HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Since I already posted the cards I made for this year, I decided to pull out my favorite card from last year.  

Hope all of you have some spooky little goblins come around trick or treating tonight.  My husband is a school bus driver so we get a lot of the school kids that know him from riding his bus.  Some of them always ask if he is home so they can say "Hi".  A fun night!

Thank you for coming by today!

COLOR SWAP CARD

The October color swap for our Yahoo group was Rust and Cream.  This is the card I sent to my partner.  

I used Stampin' Up! Dusty Durango card stock for the card base, mat and die cut leaf.  The "Cream" mat was embossed with a "tree" folder.  Before adding the Maple leaf to the cream square, I sponged Dusty Durango ink on the piece.  

I also had an Oak leaf already cut on the table so I added it to the inside.  Thank you for stopping by today!

THREE MORE CARDS FROM PIECES

All of the flowers below had been stamped and colored.  The three pieces had been in my "parts tub" for a long time.  I even had the black mats cut for them. 

The embossing which was done with the new SU "Petal Burst" folder was done on a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of white card stock and then added to the front of the card base.  (Most of the time I do this so that the embossing doesn't show on the inside of the card.)

I think these cards will be great to use for any one of several choices of occasions.

This one has the sentiment matted.  It is actually the first one I did.  When I stamped the sentiment my ink pad wasn't "inky" enough and it didn't stamp completely.  The stamp is a wood mounted sentiment so I couldn't use it in the MISTI to stamp it a second time and have it lined up perfectly.  The only choice was to stamp it again using a different ink pad, matting it and adding it over the first try.  I do wish I had matted it with black though.

Thanks for coming by today!  Have a great weekend!

ANOTHER CARD PART

This little bird had already been stamped, colored and matted on the scalloped piece of Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze card stock.   I'm not sure why I hadn't just gone ahead and used it on a card when I had it that far.  All I did Tuesday was to take a strip of the Baja Breeze designer paper and add it to a white card base.  The design was added with foam dots and I stamped the sentiment.  In a little more than 5 minutes I had the card finished.   

Thank you for coming by today!

USING A STAMPED PIECE

After I posted my card yesterday, I decided to get into my tub of card parts and pieces and see if I could get some of them put together.  I pulled out several and got them made up.  Sure felt good but it didn't begin to make a dent in all of them. Some of them probably just need to be tossed!

The flowers from a Rubbernecker stamp set had been stamped and colored on the white card stock.  I had also used the Rubbernecker Freehand Frame.  That much was already done.  I trimmed down the piece a bit and matted it with black.  Then it was added to the top fold card base.  It still needed a little something.  I squeezed a little of the Stickles glitter glue onto my finger and dabbed it around on the flowers to add just a touch of shine.  (In the picture, the glitter apears to be tiny white dots.)

The other cards that I was able to put together yesterday will be posted in the next few days.  Thank you for coming by today!

QUICK AND EASY

I didn't have anything made in advance for today so I decided to do a one-layer CAS card.  I ran across the picture of a card I had seen a long time ago on Pinterest.  This is my "take" on it.

Rather than use a rectangle shape for the background, I cut an oval into a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece of white card stock.  I used the negative portion of it for a mask to lay over the card base and then sponged SU Watermelon Wonder and Cucumber Crush inks through the "window".

Next I stamped the design from the SU Simply Sketched stamp set with VersaFine Onyx Black ink and colored with the coordinating markers.  The sentiment is also from the same set (and kit looks crooked in the picture although it isn't).

The card I used as an inspiration had used the white layer as a mat and added it to a colored card base.  I like it this way too.

Thank you for coming by!

STAMPIN' UP! THOUGHTFUL BRANCHES

I saw the idea for this (as usual) on Pinterest.  I had the supplies I needed so I decided to give it a try. The die for the pumpkin is from the Stampin' Up! Beautiful Branches thinlits set and can also be used for a tree and a Hydrangea.  The whole set is so versatile.

I made some changes of my own with the pumpkin.  The card I saw had a banner across the white portion with a sentiment.  I decided to leave that off and just stamp an Autumn or Thanksgiving sentiment inside.  

The white mat was embossed with the SU Woodland folder.  I then used a stamp from the SU Gorgeous Grunge stamp set to lightly stamp some lines which don't show up real well in the picture.  I sponged some Pumpkin Pie and Olive Olive around the bottom and the upper left corner.  Then I stamped some of the little leaves from the Thoughtful Branches stamp set.  The final step was to spray the back of the pumpkin with adhesive and add it to the mat.  

I have to say I really like how this card turned out and thank the person who came up with this idea in the first place.  I don't usually take quite a much time on a single card, but this one was really worth it.

Thanks for coming by!

I CASED THIS CARD

One of the blogs I follow is Scrappin' and Stampin' in GJ.  This is a CASE of a card she posted on October 12.  She and I have it in common that we CASE cards made by others.

