Digital Time with "Artistic Expressions"

I have completely run out of ideas for my art prompts so off to digital world I have traveled.  This amazing collection "Artistic Expressions" is really and truly so stunning with such vibrant colors and so many elements to work with you will have a blast!

I wanted to enter a new art journal challenge and the theme was about going into the woods.  I have been interested in the British Library's releases of copyright free images and this one was done right before Easter but I had to crop the image a bit to get it to fit right and then I used a little Photoshop color play to add a hint of color.  This would be so nice for busy mom's who want to catch those special moments but time to cut and glue is just not there yet!  Snap those photos and pop in a collection from Dragons Lair Designs and you can do a layout with all the journaling you want on it in a matter of very little time.  I like to do all digital for this reason because I remember those oh so busy days and also not capturing some special moments because of the busy days.

Our April Challenge is "Anything Goes" so come play; it is a super easy one!  And catch our Sunday Showcase where you will find a freebie and mini challenge double fun!  And as always our linkys are below to all our sites for you to visit and stay and visit with us!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Another Mojo Helper from "Artistic Expressions" from Dragons Lair Designs

I think I could create forever with this fabulous kit "Artistic Expressions"  and I am having so much fun doing it!  The colors I think take me back to my almost hippy days that I would love to relive now!  Tie dyed shirts and awesome flowers remind me of favorite songs and songs always lead me to ideas for projects soooo...yep, another mojo activator make :)  That blank space in our heads sometimes just needs one word or a hint of an idea to jump into full gear so here is number three of this series.  A three dimensional make with a handy dandy pocket to pick a gorgeous flower or funky paint splat and follow the lead it gives you!

Please remember our April Challenge is "Anything Goes" and join in the fun and don't miss our new event on our Facebook Fan Page "Sunday Showcase" where you will find a freebie and a mini challenge!  Lots to see and do with the Dragons Lair Designs kits and links so click and follow up on all the fun with us.

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

"Artistic Expressions" Spinner Mojo Helper

I found a spinner board from a dollar store bingo game and thought "Bingo!".  How cool a way to prompt myself when I am on a missing mojo day?  I added some of the printed prompts I used from my Art Folder Prompt using "Artistic Expressions" and that gorgeous paper with a repainted spinner.  Now I have it hanging by my table so I can give it a spin and same rules as the art folder I must follow the prompt!

I layered one of the blue flowers with pop dots and curled the edges, adding seed beads for the center and some accents.  It is fun looking and those colors are just so yummy!

Please check out this marvelous kit at the Dragons Lair Store and our April Challenge began yesterday with the theme "Anything Goes" so easy!  Come play with us and visit our Fan Page and LIKE us so you can play our games and challenges there, too, for prizes or loyalty points that can be cashed in when you have enough to spend in the store!  All of our links are listed below!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

It's Sunday Showcase Time!

I hope you are enjoying the Sunday Showcases as much as I am!  This layout had me puzzled as to what to put in the circle besides a family pic of course.  Then I remembered a Finnabair style canvas I had made with a lovely copyright free lady from a vintage magazine cover.  She fit beautifully and I was pleased with it.  This is made with the freebie "PJ Party Quick Page".

There is always fun to be had at Dragons Lair Designs Fan Page on Facebook and our challenge blog and inspiration blogs are awesome places to see where our designers show you their latest makes!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Sunday Showcase at Dragons Lair Design Freebie Alert!

Dragons Lair Designs has a wonderful feature on our blog where Janette, who designs all the wonderfulness!, gives a freebie for you to use and then let us see what you made!  And there is a Mr. Random drawing for a voucher in the store.  This is for Lupus Awareness and is a lovely way to say our thoughts are with those who have this disease.  I did a digital piece with "Courage" from the "Pansy Collection Alphabet".  Made with the "Lupus" mini kit found at the Sunday Showcase Event HERE

Please come join us in all of our challenges on the blog, Facebook, they are everywhere!  So many lovely collections and digital images to choose from and lots of chances to win free shopping trips!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Now for Artistic Expressions Collection Reveal

I had to bite my lip to keep it shut so as not to ruin the surprise of this amazing kit!  Artistic Expressions is an explosion of color and fun!  I always find myself sitting down to start a project and looking at a blank wall in my head.  So I decided to have a play with this kit to give me a go to for some instant inspiration!  Now the key to this is I must not cheat if I open this little art folder prompt!  I have to try the card I pick at random and see if it will work on the project.  So, now, finally! I can show you my "Art Folder Prompt"!

