Words, Words, Words Winner and Top 3

Hello everyone... Alison here, reeling from the task of selecting the winner and top 3 from all your amazing entries to the Words, Words, Words challenge last month!  It was wonderful to see so many of you really putting the words at the centre of your creations.  Thank you all so much.

Believe me, I had a LONG shortlist, but I had to whittle it down, so here they are... and I promise you every single one is worth visiting for a closer look - just click on the links.

Our August Words, Words, Words challenge winner is - 

No.153 Manu - Vintagesavonette

Manu's amazing altered box is simply beautiful - and I particularly loved that all the objects and decorative features were so clearly inspired by the words of the poem (also lovely), even down to the delicate yellows of the colour palette.  Just a wonderful creation, inside and out.

Thank you so much, Manu, and congratulations on being our winner this month.  

We can't wait to see what you come up with for your Top Talent feature, 

and look forward to getting to know you better then.

So, now for the top 3, and this is in no particular order...

No.80 Joycekers - Scraps of Elegance

This trio of ATCs is stunning - so beautifully composed and full of dimension and texture, but my imagination was immediately captured by the words.  They make me want to know the full story behind such bitter-sweet thoughts.  Raw and beautiful.

No. 118 valerie-Jael - Bastelmania

A fantastic trio of canvases, with such depth in the layers of colour, and those dramatic silhouettes.  But the real texture and depth of meaning for me comes from those fragments of actual 1940s airmail letters - preserving the words of the past in these works of art.

No. 147 Susan Janicula - klistersøster

There's just something so delightfully simple and fresh about this journal page.  I love the two different kinds of text in the background - the script sky and newsprint landscape - and the handwritten quote framing the whole piece is absolutely wonderful.

So there you have it... an eclectic collection, but all with words at the heart.  Congratulations to all our winners!  Please feel free to grab your respective badges from our sidebar.  

And thank you again to all those who took part - I could have had a list of Honourable Mentions as long as my arm.  

I hope you'll be able to come along and play in this month's Forgotten Things challenge, hosted by the lovely Anne.  You'll find the challenge details and rules here, along with some stunning inspiration from my team-mates, and I'll be back with the rest of the team on the 15th of the month to give you another nudge.  And don't forget there'll be another Top Talent revealing all on the 22nd too!

Forgotten Things

Hello everyone, Anne here to welcome you to our brand new challenge at Our Creative Corner  for September.  I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who entered Alison's Words challenge last month, we had some fabulous entries.  Alison will be back on 8th October with the winners's post so please be sure to pop back on that day.

The challenge for September is Forgotten Things. As crafters we tend to have so much in our stash that some things inevitably get forgotten.  You know how it is, you buy that 'must have' item and then you put it away in a safe place...... and it gets forgotten.  Or there might be a technique that you used to love, but have not used or even thought about for ages. So, whether you are re-discovering a forgotten item, or technique, we would love to see your creation.   Please remember to make it very clear in your entry what the 'forgotten' element is.

Just to whet your appetite and to inspire you, here are some fantastic creations from my team-mates.  I will be back with some more inspiration on the 15th so please check back to have a look.

Julia

I bought this little tin well over a year ago during one of my Charity Shop trawls. The little mulberry paper flowers seem to have been with me forever because I prefer to make my own these days. After lots of thought (and struggling with an empty brain!), I decided to combine these three unloved items and finally make a tiny bit more space in my room! If you want to see what's inside, please do hop over to my blog and have a look.

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Laura

       I wasn't sure what I could use here because I seem to use everything all the time!...then at the bottom of a drawer I found some pale pink glittery Fimo - bought way back in 2003 and was still unopened. Time for it to come out and play. Oh, and I couldn't resist bringing back my favourite cream roses which I haven't used for about three months - Shocking!!!

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         Margie

This tiny book was made from instructions I first downloaded in 2007 and I just came across them recently so was delighted to be able to recreate it again for this challenge, together with the box to hold it.  If you fancy tackling something really small, pop over to my blog to find out how I made it and see some more pics.  See you there!

