One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest!

Lots to talk about. The mini Gitmo I'm setting up for the DSL provider got some intense work over the past few days, as once again, my internet connection depends on the precise orientation of the earth, Jupiter and some idiot with a pair of pliers. Don't get me started. In this brief window of connectivity - I have a lot to say!!

I've been hard at work on the Dirty Dare and have lots to show you!!!

First, I took the "Stamp Simply" challenge and tried more of the dry pencil blending technique. I'm just discovering this process and I absolutely love it!! I resist blending my pencils with Gamsol because 1) I don't like to use things that have half page warning labels or use the word "cancer" in the instructions. I don't want a brain tumor from stamping - my cell phone can take care of that, thank you very much. 2) That sound of the blending sticks on the paper, as I've told you, makes me feel like I am going to throw up my own head!

So trying this method really made me happy. The stamp set is Stampin' Up!'s Vases in Vogue which is so freaking charming. I really love vases and flowers - they never get old. I used analogous Koh-I-Noor pencils and shaded carefully. Should I teach this technique at my August class? Leave me a comment if you want to learn. I don't know if I can describe it here. It takes patience and care but not very much time!!

Next, I used the same technique for the sketch challenge, which I took some liberties with - shrinking the oval element and using the monkey as the right hand side's accent. So fun to color this way. The DSP is from Basic Grey and I used my Polka Dot Cuttlebug Folder to decorate the card base of Not Quite Navy.

I love the kind of retro look of this patterned paper and also the idea of the patterned balloon. The balloon and the greeting are also from the sock monkey set. S-Monk is stamped onto Naturals White Cardstock. I'm experimenting with paper surfaces for the pencil technique and it seems like a little bit of tooth helps with the blending. What do you think about him?

And if you say you are anything less than CRAZY about S-Monk I will be worried about you!!




Next, let's add water. This card was for the silhouette challenge. I really have a hard time making silhouettes look good. I can't visualize them like Michelle Zindorf does. But I was thinking of her when I whipped out some watercolor paper and doctored this up. First I painted the paper with a paintbrush and water to get it ready for color. Then I painted on Kiwi Kiss and Pacific Point Blue (). Next I stamped the silhouette horse from the Equestrian set from Starving Artistamps in Basic Grey. Since it is a solid image stamped on a toothy paper, it left little voids that I filled in with Cranberry Crisp and Taken with Teal. I added some shadows with Cranberry Crisp and Basic Grey. I was going to add another horse, but the more I looked at this the less I wanted anything else in the picture.

Really it would work for the Stamp Simply challenge too - maybe I'll put it in both.

Okay so are you wondering about the title of this post yet?

No, I'm not crazy from my DSL service yet - although I should be.

Yes, I'm crazy excited about convention.

But if you want COMPLETELY, drooling, straight jacket CRAZY, we need to talk about Rock Band for the Wii.

I know I have some readers who have played Guitar Hero, which we all love. It's a very hard game. I don't have a Wii but we have friends who do. So on Friday night we played Rock Band, which has a drum set, a guitar and a microphone. You all play together and if one of you really stinks, you get knocked out. Now all this is harder than it sounds, I'll grant you. You have to be pretty on the ball.

So I'd like you to picture this in your mind. An extremely loud game room with eight adults and two kids. Some horrible rock music coming out of the television. (Really - can we get some better songs, Nintendo? Not all of us know songs that have the word "blood" in the title - bust out some Elton John and Madonna please!)

The "players" - and I use that term loosely - except for the singer, have their faces contorted and their tongues hanging out while they try to keep up with the notes on the screen. The "drum set" - again, loosely - sounds like a two year old banging on a pot. The guitar just makes a clicking sound when you try to hit the notes. Then there's someone howling a song they don't know in a rather tuneless fashion. At one point, I stopped paying attention to the TV and just looked around the room and realized it looked like we were all inmates of a very loud insane asylum. Loonies banging on pots and yelling tuneless words, one playing a silent guitar... It was quite surreal and sent me into a fit of the giggles that I have not yet recovered from. When I told my sister in law, she started an uncontrollable giggle fit. When my brother in law started singing the titanic theme to me I completely lost it and actually had to put my head down on the floor.

If you own this game, do yourself a favor - take a minute to look at what is happening in the room. Better yet - FILM IT AND SEND IT TO ME!!

It's hysterical!!

Well off to finish the challenges!!!