Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop - Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop. Are you hanging in there? I hope you are enjoying all the goulish projects these Wicked Bloggers have come up with.  And it is still very early in the month. No telling what we will come up with before it's over.

Visit this link to view the rules for winning fabulous prizes.  Oh, and the Grand Prize is worth over $300.  Not bad, eh?

My second project is a spooky graveyard card.

Front

Inside

Black card base
Swirly web stamped along edge of orange card stock
Black core-donations paper embossed with Quickutz Graveyard embossing folder and sanded
Flying bats stamped with white StazOn ink
Spooky word stamped with Versamark ink, embossed with green lustre embossing powder
Beware medallion from Silhouette print and cut file, pop dotted
Dies:  bat fence, corner cob web, skull and cross bones
Inside:  swirly web stamped in orange Brilliance ink, spider and Halloween stamped with black Brilliance ink, purple glitter glue added to spider body

Be sure to check out the rest of the Wicked Bloggers. The list is long, but I think it will be worth your time.  The entire blog roll can be found in the sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win fabulous prizes.

Barbara Rankin

New Feature - An Introduction to a Sin City Stamps Artist

Hello everyone.   If you are here for the Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop, please click on this link.

We are starting a new feature over at Sin City Stamps.  The first Wednesday of each month, Sin City Stamps will be highlighting one of their amazing artists, showcasing  their designs and art.  I encourage you to stop by frequently to see new products, designs, and examples of what can be created with the fabulous stamps, stencils, and chipboard products designed just for you!  I get to go first!!!  And be sure to read to the bottom of this post for a fabulous offer!

My name is Barbara Rankin, and I am not only a member of the Sin City Stamps Design Team, but I am honored and excited to also be an artist for Sin City Stamps. I love all forms of "crafting", from sewing, to needlework, to paper crafting, to my newest love, mixed media.  From my earliest beginnings, I have always been fond of dimension, and to this day, I still love creating with dimension.  My style is varied, but I truly love vintage, Victorian, Steampunk, and shabby chic.  I have been published in several magazines, as well as contributing artist in a book that showcases mini albums, another form of art I really love.  Depending on my mood, and sometimes, the seasons, my art will take shape from my surroundings.  I also love quotations, and I use them as my jumping off point a lot.

My first design for Sin City Stamps is this Shrine Chipboard Book Designed by Barbara Rankin.  It is quite versatile, and can be used as a free standing frame to sit on your table or fireplace mantel.  I have even used these shrines to make a mini album, with complete directions you can view by clicking here.  You can decorate and display it to feature your favorite photographs, or even use it to commemorate the changing of the seasons, as I have done here with my "Autumn Beauty".  The possibilities are endless!

Front

Back

Much to my surprise and excitement, the Deer Under Trees chipboard piece fit perfectly with my shrine and gave such a wonderful view outside the window.  I actually placed myself inside looking out at the beautiful turning leaves of the tree, and the cute deer in my yard.  Ahhh, Fall is upon us!

Closeup of Deer Under Trees

You can purchase these chipboard pieces individually through Sin City Stamps, or you can purchase my complete kit, as shown here, through Altered Pages.  And just for stopping by, you get this special offer from me to you.  If you use code featured33 in your Sin City Stamps shopping cart, you will get a whopping 33% discount on your purchase.  In addition, I am offering a free Shrine Chipboard Book Designed by Barbara Rankin, that's me, to one lucky person who leaves me a comment, either on my blog or the Sin City Stamps blog.  Winner will be chosen by random at the end of the month.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and as always, stay CRAFTY, my friends.

Barbara Rankin

Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop Day 1

Welcome to Day 1 of the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop. Are you ready for some goulish fun?  It's finally here, and because I love Halloween so much, I decided to throw my hat in the ring, as they say, and participate in this month-long blog hop!  So sit back, relax, and enjoy the festivities, or should I say, creativities!

Visit this link to view the rules for winning fabulous prizes.  Oh, and the Grand Prize is worth over $300.  How cool is that?

My first project is a spider-ific tag I made.

I used a manila tag, adhered vintage text pages, and trimmed the excess.  I sprayed it with Kraft Glimmer Mist and embossed just the left edge with an Anna Griffin embossing folder (April Garden).  My "sandwich" going through my machine was a bit too much, and curled the edge of the paper.  But you know what?  Turns out I really liked the frilly edge it gave.  So I kept it and highlighted the design with Black Soot distress ink.

I also used the Kraft mist on the small doily that I first applied a very light coat of gesso to.

Next, I trimmed a piece of print paper and adhered that to the right edge of the tag, edging the tag with Black Soot distress ink.  I then adhered half of the doily to the top and the web ribbon through the hole.

After stamping "Eeeeek!" and embossing with black embossing powder, I used an edge punch to cut out the label shape, distressing the edges and adhering with foam tape.

