Come On In! The Water's Fine!

Happy Thursday everyone! Timbo here with the Thursday One and Done Digital Auction! Or as we call it,  TOADDA. Actually this is the first time I've called it that but it might work. Shorten it to TOAD? Anyway today's image is inspired by  a Canadian saying that goes something like this.... 'Sometimes you get the Gators and sometimes the Gators get you.' At least I think it's Canadian.... ??

I played around with coloring this and it was a lot of fun. You can either camouflage the gators or make them pop. The winners can feel free to post a link to their creations made with the digitals!

Monica has been a little under the weather lately but I think she is about 90% now! Be sure to tell all your friends about the auction! Have a great day and Happy Coloring!

Rules, rules, and more rules:

Bidding starts at 1¢. To bid, you simply enter your bid total in the comments section of this post. There are no set increments, though each bid must be higher than the one before it. Copyright for the image follows the same policy as the rest of our digital designs. The winner will have almost exclusive rights to the image except I may still color the image and use it to promote the auction. Also I may at some point do a variation on the theme of the drawing

Bidding will continue until 10:00 pm (EST). The comments are time-stamped, so when we look back (tomorrow morning), the last comment left at exactly 10:00 pm or before will be the winner, and will pay the price that was bid, via Paypal or money order. If you're unfamiliar with digital images and would like to try them out before you place a bid, you can find links HERE to a couple of free image downloads to experiment with. Please do not bid unless you intend to follow through with payment should you win.

Auction "smack" is permitted, and encouraged! We want this to be a fun thing, so get over on the comment board and have some fun. If you want the image and don't have time to keep upping the bid, go ahead and place your final price, and see if anyone will be willing to top it. We'll list the winner on the blog tomorrow, and the winner will need to contact us with an email address to which the image can be sent.

Thanks for playing!!

Santa Pig is Coming To Town!

Timbo here! Here's a look at another new digital image we have out. It's Santa Pig with a bag full of presents or maybe just corn ...... you know pigs!

 I really liked this jolly ol' fellow when I drew him. It was one of those easy drawings that I didn't have to struggle through. Sometimes that does happen! I went ahead and colored him and drew in a little scene around him. I used some Inktense pencils on this as well as a bunch of Prismacolors. The sky gave me fits as I drew it and probably went over it 6 times with different colors but I like the end result. Thinking about doing a rooftop scene like this as a digital. Any comments on that?

Thanks for looking and happy coloring!!

Snails, Oom Pah Pah Music, and Storytime!

Timbo here! This is one of our new digital images Snail Tuba.

Now the back story..... this was from one of the stories I tell my kids. There was a big parade that day in Marmoosia where the Marmoots live. The 'All Male Snail Marching Band' were to lead the way. Of course being snails they were awful slow and didn't get very far after an hour of 'marching'. So someone had the bright idea of turning the parade around so the snails were now last instead of first. The rest of the parade went off without a hitch!

Our friend Isabelle  had a birthday this week and we thought this would make for a great card. I'm not sure why.  She is from the land of Oom Pah Pah Music so maybe that's it. On the inside it says 'Happy Birthday Tuba You'! Judy came up with that saying, pretty funny I think. I printed the image on card stock and went to work with my Prismacolors and regular graphite pencils to create the background. I had a lot of fun with this one! Thanks everyone for looking and have a super weekend!!

Congrats to Libby for winning yesterday's One and Done Thursday Auction!!

One and Done Thursday - Snowman and Kids, Together Again!

Timbo here with this week's digital auction! The rules are below but basically you bid against your fellow digital connoisseurs to win this week's fabulous image. You, the winner, will be the only one ever use this image. Imagine how jealous your friends will be! It also is excellent blog material. Blog readership has been known to dramatically increase-610%- when these bad boys are posted. No studies have been done to prove this of course but we have a really good feeling about it ... lol.

