Page 40: A Studio L3 Compendium challenge

Wow! I love this week's Studio L3 Compendium challenge!

First, we have our sweetest-ever Linda who is giving us Two Weeks for the challenges through the Winter Solstice Celebration (aka: Christmas for folks who celebrate with a tree, but not the birth ... or who celebrate with nothing more than ruddy cheeks and jolly smiles).

Then we have this super cool Compendium of Curiosities Double distress technique from page 40 of the Compendium, which incorporates one of my favorite things: Embossing!

Really the only way you wouldn't know that about me is if you've never, not ever been here at Not a Moment to Spare, or at Drunken Stampers, or anywhere at all that I've ever been.

Embossing, whether pressed or heated, is the most stupendous way to upgrade recipients' reactions. What would have garnered an "Oh, that's neat," becomes "Holy crap! You made that? Cool!"

Of course I don't know that's what will happen. It's only how I imagine the exchange. Because embossing is way cool. And so is Tim Holtz. And most of all our Linda is the coolest!

Can you imagine such a person in fantasy or reality? She works her rear end silly keeping the Compendium challenges fun and surprising and fair and inspiring and perfect ... and she thanks us, her readers, for doing so much for her.

Yeah. Pretty much the modern world's version of Athena.

Do your own part to celebrate our favorite real-life goddess by putting together a piece of art using Tim's double distress technique, then share it with Linda and her followers before 8 p.m. Mountain on Dec. 5.

No stamping: A Drunken Stampers Challenge

Everyone at Drunken Stampers did so well last week with their stitching!

Of course, we knew you'd love that one! This week we're giving you a challenge that might make your brow furrow at first, but we're sure you'll love it in the end.

No stamping!

Oh yes, you read that correctly. This week's Drunken Stampers challenge is to create your card or scrapbook page or altered art without a single stamp!

My first reaction to this challenge was more or less "No problem." After all, I'm far more knowledgeable in nearly every other craft technique. Stamping as a regular addition to my creations has been somewhat limited, and even then was usually as an accent or appeared as the single image used for a one-time-only project.

Unfortunately my second reaction, shortly after starting to work on this piece, was "oh fuh-dge" (but like in Christmas Story, so not fudge so much as that other one).

Which brings me to this seemingly unrelated story: I try to shut down my computer once a week and live e-free for a day. Otherwise I begin to feel as if I'm stuck here in a rolling chair with my fingertips constantly ticking at the keyboard. I being to feel that there is no way to tell my parents how great they are without e-mail. No time for new projects because blogs and e-mails and random news must be read. No way to do anything at all without the reassuring hum of a electricity bringing the world to my desk top.

This week I realized that perhaps occasionally I should also go technique-free: Shun the stamps and reach for the Cricut or close the Cricut and dig out the stencils.

Because it turned out to be quite a trial trying to get through one silly little card without the use of a stamp of any kind (and especially without the use of any inks for edge highlighting, but that aspect was self-imposed, not challenge imposed).

Obviously what happened here is that I leaned heavily on the Cricut. It's a fun little card, isn't it? Very happy and silly, which is perfect for my niece. OK, perhaps a bit juvenile for my 7-year-old niece who is probably a lot cooler than me, but I'm her aunt so she's stuck saying nice things about this dorky stuff.

Ah, and the second one, the ladybug, is for my second niece. Who also is cooler than me.

I know you'll create something much hipper than my little cards, so let's see it! Craft the day away, then meet us at Drunken Stampers before midnight Nov. 26!

And don't forget to schedule your own technique-shunning days!

Alcohol ink splatter: A Studio L3 Compendium challenge

My card for this week's Studio L3 Compendium challenge (page 52, Alcohol ink splatter), makes me happy for so many reasons, not the least of which is that it's among those rare creations that comes very close to my original intention.

The crazy background flows hither and yon with splotches of bright white shining through. It looks to me a lot like stained glass or those faux stained glass made with tissue paper.

My Guy said it reminds him of banners, and I can absolutely see his vision: Two jousters, faces hidden by elaborate helmets, waiting for a fair maiden's handkerchief to drop while the beats of a dragon's wings cause flags and banners and skirts to flutter ... suddenly, the drumming of horse's hooves ...

You can see the banners, can't you? I knew you could, you incredibly creative and intuitive people.

Another thing that makes me happy about this piece is that the dragon stamp was one of those *forehead smack* I Have The Power! moments. It all comes down to this: If you own a Cricut, buy some of the Cricut stamp material.

My dragon stamp is cut from the Cricut Pagoda cartridge! No being forced to use something I don't want to use ... I'll just make the stamp I want! Yay!

OK, so the other supremely cool thing, in my opinion, is the quote stamp "It is not recommended to leave children and hungry dragons alone. -Dragonology"

This stamp is from Firecracker Design by Pamela. Unfortunately, Firecracker is holding a fire sale with better-than-Black-Friday prices because they're going out of business. Fortunately, they still have a few of their awesome and well-made products (including this dragon quote).

Gosh, how am I going to sleep tonight with all of this excitement? I don't know.

But you shouldn't worry about that: You don't have time to sleep because there's only five days until the end of the week's Studio L3 Compendium Challenge!