The "My Dark Valentine" Blog Hop linky party isHERE!
We are celebrating Valentine's Day in style with my annual 5 day blog hop and we're off to a fabulous start already❤️ But this isn't your usual lovey dovey take on the holiday, we like to go DARK and TWISTY coz our holiday of love has some very dark and sinister origins! You can read all about it in my Day 1 post!
This is a progressive hop which means it gets bigger as more dark Valentine projects appear in the blog hop linky party in my Day 1 post so stop by daily. Click on each thumbnail in the linky and leave everyone lots of love as you go❤️ You have 5 days to enter projects and then an extra 5 days to hop and comment to qualify for the prizes!
Everyone is invited to play! You can either enter dark Valentine projects in the hop or just hop and enjoy the show! The hop rules are in my Day 1 post too so click on over and check it all out!
"My Dark Valentine" Blog Hop 2019 is proudly sponsored by
You'll see fabulous dark Valentine inspiration here daily featuring designs from my new 2019 Valentine Collection as well as the 2018 collection too! Both collections are on sale for the duration of the hop so I hope you'll see some must haves to play with😉 I also have a "My Dark Valentine" sentiment FREEBIE for you too, grab it HERE!
Day 2 "Love explores the Shadows within our Hearts" card by Val
Welcome to the finale of LeighSBDesigns 1st MY DARK VALENTINE Blog Hop❤️
Firstly I'd like to express my sorrow over the terrible Florida shootings, I'm sending my love, thoughts and prayers to everyone involved❤️
We're now on the last day of our fabulous 5 day blog hop! A big THANK YOU and round of applause to everyone for an amazing show of Dark Valentines and to everyone who hopped and left love for everyone! Your wonderful comments are very much appreciated😘
Everyone playing has had a fabulous time so let's make it a date shall we! See you for My Dark Valentine Blog Hop 2019, mark your calendars so you don't forget! All the deets will be available 24/7 on the MY DARK VALENTINE BLOG HOP page! Woohoo😜
The fun isn't over until 5 to midnight tonight though! You can still get in a project or 2 before the deadlline and if you haven't had chance to hop yet then you have until Feb 20th to do your rounds and leave lots of love on all the entries! I will announce the prize winners soon after so don't stray far and miss it😋
I hope you've enjoyed seeing the wonderful inspiration we share here and
have become a follower! I will be continuing the love fest until the
end of Feb with DT showcase posts featuring all the wonderful projects
Val shared on her own blog for the hop and fabulous projects
to share by Nan that you haven't seen yet plus there's new tutorials coming😀 There will be a new release in March so keep
your eyes peeled for that and then our next big event will be in April
to celebrate LeighSBDesigns first birthday🎉 Can you believe it will be
one year already so get ready to put your party hats on, Woohoo🎉
In
the middle of all this excitement I need to do a massive spring clean
of my studio and will be purging lots of rubber and anything else I can
bare to part with! I'll be listing everything here on my Leigh's Studio Spring Clean Sales page and I have created a Facebook group for it too so you might want to join that if you'd like instant notifications when I add stuff!
If you are just joining us for the first time today then here's the scoop! We've been celebrating Valentine's Day in style with a 5 day progressive blog hop but we've gone DARK and TWISTY and the creepier the better! Our holiday of love has a very dark past with an assortment of sinister origins which I mentioned in my Day 1 post HERE! Hop over for a read and then embrace your dark side, enjoy the show and join in too! The Blog Hop Roll is at the bottom of this post and also up on the hop page, just click on each thumbnail in the Inlinkz collection to hop and leave your love for each blogger.❤️
Want to play too?
It is super easy to participate! Think dark romance, gothic romance, bloody Valentine or go even kinkier if you so desire, all dark art is welcome! Link up before 5 to midnight tonight!
You can use images from any company and even old projects are welcome as long as you re-blog them in new posts and include a link to this blog, all the hop details and Blog Hop Roll!
Be nice and play fair by hopping and commenting too!
Everything you need to know plus instructions on how to add the Blog Hop Roll to your posts is provided on the MY DARK VALENTINE BLOG HOP page!
There's PRIZES up for grabs plus a FREEBIE!
If you haven't snagged the freebie yet then hurry coz it vanishes after midnight tonight!
See the Day 1 post for details and grab the freebie😋
Day 5 "Portraits in a Locket" altered art by Leigh
For today's finale I'm sharing an amazing discovery that was made in the Oddleighverse!
