Monday, May 25, 2015

It's DominoArt Time!!

At DominoArt this month, the theme is "Ravens" and you can alter any game piece.  First, you need to go check out Leigh aka The Sharpie Queen who rules over DominoArt Land HERE and enter Challenge #13 "Ravens"!  Here is my humble offering....yes his feet insisted on smudging or no that is a cobweb on them!  You can decide which one to go with. :)

 
Look at the magnificent patina or aged look of this domino!  I did nothing to it! My mom and dad bought at least 12 of them for $2 at the thrift store. Mom says they look like some form of material that was used prior or in conjunction with plastic.  There are no seam lines in them.  So I stamped the spider webs on the corners and then stamped the raven portion on the domino.  Using a new stamp pad...went for the cheaper one while on vacation and it was a mistake.  I then stamped the raven on cardstock and cut out and inked really well and glued onto the stamped image.  When dry, I added Dimensional Magic to the top of the domino to seal. Then a piece of red glitter foam made him a shiny red eye.
 
So please check out our friend the Queen of DominoArt and read about this challenge!  And also going on is the 15 days of Terror of Half-o-Ween!  Every other day of this month, there will be a new Halloween themed game piece art posted.  We have all posted from Dream in Darkness Challenge found HERE and we are a dark themed challenge blog so make a raven dark project and enter at both places!  And get this at Quoth the Raven this month we are having the theme "Raving Ravens"!  So 3 challenge entries from one make! Awesomeness!  Also, look for the Dream in Darkness Challenge badge as a Patron on DominoArt while visiting, we are very proud of that!
 
Happy Crafting!

Finally, For Ike's World Challenge "History"

Finally I have made it in time for Ike's World Challenge #38 "History" found HERE.  Also found at that link is as always a wonderful image "Knight in Armor" given to us FREE by the fabulous Ike!!

 
This lovely Knight is in a forbidden love with the Lady of the castle!  She is a free image from The Graphic Fairy whose site can be found here and the castle background is by Teri Sherman found
at her Etsy Store here.
 
 
She is turning away from her love saying in foil tape "No, we mustn't".  She is also adorned with some red sparkle tape adorning her hair.
 
 
Here he is close up of this stoic Knight who diligently guarded his castle!
 
The background and the lady were colored with Prismacolor pencils and the Knight needed some extra punch so used Chameleon pens on him. Alumium foil tape had the sentiment written in a pen and then colored in with a black distress marker.
 
So hurry over to Ike's World Challenge and grab this guy and enter the challenge!  You do not have to use the knight for this challenge but he is worth having you never know when you need a Knight in Shining Armor!
 
Happy crafting!
 
 

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

May Member Blog Hop for Smeared and Smudged "Anything Goes"

Yahoo! It's time for another Smeared and Smudged Member Blog Hop!  If you haven't joined this fun, creeptastic group then run here and join!  Each month we do member hops, swaps, and challenges and the oh so awesome 31 Days of Halloween in October  with it's awesome chances to win prizes! This month the ladies gave us free reign to create anything!  So many thoughts what to do? what to do?  Oh, yeah, I have been loving the Finnabair style made famous by the awesome artist Ania Dabrowska (found here) and just happened to have a new Rick St. Dennis image of Frankenstein (look here for "Frankie") looking at me with sad eyes begging for attention!  So you guessed it!  I took a shot at combining the two!  I am in love with this!  Not that I did a good job or anything like that..you know I am not conceited, but it just came out how it looked in my head! Seldom happens that way!



This is a fat page 6 x 6 inches covered with scrapbook paper from scraps with golden fabric spray behind Frankie's head with black mesh also behind his head.  Then the fun began..nuts, bolts, Christmas light bulbs, safety pins, paper clips, screws, beads, etc!  I took my hot glue gun and ran some drips down each side and added my sentiment.  I painted the tops with all white and then used a pink and purple spray I made from tempura paints.  I sponged on dark green and dark brown on top of that finishing with a spray of the golden fabric spray. His eyes hold not frightfulness to me but sadness and that is where the sentiment came from.  This fab digital stamp is colored with Prismacolor pencils no gloss for the eyes; I wanted to keep the sadness there.  Black and green oil sticks were used around face and edges.  Also green and purple Stickles around "hair" and sentiment. 

