For the Boys and Men

The new theme at Aurora Wings is 

"For the Boys and Men".

Now, I usually craft with a fairly masculine energy. No subtle colors

or super sappy baby images for this chick. BUT, I do have a problem

crafting specifically for men or boys in mind. So, this theme did kind of

throw me for a moment. Then I remembered that I have been wanting to

color in that adorable Zombie Puppy of Mitzi's. He goes purrfectly with the 

Zombie Kitty that I colored up so long ago here.        

I went with a Golden Retriever color palette for this undead pup.

I also just went for it and started my Halloween cards for the season.

It's never too early for me, ya know. In fact, I'm actually running

a bit behind this year...

I thought the feel of this card was pretty masculine, but I did have to

stop myself from adding some Stickles to the green goo dripping out 

this pup's mouth. Some habits are hard to break.

C'mon, even for a zombie puppy this guy is ADORABLE!!

I colored him with Copics and made sure to make his stitched-on leg

a bit discolored to mimic either a different breed of dog, or just a leg well

past it's "best by" date. 

I used various random Halloween papers from my ever growing scraps box

and collection of Halloween themed papers. And the googly eyes are a new

addition to my "collection". I had to use them in some way. I just had too!

I popped on some die cut bones and a spider web for balance and to add more

lime green to the project.

I think any boy, man, woman, or girl would love this card. And now the seal has been 

broken, so get ready for more Halloween themed projects from now until November.

Be sure to stop by the Aurora Wings Challenge blog and check out all of the 

incredible inspiration projects for this new theme.

  

Just put a BUG on it!!

It is no big secret that I have a love for bugs.

I don't mind ones that are alive and doing their buggy business,

but I prefer the dead ones encased in acrylic or under glass.

That way I can check them out up close and personal without

harming them in any way. Or getting stung or bit in the process.

The new theme over at the Stampotique Designer's Challenge is

"PUT A BUG ON IT".

That was my suggestion for a challenge theme, and how cool that it

was chosen to begin right before my birthday. Yay for me.

I am kind of loving how this card turned out.

I used the bee stamp from the Birds & Bugs Cube #6117 ,

by Daniel Torrente.

This is the very first time I've used the bee, but now he's one of my

favorites. I stamped him three times onto acetate using a rather old and sticky 

Stazon pad. It worked, but I need a new black Stazon pad for future stamping.

Lastly, I glittered him on one side three different times, using different glitters.

I flipped one bee to give me a mirrored image to use as well.

    

In retrospect, I should have used glossy accents and glitter, but I was trying

to cut corners and just used a glue pen as the adhesive. Not as good glitter

adhesion and coverage that way, but it did dry pretty fast.

I used the Tall Word Collage #7167 for the wording. Such a great stamp with so 

many options for word play. 

And for the star of the show, I used Kassa's Bloom #14014.

I heat embossed it in white, and then colored it using TH distress inks and

the mini sponge applicators. My favorite part was splattering water on it

to create all of the bleached out droplets. I used a stitched circle die to cut it out,

and backed it up with some layered doilies.

Bee sure to drop by the SDC blog and check out all of the inspiration

that has been created for this challenge.

Thanks for buzzin' by!!

New beginnings

I am currently in a moment of growth and great transition.

I just started a new job last week. I haven't had a "real" job in over

eight years. I really didn't want to work for "the man" again, but 

he does pay better than most scrapbook shops and co-op type places.

And I really needed the benefits, too.

I know I'm not the only one going through changes.

I have had a friend on my mind a lot lately. She is kind of the living

representation of the "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" ideal.

I wanted to make her something to commemorate her two years of sobriety.

That's a really big deal. Really big.  

I decided to make a wall hanging using a canvas panel.

She has a thing for chickens, so I thought this was a good 

time to break out with some of my Unity stamps.

I've used  the Chicken Wire stamp and the New Day Rooster set.

I painted the canvas panel using black acrylic paint,

and once it was dry I stamped the chicken wire in VersaMark

and silver embossing powder.    

I used a burlap sheet, a clock die cut from a Tim Holtz die,

and some distress inked paper for my focal points. 

I also added some actual chicken feathers, some designer papers,

doilies, die cuts, sequins, seam binding, and wire mesh to give a

rustic country feel to this piece. 

After mounting the rooster to the die cut frame, I used Crackle Accents for a 

vintage look. The CA kind of reactivated the Distress Inks and changed the look

a little bit, but not too bad. I edged the oval with Platinum Stickles along

with a few other pieces. I like the look of mercury glass, and this

shade of Stickles gives me that effect.   

Overall, I'm really pleased with how this turned out.

Sometimes, mixed media has a way of taking on a life of

it's own. I think this one wandered away just enough to make it

interesting.

Thanks for stopping by today.

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

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes September

Creative Artiste Mixed Media - Anything Goes Mixed Media 

Unity Stamps Show and Tell - Fall themed

   

New beginnings

I am currently in a moment of growth and great transition.

I just started a new job last week. I haven't had a "real" job in over

eight years. I really didn't want to work for "the man" again, but 

he does pay better than most scrapbook shops and co-op type places.

And I really needed the benefits, too.

I know I'm not the only one going through changes.

I have had a friend on my mind a lot lately. She is kind of the living

representation of the "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" ideal.

I wanted to make her something to commemorate her two years of sobriety.

That's a really big fucking deal. Really big.  

I decided to make a wall hanging using a canvas panel.

She has a thing for chickens, so I thought this was a good 

time to break out with some of my Unity stamps.

I've used  the Chicken Wire stamp and the New Day Rooster set.

I painted the canvas panel using black acrylic paint,

and once it was dry I stamped the chicken wire in VersaMark

and silver embossing powder.    

I used a burlap sheet, a clock die cut from a Tim Holtz die,

and some distress inked paper for my focal points. 

I also added some actual chicken feathers, some designer papers,

doilies, die cuts, sequins, seam binding, and wire mesh to give a

rustic country feel to this piece. 

After mounting the rooster to the die cut frame, I used Crackle Accents for a 

vintage look. The CA kind of reactivated the Distress Inks and changed the look

a little bit, but not too bad. I edged the oval with Platinum Stickles along

with a few other pieces. I like the look of mercury glass, and this

shade of Stickles gives me that effect.   

Overall, I'm really pleased with how this turned out.

Sometimes, mixed media has a way of taking on a life of

it's own. I think this one wandered away just enough to make it

interesting.

Thanks for stopping by today.

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

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes September

Creative Craft Cottage - Things With Wings

Creative Artiste Mixed Media - Anything Goes Mixed Media