                
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                                                                               Jenny

I haven't used Tim's 'Riveted Patchwork' technique in ages but it fitted perfectly for a background to this altered heart tag. Can you guess who it is for? Utterly grungy (as are my fingers now) I was so pleased to be able to use an idea from the talented Trace Metcalfe here too. You can see some much needed close ups over at my blog and find out how Trace inspired me.

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Bring your creations to Our Creative Corner and you could be our WINNER!

(Please check out the rules at the end of this post to make sure your entry can be accepted).

Challenge Winners

The winner and Top 3 from this challenge will be announced on the 8th October.

The winner will be invited to appear as 'The Top Talent' here at OCC, have a short interview so we can find out all about them and there will be a 'Spotlight' on a new project they have created. This will take place on November 22nd.

We have a page on this blog called 'Winner's Corner'.  The winner's name will be featured on this.

For entrants who have won our challenges and been featured as 'Top Talent' three times there will be a very special 'Gold Winner' badge for you to display proudly on your blog - now there's a challenge for you.

Of course, there's only one way to collect your badges and have your name placed in 'Winner's Corner' for all to see - let's see your entries!

Remember, Alison will be back on the September 8th to announce the winner of the 'Words, Words, Words' challenge, and on September 15th the rest of the Design Team will showcase their creations for this month's challenge.

And now for THE RULES:

1. You may enter this challenge a maximum of THREE TIMES - they must be different creations and posted on your blog separately.

2. If you post any more than three entries they will sadly have to be deleted.

3. NO back-linking. Please do not enter a creation that was published on your blog before the start of our challenge.

4. Please link to your actual post, not just your blog. If you just link to your blog the team will not be able to find your entry and leave any comments.

5. Please include a link to our challenge in your blog post.

6. You may combine our challenge with as many other challenges as you wish.

7. If you want the team to comment on your entry then you have to link to a site that does not require us to sign in/become a member.

This challenge is open until 11:55 pm Saturday, September 28th.

Thanks for visiting.  Can't wait to see what Forgotten Things you come up with!

'Recipe' Top Talent

     Welcome back to another Top Talent spotlight at Our Creative Corner!

   This time we are shining the spotlight on the winner from the 'Recipe' Challenge hosted by Jenny (Buttons)...The Our Creative Corner team are so happy to be  welcoming Kasia from Papierowy Wymiar. 
 

     And today you are in for a treat.....Kasia has made not just one item - She made two gorgeous mini albums to be in the spotlight today for you to see......but before we show you those wonderful creations - let's all find out a little bit more about this very talented lady.....

    

1.) Where do you live?
I live in northern Poland, near the Baltic Sea.

2.) What do you enjoy most about crafts? 
I really enjoy  creating albums and layouts  ( my son is my greatest inspiration :))  I wanted to keep memories for my family and this is the reason why I started scrapbooking. Also, self-made gifts are the most precious. I love making (and receiving naturally ;)) the little self-made things.

3.) What is the one creative item you couldn't do without?  
 It's cardboard  :)  I never throw cardboard boxes away so I always have basis for albums or others projects. In general, I like using recyclable materials in my creations, many items found around the home can be used for projects.

4.) Are you a day-time or night-time crafter?  
 I would rather scrap in the morning but I should say, I am free-time crafter ;)

5.) What is the most satisfying/exciting..... the designing or the end result?
Hmmm...  to be honest, I don't know ;)   Generally, when I have an idea for some creation, I sit and make it. I don't like working on something for long (except crochet ;)).  The most my  projects were made in about few hours.  The end result is of course important, however, the whole fun consisted in creating. I need to admit that I really love challenge. Why?  I made my best project (i.e. those which I like most ;)) when I had to use enforced elements or colors in my creation. 

6.) What other hobbies or talents do you have that you'd like to share with us?
I love reading ... I can read all the time and everywhere.  And I am old-fashioned about it, I don't like e-book reader. I really like the smell and feel of books ;)  What else? I love surrounding with green. My husband always says that we live at the jungle (and the library ;)) but I think he overdoes ;) My first and biggest love  was cacti and succulent plants and still is. I am collecting them. I also love some old stuff (read 'junks' ;)). My big love is old chairs. Unfortunately, our apartment is too small for many of them.

