Sheba the Catgoyle -- a friend in a high place

Here's Sheba, a digital stamp by Smeared Ink. She's a very lovely catgoyle, who hangs out on tall buildings and is the queen of all she surveys.



Sheba, her alcove, and her her building (overlooking Paris) were colored with Toner Grey Copic markers. The alcove was drawn in with a template from Fairy Tale Creations. The "stones" were created with the Copic aibrush system and my beloved Bricks template from The Crafter's Workshop. Love their stencils, and this one has gotten a lot of use!

The grey base level gray cardstock is textured and looks kind of stone-like (stoned? stony?). I used a Paper Shaper corner punch and also used a Borderabilities die by Spellbinders. I sponged silvery black Brilliance ink over the die, so that border strip looks metallic, though you could never tell from the photo.

Thanks for visiting today!

This card will be entered in the following challenges:
• Craft Your Passion: Monochromatic challenge
• Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
• Outlaws Promarker/Copic Friday: Anything Goes

Layer it up with Smudgy Antics

The challenge this week over at the Smudgy Antics Challenge Blog is to "Layer it up!" I decided to use Seriba again for this challenge.

Here it is:


The first thing I did was to color Seriba using mostly cool gray Copic markers with a touch of silver Metallic Pentel pens on her chains and Glaze pens on her wand.

Then I grabbed a piece of textured gray cardstock and my Chicken-wire and Punchinella stencil by The Crafter's Workshop. I sponged Black Soot and Worn Lipstick Distress ink over the large Chicken-wire stencil first. Then when that dried, I went back and layered the small chicken-wire pattern of the Punchinella stencil and sponged more ink on. I had one more go sponging ink over the star pattern of the Punchinella stencils to create a visual triangle. Then I gave the whole thing several spritzes with a Pearl Perfect Pearl mister, which blended the ink a bit and left a nice shimmery finish. I left it to flatten out under a stack of books.

Some silver accents were needed so I created a photo mat from pink and gray cardstock and added silver eyelets. I found some wonderful black and silver ribbon and threaded it through the eyelets and the sentiment (from The Fairy Fantasy unmounted rubber sheet by the Enchanted Garden) piece.

The sponged patterned glimmery gray cardstock was torn and silver mesh was layered over black cardstock between the two pieces. Then Seriba's panel and the sentiment panel were added.

A flower rhinestone and a trio of star rhinestones were added because the card needed some bling!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this in the following challenge(s):
• Simon Says Stamp & Show: "Create your own background"

Birthday Wishes Card for Smeared & Smudged

Here's another card for my stint as a guest designer over at Smeared & Smudged.

It features Seriba, one of the digital Goth Fairies from Smeared Ink. She's available alone or part of a set.

Here's the card:


I decided not to go terribly Goth, except perhaps for her green hair. She was colored with Copic markers. Glitter pens from Sakura were used on her wings and to edge the die cuts. The patterned paper is from the Sugar Rush 6x6 pad by Basic Grey. It has papers that matched the B60s series of Copic markers, which are one of my favorites!

The sentiment stamp is from Savvy Stamps. I love their fonts.

Thanks for visiting today.

This card shall be entered in the following challenges:
• Simon Says Stamp "Anything Goes" challenge.
• Outlawz Monday Greetings: "Anything Goes" challenge

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.

Smeared & Smudged Blog Hop!

It's the End-of-term Blog Hop for Smeared & Smudged's current Design Team. We were challenged to use stamps from at least three Smeared Ink sets to create a cohesive project.

I used four. Go me!

Here's my card, which is huge at 8.5" x 5.5".


I used Creepy Li'l Grumpies (Frankenstein Grumpy), Li'l Grumpies (purple Grumpy), Shadow Thingies (moon & clouds), and Chicks Dig Guns (target).

I used Copic markers to color the Grumpies and two colors of Distress ink to create the night sky. Yes. I got carried away. Again. The Frankenstein Grumpy's scars and wounds are colored with red Glaze pen. The patterned paper is from a K & Company pad I got a few years ago. "Boo" is Uptown Girl by QuicKutz. The "Trick or Treat" sign being held by the purple Grumpy is from a Halloween sticker sheet by 7 Gypsies.

