Happy Halloween

This is an adorable card that I made for my adorable grandbaby.  I can say "adorable" because the creativity comes from Imagine That! Digistamp.  At their store, they have both a regular Ellie's Pumpkin Costume and a 3-D version.  This is a combination--flower paper and sentiments from one and the striped paper and 3-D parts from the other.

Lots of fussy cutting involved--all of which I outlined with a black Sharpie.  Layering was created with foam tape and pop dots.  Everything was pre-colored!  I layered two papers in PSE and printed on cardstock, trimmed and scored.  Then I cut the oval, sentiments and all the tiny pieces and started layering them up.

I was at the post office mailing this off when I realized I forgot to take a photo.  Therefore, you can see only part of the dimension--- if you look closely on the right side of the elephant. I used a sparkle pen on the flower centers.

Entering this card here:

Imagine That! Creative Playground October Link-Up Anything Goes until Nov. 3  ITD #27x

Aud Sentiments:  Halloween and a Sentiment #57 x

City Crafter Challenge Blog: Challenge Week #385 Jungle Animals #7x

OUTLAWZ site-wide blog entry: #180 x
Thursday Twist:  Anything Goes October 26-Nov 1 TT102617
Festive Friday:  One of Four Themes, I chose Halloween FF102717

So Spooky Mixed Media Shadow Box

I'm thrilled to be guest designer at Fussy and Fancy Friday. I created a So Spooky shadow box.  Please visit their blog for the latest information on the new challenge So Spooky and all the great design team inspiration.

Although I started out thinking this would include totally creepy and ghoulish people, my muse took me in a totally different direction where I concentrated on a  spooky Halloween night scene for us regular folk.  I have to tell you it doesn't take much after nightfall to make it feel spooky for me--rustling leaves, prowling animals, unfamiliar noises, dim yellow street lights.  

Here's a close-up of the creepy cloth, twigs, and spider.   You can see the ghost peering from underneath.

Here's a close-up of the texture on the sky and moon and a better look at the fence.  I like how the different colored layers created a landscape for my scene.  The foreground row of buildings was cut from dark grey Halloween paper that had cobwebs on it--I love the effect.

Materials Used:
Artist's Loft 10"x10" Stretch canvas
Black chipboard haunted house, spider and black sparkle twigs from Michael's
orange/yellow paper from stash to put behind haunted house
Creepy Cloth from the dollar store
Dreamweavers Matte Black Embossing Paste
Plaid FolkArt Black chalkboard paint
circles stencil
Martha Stewart Halloween fence punch

Prima Finnabair: 
Prima black gesso; 
Heavy Black Gesso
Art Extravagance: Stone Effect Concrete Paste, Graphite Texture Paste
Art Alchemy Opal Magic Acrylic Paint: Violet Green, Pink Blue, Green Gold
Art Alchemy Metallique Wax: White Gold, Old Silver

Tim Holtz:
Sizzix Alterations Thinlets:   bats from Haunted House, Cityscape/Skyline
Sizzix Alterations Die: Ghosts (no longer available?)
Ideaology Chipboard: Chip Quotes;  and Paper Dolls Collection

I made a moon free-hand while using a stencil full of circles--creating a cratered moon.  The original is with graphite texture paste.  Then I added Metallique wax in old silver and decided to top it with white gold. I drew in the painted sky as if wisps of clouds were partially covering the moon on the edges.

I'd like to enter this mixed media project here:

TRY IT ON TUESDAY: Oct 24 Circles #18 x

A INKY MESS Challenge 15 Anything Mixed Media #2

A VINTAGE JOURNEY: Crazy for Autumn Color  I love purple as an autumn color complementing the usual Halloween colors. #58x

Cuttlebug Mania:  Spooky #12x

Frilly and Funkie: Trick or Treat  I'm feeling funkie with a trick:  unexpected element is the creepy cloth with a big jeweled spider and the added phrase:  be brave.  #4 Top Three!!!

Paper Play Sketches and Color Challenge:  #54 Sketch #1x


STAMPlorations October Mixed Media (must use stencil)   I used circle stencil to create a moon. #22 Top Pick!


We Love 2 Create:  Challenge #1 Anything Goes Creative/Mixed Media (2nd entry)  #67 x
winner announced Nov. 26

Dark Side

Journal Pages: I'm still working with Elke's prompt, Landscapes of the Soul.

If only I could draw, this is what it would look like.  
But since I can't (or haven't tried), I came across these amazing digital images which fit perfectly with the song lyrics (by Kelly Clarkson) chosen for my theme:

                        Everybody's got a dark side
                        Please remind me who I really am

Materials:

Gecko Galz Artsy Jewels Collage sheet.  I was looking for something that represented split personality (good vs evil, "our dark side") when I came across this amazing artwork on the collage sheet.  I'm using the jewels (sized for pendant slides) in an entirely different way.  I resized two of the images and printed them on tracing paper. 

Technique:  From lessons learned in Wanderlust 2017, I left a white space on my journal for placement of the face (left) and arm (right).  After gluing down the tissue images, I took artistic liberty to extend with paint and pencil the two rectangles into the painted pages.  I love the black bird on the dark side and the blue bird on the bright side.  Loving the bird feathers in her hair (left side), I continued the theme with a feather stencil.  (Sidebar:  It just so happened that when I photographed my journal on the deck, the left side was in brightness and the right side was in darkness.  A happy coincidence!)

Acrylic Paints: Dylusions blendable Fresh Lime; Dina Wakley Heavy Body Sky, Liquitex Basics Ultramarine Blue

Chalk Paint: American Decor Primitive; Plaid Black

Stencils:  STAMPlorations ARTplorations Feathers and Arrows Large, Dylusions Diamond in the Rough

Entering:

Simon Says Monday Challenge:  Not a Card #61

Gecko Galz Papercrafting FaceBook Group: October Ghosts and Goulsx

Gecko Galz Blog October Challenge:  Bump in the Night #2x

STAMPlorations:  Mixed Media October Challenge:  must use stencil, not a card #8x



Sharing at:

Art Journal Journey:  Landscapes of the the Soul (Elke's wonderful theme this month) 2nd share

Half An Hour of Art Facebook Group

Our Mixed Media Moods Facebook Group (October mood board:  human form and black birds)

October Wind

A digital journal page.  I used a Gecko Galz image from one of their collage sheets.  I deleted the background and put it on this amazing Gecko Galz digital paper which has so many beautiful layers, that I added absolutely nothing. Then I typed in these amazing words from a Dylan Thomas poem.

Entering:

Gecko Galz Papercrafting FaceBook Group: October Orange and Blackx

Digitally Made Challenge #6 Halloween until Nov 4 #2 Top 3!

Sharing at:

Art Journal Journey:  Landscapes of the the Soul (Elke's wonderful theme this month) #38

Half An Hour of Art Facebook Group