Now I am letting Yoshi choose another winner this month from the comments left below.  So please leave a comment so he can pick your name for a happy package! Last month's winner was Teresa (so sorry it took so long to get to you!) and will try to get this month's out on time!  But the most important thing you need to do is go to the other blogs and leave lots of love for them!  You won't be disappointed, promise!

Happy crafting and check out Smeared and Smudged on Facebook!

Entered in http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.co.uk/  May I have a Quick Word Theme
My take is the focus of this photo...Frankie..one word says it all!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Have, Have to Do This!!



You know how much I love the fabulous Ike at Ike's Art and she is having a design team call for her Ike's World Challenge blog!  I am going to apply; I just have to apply! lol!  She has another blog Quoth the Raven, Nevermore Challenge dedicated to all things and the love of Poe!  And if you have not gone by her World Challenge every 2 weeks you are missing a treat!  She gives away an awesome image with every challenge!   And they are awesome, this challenge "History" has a fabulous Knight in a suit of armor!  Can't wait to download him! 

Now back to my purpose, applying for the design team.  I have been stamping and playing with digital images since last August/September.  I actually found Ike's Art for my first every project at Smeared and Smudged's 31 Days of Halloween. I bought the Tell Tale Heart image and made a box with it inside.  So relatively new to this world but loving every minute of it.  And my first challenge win was at Ike's World Challenge with a piece made after my Mom's surgery for breast cancer in August.  I was so excited!  That is my crafty info I guess, co-own a challenge blog called Dream in Darkness with Kim Johnny another fabulous creator!  We are in the process of starting an online dark magazine, also.  I am on the design team of Quoth the Raven, Dragons Lair Designs Challenge and Inspiration blog, and Rhedd's Creative Spirit Challenge.  I am a widow with 2 awesome adult children and have my wonderful parents with me still.  And also a nana to my 4 grandpuppies! 

I have an older blog called Nanette's Blog: A Little Bit of This and That" and recently updated to blogger for ease of use.  Some of my favorite projects are on my old blog so will post link to it with pictures. Enough chatter!  Here are 3 of my fav makes:


A fabulous freebie from Ike!
 
Make for our first challenge on Dream in Darkness
 
 

This one is very primitive but so close to my heart and free Ike's image was used.  Details Here
Picture

My Tell Tale Heart make is on the above blog in October archives check it out if you want to see the fabulous image!

So there they are!  Now I will be quiet and wait to see who gets this sweet design team seat!  Good luck to everyone and know that Ike is one of the nicest folks you will every meet! And no I am not going for brownie points! lol 

Happy Crafting and visit Ike at the links above, you won't be disappointed!

Raving Raven Challenge at Quoth the Raven

This is my first tutorial attempt for Rhedd's Creative Spirit.  Please bear with me as I may run a little long and a whole lot confusing!  This project started as an altered book cover, a hybrid digital make using Mischief Circus's kit by Holliewood Studios called "Ode to a Muse".  The first part was for another design team I am on devoted to projects concerning Poe.  I will show a small pic of the cover but the inside of the book is what we will be covering today.
 
I wanted to turn an old encyclopedia that a used book store was giving away for free into a Poe shadowbox.  I removed the pages from the spine leaving the very old and fragile cloth that was the binding cloth.  Unfortunately, I put the cover on so that my shadowbox opens backwards but I can live with it.  Here it is open:
 
 After gutting the book, I covered the inside with designer papers from my stash and constructed a frame and shelves out of cardboard strips covered with pages from the book. I used Mod Podge but normally use glue and water as it has less shine to it.
 
On what should have been my first page, I took torn pieces from the book which happened to reference Poe and glued to the bottom paper.  I took black corrugated paper and tore back parts to reveal the original color and layered that with more designer paper and added another piece of a page concerning Poe to that.  I made a fake eyeball by gluing a rhinestone to a white enamel dot that I made by melting beads and stuck onto a stick on from a kit again from my stash.  The skull came from the MC kit and I copied 2 and adhered with silicone to give dimension.  I also stamped a raven on a corner of the page paper and one on vellum.  I used stick on letters to spell "POE" and added a watch face, some paper ribbon, and a red gem. I also stamped an awesome skull and crossbones in the red distress ink.




In this shelf I put a piece of broken mirror..yes this week broken so 7 years bad luck?? and glued another fake eyeball on a strip of the black cardboard on to that.  I took a label holder sticker and stamped "RAVEN" in red distress ink.


