Halloween Cards

Is it October yet?  Almost!  I have an all day crop Thursday where we will be making Christmas cards for the soldiers in the Middle East who don't have a store where they can go to buy Christmas cards.  It will be the last day of September, wow, did it go by fast! 

We made a few Halloween projects at the Fall Retreat I went to last Saturday but I haven't finished the little bag yet.  I didn't put it together so it wouldn't get squashed on the way home and haven't taken time to finish it yet.  I worked in the garden today, getting it ready for Winter.  I have lots of blisters to prove it!  We are still getting some tomatoes but the rest of the garden is pulled up and mowed.  Once the tomatoes are gone by we will plow it under and before I know it, I'll be planting it in the Spring of 2011!

First, I love this card!  It is similar to a card I made last year.  The grass from the Inspired By Nature set makes a great place for little goblins with googlie eyes to hide.  The color scheme is great, Rich Razzleberry, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Old Olive.  Who would have thought that Rich Razzleberry would have made such a great Halloween color??

Second is a great sponged card.  The card was made by someone who's stamp name is "nonstopstamper".  She tore strips of card stock and used them as masks to create the background for the very spooky tree from the House of Haunts set.  I had to keep feeling of the card because the sponging looked so much like it was layers of card stock!  She used the Spider Web embossing folder just on the edge of the card, a great idea for just a touch of web and used another great Halloween color combination, Concord Crush, Cajun Craze, Basic Black and Old Olive.  The Bat Punch is the perfect place to stamp the greeting from the Teeny Tiny Verses stamp set.

I reckon I need to try this sponging technique!

Pretty Pink

These 2 cards are so pretty.  I got them in the card swap we had Saturday at the retreat.  One card has a Whisper White base, the other has a Very Vanilla base.  The white one has a black Top Note die cut that is embossed with the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder.  The butterfly is stamped with the Elements of Style floral stamp, then colored and embossed with the same embossing folder.  I love how she put the Basic Rhinestones in some of the circles the embossing folder made.  The bit of pink on the flowers is the perfect splash of color for this black and white card.   The creator didn't put her name on the card so I don't know who to give credit to.

The second card also has a pink accent in both the background and the 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon.  This card that was made by Kathi Jenkins uses Chocolate Chiip for one of her accent colors.  The Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla layers are punched with the Scalloped Border punch and the Very Vanilla is stamped with the Elizabeth stamp, a beautiful single stamp.  Did you know that the Stampin' Up has 3 pages of stamps that are under $10?  Check your catalog on pages 18-20 for these great a` la carte stamps.  Kathi also used the Thanks stamp from the Perfect Punches stamp set.  This set has 6 stamps that match 6 different Stampin' Up punches to make creating cards so quick and easy.

I can't believe that I forgot to mention in my last post that I won not 1, but 2 prizes at the art contest Saturday!  I am pretty excited about it.  The prizes were Stampin' Up gift certificates so I've been looking through my catalog to see what I'm going to choose.  I think I've narrowed it down to 2 stamp sets and a die but I could change my mind!  Both the projects I won with are going to be in my class line-up the next couple of months so if you come, you could make these prize-winning projects too!

Fall Retreat

I was in Huntsville Alabama for a Stampin' Up retreat today.  We learned so much and got to stamp too!  I have a lot to share and am going to start with 2 of the swap cards I got.  First, how do you like this hummingbird punch art card Elizabeth Williams created?  It is a fun card with lots of ovals, both plain and scallped and a distressed flower perfect for any punched bird!  The hummingbird's tail is from the Modern Label punch, ingenious!  She also rolled the Very Vintage wheel on opposing corners of the cardstock, nice touch.

I just love this tiny card, the lady who made it didn't put her name on it but she was sitting at my table and is a very nice person.  I just can't remember her name!  She said she cased it from page 111, there are great samples to case all throughout the catalog.  That be why they call it the "Idea Book" and Catalog.  She used the  P

ocket Silhouettes Stamp set and Scallop Envelope Die to make this wonderful little note set.\

I'll post more later.  It was a wonderful trip and a great meeting but I'm tired!  I should be in bed asleep by now.

Digital Layout

One of my grandsons turned 5 last month.  I haven't finished all the pictures from his party but here are the first 2 pages.  I tried to get them side by side but blogger changed the way things look and I just can't figure out how to do that yet.

I decided that one of the reasons I like Stampin' Up's digital crafting program so much is that I can quickly make layouts while the details of events are still fresh in my mind.  Also, I can have several pages done in less time than it usually takes me to make 1 page from paper and embellishments.  I still like to scrapbook the traditional way but MDS helps with the guilt I feel when I don't get around to finishing pages.  I've got lots of other things I can feel guilty about anyway!