Since I've heard about snow in some parts of the country this week I went for the Winter themed digital. At first I just had the kids looking in through the window and it was definitely missing something. I threw in a big old snowman and voila.... a very nice Winter scene! The snowman is looking in searching for more coffee, looks like he's had a few cups too many already. That's a heck of an addiction isn't it? A snowman addicted to HOT coffee. If the bidding gets too high on this one ask about our EZ Payment Plan!

Have a great Thursday!!

Here are the rules once again:

Bidding starts at 1¢. To bid, you simply enter your bid total in the comments section of this post. There are no set increments, though each bid must be higher than the one before it. Copyright for the image follows the same policy as the rest of our digital designs. 

Bidding will continue until 10:00 pm (EST). The comments are time-stamped, so when we look back (tomorrow morning), the last comment left at exactly 10:00 pm or before will be the winner, and will pay the price that was bid, via Paypal or money order. If you're unfamiliar with digital images and would like to try them out before you place a bid, you can find links HERE to a couple of free image downloads to experiment with. Please do not bid unless you intend to follow through with payment should you win.

Auction "smack" is permitted, and encouraged! We want this to be a fun thing, so get over on the comment board and have some fun. If you want the image and don't have time to keep upping the bid, go ahead and place your final price, and see if anyone will be willing to top it. We'll list the winner on the blog tomorrow, and the winner will need to contact us with an email address to which the image can be sent.

Thanks for playing!!

Basswood

Up to now, I've colored all of the leaves from our latest release to look like autumn leaves, but they don't have to be used just for autumn! Here, I've colored the Basswood leaves in a bright green -- perfect for spring or summer.

I used Copic markers to color the leaves, then went in with a white gel pen and added some highlights. Then, thinking the highlights were a little TOO bright, I colored over them again with one of the green Copics which toned them down just a bit.

This card uses our Thoughts & Prayers sentiment as well. I wanted a little different way to display the sentiment, so I took a razor blade and cut some notches in the cardstock and slipped the sentiment, stamped on white, through. I got lucky, because I just eyeballed it -- I have little patience with using rulers and trying to be too precise!

On a personal note: Thanks to everyone who wrote to inquire about my son. Thankfully, he tested negative for the flu, and his fever was just a 24 hr. thing -- he's fine now. Because of the school rules that you have to be fever-free for 24 hrs. before returning, he had to stay home again yesterday. Without his sister here to play with, he got quite bored and was very happy to return to school today.

I quickly came down with flu-like symptoms on Monday night myself, but I too tested negative. That didn't make the fever or aches feel any better, and I spent most of the day in bed yesterday. In fact, I'd had this card made and sitting on the desk, but didn't have enough energy to sit at the computer to type up my post. I'm feeling much better today, though I'm still lacking energy. But, I have too much going on to laze about again today! I can't go into detail yet, but if you're on our newsletter list, you'll hear all about it in the newsletter I'm sending out tomorrow. If you're not on our newsletter list (this is different than the blog subscription!), email us with "Newsletter" in the subject line and I'll add you. Don't worry - this is a low-volume newsletter, and I promise not to inundate you with useless jabber. That's what this blog is for!

Also, tomorrow is another edition of the "One and Done" auction. Tune in tomorrow morning to see what the next one-of-a-kind digital drawing is going to be. Tim's actually drawn several things, so I'm not sure which he'll offer up tomorrow. I guess we'll all be surprised together!

Finally, I want to wish Isabelle and Happy Happy Birthday!! Count your blessings that you can't hear me sing! :)

Sweet Gum

Happy Monday everyone! I'm posting a little earlier than usual, because I've got a sick boy I've got to get to the doctor as soon as they open. I'm not usually an alarmist about colds and such and am willing to wait things out a bit, but in this case, if it's the H1N1 that is going around his school, I need to get him diagnosed within 48 hrs. of a fever ... he's at 24 hrs. now. Thankfully, it's not a really high fever, and he mostly feels okay (he's playing computer games now, so I know he's not miserable!), so whatever it is, maybe we can stop it early.

