Riding off into the Darkness

It seems everyone is socially distancing this year, even within the www, our Dark Dreams faltering under the weight of pandemic and indifference.  Maybe life is so scary there's no room for "imagined scary".  Whatever, Dear Reader, you have become almost extinct.  And so, this is our Last Post.

Asylum Anne has had time to find more random stuff in her stash, and this symbol of Georgette Heyer's Regency-period novel abductions, elopements and other social misdeameanours, reinforced by Jane Austen re-runs on tv, is a 7 Gypsies carriage.  Quite how it rolled in to the Asylum is not known, but it was there to be found, rather worse for wear:

The wheels have been hot-dipped in embossing powders several times to strengthen the rust, and texture paste scraped over the panelling to fill the holes.

Then the painting began:

Someone was slacking off for a while!

Doors rehinged and given "windows"

Inside, the carriage was fitted out with lace fabric, and bench seats recovered in leather:

A bunch of strange people turned up wanting a ride

 And were invited to travel with us:

 All aboard, and the Darkness Dreamers travel away from this blog, searching a more populous Community of Darkness and Creepiness:

Farewell.

The Final Winner of our Darkness Challenges is... Cathy with awesome entry number 34
Please contact us for your reward, choose either this very lonely skeleton:

or this set of cling mounted rubber stamps:

GONGRATULATIONS TO CATHY!!

And with heavy hearth I (Granne) also say goodbye to

this little blog I have so much treasured.

And with these movie inspired ATC's I wave to all you wonderful artist that

shared your art with us during these years.

See you in the blogland!!

Someone squealed.

And the world coughed and caught a pandemic.
But the world's dreams have been pretty dark this year, and Asylum Anne is safe in her covid-free country (apart from the returning expats who get 2 weeks quarantine in luxury hotels at taxpayer expense before being let loose).  But all those taxes are taking their toll (mentally, at least), so she has been using up random things in her stash:

AND shopping "locally" led to painting up some critters from Abstract Designs  When you go to their site, you will find her Prime Minister and Director of the Ministry of Health are cult figures honoured in laser-cut mdf as well!  They offer a choice of veneers, but that didn't stop paint sticking to the 2 I tried.
Wetas are a native insect of decent size, and will bite, so stay back!

 Only assume an insect is dead if it is upside down... MAYBE...

Not to be confused with Weta Workshop, who do all the wonderful and scary effects for movies such as Avatar, Lord of the Rings.

This dragon was found hanging to the back door:

With winter setting in, it's probably hoping for a feed!  The chippy pieces were covered in heat-gunned Jacquard Lumiere paint.

Owling

Had a great time yesterday making

this set of ATCoins.

Using a self made background

(stamped with real leaves and a branch stamp)

and wicked Katzelkraft owl stamps,

coloured with Zig pens. 

Sentiments are Dutch Doobadoo stickers.

Let's see your summer art,

there is only 7 links to go for a 

awesome surprise for some

lucky artist, so link your art there --->>

But the flu season is coming Down Under

Enjoy your summer Sari-Granne, but we've only just stopped Covid-19 before the flu season hits us.
Borders closed early, stringent lockdown and a small population of 5 million have kept numbers down, but there have been deaths, the great God Tourism has lost all his acolytes, and it's likely to stay that way until an effective knife-stabber (vaccine injection) is found.  We may think we have got through one set of dark days, but there will be more.

The stamps are both from Lost Coast Designs.  I rather like the AUD creature that looks rather like a kiwi!  The stencil is Carabelle and Paper Artsy infusions helped with the background.

YAY, summer is here

Schools out and summer vacations are

in, for kids right a way - mine; still 4 weeks to

work till holidays.

We have lots of birthdays during summer

and I made this "waterfall" card

that says: Have just terribly FUN Birthday

Card was originally made for The Male Room DT

post (that's why the watermark) but due the change

of themes, would not be used there.

Lets see what kind of art summer makes you create,

linking there --->

not much more entries till we hit 40 and

somebody gets something from other side of 

world (in my point of looking)

Lest We Forget

The Bubonic plagues, then Spanish Flu killed millions, and we still haven't figured out how to stop pandemics in their tracks.  Maybe the Gargoyles were right all along:

"After losing their sister to Spanish flu, the 2 Fates wondered if people would ever heed the Gargoyle's advice: social distancing."
So there you have it.  Surely The Fates could have kept one of their own alive.  But no, not evebn the Fates can dodge Fate.  So keep your social distancing up for the long haul rearing up ahead of us.

The picture of the girls turned up randomly and unattributed somewhere in facebook I think.  The period of their garb, and the room they were in instantly put me in mind of the Spanish Flu, elegant multi-storeyed buildings.  Somehow I managed to dodge Steampunking it.
This is another 8x8 fat page with a binding strip at left.
Stamps from Paper Artsy include the Zinski house, Hot Pick "Lest we forget".
Seth Apter stamps include a Spellbinder one no longer available, it is similar to the top one in this link.  Plus an Impression Obsession one heat embossed.  Dylusions Halloween set bats, vivalasvegas Gargoyle trio frieze, and Altered Art's Gargoyle.

