January Anything Goes Poe!

I started the new year off with a shared win with the awesome Susan Renshaw at Quoth the Raven, Nevermore Challenge for December!  My poor humble offering paled in the light of Susan's awesome, super make but I was allowed to share the win of which I am grateful to the amazing Ike , of Ike's Art and Susan!  This month I kinda went in reverse for the new year a bit.  I was moving my crafting spot and decided to deconstruct some past projects as they were piling up fast!  One was an altered book for Quoth the Raven and had some actual dictionary pages from the old dictionary I used to make the book and I carefully removed them treasuring them too much to cover them up or throw them away.  Then a wonderful surprise from another win at Quoth the Raven, an altered puzzle piece by Black Dragon had inspired me so much and I found a huge puzzle piece during the move so this was what resulted!

The clay crow and background piece of page paper came from the altered book torn apart but now for a good purpose!  The dear man himself is a Rick St. Dennis image, Poe 2 and he was found cut out, uncolored and I left him that way.  However, all things I make concerning his face seem to humiliate him so much as did the tassel found on a box I had "altered" long before knowing what altering meant :) The tag is stamped with an awesome stamp from VivalasvegaStamps! and then edged with a Dylusions spider web border stamp. I sprayed it with gold shimmer spray from Lindy's Stamp Gang.  The odd thing sticking out is an egg carton rose/flower edged in black and some gold shimner spray also.  It looses its effect from this view but then maybe it comes from one of the Master's works? Hmmm, I will never tell, nor will he, even though that tassel is annoying him beyond even his words!  A little moon from a half used sticker kit and the backing is some gold and black patterned paper run through the embossing machine and edged with black soot Distress Ink.  So that altered book and little box of 20 something years live on now in this new piece until the time comes for it to give up its parts for a new beginning!  

Still lots of time to enter at Quoth the Raven and it is "Anything Goes" this month so don't delay go enter your make and get to put that awesome badge on your blog and win something fabulous!

Entering at Quoth the Raven January
Forever Dark 2 Anything Goes with an optional twist of steampunk 

New Challenge at Lost Coast Designs "Clean and Simple"

Three letters that strike fear in my heart....CAS!  I am not one for embellishing cards by no means but an effective CAS is not as easy as people who do it well make it seem.  So I went for a different approach and I needed a notebook to keep by my side to write everything down!  Those who know me know that I can't remember 15 seconds ago so this idea came into being.  I love the image, a new release at Lost Coast Designs with another new one for the background.  Linda intended for "Franco Face" to be used in zentangle art (another dreaded word for me!) but when I saw her it seemed like those spaces needed thoughts or words in them and I just happened to have the new "Mis. Words" set to put them there!  The hair or brain as I think of it is done with Inktense blocks and gelatos on top for shimmer and the face is so beautiful as stamped I just added some eye shadow and lipstick and some sparkle to that.  The background stamp  "Spay Webbing" stamped with gold gelatos and stamped randomly.  The little lines make me think of the brain synapses (is that what they are called?) or sparks our brain functions send out!  Hers are golden!

Hope you are having a fabulous 2016 so far and start it off right by following us at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where our monthly challenge can be found as well as all our special events!  Then of course go check out out Facebook pages for more challenges and fun!  Now it is your turn to teach me more about CAS; I can't wait to visit your blog and have a look at your entries!  Till then get all inky and stamp up a storm! 

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity

Lost Coast Designs

Carmen's Veranda

CAS January Challenge HERE (if it takes you to December click on the challenge on the right :)

   Like our Facebook Page we have challenges there, too!

here

and 

here!

and Nuance Powders by Magenta available at Lost Coast Designs!

There was a little Mushy House....and the end for poor Poe!

Another fab sponsor of our challenge blog, Dream in Darkness, this month is A & T Digital Designs!  We got to work with 2 designs and I loved the little "Mushy House" and all the secrets it could hold!  I went all digital with this one....wanting to imply some of those hidden secrets with the fire image of a lady from Mischief Circus Holliewood Studios "Fire 1 " kit and  wee little fellow from the new releases from the British Library that are being released and copyright free.  The quote is from a digital sheet of quotes my daughter made by Aristotle and sells in her Zibbet shop on the side bar and her Etsy store NoelBees.

This melancholy fellow must be jolly indeed and dapper too by the way he dresses but he also has a dark side as another secret revealed....He killed Edgar Allan Poe!  Look in the upstairs window! It is my new stamp "Edgar Allan Poe" (teddy bear series) from Butterside Down Stamps.  The background is also from Mischief Circus the "Happy UnBirthday" kit.   Loved working with this image and have a dual sided project planned with it later this month.  Hope you will visit  A & T Digital Designs and have a look and drop by Dream in Darkness with some odd, quirky, weird, and yes, dark makes for us to look at this month and visit your blog to leave some love!  Stay tuned for some Lost Coast Designs cool stuff and the next Mushy House make...til then get inky and above all have fun!

Battle of the Snow! Bloobel Stamps Rock!