About the card: This follows the Clean & Simple "Fall-to Layout #65."  I've been having a really hard time finding "autumn" DP this year. I've found Halloween prints & patterns, and now Christmas stuff is plentiful, but very little that I thought would look pretty paired with leaves or trees or scarecrows. When I saw this paper, I wasn't sure if it would translate to autumn, but something about the vivid colors called to me, and now that my card is made, I have to say I LOVE it!! The paper is by K & Company, called "Que Sera Sera Collage Stripe" -- and features script and flourishes mixed in with the stripes.

The stamps used were two of our new ones ... Sweet Gum & the "Thanks be to Thee" sentiment. I colored the leaves with Copics (Y19, YR07, YR14, YR24) and stamped the sentiment directly onto the kraft paper with "Amaretto Truffle" Fresco chalk ink. This is my favorite and most-used ink pad!

That's all for today. Remember there are only 4 days left (counting today!) to play along with the Hogs & Sketches challenge, so for all of you who work better under the gun, let me just say, my finger's on the trigger! Midnight on the 29th (Thursday) is the deadline for posting your link.

Have a great week!

Have a Festive Fall!

I don't know if the leaves are turning (or have already turned!) where you live, but they're at their prettiest here in central Virginia right now. While the leaves all over town have been slowly changing, the ones in our yard were being stubborn. However, the leaves were still green when we went to bed last night, but this morning they're a beautiful gold. In fact, I think we're planning a little road trip tomorrow to drive up towards the mountains (Charlottesville area, most likely) to see all the gorgeous colors.

This card was, of course, inspired by what's going on outside. As you can see, this is a simple, straight-forward card. The only thing to talk about really is the paper-piecing on the letters in the Festive Fall sentiment. I wanted to have some big hollow letters for just this purpose; you can paper-piece them as I've done here, or color them in to match the color scheme as I did HERE, or just stamp them and leave them alone! LOL  While I chose to piece them with a leafy print (paper by Kathy Davis), I think a nice warm plaid would be a great look as well.

Before I go, I want to offer congratulations to Libby who held on for the auction win last night! Her relentless bidding strategy throughout the day paid off, and she won the cute little alien/UFO digi. I wonder what the image will be next week? I'll be as surprised as you.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Another One and Done Thursday!

Timbo here with yet another One and Done Thursday. This digital image will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, complete rules are at the bottom of this post.

This little alien guy has come to Earth bearing a balloon and seeking peace. I'd watch out for his ray gun though. Or it could be a portable dessert icing  tool thing .... you make that call. I've drawn this little fellow and his friends years ago for a caption the cartoon thing I used to do on the internet. They were always popular with the crowd that captioned the cartoons. Monica was one of those 'captioners' before and after we got married. It was hard not to let her win every contest because she was/is just that good. As she reads this she is probably agreeing.

 I would think you could come up with a lot puns like.... 'Hope I haven't Alienated you!'. I didn't say good puns, just puns.

One more thing! We broke down and got a Waacom Bamboo digital pen tablet. This is the first drawing I used it on so that should be worth upping the bid. After I scan the drawn image into the computer I do correcting and this pen is just awesome. I'll do a future blog about it.

Here are the rules again:

Bidding starts at 1¢. To bid, you simply enter your bid total in the comments section of this post. There are no set increments, though each bid must be higher than the one before it. Copyright for the image follows the same policy as the rest of our digital designs. 

Bidding will continue until 10:00 pm (EST). The comments are time-stamped, so when we look back (tomorrow morning), the last comment left at exactly 10:00 pm or before will be the winner, and will pay the price that was bid, via Paypal or money order. If you're unfamiliar with digital images and would like to try them out before you place a bid, you can find links HERE to a couple of free image downloads to experiment with. Please do not bid unless you intend to follow through with payment should you win.

