21st Century Pillow Book

I think that many of us have Royal Wedding Fever. I myself am typing this post as I am watching the ump-teenth recap of Prince William and (the now) Princess Catherine’s amazing ceremony. There’s was almost as good as mine. ;) But, I’d like to share with you a different bride today. Say hello to Frankiee… This bodacious babe was created by Christy Croll, owner and designer, of Tiddly Inks . Who by the way is having an awesome Treasure Hunt right now! She “made” her for we Smeared & Smudged gals, as she is one of our wonderful sponsors for April. Tiddly Inks is sponsoring Oh! The Horror this month…and of course we used a Bride of Frankenstein poster. We are touched that Christy created a second image for us. The first, as you may recall was Rock-N-Rolla. You can purchase Frankiee HERE and RockNRolla HERE . I broke out the watercolor markers once again, and used a mess of colors on her. Lilac hair, brown top, green skirt…don’t even get me started on al the different colors of s...

It’s Friday! Which means it’s Smeared Ink day! And I hope you don’t roll your eyes…but I have another card featuring the Glam Vamps. I just can’t stop using these chicks! And this time…I used TWO of them! This is Anya and Ann Marie. Aren’t they pretty? But wait! Get a little closer and you’ll see their red eyes and fangs. These 2 are definitely Twisted Sisters! I colored them with my watercolor markers. Aren’t they fashionable? Then I cut out 2 rectangles in patterned paper and…well…twisted them, to further add to the sentiment. Speaking of which…the “twisted” is from the Valentine’s Grumpies collection, and I made the “sisters” myself with some K& Co. letters. ‘ What do you think? I think they’re hawt! Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!!!

I know, I know…it’s finally warming up around here, and I’m singing Christmas Carols? What can I say? I was inspired! This week’s StampInsanity Challenge is Bling It On! And I thought it was a perfect excuse to get one card ready for the…Holidays! The Holidays are all about the sparkly, and Morgan’s Star is perfect for glitzing up! Which by the way is on sale at the store ! This is definitely the perfect time to pick up the “Morgan’s Star” rubber stamps!!! I used my watercolor markers and lots of silver and gold Stickles. What a happy little tree! Here you can see the pretty blobs of Stickles, and the border I made. And there’s that metallic gold bow peeking at the bottom. This challenge is super easy, so I hope you all “bling it!” Can’t wait to see your creations! But first, please visit the Ward 2 Groovy Gurlz for even more inspiration! Ward 2: Chelsea Erica Tanya Shell Jacquie Lisa Alison (me!) Kapree Gabbi

I have a 3rd version of one of my favorite Sweet Pea Stamps to share with you today. It’s called Growing Love by ching chou kuik. I made this card for a friend of mine that just welcomed her son into the world. Plus, this month’s Smeared & Smudged Guest Designer, Helen, has challenged us to create something for the theme “New Life.” Well, this couldn’t be more perfect for that challenge! I just can’t get enough of this image! And thankfully, I am super inspired to redo it in lots of different ways! I love her hair in this version. I used my watercolor markers again for everything but her skin. I also used some Platinum Liquid Pearls to add some shine and dimension. The sentiment is also from Sweet Pea Stamps. I shredded the edges a bit for more dimension…and we all know I love me some distressing! This challenge will actually be running through the month of May, for a total of 6 weeks to play along. So put on those thinking caps, and start working on your New Life project! The...

It’s my wonderful husband’s Birthday today! Lately, I have been using various Kenny K images for all of the cards I make for him, and this time was no different. This week, the challenge at the Kenny K Blog is Springtime. And while I didn’t use any flowers on my card…one of my favorite things to do in the spring is to go for a motorcycle ride. Here’s the card. This is Harley Ryder…the Krash Kitten that I named! :) She’s almost ready for a ride…She just needs a helmet! Ok…maybe a few more layers of clothes too…but she’s still a hot biker chick! I colored her hair in a style similar to my own, and made her clothes in colors that I would wear. Gene likes when I do that! The color is a little off in this photo for some reason…the top one is much more accurate. She is all colored with my watercolor markers. I used some flat backed pearls adhered with Platinum Liquid Pearls. The senti is from Technique Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by! Have an inspiring day!

