My Time Down the Rabbit Hole.....

... has sadly come to an end. Sniff, sniff :(

I thoroughly enjoyed my time being part of The Altered Alice design team. I love all that is Alice in Wonderland and Lynne (our very lovely Mad Hatter) gave me the opportunity to be part her magical and Uber talented team. All the "Alice" ladies (including Lynne) are just phenomenal and provided me with massive inspiration.

So a HUGE Thank You Lynne for everything!!!

Ok so onto my final project as a Guest DT member. The challenge was to use Text as non-sense. Unfortunately my set of Stamps from our generous sponsor Stamp Attack were lost in the Post :( Soooooo sad! Those are some amazing stamps I was hoping to ink up and create with. Nevertheless, I made the best of it and turned to one of my favorite stamp companies, Tickled Pink and used several of their Lil Little images. Aren't they cuuuuuute ?!!???! 

Image: Lil Little Lolita Ivy

Medium: Prismacolor Pencils

I took the idea of using text as nonsense and applied it to their clothes and to their accessories. If you notice, all of their clothes are printed on Text DP. After I paper pieced their clothing, I went in with my prismacolor pencils and lightly colored them in to add depth and texture, while at the same time making sure that I didn't completely cover up the text.

Image: Lil Little Lolita Lilith (

My ultimate fave but in this case, she's #2 because Ivy takes #1)

Medium: Prismacolor Pencils

I then printed their accessory on the same DP (in this case, Lilith's umbrella), glued it on and left it as is. I also used the "text" concept on the background dp (the layer on top of the ancient keys) and on some of the butterflies.

Images: Lil Little Lad Frankie

and Lil Little Lolita Willow (currently not available)

Medium: Prismacolor Pencils

Since all of the images weren't Alice in Wonderland related (like Little Ivy is) I used the same concept, dp, embellishments and colors throughout all 3 cards so they can all look like a cohesive set. All the sentiments come from an Alice in Wonderland set I bought last year.

The challenge for this month is over at The Altered Alice but stay tuned for October when the team will return with a new concept, a new sponsor and more rockin inspirational pieces. I hope that you get to play along as well (this time with me in the mix) because I will be playing along and giving the Altered Alice team all the support I can.

Thanks for stopping by/ commenting!

I will also be submitting this to: Tickled Pink Stamps #38 - Choose your Combo. I used Lace and Pattern Paper for the first 2 cards. Twine and Buttons for the 3rd card. Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes.  Pixie Dust Studio - Round and Round (Use Circles).  Pixies Bookshelf - Flowers and Scallops.  Saturday Sketch #174 - I used the sketch for all 3 cards, I just rotated it 90 degrees. Flutterby Wednesday #173 - Open Challenge.

Chapter 6 Challenge: Painting the Roses Red!

'A large rose-tree stood near the entrance of the garden: the roses growing on it were white, but there were three gardeners at it, busily painting them red. Alice thought this a very curious thing, and she went nearer to watch them, and just as she came up to them she heard one of them say, `Look out now, Five! Don't go splashing paint over me like that!'
 -- Chapter 8, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Our month of painting the white roses red at The Altered Alice has come to an end. All the participants and DT gals did a beautiful job helping 2, 5 & 7 avoid angering the Queen of Hearts.

We were sponsored by Creative Inspirations, makers of wonderful shimmering paint which comes in almost 60 colors, including clear iridescent Fairy Dust. They also carry hot fix Jeweled Inspirations and Metallic Inspirations. We used the Garnet paint, a bright sparkling red that applied beautifully and richly.

OK so lets move on to my crazy concoction of a project. Lol! I was inspired by our Mad Hatter Lynne to create a more elaborate Art Journal page. I had done a few before but they were really clean and simple that i think i was embarrassing the name Art Journal :). Anyways, you must see Lynne's gorgeous clean page with dripping red paint Here.

My concoction on the other hand was made to look abstract and a bit messy. I drew all the images myself and gave them that sketchy effect. I wanted them to look finished but not polished.  I created my collage piece by combining several of my sketches together and then I used the beautiful garnet paint to accentuate my choice images.

As you can see I was heavily influenced by Tim Burton's version of the Castle Garden.  I must admit that the leaf sculpture of the red queen's "bulbous" head isn't my favorite but it is iconic for the film. To me, it is the essence of the queen. Plus I just love Tim and his ability to make everything look dark yet modern. For example: Love love love the playing card guards.

Here is a closeup of my Alice. I opted to give her plump red lips to represent her leaving her innocence Wonderland/Underland. When she leaves Underland she is no longer the doe eyed girl from the beginning nor from her first time around in that wonderful place.

Next week, The Altered Alice gals will be back with another challenge and an amazing prize. Please remember that you do not need specific Alice in Wonderland images or any Alice images, just as long as you follow the theme.

Thanks! And see you again soon for some amazing previews coming from The Greeting Farm and Simply Betty Stamps.

