Don't Bee a Stranger ~ CYP Challenge 188

It's time for a new challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges and this week the theme is Add Some Doodling. Easy-peasy since that is one of my favourite things to do. I was so excited to play with this fabulous collection from our wonderful sponsor, Doodle Pantry. I have such a wish list for that store! This image is called Birdie Bee and comes with all sorts of goodies. I coloured Birdie with Prismacolor pencils, adding two black half pearls to his antennae. He was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border.

The three background papers come with the Doodle Pantry image. I love how beautifully they coordinate. No brainer for Bonnie...yay! The two fishtail flags were cut with an MFT die and then all three shapes were matted in black cardstock for better definition. Once the flags were adhered to the bee background, Birdie was glued on top. A black punched photo corner was placed in the top left corner and a white threaded button adhered on top of it.

The sentiment is also part of the image packet, one of several actually. I doodled a frame around the sentiment and fussy cut around it. A small bee button was adhered to the bottom corner before it was popped up on a foam tape. Birdie was outlined with black pen and a border was added to the white base layer and next to the photo corner. Then Birdie and I called it "done".

Thanks for joining Birdie and me today. We are both wearing the smiles you brought us. If you get a chance, pop over to the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the awesome inspiration provided by the rest of my talented teamies. We'd love to see your doodle-rific projects, too. Remember, faux stitching is a type of doodling. Come join the party :)

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create ~ #45 Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody ~ #33 Anything Goes
Doodle Pantry Digital Challenge ~ #40 Any Digi Goes
Dream Valley Challenges ~#69 Humour
That Craft Place ~ Sentiment
The Squirrel and the Fox ~ #56 Animal Antics
Brown Sugar Challenge ~ #67 Anything Goes
Creative Corner Challenges ~ Sing, sing a song  (inspired by Honey Bee by Blake Shelton)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sneak peek ~ eclectic Paperie Get Altered Challenge

Yay! It's my turn to host the Get Altered Challenge at eclectic Paperie and I have chosen the theme Art Dolls. I'd love it if you headed over to the eP blog to see what I created (her name is Blossom). My talented teamies will be adding their projects to the linky thingy below my post over there. I'm excited to see what they have created. Hope you'll join in too!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

T is for ~ altered dictionary spread

Hello my friends. I'm glad you are here. Continuing on with my altered dictionary, I decided to complete the T spread and chose the word tramp to illustrate. Ever since I took a film course in high school, I have been captivated by the work of Charlie Chaplin, aka The Little Tramp. His ability to convey so much of a story and such a range of emotion without words, the charm and quirkiness of the character he portrayed, and his instantly recognizable silhouette all  delight me. I decided to pay tribute to Charlie with this spread.

Keeping the definition uncovered, I began by gessoing the two pages of the spread and then adhering each to the next page for added strength using matte medium. The pages were then scribbled over with three shades of red Neocolor II crayons. The watercolour crayon was spread and blended using white gesso instead of water. More crayon was added to intensify the edges and random places and activated with a wet brush. Red gelato was used around the edge and spread with a damp finger. Aged Mahogany Distress ink was applied over the TH Shattered stencil and one of the designs from TCW's Well Rounded stencil on both pages. Next Studio 490 black Embossing Paste was scraped through another design on the Well Rounded stencil to achieve the dimensional rings,

Next white gesso was applied through TCW's Spinning Tops stencil. A Stampendous crackled marble stamp was inked with Jet Black Archival ink and rolled onto the background here and there for additional interest and texture.

Two awesome Chaplin images from Room 29 on Etsy were printed to size and cut as rectangles. The head shot was given rounded corners, white dots, and foam tape on the back. Two tickets from Vectoria Designs were printed, cut out, and inked with Vintage Photo before being tucked under Charlie's image.

The second image was a full shot of the actor. It was matted in black cardstock and then again in white. A checkerboard border was doodled onto the edge of the white matting. This image was adhered directly to the background and a filmstrip frame cut with a Sizzix die was angled over it and adhered with foam tape.

