CHAPTER 3 Challenge Winner, Honorable Mentions, a Goodbye and an Invitation!

Today we are awarding the $14 gift certificate from our generous sponsor, Artistic Outpost. But as we say goodbye to our Chapter 3 Challenge, it is also time to say goodbye to a very dear member of our design team.

First, a Fond Farewell:

Sammi Betbeder of  Sammi's Stamping Stuff came over with me from the old challenge team on Oh, Alice! If Sammi, Erin, and Donna had not been willing to follow me as the new Mad Hatter, I am not sure if I would have had the confidence to bring the challenges to The Altered Alice! Sammi runs an online Copic store, Mad for Markers, which serves Australia and New Zealand, and the Mad for Markers blog offers GREAT Copic tips and challenges!  While we will miss her terribly, we understand that her growing business requires more time and attention, so she is stepping down from The Altered Alice.  

In Sammi's words: I am sad to leave the Altered Alice... it's been a fabulous journey and I've loved being a part of it... THANKS to Lynne for letting me come across from Oh, Alice to her wonderful world inside the looking glass here at the Altered Alice!! I am always amazed at the talent and creations that the team come up with and the entrants too.. I am sorry that I have not been totally "here" - due to my business and the extra work I'm putting in there I am having to leave this little bit of WONDERLAND! I will pop back in as often as I can to see what everyone is up to and perhaps I will get a chance to play along at some point too! Oh if only that clock would stop and there were more hours in the day.. Oh actually let's just leave it at tea time all the time.. I would like that I think... hehe! Thanks for having me on this journey Lynne! Wishing you all the very best of Alice!!! Sammi xxx You can keep up with Sammi's activities at  Sammi's Stamping Stuff!

Drum roll. . . And now for our ARTISTIC OUTPOST Winner:

Winner: Hazel
Blog Post: Hazel's Creative Moments
Location: Kent, United Kingdom

Our generous sponsor, Artistic Outpost, has offered a $14 gift certificate to our winner. Random.org selected number nine and that is Hazel from Kent! Please contact me via the email link near the top of the left column, and I will forward your contact information to Artistic Outpost!  I have been SO impressed with the quality of these red rubber stamps, as I have never seen such gorgeous fine-line detail in rubber before. I know you will find something to love from their collection of vintage-inspired stamp sets, that come in both unmounted sheets and also precut and mounted on cling foam. Be sure to visit the Artistic Outpost design team blog for loads of inspiration!

Hazel's creation includes loads of characters as originally illustrated by Tenniel, which seems very suitable as that was the inspiration for our challenge! Love the inclusion of book text, and the way the rabbit is centered in front of the vivid blue clock face.  I also see some stenciling, perhaps inspired by Tracy Evans in our first week of the challenge? Congratulations, Hazel!

Honorable Mentions:

As always, EVERYONE who submitted deserves an honorable mention! You, the participants and kind commenters are the real joy that I get from this endeavor. Time however limits me to just a few entries here.

Terry of Terry's Work in Progress used our sponsor's Wonderland Collage set to create this gem! I totally love the way she built up her own patterned paper with all the small stamps in the set. I also love the embossed frame around the focal point image - it's all the lovely little details that make this card such a gem!

Nigel of Freebird's flights of fancy delighted me with his humorous entry! I love the differences in style of the various elements; the contrast of the detailed Tenniel Alice with the cartoonish JubJub bird, the full colorful mushrooms and the black graphical diamond flowers. Love the clipped out words (a favorite style of mine) and the blue sponging around each word helps it to stand out from the lovely background.

I LOVE all the layers of color and texture in this canvas board project submitted by Foxy's Weblog! I just can't stop looking at this beauty, as I see new things every time I look. Also congratulations to Foxy for being published in the Altered Arts magazine with an Alice piece!

Ana of SCRAP da Ana Cristina Caldatto immortalized The Altered Alice in fabric on this tote bag - fantastic! She also used a very intriguing negative applique technique to add the blue lace that forms Alice's dress! Be sure to visit her blog to see the step-out pictures.

I always look forward to what Susan Allen of Little Imperfections will come up with, as she always tells a story with her creation! This one has had the old Donovan tune "Mellow Yellow" going through my head every since she submitted this gem! How many of you are old enough to remember that song?

And last but not least is this 12 x 12 inch crazily detailed homage to Tenniel by Lola Azul of Apuntes des Colores! Be sure to stop by and see all that went into the making of this wonderfully intricate creation! The yellow squares of the checkerboard feature her own little sketches in blue metallic pen, it is a real labor of love and shows a true Alice spirit!