 
For this compartment I made a flower from an egg carton.  The paper kind and I tore the cups apart and then cut strips out of the top.  To make the rose, you layer two of the cups cutting 3 to 5 petals and shaping and then roll a long strip from the top into the center.  Then I inked the edges with black ink.  I added another vellum stamped raven but be careful what kind of glue you use! Glossy Accents made them curl up quiet a bit.  The label is another strip of black cardboard with a smaller reverse side glued to it and a piece of paper that I ink things up on was cut smaller and stamped again with "Poe".
I lacked skeleton pieces..don't  you just hate when that happens!! so I cut up a plastic flat skeleton that I had painted gold for a necklace.  Inked the pieces with brushed cordory distress inks and layered with silicone for some depth.  The skelly with the awesome mohawk nail hair do came from the MC kit and I added a top one with a haircut to give some dimension.
 


This chamber is my favorite!  I layered the black cardboard, brown rice paper, and Poe page with a cool nib pen cut out glued on top with a small red rose.  I used stick on letters to spell Ravens at the top.  I had this lovely antique bottle that I filled with strips of cut pages, curled around a pen and stuffed into the bottle about six strips.  I tied a tulle ribbon on the top and added a cool skull poison label antiqued up with distress inks from Graphic Fairy's website of awesome freebies!  Then I had fun making my own raven out of Crayola children's air dry clay, shaping and letting dry after making some wire legs and inserting into the clay.  When dry I colored with some sharpie markers and added a red glass seed bead eye!


 
To finish my edges and seal any cracks around the bottom I held a black crayon very carefully and used my heat gun to melt it onto the tops of the edges and around the sides of the page covered cardboard strips.  It dripped in places leaving lovely splats! And for the inside of the compartments I used a reddish crayon and melted along the edges and that produces a lovely effect also.
I hope this will inspire you to make your own shadow box.  I had been waiting for a purchased shadowbox to do this but a book and some cardboard and I made my own and am much prouder of it for doing so!  Last warning: when using a heat gun and crayons use something long to hold the crayon and heat guns get very, very hot!! So do be careful!
 
Thanks for your patience with me and now you can go alter something that has caught your eye and enter our lovely challenge at Rhedd's Creative Spirit!
That's it for me and hope you saw something you want to try!





  

So Very Honored!

I am beyond excited and happy to have been voted Pick of the Week for May 10th at the Rick St. Dennis  Fan page on Facebook.  I have a lovely new badge that I just put on the left side bar!  I made my project using this image Stockholm Steampunk Chic , my first real try at Steampunk!  Loved the image and coloring her was fun and challenging as I am just starting to use Prismacolor colored pencils. Here she is surrounded by her "world".


 
Rick's Fan and Friend Page
Please stop by and Like it!
 
 
Remember. Rick has two stores:

https://www.zibbet.com/Rick1949

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RickStdennis

You won't be disappointed!

Happy Crafting!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

My Inspiration for Dragons Lair Designs "Missing You" Page

My 37th wedding anniversary would have been on April 22nd this year.  I lost my husband as most of you know 11 years ago.  As I was looking through the "Our Family" collection elements, I looked up at my craft room wall and saw where I had my engagement photo from the newspaper pinned with my prom corsage.  I knew I wanted to honor my late husband and I decided to do it with a digital scrapbook page.

The wonderful thing about these kits is the fact that if you choose to you can change the colors in a photo editing program. I used Photoshop 12 elements.  I really loved the way this turned out and plan on doing a hybrid version later this month.  Please follow the links below to find "Our Family" Collection in the store and see all the inspiration pieces made by my fabulous team mates!  Also, still plenty of time to enter the Challenge Blog with the theme  "Bouquet of Flowers".  Lots going on at Dragons Lair Designs so join us in the fun!
Happy Crafting!

 





Etsy Shop- Instant downloads!

Friday, May 8, 2015

New Challenge at Quoth the Raven and It is....Raving Ravens!!

Hello fellow Poe lovers and followers alike!  This month's challenge at Quoth the Raven is "Raving Ravens"!! How appropriate!  They seemed to haunt one fellow to madness Master Poe tells us!  And I am going to be a slight tease for this first post.  I am going to show you the front of my Raving Ravens future shadow box book.  I used elements from Misschief Circus's Ode to a Muse kit and printed dear Poe's headstone with a quote from his poem 'The Conqueror Worm" . The book was a really old encyclopedia with all the interesting pages removed!! and my hybrid digital frame with ravens attached to the top.  I used Glossy Accents to punch up the frame (needed Crackle Accents but alas twas out!) and used silicone adhesive for dimension of my ravens. Also a little Glossy Accents on them in places.

