Haunted Design House

Welcome to Week Two of the  Macabre Monday  challenge, which is Halloween in your face! You are to  create a   dark,  Gothic, or  Hallowe'en   based art  piece  to  start celebrating for the upcoming holiday by making it  all about Halloween,  co lou rs and images, etc.   We are sponsored again by The Octopode Factory . Their inspiring Friday challenge blog can be found here . The minions have used the new  Gloomsville images . These fun images can be bought as a set or individually. Lily has some amazingly quirky and some superb Halloween images. Time to see what the minions have created for week 2 of our challenge. Lily is also offering up a $10 prize to one lucky winner.     Creepy Cricut Cween Donna Contagion of Corrosion Croms Imp of Insanity Ike Creepy Glowbugg Okay, now let's see what kind of damage ...

*Please see the sidebar for HDH Macabre Monday Rules* ( Note: entries not following the guidelines are not eligible for prizes or badges ) Our next Macabre Monday challenge is : Skeletal Remains We are not actually goading you into doing a Burke and Hare on us! What you can do is get down to the nitty gritty with anything relating to skeletal remains e.g. skulls, skeletons and bones etc. This week we are lucky enough to be sponsored by  The Octopode Factory . Lily is offering up a $15 gift certificate to the winner. Lily has some of the most quirky, original images available.  Something for everyone, even us creepy folk!   There is also a challenge blog for  The Octopode Factory . Let's see what the Minions have dug up for this skeletal theme. Menace Of The Monstrous  Mark : Using the Valentine St Valentine digital stamp. Agent Of The Abominable Andrea : Using The Raven and the Pirate Bay Fram...

Two weeks in a row?!  I can't believe it either.  I'm sure I just jinxed myself :)  But, yes, I was able to play along with Macabre Monday ! I've been a fan of Octopode Factory's images since they first came on to the scene.  I love the bold lines and the creepy quirky style.  This week, we've been lucky enough to be sponsored by OF... and here is my offering: I used the head of  Frankenstein's Bride , the body of Morticia , and also the severed head of the Headless Spectre .  KaiserCraft patterned paper, Martha Stewart edge punches (x3), May Arts black web trim, & a sentiment stamp from River City Rubberworks round out this card. I added Glossy Accents to the eyes and the blood... looks great IRL.  I just love how this image looks... and it's from three different digis!   You've still got a couple of days to play along for a chance at some Octopode Factory goodness!  Are you up for the challenge?...

I can't believe it's Wednesday already! This new year is just zippin' by. I had such a blast working on this week's challenge. Our sponsor is The Octopode Factory and we got to play with some new images from Lily. I chose the Day of the Dead couple . And I used the bodies of Tweedle Dee and Dum from the Octopode's Alice in Wonderland line. I kept the color scheme really simple with warm greys and reds, with the thought that it conveyed the feel of romance. Plus, I spend way too much time choosing my colors, so this was a quicker process than usual.     I glittered her veil and the accents around her eyes. Everyone knows that a bride has to sparkle! I used quite a bit of black Doodlebug fine glitter on his moustache and goatee, and I added some red Stickles around the eye for more sparkle.  And I finally got to showcase this gorgeous tattered rose ribbon I received from the Mis...

My last Winter holiday card for you this year... and actually it isn't really THAT holiday-ish... me thinks I could send this anytime.  And let me say that every time I use Stickles or glitter, I can't get the color balance & lighting right, so once again we have photos of the sucky variety :) Nice sentiment, right?  Yeah.  I like it, too :)  It's from Stamp Insanity .  I'm picturing the adorable little Octopode Factory Angel yelling at the Christmas tree... like a few bulbs are out or something :)  Yes... yes... I like to make up little stories for my cards.  And that's just one of the MANY reasons why y'all come back to HDH all the time, right?! I hope you and yours have a very Happy Winter holiday, and a joyful & prosperous New Year! ~Barb

HDH068 - Octopodally Ominous Gruesome Twosome:   Dawn for her awesome Octopode Steampunk entry, and Janet for her tribute to a Metallica Christmas!  And now, the prize winner, hand-picked by Lily of The Octopode Factory , for some fabulous digis is... Andrea !  Congratulations!  :) If you are one of the chosen GT, be sure to grab the Gruesome Twosome badge and link back here... display it with pride, my pretties :) Andrea, I'll send you an email with instructions on how to claim your goods from Lily! Don't forget that there is still time to get in on the last HDH challenge of the year!  There are a couple entries that don't quite qualify, so your chances have increased already.  It's open until 5pm CST on Sunday!

I meant to get this up here yesterday, but oh well.  Today's card is totally NOT on the creepy side, dammit... hope y'all aren't too disappointed :) This is Glinda the Good Witch of The Wizard of Oz series from Octopode Factory .  Don't you LOVE how Lily has drawn her crown coming right out of her head?!  Cute with a touch o' creepy... me likey. Yes, yes... there is A LOT of pink here :)  But it IS Glinda, people.  Don't you love the fancy stick pins?  Those little beauties are from Maya Road.  The base is DCWV white scalloped cs, the paper is a retired line from Basic Grey & TAC, and the ribbon is a fabulously frugal find from a Hobby Lobby clearance bag of ribbon. Here is the countdown of items for the HDH068 challenge (8 items only!): 1.  card base 2.  pink mat 3.  patterned paper 4.  sentiment panel 5.  Glinda 6 & 7.  stick pins 8.  bow (the ribbon & bow is all one piece, so I'm counting that a...

Have you totally just had a heart attack from seeing a post with an HDH068 challenge card done by me?!  I know!  Cah-raaa-zy.  And the crazier part is that I'll be back in a day or two with a SECOND one... yeah... I know... un-effing believable.  :) Since the winter holidays are JUST around the corner, how apropos is this?!  I seriously fell in LOVE with this little snowman... it's a bit warped and twisted... sooooooo up my alley :) I should probably do my 8-item breakdown that was part of the challenge: 1:  card base, 2:  blue-grey panel, 3:  sentiment, 4:  webby trim, 5:  snowman, 6:  straight ribbon, 7:  separate bow, 8:  snowflake gem How do you like how grungy this guy is?  It kinda looks like he was made from that snow along the street that has all of the dirt & grime thrown over it, no?  All misshapen and a little sad.  That's why I thought the sentiment was particularly fitting :)   Digi...

HDH Macabre Monday Rules: 1 . Create a dark and macabre SOMETHING (card, scrap page, altered item, whatever) that follows the specific Macabre Monday challenge given. Cutesy is fine, but creepy is better :) 2. You have until the following Sunday night @ 5pm central time to post your creation and please leave a direct-link back here. 3. If you upload to any online galleries (TACPCC, S&S, PCP, SCS, etc.) , please tag the title using HDH068 . 4. Weekly giveaways! Some weeks will be loaded with loot, others not-so-much ... but the thrill is in the win, right?! Some prizes shall be by random drawing, others hand picked... and I'm not telling you ahead of time :) 5. I'll be selecting a weekly Gruesome Twoso me (my top two favorite creations) from all the players. At the end of every month these will be compiled and a Master of Macabre will be selected and will receive a little giftie from me... this could be stamp sets, handmade items, papers, halloweenie embellishment...