Day 21 of the 31 Days of Halloween

 I'm back again with a Day of the Dead card for the 21st day of the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity Halloween month long Challenge.  I hope you have been making some fun projects to share over on the Portal and a chance to win some free stamps.

This card features the Coatlique Day of the Dead stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  This was stamped onto a piece of vellum with black Stayz On ink. Once the ink was dry, I flipped the image over and adhered it to a piece of orange card stock.  I trimmed the edges, following the design of the stamp, then layered this with a piece of black card stock and trimmed it in the same shape.

My background is made with a technique called "Stencil Smooshing".  Not sure if that is the technical name or not, but the You Tube video where I found this calls it that, and it's appropriate.  

I took my stencil and sprayed it with orange Distress Ink.  I turned it over and pressed it onto a piece of white card stock, mopping up the excess ink with a paper towel.  Once it was completely dry, I repositioned the stencil atop the the paper, lining it up exactly, then dabbed the white spaces with some green Distress Ink.  I removed the stencil and spritzed it with Altnew gold spray ink and let that dry.  The DOD stamped image was then affixed to the center of the card with foam tape and layered with a piece of white card stock.

You still have lots of time left to show us your fabulous Halloween creations, and we can't wait to see them!!

Day 16 of the 31 Days of Halloween

 Welcom back to Day 16 of the 31 Days of Halloween, the month long Halloween extravaganza over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, featuring a new project every day for 31 days.  We really hope you are playing along with us and entering your projects on the Portal.

This tag was made using the Loopy Background stamp and the Dancing Skeletons stamp, both from Lost Coast Design.

The background for this stamp is made using Distress Inks in Fired Brick and Mustard Seed.  I sprayed a stencil with Fired Brick ink and placed it upside down onto a piece of white card stock.  I blotted up the excess ink with a paper towel and dried the paper well.  I then reapplied the same stencil, lining it up as exactly as I could, and using the Mustard Seed ink, I sponged that into the white spaces.  I then randomly stamped the Loopy Background script onto the tag with black ink.  Final step was to spray it with Distress Mica Stain in Mulled Cider.  Once it was completely dry, I mitered the corners and edged the tag with black ink.

The Dancing Skeletons were stamped with black ink onto white card stock and fussy cut out. I attached them with some foam tape, but only behind and head and "body".  That left the arms and legs free to look more like they were really in movement and "dancing".

I tied some fibers to the top in the hole I had punched, and it's ready to go!

Hope to see what you all are making soon - some free rubber stamps would be coming your way if you are the lucky winner!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 10

 So glad you are back for Day 10 of the 31 Days of Halloween that's going on over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.  I've got a fun witchy card for you featuring the Witch 2 stamp and the Grunge Tree stamps from Lost Coast Designs.  The Grunge Tree comes as a large background stamp as well as an ATC sized stamp, and I used both for this.

I started with a dusk-y colored piece of card stock that I sprayed with Distress Mica Spray in Brushed Pewter.  I let that dry, then stamped the large Grunge Tree with black ink onto my card stock, right over the dried mica spray.  I edged that piece with black ink and layered it with a white panel.

The witch was stamped with black ink onto white paper and fussy cut out.  I added some shades of gray marker to her dress and hat and some browns to her broom.  I attached her with foam tape to give her some dimension.

I then took the small ATC sized Grunge Tree and stamped it on some white paper.  I then took a circle punch and punched a circle in the upper branches part of the stamped image.  I affixed this in the upper right corner, and as you can see, it looks like the moon shining from behind the tree!

Hope you are keeping up with us day by day and making some fun and spooky Halloween goodies.  Be sure to share them here on the Portal for a chance to win some free stamps!

31 Days of Halloween: Day Number 4

 Welcome to the annual 31 Days of Halloween over on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where it's Halloween all month long.  To celebrate, I made this card was made using the M Raven 2 stamp and the Spiderwebs background stamp, both from Lost Coast Designs.