Guest Artist Again Today

Hi, just a quick note to direct you to Lori's blog where I am the guest artist again today whil she is away on vacation.  Here is the link to my post.  I made the cute box while I was at the convention in July at one of the Late Night Stamper's classes.  I am in the process of re-designing it with different paper and ink for one of the projects in a Christmas Gift Stamp Camp so you will see the new version soon.

I'm also putting the finishing touches on the layout of the month.  Hopefully I can post that tomorrow,  In the meantime, check Lori's blog, I think you will love this sweet little project.

More Skinny Bags and Waffle Paper

I made a couple of Skinny bags today, I even bought M&M's to fill them with.  I also made a Christmas card with the gold Waffle Paper.  I don't know if you've noticed lately, but I seem to alternate a Christmas project and then a Halloween project.  Well, today - you get both!

One of my friends was saying how she decorated her house for Halloween this weekend.  WHAT??  It isn't even October yet!  Not a bad idea though, I love Halloween decorations.  Well, not the skull and tombstone creepy stuff but the cute critters and pumpkins and leaves.  I'm planning to cut down the corn stalks from my garden in the morning and making corn shocks for my front yard.  I'll just get a few bales of hay from the hay barn and a couple of pumpkins and my yard will be ready to go.  The trees are planning to cooperate, their leaves are starting to fall.

First, I'll post the skinny bags.  One Halloween and one Christmas.  I wanted the green owl punch to look more like Frankenstein but he looks more like a cute little monster.  I punched Certainly Celery with the Owl Punch and sponged it with Wild Wasabi before adding pink cheeks with freckles and drawing on a funny face.  I punched the top of the owl in black and trimmed the bottom jagged for his bangs.  After looking at it for a while I decided I needed to make the top of his "hair" jagged too and was much happier with it.  

The gingerbread man is from the XL Fancy Flower Punch.  I don't know where the button came from but I love the way the Signo White Pen glides as it lays down a thick line of white ink on the cardstock.

The cards are for a swap at the Stampin' Up Fall Retreat I'm going to Saturday.  I was going to make the woven ribbon version but, even though they are fairly quick I decided to make the Waffle Paper version on my swap cards.  I got the idea from Jackie Topa.  She cut cosmetic sponges in the shape of hearts and wrapped Waffle Paper around them and adhered them to the front of the card.  I made it a little easier, I punched the Ornament Punch into the front of the card and put a little stuffing and a square of Waffle Paper behind it for my version.  I layered the front onto a layer of Brushed Gold Cardstock which is layered on the beautiful Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  A simple sentiment stamped in Cherry Cobbler and a bow from 1/8" ribbon finish off the card.

Have you had the chance to play with the new Waffle Paper yet?  It is thin, not as thin as tissue paper but almost.  It has a nice wrinkly texture running through it that makes it especially easy to gather.  It comes on rolls that are 8" wide and 5' long so there is plenty on a roll to experiment with.  I've been having fun with the roll of gold, I reckon I should play with the silver and see what I come up with using it too!

Waffle Paper

Have you seen the new Waffle Paper that is in the Holiday Mini catalog?  It is very fun stuff!  I enjoyed playing with it today.  I wanted to try something different with it.  All the projects I have seen with it featured a gathered length around a circle or along the edge of stamped images like this tag I  made at a Stampin' Up meeting a few weeks ago.  It is beautiful, isn't it!  Besides the Waffle Paper it uses Soft Suede tag that has been embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Deck The Halls Designer paper, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding and the Bells and Boughs stamp set.

After making this tag I quickly ordered a package of Waffle Paper to play with.  It comes in a package of 2 rolls, each 5 yards long.  This gold piece came in a package with a silver roll.  There is another package that has a brown and black roll in it.  I'm sure I'll be adding some black to Halloween projects soon and the brown will show up on Fall and Thanksgiving projects.

The card I made today used it lengthwise instead of gathered around the edge.  It is kind of like a drapery swag.  I used the Deck The Halls Designer paper on this card also, along with Victoria Crochet Trim and Cherry Cobbler 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon.  The Peace on Earth sentiment comes from a set in the Holiday Mini catalog called Peaceful Season.  This is such a beautiful set.  I stamped it on half of a Top Note die and sponged some Cherry Cobbler ink along the sides.  Definitely not a quick and easy card.  I'm still not finished.  It's driving me nuts that I can't get those bows to match!  I'll try later, I've got a headache from trying!

I'm a Guest Blogger

It always amazes me, the things I manage to forget! Lori Stilger is a Stampin' Up demonstrator from Nashville. She is on vacation for a couple of weeks and I said that I would help her out as a guest blogger 2 times while she is away. My first post for her was featured Thursday and I plum forgot to share the link with yall. It is this cute little basket. It is sitting on a shelf above my stamp desk to remind me that I'm going on a cruise in Janurary! Doesn't it look like something you would take with you on a cruise? Here is the link to her (my) blog post so you can see how I made the basket.