Last, I die cut the hanging spider with a Tim Holtz die (Candlelight Fright) and shaped the spider with my fingers to give some dimension. I then glued the web at the top of the tag, allowing my spider to move about as needed.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Wicked Bloggers. The list is long, but I think it will be worth your time.  The entire blog roll can be found in the sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win fabulous prizes.

Barbara Rankin

Leslie Rahye's Very Fall Steampunk Blog Hop

Hello my very artsy steampunk friends, and welcome to Autumn.  I am so glad you stopped by today.  The fabulous Leslierahye is hosting another one of her fabulous steampunk blog hops, and today's theme is Fall!  

I don't know about you, but Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I absolutely love the colors associated with Fall.  I found this Sizzix die in my local craft store on clearance, and boy, was I excited.  I grabbed it so fast it would have made your head spin.  

It is one of Tim Holtz' dies called Luminary 3-D.  It is not as large as it appears on screen, but it is awfully cute, and makes beautiful little candle light decorations, or just about any kind of decoration you might choose.  I think it is very versatile and I plan on using it quite a bit.  

I started searching for ideas on Pinterest, and found a gazillion of them.  However, I was particularly taken with a technique called Melt Art Tissue Wrap Jeweled Leaves that I found on Tammy Tutterow's blog using tissue wrap, distress stains, and the melting pot.  

Supplies:
Sizzix/Tim Holtz 3-D Luminary die
Die cutting machine
Altered Pages Steampunk Collage Images
Melting Pot
Clear UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel)
Gold metallic cream
Distress stains in Fall colors
Tim Holtz Melange tissue wrap
Tim Holtz Ideaology music box keys
Prima Vinage Trinkets
Burgundy two-tone card stock
24# Clear Vellum paper
Glossy Accents
Red Liner tape

I cut two-toned burgundy card stock with the Sizzix Tim Holtz 3-D Luminary die and followed the directions for putting it together.  But before I actually adhered it together, I first resized the four collage images from Altered Pages to print at 2.1" x 2.8" onto clear vellum paper and trimmed each one down to 2" x 2-3/8" to fit behind the window openings.

Using the techniques learned from Tammy's blog post, I was inspired to make the leaves she shared, but I was further inspired to make some "gear flowers" using the same technique used for the leaves.  I cut out some larger gears with a Spellbinders die and tissue wrap, stained with Fall colors, and dipped in UTEE.  I did, however, shape them somewhat to form a flower shape.  Adding a few metal embellishments from Prima and Tim Holtz Ieadology, and my luminary was complete.

Front close up

Side 2

Side 3

Side 4

The really cool thing about these tissue embossed leaves is that they become quite see-through, which I think is an awesome effect.  Can you see the transparency in these close-ups?

Gear flowers closeup

The metal gear on this flower looks like it is floating, but it is actually adhered to the UTEE that I allowed to remain inside the circle of the gear.  Pretty cool, huh?

Tiny metal gears are added to form flower centers.  

Insert a battery-operated tea light inside for safety while providing a nice candlelight glow.

Now I have a sweet Fall home decor piece for my table.  I think I need more!!!

I hope  you enjoyed my project today, and have a great time visiting the rest of the bloggers today to see their awesome projects.  

Here are the links to their blogs to help you stay on course!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please have a wonderful, crafty week!

Barbara

Mixed Media Vintage Tag with Altered Pages and Pan Pastels

Hey there my fellow crafters!  I hope your week has started off well.  This month, the Altered Pages Design Team has had the great pleasure of working with PanPastels, and we hope you have been following along and are enjoying the projects we have been creating for you.  PanPastels are now available AlteredPages.com, too!

I have for you today a vintage mixed media tag  that I think you will like.  There are a lot of steps, so I have included a lot of pictures. But rest assured, it is so easy to do and lots of fun.  So I hope you will follow along and make it all the way to the bottom.  

I chose one of the manila tags from the tag assortment and adhered a vintage text page over the entire tag.

 Trim excess and repunch hole through tag.

Pounce white pigment ink through stencil.

Add Bright Yellow Green and Turquoise Pan Pastels with Softt sponge over the tag. Spray tag with a workable fixative.

Print mirror image from Simple Science collage sheet, cut in half and adhere to tag with gel medium, as shown.  Burnish paper well and allow to dry.

 Mist paper image with water and use your finger to begin removing as much paper as possible. The gel medium transfers the ink from the printed image, so continue to mist with water and rub the paper off until the area is clear, not cloudy.  You should see your image transferred to the tag. Because I sprayed with a fixative, the water is not hurting the background paper at all.

 If you look closely, you can see the design beneath the transfer still showing through ... a very nice effect, don't you think?

 Edge tag with black gelato.  

 Use a baby wipe or slightly wet finger to blend.

