Been better

Life has really been taking me on a ride lately.

I didn't agree to this ride, but it is what it is.

Just tryin' to ride it out at this point.

And on top off the shit I am dealing with,

let's throw a horrendous head cold in to top it all off, shall we?

This one is much cuter than the snot monsters I have seen lately.

 

Anyhoo, here is a quick update of some of the projects I neglected to post

when they were still relevant.

 

Here are two ATCs I made for the Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge.

The theme WAS owls. Now it's Back to school. I missed entering these in time.

 

I used Justin Pike's owl images and the last one includes a quote

from Dilly Beans.

 

 

Next up is my new profile picture. 

This is a Zombie Lucky Cat from Philip Hynes.

I don't think it is available any longer, but Phil was nice enough

to gift this one to me.

It was already base painted in the green,

so I added all the rest of the paint and even got some

glow in the dark goodness going on in all of the bones and the eye. 

I shall name him, "Precious". Or "Malachi".

Thank you Phil!!!

 

And here we have the cutest little clove of garlic EVAH!!!

My dear friend Michell makes the most amazing sculpts!!

Her shop,  Covington Creations is a must see!!  

Awesome straight jacketed bat pendant. He actually hangs

upside down and will be perfect with my outfit for the

Vampire Ball coming in October.

I am not sure exactly what this guy is, but I do know that he

is brilliant!!!!

Thanks for the early b.day gifts Michell! You ROCK!! 

 

That's it for now.

I'll be back with more schtuff to share later this week.  

 

 

  

Martin's Heart

This week at Dilly Beans the challenge is hearts.

This makes me sad. I am not a heart kinda gal. 

I have never dotted an "i" with a heart, and I don't really

even consider using one that isn't still beating after being freshly ripped

from a chest cavity. I have my standards.

 

I was pleased to use this sweet zombie boy image though.

He is called, " Martin's Heart" #377.

I backed Martin on an ATC sized archway image from

Itkupilli, that I distressed a bit with black soot distress ink.

I added a MS punched iron fence at the bottom and some

co-ordinating rhinestones in the corner.

Another ATC in the bucket!

I am getting quite the collection of ATCs. They are so fun to make!

 

Drop by the Dilly Beans challenge blog and join in on the fun. Maybe even

win some free digis of your own! Megan has just recently

added some new designs to her the shop! Check it out!

 

 

Who are you callin' a Succubus?!



Due to my (un)healthy obsession with television and my

(un)natural love of my DVR, I am officially a TV junkie.

I record so much TV every week, but I do manage to watch

some really cool and strange and funny shows that I would

probably miss if I had to rely on the antiquated way of watching TV.
 

One of my favorite shows to watch is "Lost Girl" on Syfy channel.

At first I wasn't feelin' it, as it started right after "Being Human" and I

had a hard time transitioning from werewolves and vampires, to the world of

the light and the dark Fae. Huh? Isn't that kind of the premise for "True Blood"? 

Anyhoo,
as result of my having a girl crush on "Kenzie" (the main character's sidekick),

 I was inspired for this week's challenge.

Yup! That was me!!  

 

"Who are you callin' a Succubus?!"

 

What exactly IS a Succubus you ask?

In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus (plural succubi) is a female demon or supernatural being appearing in dreams, who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus. Religious traditions hold that repeated intercourse with a succubus may result in the deterioration of health or even death.

In modern fictional representations, a succubus may or may not appear in dreams and is often depicted as a highly attractive seductress or enchantress; whereas, in the past, succubi were generally depicted as frightening and demonic.

Now ya know. 

 

We are sponsored by Kenny K who has such a talent for drawing hot ladies.

And he also draws some really cool guys and animals too! 

Kenny has generously offered up 2 digis of choice to each of the GTs this week!

 

 

 

I had a bit of a creative roadblock this week.

 No matter how hard I tired to keep in the dark, Gothic vein, the cards I was working on kept going in the vintage, faded direction. I even switched images thinking I could

darken up Jane Jettpack, but she turned out rather vintage in her over all feel.

 

Can you say, "Hottie"?!

 

I used an embossing folder for the red/orange card stock, and

aged it a bit with Distress Inks. I also used a cool new rubber stamp

and stamped it on the ivory stock using Distress Ink and then spritzed it

with water to give it that faded look. This is the first time I have used

this technique, but definitly not the last!

 

Thanks for dropping by and checking out my card today.  

 

 

Dilly Bean Brights

This week's challenge at Dilly Beans is bright colors.

I am actually a fan of bright, vibrant colors. I can do this.

I chose to use #395 Whimsy Trees.

I love these sweet little striped trunk trees. 

They remind me of cotton candy.

I decided to go with a clean and simple layout to keep the bright trees

and the ribbon as the main focus.

I added a bit of Stickles to the little hearts for some sparkle.

I couldn't help myself! 

I also just realized that I never posted last week's Dilly Beans "Distressed"

challenge ATC card that I made, using Zombie Girl w/Bow.

I really dig this color scheme. I may have over done the whole

distressed thing though. She looks a bit worked over.  

There is a fabulous Birthday sale going on right now over at the

Dilly Beans digi store. Buy 3 get 1 free, or buy 10 and get 10 free!! 

Sale ends August 20th.



Hiding in the Corners

Have you started your project for this week's HDH challenge yet?

Hiding in the Corners

is the challenge. All you need to do is make something

sinister and adorn the corners. Easy enough?

I chose to indulge myself, and feed my latest crafting addiction.

Artist Trading Cards.