An antique locket was discovered in Oddleigh Poe's old home in Baltimore and inside a tinted portrait photo was found of Poe and a mystery lady. They look like they were so much in love and such a quaint sentiment is inscribed down the center...."You Stole my Heart"....awww, at least Oddleigh Poe seemed happy during these mystery years❤️
I altered a large wooden heart and to give the illusion that it's a little jewelry locket I added an over sized gold chain.
The Oddleighs, Gothic Rose and the sentiment are coloured with Copics. The Scratch Hearts background is coloured with Derwent pastels blended with a Dove Blender pen. The collaged panel, which I did in Photoshop and printed onto Neenah cardstock, was adhered to the wooden heart after I stained it with Black Soot Distress Stain. I applied Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges to blend the panel into the wood. The coloured panel was then sealed first with a matte varnish and then aged with brown antiquing varnish.
Tim Holtz Distress Paint clear Rock Candy was applied to the edges and the resulting cracks enhanced with gold rub on cream to give the effect that the vintage photo is cracking and peeling. I then embellished the heart point with a single Tim Holtz Idea-ology resin red rose. In the photo below you can see the wooden heart also has distressed gold leaf sides.
The Oddleigh Poe and lil miss Oddleigh Cherished Heart are on FLASH SALE until midnight tonight plus the entire Dark Valentine Collection including the cute Teddy Wreath and Love text release sale ends at midnight tonight too so dash on over to LeighSBDesigns Etsy Boutique!
There's also 2 Bundles to help you save $$$ if you can't decide which Dark Valentine digis you want. The bundles are not included in the release sale as they're discounted already and available 24/7. I hope you see something you love and use it to play in the hop😋
Check out my launch video and see the release post HERE!
Click on the following pix to go shopping for the images used on today's project!
Thanks for stopping by to see my project today!
Happy hopping!
Welcome to LeighSBDesigns 1st MY DARK VALENTINE Blog Hop❤️
Wowee, i'ts Day 4 already and what a fabulous showing of Dark Valentines we've seen so far!!!! Thank you everyone for playing, hopping and commenting! If you haven't had chance to hop yet then you will still have a few days afterwards to catch up but the sooner all the Bloggers hop and comment the sooner I can announce the prize winners😋
Also, please remember to mention the Hop title and link back to this blog in ALL your posts in addition to including the Blog Hop Roll! You may have noticed that if you play more than once the active Inlinkz thumbnails are only visible in your most recent post so anyone randomly just looking at your previous posts won't know what the hop is all about or where to go to play themselves if you don't mention all the info. Once the Inlinkz closes then all the thumbnails magically re-appear in ALL of your posts.
If you're just joining us for the first time today then here's the scoop! We are celebrating Valentine's Day in style with a 5 day progressive blog hop but we're going DARK and TWISTY and the creepier the better! Our holiday of love has a very dark past with an assortment of sinister origins which I mentioned in my Day 1 post HERE! Hop over for a read and then embrace your dark side, enjoy the show and join in too! The Blog Hop Roll is at the bottom of this post and also up on the hop page, just click on each thumbnail in the Inlinkz collection to hop and leave your love for each blogger.❤️
Want to play too?
It is super easy to participate! Think dark romance, gothic romance, bloody Valentine or go even kinkier if you so desire, all dark art is welcome! You can play every day or just one day and link up anytime during the 5 days with no need to sign-up! You can use images from any company and even old projects are welcome as long as you re-blog them in new posts and include a link to this blog, all the hop details and Blog Hop Roll! Be nice and play fair by hopping and commenting too!
Everything you need to know plus instructions on how to add the Blog Hop Roll to your posts is provided on the MY DARK VALENTINE BLOG HOP page!
There's PRIZES up for grabs plus a FREEBIE!
See the Day 1 post for details and grab the freebie😋
The DARK VALENTINE Collection is available at LeighSBDesigns Etsy Boutique with introductory prices good thru Feb 16! There's also 2 Bundles to help you save $$$ if you can't decide which digis you want. The bundles are not included in the release sale as they're discounted already and available 24/7. I hope you see something you love and use it to play in the hop😋
Check out my launch video and see the release post HERE!
Click on the following pix to go shopping for the images used on today's project!
Thanks for stopping by to see Nan's project today!
We are celebrating Valentine's Day in style with a 5 day progressive blog hop but we're going DARK and TWISTY and the creepier the better! Our holiday of love has a very dark past with an assortment of sinister origins which I mentioned in my Day 1 post HERE! Hop over for a read and then embrace your dark side, enjoy the show and join in too! The Blog Hop Roll is at the bottom of this post and also up on the hop page, just click on each thumbnail in the Inlinkz collection to hop and leave your love for each blogger.❤️
Want to play too?
