Design Dollies

Hope you're having a WONDERFUL summer!

2011-07-10T22:41:00.001-04:00

Hello Dollies! :) Adina-Dollie here, just checking in to let ya'll know that the Dollhouse has NOT forgotten its lovely players... We are actually taking a lil hiatus for the summer so we can recoup, rejuvenate, and reinvent some of the goodies that come your way from our gang, but we'll be back once the weather cools down a bit on the Eastern seaboard... That being said, we wish you a WONDERFUL summer (or winter if you're amongst our NON North American friends!!) and we'll check back in come September!

Scraplift alert... Part 2... Winner!

2011-07-08T06:55:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in our bonus challenge in May to Scraplift-a-Design-Dollie!

Congratulations to LESLIE, who created this fabulous layout:

Leslie scraplifted this layout by Wendi:

Leslie, please contact us on the Design Dollies email to claim the prize donated by KarenW:

June Trifecta

2011-06-27T07:44:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody and welcome to the June Trifecta Challenge! Can you believe we're almost halfway through the year already?

First up, please congratulate Peggy, who rocked the May Trifecta with this gorgeous layout:

Peggy wins a £10.00 shopping voucher to spend at One Stop Card Crafts. Please email us with your details! Design Dollies accepts entries from crafters all over the world, so Shelley very generously includes postage worldwide as part of the prize - thank you for being our ongoing sponsor!

Be sure to visit our generous sponsor, and check out her newest arrivals ~ her selection of Zva Creative Gems caught my eye this week. To go into the draw to win a voucher at One Stop Card Crafts this month, this is what you do ~ create a NEW project that incorporates all three of the following criteria:

COLOURS:

Orange
Yellow
Aqua Blue
White

ELEMENTS:

focus on SUMMER as a theme...

SKETCH:

And of course, we have some inspiration from the Design Dollies to get you started:

Andrea:

Wendi:

KarenB:

KarenW:

We look forward to seeing your creations - whether they be layouts, cards, digi, altered projects... whatever handmade delights you care to share with us! You have till Sunday 3rd July at midnight EST, to link up your project. Please link back to the Design Dollies in your blog post or gallery comment.

Sketch time!

2011-06-20T06:31:00.000-04:00

Third Monday of the month, and that means it's Sketch Challenge time at the Dollhouse :)

Congratulations to our May sketch winner, Vicki Wilson who created this lovely layout:

Vicki wins a prize pack - please email us at designdollies@gmail.com to claim your prize.

There's another prize pack up for grabs this month too - all you need to do is to create a new layout, card, or other project based on this sketch:

Here's what the Design Dollies have created for you:

Andrea:

KarenB:

Wendi:

KarenW:

Once again this week, we've all created layouts, but don't forget that cardmakers are most welcome too! Link up your creation by midnight EST, Sunday 26th June for you chance to go into the random prize draw. Please link back to the Design Dollies in your post.

Summer time is HERE!

2011-06-14T13:24:00.002-04:00

Is everyone ready for the summer yet? My daughter Melanie is already on vacation, and I'm winding down with final exams for my students. What about you? What are you doing to prepare for the summer months?

WELL, in keeping with the hot weather, this week's elements challenge should, appropriately, focus on SUMMER as a theme...

And as always, we have a summery blend of GORGEOUS examples from the Dollies!

As always, load up your summery projects using the lil froggy below by midnight on Sunday, June 19th, and we'll draw a random winner who will earn a $15 gift certificate to Scrap-A-Doodle Doo!

So load up your summery projects, crack out the sunblock, and get crafty! :)

Who likes surprises?

2011-06-09T06:56:00.001-04:00

Why are the Design Dollies posting on a Thursday?

We're bringing you a surprise special edition to let everyone in the Dollhouse know that it's

LEAH's BIRTHDAY!

Happy birthday, gorgeous girl!

Some of the Dollies got together and created some little projects to mark the occasion:

from KarenW:

from Wendi:

from Adina:

from KarenB:

Please pop over to Leah's blog and wish her a very
"Happy birthday!"

Some colours for summer!

2011-06-06T10:20:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Design Dollies Colour Challenge for June!

I'm excited to announce that the colour combination this month was chosen by Wendi-Dollie - who is in a SUMMER-y mood:

Orange
Yellow
Aqua Blue
White

Our prize pack this week is also donated by Wendi
- how cool is this?

And of course, we're thrilled to share with you some Design Dollies creations using the June colours!

First up, our hostess Wendi:

Andrea created another fun layout:

Karen W got fishy:

KarenB tried a bit of shabby:

So - we know you want to play - don't you? Vibrant, fun colours and a fab prize... just create your NEW project, link up here and link back to us in your blog post! Do all of this by midnight Sunday EST on 12th June and you'll go into the prize draw.

Extra! Extra! Extra! Scraplift alert!

2011-05-30T09:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome back to Design Dollies - for the fifth Monday in May. This week we've put together a bonus challenge for you :)

Each of the Dollies has chosen one of their favourite Design Dollies projects to share. What we'd love YOU to do is to choose one (or more, if you like) and scraplift it! You don't need to stick to the criteria of the original challenge - you just need to take inspiration from the project and create something NEW of your very own. It can be a layout, a card, an altered object, ANY crafty project that you like. Enter as many times as you like.

Here's the Design Dollies favourites that we've selected for you:

Andrea's favourite

from the January 2011 sketch challenge:

KarenB's favourite

from November 2010 colour challenge:

Adina's favorite
from August 2010 elements challenge:

Nicole's favourite

from November 2010 colour challenge

KarenW's favourite

from July 2010 sketch challenge:

Wendi's favourite:

from another November 2010 colour challenge

And of course the winning entry, chosen by random draw, will receive a prize pack This week the prize has been donated by Karen Wray:

So... to recap ~ choose a Dollies project from the selection above, 'scraplift' it in any way you choose, then link it up before midnight EST, Sunday 5th June. Remember to include a link back to the Dollies blog in your post ;) Have fun!!

And just a reminder that you still have a week to get your entries in for the May Trifecta, sponsored by One Stop Card Crafts.

May Trifecta

2011-05-23T10:00:00.000-04:00

Our April winner was LINDA with this fabulous layout about Logan's first bath:

Linda please email us with your details. The Trifecta monthly winner receives a £10.00 shopping voucher to spend at One Stop Card Crafts. Design Dollies accepts entries from crafters all over the world, so Shelley very generously includes postage worldwide as part of the prize - thank you for being our ongoing sponsor!

Here's what you need to include to go into the draw for the May Trifecta ~ create a project (ANY new project) that incorporates all three of the following criteria:

COLOURS:

Chocolate brown, white, mid-pink, dark blue
There's four colours - but you can CHOOSE ANY THREE

ELEMENTS:
Creative folds

SKETCH

We love bringing you Dollie-inspiration, so here it is for this week ~

WENDI

Don't you love those bold spots and the lovely pleating?

ANDREA has been away for a holiday
but created this gorgeous layout for us before she left:

KAREN B folded some paper dahlias

(and the continuing polka dot theme is totally a coincidence, by the way!)

KAREN W:
Did you noticed that folded heart?

We've got FIVE Mondays this month, so we're giving you an extra week to link up your Trifecta creations. Remember to link back to the Dollies in your blog post, and link up here by midnight EST on Sunday 5th June.

Next week we also have a bonus challenge for the month - stay tuned to the Dollhouse!

May sketching...

2011-05-16T08:17:00.004-04:00

I hope you've been enjoying our May challenges so far! I've got a couple of winners to announce ~ and we all love happy news :)

The winner for the March sketch was Julie Rainbolt:

Julie wins a $10 voucher to 2 peas in a bucket.

The winner for the April sketch was Tracy:

Tracy wins a prize pack containing a mix of handmade and vintage goodies
(similar to the one pictured below).

Ladies, please email us at the address listed on the left, and we'll arrange delivery of your prizes.

And now, moving on to the May sketch. This one was designed by me - Karen - and I hope you like it! I've kept it simple but you can embellish it as you wish. I'm looking forward to seeing LOTS of entries this week.

And I always love sharing what the Dollies created:

ANDREA:

KAREN B:

KAREN WRAY:

NICOLE:

WENDI:

We've all created layouts this week, but you can make a card, an altered journal, a digi layout, a canvas... anything your heart desires!! All we ask is that it is a new project, and that you link back to the Dollies in your post. Linkity-link-link here by midnight Sunday EST 22nd May, and you could win a fun prize pack:

Time to Fold it Together

2011-05-09T09:01:00.014-04:00

Welcome back to the Dollhouse for another Elementary Challenge this week! :) But first we MUST congratulate last month's Elements Winner...

Karen Williams! Who used buttons SO creatively to make raindrops on her layout! Karen, please check out the Scrap A Doodle Doo website and email me once you've made your selections! :)

This month's Elements challenge is to get crafty with FOLDS... So use a creative card folding technique, incorporate folds into your layout or altered project, and link up your crafty goodness here by Midnight on May 15th to be included in this month's drawing for a $15 Gift Certificate to Scrap A Doodle Doo!

And as always, we have some inspiration for ya!

Adina got crafty with an Easel Birthday Card

And Andrea created this GORGEOUS Trifold card

While our own Wendi folded up the SUN for this fabby layout!!! :)

Karen B loves pleating:

Nicole created this stunning layout:

Karen W also likes to pleat, and check out that dahlia flower too:

So link up your folded creations below and have a scraptastic day! :)

May colours

2011-05-02T06:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the Dollies colour challenge for the month of May! This month we bring you four colours - but you can CHOOSE ANY THREE.

Chocolate brown, white, mid-pink, dark blue

Which will you choose? Here's some inspiration from the Dollies:

WENDI:

KAREN B:

KAREN W:

NICOLE:

ANDREA:

Add your direct link to your new project by midnight EST, Sunday 8th May. Be sure to link back to the Dollies too ;)

Tri-ing it on in April!

2011-04-25T06:00:00.027-04:00

I know you've been waiting on the April Trifecta, but first I'd like to announce the winner of the MARCH Trifecta.

Our winner receives a £10.00 shopping voucher to spend at One Stop Card Crafts. Design Dollies accepts entries from crafters all over the world, so Shelley very generously includes postage worldwide as part of the prize - thank you for being our ongoing sponsor!

Our March winner was Karen Williams this lovely layout:

Karen, please email us with your details, and we'll get your prize sorted for you!

Here's the criteria for the April Trifecta -

COLOURS:

Some of Leah's favourites - lime green, royal blue, orange, and white.

ELEMENTS:

Use BUTTONS in a creative way - Adina would like to see at least seven

SKETCH:

And of course, some Dollie-love to show you that it really can be done!

KAREN B went dotty this week:

WENDI laced the elements together and rocked the blue:

ANDREA created the most amazing button clouds:

And KAREN WRAY: flipped the sketch:

We'd love to see you Tri-it-on in April! Link up your new creations by midnight EST, Sunday 1st May. Please: Use a permalink (link to your post, not just to your blog) AND in your post, link back to the Design Dollies to share the love around :)

April Sketch

2011-04-18T14:40:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Design Dollies sketch for April, designed by Kristy:

The Dollies had a fab time playing with the sketch, and this is what we came up with:

NICOLE:

WENDI:

KAREN WRAY:

KAREN BRIERLEY:

ANDREA:

We'd love to see what YOU can come up with - remember you can create a layout or a card, or a canvas, or any other kind of project that is inspired by the sketch. You've got till midnight EST on Sunday 24th April to link up to your blog or gallery and go into the prize draw, and don't forget to link back to the Dollies!!

