Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....(LTC #132)

The Art of Christmas Swap

First Snow (LTC #132)

The Card:

I LOVE Christmas. I've always wanted to make a card, but I'm always way to busy in December. I broke down and joined this swap though so I decided to do something elegant and simple. I thought of some of my favorite things about Christmas and I have to admit I really delight in the first snow. I love the slightly chilly air, the crisp clean smell and the way the flakes look as they fall. It's my favorite time to take a stroll and then come back to a cup of hot chocolate. So that was my theme....the delightful pleasure of the first snowfall at Christmas.

Making The Card:

I stamped the image on cardboard card stock and layered white tissue paper at the bottom to create the snow. I layered on red and light brown christmas paper and then used pearl accents to create the illusion of snow falling. I stuck with two colors for the card so that the color wouldn't distract from the snow. I colored her winter coat, hat, mittens and tights in holly red and then accented the jacket with a white paint marker. This is definitely a bit different from my normal style. I kept it simple to give it that old fashioned feel!

                                                                      White Christmas

Just Stamp It!...(LTC #131)

Just The Stamp Swap

Birds Of A Feather (LTC #131)

This was for a swap listed by Lava Girl. We have both been doing LTC's for about 6 years now. When we started a good majority of the cards were completely stamp based. Amazing carves set on a single piece of paper. We have seen an evolution in the styling and set up of LTC's. Now there are embellishments and tons of layers and hand painted cards with mixed media. Not to say that those things didn't exist 6 years ago, but there were very few people doing them. She wanted to challenge us to focus on our carve for this swap. No coloring, no embellishing, no layering (kind of broke that rule). From the beginning of my start in cards I have been all about color and layers so I joined to challenge myself and to see some amazing carves by other people. 

Making The Card:

I picked some hand made paper that I had been playing around with for a different swap. It was made with Ranger Alcohol Inks, stencils and Dylusions ink sprays. From there I simply stamped my image. I chose a peacock because I figured that if I stamped it on colorful paper I would be less tempted to color it. The image I carved was somewhat smaller then LTC sized so in the end I did put a backing paper on it. I stuck with just black hoping that sticking with a solid color would make me a tiny bit less of a rule breaker.

This really was a hard swap for me. I carved 3 different images before I was able to find one that I could just "stamp" and walk away. I'm not sure I could have done this swap with anything other than a peacock. I'm going to have to try this again in the future just to push my own boundaries.

98 Percent Human, 2 Percent Bird....(LTC #130)

An extra card made just for fun

The Angel Experiment (LTC #130)

The Card:

I joined a faerie swap listed by Linden Leaf. Two weeks after sending the cards out they were returned to me minus the postage. I felt so bad for holding up the swap that I grabbed an old carve I had sitting around and made a bonus card to send. Years ago while I was working in insurance I used to listen to audiobooks all day long. after listening to the first few Maximum Ride Books by James Patterson, I carved two images that reminded me of the main character. It was a fun set of books and carves. The first book in the series was titled "The Angel Experiment". 

Making The Card:
Since this was a quickie card I used only materials I had on hand. First, I covered white paper in black distress ink and then stamped the image with black Versafine Ink. I then colored the image first with copic markers and then enhanced the wings with chalk. Finally I sprayed the entire card with a shimmer mist and looked for a backing paper that would compliment the image.

Book Teaser:
WELCOME TO MY NIGHTMARE.
Do not put this book down. I'm dead serious - your life could depend on it. I'm risking everything by telling you - but you need to know...

There are strange things done in the midnight sun....(LTC #129)

Oh Captain, My Captain Swap

Sam McGee (LTC #129)

The Card:

Growing up in Alaska there are some books all kids read in school as a right of passage. The authors Jack London and Robert Service are a given.

I had to memorize "The Cremation Of Sam McGee" in sixth grade. Reading it now it seems quite morbid for grade school, but we all loved it just the same.

Making The Card:

 I've wanted to make a card for this poem for a very long time but have never found an image that fit it perfectly enough. I originally carved this image for Just The Stamp swap but after finishing it I just really felt it needed a backing and then it seemed like it would make a good burnt card. After playing around with fire for a bit I was reminded of this poem. I added the poem to one card just for fun and then decided I finally had my Sam McGee. Thank you Lava Girl for adding a swap for me upon seeing my card! 

