CHAPTER 12: Curiosity is Key...

"Suddenly Alice came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!"

Hello again! Welcome back to our Oh, Alice challenge! This week your curiosity is KEY to this week's challenge.

Rather, the Key IS the challenge! Yep! Let's see how YOU open the door to your creativity this week using a KEY as your inspiration. You can use embellishments, DP, stamps, whatever KEY elements you have to play is fine with us!

Ok. Despite my age, I am still a little school girl head over heels in love with my darling. He's away right now, as some of you know, so this is a card for him:

{click to enlarge}

Do you like it? I think it's gorgeous! The image is Ching-Chou Kuik's Purple Comfort, and I used 7 Gypsy's 90% complete ATC card with it. I distressed the ATC with Ranger Ink's distress inks and added some images from Gina K's Timeless Treasures, added a Tim Holtz word key, then put it all together over Basic Grey patterned paper, and Gina K Pure Luxury Turquoise Sea papers.

{click to enlarge}

These are two of our rescued babies. The black one is my namesake - Scrap - a cat! and the other is Dyna (dynamite) the bitty kitty Maine coon! They simply hover over me, letting me know that they know someone is missing and it disturbs them. They love their daddy almost as much as I do.

We hope you get a chance to play along. Despite life's stressors, art must persist. So - give yourself a few minutes this week with your creative muse. Afterall - she's a Mother too! Happy Mother's Day weekend everyone!

There's no time limit to play this week, however, entries are always appreciated by everyone here at Oh, Alice and we'd love to stop by your blogs to see your beautiful creations. Your participation is KEY to all of this and to show you just how much we thank you, we have a fantastic prize next week along with a fun few announcements too!

Have a Curious week, everyone!

Ta for now, ~ky

Help! I've lost myself!

Well - not entirely. But as many of you know, we are in the process of moving across the country. It's a big undertaking, and that means I may need to be away from you, my dear friends, for an indefinite period. I hope I will be able to post a thing or two now and then, but I don't know where or when I will have internet, a finished project, my laptop and a camera all in the same place at one time!

So - hang in there. Gee - I imagine you will survive without me! Ha! Feel free to leave me a note though and tell me how distressed and lonely you are!

Ta for now, ~ky

Chapter 11: Little People...Big Wonderland

`Tweedledum and Tweedledee

Agreed to have a battle;

For Tweedledum said Tweedledee

Had spoiled his nice new rattle.

Just then flew down a monstrous crow,

As black as a tar-barrel;

Which frightened both the heroes so,

They quite forgot their quarrel.'

Hello and welcome back! This week, we are SUPER excited to tell you that we are being sponsored by the fabulous BUGABOO Stamps! The owner, Jodie, was just as sweet as can be and when she offered to sponsor Oh, Alice we were thrilled!

http://www.bugaboostamps.com/

Since we are talking about those two curious little Tweedles, Dee and Dum today, let's get right down to your mission this week, should you choose to accept it! CREATE a card, layout, or project for a CHILD. This can mean using children's images, making a layout of a child, creating a kid's bday card or room decor, you name it! The possibilities are endless!

The PRIZE this week is a GREAT one, too, thanks to Bugaboo! ONE lucky winner will receive 7 digi images of their choice! That's over a $21.00 value at mininum, wow! Thanks so much to Jodie and the Bugaboo Crew!

You have until Friday, May 7th at 8pm CST to link your creation to Mr. Linky on the Oh Alice! blog, and the winner will be announced next Saturday! Please use keyword OAC11 when linking to a public gallery, thanks and have a great week!


Here's my sample, I call it "You're a Good Egg":

{click to enlarge}

The decorations on the egg, the kids' hair, and the girls top are called Zentangles. Does this sound 'scary?' It shouldn't. Remember when you were in school, and you were B. O. R. E. D? You doodled. When you're waiting on hold for customer service? You still doodle. Zentangling is a limitless and addicting form of pen art that you can do anywhere, anytime. All it takes is a pen, some paper, and a little imagination. It's named a combination of Zen (highly relaxed state) and tangle (strings/ribbons entangled), so if you think about it, it's a relaxing method of letting your mind deal with life's tangles.

You can learn this craft from Zentangle - the 'official' home of Zentangles. I can teach this to you in a matter of minutes.

Draw or cut a piece of quality paper (or start with copy paper if you're unsure). Take a deep breath and relax into your art. Use your pen to start a loose line or ribbon across the small area you have established. It may look like this:

{Click here for more information}

Then you just start doodling. If you want ideas, google "zentangle," and you will see quite a list of helpful websites. Don't forget to check out Flickr - there's a whole library of Zentangles. Think about creating a card for a child that would allow you to teach them the fabulous art of Zentangles! Kids are great at this because it's so simple for their minds to grasp.

I love to use my stamp library as a starting point, a string or ribbon, for the beginning of my Zentangle. You can then turn these precious pieces of art into cards or other things to share with your friends and loved ones. You can even use these as a technique on any page of Wreck This Journal!

So - get busy and see if you have some stamps that might work with Zentangling. I want to see them!! Link your project to the Oh Alice! blog and we'll take a look. Who knows? You could win! {please note, zentangles are NOT required for the Oh Alice! challenge - only kid themed cards/images are}

Ta for now, ~ky