Gear Up!

Sneaking one in before the end of my self-proclaimed "Steampunk Week" with a tag featuring the Steampunk Digi Set by VeraLane Studios.

Here it is:

Products Used:
Steampunk Digi Set by VeraLane Studios
Solar White Classic Crest® Cardstock by Neenah Papers
Copic® Markers:
   Skin: BV000, E000, E00, E11, E21, E50, R20
   Lips: E04, RV42
   Hair: E07, E17, E18, E19, YR27
   Eyes: B21, B34
   Dress: YR20, YR21, G00, G02, G20, B21, B32, B34
   Shoes and Hat: E33, E35, E37, E44, B21, B34
   Brass for Goggles, Bluckles, and the Gear on her face: Y23, Y26, Y28
   Lenses: G00, G02, G20
   Feather: B21, 24, G02
   Dog: C00, C0, C1, C2, BV000, E33, E35, R81, RV91
Collateral Rust 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad by Ciao Bella
Riveted Stencil by The Crafter's Workshop
Cracked Pistachio, Rusty Hinge, Hickory Smoke Distress® Ink by Tim Holtz® for Ranger Industries
Mirror Glaze cardboard
Black Media® Gesso by DecoArt®
Cerulean Blue, Green Gold, Quinacridone Gold, Blue Green Light, Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, and Payne's Grey Media® Fluid Acrylics (MFA) by DecoArt®
Black Tag by Graphic 45®
Gears and Tag Die Set by Graphic 45®
Flag Die set
Gears from my stash
Screw-head brads from my stash.

Instructions:

1. Resize images and print onto Copic friendly paper using a laser jet printer.
2. Color both images with Copic markers. 
3. Fussy-cut them and edge with black marker.
4. Sponge Distress inks over stencil onto patterned paper.
5. Cut stenciled patterned paper with the tag die.
6. Edge with Distress inks.
7. Cut Mirror cardboard with the gears die.
8. Paint the gears die-cut with black Media gesso and let it dry.
9. Sand it back slightly to reveal a bit of the silvery metallic finish.
10. Use MFA paints (listed above) to paint die-cut.
11. Sand the paint back in a random manner.
12. Repeat steps #10 and #11 until you're happy with the result. I really wish you could see the layers of color and the texture on the piece.
13. Adhere the painted gear rectangle onto the tag.
14. Use screw-top brads to adhere metal gears to the painted gear rectangle.
15. Adhere the dog and the girl to the tag as shown.
16. Sponge the sentiment with Cracked Pistachio Distress ink.
17. Cut the sentiment with a flag die.
18. Edge the flag die with Rusty Hinge Distress ink.
19. Adhere the sentiment to the tag.
20. Adhere the tag to the premade black tag to finish the project.

Thanks for visiting today!

White Rabbit Time!

Hello again! Can you believe it? Two posts (with a coffee break between) in one day! Wow, it's shocking! Here's my second Wonderland ATC for the swap over at on Vera Lane Studio's Facebook page.

This one features the White Rabbit from the Alice and the Rabbit digi set (Vera Lane Studios).

The White Rabbit was resized in PhotoElements, printed onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer, colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a black marker. He was set aside (where he enjoyed some tea with the The Mad Hatter) while I created a background for him.

Grey cardstock was embossed with the Clocks embossing plate (Cherry Lynn Designs). Worn Lipstick, Salty Ocean, Hickory Smoke, and Black Soot Distress inks (Ranger) were sponged over the keyhole stencil from the Shapes 2 stencil set (Dylusions/Ranger). The Time Tunnel stencil (Visible Image) was placed over the keyhole, then Hickory Smoke and Black Soot Distress inks were sponged over top. 

The stencils were lifted, the embossed panel was trimmed, then sponged with Black Soot Distress ink, and adhered to a black ATC. The White Rabbit was adhered to finish the ATC.

Thanks for visiting today!

We're All Mad Here!

You might have noticed that I've been MIA in the blogosphere for quite some time. I've also been missing from my craftroom too (the story follows below). I finally rectified that by creating two ATCs for a Wonderland-themed swap on Vera Lane Studio's Facebook page.

Here's the first one with The Mad Hatter (Vera Lane Studio).

