Macabre Monday RESUMES!

Ready to get your creep on? Wow, it was a much needed rest for the Minions at Haunted Design House after a hectic Halloween season, but I must say I've been missing the dark side. We're finally back with great new challenges and a brand spanking new Minion rattling around the Netherworld with us so be sure to give a huge welcome to Imp of Insanity Ike! We're sort of easing into creepiness that is pretty much guaranteed not to offend this week. LOL Our challenge is Got Goth? and I've chose to go the elegant route with black and lace, etc., inspired by the gorgeous image from our own Teri's Delicious Doodles called Dark Valentine.

Tell me she's not beautiful! That gorgeous shading is all in the digi, so all I had to do was fussy cut and color her lips blood red. She waits patiently at her window (the Decorative Window Scene Die from Heartfelt Creations) holding her perfect red rose. All of the other roses have withered and died but hope springs eternal, as does her undying love for the one she longs for. He calls her his angel, and so she is, the guardian of his heart, the keeper of his soul. Someday...

The lovely DP is from the Shades of Grey collection of digi papers from our own Susan's Crafty Chaos. (We're missing you luv, hope you're on the mend) The Minions are a talented bunch (all but me, I've nothing to sell, BooHoo!) so please check out the sidebar at HDH and have a look at the goodies. In order to get the depth I needed for the window, I had to use 3 layers of foam strips because Dark Valentine is popped as well. Thanks heaven I make my own with Fun Foam and transfer tape, or I'd be broke. The intricate lace across the edge is the Decorative Lace Border Die, another exclusive from Heartfelt Creations made by Spellbinders. This border is really wide so a portion of it was covered up but I think it may turn out to be a new fave for me. So there you have it. The first challenge of 2012 and one that I'm sure many of you will be dying to enter. Go have a look at the fab inspiration by the rest of the Minions and pop back on Wednesday when Creepy Glo posts (because she's special). I am also entering it in the Polka Doodles Through the Window Challenge which has been extended through Jan 8. (You've just GOT to take a look at the gorgeous examples by the DT there. Exquisite!)

PolkaDoodles Challenge -"Thank Ewe"

There's a new challenge blog called Polka Doodles that is very exciting and some of my dear friends are on the Design Team. You know me and sketches, but I really wanted to participate and when I saw this new printable background stamp "Thank" and darling little"ewe" from The Cutting Cafe I thought it might work for this challenge. I printed the background stamp on patterned paper and did the same for the ewe. I also printed her on white and colored her face and feet with my Copics and paper pieced her together. Then I tried to pretty much follow the sketch using my Nesties, Prima flowers and Sizzix die cut fence. The flower brads are from Queen and Co. This fun background is one of four new sets from The Cutting Cafe. These backgrounds cover a full 7 1/2 by 8 3/4 inches and the accompanying stamps comes in 2 sizes so you can imagine how versatile they will be. Thank EWE, Regina!