Now for something completely different!

I was pleased to be asked to be Smeared & Smudged's Guest Designer for March. As the Guest Designer, I needed to set a challenge. I was feeling Steampunky, but it's March, which means that St. Patrick's Day is coming up. That means Green. Green also means recycling! So, here's what I came up with!




Close up of the Grumpie:


Close up of the forest for the trees:


This is not what I envisioned when I set out to Steampunk my Grumpie. I knew that I wanted to use my Alterations Gears die and somehow they turned into trees. The card then took on a life of its own and became a "nature scene" of sorts with proportionally mismatched elements. I can't decide whether it is juvenile or insane or both.

The Grumpie from Smeared Ink's Lil Grumpies set was colored with Copics, then cut out. I used a stylus on the back of him to make him puffy. Then I added a bunch of watch parts, gears, and gemstones.

The gear trees, birds, birdhouse, cat, wings, and banner were die cut from a lasagna pan that was unusable and in the recycle bin. The gears are Alterations by Sizzix. All other dies are from QuicKutz. The cat is an old punch. If you're trying this at home, remember that cut metal is sharp and has sharp edges that puncture flesh!

The bird, trees, and cat were colored with alcohol ink and heat embossed, which surprisingly made the metal hot enough to burn.

All metal parts were shaped the same way Grumpie was, with a stylus on the reverse. The roof of the house was embossed with an old QuicKutz folder. The birds and birdhouse. The cat has a yellow eye thanks to a Sakura Glaze pen. The bird and birdhouse have watch parts on them too.

Yeah. That's it. Actually, it's not. This was freaking difficult to photograph since it's so shiny. If I get a chance, I'll take it outside for a photoshoot. If not, not.

Now I'm really done. Really!

Thanks for visiting today.