Purple Gesso Reindeer

This is part two of my gesso card endeavor, and I really like the colors and textures. I used the same technique as my black and red card, using the Tim Holtz masks; except this time I colored the gesso with acrylic paint before hand and used a tone-on-tone purple.

The Prickley Pear reindeer image was heat embossed over glossy cardstock that had been colored using alcohol inks and red acrylic. The edges were colored using a gold leaf pen, and I added green glitter to the gesso before it dried. I love the playfulness of this card, and the fun colors!

All I Want For Christmas Is Gesso

After reviewing my blog post from the past couple of weeks, I realized that I have been thoroughly neglecting my beloved Prickley Pear stamps. So when I sat down to make something yesterday I decided to pull out my new sheet of Christmas images. Then I sat. And sat. I could not think of anything to make!!!!! My brain must have been really drained; I had no mojo. At least I didn't until I glanced in the mirror.

No, I'm not trying to be snobby. I glanced at the CLOTHING I was wearing and got a color and layout idea! My shirt yesterday was a really pretty floral printed tank in black and white, and I covered it with a cropped red button up sweater. It looked great together, and inspired my gesso card.


*click for bigger pics


I started this card by masking with some mask shapes from Tim Holtz, and then covering them with white gesso. After I peeled the masks off, I was left with an awesome flower print. The top half of the card is a really sultry red velvet paper, which is hard to see in the picture, but super soft. I used the Retro Trees Ornament from Prickley Pear on glossy paper, and mounted that on top of a line of ribbon and black tulle. The final touch was the black buttons in the corners.

I LOVE this card! I think it's elegant and pretty, and still has a little Smeared and Smudged influence. I'd love to hear what you think about it. Tomorrow I'll be sharing another gesso card that I made using Prickley Pears. Until then...

Smeared and Smudged Design Team Call!!!

Do you have a different way of looking at things when it comes to rubber stamping? Smeared and Smudged is looking for a few "dark" Design Team Members. Smeared and Smudged is a growing Ning group that focuses on alternative, vintage, gothic, and out-of-the-norm rubber stamp art.

To see the type of art styling that I am looking for, please visit the ning group at http://smearedandsmudged.ning.com ,or visit the Smeared and Smudged Blog at http://www.moresmearedink.blogspot.com .

Requirements for Smeared and Smudged Design Team:

*You must have an active blog.
*You must be or become a member of the Smeared and Smudged Ning Group.
*DT requirements will be to design three cards and one altered item per month, and post those designs on both your blog and the Smeared and Smudged Ning Group. Every project must use a rubber stamp image somewhere.
*Each DT member will be assigned a group from Smeared and Smudged. One of your monthly cards must follow the requirements of that group and be posted in that group. The groups will rotate. To view some of the groups available, please visit Smeared and Smudged on Ning.
* You must actively participate in The Vent group on Smeared and Smudged. A minimum requirement is three posts a week.

Benefits of Smeared and Smudged Design Team:

• Your blog will be featured on both the S&S Ning Group and blog.
• You will receive one goodie package from me each month that you can use on your projects. It is not required that you use these items, and the items will vary.
• You can use any supplies you like on your projects.
• You get to network with other wicked awesome stampers who share the same love for out-of-the-norm stamping.
• You get to sport a really cool S&S Button on your blog.

To Apply, please email the following information to zaharstudio@gmail.com

Name
Email
Blog URL
Pictures of three cards and one altered item that best represent your style of stamping.
Why you would like to be a DT Member for Smeared and Smudged.

Deadline for Submissions is Friday, November 27, 2009
Winners will be contacted by Monday, November 30.
DT term will run for four months starting December 1, 2009

Bombshell Hump Day Hop

This week I am not able to participate in the hop, I had some obligations that needed to be tended to, so I haven't really had a chance to stamp so far this week. But, I thought I'd point you in the right direction and link to the hoppers! Be sure to give these ladies a visit and see their awesome projects!

