In the words of...

Kay is our hostess this week at Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and her challenge is "In the Words of Edgar Allan Poe!" Here's what she had to say about her challenge!

My challenge this week is a simple one, but requires a bit of research on your part. Just as many of the Stampotique Originals' artists design stamps that might be described as a bit "quirky," so, too, was Edgar Allan Poe a bit quirky. He is a well known author and poet, living from 1809-1849. His quotes range from the romantic to the melancholy, and from the thoughtful to the murderous! The choice is yours. Allow yourself some time this week to combine a quote from Edgar Allan Poe with one or more stamped images to create something unique!

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win a great prize!!!

I need to thank Kay for this challenge because (a) I loved Poe, (b) I had started a "Quotes" art journal but haven't done much for it, and (c) I had big fun with this challenge!

Here's the journal page that uses Stampotique's  Vine Scroll (Arwen McCullen),  Arch (Arwen McCullen), and Angelboy (Daniel Torrente).

The Arch was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto 140 lb. Strathmore Mixed Media cardstock and colored with Copic markers. The grass and the stones were also colored with Copic markers.

The Arch was stamped again (without reinking) onto Eclipse Tape then fussy-cut. The mask was placed over the Arch (not the stones),  Post-It Notes were placed over the grassy part of the scene. A circle was punched from Eclipse Tape to serve as the moon. Clouds die-cuts by Memory Box were also die-cut from Eclipse Tape. The moon and clouds were placed in the sky to complete the scene. The sky was airbrushed using the Copic Airbrush System with my favorite night sky combo of B63, B66, B69, B78, and B99 Copic markers.

The masks were all lifted and set aside for future use. The scene was touched up, then the cardstock edges were edged using the corresponding Copic marker color. The scene was set aside.

Angelboy was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, then edged with black marker. He was fussy-cut and his wings and halo were discarded (I guess that makes him a Fallen Angelboy.  Sorry. I couldn't resist.) to correspond more closely with the quote. His shoes were coated with a few layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen to give them some dimension and shine. He was set aside with the Arch scene while I worked on the background.

Vine Scroll was repeatedly stamped with Dazzle Frost Shimmer VersaMark, then heat-set with Silver Fine Detail Embossing Powder.  Cobalt Blue Hue, Pthalo Blue, Diozazine Purple, Interference Violet, and Interference Blue Media Fluid Acrylic paints by DecoArt were sponged and/or stippled over the embossed Vine Scrolls. This was done gradually to build layers of color and stippled pattern. Sadly, it's snowy here today and overcast so you can't see the shimmer from the interference colors or the shine of the silver embossing. I will likely re-photograph this page when it's sunny again. 

The background still needed something, so Silver Delicata Shimmer ink (delightfully silvery) was sponged over the Tiny Circles stencil by The Crafter's Workshop. The edges of the page were then sponged with Dazzle Frost Shimmer VersaMark, then heat-set with Silver Fine Detail Embossing Powder.

The Poe quote was computer generated, then printed out onto vellum, trimmed, then adhered over the stamped scene. Silver metallic cardstock was die-cut with one of the two dies included in SCACD's Garden Corners die set, then adhered over the top corners. I wanted the vellum to be a bit flatter and more secure, so I used my beloved Tiny Attacher to staple it to the cardstock.

Silver metallic cardstock was also die-cut with the border die from the Ironworks die set by Spellbinders. 

The stamped scene was adhered to the journal page and the Ironworks border die-cut was adhered along the bottom of the stamped scene. Tiny Attacher staples were used to add a bit more metal to the piece. Angelboy was adhered to the scene and I called it done!

Here's a close-up so that you can read the quote!

 

Thanks for visiting today!
 
I shall enter this page in the following challenges:
• Cards und More: Simply Blue • Crafty Creations Challenges: Embossing
• Simon Says Wednesday Challenges: Anything Goes

I Love NY! Steampunk Style!

