Gothic Love ATC

Okay, where the hell did January go?!

I swear, the older I get, the faster my life slips away from me.

It's time for another exciting episode of 

Wretched Wednesday ATC challenge!

This week we are exploring GOTHIC LOVE.

Our sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps.

I used the "Deacon with flower" image from Bugaboo.

I also have a crackle addiction when it comes to hearts.

I just like the way they look all crackled up!  

Last shot of Deacon with his cool, skully fleur.

Drop by Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge and play along!

There are 7 free Bugaboo images to be won!

Show us your GOTHIC LOVE!!  

Everyone can use a little Nutmeg

Running a bit behind this week, but better late than..... whatever.

This week's challenge at Dilly Beans is to use 

metal accents on your project.

Megan came out with some fabulous new images this week, 
so I decided to color up "Nutmeg" and take it from there.
Isn't she adorable?!

I used one of my hoarded girly skull brads and some

self adhesive metal bits for the metal accents. 

I also used some new (to me) baker's twine in gray.

I coupled Nutmeg with is perfect quote from Shakespeare, 

that I picked up at Ginger's House. 

Ginger has the best sentiments and quotes, all for free!! 

Drop by the challenge blog and check out the rest of this week's samples.

If you enter the challenge you could win some new images from Dilly Beans! 

  

Famous Last Words

I find that I am still lacking in the areas of organization and promptness

in my life. I am still a work in progress.

Today's Macabre Monday challenge (week two) is

Famous Last Words.

I immediately knew what quote I was going to use, but was 

really stuck as to how to use the quote in a way that was different. 

I decided to make another art journal page, that way I could keep it 

in my book, as opposed to trying to figure out who to send it to later 

in card form. I have a hard time finding homes for a lot of my work. 

I started out using some new Dylusions spray inks, and a cool 

zombie stencil I got from Retro Art Cafe. Then, I reused the wet stencil 

to remove ink in the reverse! So cool! Dyan's tutorials are amazing!!! 

I broke out some chipboard letters to form my quote.

I used distress inks and red glitter paint on the letters.

My favorite story of all time is, "I am Legend" , by Richard Matheson.

Both, the title and the final words of the main character, Robert Neville.

"I am Legend", which was written in 1954, has been the inspiration for many films like, "The Last Man on Earth" with Vincent Price in 1964, "The Omega Man" in 1971 with Charlton Heston, and "I am Legend" with Will Smith in 2007. Vincent's portrayal of Mister Neville is still my favorite. 

Richard Matheson is such a brilliant writer. He also wrote,

"What Dreams May Come" and "A Stir of Echos", both of which

were turned into great films.

I cannot recommend him enough!

  

See! I can do it too!

As part of my new outlook for 2013, I'd like to 

start entering more challenges.

Unfortunately, sometimes my 'style' of paper crafting isn't 

fit for mass consumption.  

I am far from a conformist, but I do want to play with 

the big, fancy dogs (sorry ladies) on occasion.

Which means I have to 'fluff up a bit', and make pretty things. 

I can do this. Watch me! 

I have been wanting to play along with Kenny K challenges, 

but haven't been in the right mood. 

His images call for a bit of work to color in all of the details, 

and then the actual card has to be just as detailed (in my mind, anyway).

So, when inspiration hit, I started with this image.

As if she wasn't self explanatory, her name is "Warrior Princess".

She's pretty bad ass, huh? Even with pink hair.

Then, I broke out with my terribly underused, pretty things.

Roses I colored to match my color scheme, a metal heart brad, lots of 

half pearls, a pearl stick pin, and some fancy pearled sprigs.

Yes, I did own all of this pretty schtuff prior to my life as a 

creepy chick crafter. Funny, how personal styles change. 

I admire this style of crafting immensely, and try to imitate it

in my own work when it seems fitting.

LOTS of dimension on this project. 

This will definitely need a padded envelope when it's mailed.

Ta dah!

I always have trouble with the whole "less is more" concept,

 but I think I stopped just in time on this one. 

I really enjoyed this project, and adore the way the card turned out.

I can make pretty things, too!   

I'd like to enter this in the current Vintage challenge at Kenny K. 

Wicked Wednesday? Already?!

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to be more organized.

Not doing very well so far.

But today is the new challenge at Wicked Wednesday ATC challenges,

Add a charm.

We are sponsored by "Just Some Lines" this week.

I used  their cute Birthday Penguin image for my ATC.

He colored up like a ...charm!

In addition to the Stickled present charm, I added more Stickle dots to represents confetti, and then I added some yarn fibers to the hat for more texture and interest.

Please join us this week at WW ATC and create something 

fabulous with a charm on it. 

I'd like to enter this in the current challenge going on over at 
Just Some Lines - Something new challenge.
The penguin image is my something new. 


Have a wonderfully creepy day!  

No squares allowed!!!

The new challenge at Sparkle and Glitter is

Anything BUT a Square.

Sounds easy enough, but I found it kinda hard to not go the easy route

and just use a rectangle instead. I went the route of the round for my project.

I now see just how simplistic this looks and wish I had added more 

schtuff to it to make it look more lush. Unfortunately, I ran out of ideas

after the addition of the bulls eye target. I also came to the conclusion that

I don't have very many love themed sentiments either. 

Hearts and mushy love are just not my thing. 

I used the awesome "Night Flyer the Succubus" image from Rick St. Dennis.