Wanted...May Guest Designers

I am short handed now on the design team! I am looking for two or three Guest Designers for May who love to color and are comfortable using digital images.  Please email me SOON through the link near the top of the left column if you are interested, with some links to blog posts that show off your coloring, and I'll let you know if you are chosen. I will feature your work towards the end of the inspiration posts, so you will have time to make your projects.

Wishing joyous Easter blessings to everyone on this holy day! Please leave a comment before you go, I love hearing from you!

CHAPTER 3 Challenge - Week 3: Alice Colors of Blue and Yellow!

Scroll down to see our fabulous Week 3 inspirations, including the work of the Artistic Outpost design team!

Our challenge this month is to create something that is predominantly blue and yellow, the colors associated with Alice! Although it is not required that you use Wonderland in your project, those that do feature Wonderland will receive two chances at the drawing instead of one!

Time is running out! Enter by this Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4:00) and the winner will be posted sometime on Sunday, April 24.

Our April sponsor is Aritistic Outpost, makers of fabulous rubber art stamp sets including the Wonderland Collage set that will be featured by our design team. The Artistic Outpost design team will be playing along as well! One lucky winner will receive a $14 gift certificate to the Artistic Outpost store.

The Artistic Outpost's full line of vintage inspired art stamps are sold in unmounted themed collections. All the unmounted sets are $14, so the winner will be able to select the set of their choice. They also offer several collections pre-cut and mounted on cling foam. Be sure to visit their blog for frequent udates, ideas, and inspiration from Artistic Outpost and their talented design team. I have used their stamps and the fine-line detail they are able to achieve in their rubber art stamps is truly outstanding!

Your Weekly Inspiration

Terri DeVine of DeVine Designs by Terri created this beautiful belated birthday card using the rabbit image from Wonderland Collage and Bo Bunny papers from the Timepiece Collection. This paper collection is a must-have for any Alice fan and it is at the top of my wish list! Terri has accented her blue and yellow with a pop of peach which is subtly echoed in the background paper; the corner flourishes and clockworks balance nicely with the main image which Terri framed with gold foil tape. Just lovely! Anyone who receives this belated birthday card is going to feel special despite its late arrival!

I also love the way she has carried her clock theme into the interior with more of the Bo Bunny Timepiece Collection and a sponged die cut waiting for a personalized message! Please stop by Terri's blog to let her know what you think about her beautiful card!

Next, please welcome our Guest Designers from the Artistic Outpost design team!

Lynn Stevens of Trash to Treasure Art created this fabulous chunky ATC just in time for Easter, so Alice's White Rabbit may be watching the clock to be sure he gets all his eggs delivered in time! I love the way she has added feet to the block, and that pompom cotton tail is such a great pop of texture! The blue is a soft aqua and so perfect for spring.

Looking down from the top, we see a great collection of 3D elements atop the ATB, literally crowned by the heart with the "I'm late" sentiment.  Love the way she has added a chain and a spinner  to the watch face.  Please visit Lynn's blog to leave her a comment on this wonderful 3D project!

Connie Paxman of Shades of Stamping has treated us with a variety of textures in her lovely card!
We have a bit of bling in the beaded blue flower, which is echoed by the sparkle in the center of the fuzzy corduroy flowers. Then we have the crocheted lace on top of paper that has an embossed and sponged look. I love the sponged background on the flourished center panel and the way some really lovely greens appeared where the yellow and blue blended, and all of that making the perfect backdrop for Alice and the White Queen!  Be sure to stop by and leave Connie a kind comment for this charming offering!

Stefanie Severin of Ingenious Inkling gives us a great contrast from Connie's blue with her blast of yellow!  She stamped on a wonderful Basic Grey yellow patterned paper and added some pops of blue in the waistcoat and jacket! The way she spread the legs of a decorative brad to form clock hands is really. . . ingenious!!!  Visit Stefanie's well-named blog and let her know how much you like this yellow card!

I absolutely LOVE the way Suzanne Czosek of Suzz's Stamping Spot built up layers of images, paint and ink to create such an interesting background! She has used the ledger background from Ephemeral Backgrounds, plus elements from the Wonderland Collage set includeing the clock face, I'm late! and Curioser and Curioser sentiments! Very, very cool!  I also love the way she has used only the Alice from that stamp of her fixing the White Queen's hair! I am looking at that stamp in a whole new way! Be sure to stop by Suzz's blog and let her know how much you liked this great card!