I was feeling in a Steampunk kind of mood and I felt like coloring, so I decided to make a scrapbooky kind of page for my art journal featuring SCACD's Steampunk Beauty, who is now available in beautiful deeply-etched red rubber format as a single image or part of the newly released Eclectic Steampunk Collection!

I don't know about you, but I like to give my stamped images back stories. Steampunk Beauty is a professional travel photographer from Manhattan. She's continually astounded by the changes in her city and has photographed many of them for publication. She's gathered several of them here and pulled them together with a small self-portrait she painted just for her scrapbook.

Steampunk Beauty was resized in PhotoElements, printed onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer, then colored with Copic markers. The image panel was die-cut with a Petite Oval Nestabilities die by Spellbinders. Gold metallic cardstock was die-cut with a Petite Scalloped Oval Nestabilities die.

The journal page was liberated from the journal, then was airbrushed with Copic markers. Public domain photos of New York were reduced then printed out with my laser printer. They were arranged on the page.

Metallic gold cardstock was die-cut with the Skeleton Boy and Girl die by Ellentina, the Vintage Alphabet die by Top Dog Dies, a Photo Corners die by QuicKutz, a Mini-Gears die, and the Delicate Chain die by Memory Box/Poppy Stamps.

The chains from the Skeleton Boy and Girl die were cut out and used to both connect the photos and repeat the chain element in the Steampunk Beauty image. The alphabet dies and a punched heart spell out the title of page. The Delicate Chain connects the dimensional pocket watch charm on the heart with the photos above it.

The Mini Gear die-cuts were stacked atop the Photo Corners die-cuts to finish the page.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this journal page into the following challenges:
• Allsorts Challenges: No Designer Paper Allowed
• SanDee & amelie's Steampunk Challenges: Steampunk Destinations
• Miriam's Crafting Blog and Monthly Challenge: Steampunk

Books and Cats

This week's challenge over at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is a color challenge.

The East Wind Digital Stamps is sponsoring Outlawz Coloring Challenges during November.

You should definitely enter this challenge. All you need to do is color an open line image with any colorant you choose! You should also visit my Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teamies' blogs for inspiration! Carla, Dawn, Penny, and Laine are seriously talented!

Here's the autumnal color palette and photo inspiration, courtesy of Fresh Hues/Design Seeds.

Here's my card, using East Wind's 'Lucy Loo' Bookaholic.

I must admit that color challenges aren't my favorite because my cards always end up looking different than my teammates. I'll attribute that to my printer and/or monitor. I do try to match colors as closely as possible, but my project always ends up looking like an epic fail from a color-matching standpoint.

Anyway, enough of that. I really like this image, though the hair was a bit of a challenge. But, I love books and I love cats, so I had to love this digital stamp, right? Right!

So, I reduced 'Lucy Loo' Bookaholic in PhotoElements, printed it onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer, and colored the image with Copic markers. I chose to match the image to the color palette and actually recorded the markers I used, though the list is upstairs and I'm feeling lazy.

When I was done coloring the image, it took a ride through my Big Kick inside a Spellbinders Card Creator die. I kept the image panel in the die and got a bit carried away sponging Pumice Stone Distress ink over the die onto the image. Oh well. So I extended the yellow outline marker to the sponging, which helped to soften it a bit.

The patterned papers are from a very old collection by Crate Paper. The Gorey quote was computer generated and added to the image panel. The sentiment is a from the Handwritten set of dies by Little B, which is ever so useful. I figure that a gift certificate to the book store would work very well inside this card.

A rhinestone was used to dot the i in birthday and two rhinestone trios were used to add emphasis to the quote.

Thanks for visiting today!

Stripes!

Corrie is our hostess this week at Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and her challenge is "Stripes!" Here's what she had to say about her challenge!

"Today is my turn to set the challenge at the Stampotique Designers' Challenge Blog and I'd like everyone to make something with a stripy background. You can use ink, paint or pens whatever you like, just no ready made stripes with pattern paper !! I want you to do it yourself ! I am excited to see what you come up with but most of all I want you to have fun !!!"