I have some kind of virus and didn't get the baby shower invitations made that I was planning to make today. Here is a baby card I made for the no layers challenge though. Like Jae pointed out, sometimes when we limit ourselves we find extra creativity. I don't like this one as well as I do the witch falling in the spider web but I love how the bottom part of the card looks like a baby blanket when you roll it through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder. The Baby Tees wheel made the top part quick and easy. I bet it didn't take me 10 minutes to make this card! I love quick and easy! That's kind of hard to tell sometimes because I also love complicated and time consuming.

I have been trying to get this Halloween card finished for about 2 weeks. I finally got it figured out today.

I was using the 5/8" satin ribbon under the 3 stamped images but they were nearly completely covering it up! After pulling it out several times to try to finish it I thought about the wider ribbon today and it worked. I'm thinking about adding a strip of Old Olive Card stock behind the ribbon too but that will have to wait for another day.

The mummy friend looks familiar, right? I posted him a few days ago and got a suggestion from Jae that I add a sentiment in orange for a little pop of color. I stamped it directly on the mummy's "chin" but it didn't pop enough so I stamped it on Very Vanilla and then punched it out with the Large Oval Punch and punched a scrap of Pumpkin Pie card stock with the Scalloped Oval punch to mat it and give a larger touch of orange. I think her idea was perfect!

I wonder why I keep wanting to make Halloween cards. It's just the middle of September! I guess all the Halloween decorations and candy in the stores is making me feel like it's closer than it is. It won't be long though before Halloween will be over and we will be thinking about the turkey we are going to cook for Thanksgiving dinner. And I reckon you know what comes after that!

Time to Create!

I love it when I find some time to create. I woke up early this morning and since I couldn't sleep I made a couple of projects I had been thinking about.

First, I had bought some candy corn and made a skinny bag filled with it. I bought candy corn since I don't like it so I wouldn't eat it and then forgot that I wanted to get M&M's too. I decided on a mini candy corn card to go on the top of the skinny bag. The card opens up so you can write a little note to the lucky recipient. It was quick and easy with a 3" strip of white card stock and a 1" strip of Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight card stocks. The hardest thing was getting the candy corn in the bag. I ended up putting 2 at a time, facing opposite directions and pushing them down with the handle of a paint brush. It didn't take long once I figured that out though.

I changed the other 2 skinny bag toppers so I included them in the picture. I added wiggle eyes to the ghost and put some Daffodil Delight ink around the outside of the pumpkin with a marker. The close up shows how I sponged just a little bit of More Mustard ink around the edges to give it more depth.

I made a couple of cards for a no layer challenge on Late Night Stampers. I found that I can stand to do no layers if I use the embossing folders. This is the first card I made. I think the witch got caught in the spider web! The other card is a baby card, I'll post it later. I've got to make another 40 or 50 cards for a different baby shower this week so I'll be doing baby cards all week!

Look at this Georgous Card!

I got this card in the mail yesterday. It is from Sheryl Walker who lives in Kansas. Isn't it georgous!

She used the Day of Gratitude stamp set for the main focus image. I love the colors she used, they are great fall colors and remind me that the temperatures will soon be cooling down and the leaves turning beautiful colors. I love fall!

The 7 stamps in the Day of Gratitude stamp set are great, I love the designs and there are 2 sentiment stamps in the set. One is the Thank You that she stamped on this card and the other is a very nice quote about gratitude. There is also a pack of Designer Series Paper that matches this stamp set called Autumn Spice. The paper strip across the card is from that paper pack. The ribbon treatment is great too, a piece of Old Olive 5/8" satin with a piece of Chocolate Chip 1/8" Taffeta ribbon in the middle of it. I love that new Taffeta ribbon!

A Halloween card

I spent quite a while distressing the edges of the Very Vanilla cardstock for this card. I think I will just tear the edges if I make another one! I love the look of the cardstock when you rub the distressing tool around the edges though. Just doing the edges of a card doesn't take very long but doing all these strips did take a while!

I cut several strips of Very Vanilla into 1" strips and distressed the edges and then sponged a little Chocolate Chip ink on them. I adhered them across a quarter sheet of cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot with the Top Note die.

The base of the card is Basic Black, embossed with the Spider Web embossing folder (I love that thing!) and then rubbed it with Whisper White Craft Ink. I want to add the Happy Halloween sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Verses set somewhere but can't decide whether to do it on his "forehead" or "chin" in black ink or on the black background with white ink. What do you think?

