Little Hop of Horrors & a Spooky Hallow sneak peek!

Welcome to the Little Hop of Horrors Halloween Blog Hop...

If you've arrived here from Nicole's blog, then you are on the right track!  Nicole has assembled quite the not so little gathering of goul-friends for a fiendishly fun hop, with the opportunity to win some awesome loot to boot!  Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post for a few details :)

Now, it's not a secret that I AM a Halloween fan (uh, hello.... what's the name of this blog again?).  This time of year is my favorite:  cool autumn air, crunchy Fall leaves, pumpkins, and creepiness... what's not to love?!  Well, to start things off, I've created this no-frills, but frighteningly fun Halloween card using a couple of new digi's from Simply Betty Stamps that will be available starting tomorrow... sorry blood-suckers, not today :)

This is Damien & Spiderella.  I like to imagine Damien is a newly turned vampire whom by chance of fate comes upon Spiderella... a veteran vamp who's been around the block a time or two

(if you know what I'm sayin') :)

She's obviously trying to work her feminine wiles on a somewhat naive newbie vamp... does he fall for it?  Only the Shadow knows...

Digi images:  Damien & Spiderella (SBS)

Rubber stamp:  sentiment (Stamper's Anonymous)

Paper:  white cs (Neenah), Willoughby & black cs (TAC)

Ink:  Raw Sienna, Cognac, French Lilac & Noir Palettes (Stewart Superior)

Other:  Copic markers, Scor-Bug, misc. ribbon & trim

And now, for the goods!  Simply become one of my followers & leave me a comment and I'll giveaway a little sumpin' sumpin' to one lucky commenter :)  I don't know what it will be yet, but it will be something Halloweenie, so it will be worth the extra typing :)

Below is the list of sponsors & their awesome giveaways.  Be sure to get all of the details from Nicole's blog... she is the first & last blog to check and all of these prizes will be drawn from there after the Hop:

 

Simply Betty Stamps:  Set of 5 Halloween Digi’s

Tickled Pink Stamps:  Lil Lolita Halloween Digi’s

Tiddly Inks:  $10 Gift Voucher

Scrappy Moms Stamps:  Haunting we will Go stamp set

My Pink Stamper:  Stamp Set

The Greeting Farm:  2 Halloween Digis

Scrap Hut:  October 31^st Cricut Cartridge (North America Only)

Your next stop on this magic Horror ride, is Betty The Scrap Happy Witch!

AND if you want even more hopping to do tomorrow, start out at the Simply Betty Challenge blog for some more Spooky Hallow Halloweenieness :)  If you've come from Angela's blog and want to continue the Spooky Hallow Hop on October 3rd, your next stop is Cheri!
Happy Haunting!

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HDH056 - Monochromatic Monstrosities

HDH Macabre Monday Rules:
1. Create a dark and macabre SOMETHING (card, scrap page, altered item, whatever) that follows the specific Macabre Monday challenge given. Cutesy is fine, but creepy is better :)
2. You have until the following Sunday night @ 5pm central time to post your creation and please leave a direct-link back here.
3. If you upload to any online galleries (TACPCC, S&S, PCP, SCS, etc.), please tag the title using HDH056.
4. Weekly giveaways! Some weeks will be loaded with loot, others not-so-much... but the thrill is in the win, right?! Some prizes shall be by random drawing, others hand picked... and I'm not telling you ahead of time :)
5. I'll be selecting a weekly Gruesome Twosome (my top two favorite creations) from all the players. At the end of every month these will be compiled and a Master of Macabre will be selected and will receive a little giftie from me... this could be stamp sets, handmade items, papers, halloweenie embellishments... you just never know.

Ok, my little pretties... your challenge this week:

Monochromatic Monstrosities

We want to see the grotesque and the monstrous, and we want you to do it in shades of only one color.  But you can only choose from the following: black/grey, green, orange, or purple.

And check out what the Macabre Minions have in store for your viewing pleasure:

Macabre Mistress Lynx:

Ahh... a pumpkin fairy :)  LOVE the bat wings on her, don't you?!


Concoctor of Chaos, Creepy Glowbugg:

Uber-creepy vamp, Glo!  LOVE the ornate frame, too!!


Creepy Cricut Cween Donna:

LOVE the masking job on this, Donna!  Great new faces for Bowtie & Moth Fab from Stampotique, no?!

Digital Demon-ess Susan:

Serious fantastic digital invite!!!  LOVE the imagery, and of course you can't go wrong with anything purple :)


Ok... your turn... show us your monstrosities!  And no, I'm not asking you to flash us :)

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HDH052 - Stamp It Crazy!