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win a great prize!!!

Here's a small striped clipboard decorated with Stampotique's Vine Scroll (Arwen McCullen) and Angelboy (Daniel Torrente).

The first step was to paint the front, back, and sides of the clipboard with a layer of Black Media Gesso by DecoArt, which is delightfully thick and opaque. When it was dry, the Vine Scroll was repeatedly stamped with Cosmic Copper Brilliance ink by Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts. Verdigris embossing powder by Ranger was dumped on, the excess removed, then the Vine Scrolls were heat set. 

There were some gaps between the Vine Scrolls and I thought the space needed something, so I sponged Cosmic Copper Brilliance ink over the Vineyard stencil by The Crafter's Workshop, then heat embossed with Verdigris embossing powder.
 

The metal clip was treated to the same process, though the inking, dumping, excess-removing, and heat setting procedure was repeated a few times until the Staples logo was eradicated. 

Multiple widths of Washi tape were adhered horizontally across the clipboard. Blue Green Light, Cobalt Blue Hue, Diozazine Purple, English Red Oxide, and Vermillion Media Fluid Acrylic paints by DecoArt were randomly brushed over the Washi tape onto the clipboard, wiped back, and repainted until I liked the look. Interference Turquoise MFA paint was painted over the stripes to add a touch of iridescence. The paint was wiped off the embossed Vine Scrolls using a baby wipe. The tape was removed and I was disappointed to find that paint had seeped under the tape. Oh well. Perfection is overrated.

Angelboy was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, then edged with black marker. Several colors of Twinkling H20s were painted over Angelboy's wings, which made them shimmer.

Acrylic Matte Medium by DecoArt was used to adhere Angelboy to the clipboard. I had a total dunderhead moment and didn't realize that the appropriately named Matte Medium would obviate the shimmer from the Twinklin' H2Os. Silly me.

I used Carbon Black MFA paint to coat the balance of the metallic parts of the clipboard and pronounced it done.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this project into the following challenges:
• Perfectly Rustic Challenges: Embossing 
• Sparkle and Sprinkle Challenges: Anything Goes
• Altered Eclectics: Anything Goes 
• Loves Rubber Stamps Challenges: Things with Wings

A Thank You card

This week's challenge over at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is "Thanks or Thanksgiving".

The East Wind Digital Stamps is sponsoring Outlawz Coloring Challenges during November.

You should definitely enter this challenge. All you need to do is color an open line image with any colorant you choose! You should also visit my Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teamies' blogs for inspiration! Carla, Dawn, Penny, and Laine  are seriously talented!

Here's my card.

I opted to create a Thank You card because it's great to have a stash of those on hand, especially at this time of the year with the upcoming gift-giving holidays!

Floral Lady by Stampendous was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. Her cheeks received a touch of pink chalk pencil to give them a touch more color. Clear Gelly Glaze pen was used to give her pearls dimension and shine. I used a Nestabilities Petite Oval die to die-cut the image panel and a Nestabilities Petite Scalloped Oval to die-cut a mat for the image.

You might recognize these papers as I used the same 6x6 pad by My Mind's Eye within the few weeks. Apparently I'm in a green sort of mood. Actually, I chose the main paper because it had flowers that were similarly shaped to the ones in Floral Lady's hair. I call that style of flowers "blobby flowers". Which you didn't really need to know. Anyway both the green and reddish patterned papers have blobby flowers, like Floral Lady's.

The patterned papers were layered according to a sketch from Stella Says Sketch at Catching the Bug Challenge blog. I love to use sketches because then I don't have to think. I can slavishly follow the sketch and end up with a nicely designed card. I created sketches for about five years and eventually will have a page on my blog for them. The operative word there is eventually. I have lots of plans. Some happen. Some don't.

Ooh. Big digression. Now you see why thinking can be troublesome. Anyway, the edges of most of the card's layers were sponged with Potting Soil Archival ink from Wendy Vecchi's collection for Ranger. It's a nice brown.

