Haunted Design House

It's the Masterful Mistress of the Macabre here, late as usual with my Macabre Monday challenge goodness (bad bad Mistress) I may have to switch places with the Minions for my actions...  well...  maybe ;) We are having our  LAST  challenge of the year, which expires this Sunday at 5pm CST.  The Minions are in need of a little yard time from the dungeon, but will pop in now and again to keep everyone on their toes. So, what is the challenge? Macabre Monday  challenge, " Sam hain   Sun set ." You are to  create a   dark,  Gothic, or  Hallowe'en based art piece that represents a  Samhain  Sunset . We're looking for the colors of a beautiful fall sunset. Think  purples ,  reds ,  oranges , and  yellows . Use them as you wish, just keep it within our guidelines. We are sponsored by the incredibly talented Mitzi Sato-Wiuff, of  Aurora Wings . She has offered up a ver...

Yep... I'm behind a day already.  I've been out of town since Wednesday, but it was for a couple of awesome events.  The first was for the Intermediate Copic Certification class in Wichita, Kansas and the second was the annual seminar for The Angel Company, for which I am an instructor & demonstrator.  Needless to say I'm a wee bit fried.  BUT it was a fabulous time! So now, to catch up with the Simply Betty Stamps Jude & the Rockers release previews!  Monday was supposed to be Ariel : Sassy, huh?  Don't you love the glasses & the eyebrow piercing?!  Adorable me thinks. And Tuesday's preview:  Brittany !  She just so happens to be my absolute favorite of the entire line... which was hard to choose, since they are all freakin' adorable. That hair... ACK!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her.  And she's not the least bit creepy (dammit!)... am I losing my mind?! Coloring this little cutie was a blast... so much so, that I am tea...

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

How did you like yesterday's preview?  Well, on to Day Two: Elfin' Miller is in da-house!  I swear I giggle every single time I see him :)  VERY simple card, but I just couldn't foof it up.  Me thinks I need some red/black embellies.  Believe it or not, I just don't have any!  A room full of papercrafting schtuff & I couldn't find something that worked with this... CRAZY.  Time for a room re-org!!! Please note:   Elfin' Miller does NOT come holding the pair of tidy whities ...  THAT little gem was added by me :) And soooooooooo totally perfect for this image, dontcha think?  And in case you can't see the sentiment, the front says: WTH... I was good all year & all I got were these tidy whities?! The inside reads: Don't EVEN tell me what's in my stocking.  I really wanted a wittier sentiment, but I just totally blanked.  The possibilities really are endless...  chestnuts roasting jingle bells snowballs...

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 HDH056 . 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 embellis...

**note:  Please scroll down for Fiendishly Fun Friday posts!!!  They are worth it :) I finished my challenge card, Christy!  Can you believe it?!!  Quick, what's today's date again?  :)  I was so excited to color up this house from Tiddly Inks... doesn't it make a delightful Halloweenie abode?  And there is little miss Autumn Bugg... cute, right? I thought the sentiment matched Autumn's attitude perfectly... the inside says: "this sh*t is expensive!" :) If I were a fairy, this would be me :)  LOL, right?!  Just look at that face... doesn't she look a little irritated?  Either that or pissed off... I can't decide :) Digi's:  Home Sweet Home & Autumn Bugg (Tiddly Inks) Stamp:  sentiment (Viva Las Vegas) Paper:  K & Co. pp, TAC black & Neenah white cardstocks Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Other:  Diamond Stickles, MS edge punch, foam tape & pop dots Copics:  E000, E00, E11, E15, R02, V0000, V...

Have I told y'all lately how much I LOVE this time of year?  Huh?  Have I?  You know, when all of the Halloweenie goodness starts showing up in magazines, store shelves, and of course in rubber stamps & digi's?!!!! Can you say:  HELL -to-the- YEAH!   :) And Betty , being my Halloweenie Soul Sistah , is making me smile even more... she's releasing TWO new Halloween-themed digi/stamp lines today, with MORE coming soon !   That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.  Today's new lines from Simply Betty Stamps are: Jude and his Shenanigan Crew and Punky Teens .  (note:  please click on photos for clearer view... Blogger is sucking the life out them here...)  First up, this is Peter ... buddy of Jude, and just as ca-yoot as can be!  And you know I usually try to creep-out any cuteness... well, I just couldn't do it.  I KNOW!  Am I getting soft?  WTH?  :) Peter is colored a la Copics, but I forget which ones I used... ...

