New Release at Aurora Wings

I'm again thrilled to be joining the Aurora Wings Showcase Team with one of the two fabulous new releases at Aurora Wings.  Meet the adorable Christmas Lights Sprite, available on Esty HERE in png form, HERE as a jpeg and on page 6 HERE in the AW digi shop.  This little cutie is sure to be a fave.  Look at her all tangled up.  I certainly can relate.  LOL  I chose a non traditional color scheme, but I'm a bit annoyed at the photo.  That fuzzy pink garland is a much closer match to the rest of the card, but what's a girl to do?  The bulbs hanging from the ends are are from Favorite Findings and the brad in the center is K&Co.  The card itself was cut from Spellbinder's Grand Labels One on a base of Grand Decorative Labels One.  The DP is from Jo-Ann's Peppermint Forest.

Here's a close up of the adorable little gal.  Christmas Lights Sprite was colored with Copics, fussy cut and popped with foam for dimension.  I've added Flower Soft to the fur on her outfit and tiny green gems to the bodice.  The bulbs are shiny with Glossy Accents.

And if you love Sprites be sure to check out the brand new Christmas Sprites Mini Coloring book available for pre order HERE.  This is a perfect stocking stuffer for young and old alike!  And stay tuned for another Showcase featuring all 6 of the new images exclusive to the book NEXT Friday.  These will NOT be available as digis EVER, but can be scanned to your computer to use again and again.  WooHoo!

Finally, our 2500 Member Celebration is going on NOW at the Stamps by Aurora Wings FB Group page.  Contests, discounts and even a Freebie.  Don't miss out. Not a member?  ASK to join.  

Be sure to visit the Showcase Blog to see the other new gorgeous image debuting today and the stunning creations by the Showcase Team. 

 Always lots happening at Aurora Wings so here are the important links.

Aurora Wings Challenge Blog

Aurora Wings Showcase Blog

Aurora Wings Etsy Shop

Aurora Wings Digi Shop

Aurora Wings FB Group

Aurora Wings FB Fan Page

I'm entering this in the ABC Christmas "V" is for Very Cute Challenge, Fab 'n' Funky Die Cuts or Punches, A Snowflake's Promise ATG as long as it's Christmas/Winter, Papertake Weekly ATG and The Crafter's Cafe Inspired by a Song (Deck the Halls).

SCACD Digital Stamps Release Blog Hop!!!

SCACD is celebrating 10 newly released exclusive digital stamps and I'm thrilled to be a part of this Hop.  There are some adorable new animal stacks (think kittens, puppies, birds) as well as some Steampunk additions and more!  So check out the collection, as these are really cute, fun and unique.  SCACD Artist Carmen Medlin and Susana Collaborated on the images and we are happy to be showing them to you now.

Available NOW in the USA HERE.
All our EU International friends can purchase them HERE.
If you are a non EU country you can purchase direct from SCACD HERE.  

You should have arrived from Alex's Blog where I'm sure she wowed you with her fabulous creations. 

I'm thrilled to be showcasing the brand new Steampunk Penguin and Flaming Heart.

Don'tcha just LOVE penguins?  And this guy is such a dapper gent.  I couldn't resist decking him out in Christmas colors and adding him to a die cut Steampunk wreath, to which I've added a few snowflakes.  He's colored with Copics with some Stickles brightening up his lightbulbs, then fussy cut and popped with foam for dimension.  There's a few flat backed silver beads adorning his gear, as well.  He'd also be great for a guy card any time of year. Check him out HERE.

I'm adding this to the Outlaw Friday Coloring ATG/ Christmas Challenge.

I did something a little different with Flaming Heart.  The design is derived from the Sacred Heart symbolism in characteristic in some Christian denominations. It has become a popular as a symbol for expressing love and passion, as well as the love and compassion for all humanity. These days the non-religious use of this symbol includes giving them as gifts to loved ones, decorative uses, ornaments and keepsakes.  In Mexico and other Latin countries, they are often cast or pressed from metal so I decided to try that with this fabulous design to decorate a leather box that originally housed a nice fountain pen.

I flipped the design in my printing program and printed it on regular copy paper. (This gives the best impression when tracing the design, but if you have to go over it too many times it will tear, so be careful.) Then I taped it to the back of some colored sheet metal.  I hoped I had just plain silver, but I could only find red in my stash.  I wasn't sure if I could color the red, as easily, but it was worth a try.  (Yeah I do see that the back of this red sheet is silver, DUH! but it was the wee hours of the morning and obviously I wasn't thinking too clearly. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it, and in the end, I was really glad I used the red side.)  

