Application for Ike's Art Design Team Call

I've some truly exciting news! One of my favourite digital stamp designers - Ike's Art is looking for people to join her Art Design Team!

My name's Michelle and I'm a lone disabled parent to a 12yr old boy and two 2 crazy mogs. They all keep me happy and laughing, whilst creating art keeps me sane and gives me joy too.  I started up papercrafting three years ago, making cards, then moved to other crafts as well like mini albums, altered art, pocket letters, ATCs, etc, and more recently I've gotten into mixed media and art journelling.

I currently work on 3 Design Teams: - A Inky Mess, Fantasy Crafters and Through the Purple Haze, and I'm a former DT member for Cute as a Button, More Mixed Media and Left of Center. I'm excited to announce I've been asked to be a guest designer for a well known digi designer on 1st October too, so watch this space!

I love working as part of Design Teams, and love the comraderie of working alongside talented artists and colorists, as well as the thrill of creating something to a theme, or using an image supplied. I love the challenge of the blank page and the satisfaction of getting messy with art supplies, and hours going by super fast whilst I work on a project, then the happy feeling when it's done and can be watermarked and uploaded ready for a challenge. I also enjoy interacting with those that enter challenges - I've gotten to know quite a few of the regulars and it's lovely seeing their new makes appear on challenges.

Here are my three most favourite pieces to date:

Robot #1 by Ike's Art

 I adored working on this - my all time favourite so far. It won first prize over at Ike'sworld Challenges which I was overjoyed about.

Taffy the Clown #76B by Lizzy Love at Oddball Art Co.

This super cute clown was lovely to work with and worked well with patterned papers in the backgroud.

Morpheus #38 by Sheepski Designs

I love dragons, what can I say? And this particular one from Sheepski Designs really captured my heart. 

I shall be keeping my fingers and toes crossed and wish everyone good luck who applies.

Here are my social media details:

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter: @mcollett46

Tumblr

Instagram

YouTube: Michelle Collett / JournalKitty

Google+:Michelle Collett

Email: mcsurrey1969@yahoo.co.uk

LOC #148 Four Legged Friends

Hi again! Wow mid September - Halloween is just round the corner, I'm soo excited about it this year - more on that later.

This week over at Left of Center Challenges our theme is Four Legged Friends and our sponsor is Nikki Burnette. I chose a Vampire Fairy colouring page called Angelique which could also be reduced down to fit on a card, etc.

I used Polychromos pencils to colour her and the background in. It was lovely to colour a whole picture for a change. I chose predominantly greys to depict the light of the moon with pops of colour for the dragon and candles, plus Angelique's clothing.

This is my last DT project for Left of Center - it's been a pleasure to work with Maureen and the lovely design team and I wish them all well.

I shall be entering this into the following challenges:

Ike'sworld Challenges - #72 Things that Fly
Dark n Daring - #5 Anything Goes



Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle xxx

Challenge #3 - Fantasy Crafters

Hi again! Where's September going? It seems that our year is whizzing by far too fast. My favourite season is nearing - Autumn with the occasional Indian Summer (although seems to be a full on heatwave right now - too hot for me and my health conditions sadly), then the multi coloured leaves, and crisp air - and of course Samhain, my favourite celebration, or Halloween as it's more commonly known. More on that note on a later date though.

For this month's Anything Goes (Fantasy) challenge over at Fantasy Crafters, the DT could use whatever image we liked - a nice change from choosing from sponsors images, although I do so love to do that too, and to help those digital stamp designers get their name out there. I chose a cute cherubic fairy tending to her flowers for mine - she was an image made available to us by Vixykins, our lovely blog host.

She was coloured in initially using Promarkers, but I added definition to the flowers and her hair and some shading with my Polychromos pencils. Here's a close up of her:

I used standard square 7x7" premade card in deep pink for the base, and added a pretty rose paper from my stash and matted it with some green glitter card and stuck it to the front. I fussy cut the fairy out and stuck her to the paper, along with the alpha letters from my stash. This card is going to be a birthday card for my niece, age will be added later.

It's a relatively simple card compared to my normal work, but I like its simplicity and wanted the fairy to take the show. Hope you like it too! Do comment and let me know what you think.

