Ron's Howler

My son, Seth, and I made these Howlers to thank fellow LTCers for voting on Seth's model in the Lego Harry Potter contest. Although Seth did not make it into the top 4, we sure do appreciate the votes his model got.

Charmed by a Snake

This LTC was made for Lovebirds-NC's All Lacquered Up swap. What a fun swap it was! Each participant chose a nail polish color and made a card based on the color. I chose Charmed by a Snake by Opi. This image is by Roy Lichtenstein.

The lime green around the edges is acryllic paint with clear crackle paint on top. I also rubbed some lime green glitter on top. The image is painted with Inkabilities rainbow inks dropped into about 1/2 ounce of water. It really like the vivid colors these inks yeild.

I finally carved it!

This image (Stars by M.C. Escher) has been taunting me for years, so when Beetle listed the Great Works of Art swap, I saw my chance. I'm not completely satisfied with this carve. As usual, I took out too much, but I'm relieved that I finally carved this image.

Designing the card was a whole lot more trouble than the carve. I originally made a flashy background for this card that I loved, but I just couldn't make the stamp fit in. I sought the advice of a few more LTCers when I went to Oregon, and Camp Fire Lady pointed me in the right direction. She said that I needed to highlight the image and tone down the background. I knew she was right. (Thanks CFL!)

When I saw some Smooch Metallic Paints on sale at Michael's, I bought several. I used them on the central image, and I'm super pleased with the result. (I also used Smooch Spritz on the background. It was also on sale at Michael's.) I embossed the edges, added a foundation, and finally added some gold beads to the edges.

I invested A LOT of time in these cards. I'm such a sloooooow painter.

We're All Mad Here

I made this card for the Things Esmerelda Taught Me swap. Esmerelda's Dragon card was my inspiration, and I tried to think like Es on this one.

Layer #0: I used black paper, edged with a gel pen.

Layer #1: I stamped the cat on white paper, painted the eyes with Twinkling H20s, outlined the eyes with a black pen, put epoxy stickers on the irises, embossed the pink in the corner, and painted the corner with Twinkling H20s.

Layer #2: I stamped the cat on green paper and embossed, painted the fur with turquoise, shimmering purple, and silver glitter paint, painted the nose and teeth, and cut out the eye holes and ear.

I think this is my best card. I really like it. Thank you, Esmerelda!

Lego LTC for Free!

One of my son's Lego models is in the top 50 in Lego's Harry Potter Building Challenge. If he gets enough votes to make it to the top 4, he will win a trip to Los Angeles for a build-off.

Seth and I will be working together on a Lego LTC. If you vote for Seth's model, please leave a note here, on my FaceBook, or via AQ-mail, and I'll make sure that you get one of these cards. Thank you so much for your support.

Go to www.harrypotter.lego.com, and click on "Contest." Vote for the model pictured here. You will be asked to sign up with Lego in order to vote.

Majora's Moon

I made this card for turtlegirl19's Legend of Zelda swap.

The boys and I are HUGE Link fans, so I just couldn't pass this swap up. The moon on Majora's Mask has always given me the creeps, so that's what I wanted to carve.

The moon was colored with oil pastels and chalks. The fairies (Tatl and Tael) were colored with Prismacolor pencils, and the sky was done with Twinkling H2Os. I used a Gallexy marker to make the fairy paths. That is my new tool for this card, and I really like it.

Bubble Bath

I just finished this card up for sweetdixie06's Every Girl's Gotta Have swap. I used black ink on Bristol paper. (I've been doing that too much lately.) I colored it in with chalks, put some glitter glue on the bubbles, rounded the edges with a punch, and edged the whole card in black. To finish up, I covered the cards in clear ink and embossed them with clear powder for a shiny, wet look.

I really wish I would have paid more attention to this image before carving. I think that the edge of the bathtub needs to come up about a centimeter. It looks like her head is resting on air like this. I'll have to pay more attention in the future.

Finally, I've never admitted this publically, but I have a problem with taking out too many details when I carve. I put them in initially, and end up carving them away one by one. This bubble bather's "towel" was supposed to be hair. I butchered it. Could you tell?

[I forgot to tell how I did the "wall paper." I just used a mask to cover up the bather, and watermarked a flowery stamp in the background. When you chalk over that, the flowers stand out in a darker shade.]

Survive

I don't mean to question Nikki McClure's title for this piece, but I think it should be called "Hope."