Now that you've seen my monsterpiece, hop along to the next person on the list!

Here's the hop list:
Terra http://moresmearedink.blogspot.com/
Tori http://ndustrial-lemon.blogspot.com/
Alison http://www.alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/
Kelli http://www.cajunstampingqueen.blogspot.com/
Lady Brayton http://ladybrayton71.blogspot.com/
Meredith http://www.papercanteen.com/
Danielle http://www.scrappy-arts-n-thoughts.blogspot.com/
Kathi http://kathstales.blogspot.com/
Black Dragon http://lynsblogger.blogspot.com/
Kim http://www.offthewallcraftiness.blogspot.com/
Jean http://www.etsysdarkside.ning.com/

Smeared & Smudged Blog Hop!

The Smeared & Smudged Design Team members are participating in a blog hop in honor of Smeared Ink's new Fall Release. Smeared Ink's Fall release will feature five brand new rubber sets and a new line of digi images that will be available as sets or single images. They will be available in the shop on Sept 1st and rubber sets will begin shipping on Monday the 6th.

Here's my card featuring Grumpenstein and one of the sentiments in that set.


He was colored with Copic markers. His eyes were colored with Sakura Glitter pens and then coated with a layer of Glaze pen. I probably should have used Glossy Accents for more dimension, but I've had an issue with ink running from Glossy Accents lately. If you look closely, you might see some red Glaze pen in the stitches and open wounds.

I distressed the heck out of the image piece, then used Distress Inks to add some color to the background. I got a bit carried away and got some color on his neck bolts. Bad me. Staples were added to mimic his stitches.

The patterned paper is by the late lamented Flair Designs. I have a stash, so I'll keep using 'em.

Now that you've seen my monsterpiece, visit the others to see what they're sneak peeking from the new Smeared Ink release.

Terra

Tori

Alison

Kelli

Kathi

Danielle

Black Dragon

Kim

Lady Brayton

Meredith

Jean

Feisty Flapper!

Feisty Flapper feels fierce in fuschia! :D

The flapper is from Smeared Ink's Chicks Dig Guns unmounted rubber stamp sheet. Copic markers were used to color her.Sakura's glitter pens were used to add sparkle. Glaze pen was added to her shoes and her hair to add dimension and shine.

The patterned papers are old Autumn Leaves from my stash. (I do love using old papers because it makes me feel less guilty about buying new! *smile*. Sequin ribbons were added as embellishment.

Thanks for visiting!

Perfect together!

I think these two stamps work together beautifully, which will probably prove that I am a bit demented, but so be it.

The hour glass is a digital stamp by Smeared Ink. The skeleton and its martini are traditional stamps from the Calaveras Fiesta set by Bombshell Stamps. Both images were colored with Copic markers. The sentiment was made with rub-ons that were on clearance. Their quality was poor which was why. Distress Inks were sponged onto the image piece and the torn cardstock strips.

Thanks for visiting!

It's time!

The image is a digital stamp from Smeared Ink, which I colored with Copic markers, then colored over it with a Perfect Medium pen. I used several layers of clear embossing powder to add a clear, shiny dimension to it. When it cooled, I sponged several colors of Distress Ink over it to coat the piece. I spritzed some water to add that cool splotchy effect and distressed the edges.

A Cuttlebug folder was used to emboss a piece of color core Core'Dinations cardstock. I sanded the surface to reveal the light blue core, then cut two flourishes so that I could slide the stamped piece into it. The edges of this piece were distressed as well. I poked a hole in the watch fob and used pewtery floss to attach the watch to the Cuttlebugged background.

Thanks for visiting today.

Smeared Ink also makes digital images!

As you may know, Smeared Ink makes thick, high quality rubber stamps that are a bit offbeat in theme. Now they're making some digital stamps as well.

This card features one of them, a gypsy fortune teller!


The image was colored with my Copic markers. All three patterned papers are by Daisy D. I"m so sad they're out of business. I loved their papers! I think the card needs something, but I couldn't decide what, so I left it as is. Sometimes less is more. I didn't add a sentiment for the same reason.

