Bombshell Guest DT Challenge

The lovely guest DT over at Bombshell Stamps is Ms Torrey Moseley. Her challenge for December was Steampunk. Oh how I love steampunk art. It's vintage with a twist. I'm rather surprised it's become so popular with the scrapbooking/cardmaking crowd since it's generally been something of a sub-nerd convention culture kind of thing. It was good timing for this challenge though because I've recently been purchasing items to do more Steampunk cards. Here is my entry for the challenge using the Mermaid Treasure stamp set by Bombshell Stamps.

I colored the mermaid with Copics and Magical Micas. I used the Spellbinders Sprightly Sprockets set to made the gears out of vellum and colored them with Rub n Buff. I also altered the buttons with Rub n Buff as well.  

Bombshell December Sketch Challenge

Whew! I'm finally getting caught up with my posts. Of course this month, besides a ton of Christmas cards, all I managed to do was the Bombshell challenges. But that is okay cause I love the challenges this month. They were just so much fun to do! For this challenge I couldn't quite decide which color scheme I wanted to go with so I just made two cards. I love how they turned out!

This time I colored the mermaids with Copics and some metallic water colors from Michaels. I used my new steampunk embossing folders and Spellbinders dies to create the gears. I added a bit of rub n buff to create some depth. 

Bombshell Stamps Anything Goes!

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been so AWOL this month. I had school, two jobs, finals, and I got myself a boyfriend so when I've had spare time I've either been working on Christmas Cards (which I did not get out this year), hanging out with my boyfriend, or just trying to relax. I did manage to get projects done for all of the Bombshell Challenge this month except for the blog hop. Here are my cards for the "Anything Goes" challenge. The first two cards I used the Butterfly Queen set and the rest I used my other stamps for.

 Digi stamp courtesy of Sureya and Frasel

 Please vote for this card over at the Lindy's Stamp Gang Blog

Bombshell Stamps December Challenge!

Bombshell Stamps is getting into the holiday spirit and wants to something to our loyal fans!

This challenge is a one-time only contest. Use any stamp to create a holiday card and share it us with in this thread in the Gamblers Anonymous section of The Casino in Bombshell's forum!

Each entry will earn one chance to win a $5.00 gift certificate to the Bombshell Store, which will be selected via a random draw.

Use a Bombshell Stamp and you'll win two chances!

If you win using a Bombshell stamp (rubber or digital), you can win a $20.00 gift certificate!

The deadline for this challenge is December 31st. The winner will be chosen by January 5th!

It's a Bombshell Blog Hop!

Hello everyone. I am interrupting my regularly (well almost regularly) scheduled Waste Not Want Not Wednesday to bring you Bombshell Stamps November Blog Hop: Autumn Breeze. I used my guest DT stamp set Butterfly Queen to make this card. I colored her with Copics, Magical Micas, and some Acrylic Ink. 

The inspiration we were given was a color set.

And here is my card:

Be sure to Hop along with us and comment on all the blogs for chances to win a Bombshell Stamp set.

Bombshell Blog: http://bombshellstamps.blogspot.com/
Alison: http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com 
Laura: http://craftylittlewoman.blogspot.com/
Mary G.: blog: http://www.mystampinhide-away.blogspot.com
Torrey: http://left-field-studio.blogspot.com/
Cheryl: http://inktrap.blogspot.com
Stempelintje: http://stempelientje.blogspot.com/
Kelli: http://www.cajunstampingqueen.blogspot.com
Alaine: http://missalaineousmosaics.blogspot.com/ 
Glittery Katie: http://ferrishyn-frontier.blogspot.com/
Celina Anthony: http://poniesandcrafts.blogspot.com
Paula: http://heyheypaula-heyheypaula.blogspot.com/
Milo: http://milolilja.net
Sparkly Mary (The Birthday Girl!): http://sparkly-train.blogspot.com/
Alex: http://paperandstring.blogspot.com/
Kathi: http://kathstales.blogspot.com

A Stocking Experiment!

Silly pun aside, this is about trying different ways of coloring stockings on the Butterfly Queen. For three of these ladies I stamped them in black pigment ink instead of the usual archival ink. I found that it works a lot better because Copics and other water based colors do not bleed with it. Of course you want to let it dry for quite awhile before you're ready to color.

The first lady has Pearlescent Arylic Ink stockings by Daler and Rowney.

Lady number two has Magical Mica stockings

Lady number three has water color pencil stocks

And the last lady has glitter stockings!

I think my two favorite styles is the acrylic ink stockings and my usual water color pencil stockings. The glitter stockings look better from far away, but I found it hard to get an even coverage of glitter on her legs. 

