Week 1, CHAPTER 15: Any Way You Go Will Get You Somewhere!

`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
`I don't much care where--' said Alice.
`Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
`--so long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice added as an explanation.
`Oh, you're sure to do that,' said the Cat, `if you only walk long enough.'
-- Chapter 6, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Any way you go will get you somewhere, so this month's challenge at The Altered Alice is ANYTHING GOES! It's all up to you, and we can't wait to see what road you will take with YOUR project. Wonderland entries are encouraged; you will be rewarded with two chances at the draw instead of one.  Multiple entries are fine as long as each is on a separate post. You have until May 25 to enter!

ALICE ON SALE!!! 
ALL
Alice in Wonderland
on sale May 6-26, 2012 

Our sponsor this month is the amazing Alpha Stamps [Store | Blog], and Alice fans are in for a real treat when they shop in this magical store! Alpha Stamps features exclusive rubber stamps, collage sheets, paper dolls, kits and collage supplies of all kinds. Their Alice in Wonderland selection is HUGE! Other shopping themes include Steampunk, Birds, French Vintage, Circus, and many more. I love it that you can shop by theme or product type. Be sure to enroll in their newsletter, as the supplies used in the latest artwork from their talented design team are often on sale! They also have fun challenges that are hosted on their Facebook page. The winners are chosen by the number of "likes" each project receives!

The Prize - Anything Goes and Everyone Wins!
The Altered Alice design team will be working with this newly released exclusive "Alice's Adventures" stamp set from Alpha Stamps, plus some Alpha Stamps exclusive collage sheets and other collage supply goodies! 

ONE  randomly drawn winner will receive the same "Alice's Adventures" unmounted rubber sheet that the design team is using!
EVERYONE who participates in the challenge will win a brand new digital White Rabbit ATC Collage Sheet, emailed at the end of the challenge!  SO DON'T BE LATE - enter by May 25 (Eastern daylight time zone)!
And if you just can't play along, you can still enjoy ALL ALICE ON SALE at Alpha Stamps, now until May 26, 2012. So get going and let's see where you go with this fabulous Alpha Stamps challenge!

Design Team Announcement
Retta Fox is stepping away from  The Altered Alice tea table; we wish her all the best in her future creative endeavors! Please join us in thanking her for all the fabulous inspiration she has provided to The Altered Alice and to me personally. I am SO GRATEFUL for her contributions each month, and I sure hope she'll stop in from time to time to participate as a player in our Challenge Chapters.  I know you will be inspired by her projects below; what a great swan song to her journey down the rabbit hole with The Altered Alice!

Your Weekly Inspiration!
Be sure to visit each design team member's blog, as they will have links to all these fabulous Alpha Stamps supplies. Remember you too can stock up on these items while the Alice section of Alpha Stamps is on sale!

First up, a series of teapots!

Tracy Evans created this wonderful "Time for Tea" teapot. I love the contrast of the black and white background paper with the rich warm golds and oranges, it really pops! Alice from the "Alice's Adventures" stamp set is gesturing towards the Mad Hatter and March Hare from one of the collage sheets. Look at that grinning Cheshire Cat on the teacup, what a wonderful face! The teapot charm tied onto the handle and the Tim Holtz watch face are the perfect bits to finish off  this great project. For a supply list and to leave a comment, please visit Tracy's blog.

Retta Fox of Foxy's Weblog set a wonderful tea party scene with her teapot cutout. I love the vibrant red of the teapot and roses. Looks like we have a ticket to go to the party, and we had better get there before the March Hare eats all the pastries he is scrutinizing so intently! Fresh cups and spoons are waiting for us in each corner, and the tea party banner waving overhead will show us the way! I especiall love the pearl dripping from the teapot spout, what a neat touch. You will find the supply list and can leave a comment at Retta's blog.

Tracy Evans created another teapot, this one with an "I'm Late!" theme.  The stamped rabbit is complimented by the collage sheet rabbit. I love all the embossed heart cutouts, where the sponging has really brought out the details of hearts and watches. The open gear/clockface ornament over the open handle of the teapot is a really great touch! For a supply list and to leave a comment, please visit Tracy's blog.

The next teapot is from Caroline Ouzts-Hay, a Guest Designer from the Alpha Stamps Design Team! This teapot was created previous to the challenge using Alpha Stamps products. Isn't it gorgeous, with the background of gold lace? The words to the Mad Hatter's song twine around, finally emerging at the spout.

Collage sheet images of Alice and the Mad Hatter are in ruched lace medallions, lovely! The stars spangling the ribbon on the handle and scattered over the teapot go perfectly with the theme. Click here for more details.

