Lifes's a Beach, but I'm also going to catch up on a couple of earlier challenges that weren't recapped. Bear with me, I may be a Grand Poobah but I'm human, so if I missed your submittal, just leave us a comment and I'll get it up here pronto!

I went through, grabbed shots of the submittals and even added them here before adding words so that you can click and expand each project (see Jana, I listen)(drives her nuts that I don't do this on my personal blog, I'm not loathe to change, I can do this, I can do this)

So, let's go back (in our wayback machine) to Seasonal Icons and see some of the fun submittals (in no particular order):

Ah we took Chat Noir out of her comfort zone - she is amazing with black and white (classic, elegant, beautiful) but she's also pretty darn amazing with color too as in these ATCs she created for our seasonal icon challenge. Love that each card has an element of the season before it. Isn't that cool?

Scrappy had lots of project goodness to share with us for this challenge and this card is for summertime and doesn't it just scream sun and fun? Yep, and even cuter is that she made a little holder inside and added sunscreen. Aw....

and look at this beautiful spring-inspired tag - beautiful! The gentle colors just say springtime beauty!

Susan has a cool edgy take on the challenge and as she admits, it is an alternate take and that's great with us - we love to see all points of view on our challenges. Besides this skeleton butterfly has some gorgeous wings and the colors are fantastic!

With more than a bit of whimsy comes Robin's entry which is of summery colors and a summery treat - ICE CREAM. YUM, even with eyes, this looks delicious! A fun birthday card indeed! Loving those little pompoms along the bottom of the image.

Stef made a beautiful card with ripe luscious tomatoes front and center, they look so good you can almost smell that heady tomato aroma that only comes from a garden fresh crop! This is great, the yellow textured background really sets off this image and doesn't need anything more. Perfect design for that sentiment!

Charlene, from her Paper and Ink Playground (great blog title - btw, have I mentioned how much I love all the clever blog titles? I have, really? But I do love them, they make me grin) Anywho, Ms. Paper and Ink Playground made this card that also says SUMMER to us loud and clear. Lovely colors and cute little ones enjoying the fun, sun, and pool!
Moshie also is channelling summer and her take reminds me of lake vacations and sitting on the dock just enjoying the sights and sounds. I love the coloring here but also the little touches from the ribbon bows on our little lady to the dimensional frog and ribbon. Braver girl than me around a frog though...

Davi made a great Father's Day card for our seasonal icons theme and yes, having fishing on the mind is definitelya great motif. Loving the colors and elements of this card and some lucky dad is going to love opening it up on Father's day!

It's still strawberry time here in my area of Maryland and this also says spring and summer to me - Mernie made this adorable card that is wonderfully sumptuous in color and style! I love these colors together. I see this and want to bake! (but hold the mice, lol)

This is a sweet, colorful and clever project submitted for our seasonal icons challenge by Peggy - it is a refillable Post-It notes holder! Isn't that great and wouldn't that make you smile sitting on your desk or workspace? Lovely colors, the little bear is so cute and loving the touch of ribbon across the top!

Another great blog name that I have to give a shout out to for making me giggle is - The Funkie Junkie. Okay, that's just darn cute! Now, our Funkie Junkie LINDA has made a definite seasonal icon in a patriotic-themed card that captures an All-American picnic. Again, loving those little touches like the picket fence and ribbon, the stars all around and the rosette that reminds me of the paper poppies that are sold by U.S. veterans organizations.

Kristen, one of our first OG greenhorns (Woohoo), is always amazing us withher ability to make loads of original and fantastic cards. These are no exception, she's taken a clean and simple take on this challenge with cards reflecting icons of each season. LOVELY!

We have two Ginis who play with us at Opus Gluei, we're going to refer to them as GiniC and GiniO. This is GiniO and we OWE (teehee, I love being punny too) GiniO some overdue props for her challenge submitalls we didn't acknowledge. This is for challenge #51! Loving this coloring and elegance of the punched border!

Oh, these are so cool and you should visit her blog to get the story from the source because I'll mess it up as I'm of a wont to do...these gorgeous cards are for our challenge - Healthy, Wealthy and Wise and they are done with paper piecing and stamps and the result is superb. She did them in color and black and white - check them out!

and check out her ever so cool wall hanging (the beading too), this beauty was for our challenge - Can I Quote You on That? and it's grand!

when we asked you to celebrate our OG Blogaversary by making something she did make a sweet little card that's bright, colorful, and just happy happy happy all the way!

GiniO must love a good pun to because this is Happy Bird-day, and it was submitted for our challenge - For the Birds. Very fun!

Our other Gini, GiniC made us a gorgeous seasonal icon - representing summer beautifully, this Thistle card. Love the sumptuous color and the way it just makes the thistle color stand out! This is a great card!

