BFF Birthday

One of my OLDEST best friends just celebrated her birthday.

This is the card  made for her.

I love that old bitch.

I used this sassy gal from Vera Lane Studios

and paired it with some of the elements that came with her, 

and a snarky sentiment from Riley and Co. Funny Bones.

Thanks for stopping by today.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Craft your Passion - ATG 

Natalie and Amy - Summertime

Tinker Dream - Summer

A Gem of a challenge - Birthday Wishes

Summer Swap 2015

I was lucky to have scored a spot in the exclusive

AEIOU...and Sometimes Why's

Summer Swap 2015.

I love toys and random pop culture swag. It's yet another

facet to my hoarding collecting tendencies. So, when I saw

that Dex was going to put together a box of random schtuff 

(one man's junk is another man's treasure concept),

and then he would send it off to one of the ten people on the list, I had to sign up. 

Each person takes what they want from the box, and then they add more of their own

schtuff to the box and send it on to the next person. It's basically a win, win

situation. You get new crap, and get to dump your old crap in the process.

I have no shortage of random crap, so this was a no brainer for me.

This was the box I received on my doorstep.

Lots of cool stickers all over it. Damn! I forgot to add my own decorations

to the outside of the box. 

Here is a good shot of the degree of random toys

and schtuff contained within. The Dracula is a 

box mascot and travels with the box to each destination.

We had some good times...  

This is the booty I looted from the box of random goodness.

I snagged these wicked cool horror trading cards and stickers.

I kind of couldn't resist this. I was compelled to

add it to my DVD collection. Haven't watched it yet though. 

No explanation necessary.

Miscellaneous bits and bobs of coolness and quirkiness. 

Lastly, I grabbed this big boy. He's a Techno Spawn Code Red Gorilla.

Super freaking cool, is what he is!!! I have a few McFarlane figures,

mainly from the Twisted Fairy Tales collection, but this guy is my new favorite

"desk bling". The details on this guy are amazing. 

This is the schtuff I added to the box.

Disney toys, zombie schtuff, GBK trading cards, a Dunny,

and a Sharknado Survival Guide are just some of the hand me downs

I threw in the swap box. 

I just mailed it out to it's next willing recipient in Terre Haute, IN.

Should be there by Monday. Enjoy! 

 

Don't touch my Twinchies!

One of the current challenge themes at Stampotique Designer's Challenge

is 'TWINCHIES'.

Now, I have heard of inchies, so it is a simple concept to grasp that if inchies

are 1" square, then a twinchie will be 2" square. Simple enough, right?

I have a stupid number of new Stampotique stamps that I have yet to

ink up. Rudy and Reggie, the seahorses were screaming for ink, so

they are the chosen focal points of my card today. 

I stamped and embossed them before coloring with Copics.

I really like the look of water colored messy shadows behind the images.

I wasn't having much luck achieving that effect with my water color pencils, 

so I went over it all with my trusty Copics and got the desired effect.  

I used my Posca paint pen to add the white bubble dots and highlights. 

I love those pens! 

I am a huge fan of the Riley and Co. Funny Bones sentiments.

This one reminds me of my friend, Deanna. We think we are quite

the funny biotches. We cackle when we're together, and we don't

really care if anyone else finds us funny. It's just an added perk. 

This it for me today.

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

Stampotique Designer's Challenge - Twinchies

Inkspirational Challenge - ATG with Kraft

QKR Stampede - swimming

Simply Papercraft - ATG

Sister Act Card Challenge - ATG 

Oh, how I love those things with wings!

I'm kind of excited to show off my newest creation today.

I made this card for the new challenge at 

Aurora Wings Challenge Blog - Anything With Wings.

I am a fan of many a winged beast, fae, or foe.

I really love me a good pixie, though.

I chose to work with the Pixie Kawaii Fairy with Big Hair

from Aurora Wings.

Surprisingly, I have had this image for quite a while and this

is the very first time I have colored her up. I am kind of bummed

that the photo shows her face so red. I can assure you, it doesn't

look quite that drastic in real life.

I used Copics to color her to match some papers from Kaiser Craft - Kaleidoscope.  

I left her eyes pupil-less as they were drawn. I don't like to

mess with Mitzi's images by adding mouths, or noses, or pupils.

I'm something of a purist when it comes to interpreting an artist's image.

I like to follow the artist's vision. I try to refer to their colored

sample when it's available, to confirm that I'm seeing a leaf or a curl of hair. 

I like how her eyes look almost insect-like. Mission accomplished.  

