Feeling Meowy!

Kraftin' Kimmie's Challenge Blog is holding a Feeling Festive challenge and whereas I'm beginning to get into the holiday spirit, I'm feeling more meowy than festive, which could because I haven't started shopping yet and feel like whinging about it. I don't know about you, but my cats meow when they want something, like food. Me? I want someone to do my shopping, even though I do most of it online.

Here's my card.


I know that if we did the stocking thang, Duchess, my familiar, would end up in one of them, much like the kitty from the Holiday Have a Meow-y Christmas set by Kraftin' Kimmie.

The kitty was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers, which I'll list below. When I was done coloring her, I added white accents to the holly berries and to the cat's eyes with my Inkssentials White Gel pen, then added a nice coat of Glossy Accents too.

I fussy cut the stocking and put it aside.

I grabbed a scrap of grey cardstock, my Bricks and Pattern Strips stencils from the Crafter's Workshop, and Stencil Paste and went to town. I spackled that stuff over the bricks and into the wide plain strip until I had a nice thick layer. I let it dry for awhile and then sponged Brick Red Distress Ink over the bricks til they were covered. I removed the stencils from the cardstock and immediately cleaned off the ink and Stencil Paste using ScraPerfect's Best Cleaner Ever. Then I rubbed some Black Soot Distress ink over the bricks and the plain strip to add more visual interest.

I die cut Gold Metallic cardstock using Rectangle Nestabilities to create a frame for the opening in the fire place. A slightly smaller rectangle was cut from the bricks piece and the gold frame was layered over it. Black cardstock was used to back up the aperture and some die cut flames were cut from shimmery yellow cardstock that was sponged with some Brick Red and Marmalade Distress inks.

The clear strip was adhered on the top of the bricks to become a mantelpiece. I punched a plethora of spiky leaves and spritzed 'em with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz and blew them all over the table with my heat gun. When I retrieved them, I adhered the shiny golden/green leaves to each other to become a garland/bough thing to hang on the mantelpiece. Red rhinestones by Kaisercraft were added to make the bough thing festiver. Yes. Festiver. It's a word. Now.

The kitty was added over the leaves with dimensional foam adhesive. Then the whole fireplace, kitty and all, was adhered to patterned paper from the Lost and Found 3 - Ruby 6x6 pad by My Mind's Eye.

The card was finished with the sentiment from the Holiday Have a Meow-y Christmas set.

Since the photo above doesn't show the dimension of this card, here's a close-up!


Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenge(s).
• Kraftin' Kimmie's Challenge 156 - Feelin' Festive!

Bombshell Hump Day Hop!

Can you believe it's already the last Wednesday of the month? That means it's time for the Bombshell Stamps Hump Day Hop!

Alison, our Hump Day Head Honcho, has decreed that November's hop be a Recipe Hop and here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
3 Patterned Papers
2 Bombshell Stamps images
1 Piece of Ribbon

You should have gotten here from Rachael's blog, but if you got lost, the hop list is below!

I decided to use Bombshell's November Sketch, which I altered somewhat.


Here's my card:


I used the Gingerbread Pin-Up and the Gingerbread Dumbbell Guy from Bombshell's Gingerbread Pin-Up digital set.

The images were manipulated in Photo Elements and printed them out. They were colored using Copic markers. I kind of messed up the cast shadows, but such is life.

I added some brown glitter pen details on the gingerbread figures and then used several more colors around the image to make them look even more sugary.

I layered four different patterned papers from the Bittersweet 6x6 pad by Basic Grey, colored a brown and white satin gingham ribbon with R83 Copic marker.

I found some sequins that would work for the circle elements, so I added a tiny rhinestone to the center of each sequin, and added the bejeweled sequins to finish the card.

Here's the hop list:
Bombshell Blog
Alison
Susie
Alaine
Glittery Kate
Jodi
Torrey
Jenn
Kim
Kelli
Cassie
Stempelientje
Rachael
Kathi -- the last stop

Mega Blog Candy!

Bearly Mine Crafts is offering up a generous and huge "Mega Blog Candy" package.