I was shown some exciting, new digital stamps that just made my heart sing for its weird wonderfulness!  That amazing place is Bloobel Stamps!  Then the icing on the cake was when they sponosored our challenge blog Dream in Darkness this month!  Talk about double great!  So I got to play with "Snow Thunk" love the names, too!  This poor fellow seems to me to be level headed and even tempered until that wet, slushy snowball made him "thunk" about it!  Now he is seeing blue and ready for revenge with that clenched fist!  

This is a canvas made by my dad for me and mom stretched some fabric over the frame and I had  the perfect size canvas!  I had it ready and gessosed when my new Nuance Powders available at Lost Coast Designs arrived so of course sprayed with water and sprinkled a cool blue powder on and it was magic.  Love those powders!  Some embossed snowflakes before the powders and then some gelatos silver metallic on them and glued him down with his arm bent a bit to make it a little 3D.  The last thing was some Photoshop magic text as the ones I tried to make for it just didn't make it pop at all.

Please visit Bloobel Stamps and have a look at their awesome unique stamps and start thinking about Valentine's Day and wicked hops coming up that these will work great in and they are adding new ones all the time.  And check out our challenge at Dream in Darkness where we want to see your odd, quirky, weirdness, and of course dark in any form and any theme!  How easy is that?  Till next time keep those fingers inky and busy :)

Ho Ho Poe and Happy New Year!

This month at Quoth the Raven the theme is Christmas Poe I am hoping as I went by to check and got caught up in the makes by the design team and plum forgot why I was there!  But it is only right to celebrate the recently past holiday and the one I am enjoying right now with dear old Poe!  I love drawing whimsy faces and this is my second Poe in this style....not good at it but do love to play with it!  So some gelatos, colored pencils, and holiday stamps (the poison bottles do not represent the holidays!) and the beginning of his poem "The Bells" seemed a good way to say warm wishes.

Do give a run by and drop off some love for Poe at this season....we all know he really needs it!

Here's to another fab year playing at Quoth the Raven Challenge Blog!

 Challenge #51 Ho Ho Poe Merry Christmas

Bad Santa Came and Went!

On the 5th day of Creepmas and my true love sent to me...Bad Santa! He is in a rotten mood after all those zillion letters from us begging for this and that.  So his solution?  Here it is and do pay heed to it!

Image is "Ya Want This??" from Rick St. Dennis and colored with Prisma colored pencils with some distress ink around him...blue/gray as his mood is not sunny at all!  

I would like to enter him in Forever Dark 2 December

A Whimsy Krampus?

Can there be a whimsy Krampus?  I was reading up on the old guy since this is only my second Creepmas celebration and first, I am glad my folks didn't know about him!  I was never naughty of course, but still :)  This journal page came from my studies and is the abbreviated version of Krampus..and yes, I know I forgot the sticks in his hand!  It is dark outside, lovelies!!!  No going out there this time of year no way!

I drew him LOL can you tell?

I am entering him in Forever Dark 2 "Anything Goes as long as Dark"

Exactly 4 Days Left! Hurry!

Ok, we know you are making us wait on the goodness but come on!  Time is running out!  Come add your entry to the linky at Lost Coast Designs Monthly Challenge "Board Game Pieces" just as quick as your inky fingers can get there!  Here is a little tiny altered puzzle box with the puzzle inside made to hang on the tree.  I used the " Quilted Wings Angel" from Carmen's Veranda, well as much as would  fit on the tiny box and then used all of her on the puzzle which actually can be put back together.

Proof it comes apart :)

Gelatos and shimmer mist galore with the "Large Christmas Tree" and "Christmas Lights" also found at Carmen's Veranda.  Colored with Derwent Inktense Blocks...her face is tan not zombie colored!

And it all goes in about a 2 inch box with the words from "Party Words" at Lost Coast Designs.  I added some shimmer mist to this after seeing the photo but it has vanished from my files..those gremlins again!

Come see the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity for all the info and chances to win some spending money at the store to treat yourself for Christmas!  You don't have to use our stamps to enter our monthly challenge but if you do you double your chances :)

                  

    Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

                             Like our Facebook Page we have challenges there, too!

here

and 

here!

Some Carmen's Veranda Christmas Fun Continued and a new Facebook Challenge!

Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda's 

                       *** FACEBOOK CHALLENGE - #2 WINTER HOLIDAYS ***
                                         starts Dec 1 though to Jan 15, 2016 
and I just had to have some more play with these awesome stamps!  Since I had to cut off some legs to make my ATC block, I had to show you the rest of the lovely "Reindeer Doll" and "Elf with Star", legs and all!

 '

I am not a tag maker for some reason probably because like cards I seem to miss the mark on most of the ones I make but these two I really love.  Gelatos and Inktense blocks with some Chameleon pens used like water colors in some places and some stenciled snowflakes with some bling and they were done!

Make sure to enter our challenge for December which is "Make a Game Board Piece" and also enter the Carmen's Christmas event!  All the goodies can be found at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity so look at those side bars and click away to find loads of fun!

Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

Like our Facebook Page we have challenges there, too!

here

and 

here!

