Challenge #225 - Animal Magnetism

Everyone seems to have a favorite animal they gravitate to; either as their favorite pet, spirit animal, or just that they have a soft spot for something slithery, or furry, or fluffy, or feathery. 


This challenge is asking you to be inspired by animals and create:

ANIMAL Magnetism

Deena here:

I chose to make these cute little shaker hippos for my animal choice...who can resist a sparkly blue hippo with googly eyes??  No one, that's who...

Join in with us, will you?  You have two weeks to join in this challenge by linking up in the comments section....



Challenge #224 - Happy Easter

Longer days, warmer days (at least in the northern hemisphere) and the first vestiges of nature emerging from the rest of a long cold winter.  It's also Easter and that means we are going to ask you to create with all the motifs and inspiration of the season.

EASTER

You can share a religious themed project or a secular one with bunnies and colored eggs, chicks and egg hunts.  Just share that creativity with us.

The Poobahs were busy and have made:

Deena Here:

I chose to use a spring chicken for my project....and googly eyes make it all the more fun...the stripes represent the easter egg decorations that we will be hunting for...

You can link to your blog post in the comments below by April 10.

Challenge #223 - Walking the Tightrope

Ever want to just run away and join the circus?  Well, you probably can't realistically do that but you can have fun with a circus type theme, right?  (okay, not the same thing, but work with us)


Our theme is

WALKING THE TIGHTROPE

Share with us whatever this inspires in you
Be it the Circus, Carnival, Mardi Gras, Animals, Rides
Heck, perhaps you can get all creative with this and think of a project you made for a friend or loved one going through a tough time (you know, walking the tightrope of stress and responsibilities)


What were the Poobahs inspired to create with this theme?  Let's see...

Deena here:




nothing calls out circus to me than the big top and tickets to the games and events inside that big red tent - hence the ticket card in all my favorite circus colours.





Link up to your creation in the comments below.  You've got until March 27 to share your crafty goodness with us!

Challenge 222 - Photo Inspiration

Every four years we get an extra day in the calendar, so why not spend that extra day doing something freeing - like creating art or enjoying a craft?

Here's something to give you a jump start (or should it be LEAP start for leap year?)

Our theme is - PHOTO INSPIRATION

For this challenge we are asking you to create with this as your inspiration.  Use what ever medium you enjoy and however you interpret this photo inspiration.
Is this peaceful to you?  Lonely? 
Do you immediately gravitate to the colors of the rocks, the skyline, or the sky?
Sunrise or sunset?

Let's see what the Poobahs were inspired to make

Deena here:

I chose to follow along with the colours from the picture and the earthy feel of the wood background...

Chat Noir sneaking in just a little late with some cards I made that use some of the glorious colours of this image.  The first thing I did was hunt through the shelves to look for the papers.....oh dear, I wont need to buy anything for a l-o-n-g time.  But to get to the point....two general purpose cards to add to my stash:

So what will you create?

Please add a link to your blog post and project in the comments to this post. 

Our next challenge will post on Sunday, March 13th

Challenge #221 - Love is all you Need!

It's Valentine's Day and crafters are blessed with the ability to be inspired by their love of friends and family to create from their hearts.  What a gift.

So, what is love inspiring in you to create?  Did you make something beautiful for your best friend? Your partner?  Your kids?  Oh, please share it with us and inspire love to burst out all over.

Our theme is (courtesy of the Beatles):

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

Let's see what the Poobahs are creating from the heart!

Chat Noir slipping in with a small offering in my favourite colours of black and white (yes I know they're not really colours but this is Opus Gluei where ANYTHING GOES!!), and a little bit of red.  

Its just what I would have made for my husband who loved these colours.  Its just a crazy collection of heart shapes floating on a cloudy piece of soft fluffy paper.  Love IS all you need.

Deena here:

Valentine's day - 'tis the season for love and this is my lovey dove card for the day...I like the colour scheme for this one as it is not a traditional valentine, but it still works and has a "bit" of masculinity to it....
 