I laid the metal on a foam piercing mat and traced the flames and heart shape with a small stylus and bumped out the heart with a metal working tool.  Then I went back and traced the vines and thorns.  I have some inexpensive permanent Bic markers (what they called "fine" which is similar to what Sharpie calls "fine".  Hardly, but...  I took a vibrant yellow and started to color in the flames between the embossed outlines, and miraculously, the pen removed the red coating and colored it in yellow.  (I did have to wipe the tip regularly to get off the red gook, but hey, I was thrilled.)  For the fine details, I used a .05 Micron pen.  The metal cuts easily with scissors and, after fussy cutting, I used Glue Dots (the dimensional ones inside the bumped out heart and regular ones for the flames) to adhere it to the box top.  I finished it off with gold filigree stickers, et VOILA!  Gotta say I really, really, REALLY love how it came out. Such a cool image, I've got lots more plans for it.

Thanks for hanging in there with me.  You should be going next to Kathi.  I'm sure she has something fabulous to show you.  If you want to make sure you see all of the the Designers showcasing the stamps, then head back to the SCACD Store Blog HERE for there list.

Also, please note that SCACD is having a SALE (WooHoo!) so check it out HERE.

New Customer Challenge at Gecko Galz

Hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween.  Can you believe it's NOVEMBER already?  YIKES!  The Gecko Galz fabulous blog hop may have ended (scroll down if you'd like to nab my free collage sheet), but the new month brings a flock of new products to the Gecko Galz Etsy Shop and a new Customer Challenge with the theme of Sugar Plum Fairies. Yup! Christmas is coming so why not get a head start? 

The sweet images here are from the Sugar Plum Fairies Collage sheet, the background DP is from the Winter Wonderland digital Paper Pack.  I've used Stardust Stickles on all of the fairy wings in the main image and also on the fairy I fussy cut and popped from the sheet.  The DP and main image are matted in matte copper metallic card stock and the sentiment sticker is is an ancient one from K&Co.  A mirror snowflake from my stash was the final touch.

Be sure to visit the Gecko Galz Blog and check out the fab projects from my DT sisters.  This  is a monthly challenge and you must use at least one Gecko Galz product on your project.  This even includes the freebies available to you by signing up for the newsletter or checking out Gecko Galz on Pinterest.  Hope to see you play along.

Gecko Galz Blog Hop!

Hello Everyone!

I want to welcome everyone to the Fourth destination of

Gecko Galz 5th Annual Blog Hop

If you started here you might want to go back and start at the beginning at the Gecko Galz blog so you won’t miss anything!  

We have 14 AMAZING blogs for you to visit this weekend, each with some gorgeous projects created using the Gecko Galz exclusive blog hop collage sheets, that we are giving you for FREE! Each blog you visit will have another free Gecko Galz Collage sheet for you to grab, the one here is

"FLORAL FANTASIES".

Here are my samples, using the gorgeous Floral Fantasies Collage sheet 

Bottom right image printed twice, center fussy cut and popped.  Rose spray and bee fussy cut from center image and popped.  Background DP is from the Gecko Galz High Tea Digital Craft Kit 

Center left image, matted in purple.  Ribbon and perfume bottle (stretched in printing program) are icons from the Arsenic and Lace Digital Craft Kit.  Digital DP from the Vintage Visions Mini Paper Pack.

Gate fold card using top center image.  Image was cropped in printing program. Left side was sized for center of card and printed twice, once for inside and again to punch a circle for the belly band. Right side was sized for gate sides and flipped for the opposite side.  Each was printed twice to cover both inside and outside.  All images were distressed with scissors and inked with Milled Lavender Distress.    Ribbon from stash and inside sentiment sticker from Starform.

Noel Card using bottom left image.  We were challenged to make a Christmas card using our collage sheet.  I thought the gorgeous border of the bottom left image would be perfect. Center Christmas image was a previous freebie from the Gecko Galz Pinterest page.  Each was matted with green card stock and added to a gold metallic mat embossed with a Cuttlebug border folder on a dark green card base.  Ornament stickers and chipboard sentiment are K&Co.  Gold beads from Recollections.

Make sure you collect all the “secret” words on each blog so at the end of the hop you can send in the phrase to enter our drawing for a wonderful treat.  

So sit back, relax, take your time and enjoy the hop!

We have FOUR amazing prizes up for grabs:

·        First is a Gecko Galz shopping spree for $100!

·        Second prize is a $50 Shopping spree with Gecko Galz.

·        Third prize is a $25 shopping spree!

