COF Matchbox Ornament Swap

The theme of November's COF swap was a matchbox ornament with some goodies (or a scene) stuffed inside.  I had never worked with altering a matchbox, so I thought it would be fun to try.  It is a refreshing change working with a small format and I enjoyed the challenge it presented.  I also decided to go a little crazy and mix some silver and gold!  Wowza, I know to some of you out there, but I think it worked out alright!  I wanted to put a scene on the inside of my box, but when I went to look for some images, I realized that I really only have crazy off the wall stuff and nothing that would even remotely relate to Christmas, soooo, I just decided to go ahead and stuff the box.  I put in about a yard of eyelash fiber yarn, a couple of buttons and some silver sequin stars, the same that I used on the front of the box.  You can see the back of the box (on the red one) I chose to put a little extra bling back there too.  I can't wait to send these off and see what great creations I'll get back.

PS.  The clean art room that I posted a couple of posts back...is a total disastrous mess.  Not only have I covered all work surfaces already, but my two year old son has discovered it as well.  Ah well, it was nice a clean once and I even have pictures to prove it! :)

Snowmen for a friend

One of my good friends loves snowmen.  I was at a total loss about what to get her for the holidays this year (as I pretty much am with everyone on my list...) so I decided to make her something this year (which really I should probably be doing with the majority of people on my list...).  I had attempted to do a single snowman head ornament a couple of months ago, think I listed in some earlier posts, and it went alright, so I decided to do a full body, well, actually two full bodies.  One I went large and did a graduated size and the other I went smaller and kept the body the same all the way up and down.  I had a lot of fun making these and personalizing them with the details.  I have already given these to her, so it's okay to post the pics now!

It's DONE!!!!!!

What's done you might ask?!?!?!  My art/craft room, finally!  It's been a long couple of months, with really no clear space to do any work at, but whooo hooo, it's DONE!  I've got everything moved in and now it's all ready to get messed up with work!  Here are some pictures of the finished room.  Look now, while it's clean.  Won't be like this after I get my art on!  :)  Lots and lots of storage, some of the storage is even empty, for now.  Won't take me long though!!!

Altered Cabinet Card Swap

I joined in on an altered cabinet card swap hosted by the wonderful Caroline at Glitter Tart Design.  We signed up for a particular genre of card altering and then were partnered up according to our preference.  I of course picked traditional Halloween colors/palette because I HEART HALLOWEEN!  I didn't have a true cabinet card, so I created my own by using a large format vintage image, shown below.

There was just something about this girl that really called to me to be used for this project, so I agreed!  To who, I don't know, but I agreed.  Initially, before I even found my image, I wanted to do a type of zombie image (probably heavily influenced by my new favorite show The Walking Dead), but when it came down to it, I just couldn't bring myself to alter her in that manner.  We were also to create a pocket or envelope for our card to be housed in, here it is...

I created it from a larger mailing manila envelope, and cut it so that you would see a hint, or peek of the cabinet card contained inside.  I used decorative paper with a spider web pattern, taped the edges with spider web decorative tape and put a skull accent near the top opening.  Contained within this envelope is my altered card...

...and here she is!  I went with a witch motif in the end.  I double printed her image and used pop up dots to raise her up for some dimension.  Gave her a witches hat, painted a black robe, and put a fun crepe paper collar on her.  Accented with a skull and put lots of glitter pen in the background.  It's hard to see in the picture but I added a fun purple hue to her shirt and glittered up her belt too.

I also tried my best to add a witchly green hue to her skin using a variety of Prismacolor colored pencils (my favorite pencils).  They are rich and creamy and blend well.  Here's a closeup of the side view of her too, so you can see some dimension.

Overall I had a lot of fun with this swap and I want to thank Caroline for hosting such a fun theme!  I'm definitely in the market to try another altered cabinet card in the future!  Can't wait to see what the other ladies in the swap have created!

Halloween Cards 2012

I had an opportunity yesterday to sit down and work on creating some Halloween cards.  I really LOVE Halloween, so I always look forward to making cards every year.  There is just soooo much fun stuff that comes out at this time of year, and it's really hard for me to resist most of it, although I was a very good girl this year and didn't buy too much at all beyond the stamps I wanted to use this year.  Speaking of stamps, the majority of images I used were from Inkadinkado's Halloween releases. I also incorporated crepe paper into the cards this year to give a ruffley texture to them.  I've really been into using it lately, I need to curb myself!  :)  I made 7 different designs this year, here's the first batch.