A Merry Carmen's Veranda's Christmas to You!

We are celebrating Christmas with a Carmen's Veranda's Christmas Event showcasing some of the wonderful stamps found there to use for the holidays!  Keep up with all our challenges and events at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity and never miss any of the fun :)  I loved ALL of the stamps and decided to make a set of 4 ATC's created using the same process for the background.  Then I began reading about ATC Blocks and went with a modified version of that using a old tin that just fit the ATC's when completed.

 The only drawback was having to cut off some legs...sigh..but I kept them because I have a feeling one day I will just really really need some legs for something!  The ATC's background was white cardstock layered with sprays from Lindy's Stamp Gang, stenciled with some acrylic paint, and randomly stamped with "Merry Christmas" from Lost Coast Designs and I used the "Christmas Lights" stamp from there also doing all 4 in a set of 6 at the same time to keep it matching. This one is stamped with "Elf with Star" colored with Prisma colored pencils and the lights on the string colored with markers, then fussy cut him and glued onto the ATC after attaching them to the sides of the painted, distressed tin.

I totally love this lovely "Reindeer Doll" who has some lovely legs by the way!  Glossy Accents added to make it shine in parts in real life, promise!

 Now this "Waving Santa" reminded me of a store Santa when I was 12 so I did giggle a bit while working on him and added some wings from the "Skull with Wings" from Lost Coast Designs.  Added some red and green bling from dollar store sale after last Christmas also where the tiny ornaments on top came from.  I added some snowflakes to the top hangers but the white did not show up against the white light box :(

 This sweetie "Quilted Wing Angel" is one of several gorgeous angels available at Carmen's Veranda.  She is so cute and happy!

Thanks for hanging in there with me through a long post but wanted to share the deets with you.  Please check out my team mates wonderful makes for this event and don't forget our challenge this month at Lost Coast Designs!  So hope to visit your blog when you enter so I can see your place!

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity

Carmen's Veranda

Lost Coast Designs 
 Like us on Facebook and check out our Facebook Challenges, too!
https://www.facebook.com/lostcoastdesigns/
https://www.facebook.com/Carmens-Veranda-194708653950030/

Merry Christmas to All!

Some Christmas Mail Art for Lost Coast Desings with Carmen's Veranda

 Our Lost Coast Designs Challenge is still open for a few days, we close on the 27th so get those stamps and get messy with an envelope!  I finally got my Derwent Inktense blocks last week...squeee!  I gently tore an envelope from Betty Jo from a swap to use as my template.  Then loads of watercolor blocks and stamping with the wrong ink that smeared horribly so covered with a coat of light green paint and left it!  Came back and started over and added some stencils and embossed the inked images :)

 I used the wonderful "Elf With Star" from Carmen's Veranda and the "Christmas Lights" from there too.

Had to add "Merry Christmas" from Party Words comes from Lost Coast Designs and it has a ton of sentiments on it so well worth having in your stash!

That's it for me today!  Come play with us we have events coming up that you can keep up with on the amazing Lost Coast Portal to Creativity ...just look at the side bars and click on the things we have going on and it will take you right there...magic!

 So here is a simple tag with two of my favorites as to date from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!  Good old Alfred (Alfred Hitchcock Standing found at Carmen's Veranda)  just keeps calling my name.  I have made a locket with him but the soldering has gotten the best of me on it but it will make an appearance here eventually!  This awesome "Grunge Tree" seems to fit him so well, too, and since it is a favorite, why not?

I love these two stamps together...like so many at Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda, they just seem made for each other.  And that skull bead?  Oh, I think old Alfred would have had a chuckle!

Get ready for our new Challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity the first Monday of December and enter our November Challenge "Mail Art".  Follow all the news and how to's on the Lost Coast  Portal to Creativity where all of our info is listed and posted!  Don't miss out on the fun and fun it is!

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity

Carmen's Veranda

Lost Coast Designs 

Some Happy Skellies

This is a make from 31 Days of Halloween thought I would add them all here as I forgot to do it after they were posted on the Lost Coast to Creativity Designer Blog :(  This make is from Lost Coast Designs and is from the fabulous stamp called "Dancing Skeletons" and I love this stamp!  I must admit I adore every stamp in the line of Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda; they seem made for my quirky self!

I used the glossy photo with wet Distress Inks to make the background for the dancing skeletons...I think that technique is wonderful!  Thanks Lindsay!  The canvas/cardboard it is mounted on is embossed with the "Three Trees" background stamp from Carmen's Veranda and embossed with black embossing powder.  I used sprays from DecoArt and Lindy's lots of layering on a gesso base.  The wire fence is handmade and then a chipboard cat, skull, and pumpkin and some black cardstock skulls with some spiders round up the whole night time party!  And for a party, no disco ball to be found so some silver beads frame the happy skellies!

Make sure you don't miss a day visiting the Lost Coast Designs Portal to Creativity for wonderful chances to enter our challenges and events and our Facebook page has a challenge that will be up very soon so keep up with the news there, too. 

Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda

Like our Facebook Page

here

and 

here!