Happy Halloween!

These past couple of days have found me in Santa's Workshop actually making Christmas Accordion Tags, however I stumbled upon some witch's brew and concocted this:
I believe that one cannot have enough Halloween decorations, especially if you have children around. (Like my inner one.) So I had a lot of fun decorating this with all the spooky critters and creepers which allowed me to participate in the superfun challenge at the Cupcake Craft Challenges "Things That Go Bump in the Night!"
Love it!

This was based on Sharon Johnson's Splitcoast posting: and her Instructions. Happy Halloween and Merry Christmas have the same number of letters (midnight ruminations) so it works perfectly. After fiddling with the different papers for the ghost space between words I ended up making my own "dp" although I REALLY wanted the Twilight paper from Pink Paislee Twilight collection, just couldn't find it in town. I used Elegant Eggplant and Basic Black ink with the Negative Embossing technique to create this panel, hopefully evoking a spooky background. The circles are punched out of the Shimmery White, I sponged the edges (because plain just didn't look full enough) and I added Stickles dots (because I LOVE STICKLES!).

Paper: SU!: Elegant Eggplant, YoYo Yellow, Basic Black, Shimmery White
DP: Tim Coffey Halloween "I Want Candy" (green), Best Creation Inc. #GP320 (white swirly), Reminisce Halloween Collection "Jack" (pumpkins, black & orange polka dot)
Ink: SU!: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Elegant Eggplant, Green Galore
Accessories: Recollections (Michael's stickers: spiders (so cute!), cats, ghosts, & bats) ? Pumpkin stickers, Making Memories "Spellbound" chipboard alphabet stickers, Ranger Stickles: orange, purple & green; Cuttlebug & D'vine Swirl embossing folder, circle & slit, tag corner punches, misc. Halloweenish ribbon, sponges, Fiskars scoring tool
Technique: Negative Embossing

Pink Camoflage and a Forest Friend

My daughter has a pair of pink & brown camoflage pants that I just covet, but instead of using my desire for misdoings I used it for inspiration. The brown color scheme is this week's Stamp Something Challenge. I made the pattern by tearing paper in the same direction all the way around with rounded edges, kind of oak leafy. The sketch is from Laura's #36 at 2 Sketches 4 You. I think this will make a sweet girl's birthday card.

All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

Stamps: Forest Friends (2009), Friendship Blooms

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Kraft, Pretty in Pink, Pink Pirouette, Bella Rose DP

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Pretty in Pink

Ribbon: Chocolate Chip grosgrain, Making Memories Kids Trim "Kate" bric-a-brac

Accessories: Scallop Edge punch, Nesties & CB, Ranger Stickles "Cotton Candy", Creamy Caramel marker, pop & glue dots

Challenge within a Challenge Day!

Boy, it has been a long time since I posted anything. I go in spurts... following my fancy... and it feels like I am back into stamping which is good for my soul. Getting together with one of my best friends who shares a stamping passion got me into doing challenges. I think I have combined the most ever for me into this project. And boy does it remind me when Tim Gunn comes into the workroom and put his hand under his chin when he declares "this could be beautiful or a hot gooey mess."
Here goes:
I used this week's challenge from Get Sketchy #7 and their Bonus Challenge Distressing. I distressed the Basic Grey DP: Infuse "Saturate" and the "thank you" circle from the Stampin' Up! All Holiday Set with the Stampin' Up distressing tool. I sponged all the paper as well to soften everything. Using Basic Grey paper (Infuse) and Chipboard Elements allowed me to participate in their challenge for Week 4: Embossing. I stamped the farm image from Harvest Home with Timber Brown StazOn and then used a combination of colored pencils and crayons to color the image and then blended them with a blender pen. I then did the Cracked Glass technique on the focal image which involved heat embossing with Ranger's UT Clear Embossing Powder. I stepped outside of my box in the Ways to Use it (SCS challenge WT237) with the use of Chipboard. I love the way people use it - I think it adds so much to a card... I have just been afraid to use it, worried it will look like an afterthought rather than integral and thus wasting it for a better card, a better idea. I decided not to overthink it. Lastly, I'm throwing this into the Limited Supplies Challenge (LSC239) for the SOS, mine being So Saffron, Old Olive and Saturate.

