Saturday, October 31, 2015

Always a Lady



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!  It's Day 31 of the Smeared Ink 31 Days of Halloween!  Can you believe it's already THE best day of the year?  My how the month has flown by.  Later today, I'm going to transform myself into a wickedly fun witch and celebrate the night with family and friends.  It's been incredibly busy of late so I'm looking forward to a night of relaxation.  

In honor of this most auspicious of days, I'm sharing my scariest of Stampendous Halloween cards.  I absolutely love this stamp, she's called Skeleton Lady.  She's incredibly elegant in a spooky cool way.  I love the Victorian style dress and I can just picture her walking down a street in the French Quarter of New Orleans!  Of course, if you look at the postal information, the address is French, very fitting!



Here's what I used to create this card:

Stampendous®:

Plus:

Chameleon™ Markers (NU1, RD4, Y03, CG8)
Tim Holtz® Black Soot Distress Ink by Ranger®
Black Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Red Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
ZipDry™ Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives™

Here's what I did to create this card:

Stamp image and color with markers.
Trim image closely all around.
Add black distress ink all around image.
Distress edges with scissors and add additional distress ink.
Trim a mat for image from black cardstock.
Create an A2 card base with a tent fold.
Adhere all layers.
Add red micro glitter to dress.
Mix fragments and glass glitters and adhere to edges, tap off excess.

Set aside to dry.

So, I hope you are as in love with the Skeleton Lady as I am!  Now, go forth and Trick or Treat! 

Hugs,
Lea


Friday, October 30, 2015

On Your Mark, Get Set...



...KISS!  This week, Stampendous® is hopping with Glue Dots®, my favorite little dots of glue ever!  There are so many fun things you can do with them, use them to adhere items to each other, add embossing powder and heat, or, my favorite, add glitter! It's so easy, just sprinkle a little glitter on top and, using your finger, burnish the glitter into the dot.  It's the perfect way to add little bits of sparkle here and there!

The card I'm posting today, is actually one I wanted to create last week to celebrate our wonderful Nathalie Kalbach and her amazing stamps she designed for Stampendous!  Unfortunately, I risked the "cooties" and the "cooties" did me in!  Needless to say, my card didn't get finished last week but I've completed it and I'm sharing it with you today, cootie free, of course!


Here's what I used to create this card:

Radiant Neon™ Pigment Ink Refills by Tsukineko in Electric Blue, Electric Pink and Electric Purple
Radiant Neon™ Pigment Ink Pads by Tsukineko in Electric Blue, Electric Pink and Electric Purple
Pink Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Blue Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Zip Dry™ Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives

Here's what I did to create this card:

Drip refills onto Creative Palette and, using a brayer, spread ink.
Place paper down onto ink covered palette and rub with your hand (or brayer), lift paper and set aside to dry.
Ink stamps and stamp onto various pieces of paper previously inked on palette.
Trim stamped images to desired sizes.
Create an A2 card base with blue cardstock.
Adhere large background piece to card base.
Trim mats for stamped images from pink cardstock.
Adhere stamped images to mats and then adhere to card.
Add a few mini glue dots, cover with glitter, burnish glitter, tap off excess glitter.



Prize Information:

As our fans know we love a contest while we hop, so, three lucky commenters will win a prize package that includes:

Glue Dots® Craft Dots 3/8”
Glue Dots® Mini Dots 3/16”
Glue Dots® Removable Dots 3/8”
CRS5080 Cling Create Christmas Stamp Set by Stampendous®
DCS5080 Create Christmas Die Set by Stampendous®
MGK02 Christmas Micro Glitter Kit by Stampendous®

Just comment on both company blogs and all the design team posts for our hop with Glue Dots. Commenting is open until Sunday, November 1st at 11:59 pm and winners will be announced sometime on Monday, November 2nd. See Official Contest Rules.

Here's a list of my teammates playing along today:

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I'll see you again soon!  Have a lovely day!

Hugs,
Lea

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Deadly Look!





Today is Dreamweaver Thursday and the Stampendous Design Team is hopping with Glue Dots Adhesives this week!  These are my go to Glue Dots, ALWAYS!  My card today is super simple, however, it’s really kinda fun!  It’s the perfect kind of card a kid would love!  Well, I love it, too!  Heehee!




