STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 166: GET YOUR SPOOK ON!

Wednesday is here, and another fun Stampotique Designers' Challenge has been posted, this one by Sue Davies.  Sue wants us to "get our spook on" and start creating now for Halloween!

I love Halloween and as a crafter it can never start early enough.  So, for the challenge this week, I am sneaking it in a week early.  I hope you have fun getting an early Spook on. Carol x

Last year was the first year I made Halloween cards--and it was because I was challenged to do it!  My cards were well received by my three grandchildren (but, in retrospect, it just might have been those $5 bills that were tucked inside!).  It seems I have started a new tradition, and find I am again in need of three spooky cards!

Here's the first:

I created my "card" on a piece of scrap corrugated cardboard, which I then attached to a Kraft card base.  The background stamp was embossed with black and marcasite (sparkly) embossing powers (combined), then dried with my heat tool.  This card includes the following Stampotique stamps:

Hamlet of Halloween

Unleash Yourself (text)

Night

Two more cards to make . . .

Thanks for visiting today!  I appreciate both your visits and your comments.  During the month of October, it is my goal to reach followers numbering 200!  A lofty goal, perhaps, but here is your incentive to join as a follower:  I am giving away this Stampotique Originals' stamp!!

It is called Heads, and is by well-known stamp designer Daniel Torrente.  I will mail to anywhere in the world, so all are welcome to participate!  

So, check out the details in my GIVEAWAY blog post on October 1.  You can join as a follower now--and follow by e-mail so that you won't miss the announcement!

Cheers!

MY STUDIO TABLE(S)

If you are looking for my STAMPOTIQUE post for this week, you will find it immediately below this post!

I am a follower of Seth Apter's blog called "The Altered Page," and have been following this blog for quite some time.  I am especially thrilled to be taking one of Seth's classes at Art-Is-You in Stamford, CT, next month!  However, today he is hosting a massive movement where artists post their studio tables "as is," not all cleaned up for a photo shoot.  So whether you create out of a suitcase, on your dining room table, or in a formal studio, SHOW US YOUR TABLE!  You can find directions for posting here.

In my defense, I need to share that my husband and I are both participating in a challenge called ALTERED PLAYING CARDS, and were both in my "attic studio" last Sunday.  After finishing our cards for last week and getting them scanned and online, we left all too quickly, leaving behind this mess!

I am blessed to have the entire third floor of our New England home as my studio space.  In addition to the anteroom, where I have a desk with my die cutting machine, a sewing table, and a bookcase where stamps and scrapbooks are stored, I have six 5' x 8' tables, plus three smaller tables in the main room for my computer, printers, coffee maker and, of course, journals!  I try to confine my messes to designated areas.  For instance, one for painting, another for spraying, etc., but I usually end up doing everything at "my" work table.  My husband contributes to the mess, as does my stepdaughter when she visits.  But, truth be told, most of this mess is all mine!

Interestingly, before I begin a new project, I take time to clean it all up.  Seriously, I have a definite need for a clean space in which to create.  In just a few minutes, I will be starting that process as I need a birthday card for Sunday!  So, Seth...and the world...here's my studio table(s):

Thanks for stopping by to check out my studio today.  Please leave a comment (don't be too harsh!) to let me know that you were here.  Feel free to join as a follower and revisit from time to time.  If you would like to be notified when I update my blog, sign up also to "follow by e-mail."

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 165: JUST ONE STAMP!

The Stampotique Designers' Challenge has been posted, and it, indeed, will be a challenge for many!   The lovely Samantha Read is our hostess, and she and Poppy (her furry studio assistant) have this to say about that:

One of the beauties of Stampotique stamps is that there are 18 amazing artists designing our rubbery goodness and their images work so well together that it's great to use a lot of stamps for one project, and I often do.

So this week, I am challenging myself and inviting you, too, to use just one stamp . . . wondering off scratching head and rubbing chin . . . this is going to be SO hard to choose!! 

Most importantly, have fun, Sam x

I have another stamp that I had not yet used and, after thinking about less being more, decided to go big!  The stamp I have used for my card is called "Femme Collage," and measures a whopping 4-1/2" x 6"!  This single image (a compilation of many) makes an impressive card.  I added only a bit of a computer-generated sentiment, the world "courage."  I printed the word on the same paper as the background, then outlined it in black, and adhered it to the card with foam adhesive dots.

I appreciate your stopping by today.  Please do leave a comment so that I will know you were here!  I hope you will find some time this week to make something for the "single stamp" challenge.  Guidelines for participating and submitting your art can be found here.  At the end of the month, two names will be drawn from all the submissions and will each receive a $30 gift certificate toward anything in the Stampotique "store."  That lucky name could just be yours!

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 164: ANIMALS OR BIRDS

Sue Davis is directing the Stampotique Designers' Challenge this week, and it's all about animals or birds!  Give a listen:

Napoleon once said that the English are a nation of shopkeepers.  What he should have said is that we are a nation of animal lovers.  Nearly everyone I know has got a cat or dog, a pet rabbit or bird, and I know that my Stampotique teamies have their pets too.  So, this week we're celebrating fur and feathers, and I challenge you to create something with either animals or birds. Put your best paw forward and bring it on.  Have fun!

My Super Dog Jake has given me permission to go with wings and feathers, so I checked out my ever-growing collection of Stampotique Originals and was spotted by this pair of "Bold Birds" (pun intended!).
  

I used patterned paper for my ATC base, and printed my quote directly onto the paper using my computer.  (I failed to give credit for the quote, so will let you know it is by Morrie Schwartz.)  For a bit of added texture, I used France Papillon's "Design Cube" in the background.

Thank you for coming by again today!  I appreciate both your visits and your comments.  I hope you will spend some time getting crafty this week and create something for this fun challenge.  Directions and rules for submitting your artwork can be found here.  At the end of the month, two artists will be randomly selected to receive $30 gift certificates for products found in the Stampotique "store."

Cheers!

STAMPOTIQUE DESIGNERS' CHALLENGE 163: REFRESH IT!

A fun-of-a-kind challenge from Kaz Boughton at Stampotique Designers' Challenge this week!  Here's what she has to say to inspire us:

Refresh it!  Use one of your older stamps that you've not used for a while and give it a new lease of life!

There was no question about which stamp I would use today because "Mary" was the first member of the Stampotique Originals family to take up residence in my studio.  Admittedly, I do seem to have a lot of "favorites," but Mary truly retains that honor in reality!

Stampotique Stamps I have used on this tag:

Mary

You Are a Child of the Universe

Although Mary is unique, her presentation can still vary.  Here are a couple of "other" Mary's from my archives:

Thank you for coming by again today!  I appreciate both your visits and your comments.  I hope you will spend some time getting crafty this week and create something for this fun challenge.  Directions and rules for submitting your artwork can be found here.  At the end of the month, two artists will be randomly selected to receive $30 gift certificates for products found in the Stampotique "store."

Cheers!