The Mad Hatter and the sentiment were resized in PhotoElements and printed out onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer.  The Mad Hatter was colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, then edged with a black marker.

The panel was cut to size, then airbrushed with YG45, Y26, BV25, and V25 Copic markers. When I was happy with the coverage, a Post-it note was placed over the bottom of the panel, then  YG45 was airbrushed over the Small Keyholes stencil (Ranger). The Post-It note was removed and YG45 was airbrushed over the Chequered Dots stencil (Ranger).

The panel was trimmed, edged with Jet Black StazOn ink (Imagine Crafts), and adhered to an ATC-sized piece of black cardstock. The The Mad Hatter was adhered and the ATC was done! I must admit that it felt GREAT to be back in my craftroom, though my mad skillz are a bit rusty!

Thanks for visiting today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now here's the very boring update of what kept me away for so long and why we're all mad here! As you might remember, I've been in the process of renovating my house and my mouth. Then in the beginning of October, while putting things back to rights, I twisted my knee. Unlike my usual practice, I went to the doctor immediately because I was going to go on vacation where I'd be doing a lot of walking. He told me it was likely arthritis, but there was a slight chance that I tore my meniscus, but I should be fine.

I continued on with my very frustrating dental work (three or four times to get a crown sized correctly and installed) and gum surgery. Then we left for our trip to Germany. Two days into the trip, my knee went out again.  However, being me, I still managed to to visit the countryside, do a castle tour, enjoy a (very short) river cruise, visit a Matisse exhibit, enjoy great beer, good food, and some good wine (plus a lot of dramatic whining when the pain got severe). I did absolutely NO shopping and didn't really get to explore as much as I wanted.

When we got back home, I got myself to the doctor, got some good anti-inflammatories, had a molar extracted, rested a bunch, and finally got myself back to the craft room. After two weeks, I got the result of my xrays, and in another ten days will have an MRI, which will likely confirm that I tore my meniscus. At least I won't be on crutches for Thankgsiving, though I will not be able to eat turkey, ham, or stuffing (due to the lack of molars from said dental work). I will be able to eat sweet potatoes. More importantly, I can drink wine. So that's my plan.

Wishing for Spring!

Yes, I know it's officially spring, but it sure isn't acting like it here in the Northeast. It's been chilly and we might get snow this weekend! Sheesh! Mother Nature seems to be a bit more confused. Or like me, she's down with the flu and just totally out of energy. At least the flowers and trees are blooming and the birds are beginning to show their breeding plumage!

Anyway, here's a card that will accompany my very late ATC on its long voyage to the recipient. It's fun to have projects that are better traveled than oneself.

The card features one of the gals from The Organics digital stamp set (Vera Lane Studios), her flower garland, a flower from the set, and two cats from the Cats and Crocks set (Vera Lane Studios).

I borrowed the garland from the garland-wearing gal from The Organics digital stamp set, by cropping the top of her head off (which sounds weirder than it is), erasing the background, and saving it as a separate file. The file was reduced, duplicated, and flipped to become headpiece and floral lei for one the cats from the Cats and Crocks set (Vera Lane Studios). I pulled the scene together, merged the file, reduced it, then printed it onto cardstock with my laser printer. The scene was then colored with my Copic markers to match the ATC.

The patterned papers are all from a very old 6x6 pad by the late lamented Basic Grey. A strip of the patterned paper and another piece from the sheet were die-cut with the Window Pane Strip from the Arched Windows One die set (Spellbinders) and one of the Patisserie Labels dies (Memory Box). The sentiment was added to the die-cut with rub-ons from Doodlebug and Idea-ology.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Alphabet Challenges: C is for Cats
• Chocolate, Coffee, and Cards Challenges: Spring is in the Air
• Show Us Your Pussies Challenges: Furrything Goes
• Tuesday Throwdown Challenges: Furry Friends

Spring is in the Air!

Here's my ATC for the Vera Lane Studios "Spring into Spring" ATC or Tag Swap. 

One of the gals from The Organics digital stamp set (Vera Lane Studios) was reduced in PhotoElements, printed the combined reduced image onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer. The image was fussy-cut, colored with Copic markers, then edged with a Black MultiLiner pen then set aside while I created a background for her.

