Friday, December 19, 2014

Rudolph, Enhanced

Today is the the tenth day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today is also the start of a new challenge over at Left of Center Challenges, sponsored by Delicious Doodles and Smeared Ink. I have a chosen to make card featuring Steampunk Rudolph from Smeared Ink.

"How d'ya like me now, huh?!"

The details:

  1. Steampunk Rudolph--Brass the Steampunk Reindeer from Smeared Ink
  2. Alphabet--Studio G alphabet set
  3. Spectrum Noir colored pencils
  4. Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Transparent
  5. Tsukineko irRESISTible Pico Embellisher in bronze and silver

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Elfin Rumors

Today is the the ninth day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  This is also a Smeared Ink day, in which we have been challenged to use Smeared Ink images.  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I have a piece of altered art which I have entitled Elfin Rumors.  This is an "art" plaque which I acquired at my local Goodwill.  It started out looking like this:


And it now looks like this:





Now, I know that on these Smeared Ink days we have been challenged to use only SI stamps, but I have a really hard time using just one brand of stamps.  For me, part of the fun and challenge of making a piece is to pull stamps and images from all sorts of sources and then make them work together somehow.  I know that probably disqualifies me from the Smeared Ink Day, but that's OK!

The details:
  1. Santa face--from Old-Fashioned Christmas Illustrations CD-ROM and book, by Dover Publications
  2. Elves on candy cane horses--from Create with TLC
  3. Mrs. Claus and small sentiments--from Femdom rubber stamp set from Smeared Ink
  4. Spectrum Noir colored pencils
  5. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  6. Faber Castell Gelatos
  7. Background collaged from paper scraps, tissue paper, acrylic paints, chalk pastels

Monday, December 15, 2014

The Little Brat

Today is the the eighth day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I have a little piece I have entitled, The Little Brat.  As you can see this is another of my adventures in discount framing!



And here we have my best friend through the holidays, a little elf I just like to call "Evan."  (Sometimes his friends "Jim" and "Jack" visit my house, too!)

The details:
  1. Santa and child image--from Old-Fashioned Christmas Illustrations CD-ROM and book, by Dover Publications.
  2. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  3. Prima Marketing Chalk Ink Edgers 
  4. Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk Inks
  5. Swirl stamp (in background)--from Hero Arts Not Perfect Poly Clear stamp set
  6. Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Gold
  7. Tsukineko irRESISTible Pico Embellisher

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Have a Holly Jolly Skully

Today is the the seventh day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  This is also a Smeared Ink day, in which we have been challenged to use Smeared Ink images.  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I have a little Creepmas tag, A Holly Jolly Skully.


The details:
  1. Skull--Watchful Eye from Smeared Ink
  2. Holly (foreground)--from Create with TLC
  3. Holly (background)--from Inkadinkado Christmas Past Cling Stamp Set
  4. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  5. Sharpie markers
  6. Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Transparent

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Merry Christmas Darling

Today is the the sixth day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I have an ATC, called Merry Christmas Darling.

She's a witchy Christmas diva.

The details:
  1. Christmas diva--Willow, from Nikki Burnette's etsy shop, aurella27
  2. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  3. Spectrum Noir colored pencils
  4. "Merry Christmas" sentiment--from stash
  5. Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Gold
  6. Background--collaged and stamped with materials from stash
  7. Tsukineko irRESISTible Pico Embellisher

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Santa, Drunk and Bitter

Today is the the fifth day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I have an altered piece of art which I have entitled, Santa, Drunk and Bitter.  This was an "art" piece on board which I got from Goodwill, gesso-ed up, and then painted and stamped and had my way with.



Drunk and bitter Santa is now hanging in my bathroom, in honor of the holidays.

