Happy Halloween Eve!!

I have returned again to share my final guest DT projects with
Oddball Art Stamps for this glorious month of October.

I just had to use this adorable image #129 as my focal point.

After coloring her and her spider friend with Copics, she went perfectly 

with the digital paper from The Creepy Chronicles #20.

I couldn't resist layering some drippy die cuts to add to the gooey-ness 

of it all. I also added some more glitter die cuts for added bling. Perfection! 

I have a hairdresser friend who is going to love this card! 

I also had to make some cute ATCs with the yummy goodies of image #468.

Still on my die cutting kick, I thought the zombie hands would

be pretty cute. And I was right.

I popped the images and die cuts onto some Distress Oxide backgrounds.

They're so fun to create, and it's so fulfilling to use up some scraps.

 Lastly, is my favorite little lady...

She is my chosen favorite from the fabulous group of ladies in image #469.

Something about that far away look in her eyes...

Using another new die from Sizzix, I added this beauty onto a simple

die cut background with a Distress Oxide moon.

It has been so fun to be part of the Oddball Art Stamp team this month!

Thank you so much for having me, ladies. I've had a blast creating with 

you this month.

Happy Halloween!!

Who are you calling an Oddball?!

Man, it has been far too long since I've blogged about what I've been creating.

In a nutshell, I've spent the last few weeks preparing for my very first vendor

spot at a local horror convention. I've been painting my ass of and working with 

polymer clay again, in the hopes of selling everything and making a huge profit

on all of my hard work. These are my people, after all.

Well, I guess the people with money didn't get the memo.
There was a two day music festival in town that weekend. Most of the vendors
didn't do very well, and some of us chose to blame our lack of sales on this single fact.
And the fact that we as vendors are competing for sales against awesome celebrities
who charge a small fortune for their photos and autographs.
Sacramento isn't quite the financial mecca that can sustain both types of spenders.
Either, or folks.

Anyhoo, it was a great experience, and I met some of the most amazing creatives.

It is so nice to be surrounded by like minded people who speak my language of

art and horror. I may try my luck again in June. This time I'll spend more time on
my original pieces. Live and learn.

And as if that update wasn't enough, I have a couple of fun cards I made for my

guest DT gig over at Oddball Art Stamps.
Yep, always an oddball, now it's official.

  The current challenge theme is Happy Horrors.

First up is one of the gals from the #469 Creepy Cute Horror Girls set.

This is the Vampire girl complete with her bat companion from another 

Oddball Art image #282 Beautiful Monsters. 

   

Super fun and simple theme made almost entirely of 

hoarded die cuts.

Colored both images with Copics and fussy cut out to create the scene.

Love Lizzy's bats!!!

Next, I used an image and background paper that were freebies from 

the Creepy Chronicles newsletter. All the more reason to subscribe, I'd say! 

She's gorgeous and so fun to create with.

She is from the CCC#18 edition.

I added some more of my ancient die cuts. They went perfectly

with the creepy cute striped background paper from the CCC#20 edition.  

This is the final creation, complete with die cuts, Copic colored main image, 

Nuvo drops, and don't forget that fabulous background paper.

I'll be back in a few more days with some more of my creepy concoctions

for my last guest spot with the Oddballs.

Wee Batty Boos

I am back today with another Halloween themed project.

Today I have an ATC inspired by a Pinterest pin for the current

challenge at Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge.

 This is my pin from my Color Theory board on Pinterest.

I have a bunch of them (87 to be exact) saved on my board,

but this one really popped out at me for some reason.  

I have had this adorable image from Wee Stamps for quite some time and this is the

very first time I have colored these cuties up. I know, how lame, huh? 

I used the oranges, the blue violets, and the red violets from

the color theory palette. I added the yellow green to ground the image and provide

more contrast. I was trying to stay away from grays because the cool grays 

look very similar to the blue violets used on the bats.

I used an ombre effect to color the button stamp. Another virgin stamp

used finally. I also popped some yellow glitter in the pumpkin's eyes and

mouth for a bit of interest and sparkle.

Super sweet image I'm glad I finally colored.

I really like this challenge of Pinterest inspiration, but getting

to choose your own pin was really fun. I may have to make that a weekly

occurrence for my own personal challenge.

I'll be back tomorrow with yet another card for you to check out.

This one isn't Halloween in nature, but I hope you'll pop by and 

check it out anyway.

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

Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge - Inspired by Pinterest    

{Pin}spirational Challenges - Anything Goes

Shopping Our Stash - Anything but a Card

Black and White Horror Show

Here it is the day before Halloween and I was finally able to

complete my project for the final Haunted Design House theme,

and the October 12 Tags of 2015, for Tim Holtz.

Now, I pre-ordered this awesome die set back in August. Pretty much the

very second I saw it. I mean, c'mon! It's a Zombie! 

And I loves me some undead corpses. 

