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WooHoo, look at me! Usually I'm part of the "B" Team at Haunted Design House but here I am posting the first week of the challenge. This fortnight the challenge is "Bare Bones" which means CAS (clean and simple), no (or very minimal) embellies. RESTRAIN yourself! Normally this is not my kinda style, but because I DO find it such a challenge, I've been dabbling quite a bit lately. The cool thing is if you manage an idea, these projects are soooo much quicker to execute. Although not required, I immediately thought of skellies (you know, the "bones" reference) and remembered the fabby dancing ones from De Stemplewinkel. The Trees with Crows completed the scene. Wow, TWO rubber stamps on this! Will wonders never cease? Anyway, once they were stamped, I masked off the bottom of the card (one layer no less, go me!) and used a Nesties circle as a mask for the moon and sponged a bit of Stormy Sky Distress ink. Removed the masks, drew a line with my Micron pen to separate the design and ran it through the printer for my sentiment. DONE! See, how easy? Now it's your turn. More fab inspiration from at least half the Minions HERE.
I'm also entering this in the Left of Center Challenge 2 where it's Anything Goes if it's LOC, Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes, Simon Says Stamp and Show (Very Strict) Anything Goes (LOL) and the Outlawz Sunday CAS Challenge which is Anything Goes.
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!
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
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?).
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?
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.
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?
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