140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) was sponged with Sky Blue Archival ink (Wendy Vecchi/Ranger). Since I like my skies to have a touch of pink, I sponged a bit of Pink Peony Archival ink (Wendy Vecchi/Ranger) over top of the blue. 

Emerald Green Archival ink (Ranger) was sponged over the grass portion of the Chalktalk Two stencil (Fairytale Creations). The Whimsical Shrooms stencil (The Crafter's Workshop) was positioned over the piece and colored pencils were used to loosely trace the flowers and the flower foliage. A blender pen (Prismacolor) was used to blend and soften the pencil lines.

A Y00 Copic marker was used to color the Occasions Small Talk sticker (Idea-ology) which was used as my sentiment.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this ATC into the following challenges:

• Live and Love Crafts Challenges: Signs of Spring

• The Sisters of Craft Challenges: Anything Goes

• Daring Cardmakers Challenges: Celebrating Spring

Frida Miranda or Carmen Kahlo?

Here's my ATC for the Vera Lane Studios "Mix It" ATC Swap. The idea of the swap was to combine elements from one or more of Vera Lane Studios' digital stamp sets. I combined the head of the Fruit Hat Lady from the Housewives digital stamp set with the body from one of the two Fridas from the Frida Kahla digital stamp set in PhotoElements, then printed the combined reduced image onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer. The image was fussy-cut, colored with Copic markers, then edged with a Black MultiLiner pen then set aside while I created a background for her.

Fruit patterned paper from the Nook and Pantry 6x6 pad (Basic Grey) was cut to size then torn and layered over musical notation patterned paper from the Harmony 6x6 pad (Authentique), which had been trimmed to ATC size. Several layers of Multi Matte Medium (Ranger) were brushed over the top of the ATC to seal it.

Primary Yellow Media Fluid Acrylic (MFA), Cobalt Teal Hue, Green Gold, Quinacridone Violet, and Quinacridone Red paints (DecoArt) were dabbed here and there, then wiped back with a baby wipe.When I was happy with the look, Multi Matte Medium was brushed over top.

Three word stickers from the Chit Chat pad (Idea-ology) were brushed with Burnt Sienna MFA paint, then wiped back, then adhered to the ATC. Again, several layers of Multi Matte Medium (Ranger) were brushed over the top of the ATC to seal it.

When the ATC was fully dry, a white gel pen accent was added to the apple and Clear Stardust Glitter pen added a touch of glitter to the pendant on her necklace. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to her pearls, pendant, and bangle bracelets. The edges of the ATC were tattered with a Paper Distresser (Tonic Studios), then the ATC was adhered to black textured cardstock.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this ATC into the following challenges:
• Creative Artiste Challenges: Anything Goes with Mixed Media
• Creative Fingers Challenges: Anything Goes
• Simply Papercraft Challenges: Anything Goes

free to fly and/or ticket to ride

Here's my ATC for the Vera Lane Studios "Mix It" ATC Swap. The idea of the swap was to combine elements from one or more of Vera Lane Studios' digital stamp sets. I combined Ticket from the Tape and Ticket digital stamp set with the witch hat and broom from the Little Whimsical Witch digital stamp set in PhotoElements, then printed the combined reduced image onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer. The image was fussy-cut, colored with Copic markers, then edged with a Black MultiLiner pen.

Paper from the Destinations pad (Idea-ology) was cut to size, the edged with Sepia Archival ink (Ranger). Various travel-themed/inspirational rub-on sentiments and icons, including a pair of wings from a 7 Gypsies sheet, were applied to the paper. The black sentiments were from the Words Remnant Rub sheet (Idea-ology) and the white icons and words came from an old a Travels Icings set (QuicKutz). A layer of Multi-Medium (Ranger) was brushed over top to seal the rub-ons since some of them are a bit old.

Ticket with her Hat and Broom were adhered with Multi-Medium, then Multi-Medium was brushed over top several times to seal the piece. Sadly, the Multi-Medium removed Ticket's chalk blush-on so she's a bit pale. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to the skull on the witch hat to give it dimension and shine. There's also a touch of Interference Gold Media Fluid Acrylic paint (DecoArt) over the wing rub-ons.

