Winners - Challenge #16 - An Autumn Day

We are so thankful for each and every entry in our An Autumn Day challenge.  This is one of the most beautiful groupings of art, each worthy its own showcase.  Thank you so much for your continued support of our challenges here at Anything But Cute. Without delay, we are pleased to announce our winners and design team favorites...

WINNER - #67 Inkysplatters

Congratulations Inkysplatters!  This beautiful work of art, with its many layers, is a perfect autumnal setting.  What amazing ingenuity and creativity combined to achieve such realistic depth and color variation!  Pamellia will be in touch by email to send you a personalized winner's badge and to provide details about being our Feature Artist for the next challenge.

RUNNER-UP - #42 julD handmade

JulD created the most charming collage from gorgeous real leaves. The amazing stencil detail adds so much depth and a fall-like feeling of dew drops and time worn elegance.  What a gorgeous project! The handmade frame adds so much interest and warmth!  Thank you so much for this inspiration!

***

Now let's have a look at our DT favourites:



Anne's Favourite - #24 Nicole Wright Designs

Autumn really is the most beautiful season, I love the changing colours, and of course, Halloween. Nicole created the most wonderful little Autumn/Halloween diorama, a little scary but full of autumn colour inside and out, there are beautiful trees and leaves and I love the cosy little setting she created.

Branka's Favourite - #67 - Inky Splatters

I love this weathered wood window with such an amazing stamping in the background! Those trees look so realistic and the autumnal foliage arrangement is just a perfect addition to this stunning creation!

Lisa's Favourite - #63 Joi@RR: USA

I had such a hard time choosing a favorite this month...all of the entries were amazing!! But I finally decided on Joi's stunning painting!! I was memorized reading how this beautiful work of art came together!! The colors, the design, the details...all add up to spectacular!!

Niki's Favourite -#67 Inky Splatters

I totally enjoy this little window and the way it was created! The distressed frame and the packaging window is genius and those leaves and pine cones shout Autumn! What a gorgeous creation and attention to detail. The added detail inside the window are beautiful! Awesome sauce!

Pamellia's Favourites -

1. Elli

This is the type of card I want to reach right into my computer and touch!! The texture here is just amazing and I love the amber tones and the incredible depth in her elements! Well done!

64. Lula

This card just screams Autumn to me. Those wonderful rich tones and amazing textures feel like they're straight out of nature! The touch of metal and twine create a wonderful contrast! Love it!

Sara Emily's Favourite -#45-Alison of Words and Pictures

With so many fantastic Autumn projects entered this month, I found it almost impossible to choose a favorite! But in the end, I had to choose, and I selected Alison's lovely journal page.  There are no fonder childhood memories of An Autumn Day for me than walking through our woods on our farm.  The wood was thick with birch trees, and you could barely see that beautiful blue fall sky between the branches. This lovely page brought back that memory for me like it was yesterday. Thank you, Alison; this is beautiful!

***

Honourable Mentions

4. MARYVONNE          18. Jane's Journal        19. Julia Aston       35. Torsa's E{art}h

      

36. Roshini's Crafts      49. Inky fingered Cat      51. pearshapedchris      52. Deb Riddell

      

53. My little joys               55. Suzz             65. Karen P            66. Melissa L.

      

***

A huge congratulation everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who played along with us last month and don't forget to grab your badges! You earned them!!

There is still plenty of time to enter Niki's current challenge Rustic Glam! We can't wait to see what you come up with this round!

Hugs to all, from the 'Anything But Cute' Design Team

Challenge #19 - Rustic Glam

Hello Everyone!

Niki here and I am your hostess this for this month's challenge here at Anything But Cute. Thank you to everyone that was able to join us last month for Autumn's challenge. It seems that the theme was a big hit with you all and so many lovely entries! Don't forget to check back with us on November 12th, when Autumn and the team announce the winners of the "Autumn Day" challenge. Now on to this month's theme.

Can you believe that it is November already? I hope all of you had a spooktacular Halloween and got to see some amazing costumes! Now that we are into November and the weather is turning cold I find myself starting indoor projects. This challenge theme was inspired by my major overhaul of my master bedroom. I made a DIY rustic whitewashed wall and the entire room has a rustic glam vibe to it thanks to the wood accent wall and a chandelier. Isn't it fun to combine two hobbies?

RUSTIC GLAM

Think of Southern charm meeting some Bling Bling. Create a mixed media design featuring rustic elements such as whitewashed wood, chicken wire, burlap, soft subtle tones and neutrals. Don't forget to add the GLAM part with some sparkle and BLING!

