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!

Black Dragon

Evil Edna

Jessica

Karen

LeslieRahye

Nanette

Kim

Sarah N

Keren

Susan

Sarah S

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!

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!

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!

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

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.

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.