Angela

Kathi

Ms. November - Mary G.

Gabby

Miss Magoo

Lyss

Kas

The Creationist Tree Spinner- Bombshell Hump Day Hop

Welcome to the first November Bombshell Hump Day Hop! Just in case you haven't been here before, each Wednesday the Bombshell Design Team brings you a wicked blog hop that features themed stamp projects and fabulous prizes!

Getting an entry to win is really easy. Just take a look at my project and leave me a comment. Then hop over to the other DT member blogs and leave them a comment about their project as well. For every comment you make, you get an entry.

This week we are all welcoming our Ms. November Bombshell, Mary G.

Big, warm welcomes to you, Mary!!!

Ms. November has presented us with a challenge that rocks, literally. Our challenge is to use song lyrics as inspiration for our project, and I am so thrilled to be participating this week. I LOVE using song lyrics! To view the challenge details, visit the Bombshell Stamps Forum after you've hopped.

For my project I wanted to use the song "The Creationist" by Kerli, which is the song playing on my blog today. The lyrics are:

This is an old and funny poem
I accidentally overheard.
It keeps the little children playing
And bigger children spread the word.
My memory is bad so I always tend to forget
How it goes but

Life is my creation.
Is my best friend.
Imagination is my defense.
And I’ll keep walking
When skies are grey.
Whatever happens
Was meant that way.

Your no better or no worse than the others
We are all the same.
Life is just a moment
You might as well enjoy this day.
It’s time to start believing that everything you want is
On its way and

Life is my creation.
Is my best friend.
Imagination is my defense.
And I’ll keep walking
When skies are grey.
Whatever happens
Was meant that way.

We’ll be growing
Into knowing
While we’re flowing
Keep on going

Life is my creation.
Is my best friend.
Imagination is my defense.
And I’ll keep walking
When skies are grey.
Whatever happens
Was meant that way.

I’m a creationist, oh
I’m a creationist.

This is an old and funny poem
I accidentally overheard

When I listened to the lyrics I knew I wanted to make something free and creative, so I chose to make a tree spinner. It is similar to a windchime; you hang it in a tree or on a porch outside, but instead of making noise it spins in the wind.


*click pics for larger views*











I used an awesome piece of metal that I found at goodwill for the top piece. I'm not sure what it was supposed to be, some sort of decoration, but I painted it up with acrylics and nailpolish to suit my purpose. Then I used scrabble tiles to make my two spinning words: create and live. These words are interchangeable in my world! I can't live without creating, it's just part of me.

My paper art collage doll at the bottom of the spinner was made using five different Bombshell sets: Mermaid Anchor, Pirates Life, Till Death, Sugar Skulls, and Butterfly Queen. I also used the banner that says "No Regrets" from the Girl's Ruin set on the front of the metal piece. Both were colored with prismas and nail polish. On the back of the art doll, I scripted out the lyrics to the song so you can see them when it spins.

To me this spinner represents my interpretation of this song, and I hope you enjoy it! I wanted to make it colorful and fun, something that represents how I feel when I create. It reminds me that no matter how bad life gets, I will always have what is truly me!

So, now that I've told you all about what I think of the spinner and the song, I'd love to hear your opinion. Please leave a comment, and then hop over to the other blogs!!

Ms. November - Mary G.

Kathi

Glittery Katie

Nicole

Jacquie

Angela

31 Days Blog Candy Winner!!!!

The results are in! I just have to say WOW!!!!!!!!!!! Between the two of us, Kelli and I had 561 entries for blog candy! That is truly amazing, and I just want to thank each and every one of you for participating and making 31 Days of Halloween such a fun and successful experience for everyone!

I know I had a wonderful time sharing projects with you all. This was the first year that I've done anything like this, and I learned a few things that I can improve on for next year. It was exhausting and thrilling at the same time, and I hope you all got some inspiration from the projects here on Smeared and Smudged, and from Cajun Stamping Queen. I truly love stamping and sharing!

