Happy Halloween!

Happy boo to all of you, my loyal blog readers! I saved my favorite Halloween card of this year's bunch for the actual day. You're probably all getting sick of this designer paper, but I want you to know it's almost all gone! I love the spiders on the paper and decided to showcase them with this card. I cut some circles and squares with my Nestabilities and stamped the spider from SU's Booglie Eyes in them. The spiders were colored with Copics, and I used a blender pen to create a bit of texture in the purple of their bodies. I finished the card off with the last of my sparkly purple spider brads and my favorite Rosie's Roadshow sentiment.
Hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween with lots of treats and no tricks!
Supplies:
Stamps: Booglie Eyes, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: elegant eggplant, basic black, neenah white, green galore, Pinecone Press dp
Accessories: Nestabilities, word window punch, spider brad

A little ghost

Halloween is getting closer so I figure I ought to post the last of my Halloween cards! I am determined to use up this designer paper with this year's batch of cards, but I was getting tired of using the same images, so I switched it up on this card. I thought I would work with the pumpkins in the designer paper, so I picked out this image from SU's Booglie Eyes to go with the paper. I went with this layout primarily to avoid covering up the pumpkins too much!
Supplies:
Stamps: Booglie Eyes, SU; Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: Elegant eggplant, tangerine tango, basic black, neenah white, Pinecone Press dp
Accessories: Square punches, word window punch

Feeling lucky!

As I'm sure most of my readers do, I subscribe to quite a few blogs that I check regularly (I use Google Reader and it is great for going through my blog subscriptions quickly!) And whenever anyone posts a giveaway, especially for things I'd enjoy adding to my craft stash, I throw my name in the hat. Well, that persistence had paid off, I guess! I recently won to contests for some great goodies. The first was World Cardmaking Day contest held by Stampin' Gal Val, who gave away this fabulous coffee stamp set from Our Craft Lounge. And look at that wonderful card she made to go with the stamps? Isn't it fabulous?
My other new and fabulous goody is this collection of Amuse's new Shimmer Couture paper. They were giving away a collection on the Amuse blog and I won it! This paper is divine - super, super shimmery, with fabulous colors. The photo does not do it justice. The collection includes solids and a brocade print to match each solid (except the white). I have a feeling I'll be hoarding these for awhile. I need some special projects to use them on!
An thanks again to Val and to Amuse for the great giveaways!

Unity bachelor #5: Around the house

I've been enjoying the Unity Bachelor contest in the Unity forum on SCS. It's been a great excuse to get my Unity stamps nice and inky. Last week's challenge was to use something from around the house in your card. I had a hard time coming up with something, then I was digging around in the pantry and happened on the aluminum foil. I stamped images from Unity's Darling Dots on the foil using Stazon inks, then ran the foil through the Cuttlebug. The foil is a little delicate (I didn't have any heavy duty foil, just regular) but it embosses beautifully! I rounded the corners, added another dot image and a sentiment from Gratitude=Joy and some bling and called it good! The foil adds so much shimmer, it was a little hard to take a photo of, but I think it turned out pretty cool.
Supplies:
Stamps: Unity darling dots and gratitude=joy
Ink: Stazon, Colorbox silver
Paper: Tempting turquoise, lovely lilac, pink passion, foil
Accessories: cuttlebug, rhinestone brad, Kaisercraft rhinestones, circle punches

Res-Q #19: Trick or Treat

I had so much fun with this week's Res-Q challenge! Jean challenged us to make some Halloween treats or treat holders this week, and offered a whole bunch of ideas for inspiration. You can see the challenge and her ideas HERE. I decided to make some sour cream containers, since I'd never made any before and had always wanted to try. I like a challenge, so I made the first pair out of acetate. I stamped a bat image using black Stazon all over the acetate, then filled the containers with Halloween kisses.
For the second pair, I used some scraps of Halloween designer papers from my stash. These were so quick and easy; I made them in just a few minutes. I am adding them to goodie bags for my nieces and nephews, so I left the containers plain, but it would be easy to embellish them up a bit and add a tag or sentiment.
Supplies:
Stamps: Victorine originals bat
Ink: Stazon black
Paper: acetate, misc. dp
Accessories: crimper, sticky strip

