Weekly Challenge and Winners {January Week 3}

Hi everyone Darcy here,

Wasn't last week fabulous. We had a wonderful introduction from Julie Ann Lee and the return of yet more PaperArtsy friends. So much inspiration, from Julie's magical casket straight from a fairytale to a simple but effective technique to jazz up a boring journal cover. We had the lushness of Alison's UTEE plaque, and the introduction of the newest PA family member, little Miss. PAGG. We even threw in some sneaky peaks of new products, soon to be released. 

Thanks to everyone who joined in and made projects alongside all of our guests. And thank you also for all the comments left on blog posts. It's really nice to see your response to all our contributors.

1. And the winners are...

Random winner #1 from the First Challenge draw (every single entry linked, including multiple entries) is: Massofhair

 Congratulations, you have won a PaperArtsy A5 stamp of your choice. 

 Random winner #2 the winner from the Second Challenge draw, (only one entry per name)

 is: Alison

 Congratulations, you have won a PaperArtsy A5 stamp of your choice.

*Winners please get in touch with Darcy (darcydotneedles@hotmail.com) with your full  name,  address and choice of stamp plate. 

2. The week ahead...

Coming up later in the week ahead again we welcome back some past Guests, and perhaps a surprise face or two....we are going out of our way this year to spoil you!!  

But first we start with an exciting brand new guest designer.... 

Hi Guys, 
Its Leandra here to welcome Ellen Vargo! Check out the gorgeous things she makes!

I have had occasion over the last few years to email Ellen randomly, and she has always struck me as a bright, cheery and enthusiastic crafter. She is one of those names from 'across the pond' that frequently pops up on my radar for several years....always for good reasons! LOL 

I have witnessed lovely samples she has made for special events, and online we seem to know a lot of people in common who often chat around similar subjects. She kind of went off the radar for a bit last year as she had a big house move, and that move also seems to have coincided with her art going in a new, more personal direction too. Which I think is totally fabulous. 

I always feel that the purpose of crafting is to find your unique style, not to be a robotic mini-me's of other people's styles. That is the essence of this blog, to help you discover the things you do best, for you to gain the confidence to express yourself, the way you prefer. I was so thrilled to see Ellen was right on the same page; she had developed a gorgeous abstract style, and that was screaming out loud and clear from her blog. I just wondered if Fresco paint might be an interesting product for her to work with. Long story short, here she is happy to guest on the blog for the coming semester, and I am so pleased to showcase her amazing talent with you all.

It never ceases to surprise me how happy people are to guest for us, and I can't tell you how nice is it to have Ellen here to share with you. She has a wealth of experience, is thoroughly enjoying abstract art, paint and her ideas are suitable for cardmaking, journalling or massive interior decor canvases! What ever you choose to explore from Ellen's techniques, I am sure that what she does over the next few months could well spark your crafty mind thinking in new directions too.

Here's a few words of introduction from Ellen herself...

Hello!  My name is Ellen Vargo and I’m a mixed media art addict! 

I’ve been making things since I was a little kid and have experimented in a lot of different crafty areas: jewelry making (beads), basket weaving, pottery, wood working, glass blowing (tried it once – too scary for me!) and probably more that I can’t even remember.  

I started my journey in paper arts about 10 years ago.  A friend of mine was a demonstrator for Stampin’ Up and she’d do little projects with us after work.  So it all started with scrap-booking (sound familiar?).  That quickly evolved into card making.  But once I discovered the world of mixed media I was *hooked* ! 

About 5 years ago I started my own blog http://1036art.blogspot.com and have been on a few design teams as well.   I've drawn a lot of inspiration from the Ranger Signature Designers, including Tim Holtz, Wendy Vecchi, Dyan Reaveley, Dina Wakley, and more recently from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and Jane Davies.

 

What I discovered from following these designers and many others, is that I could become very good at doing *their* style of art.  Vintage, steampunk, altered art, art journaling, ink sprays, stenciling, you name it.  I was very good at copying.  

For the last two years I've been on a very deliberate mission to discover what *my* style is.  It was scary at first, but once I got going it was really fun!  I could throw out all the rules and just make whatever I wanted, in whatever way I wanted!  How liberating!

My history with Paper Artsy began when I came to visit England back in 2010.  I had the chance to visit Lin Brown’s store and was immediately drawn to the PaperArtsy Hot Picks stamps!  In fact, here’s a picture of me practically passed out on the floor of L.B. Crafts, blissfully surrounded by Hot Picks!  I grabbed up as many sets as I could stuff in my suitcase, and have been following along ever since.

Recently, I’ve become obsessed with abstract art using paint, collage and stamping.  I've come up with a process that works for me, and I’m super excited to share it with you!  It was a true honor when Leandra asked me to be a Guest Designer this semester.  Really, a dream come true.  You just never know where the road will lead… I hope you have lots of fun following along with my projects, and hope you decide to give it a try!

Ellen, thank you for stepping up to the plate, we are thrilled to have you as a GD this semester. I am the one who is so excited for you! Not just that you are finding your own niche in the craft world, but that you so generous and willing to share here with us all!

PS you guys, if you get a minute, go and look at this post from Ellen about her amazing Studio space in her new home. It is to die for!  We need to get some shots of it really, really messy I think! So so we know she is human! LOL

Thanks again, Leandra x

3. P.A.Weekly Challenge from....{Ellen and other guests}

I do hope that you will find time to join in with our new GD this week.

Ellen will be joined in the latter part of the week with other surprise guests, and of course, if you are inspired by any item you see on the blog this week, then please share what you get up to, and link your creativity here. 

Your challenge entry can link to your own blog, Pinterest or Flickr pages, or any webpage that shows us what you have made in response to the posts on the blog this week. Just make sure you come back to this post, and use the linking tool below to show us your entry. We have extended the challenge entry deadline to 5pm on Sunday evenings.

Make sure on Sunday 26th January  by 17:00 (5pm London time) you need to have your link entered below, and you will go into one of 2 draws to win new stuff.

To help you find the linky tool when you need it, just look at the final green paragraph on each blog post, there you will find a link that brings you back to this post.

Weekly Challenge guidelines
The first draw is for every single entry listed, so if you have multiple entries, you get entered multiple times. 

The second draw is only for one entry per name, and the winner of Draw 1 is not included in this second draw. Having 2 draws makes it fair for everyone, no matter how many times you can join in during the week.

As this challenge is to show how you have been inspired to action by this week's designer, make sure in your blog post you explain what prompted you to create.

Please don't feel you need to copy a designer's work exactly, it may be one small aspect or idea that you want to explore that sends you into the creative zone. You are also welcome to use any stamps/ products / substrates you have to hand, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - but of course it is lovely when you do!

The winners are announced Sunday evenings in the 7pm blog post (as above). It is your responsibility to check back and see if you have won. If you are a winner, email Darcy darcydotneedles@hotmail.com with the name of the stamp you would like, and your snail address. We do not chase people for unclaimed prizes.

If we are away at an event, then the winners post would generally be updated by Monday evening with draw details.


Reminder: The PaperArtsy Annual sale is on now, but it ends on the Jan 22nd (in 2 days!). See details here on the side bar of the shop.