7.) Any inspirational words you can share with us?
What can I say? You all make so amazing creations! If I may say a few words: inspiration is all around you. You don't need cool papers to make beautiful project. Take a look around, take cardboard or old envelope, some paint, few buttons, old fabric and just scrap :)



        And now lets take a peek at Kasia's stunning albums in the spotlight.........


                       

        Thank you so much Kasia for being here today in the Top Talent Spotlight and creating such beautiful albums for us......

    Please go along to Kasia's blog and say "Hello"....Take a look at how she made her 'Spotlight' album ....along with all her other brilliant creations - I am sure she would love to see you there! -  Papierowy Wymiar.

      

                  
     Would you like everyone to see your work here under the 'Our Creative Corner' Spotlight? You could be here as a future 'Top Talent' with the spotlight shining on something you have created! All you have to do is enter Alison's  Words, Words, Words challenge.  There is one more week of her challenge left, so why not have fun creating! Make anything you like - containing text of some kind, typed or script, handwritten or printed but remember that the words/text must take centre stage....
         

      We all hope you will come back to see us on the 1st September when Anne will be presenting her challenge for all of you.... See you then!

Words, Words, Words Part 2

Hello all, Alison (butterfly) here with the projects from the rest of the Design Team to inspire you to play along with our Words, Words, Words challenge this month.

Just a reminder of what we're after:
We would love to see projects with words at the heart of them - whether that means your creation includes a quote, a sentiment, a song lyric, or some words from inside your own heart and mind; or perhaps the project includes text of some kind, typed or script, handwritten or printed, as a major element; or maybe you can find some other way to have words at the centre of your creation.
And I really am looking for creations where the words/text take centre stage...

So without more ado, here's some more inspiration for you:

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Alison

Since I said I was looking for Words to be at the centre of the projects, that's exactly what I've gone for - a simple tag putting one of my favourite sentiment stamps centre-stage!

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Anne

I was totally inspired by Margie's incredible altered book.  This Elizabeth Bennet stamp has been in my stash for ages and when the Craft Stamper freebie this month was a mini version, I just had to use it along with a page from the beautiful novel, Pride and Prejudice.  Details of the 'how to' can be found on my blog.

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 Linda

I always feel that the message is the heart of the art and I really went for it here.  I used this strong feminine quote from Audrey Hepburn (from the Artistic Outpost Quote and Quotables set).  I had the perfect pink to accompany the quote with designer papers with my new Maja Design Sofiero collection and ended up with a card that's as sweet as sugar.

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Don't forget you have until the 28th August to enter, and you can link up and check out all the rules here.  So come and play along with our Words, Words, Words challenge, and you could be our next Top Talent here at Our Creative Corner!

Captured Memories Winner and Top 3

    Hello friends of Our Creative Corner.  Thanks so much for dropping by today to see who we have chosen for the winners of our July challenge Captured Memories.  We had 51 sensational entries into our challenge, each and every one special in its own way.  We were so inspired by your work and we do thank you most sincerely for playing along with our challenge!

It's always a challenge for us to pick a winner, visiting blogs numerous times in an effort to narrow down the field of favorites.  Having gone through that process with the July entries, we have now come up with our overall winner and top three favorites.

Our July Captured Memories challenge winner is -

No. 36 - Susan Janicula - Klistersoster

Susan's entry is an altered book.  I really love how she treated the cover and what a wonderful photograph she used on it.  Such beautiful vintage hues and fabulous texture!

  Just look at the memories she has captured inside. Such a sweet little basket and picket fence. And the back cover is equally as wonderful. Great work, Susan, and a huge congratulations on being our July winner.  We will look forward to getting to know you better in an upcoming Top Talent feature post.

Top 3 (in no particular order): 

No. 6 Rita - RMG Creations

Rita created a chunky ATC just loaded with seaside goodies reminiscent of her childhood visits to the sea.  How wonderful that she included a photo of her brother as a child.  What an awesome way to capture and display such fond memories!

No. 32 Julie Ann Lee - Magpieheaven

  I just loved the shabby chic style beauty of this card that Julie Ann created as a 45th anniversary card.  Such beautiful colors and laces and wonderful vintage photographs on the outside and when you peek inside it's personalized with a photo of the anniversary couple.  I can just imagine the delight with which this card was received.  