Auction "smack" is permitted, and encouraged! We want this to be a fun thing, so get over on the comment board and have some fun. If you want the image and don't have time to keep upping the bid, go ahead and place your final price, and see if anyone will be willing to top it. We'll list the winner on the blog tomorrow, and the winner will need to contact us with an email address to which the image can be sent.

Thanks for playing!!

Howdy Pilgrim!

I used this month's "Hogs & Sketches" challenge sketch for this card. Tim colored the Turkey, then handed it to me so I could do what I do best -- muck it up! The turkey was on white paper, so I wanted to sponge the edges a little to soften it, only the sponging looked a little uneven. To try to salvage it, I sponged some more. And then some more. So in case you are wondering -- no, I didn't play with it outside, or try to clean the floors with it -- that's INK, not DIRT on it. Sigh... In my defense though, it DOES look better in person.

My card base uses SU Blush Blossom. It's really a bit pinker in person than it appears in the photo. I also used SU Chocolate Chip and one of the darker reds. I'm not sure if this is Ruby Red or the cranberry one (I'm leaning towards cranberry.), since all of my papers end up in a drawer all mixed up. Whichever red color it is, the color combo is really striking!

We added this "Gobble/Wobble" sentiment to go with the turkey, but I think for anyone like me, it could be used for SO MUCH more! LOL  For instance, pair it with a slice of birthday cake. Or chocolate. Or a sundae. You get the idea ... AND the calories.

Tomorrow is another "One and Done" auction! We hope to see you here! :)

Shout Outs

This card gives me a good opportunity to give a shout out to two of my friends. One is Jane Bosi, one of the fabulous ladies on the Hambo design team. Jane co-hosts a "Chica Challenge" -- and this week's challenge was to use Stickles on a card. While I'm not usually a glitter gal, I DO own some Stickles, so this was all the kick in the pants I needed to sparkle it up! I appropriately used "Ice" Stickles (Gold Ice, to be exact) which look so much prettier in person than it does in this picture.

The other shout out goes to Isabelle, who I have to thank for so many things, but this time it's for the great Cuttlebug snowflake die/folder combo that she surprised me with this week. Not only did I get to use the snowflake on this card, but she's responsible for all the other parts of it as well. The square note card came from a Lasting Impressions pack that I bought from her store The Stampbuzz. The cards come with fancy polka dot/striped envelopes -- one of which I cut up to use as DP on this card. The card itself is pre-embossed, so I cut the paper so that the embossing still shows through. The center of the snowflake is a crystal gemstone from Hero Arts that I also bought from Isabelle's store. And the Stickles? Yep, they came from there too! Thanks "snow" much Isabelle! :)

And thanks to YOU for checking in on me today! Have a great one!

Clean & Simple Thanksgiving

Thanks to the awesome layouts and ideas presented by the Clean & Simple blog, I'm able to put together cards like this in mere minutes. This card follows this week's "Fall-to Layout #64."

The card base is kraft paper, and I don't know who makes the plaid DP. I  used yet one more piece of metallic paper salvaged from a wedding invitation we received months ago. (What can I say - the invitation had lots of great layers!) I colored the Acorn, from our latest release, with Copic markers, and popped it up over the leaf sticker (Provocraft). The frame around it is a Cuttlebug die cut ("Stamps" - set of 4). And finally, the Happy Thanksgiving was stamped directly onto the kraft paper.

I have to say, I'm having a LOT of fun with all these new fall stamps! More ideas to explore, so stay tuned.

Don't forget to make your card for the "Hogs & Sketches" challenge! Two prizes will be awarded -- one prize goes to our favorite entry, and one will be a random draw of all the participants. The last time I checked, only 2 people had left links, so their odds of winning are VERY good! LOL  Some of you need to step up and give them some competition! If you play along, remember to leave your link on the challenge blog post (linked above), and if you post to any public galleries, you can use the keyword "hands2" so we can find it.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week!

