My Next Adventure

  

Starting a new adventure! I joined the 21 Secrets and so far (one day) it's been really fun! And I  haven't  even gotten to the part where I'm creating art yet! Only $59 for 21 classes from 21 instructors – seemed like a great deal to me. Heck, I spend that much at the very least in one trip to JoAnn's! It looks VERY inspiring. And there are SO many nice people that I'm already meeting! There's a dedicated Facebook page for attendees only and several have already joined my Art Journaling Facebook page, too. 

I printed off some pages to read for a couple classes and have started watching some of the videos. I've worked on my profile, uploaded a photo (I'm using my drawing of Betty Alpha I did years ago because I like her and she seems to look and feel creative). I've uploaded some of my scans of journal pages. I think I'm nearly ready to start creating art. But it might be a bit late to begin tonight. 

I also have to get a few cards done for birthdays for relatives coming up. And I'm also planning a trip to Austin for work and also a bit of vacay... to visit friends. I'm SO looking forward to it. 

Well that's my update for now... stay tuned for more artwork to come! And consider joining the 21 Secrets – it runs through January of 2014 and you can sign up any time and go at your own pace (which I LOVE) so it's very open ended and non-pressure.

If you want to sign up, here's the link: 21 Secrets

Happy Halloween! Day 31

 

The last day of the 31 days! I made it! This fun little book I made for Sharon and she generously photographed it for me so I could include it here on the last day. There are many stamps here, some you may have seen on some of my other projects. 

I had great fun making this book, I believe most of these are on glossy Kromakote paper and are colorized with stippling and/or markers. It's a tiny photo book I got at JoAnn's. 

I hope you all have enjoyed the 31 Days of Halloween as much as I have – fun making the projects, fun seeing what everyone else has done (I will still be getting caught up on that through the weekend I think!) and fun getting such lovely comments and support from everyone. What a great group we have! I'm already looking forward to next year! I'll have to get myself in gear and participate more in challenges through the year so I can stay in touch! Thanks to everyone for making this such a fun 31 Days!

Happy Halloween!

The Penultimate ATCs – Day 30!

Today's ATCs were themed around some word stamps from Stampers Anonymous that I've had for years. They seemed to be words I could work with for Halloween. Tomorrow is the last day of the 31 days – hard to believe! We've nearly made it and it's been a fun ride - I will still probably spend another week or so going back and catching up on many of the blog posts that I've missed over the course of the month – some evenings I pooped out and didn't get to everyone on every day, much as I wanted to. I want to also thank everyone who has visited my blog and left such lovely and wonderful comments – they are very appreciated!

Day of the Dead ATCs – Day 29

Ok, I posted this yesterday but it didn't seem to show up for some reason – I'll blame it on Sandy! Seriously, though, I hope everyone is ok who might live on the east coast or any area affected by Sandy. Stay safe peeps! We actually have a little snow on the ground this morning.

These ATCs are in the Day of the Dead theme this time, in my favorite purple, green, black color combo. The main images are from Invoke arts. There are papers, ribbon and tapes on these as well as other embellishments.

Halloween ATCs – Day 28!

Today you get 4 for the "price" of one! Four little ATCs that I created at Sharon's on our last Halloween extravaganza craft-fest. Quite a lot of my 31 Days of Halloween came from that weekend, actually. This set sports a lot of the Halloween papers I've been pushing myself to use and not simply drool over the pads – ATCs are just great for using those odds and ends of scraps. And a variety of stamps were used as well, with some ribbons, tags and decorative tapes also for good measure!

We are in the home stretch of the last few days of the 31 Days of Halloween – I'll be sad when it is over, it's been such fun! If you haven't visited the others on the blog roll, it's at the right and there are just LOADS of wonderful Halloween goodness to explore! Thanks for stopping by!