The perfectly insightful sentiment was already on the papers I chose, making this

a very quick card to pull together once the coloring was complete.

I usually take at least an hour to color an image. I'll go back and add

shadows again, and again, until I'm satisfied with the contrast. 

It's therapeutic, and a labor of love.

And lastly, like all good pixies, this little lady is covered

in various shades of Stickles. A pixie wing has to drip

with glitter in my world. That's just how it is.

Thanks for dropping by today.

I hope you'll pop by the AW challenge blog to check out the

other stunning inspiration the DT have created for this challenge.

I'd also like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Simply Papercraft Challenges - Anything Goes
Crafts Galore - Use a stamp or digi
Petal Lu - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - I Scream for...
(I Scream for INSIGHTFUL!)
Left of Center - Three of a Kind
(Three strips of paper as my background, and three flowers)

Ladybug, ladybugg...

It's no secret that I am a sucker for Mitzi's Aurora Wings Sprites.

And when she releases a new Sprite I always first in line

(among many) to color it up and make a Sprite project.

Today she is releasing a ...

Ladybugg Sprite!! 

Couldn't you just die from cuteness overload?

Per my usual way, I colored this one up

differently than the normal ladybug you would find out in the real world.

C'mon! You know me better than that!

I kept the embellishments pretty simple, with some 

Vintage Photo Distress Stickles, and some gold half pearls. 

I figured that paper was busy enough.

                                                                      

I popped the card in some Begonias in my backyard for the

photo shoot. I was hoping the fading daylight would give

me a good photo this late in the evening. 

Be sure to stop by the Aurora Wings showcase blog to see all of the

wonderfully different versions of this adorable, new image.

I'd like to enter this cutie in the following challenges:

The Sisters of Craft - Anything Goes

Moo-Mania - In the Garden

Petal Lu challenge blog - Anything Goes 

Sugar and Betty's Challenge blog- Anything Goes

My creative soundtrack

I don't know about you, but I simply MUST have music playing while I'm creating.

Although, I did have TerrorVision playing on You Tube last night while I finished 

up my latest Haunted Design House - Macabre Monday challenge piece.

The new challenge is "I Love Rock & Roll", 

and you are to choose a song as your inspiration. It can be the music,

the lyrics, or even the video imagery to whet your creative appetite.

I originally chose "Rat Trap 666" by Die Antwoord, but after listening closer to the

lyrics (they're from South Africa so it gets hard to decipher at times), I chose to

go in another direction. Have you ever ran across an old CD and have no idea

who it is? I found an Otep CD that I totally blanked on, but the very second I put it

on I instantly remembered this chick. I am usually not a big fan of women fronted

metal bands,  but this chick is bad ass. I really dig her and her gritty sound.

The lyrics to "Blood Pig" really spoke to me, and allowed me the freedom

to create something that represents me. The lyrics are a bit "colorful" so

I'll warn you now, and show you the lyrics I used for my altered mouse trap.

Yeah, an altered mouse trap was what I wanted to make, hence the idea to use

the first song, if only for the title.  

Blood Pig on the album Sevas Tra by Otep 

I'm fucked up

I'm different

Words remain

My only escape

Art saves

All of me

Evolving

Yeah, that pretty much sums me up.

I have recently started collecting ideas for this project on a Pinterest board

I created here: Glo's pinterest board . I really like how small these are,

like an ATC, but a little larger at 1 3/4" x 3 3/4". They make great note holders

and just neat little bits of altered art. 

I began by purchasing a set of four traps for under $2, and I'll be checking out the

Dollar Store next time I'm out and about. After removing some of the unnecessary

hardware,  I gessoed two of them, one in black and the

other in white. I was still very undecided at this point.

I decided to use some Silks acrylic glaze, and I love how it turned out!

 I used Spiced Pumpkin and it gave such a beautiful, fiery color to the

black gesso. Like the flames of hell fire coming to get me...

After the paint dried (it actually takes 48 hours to cure completely, so this was a bit tacky),

I used matte medium to apply some images I had saved on my computer. I felt that these

images represented me in some way. Either in aesthetic, or attitude.

My sinister sistah, Donna hooked me up with some super kewl

charms when we finally made contact, so I used this guy as my

main focus. I used black acrylic paint to the recessed areas to

bring out the details more, and even went so far as to use Inka Gold

in green, purple, and orange to add some color to the crown.

I also went nuts with the Glossy Accents and Glossy Crackle products. 

Crackle on the Ouija board, and Glossy on the spider punch cuts.  

