Less of a hop, more of a shamble

I am kind of super excited to share today's post with you!

Ya see, I have this friend named, Jessa, and she has a blog called,

Useless Trinkets.

Not only does Jessa make the most amazing CAS cards, but she

is also quite the talented artist. She draws the cutest critters and monsters.

And she gives them away for FREE!! Yes, all of her images are freebies.

She's cool like that. Reeeeally cool, right?

Today Jessa is releasing some new Halloween Edition images,

and has asked a few of us to shamble along with her and show off our

sample projects.  

The is Igor Van Gore.

I don't think he has any idea how cute he really is.

Did I forget to mention that not only does Jessa give away her images,

she usually includes various sentiments, too? Igor comes with a blank board 

so you can add any message you want for any occasion. 

The one I used comes with Igor. And it's pretty much how I feel every year.  

This guy's name is Happy, the Narwhal.

Now this giddy fellow isn't actually part of the new release, but I did

gussy him up a bit using the bat with nail accessory that comes with 

the new Zombie Cookie Jar set. 

The sentiment is from the original Cookie Jar, the Unicorn set. 

All of which are available at Useless Trinkets. Right now.

But don't run off just yet...

And then we have this little lady.

Edey is her name. Libraries and brains are her game. 

Adorbs, right? And I don't use that hideous term willy nilly.

She's worth the eye rolls for that one.

I am loving the newest additions to the fabulous freebies

Jessa has to offer. I suggest you head right on over to  

Useless Trinkets and check out all of the fun and quirky digital

images available. For free, in case I failed to make that clear earlier.  

Here is the hop order for your hopping convenience.

Stop by and leave some love for the incredible sample projects.

Jessa https://uselesstrinkets.wordpress.com/

Tanja http://www.stempelspielplatz.de/

Gloria http://creepyglowbugg.blogspot.de/ - you are here

Birka http://mitherzundschere.blogspot.de/

Jennifer, Katrin und Lisa http://projekt-cupcake.blogspot.de/

     

Gettin' smudgy

It's time for the newest installment in my 

Smeared Ink board book.  

For this page I have used one of the newer images called,

'East'.

She's pretty amazing. I saw her as a Wizard of Oz witch,

so I kept her skin tone very green. And then it only seemed 

logical to give her red hair and dress her in purple and black.

Standard witch color palette.   

I received some glow in the dark embossing powder for my bday.

Thanks, Dani. How the hell did I not own this stuff before now?!

It is AWESOME!!! 

I used a fabulous red rubber skull pile image for 

the background which is nearly invisible in the daylight.

But once those lights go out, it's full on skullsville, man.

I also learned the hard and messy way that once you gesso your

substrate, heat emboss an image, and add metallic Gelatos, you can't rub 

the surface with a baby wipe or you'll remove all of the Gelato. Not the case

if your substrate is not gessoed or sealed. The pages of this book are kind of glossy

to begin with, so either way I was going to lose my Gelatos on this technique.  

I added some Crackle Accents to a witch tag, and then went over it with

Hickory Smoke distress ink to show off some of those cracks. 

I am really loving the direction this book is going.

It's going to be awesome once it's all done.

Be sure to check out the killer Ink-tober Sale going on at Smeared Ink.

And please stop by the Smudgy Antics blog to check out the incredible

eye candy created by my fellow DT sistahs.

  

Halloween on the brain

There is so much going on right now, I barely have time to get involved with anything.

Overwhelmed much?

I did manage to take a moment and enjoy some affordable Halloween goodness 

from Wallyworld. Sleep pants!!! 

Halloween themed sleep pants for the "larger assed lady".

Even better.

These were actually in the men's department, but the fabric was too cool to pass up.

Even if it shrinks, I can still use the awesome fabric for something else.

I love these. Probably because they say "Creepy" on them.

And they are made for the "larger assed lady".

These are pretty cutesy, but who can pass up a cat in the moon print?

Apparently, I can't. 

Keeping in the Halloween spirit, I have joined in on the 

Very Vera Halloween ATC swap for a third time.

This little lady is Wednesday, from the Wednesday and Pugsley set 

from Vera Lane Studios.   

She has such a great look about her. And that under bite is adorable.  

I used the skull image from the Mad Hatter set,

and made a pile of what can only be described as old dolly heads, 

as a background for our sweet little Wednesday.  

I mailed her out last week. I hope she finds her way to her destination

unharmed, and in time for Halloween.

A Horned Beetle Sprite, you say?!

Yes. Yes, I do say.

This is the newest addition to the Aurora Wings Sprite family.

Say hello to Horned Beetle Sprite.

Isn't he a spunky little dude?

I colored him with Copics and tried to keep him colored closely

to an actual Japanese Horned Beetle. I love the ones that are a deep 

mahogany color with bright red highlights. I tried to accomplish this

effect using E29 and R39, 46, and 35.

While looking up reference photos I noticed that quite a few of

these beetles have this gorgeous orange-yellow furry underside.

That explains my golden hued color choices for his face, body,

 and pantaloons. I just love how he looks ready to rumble.

Thanks for dropping by today.

Be sure to stop by the Aurora Wings Showcase blog to gaze

upon all the amazing samples for this image, and the other newbie. 

Both of which are available today in the Aurora Wings etsy shop.

May I also recommend joining the AW facebook group so you don't miss out 

on any new releases or coupon codes. Mitzi is super generous with her

coupon codes.