Please do let me know which style of stockings you prefer!

It's a Bombshell Christmas!

Okay, so it's not quite Christmas yet. But I wanted to show off the card I made using the Butterfly Queen set from Bombshell Stamps:

I started with a basic brown card and stamped the flowers in the background in Walnut Stain Distress ink. I stamped my lady here in archival ink and colored her with Copics, Magical Micas, and water color pencils. I did a bit of distressing around the edges of the other page and I added a Christmas sentiment from a Paper Studio rub-on set. All in all, it just goes to show you that this set can be used any time of the year!

It's a Bombshell Sale!

Click on the picture to head over to Bombshell Stamps!

It's Bombshell's Black Friday through Cyber Monday Sale!

Receive 25% off your entire purchase from NOW through Monday, Nov. 28!

Just use coupon code "CYBR30" at check out!

*****

Bombshell ATC

I love the idea of Artist Trading Cards. This is my first chance actually doing one. I hope to eventually start a collection. The idea of having a little piece of art made by someone else is fantastic. 

Here I took a plain watercolor ATC and added some distress ink for extra depth of color. I then added some Starburst stains to get the sparkly pink and brown. I used part of a new stencil that I bought by The Paper Company and added that with some gold pigment ink. The swirl in the top corner is from Bo-Bunny. I embossed the stamped phrase with some black embossing powder. Finally I stamped a butterfly from the Butterfly Queen set and colored it in with some Magical Micas. I fixed it on using some dimensionals.

Waste Not Want Not Bombshell Style

Here is my card for my challenge over at Bombshell Stamps. I used some orange paper and colored it with Lindy's Products and stamped some butterflies. I also had to alter the purple background paper behind my focal image because it was red! I used some Nestabilities to cut out the shapes and stamped my butterfly and embossed it with purple embossing powder.

  

Whew! I think I've finally run out of that retro paper! Here is another scrap card from me using the Butterfly Queen set. I love the bombshell in this stamp set because it is so easy to create relatively simple cards with her. Here I used just some scraps of that same paper I've been using for awhile. On the edge I used stickers from that same set as a border. It still felt a little too  plain so I added the stars. As usual I colored most of my lady here with Magical Micas by Lindy's Stamp Gang. I colored her skin with Copics and added the stockings to her legs with a water color pencil.

Waste Not Want Not Bombshell Style

Here is my version of November's sketch challenge over at Bombshell Stamps. Yet again I'm using up the rest of the scrapbook paper I bought to do my Bombshell Binder. I'm pretty much out of it now so I will have to come up with some more fun ideas! And stay tuned next week for my challenge on the Bombshell Blog!

Tutorial: How to make a panel for your cling stamps

Custom Cling Stamp Panel Tutorial

Tools:
heavy weight cardstock

transparency paper

solvent ink pad

cling mounted stamps

laminating machine

adjustable hole punch

Super 77 Multipurpose adhesive (or another super strong adhesive)

Decorative elements (optional)

Note: This tutorial is meant to make a stamp panel for Univenture A5 Mini Binder seen here

These binders are awesome for holding all your clear and cling mounted stamps. They are the most cost and space effective that I've seen so far.

Step 1 

Cut your cardstock to 5.5 x 8.5 inches. An easy way to do this is to take an 8.5x11 sheet of cardstock and cut it in half.

Step 2

Decorate your paper as you would like. I added some distress ink to make it look more like an old newspaper. I also added a colored square of paper in the center so my stamped images show up better.

Step 3

Cut a transparency sheet to the size you want. I like to leave space all around my transparency for the laminate to adhere to the paper later on. Then stamp your pages on the back side of the transparency. I'm using ink jet transparencies here and it's easy to tell the back side because it is rough. If you're using a sheet of plastic it doesn't really matter much.

I had to rearrange the stamps a little to get them to fit how I wanted.

Now you need to let the ink dry thoroughly. 

Step 4

Spray some glue onto the underside of your transparency. If you can read any words then you are gluing the proper side. If you have no words just make sure you are putting glue down on the side you initially stamped on. You want to use really strong glue so the transparency stays on the paper after lamination. I suggest this kind of uber spray glue.

immediately after applying the glue place your transparency on your paper where you want it. I usually take a brayer at this point to make sure that the transparency is completely on the paper.

Step 5

Be sure to label your stamp set so you know which one you  have. I used some stickers here but you can stamp or just write the set title out.

Step 6

Run through your laminating machine. Be sure to use the proper laminating sheets. I learned this the hard way. I bought a huge set of cheap sheets from Sam's Club but they don't work very well with my Scotch Thermal Laminator. Trim the sheet up after you are done.

