Monster Hugs

We've all heard of bear hugs,

but did you know that monster hugs are absolutely the best beast?

 As far as monsters go, this chap is pretty cool, not too scarey 

and just waiting for a hug.

It's been a few months since I participated in a challenge

however when I saw the theme on The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers

was "M is for Monster", I knew he would be perfect.
If you want to join in the fun, click on the above link.


 

 I came across the background which I had pre-done some time ago,

while I was playing around with distress inks on watercolour paper. 

 Then it was a matter of colouring my monster in tones that would stand out

from the background.

 

I used various Prismacolor pencils, blending here and there

and adding highlights where needed.

The bowtie spots and the buttons on his shirt are Gelly Glaze pens

which when dry, give a slightly raised finish.

His glasses were done with Glossy Accents, as were the sentiment.

I found a piece of dark purple card to use as a mat, 

which was adhered to a folded white card.

Stamps

Paper Artsy - ZA03

AALL & Create - #53

Happy Crafting!

ConGRADulations!

CONGRADULATIONS!

YOU DID IT!!!

 

There was a bit of a proud parents moment happening this week

when our #3 son graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Of course, a card was in order

and having browsed an online craft website (shhhhhh .... we won't tell anyone)

I came across this graduate who I thought rather fitted the bill.

 Whilst going through my papers looking for a suitable background

I came across this paper, which is the 'other' side of a pretty floral pattern.

I cut it to size, then stamped the graduate on one side, then again on white card.

 Using Archival 'watering can' ink, I stamped the books on the background, 

overlapping the boy just a little bit.  I then stamped them again on scrap paper,

cut around around them and using this as a mask, 

stamped the 'curiosity' quote, also in 'watering can' ink.

 Using Mr Google, I found what colour robes #3 son would be wearing

and coloured the graduate accordingly, including a white stripe on the collar of the robe.

He was fussy cut and glued directly over the background image.

The sentiment was stamped to complete the card front.

A black border and a yellow card finished it off perfectly.

STAMPS

Stamping Bella - Oddball Boy Graduate

Tim Holtz - Warehouse District; Schoolhouse

I love it when a card comes together without too much fuss and effort

- I wish they would all do that!

  To top it off, my son thought the card was pretty spot on

[apart from the skull on the mortar board - his didn't have one] !!!

HAPPY CRAFTING!

   

Witches and Bears

Anyone want to join in the fun?

These little ATC Coins are easy to make and lots of fun.

While I had my cuttlebug out last week, I went through my card leftovers [yes, we ALL have them] 
and cut a pile of 2 1/2" circles from plain card, backgrounds etc, ready to make ATC Coins.

In this instance, the backgrounds had been done previously and put aside, 
so all I had to do was decorate each one.

If you haven't already guessed, it was a Halloween themed swap.

I chose three images from different stamp companies, stamped them onto white card, 
then coloured and fussy cut them out.  
They were then glued onto the coins, which were then edged with "wilted violet" Distress Ink.

The back of each coin is labelled with the date, theme and artist, 
packaged up and sent to my swap partner.

Stamps

Julie Nutting - Witchy Poo

Art Impressions - Air Hag Set

Stampotique - Teddy

  I appreciate your looking, thank you!

Happy Crafting!

  

Trio of Halloween

Halloween Trio of Tags

was the theme of a swap in which I participated recently.

I decided to have a play with "Monster Mash" from Dylusions for the main, er ... aliens, 

along with a few other stamps and stencils.

I started with the backgrounds, each one using 'wilted violet' Distress Oxide with another colour added and then spritzed with water and let it run.  

Stencils were used to create the backgrounds on each one. 

The glass jar was stamped onto acetate with StazOn ink, and again on a piece of scrapbook paper for a wood grain look.  Both were fussy cut and carefully glued together where the jar sits on the base.  The captured bats were also stamped onto acetate, then coloured on the reverse with Gelly Glaze pens.  The areas of colour on the jar are also Gelly Glaze pens.   Pieces of torn washi tape were added before assembling the jar.  The sentiment was then added.

I love this character; he really looks like he belongs in a lab somewhere!

I watercoloured him with Distress Inks, adding a touch of Gelly Glaze pens to the buttons, striped leggins and his boots.  His face and hands were coloured with Prismacolor pencils.

On the final tag, I chose this weird little alien who can't believe what he's seeing in the sky!

He is coloured with Prismacolor pencils with highlights of Gelly Glaze on his spots, tongue and eyeballs.

Each tag has a dragonfly, also coloured with Gelly Glaze pens on acetate.

The tags were edged with 'pumice stone' Distress Ink.

Each ribbon was hand coloured to co-ordinate with the tag.

They were fun to put together; hope you like them.

Stamps

Dylusions - Monster Mash

Art Impressions - Air Hag Set

Stampotique - 3 Greetings

Tim Holtz - Simple Sayings

Stencils

Tim Holtz - Mini Set #17; ShatterTHS014

Unknown (words)

HAPPY CRAFTING!

  

Catching the craze

I'm in a small but friendly FB group of crafty ladies where we share our creations and participate in swaps every so often.  This year for probably various reasons, the interest seems to have wained somewhat, so to give it a kickstart I decided to set up a challenge instead of the usual swap.

The challenge is to create a set of ATC Coins, opened theme

 with your choice of how many you would like to create, so somewhere from 2 - 4 would be perfect.

The backgrounds were cut from card that I had been experimenting with a couple of months ago, so all I needed to do was find some of my favourite friends to add to them.

I first stamped them directly on the backgrounds and then again on white card,

which I coloured, fussy cut and glued directly over the first image.

I trimmed up any overhanging bits and then edged each circle with 'pumice stone' Distress Ink.

Stickers were added to each ATC Coin.

Easy Peasy!

I can see why these are just as addictive as ATCs.

Stamps

Stampotique - "Chicken";  "Fofe";  "Dwindled";  "Checkers" 


Whatever you are doing this weekend, stay safe and have fun.

Happy Crafting!
   

Monsters

I'm back .....

where have I been?  More like, where haven't I been!

However, yes I'm back, after my little craft break,

so to begin with, I thought I'd try my hand at the latest thing

ATCoins

I ran my usual favourite cardstock through the Cuttlebug using a circle die which is just a bit smaller than 2.5cm wide.  I had already done the background some time ago when I was just fiddling around, so all I had to do was find stamps the right size, and these cute monsters were perfect.

I stamped them directly onto the background and again on white cardstock.  I also stamped the uneven circles on the backgrounds.

I coloured the monsters with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut them and glued them directly over the first image.  I edged the coins with 'pumice stone' Distress Ink to soften the hard edges. Easy peasy!

Stamps

AALL and CREATE # 53 

Now, I do have a question regarding these coins.

I have made these with just regular cardstock, however, are they supposed to be thicker, resembling an actual coin?  I can't find anywhere that says this, but someone suggested this to be the case.

Anyhow, if you know the answer or have any other comments, I'm open to suggestions.

I'll be back again very soon.

Happy Crafting!