So lets get to it... the winner of the hugely awesome blog candy prize is.....

We chose our winner using Random.org's random number generator, which came up as number 240. And that's you, Char! Please email both me and Kelli with your address and we will get your prize out to you!

Thank you again to all who participated! If you loved the projects that you saw during 31 Days, I'd like to invite you to join the Smeared and Smudged ning group. The group is growing and has some very cool people participating. I am slowly but surely incorporating some very neat challenges, swaps, and groups; and it's a great place to just chat and network with other stampers who enjoy alternative stamping!

For now, I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks, and hope you enjoyed your Halloween! This week join me on Wednesday for the Bombshell Hump Day Hop, and I'll probably be throwing in a couple of other projects here and there... can't stay away from stamping too long!

Happy Halloween! Bat Wing Fairy Frame

Well, today's the day! We've been through 31 days of Halloween projects on Smeared and Smudged!!!!!! The project I have to share with you today is not the project I had originally planned. Once again, life got in the way and I wasn't able to finish my awesome Halloween Nesting Boxes that I've been working on for a couple of weeks now. They will just have to be a decoration for next year.

But, I do have a project to show you. It is a glass frame that I stamped with a bat-wing fairy and colored. I then used some cool looking eyeball cellophane to add the dark background to it. The glass is very reflective, so it made it hard to get good pictures. You can see the wall reflecting back, so just ignore it and hopefully you can get a feel for the project.



I'm not sure if I will add a picture to this or leave it as-is for a decoration. Either way I think it's way cool, especially in the dark because the eyeballs reflect back really well.

So, today is your last chance to comment for Blog Candy Points or to participate in any of the 31 Days challenges for extra points. Kelli and I will be drawing tomorrow!!

I'd like to wish all of you a very spooky and safe Halloween. I had such a blast with 31 Days, I am positive I will be doing it again next year!!! Thanks for all the wonderful comments and participation, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Starting tomorrow I will be taking a little bit of a break on my blog. I will be posting randomly two to three times a week. Since the holidays are coming, I will be focusing alot on holiday projects for both the Smeared and Smudged blog and etsy store, so be sure to visit to take a gander!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Trickster

Happy Day Before Halloween! Today I'm sharing a card that I submitted for a DT sketch challenge over on the Any Stamp Will Do ning group. Hopefully it will get me a spot on the DT; I think it's really a cool looking card, and I tried to make it fun and not so dark. Also, I used some of the embellishments that I got from the Smeared and Smudged Halloween embellishment swap.

This card features a glittery, flaming haired skeleton, once again from Third Coast (gotta love those Third Coast Halloween stamps!) I kept the papers simple this time and just tried to utilize the interesting sketch layout as much as I could.

*click for larger pics*




The little spider button came from the swap, and believe it or not, the wide orange ribbon came off of the packaging of a blanket I bought about a week ago, it was tied around it.

So, let me know what you think, and join me tomorrow for the last day of 31 Days of Halloween!

Scary Cat

I figured before my 31 Days of Halloween is over, I better do a cute card so I can be sure to have something for everyone's taste. And today is as good a day as any! This is the last day that Kelli and I will be offering a challenge, so if you'd like to participate be sure to link to your project at the end of this post. The challenge is to use microbeads on your project.

Since I showered my tree card with microbeads, I thought I'd keep this one pretty simple. I used microbeads only on the cat and pumpkin so it gave them some shiny pop. The layers were made with deco paper and cardstock, and the star charm came as a RAK from Kelli earlier this month. Thank you Kelli!!!!!!!





So if you'd like to participate in this or any other 31 Days of Halloween challenge, be sure you do it before Saturday night! You'll get 5 extra blog candy entries! If not, leave a comment to get 1 entry. We'll be drawing in 2 days! If you've forgotten what the Blog Candy looks like, check out my sidebar for more info. See you tomorrow!