Step 7

Punch some holes! I have an adjustable hole punch where I just moved the holes to fit a 8.5 tall sheet of paper. You may have to play around a bit to make sure that the holes are in the right spot. You can also use a manual one-hole punch as long as you can eyeball it well enough.

Here is my custom stamp panel all nice and cozy in its stamp binder:

A few other stamp panels:

My Bombshell Stamp Binder:

Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays - Bombshell Style

Here are a few cards I made for the forum relaunch contests we're having over at Bombshell Stamps. Since I am the guest DT for the month of November I got to play with the Butterfly Queen set! I created these three cards with leftover paper from making my Bombshell stamp binder (tutorial and pics forthcoming).

These cards and two others I've made (and will post tomorrow) will be up for grabs as a prize for the contests. 

Bombshell Stamps Forum Relaunch! Scavenger Hunt!

Bombshell Stamps is having  a party!

Where: Gambler's Anonymous in The Casino @ Bombshell Stamps Forum

When: Monday, October 31st through Wednesday, November 2nd

What: Games, challenges, and PRIZES!!!

And now for my part- Somewhere on my blog I have hidden the Senora Muerta logo from Bombshell Stamps. There are prizes for those who play along with this game. If you find my logo email Katie at thecelticwitch@googlemail.com. 

I will be making some cards and possibly another project as a prize for one or more of the games. I will be posting those projects as soon as I complete them.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

Here's a quick card made from a piece of background paper I made earlier but didn't want to cover up. To let all that shimmery goodness show through I added just a few stamped images and the Happy Halloween sentiment on a piece of black paper colored with white pigment ink and Ghostly Gargoyle White Starburst Stain.

It's Fall Ya'll Contest Entry

Hi everyone! Here is my contest entry for Lindy's Stamp Gang "It's Fall Ya'll" contest. The themes were either Halloween or Fall and I choose a vampire themed Halloween box!

Here is the top of my piece. The original box was covered in brown paper so I added some Distress Ink so I could get a deeper color. I then used my Screamin Banshee Black, Autumn Maple Crimson, and Rudolf's Nose Red to create the full color. I used some Testors Acrylic gloss paint and some stencils to create more of a decorative top. I then added Bo-Bunny ribbon and a Prima flower colored with Starburst stains and sprays. The leaves are real dried leaves that I dyed with fabric dye then added some Screamin Banshee Black on top. Finally I added the chipboard moon from the DCWV Immortal Love set and some bat stickers that I got from Hobby Lobby.

A close up of the flower and leaves

The front I colored with the various red Starbrusts I have then added some stickers from the Creative Imaginations Breathless collection.

Here is the side of the box. I colored it again with a bunch of red Starbursts then stenciled Dusty Concord Distress Ink on top.

I stamped some script on the back with Dusty Concord using Tim Holtz stamps.

Bombshell Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

Head on over to Bombshell Stamps Blog for this month's challenge, Think Pink! I created this card using some pink scraps I had lying around, the Lotus Garden stamp set and some Lindy's for added color. 

Bombshell Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

Hi guys! Here is a quick project I did actually using scraps for Bombshell Stamps October sketch challenge. I used the Mermaid Treasure stamp set and some DCWV cardstock. I used some copics and Magical Micas to color the image. The piece of cardstock behind the mermaid was a plain piece of white that I colored using distress inks.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

Here is that floral paper again. I still have a few bits of it left to use up, but I think I may just end up tossing the rest. I'm getting rather tired of pink and red. I colored these adorable little babies using some alcohol markers, water color pencils, and my new pearl water color paints. The paints are rather fun to play with, but a little hard to get even coverage with shading at the same time. I'll be experimenting with them more. I picked up the paints at Michaels for 4.99. I think they were worth it. If nothing else I just love to paint sometimes!

I'm a Bombshell!

I'm so excited! I just learned yesterday that I have been chosen as Ms. November for Bombshell Stamps! This is my first design team position even as a Guest DT I am super honored. I have my Guest DT badge proudly displayed at the top of my right sidebar. I can't wait to share my idea for November's Guest DT challenge. I know exactly what I am going to do. In honor of my new position here is a lovely card using my first set of Bombshell stamps that I purchased last month.

I used the paper left over from making the stamp panel I placed the stamps on. I colored the fish using Lindy's Stamp Gang Magical Micas in Hag's Wart Orange, Screamin' Banshee Black and Ghostly Gargoyle White. All these colors are tailored for Halloween, but work perfectly for coloring koi. Expect to see more fish colored this way from me. 

Country Journal Page

I've been having fun creating cute backgrounds to write on top of. I've particularly been enjoying using all these stencils I've had lying around but don't use for cards or scrapbooking much.

