Wednesday 29 October 2014

Bloody Mary!

Today the Lady Commander of Copics and I had accepted a quest from a mysterious cloaked fellow who was hanging out in the Inked Cricket tavern. Although a seemingly simple fetch quest, the reward was surprisingly profitable. Consequently my sister and I soon found ourselves, witch-lights in hand, exploring the dilapidated remains of the mansion on Sangre Hill. As we searched the dark rooms for the quest item, our anxiety grew. Soon we could hear whispers coming from the walls. Rounding the corner, I stopped short, Angela bumping into my back. I raised my witch-light to illuminate the wall in front of me: Bloody Mary was spelt out in sticky red blood.      


This week the theme at Wicked Wednesday is “Things That Go Bump in the Night.” Make an ATC that goes with this theme for a chance to win a prize from our sponsor, Smeared Ink!

I started this ATC by making the background using Distress Inks and lots of water. I then coloured the Smeared Ink image using Prismacolor pencils. The words I stamped using the Lawn Fawn “Milo’s ABCs” set. Before adhering it onto the black mat, I decided to add some shiny red brads, earning me +90 accessorizing XP points.

This ATC will be entered into the following challenges:

Before a scream could escape my lips a translucent naked woman came through the wall, arms outstretched. Terror surged through my body and I could feel the Lady Commander tense up behind me. The naked apparition opened her mouth, blood dripping out, as she emitted an ear splitting shriek. My hands shaking, I quickly reached for an escape potion at my belt, smashing the bottle at our feet. We were instantly transported to the bottom of Sangre Hill and wordlessly mounted our horses and galloped towards the Guild Hall. No reward was worth that.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~ 

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Level Up: Another Class Change!

Salutations, traveller. Today I have gained a new class, joining the Wicked Wednesday Guild. I shall be assisting them in some light crafting and perhaps some mischievous spell casting. As I had now gone up enough levels to gain the ATC Crafter class, I was able to equip some sweet new gear and hold another accessory.  

This week the theme at Wicked Wednesday is “Day of the Dead.” Make an ATC that goes with this theme for a chance to win a prize from our sponsor, Aurora Wings!

I started this ATC by colouring the Aurora Wings image using Distress Markers and my Hydrabrush of +50 wetness. I stamped and heat embossed the swirly image using the Inkadinkado “Decorative Corners” set and then coloured the background using Distress Inks. Last I stamped the sentiment using the Mark’s Finest Papers “Be Wild & Free” set.

This ATC will be entered into the following challenges:

In my new accessory slot, I equipped a skull that increased the damage done by my dark magic spells. When the Lady Commander of Copics saw my new getup, she shuddered at the dark mist that had formed at my feet.
“Is that going to follow you around now that you have that skull equipped?” she asked. “If so, it’s going to become a safety hazard as it makes it rather hard to see.”
As the room filled with the gloomy haze and my sister became more obscure, I could see she had a point. We compromised, and I promised to unequipped the evil skull whilst inside the Guild Hall. I could hardly wait to try it out in a fight though!

~ Guild Master Crystal ~ 

Monday 20 October 2014

Winter Will Bee Here Beefore We Know It

Today the Lady Commander of Copics and Guardian of Glitter went to Hexagonal Farm to assist in harvesting the honey from the winter bees. I wanted no part in being around the flying death machines, so stayed at the Guild Hall and worked on crafting some new spells. 

This card was created for the Creative Card Crew “Bows” challenge that is happening now. Make a project, include a bow on it and you’re in the draw for a chance to win a prize from our sponsors!
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I started this card by colouring the Lacy Sunshine “Winter Honey Bees Buggmees” image using Prismacolor pencils. I went around the edges with Distress Ink and then added some snowflakes using the Lawn Fawn “Winter in the Park” set. 
I added some Ice Stickles to her ear-muffs, crown, and boots, earning me +444 sparkly XP points. I cut the hexagons out using the Artbooking cartridge and then used a coordinating Close To My Heart set to stamp all the hexagon patterns. The sentiment was stamped using the Lawn Fawn “Gnome Sweet Gnome” and “Winter Penguin” sets. The little bee was stamped with the Unity “Bee Happy Hexagons” set.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment using the My Pink Stamper “Christmas Wishes” set, the ampersand from the Lawn Fawn “Smitty’s ABCs” set, and the sentiment from the Kraftin’ Kimmie “Noel” set. More hexagons were added from the CTMH set. Last I stamped an adorable bee using the Lawn Fawn “Gnome Sweet Gnome” set and the flight trail from the Unity “Bee Happy Hexagons” set.

More hexagons from the CTMH set were stamped on the envelope to tie everything together.