Lisa Somerville of Splendiferous Creations created this great layered card with some wonderful text patterned papers from Graphic 45's Hallowe'en in Wonderland set!  I think this would make a fantastic guy card, do you agree?  She has used neutrals with her blue and yellow, and since those vintage tans are in the yellow family I am going to say she did a great job of stretching the boundaries on our blue and yellow color challenge!  Be sure to stop by Lisa's blog and leave her a comment!

Thanks again to our wonderful sponsor, Artistic Outpost, and their talented design team for playing along with our challenge!

Go to the bottom of the CHAPTER 3 - Week 1 post to enter your blue and yellow creation! The clock is ticking but you are almost out of time; enter by Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4:00) and the winner will be posted sometime on Sunday, April 24.

Please leave a comment here before you go, and let me know what you think about this week's inspiration!

CHAPTER 3 Challenge - Week 2: Alice Colors of Blue and Yellow!

Scroll down to see our fabulous Week 2 inspirations, and next week we'll be showcasing the work of the Artistic Outpost design team!

"Mr. Tenniel is the only artist, who has drawn for me, who has resolutely refused to use a model, and declared he no more needed one than I should need a multiplication table to work a mathematical problem! I venture to think that he was mistaken and that for want of a model, he drew several pictures of "Alice" entirely out of proportion - head decidedly too large and feet decidedly too small."
-- From a letter by Lewis Carroll (pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)

Although the stories were written for and inspired by the brunette Alice Liddell, when it came time for Tenniel to create the illustrations, Carroll sent him a photo of blonde Mary Hilton-Badcock as his image of what Alice should look like. Early color illustrations of Alice show a girl with long blonde hair, wearing either a blue dress with a white pinafore, or a yellow dress with a blue and white pinafore.

Therefore, our challenge this month is to create something that is predominantly blue and yellow, the colors associated with Alice! Although it is not required that you use Wonderland in your project, those that do feature Wonderland will receive two chances at the drawing instead of one! Enter by Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4:00) and the winner will be posted sometime on Sunday, April 24.

Our April sponsor is Aritistic Outpost, makers of fabulous rubber art stamp sets including the Wonderland Collage set that will be featured by our design team. The Artistic Outpost design team will be playing along as well! One lucky winner will receive a $14 gift certificate to the Artistic Outpost store.

The Artistic Outpost's full line of vintage inspired art stamps are sold in unmounted themed collections. All the unmounted sets are $14, so the winner will be able to select the set of their choice. They also offer several collections pre-cut and mounted on cling foam. Be sure to visit their blog for frequent udates, ideas, and inspiration from Artistic Outpost and their talented design team. I have used their stamps and the fine-line detail they are able to achieve in their rubber art stamps is truly outstanding!

Your Weekly Inspiration

Sue Roddis of JABBERWOCKY created a fabulous accordian book using spray inks in vibrant yellow and blue!  Sue used a circle template - I think I need to dig out all my old drafting tools, LOL! She sprayed in through the holes in the template, then turned over the ink spattered template and pressed it to the paper as well.  It is amazing how different these Wonderland Collage images can look in various artists' hands!

I absolutely love these center accordian pages. Using the clock face image from the set with the word Alice in the center, also from Wonderland Collage is fantastic, as it repeats the circle motif creating with the sprayed ink.  The greens created by the puddling ink add a third shade and the colors and composition are really quite beautiful.  I also love the way she has emphasized shapes with the sketchy black outlining, of the clock faces here, and the arch around Alice on the cover!

We close the book with the White Rabbit dashing away, late again!  I hope you will agree that Sue's accordian book is as fantastic as I do!  Please visit Sue's blog to leave her a comment and share your opinion!

Decorated wooden blocks are the new rage, and Barbara Washington of Magic Delights has created a charming Artist's Trading Block (ATB), also known as a chunky ATC! I think I'll be checking the "remnants" bin at the lumber yard and get some bits cut to length, as these look like so much fun to make.

The first side has Alice fixing the White Queen's hair! I love this image from Wonderland Collage, wouldn't it make the perfect "bad hair day" card? I love the cool shades of blue with just a pop of yellow in the border and Alice's hair. The hanger-shaped paper clip is the perfect finishing touch, along with the glinting metallic fibers tucked in behind!

