Thank you!

Thank you to Oozak for being such a great sponsor.

A great big "Thank you" to our group of Die Cut Divas for giving such great examples for the month of August.  I'm sorry if I stumped some of you on the challenge, but I couldn't stump our Divas here.  I can hear the ground shake and the air move with fireworks on this first card.

Gwen is a Some Odd Girl clear stamp and isn't she just sweet?  

Be sure to visit Cathie at House of Borowski.

Marsha did a fantastic card for Operation Write Home (OWH), using MFT circle dies which can be purchased at Oozak.  You'll want to visit Marsha at Gramma's Room real soon.

Hilde's comments on cars is classic!  "Here is another classic car image from the internet, Americans seem to be the same car fanatics as we have here in Australia.  All the papers are from my stash, and I used a gadget gear Tim Holtz/Sizzix die and cut the largest one in half for this project."  

Visit Hilde at Happy Glitzy Girl

Hannah presents us with such a lovely maiden here. 

Fine Dining, Fun to be had by all

Arlene at A Bit of This and That

 

Visit Dawn's World to catch a bit of Dawn

Thank you to our sponsor from the Die Cut Divas!

Glitzy and BLue

I colored this gal in my Copics group on Tuesday this week and I really like this.  No paper piecing, all Copic coloring and a swirl of glittery gems too.  When I think Hot August Nights, I think Reno Nevada and when I think of Reno, I think lots of glitz in the hotels, clubs, gambling and dresses.  So here's a bit of glitz for you.

I think she's cute and fits so wonderfully on this tag.

I guess you really don't have to wonder that a Julie Nutting doll would fit

 on a Julie Nutting tag, now would you?  

A little Copics Does you GOOD!

Cogs and wheels, oh my!  An inspector comes to haunt Hot August Nights.  A TIM HOLTZ inspector...  I have to tell you I had my social Copic coloring class today.  This kind of class you have to love.  You bring what you want to color and if you are bringing something that you're having trouble with, you have the teacher there to assist you.  AND she makes lunch for us.  There were 15 people and Susan always makes a salad when it's a warm/hot day.  Salad just does not convey the meal.  This woman makes the most unusual and DELICIOUS salads I have ever had.  Today we also had sandwiches, the bread I need to write the name down because I've never had it before.  YUM!... oh, we colored too!  Since I wanted to make a card for today, I colored my man and put him together tonight.

 Doesn't he just remind you of a Sherlock Holmes?  I think this turned out quite good.  I really like coloring this on watercolor paper with Tim Holtz' Distress markers and a wet brush, but I do like the way this turned out.

A little close up - some gears from large gears from a Die-namics set (clock with hands and these gears)

Hope you like this dude, I'm liking him quite well for a neat guy card.

A little bit retro, maybe a little bit Rock and Roll?

I was thinking this was pretty modern... no, my granddaughter told me it looks like the decade of the 80s.  Upon further thought, I quite agree - an 80s card - retro.  I've gone retro and I didn't even plan it.  Now if I could plan and execute, I'd be doing well.

Retro or not, I rather liked the striped panel (from a box that held black and white note cards) as a major panel on this card.  I used dies from a Dienamics set which I am sure I purchased at Oozak, but can't find it now. There's always something new.  I really like the Fired Brick Distress Paint - how hot can you get with a name like that?

No stamping at all - yes I'm quite surprised at the number of cards I've made with no stamping.  

Arlene at A Bit of This and That

Lemonade, Anyone?

I'd like to let everyone know there will be THREE WINNERS this month, so follow the inspiration by our fantastic DTs and enter our challenge.  I shop at Oozak all the time.  Try it, you'll like it!

Isn't Marsha's card brilliant!  What else would you want but a nice ice-cold glass of lemonade or other delicious drink?  I think she's captured "Hot August Nights" concept perfectly.  Such great colors to convey excitement, cooling off and summer fun.  That cool drink looks good to me, the fun stripes just say "party" and orange note card foundation is fun, excitement and summer.