The Poem:

I was going to post the poem here but when looking for it I found a link to You Tube with the one and only Man In Black Johnny Cash reading it... 

Alaskan Midnight Sun

Unconditionally....(LTC #128)

White, No White Layered Paper Swap

Fire & Ice (LTC # 128)

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

The Card:

Believe it or not I am one of the few people on the planet that has not seen Frozen. My son told me that his cousins tortured him to within an inch of his sanity watching it over and over again so I have not extended that torture by putting it on my television as of yet. However I absolutely loved this image when I saw it and I knew enough of the storyline and themes to know I wanted to try this card. Unconditional love is a topic you can never go wrong with....

Making the Card:

This was a fabulous challenge swap listed by Sharkboy and Lava Girl. The only rules were that you had to start off with white paper and have no white left in the end. I always do layers so for the back layer I covered white card stock in black Distress Ink. The top layer I first covered in alcohol inks and then stamped my image in archival ink. From there I painted in the image with distress stains, chalks, and oil pastels. I sealed the coloring with a spray fixative and then lathered the card in gLossy mod. All in all I am pleased with the outcome of the card with the minor exception that I could not get her hair to hold the white. I tried a number of techniques to no avail. So I remind myself that art is subjective and does not have to be perfect and slipped Anna and Elsa into sleeves.l in all I like the outcome of the card. 

Celestial Wings....(LTC #127)

Faeries Swap

LTC # 127 Ethereal

"She explained that sometimes the part of us with wings battles with our earthbound selves.."

~Monique Duval

Adjective:
(comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)
1.Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly; as, ethereal space; ethereal regions.
2.Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
3.Delicate, light and airy.

Origin

From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, or the air or upper air; ethereal”), from Ancient Greek αἰθέριος (aitherios, “of or pertaining to the upper air; ethereal”).  

I carved this Faerie approximately 4 years ago. I originally carved it for an Earth Day swap but never did get to finish it. When this swap popped up I decided it was time to dust her off and see what I could do with her. I did quite a few prototypes and never managed to make one I loved. This one was as close as I could get to giving it an ethereal and cosmic feel. I wanted to create a nebular and celestial feel around her. I used Dyan Reavely sprays, Distress Inks, Copic Markers and Glossy Accents in the creation.

I also carved the quote  listed above and used it in the creation of this card. I was unable to fit it in a legible way on the front so I stamped it all around the faerie. I love quotes by Monique Duvall and previously used one for my card She. This was another in a long list of her words that I love, I used it as inspiration for the card.

My humble beginning.....A carving perspective

First Ever Carve

My First EVER carve

      I've noticed over and over on the AQ boards that people worry about their level of talent. First off I like to point out that Art is Subjective. What one person considers talent another person may hate and what one person thinks is juvenile another may see as a masterpiece. Many of the most famous artists were not admired or coveted until long after they left this earth. Some people like perfect art where as others prefer contemporary. I myself love all levels of art. My favorite painters are Rothko, Degas and Lichtenstein. They really do not have s ingle thing in common other than you can see their work in museums. I love the colors that Degas was drawn to, the blues and greens captivate me. I love the comic book fun that Lichtenstein brought to life in his work. I even carved three of his pieces and made cards from them. Last but never least in my book is Rothko...He painted colored rectangles. When I first saw his work I was almost appalled that he had ever become famous, but after spending more and more time looking at his stuff it took on an ethereal feel to me. I absolutely love his work. My 8 year old son can probably come close to imitating it...point being...Art is subjective. There is room for all levels and types of talent. 

    Anyways, I recently ran across my first ever carve. I decided to share it with the masses in hopes that it will inspire anyone who thinks they can't carve to NEVER quit. I started off with Pink Stuff, a pencil and a #5 nib. The picture above was the result. It took me years to become the carver that I am now. Everyone starts somewhere and if I had never managed to carve better than that heart I would hope that even that stamp would have given someone out there joy. Its the effort and heart you put into your work that matters...and mine is full of it. I truly hope I bring people joy. and if even one person looks at my work and feels the way I do about Rothko then I have accomplished more than I could ever hope!

