Spring Robin

It's been snowing here! What is up with that?  To conteract the winter blahs, I'm posting a springy card.   Hey, look at that - there's actually stamping on my card!

I think Penny Black stamps are fantastic; they're great for using markers to color directly onto the stamp so you can blend and smudge and mix.

I used Memento markers on the bird image and the leaves (I really love how the leaves turned out) and stamped it on glossy paper (I added the eye after I stamped it).  I stamped the sentiment on vellum and layered it over the glossy - it's hard to tell in the picture, but there is a subtle layering effect.

Enjoy and thanks for looking!

Challenge Macabre Monday - Forever Mine

I recently found the Haunted Design House blog and fell totally in love.  For those of you who are new to me, I love horror and macabre and blood and wheeeeeeee!!!!!!  I'll have to post my Christmas cards with the rabid dog sometime.....

Anyway! Haunted Design House had a challenge - Love Bites - that I just had to do. 

I'm disappointed with how poorly the blood shows up on the heart, I think it's because I took the picture in natural daylight but the ones inside were too dark.  But I do love this.  Sadly, the heart is an unmounted stamp and I have no idea where I got it; it's extremely detailed but stamps so perfectly when I use Versafine.   

Enjoy!!!

Butterfly Escape

So, I have another project that I did recently but I'm not convinced about the finished result.  It's missing something but I'm not sure what.

I would love any suggestions or thoughts.  I did the bamboo with my Sizzix and spritzed them with Walnut Ink and various embossing powders.  The postcards are from a lot I purchased on eBay last year. 

It just needs something....

Thanks for looking and enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day! 

Blue Valentine

Thanks for all the fantastic comments on my last post - you gals really made my day.*

So, I am not a big fan of the entire Valentine craze - but I don't really care that much for most holidays.  I'm a batty little Grinch, I guess. LOL! 

But, I do know a lot of people who love Valentines Day, so here is my first card using totally non-traditional colors.  Please note the lack of distressing and collage. :) 

It was very simple to do - I used a Tim Holtz Edger die (Brackets, I think) and a Sizzix alphabet.  And no stamps, I see.  I swear that the majority of my artist years have been spent as a stamper!

Enjoy and thanks for looking!

* I'm used to journaling where I can answer each post individually but that doesn't seem to be the case here.  What is netiquette on responding to comments?? 

My First Challenge and Everything You Never Wanted to Know About This Card

So, I decided to do a challenge and I picked Gingersnap Creations - Coffee and Cream.  They have some fantastic entries.

Of course, I decided right away that because of the color combo I would do vintage  - a technique that I definitely struggle with.  How can you struggle with vintage, you ask? Because things generally touch in a random and crazy way.  Yes, yes, I stuggle with collage as well.  My batty brain just likes to make things that are even and symetrical. 

So, here is my first try: 

Let me regale you with the birth of this card - it was originally a 3 x 7 card. But it was too long and I cut it down.  Then I ripped one edge - too much - and trimmed it up.  Now it was way too skinny.  So I decided to go with an ATC, and I trimmed some more, added some pages from a 1940s book, did a little distressing and made a flower of distressed petals and a furniture brad that I beat around with a hammer.  For reasons unknown, once the flower was attached, I was thrown into a tailspin and decided that it needed to be a card again and ta-dah!  I'm not sure what my reasoning behind the pink is - perhaps there should be a sub-grouping of the challenge called Coffee, Cream and SweetnLow. 

On the plus side, I did notice that this fit in nicely with another challenge - Paper Pals Arts - Those Were the Days Vintage Theme (PPA80) so I'm going to be brave and enter it into both.

Thanks for looking!  As always, concrit and comments always welcome.

Angry Little Owl

I was thumbing through some blogs around Halloween and saw some adorable little paper bags/lunch sacks that looked like owls.  I didn't mark the blog, but the image stayed with me until I finally had to make something.  I didn't have a scallop edge punch so each feather is an individually punched circle. 

Of course, I love the fact that he looks annoyed. 

Enjoy!

Here Goes Nothing!

Yikes! After months of dithering, here is my first blog post.  I've been following so many wonderfully talented artists; I just had to jump in. 

While I haven't joined any challenges (yet!), below is a card that I made for a friend - I didn't have any robot images that I liked, so I decided to make my own.  And then he needed a friend, who is on the inside of the card.  The background is crumpled tin foil.  Of course, I didn't realize until I was done that I have no stamping on this card. 

Enjoy!!

My photography isn't that great, so any tips would be welcome.   Thanks for looking!