My raven was stamped with black ink onto white paper and fussy cut out.  I colored over him with a gray Copic marker to fill in the white spots, and also added some color to his beak and the branch he is perched on.  I affixed an orange gem to his eye, which I think kind of gives him a siniste look!

The background is a not terribly successful attempt at stencil-smooshing - spraying Distress Ink onto a stencil, turning it upside down on a piece of paper, and pressing it into the paper while wiping up the excess ink with a paper towel.  But when I stamped this with the Spider webs background stamp, it really came to life.  I then sprayed it with some Antiqued Bronze Distress Mica Spray.  It gives it a great metallic sheen, which is hard to photograph but is a great touch.

This was layered with a white panel, and I stitched around the perimeter with black thread.

So we hope you will join us all month for the fun of another Halloween with Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!  And a chance to win some free stamps when you post your makes here on the Portal.

Birdy Sings

 It's the last day of the Birds Challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity so if you have not entered your bird projects on the Portal, please do before the challenge ends.

It's Laurie here with a tag made for this challenge using the Cracked Bird on Wheels stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Sing clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

The background for this tag is made using Distress spray inks and ink pads and a stencil.  I sprayed my stencil with dark blue Distress Spray ink then turned it over and pressed it onto a piece of white card stock, patting with a paper towel to pick up the excess ink.  Once that was completely dry, I placed the stencil back atop the paper, lining it up exactly.  I then took a sponge dauber and a pink Distress ink pad and dabbed the pink ink into the white spaces.  I edged the tag with the same blue ink.

I stamped my Crazy Critter Bird with black into onto white paper and fussy cut it out.  I colored it with Copic Sketch markers and added some Glossy Accents to the bird's eye and a gold ball to the wheel on the end of the bird's front leg.  The bird was attached to the tag as shown with foam tape.  

"Sing" was stamped with black ink onto a white scrap and cut out, then affixed with foam tape.  Final touch was to tie a piece of pink seam binding to the top of the tag.

We look forward to seeing your Bird-y projects on the Portal and hope you are the lucky winner of some free stamps!

Hokey Pokey Bird Clinic

 Hi again with a post for the newest challenge on The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Birds!  This one features the  Grumpy Penguins stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Hokey Pokey Clinic clear stamp from Carmen's Veranda.

My background is a collage of black and white papers that I put together in a sort of patchwork design.  I layered them atop a piece of black card stock then machine stitched around each of the pieces to really make it look like patchwork.

I stamped the penguins onto white paper with black ink and fussy cut them out.  I added some yellow marker to their beaks and cut out some funny hats for each of them to wear.  They were then mounted atop my card front with foam tape.

The sentiment was stamped with black ink onto a white rectangle, edged with black ink.  It was affixed as shown with foam tape, and this card is complete!

Be sure to post your bird-y makes here on the Portal.  You just might win some free stamps!!

Steampunk Heart

 So glad to share this first day of September and the first day of the new challenge over on the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity:  Bling It Up!  Who doesn't love some bling, and when we say "Bling It Up", that gives you permission to use all the bling you want.

It's Laurie here with a little card made using the Steampunk Heart stamp from Lost Coast Designs and the Teri Sherman collection of stamps.  

The background for this is a piece of a gel print I made using orange and red paints and a stencil.  I bought some Cosmic Shimmer Gilding Flakes recently and have been playing with them, and this is one of my results.   I used the suggested tacky glue and brushed it through a stencil onto the surface of my gel print.  After letting it dry (although it will still be tacky), and using my fingers, I rubbed some gilding flakes over the stenciled areas.  Wherever there was tacky glue, the flakes stuck.  I absolutely love the way these gilding flakes add so much to whatever I have used them on.

I stamped my heart onto some orange/red scrapbook paper and heat embossed it with some gold embossing powder.  I fussy cut it out and got out my drawer of "bling", adding some lovely "jewels" to my heart and the four corners of the card front.  I mounted it with foam tape and layered it to a white piece of card stock.

So get out you sparkly, bling-y goodies and show us how you can "Bling It Up".  Be sure to feature some rubber stamping in your creations for a chance to win some free stamps!