Recently she has been posting some great cards using Maple leaves.   She explained how she takes the card stock leaf, scrunches it up and then sponges it with ink.  I'm not sure I accomplished the same look with my leaf.  It does lend to a little more realistic look so I'll be trying it again.

So thank you to Scrappin' and Stampin' in GJ for what a great card to use as an inspiration.

BIRTHDAY CARD FOR THE GUYS

I was running errands yesterday and saw some really beautiful trees with the colorful leaves.  I have several sets of dies for leaves but I think this one is my favorite.

The basic idea for this came from someone else's card but I made it my own by making some changes .  Instead of using a designer paper, I embossed a piece of Stampin' Up! Close to Cocoa card stock with a folder of trees.  I cut a Maple Leaf and an Oak Leaf from a set of Prima Dies "Forest Leaves".   I also used my own sentiment and sponged the edges of the piece.  

My mother asked me to make a card for my husband's birthday which will be in a few days.  Hopefully these are the only leaves he'll have to deal with since we don't have any trees of our own in our yard.  

Thank you for coming by today!

IN SYMPATHY & FRIENDSHIP

Making sympathy cards isn't my favorite kind to make because it always means that we have lost someone in our lives.  Unfortunately we need two right now.

This is one of my favorite stamp sets to use though.........Stampin' Up! "Love & Sympathy".

The card base, mat, and inks for the design are Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze.  

The embossing folder is a Sizzix design from Stampin' Up!

The sentiment is from a little My Sentiments Exactly! acrylic stamp set inked with VersaFine Onyx Black..

And finally the little butterfly is from an Inkadinkadoo set of 3 butterflies.

Thank you for coming by today!

FIVE YEARS AGO I POSTED THIS

Yesterday I was trying to get caught up on a few things after being gone for a few days and I didn't get a card made for today.  I was looking through posts from five years ago and ran across this one.  It made me smile. I hope it brings a smile to you too.  It was a card I made to send to one of the children of a niece or a nephew.

Hopefully I'll have something new for you again tomorrow.  Thanks for coming by!

PENNY BLACK - "Bee"utiful Day

We were gone for a few days and I didn't have anything scheduled for today.  Earlier a friend returned some stamps she had borrowed.  I decided to make use of three of them before I put them away.  Penny Black has so many cute stamps and I don't use them nearly enough.

My first step was to cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of cardstock.  Using my MISTI I stamped the Rubbernecker Freehand Frame.  By using the MISTI I was able to get it centered exactly where I wanted it.

I then stamped the three Penny Black designs with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copic markers.  I am going to add glitter to the wings of the bee but wanted to get this posted right away.  

Confession:  I actually did another card first and stamped the frame right on the front of the card base making two mistakes.  Because I stamped them with VersaFine Onyx Black ink, I was unable to color with Copic markers because they would bleed through the card base AND Copic markers would smeer the VersaFind ink.  I'm not happy with that card..

Thank you for coming by to see today's post!

HALLOWEEN CARD #9

It seemed appropriate with today being Friday the 13th that I post a "scary" card.  To be honest, I made this card last year and did post it before Halloween.  Since I hadn't used it, I thought I would show it to you again since it is the last of the Halloween cards I will be posting.  This one will go to our grandson.

The black layer which includes the branch was cut with a Memory Box die.  The bats are from Impression Obsession.  The background was created using alcohol inks on Yupo paper.

I made 25 cards to send from my husband and I and helped with the 97 my friends and I made earlier.  I'm ready to move on to some other cards.  

Thank you for coming by today!  I hope you all have a great weekend.

HALLOWEEN CARD #8

Using another piece of the same dp that I used yesterday, I made this card using a different layout.

Thank you for coming by today!

HALLOWEEN CARD #7

Ghosts played a big part in the Halloween cards I made this year.  Last month I showed you a card with this layout that some friends of mine helped me make for the residents where my mother lives.  

First I cut a white layer to measure 4" X 5 1/4". I had an odd piece of this dp.  I thought the stars would make a great background for the ghosts.  A strip of Stampin' Up! Washi Tape was added along the side.  I added the ghosts, stamped the "Boo!" and then added it to a Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry card base .  This card will go one of our granddaughters.

Thank you for coming by today!

HALLOWEEN CARD #6

Yesterday I started die cutting pieces for cards made with this design.  I made 22 using this design so that was a lot of die cutting!  Today I was busy putting them together so that I could have them ready to go when it is time to mail.  Two of these cards will go to granddaughters (Taryn and Abby)......the rest are being sent to elderly people from our community who are in care centers.  These are in addition to the ones they will receive that we made for the staff to hand out.  As fun as it was to make these cards, I'm glad that they are all done.  I can now move on to some other fun designs.