As Cute as a Button!

2011-04-11T18:04:00.010-04:00

Welcome to SPRING!!! WHoo hoo... Today it's 84 degrees and sunny in NJ, and I am DEFINITELY feeling springy!

So, it's a good time to announce our March winner... Congrats to Jennifer!! Please contact Adina by email to make arrangements for you to claim your prize at Scrap-A-Doodle Doo!

In honor of Springtime, the Dollies are asking you to step outside of the proverbial box, and have some fun with BUTTONS! To be eligible for this month's Elements Challenge prize of a $15 Shopping Spree at Scrap-A-Doodle Doo, all you have to do is create an original project featuring at LEAST seven buttons used in a creative manner... Upload via the link below, and viola, we'll announce the winner with May's elements challenge!

And as always, the Dollhouse has cooked up some inspiration for ya!

Karen B is definitely in the mood for Spring with this Buttoned up project:

And Adina was definitely thinking Springtime with this little card:

And Andrea's buttoned up card DEFINITELY made ME smile! :)

While Wendi made a spalsh with her Cute as a Button Layout!

And Karen W's laced up her buttons all fancy like!

And isn't Nicole's page Fabby??? :)

So there you have it dolls... Please link up your buttoned up creations by midnight EST on Sunday, April 17th to be entered into this month's drawing. And as always, happy scrapping!

It's April!

2011-04-06T18:04:00.001-04:00

And we're running a bit late for the April Colour Challenge - sorry about that! Leah-Dollie has selected one of her favourite colour combinations, which I know you'll love as much as we do!

Show us what you can do with:
Royal Blue, Orange, Lime Green and White

Here's some Dollie inspiration:

Karen Wray:

Andrea:

Wendi:

KarenB:

Nicole:

We'd love to see what you can do! For this week only the deadline has been extended to make up for the delay - so you have until Wednesday 5.30pm EST to link up. Have fun and we're looking forward to seeing your new creations!

Easy as 1, 2, 3...

2011-03-28T06:00:00.004-04:00

If I had £10.00 to spend at One Stop Card Crafts, do you know what I'd buy right now? I'd stock up on Ranger Stickles!! Shelley has a range of Stickles, Ice Stickles and Liquid Pearls in her store, and a fabulous discount program too. Shelley is a very generous sponsor of the Design Dollies Trifecta Challenge - and she offers free postage worldwide for our monthly winner too.

I'm pleased to announce our latest Trifecta winner is...
Roxy, who created this fabulous layout for the February Trifecta:

Congratulations Roxy - please email us using the address on the sidebar, and we'll arrange your prize.

What's this Trifecta business all about?? Easy as one, two, three. Create a new project this week that incorporates all three of this month's challenge criteria. If you've been playing along, you'll know them already. If not, that's okay - here they are again:

1> Colours:

MONOCHROMATIC PINK - any shades of pink you like, from pale pastel baby pink through to blazing hot fuchsia, and - add a splash of YELLOW

2> Elements:

Create something celebrating YOU...

3> Sketch:

The Design Dollies have been busy trifect-ing too, to show you that it CAN be done.

Our Guest Dollie Sherri:

THANK YOU Sherri for sharing your incredible creations with us for the month of March!

Wendi:

Andrea:

Karen B:

KarenW:

If you'd love to play along with us (and you WOULD, wouldn't you?) for the chance to win a shopping voucher at One Stop Card Crafts - please link up your newly created project by midnight EST, on Sunday 3rd April. Remember to link back to us in your post ;)

March Sketch!

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Sketch Week in the Dollhouse! I hope you've got your jiggy with our Color and Elements challenges and are looking forward to the Trifecta next week! Before I show you todays sketch I have to tell you the winner of February's sketch challenge....

Jenny!

Jenny email DesignDollies@gmail.com so we can get you your $10 gift certificate to 2Peas!

Without further ado here is the sketch that you will be giving a go this week:

Dollies in the house!

Our GDT Sherri:

Andrea:

KarenB:

Wendi:

Karen W:

TaDa! You have thru March 27th to get in on this sketch and get your name in the drawing for a $10 Gift Certificate to 2 Peas in a Bucket! Use it to treat yourself to some of the new goodies I keep hearing about in my email :) I can't wait to see how you rawk this sketch!

It's all about me... and you! :)

2011-03-15T06:12:00.007-04:00

Hello blogland and Happy March 14th! :) Before we kick of this month's Elements challenge, I have GOT to congratulate February's winner....

LAUREN!!!

Congrats Lauren, and when you have a chance, check out Scrap-A-Doodle Doo's website and make your selections... then email me with your wish list! :)

Onto this month's challenge... Today is probably one of my favorite days of the year because it's all about me (Go Adina, it's your birthday, and we're gonna party like...) Sorry... :)

SO, this week's challenge is to create a project that celebrates YOU...

And as always, we have Dollilicious inspiration from the Dollhouse for ya! First off, we have a gawjuss layout from our guest Dollie of the month, Ms. Sherri:

March already!!

2011-03-07T06:00:00.005-05:00

Where has this year gone? So hard to believe we're a week into March already! Let's jump straight into the new colours, shall we? This week we'd love to see...

MONOCHROMATIC PINK - any shades of pink you like, from pale pastel baby pink through to blazing hot fuchsia, and - add a splash of YELLOW.

Our Dollies rocked this combo, and I hope you'll love the projects as much as I do!

First up, please welcome our amazing March Guest Dollie, Sherri:

Next up are the projects created by our Dollies-in-residence ~

KarenB:

Andrea:

Wendi:

KarenW:

Leah:

So, in a nutshell - ANY KIND of newly created project that you like, ANY shades of PINK that you like, and keep it monochrome except for the splash of YELLOW. Link them up here, and don't forget to include a DOLLIES LINK in your post! You've got till midnight EST on Sunday 13th March to go into the random draw for a super prize arranged by Leah-Dollie.

Gotta TRI it!!

2011-02-28T05:00:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Lydia in New Zealand, who submitted this layout in the January Design Dollies Trifecta:

You have won a £10.00 voucher to spend at One Stop Card Crafts and free postage worldwide is included with your prize! Please contact us at designdollies@gmail.com with your details, and we'll get things moving so you can go shopping!

Shelley is sponsoring the challenge again this month - click on the logo to visit her store:

Welcome to the February TRIFECTA! Here are your ingredients...

Karen's Colours:

Adina's Elements:

All about love!

Kristy's Sketch:

What you you need to do? Easy... combine each of the ingredients into a single creation! Well, maybe not exactly easy, but that's why it's called a CHALLENGE, right? Remember, you can create anything you like - a layout, card, off-the-page project.

** Here's a hint too - if you've popped into the Dollhouse each week during the month, you'll already know what the ingredients are, potentially giving you an extra week to ponder and prepare your masterpiece! **

Our fabulous Design Dollies show you that it CAN be done:

Guest-Dollie, Sabrina:

Thank you Sabrina, for all of your amazing projects this month!
It was fabulous having you play in the Dollhouse.

Wendi:

Andrea:

KarenW:

KarenB:

Why not 'TRI' it?? Create your new project and link it up by midnight EST, Sunday 6th March.

February Sketch!

2011-02-21T10:20:00.002-05:00

Welcome back to another week in the doll house! I hope everyone has had some fun with our color and elements challenges so far this month! :) First I'd like to announce our winner from the January Sketch Challenge...

Theresa!

Is that just too CUTE? The LO too ;) Theresa, please email DesignDollies@gmail.com with your addy so we can ship your prize out!

Well I've got for you all today another fabby sketch that I hope you'll love!

first our uber talented GDT Sabrina:

Andrea:

TaDa! You have thru February 27th to get in on this sketch and get your name in the drawing for a $10 Gift Certificate to 2 Peas in a Bucket! Use it to treat yourself to some of the new goodies I keep hearing about in my email :) I can't wait to see how you rawk this sketch!

February Means... Love!

2011-02-14T18:26:00.009-05:00

Welcome, welcome Dollies and fans! :) And Happy Valentines Day to YOU! In HONOR of Valentine's day, this week's Elements challenge is to incorporate the theme of... you've got it, LOVE! :) But before I go ahead and give you some Dollilicious inspiration, I have GOT to congratulate our January Elements winner....

So a big round of applause for Erica J-W for her fabby doodling n card making SKILLZ... Erica, please email us your addy so I can get your prize in the mail! :)

So of course our Dollies went and got all romantic on us... Check out what they came up with! :)

First up, we've got a lovingly journaled layout from this month's Guest Designer Sabrina:

Wendi came up with this ADORABLE silly tribute to her love...

Nicole created this dreamy blue LOVELY layout
And from our lovely Karen Wray we've got this fabby ATC...
And Karen B just exudes fabulosity with this gawjuss card....
While Adina channeled her inner vintage love (and some Graphic 45) for this bookmark:
And Andrea sent out some x's and o's with this fabby clean card:

And there you have it... So if you haven't already done so, go get romantical and stuff : ) and then go get scrappy... You've got till Midnight on Sunday, February 20th to submit your Romance inspired entries... And this month's winner will be treated to WHATEVER his or her little heart desires (15 dollars and under, of course!), straight from our very own Scrap-A-Doodle doo... And I know first hand just how many goodies are starting to stream into the store from CHA, so you don't want to miss out! :)

February Colours!

2011-02-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone and welcome to the Colour Challenge for February.

We were thrilled to receive 16 entries for the January Colour Challenge and your creations were amazing! Leah will announce the random winner of her delicious Ranger goodies very soon.

Here's your next challenge - what can you do with this combo??

Green, Ivory, Purple - in any proportion
Feel free to add a teensy amount of neutral - black,white or kraft - but remember that predominately, your project must consist of the featured colours.

First up this month, is our fabulous February Guest Dollie, Sabrina:

Andrea scrapped an adorable baby layout:

Wendi shows us just how girly the colours can be:

KarenW conquered the 'dreaded purple' with some fabulous paint effects:

Nicole shows how to keep it simple and sweet:

And KarenB found some BoBunny papers that fit the criteria:

What have you got for us this week? Upload your new creation by midnight EST, Sunday 13th February, for the chance to win a delicious prize pack.

The one you've been waiting for!

2011-01-31T05:00:00.002-05:00

For all of our diehard Dollie-Trifecta fans, here's the one you've been waiting for!

For those who are new to the concept of the Dollhouse 'trifecta', this is how it works ~ Create a NEW project which incorporates each of the first three challenges for the month (ie - you must feature the colors, you must address the elements criteria, you must use the sketch.) Some months this will be easier than others. Every month, we promise to provide samples from our Design Dollies to show you that it can be done!

If you've been following along so far this month, you will already know what the ingredients are. If you're new this week, that's fine too, because we're reviewing them right now...

Here are the January TRIFECTA ingredients:

Colors:

Elements:
Freehand something... draw, doodle, or faux embellish, but do it by hand...

Sketch:

We are thrilled to announce that our regular sponsor for the Design Dollies "Trifecta" will be One Stop Card Crafts

Shelley is offering a £10.00 voucher for the winner to spend online at her store and this includes free postage worldwide.

