TTIC27 ~ Jasper Hale…

This week, Julie issued our challenge, and may I just say – it’s about time we show Jas some love?!! Well, it’s MY blog, and I’m gonna! I really like Jasper – can I get a “Hale, Yeah?!” Totally underrated vamp.

In Julie’s words:

“Hey everyone -- it's time to show Jasper a little love! Jasper Hale's character is the theme for the challenge on Tuesday, April 14th.
For the creative portion of the challenge -- create a piece that says Jasper to you!
For the comment portion of the challenge -- it's all about the CALM. Since Jasper's special ability is being able to control people's moods, and he seems to use that to calm people quite a bit -- talk a little bit about the ways that YOU like to calm down. Crafting, stamping, reading, cup of tea, whatever it may -- just talk a little bit about how you like to chill out!”

I love Jasper – and I’ll tell you why… He makes such a monumental effort to be civilized for his family, which is completely awesome. BUT, deep down, Jas is a beast! And I mean that in the coolest, most vampirical way. (Thank you, SpellChecker – I am aware that I made up that word.) As much as Edward tells us (and tells us, and tells us) how ‘bad’ he is because he’s a vamp, Jasper lives it. And he doesn’t ever whine about it – he hangs back, strong and silent, and acts they way he needs to. He rocks! AND, he has flippin’ great hair!

Moving on… Jasper has the unique talent of being able to manipulate emotions. As the mother of a purely male 7 year old spawn, I would pay dang good money for THAT ability, let me tell ya! He chills people out. I, on the other hand, generally need a margarita or a Bailey’s & rocks. :) Or in the real world, a good book. In my uber-fantasy world – BOTH! Ooh, and a white sand beach in the Caribbean… but I digress. Anyhoo… on with the show:

I’m on a layout kick. What can I say? I wish I was better with the digital scrapping, but, I like the dimension of the real deal. What is cool to note about this one, is that I made my background paper with bleach and a napkin. Hi tech-tech for me, kids! (That’s Beth-speak for High Technology Techniques, FYI) I also bleached on/off (whatEVER!) my stamped flourishes from one of my all-time favorite SU sets (Baroque Motif). The other awesome thing about this one – I managed to find some really good pictures of Jas/Jackson. Did I mention they guy has GREAT hair? Well, outside of the 1st movie, anyway. :o Yeah. I will ‘fess up to the crappy scroll thing at the bottom – it was a final sanity-saving measure. Everything I tried to put there singed my eyeballs. It’s a space-filler until I can muster up enough mojo to come up with something cool. I was hoping to put a bio or something – like thumbtacked onto the cork, on notebook paper. Hale, yeah! Where were you guys with these ideas 2 hours ago when I was cursing a blue streak down in my craft cave? Since it is pushing 1am, I will have to stick with what I got. :S Gads – I hate when that happens.

As always, I highly recommend that you visit TwilightTuesday for all the fun! Books and art – what more do you need? Besides Bailey’s and chocolate… and the white sand beach, of course. PLUS, the other Designers’ submissions never disappoint! See you around the forum!

Eve * Dani * Jen * Julie * Margie * Rebecca * Tonya

TTIC#26 ~ the Void

This week our challenge comes from Eve, who has us examining Bella in New Moon:

The "void" that Bella experienced when Edward left.
You remember in the books how months passed by?
The broken heart we have all had at one time in our lives.....
Yeah that.

Yep, we’ve probably all been there.  It’s a brutal rite of passage in a girl’s life – the first shattered heart.  The one that makes your world feel like it was never really yours, and you now have nothing keeping you from floating away into the abyss.   Bella got that lesson big-time in New Moon.  Days running together into months, with her tenuous grip on her emotions challenged by the smallest things.  This might be my favorite time in the whole saga.  (And where I completely give myself over to Team Jake!)

For my project, I decided to go with the dark and dreary emotions Bella was saddled with.  She felt no light, save for her time with Jake, and the world looked bleak and colorless to her.  This is what I came up with:

I used PearlEx, glue and my heat tool to create the background and stamped ‘the void’ onto a clear Tim Holtz charm.  I think this gives off the bleakness that Bella felt all those months she spent mourning her loss. 

Don’t forget to visit the other fabulous submissions by the Twilight Tuesday Design Team:

Eve *  Dani * Jen * Julie * Margie * Rebecca * Tonya

Visit TwilightTuesday for the latest Blog Candy, discussions and the April Sketch Challenge!

TTIC#25... Favorites ~ Part Deux

Still working with SuperJen's challenge, celebrating our favorite aspects of the Twi Saga... In my previous post, we discussed her Comment Challenge. Now let's move on to the good stuff... 'Cuz I like to maintain some suspense, and stuff...