The sentiment is a from the Handwritten set of dies by Little B, which is a fabulous set of dies with great and useful sentiments. Gotta love that. And I do.

Here's the sketch so you can decide how I did with it.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges!
• Stella Says Sketch #218 at Catching the Bug Challenge blog
• Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers: T is for Thanks (For Nothing)  [sadly my card isn't snarky. :( ]
• MilkCoffee Challenge: Hand colored Image
• The House That Stamps Built: Time to Give Thanks
• 7 Kids College Fund Challenge Blog: Anything Goes

Bring on the Bling!

France is our hostess this week at Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and her challenge is
"Bring on the Bling"!

Here's what she had to say about her challenge!

"For the longest time, bling in arting was something I stayed as far away from as I could. I don't know how it happened or when, but I suddenly started to add touches of bling on almost every project. And guess what? I love it!

Now you might still be in that first place I was in, or you might be an avid bling user, but for this week's challenge I would like to see you use some bling! Be it a shiny ink spray, glitters you add or an iridescent paint effect, add some bling to your project!

It will for sure lighten up those days that are getting shorter and darker for us who are getting closer to winter!"

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win a great prize!!!

Here's my card with  Feline (Roc Nicholas).

Feline was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink, colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, then edged with a black marker. Diamond Glaze was added to her wings and crown and Clear Rock Candy Distress glitter was sprinkled on rather liberally.

While I had the glitter and glue out, I die-cut a circle from an older My Mind's Eye 6x6 pad using a Circle Nestabilities die by Spellbinder. Diamond Glaze was added to the rim of the circle and Clear Rock Candy Distress glitter was added. Both Feline and the circle were set aside to dry while the rest of the card was being constructed.

A Scalloped Circle Nestabilities die was used to die-cut turquoise glitter paper by DCWV. A Circle Nestabilities die was used to die-cut green glitter paper by DCWV. A double scallop border die was used to die-cut patterned paper from the same pad by My Mind's Eye.  The turquoise glitter paper was die-cut with the Missy Micro font by Die-Versions for the sentiment.

The glitter had dried, but still needed a bit of oomph, so Wild Honey Distress ink was sponged onto the glitter on the circle and a Copic marker was used to add a bit more color to the glittery wings and crown.

The patterned papers and die-cuts were layered,  Feline was adhered the circle die-cut, and the sentiment was added. A whole lot of bling by both Kaisercraft and Recollections was added to finish the card. It's kind of a busy card, but it does meet the challenge!

Thanks for visiting today.

I shall enter this card in the following challenges.
• Paper Take Weekly Challenges: Two or Four Legs
• Party Time Tuesday Challenges: Anything Goes
• Crafting When We Can Challenges: Use Your Markers • Through the Purple Haze: Use a Punch or Die
• Scrap-Creations Challenges: Make it Sparkle

Winter Friends

It's still Autumn here in the Northeast and we're enjoying mild weather at the moment.  However, we're supposed to get a Polar Vortex later this week. Vortex seems to be the latest weather media buzzword. Anyway, I was feeling chilled and was anticipating feeling even colder, so I made this card, using SCACD's Winter Friends digital stamp.

 Winter Friends was resized in PhotoElements, printed onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer, then colored with Copic markers. The sky was also colored with Copic markers in C01, C0, and C00. 

The tree branch and icicles were given a coat of glitter courtesy of my Wink of Stella Clear Glitter marker. I waited til the ink dried completely then coated it with several layers of Clear Gelly Roll Glaze pen to add glossy dimension and shine to the ice. The Glaze pen was also used on the owl's eyes, beak, and talons. The image panel was matted with two layers of blue cardstock.

