november journal prompt

november's journal prompt: if you could be any creature what would it be? come follow along in the monthly journal prompt at the flickr group. we'd love to have you join in! http://www.flickr.com/groups/1570781@N20

stampotique poison bottle challenge

this week's challenge at stampotique was to do a poison bottle. i stamped the cream backgound with the spirit definition stamp. then i layered a rectangle piece of paper on top that i used the alphabitties stamp to stamp out the word poison. even the little "x's" on the side of the word is the letter "x" from that stamp. i used the skeleton head from the halloween cube 2 stamp to stamp on shrinky dink to use as a charm. check out the stampotique designer's blog to see more of the fabulous design teams' poison bottles.

EXCITING NEWS

in the beginning of the new year you will be able to find my name in the category of STAMPS BY ARTIST on the stampotique website. yup, that's right, i have signed on with this wonderful stamp company to design my own line of rubber stamps. i am so passionate about stamping so this couldn't be a more perfect fit for me. i feel so blessed and honored to be on this new journey. stay tuned for more information as the debut of my stamp line draws nearer.

journal page in progress

here is a journal page in progress - i still have some things to do on it but it's coming along. i like to save extra doodling for times when i can just sit and get lost in them. i know that "less is more" sometimes but for some reason i seem to find that i like to "busy up" my pages so there is always something new to see when you look at them.

shadow box for stampotique design team

as you might remember from a previous post, i mentioned that i am a guest designer for stampotique for the month of october. it has really been wonderful to design for them. for this week i made a shadowbox using their images exclusively.
to make this shadowbox i used some old bingo balls that i painted orange-red and used some brown ink to distress them. i used a black marker to color the debossed numbers. brads fasten a black metal drawer plate over some patterned paper on the bottom front of the box.

here is a close up of the inside of the shadowbox.

i used patterned paper to line the back and sides of the inside of the box. i tore some green patterned paper to use as gross knolls in the background. i also created a lip with the green paper which would sit at the very edge of box. i used a one inch circle punch and punched out a yellow circle which i used distress inks on and glued it in the upper corner for a moon. i added a few star stickers in the sky.
i stamped the tree on the background and then on paper which i cut out by hand and used pop dots to give it dimension. i stamped the picket fence on white card stock, used markers to add shadowing and hand cut it out. i double my pop dots to bring it out even further from the background.
after i had the picket fence in place i hand drew some grass blades on patterned paper and hand cut it out. i used that grass in front of the picket fencing.
i stamped the skull on white card stock and used markers for shadowing. i also stamped mary on white card stock and used markers to color the body in. i cut off the head and replaced it with the skull, as well as shortened her legs so she could stand inside the box. i hand cut out a crown to fit and glued it on top of the skull. i used pop dots for the image once again.
i stamped the pumpkins on various orange card stock, added some shadows with markers and tripled the use of pop dot thickness to give them even more dimension.

more gratitude

here is another page from my gratitude journal.

gratitude journal

i'm still grateful and i'm still working in my gratitude journal.

another journal cover

here is another journal cover from a journal i just completed in that non-traditional binding method i've been experimenting with the past month. i am compiling a little mound of these journals in all sorts of sizes. i am thinking about listing some of them on etsy. stay tuned.

another journal cover

here is another journal cover for this kind of journal i'm working on that is bound by a non-traditional method - no sewing required. i've been making a bunch of these gathering my learning curve.

stampotique challenge

there is a stampotique designer's challenge going on and the call is for tags. You are allowed to use stamps from any company for this challenge, but i recommend you grab your favorite stampotique stamps and get stamping.
to make this tag i used a manilla tag and used distress inks to color the background. i stiched a circle on the tag and then cut it out and pushed the edges up and out. i stamped three in a round on white cardstock and used a gray marker to create some shadows. i stamped the image on black cardstock and then mounted the white images on top of the black cardstock and glued it to the back of the tag so it showed through the opening i created in the tag. i stamped the word boo using the alphabitties stamp . then i used the spirit definition stamp on orange cardstock and restamped it and cut out some words i wanted to highlight and glued those blocks on top to create dimension. i sewed a piece of green silk ribbon across the bottom and added a piece of spider halloween ribbon trim.

making some journals

i've been working on some new ideas for making and binding journals. here is one of the journal covers i made. i've been on a roll and have made quite a few in various sizes. so i'm sure i'll be sharing some more of the different covers in future posts.

the big journal

i'm continuing to work in that REALLY big journal i shared with you on a previous blog post. i cannot tell you how much i love working in it. so i'm happy to share another peek into it. here is one part of one the pages in it.

journal pages

on sept. 29th's blog post i posted this page as i was just starting it. here is what the completed journal spread looks like. i am thankful that my friend, terri, started this journal idea. i had started a gratitude journal a few years ago and i might have used it a couple days and then it just got pushed to the wayside. this has been a very good reminder to be grateful for all our blessings, no matter how big or how small.

another sneak peek

here is a journal i made that is being featured in the cloth paper scissors gifts issue for 2011/12. i gutted the book and hand stitched the inside pages. when that was finished i constructed a cover to fit out of the contact collage paper. i added some lace trim, jewelry pieces and edging for some textural elements.

gratitude journal

my friend, terri, had a great idea to start a gratitude journal. i am not sure why it took me so long to actually start it, but i finally did a couple of days ago, because i have SO many things to be grateful for. now that i started i sit down every night at the end of my day and think about all the positive things that happened to me. what a terrific way to end a day!

contact paper collage

as promised in an earlier blog posts i am going to share a sneak peek of one of the projects that made it into publication in the 2011 cloth paper scissors gift issue. it is a tote bag that i made with the contact paper collage. gosh i love using that material to make things. it is super sturdy and has endless possibilities.
i will give you a look at another piece that will be featured, too, in a later post.

altered envelope for stampotique

there is something about making altered envelopes that i love, so i decided to make one as a project for the stampotique guest designer spot for october.

i used distress inks and acrylic paints to create the background. i used spirit definition and stamped it in the lower left hand corner of the envelope. i stamped the tree on a hand drawn knoll, and also stamped 2 pumpkins over the spirit definition to create some visual interest in the background. i stamped another pumpkin on white cardstock, used markers to color it and then cut it out and glued it to the envelope. i stamped relaxin, once on the envelope where i wanted the image to be (omitting ink from the umbrella), and then once on white cardstock. i used watercolors and markers to color the image in and then cut it out. instead of using the umbrella i made a happy halloween sign and glued it down and used a marker to make a stick coming from her hand. i then used markers to do other decorative marks and make the address label.

stampotique

i was selected to be a guest designer for stampotique for the month of october. i love their stamps! i really enjoyed making my projects for the upcoming challenges. you can check out the design team blog here to read more about the stampotique designers challenges. i encourage you to join in on the fun.

cloth paper scissors gift issue 2011

i am honored to announce that i have an article on contact paper collage on page 68. there are so many great gift ideas so if you have a chance to pick up a copy i recommend it highly. i will post some other photos of my projects included in future posts.