HDH Macabre Monday Rules:
1. Create a dark and macabre SOMETHING (card, scrap page, altered item, whatever) that follows the specific Macabre Monday challenge given. Cutesy is fine, but creepy is better :)
2. You have until the following Sunday night @ 5pm central time to post your creation and
please leave a direct-link back here.
3. If you upload to any online galleries (TACPCC, S&S, PCP, SCS, etc.), please tag the title using HDH052.
4. Weekly giveaways! Some weeks will be loaded with loot, others not-so-much... but the thrill is in the win, right?! Some prizes shall be by random drawing, others hand picked... and I'm not telling you ahead of time :)
5. I'll be selecting a weekly Gruesome Twosome (my top two favorite creations) from all the players. At the end of every month these will be compiled and a Master of Macabre will be selected and will receive a little giftie from me... this could be stamp sets, handmade items, papers, halloweenie embellishments... you just never know.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO HAUNTED DESIGN HOUSE CHALLENGES!

Ok, my little pretties... your challenge this week:

Stamp It Crazy!

You are to create a dark, Gothic, or Halloween page, project or card using a minimum of three stamped images (or digi's). Yep, Barb over at Stamp It Crazy is sponsoring this very important challenge this week... this week marks our 52nd challenge... a whole YEAR has gone by already, can you believe it?!!! You don't HAVE to use images from Stamp It Crazy on your entry this week, but you'll get "bonus" points ;) Be sure to read the blurb at the bottom of this post for all the ways to win free schtuff!

I'll have my challenge card for you later this week, BUT some of the other Macabre Minions have some wonderful eye candy-corn for you today!!! Check it:


Macabre Mistress Lynx:

I'm seein' AT LEAST four different stamped images here... a truly fabulous rubber-stamped scene done only how our awesome Lynx can!


Creepy Cricut Cween Donna:

LOL... LOVE the sentiment... Donna, you clever little witch, you! Wonderful Halloweenie colors & fantastic coloring :)


Digital Demon-ess Susan:

Another fun one by Susan... great sentiment, and don't you love 'em da kitties?! Diggin' the harlot-styled witch in red, too!


Chaotic Creepy Glowbugg:

Oh how I LOVE purple!  Fabulously colored Asian Goth girl with gates, Creepy Glo!

Be sure to go check out the Minions' blogs for more details on these awesome cards. AND if you pay attention and gather up the little snippets that each of the Minions and I leave on our blog posts, you will be entered in a random drawing for a little sumpin' sumpin' from Stamp It Crazy! How? Well, after visiting Lynx, Donna, Susan, & Creepy Glo, email me at: barbi007@kc.rr.com with our random facts about us that we posted. Mine? Well, my Totally Random Fact: my pet name for my hubby is Poot. Now doesn't that make you smile? :)

Bonus! Since it the Anniversary challenge, both of the Gruesome Twosome for the week will get several wondermous rubber stamps from Stamp It Crazy!

Now... are you up for the challenge?!

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HDH045 Macabre Monday challenge...

Thought I'd post this before the weekend gets too far away from me.  Of course it didn't help that I slept in until 10am!!!  I KNOW.  But, I didn't go to bed until the wee hours of the morning, so it's not like I'm THAT big of a loser :)  I was up watching some LAME horror movie... I didn't even wait until the end to change the channel... yeah, THAT lame.

Anyway, on to today's bit of creepy cuteness :)  I FINALLY finished my entry for this week's masking challenge!  And so sorry... it IS cute.  :)

I had the idea for this since I first saw this set in the new TAC catalogue at seminar.  Well, I didn't have the broom and hat in mind, but the rest... definitely.  I admit, it looked better in my head... it looks kinda cluttered and busy now.  I should have left off the broom & hat... but I LOVE that broom stamp.  And isn't she such a cute little witch... all ready for bed in her pink curlers?!

Stamps:  Movie Night, Spring Dream and All Season Swirls (retired TAC), broom (Battle Axe), sentiment (Viva Las Vegas)

Paper:  Penelope & brown cardstocks, Cougar white cardstock

Other:  Lime Stickles

Copics:  0, YR02, YR04, YR07, YR18, YR23, YR24, YG01, YG03, YG91, V01, V06, V09, RV02, RV10, RV11, RV13, E09, E31, E35, E53, E57, E59, BG02

Here is the original stamp image (above).  I masked over the little girl on the left.  I LOVE the hair curlers.  They make me smile.  They remind me of when I was a very little girl... I would watch my sisters & mom put them in their hair.  I also masked the sentiment/swirls & a teensie bit of the broom.

So much fun to color... I need to work on my wood floor technique more.  Maybe I should google you-tube that.  Her hair & face turned out awesome, me thinks.

What do you think?