The heart is layered with foam dots and the word "ART" is by Lost Coast Designs in the "Doodle Words" set.

Inside is pocket folders to hold the index cards I made digitally and printed out and then assembled the tabs. The back of the paper is Distress Ink with water splats to match the wonderful splats in this kit!  No titles on the tabs just numbers that mean something to me cut from a vintage book and inked.

As you can see, I also created my prompts in Photoshop on another piece of paper from the kit and then cut and inked before attaching one to each card, eight cards in total.  They include "Vingtage", "Collage", and "Two Colors".  Like I said...no cheating and I will let you know how these work out.  I have 2 more prompt related projects this month using this fabulous kit so stay tuned and give it a try!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Anything Goes this Month at Dragons Lair Designs Challenge!

This is my first month as the Challenge Team Leader for Dragons Lair Designs and as I type up my project my head is filled with getting all the important elements for the Challenge Blog right!  Oh my head!  But to distract me, here is my make for April using the lovely "Simply Soft" collection papers.

I made a card with the lovely soft colors and a heart embossing folder with a stamp along with the word "FAMILY" from Lost Coast Designs Misc. Words stamped on a small die cut label.  The flowers are from this kit I am almost certain, too. 

Please come join our challenge for April. You do not have to use our products but we love to see them when you do :)  And check out our awesome Fan Page on Facebook where you will find challenges there to enter and try for some vouchers to spend in the store!  All linkys are below!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

April at Rhedd's Creative Spirit

Thanks for all the lovely entries in March!  You inspire me so much!  You know you are a hoarder when you have 3 of these (they hold the old type light bulbs) given you by your mother carefully preserved because she just thought of me when she saw them :)

Yep, and I did have just the thing for them!  An issue of Somerset Studios had a shadowbox type project in it and was made with 2 x 2 inch squares of cardboard made into individual squares and attached together.  I took a shortcut and cut the tubes in 2 inch squares and glued very carefully as it wobbles everywhere until you can glue it again very carefully to a back piece of cardboard to keep it straight.   I painted the outside with a sponge and acrylic paint in brown, green, and gold.  The background piece had patterned paper attached and inked before gluing on the boxes.  Then I took Gelatos in dark gold and a lighter gold and water painted the corners and the backing paper after attaching the grid.

The theme was going to be Asian as I have many things from my trip to Japan that I would love to showcase but somehow (maybe being in the wee hours of the morning?) it became more of a New Orleans down South project.  The boxes containing our Tabasco sauce, miniature dice cup to represent out casinos, along with some tiny money, moss with a skull for voodoo and a goblet for the good times to roll!  I labeled the tag with the name from a French paperback bound for the dump at the book store as the French heritage is so strong on my husband's side.  Of course, love is represented by turtle doves and paper clay heart, and a cupid painted with Pebeo Prisma paints.  The individual cubbies all represent some portion of our culture and thanks to SilverCrow Creations for the lovely minis that helped me fill it in!  And please hang in there with me while the camera situation is attended to :(

Hanging bits and bobs, a formica sample with a fluer de lis, keys, lockets, beads in our colors, and tassels made long ago and used on another project.

Picture heavy and word heavy blog...sorry!  I hope you will bring us more of your awesome work this month so we can visit your blogs!  I see so many wonderful things when I drop in for a chat :) 

As always, it is "Anything Goes" Mixed Media/Altered Art at 

Rhedd's Creative Spirit Challenge Blog!

Radiant Day at Dragons Lair Designs Sunday Showcase!

I love the colors in this fabulous kit "Radiant Day"!  I had a really, really old mail holder from someone's vacation they brought back to me and I was long tired of it and retired it :)  Now it has a new life as my little dragon friend's mail slot.  I also used the fabulous papers to make an envelope addressed to who else but Dragons Lair Designs!  

The papers on the back are from the kit also and I used some stamps from ART-C on sale at Michael's to add "MAIL" and some flourishes and post marking.  Sorry for lousy colors my fault not the kits!  Mu daughter borrowed her camera back...sob!  So winging it for a bit.