Rosemary here and I am sharing a layout I made from our autumn wedding anniversary trip.  Each of these LOVE fonts came from the Cricut, I love that Cricut and I think the repetitiveness and drawing colors from the rest of the layout works.  I think the theme is pretty self explanatory.

Please share your beauties with us below by linking to your blog post in the comments section below...you have until 2/28/16.

Challenge #220 - Playing Favorites (Colors)

You know, we all have colors or styles we naturally gravitate to and while we love to shake things up sometimes, there is something very welcoming about our favorites.

For this challenge the Poobahs are asking you to indulge that side of your crafting self and go ahead,

Play Favorites

CREATE USING YOUR FAVORITE COLOR(S)

Love all the soothing shades of blue?  Show us what you make with it!

Get revved up by RED?  ENERGIZE us too!

Does ORANGE make your heart sing?  Make our hearts sing too!

Yellow, yellow, any takers for yellow out there?  Let's see all sorts of lemony-inspired art!

Think that any shade of pink is the perfect shade of pink?  YES YES YES, we want to see!

Green can be gentle spring shades or rich robust hues?  Get your vibrant green on!

They say purple is a royal color, so let's see some powerful purples!

Or do you prefer the subdued elegance of black/white?  Lead us to your creativity!

A color theme works no matter where you are and we all have go-to colors so give it a try!


Here's your Poobah's favorites:

Chat Noir here with a collection of cards I made while inspiration struck (and I was allowed to use my favourite things!!).  

You can see them more clearly on my blog, but in essence, two use tri-fold cards, and the others are big square ones, in my favourite BLACK.  I love the simplicity of black and white (or cream), but there are hints of other colours here too.... a little red, and a little green.  

This one is my favourite, and the flower was so easy to make.  At last, a use for all that string I had to have (I've used at least 6" here....the rest will last my lifetime!!).

Deena here:



Having two girls, naturally one of my favourite colours to work with became pink, but now that they are teens, I don't find the need to work with it nearly as often, but I still love it.  At least with them being in full time dance classes, I can still get away with pink cards for their ballet teacher without too much eye rolling from them.

JUST LINK your blog post in the comments below and inspire us with your beautiful creation(s).  You've got until FEBRUARY 14th to share.

Challenge 219 - Sparkling and Shimmering

In some parts of the world the weather is warm and you're enjoying days at the beach, or sitting poolside - perhaps sipping a nice cooling drink and soaking up the sunshine. Elsewhere it's wintery and we're watching shimmering snowflakes falling from the sky, the sun shimmering on frozen lakes and ponds.  See a trend there?

Our Opus Gluei theme for this fortnight is

SPARKLING AND SHIMMERING

Let's see if you can take us to where you are, with sparkles or shimmers of light!

Get out that glitter, those opalescent shades of ink, the shiny goodness you have lurking in your embellishments and create like crazy!!!!!

Here's what we've been inspired to create!!!!!

Deena here:  I pulled out some embossing powders and some old brads to make this sparkle and shimmer card.  With the frosty cold we have in my neck of the woods, I couldn't bring myself to do something snowy, so I felt that embossing was the way to go!

Chat Noir here, with a card I made for my Mum's birthday on the 15th.  She loves pearls and silver so I hunted though my papers to find these ones....  The flowered piece is the last piece of handmade paper from a quirky shop in Brunswick Street.  Most of their papers are A4, so its not hard to use them up very quickly.  I mounted it on some shimmery silver card and added the pearls and some silver gauze ribbon.

Looking at it now, I'm thinking I should have rounded the corners of the white card too....but that's a reminder for next time.