·        And our Grand Prize ONE FULL YEAR of Gecko Galz PRODUCTS!!! This includes the 6 new collage sheets each quarter, a new stamp set each quarter, a new paper pack each quarter and a kit club pack each quarter!

 This is a $150 value! Plus you get a prize pack from some of our favorite sponsors worth $150!

 Read on to learn how you can win!

First of all, you will need to visit all 14 blogs and leave a comment on each blog :) **This is important so we know you have been to all the blogs **. Collect all 14 words (one on each blog site except the home site) and at the end of the blog on the Fripperies and Butterflies site there will be a link to email the phrase to Gecko Galz. 

This enters you in the contest. On November 2nd we will randomly draw the 4 winners and email each of you, then we will post the winning names on the Gecko Galz blog site.

For an extra chance to win make a purchase from the GECKO GALZ ETSY STORE between the 29 of October and the 1st of November and your name goes in again for a better chance of winning (each purchase you make that weekend gives you another chance to win)

Your Secret Word is;

ARE

Now that you have it go to the next blog on the list below 

Lisette Baker

Terry Burnette

Michele Storms

Amanda Phillips

Gerri Herbst

Joan Liddle

Vicki Romain

Nancy Smith

Heather Hudson

Leanne Seed

Thank you for joining the hop and enjoy your free collage sheet and my samples.

New Gecko Galz Inspiration

Here are some projects for Gecko Galz using the newest October offerings.

Happy Birthday for a classy lady.

Gecko Galz Birthday Bash Collage sheet

Other: Cuttle embossing folder, black, white and kraft card stock, foam dimensionals and gem swirls and ribbon from stash

I Run With Scissors Digital ATC

Gecko Galz Sewing Jewels Collage set

Done in Printmaster Platinum

Falling Leaves tag

Gecko Galz Autumn Harvest Digital Paper Pack and Fall into Nature 

Digital Collage set

Other: Burlap Ribbon, baker's twine, leaf brads, flat backed pearls 

from stash.  Image cut with Spellbinders Labels Thirteen and 

popped with dimensional foam

And last but not least, another Music card to remind you that our current

Customer Challenge the "Music in Me" ends October 29th at 11:55 p.m.

EDT so hurry!  Remember, you must use at least one GG product, but that includes Freebies, Papers, ETC.

I've used Gecko Galz Beautiful Music Collage Set for the main image and sentiment, changing the color of the sentiment and cropping it in my Printmaster Platinum Program

Other: Core'dinations card stock and Cuttlebug Music embossing folder sanded to highlight the embossing and torn to add to the image which was matted in black and mounted on a blue card base.  Dimensional music embellishment are from my stash.

Exciting news!  Gecko Galz is holding a DT call  Click HERE for details.

The Gecko Galz Blog Hop starts TOMORROW at 9:00 am CDT!  WooHoo!

I like Children, I really do! (31 Days of Halloween on Airless Chambers)

Here I am with today's installment of Smeared Ink's 31 Days of Halloween for Airless Chambers, the Rick St. Dennis Dark Blog.  I've made a wall hanging with two of Rick's fabulous Halloween images, Busted Down Witch and Annabella Arsenic.  I took BD's advice and found a 12x12" sheet of scrapbooking DP that would normally go unused, but was perfect for my little Halloween scene.  It only needed some trimming, inking and matting in black and it was good to go.  The few embellies I added included a framed epoxy sentiment sticker, some epoxy bats, and some jewels to make the birds eyes and jack-o-lantern glow.

Here's a closeup of the Witch and Annabella.  They were both colored with Copics with some additional shading from Prismacolor pencils, fussy and popped with foam for dimension.

They are also BOTH older images so it bears mentioning that Rick is currently culling some of these images from both his Zibbet AND Etsy Shops and offering them at a major discount.   But act fast.  When you see it and you want it, BUY IT!  Once they're gone, they're GONE for GOOD. This is an ongoing process and takes awhile, so visit often, you never know what you'll find.  

Oh dear, Annabella looks a bit spooked as the witch grabs her arm to test for tenderness.

The computer generated sentiment was cut and matted with two of the Spellbinders Grand Creative Book Pages.  It reads "I like children, I really do, baked, or broiled, or in a stew".  Bwahahaha!  

And for all the exciting things happening in the RSD world, here are the important links.

Sparkle and Glitter

Airless Chambers

RSD MFA Blog

RSD How2 Tutorial Blog

Rick's Zibbet Shop

Rick's Etsy Shop

FB Fans and Friends

Where to find Rick's Coloring Books

I'm entering this in the Get Creative Halloween Colors Challenge, Inky Chicks Halloween, and Inspiration Destination ATG.