I made some of the cards vertical, and some horizontal.  I went with really bold colors this year and had fun coloring the images with my favorite Copic markers.  All images were stamped with Memento dye ink so the alcohol in the Copics does not make the stamped lines bleed.  Here's the second half of the batch.

The pumpkin card in this second set uses some fun eyeglass and mustache brads that I found this summer.  He's an angry pumpkin in disguise!  The web card used an embossing plate for the Big Shot machine that I also picked up this summer.  I am going to have to watch the quality of card stock that I use in that thing because it almost ripped the paper inbetween the pieces of the web.  I didn't have a spider punch to put a spider in the web, so I decided to use a variety of other items to have caught in the web and the inside sentiment (not pictured) says "Gimmie the candy and no one will get hurt!"  Cute I thought.  Overall, I had a great time making these and I could have kept going and made a whole bunch more, but didn't have the time.  Maybe I'll find some time later this week (doubtful though!).  But a girl can dream right?!

Halloween Hanger

For the month of September, I'm hosting the COF swap and I of course picked Fall/Halloween as my theme, as I do every year!  And as I will for every year that I get to host this month for the years to come!  :)  ANYWAYS... I really am in love with the new stamps from Inkadinkado that I got for this year's images, so I of course used them for this swap as well.  This image, the Madam Fortune, is what gave me this idea for what I created for COF.  I went with a square format this time and because I've been really liking the crepe paper (thanks Caroline for calling my attention to it!), I used it again, but really jazzed things up.  Used my copic markers (which I LOVE!) to add some subtle color to the stamped image and then I rimmed the crepe circle I created with some of my new favorite Martha Stewart Glitter paint in Peridot.  I attached all of this to a piece of chipboard painted black with a layer of Obsidian glitter paint (MS as well).  And because I decided I wanted to make this into an easily hang-able piece of art, I had an excuse to buy a new tool that easily punches through heavier materials.  See, totally justified...!;)  Can't wait to send these out to everyone! (also can't wait to get my permanent spot set up so I can have much better lighting for pictures! sigh...)

Halloween Tags

I recently found a Halloween-themed tag swap to join, where the challenge was to create 5.  I just got these new stamps from Inkadinkado and couldn't wait to use them.  They are smaller stamps, so they are just perfect for a tag-sized image.  I used a office supply cheap manila tag based, attached cardstock to both sides to give it some strength, inked the edges and stamped on the backs (not shown).  I used crepe paper and glitter glue to rim the edges of the oval and attached everything together with some pop dots to give it a little extra dimension.  I also glazed the image with a paper glaze and it didn't do what I set out to have it do originally, but instead it created an aged effect on my stamped image, so it was okay with me, a happy accident lets say.  I added some fibers to the hole and voila, all done!  I had a lot of fun making these and I can't wait to see what I get back in return!

Holiday Fun with Paper Clay

In an effort to find some easy to do crafts for kids to make, I tried my hand at working with some paper clay.  A friend at work let me look at a magazine she had that had an example of the snowman on the right.  I went ahead and tried my own version and then I decided why not try a pumpkin as well because as you may have figured out, I heart anything Halloween related.  I worked pretty closely with the instructions the magazine had for the snowman and it turned alright.  Next time I make it, I would use a stronger wire for the loop if it is to actually be hung up as an ornament.  Couldn't find my good wire as everything is packed up in the basement (which I will use the lack of good lighting as my excuse for the not so great quality of the photo as well because I'm not in my regular spot and my lights are also packed up...), but when I dig everything out again I will give it another shot.

I already have plans to make some more pumpkins, definitely designed with a flatter bottom as I wasn't thinking about that aspect as I made this one and it tends to roll a little bit.  I'm going to try some different shapes, faces and finishes, so we'll see what comes out of it.  I'll be sure to post the results!

Gypsy Swap

Last month, I signed up for Alpha Stamps Gypsy themed swap and I've finally finished my pieces.  I had fun working on this swap and I'm excited to see the returns I receive.  All of the work I've gotten returned from the swaps there has been fabulous!  Here's a picture of the pieces that I'll be sending out in the mail tomorrow first thing!  On another, but related note, a design team member at AS is having a blog tutorial on building a mini apothecary shop and all of the goodies to go in it.  I am SO EXCITED for this.  I've never participated in anything like this, but can't wait to give it a try.  I was literally drooling over her work, it's so awesome!  Go here to see what I'm talking about!