Go check it out then follow the directions for your chance to win.

Be careful out there!

Ever since I first saw the What Big Eyes set from Susana Loves Stamps Eyes of Adventure and Fables Collection, I knew that I'd have to pair it with the Aspen Trees mini stencil by The Crafter's Workshop to create a Little Red Riding Hood card!



What Big Eyes set was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers which I'll list below. When she was done, I fussy cut her and put her aside, which made her pout. I assured her she'd have fun later, so she calmed down.

Anyway, I grabbed a piece of light grey cardstock, taped down the Aspen Trees mini stencil and sponged Forest Moss, Bundled Sage, Stormy Blue, Broken China, and Tumbled Glass Distress inks over it. I also sponged an additional scrap of grey cardstock with Forest Moss and Bundled Sage ink, then tore it, edged the torn strips with Black Soot Distress ink, and adhered the strips to the Aspen Trees piece. I wasn't totally happy with the piece, so I sponged grey Pebbles Palette chalk to add some dimension and shading to the trees. Much better.

I adhered What Big Eyes, now in her role of Red Riding Hood, to the piece. I thought something was needed, so I die cut some black cardstock with one of SCACD's Classic Corner dies (two dies come in the set), ran them through my mini Xyron X machine, then painted on a layer of Black Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze to add some shine and shimmer to the die cuts.

I adhered the piece to a black card front. When I decide who will get the card and for what occasion, I'll add a sentiment!

By the way, Susana just added some really fabulous new products, such as new 6x6 pads, fabulous new stencils by ArtistCellar, the new Distress Stains, Spellbinders D-Lites, Make It Crafty chipboard, and Stamping Bella's Uptown Girl stamps to the SCACD store. Go check it all out!!!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe: #23 -- Anything Goes
• Crafting When We Can: #32 -- Fairytales Challenge

Copic Markers used:
Skin: YR0000, YR000, YR00, R20, BV00
Hair: C6, C7, C8
Dress: R22, R24, R27, R29 & C8, C6
Petticoat: R0000, R00
Cape: R89, C7, R56, R59

Arise my minions!

Greetings! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving and are about to shop your little hearts out in the rush towards the holidays! Remember that Saturday is Small Business Saturday and that Monday is Cyber Monday.

***End of Public Service Announcement***

Here's a nice wintry card for you.



My card features Snow Wizard (VB-075-C) from Third Coast Rubber Stamps. He was stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with a variety of Copic markers, which I'll list below. His snowy parts were painted with Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze

When the paint dried, he was ready for his close-up.


Hmm. That photo didn't show his true glittery goodness, so here's another where I tilted the paper!


See? He really does sparkle. This photo shows the sparkle and glitter from the Silks Glaze. It's dead easy to use and dries really quickly, which is super-fantastic for an impatient soul like me. By the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the Silks and a plethora of other great stuff are on sale at SCACD right now.

The drying time really didn't matter this time since I was busy with all sorts of Thanksgiving prep. When I went back to my craftroom, I stamped and cut a mask from Judikins Eclipse Tape, placed it over the Snow Wizard, and used Spellbinders Nestabilities dies (Labels 14) to die cut him and the patterned paper from the Jovial 6x6 pad by Basic Grey.

Pearlescent Pearl Shimmer Chalk was sponged over a stencil for the cloudy sky. I removed the mask and added some Viva Decor Hologram Glitter Liner to create a nice icy, snowy ground for him.

I layered some very old Basic Grey papers from the Figgy Pudding 6x6 pad and added a shimmery sticker border between the layers. The sentiment, Magical Greetings (WS-064-B) was stamped using Onyx Black VersaFine ink, which I prefer when stamping something highly detailed that won't be colored with Copics. I highlighted the sentiment with Pitch Black Spica Glitter pen and Clear Gelly Roll Stardust Pure Glitter Pen.

Thanks for visiting today

Copic markers used:
c00, C0, C1, C2
BG10, BG11, BG23, BG45, BG9 (which I used by accident, thinking it was B49 because I couldn't read my handwriting on the Ciao marker and didn't doublecheck. Whattadope!), and BG96
YR65, YR68

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm an overachiever, we already did the family Thanksgiving dinner last night and will be doing Thanksgiving Dinner, the Sequel tonight.

