A Day Late

October is such a busy month for me I didn't get to do all the things I wanted to do for Halloween. Here's a few that I did work on.

First is a rolodex card, I used acrylic paint to make the background. It turned out to look like bricks to me which I think is way cool and was just a happy accident :) The stamped images are from CTMH, love them!

Second is a skull I picked up at Michaels. First I painted it all white then added my images. The bats and the words I was able to stamp directly on the skull, the tree and fences I stamped on tissue first and then glued them on. I also sponged it with blue on the bottom and blended into purple at the top. Not exactly how I anticipated it would end up, but not too shabby for my first attempt.

Last is a birthday card that I actually made a while back for a friend who loves halloween but her birthday is in August. The stamps are from SU and the cool eyeball paper I picked up last year at Target when they were getting rid of the halloween stuff, it was part of a scrapbook pack. I colored the cat witch and caldron with my colored pencils.

~happy crafting~

Free Art Course

Tam if offering a free course titled Art, Heart and Healing over on her site. It starts tomorrow, go check it out!

Awesome Giveaway!

You have got to visit Mrs. B's blog duing her 31 days of Halloween! She is having the most wonderful giveaways on a variety of goodies. These rings from Gypsy Moon Art Studio are todays giveaway, aren't they FAB!

Smeared and Smudged Blog Hop - September

It's time for another blog hop with the crew over at smeared and smudged. If you haven't had the chance to stop by the ning site and check things out you need to make time. The talent over there is beyond belief , the artists are AMAZING and everyone is super friendly to boot! So if you like to create art join us, there is always some sort of challenge going on to inspire you and encourage you to use your stamps :)


The theme for this hop is orange. I decided to use one of my new Queen Kat Design stamps, she's Emma from the creepie cuties collection. I colored her tunic and hat with my orange copic and the lighter orange stripes are gel pen. Papers and black hemp are from CTMH, the skulls I picked up at the gem show last year and the phrase stamp is from Viva Las Vegas Stamps. It says "I am the terror that stamps in the night." hehe i love that stamp!



Keep on hopping!



Terra

Tori

Alison

Kelli

Kapree

Black Dragon

Meredith

Jane

Sugar

Danielle

Lisa

Steph (that's me)

Lady Brayton

Shelley

Jean

challenges

I was busy in August stamping, just not busy posting. Here's a few of the projects I did for the Smeared and Smudged group.

-The top card was for the monthly sketch, image from stampotique, phrase from viva las vegas stamps inks and papers from CTMH.

-The second card was for the Rock-n-Roll challenge. Crazy video and the "welcome to my tea party" part of the song was stuck in my head for days! So I used a crazy stampotique image, isn't she AWESOME! and colored her with pencils and gel pens, the net was a goodie I got from someone in an atc swap and thought it went well with her skirt. The alpha stamps, papers, inks and bling are all from CTMH.

-The last card was from Jean's Mixed Media class on S&S. Started out with white texture cs added paint in 3 layers. The beautiful image is from Smeared Ink. Colored her hair and legs with pencils and gel pens. The flashy bits on the side are cut up peices of soda can and some sequins. Not bad for my first attempt I think :)

~ be happy, create art ~

thank you card

Created this card this morning. All stamps, papers and inks are CTMH. Papers are from the Unforgettable paper packet, inks are Cocoa and Sorbet and the stamp is from C1339 Kanji Phrases.

fun stuff

These two cards I created for a couple challenges last month on the Smeared & Smudged group. Of course I finished them, took the pictures and then forgot to post them in time to join in the challenges. Doh!

The one of top was for the Rock-n-Roll Challenge. A video is posted and we watch it and then create a card that was inspired from what we pulled from the video. Of course I dont have the link to the video handy so check back and I'll post it later.