The Altered Alice - Chapter 5: Tea-Things

`And ever since that,' the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, `he won't do a thing I ask! It's always six o'clock now.' 
A bright idea came into Alice's head. `Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?' she asked.
`Yes, that's it,' said the Hatter with a sigh: `it's always tea-time, and we've no time to wash the things between whiles.'
`Then you keep moving round, I suppose?' said Alice.
`Exactly so,' said the Hatter: `as the things get used up.'
`But what happens when you come to the beginning again?' Alice ventured to ask.

Good Morning Scrappy Friends. This month at The Altered Alice we are celebrating The Mad Hatter's tea table that is full of tea-things. Your challenge this month is to have a teapot or teacup on your project, and, as an option, to use something OTHER than a stamped image as your focal point! *We are already on week 4 of this challenge so don't delay because the deadline is a few days away*

For my project, I altered a mat frame. These frames can be used on their own, in shadow boxes or on scrapbook layouts. It measures 8x10 and frames off a 5x7 picture so it allows you to make that special picture your main focus. 

I wanted to play around with the letters and give it that playful mad look that is the mad hatter. I inked and stamped on the letters to add to the look. The sentiment and the clock come from the collage sheet I chose to work with.

This month we were sponsored by One Crabappple with their beautiful collage sheets. These sheets are a graphic artists dream because the possibilities are endless as to how you can combine the images or merge them to create new ones. The shop may be closed at the moment due to family priorities but if you want to see all the Alice Collage sheets see has to offer, jump on over to The Altered Alice where our Mad Hatter Lynne has uploaded them for you.

I really liked all the images that came on the sheet however I was having a hard time trying to incorporate them all. So I was stumped as to what to do then one day in the dead of the night, the idea of creating my own playing cards came to me.  I altered the sizes, gave them a vintage b/w look and decided that they were all going to be part of the Queen's entourage (lol). This is why they all have the same Queen of Hearts symbol. Also, I used one of my blue Prismacolor Pencils to give them a tint of color. The color is a lot more prominent on Alice's dress but they all got the same treatment.

Make sure you hop on over to see the amazing inspiration waiting for you over at The Altered Alice. Talk about WOW!!! My DT sisters are starting to give me an inferiority complex. :) We are also being joined by a new Alice gal next month who I'm very excited to work with. Ive loved her stuff since day one. So its time to step up my game. lol.    Thanks for stopping by/commenting.

If you are looking for my Operation OWL please scroll down or click HERE.

If you're looking for my Getting Cricky Hijacking post and my Simply Betty Scrap Tag Challenge, click HERE. 

The end of the Mad Tea Party

It is the end of the Mad Tea Party and Frabjous Day is upon us. Lol! Seriously though, the month is over and the Tea Party has come to an end. But fear not, because us Yanks love the Mad Hatter so much that we shall be celebrating him again in October. For my project, I decided to create an Easel Card Invitation. However, it isn't your ordinary "Come to my Tea Party" party card. It's more of an, "Underland might be coming to an end soon but there's always time for Tea and Tarts" type of party card. Wow, that's pretty bleak. hehehe :D So to contradict the semi dark meaning and distressed look, I decided to color my image (Mad Hatter's Tea Party sponsored by The Artistic Stamper) in very vivid colors. I used my trusty Prismacolor pencils for the Mabel Lucie Atwell image. I used Prismacolor markers for the tea cups.

Thanks to all of you that joined us this month for our Mad Tea Party. The lucky winner and honorable mentions have been posted on the Altered Alice blog. Also, a Huge Thank You to The Artistic Stamper for the sponsorship. 

Thanks for stopping by/commenting.

Ps. Jude and the Rockers previews began today. So hop on over to Simply Betty Stamps to check out the new cutie. And don't forget to come back later on for a brand new Simply Sunday challenge featuring KAndrew Design stamps :) and a tool I'm loving at the moment.

News...Reminders...Rambles...and Submission Call

Wow! Its Wednesday already. Well OK let's roll with it and say, Happy Wednesday!! Today's post is about sharing and reminding you of some things going on.

First... I'm very happy to announce that I am a Simply Betty Stamp Gal. I will be part of her non card team. So I will be bringing you mini albums, altered items, scrapbook pages, tags, anything that is not a card on my rotation turn. However, I wont stop making cards because c'mon, let's face it, its already a part of me. hehehe. So when time permits I will be playing with her card team as well as using them for my personal cards. I'm so excited to get coloring because she has some freaking cute images coming out. Wait till you see them!!! You'll just want to buy them all!!  

Second... The Mad Tea Party, Altered Alice Style is half way through. So you still have time to break out your best party hat and come over to the Twisted Table for some tea and tarts. Also this Sunday, I will be bringing my Croquet Mallets along with my  mad project in honor of our Tea Party. Please make sure you do come back.

Third... In case you didn't know, my friend Kristal has brought out her own stamp line. She has been having previews and pre-sales for the past few weeks. On the 17th, we will be having a special ustream and hop in honor of her, her stamps and me. Lol. Well not just me but her whole DT team. So make sure you pop over to her blog to pick up some stamps, because aside from being awesome she is also donating a $1 from each set sold to several special charities. Her kind soul never seizes to amaze me. So come back on Friday to Get(ting) Cricky (lol) with us!