Boo to You! – Day 27

Boy, it's late and I'm tired! This lovely raven flew in from Stampers Anonymous. The trees are from Stampscapes, the fence is from Mrs. O'Leary's (they have THE coolest booth at the stamp shows - but I think I heard they aren't coming to Ohio any more so Sharon & I will have to order online from now on). The clouds in the background are also Stampscapes. I put together some of my cards to mail out to friends tonight – it just dawned on me that I better get them into the mail if they will get in time for Halloween! It is getting closer!

By now you probably all know about the blog roll at the right and to go and visit all the other Wicked Bloggers' web sites to see all the other wonderfully creepy artful creations. Please share the love!

Wicked Bookmarks – Day 26

When thinking of an idea of what to do for today's entry I recalled a couple years ago doing some bookmarks on glossy paper for Halloween. If you haven't seen them they are on my Flickr site here: Halloween Bookmark 

Without looking them up,, I thought I'd try something in that vein, or at least as I remembered them. I figured they'd be fresher if I didn't look them up first, so I wouldn't be influenced by what I'd done before. I actually did the skeleton one first. The main skeleton is from Tim Holtz, the skull is a stamp I had made from clip art years ago, the swirls are from A Stamp in the Hand and the stripes on the "floor" are another Tim Holtz stamp. The "Do Not Disturb" is from a stamp on a clear set I think is Anna Griffin and I finished the sentiment with my own handwriting.

The bookmark on the left is a Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers stamp – I love their stamps, especially the old-timey ones. We used to see them at conventions but haven't for years now, but I bet they are still online. The ticket stub is a Stampers Anonymous (can you tell I like their stamps?) and the swirls are an unidentified clear stamp set, probably Inkadinkado, but there's nothing on the set now so I can't tell. Most of the stippling is done with Marvy pads and the edging done with Colorbox Chalk pads.

Be sure to check out the blog roll at the right and visit all the other Wicked Bloggers who are participating in the 31 days of Halloween – if you haven't done so already... I'm at the bottom of the list, so perhaps you have already come down the line.... and if so, thanks for hanging in there and getting to me! I really appreciate all the comments and visits.

It's all Black and White – Day 25

Well this one is jam-packed with Halloween goodness! I won't list all the stamps included (some you've seen in a few of my other projects) but to highlight a few of the ones you may not have yet seen: the scared cat is from Judi Kins (he's SO cute!), the raven on the headstone is Inkadinakado, so it the big swirly spider web, the spider furtherst to the right, and the words in the center. The bat furthest to the left side is from the Edward Gorey Kidstamp set. The tiny bats are a Stamps by Judith stick. The skeleton hands are a stamp I had made from clip art. The mesh is from a large Stampers Anonymous stamp. I also used a punch for the words to go on – the punch is an EK Success punch. I added a little stippling for depth and drew in the dots where the bats had flown (I love doing that!). This was fun. I was going to leave it all black and white but decided that a little orange on the words would make them stand out a bit. This was fun to put together and I got to go through nearly all my Halloween stamps to figure out what might fit!

If you haven't already visited all the other Wicked Bloggers in the list to the right – be sure to do so! There are some pretty awesomely creepy creations to see! Thanks for hanging in there and visiting my site!

Halloween Pendant – Day 24

 Today's offering is a pendant (pay no attention to that creepy spider - he's just trying to get in on the action - and bummed that he didn't make it onto the porch display with several of his spidey friends).

I forget the brand of these pendants, but you can find them at JoAnn's and probably Michael's.  I think I got mine at a stamp convention from Gary Burlin. I'm sure you can find them online. They have little glass panels (sold separately, of course) that slide in on both sides of your artwork and then you close the frame up at the corner - if you look closely you can see the flange of the clasp in the photo.

I love the colors purple and turquoise - this will go with lots of clothes that I have. I also love that it is two-sided so I can flip it for two looks – like having two necklaces in one.

Hop on over to all the other wicked blogger's sites (using the list at the right - if you aren't already aware) but if you are going in order from the top – then GOOD NEWS... I'm last and your journey today is at an end! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the comments!