The second card was for the monthly sketch. It was a great sketch, but I'm not happy with my card. It's too blah in my opinion, but figured I'd post it anyway :)

dream

Finally used some stamps I got at the local stamp convention last February. They are all from B&J's Art Stamps (except the letters, which are CTMH). I stamped them all in earthtone colors randomly over the cardstock and then sponged using the same colors. The stamped 2 of the big guys on the card, did the 3rd on a seperate peice to cut out and pop-dot on. Wrapped the end of the feater with some copper wire and then spritzed it all with some Glitz Spritz. I really liked the end result.

you brighten my day

Love this stamp set I got while on vacation. It's from Inkadinkadoo, stamped in Cocoa and cut out and mounted with pop-dots on the rolodex card. Used one of the chains in the same set to create the background and then sponged over it in the same blue. Sentiment is from CTMH.

kids b-day

All stamps used are CTMH.

under construction

Happy 4th! I had some time while my kiddo went to the movies with a friend so I thought I'd update my blog. Well I think I'm getting more frustrated by it than having fun like I usually do. So I'm going to take a break and do some stamping :) Yay! So please excuse the mess, I'm not sure what I'm doing. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions... I'm also looking for a cool FREE header so if you have any links send them my way.

be happy ~ create art

sketch challenge

Here's my entry for the June sketch challenge over on smeared & smudged. I used a new skull stamp I purchased on my vacation, and used papers and inks from my ctmh stash.

~be happy, create art~

goth girl

Got this Stamp it Crazy stamp from Sarah for winning her challenge on the June blog hop. Colored her with metallic pencils and added bling with a couple gel pens. She came out a little muted so think I'll have to try coloring all of her with markers. Great image, thanks again Sarah!

I'm Back!

We are back from vacation! Had tons of fun and took tons of pictures :) I won't bore you with all of them, but here are a few of my faves. We went to the Cincinnati Museum Center one day, it was totally amazing. The first picture is the Museum, it's HUGE!!!! The second is when we were leaving, I wanted to get the city in the back, that's myn kiddo in the middle and my two adorable nephews. Of course got the boys to pose holding hissing coachroaches :)

Also went to Archivers.... oh my gosh!!! Love that store, wish we had one here. Of course didn't take my camera with me, bummer :( But got some cool new stamps to play with woohoo!! So keep on the lookout for some new art with my new toys :)

~be happy, create art~

just for fun

One of my friends just went to Vegas and she had Elvis walk her down the aisle. I had nothing Elvis so I hunted down these stickers at the local scrapbooking store. The yellow stripes on the paper are actually glittery for that extra Vegas feel, lol. I really need to learn to take better pictures!

black & white ATC swap

My creation for the May ATC swap over on smeared and smudged. All supplies are CTMH. You can't really tell in the pic, but the dragon fly is cut out and the wings are popped off the card slightly, I also poked holes in the little white spots around each wing. Simple but fun :)

Smeared and Smudged Blog Hop - June

Hello Friends! It's time for another blog hop over at Smeared and Smudged. If you love to create art that's out-of-the-norm then smeared and smudged is the place for you. I've included the link to our friendly little group at the end of blog hop list, so check out all these wonderful creations we all want to share with you and then hop on over to our group and sign up to join in on all the fun.

For my contribution to the hop I've used a stamp from the Elementals set, the Earth Goddess. This is from Terra's stamp line Smeared Ink. I stamped in olive and used various shades of green to color her in. The picture really doesn't do this card justice. I also sponged some pick along with the green on the outer edge of the card to help tie in the pick flowers I wanted to add in her hair. I also added some liquid glass to her hair to give it more dimension... again you can't really see that here, but trust me :)

Now start hopping!!

Terra: http://moresmearedink.blogspot.com/

Kelli: http://cajunstampingqueen.blogspot.com/

Steph: http://stephscreativechaos.blogspot.com/ (you are here)

Ladybrayton71 http://ladybrayton71.blogspot.com/

Lisa: http://ldfdesign.blogspot.com/

Jean: http://etsysdarkside.ning.com/

Kathi: http://kathstales.blogspot.com/

Alison : http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com/

Sarah: http://sarahscrazycreations.blogspot.com/

Meredith: http://www.papercanteen.com/

Blackdragon: http://lynsblogger.blogspot.com/

Kim: http://offthewallcraftiness.blogspot.com/

Monica: http://www.giddygreetings.com/

Tink: http://tinktime-tink.blogspot.com/

http://smearedandsmudged.ning.com/

be happy ~ create art

new stamps

I've been playing with my new stamps!! I want to increase my rolodex collection so the first one is on a rolodex card. These are the perfect size for creating "little art". Second is a bookmark for a challenge over on Any Stamp Will Do. I just need to figure out how to size it smaller to post it over there... help! Both images are from www.stampotique.com under the Daniel Torrente collection. He's got some fantabulous creepy peeps, you gotta check them out!

