Design Team Throwdown Challenge #3 at Smeared and Smudged

That's right kids... I'm baaaaack!  I've had to take a hiatus from the awesomeness that IS the

Haunted Design House 

blog, and I must say that I have missed getting my creep on >`:) 

So, to mark the occasion, I decided to go big and, along with a couple of my talented Minions, enter

Smeared and Smudged's

Design Team Throwdown Challenge #3:  Mini Books

It's been awhile since I've done a mini book.  But, mini books were where I started in this huge world of papercrafting, so it was about time I went back to my roots... only a little darker this time, of course :)  Be warned, there are a TON of pictures with this post, but me loves the details... check it:

The front cover is by far my favorite part.. I've used glass & leather as my base covers.  Sometimes it pays to be an Architect:  access to some lovely sample materials :)
Leather flooring is seriously sah-weet!

Ranger's Glossy Accents is my friend!  It is everywhere in this book... works great for metal & glass, like those Making Memories pewter alphas.

I added a grommet to the leather for added strength, which is helpful considering how freakin' heavy the glass is alone.  The glass has an awesome texture to it and beveled edges (bonus!).

I got out my Ranger Melting Pot & UTEE... so much fun!  After stamping (Artful Illusions stamp) into the warm goo, I added some Pearl-Ex for shimmer.

I also added some glass beads & alligator clip that dangle from the D-ring binder.

A couple of Maya Road stick pins & an uber-cool metal skull button finishes out the front cover.  I added some Crackle Accents on the flowers & the skull eye sockets. 

The inside pages were made from wood veneer.  All were stamped in black & heat embossed with superfine clear EP.  I then used Ranger's Picket Fence Distress Stain to low-light areas... it wipes off of the embossed images so they really stand out:

Page One:

Artful Illusions stamp.  Tim Holtz pen nib & tissue tape.  Key, clip & gem sources unknown.

Page Two:

Artful Illusions (headstones, script) & Smeared Ink (crow & window) stamps.  Prima resin square & 7Gypsies tab.  Coffin nail source unknown.

Page Three:

Artful Illusions stamps & Moxxie pumpkin paper.  7Gypsies metal tag.  Brad, clip & bottle cap sources unknown.  Bottle cap filled with Crackle Accents & rubbed with black ink.

Page Four:

Red Lead Paperworks stamp & Fancy Pants rub-on.  Tim Holtz skull & token embellishments.  Clip & chain sources unknown.

Page Five:

Red Lead Paperworks stamp.  Tim Holtz spider & Making Memories clip.  Jewelry rosette source unknown.

Back Cover:

Same leather & glass base as front cover, then I snipped the prongs off of some Karen Foster brads & attached them with Glossy Accents to use as feet to prevent scratches on the glass.

Ta-da!  If you are still with me, thanks... if not, you totally missed out ;)  I had a blast making this... getting inky, messy and finally using some of the awesome embellishments I have been hoarding for so long!

If you could take a look at the work of all of the Design Teams that are participating in this challenge and cast your vote, it would be appreciated... even more so if you vote for the HDH (Haunted Design House) Minions!  Voting is from April 11th at 12:01am thru April 12th at midnight... just go HERE to vote.  You must be a member of the Smeared and Smudged Forum, but it only takes a minute!

What do you think?

{tap tap tap}... yes Laurie, this thing is on :)

OMG... another post so soon?!  Did you just fall out of your chair?  :)  Well, I thought I should post about my upcoming mini-album class at  The Scrapbook Page before it's over ;)  The class is on November 30th and is a Winter-themed multi-media album.

WTH is multi-media?  Well... it has acrylic, chipboard & canvas/denim pages, a TON of ribbon & trims, crackle paint, Stickles, Crackle medium, chalkboard ink, and a lovely little snowman digi made by me :)  Also, all of the pages are shaped differently... a house, fence, birds, scallop squares, file folders, hearts...

I'm tellin' ya', it is awesome {pats self on back}  ;)

I put a ton of work into this so you don't have to.  Just contact The Scrapbook Page at 913.383.1552 to sign up!  It's only $35 for a 9"+/- album with about 16 pages (including cover), plus pull-out tags, and each kit comes with a full bottle of Rock Candy Distress Stickles {LOVE}.

I wish I could show you all of the pages, but I won't  >:)  They are soooooo much better in person...

... which means you'll have to come take the class {insert slightly evil grin here}

The only thing I'm not looking forward to doing, is cutting out all of those pages out of chipboard & acrylic :)  It's gonna take forever, even WITH the die cutter at the store... but I'll do it for you :)

I do love this, and it was nice to get down-n-dirty with some different products.  Sometimes I forget that there is more to papercrafting than Copic markers :)

What do you think?

Eerie Elegance & a Halloween waterfall...

Yeay... the new calendar is out for The Scrapbook Page, and sign-ups can begin for my classes!

First up, Eerie & Elegant Cards on October 11th, 6:30pm-8:30pm.  Click on the link and it will take you to the store's website where you can see all four cards.

This is my favorite of the four, but the others are pretty cool, too :)

And this one I am REALLY excited about... a Halloween Waterfall Mini-Album on October 19th, 6:30pm-8:30pm.  It is a wine bag album :)  Plenty of pockets & pull-outs... 

all in Halloweenie glory!