It’s Friday! This has been quite a busy week. Fun…but busy. And because of all the busy, my project is not quite finished. I need to embellish it a bit more. I’m hoping I can do it today…But we’ll see. For now, it looks pretty cool. Just not complete. I used a plain wooden box and painted it green, then crackle painted it, and Distress Inked it. And the top has, as you can see, an image from Smeared Ink’s Holy City. The box was purchased for this very image. I colored the image with my colored pencils and Mod Podged it to the top. I just love this image. I plan on adding some things to the top. I’m not exactly sure what yet…I need to look through my stash to see what I can find. But I definitely need some more texture. Some lumpy, bumpy goodness. Here’s a close up of the crackling. I purposely did not apply an even layer of it. I really wanted the green to show through. I’ll be sure to post photos when the box is done. But what do you think of it so far??? Have an inspiring day!

Hello! It’s been a long time since we’ve had a Bombshell Stamps Blog Hop…and I’ve really been itching for one. You should be coming from my friend Cheryl's blog. If not, you can start back at the Bombshell Blog …but I’ll have the full hop list at the end of my post. This hop was thought up by Ms. April, Rachael. We are to do something wedding themed…and thinking laterally is ok too (i.e.: bachelor party). I knew just what I wanted to do. Did you see my post from last Friday? It was for the latest Desert Islands Crafters Challenge, and I made a scrapbook page from my medieval wedding. So…I just had to make another one for this challenge! And perhaps eventually I will get my album done! ;) Now tell me…can you spot the Bombshell Stamps? Do you see them??? I used a set from the Pin Stripes collection and the crown that’s from the Butterfly Queen set. Here’s a close up. My wedding dress (handmade by my Mom!), had tri-colored metallic cords on it. Just beautiful. So, I decided to carr...

Greetings! I have a quickie post to share with you today. I made this card the other day when I saw that Simply Betty Stamps was giving away a freebie when you create a new project to celebrate an upcoming new release. I just had to play along! I just love coloring Rio in monochromatically. Yes, I use a wee bit of pink on her, but she’s basically all green. I think I’ve actually colored her up in green once before…. She’s just so pretty in this color! Watercolor markers were used on her and her batty. It’s a very springy card, no? Ok…gotta run! The kids are fighting and the dog is being a pest! Have an inspiring day! Come back tomorrow for a Bombshell Blog Hop!!!

Welcome to the next installment of the Desert Islands Crafters Challenge . If you’re not familiar with it, let me give you the low down. The 1st and 15th of each month, you will be given an itinerary of items where, if you were stranded on a desert island, you would need to use at least 3 of those to create a project. We went about things a little different this time around, and with all of the Royal Wedding hooplah, we decided to ask The Queen herself for “her” itinerary.  The Queen’s Itinerary: 1. Red, White & Blue 2. Fairytale 3. Ribbon 4. Lace 5. Crown Jewels 6. Horse & Carriage 7. Stair Step Card 8. Castle 9. Prince Charming 10. Princess Bride Since I had a bit of a royal wedding myself…what better thing to create for this challenge then a layout of my wedding? I used items 2, 4, 5, 8 (ish), 9, and 10. Why 8-ish? Well, we didn’t get married in a castle, but the place was fashioned after a castle. This was one of my favorite parts of th...