I decided to use this to look back at some of my favorite projects - we have seen some doozies since we started this little joyride, yeah? I'll start with a few of my own faves... starting with the very first 'official' challenge we ever did: Rosalie Hale

...Kinda funny since there is really no point in the saga that I enjoy her - until it's time for Jake to start in on her with the blonde jokes, of course. (Goes without saying - can I get a "woof, woof"?) Although, having the advantage of seeing her in the movie - I will say (again) that girlfriend kicks some baseball ass. So there is at least one redeeming quality. And she makes Em happy. WHY, Emmett, why? Explain yourself! And none of that "she saved me" crap... :)

Next is Dani's Twilight Music challenge. I was jazzed (oooh, yikes - sorry) about this one from the very first second (two for two!) I saw what she had planned for us! I am one of those people who 'feel' their music (and my books!), so I am always relating songs to something - and since my life is so ungodly suburban, it seems lately to be the excitement of said books! I had Chasing the Dragon chosen before this challenge was ever issued! I actually have this one on my wall - because, hello, BS are MY initials too, Miss Swan... My luck that my initials are BS. My poor son's are PMS. The horror...

I also liked my Team Jacob project:

And we all know on which side of THAT fence I reside... :) Puppy Love, baby! I used my turn as challenge master to push my puppy boy on the amazing Design Team, and they completely and utterly rocked my world with their projects. Every single one was awesome - and it is safe to say that I am the sole Team Jaker on the DT... although we do have a Switzerland or two lurking... I'll claim 'em. It gets lonely in Jacobville. My point is, even the Team Eddies came out swinging. It was awesome!

And, finally, yes, finally - I promise, we celebrated the release of the movie. What a day that was... a 35 year old mom in the theater by herself with a bunch of teenagers. Good times, friends, good times.

So there it is. My TTIC 'memoirs', of sorts. I have enjoyed being on Twilight Tuesday's design team so much - we have grown and touched so many people with our mutual love of books and craft. Through our awesome forum we have made so many connections with other crafty Twihards! I suggest that if you are thinking about trying to play along, but are afraid to show us your goods - just do it! If you scroll back through my projects, you'll find some stinkers that you can't possibly outdo!! And that's a promise! :) Seriously - there is no judging, just fun. Give it a try! I'll be looking for you...

Happy Twilight Tuesday!

PS - Go get Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen... released today! Everyone MUST read her Immortality Bites series. So frickin' fun!! ...and now I will get back to my new book... :)

TTIC #25 ~ Favorites!

This week, the supremely talented Jen issues one of our best challenges yet:

"For this weeks TTIC challenge I wanted to do something a little different. We've been picking very specific themes that showcase the design teams favorite things and having everyone create something based on that. Well this week I thought it might be fun to focus a little more on what our participants like and are drawn to about Twilight. So our focus this week is: Celebrate YOUR Favorites!

• This week for the creativity challenge you are to show us what you love about Twilight. Is it Edward? Or the baseball scene? Emmett's one-liners? Alice's quirky style? The meadow? Or maybe it's a quote. You choose! As part of this challenge to vamp it up a bit I also want you to concentrate on showcasing your favorite medium. Use your favorite technique, supply, material, etc. to help show case your favorites about Twilight. (I know that might be a tall order so 1 out of 2 ain't bad. ) Show us what you LOVE about Twilight.


• Comment Challenge:I would love to hear what Twilight has meant to all of you. It seems that Twilight has affected to many people on so many different levels. I know for me it's given me this great group of women who I love creating with along with so many other wonderful gifts that I never thought would come from just a book. I'd love to hear more about what Twilight has brought into the lives of others. "

I could not agree more, Jen! Onward, Twilighters...

First, I am going to hit on the Comment Challenge. I love this question, and every time I sit to answer it, I answer it a little differently. I assume it is because books and stories affect me differently depending upon the day and situation I find my life in at the time. My base feeling is that this story clearly grabs people for the ideal of teenage love. Whether it is the teenager who yearns for that kind of 'love' or those like us (ok, ME!) who are long removed from the teenage angst and our first crushes and splintered hearts. For me, I was taken back to good old Brunswick High School (the Old one - the dilapidated and crumbling one!) and was firmly entranced by the writing of Bella's emotions. I won't sit here and tell you I agreed with much of Bella's actions and/or choices, but I completely got where she was coming from. She was masterfully written in that respect. (A tad whiny, but that's for another post...) :) More mundane than all that, though, my high school even looked like Forks HS! Plus it rains a lot in Maine too - the weather is very similar. It has been a long time since I have actually sat down and reminisced about these little details of the high school experience, and that's what Twilight did for me.

I will be back with a crafter's challenge very soon - I will not bore you with more tales of technical woes... suffice it to say we are lucky to have our TTIC picture up there! CHECK BACK!

