Midge; story behind the stamp

In keeping up with the "star" theme for the Stampotique Designer's Challenge (SDC131: Stars Take Two ) I have used Midge as the star standout on this tag.

Story behind the stamp.  Her name is not Midge, but she is Midge to Stampotique.  I love seeing her pop up on blogs, magazines, and in Stampotique Designer Challenges.  Midge is an adorable and a must have stamp.

Our "Midge" grew up in Tucson and was a childhood chum of a dear friend of mine.  Unfortunately, her real name was forgotten, but when I had isolated her from the original photograph she became "Midge." Her assertive little stance makes a perfect graphic image which lends itself to many possibilities.

In keeping with my resolution to reuse and repurpose I began with a discarded crayon resist background.   I lightened it up with Gelatos sticks and some glitz.  Also in my collage box I came across some aqua spattered paper. I stamped Midge accordingly with black Staz-on then clear embossed.
I took the line "You shine like a diamond" from the Rihanna song which has been replaying in my head.

When I work with children I observe that they frequently get frustrated with what they are working on and want to quit and start over.  I have always guided them into the rescue, working with a happy accident, and turning the art into something they can live with or even like.  I keep my teaching philosophy in mind and apply it in my own studio play.  It's fun to treasure hunt in a paper discard heap and try to make something out of a find.

 Midge should be in her early 70's about now.  I wish she could know how much we love her image and that truly, she shines like a diamond.

Treats

I’m not so sure my dogs like the Trader Joe’s natural dog treats nearly as much as I enjoy the packaging.

The lettering is too inspiring to toss in the recycle bin, so I used it as my inspiration for this gift card holder. Cas-ual Fridays put out a challenge to use ribbon as a tab or a loop. So here is my response, featuring the word “treats” from the Trader Joe’s dog treat box. Believe it or not, this was fast to put together. I created the card holder and made a pouch that was ¼" wider to accommodate the fold and the card. I extended the dimensions to create a side and bottom tab to glue the pouch closed. The pouch was decorated with Tim Holtz Distressed Ink in Milled Lavender, and scribbled with NeoArt water soluble wax crayons. I used Stampotique stamps; dots Medium checkerboard . The "inchies" are cropped from my Corie and Little Skull Boy images also Stampotique. I used a circle punch to allow the card to be pulled easily from the pouch. A piece of ribbon attached with a grommet. Pop in your gift card and you are all set for a spooky and sweet surprise!

Halloween Package Tag

Stampotique's Designer challenge by team member Kaz calls for a color challenge using black and white and a hint of color. This package tag perhaps has a little more than a hint but I thought I’d upload it anyway as it is fast and easy to put together.

Brush Pearlescent green and yellow chalks through a small sheet of sequin waste. Stamp Cooper and Skullboy with black dye ink. Stamp “Cubes in a row” with VersaColor sage – heat set. Stamp “Boo” over blocks (both Alphabets by Stampotique). Use a fine point permanent ink pen to embellish cubes.

Re-stamp Skullboy and Cooper on additional white cardstock. Carefully cut around bodies. Add shadows with watercolor or markers. Add clear glitter.
Crop and mount on black card stock. Add grommets and ribbon.