No. 35 Yvonne Garner - Journey into Artistry

Yvonne has created a wonderful vintage style card with a lovely stamped, stenciled and tinted background.  I love that sweet vintage photograph she has included and the charming seaside theme of the card.  The tiny bottle of sand is such a fun embellishment!

Congratulations to all of our July winners.  Please feel free to grab your respective badge from our sidebar to display on your blog.  

And another huge thank you to all who joined in our challenge.  We are so grateful for your participation!  Don't forget, we have our August Words, Words, Words challenge running through August 28th.  We hope you will play along with us again this month.  And don't forget to stop by on August 15th to get your second dose of inspiration for this challenge as the other half of our team will post their samples on that date. 

   

 

Words, Words, Words

Hello everyone, it's Alison (butterfly) here, with the August Challenge Theme.  And I don't suppose it's much surprise to anyone that my challenge to you is to focus on Words, Words, Words!

We would love to see projects with words at the heart of them - whether that means your creation includes a quote, a sentiment, a song lyric, or some words from inside your own heart and mind; or perhaps the project includes text of some kind, typed or script, handwritten or printed, as a major element; or maybe you can find some other way to have words at the centre of your creation.

So, without more ado, here are the amazing inspirational works from my team-mates to kick you off, and I'll be back with the rest of the team on the 15th to give you a further nudge.

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Claudia 

Alison's "Words" challenge was the perfect occasion for me to create a board that is both: a memory of a wonderful holiday on Paradise Island in the Caribbean AND a tribute to one of my favourite songs: "The Sea" from Morcheeba. I quoted the refrain and I love that I felt exactly that way: free and with my soul opened wide. The corals and shells on the project are from my long morning walks on the (empty) beach - just me and the sea.

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Laura

I love adding words to art...so I went for everything on this creation - stencils, quote stamps and script stamps. This started out as just a bit of playing with wrinkle free distress and turned into the project for this challenge and it was so much fun!

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                                                                     Margie

Ahh, the challenge is WORDS - the perfect opportunity for me to try out an altered book project turning this plain, unloved book from the charity shop

into this rather more lovely Jane Austen art work!

You know you want to find out how to do it, so hop on over to my blog for all the details.  See you there.

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                                                                     Jenny

This wasn't the plan!! How many times does the thing in your head end up 'on the cutting room floor'?! But in its place came a flash of inspiration, ideas from those I admire and a middle son who plans to be an author. Of course a card for him had to involve words and some of the tools needed to write them.

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Bring your creations to Our Creative Corner and you could be our WINNER!
(Please check out the rules at the end of this post to make sure your entry can be accepted).

Challenge Winners

The winner and Top 3 from this challenge will be announced on the 8th September.

The winner will be invited to appear as 'The Top Talent' here at OCC, have a short interview so we can find out all about them and there will be a 'Spotlight' on a new project they have created. This will take place on October 22nd.

We have a page on this blog called 'Winner's Corner'.  The winner's name will be featured on this.

For entrants who have won our challenges and been featured as 'Top Talent' three times there will be a very special 'Gold Winner' badge for you to display proudly on your blog - now there's a challenge for you.

Of course, there's only one way to collect your badges and have your name placed in 'Winner's Corner' for all to see - let's see your entries!

Remember, Linda will be back on the August 8th to announce the winner of the 'Captured Memories' challenge, and on August 15th the rest of the Design Team will showcase their creations for this month's challenge.

And now for THE RULES:

1. You may enter this challenge a maximum of THREE TIMES - they must be different creations and posted on your blog separately.

2. If you post any more than three entries they will sadly have to be deleted.

3. NO back-linking. Please do not enter a creation that was published on your blog before the start of our challenge.

4. Please link to your actual post, not just your blog. If you just link to your blog the team will not be able to find your entry and leave any comments.

5. Please include a link to our challenge in your blog post.

6. You may combine our challenge with as many other challenges as you wish.

7. If you want the team to comment on your entry then you have to link to a site that does not require us to sign in/become a member.

This challenge is open until 11:55 pm Wednesday, August 28th.

Thanks for visiting.  Can't wait to see what Words, Words, Words you come up with!