Here at Anything But Cute we love to see all the seasoned and expert mixed media artists, but we also want to encourage those who are just getting their feet wet. Our design team will always be on the lookout for these exceptional artists, and you just never know when we might be giving out something special to a talented mixed media newcomer.
Make sure to put 'newbie' after your name in the linky so we know who you are.
(new refers to 'new to mixed media' NOT 'new to our challenge')
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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Winners - Challenge #17 - Rustic Glam

Hello and Happy Holidays! Niki here. We apologize for being a day late, we've had some technical issues behind the scenes. Thank you to every single person that was able to enter my Rustic Glam challenge. I knew it would be a challenge and am overjoyed to see that you all rose to the occasion and nailed it with such amazing designs! Huge round of applause to you all! After much thought and deliberation I was finally able to choose a winner.
And the winner is............

WINNER - #2-Jenny Marples of Pushing the Right Buttons 

I was absolutely flabbergasted about the texture and bling on this amazing design. It has everything I would consider rustic and glam. I just want to reach out and touch all of the yummy texture and then had this on my wall! Outstanding and so very awesome sauce!

Congratulations Jenny!  Pamellia will be in touch by email to send you a personalized winner's badge and to provide details about being our Feature Artist for the next challenge.



RUNNER-UP -#9-Chris of Rubbaluvva

This altered jar has the bling and the burlap touches any rustic glam girl would love and that is why I enjoy it so very much. The flowers and the twine along with the lace are so chic and beautiful! I would totally put this in my bathroom and use it to fancify my q-tips. Wowzers and awesome sauce!

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Now let's have a look at our DT favourites:




Anne's Favourite - #4 - Jennie, Live the Dream
I found it so hard to choose a favourite this month, there were so many outstanding entries!  Jennie stole my heart with her gorgeous handmade flowers, the beautiful crackle, the wonderful chicken wire and the dreamy stars....  Jennie's tag just epitomises 'rustic glam' in my eyes!


Autumn's Favourite - #14 - Marty F
Marty melted my heart with the warm plaid and gorgeous dimensional poinsettias on her beautiful Christmas tag.  The touches of pearls and luxurious texture were the perfect glamorous additon to this beautifully designed tag.  What an inspiration!!!  Thank you Marty for sharing this amazing project with us!

Branka's Favourite#6 - Elli
There were so many stunning entries and it was really hard for me to pick a favourite this month. I have chosen Elli's fabulous tag at the end. I am in love with her yummy textures, beautiful muted tones and a brilliant layering! So glittery, so frosty, so awesome!


Lisa's Favourite - #3 - Nicole Wright Designs
It was so hard to pick a favorite this month...I loved all of the Rustic Glam projects!! But in the end, I chose this amazing project by Nicole Wright!! I absolutely adore her Vintage Tree Lot Trailer!! It's so creative!! I am a life-long camper so this project just makes me happy!! The details are spectacular!! I want this for my fireplace mantle :)


Sara Emily's Favourite -#3 Nicole Wright Designs
I absolutely had to do a coin flip this month! There were so many wonderful entries! But in the end I chose Nicole's festive project, because there's something so kitschy about this trailer! And I do mean  that in a good way, Nicole! How can you not look at this and just smile?! Way to go, and a great addition to the tree lot!

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A huge congratulation everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who played along with us last month and don't forget to grab your badges! You earned them!!

While the design team is taking December off we still will be around and commenting on your wonderful designs for this Holiday season! We all want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you back here in 2017! 

Hugs to all, from the 'Anything But Cute' Design Team

Monday, December 5, 2016

Merry Christmas!

Hello Everyone!

Well the holidays are almost upon us, and we have decided to take a wee break for Christmas this year. We will be back on December 12th to announce the winners of the Rustic Glam challenge, and don't worry, we will have a brand new challenge for you on January 5th!

Thank you to everyone for all of your support over the last year. There have been so many gorgeous projects and talented artists, we are grateful for each one!

From our homes to yours, we wish the very Merriest of Holidays!!


Saturday, November 19, 2016

Feature Artist - Rustic Glam - Welcome Joi!

Hello Everyone!

Branka here and I am completely thrilled to introduce you to our Feature Artist for November, the lady who was the winner of my 'Friendship' challenge in September. Please welcome Joi from Joi@RR.

Joi is an incredibly talented mixed media artist and a wonderful lady! Each piece of her fantastic artwork is full of passion, love and amazingly beautiful colors! I encourage you to visit her blog to see how brilliantly she combines rich textures, yummy colors and so many fabulous techniques! Joi loves to share her techniques on her blog and she is one super inspirational lady!


I am so excited about the project she created for our current challenge Rustic Glam. This spectacular piece of art is just perfect for Niki's challenge theme and it really showcases Joi's unique and marvelous style in art! Feast your eyes on this absolutely beautiful creation!

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Howdy from Joi@RR.  

Today is a particularly happy day for me because I am a Featured Artist here on the Anything But Cute Challenge Blog.  
Can you see my silly smile right now???!! 


 Month after month, without fail, I entered the ABC challenge - hoping. Why? Because it's one of my favorite places to be. They are such a sweet group of folks, super DT artists with fun mixed media challenges.  And then, finally it happened, last month... 
I WON the challenge!!!  Yippie Aye Ohhhh!!!
Ok...YES... admitting to a happy jig. :)

I'm a mixed media artist. If you have an inkling to know more about me visit: joi-at-ranch-art.com!

This month the Anything But Cute Challenge is RUSTIC GLAM.
There's still TIME to participate in this yummy challenge here.


At our ranch, rustic is undeniable! But glam? Well... a yellow flower on a cactus is glam!  A new baby calf is glam!  A deer resting in the pasture is glam! Heheheh - it's likely my definition of glam is much different than Niki, the hostess, had in mind for this challenge! However... if you have seen my artwork, you know that I love a bit of glitter, glitz and pizzazz . . .  so, without any further ado . . . welcome to my RUSTIC GLAM creation.  