Creepy Swamp House - Day 23

This is done on a DVD card I got last year (or was it the year before?) from a Video store that was going out of business - these cards were what people looked through to decide what DVDs or videos to get. I painted over a few parts and added some stamping - the crackle stamp is a big cube from Stampendous, the fence from Seaside Stampin' Ink, the skeleton is from Invoke Arts. The barbed wire stamp is a Tim Holtz stamp and the little creature in the lagoon is an Edward Gorey stamp, the crow is unmounted and I'm not sure what company he is from. I had to add a bit of white Distress Marker and some black Sharpie marker to make things stand out. The card was slightly glossy and so it was a little hard to stamp on. And I added the red torn paper to balance the color. It's a creepy, swampy look – I hope you enjoy it.

Be sure to check out everyone else's work in the blog hop if you haven't already – there's loads of really awesome art for you to see! And thanks to everyone who has left comments on my site.... every one is very appreciated – especially to those who have been hanging in for the long haul!

What does the Future Hold? – Day 22

This is a stamp from Stampers Anonymous, the corners are from A Stamp in the Hand. It's not easy to see, but on the purple background is a stamp from Impression Obsession - I really like how those work with the large acrylic rocker device. I'm also not sure how well it shows up in the scan, but there is a moveable "spinner" attached by a brad – that will indicate the answer to your question about your fortune – what do you want to know about the future?

Another Ghostie with the Mostie! – Day 21

This fun little ghost is from a foam stamp set I got at Archivers ages ago - the white images are stamped with Brilliance ink pad (my go-to pad for doing things in white). He's sporting a bowler from a clear stamp set from Inkadinkado (4 cute hats) that all the stylish ghosts are wearing this season. The little circle embellishment is actually cut from some of the Halloween patterned paper, as is the black and white paper on the right. You can't see it too well on here, but I also edged the card with the white pad, a favorite technique of mine to give it a casual, arty look.

Spooky Little Ghost! – Day 20

Another spooky tag card. I just love this funny ghost - he's a Magenta stamp, the word 'spooky' is from one of the Inkadinkado clear stamp sets. I forget where the spider web stamp is from, and the tile texture stamp is from Stamper's Anonymous. I stippled the re around the edge of the stamp - I believe it's a red Marvy stamp pad.

Baarlo the Keesond Puppy – 4 weeks old!

Baarlo the Keeshond puppy had his 4th week birthday yesterday and I got to go see him! Isn't he the cutest thing E.V.E.R? I think he may get his very own blog soon – I'm quite sure he will have a LOT to say – and "mom" will be taking lots of pictures of him.

Wicked Pumpkin Circus Dolls – Day 19

Ok, this one is a little weird, I admit. I hope it doesn't give you any nightmares! Creepy pumpkin dolls... escaped from some macabre circus or something. I do like how the sky and moon turned out. That is a Stampscapes stamp - they nearly always turn out looking pretty awesome. The trees are a Stampscapes stamp also. I believe the body of the large "doll" is from Lost Coast Stamps. The witch hat is that punch that I used in some of the other cards. I liked experimenting with a different sized card for a change, too.

Some 'Just Because' pictures

These are NOT anything I created – but they are cute and Halloween so I thought I'd share. I've decorated the top of my filing cabinet next to where I sit at work and took a couple of quick pics of it yesterday. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

The little houses I got from Sharon a few years ago – they light up, I'm not sure if that just doesn't show up in the photo or perhaps I didn't have them switched on. The trees, in both pictures I just got a JoAnn's this season. The two cute little pumpkin/jack o'lantern guys and the two ravens I got at a craft store in northern Ohio called Pat Catan's when Sharon and I were on a little crafty shopping spree last year. The stuffed dog is from that new movie (I haven't even seen yet) Frankenweenie – and I saw him at Barnes & Noble and he begged me to take him home with me and I just couldn't refuse him. He came to work as it turned out, but I explained to him that that is even better, as I seem to spend more time there than at home – especially lately!