As promised, here are some creations from the Design Dollies ~

Amy:

Thank you Amy for being our first Guest Dollie for 2011!!

KarenB:

Adina:

Wendi:

Andrea:

KarenW:

Link up your creation here by midnight EST, Sunday 6th February, to go into our prize draw.

December winners

2011-01-29T19:22:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit of a madhouse around the Dollhouse - Dollies moving out, Dollies moving in, Dollies with new jobs, changing the Dollie furniture around... and somewhere in that mix we didn't announce the December winners.

So, here they are:

Big WOO HOO to Sabrina for this fun-tastic entry in the
December 20th Color Challenge:

Congratulations to Mandy for this super happy entry in the
December 7th Elements Challenge:

And, congratulations to Sherrie for this entry in the
December 16th Sketch Challenge:

Winners - please email your mailing details to designdollies@gmail.com and we'll get your prizes along to you. Thanks for your patience!

Welcome to our first 2011 Sketch!

2011-01-24T10:00:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone is loving the new format. I've seen some super gorgeous entries so if that's any indication then I bet the answer is YES! This week if Sketch Week! Just make a LO, card or other project based on the sketch provided and link it up! :)

Your entries this week will go into the drawing for this yummy prize...

You likey? You want to win? Then you gotta play! We'll announce all the winners at the beginning of the month in a kind of "winners party" (my own term lol!) SO, onto this week's sketch!

Our Dollies have gone to town on this!

uber talented GDT Amy

Kristy

Andrea

Karen W

Wendi

You have tru January 30th @ midnight EST to link up your creation and secure your entry into our drawing :) Everything but must be NEW and you've gotta link back to the Dollhouse in your post. I can't wait to see what you've got for us!

Have a hand at it...

2011-01-17T06:43:00.017-05:00

Hello and welcome back to the Dollhouse! Are you ready for this week's challenge? As our Dollies mentioned before, our format is changing a bit, and your Elements challenge will run from January 17th through to Sunday, January 23rd at midnight EST.

Winners of the Elements challenge will be entered into a drawing for THIS Cosmo Cricket crafting kit:
(Very vintage and yummy, I must say...)

AND SO... this week's challenge is to freehand something on your project... it can be a doodle, drawing, or faux something, but it must obviously have been done by hand to qualify.

As always, our Dollies have some examples for ya...

Our Guest Dollie, Amy has this jaw dropping doodle for ya...

And Andrea has some hand stitched doodling going on in this gawjuss layout:

Karen Wray doodled the cutest little fish:

While Adina doodled some faux stitchery onto this little card:

Wendi got sassy with some fun accent doodling!

And there you have it... SO, link up your NEWLY-CREATED entries below by Sunday the 23rd, be sure to link BACK to the Dollhouse in your post, and HAVE FUN!! :)

January Guest Dollie

2011-01-11T20:09:00.003-05:00

We are very thrilled to announce that our January Guest Design Dollie is Amy Beaver, and this is her contribution to the Colour Challenge:

Be sure to visit Amy's blog at: amybeansblog.blogspot.com

Kicking off in 2011

2011-01-10T06:00:00.007-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone and welcome back to the Dollhouse.

Before I reveal the first challenge for 2011, I need to announce our BRAND NEW FORMAT for Design Dollies challenges. After a great deal of thought and discussion, we changed up the formula just a little, to make it easier for more people to participate each week.

Each week on MONDAY we will reveal one challenge, which is due on the following SUNDAY. Each week of the month will feature a different challenge format, ie:

1st Monday - COLOUR

2nd Monday - ELEMENT

3rd Monday - SKETCH

4th Monday - TRIFECTA

So... you still get all the fun challenge formats you have come to expect from the Dollies, but there's only one each week - giving you more time to work your magic.

January has five Mondays so we pushed this month's challenges back a week to give our newest Dollies a chance to get comfortable around the Dollhouse. I'm sure you understand, right?

First up then, is the January COLOUR CHALLENGE. There will be a prize for this one, as Leah happens to have stocked up with some hot products over the holidays, so the winner should anticipate a YUMMY batch of Ranger products - and remember, international players are always welcome!

Leah-Dollie is super-duper busy with her 'real life' job at the moment, so I've stepped in (that's me, KarenB) to bring you the colours for a while. I hope you like what I've got for you.

Your January colours are: blue, kraft, white, red

Here's the part where you're inspired by what the Design Dollies have created ~

Andrea:

Karen Wray:

Wendi:

KarenB:

Leah the Orange:

And from our fabulous Guest Dollie Amy:

Please remember that your project must be newly created, and consist primarily of these colours to be eligible for the prize draw. Link up your creation by midnight EST on Sunday 16th January.

Hellos and Goodbyes

2011-01-09T23:00:00.002-05:00

It's almost time to announce the brand new Design Dollies team for January - June 2011. But first...

THANK YOU to our retiring Dollies, who have never failed to inspire and wow us with their creative talents. As a tribute, here's a snapshot of some of their amazing Design Dollies projects:

Metal_Minish:

Dana:

Penny:

Chiqui:

Please don't say goodbye!! Stay in touch and visit - because we love having you around!!

So now it's time to say HELLO and WELCOME to the following designers who will join the founding Design Dollies in the Dollhouse for the next six months:

Nicole

(returning for another term)

KarenB

(returning for another term)

Andrea

(Guest Dollie, October 2010)

Karen Wray

(Guest Dollie, November 2010)

Wendi

(joining us for the very first time)

Last challenge for 2010!

2010-12-23T19:26:00.000-05:00

Well dolls, this is the last challenge for 2010! I hope you've enjoyed spending your year with us bc we've certainly enjoyed having you! Here's the sketch to work with...

Here's the Dollies take

Jennifer our fabby GDT

Nicole

Kristy

You have all the way until January 5th 2011 at midnight EST to rawk this sketch or thru Janary 2nd for the Trifecta.

I hope everyone has a happy holidays!

Just one...

2010-12-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

There's JUST ONE more Elements Challenge for 2010, and this is it!! We're all finding life so busy this time of year, so let's keep it simple. Use the following RECIPE to create your layout, card or other project:

Just one piece of cardstock
Just one patterned paper
Just one word in the title/sentiment
Just one photograph/image
Just one embellishment

Take the above ingredients and mix as desired... VOILA, there it is!!

Penny made one handmade Christmas tree embellishment:

Dana did it like this:

And Karen (me) made a card:

Now it's your turn. With such a simple recipe, you should be able to cook something up in no time at all!

Link up your newly created project by midnight EST, Monday 3rd January, for your chance to go into the December prize draw. We'll be taking a break for the holidays next week, so you get an extra week to work your magic ;)

FINAL Dollies COLOR challenge of 2010!

2010-12-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

Can you believe the year is coming to an end? Has 2010 not completely FLOWN by? It's crazy. I remember last new year's eve like it was YESTERDAY, and here we are, about to celebrate another. YIKES!

Well here it is, folks - the final color challenge of the year! I know some of you will be afraid of it, but you have TWO WEEKS to complete our challenges for this round, and we will kick things off with our winners, our new Dollies, and our new challenges, starting January 3rd. SO, these next two weeks, while probably busy due to the holidays, should allow you PLENTY of time to make your final Design Dollies challenge submissions FANTABULATIOUS! And we're excited to see 'em!

This round is brought to you by the colors:
TAN, CHOCOLATE, ROYAL BLUE and ORANGE
(remember, these must be the PREDOMINANT colors in your project, not merely making an appearance!)

Scared? Don't be! 'Cuz check out the Dollies' projects and prepare to be inspirated! ;)

Metal_Minish rocked it with his signature splatter, and I just LOVE how he placed the loose petals!

Chiqui wowed me with this beautiful travel-themed page - I think her framing of the photos is PERFECT, and I love all the wonderful contrast!

I, Leah the Orange, offer you this simple window card - slightly less than traditional holiday colors, but you can make it work, too!

Not too horrible, right? Well show us whatcha got, and join us in bidding farewell to 2010 by playing along! We'll be back in the new year with lots of new challenges, some upcoming CHANGES, a whole new team, and much more fun from the Dollhouse!

Link up your NEWLY-CREATED projects below (please bear in mind that we're back to text-only links, so add the URL to the post which features your project, rather than just to your blog) by Sunday, January 2nd at midnight EST for your chance to win the BIGGEST color challenge prize of the year! Yep, I know this one's a bit tougher, but I promise it will be worth your while!

Sketch and winner!

2010-12-16T20:05:00.000-05:00

Our winner for the November Kristal! With this fabu entry!

email designdollies@gmail.com with your info so we can send you a prize!

We have one more sketch after this before we go on leave and come back with our new team so let's see what you can do with this:

Here's the Dollies takes:

Dana

Metal

Kristy

How does that suit ya? :) Well you have until Wednesday Dec 22 to show us your take on the sketch or thru Sunday at midnight EST to get in on the Trifecta! Link it up!

November Elements... the winner is...

2010-12-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

Alecia!! with her adorable 'Let it Snow' card:

Alecia, you've won a gift voucher to shop with our gorgeous sponsor, Stephanie, at her store Scrap-a-Doodle-Doo - now that is VERY cool!!

Please send your details to us at DesignDollies@gmail.com with "November Elements Winner" in the subject line, and we'll arrange your prize.

Nautical but nice!

2010-12-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

nautical = of, relating to, or involving ships, navigation, or sailors [from Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, from naus ship] Source: Collins English Dictionary

Do you love lighthouses? Been sailing? Or on a cruise? Or played pirates? This week we'd love to see some NAUTICAL elements on your creation.

Here's a layout that Karen created (that's me):

Guest Dollie Jennifer used the nautical colours of red, white and blue in her amazing layout. Don't you love the pop of yellow too?

Chiqui was inspired by a compass - notice how she repeats the theme? And how can you resist the gorgeous misting and masking?

We'd love to see your take on the challenge - don't forget, you can create anything you like - cards, layouts, bookmarks, off the page items, anything you like! Link up your NEW creation by midnight EST, Monday 20th December, for your chance to go into the prize draw this month.

PS: The November Elements winner will be announced tomorrow... stay tuned!

new COLORS - hot inspiration!

2010-12-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Okay gang, the Dollie-Call has officially ended, so we will be discussing the applications over the next few days and getting back to our selected Dollies soon! One thing we'd like to mention is that the new year will be holding a number of CHANGES for Design Dollies, as we try to re-build momentum that we seem to have lost over the last bunch of months. We want to keep pulling in new people and inspiring and offering new challenges, so we will be trying some new things, and we'll keep you posted! (Don't worry - for those who are completely hooked on the TRIFECTA, this is one thing that WON'T be changing!)

Now that the excitement has wrapped up (at least the first part of it), we're ready for a new week of challenges in the Dollhouse! We had just two FANTASTIC entries for last week's color challenge, and Meital and Sherri, your creations were, indeed, gorgeous and inspiring! Thank you for being the brave ones!

This week, our DOLLIES had a hard time wrapping their heads around the combo, but they sure pulled a rabbit out of a hat with their stunning projects!

Let's see these colors.....
BLACK, YELLOW and SILVER

And if you're already scratching your heads over that one, just take a look and see how it's done!

Penny made these hot little tags - the element of glitter is TOTALLY fab!

I, Leah, couldn't resist the black flocked trim, and made a birthday card... too bad you can't see the sparkly letters! (My camera's been on the fritz for a while - UGH!)

and Nicole was also inspired to make a birthday card - I just LOVE the huge HAPPY sentiment and that adorable little chicken!