With my envelope all ready to mail out.  I also altered a little tiny notebook with some of the background paper and used my dragon friend again to label it for all my DLD duties and dates...you know my memory!  I need this and plan on making one for each team.

This will be a regular feature at Dragons Lair Designs, how exciting!  We all love some freebies, right?  So keep an eye out on Sundays and catch the latest fabulous things going on and share your makes from these wonderfuls on our Facebook Fan Page and LIKE us while you are there, please?

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Join us at Dragons Lair Designs with "Gentle Muse" Mini Kit

Right now on the Dragons Lair Fan Page, Janette is giving away a mini kit called "Gentle Muse" for you to create with and pop your make in the event photo album to win a voucher for her next new kit!  How cool?  I wanted to play with this one as it has a  masculine feel to it and I am working on digital layouts to print out after I have gathered up the pictures of my Dad and myself and added them.  I hope to have a lovely full scrapbook not too far in the future from these lovely kits from Dragons Lair Designs.

The image in the frame is from the "Deco Daze" collection and a favorite of mine. All the links are listed below so please check us out and have a go at all of the prizes up for grabs and some fabulous events coming up very soon like this one!  Janette has been a busy bee and we all get to enjoy the bounty of her hard work!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Elves Collection Continued

I lost my very dear daddy in January unexpectedly and I miss him beyond words.  I wanted to pay tribute to this wonderful man and this collection named "Elves"  has given me such peace and calm when working with it.  I wanted to add some photos but my computer refused to do it after at least 10 restarts so I took the hint and went with what I had already and maybe that was what I needed to do.  Here is my page to add to my escape scrapbook dedicated to my daddy.

He always thought everything I did was fabulous even my worst :) and I think that says it all about being Daddy's girl, the only child, loved so very much and encouraged at every step in my life.  I know he is watching and saying good job as he always did.

Do try and join us in our challenge this month, a fun Bingo grid so lots to choose from and show us your work on our Fan Page!  We love seeing your work too and we have some awesome ways to win points towards use in the store, too!  And help us welcome Susan as our Fan Page coordinator and expect great things to come with this talented lady!  I am listing all our sites below and places to find Janette's fabulous work in one easy spot!  Hope to see you soon!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

New Elves Collection at Dragons Lair Designs!

I love elves, fairies, anything that is a part of fantasy to escape to and this collection is fabulous in simulating a wonderful place to escape to and stay among the elves!  I am starting a small scrapbook with this collection and hope to share it with you this month.  Here is my first page and I have used some digital elements with the printed pieces.  These can be found in the store under the "Elves Collection" HERE!

The colors are so lovely and the frame just fit the digital image of a fairy house!  I used UTEE on the frame to make it pop and of course added the embossed word "Believe" cause if you don't what is the point?  I also used a bit of UTEE on the elf's flower she is holding.  I could really go crazy with the stuff but the elements really need nothing to add to their absolute perfectness!  

Join us on our Fan Page and show us your makes with this fabulous kit found in the Dragons Lair Designs Store and play along with our March Challenge using our Bingo grid to have some more fun!  To make it easy all of our links are below so click and enjoy!

 Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog 

Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

March Challenge at Dragons Lair Designs!

We can start thinking about spring in my neck of the woods so bright colors and of course, Easter eggs are here!  The blue paper is from the Heavenly Collection Mini Kit given for February for Dragons Lair Designs Newsletter subscribers and it comes with some lovely elements.  The digital image is from a monthly challenge on our Fan Page from a year ago and I cannot remember the name nor find the link :( The challenge this month is a tic tac toe board pick 3 and play!  I chose Any Dragons Lairs Designs item, silver, and blue. Link up here .

I hope you will join us this month and play along so much fun to be had and a prize too!  Please visit our Facebook Page and Like us :)  Here are all of our links below:
  

Dragons Lair Designs Store

Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog

 Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group

Dragons Lair Designs Page

Janette Padley's Creations on craftsUprint

Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop

(Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs

Just a Piece of Wood

My Daddy loved working with wood  building things.  The last things he made were for me, a bunch of frames for canvases and some shadow boxes. I was walking around the yard and saw a left over 2 x 4 he had cut off while building something and I picked it up and went into the house and started on it.  A lot of tears along with the paint but it so connected me to him.

