The Holiday Trifecta from the Dollies!

okay, folks! everyone is frantic trying to get their last-minute holiday stuff taken care of, and we know you're short on time, so today we are throwing ALL of this week's challenges at you to play as you like between now and SUNDAY, JANUARY 3rd. so not only do you have two full weeks to do any or all of these challenges, but we've got a bit of trifecta inspiration for you, too! you still have until midnight TONIGHT to do last week's Elements Challenge, and until midnight on WEDNESDAY to submit your project for last week's Sketch Challenge...

everything will kick off again on JANUARY 4th, when our brand new Design Dollies and our first Guest Dollie will be joining us. it's going to be a happy new year celebration, indeed!

okay... so without further ado, here is your final COLORS CHALLENGE for 2009:

KRAFT, LIGHT BLUE, ORANGE (these must be the most PROMINENT colors in your project)

and here's what our Kristy-Dollie did with them:

how CUTE is her hand-drawn dino?! she is such a creative little genius!

and your next ELEMENTS CHALLENGE - to use BUTTONS! lots and lots of buttons - a minimum of NINE...

another example from our fabulous Kristy:

and a sneak peak of what's in store from our brand new Dollie, Ellen, who simply could not RESIST playing along with this one:

(this one has a total of 15 buttons)

and....

47 buttons on this baby!! i'd say she's a bit of an embellie fiend, no? :) we can't wait to see what else she's working on, and we KNOW you're all going to love her funky style!

and the last ingredient for the trifecta, if you choose to attack it, is the new SKETCH CHALLENGE:

feel free to rotate or flip to fit your project, but we must see the elements of the sketch!

here's Kristy's yummo page:

love that sweet woodgrain with the green ball trim! too scrumptious!

and i decided to try my hand at the trifecta (a Design Dollies first!) - i thought these three challenges worked FABULOUSLY together - whatcha think?

Leah the Orange:

i'm TOTALLY digging my Unity stamps - they are SO versatile and fun!

so there you have it, friends! we'd love to see what you can do with these challenges, and you have up until January 3 at MIDNIGHT est to submit your projects... you only need to link up ONCE on Mr. Linky, but please leave a comment stating which challenges you've incorporated into your project and we'll give you the right amount of entries. the December challenges wrap up with these challenges, so we hope you'll be able to squeeze in some craftin' fun during the holidays! :) remember that your project MUST be brand new for the Dollies' challenges, and you must link back to us on your blog. please also be sure to link to the blog POST, rather than just to your blog, so it makes it easier to find the project. thanks, folks!

the Design Dollies wish you and yours a very happy holiday season, and a FABULOUS new year! we'll see you all in 2010!

Drawn to the Depths

OMGosh! Just over a week till Christmas! Can you believe that! PFFT! Another year about gone! Look back on Monday for our fun "Holiday Party!" you won't believe the fun! But for this week I've got a sketch for ya that is up for tons of interpretation! It's proven itself, by our DT to go in alot of different directions. Take a look for yourself...

Do you see flowers? Or Chipboard? Maybe buttons? or Patterned Paper? I'm so GIDDY to see what your imagination creates! Here's what climbed out of the depths from our Dollies...

Adina


(DROOL! Look at that Rock Candy! Perfect with the Eskimos!)

Leah

(I think we've turned Leah to the dark side! Look at all that shimmer too! YUMMO!)

Kristy

(ok... My daughter looks entirely too big! *sniff sniff* )

See what I mean? You could take this sketch in a ton of directions!!! This of course is the last ingredient for this weeks Trifecta as well! If you wanna get in on THAT game, definitely a challenge this week, you have until Sunday @ Midnight EST, the sketchy goodness of it all is up for grabs till Dec 23 @ Midnight EST. I hope you guys dig it, pass it, and have a Happy Holidays!!!

LINK US UP BABY!

CHEERS to you!!! :)

Ever have one of THOSE days when all you want is to get home, crawl under the covers, and snuggle up with a glass of your favorite red wine to watch a chick flick?? Ironically, today is one of those days... I was stopped not once, but twice by overzealous police officers on the rampage for shopping mammas, and in addition to scoring two brandy new tickets, the last officer ran my info and said that I have a suspended license... I raced home (at the speed limit!) to pay off my outstanding tickets and didn't find a suspension notice... yet. But he mentioned an old parking ticket I got way back in May, and I honestly think he may have been telling the truth, lol. I did forget to clear that one up, and when I check my record it looks like that one is no longer there (although the other two showed up right away!!). SO, tomorrow there may be more parking ticket drama...

What I would do for a glass of Tomasello's Blueberry Pomegranate wine right about now!! :) (Leah, take me away!!). :) Unfortunately, it'll be, oh, another 20 months or so until I can settle THAT urge! :)

LONG monologue over... But tell me, what's YOUR favorite drink of choice?? In a newly created project, show us your favorite beverage, hot or cold, that takes away YOUR nervous energies! :) Here's what the DT has come up with so far...

Leah (Ah, yes, poppin' the bubbly sounds about right...)

Adina

(There I go again, dreaming of that Blueberry Pomengranate stuff... it's amazing!)