Til Death Coffin Box- Bombshell Hump Day Hop

Welcome to the Bombshell Hump Day Halloween Hop! This is the first hop where non-DT members have been invited to participate, and I'm really excited to be sharing, and to see what others have done with the Halloween challenge!

If you've never hopped with the Bombshells before, it's really simple... just take a look at my project, leave me a comment to be entered into the awesome giveaway from Bombshell Stamps, and then hop to others and do the same thing using the link list at the bottom of my post.

This week our challenge was to use the Martha Stewart coffin treat box template you see below to build our own version of a Bombshell coffin!





I decided that using paper simply would not do for my own project, so I used clay instead to build a wicked Halloween jewelry/treat box.. Here's what I came up with.



*click pics for larger views*










I used the Til Death and Tattoo Backgrounds sets to make my coffin, and painted it to look like antique silver. Not just for Halloween, this one has definitely gained a permanent spot on my dresser to hold jewelry and any other goodies I might see fit; I LUUUVVVV IT!!!!!!! I'd love to hear what YOU think, so leave me a comment to get an entry, and then hop over to the other blogs to see what they've done! Happy Hopping!

Angela

Lyss

Kas

Miss Magoo

Sarah K

Glittery Katie

Gabby

Nicole

Kathi

Kelli

Soot Monster-Something Wicked

Day 27 and counting down! Only four days left, can you believe it!?! For my share today, I showing a card that I think may be one of my favorites so far. It's dark, spooky, and has a cool story behind the thought process.

I used a technique called soot stamping, and if you've never done it, you have to try it! You basically hold some glossy cardstock over a candle to cover it in soot, then stamp into it using a versamark or watermark ink to "lift" the soot. The result is stunning! For this card, I used the Candy Monster stamp from Third Coast.

The story behind it is that the Soot Monster comes every Halloween to try and steal all the Halloween magic. The stars on the card represent that Halloween magic, and as you can see, he is eating them! Don't ask where the story came from, I just thought of it while planning out the card; it seemed to make sense at the time.

*click for bigger pics*




Like I said, this is one of my faves and really represents the type of projects that I love to make! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and I'd love to hear what you think.

I also want to mention, if you're interested at all in purchasing a DIY warmer from Scentsy, now's the time to do it! Since she's gotten such a great response, Tori has decided to continue offering the 10% discount on the DIY warmers for the rest of October. If you'd like to get one with the discount, you have to email her your order and mention Smeared and Smudged. To see the products online, visit her site, but remember not to place the order online or she will not be able to discount it.

If you missed my DIY warmer project, you can scroll down to see it or you can find it here. See you all tomorrow!

Hilarious Hags

Well, pumpkin patching and haunted housing ended up spilling over into Sunday, so I missed my post. My oldest had a blast playing Freddy Crueger in the house!! My husband ended up having to work late on Saturday, so the Pumpkin Patch trip took place yesterday. We all enjoyed the corn maze, farm tour, and special storyteller, and it was great non-scary fun for the little ones. I've included a couple of pics at the end of this post for your enjoyment.

Anyways, since I skipped a day, I decided to give everyone a two-fer today. Kelli and I are coordinating and making our projects using patterned paper. Give her a visit if you haven't already, and if you'd like to participate in today's challenge, link to your project by Saturday night! You'll get extra Blog Candy points, plus you'll get to share your fabulous creations.

My cards today feature hilarious hags from Third Coast. The first hag is just full of mischief, and spends her evenings toilet papering houses and leaving flaming gifts on doorsteps. Her sister swoops through the air, but has a very funny problem. Be warned, these cards are not for people who are easily offended, but I know quite a few people who would enjoy them.











I adore these stamps, and will be using them for Halloweens to come! I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. Now I'm off to get some more stamping done and to plan for a school party, only five days to go!!!!!!!!!

Haunted Housing






Pumpkin Patching