Wacky title, huh? It needs to be, because not only am I bringing you the latest StampInsanity Challenge, but today is also the monthly Smeared & Smudged Member Blog Hop! Shall we get this party started? This week’s StampInsanity Challenge (#55) is Flower Power. I went a route that I’m betting you may not have pictured. As promised yesterday, I broke out the Distress Inks once again and colored up Vampire Henry. Take a look! I just didn’t feel like goin’ with the pretty route. I was inspired by Henry’s rose, so I broke out my DCWV Immortal Love Stack and used the rose paper for my background. Here’s a close up of my coloring job. I right like the way this came out! Of course, the senti is also from StampInsanity! I LOVE this sentiment! Time for you to play along with the Ward 2 Groovy Gurlz! Show us your Flower Power! And on to the next… Today is a sad day for me. It marks the 1 year Anniversary of the death of Pete Steele…the frontman to my favorite band, Type O Negative. I sti...

Greetings! Today I share with you a pendant. Not a card! A pendant! As many of you know, I am a jewelry maker first and foremost. Hell, I have a degree in it! Paper crafting is secondary…so that gives you an idea about how passionate I am for jewelry! Sadly, it takes me a bit longer sometimes to make personal adornments…for a few reasons…one of which is that my paper crafting stuff is always “out.” Exposed paper trays and markers are easier to get to then 15 bead boxes that are stuck behind my craft room door, or my silversmithing workshop that is currently housing my mom’s Halloween stuff (don’t even get me started!). So, paper stuff gets made way more. But huzzah! I used chipboard for my pendant! A paper crafting supply! :) I recently acquired the Sugar Skulls stamp set from none other than Bombshell Stamps . But all I’ve had a chance to do was ink up Phoenix and Rhiannon with skulls and flowers on their hand. Their request. Guess who asked for the skulls and who asked for the flowe...

Today I am sharing with you a card I made for a cat loving friend. I can’t say who it is though…since she hasn’t gotten the card yet! It’s the first time I’ve used Purple Comfort; a Sweet Pea image from ching chou kuik. I just love these sweet kitties! Look at their teeny wings! This picture makes the contrast between the doily and the image very obvious…but it’s subtler in person. I probably should have chalked the doily first, but…after spraying it with a ton of Glimmer Mist, that wouldn’t have been a good idea. The image was colored exclusively with Distress Inks, and I think it came out really pretty. This photo shows the colors much better. See how much paler the image is here? I used a bit of Liquid Pearls on the cats’ wings. Look at all that pretty glimmer! I used Patina and Tattered Rose on the doily. I hope my friend likes the card. I think she’d be happy with anything with kitties though! Have an inspiring day!

This week’s Macabre Monday at Haunted Design House just screamed my name. Challenge #83 is Magically Witchy, and boy oh boy did I have ideas! I had a flurry of thoughts on what I could make…going way beyond the card! But, time was not on my side this week as I had to do several things regarding Phoenix’s school this week. Plus, along with the flurry of ideas came an overstimulation of sorts. Too many thoughts, ideas, and even ways to do things. I was overwhelmed with ideas. And now, it’s late on Saturday and I NEEDED to play. I couldn’t let this challenge pass me by. So I made a page in one of my art journals. I was washing dishes, thinking about the challenge, and I thought, “It’s about more then cats, bats, and broomsticks…” I knew that was what I needed to make my journal page about. I am actually thinking of making this into a huge canvas art piece, as I couldn’t fit all of my ideas on one little page. But enough of me typing…here’s a look at my page. I just got some amazing good...

There’s something you probably don’t think about when you think of Smeared Ink stamps. Clean and simple. It’s certainly not something I usually think of! But I figured that some folks may be intimidated by the “typical” (I use that term very loosely!) Smeared Ink style. So, I wanted to show you that everyone can use these rad stamps, even if you like the Clean and the Simple! I started off by coloring Glam Vamp Anya with my watercolor markers. I cut her out, but I could have just stamped her directly on the card too. Then, I used 5 of the awesome sentiments from the Lil Grumpies set, stamped directly on the card. I purposely stamped them askew. I punched out a Drippy Goo Martha Stewart border and stuck it to the top. Two red Dew Drops to represent bite marks and a thin marker-made black border around the whole card and voila! Easy, clean and simple! I hope that I have shown you how to use these images in a different way. Have an inspiring day!