Unity bachelor # 4

Here's another Unity Bachelor project. Last weekend's challenge was to make a recipe card! I cheated a bit; I already had a copy of this recipe printed out so I started with it. I kept the layout and design simple and went with green and a splash of red to match the basil/tomato combination in the brie. The recipe attaches to the card with the spiral clip for easy removal by the recipient. The base card is 5.5 inches square, and the recipe card is 3 x 5 so it could fit in a standard recipe box.
Supplies:
Stamps: Unity gratitude = joy
Ink: printer, artichoke, mellow moss
Paper: artichoke, mellow moss, neenah white, artichoke dp
Accessories: brads, EK success punch, ribbon, spiral clip

Unity Bachelor #3

I was so busy sharing some of my World Cardmaking Day cards, I got behind on sharing my cards for the Unity Bachelor challenge that Unity is hosting on SCS. This is my card for week #3 of the challenge, will called for mixing polka dots and plaid on your card.
I couldn't find any plaid DP in my stash (can you believe it?), so I made a plaid background using my flannel plaid stamp from SU and inking it in teal and chocolate chip. I added some sponging to the background and and to the sentiment, then finished the card off with some polka dot and chocolate flowers from Petaloo.
Supplies:
Stamps: Unity, SU Flannel Plaid bg
Ink: Taken with teal, chocolate chip
Paper: taken with teal, chocolate chip, vanilla
Accessories: Petaloo flowers and centers, teal Kaisercraft pearls, sponges

WCMD Hearing check

This is another of my World Cardmaking Day cards. Told you I made a bunch! This one combined an SCS challenge and a Res-Q challenge. The SCS challenge from Unity was to make a quote the focal point of your card. The Res-Q challenge from Jean was based on a hearing test, so she asked us to make a loud card with a loud embellishment! I thought this Unity quote was a good match for both challenges. I paired it with some Basic Grey Indian Summer - have I mentioned lately how much I love that paper? :) The color combination is kiwi kiss and purely pomegranate with a touch of chocolate chip. For me, one of the challenges of large quotes is the empty space around them - in this case, my paper looked super white. To fix that, I pulled out my color spritzer and added ink splatters and sprays across the paper. It also adds to the "loud" effect, I think. I finished the card with some Primas layered together.
Supplies:
Stamps: Unity
Ink: kiwi kiss, purely pomegranate, chocolate chip
Paper: kiwi kiss, purely pomegranate, whisper white, Indian Summer from Basic Grey
Accessories: Primas, rhinestone brad, color spritzer

TESC86: Hocus Pocus II

See, I told you you'd probably see some more of this image and paper! I made this version of Hocus Pocus with Taylor's weekly sketch. You can see the original sketch HERE. I wasn't sure how to address the group of three brads or dots on her sketch, but then I came up with these half circles with googlie eyes. It's supposed to look like someone or something peeking out. I also added some Stickles to the image on this version for a little more bling. I think I only have a couple more Halloween cards to make, and I plan on using this designer paper up with them. I might change up the images for you, though!
Supplies:
Stamps: Karen Lockhart, Rosie's Roadshow
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: basic black, only orange, neenah white, Pinecone Press dp,
Accessories: Stickles, spider brad, circle punches, googlie eyes

