Witch Postcard - Day 16 - Swap & VLVS! Inspiration

Well... it's been SEVEN days since I last posted for the 31 days of October Stamping with Smeared and Smudged. Man.. life happens, right? 

Next year I believe I will work in advance, haha. that was an embarrassed laugh if you didn't catch that. I AM Excited to share with you today's stamping, though! And it is has multi-purpose functions! It IS my day 16 stamping project. it is ALSO my postcard for the Fall Harvest Postcard Swap in the Viva Las VegaStamps! Groupies facebook group, AND It is inspiration for the Viva Las VegaStamps! Monthly Challenge! You can enter to win your own blog spotlight and VLVS! rubber grab bag. Plus I just REALLY like my project :) 

A Witch Postcard! I'm smitten! I started with a 4x6 piece of Canson Watercolor paper and gave it a nice layer of Liquitex Basics Gesso. I knew that I wanted to incorporate the circles from the VLVS! inspiration and was interested to see how Distress Ink would play on the Gesso.

After the gesso was dry I got a foam blending tool, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and the Chunky Circles Stencil from UmWowStudio. I applied the ink through the stencil and then spritzed SO slightly with water to make the delicious distressed droplets Distress Ink is known for. HUZZAH. The ink played really well with the gesso AND I have some nice texture in it between the water and the brush strokes during gesso application. 

Then I did some stamping using the Numbers Set and Waybill/Invoice Background from Viva Las VegaStamps! The Invoice BG was stamped in Archival Ink black by Ranger, but the Numbers Set was stamped in watered down black gesso from Prima Marketing. I also splattered some of the watered down gesso around the background to add another layer of depth. The Witch Holding Broom from Viva Las VegaStamps! was stamped in Archival Black by Ranger on Bristol board. Then I fussy cut her out and glued her down with UHU.

Next I grabbed a piece of black cardstock and trimmed it up to create a border around my postcard. I sewed it in place with white thread and my Brother machine. I also gathered up some chipboard stars from the Star Confetti set by UmWowStudio and applied them to the postcard with a pair of craft tweezers and more UHU. I'm becoming a HUGE fan of UHU.

And last but not least I put down some alphas from a dollar set I picked upat JoAnn. I'm a huge fan of the font, plus I got a black set and a kraft set. There are 180 alphas and they're the perfect size for this type of work! I think I need to go back for more. x.x

Well that's it I think! I'm so glad you were able to join me back up here.. and I hope I didn't disappoint you too much missing out on the last few days. Let me know what you think about my Witch Postcard and good luck to everyone who's in the running for the grand prize! 

Also please don't forget about the other participants on this journey. Hop around, leave comments, and be entered to win:

Terra Black Dragon Alison Julia Lyneen Kelli Maureen Sue DominoART Lost Coast Portal To Creativity

Susan Sarah Keren Lisa F Teresa Fiona Lisa H Stampendous Stamps Shell Sarah S

Airless Chambers Susan R Dream In Darkness De Stempelwinkel Leslie Rahye Kat Rebecca Lee Suzi Sara DeeDee

'Tis Near Halloween - Postcard Day 2

welp! I am officially 2/2 and feeling pretty strongly that I can finish these 31 days.. lol.

It is day 2 of Smeared and Smudged's 31 days of Halloween!

Thanks so much for stopping by again! I know I'm the last gal on the list but I can assure you that I appreciate every comment and showing of love! <3 <3 Plus.. you have to comment here for prizes, too ;) ;) Today I bring you another postcard! I promise the whole month won't be postcards, but I am enjoying the layout. It's great for building a little scene or having a bit more space than an ATC to work on. Plus the orientation is different than that of a tag (which you'll definitely be seeing, too!) Anyways.. Onto the project shall we?? 

I've always really loved the saying "When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, tis near Halloween." And nothing speaks to me more as a cheeky little moon that this Happy Moon stamp from Viva Las VegaStamps!. He's so quirky and fun. I stamped in Archival ink by ranger on white card. The base for the postcard is Canson watercolor paper treated with Liquitex Basic gesso. I ripped a piece of muslin to be approximately 1/2 inch bigger on all sides and sewed the two together. 

I first did a straight stitch all the way around and quickly followed it with a zigzag stitch. The brown speckles are a homemade Instant Coffee Stain that I am particularly fond of! I use it all the time in my art journaling classes and other mixed media adventures. The color is so rich and the aroma of the room after using it doesn't hurt, either. I printed the saying on my toner printer and adhered it with Golden's Fluid Matte Medium. Be warned... coffee is not permanent so you have to be delicate working on top of it if you haven't sealed it.

The wings are brand new from UmWowStudio's Halloween release, Tattered Wings. The wings have been stamped (Very carefully I might add... lol) with the Dictionary Page from Viva Las VegaStamps!. When I'm stamping chipboard I tend to ink up the stamp and then lay it on the table... I sort of drop the chipboard straight down and then press every so gently on the back to make sure all of the surface is touching. On paper I just stamp and go.. but I always get leery of how the image will turn out on the chip. So weird.

Some wet glue and dimensional foam adhesive put my winged moon in place. I love adding a bit of dimension to my pieces, and chipboard really help with that! Let me know what you think of today's card. can't wait to hop!

And in case you've come to my blog first here are the rest of the participants:

Terra Black Dragon Alison Julia Lyneen Kelli Maureen Sue DominoART Lost Coast Portal To Creativity

Susan Sarah Keren Lisa F Teresa Fiona Lisa H Stampendous Stamps Shell Sarah S

Airless Chambers Susan R Dream In Darkness De Stempelwinkel Leslie Rahye Kat Rebecca Lee Suzi Sara DeeDee