I'd love to enter this little guy in the following challenges:

Come and Get It Challenge - For the Boys 

Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes 

Southern Girls Challenge - Cute, whimsical, or fun 

Bride of Halloween

I love Halloween so much I wish I could marry it.

Actually, it is kind of my mistress 357 days a year.

Never far from my mind, or heart.

I made this card for my niece who loves Halloween and scary stuff 

just like her Auntie Glo. And her birthday is in October so she usually

scores some cool presents. 

I colored up this fabulous Halloween Vampire Bride from Faery Ink. 

This was the very first image I purchased from Faery Ink, but not the last. 

I love how she really pops against the gray of the card.

And who wouldn't love a Halloween themed veil? If I had it to do all over

again, I'd go with a Victorian Halloween wedding. Maybe not so literal on the 

veil adornments, but still undoubtedly Halloween.

I used various die cuts like the fence, the glittery bats, and the tag

for a bit more interest. This lady could have pulled off the card by herself,

but I wanted to add more goodies. I have a ton that don't get used all

that often. Yep, a ton. At least. I'm not proud of it.    

Thanks for dropping by today.

I'll be back tomorrow with a double post. No, really. 

Feast or famine around here. 

October is the month of harvest and feasting, so eat up!

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

Faery Ink FB group - October Halloween Challenge

Ching-Chou Kuik digital - Halloween/ Something Spooky

Creatalicious Challenges - Halloween

Dies R Us Challenges - Get your BOO on

Through the Purple Haze - Halloween/Magical

October 1, 2015: And the race is on!

Today is October first. The day I anticipate every year, yet I am 

never quite ready for it to begin. This year is no different, except I 

was smart enough to know I wasn't going to be able to participate in 

the usual October festivities like The Countdown to Halloween,

or the 31 Days of Halloween. I knew I didn't even want to try this year.

Last year the stress almost killed me...

Today being the first, is the start of the new challenge at Smudgy Antics.

The theme is always Anything Goes as long as you use a Smeared Ink image.

No other rules apply. 

I am working on my repurposed children's board book.

These are wonderful substrates for a multitude of mediums

and techniques. Not to mention, they are stupid cheap at thriftstores

and yard sales.

I decided to go in an unusual direction for me by using pretty much

only black, white, and silver for this layout. The dp set the stage being

gray and white. The vintage images lent themselves to a muted palette as well.

I used the Anatomy 101 Ribs by cutting them right down the middle. 

I used black soot distress ink and made it blend into the dp better.

Then I highlighted the ribs with a white Posca paint pen. 

I really like how this turned out.

How can you not love these guys?

They are only two of the fifteen bat images available in the

A Little Bit Batty set. It was hard to choose just two. 

Here's the other side of the rib cage, along with a TH rub-on.

The red, black, and  white splatter really sets these images off quite nicely.

Bat 1 from the A Little Bit Batty set, some more rub-ons,

and a small medical ephemera.

This made me giggle a bit. I used the Profile Head from the 

Gross Anatomy set, and matched it with a card meant for tasty

Halloween treats. I like it better used this way. 

That's it for me today.

Be sure to stop by the Smudgy Antics challenge blog and check

out all of the other inspiring projects to whet your October appetite. 

My Milestone Birthday

I turned the big Four Five on the 16th of September.

I'm not gonna lie, it kinda sucks getting older.

I often question my maturity level the older I get.

I'm just a big ol' kid. With wrinkles and gray hairs.

I was instantly inspired to create something to commemorate my milestone

when I saw that the Stampotique challenge for the 16th was a 

"Milestone Celebration".

I love me some Stampotique stamps. I have a shit ton of Stampotique

stamps, some of which still haven't seen ink. I had to remedy this, so I broke

out with some of my old favorites, and a few of my new favorite stamps. 

Baby Cthulhu is one of my very favorite stamps. I loves him so much....

I decided to make a wall hanging. I started off with a piece of cardboard

that I adhered a sheet of burlap material onto using gel medium.

I sprayed some Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays onto the burlap and added some

texture paste with the TH bat stencil and the shattered stencil. I sprayed the stenciled

areas again for a more vibrant effect.

I colored up a bunch of images from Kira Nichols and Daniel Torrente.

It is a birthday celebration after all, so everyone (except for the upside down kids)

gets hats. I used a few of the Stampotique Happy Head Appliances, but had to 

find smaller hats for the teeny heads of the other critters. I used some black glitter

to fancy them up a bit.

I am a sucker for a critter in a hat. No lie, my facebook page is riddled

with animals in hats. Can't get enough of them. 

Mister Stripes is no exception. He looks marvelous in his festive chapeau.  

I am also in love with Penelope, here.

She looks like she's ready to "cut a fool!" with those shears, and those

crazy eyes of hers. That batty dude is also a new favorite.

I hung him and one of the Goblin kids from some die cut tree branches.

Perfect! 

More critters sporting party hats. I actually colored up all of the dogs,

but didn't have room for everyone. I'm sure they'll make an appearance very soon.

I have hats for them, too. It's a sickness.... 

All in all, turning forty-freaking-five wasn't all that bad.

Fifty might be rough, though.

Thanks for stopping by today.

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

Stampotique Designer's Challenge - SDC213 Milestone Celebration

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes (pink team)

That Craft Place - mixed media Anything Goes

Left of Center - LOC  

Corrosive Challenges - Halloween Bingo

(spider, bat, and Penelope looks a bit witchy to me) 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - No designer paper