She inspires me!

See Marsha's blog at Gramma's Room for some great inspiration.

Mid-month Inspiration

Here are some beauties for your mid-month inspiration. I do have to tell you that I do shop at Oozak for my Copics and dies.  They have fantastic prices and their sales are fantastic.  No, they don't pay me to say this.  It's true.

Marsha is bent on keeping us all cool during "Hot August Nights" and I'm LOVING it.  

Visit Marsha at 

Gramma's Room for lots of fun and inspiration.

Arlene's card - New Julie Nutting stamp - Aidan

I really like this kid.  LOL  -  Arlene at A Bit of This atnd That

Cathie makes Hot August Nights HOT

Cathie has hit a home run with this card.  Fire works and buildings reflecting lights with a gorgeous sky above popping with fireworks!  Let the hot August nights continue.

This may seem like the usual card, but it's NOT.   Cathie always has a few tips and tricks for you on her blog.  This is a teaser!  You MUST visit Cathie to see how this fab card opens up.



Cathie is at House of Borowski to see the beauty and unique features of this beautiful card.

I WANT that STRAWBERRY!

This is AUGUST!  We have strawberry stands all along the road I take to work from my house.  Oh, so sweet.  This is a beautiful treat in paper and makes me hungry for strawberries.  YUMMY!

Dawn's got this August thing down, alright.  Enjoy her wonderful Thank you and inspiration for Hot August Nights.

I'm inspired!  

What's in a name? OOZAK

 

Do you ever wonder how some names came into existence?  I've always wondered about OOZAK... I've never heard of an oozak, have you?   Well, what better time to ask when Oozak is graciously sponsoring our blog for August.  

Introducing Rusty of Oozak:

·         

     How did your company come about?

     The local art supply store for which I was the General Manager & buyer for was closing. So, I started selling graphic art equipment & supplies on eBay. It evolved from there.

How did the name of your company ,Oozak, come about?

     I'm in Kalamazoo, MI and a lot of people here call it Kazoo. So, easy enough, Kazoo backwards makes Oozak.

·         How long have you been in business?

    August 2004, hard to believe it's been 10 years already!

·         Where can we find you?
On the web: Oozak.com

·         Can anyone shop with you?  In other words what happens for overseas visitors?
Yes, anyone can shop, I just can't ship COPIC items outside of North America.

·         What is one of your favourite products that you carry & why?
COPIC! The quality cannot be beat. There may be "cheaper options", but in the end, COPIC quality is unsurpassed…made in Japan, not in China. I actually had one of those "cheaper options" tell me that COPIC had "too many colors". Who cares how many colors there are? They proceeded, "people don't need all those colors". OK, dictator, glad you know what everyone needs, I'll stick with COPIC ;)

·         Do you craft & how often do you get a chance to do so?
Not really. If I had more time, I would dabble a bit more. Maybe when the kids get older and I have a bunch of employees ;)

·         Do you have a blog or Face Book page showcasing your products? (not sure if this is the same as #3)
There is a blog, blog.oozak.com, but it's on hold right now, hoping to have it back up and running in the fall. Also on Facebook, facebook.com/oozakcom.

    I hope Rusty has her blog up in the Autumn too.  Even if I didn't enter, I loved checking it out and also oohing and ahhing over all the goodies in her store.    

 Thank you for your interview, Rusty, lots of interesting tidbits and now you and I know the origin of OOZAK, name and company.

What is more perfect on a hot August night than ICE CREAM?

Hilde shows us how to cool off with some yummy ice cream.  I am thinking of going to the store and making a 3 or 4 or 5 dipped ice cream cone... well, maybe that's a bit too much, but that ice cream is making me hungry.  It's hot here and ice cream would certainly cool us down.  

Thank you, Hilde, for some great inspiration for our HOT AUGUST NIGHTS challenge.

