Vintage Halloween Wall Hanging

I've already sent this to Robyn, the owner of Artistic Outpost, and let me tell you, it was hard to part with! It's not that it was especially hard to make, it's just that I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out! Of course most of the images are from the Vintage Halloween plate, but I also added some Crafty Secrets stickers. I pretty much love everything from CS, and in this case, their Halloween stickers were a beautiful match for these adorable AO images. Just in case you didn't know, you can get a great price on the Vintage Halloween/Route 66 Bundle: BOTH plates for only $19.99! Now girls, that's just a smokin' hot deal!!

Those of you who stopped by yesterday saw a card I made using the new Bluebird plate and an upcoming CPS sketch. I did not know that I should not post that card yet, so I had to delete it. It will be back up at the right time!

New Artistic Outpost Plates, Reveal #2

This gorgeous Santa image comes complete with the Frost poem. This plate is called Snowy Woods, and it is a full 8 1/2 by 11!! It's jam packed with stunning vintage images just like this. They're exactly the kind of Christmas stamps you would expect from Artistic Outpost. The images have such depth, they're true eye candy!

I used some retired SU! DP for this card, and added a bunch of Prima Flowers and leaves. The Primas have Candy Cane Stickles on them. I painted the leaf with Antique Brass Glimmer Mist. I paint things when I forget to spray them before I mount them on the card. I didn't want the leaf to be matte when the flowers were glitzy. I just spray a couple of times into a small container and paint where I want shimmer.

For the SU! beads, I applied Crystal Effects to the card and poured on the beads. After I shook off the extras, I sprinkled the area with Dazzling Diamonds. I have started doing this when I use micro beads as well. I can never get complete coverage with the beads, and it bothers me to see the adhesive underneath, so I just sprinkle on a coordinating glitter. I love the little extra shine it adds.

Here are the deets on the new plates:

The wait is almost over!!! Artistic Outpost is releasing two new stamp plates. On October 1st, Snowy Woods and Bluebird will be available.

We're so excited about our Christmas plate this year, it features peaceful images of a loving Santa Claus who we believe is the real one. No mall Santa's helpers here!!! This is a full 8.5 x 11" unmounted stamp collection. Loads of beautiful images, and our first "full" plate.

Our Bluebird collection is once again the half plate size of 8.5 x 5.5". It is meant to be your solace this winter. You can see the reflections of winter and spring all in this one collection. Our peaceful collection of bird inspired images to take you through to spring.

Specials on these plates will be posted on October 1st. In addition, believe it our not, October marks our ONE year anniversary. Holy Cow! Has it been this long? With this milestone will come blog candy and additional specials on our one year old darling stamp sets. The ones that got us going and that we will always hold in our hearts.

Be sure to check back for a sneak peeks and samples from our Design Team.

If you haven't already signed up for blog updates - be sure you do, that way you won't miss out on our specials and anniversary celebration!

See everyone else's work here:

http://www.artisticoutpost.blogspot.com/

New Artistic Outpost Plates!!!

This is my first card with one of Artistic Outpost's new plates. It's called Bluebird, and is it ever gorgeous!!! They aren't available yet, but just a few more days and you can get yours, too!! These stamps are so much fun to work with! I started this card with a Blush Blossom base, added a little Basic Gray Two Scoops, and used one of SU!'s old frames. The little tag was a RAK from my bloging friend Carolina (Thanks, Carolina!). I embossed the little girl twice. Once on BG, and again on BB. I cut the BB girl out and layered her on top with pop dots. I embossed the bird with Certainly Celery and clear ep, cut it out and mounted it on foam tape. The dots are made out of Cotton Candy Stickles.

O Let Us cast Dull Care away...

Another card from Artistic Outpost's Vintage Halloween plate. I stamped the main image in VersaMark and embossed him in black. Then I sprayed the entire image with Sage Glimmer Mist. I used Basic Black and Rusty Pickle papers, and added a touch of Black Diamond Stickles. The sentiment is also embossed for a little extra shine and texture. The ribbon is SU! black grosgrain with a touch of satin mummy ribbon by who knows who. VERY simple card for me!

I use a lot of Stickles and Glimmer Mist, and I get them both at Creative Play Stamps. Yes, I design for them, but they have great prices and excellent service. Their inventory is so huge, I honestly can't keep track of everything they offer.

All five of the companies I design for are small, family run businesses. I know and like each one of the owners, and they would earn my business even if I weren't on their teams. If you'd like to toss a little business to the small guys, you can't miss with these companies!

Get your kicks on Route 66

I've posted other cards with this image where I made the image kind of blurry, on purpose, mind you! However, I didn't want to miss an opportunity to show how incredibly detailed this fun image actually is. I embossed it in black here, and it just looks so cool, or tuff as the immortal Ponyboy would say. This is from Artistic Outpost's Route 66 plate. Speaking of which, have I told you that I have TWO new AO plates in my possession? I think I have, but I want to get everyone whipped up into a fine froth. These two new plates are even better than the old ones! How do they keep doing that? The Christmas plate is HUGE. Both plates have literary references. ***SIGH*** I love me some Artistic Outpost stamps!