My son had bought me a couple of magazines right before we lost Daddy and this lovely idea was in there.  The whole project really takes shape around the shape of the bottle.  So a metal piece from my late husband's tool box made the hanger for the bottle which I covered with mica flakes. The droplets are Pebeo Moon and Fantasy paints (first time I tried them so a learning curve here) and I used a Dylusions stencil with Faber Castille Bead Paste then colored the base of gesso with Gelatos and colored the beads when dry.  The sentiment and die cut is from Tim Holtz's set.

We look forward to seeing your inspiring work this month at Rhedd's Creative Spirit and hope you turn something not so pretty into a lovely memory worth hanging up and looking at everyday!

May I enter this in Altered Eclectics March Anything Goes

Metal Magic at Rick St. Dennis Digi Fans and Friends

New challenge on the Facebook page at Rick St. Dennis and you can enter HERE!  The theme is "Metal Magic" add some faux or real metal or color a part of the image as if it were metal.  You know you have gone beyond the point of sanity when you see a plastic fork at a barbeque joint that looks just like metal and you take one even though you don't need it!  I saw this fork and it was ok whatever I do has to have this in it :)  I wanted a "Kitchen is closed" sign but my metal stamping kit was misplaced during the move to the loft and some pieces had vanished so alas the kitchen is open.
 I had also just gotten a book on mini quilts and I love incorporating sewing in my projects but never seem to do it so another element that had to be there.  Put it all together and I have a mini quilt kitchen hanging that I love the image on!  He is "Kitchen Robot Too, 2015" and so darn cute!

He is colored with Prisma colored pencils and the metal plate is from a soda can with some black acrylic paint to try to make the letters show up a bit more.  Then two screw heads glued on to attach to the 3 layers.

I hope to see your take on this theme in our challenge folder at the above link soon!  And below are some links you will enjoy shopping at and looking at :)

Facebook Page

Rick's Zibbet Store (cute and lovely)

Etsy Store (creep and dark)

Sparkle and Glitter Blog

Airless Chambers Blog

Carnival Time Down South!

Ole Henri (not pronounced Henry!) love gators and carnival!  The beads, the ladies, the floats, and that food! although where it goes I am not quiet sure!  He is dressed to the nines ready to lead the parades down St. Charles Street clear through to Canal Street down New Orleans way.  I have had my fun at many a parade but those days are behind me as I grow old :) but many fun memories of camping out to be first to catch a coconut thrown from the Zulu parade to beads from the celeb riding on the Krewe of Rex!  So although a little past Mardi Gras this year here is a happy nod to a blast from the past!

Of course, Henri has another name given him by Rick St. Dennis who captured our carnival joy perfectly with this image and it is " Voodoo Skullman" and voodoo is still alive and well in New Orleans and the bayou by the way best believe that!  Henri is colored with Prisma colored pencils and a bargain bin stamp was altered a bit to create the "beads" in the background with Inktense blocks and Gelatos.  The beads and gorgeous gator necklace/ornament for next year! were provided by my daughter who went to a safer part of our part of the woods and caught to contribute to this.  That gator better watch Henri...he loves to add a bit or alot to his gumbo!  

Remember our Facebook challenge is still going strong for February with the theme "Add an Arrow, Heart or Both" to any Rick St. Dennis image!  You can enter HERE!  Also, Rick now has his dark side on Etsy and the lovelies on his Zibbet stores so easy to just pick a store that suits your fancy or do like I do, visit them both and have a blast coloring and creating away!  There are also two blogs to follow and be inspired by:  Sparkle and Glitter and Airless Chambers where you can see projects from the EDT to hopefully inspire you as you inspire us on the Fan page on Facebook so keep those posting coming!  Cause it's carnival time as the song says but all year long!

New Kit at Dragons Lair Designs!

This is my first post for Dragons Lair Designs in quiet awhile as I was waiting for a surgery date that has now been put into another dimension I suppose so it is back to work for me :)  This new kit by Janette "Understated Elegance" is so lovely with its soft almost watercolor like flowers; it is truly beautiful.  I have never ever made a pillow box before but the kit makes it so easy that I wanted to try it first.  And I love the way it turned out!  The flowers can be used in so many ways, different layering, ways I don't even know how to do yet but I am learning!  

So check out this kit and many, many more at the Dragons Lair Design Store and check out our challenge HERE for February.  Also check out our Design Team Inspiration blog and see how my awesome teamies have used these fabulous kits!  

