Easter's on it's Way!

Sorry, it's been sort of a lean week for crafting but I did get some much need chores out of the way.  The weather has been quite lovely, but of course, there's rain in the forecast for Easter.  Isn't that ALWAYS the way?  That's not stopping us at Dilly Beans, though.  Our new Easter challenge is now underway.  I made a little shaped card using the Spellbinder's Basket Die for Heartfelt Creations.  Thought it was perfect for the adorable #392 Amalia Easter Bunny.

The simple Dilly Beans images are so perfect for paper piecing which is how I flocked her little bunny suit.  Just print several times, color with Copics (or use colored paper), run those pieces through the Xyron, right side up and flock.  The DT has done a fabulous job using images that aren't just for Easter so be sure to take a look HERE and come play along.

I'm also entering this in the Whimsical Wednesdays Pastels Challenge, Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes and the DL Art March Linky Party (because I missed the Easter Challenge) and BTW, she has a great Graphic 45 Giveaway HERE.  Hurry, it ends March 31!

Dante's 9 Circles of Hell for Macabre Monday

Amazingly enough, this is my second post today (albeit a bit late) so scroll down for my first Simply Steampunk post.

At Haunted Design House it's week two of our Dante Circles of Hell Challenge.  Which circle is your fave?  I'm rather partial to Circle 2 (Lust), but after seeing Ike's gorgeous new image this week (and see it colored HERE, WOWSERS!), I figured that was covered, so I moved on to Circle 3 (Gluttony).  YUMBO!  My tag is a combination of rubber stamps from the Candy is Dandy Collection from Smeared Ink.  It is currently retired, but it may still become available at some later date if you join their exclusive Rubber Club.

I had a ball coloring these images up with my Copics.  The candy monster, winged Ice Cream Cone, and Cupcake are all part of the set, as is the fabby sentiment.  There's a smattering of Stickles as well as a good dose of Glossy Accents to highlight the eyes, cherry, teeth and slobbery drool.

The flames were actually from free online Clip Art that I outlined with a Micron pen to make them look more like stamps.  The wrapped candy pieces are from MS.

To balance it all I added a bit of hand cut goo, again enhanced with Glossy Accents.

All images were fussy cut and popped for a good deal of dimension.  Who knew Hell could be this much fun?  So come on.  Play in Hell with the Minions.  We're getting lonely down here.  There are plenty of sins for the choosing and you needn't worry since next week is Easter and they'll all be washed away.

I'm also entering this in the Left of Center Challenge 2 (LOC or Punch it Out).

Simply Steampunk Original Collection

I'm so excited too be making my first official post as a member of the Simply Steampunk Design Team.  On the 25th of each month we preview the collection we will be using for the next Challenge which begins the first Friday of every month.  I've made a wall hanging using Jacob from the Original Steampunk Collection at Simply Betty Stamps.  The cool DP is the Bon Voyage-Map Collection from Gartner Studios and set the theme for my piece.

Jacob is colored with Copics in coordinating tones.  I love the vintage vibe of these images and I have to say I've got a bit of a crush on the Steampunk men.
Isn't he handsome?  Reminds me of...ohhh, never mind, it's my secret.  LOL

I've added a compass cut from the Disney Classics Cricut cartridge and tucked it behind the photo in the DP.  It was fun to add a number of bits and bobs from Tim Holtz.  They go so wonderfully with the Steampunk images.

The tickets are also Tim Holtz and are mounted on die cuts from the Spellbinders Creative Book Pages in my Grand Calibur.  The metal tiles were originally on paper clips from JoAnn's, but kept breaking off.  They worked better with glue anyway so I just broke them all.

The whole thing is hung by this cool little hanger I got at the Scrapbook Expo.  I love making wall hangings and with this I can change them out on a whim.

 
I hope you'll pop by Simply Steampunk Challenges and and check out the fabulous inspiration by my teamies.  You'll see how fun and versatile these images really are.  We hope you'll come back on April 5th, as well, to join in our next challenge.  And BTW, there's still time to enter our Current Distressed Challenge ending 6PM PDT April 3rd. 

I'm also entering this in the Left of Center Challenge 2 (LOC or Punch it Out).