She has arrows in her hair and I thought she'd make a wicked cupid!!!

I need to find an arrow to stick in the bulls eye now.

I printed the bulls eye from the Internet (Remington site), added a gemstone to the center, and glittered up the grapevine wreath die cut as a frame.

Please join us at Sparkle and Glitter for the new challenge of

"Anything but a Square".   

Macabre Monday on a Tuesday

Yup! Haunted Design House is back open for business!

And since we don't want to just shock you back into submission,

we made the first challenge for 2013 an easy one.

Freaker's Free for All!!

A haunted version of an "Anything Goes" theme.

Now, one might think that an anything goes challenge would be so easy.

But that is not the case for me. I have so many wicked ideas floating 

through my head like rotting carcasses floating down stream, 

that it is hard to let the bloat out of just one. 

Idea, that is.

This idea started with this awesome set of lenticular stickers from Recollections at Michael's.

Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved lenticular stuff. I had so many little television pencil sharpeners with the lenticular screen on them. 

Wish I still had those.

In case you aren't familiar with the term lenticular printing, it means: 

Lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles.  

I now have a gallery of lenticular vintage photos for my 

Hallowe'en displays. They even sell them at the Dollar Store!

Score!   

The vintage baby carriage/pram was the next bit of inspiration for my piece.

I bought this stamp from a company called, Stamper's Best. 

They have great prices on cling mount, and some really unique images available on naked rubber, or mounted onto cling. 

The image didn't stamp very clearly over all the texture, so I redrew it

(or traced it) with a black glaze pen. 

Not perfect, but it helps the image read better.

This type of image always brings to mind the movie poster and book cover for 

It's Alive! - 1974.

Creepy. Love it! 

This clock face is also from Stamper's Best. I colored it with Copics 

and then used Crackle Accents from Ranger on it for some age.  

Well, how did the little one pass, you may be wondering? 

I think Mama had a touch of the Munchausen Syndrome. 

Probably happened more than anyone would like to admit, 

back in the old days.

I broke out with all kinds of mediums for this project. 

I used acrylic paints, distress inks, rock candy distress crackle paint, 

distress Stickles, rubber stamps, wet embossing, gel pens, etc...

I have an issue with the whole, "Less is More" concept.

Just can't do it.

You still have until this Sunday evening to get in on the Macabre fun at Haunted Design House!

Please join us, won't you?     

Hey! This is fun!!!

Wow! It's already the 11th day of 2013!!!

I have been so busy trying to finish left over projects from 2012,

I am already falling behind for 2013!

In my defense, I have been trying to get organized, and trying to finish

undone projects and even trying new techniques and mediums in my crafting.

About two years ago I received a beautiful art journal from my 

RSD EDT sister, Suzi. I wanted to start working in it immediately, but wasn't sure where to begin. I decided on making it a painfully cathartic journal to help me deal with, and heal past emotional wounds.

This was as far as I got. I think I scared myself .

Didn't touch the journal again for another year.

I was inspired by the challenge at Stampotique, so I dusted off the journal

and got out some paints and stamps and got busy! 

I used the Welcome Door, with Mister Stripes, and the body of Winter with the skull from the Hallowe'en Cube 2. 

All stamps are from Stampotique, and all images drawn by the wonderfully

creepy, Daniel Torrente.

The door actually comes with a heart on it, but I replaced the heart with Mister Stripes, the spider.

I stamped the door onto kraft card stock and then colored it in with pencils. Not my usual choice for adding color to an image, but pencils tend to give more vibrant results than Copics when using kraft stock. I did add some shading with Copics over the pencils for more contrast.

I'm only using some 30 year old Coloray and Col-erase pencils I've had since I was a kid. They still work, and with as much as I use them, they'll do for now. 

I do like the look of the Inktense pencils though....  

 

Mr. Stripes all UTEE'd up. I used my melt pot for the first time. I am thinking I could use some tips and some practice. I guess I didn't work fast enough, so the UTEE turned amber. Plus, I was having a problem with too much build up of UTEE and then bubbles.

Like I said, more practice is needed.   

I used some more dictionary page shreds here and there, and

 a Salvador Dali quote, "I am not strange. I am just not normal", from

Dilly Beans. Seemed fitting. 

My Grandpa called me, "consistently strange" once, and I had never been more proud! 

I will not reveal just how many different layers of paint went onto this page, but let's just say it was more than six. Yup. More than six. 

Winter has such a sour face on her (him?) that I decided to cut her face out, and use the skull face instead. I also swapped the heart on the hoodie for a teeny scarab sticker.

Hearts are just not my thing. Unless they're still beating and in my hand....

But, I digress... 

I really like all of the layers and textures and emotions that went into this piece.

I am looking forward to filling this journal this year.

I would like to enter this page in the following challenge:

Stampotique: journal page or cover or calendar page

We're Baaaaaack!!!!

That's right kiddies, 

the Minions are back in the dungeon!!!!!!

We have started the Macabre Monday challenges up  again for 2013.

The rules are same, but we've changed to a bi-monthly/fortnightly challenge.

That's right! Now you have two weeks to procrastinate before you play along with us! 

We have also split up into teams to make it even easier on our lazy asses,

so I'll be posting my projects on the second week.

Check out what the more organized Minions did for this week's

Freaker's Free for All challenge at HDH.