And Finally... I'm looking for special cards to feature in August's edition of Gingerscraps Magazine. I need special shaped cards, special cut cards (s-fold, waterfall card, etc) or cards that function in any way (rotate, spin, etc). If you have any and are interested in possibly being published, please send me an email by June 30th.

Thanks!!

Celebrate Mad Hatter Day with a MAD TEA PARTY, Altered Alice Style!

Join Us for a MAD TEA PARTY!!!

This month at The Altered Alice we are celebrating the Mad Genius behind the Mad Tea Party, the MAD HATTER himself. There are two Mad Hatter Days every year, and one of them is this month! In the United States, October 6th is Mad Hatter Day as we abbreviate our dates as month/day. In the United Kingdom, Mad Hatter Day is June 10th as they abbreviate their dates as day/month. So what do these dates have to do with the Mad Hatter? In the original Tenniel illustrations, the Mad Hatter has a price tag tucked into his hat band. It says "In this Style 10/6" which, for us ignorant Yankees (lol!) means ten schillings and sixpence, or half a guineau back in Alice's day! So Mad Hatter Day falls on 10/6, and here at The Altered Alice, instead of choosing between date systems, we just celebrate twice a year!!!

The challenge this month is to create a project to celebrate the Mad Hatter AND to bring something to our Mad Tea Party! I was in charge of bringing the fabulous Croquet set. Check out what the rest of the Altered Alice girls brought:

Aren't those some Amazing Party Gifts?!!!?

So, like Lynne said, What Will You Bring?

You will have until the 24th to join our Mad Tea Party and to find a fun item to bring to the table. Make sure you pop on over to The Altered Alice to check out the rest of the deets and our first week inspiration. You wont want to miss it!!

The Altered Alice Chapter 4 - Week 3: Time

Alice sighed wearily. `I think you might do something better with the time,' she said, `than waste it in asking riddles that have no answers.'
`If you knew Time as well as I do,' said the Hatter, `you wouldn't talk about wasting IT. It's HIM.'
`I don't know what you mean,' said Alice.
`Of course you don't!' the Hatter said, tossing his head contemptuously. `I dare say you never even spoke to Time!'
`Perhaps not,' Alice cautiously replied: `but I know I have to beat time when I learn music.'
`Ah! that accounts for it,' said the Hatter. `He won't stand beating.'
-- Chapter 7, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Happy Sunday! I'm very excited!!! about today's post. Today is my week to "fall down the Rabbit Hole" and showcase my labor of love project for The Altered Alice. Our theme for the month is Time: Time Marches On.  To play along with us (and I hope that you do), you must create a project that represents Time.  You can represent Time in whichever way you see fit.

This months sponsor is Fresh Brewed Designs and they have generously sponsored us with a prize pack of five images of your choosing.  Also, don't be discouraged if you think your project must be Alice in Wonderland related. It is not required but encouraged.  So head on over to The Altered Alice to check out this weeks inspiration and jump down the rabbit hole with us. 

For my debut project, I created a set of 8 Artist Trading Cards (ATC). ATCs are great because they are mini little pieces of artwork and they can be as clean and simple as you want them to be or they can be altered little pieces with all the charms and embellishments you like. I decided to go for a much cleaner look. I wanted the image to be the main focus of the ATC. I used quotes on almost all of them and the quotes I used were to enhance the image. These little cards measure at 2.5x3.5. All images used are from our monthly sponsor Fresh Brewed Designs. ** Please note that 6 out of the 8 images were cropped/altered**

This picture is the back of the ATCs. I wanted all of them to have a similar distressed look and for all of them to represent our theme: Time. I also thought that this set could also act as a set of business cards. This is the reason I left a space for my contact info. (Boy, I'm going to have a hard time giving one of these away. Lol.)

Products used: Tim Holtz embossing folder, Distressed Ink, Wood Stamps, TPS Clear Stamps.

*Please make sure to click on the pictures, individually, so you may see all the little details. They are chock full of them * 

ATC1: Hatter Madness digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

I just love how Alice is miniature size and tucked into the band of the hat

ATC2: I'm Late digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

ATC3: Wait For Me digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

I love that the Rabbit is the iris of Alice's eye.

ATC4: Tick Tock Clock digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

ATC5: Wonderland digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

*This one was severely altered. I erased everything around Alice and then blew up the pocket watch*

ATC6: Drink Me digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

This one is prob my favorite of the set. Although its hard to choose. But I just love the huge mushroom with Alice on the side trying to climb it. And of course there's a tea cup and the Drink Me sign.

ATC7: Mirror Mushroom digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

ATC8: The Queen of Hearts digi from Fresh Brewed Designs

At the last minute, I decided to add mini clock charms to my ATCs but I had a hard time finding them so I decided to create my own. Here is a closeup of one. I used tiny mirrors, a clear stamp and stazon. This one is a little blurry but I like the effect.  Thanks for stopping by/commenting! I hope that Ive encouraged you to jump down the Rabbit Hole.

I will be submitting this project to Simon Says Stamp and Show Anything Goes Challenge