The details:
  1. Santa image--from Vintage Christmas Cards CD-ROM and Book by Dover Publications
  2. Alphabet--Studio G alphabet stamp set
  3. Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Sprays
  4. Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk Inks
  5. Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Gold
  6. Faber Castell Gelatos
  7. Leaf stamps--from Trees rubber plates from The Enchanted Gallery
  8. Background--collaged from various papers, acrylic paints, chalk pastels, and inks

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Only Mrs. Claus Knows

Today is the the fourth day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  This is also a Smeared Ink day, in which we have been challenged to use only Smeared Ink images.  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I give you a fat page which I have entitled, "Only Mrs. Claus Knows."

And she keeps her secrets, you can be sure.

The details:
  1. Image--from Smitten digi set by Smeared Ink
  2. Alphabet--Studio G alphabet
  3. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  4. Colorbox archival pigment ink in Cranberry

Friday, December 5, 2014

Fears by Ike's Art with LOC Challenges

I am thrilled to be able to announce that I am a new member of the Design Team for the Left of Center Challenges!  I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of this great team of artists!

Today is my first DT offering for a challenge, which is the "Fears with Ike's Art" challenge starting today over at the LOC site.

(If you are looking for my post for The 12 Days of Creepmas, please scroll down to the post below.)

This is my creation, using the Ike's Art image called Girly Pin-Up.



Thanks to Maureen and the rest of LOC Design Team for allowing me to play!

I'm Watching You

Today is the the third day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

I have a tag today which horrified my 15-year-old stepdaughter.  Yay!  I win!!

Vampy Santy

The details:

  1. Background paper--Pine St. Square Paper Pack by The Paper Studio
  2. Santa image:  from Old-Fashioned Christmas Illustrations CD-ROM and book, by Dover Publications.
  3. Alphabet:  Studio G alphabet
  4. Prima Marketing Chalk Ink Edgers

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Zombie Gingerbread Men

Today is the the second day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  This is also a Smeared Ink day, in which we have been challenged to use only Smeared Ink images.  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

Today I have a quick card to offer, using an image from the latest Smeared Ink Rubber Club plate, A Very Skelly Christmas.



OK, true confessions--it wasn't meant to be quite that blood-spattery, but sometimes late at night...unpredictable things happen.  And I think I kinda like it!

The details:

  1. Zombie gingerbread man--from A Very Skelly Christmas rubber set by Smeared Ink
  2. Zombie gingerbread sentiment--from Create with TLC
  3. Spectrum Noir colored pencils
  4. Tsukineko irRESISTible Pico Embellisher
  5. Background paper--Pine St. Square Paper Pack by The Paper Studio
  6. Background paper embossed with Darice Crackle Embossing Folder

Monday, December 1, 2014

Confused and Enraged

Today is the the first day of Smeared and Smudged's 2014 12 Days of Creepmas Blog Hop!  I'm excited to be here, along with all the other great artists that you can see in the blogroll to the right.  Start at the top with Terra or just jump in anywhere and follow along.  If you've arrived here from Keren's blog, you'll want to continue on to the lovely Leigh after stopping here.

We guarantee to give you an alternative view of the holidays!

To start things off today, I have a piece I've entitled "Confused and Enraged."

I got this frame (with a piece of "art" in it, naturally) for a couple of bucks at Goodwill, after reading this post by Ann over at wonderstrange.  She's so right!!  A cool frame makes everything looks better and more artistic!  And the price was oh, so right!



The details:
  1. Reindeer image:  from Old-Fashioned Christmas Illustrations CD-ROM and book, by Dover Publications.
  2. Alphabet:  Studio G alphabet
  3. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  4. Prima Marketing Chalk Ink Edgers
  5. Background:  collaged from scraps, painted, sanded, and sprayed within an inch of its life

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Transparency--Smeared and Smudged November Member Blog Hop

Today is the Smeared and Smudged November Member Blog Hop, and the theme this month is "Transparency."  This is my first time participating in the monthly member hop, and I'm excited to be here, except...