Rosemary here and I have a layout for New Years Eve 2015.  Now, I could have just left it as is with the pretty printed cardstock and it would have been fine - there's something very enjoyable about a quick layout but it just didn't zing for me. So I pulled out the trusty Cricut and the Winter Wonderland cartridge and made two of the beautiful, intricate snowflakes out of plain and metallic cardstock.  The photos don't do this layout justice, it's very festive and pretty!  Of course, I then had to embellish the snowflakes with some Stickles and some rhinestones.....and it's New Year's Eve so it's all about the GLAM!!!!  There's nothing like a little more sparkle.

So..... let's see your beautiful sparkle and shine by linking us to your blog post in the comments below so we can pay you a visit and enjoy your creativity.   Our next challenge is January 31, so you have lots of time to share your crafty goodness!!!!

Challenge #218 S-t-r-e-t-c-h yourselves............

It's 2016....

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!!! 

....and welcome back to the 

cheerfully untidy world that is 

Opus Gluei. 

Lets make the most of the extra day this year and have a long and happy crafty calendar, starting with some s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s......of the creative kind (though you can stretch out on the couch if that's more your style) to ease into the year.  

STRETCH YOURSELVES

Use some of this glorious holiday time to try out that idea you saw on Pinterest, raise a favorite skill up on a new technique that looked so easy, stretch that brain and amaze yourself (and us too).  We might just get the chance to finish something from the too hard basket.....

So, let's see what our Poobahs made to inspire you!

Deena here: my stretch is to try and make 500 cards this year...I want to donate to our local mission for the homeless and have sold many of my Christmas cards this year...my goal it so locally sell 250 cards to donate $1000 to local charities in our area...here's hoping it all goes well...I had this really old kit hanging around and tweaked it a little to pump out a few simple cards to get in the spirit:

Rosemary here and after a long dry spell of creativity I've decided I'm going to try to do an Index Card a Day as my own personal 2016 challenge.  So, here's my first three days.  With my Posca paint pens...

Chat Noir here, and I'm a work in progress.....  Every time I see a pile of wooden shapes (mine are from kaisercraft), I buy some and carry them home, my head filled with ways to turn them into little works of art.  The reality is a lot less productive, so this challenge is made for me, if only I can channel some of those long lost ideas.

....and I remember now how long it takes to achieve the finish I like..... smooth..... glossy..... Oh well, I've made a start, and I promise to finish them and make good on the one resolution I made this year: no more UFOs lurking in the studio.

I promise to add to this post as they progress.  

Now lets see what you s-t-r-e-t-c-h yourself to do.  Link us to your blog post in the comments below and remember that we love all takes on our themes, be it literal or figurative or completely on your own tangent.  You have until January 17th to share your beautiful crafty goodness with us!

Challenge #217 - Star Light, Star Bright!

Our challenge for this last fortnight of our crafting year is:

Star Light, Star Bright

which seems to suggest a vintage Christmas wish.  But even if you don't celebrate Christmas you surely could be inspired to create and put a star (or many more) into whatever you make!

Chat Noir here, coming out of left field and beginning with "vintage" before getting to the starry part!  I just spent a lovely day making all sorts of things out of second-hand rubbishy paperback books (I did have to read a bit here and there to be SURE they were rubbishy) and Christmas decorations were part of the fun.  Wait for the stars til the end......

The first is a lovely easy bird, which is just two 2D shapes joined by lining up a scissor cut in each and threading them together.  Its a bit easier to see in the second photograph, and I have to say that card stock has more strength so makes better birds, but you could glue two sheets of print together if you prefer.

The second is the beginning of a collection of paper baubles made with the help of paper punches, glue and a loop of thread to hang each.  Make sure you choose symmetrical shapes, but anything would look great....butterflies, snowflakes, hearts.....as well as the circle and square I used (which also tells you a lot about my paper punch collection!!).

You need at least 6 cut-outs for each bauble, and each is folded in half before being glued together and enclosing the loop of thread.

....and finally, the stars!  These decorations are two sizes of wood stars, each covered in a different paper, and just glued one on top the other.  I can think of lots of other ways to jazz them up a bit, but hey, its a beginning....