I used Ike's "Honey" image for this serial killer

inspired card. Gotta love a crazy hott bitch with a meat cleaver!

Blood splatters and all corner adornments accounted for.

For this little masterpiece, I have used another

of Ike's images called, "WitchyMou".

Isn't she wonderfully horrible?!

I mounted the image onto an old dictionary page starting with

"blood root". I highlighted the bloody words with some Brick

and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks and a water painter.  

I used some Y26 &Y28 on her teeth and then used a glaze pen

to give them a slimy sheen. I did the same for her eyes. Slimy, I say! 

As the piece de resistance, I used a preciously tiny polymer clay

cauldron, crafted from my talented Minion Sister, Andrea.

I added some potion vapors and bubbles from paper scraps and Stickles.

Perfecto! 

Odd? Why yes, yes I am!

This week over at HDH we have an inspiration photo to

set your mojo a flowin'.

I actually chose the photo due to my (un)healthy obsession

with the Science Channel's, "Oddities" series.  

I have a mad crush on Ryan Matthew, the bone guy from the original

"Obscura" shop in NY.

Ryan makes articulated skeletal displays,

and my favorite, "exploding skull" displays. Ryan also lives in the most

amazing home, decorated with the most amazing specimens, taxidermy, bones,

etc... I told you, I loves him.

Now I have added, 'hippo skull' to my long list of

skeletal wants. 

Maybe he'd just let me clean and cook for him for free.

No strings, other than the fact that I can run around and touch all

his stuff, ... naked.

Sounds like a deal to me, but selling the hubby on it will be

rough since I kind of have the same deal going with him.

Anyhoo,

I went the very literal route and just reproduced the inspiration photo

as an ATC card. It seemed a little easier than actually mulling through all of my

schtuff to find just the right skull and bottles to work with.

It looked way cooler when it was just a pencil sketch, but

I need to remember that "practice makes perfect".

I colored it with Copics and Distress inks.

Since I have been bitten by the ATC bug, I needed a place to keep

all of the little cards until I decide what to do with them.  

I love iced tea. It is my favorite beverage, and I go through

a box of my favorite tea every other week.

I decided to put this little box to good use to hold my cards.

I had to make it cool, so after reinforcing the interior of the box, 

I painted it a flat black with acrylic paint.

I added some metallic ruby accent paint  to appear like aged wood grain.

I added a few Hallowe'en border stickers that I have too many of, and added a

cool skull button to act as a way to open the box.

I then painted Distress Stickles in Antique Linen all over the entire box to seal

everything and give it a nice speckled, shimmery finish.

And lastly,  

Juan got a new hat!

Thank you Hobby Lobby, for carrying Iguana hats! 

   

Sewn at Dilly Beans

The theme at Dilly Beans Challenges this week is

Sewn.

I don't sew if i can avoid it, so I did some faux stitching instead.

I pierced the main image and then used a white gel pen

to fill in the faux stitches.

I used #421 framed hooter from Dilly Beans.

So sweet! 

I was going for a clean and simple design, so I just kept piercing,

using a template I ordered from Oriental Trading Company. 

Added some rhinestones and some blind embossing, and this owl will fly! 



Wait, how much was this?

It is no big secret that I like to shop.

I like to shop for crafting supplies, things to re purpose, cool chachkies,

antiques, and curiosities.

I would love to be an estate sale coordinator. I enjoy many facets of

collectibles, antiques, and crap. I think I have a bit of an eye for it.

Last week I happened upon a yard sale and found this cookie jar.

This is a California Originals cookie jar. I haven't been able to place an

actual date on it, but the company started in 1945 and closed their

doors in the early 1980's. They were quite prolific in the production

of pottery artware, and many of their jars are worth quite a it of money in

today's market. I bought it for $10 and have seen them sell for anywhere

from $5 to $110. Not a bad investment.

Since I can't stand to go another minute without some sort of

Walking Dead in my life, I broke down and purchased the

first 50 issues compendium. I am usually not in the habit of reading

a book after I have started the TV show or movie (True Blood), but I have

heard that it is well worth the time to read the actual comics.

I'll let you know.

I also picked up the #100 issue in 6 of the available 12 variant covers. 

Welcome little one!

This is my second art sculpt from the fabulously talented,

Jacky Mullen.

Ack! Look at those little toes!!!

And those wings and that tail!!!

Shhhh!

He's sleepin'.

Lastly, I have my newest, sweetest baby(ies) to show you.

Oh my!! So sweet!!!

Fresh from China!

Two heads are always better than one.

Even if this is only a gaff, it's beautifully done!

All nestled into their new cloche, looking dapper.

I'm currently thinking of names.

I like Pip and Pop, or Ping and Pong, the best so far.  

Thanks for stopping by.

Freaker's Free for All

Quick post today.

This is for the Macabre Monday challenge at
Haunted Design House,

"Freaker's Free for All".

Basically, anything goes!

I chose to work with "Vamp Me" from our sponsor this week,

Tiddly Inks.

I used a Spica glitter pen to add sparkle to the Vampire and his

intended victim. Kinda sucks that the sparkle doesn't show in pics. 

I also used the headstone and the coffin from another

Tiddly Inks set called, "Vampire Extra pack".  

I adhered everything onto a large Spellbinder floral oval to

anchor all the elements.

Lastly, I added Stickled paper roses to finish it off.

That's it for me. Busy, busy, busy.

Less than 92 days until Hallowe'en!!

I'd like to enter this card in the current challenge at

Tiddly Inks Challenges - use your favorite TI image