Stampin' Up! Stamps: Harvest Home, All Holiday, Canvas, Timeworn Trim

Paper: Stampin' Up! So Saffron, Old Olive, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa, Watercolor paper

Designer Paper: Basic Grey Infuse "Saturate" and "Invest"

Ink: Old Olive, More Mustard, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, StazOn Timber Brown, VersaMark

Chipboard Elements: Basic Grey (corner pieces) and Marcella K (scrolly thing)

Accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, WC pencils & crayons, Ranger UT Clear Embossing Powder, sponges, exacto knife & cutting mat, distressing tool, pop & glue dots

Heart's Content

This was created for Mojo Monday #69. I think I have also combined it with VLVJan03 which is to add pink - I say think but I cleared out my cookies from my computer and erased my log in name & password for Splitcoast therefor I am barred from entering the relevant pages until Splitcoast gets back to work on Monday. :D

Paper: Bella Rose DP, Pink Pirouette & Chocolate Chip

Stamps: Many Happy Returns & Friendship Blooms (VersaMarked into the upper left corner).

Ink: VersaMark, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red

Acccessories: Soft Subtles buttons, Whisper White & Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, SU! On Board Basics, SU! Cutter Kit: distressing tool, SU! Cutting Mat & Craft Knife, Mat Pack & piercing tool, Zots, MonoAqua, snail glue

It's Been a While!

Gosh, I just didn't blog much this summer. I didn't make any cards either. Until last night. My DH went out of town to the Reno Air Races so I quickly called all my girlfriends (those who were in town) and invited them over for girls' night at my house. I am not able to do it when he is here because our house is so small there wouldn't be anywhere else for him to hide... or keep him and the kids otherwise occupied (am I dreaming or what!) Older step-daughter went to college in Australia and has been gone a couple of weeks now. The older step-son has made this his primary residence so there have been a number of changes afloat. Anyway, with everyone supposed to be gone I jumped at the chance to have everyone over. Some girls were able to make it, even just for a little bit. Two of my friends brought over their kids so there was all kinds of activity here. As far as I knew my step son was going camping and wasn't going to be around. That wasn't actually the case - he was here with a friend playing Rock Band in the living room. So when one of my friends came in she played bass while he and his friend had drums and guitar covered. I thought it was hilarious. Eventually they took off and I served a gourmet meal of pizzas and brownies. My friend with a one year old took off to take her kids to bed while my other friend Toni and I made cards. We searched the web and decided on Poetic Artistry Mojo Monday 52.

My step-Mom and Dad have been in town to attend her best friend's wedding so I made Sally a wedding card. Her colors are cream, burgundy, black and gold. Therefor: Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy, Basic Black and Anna Griffin dp AG227. I stamped the Bravo B paper with Bravo ink with the Filigree background. The cake from Little Hellos was stamped with StazOn Jet Black on VV as well as the dp. Using Toni's awesome suggestion I paper pieced the cake plate onto the image. I colored the heart in Bravo using a blender pen. I used Stickles to color in the dots on the cake. Don't you just love Stickles? I used my mat pack to place the Basic Black brads. I also used my Cuttlebug for the very first time to make the ovals (Nestabilities!) for the sentiment. It was easy thanks to Cat's CB sandwich stack posting at scs. I had read about the way your plate is scarred with the die but I still was surprised by it. However, I loved the way the sentiment came out. I {heart} those ovals! The "happiness" from Warm Words was stamped in River Rock and then the "wedding" from Occasions Collections was placed just above it in Bravo B. I used 1/4" black grosgrain ribbon under the sentiment. There are pop dots under the cake panel and sentiment. By the time we closed up shop my son had fallen asleep where he had fallen last, wrapped around his kitty (stuffed animal) and the two girls were still running around. It was 12:30 a.m. You know these will be the nights of their childhood that they will say "Remember when...." I don't understand how they can still wake up at the same time everyday no matter what time you put them to bed. But it is what it is.