Here’s what I used to create this card:

Black Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink Pad by Tsukineko®
Memento™ London Fog Ink Pad by Tsukineko®
Memento™ Desert Sand Ink Pad by Tsukineko®
Americana® Glow in the Dark Acrylic Paint
Americana® Lamp (Ebony) Black Acrylic Paint
Foray® Stylemark Fine Point Ink Pen in Red

Here’s what I did to create this card:

Brush gray ink onto white paper, stamp Industrial stamp in tan ink over gray and trim to fit on card
Tape stencil down over inked background and paste random pairs of circles with white paste, set aside to dry
Once paste has dried, add two coats of glow in the dark paint
When the paint dries, add lines with red pen
Attach glue dots, cover with glitter, burnish glitter onto glue dots, add a drop of black paint
On a scrap of white paper, stamp sentiment, distress with gray ink, set aside
Create an A-2 card base with a horizontal tent fold
Adhere card front to card base
Attach sentiment to lower right front of card
Using a paint brush, paint words onto card front with glow in the dark paint, set aside to dry

Once the glow in the dark paint has dried, it pretty much disappears into the background.  I think that’s the fun, unexpected part!  Once it has absorbed enough light, it gets a nice glow!  Checkit out!






Prize Information:


As our fans know we love a contest while we hop, so, three lucky commenters will win a prize package that includes:

Glue Dots® Craft Dots 3/8”
Glue Dots® Mini Dots 3/16”
Glue Dots® Removable Dots 3/8”
CRS5080 Cling Create Christmas Stamp Set by Stampendous®
DCS5080 Create Christmas Die Set by Stampendous®
MGK02 Christmas Micro Glitter Kit by Stampendous®

Just comment on both company blogs and all the design team posts for our hop with Glue Dots. Commenting is open until Sunday, November 1st at 11:59 pm and winners will be announced sometime on Monday, November 2nd. See Official Contest Rules.


Lea Fritts (me)

Thanks for stopping by today!  I had such a fun time creating this card!  I’ve had the idea since early last week so this was a lot of fun to actually make.  It’s always a good time when the inner child comes out to play!  See you again tomorrow!

Hugs,

Lea

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Wicked Wednesday with Oddball Art

It's Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge Blog time (actually I'm about 12 hours late!) and this week our sponsor is Oddball Art Co.  Our theme is Happy Halloween!  For this week, I decided to merge two images.  I kept looking at this little cutie, Kendall Collector of Hearts, and kept thinking she would be so cute with a witches hat.  I don't know, there was just something that reminded me of Kiki's Delivery Service with the cute little tie.  I thought it would be a cute little dress for a young witch to wear, one still in training, so to speak.  So, there you have it, I added the hat from Tiffany the Terrible!  I love her new look, I think it suits her!




I also decided to do a front and back to this ATC.  I don't normally do that, however, I just didn't want to add anything else to the front of this one.  I really like the image and she looks like she's in a photo shoot, so...

Here's what I used to create this ATC:

Copic® Markers
Bundled Sage Distress Ink by Ranger®
Dusty Concord Distress Ink by Ranger®
Neenah® Classic Crest™ Solar White Cover Stock
Doodlebug Design Inc.™ Haunted Manor 6x6 Paper Pad
ZipDry™ paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives

Here's what I did to create this ATC:

Print image, color and trim to ATC size allowing for top of hat to go off edge
Edge with distress ink
Trim patterned paper for back side
Adhere front to back
Stamp images onto back side with distress ink

This was a fun ATC to create and I can't wait to see what you create to play along with us!  Let's all have a very Happy Halloween!  See you again, soon!

Hugs,
Lea

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Dreamweaver Fiesta



Hello again!  It's Stampendous Dreamweaver Thursday and I'm having a Fiesta, my own version of a party on a card!  I wasn't sure I was going to make it to this party as I've been under the weather, however, I rallied at the last minute last night and finished this one out.  Thank goodness for good medicine and that's a reason to party.  As if I needed a reason!

So, we're having fun this week getting messy with our cards.  This is one of my favorite things to do, the messier, the better, but, only if it's pretty!  LOL!  Nathalie Kalbach has designed some amazing stamps for Stampendous that let you get very messy but in the best way!



Close-up of all the cool drips, drops and spots!