WSC101 Hocus Pocus

I love playing along in Beate's weekend sketch challenges - they are a great way to get me experimenting with layouts, since I normally keep mine pretty clean and simple! You can see the original sketch HERE. I need to get my Halloween cards finished so I used this sketch on another one. I've been using this darling Karen Lockhart image and some fun designer paper from Pinecone Press on my Halloween cards this year. I also found this awesome glittery spider brad at my LSS that I thought would be a great addition. You'll probably see a few more cards using this combination of paper and stamps in the next few days!
Supplies:
Stamps: Karen Lockhart image, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: Lovely lilac, basic black, neenah white, green galore, Pinecone Press DP
Accessories: Circle punches, spider brad

Res-Q Vision Check

Here's another of my World Cardmaking Day cards. This one combined one of the Splitcoast challenges with one of the Res-Q challenge. The SCS challenge was to use chocolate brown, make a thank you card and use Beate's 100th weekend sketch. The Res-Q challenge, presented by Pat, was to get an eye check and use a large letter on your card. So I paired a Heidi Swapp chipboard "u" with the heart image from Good Things, but kept the rest of the card pretty simple. The sentiment is also from Good Things. That set was in a Stampin Up Simply Sent card kit, and I just love it.
Supplies:
Stamps: Good Things
Ink: Memento rich cocoa
Paper: chocolate chip, pink pirhouette, American Crafts dp
Accessories: ribbon, EK Success punch, chipboard letter

WCMD BP Check

I made a ton of cards last weekend for World Cardmaking Day, but I haven't been very good about getting them posted on my blog! I'll try to rectify that over the next few days! This is my card for Denise's challenge on the Res-Q challenge blog; she asked us to use something on our card that makes our blood pressure go up! For me, that is definitely staples - especially staples that SHOW! But I persevered, and used staples to attach my ribbons on this little mermaid card. The image is from Pink Cat Studios and was a RAK from my friend Jacqueline. Isn't she cute? I covered her scales with Stickles for lots of sparkle.
Supplies:
Stamps: Lily, Pink Cat Studios; sentiment, Stampendous
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: tempting turquoise, lavender lace, ballet blue, whisper white
Accessories: staples, ribbon, Cuttlebug, Stickles, ticket punch, dew drop

Res-Q #18: enroute to fall colors

I've been having problems with blogger, so it's taken me a little time to get this posted! This is my card for Res-Q Challenge #18. Jean is our medic this week, and she's taking us on a flight to an undisclosed location. If you can guess where it is, she might have a prize for you. I'm thinking it's somewhere in Maine, but I'm not sure! See all the details on the challenge here: http://resqchallenge.blogspot.com/
The challenge calls for taking inspiration from the fall colors, which is no problem for me. I am embracing fall this year - I was so glad when our weather changed and started to get cooler! For this card, I stamped a bunch of leaf images in various fall colors and added some sponging to take away the "whiteness" of the paper, paired that piece with some of my favorite Basic Grey Indian Summer paper and added my favorite fall sentiment.
Supplies:
Stamps: Darling dots, SU; sentiment, Rosie's Roadshow
Ink: bravo burgundy, ruby red, really rust, pumpkin pie, more mustard, chocolate chip
Paper: really rust, whisper white, Basic Grey Indian Summer
Accessories: corner rounder, Kaisercraft pearls, ribbon, sponges

WCMD: Glitz

Here's another card I made for the WCMD challenges on Ellen Hutson's Classroom blog. For this challenge, Julia asked us to glitz up our cards with a our favority glitzy goods. One of my favorite ways to add glitz to an image is to cover the entire thing in versamark and emboss with iridescent ice embossing powder. It makes such a sparkly card! These little Karen Lockhard images were a RAK from my friend Karolyn. I colored them with Copics, punched them out with some square punches and glitzed them up. I paired them with some old Paper Salon dp from my stash, added some sparkly ribbon, a swirl of rhinestones and a sentiment from Savvy Stamps.
Supplies:
Stamps: Karen Lockhart, Savvy
Ink: bravo burgundy, black, Copic markers
Paper: Mellow moss, Paper Salon DP
Accessories: EP, ribbon, rhinestones, square punches