 

 

Deena here:  I took my projects on a different path as I needed some much needed birthday cards this month...

 

 

We would love to see what you make, so comment below and link us to your starry creation!

NOTE:  We will be taking off until January 3rd so that we can enjoy the holidays with those we hold near and dear.

FROM ALL THE POOBAHS  - HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND BEST WISHES FOR A FANTASTIC 2016!!!

Challenge #215 - Celebrate Families

This week's challenge is to celebrate FAMILIES.  You can do a photo layout, vintage cross stitches, a gift for someone you made for a family member, or whatever leads to a family member.

Deena Here:


This layout is of my girls and their best peeps on vacation in Florida.  Everywhere we went they did the Charlie's Angels pose.  The peeps are our next door neighbours and they are not really family but have been adopted into our lives as if they were. 

Play along with us.  You have 2 weeks to link up in the comments section.

Challenge #214 - Take a Coffee Break

We are asking you to be inspired by JAVA, COFFEE, A CUP OF JOE, whatever you prefer to call it.

You might want to make a holder for a coffee store gift card, or use the colors of a coffee label to make something arty, whatever you make inspired by this theme we want to see!!!!

Deena here:

I recently gave up my favorite coffee at Starbucks as we booked a European cruise and I decided that the money I spend at the coffee shops could be much better used on a vacation, so this card is making me kind of jealous....

Chat Noir here with some additions to my ATC collection to give you some inspiration.  There are a few more details on my blog, but I think you can see they are a variation on a theme.  I really love using a limited palette of colours and of course my basic black!

Why dont you make yourself a cup of coffee, and sit down to dream up something wonderful to share.  Play along with us - you have 2 weeks to link up your fabulous projects with us in the comment area.

Challenge #213 - Halloween

We here at Opus Gluei love a holiday as much as the next person so let's get into Halloween!

Deena here:  we have had the most gorgeous fall here in our neck of the woods and I hope it can keep up for all the little ghosties and goblins to take advantage of it for trick or treating...we usually have miserable weather by now requiring snow boots and big parkas and it takes the costumes to a whole new level of puffiness...fingers crossed this year will be as nice as today and maybe just light jackets will be necessary...but who knows, it is still almost 2 weeks away and things can change so fast here.  I made several of these little candles to light our path in front of our house....now if the winds will just stay calm enough to keep them lit, they could look super cute....

LOVE those candles Deena.  Chat Noir here, from the Great Southern Land where Halloween is only slowly making its presence felt........BUT, witches and broomsticks and bats are natural companions for black cats, my very favourite animals, so here's my small contribution to our display to motivate you.  Its a tag on a chain, to hang from my real-life broomstick.

....and to finish, here's a reminder of what witches just might look like (LOL)

Show us your projects - you have 2 weeks to link up.

Challenge #212 - Thanksgiving in Canada!

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving about six weeks ahead of their southern neighbors, the U.S. of A.  So, in honor of the people of Canada, the Opus Gluei is going to have a theme of:

Canadian Thanksgiving 

and/or Red/White

If you are a Canadian, feel free to show us your ideas for the table, invites, cards, decorations, whatever you do to show your pride.   

American?  Well, get a jump start on your Thanksgiving plans. 

 Neither or not interested in creating with Thanksgiving in mind?  

Well then, be inspired by the colors RED/WHITE and show it to us!!!!!  Or how about using the MAPLE LEAF in your design?

Deena here:  we have our Thanksgiving next weekend and we will be attending and hosting a few dinners...one Saturday, Sunday and on Thanksgiving Monday...crazy...but delicious...I felt these projects represent the harvest and the bounty on our tables and they will also be thank you cards for the hostesses and guests for our dinners...enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Chat Noir here, sneaking into the theme with some red and white because Australia doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving.......... but I have some lovely Canadian friends so I had no trouble using their national colours for my work this week.  I made some cards and added to my ATC collection too.

 

 

You have until October 18th to show us your creations by linking to your post in the comments below.