Here's what I used to create this card:

Delicata™ Golden Glitz Ink Pad by Tsukineko®
Glue Dots® in Craft and Mini
Metallic F/X™ in Amber Glow
Memories Mists™ in Bright Gold, Orange Juice, Cherry Smoothie and Plum Sake
May Arts Ribbon®
Arroyo Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Zip Dry™ Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives

Here's what I did to create this card:

Trim a piece of mixed media paper for your card front and spritz the entire thing with gold mist
Tape stencil over paper and spritz additional colors over the gold, remove stencil
Stamp Vintage Note in gold ink randomly over paper
Drip ink from Plum Sake and Cherry Smoothie onto paper
Using VersaMarker™, add ink in splotches, cover with gold embossing powder and heat
Using VersaMark™ pad, ink up Fiesta stamp and stamp onto scrap of white paper, add gold ep, heat 
Trim around embossed image and spritz with Cherry Smoothie and Orange Juice mists, wipe excess off of embossed areas
Trim a piece of ribbon to place across card front, attach to paper securing ends behind paper
Create an A2 card base with a tent fold
Adhere card front to card base
Using foam squares, attach Fiesta image to card
Add glue dots randomly on card front and burnish on Metallic F/X with your finger

Here's a list of my teammates that are posting today for your viewing pleasure:

Lea Fritts (DW)
Pam Bray (DW)



Comment on our blog and that of each designer's blog posting this week for our Getting Messy theme. Be sure to mention where you live when you comment. One lucky commenter from the US will win a prize package! For our US commenters see Official Rules.

A prize package includes:
Cling Fiesta Stamps Set
Jumbo Acrylic Stamp Handle
Cling Marks Stamps Set

Australian fans, one lucky commenter will win a great prize package from our Australian Distributor The Stencil Specialist. Let us know where you live when you comment.

We said three prize packages, right? Our UK Distributor, Woodware Craft, is joining in and will also give away one prize package! How cool is that!?

So, don't forget to leave me some love if you wish to be entered for a prize package.  I'll see you again tomorrow with more messy fun!  Have a wonderful day!

Hugs, 
Lea



Saturday, October 17, 2015

Stampendous Spooky!



It’s Day 17 of the Smeared Ink 31 Days of Halloween.  Are you getting sufficiently spooked yet?  Today I have the Stampendous Raven Skull stamp for your viewing scariness!  I really love this stamp since it’s got all the basic elements for you, a background and a focus image all in one. 



Here’s what I used to create this card:

Stampendous®:

Plus:
Chameleon™Markers (BK4, YO3, OR4)
Copic® Markers (E40, YR30, Y21)
Black Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Gold Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Tim Holtz® Black Soot Distress Ink by Ranger®
ZipDry™ Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives™

Here’s what I did to create this card:

Stamp image and color, trim closely and add distress ink.
Sprinkle embossing powder on image and heat from beneath paper.
Trim a mat from black cardstock and adhere image to front.
Create an A2 card base with a tent fold and adhere matted image to front.
Mix color fragments and glitter and adhere randomly around card front, shake of excess.
Set aside to dry.

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you’ve enjoyed my creepy cool card!  Enjoy the remaining 31 days of Halloween!  Here are some links that should answer all your questions and maybe even inspire you to play along!

Smeared Ink Blog - http://www.smearedink.com


Hugs,
Lea

Friday, October 16, 2015

Blankets and Buttons



We are SO EXCITED to be hopping with Buttons Galore and More for a whole week. We have some fun projects to share that all include an abundance of buttons that were so generously sent to our team.

Buttons Galore and More provides a wide selection including specialty designed embellishments for celebrations, holidays, and various other events and themes. Find a plethora of choices on their website at Buttons Galore and More!

This week has been one of those weeks when I would love to grab a blanket, curl up and hide from the world!  Well, since I can’t do that, I’ve got a super cute little House-Mouse® that can!  Isn’t this a sweet stamp?  I love it!  I tried to mimic the patterned paper with my design of circles and hexagons and I have to admit, I’m pretty pleased with the results.  The sweet buttons from Buttons Galore was the perfect finishing touch!



Here’s what I used to create this card:

Stampendous:

Plus:
Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Zip Dry™ Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives
Memories Growing Garden Patterned Paper by Ki®
Nestabilities® Hexagon Dies by Spellbinders® Paper Arts
Nestabilities® Circle Dies by Spellbinders® Paper Arts
Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread®
Copic® Markers (T2, T4, T6, E50, E51, E53, R02, R81, R83, R85, R87, C0, C1)

Here’s what I did to create this card:

Stamp Baby Blanket image with black ink, color with markers and die cut with largest hexagon die.
Stamp sentiment with black ink and die cut with smallest hexagon die.
Die cut largest circle and smallest circle from green cardstock.
Create an A2 card base with a tent fold from green cardstock.
Trim a piece of patterned paper to fit 1/8″ smaller than card base on all sides.
Adhere patterned paper to card base.
Adhere hexagonal die cut sentiment to small die cut circle.
Adhere hexagonal die cut main image to large die cut circle and then adhere to card front.
Layer sentiment onto large button, adhere to card.
Layer smaller buttons with crochet thread and adhere to card as shown.
Thread single button with crochet thread and adhere to card as shown.