Dilly Beans Glitter Challenge

Another Friday, another Dilly Beans Challenge. WooHoo! This week we want GLITTER!  Megan has some adorable new images in the SHOP and I just had to use my FAVE, #554 Penny's Heart.  Her hair was a bit of an experiment I'm not exactly sure of.  I wanted to give it some texture so I did the "dotted" technique with Copics but I didn't like it all that well so I got the bright idea to use Stickles over it.  The challenge is GLITTER, after all.  Well, You be the judge, I'm not feelin' it, but it was too late to start over and I still think you can see how absolutely ADORABLE Penny is.  Glittery DP is from the DCWV Sweet Stack. Even added a glitter mat.  Thought the sentiment was perfect.  I often close my eyes and make a wish.  If you can see it in your head it's more likely to come true, don'tcha think?  Take a look at my teamie's glittery goodness HERE and come Sprinkle some of your own.

I'm also entering this in the DL Art March Linky Party, Aud Sentiments Girl Power, Link Up for Pink Challenge 11, and The Paper Crafting Journey Ribbon or Lace Challenge.

Wicked Wednesday ATC Fangs Challenge.

Not exactly chipper today but I didn't want to miss this week's Wicked Wednesday ATC Show Us Your Fangs Challenge.  Fab Banshee image by Rick St Dennis (this week's sponsor).  I think she's got quite the choppers.  It was all I could do not to use the sentiment "Say Ahhhhh!"  LOL, but I played it straight.  She's colored with copics with some Distress around the edges.  Love the fangs charm, too.  I'm also entering this in the Fun with ATC's Gothic or Halloween Challenge.  

Another CAS Card

Well, I took the weekend off from crafting.  Friday's Scrap Expo was a huge success.  I didn't break the bank and met two Bloggy friends in person for the first time.  KatieO recognized me from my Blog pic and fortunately approached me while I was deep in shopping mode.  We met up with Diana (DL.Art) who was rockin' the workshops and had a fun chat.  LOVED seeing those guys and hope we can get together again soon.   The rest of the weekend I enjoyed the weather with a bit more shopping (since I didn't shoot the entire wad on Friday) and a road trip to St. Helena for lunch on Sunday.  Yesterday I tried to catch up with a little yard work and managed another CAS card for this week's Outlawz Challenge which is Monochromatic Green.

I'm not so sure about this one.  It was kind of an experiment.  I recently purchased some Dylusions Sprays beacause I wanted to dabble in making my own backgrounds.  Have to say I'm a chicken when it comes to that, but although I knew what stamp I wanted to use, I couldn't find Dp that I liked and thought perhaps a little spritz would do the job.  Ok, still enough "white space" for CAS, I guess, but now what?  My inclination was to stamp and fussy cut the image, but instead I tried stamping right over the background. (Yikes, but what's the worst that could happen?)   I kinda thought the little spots sort of looked like part of the froggy skin so I colored the rest with Copics, paper pieced the eye, olive, and the drinky in the glass with vellum so it would be translucent and added Glossy Accents to the glass and eye for shine.  One adhesive bead in the olive for the pimento and a computer generated sentiment that is shadowed in lime (although you can't tell it) and it was done.  WAY out of my comfort zone but certainly not the worst thing I've ever done.

I'm also entering this in the Critter Sketch Monochromatic Green Challenge, Make My Monday CAS Monochrome Challenge, and My Craft Spot Embossing or Glossy Accents.

Dilly Beans Friendship Challenge

Happy Friday!  I'm kinda excited to be going to the Scrapbook Expo in Pleasanton today but I'm gonna try and not overdo it.  I still have stuff in bags from LAST YEAR that I'd forgotten I bought...OOOPS!  Everything always seems to look fabulously exciting when there's so much stuff, all in one place. Don'tcha think?

Before I go, however, I'd like to share the new Dilly Beans Challenge which is "Friendship".  I can't believe I haven't used the adorable #482 Turtle Stack before.  Aren't they the cutest?  To me they represent what friendship is all about.  Sure, there's  nothing better when you haven't a care in the world, but when the going gets tough, it's your very best friends that pull you though.

I had a ball coloring them up in beautiful Spring colors  (several times) and fussy cutting and layering them up for dimension.  All the yummy DP's were from the DCCWV Flower Shower Stack.  I especially love the quilt blocks behind.  Didn't want to hide them so I decided to do an easel card and put the computer generated sentiment on the base.  My DT sisters, whom I consider fabulous friends, have done especially beautiful work this week so be sure and visit and leave them some love.  Now it's ready, set, SHOP!  TTYL

I'm also entering this in the Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge where the Twist this week is 3D, the AI Check us Out Challenge using Gingham, Check or Plaid and Use Your Stuff Four Legged Friends (The "stuff" are the brads on the sentiment. I have a whole drawer full of 'em that I seldom use.  Hopefully I can resist the urge to add to them at the Expo. LOL  You think they're so cute and cheap until they check you out.  $50 on BRADS?  Are you KIDDING me?).