I love naps.

Pedals to the Wind

This was created for scs Color Challenge 166: Rose Red, Soft Sky & Pumpkin Pie. The gallery is full of beautiful cards so I had to play. While looking I ran into a great card with a cupcake on it and it was for something called Mojo Monday. I checked the site out, it is called Poetic Artistry, and loved her card & sketch so I decided to play there as well. I just got this new set and thought the flower blossoms would be fun in the PP; only later did I remember that I had some flowers that might match. I stamped the image in Jet Black StazOn on watercolor paper. I masked the bike and flowers to sponge the sky in SS. If it weren't for a cc I would use Bashful Blue as I think it is a much happier sunny kind of day sky color. I colored the bike in RR with a blender pen. The tires were done with a black WC pencil and then also blended in. I used SS scraps to weave a little basket and then touched it to the SS pad to give it some depth. (It sounds like I might have known what I was doing, but in reality I had no clue what was going to happen to my cute little basket. It actually turned out just like I wanted it to! LOL I think I just got something like that in a new stamp set: "If you at first succeed, try not to look astonished!) I used a PP marker to color in the flowers. The SS layer was stamped in SS using the Polka Dot background. The base card, in RR, is stamped using the Everyday Blossoms wheel in RR. I added the PP grosgrain ribbon embellishments and sat back to look at it. It needed something. So I dug through my stash trying to remember where I kept the flowers. Found them without too much trouble and played with it in various forms. I ended up keeping the flower with the two layers of petals and changing out the brad with a RR one. I would have used white if I owned white brads. It still needed something. One of my favorite children's illustrators is Tracey Campbell Pearson. She does ink and watercolors so I borrowed her outline technique and added the PP pen to the bike panel. It is one of those things that once you start you have to keep going and if you don't like it your stuck with it unless you want to make another one. I am not that gal. I don't mind mass producing but I don't like redoing a mistake. Go figure. I liked it so I did more handwork on the SS panel in black marker, polka dots like the stamp. Last I colored in the centers and dots to the RR blossoms. I like it better than when it was plain. I had originally popped some of the little float away blossoms on micro pop dots but you couldn't see then and there wasn't enough surface area for them to really stick so I peeled them off. One was still on my work surface which I added to the prima, just cuz I thought it might look cute.
This card took me a little while longer to make. My toddler never feel asleep during nap and I could hear her scampering around in the bedroom. I'll be so sad when she drops her once a day nap. It is my time. To nap or stamp or fold laundry or call a friend. Then the baby woke up. I got there in time to say hi and give him a hug and catch his barf. Aren't you thinking cute little orange blossoms too right now? Hey, that's my get away bike! I haven't had as much time at the computer and thinking funny blogging thoughts because the three of us are a little punky right now. Each of us has a head and chest cold and he has the vomiting and nasty smelling diarrhea to go along with his cold. I had to do laundry so that we could have blankets tonight and the most abundant amount of clean bedding as possible before we went to bed. The last time he had the flu in January we went through all the bedding & his pj's in the house. In a 4 hour stretch. Starting about 2:00 in the morning. I bought more bedding after that. Then I caught it and that's when my friend Shannon brought over the pink 7-Up because my DH didn't have the time to run to the store. My other friend Rena was reading my blog, catching up and thought that I was sick again so she bought me Fresca, in the original flavor. Although she was disappointed that I wasn't in need of her soda (not that because I wasn't sick) I was very happy because it is now secretly stashed away from the soda snatchers in the house for the next time I am praying to the porcelain god and my DH is too busy to be kind and thoughtful. Blog candy is when win something off some one's blog.... so is that called Blog Booty?