The layers really are even. The camera angle is a bit weird. Ah well.

Thanks for visiting today!

Get well card a la Smeared Ink!

Here's a get well card, which sadly, are always useful to have on hand.



The bug is from the Shadow Thingies set by Smeared Ink. If you're unfamiliar with Smeared Ink, they're a new company helmed by the talented sisters, Terra and Tori. The images are a bit left of center, but they retain a certain élan and coolness. The stamps are amazingly thick deeply edged red rubber that produces a fantastic image!

The bug was stamped on patterned paper by Cosmo Cricket, colored with Copics. The bug's eyes were highlighted with Spica glitter pens. Then I coated the entire bug with Glossy Accents to add dimension and more bugginess.

I pulled out some old MM rub-ons for the sentiment. Color core Black Magic cardstock was embossed with the Swiss Dot Cuttlebug embossing folder and then sanded. The flower sits on a nice dotted ribbon and are BossKut die cuts that were embossed, sanded, inked, rolled, and stacked. A threaded button completes the flower.

Thanks for visiting today!

Butterfly Dreams

This one uses the caterpillar and cloud from the Shadow Thingies set by Smeared Ink. These stamps are seriously thick rubber that is deeply etched to produce a fantastic image.



The caterpillar, cloud, and grass were colored with Copic markers. The sky was sponged with Distress Ink. The sentiment is a Doodlebug rub-on outlined dot-style with a fine tipped pen. The patterned paper is by Memory Box.

Thanks for visiting today!

Three Days: Three Projects!!!

Can you stand it???

Ha!

Here's a card that I made using my new Shadow Thingies stamps by Smeared Ink!



I used my Prismacolor pencils and a Goo-Gone pen to color the bench, trees, and the grass. Shades of blue and a hint of pink Distress Ink were sponged on for the sky. I used Flower Soft to add leaves to the trees. It looks so much better irl, but you'll just have to take my word for it! :D

Thanks for visiting today!

Smeared & Smudged Sketch Challenge!

The talented Kelli created a sketch for Smeared & Smudged. Go check it out!

Here's my take on the sketch:

I used Smeared & Smudged Elementals set to create this card. The image was colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with Eco-Houses Citrus Thinner. The tiny squares were stamped with the curly hair from the Elemental image using my new Olive Distress Ink. Everything was edges with a combination of Olive and Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

The patterned paper is from Memory Box.

You still have time to use this sketch to enter to win a cool prize. Go for it. You can't win if you don't play!

Thanks for visiting today!

Gosh. Time flies!

I've neglected my poor ol' blog again. I was doing so well staying updated in April. Then I started working on a set of 16 Bombshell ATCs and another set of seven Bombshell ATCs. The 16 are done, though I did 17 because apparently I can't count. They're all the same and are fairly simple. I'll share them eventually. I've done three of the seven for a technique swap and am having big fun playing and experimenting.

I had a great mail week last week and got great new sets from both Smeared Ink and Bombshell Stamps. I finally got around to cutting and mounting all of them today and did a "quick" play with Smeared Ink's Elementals set and a new-to-me technique.

Here's the card.


Here are the details.
I applied Adirondack Pearl Paint Dabber (Ranger) to the stamp and stamped on white cardstock. I used my heat gun to dry the acrylic paint because I'm too impatient to let it dry on its own. :D I then sponged two shades each of blue and pink Distress Inks (new colors) over the image, tore the edges, inked 'em, matted the piece with Memory Box cardstock, heat embossed "Goddess" with white ep, and added "blessings of the" with Doodlebug rub-ons. Adhesive pearls from Recollections were added as embellishments.

It was the first time doing this technique and I'm fairly pleased with the results.

Thanks for visiting today!

I'm clearly feeling Grumpy!

Another day, another Grumpies card. I have been having such fun with the terrific Grumpies set by Smeared Ink .

This set comes with large and small Grumpies, plus some screamingly funny and snarky sentiments that tickle my funny bone.

Here's a card I came up for the sentiment "get off my cloud."


The Grumpies were colored with Copic markers. I added some Sakura glitter pen to the eyes and then coated the eyes with a layer of Glossy Accents.