Now that wasn't so bad, was it? We know you can do this! Bust out your Ambrosia papers from BasicGrey, or the My Mind's Eye HOME line, and you're BOUND to find something that will work for you!

Play along by next SUNDAY, December 19th at midnight EST for your chance to win the next yummy prize pack! Did I mention I went to a RANGER Warehouse sale a little while ago? And that I bought a TON of stuff? Well let's just say there will be some Ranger goodness in this box for one lucky winner, plus a few other goodies. :)

Happy crafting, and have a great week, dear friends! xo

November Color Challenge WINNER!

2010-12-12T19:29:00.003-05:00

Leah here! And hellooooooo, Wendi! Come on down! you're our next Design Dollies challenge winner!

Wendi submitted a gorgeous project for our Black, White, Royal Blue and Pale Aqua challenge... check this out!

See what I mean? :)

I'd love to send a happy little prize pack out to you, so Wendi, if you'd kindly send me your mailing addres in an email at DesignDollies@gmail.com and add a little "November winner" subject, that would be most excellent!

Our Dollie-Call officially ends in 4 1/2 hours! HURRY before it's GONE again for another six months! :D

the DOLLIE CALL IS ENDING!

2010-12-11T16:55:00.001-05:00

Today is the last day to get your applications in, folks! Actually, we might let some applications SQUEEEEEEZE in by tomorrow night, as most of us are too busy to do much reviewing this weekend, but we wanted to let you know that time's almost run out!

If you wanna join us in the Dollhouse for the January-June term, HERE ARE THE DEETS! Click, and apply! :)

Thursday Sketch Challenge

2010-12-09T20:55:00.000-05:00

Howdy! I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season! Its kinda hectic around here! The sketch this week will hopefully be an easy one for ya!

Who's feeling inspired? Check out the Dollies!

Chiqui

Penny

Kristy

Inspired? Well hop into your crafty zone and show us what you've got! You have until Dec 15 at midnight EST to get your sketch done and linked up and thru Sunday at midnight EST for that elusive Trifecta. Let's see you RAWK IT like Dana did with her Trifecta! Extra inspiration right there :)

This little light of mine

2010-12-07T05:04:00.000-05:00

Birthday, Christmas, Advent, Hannukah, romance... any creation you like, any theme you like, but this week we need to see some CANDLES featured in your project.

Metal_Minish made a card featuring a hand-drawn Lucia:

Karen revisited Jasmine's 9th birthday:

Nicole made a felt candle for this amazing card:

We'd love to see your de-LIGHT-ful creations - link up by midnight EST on Monday 13th December for your chance to go into this month's prize draw.

QUICK QUICK QUICK! New Color Challenge!

2010-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to DECEMBER! Yes, I know there have already been a couple of Dollies challenges already this month, but this is the first Color Challenge, and we are kicking off with a HOT new Guest Dollie, plus some vibrant HAPPY colors to keep your minds off this winter chill!

A very warm Dollhouse welcome to JENNIFER SHAW! She has been waiting patiently for her chance to play with us, and we are THRILLED to have her. She's participated in many Dollies challenges since our blog's inception, and she always gives us something inspiring and lovely! Today is certainly no exception!

The following colors must be the PREDOMINANT colors in your projects... Please remember that you may use other accents, but I should see these right away (and not find a tiny little detail that matches)...

Show me:
CELERY GREEN, SKY BLUE, RED and WHITE
(if you do it right, you don't NEED any other colors!)

Here's what Jennifer did - TOTALLY cute and those colors just POP!
Don't you love the little stitched accents between the scallops?

And here's what our fabby Dana did with these colors - scratch what
I said about making you forget about the winter chill!

I had some lofty goals and had hoped to complete a card for this challenge because I had JUST the paper, but the craft fair prevented me from doing much - HOPEFULLY I can add a little something in the next day or two. :)

Play along with us in the Dollhouse! Link up your NEWLY-CREATED PROJECT by next Sunday, December 12th at midnight EST, and you could win a yummy prize pack including some stickly goodness and some other surprises. Don't forget to link back to us in your blog post in order to be eligible. I may even get around to posting a photo of this one! ;)

AND don't forget our DOLLIE CALL! If you're interested in joining our Design Team for the next six-month term, CLICK HERE for details! We're waiting to hear from you!

Dollies Sketch!

2010-12-02T10:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to December Dolls! Mother Nature decided here in Michigan that we needed snow and is providing it in ABUNDANCE. What better weather to scrap? Cozy at your desk with some hot tunes! Sounds FABBY! Well today's sketch might be a good addition to that fun day

Here's the Dollies take...

Dana

Chiqui

Penny

Kristy

Inspired? Well hop into your crafty zone and show us what you've got! You have until Dec 8 at midnight EST to get your sketch done and linked up and thru Sunday at midnight EST for that elusive Trifecta. Let's see you RAWK IT like Dana did with her Trifecta! Extra inspiration right there :)

Layer upon layer upon layer...

2010-11-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

Layers, anyone?

That's right, this week's Elements Challenge is all about LAYERS - lots of them!! Show us at least five layers on your project - more is even better!

Sweet and simple from Karen (that's me) this week:

Over the top sweet, and anything but simple from Nicole:

How you can NOT be inspired by this layered layout? It was created by Nicole's clever two-and-a-half year old daughter Karianne:

Guest Dollie Karen Wray has been busy layering up paints and rubons and beautifully fussy-cut elements on a journal cover:

Remember, you can submit ANY kind of handcrafted project (digi is okay too!) as long as it has been newly created for the challenge. Link it up by midnight EST on Monday 6th December, for your chance to win a fabulous shopping spree at Scrap-a-Doodle-Doo

a SERIOUSLY gorgeous color combo for you!

2010-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Good Monday morning, friends and fellow crafters! Thanks for dropping by the Dollhouse again - it's always great to see who's paying us a visit! If ever you see a project you like, do leave a nice comment, and feel free to make suggestions as we LOVE to hear from you!

Last week's colors brought about some PHENOMENAL projects, although participation was a bit low... Hopefully today's neutral palette will spark some creativity, and we can't wait to see what you can do with it!

Here's what's on the easel this week...

BROWN and GOLD (the shimmery/sparkly kind, please!),
with your choice of one NEUTRAL (black, white, ivory, kraft, grey)

Our talented Dollies whipped up some lovely projects, so I'd like to share 'em with you...

Metal_Minish made this adorable and TOTALLY inspiring Father's Day/Birthday card - his father's Chinese zodiac sign is the rabbit, so the image is quite appropriate (don't you LOVE the charm?!)

Nicole made this beautiful canvas for her husband - she loaded up the gold shimmer, and her daughter's artwork was made into a little accent. Aren't those feathers STUNNING?! (drop by her blog for close-ups!)

I, your gracious hostess, Leah the Orange, opted for an EXTREMELY clean and simple card, having realized that I have very few of them for next week's craft fair... So I made this:

and liked the concept so much (and had lots of fun playing with the

Making Memories gold foiled ephemera!) that I made this:

So now it's your turn! The TRIFECTA for last week has ended, but now starts a whole new round! Get in on this Color Challenge by next SUNDAY, December 5th at midnight EST, when we'll wrap up all of this week's challenges. Please submit only NEW creations (no back linking), be sure to include a link to the Dollhouse in your blog post, and HAPPY CRAFTING!

ANNNNNND, if you think you might like to JOIN the Dollies and be a part of our Design Team, now's your chance! The DOLLIE-CALL is open, and we can't wait to hear from you! CLICK HERE for details, and submit your application by December 10th.

Thanksgiving Sketch

2010-11-25T18:51:00.000-05:00

Happy Turkey Day all! I hope everyone is enjoying their day with their fams. I have enjoyed making my fam write down what they are thankful for this year, I got a couple groans but so far they have all complied HA! Here is a sketch for ya, and inspiration is always something to be thankful for!

our fabby guest Dollie Karen W

Kristy

Metal

Nicole

So there you have it! Inspiration in LO form AND card form! Let's see what you can do with it! You have until December 1st at midnight EST to rawk the sketch or thru Sunday at midnight est to combine this with the rest of the week's challenges to make your own Trifecta! Good luck!

Clean and simple!

2010-11-23T06:00:00.049-05:00

Welcome to another Design Dollies Elements Challenge!

This week we'd love to see your CLEAN AND SIMPLE style, with some BRADS and BEADS too (we want to SEE the brads and beads, by the way - make it obvious where you've used them!)

I know you'll LOVE what the Dollies have come up with to inspire you ~ here we go...

Dana created this amazing layout:

Penny rose to the challenge with this super cute layout (and check out the stitched beads!)

Nicole chose to do an extra project this week and showed a great deal of restraint! (Can you see the gorgeous beaded border?)

Who's next?

You've got till midnight EST, Monday 29th November to submit your entry and go into the draw to win a shopping voucher from our fabulous sponsor Steph at Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo!

If you're not sure how it all works - check it out HERE.

2010-11-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

Mornin', friends! Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and are getting geared up for lots of festive holiday stuff - whatever it is you and your loved ones may celebrate. It's Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. and people are frantic in the grocery stores, but I think the big excitement happens this Friday when the BLACK FRIDAY SALES are in full swing! Good luck to those of you braving the physical stores - online shopping may be the way to go though, if you're not a fan of crowds and getting up at 3 a.m. ;)

Leah here, bringing you another Color Challenge! You rocked it last week, and a few of you even SQUEAKED in your projects within the last few hours - WOOT! I absolutely love the pink and green combo, and clearly I am not alone! This week, something a little more dramatic...

I want to see:

BLACK, GREY, WHITE and a POP of ORANGE!
Not too much orange, folks! Some subtle accents, but
the majority of your project must be black and grey and white.

Like THESE:

KarenB, our Honorary Dollie Admin Wonderwoman, created this AMAZING
stitched masterpiece (and check out those rolled flowers!):

I, Leah, went CAS with a thank you card for a sweet friend
(who happened to give me a pad of paper from whence the orange flowers were cut!)

And Cardmaking Queen Chiqui brought us ANOTHER fabulous card - we're thrilled
to have turned her to The Dark Side, as she's obviously got the knack!

Think you can rock this combo like you did with last week's colors? We at the Dollhouse have NO DOUBT whatsoever that we're gonna see some serious mastery of the papercrafting kind!

Play along by next SUNDAY, November 28th, at midnight EST for your chance to win, uh, a bunch of awesome stuff. Seriously - I've been a mad shopper, and I have loads of things piling up here!

***Your projects must be NEW for this challenge - absolutely NO backlinking, and if your link is posted 5 minutes before or after this post goes live, I think it's safe to say you didn't actually MAKE the project for this challenge, which totally upsets us! Please consider the fact that we buy the prizes for our challenges from our very own pockets, so we'd like to know that you're truly inspired by the challenges we set. Occasionally we do have sponsors, but for the most part we do this and give stuff away because we love to do it. How ya like DEM apples? :)

OH, and be sure to link back to this here Design Dollies blog in order to help us spread the word and bring more people here to visit. The more, the merrier!

Happy crafting! ANNNNND, if you're thinking you might like to BE on the next team of Design Dollies, check out our Dollie-Call HERE! You could be playing in the Dollhouse with us!