All the purveying, prep, and what not have kept me out of my craft room, so I'm reposting an oldie (but hopefully goodie) Thanksgiving card.

Here it is. It's an accordion card with a belly band to keep it together.

Front View with Belly Band:


Accordion Card:


The card features the adorable penguins from the Gobble It Up set by The Cat's Pajamas. The penguins, domed cloche, pie, and sentiments are from that set. The wine bottle is called Pop the Cork and is also by the Cat's Pajamas. The bread basket is from the Kitchen Classics set by Crafty Secrets.

The entire scene was stamped in Memento ink, then colored with Copic markers. The cloche, turkey, penguin bills, and penguin feet were coated with a layer of embossing powder to add dimension and shine. There was a whole lotta masking involved to get that turkey on the table and to add that homey yellow background, which was sponged with Distress Ink.

The patterned paper is from the Origins collection by Basic Grey.

Thanks for visiting today and

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I hope your meal is delicious, the company good, and that you have someone else to clean up for you. If you're traveling, be safe.

Monochromatic Kenny K Steampunk!

I was having serious printer issues, finally caved into temptation, and got a wonderful Brother Laser Printer for half price! So I can play with my digital stamps again! Woot!!!

Here's my card for Kenny K's Krafty Krew Monochromatic Challenge!


That's Brianna Blaster from the Steampunk Burlesque collection by Kenny K Digital Downloads.

Brianna was colored using Copic markers, which I'll list below. Her goggles were highlighted with Glossy Accents and Glaze pen was used on her boot's buttons and the rivets of her gear. Weathered Wood Distress ink was used to edge the piece and to add a bit of ground. I realize now that I messed up the right side a bit. Oh well. Perfection is overrated. :D

I layered patterned paper scraps from the Tropical Travelogue 8x8 pad by Graphic 45, then sponged Weathered Wood Distress ink Gears stencil by The Crafter's Workshop.

Alice's Clock Statement Corner die was used to die cut teal-ish cardstock and adorns the lower right hand corner. Looking at it now, I realize that I should have coated it with something shimmery and shiny to make it pop out a bit more. That's what I get for crafting in the wee hours of the ayem.

Old-school photo corners adhere Brianna to the card's front. I'll add a sentiment when I decide who will get the card and for what occasion!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this in the following challenge(s):
• Kenny K's Krafty Krew Monochromatic Challenge!

Copic markers used:
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E04,R20
Hair: YR31, E07, E09, E19
Lips: R22, R24
Outfit: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78
Lens: BG90, G93
Gun & Accessories: N1,N3, N4, N6, N7

Muse Monday!

It's Monday, which means it's time for Bombshell Stamps' Muse Monday, where we feature one Bombshell set per month and showcase it each Monday throughout the month!

We're featuring the Cherry Bomb set during November and it's my turn!

Here's my card!


I stamped the devil from Bombshell's Cherry Bomb set using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored him with a variety of Copic markers, which I'll list below. I coated him with a layer of Newton & Winsor Masking Liquid and let it dry.

Nestabilities Circle dies were used to cut a circle in Judikin's Eclipse tape, which was used as a reverse mask. I airbrushed a yellow circle through the aperture using Y35. Then I lifted the mask, placed the Eclipse Tape circle over the yellow, and airbrushed the piece with R24, R29, and R59.

I removed all the masks and discovered that the Liquid Mask changed the colors of my devil's face a bit, but this time, I just let it go. I highlighted the pupils of his eyes with Pitch Black Copic Spica Glitter pen and the tip of his cigarette with Lemon Copic Spica Glitter pen.

I coated the devil's horns with a rather thick coat of
Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze to make them shiny, sparkly, and dimensional. I added Black Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze to his cigarette holder and cigarette and added a bit more Lemon Copic Spica Glitter pen to the cigarette tip make it ultra sparkly. Silver Glaze pen was added to the metal part of his monocle and a nice thick coating of Glossy Accents was added to the lens.