OK, I admit, I had a hard time with this one.  I rolled the idea of "transparency" around in my head for a while, and came up with exactly...nothing.  So I decided to just go down into my studio and start playing around, and eventually came up with something quite literal.


It's hard to see here, but there is a transparent layer atop the stamped poppies image; here the transparency layer is reflecting the flash.

Here you can see the transparent film a bit better, with the poppies image stamped on it as well as on the underlayer.  I offset the top tranparent layer of stamped poppies just a bit so that it would look a little bit 3-dimensional.

After making this, I know several ways in which I would change my techniques a bit if I were making it again, and I have several more ideas about transparency rattling around in my brainpan.  For example, I thought (too late, oh too late!) of the idea of transparency as it relates to color theory and how fun that would be to play around with. 

So, in a way, I guess, this monthly challenge did for me exactly what it's meant to do--got me back in my studio working and the ideas spinning!

Thanks for visiting, and please do visit the rest of the members on the hop today and enjoy their creations!


Monday, November 3, 2014

Six Blue ATC's

I've been playing around with collaged backgrounds lately, and then I read this post over at wonderstrange, and of course got some super ideas on how to improve and change what I've been doing.

I made a masterboard and then cut it up into ATC-sized units.  Then I finished each one, making the whole set related but not exactly the same.


I had a lot of fun with these--I foresee more sets of ATC's in my future!

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Left of Center DT Call

Left of Center Creative Challenges is have a DT call, and I am applying!  I will try to keep this short and sweet.

The LOC blog and challenges were brought to my attention by my being a participant in the Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween challenge and blog hop.  I learned about the DT call from Maureen on the hop.  I had a fantastic time participating all month in this event!

I would characterize my go-to crafting style as "fine art meets offbeat."  I have a BFA in Design from the University of Kansas, and I would say that that fine art sensibility colors everything I do, at least a little bit.  I love making pieces that tell a story, or make the viewer say, "Wait...huh?" for just a moment.  I also love injecting a bit of humor into my work!

Some of the recent work that I am most proud of is my series A Gibson Girl Halloween, which I made for the 31DOH blog hop.  A few of these are pictured below.





I would like to join the LOC DT team in order to continue to stretch myself as an artist and to connect with other artists who share my enthusiasm for papercrafting and stamping.

Thanks so much for considering me!

Friday, October 31, 2014

The Rejected and Unfinished

Today is the thirty-first (and very last) day of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge and Blog Hop, sponsored by Smeared Ink and the Smeared and Smudged forum!  Woohoo!!  We made it!

To see everyone who is participating in the blog hop, follow the blog roll on the right.  If you're following the blog roll, you probably got here from Sue's blog and will want to proceed to Leslie's blog after you've stopped here!

I figured there would be lots of bloggers on the hop today who would finish off with a bang, showing you some sort of major and wonderful creation, so I decided to take the opposite approach and go out with a sort of weak whimper.  Instead of giving you a grand and great piece of art, I give you:

The Rejected and Unfinished!

These are the things I worked on that just didn't make the cut, for one reason or another.  Let's start with the rejects:

This just never quite jelled, although I certainly worked at it and wanted it to.

I don't even know what to say about this one.  It's just weird.

Somewhat blah, and not very Halloween-ish.

Meh, as my kids say.

Now the unfinished:  things I started but just didn't go much of anywhere:

I had something very atmospheric in mind here, but it didn't get there.

I made this base very early on, and then it languished at the bottom of a stack.

These two pieces were once part of the same piece, which I tore apart and started playing around with in other ways.  This is where it ended, for the time being.





These are all background of one kind or another that just never quite found their proper place this month.  They are not abandoned, just patiently waiting to find their true calling.

So there you have it folks!  My poor rejects and unfinished bits and bobs, all holding such promise early on but not yet having realized that promise in finished form.

I hope you have enjoyed at least some of my projects this month--thanks for hanging in there with me and for all the lovely comments each day.  It's been a blast!