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 HDH054 . 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 embellis...

Freakin' finally , right?  I stayed up late last night finishing this little baby off.  I've seen step cards around for awhile now, and just never tried one out... this HDH052 challenge gave me the perfect reason to do one :)  I mean, sometimes it's tough to get three or more images on one card unless you have just a little bit more room to work with :) Have I told you lately that I LOVE my MS grass border punch?!  I think that is clear on this little graveyard scene! I stamped the iron gate on a transparency and then glued it at the bottom & covered it with another grass strip to conceal it.  Works well me thinks! I'm not sure you can tell, but there are a bunch of little stars in the night sky that I made with a glitter pen. How do you like the kitty hiding behind the grass?  That would be a " whoopsie-turned-wonderful ".  I took a marker to color the white around his whiskers green, so that it would blend a bit.  UGH!  Do NOT...

**If you are looking for Simply Betty's Back to School Emos Blog Hop , please scroll down to next post!**   Can you believe it... I made it just under the wire!  The Queen of Procrastination strikes again.  I should have already had next week's card done by now... HAAAA HAAA... yeah right. This little nymph image is from Stamp It Crazy... which is still one of my absolute faves.  I squeezed her onto a regular A2 sized card... she really needs a little more space though... no room for foof. That ribbon is about a 100 million years old and is some cheap crap from Target $1 spot or something.  But, the color was perfect... though the bow won't poof up because it's kinda crispy feeling ;)  So I topped it with another GlowSkullz embellie. Stamps:   MS182 LG Gothic w/ Branch Wings (Stamp It Crazy), Thinking of You (TAC) Paper:  Bazzill and Neenah cardstocks Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Other:   Scor-Bug , Tim Holtz edge die, GlowSkullz , c...

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 HDH051 . 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 embel...

Well, after seeing all of the fantabulousness from the Minions , I am embarrassed to show this piddly thing, but I will! I needed something quick and easy, and since Torrente's images are so skinny, there isn't much room for a lot of coloring :)  Bonus:  another winter holiday card done!  Yeay!  That makes, what, like four that I've done so far... good grief... I need to pick up the pace! Stamps:   Angel ( Stampotique ), Merry Words ( retired TAC ) Paper:   Bazzill , DCWV , black & Neenah white cardstocks Ink:   Memento Tuxedo, Cote d'Azure Palette Other:   Nesties , Tim Holtz edge die, EK Success edger punch, misc. rhinestones Copics:  0, BG02, BG05, BG07, BV20 Tune in tomorrow for Fiendishly Fun Friday AND a Simply Betty Bloghop!!!

I was so happy to get this done in time for Tiddly Inks Halloween Hop!  The hop is running 6pm CST on July 22 to 6pm CST on July 24... and I have a feeling there will be a TON of participants for this one :)  For additional deets or to start hoppin', just pop over to the TI Challenge blog ! Now, on to the show :)  I chose Gossmere for my very first EVER TI image... I know!  Can you believe I've waited this long?  Isn't she freakin' cute?!  I just can't decide if she is a vamp or a witch... either way, she's got a princess complex, right?! Digi:   Gossmere (TI) Rubber Stamp:   Delightfully Spooky (TAC) Paper:   Bazzill, PTI white & Neenah cardstocks Ink:   VersaFine Onyx Other:   Tim Holtz embossing folder, EK Success & MS border punches, spider confetti, MM felt flower , black felt flower (handmade), misc. gems, Scor-bug , silver glitter pen Copics:  0, BV0000, BV20, BV23, YG01, YG03, YG91, G24, V01, V06, V...

Are you guys jones'ing for an actual card on this freakin' blog?!!  Now that a lot of the housekeeping has been done, how about a little fun?! I am super excited to tell you all that I am one of the newest members of the Simply Betty Stamps design team!  Yes, Lynx TOTALLY caught the new badge in my sidebar... clever girl :) The SBS blog will be hosting monthly challenges AND there is going to be a new release on July 15th, so you might want to go follow to be updated!  In fact, Betty has a fun way to win all SIX of the new releases going on RIGHT NOW! Yes, I know... SBS are a bit cute... BUT if you will notice there is a subtle appearance of skulls, bats & spiders!  Love it.  I call it creepy-cute. Stamps:  London , sentiment (unknown source) Paper:  black & premium white cs (TAC), green & amber cardstocks (Bazzill) Ink:  Tuxedo Memento Other:   Michael's $1 ribbon (I know!  effing fabulous, right?), pearls (Mich...