The Thing Monsters Have Nightmares About... (LTC #125)

Whedonverse Swap

The Chosen One (LTC #125)

     I loved Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It was truly a guilty pleasure show for me. Joss Whedon is a ridiculously talented creator. I had this image lying in wait for a Whedonverse swap to pop up. A big thank you to Aiphid who lists the best swaps! I made the paper for this swap and then just couldn't resist putting the card in the little wood like paper bags I had laying around. I wasn't sure when they would ever come in handy, but sometimes all the elements just happen to be laying around and it was perfect for this. I carved a nice wooden stake for the outside of the bags and really enjoyed the end result. I wanted a quote for the back of the card because there were so many ridiculously awful and good lines in the show. This is not the one I chose but it seems fitting to add it to the blog simply for its beauty...

 Passion…it lies in all of us. Sleeping, waiting, and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir, open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us, guides us… passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments; the joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we’d truly know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank… without passion, we’d truly be dead.

Angelus

And how about a few more just for fun...

Don’t be ridiculous. Martha Stewart isn’t a demon. She’s a witch. Nobody could do that much decoupage without calling on the powers of darkness.
Anya
The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live.
Buffy
[On humans] I guess I just realized how amazingly screwed up they all are. I mean, really, really screwed up, in a monumental fashion. And they have no purpose that unites them so they just drift around, blundering through life until they die… which they… they know is coming, yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They’re incapable of thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, which is clearly insane. And yet, here’s the thing – when it’s something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they’re lame morons for fighting, but they do. They never… never quit. So I guess I will keep fighting too.
Anya

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (LTC #124)

Paint Chip Inspired Swap 

龙'血 Dragon's Blood (LTC #124)

     I used this carve for the Paint Chip Inspired swap. I had carved this image simply to see if I could. The moment I saw it I fell in love. I tried a number of times to make it into a card but never could quite find something I liked. Then my lovely friend The Dye Sue listed the paint chip inspired swap. So I went to Home Depot and Lowe's to peruse names. Low and behold there was a paint chip called Dargon's Blood by Bejamin Moore & Co. I immediately knew I would attempt to make this card again! After many hours and lots of advice I managed to put a card together that I truly love. I used the red paint chip as a layer on the card and sprayed it with a fine glittery mist before I painted over the entire thing with mod podge. Before I carved the Chinese characters for Dragon's Blood I had a huge void in the upper left corner. I had originally ordered a wax stamp press to add a wax dragon to the card. Once it arrived it looked truly terrible when I added it. However after spending money on something like that solely for use on a card I had to find a way to use it. Voila, the card gets delivered in a wax sealed bag! I LOVE this card. It came together better than I imagined after only half a million failures!

A Simple Girl From Simple Means....(LTC # 123)

Mod Swap

10 Cent Pistol (LTC # 123)

I love Aiphid's Mod swaps. They give me a chance to just carve and play with an image I've been dying to do. This time I picked The Black Keys as my subject. They are an Indie rock group with a hint of blues and soul. I carved an image of a concert poster of theirs that I love (I'm a pool hall chick myself), named it after one of their popular songs and am including the lyrics to one of their songs that the poster reminds me of.

                                                       "Girl Is On My Mind"

Girl is on my mind,
Girl is on my mind,
Try to ignore it,
I try to unwind,
But she is on my mind,

Eyes are in my eyes,
Eyes are in my eyes,
Where I've been,
How time flies,
When she is in my eyes,

See her standin' there,
See her standin' there,
She's gentle now and she,
Takes great care,
See her standin' there,

Hold me close to you,
Hold me close to you,
Not one thing that I,
Would not do if you,
Would hold me close to you, alright,
Yeah!

Girl is on my mind,
She is on my mind,
Try to ignore it,
Try to unwind,
But she is on my mind,
Ooh-ooh~ooh,
Ooh~yeah,
Ooh~ooh~ooh-ooh-ooh,
Ooh~ooh~oh~yeah~ooh.

This card took me two days. One to carve and the other full day to put together. I loved this image so much that I really wanted to do it right. I started off laying out all of the supplies I planned on using. Then I narrowed down the base paper from 4 different papers and started layering on 5 layers of distress inks to the paper to give it the smoky pool hall feel I was after. Then I stamped it, inked the edges of the base and pulled out some copic markers and distress markers. I used the distress for her dress, the couch, and the blue jeans. I wanted the blue jeans to have a washed out feel and the only was to do that was with the distress markers. I then added some brighter accents with colic markers, including making the beer bottles green to give it an authentic bar feel. As the final steps got closer I held the colored version up against six different background papers. I settled on a plain maroon one with no designs. Although my patterned papers are always fun to work with I really didn't want to draw attention away from the carve on this one. To finish, I glued the cards to the background paper and layered on the Mod Podge. Thank you Aiphid for another swap that allowed me to produce a card that screams Seattle Bound.