Be sure to visit Hilde's blog at Happy Glitzy Girl

Prima Gal on the Reno Runway

Reno is not just about the buildings and "hot" stuff, but people too.  I thought this Prima doll might suit the occasion.  I like to use leftover pieces in my cards, tags and projects, too.  The black and white panel is from a box of black and white note cards which I fell in love with.  The circles are left over from a card using a Memory Box Die.  The stamped background is from an old (and I still LOVE it) 2001 Hero Arts stamp Manuscript Background (H2141).  The buildings are left over from one of my cards, Cityscape Silhouette.

You are actually supposed to paper piece these dolls, but the first thing I did was go for my Copic markers to color her and I do like the way she turned out.  I fussy-cut the doll out and arranged everything to my liking.  The close-up here has a dark blue ribbon now.  I liked the shot of the tag without the ribbon because the ribbon is scrunchy and doesn't photograph well on the card.

I didn't like these dolls at first, but they definitely grow on you.  When I first saw them, my first thought was "THEY HAVE NO FACES" and who would want to buy one... Well, I think they're rather cute now and I like seeing the longer lengths of stamps.  The wonderful tags are perfect for the over-sized dolls. Hancock Park is a great pack of tags too.  The tags are heavy duty, like chipboard and the patterns and colors are marvelous.

Have fun now!

Let's all have some FUN!

Here we have some ladies enjoying the excitement of friends and a bit of bubbly during Hot August Nights. Seeing these gals makes me think of friends and laughter and sharing fun times with my girlfriends  How about you?  This is the first time I've colored these ladies and I'm loving them!  

A little fun never hurt anyone!

Art Impressions - Girlfriends, In the Tub

Now this lady was fun to color and I felt the tag was justified.  Fun! 

I purchased this Art Impressions stamp on Oozak, but don't see it on the site now.  I couldn't help but color her in.  She is too, too much fun!

I hope you like these examples of fun ways to spend an evening, no matter where you live.  I hope you enjoyed these ladies as much as I do.

And we have a winner...

Thank you all for your fabulous projects last month for our buttons and bows challenge.    But there can only be one winner....

Holly E with this lovely project

Congratulations Holly... I'll be in touch. 


Thanks
Dawn & the Divas

HOT AUGUST NIGHTS

Oozak is offering THREE $15.00 gift certificates to the THREE winners of this month's challenge.  All winners are drawn randomly.  And I forgot to give everyone the news that there will be THREE WINNERS this month.

Those on the US western coast know another definition to Hot August Nights than the one you usually think of - right, it's hot in August and sometimes even the nights stay hot.  In Reno, Nevada, it's an entirely different outlook.  As they advertise in Reno, "Celebrating America's Love Affair with Cars and Rock and Roll".   July 29th through August 3rd, 2014, there will be nightly cruising and drag racing in Sparks (city right beside Reno), entertainment, an Auction and of course gambling for those who want to leave their money in Nevada.

Now you know what Hot August Nights means to the western states, but you can interpret "Hot August Nights" in your own way.  Reno is at 4,400 feet elevation, the high desert, so think desert colors, bright starry nights, cars, motorcycles, lights, fireworks, blurring scenes, big wide spaces, chandeliers in the casinos,  glitzy nightwear, cowboys, sexy ladies, rock and roll, streets, and that's just some of it.  Now, what does hot and August mean to you?  Just tell us how you feel you've made your card to fit our challenge.  I hope this makes for a lively bunch of cards.

Now to introduce some examples from our fabulous team:

Arlene with an easel card - Reno with the desert mountains behind her.

Cathie took her inspiration from all the images of Reno with its building landscape at night and a little bit of girlishness with a touch of sequins.  House of Borowski

This is what Hot August nights means to Marsha.  What a lovely scene.

Hilde's first card for Hot August nights.  She used Tim Holtz' gadget gears as her dies.  

She googled Hot August Nights and this is the fantastic card she came up with.

Dawn - A rockabilly girl

 Made By Hannah

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