Hello Dolly... take two

I couldn't resist doing another card for the HDH030 Hello Dolly challenge :)  Especially since a blogging buddy of mine, Melisa, sent me a couple of stamped images... with a little nudge to Goth them out a bit ;)  This one is for you, Melisa!!

I also wanted to participate in Copic Creations challenge No. 24.  I just started following this challenge blog... they have some great tips!  I chose to do Skin Tones and a Brunette Hair technique... and maybe this qualifies for the Feathering technique, too?!

Stamps:  boy w/ wagon (B-line Designs), dolly (Kraftin' Kimmie), Aged Ornaments (TAC), skull (Bombshell), unknown sentiment

Ink:  Moulin Rouge, Charcoal, & Noir Palettes, Memento Tuxedo

Other:  Copic markers

The boy image did NOT have the rusty knife in his hands originally (of course)... I drew that little twisted element myself  ;)

Don't worry, Copic Creations people... I'm working on a not-so-twisted entry, too!



So, Melisa... did it live up to your expectations? :)

Check it!!!

Barb over at Stamp It Crazy is giving away this teensie bit of yummy rubbah goodness!  Yep, 50 images will be given away every time she gets 50 followers!  She only needs 10 more for the first drawing... get over there and follow!!! :)

Movie Alert on Chiller!!!

Alert:  Killer Klowns from Outer Space is on the Chiller channel right now (10:00pm central)!! 

365 Cards - Day 149 - Try a Technique Tuesday!!

Greetings all, & welcome :) I'm totally psyched to have been chosen as a guest designer for today over at 365 Cards!! This entire week is Reader Appreciation Week, so be sure to join in the fun for prize opportunities and to gawk at all of the wonderful cards the Design Team & Guest Designers have created :)

What is the technique today? SPONGING! Those that know me or my work will be the first to tell you that this is a technique that I use on probably 90% of my cards... and 100% on my Halloween cards :)

Sponging tends to create depth, and REALLY finishes off certain images wonderfully. The entire background of this Halloween Flourish Tree card was created with sponging. Yep, I started with a completely white cardstock panel for this baby :) I also used regular hydra sponges, as well as manicurist pads... the sponge creates a stippled texture, while the pad creates much softer blending.

I created a reverse-mask for the moon first. Start with the lightest yellow, and keep layering color toward the center... then add darker yellows & cognac colors at the outside edge to create a rounded look to the moon.

I then stamped the weedy image along the bottom & the tree. The tree is heat-embossed to give a bit of sheen and nice raised quality. Place a piece of paper to create a horizon line and start blending green & black inks for the ground and blues & purples for the sky. I went back with darker shades of blue & purple ink and created thin lines of clouds to add an eerie touch.

Then I stamped the sentiments & bats** in black, sponged black ink around the edges, distressed them, and matted the panels. Next up, used the Scor-bug for a little texture, swiped a white ink pad around the card base edges, and topped it all off with some sheer grungy-olive ribbon.

**The bats are actually one of the butterflies from the Love & Laughter tree image... I just snipped it apart from the main image... oh how I love cling-rubber stamps... I can manipulate them so easily to fit whatever I need :)

Stamps: Flourish Trees of Hope, Love & Laughter, Edge Designs, Tag Tidbits (happy), retired GWP (Halloween)

Paper: White UltraSmooth, Basic Black, & Penolope Cardstocks

Ink: Raw Sienna, Cognac, Noir, Starry Night, Prussian Blue, Violete, French Lilac, Landscape, & Jardin Moss Palettes

Other: Transcendence Embossing Powder, hydra sponges, manicurist pads (from Sally Beauty Supply), olive sheer ribbon

What do you think?

Boo Tri-fold paper bag tutorial... and a challenge!!

This month, it was my turn to teach a make-n-take for the Gardner Stamp Club that meets at the library. Patti wanted to do the Fold Over Treat Envelope that is in the back of the TAC catty [though she doesn't remember saying that... silly Patti!], so I chose to do a Christmas version. It's a wonderful little project that I'll be sharing with you in another post, but I needed the back-story for this post.

[can I get any wordier?... like you care about the back-story...]

Anyhoo, the treat envie only uses the top portion of a lunch sack, so I had a ton of these 'bag butts' left over and they really wanted to become something wonderful.

[wouldn't you want to if you were referred to as a butt?]... I digress...

Here's how I created my Boo Tri-fold Bag Card:

I lightly stippled Burnt Umber Palette ink around all of the edges and distressed the edges of the cardstock & DP (except for the inside piece, which I fixed on another one that I made!). I also stamped the paint splotches from So Splattered (retired) using B.U. I stamped the house image from Halloween Town in Coffee Bean Brilliance onto a square of green Penelope cardstock & sponged the edges w/ Hydrangea & Eggplant VersaMagic inks. I added a little color pencil to the windows & door and I then spritzed the square with Olive Glimmer Mist... OMG... freakin' awesome stuff! My friend, Cindy, had given me this for Christmas last year and I just now used it... WTH? None of the photos capture the true awesomeness of this stuff... you'll just have to trust me ;)... I sped up the drying time with my heat gun (so impatient) and then edged the window panes, part of the roof & tree, and the birds w/ a Stardust Glitter Pen (you know, to look like the moon is shining on it). Added a chipboard tag from TAC's Essential Elements, after grunging it up a bit & stamping the Boo!, with some Scrapper's Floss & tied it to some purple ribbon I had in my stash.