I began with a 12" x 30" rustic piece of barn wood. 


Using a stencil for the lettering; I drew in the design by hand. 


And began painting in all my little designs with DecoArt Media Black Gesso. My liner brush by Dynasty sure helped! 


Here is the RUSTIC part before the GLAM arrived on the scene.  Oh, my stars . . . those trees are crooked.  Ok, Joi - just don't think about that . . . perfection not needed . . . proceed forth to the finish!


I had drawn in a double layer of mountains and thought it would be fun to use some type of texture there - maybe even a stamped texture. I had been humming the song Silent Night and decided the project needed some music - right?! 


I found lovely music in the Victorian Romance Deco-Page paper set by DecoArt Americana.  I tore the notes and placed them using DecoArt Media Matte Medium. After they were dry, I went back around the edges with some Titan Buff Fluid Acrylic to make it look a bit more unified with the line of the mountain ridge.


The open tree needed a bit of glam, too. I stamped one of the Susan K Weckesser Unity Journal Doodles inside.


Remember, a deer resting in the pasture is glam. How could I not include one??! Out came an old stencil that has no name any more and an ARTplorations Christmas Reindeer too. 


To bring my deer to life . . . . here is a fun concoction of DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste and Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic paint - YUMMY! 


For a bit more shimmer, I used DecoArt Metallic Lustre on the trees and across parts of the background. It's very hard to see in this picture, but it definitely added some glitz to the rustic wood!  


For transforming my tipsy trees... I chose DecoArt's Snow Writer.  It's so amazing to play with this snowy wonder.


The moon just seemed to need a bit more glam so cheese cloth mesh was added with matte medium.


Last but not least... the wild splish-splash of DecoArt Glamour Dust - black ice & ice crystal - from top to bottom!


Here are the products used for this rustic winter wonderland glam.


And a few close-ups!






Wishing each of you a calm and bright Thanksgiving and Christmas season . . . with hugs. j.

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WOW, what an exquisite piece of art this is! How can you not be inspired by this stunner to join in with our Rustic Glam challenge! Thank you so much Joi for such a great inspiration! It has been an honor having you here with us today!

You have until the 4th of December to play - and you'll find all the challenge details as well as lots of inspiration from the brilliant Anything But Cute design team by clicking on the challenge link.

Happy Crafting
Branka xx

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Winners - Challenge #16 - An Autumn Day

We are so thankful for each and every entry in our An Autumn Day challenge.  This is one of the most beautiful groupings of art, each worthy its own showcase.  Thank you so much for your continued support of our challenges here at Anything But Cute. Without delay, we are pleased to announce our winners and design team favorites...

WINNER - #67 Inkysplatters

Congratulations Inkysplatters!  This beautiful work of art, with its many layers, is a perfect autumnal setting.  What amazing ingenuity and creativity combined to achieve such realistic depth and color variation!  Pamellia will be in touch by email to send you a personalized winner's badge and to provide details about being our Feature Artist for the next challenge.



RUNNER-UP#42 julD handmade

JulD created the most charming collage from gorgeous real leaves. The amazing stencil detail adds so much depth and a fall-like feeling of dew drops and time worn elegance.  What a gorgeous project! The handmade frame adds so much interest and warmth!  Thank you so much for this inspiration!

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Now let's have a look at our DT favourites:



Anne's Favourite - #24 Nicole Wright Designs
Autumn really is the most beautiful season, I love the changing colours, and of course, Halloween. Nicole created the most wonderful little Autumn/Halloween diorama, a little scary but full of autumn colour inside and out, there are beautiful trees and leaves and I love the cosy little setting she created.


Branka's Favourite#67 - Inky Splatters
I love this weathered wood window with such an amazing stamping in the background! Those trees look so realistic and the autumnal foliage arrangement is just a perfect addition to this stunning creation!


Lisa's Favourite - #63 Joi@RR: USA
I had such a hard time choosing a favorite this month...all of the entries were amazing!! But I finally decided on Joi's stunning painting!! I was memorized reading how this beautiful work of art came together!! The colors, the design, the details...all add up to spectacular!!

Niki's Favourite -#67 Inky Splatters
I totally enjoy this little window and the way it was created! The distressed frame and the packaging window is genius and those leaves and pine cones shout Autumn! What a gorgeous creation and attention to detail. The added detail inside the window are beautiful! Awesome sauce!

Pamellia's Favourites -

1. Elli
This is the type of card I want to reach right into my computer and touch!! The texture here is just amazing and I love the amber tones and the incredible depth in her elements! Well done!

64. Lula
This card just screams Autumn to me. Those wonderful rich tones and amazing textures feel like they're straight out of nature! The touch of metal and twine create a wonderful contrast! Love it!


Sara Emily's Favourite -#45-Alison of Words and Pictures
With so many fantastic Autumn projects entered this month, I found it almost impossible to choose a favorite! But in the end, I had to choose, and I selected Alison's lovely journal page.  There are no fonder childhood memories of An Autumn Day for me than walking through our woods on our farm.  The wood was thick with birch trees, and you could barely see that beautiful blue fall sky between the branches. This lovely page brought back that memory for me like it was yesterday. Thank you, Alison; this is beautiful!

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Honourable Mentions


      

      

53. My little joys               55. Suzz             65. Karen P            66. Melissa L.
      

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A huge congratulation everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who played along with us last month and don't forget to grab your badges! You earned them!!

There is still plenty of time to enter Niki's current challenge Rustic Glam! We can't wait to see what you come up with this round!

Hugs to all, from the 'Anything But Cute' Design Team