Creeper and Cute...

So, I am continuing working in my latest media obsession of choice, felt.  I made two more creatures.  One scores pretty high on the creepy scale (but I still really like it, I think the doll eyes really push it over the top), and the other is a cute little robot.  For those of you that know me, it was only a matter of time before I made a robot.  Think I will probably do another one, but I think this time I'd make it more dimensional to be more boxy like a robot.  I'm sure I'll come up with some more creepy ones too.  I've been hitting the internet looking for some inspiration, so I'm sure something will strike my fancy soon enough!  

What I did on Saturday...

So I have had a high interest in creating "creatures" from felt lately.  So what did I do pretty much all day today (and part of yesterday) in any spare time I had...?  I had a first attempt at creating some felt creatures inspired by the book Zombie Felties.  I love everything Halloween inspired, so this book was definitely right up my alley!  I had a lot of fun making these and maybe I'll try to create a robot one next.  Oh yeah, I've decided that I do not like to use craft glue for felt.  It really doesn't stick very easily, or hold very well either.

Alice Themed ATC Swap

I have been looking for new groups and or swaps to participate in and was told about an Alice in Wonderland themed ATC swap through a friend in one of my groups, so of course I had to sign up!  My COF (Circle of Friends) Group is also doing an Alice themed challenge this month.  I did the COF project first so I took some of those elements that I used in my work for that and made it into a smaller format.

The rabbit is a stamp I picked up from Lost Coast Stampers and I have been trying hard to push myself into some different materials, so I even used some "bling" and glaze too.  I really like how the finished ATC turned out and I'm jetting to the post office today to mail them out.  I also took a pic of the 9 finished ATCs in the card sleeve because I just like the repetition of all of them arranged neatly together.

AS Birds in Hats Swap

I have just completed my Alpha Stamps Birds in Hats Swap entries.  The challenge was to design a set of 3 finished works, and you could do a second set if you wanted.  Originally I was all gung ho to do 6, but I was really struggling with my ideas once I sat down and actually started to work, so I decided to just stick with 3 in the end.  Overall I like how they turned out, and can't wait to see the fabulous works I get returned to me. (The postcards I just got back in the previous swap were AWESOME!  I have them posted up in my workspace already.)  There are a few things I would change about my creations, but I know better than to point out what I think are flaws, so I'll just keep it to myself!  Thanks for stopping by!  :)

AS Beach Postcard Swap

Okay, so it's been too long since I've posted, but Alpha Stamps has been having some fabulous swap challenges that I couldn't resist joining, so I've been inspired to find the time to sit down and create!  The one that is due soon is the Beach Postcard swap, we were challenged to make 5, and I think I'm done.  There is one, won't mention which one that I think I might do a little bit more work on, but overall I think I'm ready to send them off.  These are just pictures of the fronts.  The backs have a little bit of pizzazz (spelling??) on them, but I didn't take a picture of those.  I can't wait to send these off and see what wonderful work I get in return.  Thanks Alpha Stamps for inspiring me to get my butt in gear again!  :)

ATC Party

This weekend I was able to host another fabulously fun ATC party!  It had been four years since our last one, way too long, and we hope to do this again sooner than 4 years from now.  We had a wonderful time, a lot of great food and wine and we spent hours creating some way awesome and over the top ATCs.  LOVED every minute of it!  I am currently participating in an Alpha Stamps swap, "Naughty Valentines" and thought that the theme was so great that I had it as the surprise theme for the swap party.  The ladies had a great time with this theme and some AWESOME cards were created!  I don't have photos of them all, but here are few of some of them that were created.  I can't wait for the next time we can all get together and create!

Valentine's day cards

Today I had an opportunity to get some more creative time and make some Valentine's day cards.  I of course always make way more of them than I actually need to send out, but I love making them, so it's hard for me to stop.  So far I've gotten 5 styles done, and have a couple more planned.  I'm sure this will come as no shocker to anyone that knows me, but I think the robot one is my favorite!  It's not the best picture, so it's hard to see the fine glittery details, but you can still get an overall impression.  I have plans to make a few more, so I'll hopefully get a chance to do that and I'll post them if and when I get them done.