All of our links and please LIKE us on Facebook :)

• Dragons Lair Designs Online Shop (http://dragonslairdesigns.com/shop/)
• Dragons Lair Designs Fan Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/636646656454888/)
• Dragons Lair Designs Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/Dragons-Lair-Designs-443643142441261/)
• Dragons Lair Designs Inspiration Blog (http://stampingdragondesigns.blogspot.co.uk/)
• Dragons Lair Designs Challenge Blog (http://stampingwithdragon.blogspot.ie/)
• Janette Padley - Designer on craftsUprint (http://www.craftsuprint.com/janette-padley/)
• Dragons Lair Designs Etsy Shop (https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/dragonslairdesignz)
• Dragons Lair Designs Crafts Group - selling buttons and bits and bobs (https://www.facebook.com/groups/dragonslaircrafts/

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Love Me?

I have had this little Euro clown for a long time, too.  I have used him quiet a bit and love how a different color combination can change his whole theme.  I had these colors all done when I found out the theme at Rick St. Dennis Digi Fans and Friends Facebook page was "Add an Arrow or Heart or Both" so he wanted to come out and play, too!  His name is "Euro Clown with Flower ".

He is colored with Prisma colored pencils and Stampington & Company had a freebie paper in their magazine designed by Sara Wilkins that I just loved so of course I popped him onto it.  The little hearts were freebies in a card magazine but I cannot remember which one and the sentiment was made in Photoshop.  He seems to so want his Valentine to accept, doesn't he?

Still loads of time to play with us HERE and give us a like while you are there and stay for all the fun!  Rick's amazing images can be found at his stores in Etsy (dark, creep) and Zibbet (cute and those fab glam ladies!) so please take a look and bring some home!  Like this little clown, digital images are not for one time use, they can be used for many projects the only limit is your imagination.  Rick also has two blogs: Sparkle and Glitter and Airless Chambers where you can find tons of inspiration from the EDT. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hearts Abound

Our Facebook challenge at Rick St. Dennis Digi Fans and Friends page for February is "Arrows or Hearts or Both"!  This gorgeous image "Ring Mistress - Circus Showgirl" has been set aside for a 3D haunted carnival for almost a year now and I did get most of the pieces colored and assembled like my head wanted them to be when I had a collapse of the infrastructure!  So new ideas being given to me and plans still whirling around, I decided she had to come out in different colors for Valentine's.  Also, I didn't realize I was channeling my inner Marvel hero colors into her while coloring but I like them on her! 

She is one sassy Valentine and notice she isn't asking you to be her Valentine...she is telling you how it is :)  Colored with Prisma colored pencils and Faber-Castell markers in places for skin tones, then fussy cut and put onto red cardstock that was stamped once with StazOn Dove Gray ink, then ghosted almost with Black Soot Distress Ink after adding washi tape and stamping the whole first layer with "Spray Webbing" background stamp from Lost Coast Designs with gold gelatos to give it a gorgeous shimmer.  The Black Soot had to be last as it is water reactive like the gelatos.  The edges have a dark golden gelato smeared around and then adhered the mixed media red cardstock to some kraft paper with hearts abounding!  The sentiment was made in Photoshop and I had just popped the top on a lovely bottle of wine and it had the awesome red seal that is placed under the sentiment which is edged with red Nuance Powders (available now at Lost Coast Designs) and has some of the gold gelato from the stamp on it in places.

Such fun working with such awesome images, the choices are mind boggling wanting to work on so many at one time :)  Hope you take the time to visit our Facebook page and like it and a must do is visit Rick's shops at Etsy (dark images) and Zibbet (lovely, fashion, holidays, etc.)!

Mixed Media Pendant

The concept of a mixed media pendant or any jewelry had me pretty lost until I started looking into it.  And then it was such a no brainer :)  I got these fabulous bezels in a bag of mixed pieces from a thrift store and I found a nice scrap of paper and stamped the Eiffel Tower and a key with a bargain bin stamp.  The embossing glue, powders, and some tiny seed beads since I didn't have any micro beads (on my wish list!) then heated with a heat gun.  Note: wear a mask or at least have good ventilation as it does produce some nasty fumes!  The final step was putting some Dimensional Magic on top to seal everything including the tiny golden key that came in that thrift store bag.

Come join us at Rhedd's Creative Spirit Challenge this month which is "Anything Goes" but must be mixed media or altered art.  You can check out the rules and leave us some of your work to inspire us!