Supplies laid out....

Base papers to choose from...

Base paper winner

Base paper layered with 5 distress inks...

Background paper choices...

Finally time to stamp...

The pile waiting for colors....

My hand is killing me...

And I still have to do the backs...

Voila! A Mini Black Keys Poster!!!!

Time for Bed!!!!!!!!

                                                        Ten Cent Pistol Live!

In the Shadows...(LTC #121)

Bloodless Halloween Swap

Chat Noir (LTC #121)

     As much as I love carving the macabre this image and card was just fun. Perfect for this swap and a nice welcome to the Halloween season. There's nothing quite so spooky as a black cat and it's shadow in a room with the jumping light of a fire. Happy candy and ghost season! Thanks for hosting this swap Mary!

Paint the Town Red (LTC #119)

PinUp Babes Swap

Mamma, Mia! (LTC # 119)

       When I was a child I used to love sitting in the bathroom watching my mother get ready for a night on the town. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and I couldn't wait to wear that same shade of red lipstick. Now the world has come full circle and my son loves to sit on the side of the tub and watch me get ready (fully dressed) for date nights. 

      There's something that's very sexy about a confident woman standing in front of a mirror doing her make-up, getting ready to.....paint the town red!

Something Wicked This Way Comes (LTC #118)

Halloween 2014 Swap

Lurking (LTC #118)

Made for the Halloween 2014 swap. I struggled and struggled and struggled with this card. I'm not sure I like the outcome as much as the original artwork. It's by a man named John Kenn Mortenson. He is a father of twins and full time children's show television director. In his spare time he likes to draw monster pictures on post-its. It's a very cool collection of images. http://johnkenn.blogspot.com

Ave Maria & The Corpse (LTC #117)

Movie Monsters Swap

She's alive, Alive! (LTC #117)

I had been holding onto this image for awhile just waiting for the right moment to carve it. I saw this swap and finally had a reason. The Bride of Frankenstein was a "Grand Collaboration" so while Miss C was here I asked her to help me put it together. Tada~ She's ALIVE!

Made with special Guest Star....Miss C.

The acting is SOOOO terrifyingly bad...lol

Industrial Beauty (LTC #116)

The Past Meets The Future Swap

Lady Time (LTC #116)

I carved a number of images for this swap. For some reason steampunk just seems to be my kryptonite. I was listening to music during my last carve and inspiration struck. I think that the song I was listening to was very fitting. I never know where inspiration will come from, this time I have to thank Bette Midler as my muse. Here is Lady Time's theme song:

                                                           "Oh Industry"

I am the captain and this is my shrine.
Lady of the manor. See what I leave behind.
River in flames, cities on fire.
Yes, I'm a relic trapped in the wire.

Hydrogen fuel, it burns so clean,
throbs in the veins; a mother lovin' machine.
Time is my wife. Coursing through my mechanical heart
constantly serving 'til death do us part.

Now a glorious war draws to a close.
The yellow winds blow. And I have to know.
Oh industry, whatever will become of me?
Soon the cruel rains will start.
Is it true we must part company?
Oh industry, whatever will become of me?
What have I ever done?
Where did I go wrong?

Joined at the hip; pain, hunger and I,
leave our gift to the world 'neath the phosphorous sky.
A labor of love is the truest of all.
But will I be forsaken after the fall?

Now a glorious war draws to a close.
The yellow winds blow. And I have to know.
Oh industry, whatever will become of me?
Nothing after the flood but the fire and the mud's prophecy.
Oh industry, whatever will become of me?
Of me?

                                           "Oh Industry" Clip from the Movie "Beaches"
                                                                  feat: Bette Midler

Hail, Caesar! (LTC #116)

Letterboxing At The Zoo: Animals in The Movies Swap

Hail, Caesar! (LTC #116)

    I took an awesome class in college called Human Nature: Psychology in The Movies. I not only got to watch quite a few amazing movies but in many cases I read the books that inspired them to made in the first place. At the end of the semester we had to write an extensive paper based upon one of the movies and theorize what that movie could tell you about the writer or director and their personality. we studied. I suggested that we actually send the papers to the people we wrote them about. The class opted out of that idea thinking that maybe people like Maurice Sendak or Pierre Boulle may not want to know exactly what their work suggested about their psychological state.