Belated WINNERS post!

2010-11-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

Folks, I do apologize for the crazy late posting, but I started my new job training in October and for the past couple of weeks I've been on the early shift - I leave my house at 6:10 a.m. to be at work by 7:30, and I generally get home sometime after 6 p.m. so it's been tough to get myself into some kind of routine... This is all temporary for the training and sometime a couple of months from now, I'll be working 2 miles from my home, so I should have NO excuse for keeping on top of things!

Let's get to our October winners...

First, for the Color Challenges, a big congrats to PEGGY, who rocked a TRIFECTA with this gorgeous page:

and also, a big WOOT WOOT for this lovely creation by SHERRIE, who is our Elements Challenge prize winner!

CONGRATS, lucky winners! Please email me (Leah) at spazzicassi@yahoo.ca (note it's not a dot com!), and I'll be sending out some yummy Little Yellow Bicycle goodness and a little shopping happiness to our fabby Elements Challenge sponsor, Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo!

Now, some sad news... I won't go into detail, but I will say that one of these winners was actually by SECOND drawing, because the first name chosen didn't have our blog linked (or even mentioned, actually) on their post, so unfortunately they were disqualified from winning. Dear bloggy friends, please be sure to complete all required steps so that your gorgeous projects aren't made in vain! (Not that they ever truly are, because, well, we're CRAFTERS and we love what we do!)

Welp, that's it for me! Thanks for your patience, sweet friends! You may want to try to get in on ANY of the challenges over the next couple of weeks, because I'll have another little surprise at the end of the month (did you happen to notice how many FOLLOWERS we have here?!), and for those interested in becoming the next Design Dollies, CLICK HERE FOR THE DOLLIE-CALL and deets on how to apply to be on our team! :)

Sketch Challenge time!

2010-11-18T08:19:00.000-05:00

This weeks sketch can be taken in tons of different ways and I know you'll have fun making it yours!

Here's the Dolls interpretations...

Dana

Kristy

Metal

You have until Wednesday Nov 24 at midnight EST to get in on this sketch. If you'd like to rawk the Trifecta you have thru Sunday November 21 to try your hand. I hope you enjoy your stay at the Dollhouse this week!

This month you are playing for this prize...

Don't forget about our DT Call going on NOW!

Tuesday silliness

2010-11-16T14:41:00.000-05:00

Hi to everyone and welcome to Tuesday. I hope everyone is up for a little bit of silliness, because this week our theme is BEING SILLY. Lighten up and share your silly faces, silly situations, silly songs, silly quotes...and to keep you on your toes, include some BUTTONS on your creation too.

Here's a bit of fun from the Dollies to get you in the mood:

From Chiqui:

The next two are both from Nicole:

Karen (that's me) asked her daughter to join in the fun. This is what 9 year old Jasmine created:

So, are you up for a bit of silliness?? Link up your creations by Monday, 22nd November, midnight EST, for your chance to win a shopping voucher from our amazing sponsor Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo.

new COLORS - quickie post!

2010-11-15T06:15:00.002-05:00

Hi crafty friends! Leah here, with a super quick post to share the new Color Challenge, so you can get started! GORGEOUS blue projects for last week's challenge, people! I knew it turned out to be a fabulous combo and you all rocked it!

Okay, so let's kick the week off with something I think you'll all enjoy....

GRASS GREEN, BABY PINK and WHITE
(I'll post the swatch later, but have to run to work!)

Here's some Dollie yumminess for you - hope it inspires!

Our amazing guest Dollie, Karen W, put together this fabby digi ensemble:

I, Leah, made another holiday card - are these elves not the cutest?!

And Penny brought the girlie to the table with this lovely page:

Think you can handle this one? We know you can!

Link up your NEWLY CREATED PROJECTS below by next Sunday, November 21st at midnight EST for your chance to win the November Color Challenge prize pack... It's grown since I last looked at the pile, so you'll want to get in on this! Be sure to link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post, and HAVE FUN!

So you wanna be a DESIGN DOLLIE? Here's the next DOLLIE CALL!

2010-11-14T01:21:00.004-05:00

HELLOOOOOO!

It's that time again, folks! We are still loving our June-December Dollies immensely, and they bring so much to our little area of the internet, that we feel incredibly fortunate to have made such WONDERFUL crafty friends who have shown us tons of dedication and love. We hope they are as PROUD to be Design Dollies as we are proud that they WANTED to be a part of this team. THANK YOU, darlings! We don't know if any of you are thinking of applying for the next term, but it's time for another Dollie-Call, so here we go... Please read the requirements carefully!

We are seeking 3+ creative, fun, out-of-the-box-thinkin', hip, interesting, passionate, open-minded, outgoing crafty people to join us with our weekly challenges.

You must be able to commit to doing one assigned challenge per week (though the option is always there to do more) for a six month term (January - June 2011). We need folks who can spark creativity and are on top of things like deadlines, comments and COMMUNICATION!

You must keep an active personal blog where you'll post each of your projects, promote our challenges, and participate in any special events (blog hops, blog candy, etc.).

Upon fulfillment of this term, each Dollie will receive a special thank you gift from the founding Dollies.

So you think you can hang out in the Dollhouse with us? To apply, send photos of 3 of your FAVORITE projects, highlighting your style, a quick "about me", and why you think you have what it takes to be a great Dollie to our email, designdollies@gmail.com ... All entries must be submitted by Dec 10th. Our new team will go live on Jan 3 when we return from the holidays.

OH, and if you have previously applied, or have enjoyed your time in the Dollhouse so much that you would like to come back or stay longer, we welcome your application! Submit 3 new projects for review for the next term and we'll consider every application very carefully!

If you have any questions before you apply, drop us a line at designdollies@gmail.com we'll do our best to respond quickly. We all look forward to hearing from you!

much Dollie-love,
Kristy, Adina, Karen and Leah

Thursday Sketch Challenge

2010-11-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

This day has been crazy! Most of the things on my To-Do list did not get To-Done. PHEW! But I've got a sketch challenge that I know you're going to like!

Here are the Dollies takes...

Nicole

Kristy

Karen

You have until Wednesday Nov 17 at midnight EST to get in on this sketch. If you'd like to rawk the Trifecta you have thru Sunday November 14 to try your hand. I hope you enjoy your stay at the Dollhouse this week!

It's getting COLD

2010-11-09T06:00:00.144-05:00

Adina-Dollie is taking a short break and this is Karen with you today, helping out behind the scenes for a little while and hosting the Elements Challenge. All the hard work has already been done for the November challenges; I'm just the game show hostess gracefully waving her hands around to point you in the right direction ;)

This week it's GETTING COLD - well, apparently it is in the Northern Hemisphere! Down Under, it's warming up. No matter where in the world you are, show us things that represent COLD - cold water, a dip in the pool, ice, snowflakes, winter photos or what have you, and as an added twist, be sure to include SOMETHING GLITTERY on your creation.

Here's a little Dollies inspiration to get you started:

Dana created this gorgeous layout. Check out the cute deer, and those amazing glittery snowflakes:

Penny has created an adorable layout too - how cool is that title? And the pompom trim detail?

Our amazing Guest Dollie Karen Wray scrapped about her son's first ski experience at Perisher. (See, it does snow in Australia too!)

And for something a bit different KarenB (that's me) added another page to the seemingly never-ending cocktail mini album:

You can create whatever you like - layout, card, home decor item... as long as it fits the theme.

This month the Elements Challenge is sponsored again by Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo. Steph is generously offering a $15 voucher to spend in her store - and she carries an amazing range of products! Pop over and take a look!

What do you need to do to go into the random draw?

* Ensure you follow the criteria ;)
* Post your new creation on your blog or favourite online gallery, with a link back to Design Dollies
* Add your link below by midnight EST, MONDAY 15th November (OR if you're doing the trifecta, link by midnight EST on SUNDAY 14th November)

Have fun, and STAY COOL ;)

Chilly new Dollies colors for you! and visit our Swedish Dollie in his new home!

2010-11-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning, crafty friends! You know what it means when we make it to another Monday, right? :)

COLORS!

We had a handful of submissions for last week's toughie, but seriously, did those colors not look WONDERFUL together? Well I'm making it considerably easier on you this week...

Let's see you play with:

ROYAL BLUE, PALE BLUE, BLACK AND WHITE

HOT, right? And should be a piece of cake, RIGHT?! For those of you with winter approaching, this is a great opportunity to get working on seasonal/holiday pages or cards! Check out what the Dollies have done with this one, and BE INSPIRED (be, be inspired!)...

Leah (that's me!), with a rather untraditional
(at least for me) misty/shimmery holiday card:

Chiqui rocked a CARD, too - we love it when our Dollies
explore their other crafty sides! Isn't this PRETTY?!

and Metal_Minish (who has a brand new bloggy home - CLICK HERE!)
rocked his hot grungy style with this awesome page:

Can ya dig it, my peeps? :) I think you can handle this one, and link up some AMAZING projects, and I'm rather excited to see what you'll do!

Play along for some yummy stuff (still yet to be photographed, I do apologize!) - your projects must be created NEW for this challenge, you must link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post, and you have until next SUNDAY, November 14th at midnight EST to get in on this one!

Happy craftin', and we'll see you tomorrow with a brand new Elements Challenge! (In the meantime, you have until tonight at midnight EST to play with the CURRENT Elements Challenge - "little wee ones"!)

Sketch Challenge time!

2010-11-04T08:53:00.001-04:00

Did you all read the news this week? If you haven't then scoll on down to our Elements and Color Challenge to get caught up on all the gossip :) Today's challenge is brought to you by the word: Sketch. That's right S-K-E-T-C-H, Sketch. lol And here it is!

The Dollies are bringing it STRONG today!

Karen Wray our amazing GDT for November!

Penny

Kristy

So your mission if you choose to accept it (all about the TV/Movie lingo today!) is to take on this sketch and give it all your crafty skills! Not enough of a challenge? You could go Trifecta on it but its not required :) You have until Wednesday November 10 at midnight EST to get in on the sketch or thru Sunday for a Trifecta. Let's see the love!

ps... be back later today with prizes and winners!

Wee Little Elements!

2010-11-02T18:03:00.003-04:00

HELLOOOOOOO crafty friends! Leah here, posting what will PROBABLY be the last Elements Challenge before our Doll Karen takes over this here spot for a while... So I'm goin' out with a bang!

The winner of our October Elements Challenge prize will be announced within the next couple of days - we're just trying to iron out all the little details so things will continue to run smoothly around here, so thanks for your patience, everybody! We figure this is a better alternative than shutting down for a hiatus - wouldn't you agree? Gonna keep things running and hoping to inspire you every week as usual! :D

I had fun setting the challenges this month, and our participants will again be playing for a $15 credit to shop at Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo, our regular sponsor for the Elements Challenges! Check out Steph's store and see all the WONDERFUL products she carries - there's loads of new/current stuff and pre-orders, as well as some old faves, whether you're looking for papers, ribbon, embellies, adhesive or tools. You WILL find something you simply MUST have at Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo!

So let's kick November off with your first Elements Challenge, shall we?

Our theme:
WEE LITTLE ONES

This is OPEN TO INTERPRETATION! This could mean little tiny people, very small embellies, something wee in your photos/images, mini ornaments or mini cards, or whatever. just stick to the theme and you'll be all set.