I had meant to add the words "Ticket to Ride" somewhere, but didn't want to take away from existing words. Sometimes less is more.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this ATC into the following challenges:
• A Bit More Time To Craft Challenges: Anything Goes
• ATC Around the World Challenges: Anything Goes
• Sisters of Craft Challenges: Anything Goes

love u!

Now that the holidays are past and the days are slowly getting longer, retailers' and crafters' hearts turn to Valentine's Day.

Here's a card that uses Lil Love from the Lil Love Whimsical Girl digital stamp set from Vera Lane Studios's new Floral Park Collection.

Lil Love was resized in PhotoElements, printed out onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer, colored with Copic markers, then edged with a Black Pitt Artist pen (Faber Castell). A touch of blush was added to her cheeks with a Pink Chalk pencil (Derwent). I added the u with a Doodlebug rub-on.

Patterned papers from old Sugar Rush and Kissing Booth (both Basic Grey) 6x6 pads and layered according to Sketch #395 from the Sketch Saturday Challenge Blog. I used a Card Creator 5x7 Nestabilties die (Spellbinders) to die-cut the rectangle. The Stitched Strip and Pierced Label dies from the Blueprints 2 die set (Die-namics) were used to die-cut the vertical strip and the two flags. One of the dies from the Dimensional Banners set (Die-namics) was used to create the sentiment banner. "with all my heart" from the Life Quotes Remnant Rubs sheet (Idea-ology). All edges were sponged with Worn Lipstick, Hickory Smoke, and/or Black Soot Distress inks (Ranger). Pink gemstones (Kaisercraft) were added to the top and bottom left and a floral gemstone (Kaisercraft) was added to her hair.

Here's the sketch so you can see how I did.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:

• Sketch Saturday Challenge Blog

• Mod Squad Challenge Blog: Love is in the Air

• Scrapy Land Challenges: Love is in the Air

A Very Addams Christmas card!

This week's the challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is "Anything Goes/Christmas". My Outlawz Coloring Challenge teammates, Carla, Penny, Vannessa, and I challenge you to create a project for this challenge. You should check out their blogs to see their gorgeous artwork. 
Our November sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Vera Lane Studios, who is offering our lucky winner the choice of one of four sets used by our design team during November.  Play along with our challenge and share your artwork with us for your chance to win!

Here's my card using various digi stamps from Vera Lane Studios. I've used Uncle Fester and Thing from the Fester Frump set, Wednesday from the Wednesday and Puggsley set, and the Santa hat from the Boutique Hats set.

PhotoElements was used create this scene. The Santa hat from the Boutique Hats set. was triplicated, resized, and placed atop Wednesday's head,  Uncle Fester's head, and a reduced Thing. When I was happy with the scene, I reduced it and printed it onto Solar Crest White cardstock (Neenah) using my laser printer. 

The image was colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, then edged with my Black Pitt Artist pen (Faber Castell). Pink Pastel pencil (Derwent) was used to add some blush to both Wednesday's and Uncle Fester's cheeks. White Gel pen (Sakura) was added to Wednesday's and Uncle Fester's buttons. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were built up onto Wednesday's and Uncle Fester's buttons and Wednesday's shoes. 

Very old 6x6 Memory Box patterned paper was edged with Aged Mahogany Distress ink, then layered to create the card front.

A tiny skull punch (Studio G) was used to punch white cardstock. The skulls were colored with Copic markers, black punched circles were added behind their eye sockets, then the backs of the skulls were slightly rounded with a shaping tool. Silver thread was tied around Wednesday's hand and the skulls were popped up onto dimensional foam adhesive on the thread.

An Christmas lights die (QuicKutz) was used to die-cut white cardstock. One light was then colored with Copic markers , a Silver Leafing pen (Krylon), coated with a layer of Stardust Glitter pen, then several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen were added to create dimension and shine. A slit was cut in Uncle Fester's mouth and the light bulb was added.

Chat Bubbles dies (Penny Black) were used to die-cut patterned cardstock. Two of the bubbles were then edged with Aged Mahogany Distress ink. The sentiments "Jingle Bells" and "Glitter and Sparkle" from Christmastime Remnant Rubs (Idea-ology) were added to the bubbles. "Merry Christmas", a silver foil sticker, was added to the lower right to add a third silvery element to finish the card.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Crafty Hazelnuts Christmastime Challenges: Use Dies or Punches
• Fab 'n' Funky Challenges: Christmas
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly Challenges: Take Your Pick (Red & Green)

Thank You!