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HDH045 - Marvelous Masking

HDH Macabre Monday Rules:
1. Create a dark and macabre SOMETHING (card, scrap page, altered item, whatever) that follows the specific Macabre Monday challenge given. Cutesy is fine, but creepy is better :)
2. You have until the following Sunday night @ 5pm central time to post your creation and please leave a direct-link back here.
3. If you upload to any online galleries (TACPCC, S&S, PCP, SCS, etc.), please tag the title using HDH045.
4. Weekly giveaways!  Some weeks will be loaded with loot, others not-so-much... but the thrill is in the win, right?!  Some prizes shall be by random drawing, others hand picked... and I'm not telling you ahead of time :)
5. I'll be selecting a weekly Gruesome Twosome (my top two favorite creations) from all the players. At the end of every month these will be compiled and a Master of Macabre will be selected. He/she will be asked to be a guest blogger for the following month, if they so wish, and receive a little giftie from me... this could be stamp sets, handmade items, papers, halloweenie embellishments... you just never know.

Ok, my little pretties... your challenge this week:

Marvelous Masking

 You are to create a dark, Gothic, or Halloween page, project or card using the stamp masking technique.  Not familiar with this?  There are very extensive masking techniques, and then there is the quick & easy like post-it notes :)  Take a rubber stamp, cover (mask) the area you do NOT want to see, ink up the stamp image, remove mask, and stamp image.  Additional masking on the stamped panel may be required as well... do a little, or a lot... but let's see whatcha' create!!

Lynx is a FABULOUS resource for masked stamped projects... me likey... A LOT!  And don't think you have to rock it like Lynx... simple one-image masking will do just fine for this challenge (that's probably what I'll be doing!!!).  We just want to see you try it!

Ok, sorry I've been MIA lately... I had a weekend seminar to attend, and I'm not very tech savvy away from home (to be read as loser) :)  I am hoping to have something fan-tab-u-lous for you sometime this week... but in the meantime... are YOU up for the challenge?!!

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April Fool's Day Smeared and Smudged Member Blog Hop

Happy April Fool's Day!  Is that the proper greeting?  I guess I've never really thought about it :)  Well, at any rate, today will be hoppin'... Blog Hoppin' that is!  The Smeared and Smudged online community is having a blog hop that is sure to be full of surprises... I'm not telling about ALL of the surprises... you'll just have to find out for yourself

{muhu whah ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhhhhhhhhhhh}

My project, however has no surprises... I was mojo-less for that part, so my sad little fairy must do.  I brayered & sponged directly on the card base for this one... the only additional layer is the fairy herself :)  She is so beautifully sad, don't you think?

I colored her with Copics and probably should have gone a little more dark with her to fit into the rest of the scene, but I kind of like how she is this bright little thing standing out in the middle of a dark evening.  I used a three-color feathering technique for her gown... it looks really good in person.

Stamps:  Sad Elfwood Fairy (Stamp It Crazy), tree (Tim Holtz), Edge Designs (TAC), Trendy Greetings (TAC), Fresh Air Favorites (retired TAC)

Paper:  premium white & white ultra smooth cardstocks

Ink:  Violete, Starry Night, Iris, Jardin Moss, Water Lily Green, Raw Sienna, Cognac, & Noir Palettes, Memento Tuxedo, Onyx VersaFine

Other:  Copic markers, foam tape

And to see if you actually read all of this stuff, I'm going to be offering up a little surprise of my own... be sure to leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw a name on Thursday, April 8th after 5pm.  Now, keep in mind that this IS April Fool's Day, so the little surprise you get in the mail MIGHT be new, used, shiny, ready for the trash bin... you just don't know!  It might be dark or cute or something in between, but I'm not telling.  Sucka!

Have fun hopping through all the blogs to see the great variety and talent that Smeared and Smudged members have to offer!!!  It is such a fun community of stampers, and if you like things a little on the dark side or out of the norm, it's definitely the place to gather!  These stampers are really fun group... now, go and check them out for yourself and be sure to leave the love!

Alison
Kelli
Meredith
Michelle
Kathi
Kim
Lisa
Danielle
Alex
Jean

Monica
Sarah
Erica

Black Dragon

Kymberly

Steph

Lady Brayton

Barb ***this is me!***

Terra

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More cuteness... ugh!

;) Seriously, I just wanted to share one of the new Halloweenie stamp sets available from TAC. I was lucky enough to be asked to submit samples for their latest publication: Inspiration Avenue, and this is one that made it in!!

Yep... CUTE! I stamped & colored the witchie, masked her off and sponged the moon, grass & sky. I paper pieced her little skirt and then added some shadows to her & the sentiment with a q-tip.

Got out the ol' sewing machine and stitched a couple of edges of patterned paper after distressing them. Add some sheer ribbon & a glittery plastic spider and... voila!

Stamps: Spooky Girls, Happy Haunting

Paper: Penelope SWIC, White UltraSmooth & Penelope cardstocks

Ink: Landscape, Violette, Starry Night & Noir Palettes, Purple Hydrangea Versamagic (I think!)