Since the devil's in the details *wicked grin*, here's a close-up of Lucifer!


A pinked circle was die cut in a card-front sized scrap of flame-print paper from Junkitz (Remember them?) and the card was finished with a Dymo-Tape sentiment.

Thanks for visiting today!

Copic Markers used:
Skin: E000, E00, E4, E11, BV20
Horns: R14, R2, R29, R6, R89
Lens: B00, B000, BG93

Last of the "Done in the Dark" cards. I hope!

This one took that proverbial "Left Turn at Albuquerque", but I kinda like how it came out.



Here's Little Draco from Susana Loves Stamps' new Mythical Reflections collection.

I'll mention that I love dragons and have always been entranced by them. When I was a little girl, I loved My Father's Dragon and as a young adult, I fell in love with Anne McCaffrey's Dragon Rider series. I think that I've read the entire series at least a half dozen times.

After stamping Little Draco with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, I decided that Little Draco should be a golden dragon, so I colored her with Y21, Y23, Y26, and Y29.

Then my coloring took that left turn. I decided that I wanted her belly, scales, and talons to contrast with her golden hide. I was playing around with Copic feather blending and really liked the combo of B0 series with the V0 series, so off I went.

When I was happy with the dragon, I decided that I should place her in front of a castle, in the grass, so I coated her with a layer of Winsor & Newton masking fluid. When the fluid was dry, I taped two pieces of Post-It note paper together to mask the upper portion. I grabbed an old Pebbles stencil and sponged Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, and Pine Needles Distress ink over the grass bit, moving it around as I sponged to create a variegated lawn. Then I moved the Post-Its and sponged Pumice Stone, Tea Dye, and a bit of Gathered Twigs Distress inks for the "mortar" and then grabbed my trusty Bricks stencil by The Crafter's Workshop and sponged Rusty Hinge and Aged Mahogany over it to form the castle's stonework.

When I went to remove the mask, things got weird. Apparently masking fluid contains latex. Latex doesn't like it when it's cold and my house was downright chilly with the temperature hovering around 54°. The dried mask was all shiny and resisted the usual method of removal, which is a Glue Eraser. I really had to scrub at it, which resulted in some paper pilling and made the texture of the cardstock feel very odd. It removed some of the ink, so I ended up having to outline Little Draco to make him pop out a bit more.

I decided to keep the focus on the stamped scene and used some of SCACD's wonderfully intricate Garden Corners dies to frame it. Then I added SCACD's Ornate Hinge with the key that I cut from the Fancy Flower & Key set of dies. I added three Zva Creative Rhinestones to accent the Ornate Hinge.

Oh yeah. The patterned paper is from the 6x6 Boxer pad by Basic Grey! It's an old collection, but I still love its classic colors and patterns. Fortunately, I still have a sizeable stash. What a shock. Not. :D

Thanks for visiting today.

Jack Frost & Seasonal Confusion!

Last week we had Hurricane Sandy. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we had the Nor'Easter that brought six inches of snow to my area. Today it was in the mid fifties and it's supposed to be 65° on Sunday. I'm confused.

Yesterday I shared a spring card. So today I'll share a wintry one, since after all it is the time of year, when thoughts turn to the winter holidays and cold weather. Maybe I'll confuse you too and then we can all be confused together. *giggle*



This is Frosty Jack (AP-454-M) from Third Coast Rubber Stamps. He was stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with a variety of Copic markers, which I'll list below. I masked him using Winsor & Newton masking liquid. When it was dry, I airbrushed B0000, BV0000, N0, N1, and N2 around him to add a cloudy/cool colored background. I peeled off the masking fluid and die cut him using Nestabilities Labels 14.

Ice Silks Acrylic Glaze was painted on his frosty breath and on the snow flakes that surround him. It was my first time using it and it's way cool (pun intended). It dries shimmery, yet shiny and a bit raised. Best of all, it dried really quickly.

Then I added a layer of Frost Gelate by Art Anthology the ground to make it look like icy snow. Gelate is a dimensional gel that has sparkly mica suspended in it. I also used the Gelate to edge around the die cut.