There is no way to do this album justice in a photograph.  Tons of heat embossing, Tim Holtz stamps, May Arts ribbons, flocked paper, and so much more.  LOVE it.

If you are in the Kansas City area, stop by The Scrapbook Page and sign up!  For you out-of-towners that would like to purchase kits, please email the store for details.

Amberley Mini-book

I went to a really fun crop a couple of weeks ago put on by Crop-N-Doodle-Do, and ACTUALLY accomplished a couple of things!  CNDD's crops are awesome... they have fun giveaways, plenty of space, the food is always great, and they help you unload your stuff from your vehicle to your table! 

The crop fee is a little more than others, but they feed you (with cross your legs good desserts) and even go on an afternoon Sonic run for drinks {LOVE that rabbit pellet ice :)}, so the little extra money is TOTALLY worth it!

Ok, since I'm done pimping out CNDD, how's about having a lookie-see at one of the things I finished there?!  Yep, a mini-book of my babies!  It's really small... to give you an idea, the photos are index size... that, and you can see my fingertips in most of the photos (blech).

The base is from 7-Gypsies... it's a little chipboard matchbook, two-to-a-pack.  The only draw-back about this pre-made base is that you are not able to add much bulk AT ALL! 

Just by me adding a matted photo, a couple of accent cardstock pieces, and a decorative paper background, really pushed past the comfortable closing limits of the matchbook! 

I inked the edges with a Burnt Umber Palette pad... gave it a little more grunge look.  And I used up a ton of itty bitty scraps of Amberley Grace paper & coordinating cardstock!  Yes, this is a true scrap project :)

The pewter bookrings are from Karen Foster Designs, the eyelets are TAC's Pewter Hardware, and all of the pretty ribbon is from several of TAC's ribbon collections.

I finished it off with a sliding cardstock belly band that I embellished with a Bazzil Bitty Bloom, oyster disk, & an aqua half pearl from Michael's.  The title was done with a Signo white gel pen.

What do you think?  
I KNOW... the babies are cute :)

Tube Mini-Album Kits for sale!

Yes, I finally got around to making up a few of the kits from my December mini-album class!  The original concept on which I based the class was from a fellow TAC demo Julie, and she in turn saw it at Crazy For Mini Albums... I'm not sure what that link is though.

Anyway, I am offering these kits made with supplies from The Angel Compay (except for the ribbon & shipping tags!).  Currently I have 4-page (tube) kits from Rustic Chic (brown, red, aqua) and Uptown Girl (pink & black).  

These kits include paper to cover tubes, accent paper, cardstock mats & accents, shipping tags, ribbon, paper tabs, four scallop square punched cardstock cuts, an entire sheet of chipboard alphas, and either Bind-It-All o-rings or two book rings for those without a BIA.  You supply the stamps, ink, adhesive, & TP tubes (or paper towel tubes cut down), and I've got the rest covered :)

I'll include a color print out of sample pages from my album that you may use for inspiration, but I've included some extra paper & ribbon for you to customize yours further.  The ribbon & accent papers are not cut to size, however the three mats & base cover paper are to size.  I'll include a few techniques on chipboard & covering the tubes, but the photos will help more than additional written instruction!

Cost:  $20 + FREE shipping!


Please email me at:  barbi007@kc.rr.com for more details & payment arrangements.  Thank you!
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A little Art Share...

No card tonight! Instead, I'm going to show one of my Art Share projects. I made this little Mini-Meander book for a fellow Angel Angela. I felt the colors were totally 'her'... and I've never even met her IRL :)


I took a ton of photos, so I thought a slide show would be easier to view. I know that sometimes they don't show up in blog-readers, so you should be able to click 'view all images' and it will take you to a gallery.


Stamps: Memo Fun, Creative Inspiration, Script Background, Artsy Elements (retiring this month!)

Paper: Mimi SWIC, Bazzill Mono Blue-greens & Mono Pinks

Ink: New Canvas, Belle Rose, Water Lily Green & Bordeaux Palettes, VersaMark

Other: Audrey Embellishment Jar, Lemonade Blossoms & Buttons, White & Pink Scrapper's Floss, misc. book binding tape, ribbons & rhinestones


I love the button-in-a-button on the front, and all of the interactivity to the meander in general. This one was created so that Angela could add photos & journaling of what inspires her. After she completes the blank pages, and she needs a little sumpin' sumpin' to get the creativity goin', all she needs to do is thumb through it! Enjoy, Angela!!!

What do you think?

Mini-album Quickie & Happy Birthday to Me :)

***enter blog candy drawing before 3pm tomorrow on THIS POST***

Another mini-album! This one is the Rockin' Roxie Timesaving Kit from TAC. I did this one super fast, so there are no fun moveable or interactive pages, but I can see making a bunch of these in a flash for teacher's gifts, updating the grandparents, friends... the list goes on.

Kit/Paper: Rockin' Roxie Kit, Miss Moxie SWIC & Cardstock

Stamps: BooKoo Blessings , Swirlies

Ink: Noir, L'Amore Red, Chartreuse, Cote d'Azure, & Orangerie Palettes, and VersaMark

Other: Winchester Hardware (large eyelets), Miss Moxie Ribbon, misc. staples & buttons, and Scrapper's Floss in a TON of colors!!

I just LOVE Scrapper's Floss {really I do}...

And I really think this album just screams kids or fiesta or par-tay time!

What do you think?


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