Kristy

(LOL, somehow, this is the only one on our list I CAN indulge in... hmm....)

Ok, down to business. All entries must be newly created for the purpose of this challenge and submissions must be uploaded to Mr. Linky by no later than Midnight on Monday, December 21st. The primary focus of the piece must be of a beverage of sorts... and if you have a story behind that beverage, even better! Eligible entrants will be placed in a drawing for this fabuloso prize:

So get scrap happy ladies and jump start that mojo...

Design Dollies new Color Challenge, and yummy prize!

good morning, bloggers! hope you've all had a scraptastic weekend! i, personally, was super productive, despite some kinks in our schedule, and am SO pleased that you're joining us again today!

so the trifecta from last week has closed, but today we bring you the first of the three ingredients for this week... now, for THIS prize:



you'll have to play along with this, or any of the colour challenges for december. last week's all white entries were FANTASTIC! thank you all for playing along!

if you're looking for something OTHER than the christmas challenges this week, you've come to the right place! today, i'm going MARDI GRAS, and brightening things up a bit.

your colours:

bright ones! green, yellow and purple. your project must feature all three colours, PREDOMINANTLY. (one of each flower won't cut it, know what i mean?)

and how about these projects, from your favourite Dollies, for inspiration?

Kristy:

(i LURRRRRVE that little elephant, and that yummy trim!)

Adina:

(HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! what a FABULOUS stamp/sentiment! LOVE this card!)

and, believe it or not, this CARD MAKER has done a LAYOUT - my first for the Dollies! here's my thing
Leah the Orange:

so how ya like DEM apples? :)

care to play along? we'd love to have ya! add your project to Mr. Linky no later than MIDNIGHT (EST) on Sunday, December 20, for your chance to win the above prize. be sure to link to the PROJECT, not just to your blog, and please link back to Design Dollies in your post. have fun!

P.S. - we have a surprise for you next monday, so stay tuned!

The Thursday Trifecta ingredient (new Sketch Challenge from the Dollies!)

Well Dollies! I hope everyone is enjoyin' all the festivities that not just we are having but what the season is bringing! It's a hectic pace in December but I hope you can take a lil' time for yourself (b/c we ALL need ME time!) and get crafty with us! I've got a new sketch for ya to get ya in the spirit and it seems that the Dollies were inspired by the season (or in my case it's at least a holiday LOL) too.


And here are the examples of holiday spirit...

Adina

Leah

Kristy

And I am apparently still dreaming of summers past LOL! Well there ya are, Dollies! I can't wait to see what your creative minds can come up with for this one! This is also the last piece to the Trifecta puzzle, so for you ambitious sorts you can TOTALLY hook that up by combining all three of this week's challenges! I'd love to see you give it a try! Submissions for this sketch challenge are due by Wednesday, December 16th at midnight EST, and if you go all super-creative then the Trifecta is due by Sunday, December 13th at Midnight EST. Please give us a shout out, and LINK IT UP BABY!

and the gang's all here! HELLOOOO Guest Design Dollies!

Now that we've introduced you to the very first Design Dollies Design Team, it's time to tell you about our fabulous lineup of Guest Design Dollies for the first quarter of 2010. We are very excited that these girls seem so pleased to be featured guests, (and, hence, honorary Dollies!), and we're still reeling from all the kind words people have given us during the selection process.

Thank you all, SO, SO much, for being such a GREAT audience, and our ears are ALWAYS open, should you have any suggestions or complaints or what have you. We're nothing if not for our fabulous followers!

Now, on with the show!

Our very first Guest Design Dollie, for the month of January, is the lovely
Karen B, of Being Karen. She's been playing along with our challenges from the getgo, and she's totally mastered the art of design based on the Dollies' sketches, that's for sure!

Check out these examples of Karen's brill work:



She takes a simple sketch, adds all this gorgeous texture, puts these perfect colour combinations together, and brings the photos to life. She rocks behind the lens, too!

And woodja get a load of the RUFFLES on this project?!

From the perfectly shabby distressing, to that little half-circle punch detail in the top left corner (love that!), to that INSANELY beautiful pearly ruffle... She's got it all down to a fine art.

Karen will join us for several of the January challenges, and we can't wait to see what fancy schmancy things she'll do with our little ideas. :) Stop by Karen's blog to say hello and feast your eyes on the rest of her artistry!

In February, we have another very talented friend who made quite an impression with her altered art... She's
Sarah Latham, of Sweet Treats of Sarah Lou, and we're sure you'll agree that her creations are, well, CREATIVE, as well as stunning.

For example:



Um... yeah. WOW. What else can I possibly say about that?!

And this:



I just love that her cluster below the photo is of MORE PHOTOS! Absolutely lovely, don't you agree? Visit her blog for more examples of why we HAD to invite her to be a Guest Design Dollie. :) Sarah will be playing along with some of our February challenges, so be sure to watch for her (and check out her blog in the meantime for loads of inspiration).

And last, but not least, our March Guest Design Dollie - here's another one who plays with us regularly, and wows us continually with her interpretations of our challenges.
Meet Katharine McCulloch, from Kate's Korner. She is fun and sassy, and we know she's going to show us some things that make us go "WHOA"!