GiniC also made another seasonal icon card for Christmas, oh my gosh - make us look bad, GiniC, you organized lady you!!! LOL - this is lovely and very elegant! (okay, demo on your blog how you make such lovely bows!)

GiniC also made a very All-American pasttime themed card that definitely makes you think Opening day in the spring. This card is fantastic, it has texture, dimension, an adorable central image and works on all levels!

Fran, our longtime OG buddy, has captured icons from all four seasons in one card and what a fantastic sentiment! This is happy and fun and perfect! THANKS Fran for reminding us to live life all year long!



Our dear Electra perfectly captures the season of autumn in this layout. The photos are gorgeous and make you long for open spaces and fresh crisp air. The elements of the page are perfect in setting the mood and complimenting beautiful photography!



One of our new bloggy buddies Deb captured in a clean and simple style the four seasonal icons we associate with each time of year and did so beautifully! This card is a beautiful burst of color and has a wonderfully cheerful feel to it and I love the sentiment!


Capturing the water and sunshine feel in a lovely card is Dayna, who made this gentle and soothing design. The colors and embellishments are great and really complement the design.




**********

So, now let's recap for our current challenge

LIFE'S A BEACH

(in the interest of full disclosure, some of these photos were added after I added words so you may not be able to expand them, in which case I recommend going directly to the fabulous source and seeing them on the original blog. Signed, feeling sheepish Rosemary) (apparently I can't do this - ha ha)

First up is Katie who shares with us a great card that would be great for a grad to wish them well into the brave new world before them. Loving the imagery and clean colors of this project!

Twisted Witch (hee hee, great title) made us a decidedly untwisted and adorable little Tilda soaking up the sun in her floaty. Loving the central element but also these adorable embellishments! The colors used are also soft and gentle but still evocative of summertime.

Robin (aka Bosenberries) made a very cool tag because let's face it, summer is enhanced by ice cream. Would I let eyes on my ice cream keep me from enjoying a waffle cone? C'mon....really, do we need to ask that? Loving the retro font, grand colors, and the dimensional squares element.

Our next submittal is from Jan and she has made a mermaid card that really has style. From her beautiful coloring to the use of sparkle and dimension, this card has it all. It really does make you feel summery and beachy!

Toni - of Wholly Crafts (hee hee, see what I mean about all these cute blog names?) made a lovely layout that makes you want to kick back, have a drink with an umbella in it, and listen to some Caribbean music. Great elements, the flower embelly really sets off the photo.

Speaking of escape, doesn't this card by Gloria just make you want to start looking online for getaway vacations? This a wonderful card and even more inspiring is that this is done using the encaustic technique which involves hot beeswax and color used to create the background (I hope I got that right). Makes you want to go and learn a new technique now!

Christine shared with us a beautiful card with a Tilda front and center and she's so adorable. Loving the striped paper, it makes me think of beach chairs to relax on and the seashell charm is a perfect touch. Having the central image slightly raise adds yet another eye-catching touch!

Look what GiniC made with our challenge theme! A decidedly masculine Father's Day card that is really classic. Loving that it's got color, because men like color too (this is a perfect balance of color that is geared to a man's taste) and the sentiment is wonderful and goes perfectly with the ship motif.

Here is a great whimsical card submitted by Sarah. This is adorable from our cute little whale central element to the anchor and ribbon and even the background paper. Love the sentiment and who wouldn't smile to receive this in their mail?

Now, going fully throttle into wonderful saturated, beachy summery color is Scrappy who made a sassy card that will make you grin. From our tart mama in the central image to the vibrant flower accent, this is a fun card all around!

This is a wonderful sentimental feeling canvas created by our bloggy buddy Electra. It's such a gentle project that carries the saying throughout. It has such wonderful textural elements, vintage goodness and wonderful soulful feel to it.

Ah, and Chat Noir also makes us long for a quiet stretch of beach, an umbrella to relax under and perhaps a wait (out of frame) bringing us lovely drinkypoos to cool our parched throats as we enjoy the scenery! Loving the embellishments of sandy and shells as they add a great touch to this card!

Using a shadow box element, Davi has a fantasy element of a peek at a mermaid passing by. The dimension coloring and textural elements (including the borders which remind me of nets) really make this eye-catching and lovely.

Benedicte, who I believe is new to Opus Gluei (WELCOME!!!) made us a fun and sweet little card with warm color and a fun feel to it that also evokes summer, water sport, and happiness!

and finally, as we end our recap - Peggy makes us smile to see this clever girl enjoy a sunshower while making her garden grow. This card is sweet and lovely with color and dimension and whimsy!

So there you have it -- a fun recap of the delightful and original projects you've submitted to us!

Check out earlier this past week for the announcement of the winner of our giveaway!

Hope that you continue to come back here and participate in our challenges!!!