Inside, I stamped the skull from Halloween Town, in the same two purple VersaMagic colors above, onto the green Penelope cardstock and then layered it (sorta) onto an orange Penelope CS. Highlighted a bit with the glitter pen again!

And then on the VERY inside, glued a piece of Penelope DP to span across a fold and stamped the sentiment (retired: Boo Bash) at the bottom.

I had a fun time with this... no need to be pristine or perfect with it... the grungier the better!

What do you think?! Me likey... again!

Hey! Let's do another challenge!!

I want to see some butts... paper bag butts that is! ;) Your mission is to create something with a paper lunch bag butt... do you accept? Leave a comment and link it up!!!!

I've had a few people ask how big my bag butt is... the other project required 4-1/4" to be cut off the top of the sack, so mine is whatever is leftover from that!

Leggy Witch Card with a 'written' tutorial...

I abso-freakin'-lutely love this card!!! I've had the idea for the card for awhile and I finally just did it! I had a blast making it last night and could hardly wait for my work day to get over with today so I could share it. I used a couple of Michelle Zindorf's sponging and brayer techniques. She is amazing... a true artist!

The card front you see started out as being my 'sketch' piece to go off of and make templates, etc., but once I got started, I just kept going! So now I have to try to reproduce this again... yikes! I started out with White UltraSmooth 80# cardstock base. I hand sketched the moon & witch leg w/ a light lead pencil so I could figure out where to stamp the tree. Using the Coluzzle, I cut out a large circle from another piece of cardstock to use as my mask.

First, I placed the negative over my base and started sponging the moon with Sunflower and then Raw Sienna at the edges. I removed the mask and lightly sponged more Sunflower around the moon to create a haziness. I then placed the circle over the moon and a piece of cardstock at the horizon line, covering the grass area. I brayered Beaux Arts Blue around sky edges, fading in toward moon, and followed up w/ sponging to even out the color. I repeated this step using Violette. I ran the brayer across the moon (without re-inking it) to create the thin cloud lines and add to the haziness.

For the grass area, I masked off the sky half of the base and sponged Chartreuse and then Landscape, fading inward. I used a Tombow marker to create the horizon line and then heavily sponged Landscape around tree trunk base. I stamped two different images from Fresh Air Favorites to create creepy grass/weeds... I used Landscape and rolled in Charcoal at edges. Finished up by sponging edges of grass area with Violette.

Using Noir, I stamped 'sentiment' & date with Ecclectic Alpha (retired). I traced over portions w/ Stardust Glitter Pen. Next, I used Fantastix & 'colored in' the witch leg with Noir on the base. I did this so that it would be dark under the popped up leg element... it reads like a shadow.

For the Witch leg: on scrap of White UltraSmooth, I used the journal lines from a retired GWP from a year ago to create the striped stocking and shaded w/ Fantastix, alternating between Noir & a mixture of Orangerie & Cognac. Sponged edges in Noir. I cut out boot from black cardstock and highlighted with Brilliance Moonlight White. I assembled leg/boot and popped up on black pop dots.

Finally, I matted base on black and then adhered to charcoal card base (3.5"x8.5").

[insert heavy sigh and sound of popping knuckles]

Good grief... did I just write a freakin' novel?!

Anyway, I'm going to try to recreate this again this weekend, and I might try one with heat embossing the tree... I really like it now, kind of understated... I wonder if the shininess of the EP would look funny? We'll see.

Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think. And thanks for stopping by!

I am totally psyched [no, not psycho... well, not really]

Woo Hoo!!! Here it is!! Number 100. Ok, so not THAT big of a deal, but I seriously didn't think I would keep up even this well with the whole blogging thing. That being said, let us now commence on the BLOG CANDY! Yes, yes, you can win some splendiferous (is that a real word?) yumminess from little ol' me!

[I just LOVE saying 'little' and 'me' in the same sentence :) ]

Leave a comment on THIS POST...I will NOT be revealing the goodness until all the entries are in and the winner has been selected [insert evil cackle here]. If you saw what I gave away last time, just know that it will be waaaaaaay BETTER than that.

Here is some more good news: I'm one of the winners for TAC's monthly contests! Go check out all of the other wonderful creations from a few of my fellow Angels here!

Now, for the info on my Brewin' Dark Angel card for today. This was another submission for a contest that didn't win, but it is actually one of my favorite cards [probably because it is Halloweenie].

Stamps: Just Dream, Happy Haunting, and Spooky Swirls

Paper: Miss Moxie SWIC (tag) & cardstock

Ink: Noir Palette

Coloring Medium: color pencils w/ mineral oil blending

Bling: Stickles

Misc.: Scrapper's Floss, pop dots, staple

Isn't she cool? I love taking an image totally NOT meant for Halloween, and creeping-it-out!

What do you think?