Skinny Bag Treat

Coming to one of my classes very soon!

I got these skinny bags today and couldn't resist putting something in them! I don't have any other candy at home so I used some nerds I bought in the spring to fill the Sweet Treat flower centers with. I never got the flower made so the box has been shuffled back and forth on my stamp desk for months. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of pink in there so I picked a lot of them out. Pink just doesn't seem to be a Halloween color. Of course, up until a few years ago it wasn't really a Christmas color and it has been in a lot of Christmas decorations since so it could cross over into Halloween too.

But anyway, it isn't a Halloween color yet so I picked most of them out. I used a funnel to fill the tube so it was easier to fill. After getting it full I folded and adhered the top (the bags have a peel and stick closure) and stapled the black Scalloped Circle or XL Decorative Label on the top. For the one on the right I punched the owl in white and cut off the feet to make it a ghost. I think his eyes need to be a bit smaller though. I used the Happy Halloween stamp from the Teeny Tiny Verses stamp set, coloring in the words separately so I could put them on top of each other instead of beside each other. The pumpkin is from the new Paisley Prints set that is in the new Holiday Mini Catalog.

I'm sure I will find some fun Christmas ideas to fill more bags with. I'll have to buy M&M's though. I wonder what other candies will look great in these bags. I've heard of people using the large pretzels too. Fun, fun!

Two Beautiful Cards

I got two beautiful cards in the mail the other day. The first one is from Sherry Hostetter, a Stampin' Up Demonstrator who lives in Texas.

She used the beautiful Greenhouse Garden Designer Series Paper along with Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze cardstock. I like her interesting treatment of the Friends Never Fade stamp set, turning the flower on it's side and using just the Friends part of the stamp. Of course, I also love the little bit of bling on the flower's vine.

The other card is from Julie Wick from Ohio. (Julie, if you read this and have a blog, post your blog link so I can post it here) I love the fall colors so this color scheme is one I really like. She used the crimper to get some texture on the card. With the embossing folders available for the Big Shot we tend to send the crimper to the bottom of the tool bag sometimes but it looks great on this card! The new Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch makes a great border above and below the strip with the Take A Sip wheel rolled across it. Cutting 2 of the cups out and elevating them with Stampin' Dimensionals and adding lots of Dazzling Diamonds on the "steam" finish the card off beautifully.

So, a day of vertigo was made more cheerful with the delivery of the mail on Friday. I'm feeling better now, I reckon it might be safe for me to drive tomorrow.

Baby Shower Card

Sorry to post a card with retired paper but I made these baby shower invitations for a friend's shower and had nearly a whole package left so I used it (see how green I am?). I was going to do a different design but I looked at the stamp with 3 birds one day and it struck me that this would be the perfect stamp for this particular baby shower. My friend has 3 boys between the ages of 9 and 15 so it was quite a surprise when she found out she was expecting a baby. The new baby is going to be another boy! She is pretty excited about it now that she has gotten used to the idea. The boys are pretty excited about it too but they have been teasing their mom a lot. I thought the birds looked like they were discussing something, it could be a new baby, couldn't it?


I stamped the 3 birds on the front and typed in the question, "Do you think Mom is forgetting someone?" and punched it with the oval punch. I mounted that on the new Decorative Label punch. Then on the inside of the card I stamped a mommy bird and 4 baby birds. The shower information will be under that. After stamping the 3 birds in Pacific Point I cleaned the stamp real well and used the Pacific Point marker to color in one bird and stamped it at the back of the 3. Using the marker made it easy to just color the 1 bird without getting ink on the other images. It took a while to make 40 of these but I like how they turned out.

I made a card!

I thought I posted these cards last night. I guess I got busy with something else and didn't realize I hadn't posted anything. It seems I don't get to make as many cards or scrapbook pages as I would like to so it's pretty exciting to me when I actually make a card.

This one is a quick and simple card but I like it. I was thinking about lightly inking the edges of the 2 white embossed ornaments but when I tried that it just didn't look right. It is a little hard to see in the picture but the embossing makes them stand out quite a bit in real life.

I have 2 other cards I wanted to share today too. One is from my friend, Stacy Bowers. She is a Stampin' Up demonstrator in the Nashville area and made me a thank you card for getting something at the convention because she wasn't able to go this year. She used the Friends 24-7 set and a great color combination of Old Olive, Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip. Stacy always does beautiful work and this card is a perfect example of her style.

Second is a tag card I got from Chera Wiest. She used the Eastern Blooms stamp set, an oldie but goodie, and an interesting color combination. I wouldn't have though of this combination by myself but it works great! Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue and Pretty in Pink. Don't you love getting happy mail? It is so much better than the kind with windows that your address shows through :~)