***

And now for some inspiration from the talented Anything But Cute design team!


Anne - Redanne

I decided to challenge myself and use everything that Niki asks for in her fabulous challenge and I had lots of fun making it!

Autumn - SewPaperPaint

I decided to create a framed mixed media home decor item for my bedroom.  I've had this awesome deep frame for ages and decided to do a little collage featuring one of my favorite Verve stamps inside.  I used neutral tones with touches of sequins, vintage glitter and pearls to complete my rustic glam framed art.

Branka - Vintage Handmade

I used my mini burlap panel (reversed side), my DecoArt white crackle paint and my Chalky finish paints, a Stampendous Shabby Blue embossing enamel, some dies and some flat back pearls to create my rustic Christmas window for this wonderful Niki's challenge theme.

Lisa - A Mermaid's Crafts

I love Niki's theme of Rustic Glam!! I upcycled an old bamboo box lamp by covering it in super-heavy gesso and then crackle medium. Once the cracks appeared, I added antiquing medium and replaced the bamboo with chicken wire mesh decorated with glitter. For added glam, I finished it off by stringing crystals that sparkle in the light :)

Niki - Pawsitively Creative Crafts

I went with a faux deer head (the only type that I would ever have in my house) and added some wood stain, acrylic paints, sanding techniques, stencils, modeling paste and of course I had to add the bling bling with some diamonds and faux snow. Yeppers, snow. Carpe Diem!

Sara Emily - sarascloset

Niki's theme is so much fun! Rustic and glam is such an interesting combination of elements! I used crackle and wood grain, burlap and chicken wire, gilding and bling to make my mixed media card. I have a brief tutorial on my blog for the easy peasy wood grain if you'd care to take a look.

***

Can you believe my teamies?!? Such a talented group of ladies we have here! Please hop over to the team blogs to see more photos and get some details on how these projects were made. And don't forget to leave some bloggy love while you're there. It brings a smile to our faces. :)

I hope that we have inspired you to try something new and maybe even take it a step further and just enjoy the challenge of being challenged. I know this one was a challenge for me and I am super stoked I was able to do it!

The winner will receive the honour of being our Feature Artist for an upcoming challenge!

Here at Anything But Cute we just love to see all the seasoned and expert mixed media artists, but we also want to encourage those who are just getting their feet wet. Our design team will always be on the lookout for these exceptional projects and artists. You just never know when we might be giving out something special to a lucky mixed media newcomer. We all have to start somewhere, right?

Challenge runs until December 4th - we can't wait to see what you come up with! Happy Crafting from the entire team and thanks for visiting Anything But Cute! Carpe Diem!

An InLinkz Link-up

Feature Artist - An Autumn Day - Welcome Zubaida!

Hello Everyone!

Lisa here, and I'm so excited to introduce you to our Feature Artist for October! She was the runner up for my Shabby Garden Mood Board challenge in August! Please help me welcome Zubaida from ColorPaperScissors!

I've been a huge fan of Zub's for a long time! Whether she's creating a mixed media project like the incredibly gorgeous and textured tag she made for the August challenge, bringing an image to life in color, or simply creating a beautiful card, all of her projects are exquisitely designed with attention to detail and an eye for beauty! There really isn't anything she can't do!

Zub has created a stunning canvas for Autumn's An Autumn Day challenge that showcases her amazing style and creativity! Check out this beauty!

***

Hello friends!

I am extremely delighted to be invited as a guest 'Featured Artist' here at "Anything But Cute" Challenge and I would like to say a big THANKS to Pamellia and her Team for the invitation. 

My name is Zubaida and I blog over at ColorPaperScissors. I started with paper crafting since 2012 and its been a wonderful ride ever since.I am honored to be here with my guest post at 'Anything But Cute' mixed media challenges.

I love this month's chosen theme 'An Autumn Day'. The beautiful autumn colors are here to give us inspiration to create lovely projects. I have taken these colors as an inspiration for my Reverse Canvas project.

I started on the back of a plain white canvas, covering the edges of the canvas by cork ribbon for a wooden look. I then added texture paste through a Dina Wakley 'Jungle' stencil to create a forest background look.

Next, I measured the inside dimension of my canvas and trimmed a patterned paper to be pasted inside. I also applied a thin layer of gesso, added additional texture paste and glued ' Holiday Green' die cut from sizzix, inked with distress inks.

I have also glued some fabric leaves after inking and spraying them with different shades of orange and red for the autumnal look.

