Day 16- 31 Days of Halloween: Black Death Necklace

Ok, you will have to bear with me for this post... I am extremely exhausted right now so I may start rambling at any given moment. Plus I was not able to get any really good photos of my project because I didn't have someone else to hold the camera. So I hope you'll be able to see it well.

Before we go any further, I just want to let you know that there is a pack of werewolves that have been spotted running ramped through blog land, and they may have taken refuge on one of the wicked blogs. If you happen to see sign of them hiding anywhere, don't approach them, just please email me. Those of you who spot them will be put into a drawing for the Smeared Ink Hungry Wolf and Transforming Wolf digi images! I will announce the winner tomorrow afternoon.

Now on to my project for day 16. There is minimal, and I mean minimal, stamping technique on this. But, I thought it would be cool to show you how you can incorporate stamping in a neat way into your jewelry. I don't know if you've seen these things in the beading section at your local craft store, but I saw them today and completely broke my no-buying-anything rule for 31 Days. Sorry folks, I had to have them! But, in my defense, this necklace will be given as a Christmas present so technically even though it's a Halloween project, it came out of my Christmas budget and is not "for" 31 Days. Yes, I'm still trying to justify. Oh well, I digress...

The things I am talking about are these little latched/hinged frames. Not the ones that are for memory glass...no, these bad boys are cut from a different cloth! You'll see what I mean in the pics (I hope). But basically they are frames with glass in them that you can add your own picture to. The neat thing about them is the little latches that hold them shut, and the fact that some of them are hinged to open, like the round one that I used.

Anyways, I basically made a necklace from scratch. I really love the look of wonky, super big and bold jewelry, so although this necklace may not be to some of your liking, I would wear it in a heartbeat!

*click for larger views








Like I said, the pictures kinda suck, but you can see my little frame things. I was inspired by Alison and rather than filling the frames with full-blown colored images, I simply stamped on transparency, trimmed to size, and inserted the images. It gives a really cool clear effect that I love on the necklace! My large frame holds a skull from As Death and the small square frames hold spiderwebs from Lonely Boy and Puff (both from Smeared Ink).

So, I hope you like it, and even though the stamping is very easy, it still took me several hours to make with all the beading. Now I know why I don't make jewelry very often! Ha ha! Have fun hopping through the Wicked Blogs today. See you tomorrow!

Day 12- 31 Days of Halloween: Trick or Treat Protection

Hello everyone! Thanks for joining me for Day 12 as I present a very special stamped project. Today Smeared and Smudged is being featured on Mrs B's Haunted Blog Tour, and I'd love to welcome all of my guests from Mrs B's blog as well as all of the Smeared and Smudged regulars!

For those that are visiting for the very first time, let me give you a little bit of background about me and what my blog is all about. I have been a rubber stamper for, oh, about 12 years now, and I LOVE using rubber stamps on everything! I adore altering items, creating things, and just expressing myself through art. In addition to my blog, Smeared and Smudged now has a forum for others to gather that have the same stamping addiction and interests, and my sister and I own a small rubber stamp company. But it all started with the blog, and I'm so excited and honored to be able to share one of my projects with all of you today.

This is the second year that Smeared and Smudged has hosted its own 31 Days of Halloween event, and it is by sheer coincidence that I happened upon Mrs B's blog last year. They say great minds think alike! Our 31 Days is all about presenting Halloween themed projects throughout the month, and this year we have 15 fabulous blogger/stampers participating in the challenge and showing off their hand stamped projects. So, if you get an urge to see some wonderful handmade Halloween projects, please visit the Wicked Blogs that are located in my sidebar any time during October.

So, now on to the project... I am sharing with you a recipe for making a stamped Trick or Treating protection amulet. Over the years, our world has become more and more dangerous, and any way that we can help to protect our little ones is worthwhile in my eyes. This is a fun project that is easy enough that you can share with your kids, and I'll include *tips* for a magical "recipe" that can be skipped if you don't want to use them and just want to make a cute child necklace. Remember, you can click any of the pics to enlarge them for more detail.

To start, you will need some clay of your choice (bake or air dry), a small locket, and a rubber stamp with an image you like. *Tip: If you are making a magical or protective amulet, you may want to choose an image that represents protection as you believe it. I chose a cat, as this is believed to be a very common witch's familiar or companion. Personally, my kids love the cat and we all feel that our little cats will guard and attend to them as they make their trick-or-treating rounds.



Soften your clay with your hands. *Tip: You can add a finely powdered protection mixture of dried herbs to your clay when softening if you choose. (One common herbal protector of children is Dill.) Take your clay and make a shape that will be large enough for your image. Try to keep it between 1/4" and 1/2" thick. Then firmly press your stamp directly into the clay.





Next, press your locket into one corner of your amulet. This will make the indentation for later attachment.





Using the end of a pen, add a hole in the top of your amulet for stringing.


After adding your hole, you will need to let your clay dry according to the package directions. If air dry clay, let dry for 24 hours. If baking clay, follow the instructions on the package. *Tip: If you added dried herbs to your clay, be sure to watch it in the oven!