Here's the Dollie work:

CHIQUI used a photo of the wee little hand of her daughter when she was born - is this not a GORGEOUS simplistic page, perfectly showcasing the photo?!

KAREN put this fantastic little set of mini holiday cards/tags together using some wine glass charms that she saved from one of last year's magazines:

and I, Leah the Orange, have been laboring over my holiday cards, so I've put together some minis using lots and lots of scraps and little holiday charms:

SOOOOOO, you can go LOTS of different places with our theme this week, and you can combine it with yesterday's Color Challenge if you like (in which case your link must be submitted by SUNDAY at midnight EST), but be sure that your project is newly created (no backlinking) for our challenge, link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post, and HAPPY CRAFTING! :) For just this one, submit by Monday, November 8th at midnight EST for your chance at the store credit.

another new month with the Design Dollies - new colors and new NEWS!

2010-11-01T10:00:00.001-04:00

WELCOME to the Dollhouse, friends! We are kicking off November in STYLE, and throwing some supah-fun new challenges your way for the month...

I want to thank EVERYONE who played around with my October Color Challenges - I know some of them were a bit tricky, but those who played TRULY impressed us, and we're always so pleased when our challenges INSPIRE you! Some of you left us some terribly sweet feedback, for which we are very grateful. Your kind words keep us going, and going, and going, so you won't be rid of us Dollies for a while! :)

That said, we have a couple of announcements to make...

First of all, my apologies, because with my frantic schedule, I am not able to draw a winner from the October Color Challenges yet, but I will get to that as soon as I can. Thank you all for the patience you show us when we run into these little (annoying) snags!

Second, I know I mentioned it last week, but a very heartfelt MWAH to Andrea, who rocked our Guest Dollie spot last month! She gave us some incredibly inspiring pieces, and it was an absolute JOY to have her in the Dollhouse!

Third, we give a warm Dollhouse welcome to KAREN WRAY, who will be joining in the November Challenges as our next Guest Dollie! If you haven't been to Karen's blog, DO check it out HERE - the girl's got MAD SKILLZ, and we're thrilled and totally honored to have her! You'll get to see her stuff very soon, so get ready to have your socks knocked off! :D

Fourth, the next Dollie-Call will be up VERY SOON (yeah, I also mentioned that last week) - we're looking for some dedicated crafty folks to hang out with us from January through June 2011, and we're SO excited to see what fabulous applications we'll receive for the upcoming term! I will warn you though - our current team is gonna be a SERIOUSLY tough act to follow! :D

Fifth, our Adina-Dollie is taking a little hiatus. No worries folks, she's doing fine, and the family is happy and healthy; she's just a gal with a whole lot on her plate right now. So she'll be popping by when she can, and she'll still be watching, and she WILL be back when the time is right!

Sixth, we needed someone to step in for Adina-Dollie, as there's just no way Kristy and I can handle it ourselves... So we have invited our very own KAREN to be a Dollie admin in the meantime! She'll be hosting the Elements Challenges and entertaining you while Adina deals with life and stuff, so please be kind, and if we run into any snags, don't be afraid to leave a comment or send an email to let us know (like when our InLinkz isn't up or running, or if you catch some strange error, or whatever else might be concerning). We're QUITE confident that Karen's going to make an awesome admin, so we welcome her with giant long-distance hugs and lots of appreciation! :D

So now it's time.... let's DO IT!

This week's Color Challenge:

RED, YELLOW, AQUA and BLACK

You might wanna sit down for this, 'cuz holy WOWZA,
our Dollies' projects will take your breath away!

DANA's gorgeous bathing beauty card gives us a nice warm spot
with this cold weather upon us:

KAREN's beachy page just SCREAMS summer fun
(and brrr, it's not swimming weather here in New Jersey right now!):

NICOLE TOTALLY rocked this travel-themed layout
(the girl sure gets to see a lot of the world - I'm so jealous!):

And I (Leah the Orange) am still pounding out the winter/holiday cards for the upcoming craft fair, so I couldn't resist with this cute little snowfella:

And that's how it's done! I know that sometimes the colors may seem intimidating, but if you REMOVE one of the colors from the combo and think of it strictly for accents, it often makes things a LOT easier, as you can see by the awesome Dollie talent above! So do you want to play?

Create a NEW project for this challenge. Link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post (or in the forum where your photo can be found, so others can come by for a visit). Link up below using the little froggy dude. Do all of this by next SUNDAY, November 7th at midnight EST and you'll be entered to win some scrummy crafty stuff! I will post a picture of this prize when I announce the winner from the October Color Challenges (but ask anyone who's ever won a Dollies prize - they don't suck!). Go get your craft on! :D

Sketch time :)

2010-10-28T14:36:00.001-04:00

Welcome back! Our last challenge for the week (and month!) is upon us! We hope you're gearing up to play with this weeks Elements and Color Challenge but now I have this weeks sketch

Of course our Dollies are here to inspire you! :)

Dana

Kristy

Chiqui

There's a whole lot to work with this week, lots of space to make this sketch YOURS! Let's see it! Link it up by Wednesday Nov 3rd to get in for this months draw! Or if you are uber inspired try your hand at our Trifecta by Sunday night!

Mixin' it up with new ELEMENTS CHALLENGE!

2010-10-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

So you wanna win a gift certificate from our fantastic sponsor, Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo?
Well this is your last chance to get your entries in for our October Elements Challenges, so GOOD LUCK!

This week, we want to see...

MIXED MEDIA!
You need to mix it up, and use different types of media on your project, so that could mean anything like paint and canvas and collage and decoupage and wood and fabric and cardboard, etc. You get the picture?

Here's some inspiration from our Dollies:

Nicole made this fun wooden sign and added paint, ink and iron-on decals she printed on her computer - her daughter is going to LOVE hanging this in her room!

Karen made 'canvas' out of cardboard, added some paints and metallic wrapping paper, doctored it up and made it a functional piece of scrappy art!

and in case you still need something to give your mojo a boost, here's something Leah (me!) made using wrapping paper as a base, coated it with scraps of paper, then stamped and embellished with lots of bits and bobs - it's a full-sized accordion file:

Are you up for this? We know it might be a bit more of a challenge, but remember that you can also create cards and scrapbook pages (and bookmarks and ATCs and lots of other things!) using mixed media, so the sky's the limit!

Feel free to combine this with yesterday's Color Challenge, or wait until Thursday's Sketch Challenge posts and combine all THREE for this week's TRIFECTA! On its own, this challenge closes next Monday, November 1st at midnight EST, but remember to have your entries uploaded by Sunday at midnight for any of the combinations, because the new Color Challenge will post next Monday. Don't forget to link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post, no backlinks, and GOOD LUCK! We'll have some winners to announce next week!

OOPS! Important update!

2010-10-25T21:37:00.004-04:00

My apologies, folks! Not only to you, our fabulous friends and visitors to the Dollhouse, but to our wonderful (and horribly patient) Guest Dollie for October, ANDREA! She'd sent me her project for today's challenge several days ago and I had mixed it up with this week's upcoming Sketch Challenge, so her talent was sorely missed on the blog today!

Here's Andrea's Black, White and Purple project
(and CLICK HERE to see the updated challenge post!):

Is this not the CUTEST little pea pod you've ever seen?! :D

Andrea, thank you VERY MUCH for playing with us in the Dollhouse this month - you've been a fantastic addition to our team, and we've all loved seeing your gorgeous creations! I'm so sorry for the mix-up today!

Last Color Challenge for October - some Little Yellow Bicycle up for grabs!

2010-10-25T10:00:00.001-04:00

Good mornin', folks! Hope you're all geared up for another week - both in the Dollhouse and in your respective lives! We're always glad when you drop by, and hopefully we'll be able to help you get those creative juices flowing again with another Color Challenge!

Didn't see too many entries for last week's combo - guess I stumped you a bit? Those we did get were flippin' fantastic, so thanks to those brave enough to play! (I'm sure you were as happy with the results as I was to see 'em!)

Let's just cut right to the chase today... Pretty sure this one will be a lot easier, so I expect many more entries for a shot at this month's Color Challenge prize! I didn't get a chance to photograph it, what with starting my job training (with a big commute every day) and with entertaining my penpal from England for the last 2 weeks, but trust me when I say it's lots of fun (and Karen was kind enough to provide it - thanks Dollie!)...

So here we go! I wanna see.....

BLACK, WHITE and PURPLE!

I KNOW you can do this one! 'Cuz our Dollies had no trouble with this one at all, and once you see these projects, you won't be lacking in the inspiration department! :) Check 'em out...

ANDREA, our wonderfully talented Guest Dollie for October,
shared this adorable page featuring her little pea-pod sweetheart:

I, Leah, played with my Nesties and my yummy new Maya Mist:

(inside reads "Congratulations are in order!")

Karen created this stunner of a page of her daughter
with some seriously jaw-droppin' doodly action!

Penny made a page about her daughter, too, and combined lots of
fabby shades of purple with some of the CUTEST buttons I've ever seen!

Now I just DARE you to say that there are no wheels turnin' in those crafty little minds of yours! You wanna play? Well whatcha waitin' for?

You have until next Sunday, October 31st at midnight EST to link up a NEWLY CREATED project, and be sure to link back here so you'll be eligible for this month's prize! Have fun, and happy craftin'!

OH, and while I cringe to think about this, we're coming up on the end of this term for our Design Dollies, and will be holding the next Dollie Call very soon for the January - June term. Stay tuned for the deets, and start thinking about what you'd like to submit if you want to hang out with us in the Dollhouse!

Sketch Fun!

2010-10-21T08:05:00.000-04:00

Kristy here for Kristy-Dollie today :) We are getting our bits together and have our last ingredient for this week's Trifecta. Well not only can you make a fabby Trifecta with it you can just use it by its lonesome...

inspiration from...

our uber talented GDT Andrea!

Chiqui

Kristy

The lil shift shuffle this week has all come together so let's now see what YOU can PUT together with either this sketch, our Elements Challenge and/or to die for Colour Challenge. Don't be shy, you know you can mix those ingredients for a tasty smoothie! (Can you tell I'm watching cooking shows right now? HA!) Show us what you got right here!

Wearing our HEARTS on our sleeves...

2010-10-19T21:12:00.002-04:00

Hey gang! Leah here, filling in for Adina-Dollie - we're a little mixed up in the Dollhouse this week, so please bear with us while we get things ironed out... I've got a FUN challenge for you all this week, and our Dollies have hit it home with awesome projects to inspire you!

We wanna see HEARTS!
Lots and lots of 'em as a recurring element on your creations this week...

HEARTS! Yeah, you should have NO trouble with this one, but in case you get stumped, here's how it's done...

Dana-Dollie WOWED us with this gorgeous page (which I think will make a fantastic front page for an album):

Penny-Dollie created a little piece of fabulosity for the love notes from her daughter:

And I (Leah) had a little fun with a huggy card for a friend I'm missing:

Easy enough, right? Let's see what you can come up with for this one, and play along by next MONDAY, October 25th at midnight EST for your chance to win a $15 gift certificate to spend at our fabulous sponsor's shop, Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo!

Remember that your projects must be created NEW for this challenge, and you must link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post in order to be eligible for this month's prize... You may combine challenges (with yesterday's Color Challenge or this coming Thursday's Sketch Challenge), but if you opt for that Trifecta action - for a chance to win any or ALL of this month's prizes - you only have until SUNDAY, October 22nd at midnight EST to play along.