I have great plans for decorating my porch for Beggars' Night and I guess I should get started soon and not leave it til the last minute like I so often do!

Let's Party Like It's Oct. 31! - Day 18

This stamp makes me want to go to a Halloween costume party for sure! It's an All Night Media stamp that I colored with markers and the sentiment is a Hero Arts stamp. I forget what the textured "ribbon" is called but I have some of that I got years ago in several colors. It makes a nice textural element. I usually run it through the Xyron machine so I can stick it down, that seems to work better than white glue or spray glue or tape runner.

Thanks for commenting and visiting my blog! I hope you are enjoying the 31 Days of Halloween (if you haven't yet visited everyone else on the hop see the blog roll to the right and check out all the other great art from the other Wicked Bloggers that are participating!)

Hokey Pokey Rather than Hocus Pocus! - Day 17

This came to me based on the little skeleton stamps. Again my memory fails me on what stamp company these are from. The bone on the side is a Stamps by Judith fat stick stamp though. Sorry I missed getting this posted by this morning's deadline - I was at work yesterday until 2:30 a.m. helping with NBC doing a live broadcast at midnight following the Presidential debate. It was kinda fun and very interesting - but a VERY, VERY LONG day! I will be very glad when this election is over I must say.

I will post tomorrow's entry in a few minutes so I'll be caught back up. Thanks for bearing with me!

Let's make a Deal! What's behind Curtain #3? - Day 16

Did someone yesterday mention Alice? Well here she is! She's a stamp from a set that Sharon and I had made quite a long while ago - with that hat punch added on her head. The swirly stamp is a favorite Magenta stamp of mine and the little creepy skull baby thing is one of Sharon's that I just love - and can never remember what company it's from! It's so wonderfully creepy-weird. The words were also from the Alice set that Sharon and I concocted and the tiny tag is from a paper set I got at a convention last year from some really cool loose papers that we picked out - they had some really cool Alice Halloween and Wizard of Oz Halloween papers and tags that I just loved - maybe it was Paper Crazy? Sharon? You remember the name of the booth?

(update) I *may* have to turn the security code thingy back on - I'm starting to get spam bots leaving lengthy comments that I have to delete. I will see if they persist before turning it back on - I know it's a pain, though I see several other Wicked Bloggers are continuing to use it, so we will see if it proves to be necessary.

Does this Magical Cat Look Familiar? - Day 15

I put my cats on pedestals, don't you? This witchy kitty named Talisman knows he's on top the world - especially at Halloween! See the magic radiating from him and his spidery friend, Igor, who likes hanging out with him?

He is from All Night Media, the pedestal from A Stamp In the Hand, the fence from Seaside Stampin Ink, the spider and spider web from Hero Arts, I'm not sure about the bullseye (I think it's Hampton Art Stamps), and the scratchy texture on the background is a Tim Holtz stamp. The little hat is a punch. The purple and yellow was done by stippling using Marvy pads. I think that's it!

This little guy has always been one of my favorite kitty stamps - I probably use him more than any other of my many cat stamps - I just adore the expression on his cute little face - so much character - just like my for real cats! I can't believe we are rounding the halfway point in our 31 days - I will be sad when it is all over! It's been such fun so far!

Creepy Critters do Trick or Treat! - Day 14

More Inkadinkado stamps here.... as the pets take to Trick or Treating. Fido is, of course, dreaming of bones (those are a Stamps by Judith stick stamp). The scallop is a new punch I got from EK Success. And of course more of the endless (or nearly endless) supply of patterned papers - along with a ribbon from a set of ribbons I got at JoAnn's (they've been very hand). And another appearance of the white Distress Marker - who's rapidly becoming the star of the show this holiday season!

I don't always put directions on every day - but this is a "blog hop" so if you haven't been to all the other Wicked Bloggers - or aren't aware of the hop - check out the blog roll list to the right and visit all the other Wicked Bloggers participating in the 31 Days of Halloween and see all the other wonderful creepy creations everyone else is working on - you won't be disappointed!