I used the Frost Gelate and the Let It Snow Dylusions stencil by Ranger and The Crafter's Workshop. I brushed the Gelate over the stencil onto silver speckled blue/gray cardstock by Club Scrap. I spread it on fairly thick, waited a few minutes, then lifted it. The Gelate dried fairly quickly, though I left it to cure overnight. I hope you can see how sparkly and textured it is!

I cut down the piece, layered it over shimmery metallic mint-colored cardstock by Club Scrap and then added Jack. I decided not to add a sentiment yet because I don't know if I'll use this as a holiday card or a Winter-themed birthday card. Time will tell.

Thanks for visiting today!

Copic Markers used:
Skin: E000, E00, E4, R20
Hair: C5, C6, C7
Clothing: B91, B93, B95, B97; G000; G00
Background: B0000, BV0000, N0, N1, N2
Outlined with B60

Who me? I'm having thoughts of spring time!

This super-stylish cute girl is basking in the sunlight of a warm spring day. She's Who Me?, and is one of four new Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamps in the Sampler #8 Collection.

As you might know, I was without power for most of last week due to that bwitch Sandy, but perservered and crafted by the light of two battery-powered OTT lights whilst wearing multiple layers of thermal clothing.

I created this card yesterday whilst we were being blasted with a Nor'Easter that brought gusty winds and six inches of snow. Thankfully, we kept our power and the cracked skylight stayed intact.

I must say it was really nice to color a spring scene and made me feel a bit warmer!

Who Me? was stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with a variety of Copic markers, which I'll list below. An Inkssentials White Gel pen was used to highlight the center of the flower.

The stamped piece was die cut using Spellbinders' Nestabilities 27. This is sold out right now, but many Spellbinders dies are still on sale!

I layered patterned paper from the Clippings 6x6 pad by Basic Grey. Pearl Paint Dabber was used to edge the papers and add a bit of shimmer.

SCACD's Classic Corner dies were used to accent the image panel and SCACD's Ornate Hinge die were used to create a lacy intricate border. I freakin' love these dies. They cut sooooooooo beautifully! I haven't had to use the "wax paper trick" once!

The border strip was highlighted with Zva Creative Rhinestones.

Ta-da!

Thanks for visiting today!

Copic Markers used:
Skin: YR0000, RY000, YR01, BV20
Cheeks: R20
Lips: R22
Hair: B41, C3, C5, C6, C&
Sweater: BG10, BG11, BG23
Skirt & Headband: BG10, BG11, B23; YR01, YR12, YR14
Fence: E21, E23, E25, E27
Flowers: B34, B37
Sky: BG0000, BG000
Grass: YG11, YG13, YG17

Another "Done in the Dark" card!

By the way, if you click the image, it will enlarge it so you can see more detail!

This card combines Little Draco, one of the new stamps from Susana Loves Stamps collection called Mythical Reflections with Her Majesty's Eyes, which is from Susana Loves Stamps Eyes of Adventure and Fables Collection.

Little Draco and both the queen and the small flying heart from Her Majesty's Eyes set were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with a variety of Copic markers, which I'll list below. I did add some Blossom Copic Spica Glitter pen to her crown, scepter, and jewelry for shimmer and clear Gelly Glaze pen for dimension and shine! Oh yes. I added some palette chalk from Pebbles for her cheeks.

Little Draco was fussy cut and put aside. A light background was added around Her Majesty's Eyes and that piece was put aside as well.

The Bricked Texture Fades embossing folder was inked with Black Soot Distress ink. Grey cardstock was put inside the folder for a ride through my Big Kick, which embossed and colored the brick. I did this three times to create three separate pieces of inked embossed brick-textured grey cardstock. I adhered two pieces together to form a 9.25" long piece, then cut that to 4" wide, so that it would become the front for an A10 card.

A lighter shade of grey cardstock was diecut using the Grand Gothic Window die by Poppy Stamps. This window was used to frame Her Majesty's Eyes and then adhered to the card front.