 
You have all month to create your
"Raving Ravens"
tribute to dear Poe!
We love to see your take on these fabulous challenges so enter and inspire US!
The eye of the Raven is watching the link button so if I were you I would go ahead and get busy and hit that button!  Remember that incessant cawing of "NEVERMORE"!!
Not over my door, I have made and posted!!
Bwahahahaha!!

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

A Steampunk Make with Rick St. Dennis' Image

I attempted steampunk!! Way harder than I had imagined! The image I used is one of Rick St. Dennis' found here.  I am practicing and watching his videos using Prismacolor colored pencils. I am loving them and his techniques but finding it hard to perfect!  But the fun is in the playing and coloring I think!  This make took on it's own life as I started with a vague idea and I probably went too far with it.  Stopping just wasn't an option as I found the elements to use.  A major source is Hollie's kit "Ode to a Muse" available at Miscief Circus found HERE.  Edited in Photoshop and printed out and adhered with silicone for dimension.  The rest is papers from my stash, and bits and bobs saved for ages to be used on that just right project.  I made the rose and small purple flower out of paper from stash.  Some word stickers from Tim Holtz and lots of Glossy Accents!


 
Proof that you just go for it! Don't be scared!  It may not be the best but it is mine and I am smiling!!
Happy Crafing!

15 Days of Terror at DominoArt

It's time to have Halloween in May at DominoArt's Challenge BLOG!  This is my very batty bracelet and it was made in a day and reassembled in a day!! So there are two versions..warning the first one is so ugly it is scary!! Hide all children!!





 
I started off with 5 regular sized plastic dominoes, the kind that come in a tin for around $4 dollars at the dollar store.  I stamped each one with a bat image from the Smeared Ink rubber set "A Little Bit Batty" with black ink pad.  I had a completely different idea for this with black beads and gorgeousness but alas it did not work.  And the picture belies the fact that I have bird like arms!! lol!  So fitting 5 regular sized dominoes was not easy to do, it kept falling off my arm as I worked on the first plan.  So plan two developed!  I had this really outdated watch so I removed the watch without a moments care and repurposed the lovely band.  It was a glossy copper and getting some black and red on to it was not easy but I did my best!  The dominoes had one flicking of red paint on them already over the bats....you know bats and blood..well in the movies anyway! so I added another flicking and then dabbed each one onto my embossing pad and covered in UTEE powder.  I love this stuff! I could have gone another coat for a smoother finish but rather liked the bumpy one that one coat can give.  Of course, this was followed by a heat gun to melt all the yumminess together!  Then black felt glued on back of dominoes and dominoes glued onto band..missed my spacing a little bit, Yoshi uprooted the tray I had lain it out on and I didn't get them back right. Yes, I am blaming Yoshi for it...bwahahahah!  And that was that!  I have a batty bracelet I shall wear with pride!
 
Happy Crafting!
Entering in:
http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.com/      Quick Word Theme
DominoArt's 15 Days of Terror                                             

Monday, May 4, 2015

Dragons Lair Designs Inspiration Blog for "Our Family Collection" Available Now


The fabulous "Our  Family Collection" has so many elements to it; you have to see it to believe it!  I had a box from Christmas, yes I hoard them!, and I wanted to make a special box to keep my special jewelry set. So far the Dragons Lair Designs project I started opening pieces and papers for this kit and knew they were for my dear box.  I used a paper from the collection to cover the box.  It has an almost snakeskin look to it over some lovely writing.  Very unique looking!  And I printed out the film strip, the green gem, and the key one time.  I printed the flower, feather, and end corners out twice.  I also used UTEE powder and embossed the key and flower 2 times with the UTEE and the end corners got one coat.  I love this look! I cut the feathers to make the edges feathery and cut along the petal lines of both the flowers, bending them up and down for a more dimensional look.  The film strip I thought I had ruined by laying it down on an Antique Lined distress ink pad, but I kept at it and it seemed to me to look like a really old negative strip (I am from the good old days of negatives!) 
Then it was simply putting them down. First the film strip, then feather, flower, tucked the gem under the petals and the key sitting across the top of them. I am in love with my new jewelry box and will not forget to put my special set in it because it is so fabulous to look at! 
"Our Family Collection" is in the store now (links below) and I can tell you honestly this is an awesome kit that you will find yourself using as I did for your whole project, or as a hybrid with digital, and I have one to show you on the 9th that is totally digital.  How many times can you buy a kit that you get that much use out of?  Not often! 
Thanks for looking and look forward to seeing some of your makes with this collection on our Facebook Group page also linked below.  We love seeing what you make, too!