Love is in the sea?

So excited to be writing my first post for the Rick St. Dennis Elite Design Team!  I am thrilled and honored to be able to work with these fabulous images and share my humble results with you.  It is Valentine's month, so our Facebook Challenge is "Use an Arrow or Heart or Both".  This poor old siren of the sea has had her heart broken.  Alas, many, many times.  But she sheds her tears for a moment, then she gets revenge!  That pile of bones did not just float down to land under her....she had a hand and fin in that!

She is named "Lair of the Sea Witch, 2015" and is colored with Prisma colored pencils with some marker touches to her.  I stamped a bargain bin arrow with a heart and the heart just happened to land on one of the skulls eyes so I was happy with that. The background is shaded with pencils, a music stamp in tea dye Distress Ink, and some "bubbles" in Nuance blue powder and white pearl acrylic paint. The the top of a Sharpie made some neat small dots. Distressed the edges and inked with distress ink and popped her on top of some sea faring designer paper topped with some netting from a beach shop.  And don't let the brand of pencils or markers stop you from enjoying Rick's images and fab coloring books....Crayola colored pencils can do just fine!

And lastly, the inside of the card says it all!  I think she maybe a little optimistic on this but hey, her heartache, her show.  

Make sure you check us out at Rick's Facebook page and his blogs, Sparkle and Glitter Blog and Airless Chambers.   And always check out Rick St. Dennis's fabulous images on Etsy and at Zibbet, you won't be disappointed :)

Sparkle Cracked Bird from Lost Coast Designs New Releases

It's Wicked Wednesday ATC time and the challenge is to make it sparkle.  I just love these Cracked Critters from Lost Coast Designs and I thought she deserved to sparkle!   The background is metallic gelatos and DecoArt Shimmer Mist with some gold shimmer spray from Lindy's Stamp Gang on watercolor paper gessoed first.  I added some white clouds with gesso and my finger for the sky. The shimmer will not show up for anything on the camera but this thing shimmers, a lot!  I stamped the "Cracked Chicken"  on the ATC directly and then again on white cardstock and colored with gelatos and Inktense blocks used like watercolors and fussy cut.  The tag "Funky" is from another new release "Mis. Words"  which I use so often!  I stamped it on a piece of my spray catcher paper that had a fab golden shimmer and put on pop dots.  

Don't forget that our challenge at Lost Coast Portal to Creativity for this month is "Clean and Simple" emphasis on simple so why not come play with us?  To play go HERE  And our Facebook Challenge for Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda is still going on so follow the links below to find them and the details.  Also, don't forget that Dream in Darkness is "Anything Goes" oddities, weirdness, dark, steampunk, just no cute and you can enter you fabulous weirdness HERE.. We have two fab sponsors this month but you have to play to have a chance!  And I am entering this funky, sparkle bird at Wicked Wednesday's ATC Challenge "Sparkle"

Lost Coast and Carmen's Veranda Facebook Pages

Like us

here

and 

here!

I Dream of the Sea

It is funny, I can't swim a lick but love the ocean and the sight, smell, and feel of a beach!  Just don't let the water go above my knees!  I also love the concept of shrines and love the ones that SilverCrow Creations and Retro Cafe have for sale to decorate.  But you do know my love of all things cardboard so a tight budget and the idea that I can make a form of a shrine (not nearly as neat as theirs!) led me to this one made by fitting a lid inside a bottom of a jewelry gift box from Christmas last year.  Yes, I am a hoarder!  So with inspiration from a magazine for the top of the shrine, this came into being.

The page behind her came from a brochure of the Alabama beaches and is a very weird fish sticking his head out of a hole so I decided they would be friends like that "movie" about a mermaid :)  The netting is filled with strings of pearls and she has some actually bright blue beads that came out green in the pic! all from Mardi Gras parades over the years. All the sea shells including the huge shell she is sitting on are from Gulfshores, Alabama, my slice of heaven!  She is a dollar tree doll that the body proportions were alright but her head was HUGE!  So she got a face lift/replacement with the "Doll Face" stamp  from Lost Coast Designs.  The word magic behind the clear bauble on front is also from Lost Coast Designs new releases "Mis. Words" I have used this collection of words on almost every project I have made since getting it!  The letters were a Michael's find when the bargain bin was still a dollar down here and had a set of fall covered chipboard letters in it. I base coated them in a light blue and then used DecoArt's white interference paint in drops on each letter with their blue fluid acrylic paint drug through it with a paint brush. Then a light top coat of pearl white. The hanging bauble was from Christmas decorations from dollar tree and a wire earring that I made a bunch of sets and ended up with a leftover.  Her dress is gold silky fabric hand stitched and just hot glued in place and tucked around her.  Too long a post, so I know most of this is pretty easy to see what is what!