Here's part of the reason why we dig Kate so very much:



HEE HEE! It bears a striking resemblance to my very own craft space (right down to the random sightings of ball trim - yum!), and I can respect a girl who gets messy!

No, but honestly, she does beautiful things, from the classy and traditional (while not being afraid to play with a splash of unexpected colour)...



...to the sassy and whimsical!



We love Kate's work, and we're quite sure you will, too! If you don't want to wait until March to see what she's up to, hopefully she'll still be playing along with us, and you can drop by Kate's blog, to stalk her (in a good way!). You'll be glad you did!

So there you have it, folks! Three amazingly talented ladies over whose projects you are welcome to gawk, fawn and drool. ;)



I am also very pleased to let you know that there will be some new SPONSORS for the Design Dollies challenges soon! We'll introduce you to them once we've ironed out the details, and we're very excited about these sweet offers! We're hoping to line up some other sponsors for the new year, so let us know if you're interested, and we'll do lunch! ;)

(And come back tomorrow when the third ingredient for this week's triple threat trifecta challenge is revealed!)

Give a warm welcome to our NEW DOLLIES!

WOW, folks, the response to our Design Team call was overwhelming for your Founding Dollies. We figured we'd start by saying we were looking for a couple of fun people, hoping that we might get a COUPLE of applicants (and we crossed our fingers and toes that they'd be crafty, enthusiastic people with PERSONALITY!). Well we had a TON of applicants, and we thank you ALL for your interest! Getting into this blog challenge thing was brand new to us, and all we wanted to do was share stuff and inspire and see what others would think of our ideas.

And NOW, we're all feeling rather awestruck, because we're nearing 100 followers (in just two short months!), and the Design Dollies name is popping up around the blogosphere more and more, and we are just thrilled that the response has been so much more than we ever could have imagined.

Anyway, here's me, getting all warm and fuzzy because it seems that you really do like us! So we can't wait to show you the excitement around the corner! First, we decided on THREE new Dollies to join us for the first three month term. But in addition to that, we ALSO selected a Guest Design Dollie for each of those months. And we were tickled pink that they ALL said yes!

We are very pleased to announce the new Design Dollies line-up, debuting January 4th, 2010....

Nicole Terry (of Pink Nickels)

Ellen Ogata (of Scrapbookland)

Heidi Myers (of ARTiQL8 - Not Busy Enuf)

WELCOME, LADIES! We are so pleased to call you Design Dollies! And folks, we're SURE you're going to be amazed by all the brilliant work (can we call it work if we love it so much?) these new Dollies will be sharing.

For example...
Heidi's layout, featuring a VINYL RECORD embellie she made herself (grooves and all)... (and OH, I spent many high school evenings cutting rugs to that very song!)


and a couple of her other handmade embellies, fashioned from bubble wrap, duct tape, and dryer sheets (used, i'm sure):


I firmly believe that she could make something out of the chicken bones from tonight's dinner, had I saved them.


Then we have some funky, fresh elements from Ellen, who impressed the socks off us with THIS stunner of an "altered" item:


Now THAT is what I call a shadow box! And check out some of the embellies she likes to use (we love this cutesy approach, and her attention to detail):


This girl has such a unique flair, and we can't wait to see what she'll do with our challenges. We're SURE they're going to inspire you (and us, too!).

And Nicole, who has been showing the Dollies love for a long time (long before the blog's inception)... She does things with black and bright colours that just make her photos go POP! Check this out!


She's also an environmentally friendly kinda gal, who does things with leftovers that will wow you! For example:


Have you ever used the entire sheet of negatives from your alpha stickers or chipboard and created a background for your layout? How about plain ol' masking tape as a base for your title/journalling? Didn't think so! :)

We'll be back to share the dirt on our fabulous Guest Design Dollies tomorrow (er, later today!)... For now, please give a happy hello to our new blood, and visit their blogs to see WHY we think they're going to be such a great fit for Design Dollies!

It's wonderful to have you on board, Dollies! :)
And folks, don't forget to play along with this week's challenge, and be on the lookout for little additions and improvements to our blog over the next few weeks!

16 Shopping Days LEFT!! :)

And I've been out and about getting my initial shopping done... Are YOU done with your Christmas/Holiday shopping yet? Instead of hitting the malls for much needed under the tree stuff, I did hit my favorite Scrappy store (Scrap A Doodle Doo, check them OUT!!) to get some of the yummy goodies below to make up this month's Elements prize...

AND in order to qualify for this prize pack, all you have to do is think... SHOPPING. :) This week's elements challenge is to incorporate SHOPPING as your main theme. Here's what the Dollies have come up with in the spirit of all things retail...

Kristy

(And um, yeah, that stamp... totally a Kristy Dalman ORIGINAL!!!!! Check HER out!!) :)

Leah
Adina

And there you have it. So after you run out to the stores to pile your gifties under the tree, take some time to yourself and think about that favored pasttime... And get SCRAPPY! :)

All entries must be submitted via Mr. Linky no later than Midnight, Monday December 14 to qualify for this week's submissions, and MUST have a predominant shopping theme...