Now that your clay is hardened, it's time to paint. Start by adding in your darker color that will be in the recesses of your image. You do not need to be super neat, as it will be covered along the edges. *Tip: Choose colors that represent protection to you. I chose to use white for protection, black to ward off harm, and orange for strength.



Your second step is to add color to the raised parts of your image. I used white, and I find it easiest to do this step with my finger so I can feel the ridges. Plus my finger is big enough that it will prevent paint from going into the recesses. Or, you can use a small paint brush.



Next, add your background color. Again, I used my fingers and a small brush for details and to correct mistakes.



After this portion has dried, turn it over and paint the back. When all the paint has finished drying, this may be a good time to add a coat of spray on sealer or gloss varnish if you want your project to last longer. Also, if you want to paint the front of your locket, do it now and let it dry, then seal.



The next step is to attach your locket to the front. Remember that indention that we made in the clay? Add a dollop of really strong adhesive, and then press your locket down. I used E600 industrial glue. It takes a bit to dry, but holds really well.



Here are a couple of pics that show you what the locket looks like. You may be asking yourself what the purpose of this locket is. Well, for you non magical types, it is a great place to store a cute pic of your child in all their Halloween costume splendor! *Tip: for you magical types, this is a fabulous place to add some dried protection herbs, a tiny annointed stone or crystal, or a small hand written affirmation for your child to carry around their neck.





Finally, tie a length of color coordinated ribbon to your amulet, and you are done! Your child now has a super cute and fun necklace to wear trick-or-treating. It can be adapted to be more elegant for older children as well. *Tip: While you are making this project, visualize your child being protected as they place it around their neck, having a safe and fun time during whatever festivities they plan on partaking in, and coming home soundly afterward. You may want to include your children in the process, or follow whatever ceremonial procedures that you are accustomed to prepare your materials for magic before hand.



Please note that I DO NOT believe that a protection amulet is a substitute for good old fashioned parenting and supervision, so please watch over your children as they enjoy their Halloween festivities!

I hope you enjoyed sharing my project. Like I said before, it is super simple and I hope that it has inspired you to create something special for a child in your life. Thank you so much for sharing this day with me on my blog. And feel free to peruse some of my other projects; we are 12 days in to our 31 Days of Halloween celebration, plus we hosted last year as well, so there is a ton of Halloween goodness to be found by clicking here for this year, and here for last year. Happy Haunted Blog Tour!

Altered Monday- Butterfly in Bronze

Welcome to a brand new week, and a new Altered Monday post on Smeared and Smudged. A couple weeks back I had a little shopping splurge at Michael's $1 spot; they had alot of tiny items priced at 39 cents, 49 cents...you get the picture. I found some large and flat circle magnets and decided to buy a couple. They were decorated with scenes of country houses, apples, and sunflowers. Anyone who knows me (or follows this blog) probably suspects that country is not my style, and you're right! I HAD to alter!

I have one of them done and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the result. This is one of a handful of projects where I have stamped into clay, and I'm loving it more each time I do it. I started off by covering the whole magnet with a coat of bronzy-colored nail poish. This was easier than using paint because the magnet was very slick, so the polish adhered better and gave it a cool shimmer. Then I rolled out some super sculpey and stamped wing images into it. The images are from The Enchanted Gallery.

After preheating the oven, I rolled some aluminum foil into an egg shape and used it to place my cut out wings over so they would bake with some shape to them. I followed the intructions on the box for baking, let the wings cool, and then painted with acrylics.

To embellish the butterfly I used some old beads that I've been hanging on to, a broken necklace, and some bronze wire. I stuck the butterfly to the magnet using really REALLY strong glue, E600. And here's the result:







The magnet is pretty simple as far as the amount of stuff on it, but I think it's beautiful! I enjoyed making it and will be altering the other two magnets soon in a similar way; I'll share when I'm done.

Thanks for looking, and don't forget to join me tomorrow for the Twisted Tuesday Materials Challenge!

Queen of Arts

After a full blown day of stamping cards for an assortment box, I thought I'd do a little something different. I've been holding on to these fabulous deep red and black beads since, oh I don't know, a year and a half ago. I didn't really have a plan for them and then yesterday it hit me! I broke a very pretty green necklace that I had not too long ago and why not make a new one using pieces and parts!?! I've been feeling a little diva red lately...

I have some divine stamps that I ordered from The Enchanted Gallery, see the left side bar for a link, and one image is a gorgeous regal lady with a pimped out collar. Just the right size to fit in one of those rectangular metal frames used for scrapbooking. Soooooo, using my leftover beads, my awesome image, and this frame, I created a brand new stylin' necklace!

I attached the frame and beads using plain metal jewelry pins from Walmart and reused the jump rings and chain from the old necklace. I stamped the image on white cardstock, colored it using markers, watercolor crayons, and my white gel pen, and then attached it to the back of the frame facing out. Of course I had to add some bling to her crown and my word, then covered the whole piece with Crystal Effects, front and back.

Can't wait to show off my new Queen of Arts!