W-H-A-T???? - Card #1

This mother found a good way to keep her babies warm!

(If I were really a birder, I probably would know what kind of plover that is!  Sigh...)

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"Cats do not wear their hearts on their sleeves, which is not to say that they do not miss you when you are away.  However, they feel that you have behaved very badly and may not be very civil when you return.  After you have apologized, normal relations can be resumed."

                                                                      --------Susanne Millen

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Hi, Friends....

I am back after a little break with my giveaway.  As you know, I try to reply to all my comments, but I did not on my giveaway post.....so I wouldn't get all confused on my count.  :)  I will catch up on my replies to other posts in the next few days.  Thank you to all who comment so regularly and to my new readers, also!!

True confession time:  I have to admit that my craft table is a complete mess....and I mean piles of stuff from the last 45,000 cards and projects.  It is horrendous!  But, at least, I know where most of the stuff is.  I really do mean to get it all cleaned up and put away, but when I finally get a little time to myself to craft.....I WANT TO CRAFT....not pick up!!  :)

Also, I hate to throw anything away.  But sometimes when I am getting out my little sequins or flowers or other doo-dads, some of them creep under other stuff and I find them after I have put the others away.  (I do put some stuff away!!  Ha.)  So I keep a little tiny plastic box with a snap on lid handy to put stray stuff in when I see it peeking out from beneath my computer or cutting mat.  I have a round container for things that are a bit larger that have slithered under sheets of paper.  If I don't capture them when I see them, they breed.  Yikes!!!  Kind of like cats!

I was determined to use some of this stuff and have named this miscellany W-H-A-T.....What's Hiding Around There???  So that's what today's card is.......a "WHAT?? Card".  The rule is, the embellishments have to be stuff I have collected from the nooks and crannies of my craft table....or at least from scraps, leftovers, or rejects that are still out from other projects.  The result (as you will soon see) will make all of you say........"WHAT?? in the world did she just post????"  Ha. 

I know........WHAT????????  Right???  Well, I got a little excited with all this stuff.and wanted to make a Glittery Friendship Card for the Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge.  I had these chipboard letters sitting around that I hadn't used in a different project, so I decided to spell Friend real big on this card.  It was a good thought, in theory.  I think the last time I used chippy letters was for this card.  I actually thought that card looked pretty good, a little different, but a nice looking card, all in all.  This one was doomed from the beginning of the concept, I'm afraid. :(

My idea was to make the letters arch into a rainbow with all the little sequins, etc as sort of the treasure at the ends.  I think it was an epic fail, but I am not proud.....so I am still going to post it and have you see it.  Ha!!  I used water color paper background from my failed attempt at the saran wrap challenge, and all sorts of little weird things in my WHAT box.

Shaped sequins? Check.
Rhinestones? Check.
Heart punch leftovers? Check
Puffy balls? Check.
Stick-on pearls? Check.

Snowflake? Check.
Stick-on metallic bead? Check.
Plastic pearly bead? Check. (Where did this even come from!!??)
Short string of metallic beads? Check.

I pretty much pulled out everything in green, light blue, white, and silver and piled it on at the ends of my rainbow.  Then I thought I needed some clouds.  Uh-oh...don't let me loose with glitter!!!  White glittery clouds weren't defined enough, so I lined them with blue glitter, too.  And glittered all around my chippies.

Oh, my.......by this time, even I was saying....."WHAT????"!!!  But I was committed...(or should be!  Ha!!!).  The clouds ended up looking like floating turtles.....just need some flippers!!!  The sentiment is supposed to give a clue that this is (sort of) a rainbow, but I don't know.....

Here's the (one) good takeaway from this WHAT?? Card (besides feeling good about using some stuff):  Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue is excellent for holding down these weird embellishments.  I am kind of an adhesive junkie.....that sounds bad!!!.....but I am always on the hunt for the perfect adhesive for particular situations.  I hate chemical odors, so that rules out a lot of products.  No-odor Beacon 3-in-1 grabbed onto my stuff with a death grip nearly instantaneously.  LOVE it!!!

I also used it to attach my watercolor paper to my glitter cardstock base.  I knew this would be a challenge for two reasons:  
1.  The paper was quite warped (very fitting for this card!) with all the glue I'd used for the glitter and 
2.  It is notoriously difficult to get anything to stick to glittered stock.  

I laid down a generous amount of Beacon 3-in-1 and my card front easily and quickly stuck down flat!  I am in love!!!  My only complaint is that fine tail strands of the adhesive do tend to issue from the bottle after you quit squeezing and lift away the bottle.  Fortunately, they dried to a non-sticky string almost immediately and were easy to swipe away.  Also, it's a bit spendy, but half-price at JoAnns made it affordable.....and worth every penny for these difficult applications.  I hope my description of the Beacon 3-in-1 has been helpful to you.

DING-DING-DING.....New Follower Welcome Time!!!  I am welcoming my #58 follower today:

arlsmom aka Lynda  --  Lynda must have seen me enter at Red Rubber Inspirationals since she is one of their star designers.  I visited her blog which is literally busting with all those fabulous badges for winning challenge after challenge after challenge.  When you see her cards, you will understand how that happened!!  Gorgeous, with astonishingly beautiful coloring.  Wow!!  Oh, and have you noticed the new little kitty peeking at you from the corner of the page???  I snagged the code for that little widget off her blog, too.  LOVE it!!   WELCOME, Lynda.  Thanks so much for your encouragement and support!!  This ginormous smile is all yours!!!

:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Also, I have an update:
When I introduced Sue D back on this post, I didn't know about her Split Coast Stampers gallery.  Please visit her there.  My computer and SCS do not get along, for some reason, so I can't leave comments there.  But you might be able to.  She has some really lovely projects there!!

Wow.....long post!!  Thanks for trudging all the way through it with me.  Hope you have lovely things planned for this coming week.  If you like giveaways, be sure to check my twitter page.  Lots of links there for some wonderful items!!

<3 
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1.  MFP Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge #228 - Glittery Friendship Card  
2.  Word Art Wednesday Challenge #148 - Anything Goes 
3.  Lexi's Creations Challenge #124 - Sparkle and Shine 
4.  Cute Card Thursday Challenge #337 - Rainbows 
5.  DL.Art September Linky - Anything Goes