The Outlawz Sunday CAS Challenge

I had so much fun with the Outlawz Sunday CAS challenge last week that I had to play again.  This week it's "You're Die-namite" (use a die cut) and I got a chance to finally use my Suburbia Cricut cartridge.  I really think the fun retro silhouettes really lend themselves to the CAS style.  It's been so warm the last couple of days that I was actually thinking about pulling out my bathing suit, so I chose the bathing beauty for this one.  In keeping with the CAS style, I have a lot of "white space" but embossed the majority of it with the Tim Holts Rays embossing folder.  I thought the black Alpha Beads balanced the black silhouette and the black peel off line sort of grounded her, as if she were sitting at the edge of a pool and dipping her toe in the water.  It also hid the cut between the embossing and the computer generated sentiment.  Kinda fun, eh?

Wicked Wednesday ATC Pin-Up Challenge

Unfortunately I missed the last couple Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenges but I just HAD to make time for this week's Pin-Up Girls, a subject near and dear to my heart.  My Daddy was an artist and was particularly fond of drawing Vargas Girls.  I didn't really realize it until I found a  bunch of his sketches in the attic of my childhood home when I was cleaning it out to sell.  You see, Daddy was a romantic for sure, but a little shy, so when I saw the sketches, I have to say I was more than a little surprised.  Since then we've collected a number of Vargas prints and have them hanging in our pool (table) room.  I think they're beautiful, but when the MIL comes, we strip the walls and hide them in the attic.  LOL 

Anyway, this is hardly a Vargas Girl, but I fell in love with the image used by WW DT member Megan on a previous challenge.  It's Angel Heart from Stitchy Bear.  She's actually a cupid but I've cropped her bow and quill, along with her wings, and drew a bit more hair in.  I think she makes an adorable pin-up.  "Cheeky"  (done with my Dymo) for sure!  Thanks for a great challenge, girls!

I'm also entering it in the One Stitch at a Time Anything Goes Challenge.

Macabre Monday Drop Dead Gorgeous

It's another Macabre Monday at Haunted Design House.  Anyone else totally screwed up by the time change?  EIYIYI!  Thank God I don't have to be anywhere.  Our theme this fortnight is Drop Dead Gorgeous and I've used the fabulously beautiful Gillian the Ghost Bride from Simply Betty Stamps.  Gillian still haunts the hallways in search of her true love.  Alas, she is caught between the manor and the grave until they are reunited for all eternity.  The sentiment is a quote from Sonnet 43 (How Do I Love Thee?) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 

To make Gilllian appear more ghostly, I printed her on vellum and shaded her with the Copics Cool Grey range.  This still wasn't quite the effect I was going for so I flipped her after fussy cutting and voila!  The mirror was cut with Spellbinders dies and in a final attempt to add otherworldliness, I covered the entire thing with black tulle.  The flowers are a combo of Prima and Vintage Findings from Making Memories.  Please visit HDH to find more fabulous inspiration by the Minions and be sure to scroll down to see last week's wonderful offerings as well. 

And please don't forget, the voting has now started on the S&S Forum for the Design Team Throwdown HERE.  The Minions are hoping for your support so please sign in  (or ask to join the Smeared and Smudged Forum, if you aren't a member already) and VOTE.  You only have one so make it count!  Scroll down to see my offering, the Creepster Bat.  Ain't he cute?

Smeared Ink DT Throwdown Entry for HDH

This month launches a new challenge on the Smeared and Smudged Forum:  DT Throwdown.   Read all about it HERE.  I'm competing with fellow Haunted Design House Minions Creepy Glo and Mark for the honor and bragging rights.  The first challenge is Paint and Splatter, WAAAAY out of my comfort zone but I'd pretty much already agreed so...here it is.

Thought it might be nice to do an Easter project so I started with a papier mache egg.  Umm... now what?  Seems like everyone starts with gesso, so I thought, why not?  Then a coat of purple acrylic and I set it aside to dry overnight.  Oh yeah, THAT'S why I don't do much painting.  Waiting for stuff to dry isn't my forte.

