Bombshells Galore! Day 1 of 12 Days of Christmas & Bombshell Altered Bracelet

It’s December 1st! Which means it is Day one of the Smeared & Smudged 12 Days of Christmas! Plus, I have a very special project I have been working on to share with you. Both creations feature fabulous Bombshell Stamps! This is going to be a long post, but totally worth it, I promise!!! So let’s get started with the 12 Days…

What is the S&S 12 Days of Christmas? Well, if you’ve been with me since October, you are already familiar with the concept, as it follows the same basic rules as the 31 Days of Halloween. You’ve gotta use at least 1 stamp on the project, rubber, clear, or digital, and it needs to be Holiday or Winter themed. Or, if you are making a gift to give someone over the holidays, as long as it’s been stamped, you can use that too. There’s a whole mess of Jolly Bloggers for you to visit each day, the list is below and on my sidebar. For those of you not creating projects, there is still a way for you to join in for the chance of winning a free Smeared Ink stamp set, as well as some other goodies. So, I hope you will hop along with us! Here is the posting schedule:

Wednesday December 1st

Friday December 3rd (Smeared Ink Day)

Sunday December 5th

Tuesday December 7th (Smeared Ink Day)

Thursday December 9th

Saturday December 11th

Monday December 13th

Wednesday December 15th

Friday December 17th (Smeared InkDay)

Sunday December 19th

Tuesday December 21st

Thursday December 23rd (Smeared Ink Day)

Now I bet you are wondering what Smeared Ink Day is! They are the days that we are challenging you to use only Smeared Ink Stamps on your projects! This is not mandatory, but it sure will be fun to see what everyone can come up with! Now, on to my card.

I kept this card super simple and clean. I had gotten some fabulous pre-embossed cards from Barb at Haunted Design House for winning one of the Macabre Monday challenges. That’s what inspired the style of the card.

I colored in my Bombshell using colored pencils and markers, and I drew the hat myself. The sentiment (which is perfect for Bombshells, by the way) is from StampInsanity.

I added a rhinestone on the sentiment and one on her hand to represent a big, giant, ruby ring. See the texture on the card? It’s fabulous! Thanks, Barb!!! Now on to my bracelet…

The Bombshell Design Team has been given a challenge to create a project using the first Bombshell Stamp set that you got. Bombshell will publish our creations to the Bombshell public forum for members to vote on their favorite project! The DT member whose project receives the most votes will win a fabulous prize! The winner will be announced on January 1st, 2011. So, please be sure to check out the rest of the DT, and vote for your fave!!! Even if it isn’t me…but I hope it is! ;}

One of my “problems” with stamps is that unless you have some cards with you, when you talk to someone about your stamps they never really “get” how cool they are. So, what better way to show them off to everyone then to wear them? Hence the bangle I created!

I made this bracelet by starting off with a wood blank. I stamped a couple of images directly on to the bangle, not worrying too much about how it came out, as I knew it would be mostly covered up. Then I stamped various images from my Pirate’s Life set, and tore them apart. I Mod Podged them on to the bracelet, and let it dry for a while.

I took Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and some cosmetic sponges and started to age the whole piece. I buffed it a bit with a tissue and worked and reworked the colors. Then I colored in parts of the images using Fired Brick, Weathered Wood, Mustard Seed, and a hint of Milled Lavender Distress Inks, applied with Cut-N-Dry nibs.

After I was happy with the saturation of color, I began to add some gems and teeny pearls (colored with alcohol inks) to the bangle using Scattered Straw Stickles. I didn’t want sparkle on this piece. I wanted it to look weathered and old, which is why I dulled down the pearls and used black rhinestones.

After I added the stones, I decided the bracelet needed some more texture, so I added more of the Scattered Straw Stickles to the piece here and there. If you click on any of my photos you will be able to see it bigger, and the details will really show.

I really love how it came out, and I look forward to wearing it everywhere! I just hope that I can get more of these wooden blanks so that I can make more of them!

Thanks for sticking around for this whole post. I know it was long, but I hope I inspired you! Please be sure to not only vote for your favorite Bombshell project 9which should be up in the forums shortly), but to visit the rest of the Jolly Bloggers. Have an inspiring day!!!

Terra ~ Tori ~ Kapree ~ Lisa ~ Alex ~ Jane ~ Black Dragon

Kelli ~ Sugar ~ Paula ~ Dianne ~ Alison (that’s me!) ~ Steph

Lady Brayton ~ Sandy ~ Meredith