Spooky

Several months ago, I rearranged my stash so that all my specific holiday themed items were stored together in one drawer...stamps, stickers, embellishments, etc.  Now, I just pull out the drawer and everything I have for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. is all together.  It seems to work.  But...I don't know about you...I seem to reorganize the stash every year or so...always improving and looking for better ways to manage the ever-growing collection of "stuff".

The best part of my new system is when I pulled out the Halloween drawer, I found all this stuff I forgot I had!  So I made a card, of course.

The skeleton tag is a two-layer laser-cut freebie I received at a crop.  I added some ghostly bats and glowing orange eyes (which do not  photograph well).  

It's fun and inspirational to discover your lost stash...can't wait to dig further down into that drawer!

Challenges:

Alphabet Challenge: "S" for Spooky

Card  Makin' Mamas: CMM75 - Trick or Treat!

Savvy Handmade Cards: Gone Batty Challenge

Supplies:
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Soft Stone’; Stampin’ Up! ‘Pumpkin Pie’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found ‘Portobello Road’ 6x6
Stamps:	We R Memory Keepers ‘Tangled Tree’
Inks:	SU! craft ‘White’; Distress Ink ‘Black Soot’; Distress Stain ‘Spiced Marmalade’
Embellishments:	Skeleton die cut tag (from Scrapaloo, Delton, MI); DCWV tag ‘Halloween’; baker’s twine; ribbon; Stickles ‘Orange Peel’; brads
Tools:	EK Success punch ‘Donut Chain’; Tim Holtz paper distresser; 3M foam tape

Keep Out

We're continuing the Halloween fun at Creative Cutting Challenge this fortnight with our "Halloween - NOT a Card" theme.  So bring on your most spooktacular non-card creation and join the fun!

For my design team project, I created a luminary from The Creative Pointe's 'Haunted House' SVG.  It's perfectly dilapidated and haunted looking in it's own right, but it sure was fun to amp up the spooky!

 

I maximized the scale of the house to get the largest I could out of 8.5 x 11 inch cardstock.  I cut two houses from black, one with a 4 inch "foot" that was scored and folded to hold the luminary upright.  I also cut one door from dark grey, one bat from black, and one moon from vellum.  The vellum was colored with Spiced Marmalade Distress Stain and was given a few coats of California Poppy Gold Starburst Spray and dried with a heat tool.  It ends up crinkly, but that adds to the charm.  Ultimately, the colored vellum is sandwiched between the two house cuts.

Each window was given an extra layer of vellum with spiderwebs stamped on the back in grey ink.  This looks like dusty, cracked or cobwebbed glass.  I also used the pieces from the window cuts to make shutters hanging shabbily from their hinges.

White pen brings the "architectural" elements of the house alive and gives it a spooky, run-down Victorian look.  The "keep OUT" sign is "nailed" to the door with brads and foam tape.  Black Soot and Old Photo Distress Stains were used throughout to give dimension and add age.

"Wrought iron" fencing is given dimension with black embossing powder.  The felt pumpkins were cut cut from a ribbon strip and layered with foam tape.

 Here you can see the gold shimmer of the giant harvest moon...

But the real beauty is revealed with the lights go out!  Here's our haunted house lit from the back by a candle...super spooky and perfectly Halloween-y!

Gentle reminder: You must use an SVG file for your project to qualify for the challenge...rules are rules!

More Challenge Fun:
Anything But a Card: Challenge #28 - Orange and/or Black
Hobbycutz: Challenge #21 - Home Decoration / Anything but a Card
Pile It On: Challenge #42 - Halloween / Day of the Dead / Cute and Creepy
Crafty Calendar: October Challenge - Halloween
Inkspirational: Challenge #41 - Anything Inkspirational Goes

