We are Neet and Wendy and we would like to welcome you to our fortnightly challenge, ‘Artful Times’, where we are offering a variety of challenges to inspire you to create in whichever style or medium of crafting you enjoy. You never know, we might even inspire you to create something out of your comfort zone and try out something new.

Yes like all challenge sites we have rules and guidelines. We hope you will read and follow them, we have Oyster Stamps as our sponsor, and of course, a winner and runner up will be chosen each month. We may also have the occasional guest designer.



Friday 13 February 2015

Challenge 74 Romance

Here we are, back at the time of the year when the shops are decked out in red and hearts abound everywhere.  Yes, folks, Valentine's Day is upon us - well tomorrow it is.  Will a secret admirer be sending you a Valentine card, will the love of your life be giving you chocolates, roses or maybe even a diamond!

Did you know that the day we call Valentine's Day is named after a Christian Martyr and dates back to the 5th Century.  Or so they say.  If you want to read more about it go here and read about it, or here where you can find out lots more and see some video presentations.

In the meantime why not join in and show us something you have made that is romantic - it needn't be a Valentine card, it could be an engagement card or a wedding card or simply an "I Love You" token.

Now I promised you some exciting news last week and here it is - we have our first Guest Designer here with us for this month.  Please give a lovely warm welcome to Chris Smith  who has been one of our faithful followers for quite some time now.

"Hello, my name is Christine and I started cardmaking just over eight years ago when I had to leave work due to illness.  My daughter actually got me into it and I love it!  I love stamping and getting inky and also trying new techniques.  I am so thrilled to be guest designer for Artful Times, this is the first of two challenges I will be GD for.  Thank you so much Neet and Wendy for letting me be a temporary member of your fab team!"


Here is the card which Chris has designed especially for you for this challenge. I just love the bright colours she has used which makes a real change from the usual reds, blacks and pinks that we so often see.



Unlike Chris I (Neet) just stuck to black and red for my Valentine gift which is a pencil box for my man.  Thought he could display it on his desk and use it for his pencils and things - probably upside down so nobody sees the mushy cover LOL.


Wendy used a heart shaped perspex box, and covered it with "mushy stuff" and lovely visions of Paris, the City of Romance.


Hoping that we get some lovely entries for this challenge as we are still running thin on the ground and both we and Oyster Stamps would love to offer a prize again should entries start to increase to a level that makes it possible.

Although we are saying Chris is our first Guest Designer we would hate for Sam to feel she was not a Guest Designer when she has popped in in the past. Truth is we don't regard Sam as a Guest but as a valued friend who helps us out willingly whenever we needed help, and we hope this continues Sam.  We really appreciate You.

4 comments:

Craftychris said...

Thank you for letting me be guest designer! I am honoured to have my card shown with your awesome projects - they are both so cool! xxx

Lys said...

Great inspiration in these creations, thanks and let's play!

Julia said...

A perfect theme for a challenge this month and very interesting examples. Thanks for the inspiration yet again. Julia

Pawsitively Creative said...

Awesome job Chris! Love the beautiful colors and inspiration! Congrats on your guest DT piece! ~Niki