WCMD: Ellen Hutson/Debbie Olsen

I had so much fun stamping all day yesterday for World Cardmaking Day. I got a number of cards done and will be sharing all those creations over the next few days. I may even stamp a few more today before the day is over! One of the places I visited yesterday was Ellen Hutson's Classroom blog - she has some great challenges and giveaways going on over there. I started with an easy challenge, Debbie Olsen challenged us to make a card for our holiday card stash! I'm slowly building up my stash for the coming year. Last year I made a couple of cards for some Elvis fans in my life, and they were such a hit I thought I would make some more this year. Then I found this sentiment from Stampendous and new it would pair perfectly with Elvis. Since the Elvis stamp is so intricate, I've tried to keep the layout and embellishing pretty simple.
Supplies:
Stamps: Elvis, Cornish Heritage Farms; sentiment, Stampendous
Ink: Brilliance graphite black
Paper: basic black, bashful blue, neenah white
Accessories: Cuttlebug snowflake folder, Kaisercraft pearls, ribbon, slot punch

Res-Q Heatlh Fair: Vaccination

The crew members over at the the Res-Q Challenge are having a Mojo Health Fair today in honor of World Cardmaking Day! There are four challenges today - you can find them all HERE - and we'll be giving away some goodies to people who play along or comment!
I'm hosting the final challenge of the day and it's getting underway right now! The last stop at the health fair is the "vaccination station." You won't have to get a shot, but we do ask that you pull out your needle for some paper-piercing! For my sample card, I did some piercing in each corner of the card to add a little interest. You don't need any special supplies - you can use a thumb tack, push pin or sewing needle and an old mouse pad to do your piercing. The layout of this card was loosely inspired by Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #100. Hope you'll join us for some health fair fun!
Supplies:
Stamps: So Many Scallops
Ink: soft sky
Paper: soft sky, baja breeze, artichoke, Basic Grey Dasher, whisper white
Accessories: paper piercer, piercing template from Gina K Designs, ribbon, EK Success punch, scallop punch, Nestabilities, Kaisercraft pearls

Res-Q #17: Paint splatter

Do you ever have one of those cards that just seems to take forever to get made? That was me this week with this card. The challenge on the Res-Q blog this week was to use a paint splatter or something similar on your card. You can see all the details on the challenge, and play along HERE! We'd love to have you join us. And Saturday, in honor of World Cardmaking Day, we'll be holding a cardmaker's "Health Fair" to get your mojo going. We'll have four challenges throughout the day, and we'll have some prizes, too. We know there's a lot going on tomorrow, so feel free to combine the Res-Q challenges with other WCMD challenges!
Now on to the card. This card took me all week to make! I spent one evening trying to come up with an idea. I finally pulled out my red acrylic paint and splattered up an 8.5 by 11 piece. I made a huge mess, too, getting red paint splatters all over my kitchen counter and on my clothes. Fortunately I was wearing old ones I usually reserve for housecleaning! Since the acrylic paint was pretty thick in some spots, I had to leave it overnight to dry. Once the paper was done, I decided the red looked a little like blood (hope that doesn't gross you all out!) so I paired it with this cute little vampire from Booglie Eyes. I was almost finished Thursday, but I was struggling to find a sentiment and figure out a layout. Tonight, with fresh eyes on the card, I remembered some sentiments a friend sent with some Halloween images and pulled one out. I didn't want to cover up the background paper, so I just added a couple of bats to the background and a simple suede ribbon and called it good! I also added some sparkle to the sentiment and the vampire's cape with a spica clear glitter pen.
That's it for me tonight. See you around the Web tomorrow for World Cardmaking Day!
Supplies:
Stamps: Booglie Eyes (SU), bat (Victorine Originals), sentiment unknown
Ink: Memento tuxedo black, Copic markers
Paper: real red, elegant eggplant, neenah white
Accessories: suede ribbon, square punches, spica pen, acrylic paint