My Sheri Crafts: Challenge #121 - Night Time

Supplies:
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Black’, ‘Smokey Shadow’; Stampin’ Up! ‘Pumpkin Pie’, ‘Vellum’
SVG:	The Creative Pointe ‘Haunted House’
Stamps:	We R Memory Keepers ‘Pumpkin Patch’; Basic Grey ‘Halloween’; My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose Hattie ‘Remember’
Inks:	Distress Ink ‘Black Soot’, ‘Old Photo’; Top Boss Embossing; SU! craft ‘White’; PTI ‘Smokey Shadow’; Distress Stain ‘Spiced Marmalade’; Lindy’s Stamp Gang Starburst Spray ‘California Poppy Gold’; Glaze pen ‘White’
Embellishments:	Oriental Trading Company felt ribbon ‘Fall’; Stampendous embossing powder ‘Midnight Black’; Little Yellow Bicycle card stock stickers ‘Trick or Treat’; brads
Tools:	SCAL; Cricut Expression; foam ink blender; heat tool; Zig glue pen; emery board; Tim Holtz paper distresser; hole punch; 3M foam tape; Glue Dots

Boo to You

I love October.  Autumn is my favorite season and October is the heart of it.  And Halloween...so much ghoulish fun!  Our theme at Creative Cutting Challenge this fortnight is "Halloween Cards" so go get your spook on and join us!

The Creative Pointe's "Coffin Card" SVG makes a classic Halloween card a snap.  Of course, I couldn't just do a plain and simple pine coffin...no way...I embellished my little heart out for extra eerie fun!  First off, my coffin had to have some color and pattern.  I love the way the purple patterned paper adds a graffiti feel.  And strips of Tim Holtz "Commute" tissue tape look a bit mummy-ish, don't you think?

My coffin also had to have some rusty hinges to creak and squeak...enter an old Stampin' Up! stamp set, some black Archival Ink, and grey cardstock.  A little Frayed Burlap and Crushed Olive Distress Ink add the right amount of age.

The bat was cut from skeleton patterned paper, doused in Black Soot Distress Stain, highlighted with white gel pen, and given glowing eyes with Lime Green Stickles. He's mounted with foam tape because...he's alive...ALIVE!!

To continue the cemetery theme, I stamped wrought iron fencing along the bottom in black ink and highlighted in white gel pen.

Creeeaakk....open if you dare!!!  Bwah, ha, haa!!  oh...sorry...got a little caught up there. J

Gentle reminder: You must use an SVG file for your project to qualify for the challenge...rules are rules!

Other Challenge Fun:
The Paper Players:  #166 - Halloween Theme Challenge
My Craft Spot:  Monday Challenge #114 - Trick-or-Treat!

Supplies:
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Smokey Shadow’; Paper Presentation ‘Fog’
Patterned Paper:	Scraps
SVG:	The Creative Pointe ‘Coffin Card’
Stamps:	We R Memory Keepers ‘Pumpkin Patch’; Stampin’ Up! ‘Finials & Frames’
Inks:	Archival ‘Jet Black’; Distress Ink ‘Frayed Burlap’, ‘Crushed Olive’; Distress Stain ‘Black Soot’; Glaze pen ‘White’
Embellishments:	Tim Holtz tissue tape ‘Commute’; Little Yellow Bicycle card stock stickers ‘Trick or Treat’; Stickles ‘Lime Green’
Tools:	SCAL; Cricut Expression; foam ink blender; tweezers; TH paper distresser; 3M foam tape

Girl Stuff

The theme at Creative Cutting Challenge this fortnight is "For the Girls". Pretty easy, right? There are plenty of creative ideas from our very talented Design Team, so please check it out and I hope you'll play along.

A while back, I hit the mother lode in a Michael's clearance bin...oodles of hardcover journals for 50 cents each! The catch? The covers were garishly circus themed. I bought several knowing that a little decorative paper would fix them right up.

For my "For the Girls" DT project, I decided to make a pretty journal as a hostess gift. 

I found the lovely corseted lady that had once adorned a hand-decorated gift bag in my stash. She became my muse and I gathered papers and embellishments to coordinate with her.

My favorite embellishments are the paper roses. I used The Creative Pointe's "Rolled Roses" SVG set to create them from scrap paper. They are so easy. Well...once I retrained myself on how to roll them...I swear I don't know why it won't stick in my head that you roll them from the outside in! Once you figure that out...they are so EASY!

Our pretty posies are growing on a leafy vine from The Creative Pointe's "Fancy Flourishes-Two" set.

