Halloween Card with a Twist!

Today the sweet Friends of SCACD group and the SCACD DT are showcasing digital Fall images ~ some come with a twist as they are not necessarily images you'd think of for use on Fall projects.  If you would like to see all of the folks sharing their Fall inspiration today, not to mention a shot at some yummy blog candy, head on over to the SCACD Store Blog for details.  Susana's also offering a sweet FREE digi image thru 10-5 so be sure to check it out!! 

My project is one of the ones that comes with a twist....  I thought it would be fun to use this image...Winter Friends and turn her into a witch!

and here's what I came up with....

WHAT I DID: 

I knew I wanted to make her in layers because it just screams dimension to me so I printed out 3 copies of the same image. I am using my Spectrum Noir Colored Pencils and baby oil to color the main image...I'll be using PanPastels for the background.

NOTE:  You wouldn't necessarily have to print out three but I am a messy color-er so I wanted to make sure I had enough just in case.  If you do print multiples and find you don't need them all well then that's just an opportunity to make another project!  

So for the first copy I started off coloring the wings...  I added a lighter shade of grey for the center of the feathers and almost black around the edges.

Next I used a medium shade in between the two...

And then I blended it all together using baby oil on a make up style Q-tip (the kind with a pointy end).  You can see in the photo below the left side has been blended while the right side has only been colored.  It really does make a huge difference in the finished look don't you think?  You can also see that I color outside of the lines which is why I use multiple copies ;)

Once I had blended both sides I then added another outline with my black colored pencil to really make the feathers pop.  

NOTE: I read a blog somewhere once that said you couldn't add more color to an image once you blended with baby oil...  I decided to give it a try ~ I WAS able to add more color after blending!!  I don't know if this is due to the colored pencils that person was using or if the Specturm Noir Colored Pencils have a different blend allowing me to add more color but it worked for me so maybe it will work for you too.  

Next I went to work on turning the "winter girl" into a Fall time witch!  I started off by coloring the girl with a couple shades of green and blending with the oil.

I did the same with her cape and outfit using purples....

I finished her off by adding a bit of color to her belt (orange), lips and shoes.  I added a tiny dot of Crystal Lacquer to her eyes and lips to give them a bit of dimension and shine.

I cut all of the pieces out and test fit to make sure it all went back together as it should.  I embellished her collar and ruffles with a touch of black Stickles glitter glue and set her aside to dry.

I trimmed the branch she was sitting on from the third image and colored/blended.

For the background I wanted to make a spooky sky and a shimmery moon so I cut a nice sized circle from a piece of cardstock.  Don't discard either piece as these will be used as masks for applying the PanPastels.

I positioned the circle where desired and began applying various shades of purples to the cardstock using one of the medium sized Softt sponges.   I just worked the pastels until I was satisfied with how it looked.

I removed the circle and then positioned the piece of cardstock that I cut the circle die-cut from over the area that I hadn't colored yet.  Of course I got a few smudges on my moon but the great thing about PanPastels is they can be easily erased until they have been set with a fixative.

I used metallic PanPastels for the moon...I started off with silver then applied pewter to create the look of texture on the moon.   I then used a dark blue color and one of the handles to add some sketchy - spooky clouds here and there.  Once I was satisfied with the spook factor I sprayed the background with hair spray to set the pastels.

I then pieced the Winter Friends back together onto the night sky. Some pieces I glued directly onto the background while others I used a bit of foam tape to pop them off the background to add dimension.

I'm really please with how my little witch turned out

and I hope it's inspired you to think out of the box when looking at your stamps...

both digital and rubber.

Happy October!!