Dragons Lair Designs Links









Sunday, May 3, 2015

Ike's World Challenge "No Patterned Paper" #36

This image is a freebie offered on Ike's Fan Page on Facebook!  And there is also a freebie on the challenge blog. This fortnight's challenge is "No Patterned Paper" and I used Photoshop to put the lovely Queen of Hearts onto a paper.  She is colored with Prismacolor colored pencils and some Chameleon pens. 

 
Don't think I would call her names!  She seems to have taken the old novel line "Off with their heads!" quiet literally!  Love, love this image! And remember she is free so hop over to Facebook and follow link above and join!  Then download all sorts of freebies...awesome, huh?  And also remember that every 2 weeks, Ike has a new challenge and there is always a freebie generously given. How cool is that?  Still time for this one.....1 day and counting so jump to it!
 
Happy Crafting!
 
Entering:
 
 




Saturday, May 2, 2015

It's a New Month at Rhedd's Creative Spirit!!


My Mom found two boxes my Dad had made without a pattern and had them sitting on her table all dusty and painted white.  I immediately procured one for myself!!  It then became black and I had this lovely silver textured spray paint that I was going to cover it in and then sand off. Well the spray went on in a lovely pattern that I said "Why mess with this?"!  Then came the fun part! I used gold polymer clay and stamped 4 pieces with Smeared Ink rubber stamps for the same set and one odd bird from vivalasvegas stamps.  Baked a little less than recommended time due to the thinness because I had charred some before! I added perfect pearls after pressing the clay pieces on an embossing pad. Loved the red and the blue but the blue is not showing up in photos.  Glued onto the sides and dusted the knob with the red perfect pearls without any adhering medium.  I glued a piece of white lace ( needed black and will change!) to the edge of  the top trimmed to fit and added a piece of black ribbon on top of the white lace.  Then I repurposed a necklace that had some lovely elements to it but when I wore it I got tangled up in everything in the stores!! So it took on a new life as dangles for the corner of my box top!

 
 
 
 
Sorry for the sideways view!!!  They are standing up on box!!
 
Now it's your turn to create something alter it, paint it, just NO cards, ATC's, or tags.  Read the rules for specifics on ATC's and tags.  Take something you are going to toss and remake it, bring it to another wonderful life! So many things we throw away can be repurposed into awesome art.  Dried up paint brushes become dolls, old paint tubes become people, drink cans can be embossed or just use the fantastic images some of them have!  I drink what has a cool can! lol!  Old jeans? Take a pocket and go crazy with it!  The possibilities are endless and we want to see all of your wonderful ideas to inspire out team!  And please check out my team mate's blogs for details of that fabulous paper dresss!! the awesome altered frame, oh my I can't list them all I am so excited about them!!  Go see for yourself and take a second to leave a comment, please?  One word is fine! We love to see "Fabulous"!  Less than a second to write it!  Thanks and see your blogs when we comment on your pretties!!
Happy Crafting and Altering!
 
We are HERE
 
 
 
 

It's Time for Things with Wings at Stamping with the Dragon at Dragons Lair Designs

I got this fabulous image from the Dragons Lair Designs Store called "Fairy with Flowers" to go with the add a  flower challenge this month.  I colored her with my Chameleon pens and the flowers behind them. Then fussy cut and set aside after applying some Glossy Accents to some flowers for a little pop!  Then I took an 8 x 10 canvas and went wild with acrylic paints, stencils, and some silk flower petals for the lovely fairy to swing her legs from!  After that dried I attached her to the canvas and it was done!  I gave my mom the canvas as she is just finishing chemo and I wanted to make her a "happy"! 


 
 
Now that was the whole project!  And I love her pixie qualities probably is downright mishievious!! lol  Get ready and come play with us at Stamping with the Dragon  this month!  Remember to follow the theme and like us on Facebook.  Below will be lots of links to wonderful places!  So get those delays caught up and now and join us starting at 53- am in the morning!
 
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