We're Off to See the Wizard Blog Hop -- A card, a costume, and a cackle or two!! :)

Welcome to the Wizard of Oz Blog Hop!!

I'm so glad you made it down the Yellow Brick Road to see me today!! :)  If you've arrived here from Kari, then you're not lost in the forest  -- You're in the perfect spot!! :)  But if you've dropped in from a spinning house, woken up from a field of flowers, or perhaps just popped over from your email or dashboard, then be sure to CLICK HERE and begin at the beginning so you don't miss any of the Good Fairy Goodness!! :)  Lynne has some Blog-Hop-Goodies to tell you about, so I wouldn't want you to miss those details...

For the hop today I'd like to share a fun easel card I've made....

It's a WELL known fact that I love, love, LOVE The Wizard of Oz...  I have many fond memories of watching this movie when I was a little girl -- I was always intrigued that only the part where Dorothy was "dreaming" was in color, while the rest was black and white...  Life can sometimes be like that -- Our dreams are bright and vivid, infused with COLOR, but it's easier to look at our day-to-day lives as a bit boring (or black and white)...  I guess that's why I picked this sentiment "Attitude is everything" for my card!!  Dorothy went off looking for something when what she really needed (and wanted) was right in her own backyard!! :)

So a LITTLE known fact about me and The Wizard of Oz is that I was able to play the character of Dorothy a few times in my life (I also got to play a witch a WHOLE lot, but that's a story for another day!! --insert cackle here--)...  One of my favorite roles as Dorothy was during Summer Stock Theatre while I was in high school...  If feeling like a movie star could be achieved by crowds of kiddos asking for your autograph on their Xeroxed programs, then lemme tell ya...  I felt like a movie star!!

The second time I got to "play" Dorothy wasn't for a theatre...  It was actually a sort-of mistake!!  I was invited along on a business trip to Las Vegas and we knew there would be a costume party at some point during the trip...  Rather than waiting until we got there (and risking the possibility of not finding a costume store), we decided to find costumes here at home...  I suppose I should have paid a little more attention to the hotel we were staying in before choosing  my all-time favorite character of Dorothy (complete with a "toy" Toto that really barked!!) alongside a costumed Tin Man, because when we stepped into the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel, we found ourselves surrounded by Munchkins and following a Yellow Brick Road...  Oh dear!!  I posed for more pictures on the way to the costume party -- As all the hotel guests were sure I was put in place by the hotel management!!  It certainly was a FUN memory (and I might even choose to make that mistake again if I ever return to Las Vegas!!)...

Okay, enough of those stories...  A few details about my card...

I found these AWESOME Wizard of Oz Digi Stamps from Dustin Pike and Doodle Dragon Studios...  The set comes complete with Dorothy and Toto and the Twister seen here, as well as The Emerald City, the Tin Man, the Lion, the Scarecrow, the Wiched Witch of the East, and the Wicked Witch of the West as nothin' but a puddle... 

I printed the Twister large enough that I could use it as the background...  And speaking of that K Andrew Designs Stamp sentiment "Attitude is everything" (found on the "Positive Thoughts" Stamp Set)...  I normally print my images out at least a day in advance since I color with Watercolor Pencils and a Blender Pen (and I only have an inkjet printer)...  Giving the images time to dry or "set" into the paper keeps my images from bleeding when I get a little carried away with the blender pen. :)  Welllllllll...  I forgot to print these out early and I ruined the first set (especially since I was coloring while lounging and had insufficient light!!)...  Since I was feeling a bit lazy and didn't want to drag out my heat gun or ironing board and iron to HEAT set the image, I thought I'd just hold it near the woodstove and let it "dry" that-a-way....