Sparkling Hedgie

Of course this is a Penny Black hedgehog. I colored him with my wc pencils. I put Crystal Effects on his tummy and sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds. The metallic paper is from WalMart. It isn't very nice quality, but the colors are pretty and they have a nice shimmer. The patterned paper is from a huge stack from some off brand. This is probably the least expensive card I've made in years! I would never buy this paper now, as I'm a bonafide paper snob, but I'm too cheap to throw this stuff away!

I'm NOT online!!

So, yesterday, within minutes of my post, my NEW computer crashed. I have to send it back. Even Billy the Kid from India couldn't fix it! So, my new, new computer should be here by the 24th. I have to wonder about my luck with computers. Is it true that some people can just foul up sensitive electronic equipment? Is it my overwhelmingly compelling personality? So, anywho, I'm on dh'S laptop, and I'm just going to have to use this until my new one comes in. Again.

This card is on one of SU!'s little notecards. I don't know if they are in the new catty or not, I got these years ago. They are such a cute size, 3.5x5. I've always enjoyed working with them. This is SU!'s sweet set, Carved and Candlelit. Rusty Pickle dp, HOTP brad buddy, Daisy D's sticker. I used some of the wire SU! used to sell. What was I thinking when I bought that? It was expensive, too. I probably use it once a year if that. I figure I'll have it all used up in about 440 years.

I AM ONLINE!!!!!

No pictures today, but when I got home from work, 17yods had my new system up and running! I feel so HIGH TECH, BABY! My computer is so pretty, and about half the size of the old one. This monitor RAWKS! Now I will be able to admire all of my uber talented blogging sistahs' work even better!!!

I will take some pictures and share something tomorrow. I hope you all didn't forget me!!

Be Right Back (Hopefully)

Well, I bought a new computer today. New everything, even a new printer! Our hard drive crashed in June, and we bought another one and put it in in July. Then in August, our power switch broke, and you could only turn the computer on and off with the front of the CPU unit removed. Then it wouldn't come on without lots of rigamarole, so we never turned it off. That worked unless you accidentally bumped the little switch. Then last night, the computer froze up and DH turned it off to fix that, but now he can't get it to come back on. The fan comes on, but the computer won't boot up. Three months of fiddling with computers is enough for me. Life is too short to be bothered with technical issues. I hope to be back on by the 17th. I won't post here until my new computer arrives and is up and running-so have a great week, everyone!

Pit Stop

More from Artistic Outpost's Route 66 plate. Those of you who are old enough may have stepped on one of these tabs and cut your foot. I did it many times during my childhood. I grew up in Texas, and we were wild animals who didn't wear shoes for weeks during the summer. These tabs would be everywhere: in the sand at the beach, river or lake, in the grass, just everywhere. Then at some point they started the "Pitch In!" to clean up America bit it the 70's, and things got a little better. (Remember the crying Indian commercial?) Of course at some point, they came up with a better pop tab design, and these were no longer an issue.

Get your motor running...

I love the vintage flair of this set. It's called Route 66, and it's just full of fun road trip images. Not only is it good for cards, but it would also be good for vacation layouts. I used a watercolor crayon directly on the stamp for the motorcycle here. I just misted the stamp with water, then colored the stamp. I lost detail here, but I liked the rough image. I manipulate my Artistic Outpost images this way a lot. Sometimes I want a clean image with all the incredible detail, sometimes I want just parts of an image, or a muddier version. AO stamps can handle different treatments pretty well, because they have a lot of depth. Making each card look entirely different is half the fun! If you want to see how detailed the motorcylce really is, click on the link and see for yourself. You can also stay tuned here, because I have another card made with this set.

Just Chickin in on Ya!

This little stamp is from Image Tree. My sister got it on sale somewhere for me, I think it's pretty cute!

I just dyed a bunch of the same faux dew drops as I used here with alcohol ink. I just put a bunch in a tiny plastic container and added about 20 drops of the ink. It seems to have worked pretty well. These little faux dew drops are a lot nicer than the ones that come with several shades in each bag. They are smaller, for one thing, and more importantly, they are SMOOTH. They came in a huge bag, and are made by Darice, I think. I bought them at Duckwall's in the decorating isle for $10. There are THOUSANDS of the little things!! I gave my sister a bunch of mine, and she got me a bunch of the color mixes. When she saw these she was thrilled with how nice they are. She said she had been filing all the sticking out parts off the ones she had. Now this is just me, mind you, but: Noelle, life is way too short to spend time filing the sticking out parts of faux dew drops! I plan to use them as is, or not at all. I do like to picture her hunched over her scrapbook table filing dozens of these little things while her 10modd waits patiently and quietly for her attention....