White silvery glitter paper was die-cut with Poppy Stamps Sparkling Snowflake Corner die and then adhered to either corner of blue cardstock, which had been edged with Picket Fence Distress paint. The matted image panel was layered atop this to complete the card.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card in the following challenges:
• Paper Take Weekly Challenges: Two or Four Legs
• Party Time Tuesday Challenges: Anything Goes • Moving Along with the Times Challenges: Sparkle or Shine
• Crafting When We Can Challenges: Use Your Markers
• Through the Purple Haze: Use a Punch or Die
• Scrap-Creations Challenges: Make it Sparkle
• Cards und More Challenges: Snowflakes

Leaves

This week's challenge over at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is "Leaves". This can mean actual leaves or leave-taking.

The East Wind Digital Stamps is sponsoring Outlawz Coloring Challenges during November.

You should definitely enter this challenge. All you need to do is color an open line image with any colorant you choose! You should also visit my Outlawz Coloring Challenge Teamies' blogs for inspiration! Carla, Dawn, Penny, and Laine  are seriously talented!

We still have lots of colorful leaves on the trees in the Northeast because it's been a relatively warm Autumn. From my craftroom window I can see yellow, orange, and red leaves on the maple trees. So I decided to rummage through my stamp collection for a nice maple leaf stamp to use and came up with one from PSX.

Here's my card.

I stamped the Maple Leaf three times onto Neenah cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink, then fussy cut them. I wanted to try something different with the leaves rather than straight up coloring. I first added some Colorless Blender to an Inkssential Mini Mister by Ranger. The next step was to give each leaf a base of YR23. Each leaf was then sprayed with the Colorless Blender until the paper was saturated. Various colors were then added to the base color of each leaf until I was happy with the color of the leaves.

Rust cardstock was run through a Xyron machine to add adhesive to one side. Burlap, from a roll, was pressed into the adhesive, then die-cut with a die from the A2 Card Creator Nestabilities die set by Spellbinders. Wild Honey Distress ink was sponged over the Rays Layering Stencil onto the burlap.

The leaves were adhered to the burlap, then the image panel was matted multiple times with plain cardstock. I didn't add a sentiment because as usual, I don't know who will get the card and for what occasion.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Scrapbooker PhD Challenge #16: Fall with a Stamp and a Die-cut 
• Try It On Tuesdays: Autumn Colors 
• The Cheerful Stamp Pad: Anything Goes with Fall Colors

Spotlight!

Arwen is our hostess this week at Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and her challenge is
"Spotlighting"!

Here's what she's got to say about her challenge.

"Artwork consist of many small details that make a whole. This week I would like to see spotlights in your work. Lift a detail of your artwork to make it stand out from the rest of the project."

Here's my card, which uses Stampotique's Fiesta (Kira Nichols) stamp. 

Fiesta was stamped twice with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto Neenah cardstock. One image was colored with the Cool Grey family of Copic markers. This image panel was die-cut with one of the Squares Nestabilities dies by Spellbinders. While it was still in the die, I used a CO Copic marker to outline the interior of the square. The square was popped out of the die and I finished coloring the background around the image.

The second of the Fiesta stamped images was die-cut with a small  Nestabilities Circle die, then colored with a range of Copic markers. I did NOT check out the color of donkeys on Google, so I'm hoping some are brown. The colored image was adhered atop the grayscale Fiesta image so that it lined up with it.

The donkey's eyes were coated with with several layers of Clear Gelly Roll Glaze pen to add glossy dimension and shine. The bird's trumpet received a coat of Clear Wink of Stella Glitter marker to add shimmer and glitter! 

The patterned papers are from relatively old 6x6 pads by My Mind's Eye (floral and striped patterns) and Carta Blanca (musical notation). They were layered, edged with Black Soot Distress ink. The seam between the horizontal layer and the image panel was covered with a white die-cut (Die-namics) and some black pom-pom trim.

As usual, I haven't decided who will receive the card and for what occasion, so I didn't add a sentiment.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenges: Anything Goes
• Fashionable Stamping Challenges: Animals
• Crafty Sentiment Designs Challenge Blog: Make it Sparkle