A smaller piece of the brick textured cardstock was cut and adhered to the bottom of the card with foam dimensional tape to serve as a "balcony" for Little Draco.

I decided that the small flying heart looked a bit drab, so I added some Ice Luminarte Silks Acrylic Glaze to it. I must say that it was my first time using Silks and I was delighted by the shimmer and how quickly it dried, especially since my house was COLD! Anyway, the heart popped it up on dimensional foam adhesive as well. I figure that I can add a greeting banner to it when I decide who will get it for what occasion!

Thanks for visiting today!

Copic Markers used:
Draco: B1, B2, B4, B16; V1, V4, V6

Her Majesty and her flying heart:
Skin: YR0000, YR000
Hair: W1, We, Yr30, Yr31, Y00000
Dress, Wand, Tiara: C00, C0, C1, C2, C3, R81, R83
Background: B60 and Colorless Blender

Belated Birthday Card

This card was mostly done, the Crackle Accents had almost dried and I took a break for dinner. After dinner I was going to computer generate the birthday song, which was going to run in four strips from each skull. It was then going to be posted on November 1st as a combination Day of the Dead/Birthday Card for Shannon, the Bombshell Queen!

Alas, we finished dinner and the power went out. And stayed out. For days.

Bummer.

So here it is, unfinished, pristine in its lack of sentiment.

Here are the details. The stamp set is the Sugar Skull set from Bombshell Stamps. It was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with a variety of Copic markers. I used Pitch Black Copic Spica pen in the eye sockets. When it was dry, I added Crackle Accents to all of the skulls and set the piece aside to dry. Overnight. See? I learned my lesson about touching Glossy/Crackle Accents before they're dry. It took me ten years, but I finally figured out that if I put it away from me (in another room), I'll be less inclined to touch it! Woot. THIS old dog CAN learn new tricks.

So, when it was all dry and crackly, I die cut it using Spellbinders dies, left the paper in the die, and sponged a mess of Distress Inks over it, then used the crinkly pouncer tool to add more Distress Inks. I die cut some yellow cardstock and pounced the same colors of Distress Ink onto it too. While I had the Distress inks out, I pulled some Ideology Music Tissue Tape and colored that as well.

The yellow cardstock was embossed using the 5" x 7" Walrus & Carpenter Embossing Folder by Couture Creations because I thought the flowers looked like the marigolds in the stamp. It was my first time using these particular embossing folders and I must stay that I was delighted with the depth of embossing and the 5" x 7" size!

So there you have it.

Thanks for visiting today!

SCACD's Last Two Stamp Releases for 2012!

There are four new Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamps in the Sampler #8 Collection AND a new Susana Loves Stamps collection called Mythical Reflections which brings you four elegant mythical stamps to inspire you to create wondrous projects.

I missed the big blog hop last Friday due to Hurricane Sandy. You can still hop along by starting at the Follow Your Heart blog!

I might not have had power or heat, but I was still able to craft by the light of a headlamp and two battery-powered OTT lights.

Here's one of my cards, featuring Golden Lily, from the Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamps in the Sampler #8 Collection



Golden Lily was stamped using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with a variety of Copic markers, which I'll list below.

I used SCACD's Fancy Flower Corner die to die cut white cardstock, then colored them with Copic markers to match my color scheme.

The patterned paper is from the Clippings 6x6 pad by Basic Grey.

Thanks for visiting today.

Copics used:
Skin: YR0000, YR000,
Hair: C2, C3, C4, C5, C6
Clothing and parasol: G20, G21, G24; BG90,BG93; RV52, RV55; RV000, RV91
Sky: B000
Grass: G20, G21, G24

Oh Interwebs. How I've missed you!

Sandy came a callin' last Monday and first knocked an antenna off of our chimney onto our kitchen roof and skylight. Fortunately, the skylight didn't break.

That would have been very, very bad as we then lost power, which meant we lost heat.

It's now Sunday and our power just came back on. We're thawing out, warming up, and regaining feeling in our fingers and toes.

However, I did get some crafting done by the light of two battery-powered OTT lights and will get them posted soon!

Woot. Hooray for power, heat, and light!!!