For this page I started with some Scattered Straw Distress Ink and used a blending tool to put it on the paper. After that I added some Tea Dye. To help the colors meld together I spritzed it with water. After it dried I used a basket weave stencil and some Lindy's Red Hot Poker Orange and created a few spots. I then applied some more water to help it blend into the page better. I finished off the page by using some Magical Micas in Witch's Potion Purple, and Freaky Frankin Lime to stencil in the grapes and leaves. I then sprayed that with water. The basket pattern in the orange seems more like bricks to me, as if there are some bricks peaking out from a stucco finish on an old Italian building.

My writing journal shows how A.D.D. I can be with my crafting. One card might look very antique while another will be very cutsie and bright. I'm not the kind of person who makes a lot of cards similar to one another unless I really like how one looks or I end up with a lot of one kind of paper. I like doing tons of different techniques and styles. This way I am never bored.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays

You've seen the patterned paper before. It was an 8x8 sheet of paper and this is the last piece. It really lasted a long time. I can't say I'm particularly happy with the way the card turned out. I played with some of my stencils and Lindy's Starburst Stains to do the background. It's growing on me. 

Something a Little Different

I have decided to start my own journal though it is not a typical art journal. The art journaling craze is pretty cool, but I wanted to put my own twist on it. When I went to college the first time I got a degree in Literary Studies so I could become a better writer. Well since then I've hardly written at all. I get lazy, lose my motivation, get distracted, etc. So I decided to start a writing/art journal. I will be creating pretty and simple backgrounds so I can write on top of it. I'm hoping that creating a background page a day and writing one page a day will get me much further to eventually publishing a novel.  I will try and post pics of pages as I get them done, before I write on them from now on.

No WNWNW This Week

Hi everyone. Sorry I've been so out of it these past two weeks. School started and I'm feeling super stressed. Trying to test out of two classes, get my financial aid taken care of, and it turns out they will not let me double major at my tech college. On top of that I have a ferret with adrenal disease and the surgery is not going to be cheap. I've managed to est out of one class and I'm just praying I test out of the one class I don't really want to take. Wish me luck!

New Tutorial: Bleaching with Lindy's Products.

Hello everyone! Here is the tutorial that I promised on Sunday. I uploaded it yesterday but had to run off and babysit before youtube finished uploading it.

Here is a picture of the finished card I created to show. I really love the subtle effect of bleaching with Lindy's Stamp Gang Products. It works especially great with these spiders and a Halloween card.

Thanks for looking!

A Little Birdy Told Me

Okay so I've been having a bit of a rough time these past two weeks. I've been babysitting a lot (tons of fun), but having serious insomnia problems (not so fun). I'm finally sleeping again and feeling like getting things done. Here is a card for Mix It Up Monday on Stamptv.com. I used a new technique that I will share (hopefully) tomorrow!

Put Me In The Movies Blog Hop

Hi everyone! This is my first every Blog Hop. Bombshell Stamps is hosting this one and the theme is Put Me In The Movies. The challenge was to create a project using Bombshell Stamps and a Movie Poster as inspiration. This was my inspiration:

And here is my card: 

I started with a plain white card and added a beige mat. My inspiration was the background in the poster with the yellow sky and dark blue waves. I used a piece of paper as a mask and some Crushed Curry ink from Stampin Up and added a bit of Scattered Straw. I used the edge of my distress ink pad to mimic the lines on the poster. For the water I used Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, and some old retired blue Stampin Up pads. I added the wave crests using a paint pen. The rock was just a plain piece of white drawing paper that I distressed using inks. I colored the mermaid with copic markers and Lindy's Stamp Gang products. I added a bit of shading to the gold/yellow with a water color pencil. This was my first real attempt at skin shading with copics so I hope it turned out well.

This is a blog hop so be sure to leave comments on everyone else's blogs!

Bombshell Blog: http://bombshellstamps.blogspot.com/
Alison: http://alisonsrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
Laura: http://craftylittlewoman.blogspot.com/
Alaine: http://missalaineousmosaics.blogspot.com/
Meredith: http://www.papercanteen.com
Kelli: http://www.cajunstampingqueen.blogspot.com
Mary G.: http://www.mystampinhide-away.blogspot.com
Alex: http://www.paperandstring.blogspot.com/
Sparkly Engineer: http://sparkly-train.blogspot.com/
Celina Anthony: http://poniesandcrafts.blogspot.com
Glittery Katie: http://ferrishyn-frontier.blogspot.com
Kapree: http://kc-consultant.blogspot.com/
Cheryl: http://inktrap.blogspot.com
Dianne: http://dkspinner.blogspot.com