Smudger Challenge - Tag

Back in April, I won my first (and only so far) blog candy from Smudger Challenge Blog.  It was a huge bounty of dark goodies and my inner 12 year old girl squealed.

I was also excited to start doing challenges on a blog from the very beginning so I promptly missed the first challenge deadline because I'm an immense dork.  

But this month, I'm slipping in under the wire.  Challenge #2 is You're It!  (Tags)

I took a manila tag and stamped some Gothic Latin writing on one side and heavily spritzed it with Walnut Ink that has been doctored with Platinum All Purpose Ink.

Tip:  As a great alternative to buying expensive glimmer mists, add an entire bottle of metallic All Purpose Ink (API) to a bottle of Walnut Ink (WI) and shake vigorously.  Tsukineko makes both products and they're really easy to find in most craft stores.  Keep in mind that API is a fabric ink, so you may not find it with stamping products.   

Just make sure that when you add the API to your Walnut Ink, you also dump in the mixing ball that's in the API bottle.  Otherwise, your metallic ink will settle on the bottom of the WI and won't mix as well.  You'll need to give the combo a good shake every time you use it but you get gorgeous shimmery results.   I really like the Cherry Blossom Walnut Ink with Vegas Gold API.

I added some rice paper to one side of my tag and covered the transition between sides with a flourish die cut from a post card.  I felt I needed more sparkle, so I fussy cut a transparency butterfly and coated the underside with blue glitter glue.  I made a smaller embellishment tag and added a tiny little bling and a bit of the glitter glue.  Matching ribbons finished it off. 

Thanks for looking!

Friend Good ATC

I decided I wanted to play with a Dilly Beans Stamps image this week, so I picked the adorable little guy below.  I'm totally into bats so he's perfect. 

I originally colored him with pencil, but decided to go back over parts of it with gel pen, which you may or may not be able to see better below. 

Orange and blue paper with a circle punch created the background.  I love how insanity inducing bright it is.

Since the Dilly Beans Challenge this week is Friendship, I used a label maker to create the Frankenstein quote "friend good".

I'm entering this into the below challenges:
Dilly Beans Challenge - Friendship
Ladybug's Crafts Ink TLT Challenge - Something with Wings
ATC's with Attitude - #14 Anything Goes
Crazy Amigo Challenge - Orange

Thanks for looking!

Challenges - My Favorite Vampire

I'm sure everyone knows what time it is - indulging my Macabre Monday needs at Haunted Design House. 

This week, it's Long in the Tooth - something with chompers, teeth, fangs, dentures, etc.

I went with my favorite toothy fiend - Dracula.  It's not that other vampires aren't fabulous, it's just that he stole my heart when I was a young and impressionable child.   I was 11 when Frank Langella began his starring roll in my feverish dreams of marriage and love and whatever it is that happens when you're all grown up and in love with a vampyre.

  
The fact that dying was a necessity didn't seem like such a bad thing.  Oh, and that he would kill my best friend, family, betrothed? Blah, blah, blah.  He was going to love me FOREVER!  Also, he had awesome fashion sense with that cape and puffy shirt.  What can i say - I was 11. 

I used Versamark to clear emboss the coffins on the card base, then stamped the mouths with Pearlescent Poppy (Brilliance) - sorry all the stamps I used are clear and unmounted.  Then I had to outline them with a drippy blood border - I seriously need to step away from this punch.

I wasn't sure what to do with the Son of Dracul, he's so small, so I gave him a little pop with some glitter flecked tulle I found in a drawer and a crepe paper rosette.   Of course, I want all his kisses so that's the sentiment I used.

I'm also entering this into a few new challenge blogs - yikes, I'm expanding my horizons!

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz Challenges - No Flowers Allowed
Fat Pages and Cards with Attitude - Anything Goes
Stamps & Fun - Anything Goes
Old Back Porch - 52 Card Pickup
Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Black w/One Other Color

As always, thanks for stopping by and indulging my Macabre spirit!

Challenges - Dressy Edward

I've spent a huge amount of time in the craft room this week - I've started drawing again and ugh, it's been so long I feel lost!  But, it can only get better, right??

This week's challenge over at Haunted Design House is a Gothic Make Over - include a cute or non-scary image that has been made over in a Gothic manner.

First off, I am too old to be Goth - I am just the right age, however, to be totally Wave - which is the more colorful bastard daughter of Punk, I think, while Goth is the darker little brother.

Duran Duran was the hottest group around when I was growing up and I spent way too many of my teenaged years with John Taylor's bleached bangs, as well as Adam Ant's eyeliner issues and dating boys who wore more make-up than I did.  I have to admit that even after all these years, a guy in eyeliner and mascara turns my head.  Oh, along with ripped plaid held together by safety pins or the ever popular black fingernail polish.  LOL!

Here's my card:

I used an adorable digi Dressy Edward from the Greeting farm for my main 'cute image'. Yes, he has a bit of eye make-up on - I can't help it!

He looks like he's making a wish to me, so I gave him a thought bubble full of Heads from Stampotique, fussy cut and mounted in a frame to go with his sentiment.  I added a lonely little head behind Edward's leg so his dream of serial killing can come true.   Hey, who are we to stand in the way of ambition?

It's a tad bottom heavy, but whenever I added something extra to the top, it was too busy.  Thoughts? 

I'm entering this little guy in a couple different challenges this week - several of them for the first time:

Haunted Design House (of course) - Gothic Make-Over
Crafty Creation Challenges - Frame It
Forever Night - Anything Goes
Totally Papercrafts - No Pesky Girls Allowed
Southern Girls - All About Boys

Thanks for stopping by! 

Challenge - CASE A Minion

Well, everything in my little corner of the world is getting back to normal - I attended an art retreat last weekend, had a blast, made some new friends, laughed with some old friends, and now it's time get back to crafting, particularly since the last few weeks have been spent designing and prepping two new projects to do at the retreat. Now I get to play for me!

As always, HauntedDesign House is having another challenge - this time we need to CASE a Minion (Copy And Steal Everything or pull inspiration from) one of the supremely talented design team members.

I chose Andrea and her key chain - her version is for those crazy people that hate Vampires; mine belongs to a certain Vamp - hey, everyone has keys, right?  So what if it's to the coffin in the basement...

It's personalized with his name and has a self-portrait, along with some charms of his favorite things - the coffin that he was buried in, a skull, a bat and wolf.  There's even a few labels, because every Vamp has a little diva in him.  A tiny little cemetery scene finishes it off.  

 

Everything was done with StazOn on shrink plastic, helped along with a little Sharpie, the bat was a die and I found the skull in my drawer of evil.

Enjoy!