~be happy ~ create art

May Sketch Challenge

This was my entry for the May sketch over on smeared and smudged. I used my new stamp from stampotique.com Her name is Glimmering Hope. Started off by coloring her with metallic pencils but didn't really get the effect I wanted so dug up some gel pens to add more pop. Created the skull background with skull stamp from Prickly Pear. Got those crows at convention last February. Can't remember who they are from but the name on them is New Crows Black. Rounghed up the edges with my distressor from CTMH and did some direct to paper smearing with my grey wool ink pad.

~be happy ~create art

Honor our Soldiers

Freedom Is Not Free
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,
"When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
-Kelly Strong

God Bless our Troops!

Here's a couple cards I made last week. Going through a "green" phase :)

CTMH news

Just a quick note to let you know that the CTMH summer idea book was released in May. You can go to my website to view it online or contact me so I can get a copy to you.

Also on my website you should take a peek at Studio J. This is digital scrapbooking with awesome CTMH products. Check it out, you'll love it!

Only a few more days left to take advantage of our May promo - Miracle Kit.

Don't forget the May stamp of the month, you can earn it FREE ~ ask me how

:)

be happy ~ create art

paper flowers

I've been stamping but not posting so I'm going to try and play catch up the next couple of days :) Both cards use CTMH papers, CS and flowers. The top card uses a new set I just got from Skipping Stones Designs and I used their sketch from My 11th. For the bottom card I used Celebrate from CTMH. Gotta love those paper flowers too! For the super big one I used a pink flower and just added more shades of pink, but the 2 smaller flowers started out as white... so cool to ink them up to match whatever color you need. :)

be happy ~ create art

altered rolodex card

I was in an ATC swap with the requirement that you had to use paint. Well of course I mailed them all off without taking a picture, but the painting was so much fun I decided to make a rolodex card with a similar design to my ATC. I painted the card first with turquoise and then added the metallic bronze. After it was dried I stamped it all up :) I've been collecting unmounted stamps for quiet some time so I dont know where most of the ones I used are from The wings are from CTMH and the small alien head between the wings is from Meer Image. (I'll post my ATC when I get them back)

sketch challenge

Just finished my card for the April sketch challenge over at smeared & smudged. A little bit sassy and straight to the point :) So glad I found that group!!!

another surprise

Here's another "oldie" from my stash, it's a pin made from a recycled cd... you know the one we used to get in the mail all the time. I always get lots of compliments on it and people are surprised to find out it's on a cd. I'm hoping to recreate a few this long holiday weekend. I probably have enough of those cd's to build a house with. Would love to know what you have created with your old cd's. :)

Smeared and Smudged April Blog Hop

Thank you for visiting! My computer crashed last night before I had time to post my hop card so I'm a little late, but hey better late than never! Felt like such a flake when I couldn't get my card up on time...sigh... hope you find it was worth the wait :) The theme was something surprising... so I surfed youtube and found a couple tutorials on a surprise pop-up card.... way fun, i'll be making more of these :)

Time for another exciting blog hop on smeared and smudged. If you haven't checked out the ning site yet you have to get over there. If you like creating art out of the norm this is the place for you! Alternative, gothic, vintage ... there's a little bit of everything over there. Hope to see you there!

Now go check out all these awesome blogs, these ladies are AMAZING!!!

Alison- http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com

Kelli- http://cajunstampingqueen.blogspot.com

Meredith- http://www.papercanteen.com

Michelle- http://mylifemydreamsmyscrapping.blogspot.com/

Kathi- http://kathstales.blogspot.com

Kim- http://offthewallcraftiness.blogspot.com

Lisa- http://www.ldfdesign.blogspot.com

Danielle- http://www.scrappy-arts-n-thoughts.blogspot.com

Alex- http://www.paperandstring.blogspot.com

Jean- http://iboard.jeansartdolls.com/index.php?showtopic=11977

Monica- http://giddygreetings.com

Sarah- http://sarahscrazycreations.blogspot.com

Erica- http://www.inkedupandreadytoplay.com/

Black Dragon- http://lynsblogger.blogspot.com/

Kymberly- http://dulcamarasdarkart.blogspot.com

Steph- http://stephscreativechaos.blogspot.com

Lady Brayton- http://ladybrayton71.blogspot.com/

Barb- http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.com/

Terra- http://www.moresmearedink.blogspot.com

spring time

Here's a couple of "oldies" from my card stash.