This week's the challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is "Thank You". My Outlawz Coloring Challenge teammates, Carla, Penny, Vannessa, and I challenge you to create a project for this challenge. You should check out their blogs to see their gorgeous artwork. 

Our November sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Vera Lane Studios, who is offering our lucky winner the choice of one of four sets used by our design team during November.  Play along with our challenge and share your artwork with us for your chance to win!

Here's my card with Le Petite Artiste (Vera Lane Studio).

Le Petite Artiste was resized in Photo Elements, printed onto Solar Crest White cardstock (Neenah) with my laser printer, colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with Black Artist Pitt pen (Faber Castell). Chalk pencils (Derwent) were used to add a touch of blush to her cheeks and shading to her face. She was set aside, out of paint's way while I created the rest of the card.

A mountain scene was painted onto 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) with Cerulean Blue, Titanium White, Viridian Green Hue, Pthalo Green-Blue, Pthalo Green-Yellow, and Green Gold MFA paint (DecoArt). I started to use a stencil with a paint pen to add the sentiment, but that wasn't working, so I free-handed "Thank You" with Primary Yellow MFA paint.

The painting needed a setting, so I created a studio with a scrap of patterned paper, a thin strip of white cardstock, and Copic markers. But then the project told me that the studio needed some lighting, so I die-cut white cardstock with the Large Madison Window die (Poppy Stamps). The two windows were placed on the back of the patterned paper and the apertures were marked, then cut out of the patterned paper. The windows were adhered to the front of the patterned paper over the aperture. The windows told me that they needed glass, so a transparency was adhered to the back of the cardstock behind the windows. The windows then told me they needed a scene, so I quickly painted a mountain scene with the MFA paints listed above, let it dry, cut it in half, and adhered it behind the transparency in the opening of the window. The windows and the studio were now happy.

Le Petite Artiste loved her studio and her inspirational view, but told me that I had forgotten an easel.  I cobbled together an easel using wood-patterned paper from a 6x6 pad (My Mind's Eye), which was die-cut with one of the dies from the Rectangle Nestabilities die set (Spellbinders), and some strips of the wood-patterned paper. The easel looked too pristine, so I dripped some more paint onto it, then wiped it off with my finger. 

The easel, Le Petite Artiste's painting, and Le Petite Artiste were adhered to the card front, and then mounted to a white card.

Thanks for visiting today.

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Fussy and Fancy Challenges: Thankful 
• Chalk N Stock Challenges: Anything Goes 
• Crafty Creations Challenges: Give Thanks 
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges: Thanks/Thanksgiving

Cats 'n Coffee Thank You Card

This week's the challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is a color palette challenge. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge teammates, Carla, Penny, Vannessa, and I challenge you to create a project for this challenge. You should check out their blogs to see their gorgeous artwork. 

Our November sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Vera Lane Studios, who is offering our lucky winner the choice of one of four sets used by our design team during November.  Play along with our challenge and share your artwork with us for your chance to win!

Here's the color palette, courtesy of Design Seeds. 

Here's my card with Vera Lane Studio's Whimsical Coffee Lover Gal set, two of the cats from the Crazy Cat Lady set, and the cat hat from the Boutique Hats set.

Using PhotoElements, the cat hat from the Boutique Hats set was postitioned upon the head of the girl from the Whimsical Coffee Lover Gal set. The cat in the cup from the Whimsical Coffee Lover Gal set was reduced and dropped onto the coffee cup held by the girl. The cats from the Crazy Cat Lady set were reduced and positioned around the girl, who was stretched to make everything a bit more proportional. This scene was printed onto Solar Crest White cardstock (Neenah) and colored with Copic markers per the color scheme above. Chalk pencils were used to add blush and shading to Coffee Lover Gal's face and white highlights to the coffee cup. The edge of the image panel was distressed, then sponged with Ground Espresso Distress ink (Ranger), then matted with kraft cardstock that had been edged with Forest Moss Distress ink. 

