TMR - Theme & DT Call ....

.... Good afternoon! I'm running rather late with my DT card for our new challenge at The Male Room - TMR#34. Our theme for the next couple of weeks is SHAKESPEARE. This is not as difficult as it might seem - you can pick anything about Shakespeare from his place of birth, the theme of theatre, titles of plays or sonnets, or quotes, or any of the numerous words that he introduced to the English language. However, your project must has a masculine feel. I actually picked a couple of quotes from two of his plays. Here's my first card:

Stamps: Judikins - Dia Muertos Sun; Stampin' Up! - Making Spirits Bright
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Die-namics - In and Out Diagonal Square Stax #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Grey; Copics; Clear Embossing Powder

I think you can probably guess the quote I picked here. It's "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy." from Hamlet, Act 5, scene 1. At this point in the play Hamlet has picked up a skull of his father's court jester. I decided to play on the fact that the skull was that of the jester and used this wonderful sugar skull stamp as the focal image on my card. I coloured it with Copics in neutral tones. I die cut the finished image with a square fancy edged die and added very clean and crisp sentiments. Obviously, this is a Halloween card. On the inside I cut another mat layer of grey card and die cut another white square on which I stamped a fun image.

As I've used die-cut panels on this card and it celebrates Halloween, I'm submitting this card to the current challenge over at Time Out Challenges - TOC#55 where they want cards with any celebration and the option of die cutting.

There are so many wonderful quotes from Shakespeare plays, some of which people don't even realise come from his plays. There is no doubt where this quote comes from:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Halloween Party, Spooky Tree Background, Vintage Witch
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress - Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire, Weathered Wood, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Grass; Hero Arts Neon - Green, Pink, Orange; Memento - Grey Flannel
Dies: Waltzingmouse - Halloween Party
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Clear Embossing Powder; Graphic 45 DP - Rare Oddities; SU Punch - 1¼" Circle, Modern Label

It's another Halloween card, this time based on the quote "Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." Macbeth, Act 4, scene 1. The three witches recite this spell over a cauldron as they await the arrival of the man they say would be king - Macbeth. I started by stamping the images in black versafine and heat embossing with clear powder, then I cut them out with the matching dies. I used some neon colours to stamp the bubbles and sparks from the cauldron. I stamped the spooky tree in grey, lightly sponged on pale grey ink and then adhered a die cut circle to create a moon. I added more ink to create the ground and sky. Once finished, I removed the circle to reveal the full moon shining down on one of the witches at the cauldron. I completed the front by adding the actual quote which I punched out, edged and adhered with dimensional tape. On the inside I cut a piece of design paper for the mat layer, adding ink to match the front of the card. I finished by added a sentiment and some bats.

I'm submitting this card to the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#191 where it's Anything Goes.

My team mates have created a super selection of cards covering all sorts of occasions. You've got plenty of time to play along, deadline for submission is midnight (BST) Tuesday 10th May (7.00pm EDT).

Finally, we're having a DT Call at The Male Room. If you would like to apply to join the team, you must play along with this week's #34 theme AND the next challenge #35. Full details on The Male Room post.

And now I must stop crafting and get on with some house stuff - specially ironing! Ugh! See you soon.

AC - 31 Days of Halloween ....

.... Morning!  Today I'm hosting the 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop over at Airless Chambers.  I've made a Halloween card - well I need quite a few for my stash and this is the perfect opportunity to make them!  Here's my card:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Mean Green 2015; Waltzingmouse - Spooky Tree Background, Say It Loud Winter Holiday, Hocus Pocus
Inks: Distress - Hickory Smoke, Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans, Weathered Wood; Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - London Fog
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Elegant Eggplant; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glossy Accents

I decided to have a monster on today's card and this digi is just brilliant.  Reminds me a bit of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors.  I printed the image on white card, coloured it with Copic markers, cut it out with a scalpel and added Glossy Accents to the drops of blood!  I also covered the plant with sparkle.  I stamped the super spooky tree image directly on the card and heat embossed it with clear powder.  Then I used Distress inks to create a night sky.  I made the moon by punching a 1" circle and adhering it after I'd done a light cover of blue.  I finished the front with a simple greeting.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of purple card and added some decoration and a greeting to the white panel.  As there's a monster on this card I'm playing along with this week's Left of Centre - LOC#98 challenge and the theme at The Paper Players - PP#265 is Halloween.

For more super Halloween images, check out Rick's Zibbet shop.  Bye for now!

Halloween Greetings ....

... I've a Halloween card to share this morning - I've tried to make it a bit darker than some of my recent ones:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Pumpkin Witch, Aliens & Mutants Sheet; Waltzingmouse - Spooky Tree Background, Vintage Witch; Stampendous - Halloween Diamonds
Inks: Distress - Mustard Seed, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky; Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - London Fog
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Black Card; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella Brush - Silver, Green, Orange

I'm submitting this card to the current A Step in the Dark Challenge - ASID#11 where the theme is Anything Goes, but with a dark twist.  I think this pumpkin witch is darker than the last two cards I made with her, here and here.  I created the background by stamping the spooky tree in Versafine, masking off an area for the moon and then blended lots of Distress inks to make a night sky.  I removed the mask and lightly blended over the moon to give it a glow.  I printed the images onto white card, coloured with Copic markers, fussy cut them out and then added some sparkle with Wink of Stella brushes.  I love the scary spider monster - I attached him directly to the card and used dimensional tape for the witch and sentiment.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of black and a panel of white card.  I distressed the edge of the white panel (to match the front of the card) and stamped some cobwebs, spiders and a greeting.

I enjoy taking photos of the cards I make, but sometimes it can be really difficult to catch the sparkle and glimmer of glitter on cards.  Also, sunlight makes a huge difference to the photo.  I usually put cards on top of my craft cabinet where the light is really good, but it can sometimes be a little flat.  So l took another photo of with autumn sunlight shining directly on the card - much warmer, a little darker and in the close up you can really see the shimmer and sparkle.

I'm off to check out today's lesson at Online Card Classes; I'm really enjoying the Copic Colouring lessons - see you soon!