Two sizes of black cardstock stars were punched and scattered across the pages. The large stars were embellished with white paint pen dots. A black threaded button was added to the large star at the bottom of the page. The small letter stickers have a bit of a shimmer to them which catches the light IRL. The large letters spelling Chaplin are Idea-ology Alpha Parts in Ransom font.

Words and phrases from Idea-ology Remnant Rubs were applied in three places (artist,dreamer of dreams, Original) to introduce more text and help tell the story. Three pieces of camera washi tape were added to the edges of the pages and doodled around. More doodling was done around the pages and on the sides of the stencilled designs.

A wooden letter tile was added to the spread to indicate the letter of the dictionary being illustrated. This dictionary makes me laugh because the definitions are about the lamest I've seen anywhere. That and the quality of the paper appealed to me when I chose it at the thrift store.

Finally to complete the spread, black Big Brush pen was used to edge the pages in a thick/thin loose fashion. I like it to show more in some areas than others to create a grungier feel. White gesso lines were applied using an old gift card to add some brightness and a little structure and straightness (new word) to the chaotic background. I often like that contrast and it seems to give the eye a chance to rest when the background is busy.

And that's it for Mr. Chaplin and me today. We thank you for visiting and for your wonderful comments that always make my day. I am truly grateful for your company on this creative journey.

I am entering this project in the following challenges:
Craft-room Challenge ~ Stencils & Masks
Paper Minutes ~  #294 Movie/Cinema
Through the Craft Room Door ~ Nov. 5-11 Anything Goes
Try it on Tuesday ~ Colour Explosion (bright)
Twisted Tuesday ~ Free for all/anything goes
Through the Purple Haze ~ Anything Goes

Life is good, so is art.
Bonnie

You Da Man! ~ CYP Challenge187

Wow! We have had so much precipitation lately that I had a hard time getting a decent set of photos for today. We've had snow, sleet, rain and more rain for days. And then there's the wind...good thing I come with my own ballast or I would have blown away...lol. Anyway, we have a new challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges this week and it's one I never tried before: more than one fold. I have no idea why I didn't attempt this before...it was so fun and I love the results. Look out world...I'm going to be a folding fool!

One of our sponsors this week is Bugaboo Stamps which I adore. The quirkiness of some of their images just calls out to me. I chose Mustache Man for my card. He makes me laugh and reminds me of a Dr. Seuss character with a Bugaboo twist. I coloured him with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut him. His buttons are small black gems and I adhered a masonite monacle from Retro Cafe Art over the monocle on the image. I filled the monacle and covered the watch face with Glossy Accents for shine and dimension. A little gold gel pen accented the rim of the watch.

The background paper comes from MME's Lost & Found Rosy paper pad. It was cut to fit the panels and then inked around with Vintage Photo Distress ink before being adhered to the black center step base. The corner Vs were cut with a Martha Stewart punch. Mustache Man was added to the center panel with Foam tape and the lettering is shimmery stickers. Four black and white brads were inked with a brown copic as were the black and white buttons so they would blend better with the vintage paper. They were added to either side of the two puffy mustache stickers which decorate the side panels. The buttons were threaded with embroidery floss and Glossy Accented to the lower side sections to finish off the design.

