Freaky Eyeball ATC

Several years ago I went through a bit of a steampunk phase in my artsy endeavors.  I saw a steampunk themed swap over on SwapBot and thought I'd give it a try again. 

I initially had every intention of using the really cool stampunk bee stamp I have...somewhere...but couldn't find it.  At a loss I sat there contemplating my need to work in chaos when I noticed the cool flying timepiece stamp that has been collecting dust on my shelf.  I was going to use it 'as is', but then The Muse bonked me on the head and decided to turn it into a steampunkish eyeball.

I'm not sure this fits the theme well enough...maybe more bionic?  I may keep digging around in my creative space for that bee stamp after all, but in the mean time I'm pleased with the way to freaky eyeball turned out.

Happy day off (if you have one today)!

The Llama Made Me Do It!

I have some new toys in the house and I love, love, LOVE them!  Maybe the influence of my Mexican neighbors growing up in Southern California did it - I love latino culture.  When I saw these new products there was no way I couldn't get them (and yes, I realize llamas are actually South American, but the banners remind me of fun times in Mexico).

I made a fun card.

Llama love...I'm feelin' it!

I can't decide if I'm just going to keep this in my stash or list it in my Etsy shop or maybe even just leave it on my desk so I can grin at it every day...

I the meantime...Happy Love Day!

Love, Love, Love...(doot, do, do, do...)

Now I have that song stuck in my head...

Every month over on Stampotique's FB page there is an ATC swap.  The theme for this month is, you've got it, LOVE.  I dug in my stash and whipped out some oldies (and not so oldies) but goodies to create two ATCs.

These are some of Stampotique stamps I used:

• Texture Cube 1
• Some Bunny
• (Agatha's ..discontinued?)
• Hanging Hearts

Has February got you feeling the love?  I hope so!

Mushroom Trio ATC

I love the Stampotique mushrooms.  They make me think of some hidden place among the ferns in a forest.  I made this ATC for the current "use cardboard" challenge at the Stampotique Designers Challenge blog.

I embraced the cardboard challenge by starting with a cereal box base.  I slathered some modeling paste over it and then pressed a piece of corrugated cardboard into the wet paste for some texture.

After that it was simple to put the rest of it together.  I stamped the shrooms on a book page, colored them with Copics and then cut them out.  I painted a bit of shimmery watercolor on the background, added some washi tape and then glued on the shrooms.  Bits of pale green Nuvo drops give a hint of dewy bits.  Check out the challenge HERE and thanks for swinging by today!

A Project Gone Awry...OR The Muse Takes the Helm

The best of intentions...yada yada yada...

I joined this swap where we have to alter a teabag for an ATC.  "Sweet!", I say, excitedly, to myself, "I have one of those sitting in my stash waiting to be used on something."  So I busily get to work creating with my salvaged tea bag, acrylic paints, markers, ink, etc. Oh, I'm so pleased with myself for using something in my stash (rather than "collecting" which tends to be the norm).

See it?  Can you tell that I started with a lovely, simple, stained tea bag?  No.  No you cannot.  And that, my friends, is the problem.  The swap requires that you can tell there's a teabag there. (Enter heavy sigh...)  But all is not lost.  The February challenge over at Rubber Dance Art Stamps uses these colors so here is my colorful entry for the challenge.

Now to figure out what to do with my pretty, Rubber Dance-y ATC...