Other: Penelope Ribbon, PrismaColor pencils w/ mineral oil, glittery spider

I'll be sharing a few more cute ones over the next several posts, so I hope that's ok ;)

What do you think?

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Macabre Monday #003 - Wildly Wicked Winged Things

Welcome to the Haunted Design House's Macabre Monday challenge!

HDH Macabre Monday Rules:
1. Must have fun and not stress.
2. Create a Halloweenie SOMETHING (card, scrap page, altered item, whatever) that follows the specific Macabre Monday challenge given. Cutesy Halloween is fine, but creepy is better :) However, no extra 'points' are given either way.
3. You have until the following Sunday night @ 5pm central time to post your creation and linky back here.
4. If you upload to any online galleries (PW, PCP, SCS, etc.), please tag the title using HDH003.
5. Starting in September, I'll have monthly contest giveaways... more details to follow.
6. I'll be selecting a weekly Gruesome Twosome (my top two favorite creations) from all the players. At the end of every month these will be compiled and a Master of Macabre will be selected. He/she will be asked to be a guest blogger for the following month, if they so wish, and receive a little giftie from me (I have NO idea what this will be!!).


Ok, my little pretties... your challenge this week:
Wildly Wicked Winged Things

This week's challenge is to use something with wings on your creation. Fairies, moths, butterflies, birds, bats... just make sure they are a little wicked. This is what I've created... a little Moonlight Fairie. Be sure to click on the photos to blow up to see details :)

Stamps: mushroom fairie (Stamp it Crazy), Fresh Air Favorites (retired TAC)

Paper: Mulberry Meadow cardstocks (retired TAC), black & White UltraSmooth cardstocks (TAC)

Ink: Jardin Moss, Landscape, Cognac, Orangerie & Noir Palettes

Other: Grungeboard, Crystal Laquer, Prismacolors w/ mineral oil, VersaMarker, clear embossing powder, black lace & white swiss dot fabrics, Glimmer Mists

See the creepy-cool swiss dot fabric? It used to be white :) I sprayed it with olive & cranberry Glimmer Mists and dried it with a heat gun. I chose to over-heat it so that it would melt a bit & scrunch up. It feels really funky in real life and there is a lovely subtle shimmer from the mists.

After coloring the image, I applied Versa-Marker & embossing powder over the fairie & mushroom. Then I sponged the background & stamped the foliage. To really make the fairie stand out, I applied Crystal Lacquer.

Now it's your turn! This should be easier than the first two challenges :) so I hope to see a lot of participation this week!!

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365 Cards - Day 149 - Try a Technique Tuesday!!

Greetings all, & welcome :) I'm totally psyched to have been chosen as a guest designer for today over at 365 Cards!! This entire week is Reader Appreciation Week, so be sure to join in the fun for prize opportunities and to gawk at all of the wonderful cards the Design Team & Guest Designers have created :)

What is the technique today? SPONGING! Those that know me or my work will be the first to tell you that this is a technique that I use on probably 90% of my cards... and 100% on my Halloween cards :)

Sponging tends to create depth, and REALLY finishes off certain images wonderfully. The entire background of this Halloween Flourish Tree card was created with sponging. Yep, I started with a completely white cardstock panel for this baby :) I also used regular hydra sponges, as well as manicurist pads... the sponge creates a stippled texture, while the pad creates much softer blending.

I created a reverse-mask for the moon first. Start with the lightest yellow, and keep layering color toward the center... then add darker yellows & cognac colors at the outside edge to create a rounded look to the moon.

I then stamped the weedy image along the bottom & the tree. The tree is heat-embossed to give a bit of sheen and nice raised quality. Place a piece of paper to create a horizon line and start blending green & black inks for the ground and blues & purples for the sky. I went back with darker shades of blue & purple ink and created thin lines of clouds to add an eerie touch.

Then I stamped the sentiments & bats** in black, sponged black ink around the edges, distressed them, and matted the panels. Next up, used the Scor-bug for a little texture, swiped a white ink pad around the card base edges, and topped it all off with some sheer grungy-olive ribbon.

**The bats are actually one of the butterflies from the Love & Laughter tree image... I just snipped it apart from the main image... oh how I love cling-rubber stamps... I can manipulate them so easily to fit whatever I need :)

Stamps: Flourish Trees of Hope, Love & Laughter, Edge Designs, Tag Tidbits (happy), retired GWP (Halloween)

Paper: White UltraSmooth, Basic Black, & Penolope Cardstocks

Ink: Raw Sienna, Cognac, Noir, Starry Night, Prussian Blue, Violete, French Lilac, Landscape, & Jardin Moss Palettes

Other: Transcendence Embossing Powder, hydra sponges, manicurist pads (from Sally Beauty Supply), olive sheer ribbon

What do you think?

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