Witchy-Poo!
5
Category Archives: Halloween
…Bothered & Bewildered…
Candy Corn…
For some strange reason, I love making Halloween themed cards. I suppose it’s not even really a very “carded” holiday. But there’s something about the whole oranges, blacks, greens, purples, etc. that fascinate me. The witches, ghosts and goblins call out to that five year-old boy that still lives somewhere inside my cluttered mind.
Today’s card uses a great background paper from Teresa Collin’s “Haunted Hallows” designer paper collection. (Notice the subversive skulls that are hidden among the classic damask pattern. I also used Papertrey Ink’s “Friendship Jar” and “Friendship Jar Fall Fillers” acrylic stamps (and the corresponding steel dies) to create the artwork on the card front. I used my Stampin’ Write markers to handcolor the artwork. The “Trick or Treatment” sentiment and the inside journaling block is paper from Echo Park’s “Apothecary Emporium” collection”. The skull stamp on the inside is from the Stampin’ Up! set “Spooky Bingo Bits”. I also used four caviar Kaiser Craft Sparklets stones to highlight the punched corners of the card mat.
Bones
Here’s a cute and quick Halloween card. I fell in love with this particular skeleton stamp from Tim Holtz’s Stampers Anonymous collection. I just picture this line of dancing skeletons getting ready for the big chorus line number as the witching hour approaches. (Yes, I have issues…)
The base cardstock is from the ‘Midnight Spell’ paper stack from Die Cuts With A View (DCWV). I used a 4″ x 5″ piece of Stampin’ Up! Whisper White cardstock to stamp my images on. The blood splatter, barbed wire, skeleton, skull and sentiment are all Tim Holtz red rubber cling stamps. The inks I used are Tsukineko Memento in Tuxedo Black and Papertrey Ink in Scarlet Jewel. The tissue tape embellishment is also from Tim Holtz and his Ideology “Hobgoblin” collection. ( I adore all of the tissue tape lines and highly recommend them.)
Pump Up The Volume
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Here’s a quick and colorful card for the upcoming Halloweenie! The base cardstock is Papertrey Ink Simply Chartreuse. The plaid mat is from the Cosmo Cricut “Matilda” Collection. The glittered pumpkin mat is from the “Midnight Spell” stack by Die Cut With A View (DCWV). The stamped image is from Stampin’ Up!’s “Dark & Dreary” clear-mount set (#121151, $ 14.95). It was stamped with StazOn in Jet Black on Stampin’ Up! Whisper White cardstock. I used Stampin’ Write markers in Daffodil Delight and Really Rust to highlight the image. The image was adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The ribbon–in Ripe Avocado–is from Papertrey Ink as well. The final accent is a Sparkler Button in Peach from Webster’s Pages.
9 1/2 Lives
You Lookin’ At Me?
This fun Halloween card was made with Papertrey Ink cardstock in Simply Chartreuse, American Craft glitter cardstock in Yellow, American Craft textured cardstock in Black. The window frame was cut using my Cricut Expression at 4 1/2″ from the “October 31st” seasonal cartridge. The witch is from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous set entitled “Retro Halloween”. The sentiment is from another Tim Holtz set called “Mini Halloween”. The witch was stamped on Stampin’ Up! Whisper White cardstock with Tsukineko Memento ink in Tuxedo Black and handcolored with Copic Sketch markers.
Spooky (Life Gets In The Way)
First and foremost, I want to thank all of my readers and friends who were worried about my unplanned disappearance. Thank you for the concern–and for continuing to check up on me. Nothing major on my end. It’s just one of those unplanned stretches where life seems to get in the way of your crafting time. (I shouldn’t complain, as I’ve been on a streak for a while–and I suppose it was just my time.) But, hopefully, I’ll be back to a more routine posting schedule and the fun and games will resume post-haste.
Today, I want to share with you a simple card project that highlights one of the new Stampin’ Up! two-step punches. I’ve always had a “thing” for owls and this Two-Step Owl Punch (#118074, $ 16.95) is just adorable. It also gives me an excuse to make a card in celebration of one of my favorite holidays–Halloween! The card base is Stampin’ Up! cardstock in Pumpkin Pie (5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, scored at 4 1/4″). The decorative mat is from the new Die Cuts With A View (DCWV) stack “Midnight Spell” (4″ x 5″). I used the punch and some scrap pieces of leftovers from other projects to create the owl. The sentiment stamp (“Spooky”) is from the clear mount Stampin’ Up! set entitled “Wicked Cool” (#120600, $ 14.95) and was stamped with StazOn ink in Jet Black.
One of the things that I loved most about this card is that you can manipulate how you put the owl’s eyes together from the punched pieces. In this instance, I wanted the owl to look like he was scared of the black raven sitting next to him…and hence the “Spooky” sentiment. I think I just managed to capture that mood.
Trouble…
Today’s card project was so much fun to put together. It’s the first time I’ve used my ProvoCraft Cricut “Mini Monsters” cartridge–and I have to say these little monsters will make the hardest heart smile. So I pulled out my Gypsy and my Cricut Expression and got to work with no real game plan in mind. Additionally, I experimented with more of the new cardstock color palette that will be available from Stampin’ Up! on July 1, 2010.
After a quick flip through the corresponding handbook, I immediately gravitated toward this little fellow. I laid out all of the layers on a 12″ x 12″ mat on my Gypsy. (I’ve noted the different layers on the photograph.) If you haven’t considered adding a Cricut Gypsy to your arsenal of tools and you are an avid Cricuteer, you really should consider it now that the price point has fallen significantly. The ability to layout all of your pieces and layers on a virtual mat not only helps you see how the construction will logically follow, but it allows you to lay all of your cuts on one mat and gives you the exact sizes of papers you will need to make your cuts. The amount of cardstock I have “wasted” has significantly decreased since buying my Gypsy.
All of my pieces are set to cut at a height of 2.75″. Though it is somewhat difficult to see in the screen shot due to the limits of photographing the screen display, you can gauge your paper size by either counting the grid squares (which are 1″ x 1″) or using the side rulers recently added to the Gypsy in a functional update. For instance, the base layer is five squares across and four squares down–which would indicate my cardstock should be cut to 5″ x 4″ for that particular cut.
Below is the layout of my cardstock to cut this image. All of the cardstock is from Stampin’ Up! (including new colors Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Pear Pizzazz and Daffodil Delight).
A bit of Zig Two-Way glue pen and mono adhesive, and my little guy is suddenly taking shape and is ready to stake his territory.
For my card, I chose the following papers: the card base is Stardream So…Silk! mica cardstock in Beauty Pink (5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″, scored at 4 1/4″), the mat is Basic Grey from the Basics Manila collection: “Sphere” (4″ x 5″), and the accent paper is also Basic Grey from Nook & Pantry: “Cornbread” (2″ x 4″). I used my Stampin’ Up! tag corner punch to snip all the corners of each paper.
Adhering my layers, it was now time for my monster to find a home. I used some Copic Atyou Spica glitter pens to add some accents and sparkle. A quick sentiment and a bit more adhesive and this little monster moved right in.
If you haven’t checked out “Mini Monsters” yet–or perhaps passed it over–I have to say that I think the possibilities for this cartridge far exceed the obvious use (Halloween). It’s quirky. It’s cute. It’s monsterously fun!