Kraft cardstock was run through the Big Kick (Sizzix) inside the On the Go Alterations embossing folder (Sizzix), then edged with Forest Moss Distress ink. Kraft cardstock was debossed with
the Clocks Embossing Plate (Cherry Lynn Designs) then die-cut with one of the dies from the Fishtail Flags die set (Die-namics). The next largest Fishtails Flag die was used to die-cut peachy/orange cardstock. An extra scrap of that cardstock was die-cut with one of the pierced flags from the Blueprints Two die set (Die-namics). Very old and hoarded Doodlebug alphabet rub-ons were used to add the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Aud Sentiments Challenge: Tic, Tac, Toe -- I did embossing, stamped image, and a die-cut
• Freshly Brewed Challenges: Lots of Latte
• Chalk N Stock Challenges: Anything Goes 
• Scrapy Land Challenges: Anything Goes  

Cheers!

This week's the challenge at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Cooking and/or Food. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge teammates, Carla, Penny, ,Vannessa, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You should check out my teammates' blogs to see their gorgeous artwork. 
Our November sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Vera Lane Studios, who is offering our lucky winner the choice of one of four sets used by our design team during November.  Play along with our challenge and share your artwork with us for your chance to win!

I interpreted the Food part of the challenge to be Food and/or Wine and used Vera Lane Studios' Petite Syrah and Boutique Hats digital stamp sets.

Here it is!

 

Syrah from the Petite Syrah set was resized in PhotoElements. One of the hats from the Boutique Hats was resized, squished, slightly rotated, and positioned on Syrah's head. The wine bottle was resized and positioned next to Syrah. The scene was saved,  printed out onto Solar Crest White cardstock (Neenah) using my laser printer. The scene was colored with Copic markers. Chalk pencils (Derwent) were used to add some shading to Syrah's face. I used a die to die-cut the image panel, but the die-cut slipped and cut askew (user error), so the bottle and Syrah were fussy-cut, then edged with a Black Pitt Artist Brush pen (Faber Castell). White gel pen (Sakura) was used to add highlights to the wine bottle and the wine glass.

I remembered that I had some faux cork specialty paper from my old dt gig with FiberMark.  Labels 17 and Decorative Labels Eight Nestabilities dies (Spellbinder) were used to die-cut the cork specialty paper. Black shimmery cardstock was die-cut with Labels Eight Nestabilities dies. The cork Label 17 die-cut was layered onto the black shimmery Label Eight die-cut. 

Two rows of thin red Washi tape (Little B)) was added to the bottom of the matted die-cuts, then Syrah and her bottle were adhered. This was then adhered to the Decorative Labels Eight die-cut, then adhered to black cardstock. The image panel was adhered to a brown card. The same Washi tape was  used to cover some cardstock, then die-cut with the Cheers die (Elizabeth Craft Designs). The sentiment was added to the card to finish it up.

Thanks for visiting today! 

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Chalk N Stock Challenges: Anything Goes 
• Cute Card Thursdays: Food or Drink 
• Fab 'n' Funky Challenges: Diecuts or Punches 
• Scrapy Land Challenges: Anything Goes 

K is for Kitty, plus some fun news!

I played along with the Steampunk challenge at Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers and guess what? I've been crowned as a Queen of Snark! Those of you who know me, know how fitting that title really is. All hail me -- the Queen of Snark! Woo-hoo!

One of the honors of being the Queen of Snark is that I get to be a guest dt member this week and the challenge, K is for Kitty, is ever so fitting for me as I am a krazy kat lady.

Here's my card which uses Penelope from Vera Lane Studio's Little Whimsical Witch digital stamp set and the cat from Vera Lane Studio's Girl and Cat with Party Hats.

I'll preface this with saying that I use a relatively old version of PhotoElements when I play with my digital stamps. The first thing I did was to open the Little Whimsical Witch set, crop the witch hat off of Penelope, and use Save As to save the hat in a separate file that I called Penelope's hat. Using the eraser tool, I got rid of any extraneous bits of Penelope, and saved the file.