I can now say this is my second shrine; the first being another homemade one with "Standing Alfred Hitchcock" and "Large Skeleton Shrine" from Carmen's Veranda Stamps.  I have a lot of room for improvement but am happy with it.  She will sit in my newly almost clean craft loft to remind me of the beaches and the happiness they bring me!

I am entering her in the following challenges:

Altered Eclectics

Try it on Tueday  "Letters and Numbers" I have used letters for the "SEA" and "MAGIC"

That Craft Place Challenge Blog

Lunagirl Moonbeams  "Babies and Children" 

My mermaid is a little girl to fit this challenge, well, she is a little girl so she fits the challenge theme :) 

Avenue 613Anything Goes with a Twist of Birthday/Anniversary
Creative Fingers Anything Goes

Time for January's Progressive Challenge at Sparkle and Glitter

Sparkle and Glitter Progressive Challenge has started for the new year.  You use any Rick St. Dennis image you have for January then you will email for a free image that we will all work with for the next month! Cool deal, huh?  I just love this glamorous Diva so she has been colored up a while but her hair just didn't make the cut.  However, she looked so sad sitting there all dressed up and no place to go so I made a quick card out of her.  I love the feathers, Rick has an awesome YouTube video on coloring feathers! and I had a feather die and she gets to shine.  Another try on her hair is coming!

Meet Miss Razz L. Dazzle in all her glory!  You can find her at Rick's Zibbet shop along with a ton of other fab digital images!  Colored in Prisma colored pencils, with some Promarker accents, I used rad and black to make her pop a bit.  I love her hair and all :)  

The challenge will run all month long at Sparkle and Glitter so get your RSD images and stamps out and make something and then get to wait for the surprise image for next month free!

Queen Mab for Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge

The theme for Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge Blog is "New".  I took a hint from the awesome Granne who is winning up a storm everywhere with her gorgeous work and used a brand new stamp that arrived yesterday from Butterside Down Stamps.  She is Queen Mab and has been on on wish list for a year and now I have her!  I used a background for a kit I made for my daughter to sell on her Zibbet store (student loans!) and a few bits and bobs from it.  

The image is showing a bit too short but it is ATC sized backed by a playing card but I am taking photos lying down as back problems have hit again.  Hope you can play along with anything "new" like New Years which has a lot of potential makes but a new stamp?  Had to go for it :)  Stay inky and messy!

Entering Wicked Wednesday "New"

Happy New Year's From Rhedd's Creative Spirit

I saw several YouTube videos on how to make your own old fashion alarm clock from an altered tuna can.  Loved them all and the scenes inside of them were awesome!  The one I do remember is from Illene McInnes and it is detailed so no way to mess up...love that!  So that meant time to make something for Rhedd's Creative Spirit Challenge Blog design team!   I started out with a can that was too deep...not good for photos or layering the scene and no idea that without certain supplies it could turn into a finger burning, parts falling off, long drawn out affair :)   But with one really sore finger tip to show for my work, it did go from this...

to this...

I improvised a whole lot but the pinks and blues make me think of frosty things even though it is in the 80's here today!   I had the deer head die ages ago from the sale bin at Hobby Lobby, the little gold deer (I gave him a pink nose) is from a set of four by Heidi Swapp, the little bottle brush tree posed on a pink bauble hill is from the awesome Silver Crow Creations, and the white poinsettia is a huge one cut up and a shiny blue bead glued to it.  I stamped the word "Joy" from the Mis Words Set from Lost Coast Designs and glued under a blue bauble that magnified it and the little angel is from my Mom's former ceramic shop days.  Lots of glitter and a scrabble tile to hold it up and it was ready to start ticking off the minutes of 2016!

Happy New Year's! 

i would like to enter this in the Creative Artiste Mixed Media  Challenge for January 
and 
Altered Eclectives januaryy