We still have a prize to award to the most interesting dark-themed piece of yours between #21-40 so keep sharing your creations.

Mermaid Virus

Mermaids?  On a Dark Challenge blog?
Covid-19 is still around, and although we are down to Level 3, it's not much freer than level 4 was.  Social Distancing is still very important, as are maintaining our bubbles.  Even mermaids along our coast are supposed to comply!  The lighthouse normally sends out warnings to shipping to avoid shipwrecks on mermaid-infested rocks and caves.
On the one 8x8 fat page, here's the "before"

 Open out the flap of memory of how it was in 1865, and this is 2020:

Stamps all from Rubber Stamp Ave, the seagulls are from Silver Crow Creations.

So that's my spin on mermaids for the Mermaid Blog Hop over at LeighSB Designs - join them at
https://leighsbdesigns.blogspot.com/2020/05/mermay-blog-hop-and-meri-oddleigh.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR17fGJvOLWWThqbf8z9Zz8XXsMTXMt60dHMW-j05xweLcJ83EeoyuhQhI8



And share your dark takes on anything in life or dreams with the linky at the right.

Scattered minds

1 May is always the start of the Duck Shooting season.  The guys (and girls and kids) are out before dawn in their maimais, ready to take pot shots.  This year it is delayed at least a week. Damn that virus!!!  Being in Lockdown yet working fulltime (from home) also leaves me as scattered as the autumnal leaves gracing our yards.  So how about some little bits and pieces of art:

THE VIRUS ITSELF,

as depicted in so many news pieces:

 I was browsing through a drawer of MDF pieces for something else.  These hollow-centered drip-like not-cogs struck me as being perfect to represent the virus shape we see in all the news pieces, along with some blobs of flowersoft.  People are trapped in their bubble (ie glued behind a large glass cabochon, which fit over the centre hole).  The company making the mdf cutouts (Things to Alter) is no longer in existence.

Stuck in our Corona-virus bubble, almost 5 weeks Level 4 lockdown, now part-way through 2 (+?) weeks at level 3, hairdressers still are not allowed to open.  Now,

Every Day Is  A Bad Hair Day

Mercy!  Please!!!

I thought I knew who created Zombie Chicken stamp, but can't trace it.  ATC card, stencilled, and again can't identify the covid-shape little stamp either :(  Never mind, I need those scissors!!!

The final piece uses an MDF winged skull shape from Paper Whimsy

It's amazing the bubbly texture you can get from using a heat gun on Jacquard Lumiere paints.
Don't you think Asylum Anne has bubble-prisons on her mind?

We have a reward for the "best" dark piece you share with us on the right.  When entries reach #40, we will be choosing our favourite between numbers 21-40.
So keep expressing your darkest dreams with us all - they deserve to be aired!

Revenge of the Pandas

Day 25 of Covid-19 Level 4 Lockdown, and it feels as if all the Zoos in the world have turned the tables on us.  We are the ones caged, locked up, no longer free to roam (except one by one to a supermarket).

Another 8x8 fat page, stamping on a "scrapbooking" sheet of paper that depicts the sandy shores at waves' edge that we can no longer wander along:

Border stamps from Seth Apter
Gates from the late lamented Third Coast (Third Stone)
Giraffe & Lion by Rubber Dance
AUD tiger and elephant by Lost Coast Designs
small heads, triply-stamped "Kiss my Butt" and otter (?) from viva las vegas stamps
Bat-owl from Stampendous
Did you notice?  No Pandas were caught on this page, but the Serengeti is well represented.
Keep sharing your darkness with us on the right.

What the ...

We had such a nice sunny

spring going on... and now

it's been snowing AND shining

for two days, you never know what's

the weather is like when you look outside.

So

 says pretty much what I'm feeling, LOL

And what's up with you?

What kind of art are you creating?

Let us see and link there ---->>>>

Hello old Friend

Gecko Galz started to have daily challenges

at their blog last month. Every day is a new theme

and if you enter the daily challenge, you'll

get a sheet of great pictures to play with

Today's theme was "Dark Dreams" 

and I entered the challenge twice

with this ATC

Both images and sentiment is from GG.

and also with this card

where I used the images I got from today's freebie sheet.

Let us see what you have been creating,

I believe there is some happy mail coming

to someone from other side of the world when our

froggy has got 40 links there --->>>>

Tumbleweeds

As the Covid-19 gets blown around a deserted world, like tumbleweeds in the desert, scientists still ponder the origin, and notice the positive side effects.