I want to thank all of you for visiting today and Mustache Man for helping me with my first ever multi-fold card. He was very generous with his advice. Be sure to check out the wonderful creations on the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog shared by the rest of my talented teamies. I hope you'll decide to join us for our More Than One Fold challenge because I'm on the prowl for different folded designs...now that I've got my feet wet :)

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create ~ #44 Anything Goes/No Twist
Dream Valley Challenges ~ #69 Humour
Quirky Crafts ~ #22 Make Us Laugh
Catch the Bug ~ Anything Goes
Natalie and Amy's Challenge ~ #14 For the Boys
Sweet Stamps ~ monthly technique challenge Center Step Cards
Card Crafter's Circle ~ #99 Cute Cards

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Who I am becoming ~ an eP art journalling page

Today I decided to play in a smaller art journal, a moleskine that is 3.5" x 5.5". I thought it would be fun to try thissmaller size and the stamp I wanted to include suited this format so well. I began by adhering the two pages from the spread to their neighbouring pages with matte medium since this is just a sketchbook with thin pages. I applied white gesso over the two adjoining pages and allowed it to dry thoroughly. Next I scribbled three shades of brown and three shades of orange Neocolor II crayons over the pages and activated the colour with a wet brush. At this point, the one page ripped out so it was washi tape to the rescue on the front and masking tape on the back to reinsert it and strengthen the seam. A little white gesso on a finger knocked back the colour and design of the washi tape to help it blend into the background. Gelatos (Chocolate, Butterscotch, Mango and Tangerine) were added to both pages to deepen the colours and add another layer. A damp finger spreads and blends the colour beautifully

 Torn pieces of a BoBunny ETC 6x6 page were edged with Vintage Photo Distress ink and adhered to the background with matte medium which was also brushed over the top of the pages. This was important for the next step which was shading next to them with Walnut Brown Big Brush pen. By adding the matte medium over the top of the designer paper, it gave me a little open time before it dried to smudge the Big Brush pen and create a softer and grungier look.

Out came the stencils! I used Vintage Photo Distress ink and an applicator tool over the TH Layering stencils, Measured and Burlap. Oh my, I love these two patterns. Then I took Aged Mahogany Distress ink and applied it over two of the patterns on TCW's Well Rounded stencil, followed by white gesso through the same stencil, different pattern. I was in stencil heaven :)

Crafty Individual's Imagine Child was stamped onto a manilla tag using Versamark and then sprinkled with Ranger Rust Antiquities embossing powder and heat set. This powder is so cool...it looks like sandpaper once embossed. It has several shades in it and comes out bumpy and textured which I wanted since it wouldn't be coloured. I fussy cut the image which happens to already be in a smaller tag shape. The tag was then matted on dark brown textured cardstock and the hole was punched through both layers. A torn strip of muslin was used for the tag topper. The tag was adhered to the background over a piece of cheesecloth, using foam tape.

The sentiment was computer generated and matted with the same dark brown cardstock to help it become  more visible. Doodling with a sepia Micron pen was done around the words and around both pages. Dark brown primitive stars were punched and adhered to the right page to add weight and contrast to the page and also draw attention to the sentiment. White gel pen dots were added to each star. A punched border was adhered to the opposite page for balance and to bring the dark brown colour to that side. Again white dots were added. The final touch was the game spinner and brad which were adhered below the image both to underline it and to point to the part of the sentiment I wanted to emphasize.

I truly enjoyed creating these pages. Love the Imagine child's sweet face, my new stencils, and working in this small size journal...and all without using black which is very rare for me.  A good time was had here, let me tell you. Thanks for dropping by today. I always appreciate your company and your comments. Imagine child did, too. She just gets distracted with all that imagining.

I am entering this project in the following challenges:
Creative Corner Challenge ~ #42 Can't Touch This (add texture)
Crafty Hands ~ #1 Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz Challenge ~ #43 Anything But Cards
Paper Crafting Journey ~ Anything Goes
Crafting For All Seasons ~ #64 Autumn Colours

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

These thumbnails will lead you to the eclectic Paperie store to check out some of the products I used:

Claudine Hellmuth Studio-Multi-Medium Matte	Liquitex Acrylic Gesso	Faber Castell - Gelatos - Neutral Colors	Faber Castell - Gelatos - Yellow Colors
Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Distress Ink Pad - Aged Mahogany	Faber Castell - Big Brush Pens - Neutral	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Measured
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Burlap	TCW - 6x6 Well Rounded Stencil	Crafty Individuals - Imagine Child	Uni-Ball White Gel Pen