I used a QuicKutz diecut to mask the Grumpie's cloud area as well as both Grumpies before sponging Memento ink over a cloud template. I then outlined the cloud, added some sponged blue ink, and added some contours with a grey Copic marker. The sentiment was stamped onto a punched thought cloud.

The colors photographed a bit oddly. The pink Grumpy is not neon or hot pink irl. The blue is nicer too. Go know.

Thanks for visiting today!

Another Sketch Challenge card!

Yay!!! I'm still sore and limping around with my crutches, but I'm finally getting back into the swing of things craft-wise. Since I'm still a bit out of it, I am using sketches and other challenges as a launching point.

This one is from the latest sketch (#276) over at Splitcoast Stampers.

Here's my card!


I used the Grumpies stamp set by Smeared Ink, a new rubber stamp company. I'm having a great time using these FUNky images and snarky sentiments!

I colored the Grumpy with Copic markers and used Glossy Accents on his eyes. The dotted and orange distressed patterned paper are by Cosmo Cricket and the striped paper is by Basic Grey. There's also a whole lotta Distress Inkin' goin' on. :D

Thanks for visiting today!

Moxie Fab World Sketch Challenge!

Last week was "Go to Sketches" week over at Moxie Fab World to celebrate the release of a fabulous new idea book (which I need to get). Cath challenged us to create a card using one of the sketches from the book.

Here's my card!


I used the Grumpies stamp set by Smeared Ink, a new rubber stamp company. The stamps are a bit different than what's out there, but are big fun. They're awesome quality with deep etched rubber. They're also a great deal since there are so many images and sayings.

The Grumpies are perfect for my mood over the last week or so. I've been an impatient patient and have been totally out of sorts. I couldn't work out. I couldn't craft. I needed help all the time. So this card is sort of a note to myself from myself to suck it up and deal. :D

I colored the Grumpy with Copic markers, used Glaze pens to make his eyes glassy, and then stamped some sentiments in the QuicKutz die cut speech bubble. The patterned paper is from a 6x6 pad by Sassafras Lass. Love it! It's so bright and cheerful and goes so well with the Grumpy!

The card definitely makes me smile. I hope you like it too!

Thanks for visiting today!

Smeared & Smudged April Fool's Day Blog Hop!

This hop is sponsored by Smeared & Smudged, a great place to visit!

I've been running around like a headless chicken, trying to get stuff done before I get sidelined for a bit. Therefore, I haven't gotten to create my card for this yet, so check back later this afternoon or evening.

Here it is! It sure does take a long time for a thick layer of Glossy Accents to dry!


The stamp is from the Grumpies set by Smeared Ink! I love this set. Great sentiments and FUNky images. My Grumpy was colored with Copics which I also used to color the glitter stickers. Yahoo. A new use for them. :D His eyes have glossy accents on them to make them shiny and bug-outy. The egg has Crackle Accents on it and is 3D thanks to dimensional stickers. The papers are by Flair Designs and the sentiment (expecting a bunny?)is a Doodlebug rub-ons.

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's the list of hoppers.
Alison- http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
Kelli- http://cajunstampingqueen.blogspot.com
Meredith- http://www.papercanteen.com
Michelle- http://mylifemydreamsmyscrapping.blogspot.com/
Kathi- http://kathstales.blogspot.com <---Come back later!
Kim- http://offthewallcraftiness.blogspot.com
Lisa- http://www.ldfdesign.blogspot.com
Danielle- http://www.scrappy-arts-n-thoughts.blogspot.com
Alex- http://www.paperandstring.blogspot.com
Jean- http://iboard.jeansartdolls.com/index.php?showtopic=11977
Monica- http://giddygreetings.com
Sarah- http://sarahscrazycreations.blogspot.com
Erica- http://www.inkedupandreadytoplay.com/
Black Dragon- http://lynsblogger.blogspot.com/
Kymberly- http://dulcamarasdarkart.blogspot.com
Steph- http://stephscreativechaos.blogspot.com
Lady Brayton- http://ladybrayton71.blogspot.com/
Barb- http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.com/
Terra- http://www.moresmearedink.blogspot.com