I'll be entering this card into the following challenges:

World Wide Open DT Challenge Blog #14 - AG

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle xxx

Challenge #108 - Through the Purple Haze

Hello again!

Well it's an honour to have the opportunity to work with Lisbeth and team Bubbles over at Through the Purple Haze. This is my very first DT project for the team and I enjoyed using one of Lacy Sunshine's digi stamps by Heather Valentin from her Kidz Street series - Brooklyn.

 

It's a colouring page but I shrunk it to fit a square card base and coloured it using my Polychromos pencils.

 Once coloured and burnished, I used clear Wink of Stella on the grafitti and on Brookln's lips and jewellery.

Here's a close up - as you can see I made sure she was grounded to the background by adding shadow to the floor and the wall behind her.

I used a 6x6" card base in pale orange as well as a 6x6" piece of orange paper from the BoBunny Carnival paper pack. This was cut to size to mat behind the coloured image. The leftover piece was used later on.

I have recently purchased some Brusho crystals and was excited to use them for the first time. I decided to try getting some splots and splashes reminiscent of an aerosol can/graffiti look on a piece of cardstock left over from cutting the image out. Next time I shall use watercolour paper as think it will give a better result, but I was really thrilled to sprinkle some of the crystals onto the paper and then spray with water and watch them burst into life. I cut this piece to size once dry and then cut the leftover piece of orange paper slightly larger as a mat. I then assembled the card with matting and layering each piece. I edged both the mats and the image and brusho card with Stazon black soot. To finish the card off, I used washi tape top and bottom of the brusho piece of card, a denim tag I found in my stash, and added a Tim Holtz rub-on I'd rubbed onto a spare piece of card and trimmed, edged with orange ink and stapled to the tag. This was attached at the top under the washi by a small staple.

I hope you enjoy seeing my latest project - and don't forget to pop over to Through the Purple Haze for Challenge #108 - theme: Rock It/Show Some Attitude.

I am entering this project into the following challenges:

Ikesworld Challenges - #71 Square card with Circle


Thanks for stopping by.

Michelle xxx

DT Favourite at Classic DT Open Challenge

Wow I'm so happy! I have had a project chosen again by the lovely team at Classic Design Team Open Challenge as a winner, this time Kristyn's DT Favourite - thank you Kristyn!

Top 3 - Craft Rocket Challenges #22

I made Top 3 over at Craft Rocket Challenges for challenge #22 - Things with Wings.

I entered this DT project from LOC #144.

Thank you to the team over at Craft Rocket Challenges for choosing my card for Top 3.

Top 3 Dark n Daring Challenge #4

I made Top 3 over at Dark n Daring Challenge #4 - Anything Goes.

I entered my August Fantasy Crafters DT project:

Thank you so much to the team over at Dark n Daring for choosing my card.

Michelle xxx

Feisty Ladies over at Left of Center

Hi again folks!!

Well it's that time agaiin, my fortnightly project over at Left of Center. This week's theme for our #146 Challenge is Feisty Ladies and our sponsor this week is Oddball Art Co Stamps by Lizzy Love.

 

I decided to use Creepy Cute Big Eyed Girl in Chains - DeeDee Image 265. She is indeed feisty wouldn't you agree?

I used Digi Paper Deisgns by Lozzy - The Paper Wall paper for the background, with strips of washi tape and some stickers from my stash to add some 'graffiti' aspect to it. I then printed out and coloured the big eyed girl with my Polychromos pencils and my Zest It blender. I used black and purple because it went with the look I was going for. Instead of using the chain image that comes with this gorgeous digi (it comes with a brick wall too), I used part of an old bracelet to attach her to the wall. The sentiment was also part of the digi set. I used Tim Holtz Distress Crayons in neutrals - brown and grey - to add colour and texture to the base of the wall and to add the shadow to the girl on the wall. I coloured up with Stazon black ink and used silver pen on two barbed wire corners from Things to Alter and added these to my art journal page top and bottom.

I hope you enjoy my latest make. Do come on over to Left of Center Challenge #146 - Feisty Ladies or go LOC as long as it fits the rules of our group. 

I will be entering the following challenges with this art journal page:

Dream in Darkness -September AG

Thanks for stopping by.

Michelle xxx