Next came some Tim Holtz Crackle in Picket Fence.  I had no idea how thick that stuff is (or is it that it's been in my drawer too long?)  anyway, it WORKED like magic.  WooHoo!  Now for the splatter.  I started with some watered down acrylic in lime and a toothbrush with minimal sucess so I brought out the big guns:  Dylusions spray in teal...yummy!

Every Easter (or should I say "Creepster") project needs someting pink and fuzzy, don'tha think? OOOH, it's the Creepster Bat! from Smeared Inks A Little Bit Batty set, or as a single HERE, printed a bazillion times, fussy cut and flocked.  His beady little eyes are just that, beads.

He's layered up for dimension and seems to be just bursting out of that egg, "bringing every girl and boy, baskets full of Creepster joy."

Which started like this, covered wire and raffia.  I promise never to make light of basket weaving again, EVER!  Eiyiyi!

"Things to make your Creepster bright and gay".  Honestly, who wouldn't just love a litte basket of pastel skullies?  Oh, and I've got to mention his furry little legs.  I only had thick and thin pipe cleaners in black (which looked a bit harsh) so I flocked them too, using hairspray as an adhesive.  Pretty cute, eh?  Necessity is truly the Mother of Invention.

So I guess I've fulfilled the requirements of paint, spatter and stamping (either rubber or digi) and I've had a ball.  Please come visit the DT Throwdown HERE at the Smeared and Smudged Forum to view the fab entries.  Deadline is Sunday, and Monday begins the 5 day voting process.  The votes are for individual projects with the total of the three participating DT member's offerings determining the winner. Go HDH!!!!!  You must be a registered member of the forum to vote, so what are you waiting for?  Cheer your fave team on and find a bunch of fun monthly challenges and fab, friendly, supportive, talented people to boot.

I'm also entering this in the very first Left of Center Challenge, a brand new "alternative crafting" challenge blog where the theme is "Anything Goes," if your project is a bit "different", or Button and Bows, if you prefer the mainstream sort of thing.  Thank you to my dear friend Vee who is on the DT and alerted me to this fab new challenge blog.

Dilly Beans "Green" Challenge

Our challenge this week at Dilly Beans is "Green".  I wasn't exactly sure what to do for this until I came across a shamrock I'd cut with my Cricut LAST YEAR around this time (think I need to clean off my table?  LOL) and decided that the cute Adrianna (#484) would make an adorable leprechan.  I found her hat on #329 Top Hat Snowman, paper pieced the lot and added an epoxy sticker.  the embossing was done right on the card blank using one of my Cuttlebug border folders which I trimmed out with black peel-offs.  Conveniently, I was able to find every other Alpha Bead letter in my sentiment in green.  WooHoo!  Please visit Dilly Beans a little later today to see the fab work by my teamies and "Go Green" this week to play along.

I'm also entering this in the following challenges:

One Stitch at a Time: Green

Twisted Tuesday: Spring into Green

Sweet Stamps: Green

Simon Says Stamp: A Bit O' Green

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations: Go Green

Celebrate the Occasion: Luck of the Irish

Inky Impressions: St. Pat's or Green

Crafty Creations: Green

Outlawz Sunday CAS Challenge

I've joined The Outlawz online group and have been having fun participating in their challenges.  There's a new one for every day of the week.  Woohoo!  The Sunday challenge is always CAS but this week it's You Have Us in Stitches, a real struggle for me on both counts. I decided to take the plunge anyway, because that's what challenges are for, aren't they? 

I cut the honeycomb mat with my Cricut and used an adorable Jellypark image, Cute Bee Girl and flipped her in my Printmaster Program.  The sentiment is computer generated.  I hand drew a little bee and punched holes in the mat for the his flight and connected them with a Micron pen for the (faux) stitching.  then I popped the mat and called it done.  I have to say I kinda love it.

I'm also entering this in Penny's Paper-Crafty Stitching Challenge, the Nutcrafters Something Beginning with "B" Challenge, and the Artistic Inspirations Things with Wings Challenge, Moving Along With The Times Birds and Bees, and the Paper Players "In Stitches" Challenge.

Simply Steampunk

I'm so excited to announce that I am joining the Simply Steampunk Design Team.  This is a monthly challenge featuring the fabulous Steampunk Images by Abigail Larson from Simply Betty Stamps.  I've been collecting the images for awhile now, but it wasn't until Betty sponsored The Altered Alice last month that I realized just how much fun they are to color.  (Honestly, they're not nearly as complicated as they look.) 

