Current Design Teams

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Useless Trinkets new freebie release




Today is the release of new images at Useless Trinkets.
FREE, new images. Along with all of the other adorable and FREE
images already there. If you haven't checked them out yet, you should. 
And if you already have, then you need the new images and matching sentiments.
Did I mention that they're FREE? Don't even get me started. I have no idea
why the heck Jessa isn't charging for these images, but hurry up and grab 'em 
before she comes to  her senses and realizes she has a goldmine on her hands.

First up is "Harriet".
She is unassumingly psychotic. I like that in a girly image.

Gives her a nice edge. 
Kinda sharp and rusty, like old garden shears...

I found a fitting sentiment and a cool charm to go with it.
I paired it all up with some super old dp I have had for years. I loved it
so much I bought a shit ton of it, and still have at least a half a
shit ton of it left.

So, I kinda adore little miss "Harriet".
She's fun and great for all ages and occasions. 

My new favorite image from the imaginative and adorable mind of 
Jessa is, "Fluffy Gustav"

He is adorable, no?
I am relatively new to coloring fur, but I don't hate how this came out. 
It's fun fur!

Since "Fluffy Gustav" is so much fun to play with, I thought I'd use
him in another card you can never make too many of, a 'get well' card. 

I went with a dot technique for this version of Gustav.
Much faster and easier to color fur this way. 
Plus, it's more whimsical.

Jessa came up with some super cute and sweet Valentine sentiments
for this fluffy monster, so I was inspired to make a couple VD cards.  

Who can resist a cotton candy monster?
Bearing gifts, no less?

I went for a more classic color scheme here. 
Tryin' to class up the joint, I guess.
It's gonna take more than a fancy color scheme to class
up this chick and my ridiculousness. 

I broke out the big doily and a smaller black doily with some
pearl spray on it. I am so happy to be using these things. I have quite
a few of them, but can stand to use up a few. 

So, Gustav is super cute. You need him in your stash of awesome FREE
images. He comes in various versions with different accessories and don't
for get the cool sentiments and Harriet, too!

Here's the hop order in case you get lost along the way.
Thanks for dropping by!

                                     Birka - http://www.mitherzundschere.blogspot.de/
Gloria  http://creepyglowbugg.blogspot.de/ - you are here
Katrin and Lisa from Projekt Cupcake -




Monday, January 18, 2016

Brrrr!

For the first time in about four years, California is seeing some 
record rainfall with more rain on the way. 
Hola El Nino!
Rainy weather is my favorite time to create. There is just something so
perfect about being all snuggled up in sweats, with a hot cup of tea,
and my little space heater keeping my slippered feets all warm and toasty.
My hands are usually like ice, but that just means a warm heart, right?
Insert sinister grin here.

With 'Ice and Snow' being the new theme at the
Aurora Wings challenge blog, it seems like the right thing to do
is to create something magical, sparkly, wintry and gorgeous.

Mission accomplished!

I began my creative process by choosing my image.
I chose to work with the beautiful Elven Fairy from Aurora Wings.
I used BV and BG Copics to give her an icy look.
And lots of glitteriness courtesy of Stickles. 

I wanted to make something a little different, so I used some 
corrugated cardboard as my base/substrate. I peeled some of the top
layer of paper off of the cardboard by wetting it a bit, and peeling gently
until I achieved the look I was going for.
I used DecoArt Media modeling paste to give the appearance of snow drifts
in the corners, and along the edges. It was easy to work with and allowed me some
nice control to create my drifts. Once dried, I added shaved ice for 
some bling and iridescence. I loves me some sparkle and iridescence.

I wanted to give the idea of icy cold without the obvious traditional snowflakes.
This was harder to do than I had thought, but I have a bunch of metal accent pieces 
I have been collecting for some Finnabair inspired art that are still waiting to be used.
I found some great snowflake-type pieces and painted one with some DecoArt gesso.
I have used quite a few different gessoes, and I love DecoArt media line gesso!
Provides great coverage and nice tooth for multimedia work. I decided I needed
a bit more bling, so I added some mica medium and some hoarded iridescent gems.
A unique snowflake is born!!

I have a bunch of inexpensive paper doilies from the Dollar Store
and sprayed some using DecoArt shimmer mist in turquoise.
It took some dabbling to get a soft look, and eventually I added a
Media Mist in shimmer white over the top and that was
the secret sauce right there. Perfect shimmery, icy, and soft.
Lastly, I stamped the word, "sparkle" onto some vellum that I then tore
for yet another icy look.  I hate trying to inconspicuously glue down vellum.
But I managed to use two tiny foam circles to give height, and then used two of
my most precious (said like 'Gollum' from LoR) Prima crystals to hide the offensive
adhesives. Perfection! And all in the same gorgeous color family! Score!

I did have the forethought to cut my base at 4" x 6" so it will fit into a 
standard frame. I usually just wing it, and then suffer for my laziness later 
when trying to finish off the piece. I still haven't decided on a frame, 
but I actually have some to choose from for a change. 

That's going to do it for me today. Be sure to check out the other 'Ice and Snow'
inspired works from the incredibly talented DT at the Aurora Wings challenge blog.
Oh! Did you know that there is a DT call going on at Aurora Wings, too? 
There is a completely new team being chosen for the 
new "Stella" monthly challenge. Follow the link for all the details.  
I will say that being on the Aurora Wings DT has been nothing
but a wonderful experience. Mitzi is the absolute best to design for.
Now is your chance to join the Aurora Wings family. You wont' regret it. 

I'd like to enter this piece in the following challenges:
My new products are the DecoArt Media line of modeling paste, shimmer mists,
and gesso. I'm hooked!