It is super easy to participate! Think dark romance, gothic romance, bloody Valentine or go even kinkier if you so desire, all dark art is welcome! You can play every day or just one day and link up anytime during the 5 days with no need to sign-up! You can use images from any company and even old projects are welcome as long as you re-blog them in new posts and include a link to this blog, all the hop details and Blog Hop Roll! Be nice and play fair by hopping and commenting too!
Everything you need to know plus instructions on how to add the Blog Hop Roll to your posts is provided on the MY DARK VALENTINE BLOG HOP page!
There's PRIZES up for grabs plus a FREEBIE!
See the Day 1 post for details and grab the freebie😋
Day 3 "Love Hurts" card by Leigh
Today is also the seventh annual Vampire's Day Soiree at Holly's Horrorland and I'm attending the soiree with this vampire themed card and one of my Vampire resin ball jointed dolls is presiding over the proceedings!
doll is an Iplehouse BJD Lisa the Addiction in grey skin
I transformed Dark Handsome Stranger into a vampire by adding a single fang and scrumptious red blood drips.
I went distressed grunge for this one and the mood for the front of the card expresses how scary love can be and the inside represents the warmth and security true love brings but can be riddled with thorns at the same time...hence the bed of skull roses.
Here's a look at my card in daylight!
The front of the card is fussy cut along the right hand edge following the Distressed Heart Splatter and then edged with black Inkssentials Glossy Accents. The Scratch Hearts are watercoloured with Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany and Black Soot Distress Inks while leaving the sentiments white and black. I also edged both the front and the inside of the card with Black Soot DI too.
The bed of Skull Roses, coloured with Copics, peeks out along the right side of the card and I added more black glossy accents along the edge to look like dark dripping blood.
Here's a closer look at the Vampire fang and blood which is done with Autumn Red Nuvo Crystal Drops. I coloured Dark Handsome Stranger with Copics.
The DARK VALENTINE Collection is available at LeighSBDesigns Etsy Boutique with introductory prices good thru Feb 16! There's also 2 Bundles to help you save $$$ if you can't decide which digis you want. The bundles are not included in the release sale as they're discounted already and available 24/7. I hope you see something you love and use it to play in the hop😋
Check out my launch video and see the release post HERE!
Click on the following pix to go shopping for the images used on today's project!
We are celebrating Valentine's Day in style with a 5 day progressive blog hop but this isn't the usual lovey dovey take on the holiday, we're going DARK and TWISTY and the creepier the better! Our holiday of love has a very dark past with an assortment of sinister origins which I mentioned in my Day 1 post HERE! Hop over for a read and then embrace your dark side, enjoy the show and join in too! The Blog Hop Roll is at the bottom of this post and also up on the hop page, just click on each thumbnail in the Inlinkz collection to hop and leave your love for each blogger.❤️
Want to play too?
It is super easy to participate! Think dark romance, gothic romance, bloody Valentine or go even kinkier if you so desire, all dark art is welcome! You can play every day or just one day and link up anytime during the 5 days with no need to sign-up! You can use images from any company and even old projects are welcome as long as you re-blog them in new posts and include a link to this blog, all the hop details and Blog Hop Roll! Be nice and play fair by hopping and commenting too!
Everything you need to know plus instructions on how to add the Blog Hop Roll to your posts is provided on the MY DARK VALENTINE BLOG HOP page!
There's PRIZES up for grabs plus a FREEBIE!
See the Day 1 post for details and grab the freebie😋
Val went with a classic red, black and white colour palette and coloured just a few of the hearts and roses and edged the lid rim to create a striking and bold effect.
She used red and black embossing pens to colour and applied clear embossing powder to give those areas a wonderful mottled texture too.
Wooden beads coloured with black Sharpie used for the box feet are the perfect finishing touch.
The DARK VALENTINE Collection is available at LeighSBDesigns Etsy Boutique with introductory prices good thru Feb 16! There's also 2 Bundles to help you save $$$ if you can't decide which digis you want. The bundles are not included in the release sale as they're discounted already and available 24/7. I hope you see something you love and use it to play in the hop😋
Check out my launch video and see the release post HERE!
Click on the following pix to go shopping for the images used on today's project!
Thanks for stopping by to see Val's project today!
We are celebrating Valentine's Day in style with a 5 day progressive blog hop but this isn't your usual lovey dovey take on the holiday, we're going DARK and TWISTY and the creepier the better! Why in the world would we do that you're wondering, well many are blissfully unaware that the holiday of love has a very dark past with an assortment of sinister origins.