Gentle reminder:  You must use an SVG file for your project to qualify for the challenge...rules are rules!

More Challenge Fun
Craft My Life:  All Crafts Challenge - August / September
My Craft Creations: Anything Goes Challenge 23/9 - 5/10
Mema's Crafts:  September's Challenge - Ribbon/Lace and/or Flowers
Anything But a Card Challenges: #27 - Books for ALL Media and Seasons
2 Sisters Challenge:  #162 - Recycle
Challenges 4 Everybody: #29 - Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge Blog:  #183 - Maiden, Mother, Crone

Supplies:
Patterned Paper:	K&Co.  ‘Engraved Garden’ 12x12, scraps, Graphic 45
SVG:	The Creative Pointe ‘Rolled Roses’, ‘Fancy Flourishes-Two’
Inks:	Distress Ink ‘Old Paper’, ‘Tattered Rose’, ‘Iced Spruce’; Distress Stain ‘Worn Lipstick’
Embellishments:	Hobby Lobby ribbon, twill tape; My Mind’s Eye Fine & Dandy ‘Tickled Pink’ chipboard sticker; Bo Bunny ‘Welcome Home’ combo stickers; Liquid Pearls ‘Petal Pink’
Tools:	SCAL; Cricut Expression; tweezers; Glue Dots; Glossy Accents; Mod Podge Matte; Wondertape; foam ink blending tool; make-up sponge; water pen
Misc:	Michael’s hardcover journal

Fun With Photo Props!

We're back with a new season of fun and inspiration at Creative Cutting Challenge.  If you love using SVG files with your electronic cutter, this challenge blog is for you.  Not sure what an SVG file is and don't want to miss out?  Check out this post and then this post from Cindy at The Creative Pointe.  She does a great job explaining what SVG files are and how they can accentuate your creativity.  Even if you don't use SVGs yet, there are plenty of creative ideas from our very talented Design Team, so please check it out!

Our theme this fortnight is "Anything Goes"...we're starting out easy, so there's no excuse not to play along!

The Creative Pointe's Photo Props SVG set has so many possibilities.

The most obvious use is to cut the props exactly as Cindy has scaled them for true photo props (these were SO MUCH FUN at our wedding!!).

For my design team project, I wanted to give you even more inspiration for this fabulous set...and there was a bit of selfish-ness involved.  After being away from the craft room for a while this summer, I was getting very low on birthday cards, especially some suitably masculine ones.  These punny cards were quick and easy to make using scrap patterned papers, Cricut, and laser printer.  I used foam tape behind the SVG cut outs to give them a bit more prevalence.

Trendy times two...mustache + chevron patterned paper!

Here kitty, kitty...this one's purrrfect for feminine birthday, congratulations, friendship, etc.  Graduated dots of Perfect Pearls accent the cat's eye glasses.

I have so many more ideas for this SVG set, so I'm sure I'll be featuring it again.

Don't forget to join the challenge...you can win free stuff!  J

More Challenge Fun
Cards in Envy: Manly Challenge
Make It Monday: MIM #157
Unstampabelles: Challenge #27 - Using Scraps and/or old Stash (No Stamps)

Supplies: Mustache
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Aqua Mist’, ‘White’, ‘Black’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye Fine & Dandy ‘Tickled Pink’; scrap
SVG:	The Creative Pointe ‘Photo Props’
Inks:	Distress Ink ‘Old Paper’; Adirondack paint dabber ‘Snow Cap’
Tools:	Sure-Cuts-A-Lot; Cricut Expression; 3M foam tape; foam ink blending tool; tweezers; EK Success punch ‘Corner Rounder’

Supplies: Cat’s Eye Glasses
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Soft Stone, ‘White’; Stampin’ Up! ‘Not Quite Navy’
Patterned Paper:	Scraps
SVG:	The Creative Pointe ‘Photo Props’
Inks:	Distress Ink ‘Old Paper’; Adirondack paint dabber ‘Snow Cap’
Embellishments:	Liquid Pearls ‘White Opal’
Tools:	Sure-Cuts-A-Lot; Cricut Expression; 3M foam tape; foam ink blending tool; tweezers; EK Success punch ‘Corner Rounder’