Tie One On ~ Craftitude Challenge 52

Happy Friday everyone! It's a brand new month and also a brand new challenge at Craftitude. Our themes this fortnight are Anything Goes and Tie One On.Now,before you pour a little spirits to go with that Halloween candy from last night, I should clarify. We are asking you to add a little twine, embroidery floss, yarn, or string...that kind of tying one on...lol. Our sponsor this time is Robyn's Fetish and I was lucky to work with their Jennie the Scarecrow image. Jennie was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, given black gem eyes (the better to see you with, my dear), and then fussy cut. Foam tape was added to her backside for dimension.

I decided to go a little mixed media on the background. The brown and the striped papers came from DCWV's The High School Matstack. White acrylic paint was pounced through TCW's Well Rounded stencil to create the open circles and then used on a TH splatter stamp for the random dots. A scallop punch was used to cut borders from BoBunny ETC paper. The borders were then inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink and faux stitched with a sepia Micron pen. The word FALL was printed from the computer and matted with more of the BoBunny paper. Two puffy leaf stickers were adhered to the top left corner of the ATC and raffia was wrapped and tied where the striped paper met the brown background.

Thanks for popping by to visit with Jennie and me. We're both happy to have your wonderful company and Jennie is just tickled to show off her new fall ensemble. She's such a fashionista! If you get a minute, pop over to the Craftitude Challenges blog to see the awesome inspiration provided by the rest of our talented DT. I'm proud to hang out with them. We'd love it if you joined us this fortnight for our Tie One On challenge.

I am entering this ATC in the following challenges:
4 Krafty Girlz ~ #5 Anything Goes
Crafting For All Seasons ~ #64 Autumn Colours

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Happy Haunting ~ CYP Challenge 186

It's Monday and that means a new challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges. The theme this week is Halloween (the fun child-friendly kind) and we have the pleasure of being sponsored by and working with images from Just Some Lines. I chose Vampirette who has the sweetest face of any vampire I've never known...lol. I coloured Vampirette and her fun devil cat with my Prismacolor pencils. The spider string, her wine glass, dress bauble, and her fangs were all outlined with Clear Star Jelly Roll pen to add sparkle. Devil cat has wonky black gem eyes which make me smile. Vampirette and her friends were fussy cut and asked politely to wait for the background.

The background consists of three layers of papers from DCWV's The Midnight Spells matstack, as well as a strip of black cardstock. They were cut and layered to form a floor, baseboard and wall. The center of the spiderwebs and a few dots were accented with black gems and the spider printed on the paper was given a coat of Glossy Accents for shine and dimension. Vampirette was adhered slightly off center with a dimensional pumpkin sticker to add more atmosphere. Love the spider on it!

A scalloped border was cut from black cardstock using an MFT die. Two tiny holes were punched top and bottom to hold the green baker's twine  in place once it was wrapped around the border. An extra half scallop was added to the top right corner for balance. The sentiment was fussy cut from the same paper pack and mounted on a black folded paper rosette. The dimension it gives the sentiment is so fun.

Thanks so much for dropping by to visit Vampirette, her friends, and me today. Her little smile tells it all~ you've made us happy. If you get a chance, pop by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the fabulous projects the rest of the DT created with these sweet images. You won't be disappointed. Hope you'll join us for our Halloween Challenge. Molly, my cat, said she'll protect me from anything too scary :D

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create ~ Challenge 43 Anything Goes
Robyn's Fetish ~ #183 Halloween
Challenges 4 Everybody ~ #32 Anything Goes
That Craft Place Challenge ~ Halloween
Come and Get It Challenges ~ A Little Boo For You (Halloween)
Dream Valley Challenges ~ #68 Halloween
One Stitch At a Time ~ #187 Boo
Just Some Lines Challenge ~ Happy Boo to You Week 4

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie