Triple Threat

Another (hopefully) scheduled post.
This time for Smudgy Antics. The challenge is to use at least THREE images and make one project.
A simple card from me.  The images are all from the Quoth The Raven rubber plate from Smeared Ink.

I started off with the heart, stamped in red then masked. Mr Poe came next stamped using black memento ink. Masking again, The raven wings, Stamped using Black DI, to give a slightly different sheen. This was cut out and stuck onto a silver and black card base that was stamped, using white ink, 4 times with the collage stamp in the set.
Some homemade black roses using both pearlised and matt black paper and some die cut leaves from glossy black cs to finish this off.

Here you can see the dimension.

Why is it when I work with greys, black and white my pics take on a blue sheen? Or am I imagining things?
Looking forward to seeing your triple image projects peeps.
My fellow DT members will have some more beauty for you to feast those peepers on so go have a look.

See you all next week for the start of Smeared and Smudged SMUDGEFEST. Don't forget!

15 Shades Of Grey

Firstly, forgive me please if this doesn't post as planned, I'm setting it to autopost - away on hols soon.

Haunted Design House challenge this week is Sponsored by Tiddly Inks and it's an Anything goes challenge. - A FREAKERS' FREE FOR ALL

I've been busy trying to get things done, work and get ready to go away so this week I've only made a quick bookmark. No I haven't read the book that a lot are raving about, but went with a little pun on the title. I used 15 shades of grey to colour this image with. Yep, all 15 promarker shades that I have.

The BP are also grey, a touch of black and white was added with the swirls (cricut cut). I followed the card layout on Fetch A Sketch challenge this week, it lended itself so well for this.
The back of the bookmark was not left unadorned. I stamped and heat embossed in black an image from a Cherry Pie "writers" plate.

The cord and tassel were home made using embroidery thread in 5 shades of grey.

That's all I have this week folks.
The other minions will surely have some wonderful eye candy for you to see.
See you when I get back

I'd like to enter this into the challenge over at
Fetch-A-Sketch - their sketch

Pop Art

No. Not your Andy Warhol or Claes Oldenburg type art. Make your projects 3-D by popping then out from the main project.
My second post of the day here is dedicated to Smudgy Antics ' new challenge this week.

We want your projects this week to really POP!  Think dimension.  Think 3-D.  Use pop-dots, decoupage, or any technique of your choosing to make your images pop-out at us.  Heck, you can even use a spring to add some real pop with an added bonus of bounce!  

I chose to alter another picture frame. I picked up several at a car boot sale a few weeks ago for just a few pence each. Some have already found new homes in different guises. This week's one was to be the home of Calamity Owl from Smeared Ink. and one of the French Fairies - The Star Tree Fairy, again from Smeared Ink.

Loads of die cut leaves adorn the frame, Stuck on with wood glue, a stronger version of PVA. This made the sticky out bits more resilient. The fairy background is from "Dancing with Fairies" digital papers from Crafty Chaos. The fairy herself coloured with promarkers with a smattering of stickles for that fairy sparkle.

Then the show stealer, Calamity. Coloured with promarkers again.

Shown here at a bit of an angle so you can see the dimension. Seated on a branch made from wooden offcuts from Crafty Embellies. The main wooden flourish up top is also from the same place. My trusty pinflair glue is what holds Calamity together like this. 6 images all together had to be cut about for all the layers. Looking at this again, I think I'll add some glossy accents to the eyes for a more glassy effect.

OK Off you pop and see the other girls awesome projects then back to Smudgy Antics and show us your Pop Art

Movie Madness

It's Macabre Monday over at Haunted Design House

You are to create a dark, Gothic, or Halloween-based art piece

that takes it's inspiration from a favorite bit of celluloid.
All types of films can be twisted into a darker interpretation.
You don't have to be a fan of scary or suggestive movies to play along.
Just keep in mind that we are going for creepy, scary, dark, gothic, or
Halloweenie feel.

 We are sponsored this week by

Tracey has some wonderful images by some really talented artists

available in her shop. She has a very diverse selection of images to choose from.

Spesch has generously offered up 3 free images of choice to each of the

chosen ones (Gruesome Twosome) from this week's challenge.

I chose the Zombie Mad Hatter for my Alice In Wonderland themed card. Isn't he a cutie?

The image was coloured with promarkers before masking off so that I could stamp a crackle background.

A teapot and cups on a small piece of chain with my "Cheshire Cat"after mounting on a bright green mat.

Paper hunting - I knew what I wanted - just needed to find it in my stash. From a gift received when I first started making cards so I don't know the origin but has been used sparingly since. Mounted on orange mats together with an embossed piece of black/green coredinations. Then onto a darker green base BP and finally a black edged card base. 

The sentiment is computer generated. For those that can't see it "We're having a Party. Some of you is invited"

Your turn peeps to stun us with your interpretation of the film of your choice.

Don't forget the other Minions - they worked hard as well!

Dream on sunshine

As part of a daily challenge over at the Facebook Group for Craftymess, today's challenge was to include pink in our work. **faint**. My usual followers know that pink doesn't feature much in my work. It's not a colour I feel very happy using at all, but the word stressed here is "Challenge"!
Quick think as I finish cutting out my new Steam Punk and Gothic stamps. Sunsets have pink! Eureka!!
Out come the DI 's and a piece of white card cut to ATC size. Very inky fingers later, this emerges

A base coat of Tattered Rose DI then went in with shades of blue, lilac, purple, green and orange and some torn paper with a circle for the setting sun as masks.
The stamps - the mushrooms are Lavinia stamps and the bats and the balloon are from De Stempelwinkel. Two different plates, gothic and steampunk.

I am entering this into the challenge over at
Craftymess Challenges - Sun or Moon

Blue Fairy

Another teamie at work has a birthday coming up and it's been designated my job to make a card. It makes it a bit more special I'm told. A card specially made for them.
This card is sparkly, girly and as cute as I'm going at the moment lol.

The image is from Papelitos Stamps. Coloured with promarkers and the wings were coated with stickles for extra shine and sparkle.



The edges then ink distressed with tumbled glass DI. Mounted onto glitter card. I loosely followed the sketch over at Deconstructed Sketches to complete.







The base paper has been in my stash since I started making cards 2 yrs ago from a "disney stack" Lace and silver ribbon as 3 strips down the side. Some flourish die cuts in more glitter card with some white feathers. White flowers with stickle centres and a stick pin. (Duck Pond Crafts). Some pale blue gems to finish.
All mounted onto dark blue card base.










The sentiment was heat embossed in silver and mount on more glitter card.



I would like to enter this into the challenges over at
Deconstructed Sketches - Their Sketch
Papelitos Stamps challenge - Shine

For Art's Sake?

Another tag for DragonsDream Tag It On #120 - Considering Steam Punk. I had some new stamps drop on my door step this week. Well you just have to play with new toys, don't you? This is what emerged from my playroom. 

There are a total of 7 stamps here, all from Aly's Inky Fingers.  Quite a bit of masking done as the stamping is all on one layer. Stamped and coloured with distress inks.

The wooden owl and dragonfly are from Crafty Embellies. The owl has a few little watch parts glued to the eyes

The balloon has a little elephant charm under it.

Both the elephant charm and the old phone charm on the chain tie were from Duck Pond Crafts.







I'd like to enter this into the challenges at
DragonsDream Tag It On - Considering Steam Punk
Crafty Creations - Make a Tag
Perfect Sentiments - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show -  No Rules
Vintage Artisans - Vintage Steam Punk

Gone Batty

Hi there. I'm doing a duel post for both Smudgy Antics and Haunted Design House this week. Not because the challenges are similar, but because my projects share a common theme. I hope you'll forgive me.
First - you've probably guessed my theme - BATS and all Fat Book Pages



First up is the fat book page for Haunted Design House.  The theme is Music! You are to create a dark, Gothic, or Halloween-based art piece

that uses a song or song title as your muse.

Mine should be obvious to anyone that likes a bit of good old Rock.
Meatloaf's "Bat Out Of Hell"

The hell image is from the 'net. The bat is from a collection of Smeared Ink - A Little Bit Batty #3. Three layers only to keep the thin wings. Then coated with UTEE.
The heart is from the rubber "Quoth The Raven" set which is also available as digi. This was stamped and embossed in red on red cs. I decided it needed more so a liberal coating of rock candy followed to give the broken heart effect.
Some edge punches of drippy goo in two coloured reds and a grey fence
I did have some little heart shaped gems to add - but do you think I can find them?

For Smudgy Antics' challenge - Creatures of the Night.
This week we want to know what scares you or creeps you out.  You know those bumps you hear in the middle of the night?  The shadows that lurk in the corners of the room?  The crawling and clawing sounds you hear going up and down the walls while you try to sleep?  We want your artistic creation to show us those menacing Creatures of the Night! 
OK, I don't find bats menacing or creepy but they are generally night time creatures.
Again from the same set, but using #4 and #1.

on an inked background using distress inks

using another picture from the web. Both bats are again coloured with promarkers, cut out and glued with pinflair before dipping in UTEE.
I hope to eventually get a whole fat book made up with these little cuties as a theme, in the meantime, these are the first three.

Your turn to show us what you got :)

A Little bit of Steam-punk

I had to make a tag to go with a box I've made for a friend. The box is steam punk themed so the tag had to be. It so happens that there is a Considering Steam Punk challenge started over at DragonsDream Tag It On this week. I don't know if this'll count as the ingredients are Fantasy, Inventions and Victoriana. The fantasy is missing here. I'll no doubt be doing another in the next fortnight but this will have to suffice for now.

The light's a bit glarey tonight, but more detail can be seen on the following closeups.

Triple heat embossed with copper and the word stamp "Steampunk" pressed into the warm embossing powder. Then run through my BS in a folder and cut out with fancy edged scissors.

cog stamped using brilliance gold and a screw brad in the centre of one.

more stamps in black with a piece of a tando compass chippy left over from the box this is to go with. Inked in black and some more copper embossing powder.
The base of the tag is painted card using the "aged leather" technique picked up from Andy Skinner's Timeworn course.  All the stamps are from his Personal Impressions Steampunk range. A small length of chain with a heart charm as the ties.
Centre stage is a woodcut penny farthing from Crafty-Embellies as are the little wooden cogs at the top.

I'd like to enter this tag into the challenge over at
DragonsDream Tag It On - Considering Steam Punk

To Fear or Not To Fear

For too long now I have been away from Frankie's Tag it on challenges at DragonsDream. I really ought to have been making a couple of boxes last night but wanted to play with some stamps I found in my collection the other day. This challenge was the ideal opportunity. The theme this last fortnight has been "Don't Fear".
A couple of other requirements - use purple, add texture and use a scary image. Of course the main requirement - at least one real stamp - not digi.
This is the tag I came up with

All the stamps are real. There's the tree stump from De Stempelwinkel stamped with brushed corduroy DI.
Spider's web, little spiders and tree line from Lavinia stamps using walnut and black DI, some skeletal trees from Elusive Designs in walnut DI. The big spider - I don't know the origin - but that was heat embossed in purple and cut out. Spiders web dry embossed in one corner. The BG - more distress inks. The words - more stamps this time from a couple of Studio G sets I have. A bit of web like mesh for the tie.
Done
I would like to enter this into the challenge over at
DragonsDream Tag it on - this fortnight's "Don't Fear" challenge

In Stitches

Make us laugh or use real or faux stitching, or simply use an image with stitching in it .... however you interpret the challenge over at Smudgy Antics this week of  "You Leave Me In Stitches".
The girls have done some amazing things on their projects again this week. Me, well you can make up your own mind.
I did follow the sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches - but this post is too late to enter their challenge. Oh well.

The image is, of course, from Smeared Ink - Stitchy Situation, doll #1. Using scraps from the scrap box that I'm trying to use up, papers from Basic Grey, I paper pieced the image. Just a tiny bit of extra grey promarker to give some shadow above the pot belly. The hair is couched embroidery thread. The image already has stitching as part of it.

I machine stitched the torn and ink distressed image piece to the BP then couched some "spaghetti" on with some bug buttons in the corner.
More of the DP cut out and stitched onto a green circle before attaching to a layer of lilac vellum type paper that was stamped with a crackle effect stamp from Creative Expressions before more stitching onto light green card then onto a dark green card base.
The sentiment was computer generated by me. I couldn't make up my mind whether this little soul was poorly or love sick. I went with the poorly angle as he looks a bit green round the gills.
Your turn to stitch us up over at Smudgy Antics peeps.

A couple of challenges I'd like to enter this card into
Creative Stamp Friends - Paper piecing
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Layered
Squigglefly - Paperpiecing
There She Goes stamps - Stitching

Butchered Blueprint

A sketch this week over at Haunted Design House or, as we call it, a Butchered Blueprint.
This is the great sketch we worked with..

I took pics as I went along, knowing that a pic of the final piece would obscure some of the details.