Schuyler's Remains

Schuyler"s Remains (LTC #114)

I carved this image just for fun as a stress reliever. When I finished it I sent a picture of it to SandD and Miss Chievousness. SandD promptly asked me to make a card out of it and send her two. This piqued my interest so I asked why and got this story....

A few weeks ago Shawna was asked to bunny sit for a teenager that she knows. If you know Shawna yo also know she is the sweetest woman alive and would do anything for anyone. She quickly realized she was in for quite the task when she walked into 23 bunnies versus one. She had to clean up after them, water them and feed them. Shawna is also a very blunt person, and she decided that this family needed to learn a little bit more about raising a harem of bunnies. While they were on their vacation she started to text them bunny trivia before she would feed them. After they did a little research to answer her questions there will be a few changes in the house of bunnies. Need less to say this was a fabulous story and to top it off when the family returned "Schuyler" would talk so much about her rabbits that one day Shawna tole her that when she died her skull would probably resemble a rabbits. Shortly thereafter I happened to text her the picture of this carve. A card was born........

For Schuyler and her nest of bunnies.

All I Can Taste Is This Moment....(LTC #113)

You Rock! Swap

Iris (LTC #113)

Red Rocks Amphitheater may be one of the most amazing places ever to watch a concert! I miss so much about Colorado but one of the things I miss most are the music venues. I chose this image because it was a poster for Red Rocks, and because it reminded me of one of my favorite songs by this group. I then mounted it to paper that reminded me of the smaller venues in Colorado such as The Bluebird,  and the Filmore. It just screams wallpaper for one of those funky yet amazing little theaters. 

Iris...Live at Red Rocks...

Red Rocks Amphitheater Morrison, Colorado

I've seen many concerts there, even been backstage once. There is nothing like watching a Colorado Sunset and millions of fans from the stage of this natural amphitheater!

Under The Gotham Moon...(LTC #112)

Whatever swap

Love Will Tear Us Apart (LTC #112)

"It's hard to resist a bad boy who's a good man".

Its always fun to do a carve just because. Then every once in awhile a swap comes a long at just the right time. Heres to the perfectly timed and whatever swaps!

Once again I carved a stamp to compliment the back of the card. I love my signature stamp but I also love carving something a little extra for the backs of my cards now and then.

Fun Fact: Sometimes there are extra little details to my cards that few notice. Les Miserables: Fantine was stamped on paper with French writing on it and this card is stamped on paper with images of super heroes on it. On some of the cards you can see some of the comic book art in Wonder Womans face.

Easy, We're just having a little fun....(LTC #111)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Swap

You Be Thelma, I'll Be Louise (LTC #111) Aug 2014

A friend will help you up if someone knocks you down. A Best Friend says "Stay down, I got this"! 

An homage to Thelma and Louise just seemed like the perfect card to do for this swap. Thank you Miss C and SandD for looking at my many variations and helping me to release this card into the universe.

She's Morphine, Queen of My Vaccine...(LTC #110)

Rock/Alternative Swap

Breezeblocks (LTC # 110)

I absolutely love to join song swaps. I love music as much as I love letterboxing so whenever I can combine the two I get excited. The last card I had made before this was the wild things card. This particular alternative song by AltJ has some of the words from that book intertwined in it. So I set out to find an image.

Please don't go, please don't go
I love you so, I love you so
Please don't go, please don't go
I love you so, I love you so
Please break my heart, 

The song is definitely a bit macabre so I wanted to find something beautiful to pair with the violence the song portrays. I absolutely fell in love with this picture. All I had was some crumbly pink to do the lettering, but the card just wasn't quite complete without it. I used a number of techniques to get the coloring I wanted along with bringing the bubbles to life. I loved the swap, the song, the card...all in all another top experience for me!

** I rarely do a card for no reason so 90% of the time there is information about the card on the clue page of Atlas Quest. The video is below...Rated R for violence, please use your judgement before watching.

Max & Carol Sail Through Days to Queens (LTC #109)

Where The Wild Things Are swap

WHeRe THe WiLD THiNGS aRe: New York

                                                                         (LTC #109)

This is one of the more imperfect carves but I absolutely fell in LOVE with the image when I found it. It was begging to be made into a card. I can totally see Max visiting 5 Pointz in Queens and becoming a street artist as a teenager. This is a perfect reminder for myself that even when I can see flaws in my carves some cards just need to be made and let loose anyways. Even with all of the mistakes that I can see this card is one of my favorites. Sometimes...it's all in the image!