Each month we will feature one of the Steampunk Collections, some new, some old, with a Preview on the 25th of the previous month.  Challenges begin the first Friday of the month and there is inspiration from the Design Team throughout so be sure to visit often.  This month's challenge is "Distressed", featuring the new Classic Collection 6.  You may use any of the Simply Betty Steampunk images on your project as long as it fits the challenge.  This is a new challenge blog and I'm so pleased to be a part of it.  (I'll be starting the 25th)  Please pop on by and have a look around and let's go STEAMPUNKIN'!

The Altered Alice Chapter 25: Mad as a March Hare

The Hatter was the first to break the silence. `What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear. Alice considered a little, and then said `The fourth.' `Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. `I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare. `It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied. `Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: `you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.' The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the BEST butter, you know.' -- Chapter 7, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
 

We're so excited at The Altered Alice to be working with the fun, fabulous, quirky stamps from The Octopode Factory this month.  Lily has offered a generous $30 gift certificate to The Octopode Factory to one random winner so I'm sure you'll all be putting your crafty thinking caps on.

 [ Etsy Store - Digital | Rubber Stamps | Blog | Challenge Blog | Facebook | Flickr ]

The talented Lily Chilvers started The Octopode Factory when she was only seventeen and they were an instant hit. Originally available only in digital form, they are now also available in rubber stamps, and she has a wealth of amazing Alice in Wonderland images. Be sure to check out these wacky images through the links above!

For this challenge I took an inexpensive Walmart frame and turned it into a working clock with works from the local craft store. Instead of a pocket watch image, I chose Octopode's quirky Clockwork flower

 

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 I printed Clockwork Flower several times so I could fussy cut and layer it, adding some "butter" to the gears which were cut with Spellbinders dies.  It's colored with metallic Sharpies.  I also added to the "stem" so it would run the entire length of the frame.
 

 

The "Tick tock" is included with the stamp and was cut apart to add to the background.  All of the fab DP is from Heidi Grace.  I really thought it had a Wonderland feel.  Of course I added some alpha beads but didn't realize that I'd misquoted the text until just now.  It should read "Two days wrong"  OOPS!  This is gonna bug me to no end, but I can't correct it without ripping the background.  Sometimes Glossy Accents can be a little too permanent.  BUMMER!  Please ignore and promise me you won't tell.

 

 

The term "Mad as a hare’ which was common during Carroll's time, alludes to the crazy capers of the male hare during March, it's rutting season, and the straw on his head in the original Tenniel illustrations was also a symbol of madness. (from Lenny's Alice in Wonderland site)

Umm..., well this March Hare looks anything but randy and I dare say he'll need more than a cuppa before he's ready for any "crazy capers".  LOL  Where he isn't paper pieced, he's colored with Copics and is available individually HERE or as part of the 6 stamp Wonderful World of Wonderland set HERE.  The teapot is also paper pieced and is available as part of the 11 stamp Alice Elements set.

As March is the month we celebrate the mad March Hare, ANYTHING GOES is our challenge.

Please remember that although we're called The Altered Alice any and all projects are welcome.  This is the place to "get your Alice on"! 

You have until Friday, March 29 to enter your creations. As always, multiple entries are allowed but each must be on a separate post. All entries are welcome, but those that feature Wonderland will have two chances at the prize instead of one. And what a prize it is! A $30 gift certificate for digital images from the fabulous, fantastical world of The Octopode Factory!

 

I'm also entering this in the Movie Magic Monthly Alice in Wonderland Challenge, the 2 Sisters Fairytales/Fantasy challenge (I'm hoping this fits), Emergency Crafters Mad as a March Hare, Hotshot Craft anything but a Card and Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes.

Yipes, Stripes! at Dilly Beans

It's Friday again already.  Do you believe it?  Time for a new challenge at Dilly Beans.  This one is easy peasy, STRIPES.  I've used one of the fab new images, #540 Owl Always Love You.  He was so much fun to color.  Love his stripey feathers and tatooed wings.  My color combo came from the fab striped DP from Heidi Grace which looked great on the Kraft card stock.  I printed the image twice so I could fussy cut the eye and pop it.  I added a clear epoxy sticker for some shine.  Then just a few adhesive beads and I was done.  Pop over to the Challenge Blog a bit later for more DT inspiration and come and join us.

I'm also entering this in the DL ART Thankful Thursday Birds Challenge and the Digi Makeover Challenge #77 Stripes Challenge at the Paper Makeup Stamps Blog, Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes and the Addicted to Stamps, Use Craft Challenge.