Ok, enough with the teapots already! And now for something completely different:

Retta Fox of Foxy's Weblog made a wonderful paper bag album using lots of Alpha Stamps goodies! The cover includes an image from the Alice Covers collage sheet. Can you see the row of flamingos stamped in the background? Love the teabag charm and the Dresden borders. This is full of eye candy, every page is a treat as you will see below.  You will find the supply list and can leave a comment at Retta's blog.

Paper bag album 2

Paper bag album 3

Paper bag album 4

Paper bag album 5

Hmmm. You know the thing that makes paper bag albums so cool is that you wind up with lots of fun pockets. You know Retta would not leave pockets empty. . . .

Paper bag album tags!

She filled them with tags! Retta used a variety of wonderful images from the new Alice's Adventures stamp set, and she penned in little pieces of the story to go along! Absolutely charming. What a treasure this album is, I would love to get my hands on it and just spend an afternoon absorbing all the wonderful details!

Since we are talking tags, I'll share this wonderful King of Hearts tag by Tracy Evans. The fun frog footman looks terrified, I hope the King is not mad!

The machine stitched hearts and the fan of collage sheet images are fun, and the wooden letters and partially embossed background add a lot of texture!  For a supply list and to leave a comment, please visit Tracy's blog.

The monochromatic sepia tones give this tag a fantastic vintage look; it was previously created by guest designer Keron Lee from the Alpha Stamps Design Team. I love the cut up strips of text!

I am not sure if this is a different tag or the other side of the Mad Hatter tag above, but Keron has created another sepia toned gem. I LOVE the dangles with all kinds of goodies, especially the typewritten quote from the story!

Spool album

Keron Lee has contributed a third project, which is sort of like a very long tag! I haven't seen a spool album for a long time. The long scroll wraps around a spool and ties shut with a ribbon.

I love the way she has pieced together illustrations and bits from the story, joining many pieces rather than one long smooth piece of paper!

The dangling beads and charms add the perfect finishing touch!

Now we will go from a very long and skinny album to a small one with bound pages!

Love the collage sheet cover and all the ribbons in this mini album from guest designer Kristen Bastel of the Alpha Stamps design team! It looks like she used her Bind-It-All to great effect; let's peek inside:

Notice the clever use of transparency!

What Altered Art challenge would be complete without artist's trading cards (ATCs)? Guest designer Teri Calia from the Alpha Stamps design team contributed these lovelies! I like the way they are united by the black overstamped ornamental devices, and the text on top makes them such fun!

Jeweler's tin - front

Jeweler's tin - back

Another project from Teri Calia showcases what can be done with an soldered jeweler's tin; you just have to stop thinking of it as a storage device and alter it! What a fabulous trinket! Now for another jeweler's tin:

We are finishing up with Retta Fox's last project; she glued an Alpha Stamps jeweler's tin to a mini canvas and embellished! I love the way she used the white rub-ons from her stash; with the warm color scheme it makes the center 3D medallion stand out like a sun. Be sure to visit Foxy's Weblog to say farewell to this inspiring member of The Altered Alice design team!

Remember ALL entrants will receive a copy of the White Rabbit ATC digital collage sheet; it will be emailed at the end of the challenge. So enter here using the Linky Tool, and make sure your email address is correct! Please put your name as the TITLE when you submit your project:

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please leave a comment before you go, and be sure to check back next week for more inspiration.

Week 2 - Chapter 13 Challenge: The Best Butter!

"The Hatter was the first to break the silence. `What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.
Alice considered a little, and then said `The fourth.'
`Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. `I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.
`It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.
`Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: `you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'
The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the BEST butter, you know.'"
--Chapter 7; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

For the month of March, how could we resist a challenge honoring the March Hare?  We are challenging you to use "the best butter," as in butter yellow!

Our sponsor, Red Eowyn, is offering a one sheet of Alice in Wonderland stamps to the randomly selected winner of this month's challenge! The March Hare is the owner and illustrator's favorite Alice character, so of course we had to do her challenge in March. Red Eowyn has beautifully cleaned up the original Tenniel illustrations to make truly clear images that are a delight to stamp. The unmounted sheets include a variety of fun Alice sentiments, so be sure to check them out. In addition to Alice stamps, Red Eowyn also has wonderfully realistic animal stamps and some amazing dragons in the Fantasy category! Free U.S. shipping is included.

You have until Friday, March 23 to show us your best butter! Entries that feature Wonderland will be given two chances at the random drawing instead of one. Multiple entries are allowed but each must be on a separate post.

Your Weekly Inspiration

Barbara Washington of Magic Delights has lavished us with the best butter in her gorgeous canvas background drenched in yellow PanPastel! Here we see all kinds of characters from Red Eowyn going about their afternoon's activities in Wonderland!  Such a fun scene to enjoy.

You can see the lovely canvas texture and the painted path. The characters were colored and carefully trimmed out before they were adhered to the background.  Whoops - looks like the White Rabbit just dropped those gloves!