Movie Posters, Artificial Sun and Breast Cancer Awareness. (LTC's 103, 105 & 107)

Mod Swap

 HG Wells: The Invisible Man (LTC #105)

I originally carved Summer Memory for the Mod swap I joined but then I found this image and wanted to see if i could carve it. It came out perfectly. It'l like an itty bitty little movie poster. Since I had already carved Summer Memory I decided to have double the fun and make two cards. I enjoyed Invisible Man the most though. I've been on a poster kick ever since. I have a ton of concert posters, movie posters and design posters I want to carve.

Mod Swap

Summer Memory (LTC #107)

Based on art by Agnieszka Grochalska. We didn't have much of a summer here in Fairbanks, Alaska this year...so I carved a summer instead. If you can't see the sunshine you might as well make a little.

Mod Swap Card by ~Miss Chievousness
Carve by ~Seattle Bound

Mod~ She Has Wings (LTC #103)

I carved this image in honor of an aunt of mine that survived breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. I wanted to remind her that she's beautiful. I couldn't create a card I liked though. Sometimes I think I get so close to an image and it becomes so intimate that I won't like it no matter what I do. Miss Chievousness asked me if she could give it a try. So here is the first of what I hope will be many collaborations. Earlier in the blog I featured our second collaboration. Hopefully soon there will be a third.

Madonna, Beetlejuice, and Tigers Oh My....(LTC's 102,104,106 & 108)

Portrait Potpourri Swap

Strike A Pose (LTC #102)

I had this image transferred and was simply waiting for a reason to carve it until this swap showed up. The paper worked perfectly, it was lightly patterned and lit up with a few swipes of the marker. I also got to use part of the stamp from Le Chic Chat again to add Vogue to the card. This card came out better than I planned. I'm rarely happy and satisfied with my own work so this card was a rare occasion for me.

Poetry Swap

Back of card

Poetry: The Tiger (LTC 104)

The Tiger by William Blake

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 
On what wings dare he aspire? 

What the hand dare seize the fire.......

Anthropomorphic Swap

Beetlejuice: American Gothic (LTC #106)

Using this for an Anthropomorphic swap was a bit of a stretch. They aren't really animals taking on human characteristics...but hey, close enough. I was dying to carve this image so I did! I added a second card featured in an earlier post on this blog that fit the rules more traditionally. Both carves were fun, Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!

Fun Fact: In one episode of each of the first three seasons, the word "Beetlejuice" was used off-handedly in a joke. If you've seen the movie Beetlejuice, the titular mischievous ghost (played by Michael Keaton) would appear in the world of the living if anyone said his name three times. So, sure enough, on the third mention by a Community character, this guy appears in the background for exactly two seconds:

Bond, James Bond Swap

Bond, James Bond: Octopussy (LTC 108)

There are some very cool retro inspired art posters out there for the Bond movies. Couldn't help but carve one. It may not be what comes to mind when thinking about James Bond but It was fun to carve and design!

Strong and talented women..Red, Ruthie & Lucille (LTC's 99-101)

Movies Of A Different Color Swap

Back of card

Movies of A Different Color: Red Riding Hood (LTC #99)

There were so many fabulous images out there for Red Riding Hood. In the end I chose that particular image just because I wanted to attempt to color a blood moon. I did an extra image for the back to eventually plant as part of a Twilight series up at Denali. It works just as well for red Riding hood.

Traveling Sideshow Swap

Back of card

La Bella Ruthie: The Snake Charmer (LTC #100 kind of)

I had so much fun making this card and scouring the net for images. This was a fascinating subject with so many cool and challenging illustrations to choose from. This card is definitely in my top 5 favorites. I enjoyed carving it, coloring it and piecing it together.  After cleaning up my LTC list this card came in at 100 even though it was technically the Miss Chievousness card that was 100. Coincidentally this swap was hosted by her as well.

I Love Lucy Swap

I ♥ Lucy: An Everyday Religion (LTC #101)

Love Yourself First and everything else falls into line. ~Lucille Ball

This is an extra long card but I loved that it had so many of the famous episodes in the image.