Gratitude & Praise

This card was put together quickly this morning, yet I don't think the fact that it was a "quickie" should diminish it, because I like it as much as many cards I've fussed with for hours! This features two of our new autumn release stamps, Hickory Leaves and "Gratitude & Praise," and follows this week's Clean & Simple "Fall-to Layout #63."

I stamped the leaves all around on watercolor paper, and Tim colored them with Inktense pencils -- a water-soluble "ink" pencil. I'm not sure how this is different than a regular watercolor pencil though, unless they're just more intense, like the name implies.

Unlike the ginkgo leaves that I've mentioned I can admire without having to rake, these leaves are ubiquitous around our house. I don't mind the leaves as much as the dang hickory nuts that cover the patio and yard. When we sit outside on the patio, the squirrels pelt us with the nuts! And a half chewed shell is painful on bare feet, I can tell you from experience!

This would be an easy card to mass-produce for Thanksgiving, and our "Happy Thanksgiving" stamp matches the font of the "Gratitude & Praise" sentiment, making a nice duo. I'm just mentioning that, although I'm sure you've all got your Thanksgiving cards made and waiting to be mailed, right?

Switching gears, I don't know whether to say "Congratulations!" or express condolences to Michelle Adams for her high bid (I don't want to say "winning" bid - LOL) on yesterday's "One and Done" auction. I want to assure the rest of you that a more tasteful image will be offered up for auction next week!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Smashing Pumpkins!

Timbo here with this week's 'One and Done' Thursday auction. This beauty will be sure to break all of the previous records and fetch a pretty good price so bring your 'Juke Box' money! Long time ago I saw drawings like this in Calvin and Hobbes, always made me laugh. I've seen a few pumpkins on porches like this too, some intentional and some that have just been left out too long. I've done a few doodles of these guys over the years but for some reason (Monica) they have never made it to rubber. I guess they are an acquired taste .... and now you can acquire them!!!

Of course I had to color them! I used my trusty Prismacolors on 'em. I did a little undercoloring with a light purple to see how that would work. My coloring makes them look like some  tortured pumpkin souls. Maybe you can make them look a little cheerier .... lol.

Here are the rules again:

Bidding starts at 1¢. To bid, you simply enter your bid total in the comments section of this post. There are no set increments, though each bid must be higher than the one before it. Copyright for the image follows the same policy as the rest of our digital designs. 

Bidding will continue until 10:00 pm (EST). The comments are time-stamped, so when we look back (tomorrow morning), the last comment left at exactly 10:00 pm or before will be the winner, and will pay the price that was bid, via Paypal or money order. If you're unfamiliar with digital images and would like to try them out before you place a bid, you can find links HERE to a couple of free image downloads to experiment with. Please do not bid unless you intend to follow through with payment should you win.

Auction "smack" is permitted, and encouraged! We want this to be a fun thing, so get over on the comment board and have some fun. If you want the image and don't have time to keep upping the bid, go ahead and place your final price, and see if anyone will be willing to top it. We'll list the winner on the blog tomorrow, and the winner will need to contact us with an email address to which the image can be sent.

Thanks for playing!!

Eye Candy

I had a cute little plastic jar left over after we ate the almonds that were in it, and I immediately thought of our new Witch's Brew stamp. This is perfect for holding one of her most prized ingredients -- eye of newt. I have no idea what else goes into a witch's brew, but eye of newt is always mentioned, so I figured that was a safe bet. By the looks of her concoction, there's also some lime Jell-O involved. Maybe some Mountain Dew too. (Hmm... I should be getting paid for these product endorsements!)

Tim colored the witchy-poo with Copic markers, and I added a little ribbon and a tag. I also made a label to go on the lid:

We wouldn't want anyone confusing "eye of newt" with "eye of frog" or anything. That would TOTALLY ruin the flavor!

Do these "eye" candies remind anyone else of those stupid eyes from the Geico commercials? If so, you'll probably be humming that song the rest of the day too. Glad I could share! :)

Come back tomorrow for another fun "One & Done" auction!