Have fun, happy crafting, and much much love from all of the Design Dollies!

New week in the Dollhouse

2010-10-18T10:21:00.000-04:00

Kristy here for Leah-Dollie who had an early work day after a late night of croppin :) So on with the show!

Today's color combo has been explained as "weird" and "christmasy" but I think it just sounds fabby! Let's see what you can do with the combo of

Green and Silver

Our Dollies certainly took it and ran with it!

Karen

Metal Minish

Nicole

See what I mean? I'm calling it fabby! You could go weird or christmasy if you want but let's see how you are inspired on your own ;) You have until Sunday Oct 24th @ midnight EST if you want to wait for the last two bits of the Trifecta or if you just want to rawk the color combo, same date same time. So I hope you enjoy your stay in the Dollhouse this week!

Sketchin' it up in the Dollhouse!

2010-10-14T09:08:00.003-04:00

We are back for another week in the Dollhouse! Today's Sketch has sure broght about some fabby insiration from the Dollies, check it out...

Penny

Metal Minish

So there you have it! Let's see what you can create. You have until Wednesday Oct 20 at midnight EST to get in on the sketch (with a NEWLY CREATED PROJECT) OR Sunday Oct 17 at midnight EST to get your Trifecta on and seriously, this week's combo is screamin for a good Trifectain! :)

Another Elementary Tuesday for ya!

2010-10-12T08:04:00.002-04:00

And welcome to another wonderful challenge week! First and foremost, I MUST congratulate our September Elements winner...

How could you help but "FALL" in love with this gorgeous file folder album by Cheryl???

Cheryl, congrats on the win! Please email us with your contact info and I'll forward details on how to go about activating your Scrap-A-Doodle Doo Gift Certificate! :)

And now, onto this month's first Elements Challenge (and you are once again playing for a $15 Gift Certificate to Scrap A Doodle Doo... I was with them last weekend and they have ALL the newest CHA release stuff...GORGEOUS pieces for the upcoming holidays, you have GOT to check 'em out!! Mention the Dollies when you do!!!)

Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to create a THEMED project... That means a minimum or two or three matching pieces...

Like our Guest Dollie ANDREA did with this adorable
card and bookmark combo (don't you love that owl?!)

or like Adina did for these birthday party decorations:

Or a complementary gift package like our Dollie Chiqui came up with
to celebrate the Halloween season:OR something as innovative as Nicole's GORGEOUS themed gift package with autumn blessings... SO, let's see your themed creations (at least two or three pieces, with similar design features and a "theme" in mind) by no later than midnight on Monday, October 18th via the inlinkz feature below! Don't forget, your projects must be created NEW for this challenge, and you MUST link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post. Have fun!

The Design Dollies want some WOW...

2010-10-11T10:00:00.000-04:00

How did you like my last color challenge, folks? Well, quite frankly, *I* loved it, and I certainly loved what I saw from all of you! WONDERFUL creations, and fabulous use of the colors (which, clearly, did not stump you at ALL). I ended up totally digging the brown, red, blue and ivory combination, and I think it's going to become a classy go-to combo for me in the future.

I must apologize, as I still have not been able to photograph the prize for my October challenges, but I have it all put together and ready, and I'll just tell you that it's a fabby little bunch of Little Yellow Bicycle goodies, courtesy of our very own Karen-Dollie! Lots of fun stuff (the papers are FABULOUS), and a great travel theme. I hope to be able to actually USE my camera sometime in the next couple of days, so I'll post some piccies as soon as I'm able.

NOW, the real reason you're all here! You want a new challenge? I'll GIVE YOU a new challenge! This one's probably one of the easier ones I've given in quite a while, so ENJOY!

PINK, TURQUOISE and WHITE

Told you it was an easy one! I doubt you'll need it, but I'm going to show you what our Dollies have done with this one, because I am just terribly excited about all the talent we have floating around our humble little Dollhouse! Take a look...

Dana (that artsy mama) gave us this FANTASTIC themed page (although I can't say I'm a fan of the subject matter) - the paper is ADORABLE, and her little lady is just the cutest thing...

I, Leah the Orange, made another Thank You card, as I seem to have many reasons for which to be thankful lately! (Dontcha just LOVE the De-Lovely line from Cosmo Cricket?!)

The uber-talented Karen went for uber-girlie and rocked these
colors with a gorgeous floral creation (the dragonfly is SO awesome!):

Are you inspirated? :)
Whatcha gonna do with this combination? I'm sure we Dollies will be impressed, and I can't wait to see your creations! So I'll let you get to it, and all you have to do is remember...

link up below with a NEWLY-CREATED PROJECT;
link BACK to the Dollhouse in your blog post;
combine with either or both of this week's upcoming challenges for more chances to win;
and do it by next SUNDAY, October 17th at midnight EST.
Off you go!

September Winner and October Sketch!

2010-10-07T09:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to October in the Dollhouse! Yup its the 7th but its the first October Sketch so Welcome! :) We've got a sketch open for lots of interpretation coming up but first I've got the September Winner for ya!

~Amy~ gave us this lovely take on last weeks sketch. I heart the white space take and the lovely banner sets of that GAWGESS ring so sweetly!

Thanks for everyone who played along with us and here's your first go at October...

Here's the Dollies inspiration...

Say hello to Andrea our October GDT

Karen

Nicole

Kristy

So there you have it! Let's see what you can create. You have until Wednesday Oct 13 at midnight EST to get in on the sketch (with a NEWLY CREATED PROJECT) OR Sunday Oct 10 at midnight EST to get your Trifecta on. I will be back with the October prize pack as I always forget to take my piccys :)

October Elements Challenges have kicked off!

2010-10-06T18:06:00.003-04:00

Hey there folks! Leah here, filling in for our Adina-Dollie, who can't come to the phone - er - INTERNET right now, but she'll be back soon with our September Elements Challenges prize winner, I promise! Thanks for your patience, dear friends! We know you all understand that life gets in the way of our crafty fun sometimes... ;)

Thanks for all of your participation and gorgeous inspiration in our September Elements Challenges - we LOVED seeing everyone's entries, and, as always, we are humbled by the attention you give our little blog here. :)

Let's kick off the October Elements Challenges with something necessary, shall we? Ready? How about joining me in a little song......

"it's beginning to look a lot like..."

Yep, you guessed it! The Design Dollies are doing it all up HOLIDAY-STYLE! Let's see what wonderful Christmas/Holiday projects you can create - and remember it can be a card, scrapbook page, altered item, decoration, frame or other altered thing... Whatever floats your boats! We know we have friends all over the globe and from a variety of backgrounds (religious or otherwise), so anything to do with the holidays is absolutely welcome!

For a little inspiration, and maybe to get those holiday juices flowing (because quite frankly, I am TOTALLY struggling to get these projects rollin'!), here's what's been going on in the Studio at the Dollhouse...

Dana-Dollie made this BEAUTIFUL Christmas journal album -what a GREAT way to preserve the season's memories (and maybe look back to see what you might want to do DIFFERENTLY when next Christmas rolls around!):

Our Norwegian Nerdy-Dollie, Metal_Minish, brings us a very non-traditional Christmas TREE ("Jul" being Swedish for "Christmas") - in his very cute, unique and quirky style:

(And Adina-Dollie may be back to share her crafty little bidnizz when she's able to visit again, so watch for that!)

We Dollies are all about doing things a bit DIFFERENTLY, so we'd love to see what fabby and unique things you're going to show us! Link your projects below by next Monday, October 11th at midnight EST and you'll be entered to win a little something yummy from our sponsor, Scrap-A-Doodle-Doo!

September winner, and another funky color combo!

2010-10-04T10:00:00.001-04:00

Hey there, friends and visitors to the Dollhouse! Thanks for dropping by again, and OOOHHH, we have a fabby October in store for you!

Let's kick things off first by saying THANK YOU to everyone who played along with the September Color Challenges - participation was wonderful, even for the colors that were outside many people's comfort zones, and the projects were just incredible. We love that so many talented crafters from around the WORLD (and it's a pretty big place, you know!) come to play along on our little blog. We are forever humbled!

So who was the big winner of this delish batch of BasicGrey goodness? Well a big congrats to the Trifectin' gal who gave us THIS little gem:

Well done, Roz K! You rocked the challenges last week, and kicked the Trifecta in the butt, and as a result, I will be very happy to send you THIS:

Roz, please drop me, Leah, a line at spazzicassi@yahoo.ca, and I will get these Halloweenie treats out for you!

So are you folks READY?! For the next round of challenges? 'Cuz we Dollies had a ton of fun with this one, your very first OCTOBER CHALLENGE! Here we go....

Red, Blue, Ivory and Brown

Now don't go getting all antsy on me - I KNOW you can do this! Our Dolls made it look easy (and I promise, it was!)... See for yourselves:

Penny rocked another of her famous two-pagers with this mucky little creation:

Chiqui gave us this gorgeous brown page with colors that just LEAP off the screen at you!

I, Leah the Orange, opted for a couple of krafty cards (natch!):

SEE? You CAN do this, people! Lots of manufacturers have JUST the papers in their recent collections to make this work, so now I leave this challenge in your very capable hands and I can't WAIT to see you work your magic. :)

I have a rather impressive pile of goodies to photograph, but I'm afraid I may not be able to do it for a few days, so you'll just have to take my word for it that the prize will be a good one, and well worth the effort for combos such as these. Scouts honor!

Play along with this one by next Sunday, October 10th at midnight EST and your name goes into "the hat" for this month's prize. Your project must be created NEW for the challenge, and you must link back here (at least to the Dollies blog, please!). Also, we've gotten some entries that link to an image rather than a blog post, or to the general blog rather than the specific post. When you publish your post featuring your Dollies challenge card, view that specific post and link THAT addy up below so that we may more easily find your gorgeous projects and leave you some Dollie-love!

Have fun with it, folks, and join us tomorrow for our second Trifecta ingredient! (click the link if you currently have a "what the HECK are you talking about?!" look on your face and you'll get the deets!)

Last Sketch of the Month!

2010-09-30T07:33:00.002-04:00

I hate to say it but this is the last sketch of the month! Where the heck has the time gone? sigh Well let's hop to it!

Be inspired by our Dollies!

Karen

Dana

Kristy

So there you have it! Are the ideas coming alive in your noggin? Run with it! Let's see what you can create. You have until Wednesday Oct 6 at midnight EST to get in on the sketch OR Sunday Oct 3 at midnight EST to get your Trifecta on.

Final Elements Challenge for September!

2010-09-28T21:07:00.005-04:00

Welcome back Doll fans! Our final elements challenge for the month is a recipe for ya... This week, please use the following items in your next project:

1. A ticket (any type)
2. The color yellow
3. Polka dots
4. Paint
5. Journaling or a WORDY sentiment

And as always, we have some intrepid examples to help you get that mojo going...

From Chiqui, she has this AMAZING brick looking Back to School page
And Penny wowed us with this double page work of art:

My camera is officially kaput, so hopefully I'll be able to share my creations with the blogosphere at another date, but in the meantime, get cracking on YOUR work of art and upload via the little froggy by Midnight on Monday, October 4th to be included in the final Elements drawing (and a SWEET certificate to Scrap A Doodle Doo!) for the month! Happy Scrappin!

LAST Color Challenge for Sept - win YUMMY BasicGrey!