When we give the block a quarter turn, we find the Dodo, a curious bird if there ever was one! Love the checkerboard background!

Another quarter turn reveals Alice trying on her crown! Love the yellow flower petals and the chain tassel!

The last side (or is the first side? You decide!) has the White Rabbit, about to race away, trapped forever in the moment of worry about being late.  GREAT job Barbara! Be sure to visit Barbara's blog and congratulate her on such a great first ATB!

Erin Leveille of Stamp till U Cramp crackled and distressed the beautiful focal point of her layered card!  She colored the image with Copics, then gave it a vintage look with Distress Ink, then covered it with a layer of clear crackle paint. Be sure to click the image to see the texture, it's wonderful! I also love the colorful argyle background and layered gold and blue panels! The seam binding and lace ribbon make if festive, and the three buttons in the corner add a nice touch of whimsy! Be sure to visit Erin's blog to leave her a comment about this charming card!

Go to the bottom of the CHAPTER 3 - Week 1 post to enter your blue and yellow creation! The clock is ticking but you still have time; enter by Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4:00) and the winner will be posted sometime on Sunday, April 24.

Please leave a comment here before you go!

CHAPTER 3 Challenge - Week 1: Alice Colors of Blue and Yellow!

"Mr. Tenniel is the only artist, who has drawn for me, who has resolutely refused to use a model, and declared he no more needed one than I should need a multiplication table to work a mathematical problem! I venture to think that he was mistaken and that for want of a model, he drew several pictures of "Alice" entirely out of proportion - head decidedly too large and feet decidedly too small."
-- From a letter by Lewis Carroll (pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson)

Although the stories were written for and inspired by the brunette Alice Liddell, when it came time for Tenniel to create the illustrations, Carroll sent him a photo of blonde Mary Hilton-Badcock as his image of what Alice should look like. Early color illustrations of Alice show a girl with long blonde hair, wearing either a blue dress with a white pinafore, or a yellow dress with a blue and white pinafore.

Therefore, our challenge this month is to create something that is predominantly blue and yellow, the colors associated with Alice! Although it is not required that you use Wonderland in your project, those that do feature Wonderland will receive two chances at the drawing instead of one! Enter by Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4:00) and the winner will be posted sometime on Sunday, April 24.

Our April sponsor is Aritistic Outpost, makers of fabulous rubber art stamp sets including the Wonderland Collage set that will be featured by our design team. The Artistic Outpost design team will be playing along as well! One lucky winner will receive a $14 gift certificate to the Artistic Outpost store.

The Artistic Outpost's full line of vintage inspired art stamps are sold in unmounted themed collections. All the unmounted sets are $14, so the winner will be able to select the set of their choice. They also offer several collections pre-cut and mounted on cling foam. Be sure to visit their blog for frequent udates, ideas, and inspiration from Artistic Outpost and their talented design team. I have used their stamps and the fine-line detail they are able to achieve in their rubber art stamps is truly outstanding!

Your Weekly Inspiration

Tracy Evans shows her enjoyment of various techniques with these lovingly crafted cards! On her Alice card, she played on the beautiful flower border in the stamped image and created her own flowered background with masked screens and paint, muted with coats of thin gesso! The stamped layered flowers carry on the theme. Love the big bit of bling in Alice's crown!



Tracy took her cue from the clock background in the stamp and recreated a similar background with masks, paint, muted with gesso. Love all the detail with the watch faces!

Notice how subtle the stamped rabbit in the background is after being muted with thin layers of paint and gesso! It adds so much interest. The stitching adds the perfect finishing touch! Please be sure to visit Tracy's blog for all the details, and leave her some love!

Lynne Phelps of Savvy Sisters Studio also used her favorite techniques that show her love of detail: Copic coloring, embossed layers and a pretty ribbon bow! The detail on these collage stamps is exquisite and made for fun coloring!

The Alice collage stamp features a fabulous border of flowers, colored in all different shades of blue and yellow. The crown and necklace are accented with a glitter pen.

The wonderful White Rabbit collage stamp is so finely detailed and interesting! The White Rabbit was stamped and colored a second time and cut out and popped up to add dimension. Please visit Lynne's blog to see more photos and all the details on how she made these cards, and of course to leave her a comment!

Enter by Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4:00) and the winner will be posted sometime on Sunday, April 24. Remember to link to your individual blog post that shows the project, not just the home page of your blog.


Please leave a comment before you go - let us know how you like the design team inspiration and the great prize offered by our sponsor, Artistic Outpost!