There for You

Our new Facebook Contest for The East Wind begins today with the theme of "There for You".  We'd like you to make something for someone who need some extra support in their life.  Maybe they're dealing with cancer, or a chronic illness, or are just having a hard time and need a little pick me up.  I've chosen the beautiful stamp called Untitled.  Her wistful look evokes all kinds of emotions and Unky thought it best to leave it up to you to decide what she's thinking.  Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I decided to go with that theme, as many friends and relatives have traveled that path.

Here's a closeup of the beautiful image.  She's colored with Copics with just a touch of shading with Prismacolor pencils.  I chose to keep the card CAS, with only a die cut wreath from Memory Box to frame her, some simple scoring around the edges, (for some reason the top and bottom scores don't show in the pic), some flat backed pearls and, of course, a pink ribbon.  The sentiment is a peel off sticker by Starform.  We'd love to have you join our Contest on the East Wind FB Group page and come see the gorgeous inspiration from my teamies.  If you aren't a member of the Group, please ask to join.  We also have a separate Halloween challenge going on over at the Blog so do check that one out, too.

Come join the fun!
Here are of all the important links you need.

Challenge Blog

Show Room Blog

FB Group

FB Fan Page

Etsy Shop

I'm entering this at 613 Avenue Create, Crafty Sentiments Designs Pink, Creative Card Crew Ribbon, Tuesday Throwdown You Have My Support, OLLCB Pretty in Pink, and the Outlawz Monday Greeting Cards use Flowers or Brads, The Ribbon Girl Pastels, the Alphabet Challenge "R" is for Ribbon, Creative Fingers ATG and  Eclectic Ellapu For a Cause.

New Challenge at Aurora Wings

I'm so very excited about this month's challenge at Aurora Wings.  The theme is Day of the Dead-be still my heart!  You know I love me some Dia de los Muertos!  To be honest, I've had this idea in my head for over a year so to actually gotten my butt in gear enough ahead of time to pull it off makes me all kinds of happy.  It did not turn out exactly as originally planned, but I like this version even better.  Grab a cuppa, this is a very long post 'cause I'm all kinds of thrilled about this and I'm feeling VERY chatty.

My biggest hold up was painting the paper mache monument.  I hate waiting for paint to dry and I'm not the swiftest at mixed media. I've got gobs of product, but don't know what to do with it all, so I just mixed some black and white gesso and threw in some sand.  WooHoo!  It turned out darker than I thought, but after a little dabbing of some Deco Art Bleached Sand acrylic paint with a natural sponge, I was good to go.

While waiting for the paint to dry, I had begun coloring the beautiful Bone Queen, also available HERE in the shop (with Copics) but NOT in these colors.  I'd planned on doing a less macabre version using the traditional oranges and yellows of the giant marigolds, often used on Day of the Dead alters, (conveniently also poppy colors).  However, as pretty as they were, those warm colors weren't all that striking against my tombstone... what to do?  

I decided to take inspiration from Mitzi's original print (also available as an ACEO print HERE)  and go with the red...ALL the way with the red, right down to the blood drips on her shoulders, which about gave me a heart attack since I'd already spent hours on coloring, especially the chest bone detail.  It's just Copics.  I was too scared to actually try to DRIP anything.  Too risky at this stage of the game.  Now for the reddish tinge.  I was a bit more light handed there, but found that with a Q-tip and red chalk I could get the shading I was going for.  There was a whole lot of fussy cutting going on, as I did pop her face and the closest blooms with foam.  Finally, I added a silver bird skull charm to her necklace.  One down...

Next came the florals for either side of my sentiment.  On the left is a Poppy corner. (Flipped in my printing program) Again, colored with Copics with some chalk detail on the leaves, buds and pods. The fussy cutting here was brutal, mostly done with an exacto knife.  I normally leave a little white border on imaged so delicate, but it wasn't right for the project.  That little web behind the pod was added for some stability and happened to help balance the design. Mitzi has a huge selection of floral borders and corners that can be used alone or in conjunction with her other beautiful designs.  You can find the whole collection in the Aurora Wings Etsy shop by searching by type of flower or in the Floral Collection of the AW Website's Digital Stamp Shop.

Finally, on the right I added Memento Mori.  This was a fave of mine right from the get go and also supplied me with the sentiment.  Again, I've colored with Copics and lightly chalked with red.  From Wikipedia 

Memento mori (Latin: "remember (that you have) to die"^[2]) is the medieval Latin theory and practice of reflection on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits.