It's so cold here today! I may have to turn on the heater!! I'm wearing a tank top, a 3/4 sleeve t-shirt, a huge t-shirt on top of that and a hoodie. I also have my Smart Wool socks on, which are among my most valued possessions! Hope you're warm and cozy where ever you are!

Loot from Carolina & Clear Artistic Stamps card

The top picture is of a wonderful RAK that Carolina recently sent me! Isn't she the sweetest thing? I have already used some of the goodies, and I will make sure to point out things I got from Carolina when I post them!! If you haven't visited Carolina's blog, you are in for a real treat, as she's immensely talented!!

The card is made using the Country Life set from Clear Artistic Stamps.

Victorian Nosegay

This card uses Clear Artistic Stamps' Blackberry Fields set. The little nosegay on the bottom right is from the set, as is the pretty border stamp. I used the blackberry sprig on the front of the card in Almost Amethyst, and I stamped it in VersaMark and embossed it in Gold Glory on the card base. The scalloped paper is actually a piece of stationery that belonged to DH's grandma. I also used several Crafty Secrets stickers.

I just have to give a shout out to Belinda over at CAS. I was her August Guest Designer, so she sent me two sets of my choice, and three little Ancient Page pads, which I was thrilled with!! Then today I received a package from her, and she sent me the lovliest little cat set as a thank you! Can you believe how nice she is? Like it was so hard to make some cards for her with the FREE stamps she already sent me! THANKS, BELINDA!!

I can't find the set she sent on her site so I can't link it for you. I don't know if it's retired, a limited edition, or so new it's not up yet, but you'll see it here soon because I LOVE cats, and this set has a sweet sleeping cat on it!

Keeper

The Artistic Outpost Design Team had a mingle and we all made two of something. Then we sent one to Robyn, the owner, and one to whoever's name we got in the drawing. It was fun! I got Robyn's name, so I went ahead and sent her two of this card. She can use one for her show boards, and use the other for target practice;)

This card uses two of my favorite colors, Almost Amethyst, and copper. This gal with the fishing pole and the gorgeous grass are all part of the Keeper plate. The newspaper flower is from an Etsy store, and I can't for the life of me remember the name of it! I don't have the card anymore either, because there were only two, and I used them both when I made these cards.

May I just tease you for a moment? I have both of the new AO plates in my possession, and are they ever gorgeous! Of course they are right up my alley, they have literary allusions, snip-its, quotes and tendencies. These stamps are smart and beautiful!! Stay tuned for more info....

Pink Pussy Willow

I was August guest designer for Clear Artistic Stamps, and didn't get this one posted. Time just got away from me! Anyway, this little set is called Country Life, and it's just a pretty, sweet little set. I like the branches on this image a lot! I do know that CAS just released some new Fall & Winter stamps, and they are really nice, so you may want to scoot over there and have a look.

I happen to love this card. The reason, besides the sweet stamp, is all the making memories (note) worthy stuff. The designer paper, the little notebook sheet, and the flowers are all from that line. It has probably been my favorite recent release. I pretty much love everything about it. I must have been living in a cave anyway (Oklahoma Panhandle), because I didn't even know mm had a paper line until I got this one from Bad Girls Kits.

Penny Black Brush Daisy

I've always loved PB stuff, from her elegant to her cutesy. I bought this stamp on eBay, and I'm glad to have it. I don't use it very often, but I enjoy it when I do!

I wanted to post a Bombshell card I've been tinkering with, but she isn't ready yet. I'll try to finish her up tonight and post her sometime soon. Stay tuned!!

Creative Cuts and More Coffin Box

This was a really fun, and surprisingly quick project! I ordered the die from Creative Cuts and More in Onyx Stardream cardstock. Stardream is one of my favorite cardstocks to work with. I have a sneaking suspicion that SU!'s Shimmery White cardstock is Stardream, so that gives you an idea of how nice it is. CC&M has dozens of cs choices, I usually go for the metallics. You can order cs by the sheet to match your project for extra things like tags. This box went together fairly easily, even for the assembly challenged like myself!

The spider, which I hope you can see better on your moniter than I can on mine is SO cool! CC&M has several dies you can have cut out of tacky tape. Just peel one side of the tape off, put the spider where you want him, then peel off the other side and sprinkle on the glitter. I used Doodlebug Beetle Black. It looks awesome. It's sparkly for sure!!

The skull stamp is from Creative Play Stamps' SkullsI set. I embossed it in Bridal and layered it on Marvy punched scallops. I dotted Black Diamond Stickles on the Shimmery White layer.

The ribbon is just some fun mummy ribon I've had for a while.

Backyard Harmony

This is an old Penny Black stamp that I just love. It's time consuming to watercolor, so I don't use it very often.
While it's not the primary image, I do want to point out that the embossed swirls on the vertical panel underneath the main image are from Creative Play Stamps. The set is called Polka Dots and Flourishes, and it's designed for just this sort of thing. When you need a little pizazz somewhere on a card, reach for this set!