... If you look closely at the Twister, you'll see the BURN marks showing through from the back of the cardstock!!  Word to the wise...  Never ever "dry" your images in front of the woodstove...  Especially when it's hot enough to boil the kettle of water on top AND when you're also distracted by an episode of "The Middle"....  Hey!!  I made the best of a bad situation, so cackle at me if ya want!! :)

After coloring (and blending) Dorothy's dress, I added some dots and stitches with my white Signo pen...  I also added her (and Toto) to one my Wiggle Wires (have you seen my FUN and EASY tutorial for these yet???).....

...  And whooooooaaaaaa!!  They are wiggling with the Twister there.....

....  tee hee  ....  Too much FUN!! :)  Don't ya just LOVE Dorothy's red sparkly shoes???  :)  **BEEP**BEEP**BEEP**  I'm interrupting this post to say...  The tag that I stamped on can be found on the Creative Memories Traveler Cricut Cartridge (available here)...  We've been challenged to use only ONE Cricut Cartridge ALL week for the Getting Cricky Pre-Hop Preview Week...  I have a stack of cards to share with you over the next several days, so be sure to check back tomorrow (and the next day and the day after that too!!)...  And be sure to check out the links HERE if you'd like to play along with us this week... **You will now be returned to the regularly scheduled blog hop post...**

I'd also like to share a really FUN project that I made this past November for my very special friend (and Decorate To Celebrate! co-host) Rhonda!!  :)  If you've already seen this and want to skip along to the next stop, please scroll down...

Rhonda really loves the Wizard of Oz (I think as much as I do!!), so I wanted to make something FUN that was really "me" and that she would always be able to treasure...  So what better than Dorothy's HOUSE that landed on the Wicked Witch???

The stocking feet were created by rolling two lengths of white cardstock, coloring them to look like striped socks, and bending them to look like feet...  This was probably the hardest thing for me to figure out on the house...  Sigh......  :)

I punched a scalloped strip and used it as a template for the roof -- I simply sponged black ink onto the roof to give the effect of shingles...  Much quicker than adding many layers of scallops!! :)

The base of my "transformer" explosion box is a basic square box...  I decided to make the top extend all the way down so that I could include "layers" of the events in The Wizard of Oz...  First, the house has to be "picked up" by a swirling tornado!!

See the tornado layer???  :)

When the house lands on the witch, Dorothy has to "follow the yellow brick road"...  So the yellow brick road wraps around and extends beyond the regular base....  That cool die cut with all the characters was a last minute find that I treated like an extra "fold out"....

Doesn't that just make you SMILE???  :)

They must get through the Enchanted Forest...  So the next layer represents the trees, leaves, and whomping branches!!

"I'm melting!!"  (those of you who have seen the musical "Wicked" know this scene is forever changed...  At least, it's not as scary for me now as it was when I first saw it many, many, many years ago!!)...  The background is meant to represent the castle...

I'll bet you can guess that the EMERALD GREEN layer is meant to represent....  The Emerald City...  TA-DA!!  :)

And there's Rhonda, ahem, I mean, GLENDA amidst a myriad of RAINBOW colors to lead Dorothy home....

I hope you've enjoyed my Wizard of Oz projects today!!  If you'd like to see my other "transformer" explosion boxes, please CLICK HERE -- From a swimming pool to a birdhouse to a haunted house and a Mickey Mouse hat, I love making these boxes!!  :)  Thanks so much for stopping by!!  If you'd like to leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you...  I don't have any "planned" candy for this hop, but I am randomly selecting comments from all of my posts this week to receive some small goodies...

Now it's time for you to skip off down the Yellow Brick Road to Ashley...

And just in case the forest isn't cooperating (or the flying monkeys carry off a link), here's a list of the entire hop...  Updated to take you to each hop stop (even if you're making the trip later in the week)....

Lynne

Kari  

Amy  You are HERE now!! :)

Ashley  Go here NEXT!!

Susan

Berenice

Inga

Jamie

Tami

Janet

Rhonda

CallyAnn

Carolyn

Shelly

Lisa
Kimberly

 Until next time,