It is surmised that it has its roots in ancient Rome where pagans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia from Feb 13 to the 15th. This involved lots of nudity, men sacrificing goats and dogs and then, shock horror, whipping young women with the hides who willing lined up for this craziness coz they believed it would make them fertile! Lupercalia also included a lottery where the men drew women's names from a jar and they'd hook up for the remained of the festival or longer if it turned out the men actually liked their random selections! Eeish!!!
The ancient Romans are also more than likely responsible for the name of our modern holiday too as Emperor Claudius II managed to execute two men in different years during the 3rd century A.D. Both were named Valentine, both were killed on Feb 14 and the Catholic Church honoured their martyrdom by creating St. Valentine's Day.
Then in the 5th century A.D. Pope Gelasius I merged St. Valentine's Day with Lupercalia to expel the traditional pagan rituals. Christians put their clothes back on and the festival became more of a theatrical performance but it didn't stop the party from still being a drunken celebration of fertility and love.
Around the same time the Normans celebrated Galatin's Day which means "lover of women" so add that to the muddled melting pot too.
Chaucer and Shakespeare no doubt set the ball rolling and the old rituals slowly became more romantic in nature as it grew in popularity throughout Britain and Europe. Handmade cards first appeared in the Middle Ages and in 1913 Hallmark Cards were born and February slowly transformed into the romanticized commercialism we now know today....with lots of drunken celebrations of course, some things will never change LOL!
Are you ready to embrace your dark side and enjoy the show?
The Blog Hop Roll is at the bottom of this post and also up on the hop page, just click on each thumbnail in the Inlinkz collection to hop and leave your love for each blogger, the linky will open at 9am pacific❤️
Want to play too?
It is super easy to participate! Think dark romance, gothic romance, bloody Valentine or go even kinkier if you so desire, all dark art is welcome! You can play every day or just one day and link up anytime during the 5 days with no need to sign-up! You can use images from any company and even old projects are welcome as long as you re-blog in new posts and include a link to this blog, all the hop details and Blog Hop Roll! Be nice and play fair by hopping and commenting too!
Everything you need to know plus instructions on how to add the Blog Hop Roll to your posts is provided on the MY DARK VALENTINE BLOG HOP page!
BLOG HOP PRIZES
There's PRIZES up for grabs!
To qualify to win EVERYONE, including the Bloggers, must comment on ALL projects shared in the hop!
One random Blogger will win one LeighSBDesigns digi of their choice for playing the hop.
One random Hopper will win one LeighSBDesigns digi of their choice for commenting on all the projects shared.
Plus there's a prize if you use LeighSBDesigns digis on your projects😋
Of course I designed a Dark Valentine Collection for the occasion...watch my launch video and see my release post HERE! Plus I have a special hop FREEBIE for you too😋
The DARK VALENTINE Collection is available at LeighSBDesigns Etsy Boutique with introductory prices good thru Feb 16! There's also 2 Bundles to help you save $$$ if you can't decide which digis you want. The bundles are not included in the release sale as they're discounted already and available 24/7. I hope you see something you love and use it to play in the hop😋
Click on the photo to open the high resolution version, then right click and save the image.
My logo is included, erase it before printing or cut off afterwards.
The freebie is available Feb 12-16 and will vanish early February 17th!
Please don't pin or share, instead send your friends here to grab it for themselves😋
While she walked in the winter forest she sensed a presence, a strange feeling of being watched. She felt a passion emanating from the darkness that filled her with both excitement and foreboding. Somehow she knew her destiny was fast approaching and that her life would change forever on the night of St. Valentine.
I combined Dark Handsome Stranger with the Scratch Hearts collage to create the background and coloured the stranger's eyes with Copics before applying Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany and Black Soot Distress Ink. Gothic Rose and My Dark Valentine sentiment were resized, fussy cut out and coloured with Copics and Distress Inks. The sentiment was layered onto black cardstock. I die cut out lots of Memory Box Medium Forest Archway trees and created overlapping layers and added the trimmed die cut Tim Holtz Gothic Gate along the bottom edge. I embellished the scene with Memory Box Forest Crows and the hearts are from the Fawn Lawn pop-up box card die set.
Red Copics used: R32, 35, 37 and 39.
I used red Nuvo Crystal drops on all the hearts and attached them, the Gothic Rose, the sentiment and a Tim Holtz Idea-ology resin rose with pop dots for extra dimension. I finished off by adding everything to a folded card made from white cardstock which I'd edged with an N4 (gray) Copic marker.
Thanks for stopping by to see my project today!
Happy hopping, see you again tomorrow!