Dies used:
Tree - Memory Box
Fence - Impressions Obsession
Pumpkin - Top Dog Dies
Ghosts - Memory Box
Bat - Impression Obsession
Moon - Spellbinders Circle

Sorry this post is being made in the middle of the afternoon, but I didn't have anything ready to schedule ahead of time.  Thanks for stopping by!

2nd CARD FROM YUPO PAPER

Last Thursday I showed you this piece that two of the granddaughters challenged me to use.  What do you see when you look at this piece?  Below is the 2nd card I did with it.

I had already cut away a corner of the 5" x 7" piece.  When I looked at the remaining portion of the colors, I turned the piece around and I saw a body of water and the lighter colored sky above.  There were two portions of white that bothered me so I trimmed it down further and added yellow with a Copic marker to represent the sun.  I used a white gel pen to add little waves in the water and already had a white sailboat in my "pieces".

Before adding the matted design to the card base, I cut a 4" x 5 1/4" piece and embossed it with the waves folder. The folder is designed vertically.  I realized that if I matched up the design and ran it through a second time, I would be able to get it horizontally.

Thanks to granddaughters, Ashlyn and Taryn, I was able to get 3 cards out of this one piece.  I have the third one ready to go, but you're going to have to come back on December 12th to see it.  I'm using it on a birthday card for Ashlyn.  So be sure to come back.

STAMPlorations October CAS Card Challenge

SURPRISE!!!  I have a second card for you today!

STAMPlorations™ Blog: October CAS Card Challenge

You can check out the details by clicking on the link above.

I had been working with some of these peel-off stickers from Elizabeth Craft designs and when I saw this challenge I thought it would be one that I could put together rather quickly.

The "Thankful" is from Penny Black "words of gratitude" die set.  The dp is from Stampin' Up! and the pumpkin and leaves are from a sheet of Elizabeth Craft peel-off stickers.  I colored the sticker designs with my Copic markers.  The entire piece was then added to an A2 ivory card base.

Thank you for coming by today!

ANOTHER MIXED MEDIA #2 CARD

Before I show you the card, I wanted to show you another of the Yupo paper pieces that my granddaughters challenged me to use.  I'll have to admit I wasn't sure where this would go.  I used a portion of it for the card below and have another two pieces cut with ideas.  We'll see how that goes.

Yesterday I mentioned that there were two of the three dies in the Tim Holtz set that I really liked.  This is the second one.

Since the Thinking of You die separate the words, I decided to add them to the card in a staggered fashion.  My mother likes to use Thinking of You cards for various things that come up so I think this one will be given to her for her use.

Thank you so much for coming by!  

TIM HOLTZ - SIZZIX - Mixed Media #2

I have a Memory Box die that is very similar to this but is smaller and fits more into the corner.  I found the set containing this die on eBay and was interested in one of the other two dies that the set included and the price was right to buy it even though I liked only 2 of the three designs.  You will see the other die I liked used on another card later.

I had played with alcohol inks on this piece of glossy paper.  It was almost full size for an A2 card.  All I had to do was cut off about 1/4" from the bottom edge of the card base to make it fit completely.  The white die cut piece was cut down accordingly to give a narrow margin of the glossy paper.

It's hard to see in the picture but the inks I used on the glossy paper included some metallic gold ink so that is why I chose to cut the "Thanks" from glossy gold card stock.

Thanks for coming by today!

EARLY THANKSGIVING CARD

This glittered design is another of the peel-off stickers from the Elizabeth Craft designs that I referred to yesterday.  I colored the design with Distress markers. When I was ready to use it, I noticed orange smudges that were on the white glittered area around the design.  I was so disappointed and discovered the ink had not dried and I had orange all over a couple of my fingers!   I briefly hit the design with my heat gun and put it aside until the next day.  

The only way to fix the situation was to cut out the design.  I remembered some plaid Stampin' Up! designer paper that I had from last year and added a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" piece to an Ivory card base.  I used a Penny Black die to cut out the "Thankful" with card stock and added the sticker design.

I wish I had more of this plaid designer paper since I have more of these sticker pieces to use.

Thanks for coming by today!  Your comments are welcome and appreciated!

GLITTERED FALL CARD

I have a bunch (and I mean a bunch) of Elizabeth Crafts peel-off sticker sheets in various designs.  One of the designs is a sheet of pumpkins.  At this time of year, it was time to pull at least one sheet out and get busy with them.

First I embossed a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of card stock with the leaves and added it to the white card base.

This is actually the last design I did using up the last of the stickers on one of the sheets.  I added the two pumpkins to the adhesive first, glittered the entire piece and then colored them.  The leaves were all added to a sheet, glittered, colored and then cut out to add around the pumpkins.   

The easiest way to explain how this is done is to refer you to You Tube.  There is a great video there that takes you through the process step-by-step.

You will be seeing more of these on my blog so I hope you will come back again soon!  Your comments are always welcome and appreciated!!!!