Next I opened the cat from the Girl and Cat with Party Hats set and cropped the left and right ears from him and used Save As to save each ear in a separate file. The next step was to position the witch hat on the cat's head, which involved a bit of shrinking/stretching the hat, and free-rotating the layer, so the hat would fit. Each ear file was opened and the ears were positioned, then brought to the front, so they would appear to be poking through slits in the hat.

Penelope, from the Girl and Cat with Party Hats set, was opened again, reduced, dragged into place, free-rotated a bit, and sent to the back so the tip of her hat would be behind the ginormous cat.

When I was happy with the placement of my little scene, I added a bit of type, merged the scene, reduced it slightly, and printed it out onto Neenah cardstock using my laser printer.

The scene was then colored with Copic markers. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) was added to the cat's eyes, the skulls on both witch hats, and Penelope's buttons to give them dimension and shine.

The image panel was die-cut with one of the dies from the A2 Card Creator Nestabilities die set (Spellbinders). Copic markers were used to outline the images and add a dotted background. The image panel was edged with Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger), then matted with patterned paper from the Eerie 6x6 pad (Basic Grey) that had been die-cut with the next largest Card Creator die. This layer was also edged with Black Soot Distress ink.

Two different pieces of patterned paper from an old MME 6x6 pad were layered. My Drippy Goo Edger punch (Martha Stewart) was used to punch a sheet from the same pad, and glittery skull tape (Recollections) was adhered atop the border. The layered paper was cut down to size, then edged with Peeled Paint and Black Soot Distress inks.

The computer generated, laser printed words were cut apart and sponged with Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, Wilted Violet, and Black Soot Distress inks. The image panel was adhered to the card front and the sentiment words were added.

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges: Anything Goes
• Left of Center Challenges: Halloween 
• Papertake Weekly Challenges: Take Your Pick -- I picked Halloween Hues.

Season's Greetings -- Addams Family Style!

This week's challenge theme at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is "Kids and/or Family" in honor of Son and Daughter Day. My Outlawz Coloring Challenge teammates, Carla, Penny, Karen, Vannessa, and I challenge you to use create a project for this challenge. You should check out their blogs to see their gorgeous artwork.

Our August sponsor at The Outlawz Coloring Challenges is Sweet Pea Stamps, who is offering our lucky winner three digis of his/her choice from the Sweet Pea Digi Stamp Store.  Play along with us for your chance to win!

My take on the "Kids" challenge is a bit odd. Such is life.

Here's my card featuring Vera Lane Studios' Gomez and Morticia and Wednesday and Puggsley.

Aren't they fabulous??? I just love them to pieces. I reduced and positioned the images using PhotoElements. Gomez took up a bit too much space, so I stretched him by reducing him disproportionately. He's now taller than Morticia and thinner than he had been. Personally, I wish I had that option. I would love to be taller and thinner. Alas.

The scene was then reduced and printed out four-up onto Neenah cardstock using Copic markers. I found Morticia to be a bit challenging to color due to her black dress and black hair. It took several tries, but I finally found a color combination where her hair did not fade into her dress. I used the same color combination on Wednesday's hair and dress. I will list the colors that I used below.

Puggsley was the last image that I colored. As my luck would have it, my Copic markers decided to get all gloopy on his shirt. I got rid of most of the shine, but if you look closely, it's not even close to perfect. Perfection is overrated, Or so I tell myself. Constantly.

Anyway, I added Garnet and Red Spica glitter pens (Copic) to Morticia's ruby ring, then added Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) on top of it. Red and Lemon Spica Glitter pen were added to the lit part of Gomez' cigar.  

I decided to keep the design of the card relatively simple. I finished the image panel by adding a floor and a light violet background. I did add some doodled smoke coming from Gomez' cigar. Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger) was sponged on the edges of the image panel.

Off-white variegated vellum was die-cut with the Spider Web Border die (Memory Box), the spider web corner die from the Lacy Corner Deco Die Set (Cherry Lynn Designs) and the Season's Greetings die (Poppy Stamps). Black cardstock was die-cut with the Scary Spiders die (Memory Box).

The patterned paper is from a 6x6 pad by Recollections.

Thanks for visiting today!