It looks like the Red Queen is arguing with the White King.  Hmmm, it seems the Red Queen is never in a good mood!

The Unicorn and the Lion are having a chat! Red Eowyn has many of the exciting but lesser known original Tenniel illustrations like this pair from Through the Looking Glass. Be sure to visit Magic Delights and leave a comment for Barbara about her Afternoon in Wonderland!

Erin Leveille of Stamp till U Cramp has outdone herself this month with the Mad Hatter's Hangover Kit! Erin found this fun box with its elastic closure in the dollar bin at her local craft store and has upcycled it into a real treasure!  And what better image for the top than this Red Eowyn image from the Mad Hatter's tea party, stuffing the dormouse into the teapot.  Hmmm, looks like drunken revels to me! I wonder if they spiked the tea?

You know how difficult it is to get a good stamped impression on a curved or irregular surface. Erin stamped on thin tissue paper, then Mod-Podged it onto the box. She used a variety of media to color and add shimmer to the image, and some worked well over the Mod Podge and others did not. Be sure to stop by her blog for photos of the process and all the details!

Inside is more butter yellow and hangover green! The quote inside the lid says "I do wish I had not drunk so much!" Of course that was about Alice drinking the potion to change sizes, but still is good advice for the rest of us!

To complete the Mad Hatter's Hangover Kit, Erin has stocked it with mints, Tums, Tylenol, mouthwash, and dry crackers.  Brilliant job Erin, and so, so funny! Be sure to visit Erin's blog to leave a comment about this funny kit and to see all the process details.

You have until Friday, March 23 to show us your best butter by entering in the Linky tool below!

If you are in an email or reader version of this post, click on the post title (Week 2 - Chapter 13) at the top to come to the blog and see all the wonderful entries!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please leave a comment before you go!

Week 1 - Chapter 13 Challenge: The Best Butter!

"The Hatter was the first to break the silence. `What day of the month is it?' he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.
Alice considered a little, and then said `The fourth.'
`Two days wrong!' sighed the Hatter. `I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!' he added looking angrily at the March Hare.
`It was the BEST butter,' the March Hare meekly replied.
`Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,' the Hatter grumbled: `you shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife.'
The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, `It was the BEST butter, you know.'" 
--Chapter 7; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

For the month of March, how could we resist a challenge honoring the March Hare?  We are challenging you to use "the best butter," as in butter yellow!

Our sponsor, Red Eowyn, is offering a one sheet of Alice in Wonderland stamps to the randomly selected winner of this month's challenge! The March Hare is the owner and illustrator's favorite Alice character, so of course we had to do her challenge in March. Red Eowyn has beautifully cleaned up the original Tenniel illustrations to make truly clear images that are a delight to stamp. The unmounted sheets include a variety of fun Alice sentiments, so be sure to check them out. In addition to Alice stamps, Red Eowyn also has wonderfully realistic animal stamps and some amazing dragons in the Fantasy category! Free U.S. shipping is included.

You have until Friday, March 23 to show us your best butter! Entries that feature Wonderland will be given two chances at the random drawing instead of one. Multiple entries are allowed but each must be on a separate post.

Your Weekly Inspiration

Tracy Evans created this charming card using the Red Eowyn March Hare as Messenger stamp. She is really laying on the best butter with all the different yellows in this card, and she has even included the Mad Hatter's watch, a victim of the best butter!

I love the background, where Tracy has pieced torn bits of this very chapter of Alice in Wonderland; what a wonderful touch! The stitched edges around various elements adds another layer of texture.

Some embossed hearts stand out with a bit of buttery yellow sponging. I love the way Tracy has complemented all those warm yellows and ivories with cool Alice blue; charming! Even the yellow buttons tied with bits of blue and white bakers twine help to keep the balance. Be sure to stop by Tracy's blog to leave a comment!

Retta Fox of Foxy's Weblog's altered wooden cigar box showcases a truly mad March Hare canvas in the center. Layers of paint have been painted, sprayed, and dabbed on in a wonderful melange of color, with a good bit of Distress Ink thrown in for more texture!

I love the March Hare and the Dormouse from the Tim Burton movie. There is a page from our challenge chapter, love that text element.

Retta used an image transfer technique to apply the March Hare image to the small canvas. The crown of grain and the feathery fur really add a lot to this crazy March Hare face, so fun!! Be sure to stop by and leave a comment for Retta on this great cigar box makeover!

You have until Friday, March 23 to show us your best butter by entering in the Linky tool below!
If you are in an email or reader version of this post, click on the post title (Week 1 - Chapter 13) at the top to come to the blog and see all the wonderful entries!
Thanks so much for stopping by, and please leave a comment before you go!