This card will buzz into the following  challenges:
CHNC Challenge #199: Use Something Forgotten or Never Used (never used those CTMH hexagon stamps before)

Although I have an unnaturally strong fear of bees, I do enjoy their sweet honey and was happy to partake in some when the Lady Commander and Guardian of Glitter returned laden with the sticky stuff. Honey harvested from winter bees has a icy cool sensation as the silver, sweet spread hits your tongue, and I hungrily smeared it over several pieces of toast to enjoy. Hopefully Bee Atrice, the lady of Hexagonal Farms, would not see my absence from the harvest as a slight and continue to send us more of the sparkling delicacy.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Sunday 19 October 2014

Battle Under an Indigo Sky

Today the Lady Commander of Copics and I went hunting in the Whispering Woods, hoping to gather a sufficient amount of arcane spider venom to create some more antidote potions. We had barely begun to slay the deadly spiders, our armour stained with their stinking navy blood, when Lady Audrey appeared. The mistress of the Whispering Woods did not look pleased to see my sister and I there, killing her pet spiders.

Here is another page from my The Octopode Factory themed desk calendar. You can see January - March,  April , May - July, and August & September already. For the October page I coloured the background with Distress Inks and then stamped a spooky looking tree using the Unity “With Sympathy” set. It felt weird to use a stamp from a sympathy set on a Halloween themed calendar page. Oh well. I then stamped and coloured (using my usual Prismacolor pencils) the Octopode Factory “Lady Audrey” image. These stamps are so much easier to use now that I’ve mounted them all using EZmount foam, thusly earning me +55 crisp XP points. 
  
This calendar page will creep into the following challenges:

Before I could even roll a charisma check to try and talk our way out of there, Lady Audrey wordlessly cast a banishing spell, sending the Lady Commander and I back to the entrance of the woods.
“Well...I suppose it’s better than being killed,” Angela quipped.
We decided to head back to the Guild Hall and return equipped with our stealth gear and spells to evade Lady Audrey. We needed that valuable venom!

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 13 October 2014

The Pink Wind Howls

Salutations, crafty traveller. Thank you for stopping by the Guild Hall this fine day. The Lady Commander of Copics and I have just returned from a quick trip up to the northern region of Cotton Candy Fields. This time of year, the pink fields are covered in a soft blanket of sparkling snow and the snowfolk have already started to appear. Braving the bitterly cold winds, we collected some samples of the pink tinged snow to take back to the Guild Hall and use in some new ice elemental spells we were developing. 

This is the third card in my Lawn Fawn postcard Christmas card set. You can espy the first two here and here. As with the previous two I started by stamping the postcard using the Lawn Fawn “You’ve Got Mail” set. The snowmen and their clothing, from the Lawn Fawn “Making Frosty Friends” set, was stamped onto watercolor paper and watercolored with Distress Markers and my Hydra Brush of +70 wetness, keeping the colours similar to the postage stamp sticker. I then die cut the snowmen and their accessories out before adhering them together. The sentiment, which fits perfectly on the lines of the postcard, was stamped using the Lawn Fawn “Winter Fox” set. I added a postmark using the Kaisercraft "Twig & Berry Postmarks" set. Some sparkly twine and a blingy snowflake finished the front off.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment using The Greeting Farm’s “Sparkling Season” set, keeping with the snowy theme and earning +402 chilly XP points.

The outside was stamped with the postage line things (I'm really not sure what they're called) from the Lawn Fawn “You’ve Got Mail” set and again with the “Twig & Berry Postmarks” set.

This card will keep it cool in the following challenges:

Our short jaunt to the frigid snow covered Cotton Candy Fields in the north also served as a bitter reminder that winter was indeed coming. As such, the Lady Commander and I put aside our spell creation project and spent the remainder of the day preparing the Guild Hall grounds for the harsh winter ahead.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~

Monday 6 October 2014

A Sciencey Solution

A couple weeks ago, I acquired an enchanted embellishment from the Pre Winter Festival Fair. Since then I have been working tirelessly to no avail to figure out its power. After toiling for a fortnight in the crafting chambers, the Lady Commander of Copics suggested we take the bespelled bauble to Keapon Laffin’s lab and see if he could break the spell using his science.

This bookmark was created for the Creative Card Crew “Black Cardstock” challenge that is happening now. Break out your black cardstock and make a project for your chance to win a prize from our sponsor!
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I started this by colouring the Delicious Doodles “Halloweenie Crazy Chemist” image using Prismacolor pencils. The frame he comes with was simply too intricate for me to colour with my pencils (which I am unable to sharpen back to a sharp point...anyone with tips on what sharpener they use for this, please leave a comment; I still haven’t completed that quest), so I cut him out.

The background I stamped with the Lawn Fawn “Science of Love” and heat embossed it with some pearl heat embossing powder. I then coloured the beakers and tubes in (using Prismacolors) with the same colour liquid as the crazy scientist was holding. The sentiment I printed off on my computer and cut out. I first saw this sentiment when I was shopping on ThinkGeek and it makes me laugh every time I hear it, which also netted me +101 hilarious XP points. Last I added some red, orange and black twine to make it all matchy-match.

This bookmark will make a chemical reaction in the following challenges:

Watching the crazed scientist work, the Lady Commander and I found ourselves taking cover as explosions of colours and powders shook his lab. In the end, Keapon Laffin’s scientific experiments could not unravel the mystery of the new shiny. Dejected, my sister and I went back to the Guild Hall, deciding to shelve that task for another day.

~ Guild Master Crystal ~