BTW. I ordered this die set from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

They are offering this die, and many others at half the price of

most every other retailer I have seen. They have the best every day 

prices for all of your funkie and junkie makes. Just so ya know.   

Zombies are my all time favorite monsters. 

After The Creature and Frankenstein's Monster, mind you. 

I am a bit of a purist, so the classic monsters do come first. 

But I have loved Zombies since I saw "Night of the Living Dead".

Well, actually my love really started with "TarMan", from "Return of the Living Dead".

He was the coolest, and still is the coolest on screen Zombie ever.

And then it seemed only fitting to really familiarize myself with the 

original "Night of the Living Dead". And that is where I got my inspiration

for this tag.   

My usual Zombie color of choice is green, but I wanted to make

this guy really stand out without the use of bright colors.

I thought an old black and white, silver screen zombie was fitting. 

I began by die cutting various shades of gray and black card stock.

I inked the edges using Black Soot and Hickory Smoke distress inks

to give some shading on all of the pieces.     

After adhering the designer paper to a tag, I speckled it with silver, black 

and white distress stains. I also sanded the edges of the tag, too.

Then, I added the number 31 enameled tag after giving it some Brushed Pewter

and black distress paints. I even got to use my TH distress hammer on the brads.

I love the aged effect on this tag.

I tried to keep this guy as dimensional as I could.

So cool to have dimension like this. The key really is to use a wet glue,

as opposed to a tape runner or other dry adhesive.  

I added some stained seam binding and silver tinsel twine

to keep in the black and white theme.

I also used one of my coveted "Zombie" charms.

I have a few different design charms, but felt this one worked the best.

And I still have another one of these in my stash.         

As cool as everything on this tag was turning out, I felt he needed something 

else to make him really creepy. Drippy goo! No real zombie would be seen

shambling along with a clean mouth and chin! I added some black goo to his

mouth and covered it in Glossy Accents to really make it look awful.

Something really disturbing about that dark black drool coming out of him.

I love it!! 

 I am so happy with how this tag tuned out.

I am thinking of making a canvas out of him in the 

very near future. I'll be pumping out Halloween projects

until Thanksgiving (and beyond) so stay tuned.

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

Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 October

Crafty Catz - Tag It

Frilly and Funkie - Something Wicked

Little Red Wagon - Ghosts, Goblins, other Halloween Creatures

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anything Goes

Die Cutting Divas - Happy Halloween

Use Your Stuff - Die cuts and punches

  

   

Splatters for Wicked Wednesday

Seems like forever since I played along with the talented

gals at Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge.

As soon as I saw that Vera Lane Studio was the sponsor this week,

I was instantly inspired to play along. I love Janet's stuff.

Janet Klein is an artist and designer for Stampotique stamps,
as well as having her own line of digis available in her etsy shop.

The theme for this week's challenge is Splatters or Sprays.

I opted for splatters using a fun technique I learned last year.

Basically, you just unscrew your spray inks and use the nozzle tube to 

drip color in a circle. That's it. Looks pretty cool, though.

I colored this kitteh named, Meow from the Vera's Zombies set, with Copics.

I gave him some white highlights using a white Posca pen.

I grounded him a bit with some Halloween washi tape.

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

Wicked Wednesday ATC - splatters and sprays

Simon Says Wednesday challenge - Make it Colorful

Left of Center - LOC (blue just isn't my color)

This little gal is for the Very Vera Halloween ATC swap 

at the Vera Lane Studio face book page.

I packed all kinds of mediums and textures and images onto 

this little 2.5" x 3.5" card. I used three Vera Lane images

(the crow and the witch are from the Little Whimsical witch set,

and the skull is from the Mad Hatter set.) I used crackle on the 

ticket and a gem for the spider body. I used glossy accents on the skulls

and the crow's eyes. Added a bunch of glittered bat die cuts and a corner

die cut for good measure. And let's not forget the distress ink on the 

edges of the entire card. Done!

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

Digi Galore - Anything Goes

Unicorn Challenge - Mythical and Magical

     

My very first tag for TH

I have finally mustered up the courage to enter the

12 Tags of 2015, by Tim Holtz.

I have seen so many brilliant entries for this challenge over

the past few years, and I felt as though I didn't have the talent,

or the necessary supplies to play along. Mainly the talent part.

Over the years I have acquired more TH inventory, and maybe a smidgen

more self confidence in my own abilities. 

The current tag for August is to use your die cuts in a mixed media

project. Something I rarely consider when creating mixed media is to

incorporate my die cuts. Why? I have no idea. But this particular tag

and technique really sparked my interest and mojo.

I began with two manila tags, per Tim's instruction.

One tag for the die cuts, and one with designer paper with words.

  

I layered the tags, gessoed, and sealed them, and then

the real fun started. I added Peeled Paint, Seedless Preserves, 

and Spiced Marmalade distress inks directly from the pad to the

tag in a random fashion. Then I sealed those colors and blended them 

at the same time with more matte medium. Very cool effect.  