I fell in love with this image when I saw it, but I was afraid to carve it. It was a tough carve, but I'm pleased with the outcome. The sun is colored with Twinkling H2Os. It's really shimmery, but you can't see the shimmer in the scan.

This card was for Murray Herd's Nikki McClure swap.

God's Little Boy

I love this trio: Bristol Paper, Black Ink, and Cotman Watercolors

Salutations!

Embossed in purple, painted with some old liquid ink I bought many moons ago, highlighted in white gel pen, and Prisma Coloured in bright pink and orange. This one was quick and fun!

BTW, my first name is Charlotte.

My Edward

You probably can't tell by looking at it, but this is probably my most labor-intensive card to date. I'm not completely satisfied with the result, but he's okay. I do like those topaz eyes.

This card is for Miss Cheivous' Twilight swap. I used chalk, Prisma Colour pencils, oil pastels, Twinking H2Os, a blender pen, a gel pen, and acryllic paint. Whew! I'm not sure it was worth it.

Sea-Girl

This card is just like The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock, but the colors are different. I like these colors MUCH better.

Tangled Heart

Created for Four Waters' Zen Tangles swap, the background for this card is similar to the background for New England Neptune. See that post if you want to know how I made it.

This is the first card on which I've used wire and beads. Although I put a second back on the card, I don't like the way the outline of the wires can be seen on the back side of the card. How can I fix this problem?

Perfecto!

This card was created for One Forth's Mary Englebreit swap. Although I didn't carve the proof, this chef is cooking up a batch of grits. I made some of the grits buttered, and some are cheese.

The colors on this card are pretty vivid, but the scan is kind of dull. I colored this one with Prisma Colour pencils. After I colored the cards, I took a pom pom and rubbed the colored parts to make the colors smooth. I then set the whole thing by spraying on a clear coat.

New England Neptune

I love to collect seashells, but I've always been kind of afraid to carve them. I had A LOT of trouble deciding what to carve for my seashell swap, and I only decided on this shell about a week ago, after spending much time on another image. This is the Massachusetts state shell, New England Neptune.

My favorite part of this card is the background. It's made with crumpled tissue paper and a water/glue combination. I then used clear embossing powder to give it a watery look, and I edged it in opaque white.

The light blue background is also made with tissue paper, but I didn't crumple it this time. I painted the blue on top of the white, glittery tissue paper.

The stamp is two layers, and the string is embroidery thread.

Medusa

According to Greek legend, Medusa was a beautiful priestess in Athena's temple before she was cursed by Athena. With this in mind, I set out to find an image of a pretty Medusa.

Medusa is supposed to be looking over her right shoulder. I had to cut off half a centimeter or so from the bottom, and I think I messed up the way she was supposed to look a little.

The dark green is embossed, and the other colors are painted with acrylics. I finished the card off by embossing the edges gold.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

I read The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot when I was in the 11th grade, and I've been quoting it ever since.

When I signed up for Poodle Circus' poetry swap, I wanted to focus on lines 120-121.

"I grow old … I grow old …
I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled."

I couldn't find a good image, though, so I went with the last 3 lines of the poem instead.

"We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown."

Although I envisioned this sea-girl in greens and blues, I felt like I needed to remain true to the poem and make her seaweed red and brown.

I finally bought a container of UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel), and I used it on this card. You can't tell from the picture, but there's a thick, clear embossed layer covering this card. It really gives it an underwater feel.

The blue and red are watercolors. The pink was done with a Prismacolor pencil, and the sea-girl wears a pearl in the middle of her pendant.

Warhol's Mickey Mouse

I tried to think like Warhol on this one. I'm afraid that I failed, but I like this card nonetheless. :o)



This card is for SeattleBound's Andy Warhol swap.

Escher's Rippled Surface

I have had this stamp on my To Do List for a long time, and I finally carved it about a month ago. I had a heck of a time getting a good image with it, though. I even bought new stamp pads and everything. With the help of 3 Blind Mice, I've arrived at the conclusion that the iron-on method affects the way the rubber (PZ Orange) takes ink. It's not noticable at all when the stamp is negative, but when the stamp has lots of positive area, you can see the splotchiness. (I hope I have my positives and negatives straight there.) I've had it happen recently with 5 of my stamps, and I never had this problem before I started using the iron on method.

Our Lady of La Leche

I carved this stamp to plant at the Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine, FL. (If you're ever in St. Augustine, then you simply must visit this place.)

This image is embossed on vellum. I colored it in with markers and added the black border. I was trying to make the card look kind of like a stained glass window.

I only made 5 of these.