Copic markers used:
Morticia's and Wednesday's skin: E40, E50, R000, R00, E0000, BV000
Morticia's and Wednesday's hair: B41, C08, C07, C06, C04
Morticia's, Wednesday's dress, and Gomez' tie: BV29, BV25, BV23, N07, N06, N05
Morticia's lips: R59, R56, R35
Wednesday's skin: R00, R000, E50, BV0000, BV000
Gomez' skin: E01, E11, E21, E000, BV20
Gomez' and Puggley's hair: E49, E47, E44
Gomez' cigar: E43, E44, R08, YR18 FY1
Gomez' suit and Puggley's shorts: B39, B37
Gomez' shirt: C01, C0, C00
Puggsley skin: R00, R000, R01, BV00, BV00
Puggsley shirt: YG93, YG95, E81, E84 

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• Die Cut Divas Challenges: Favorite Holiday
• Scrapy Land Challenges: Anything Goes with a Die 

Alice in Wonderland Blog Hop!

Today we are celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Alice in Wonderland. What better way to do that than to share lots of creative projects inspired by this wonderful story?

Not only will you see lots of amazing artwork today, but you can also win prizes from the following amazing companies:

The Stamping Boutique

Rick St Dennis MFA

Faery Ink

That Craft Place

Ike's Art

Delicious Doodles

Sweet Pea Stamps

Sassy Studio Designs

Vera Lane Studio Digital Stamps

Prize winners will be selected from Random blogs throughout the hop using Random.org to select each winner.  In order to be eligible for a prize you must visit all stops on the hop and leave a comment. The prize draws will be open until July 18th, with winners announced on July 20th.

You should have arrived here from Julie W S's blog where I'm sure you saw something absolutely terrific!

Here's my Alice in Wonderland inspired project.

I've used several Vera Lane Studio Digital Stamps, namely Alice and the White Rabbit from the Alice and the Rabbit Wonderland set, the Queen of Hearts from the Quirky Queen of Hearts set, the Mad Hatter from the Mad Hatter set.

The characters were resized, grouped in PhotoElements, reduced as a group, printed out onto Neenah cardstock with my laser printer, then colored with Copic markers. Their eyes, Alice's skull, White Rabbit's horn, nose, teeth, armbone, the Queen of Hearts' crown, and the Mad Hatter's teeth and shoes were all coated with several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) to make 'em dimensional and shiny. The blood drips were coated with a  layer of Red Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) to add some additional ick factor. Don't you think that "The Ick Factor" would be a great name for a reality show?  The Queen's heart became a jeweled brooch due to Red Stardust Glitter pen (Sakura), Garnet Spica Glitter pen (Copic), and several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura).

Here's a close-up so you can see what my beloved Clear Gelly Glaze pen does!

I should mention that I added the red capillaries to the eyes of both Alice and the White Rabbit and added pupils to the Queen and the Hatter. I added some clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds to the Hatter's tie.
 
The patterned paper is from the Destinations Paper Stash (Tim Holtz/Idea-ology). The edges were sponged with Watering Can Archival ink (Ranger). 

Red adhesive cardstock (QuicKutz) was die-cut with the Season's Greetings die (Impression Obsession). "From" was die-cut from yellow adhesive cardstock with the A Hint of Lime font (Die-Versions). "Zombie" was die-cut from green adhesive cardstock with the Alphabet Typewriter UC die (Impression Obsession). "Wonderland" was die-cut from blue adhesive cardstock with the Eliza Mini font set (QuicKutz). Looking at the card now, I probably should have stayed with just red and blue cardstock. Oh well. It's done and done is good.

I was going to add some other stuff to the card, but I decided that more stuff would be too much stuff. "Less is more" and all that. KWIM?

Now that you've seen my project, your next stop on the hop is Karen's blog and I'm sure you'll find something totally wonderful there! If you get lost, the blog hop list is below!

Thanks for visiting today!

Blog Hop List

Suzi

Alison

Trudie

Sharon

Milo

Donna

Leigh

Claudia

Leadonna

Nan

Jenn

Nikki

Black Dragon

Teresa

Ike

Creepy Glowbugg

Shelley

Alana

Harp

Lori

Monica

Kemly

Margaret

Julie

Katie

Julie W S

Kathi
Karen
Corrie
Emily
Geraldine
Carol
Avril
Lisa
Kim
Mo
Lorraine