It was at this point that I became so engrossed in this project

that I forgot to take any more step by step photos. 

I was having THAT much fun. 

I fussy cut a Found Relative lady, but since I was going for a 

Halloween/Haunted feel, I gave her a skeleton head. 

Ahhh, that's more like it. 

I added some ephemera stash of my own, but was still

unhappy with how my die cuts were showing up. I decided to add 

some distress ink in black soot with an aqua painter to the inside

of the die cuts for more contrast. Much better.

I really love how the colors came out all muddy and moody

after adding some black soot distress paint with my finger.

I attached the vial label with one of my favorite TH tools,

the tiny attacher. Such an indispensable tool!!

I scuffed the label up a bit with a nail file, and then started

splattering copper metallic and black soot paints for a speckled

effect. I love the speckled effect on nearly everything. 

Lastly, I wrapped a skull and crossbones to a metal tag

using some black wire. I used some rub-ons on the tag

before adding the charm for added interest. 

Again, I never think to use wire as a way of attaching stuff 

to my projects. So clever, and it adds so much interest to your project.  

A little warped, but here it is, my very first

tag project for the 12 Tags of 2015.

I enjoyed the challenge and the techniques immensely.  

I'm sure I'll be back next month. I'm thinking how cool an 

entire book of these tags would be to create and show off

to all my friends. Or maybe just to use in my art journal.

The possibilities are endless.    

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

12 Tags of 2015 - August

Clear it Out challenge - Anything goes stash/theme

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes mixed media only

Smudgy Antics - Anything Goes

Can't Quit Coffin Day 18

As my cold/allergies run it's course, I am currently

in the coughing stage. The coughing really hard stage.

Like so hard you gag and nearly suffocate. Yeah, that's it.

So to make light of my current state, I have made a 

coffin themed project. Funny, right?  

I originally sculpted this for the WOOD themed challenge

at Haunted Design House. I used a coffin shaped cookie cutter

to cut the shape out of white polymer clay. It's a perfect size

for an ornament, so you may be seeing more of these in my Etsy

shop for Creepmas.  

After it was textured and detailed using a needle tool,

it was cooked at the manufacturer's suggested temp of 270 degrees, 

and then I painted it with a couple shades of brown acrylic paints.

To really bring out the details I added a black wash.

Lastly, a Tim Holtz skull and crossbones was added along with 

a jute with wooden bead hanger. 

Still following the coffin theme, I stamped two coffins

from Inkadinkado's Mindscape set onto shrink plastic.

Cut them out, and used the heat gun to shrink them down even

though I still have my trusty Shrinky Dink oven. 

This way is much faster.  

  How fun are these? Such a cool image.

I'll share a few more images from this set with you tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.

I hope you get a chance to check out all of the bloggers in these hops.

31 Days of Halloween

Countdown to Halloween 

  

Bring on day two

So this is fun, right?

So many awesome bloggers and crafters all gearing up for the

most important (to most of us, anyway) holiday of the season.

I plan to make my rounds this weekend, and what a fantastical voyage

that will be.

If you have no idea what I'm yammering on about, this is day 2 of the

Countdown to Halloween and the 31 Days of Halloween.

One is a blog hop for Halloween lovers of all walks of life, and

the other is a crafty celebration of the dark crafter's version of the

Christmas advent calendar. Something like that anyway. The only

thing you need to know is that people are posting great Halloween 

themed content on their blogs daily. What else is there? 

The links are contained in my sidebar for both hops. Please check

them all out and leave some feedback so everyone knows you stopped by.

I bought a lollipop today. Not your average lolli, but one that looks 

very similar to the one that Sam from Trick R' Treat totes around.

I bought it from a cool dude named, 

Anthony Rapino of Candy Corn Apocalypse.   

I don't have permission to use the photos of the actual sucker (it's really resin), 

but check out the shop and see them for yourselves. They are pretty awesome. 

I can't wait to get mine, and I'll be sure to share it with you when I do.

I can show you this fun little card I made  though.

I'm sure we all have a list started, don't we? I have a notebook 

full of names, but who's counting?   

This fun image is from Rick St. Dennis called, 'Black Widow', 

and the witty sentiment is from Ginger's House.

And as promised, I am sharing some of my new

Halloween decorations for 2014. 

I love shopping for Halloween schtuff at Home Goods. 

Not only do they carry my favorite scent of candle (Yankee Candle

Witches Brew), but they have some of the coolest decorations and 

chachkies around.   

C'mon, how cool is this snow globe?

  

What do you call a snow globe with bats and black snow?   

I know this thing looks like it fell off the Avenge Sevenfold tour bus, 

it is pretty darn cool. And shiny. 

  I really like the attention shown to the 

candle cups. I have some nice purple drip candles that

will look very cool in this candelabra. 

That's it for me for today. Thanks for stopping by.

See ya tomorrow with more cool Halloween show and tell schtuff.