The sentiment is computer generated, cut with Spellinders Labels Four and inked with Distress while in the die.  It's backed by a Grand Labels Four that was run through my Cuttlebug with the Tim Holtz Bricked folder to give it some texture and inked with Versafine chalk ink.

Finally, here's the dimensional shot.  I really planned to do more with the individual flowers on each stamp, but I ran out of time. The good news is, I saved the stamps in these sizes in my Printmaster program, so if I get the inclination to add more, I can at a later date.  

Be sure to visit the AW challenge blog for more fabulous inspiration from my DT sisters and please come play along.  Not all of Mitzi's Day of the Dead stamps are creepy.  There's an adorable Marigold Sprite and even a Catrina Doll Kitty. Check them all out HERE.

Always lots happening at Aurora Wings so here are the important links.

Aurora Wings Challenge Blog

Aurora Wings Showcase Blog

Aurora Wings Etsy Shop

Aurora Wings Digi Shop

Aurora Wings FB Group

Aurora Wings FB Fan Page

I'm entering this in the Altered Eclectics October ATG (Mixed media) Challenge, the Anything but Cute 31 Days of Halloween Mixed Media Challenge, Eclectic Ellapu Halloween/Dark/Horror, Glitter 'N' Sparkle Halloween Cute or Spooky, The Corrosive Challenge-the Dark Side, Love to Create Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes, Left of Center Good Old Fashioned Horror, Chalk N Stock ATG with Chalk, A Step in the Dark October FB challenge, Simon Says Monday Monster Mash, Forever Dark 2 Challenge #5, Our Creative Corner Horror, The Mirror Cracked Tic Tac Toe (using Halloween, Time: my thought is that the sentiment references time, Red) and Dream in Darkness Halloween is Here.

New Release Day for The East Wind

It's Friday, and that means another fabulous new release from The East Wind. Meet "Bunnyholic".  Gotta say I get all kinds of warm fuzzies from this image, don't you?  Although we still don't even have anything close to Autumn weather in my neck of the woods, I just had to make a Winter/Christmas card with this beautiful new image.  All Dp's are from last year's DCWV Winter in the Woods stack.

I derived the color scheme from the first layer of DP.  Used mainly Copics with a bit of pencil action in her hair and I've paper pieced the scarf using the diminutive knit pattern from the combo mat stack of the same name.  Tried to add a bit of subtle fuzzy texture to her jacket, too using the dotty technique around the edges.  The image was cut with a Spellbinders Grand Oval and layered over the sentiment in the pine cone wreath. I added a computer generated one, printed on kraft, and some matching pearls.

This would make a great image to use for our current FB Lovin' the Animals Challenge, don'tcha think?  But hurry, deadline for that one is the 17th.  (New FB challenge begins the 21st.)  The new Blog Challenge just began yesterday with the theme of Halloween, and our FB mini coloring contest using Baby Aurora Witch and Kitty runs through October 31st.  The sweet image is reserved HERE at 50% off.  

Come join the fun!
Here are of all the important links you need.

Challenge Blog

Show Room Blog

FB Group

FB Fan Page

Etsy Shop

I'm entering this in the Crafting With Friends ATG challenge, the C.R.A.F.T. Christmas Challenge, ABC Christmas U for Unusual Christmas Colors Challenge,  and the Outlawz Twisted Thursday Tic Tac Toe using (die cut, digital image, paper piecing).

RSD MFA October Progressive Challenge Part 2

It's time for more inspiration for the RSD Sept/October Progressive Challenge on Sparkle and Glitter.  For those who played in September, where the chalenge was ATG with an RSD image, this gorgeous Alice image is free for the asking. For those who didn't, it's available HERE in Rick's Zibbet Shop and HERE, for immediate download, on Etsy.  The October part of the challenge requires you to use Alice.  I left this quite CAS so as not to detract from her and her Wonderland scene.  The DP behind her is from the Gecko Galz Wonderland Digital paper pack.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Here's a closeup of this fabulous stamp.  Such fun details in the background to color.  I've used Copics with a bit of detail with Prismacolor pencils and matted her with black.  My colors are quite traditional, but it's amazing to see how different she looks in different palettes.  Check out my teamie's versions HERE and the A team's creation HERE.  Hope you are inspired to play along.

And for all the exciting things happening in the RSD world, here are the important links.

Sparkle and Glitter

Airless Chambers

RSD MFA Blog

RSD How2 Tutorial Blog

Rick's Zibbet Shop

Rick's Etsy Shop

FB Fans and Friends

Where to find Rick's Coloring Books