 Trim beautiful flower lady from Les Fleurs collage sheet and adhere to tag.  Outline edge of image with charcoal pencil and blend with blending stump to make it look more dimensional.

Cut a key hole escutcheon from chipboard or grunge board.  Coat with white pigment ink.

 Sponge Copper Pan Pastel over escutcheon.

Dip key hole into melted UTEE.  Remove from UTEE with tweezers and lay onto craft sheet.  Be very careful with this step.  The UTEE is extremely hot and will stick to your fingers and burn you.  

 A funny thing happened during this step.  The pigment ink and Pan Pastel caused the UTEE to bubble, so I reheated it on my craft sheet with my heat gun, and then the pigment ink and the Pan Pastel began to move, allowing the white ink to show through again.  I love the effect I got from this, and can only imagine the color combinations I could achieve just by changing the pigment ink and Pan Pastel colors. 

These next three pieces were inked with the white pigment ink and colored with the Pan Pastel metallic colors using Bronze and Rich Gold, but I left it to dry overnight.  When I came back, I dipped them in the hot UTEE and there was no bubbling, and you can see I am still going to need to clean them up a bit by hitting them with my heat gun to level out the UTEE.  

 And here are all four pieces coated completely and looking fabulous, don't you think?  I ended up using only two of these pieces for my tag today, but I am definitely saving the other two for another project.  

Shape a variety of flowers, adding stamen where needed, and adhere to tag, as shown.

Cup two daisies with large ball stylus on piece of foam and layer.

Cut two petals away from six petal flower.

Glue two outer petals together and pinch at bottom.

Glue to center of layered daisy.

Fold pointed six petal flower (yellow) in half and squish each individual flower towards the center, similar to the green flower.  It is 

Fold the top three petals down, as shown.

Add a few stamen to the center and pinch the bottom while carefully arranging the petals to your liking, then glue all in place in the center.

 To make some leaves, cut petals from large daisy.  Add Permanent Green Pan Pastel to leaves and adhere beneath flowers.

Here are a few more closeups for you.  Here, I simply added a couple of metal stickers to the escutcheon, but you could also use brads.

 Add some beautiful silk ribbons through the tag hole for that extra UMPH!

Supplies:

Altered Pages:  Manila tag; Vintage Text Pages; Simple Science Collage Sheet; Les Fleurs Collage Sheet; Gel Medium; Gesso; Triangle Plaid stencil; Gelato Black; Petaloo Flowers; Ribbons and Trims

Pan Pastel: Turquoise, Bright Yellow Green, Permanent Green, Copper, Rich Gold, Bronze, Softt Sponges

Other:  White pigment ink, Clear UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel), Hot Pot or Heat Gun; Tweezers; charcoal pencil

I hope you enjoyed my project today, and I always hope that I have been able to inspire you to try new things like Pan Pastels.  Be sure to comment each day on the Altered Pages blog for a chance to win a set of your very own PanPastels.  A random drawing will take place at the end of the month, and for each comment you leave, your name gets entered again!  More comments, more chances of winning! (one comment per day please).

Have a wonderful, creative week, and be sure to make time to play!

Barbara

Hot Air Balloon Card with Sin City Stamps and Pan Pastels

Hello everyone, Barbara here today for more fun with Sin City Stamps and our sponsor this month, Pan Pastels!  If you have been following along with the team this month, then you know, by now, how wonderful these pastels are, and how easy they are to use.  I absolutely love this product and cannot say enough good things about it.  

I can only give you a sneak peek today, because I have prepared an entire step-by-step on the Sin City Stamps blog for you.  There you will find much more details and information for this project.  So please pop on over and see what fun you can have with these products, too!

Supplies:

Sin City Stamps:  Up Up and Away 2 stamp set; Urban Grunge stamp set; A Wing Above the Rest stamp set
Pan Pastels:  Turquoise, Ultramarine Blue, Raw Umber, Permanent Green, Bright Yellow Green, Magenta, Magenta Ex. Dark, Sofft sponge and knife tool
Miscellaneous:  White card stock, black ink pad, purple card stock, blue pre-folded A2 card, post-it note

And be sure to check out the awesome products at Sin City Stamps, too!

Have a wonderful, creative weekend!

Barbara

Pan Pastels are professional artists’ quality soft pastel colors packed in a unique pan format (cake-like). The special qualities of PanPastel Colors mean that artists can blend and apply dry color like fluid paint for the first time.  All PanPastel Colors are made using a unique manufacturing process requiring minimal binder and fillers, resulting in rich, ultra soft and super-blendable colors.

Each color is loaded with the finest quality artists’ pigments for the most concentrated colors possible. The colors have excellent lightfastness and are fully erasable. Uniquely, for pastel color, they can be mixed together for a complete painting palette.