I had a lightly patterned piece of paper I didn't like, with a daisy  or sunflower in one corner.
There are bats from Smeared Ink (in recess), vivalasvegas stamps are responsible for the 3-skull bat, the cowboy-fence scene, the cowboy leading a horse (subtly altered text).  Bats were easy, I have many many batty stamps.  But not one pangolin.  So I took liberties and used Butter Side Down's Hylaeosaurus and Lost Coast Designs AUD mouse.  Both of them have scaly torsos, and a sort-of ant-eaterish snout.
And don't Seth Apter's spotlight stamps from Impression Obsession make marvellous virus-like shapes as a border.
This is an 8"x8" fat page, but as I've no idea how I will end up binding them, there is an extra half-inch at the left that will disappear into the binding process.  Over the past month I have been creating a few covid-19 related fat pages and posted in facebook - click along from here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2805376092884498&set=a.2732369566851818&type=3&theater

And if your dark side is coming out in your art, share it on the right, with a 1 in 20 chance of a prize.
Stay healthy everyone.

Hippitty Hoppitty

Hippity Hoppity, 

this is a time for a bunnies and chicks.

So I made a few ATC's on the

spring theme but with the DiD twist

Inked ans stamped packgrounds,

Octopode Factory digistamp, colored with Copics,

sentiment from VLV .

So Hippitty Hoppitty get out of ...

Be well and stay safe.

Winner(s), winner(s)

So, it's early spring time and sun has

been seen again in these Northern parts of Earth.

Time to do some spring cleaning
(=dig in to my box of scraps)
and enjoy the bright colors

See? Bright indeed, lol.

Stamp is from Blank Page Muse,

colored with Copics.

And now of we go to a fun winning part:

Sadly Paula has not contacted us yet,

so here'e a shout out PAULAAAAAA!

Your entry number 95 

has won 

this awesome skeleton stamp from CT member Anne

So Paula, please contact

us : dreamindarknessblog (at) gmail dot com

and tell where to send this great stamp.

AND we have full 20 entries for this year

and that means we have a NEW winner

and that's is

*

*

*

Sari K, entry number 10

this totally dark, cool and beautiful

Art Journal spread

and she has won this cool die

Sari K. please contact us:

dreamindarknessblog (at) gmail dot com

to get your die.

Inventors never die...

... they just get left out in a paddock with their "stash"
Unless you are "female" and want to ask someone to marry you, this should be March 1st posting!

A common rural sight is a stash of rusting vehicles and farm equipment in the paddocks, overgrown by brambles and weeds.  So here is our Inventor,

And like me, whenever s/he went to a beach, couldn't resist picking up the odd seashell to bring back.

Thanks to Creative Embellishments for all the brambles, skull and cogs for an altered 8x10 box canvas.  Their challenge mood board this month included a lady with swirly-spiky drapery but of course I had to go "dark" with these chipboard pieces instead!  And they thought flowers would be a "twist", so you got lace flowers - how warped are we???

I just wish I'd been able to capture all the nuances of the Lindy's Gang sprays that give some sparkle to the whole piece.  Being able to spread stash through the new craft room means I can find so much more- so many lacy bits to use up!  Not to mention texture-embossed bits of cardstock and some *shock* glitter glue

Keep linking your dark dreams on the right for us to enjoy and perhaps, reward.

Valentine???? Mate, yer Dreamin'

Ah Poe, what did you start??? Those @#!!#* ravens quothing "Nevermore" all over the place, then less than a month later all those pink-loving "romantics" are running round saying...

The mdf word is Kaisercraft I think.  The raven/crow is part from another Paper Whimsy Crow stand.  The squishy floppy skellies draped over the "sentiment" are from ali express, started yellow, were painted brown then some of the paint rubbed off as it should be.

The mdf has several layers of paint dabbed around, plus 2 of crackle paste.  I love interference paints.

We still need to see a few more of your dark dreams on display to the right of this, before we can award someone with happy mail.

Anti-Valentine

So, it's the Valentines month going on

... well, had to join the season,

but my make is kind of ANTI-Valentine

I made a base using cardboard and 

packing tape, pieces are ATC size

Then I covered the base from both sides with 

GG ATC papers and flapper images.

Sentiments are from TH sticker album.

Happy Valentine's everyone, hugs!

How Spiderman got his uniform

Contrary to whatever is in the movie, there is a far more ridiculous/darker/shameful reality:

 Guano!  Or whatever you call the draconic equivalent.  Spiderman was resting in the bushes, avoiding persecution from some of Poe's ravens, when oops, a dragon flew by, perched, and relieved itself!  Stupidly, Spiderman looked up, and copped a faceful as well as all over his black disguise.

What more can anyone say?  The true story is out now.
All that's to be said is that the tale was outed with assistance from Creative Embellishments and Paper Whimsy
Of course I couldn't stop at using just one crow tree set.  The sun came out to reveal all the colourfulness of the next one:

 Paper paste, pumice paste, sand paste all got a workout on this piece.
Dancing queen WITH ravens LOL

Keep sharing your dark dreams to the right, we're keen to reward one of the next 20 Dark Dreamers