Visit TwilightTuesday for your last chance at winning the March Blog Candy, plus the other fabulous Design Team submissions! Rock On, Twilighters!

Eve - http://thisisbliss838.blogspot.com/

Dani - http://countyourbeautifulblessings.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://deconstructingjen.com/

Julie - http://www.starsfallcreations.com/

Margie - http://ohbumbleismemargie.blogspot.com/

Rebecca - http://bellacarta.typepad.com/

Tonya - http://www.stamphappens.com/

TTIC#24 ~ Carlisle Cullen

Happy Tuesday, Twihards! This week Dani challenged us to create a project that is reminiscent of Dr. Carlisle Cullen.
"Carlisle is an important part of the Twilight saga. In fact there is even a chapter in Twilight named after him. In this chapter we learn about his history as well as how the Cullen family was started.
The Creative Challenge: create something from Carlisle’s history. It can be about anything: his life in London, how he swam to France, when he turned Edward into a Vampire…
The Comment Challenge: Is there something in your family history that you are proud of? Is a relative of yours famous for some reason? Do you work on your family’s tree? Tell us something about your family’s history."

Here's what I came up with: Classy and masculine.... very Carlisle!

This is a Crimped Envelope card and they are my current 'thing'. The sentiment reads: "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." Plus, it helps if you are immortal. :) I think this is how Carlisle strives to live and he clearly does it well. He is a fantastic character and I think he makes a wonderful mentor for Edward. Love Carlisle!


Don’t forget to play our Scavenger Hunt as well! We have some fun prizes to give away!


Also, be sure to check out the rest of the DT’s spectacular creations:
Beth ~ Dani ~ Eve ~ Jen ~ Julie ~ Margie ~ Rebecca ~ Tonya

Back to Buzz-ness... & So You Think You Know Vampires?

Ok, I get a Lame-O Award for that one... but since I'm time-crunched for an appropriate pun-riddled title... it stays, hon. (Ouch - and the hits keep coming...) Sorry for that. Truly. Sincerely.

Anyhoo... I finally, nay, actually took photos of some of my latest projects. Which implies that I remembered to do so BEFORE sending them off... I know! - will wonders never cease?! Now, I can hear Tonya groaning all the way from Texas... YES! I BOUGHT THE DAMN BEE SET! The little ones look like the Anne Geddes babies or those weird Snow Babies... kinda cute. Or maybe I was sleep deprived and imbibing some Bailey's. It's a mystery. ...But I digress! My point, and I did have one on some level, was that they struck me as cute - in a completely NOT-my-normal-kind-of-cute way. Maybe I could draw some fangs in... now that would be cute! Oh SNAP! You know I'm just gonna have to now... rambling streams of consciousness can be very dangerous! Sheesh!! Can you say ADD? My point is my project... talk about taking the scenic route:

PS -if you have never visited my blog before - welcome! But don't expect much for details a la most craft blogs... I'll gleefully supply you my 'recipe' if you ask! Oh yeah - my camera is still having issues, so the picture is crap. Gah!

Now - VAMPIRES! Yippeee! One of my very favorite blogs is The League of Reluctant Adults... just the name alone is freaking awesome! Man, if that doesn't describe me.... In all seriousness, this is a group of wonderful authors, (ok, so I haven't been able to read them all, but I am dilligently working on it - and have yet to be disappointed!) who share themselves through their blogs... it is freakin' fantastic! (Michelle Rowen ROCKS! Definitely check her out. Immortality Bites! 12 days, baby!) I SO love the internet! Back on point... the League (well, Molly Harper of said League) is having a Vampire Trivia Contest this Friday, March 20. Not that you should enter, because I will be winning it... just thought you might like to share in my glorious butt-kicking. :)

Happy Wednesday!

TTIC #23 ~ Happy St Patrick's Day!

O’Cullen style… Happy Twilight Tuesday AND St Patty’s Day, Twilighters!
This week, I had the honor of choosing the obvious challenge… now, come on, you know you wonder what *they* would do in any given situation! Onward, Crafters, to this week’s Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge!
Crafter’s Challenge: Take the spirit of the holiday and create a St Patrick’s Day themed craft. Try to incorporate some Cullen in there - imagine them celebrating! Erin go bragh!
Comment Portion: Think about how the Cullens would celebrate… they are smart vamps - did they come up with an ingenious way to color their “beverage” green? (Um, yuck! ) Attend the Forks Irish Festival (they could have one!) or jet off to Ireland for a quick vacation? -AND- How do YOU celebrate?

Eve - http://thisisbliss838.blogspot.com/

Dani - http://countyourbeautifulblessings.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://deconstructingjen.com/

Julie - http://www.starsfallcreations.com/

Margie - http://ohbumbleismemargie.blogspot.com/

Rebecca - http://bellacarta.typepad.com/