The backing sheet and frame were both painted

This was my first attempt at recreating the look of heated and oxidised copper as per Andy Skinner's Timeworn course

and a frame of "aged leather". The creases I put in smoothed out when putting on the wooden frame

the content of this picture frame is the Death's Head Hawkmoth. A digi from Delicious Doodles.
coloured with promarkers and 6 layers cut out, stuck together with pinflair and dipped in UTEE.

I then made a 2.5cm deep shadow box to fit the frame aperture

These elements all put together make a specimen picture, similar to what you might see on a Victorian butterfly collector's wall. There is glass to add but knowing the problems with glare I photographed it without  before finally fitting that. The labels are computer generated and the skull is a chippy from Tattered Angels.

The Latin name with the common English name.






A torn piece of handmade paper with pins to "secure" the moth are the other two elements you see.







Your turn to show us your version of the sketch. The other Minions have done a fantastic job of interpreting this sketch their way and you really ought to go see them.
Hope to see you over there at Haunted Design House.

A couple of challenges I'd like to enter this picture into
Always Crafting - For Men
Fashionista Challenge - Winged Things
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Layers

summer ? - ha ha

Yes, it is supposed to be summer and we're a couple of weeks into the season. How many minutes have we seen the fiery orb? Count on one hand here in Scotland. As I sit here posting this card for Delicious Doodles, the rain is still falling and we even had to put the heating on last night.

Anyway, the last challenge before our summer break is designed to bring the summer in even if the sun isn't shining where you are. We are saying Au Revoir to two of our fab DT this week (boo hoo). They are moving onto other things and I wish them every success and happiness. Please go leave them some love.

Challenge #23

Summer Holidays

Get out your summery stuff folks! We may be having weird weather lately, but it IS summertime officially! Anything summery will do, whether it is images, themes, memories or colours.

I have used Teri's new image Thorne. Coloured in summery colours of reds, yellows and oranges with promarkers then matted onto some orange card.

I have used two papers from the DCWV citrus stack and a piece of dry embossed red card following the sketch over at Crafting Life's Pieces. A red flourish, heat embossed, on the yellow square behind the image and some more flourishes die-cut from the off-cuts of the base paper.

Some yellow and little orange flowers held together with black brads to match the hair adornment and some pearls finish this card off.

That concludes my card for this challenge.

I would like to enter this card into one or two challenges

Crafting Life's Pieces - Their Sketch

Vile or Vial?

Haunted Design House's challenge this week is Vile Vintage.

You are to create a dark, Gothic, or Halloween-based art piece

take something vile and make it appear vintage, or maybe use something vintage that would be considered vile!

Well I did have to think really hrad on this. What do "normal" people think of as vile?
The conversations over at the Smeared and Smudged forum led me to think that there're a lot of peeps out there that think of spiders in this category. I think that most members of the arachnid family are quite cute myself. I went with popular opinion and featured these on my card this week.

The picture and the red BP are from Jem's Designs, Eternal Matrimony paper set. These were mounted onto some "cracked paint" paper, well distressed with sandpaper and black ink. The ribbon and spider charm also from Jem's.
The spiders are a mix from Smeared Ink and an unknown stamp in my collection. The vial is from Wild Frog Creations. All these were heat embossed in black on red card.

The little charm is attached to a bundle of black mesh after adding a bit of colour with promarkers

That's it from me folks
Until next week
I hope you have seen all the wonderful creations of the other Minions by now. If not. Why not?
See you next week

I am entering this card into one or two challenges
Frilly and Funkie Challenges - Texture
Papercraft Star - Embossing

Anything goes with Smudgy Antics

Yep - you see right - ANYthing goes at Smudgy Antics.
We love when you guys and gals think outside of the box.  The more creative and inventive, the better!  You know those projects you WANT to make, but would be shunned from mainstream sites?  They are accepted here!  We get down and dirty.  We like it real, raw, and in your face!  Let your artistic expression fly freely!

The other girls in the DT have outdone themselves yet again! They really do deserve a third look.
Me? I altered a box.

I used the Smeared Ink rubber stamp set Killer Bo-Peep's Build a garden. Masking away like no tomorrow.
Coloured the main images with promarkers. Then out came the glue pen and flocking.

It really is very tactile.
The sides are black card that I heat embossed the images in red.

I mod podged the top but left the bottom part uncoated to give a slight variation.
So let's see those wild, out of the box creations displayed for us to come and admire.

A challenge I'd like to enter is
Papercraft Star Challenge - No Designer paper