2010-09-27T08:57:00.004-04:00

Monday again!
If you're stuck at work, well it just means you have something to look forward to when you go home, 'cuz I have a brand new COLOR CHALLENGE for you - the last one of the month, and your last chance to win THIS:

HOT prize pack of Halloweeny goodness from BasicGrey plus some coordinating fixin's!

You wanna know what to do THIS week? Well here's your very first ingredient for the final TRIFECTA of September....

LAVENDER, TAN and NAVY

And we'd like to give a HUGE thank you to JINGLE, who has played with us in the Dollhouse as our Guest Dollie for the month of September! She's rocked her assignments, and I'm quite sure she's wowed you, too, so drop by her blog and leave some love (and do follow - she's FULL of brilliant ideas!).

Here's Jingle's last Dollies project for this month:

And a little something from moi, Leah the Orange:

A tasty little country-inspired card from our Dollie Nicole:

And a lovely page with some fabby details from our Nerd-Dollie, Metal_Minish:

A few of our Dollies were a bit intimidated by these colors - what do you think? They still managed to rock it, didn't they?

Well if you're willing to brave this one, you'll get entered to win the fabby prize above, and all you have to do is make something (anything!) NEW (no back-linking!), enter your link below, link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post, and make sure it's submitted by next SUNDAY, October 3rd at midnight EST.

You are welcome to wait until tomorrow's Elements Challenge, or even Thursday's Sketch Challenge release, if you'd like to combine any or all of these for chances to win MORE yummy prizes, but it all wraps up Sunday night, so have at 'er! Happy craftin', folks!

Sketch Thursday

2010-09-23T15:23:00.000-04:00

Howdy howdy challenge go'ers! Another week is almost in the can and we have officially stepped into fall. Though 87 degrees here in Michigan makes me wanna close my eyes and pretend otherwise :) Today's sketch is a pleaser I think! Let's hop to!

Here's the Dollies inspiration board!

our uber creative GDT Jingle

Penny

Nicole

Kristy

So there you have it! Are the ideas coming alive in your noggin? Run with it! Let's see what you can create. You have until Wednesday Sept 29th at midnight EST to get in on the sketch OR Sunday Sept 26 at midnight EST to get your Trifecta on.

Welcome fall!!

2010-09-21T23:29:00.006-04:00

Hello all, and welcome to the Fall season! Today marks the last day of summer (officially), and I don't know about you, but in my neck of the woods (no pun intended!), the leaves are already beginning to turn red and orange in preparation for the autumn months!

So in honor of this crisp time of year, please use plenty of fall leaves in your next project of choice. As always, we have some examples for ya!

Check out Karen's gorgeous foliage on this page:

While Metal_Minish went all Vintage on us with THIS doozy:

And Adina got paper piecey happy for this altered project:

So crack out some leaf makers or left over leafy scraps and get scrap happy with us this week! Upload your fall foliage projects via the little froggy for inclusion in the drawing for this month's $15 Shopping Spree at Scrap-A-Doodle Doo! Your projects must be created NEW for this challenge, and you MUST link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post in order to be eligible. Have fun!

COLORS for this week - Black, Burgundy, Yellow!

2010-09-20T11:42:00.004-04:00

Okay folks, it's Monday again, so we have wrapped up yet another Trifecta - and HOOOOOOO nellie! Lemme tell ya, some AMAZING Trifectae have come our way in the last four days! You folks are just incredible, and we LOVE that you enjoy combining our challenges and rollin' 'em all into one gorgeous project!

So today, allow me to bring you the FIRST ingredient for this week's Trifecta....

Your colors are:
BLACK, BURGUNDY and YELLOW
with the option of WHITE

When you check out these examples from our Dollies, you tell ME if it looks like they've struggled with this combination! Some of them have said they found it to be a bit tough, but I'm not buying it. Here's why...

Dana's gorgeous layout just BEGGED for these colors - check out that upholstery!

A classy card from yours truly, Leah the Orange, who found that
BasicGrey seemed to love this combo as well! (hint, hint!)

Chiqui nailed it with a stunning romantic page, and
Little Yellow Bicycle gave her exactly what she needed!

So how ya like DEM apples? We know you can rock it, so no complaints about how HARD this color combo is... You've got it in you, friends, and I can't wait to see whatcha got!

Here's a look at the prize for this month's Color Challenges:

'Cuz I DO loves me the BasicGrey! Play along for your chance to win! Remember, your creations must be NEW for this challenge, you MUST link back to the Dollhouse, and your link must be added below no later than MIDNIGHT EST on Sunday, September 26th. Happy craftin', and we'll be back tomorrow with a brand new Elements Challenge!

Sketch Challenge

2010-09-16T09:59:00.001-04:00

Well I can't help but think that this week has beenn super busy! It seemed like it started out that way and kept up. But I managed to get my camera up and running which means I not only have a sketch for you but the pic of our September Prize! Yay! What is it you ask?

I hope you likey and it gives you a push to play along! NOW... here is today's sketch!

Here is our Dollies' inspiration...

Adina

Chiqui

Metal_Minish

Kristy

So many ways to take this one! So what do you have in store for us? I can't wait to see! If you are just going to interpret this sketch, your due date is Wednesday Sept 22 @ midnight EST. Combining it with either or both of our other challenges? Then you have until Sunday Sept 19 @ midnight EST. Remember your projects must be NEW for our challenges, and you MUST link back to the Dollhouse in your blog post!

Happy Birthday... to YOU...

2010-09-14T19:49:00.007-04:00

Welcome to a fabby Elements Tuesday with your favorite Dollies!!! Before I get into this week's challenge, it is my pleasure to announce last month's winner of the FABULOUS Basic Grey prize pack from Scrap-A-Doodle Doo!!

SO, congrats to the ORIGINAL Glitterbabe, Stef H for this gawjuss creation:
Please email us with your snail mail addy so we can get that Basic Grey kit out your way! :)

This month's Elements Prize is also sponsored by Scrap-A-Doodle Doo, where you can enjoy a $15 spending spree at their online store. Check 'em out and start creating your wish list! (Right AFTER you play with this week's challenge, that is!)

SO, get out your Birthday sentiments and create a Birthday Inspired project. Can be a Birthday card or a layout or an altered item, but the Birthday theme must be predominant! (Easy one?!?)

Here's what the Dollies have for ya...

Adina made some... ODD invitations for her DD's Seventh Birthday party

(featuring the yet to be released Spa Kaylee!!)

While Nicole made the MOST adorable Chick Birthday card! :) (Don't you LOVE her coloring? And those felt flowers are TOO cute!)

And Ms. Penny cranked out her creative and doodling genius for this adorable card!

(Check out the texture on the cupcake holder! SO creative!)

And there you have it! In order to get your name placed in the drawing for this month's prize, please upload your projects via Mr. Linky by Midnight on Monday, September 20th. And for you Trifecta fanatics, Kristy will be back on Thursday with this week's sketch, which you will have until Sunday to use with yesterday's color challenge and today's elements piece! :) Best of luck!

BRIGHT Color Challenge with huge prize for September!

2010-09-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, my apologies for posting this so late - it's been one HECKOFADAY! You know the kind I'm talking about, right? I'm sure you do, and I hope you'll forgive me.

Hopefully this week's Color Challenge will be a little easier than last week's Grey, Green and White combo - I think that brought the LOWEST number of participants for one of my challenges since the Dollies kicked off in October 2009! Well those of you who did play along totally ROCKED the colors, so thank you for braving it! :)

Today/tonight, something that might be a bit easier (but still totally up my alley!). I give you...

BLUE, GREEN, ORANGE and RED

Technically, you can use any shades of these, but red is RED, not pink or wine or burgundy or what have you... So do with this combination what you will! You can create anything you like, as long as these are the PREDOMINANT colors.

Feast your eyes on some Dollie inspiration:

Jingle, our AMAZING Guest Dollie for September, made a glass
slide ornament and played with alcohol inks... CHECK THIS OUT!

The lovely Dana brought some elegance to the table with this wonderful notecard:

The doodly Karen gave us some serious WHIMSY with this quirky little page:

and I, Leah the Orange, used up some scraps and started
the rebuilding of my birthday card stash:

See? Not so bad, right? Well if you want to play along, you'll be in the running for THIS:

But it's IMPORTANT that you follow the rules - we don't ask much!

Create something NEW for this project (no linking to projects already created or posted). Link to your POST, not to your general blog, so it's easy for us to find you and shower you with Dollie love. Link BACK to the Dollhouse in your post, so people reading your blog can check out our challenges for themselves (and fall madly in love with Design Dollies!). :) Play along by Sunday, September 19th at midnight, EST. You can combine this one with either or both of the challenges for this week, but everything resets on Sunday at midnight, and starts over again on Monday with the next color challenge. If you're not sure about any of this, CLICK HERE for information about the TRIFECTA! If you combine challenges and follow all the rules, you're eligible for any of those prize packages for the month. We know a lot of you combine challenges around the blogosphere, so why not play in one place for chances at three different prizes? :) Yeah, we think it's a pretty great concept, too.

Happy craftin', folks!

Color Challenge coming soon!

2010-09-13T10:07:00.000-04:00

Morning, friends and visitors of the Dollhouse!

I've spent the morning running around with my hubbin, trying to figure out what's wrong with his car, and we are waiting for the tow truck to arrive so we can get it to my dealership. We'll probably be there a while, and hopefully they can fix it today. I'll be back later this afternoon or this evening with the new challenge - please be patient! :D

Sketch it up!

2010-09-09T09:36:00.001-04:00

Is it just me or has fall jumped on in without a proper send off to summer? Its like BAM cold September1. I've got a sweater on for cripes sake. Oh well. We've got some hot dolls here for ya today to whisk away the cold so let's get this party started!

Here's the Hawt Dolls now...

Karen

Nicole

Kristy

I hope you enjoy playing with this easy breezey sketch. LOs based soley on the sketch are due Wednesday Sept 15th by midnight EST. Combining 2 or more of this week's challenges? Then your due by Sunday Sept 12 at midnight EST. Have fun!

September's COLOR CHALLENGES prize! ooohhh, spooooky!

2010-09-08T13:34:00.003-04:00

Wanna know what you'll be playing for this month? If you participate in ANY of my Color Challenges during the month of September, either on their own or combined with the Elements or Sketch challenges for the week, you'll be entered to win ALL OF THIS:

THE HALLOWEEN PACK!
BasicGrey's "Eerie" collection pack: 18 double-sided 12x12 papers, 1 sheet of coordinating alpha stickers, 1 sheet of coordinating cardstock stickers (I LOVE THE BORDER STICKERS!)
BasicGrey's "Eerie" Chip Stickers - 4 sheets of spooky, sticky goodness! the TREE is my fave!
BasicGrey's "Eerie" Epoxy Stickers - 1 sheet of 17 cute accent stickers
BasicGrey's "Eerie" Rub-ons - 5 sheets of some of the SMOOTHEST rub-ons you've ever tried!
my assortment of spooky trims - 7 strips of approximately 1 yard each (36 inches) in black, kraft, purple, orange, green
my assortment of spooky brads - a WHOLE BUNCH in matching colors and shapes!
1 gold and 1 silver gel pen

everything you see in these photos - that's a whole lot of Halloween cards and scrappy pages!

Yesterday's COLOR CHALLENGE was the first for the month, so GET IN ON IT!