The bottom part is covered with heavyweight card stock, after stamping and inking and then applying crackle paste to it. Some more texture paste here and there and then glued my patterned paper inside.

As I wanted to create an autumn scene, I cut out silhouette of a couple with my cameo and painted it with black gesso.

Finally, I embellished my canvas by adding micro beads, pearls, jute ribbon, butterfly resin icon with heavy gel medium and placed the couple in the front.

I hope my autumn look day will be 'A memory that lasts forever'!!!

Here are some close ups

I hope that you all enjoyed my autumn themed project.

Thank you Pamellia once again for giving me the opportunity of being a guest this month. I really enjoyed sharing my project here :)

***

WOW, what a stunning canvas with incredible color and texture! It's the perfect representation of an Autumn day! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us today, Zub! It's been a pleasure to have you here!

I hope you are as inspired as I am and will join in the fun for Autumn's challenge, An Autumn Day!

You have until the 4th of November to play - and you'll find all the challenge details as well as lots of inspiration from the brilliant Anything But Cute design team by clicking on the challenge link.

Happy Crafting
Lisa :)

Winners - Challenge #17 - Friendship

Hello, everyone! Branka here and firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to those who entered our 'Friendship' challenge! I am totally amazed at how many beautiful and wonderfully creative entries we received! Choosing one winner and a runner-up was a huge dilemma for me but after much debate in my had, I have chosen the winner:

WINNER - #17 - Joi@RR

This canvas completely stole my heart! Joi has created an unique piece of art full of passion, love and good thoughts. Her use of those DecoArt media products is amazing and I really enjoyed watching her video! I love her fabulous colors and awesome drawing! This spectacular canvas is one of those creations that I would love to hang on my wall! 

Congratulations Joi!  Pamellia will be in touch by email to send you a personalized winner's badge and to provide details about being our Feature Artist for the next challenge.

RUNNER-UP - #14 - boozybear

Glenda's use of colors, layers and textures has totally blown my mind! She has managed to achieve some dreamy and magical effects with a wonderful combination of dark and light tones. I love her brilliant way to incorporate so many awesome elements together into such a beautiful composition! 

***

Now let's have a look at our DT favourites:




Anne's Favourite - #10 Mary Elizabeth

I was completely touched and moved by Mary Elizabeth's remarkable post which is about the most wonderful friendship. Elements of that friendship are beautifully displayed and celebrated in this wonderful creation.

Autumn's Favourite - #4 Max from MAXymalnie Papierowo

I am an absolute sucker for messy (particularly neutral) layers!  This collage is so artistically combined and the focal image is the perfect resemblance of friendship.  The beautiful watercolor background sets the perfect stage for every gorgeous detail.  Max, I cannot wait to see more of your stunning work!

Lisa's Favourite - #10 Mary Elizabeth

Wow, not only was I blown away by the rustic beauty of Mary Elizabeth's gorgeous frame, but I was so inspired by her story of friendship and family and the meaning of the chair in the photo!! The details of her piece are amazing!!

Niki's Favourite - #15Cathy Potosky

I am so very intrigued about anyone having friends for a year, let along 40 or 25 years! That is amazing! These ladies sure know what friendship is all about. The texture on the wood and the stenciling is gorgeous. That blue and black tone with the rusty awesomeness is superb! Wowzers and wowzers!

Pamellia's Favourites

#3. Veronique

Not only this card gorgeous with tons of interesting bits and lots of texture that I would love to touch, but the tribute of Friendship toward an animal tugged at my heart strings! Veronique and Lily have a special friendship and she has showcased it beautifully with the lovely neutrals and that amazing photograph!! Well done!

13. Brenda Brown

I absolutely love everything about this page. The colours, the flowers and most of all that amazing poem about Friendship that rings so true. Dedicated to a recently lost friend, and inspired by all the things her friend loved, Brenda touched my heart with her creativity and her tribute.

Sara Emily's Favourite -#10-Mary Elizabeth

Not only did Mary Elizabeth create this beautiful rustic frame for our challenge, she wrote the most touching post about what true friendship is.  She didn't just write about it, she lived it! Wow! If you are having a bad day or not, you NEED to get over to her blog and read this post word for word. While you are there, take a look at her incredible techniques for creating that amazing wood panel frame and rusted #1 token.

***

A huge congratulation everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who played along with us last month and don't forget to grab your badges! You earned them!!

There is still plenty of time to enter Autumn's current challenge 'An Autumn Day'! We can't wait to see what you come up with this time!

Hugs to all, from the 'Anything But Cute' Design Team