Roxy

Hi again,

This is one of my baby girls, Roxy.  I had to snap this picture of Roxy perched up on my awesome compass pillow. I laugh to myself because when I take a photo, I think of the stamps and paper I have that match. That's totally normal right?

The base is a 14x11 canvas sprayed with Elmers spray glue and decorative papers attached. The side paper is BoBunny but the main sheet was something I had in my stash. I don't remember the name, 7Gypsies maybe? I colored and layered a large compass stamp and added some tropical leaf die cuts.

I love the jumbo hibiscus stamp from Stampendous. I colored it with Lyra art pencils on a super smooth  matte paper. I think I colored these while working a night shift (on my breaks)

I am uploading this project on the following blogs:

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/challenge-anything-goes/

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-anything-goes-2/

Thanks for surfing by today, until next time...

Nautical

Yay nautical! I was super excited when I saw that the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge was to create something Nautical. I love anything to do with beaches, tropical and nautical so this one was fun.

I made a she-art tag using the Julie Nutting paper doll stamp from Prima, lots of washi tape and some inks and sprays.

You can check out this week's challenge here:
http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/challenge-nautical/

Memory Box die cuts

Bo Bunny stamps from the Key Lime Collection

Bonus Card (just because)
stamp anchor on white paper with white pigment ink
add faded jeans distress ink over background and wipe off excess ink off of stamped images
spritz with water to give a "watery" effect
add embellishments (die cuts, ribbon, stamped image) after matting on yellow anchor paper

Halloween Configurations

Hi again

I just wanted to share some pics of the configuration shadow boxes I made last year. They stored pretty well. When I pulled them out last week, there was very little I had to repair. I did end up replacing the battery pack for the lantern because I made a bonehead move and kept the batteries in. Holy corrosion! Oops. Oh well, live and learn. Here's a peek...

Tammy T tutorial tribute

Hi everyone

I was excited to see a homage to Tammy Tutterow over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge blog. 

 http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/challenge-inspired-by-tammy-tutterow/

I've been following her blog for about a year now and, Tammy, you are so gracious with your tutorials. I don't know how you come up with ideas week after week. The photos and the step by steps for the projects must take you hours to prepare, so - Thank-you from the bottom of my crafty rogue heart.

Here's the link for the tutorial that I was excited to try:                  http://tammytutterow.com/2013/06/tuesday-tutorial-distress-paint-linen-texture/

Of course, anyone who knows me by now, would expect a tropical card from me. I love the way the linen texture makes it look like an old vintage hawaiian shirt. Take a look...

I can't believe the texture on the cardstock. It's so cool. Hope this inspires you to give it a try as well.

Thanks for stopping by

Halloween carnival event finale

Hi again 

One last post to showcase the last 3 pieces of the Haunted Carnival.  The first 2 are inspired from the creative genius Laura Carson over at artfullymusing.blogspot.ca  The third one is an original piece using some of the images from the collage sheets.

Stare down a Gargoyle. 

Cute and creepy all at the same time. I had to modify it a bit because I didn't have the cubby hole cabinet or gargoyle beads so I made my own using a box lid and some foam core for the dividers. I adjusted the size of the gargoyle image and copy/pasted it 3 more times.

Dodge the Zombies...

Dodge the Zombies is a really cool attraction. Again, a bit of adaptation. I cut the tombstones out of light chipboard using a die (Tim holtz' tombstone and arched frame) painted them and added to the display. Same with the tombstone on the edge die around the perimeter. Bones, chain, pumpkins and leaves add a decorative element to the mossy ground.

Madame Zelda

Here's my "original piece". Every carnival needs a fortune teller. I started with the leftover piece of a paper mache pumpkin, modge-podged some great background paper from graphic 45 inside and then started building the scene.

The crystal ball was a wood bead, colored, then glossy accents glazed over the top. A little spell book and skull sit on her table.

Zelda's hair is steel wool

The back of the pumpkin turned out cool. I painted it gold, then stained it with black soot distress stain and finally, dry-brushed some peeled paint and ripe persimmon distress paint on top. 

Well that's it, hope you enjoyed the posts about the Carnival.  I really had a lot of fun building it. 

Once I get it all displayed, I will add on a picture. Until then, stay crafty my friends.

12 tags of 2013 - October

Hello again,

What a week, this nasty cold/flu bug I have is brutal. It's really encroaching on my creativity ( or maybe it's the cold medication hahaha) Tim's October tag is sure to inspire though, I was a glittering fool. Let's take a look...

Distress paint marbling background with some Distress ink over top to brighten the colors. The weathered clock was glittered with pumice stone and a bit of antique linen. The halloween die set from Sizzix is fab. I love every single one in the package. That's where the pumpkin and the crows came from.

More marbling on the tag, a great stamp from Stampendous was layed on top with black archival ink. The spider web was glittered and adhered with glossy accents, topped off with a murder of crows.

This one was fun too, I cut the tombstone, stained it with black soot then embossed with the cement embossing powder. I cut out the spooky cat ( before inking) so I could add him back in there as an inlay after I glitzed him up. The vine die cut was added to the top. The word (Graphic 45 steampunk spells set) was stamped on clear plastic and stuck on with glossy accents.

I can't decide on a favorite. Which one do you like the best?

You can check out Tim's complete tutorial and other uploaded links here:

http://timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2013-october/

Carnival Rides

Here we are again,

As promised, pictures of the project that started it all. I must say that compared to the ferris wheel, the carousel was a breeze. And the spinning cauldrons ride was just plain fun to do. I hope you enjoy the pics.  Thanks again to Laura Carson for her inspiration and digital files I purchased. I had so much fun.

The carousel turns on a lazy susan bearing I bought at Home Depot.

The new spiderweb die from Tim Holtz is awesome as an overlay.

The Ferris Wheel...

This project took me about a week to complete. I had to walk away from it a couple of times.

I couldn't find lampshade hoops anywhere, embroidery hoops weren't the right size and I was resigned to the fact that I wouldn't make the ferris wheel. Then the lightbulb moment hit me in the dollar store.

Splatter screens (you know, when you're frying bacon and don't want the grease splatters everywhere)

They even had knobs and a washer with them. SWEET!

Yes it turns!

Side view

Spiderweb and spider stamps from "Stampendous" 

Spinning Cauldrons...

Love how this one turned out. I wanted the base to kind of look like burning embers. I had a piece of perfect paper in my stash. I did an overlay using the Graveyard on the edge die from Tim Holtz.

Another lazy susan mechanism so it turns. Check out the skeleton riders. One is just chillin' the other has his arms up for his need for speed.

Final shot from above. 

Well that's it. I have a few more items I haven't made yet, but I think I will let this flu bug run its course and give myself a creative break for a couple of days. Thanks for stopping by. Chat soon.