Please come back and see me again for more of my adventures in papercrafting, knitting, crochet, and quilting!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Where Death and Gibson Girls Intersect

Today is the thirtieth day of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge and Blog Hop, sponsored by Smeared Ink and the Smeared and Smudged forum!

To see everyone who is participating in the blog hop, follow the blog roll on the right.  If you're following the blog roll, you probably got here from Sue's blog and will want to proceed to Leslie's blog after you've stopped here!

Where has the time gone?!  I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with all my time when I'm not hopping 37 blogs a day!  I have so much enjoyed looking at everyone's work this month; I've drawn so much inspiration from all of you.  I can only hope that I might have inspired someone just a smidgen as much as you all have inspired me.

So, today, the penultimate day of the hop, my two series, A Gibson Girl Halloween and Death Has a Life Too, have collided, producing this:



Death wants to look his best for his beautiful date.

The details:

  1. Lavinia--Gibson Girl stamp from flonzcraft (also on ebay here)
  2. Death--Antique Gothic Chemistry Skeleton 1 digi stamp from AntiqueGraphique etsy shop
  3. Alphabet--Studio G alphabet set
  4. Spectrum Noir colored pencils
  5. Prima Marketing Chalk Ink Edgers
  6. Background--collaged from scraps, found papers, tissue paper

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The Witching Hour

Today is the twenty-ninth day of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge and Blog Hop, sponsored by Smeared Ink and the Smeared and Smudged forum!

To see everyone who is participating in the blog hop, follow the blog roll on the right.  If you're following the blog roll, you probably got here from Sue's blog and will want to proceed to Leslie's blog after you've stopped here!

Today I have a mixed-media piece which I have entitled "The Witching Hour."  This is another of my collaged backgrounds, to which I have added a stamped and colored landscape.




The details:

  1. Tree and moon stamp--from my stash
  2. Witch stamp--from Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers Halloween UM set 1 at Stamp Francisco
  3. KimberlyGeneral’s Loew Cornell, and Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  4. Background--collaged with scraps, Gelatos, chalks, etc.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Death Considers Growing A Mustache

Today is the twenty-eighth day of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge and Blog Hop, sponsored by Smeared Ink and the Smeared and Smudged forum!

To see everyone who is participating in the blog hop, follow the blog roll on the right.  If you're following the blog roll, you probably got here from Sue's blog and will want to proceed to Leslie's blog after you've stopped here!

As the penultimate entry into my Death Has A Life Too series, I offer you "Death Considers Growing A Mustache."



The details:
  1. Death--Grim Reaper from Viva Las Vegas Stamps
  2. Mustaches--Mustaches Clear Stamp Set by Stampabilities
  3. Alphabet--Studio G Alphabet set
  4. Background--collaged from scraps, etc.

Monday, October 27, 2014

A Cigar-Smoking Devil

Today is the twenty-seventh day of the 31 Days of Halloween Challenge and Blog Hop, sponsored by Smeared Ink and the Smeared and Smudged forum!

To see everyone who is participating in the blog hop, follow the blog roll on the right.  If you're following the blog roll, you probably got here from Sue's blog and will want to proceed to Leslie's blog after you've stopped here!

Today I have a trio of tags; I found this cool little cigar-smoking devil stamp, and my husband smokes cigars, so I just had to combine some authentic cigar bands with my little devil!





Sorry about the fairly poor picture quality today--those cigar bands had a lot more reflectivity than I thought!

The details:
  1. Devil stamp--from my stash (I'm sorry I don't remember and can't track down where this one came from)
  2. Cigar bands--from my stash
  3. Flourish stamp (in background)--Inkadinkado (no longer available, as far as I can determine)
  4. Pebble Pearlescent Chalks
  5. Alphabet--Rubber Stampede Monogram alphabet set
  6. Prismacolor watercolor pencils
  7. Sharpie marker