I love me a good Cthulhu image, some (paper) spiders, 

a 'Going to Hell' charm, and a sentiment that pretty much sums it all up. 

I usually go with a matte medium to seal everything, but once I saw how the

Glossy Accents really showed off the color of the Silks, I opted for a glossy medium.  

I was just turned onto shopmissa, where everything is $1, and I saw

these spikes that are used on nails as nail art (can't imagine wiping my butt

with hands festooned with spikes, but that is pretty heavy metal). 

I knew I could use them in multiple ways in my art. 

I bought a bunch. They were 20 for $1, c'mon! 

I used Glossy Accents to glue them down, and then thought they needed to be

embedded in GA to stay on forever. Perfect!

I added some Tim Holtz Halloween rub-ons for some

interest on the sides.

So now you know a little bit more about me, and hopefully you'll be

back anyway.

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

Anything But a Card - Anything Goes 

That Craft Place - mixed media

Corrosive Challenges - Hot, hot, hot (the Silks paint looks like fire)

Mixed Media World - masculine (this is anything but ladylike!)

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes 

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes mixed media

Forever Dark 2 - Anything Goes

Happy Anniversary Alice!

Today I am celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Alice in Wonderland, 
by taking part in a celebratory blog hop featuring lots of creative projects 
inspired by this wonderfully strange, and adventurous story.

Not only will you be awed by all of the amazing artwork, 
but you can also win prizes from these generous companies;

The Stamping Boutique

Rick St Dennis MFA

Faery Ink

That Craft Place

Ike's Art

Delicious Doodles

Sweet Pea Stamps

Sassy Studio Designs

Vera Lane Studio Digital Stamps

Prize winners will be selected from random blogs throughout the hop. 
In order to be eligible for a prize, you must visit all stops on the hop and leave a comment. 
The prize draws will be open until July 18th, with winners announced on July 20th.

Okay, now that all of that is out of the way, I bet you'd
like to check out my Alice in Wonderland inspired project.

I have quite a few Alice in Wonderland stamps and digital images to 

create with, but I was eager to use my newest digital acquisitions

from the very talented, Vera Lane Studios. Actually, the artist is named,

Janet Klein, but she lives on Vera Lane, so hence the business name. 

I recently got some new craft room storage and ended up with a bunch of
dividers that were intended for some of the new drawers. I opted to fill the drawers
without the help of the dividers, but thought that they'd make good wall hangings.
Into the hoarded pile they went! And then I had an idea for some AIW wall art.

I began by painting the panel bright red, and then applied a white

crackle effect over the top. That was way too white, so I toned it down

with a brown acrylic wash. I wiped most of it back, but left enough to give it

a nice, antiqued feel. It is the 150th Anniversary, after all.

I manipulated the Vera Lane images in Gimp, and created the
panel and images to fit my layout and design.

What is Alice in Wonderland without Alice?

Here she is looking a bit disheveled, which is why I love her.

Maybe that tumble down the rabbit hole was a bit more rough than

anyone originally thought. Looks like stitches were necessary. Ouch.

I colored her with Copics, added Glossy Accents to her eyes, and

some Stickles to the bloody bits for a sparkly effect.  

The White Rabbit received the very same treatment as Alice,

but he managed to make it down the hole unscathed. Lucky rabbit.

I adore the Mad Hatter! So fun and silly! I referred to a 

photo of Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter for the color scheme.  

I used the mushroom and the Queen of Hearts here.

I manipulated the mushroom in Gimp to give me a smaller and 

a reversed image mushroom. I colored them both with Copics and

used some Rock Candy Stickles to the spots for a nice sparkle.

I punched holes at the bottom of the panel and added ribbons and charms.

I made the Queen of Hearts charm using a small playing card, Crackle Accents, 

grunge board, and Glossy Accents on the back to seal everything. I added a red beaded

accent to the bottom as well. Super fancy!  

Well, that does it for me.
Enjoy the rest of the hop, and if you are only arriving here
by chance and want to check out the entire hop, the list of
participating blogs is listed below for your convenience.  

Blog Hop List

Suzi

Alison

Trudie

Sharon

Milo

Donna

Leigh

Claudia

Leadonna

Nan

Jenn

Nikki

Black Dragon

Teresa

Ike

Creepy Glowbugg

Shelley

Alana

Harp

Lori

Monica

Kemly

Margaret

Julie

Katie

Julie W S

Kathi
Karen
Corrie
Emily
Geraldine
Carol
Avril
Lisa
Kim
Mo
Lorraine