Here’s a list of my teammates that have additional inspiration to share:  

Lea Fritts (me)



Yes, we have PRIZES! There are three (3) prize packages that include one of each:
Cling Create Christmas Stamps Set
Create Christmas Die Cut Set
Assortment of Buttons

To be eligible, you must be a US resident (see Official Rules), comment on our blog and that of each Stampendous designer’s blog posts each day of the hop and tell us in what state you live. Deadline to comment for our prizes is Sunday, October 18, 2015. Winners will be selected by random.org and will be announced sometime on Monday, October 19th.

Wait! For our Aussie friends, be sure to comment and tell us where you’re from, because our Australian Distributor The Stencil Specialists are sponsoring a prize for one friend “down under” to win a Stampendous Stamp, a Dreamweaver Stencil and a surprise goodie from their terrific stock of Stampendous merchandise!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I’ve got a 31 Days of Halloween post for you tomorrow so come on back by and get spooked!  Also, in case you missed it yesterday, please go check out my "cute as a button" apple tree canvas from yesterday!

Hugs,
Lea



Thursday, October 15, 2015

Dreaming of Buttons



We are SO EXCITED to be hopping with Buttons Galore and More for a whole week. We have some fun projects to share that all include an abundance of buttons that were so generously sent to our team.


Buttons Galore and More provides a wide selection including specialty designed embellishments for celebrations, holidays, and various other events and themes. Find a plethora of choices on their website at Buttons Galore and More!

I’m dreaming of apples, or more precisely, button apples!  These are the sweetest little jars of buttons I’ve ever seen!  I have several in different colors/themes and I just love them!  For today I created a sweet little apple tree canvas using the Leafless Tree Die, my favorite die ever!  This is truly a fun little mixed media piece that I totally adore and hope you will too!



Here’s what I used to create this canvas:

DecoArt® Americana® Foliage Green Acrylic Paint
DecoArt® Americana® Hauser Light Green Acrylic Paint
DecoArt® Americana® Lamp (Ebony) Black Acrylic Paint
Faber-Castell® Gelatos™ in Cotton Candy, Blueberry, Lavender, Pistachio, and Green Tea
Gray Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®
Copic® Markers - T2, T4, T6
Golden® Regular Gel (Matte) Medium
AC Moore® Studio 6x6 Canvas

Here’s what I did to create this canvas:

Rub Pistachio Gelato™ across bottom of canvas, make sure you do sides and bottom as well
Add a little Green Tea Gelato™ over the Pistachio, using a baby wipe, blend Gelato™ into the canvas
Rub Cotton Candy Gelato™ across the top of the canvas, again, make sure you do the sides and top edges
Add a little Lavender Gelato™ randomly around the middle of the canvas 
Add a little Blueberry Gelato™ aross the top front and top edges of the canvas
Use a baby wipe to blend the Gelato™ into the canvas 
Die cut a tree from gray cardstock
Add a little Copic® Toner Grays to edges of tree to keep it from looking flat
Using gel medium, adhere tree to canvas
Mix white embossing paste with the lightest green paint (Foliage Green) and using a palette knife, add paste over tree branches
Mix a smaller amount of white embossing paste with a tiny drop of black paint and the other green paint, using a palette knife, add randomly around tree branches to add a little depth and then add a little across the bottom of the canvas as shown
Pop apples (buttons) onto tree and a few on the ground, tap mixed embossing paste around apples to slightly cover them, this will hold buttons onto canvas
Fluff the paste with the end of a palette knife

Here’s a list of my teammates that have additional inspiration to share:  

Lea Fritts (DW)
Pam Bray (DW)



Yes, we have PRIZES! There are three (3) prize packages that include one of each:
Cling Create Christmas Stamps Set
Create Christmas Die Cut Set
Assortment of Buttons

To be eligible, you must be a US resident (see Official Rules), comment on our blog and that of each Stampendous designer’s blog posts each day of the hop and tell us in what state you live. Deadline to comment for our prizes is Sunday, October 18, 2015. Winners will be selected by random.org and will be announced sometime on Monday, October 19th.

Wait! For our Aussie friends, be sure to comment and tell us where you’re from, because our Australian Distributor The Stencil Specialists are sponsoring a prize for one friend “down under” to win a Stampendous Stamp, a Dreamweaver Stencil and a surprise goodie from their terrific stock of Stampendous merchandise!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I’ll see you again tomorrow with another sweet project using the cutest buttons ever!  

Hugs,
Lea