Ghosts in the Graveyard

Happy Halloween! Welcome to my day of the Spellbinders and Tattered Angels Blog Hop! This project started with my idea to make little ghosts. I used my favorite Brownie Pop Mold from Wilton. I over-filled each spot with brownie dough, so that they would overflow and create a little ghost shape. Once they cooled, I melted a can of white frosting. Layers of the frosting were poured over the brownie, until I got the coverage I wanted. It took almost 4 coats and I let each coat set up a bit before applying the next. The goo-goo eye candies are from Target, in the Halloween section. Oh, and they taste good too. :)

My little ghost treats needed a place to play and a box base seemed like the best place to start. The little tombstones in the back were cut using the Labels 8 shape. I used my Scor Pal to score the bottom, about 1/2”, and then adhered that to the box base. Glimmer Mist was spritzed on each grave for a spooky shimmer.

The fence was created with the Borderabilities, Renaissance Hearts. I die cut strips of cardstock and adhered them to the very top of the box edges. The entire box was sprayed with Cinder Glimmer Mist. The effect is amazing. It does take some time to dry, so I set the box aside and went to work on the rest of the details.

The pumpkins were die cut and then embossed with a Floral and Stone Impressabilities. I sprayed each pumpkin with Golden Terracotta Glimmer Mist. The twine was colored with a Copic to match. The grass was created by embossing Core’dinations Black Magic cardstock and then snipping the ends.

The above photo is a close-up shot of the Glimmer Mist. Please click on the photo so that you can see, in detail, how amazingly Glimmer Mist covers!

thanks for stopping by and Happy Haunting!

Supplies: Spellbinders die templates (Pumpkins, Renaissance Hearts Borderabilities, Labels 8, Floral and Stone Impressabilities), Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (Cinder, Golden Terracotta), Patterned paper (Basic Grey-Eerie Tombstone, Cauldron), Twine (May Arts), Copic (YG25), Cardstock (Core’dinations Black Magic Wizard)

Halloween

Last night we decorated and carved pumpkins. The little man loves his Mr. Potato Head clown and pirate.

My husband got artistic and created this ghost from a pattern we found online. This was the first year we carved a pumpkin and the little man was not willing to stick his hands into the pumpkin. :) He did try the pumpkin seeds we roasted and wasn't too sure about those either! :)

We lit a candle (in a jar) first, so that the little man could see a candle-glowing pumpkin. But then I went and got a battery-powered set of LED lights from IKEA. We wrapped the lights around the candle jar. Safe and no worries about fire.

I cannot wait to share this project with you tomorrow!! It is my contribution to the Spellbinders and Tattered Angels blog hop that is going on this month. Make sure and stop back! thanks for stopping by!

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

“It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC39)! It is the last Tuesday of the month so we have a guest challenge host this week. Our challenge host is Kathy Jones(wattle) all the way from Australia. Thanks so much, Kathy for hosting a challenge with us. Kathy is challenging us to use border punches or Borderabilities. You decide if you want to use just one border, different patterns, or layer several for a fanciful look. Whatever you decide, we would love to see what you create! Have fun with this one! The skies the limit!”
Betty Wright
Cindy Haffner
Dee Jackson
Makiko Jones
Silke Ledlow

Today’s card started with me grabbing two things, my new Basic Grey Nook and Pantry paper and my Spellbinders Lattice Borderabilities. Ah, shabby chic heaven! :)

Well, the papers just screamed for the Strawberries stamps. To keep everything very shabby and aged looking, I used a couple different colors of my favorite products. The image and sentiment were stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink, instead of Tuxedo Black, and grey-er tones of my Copics were used for coloring. (Remember the larger the number on the marker, the grey-er the color. R81 is a pale pink, but a grey-toned pink.)

I hope that your week is off to a fabulous start! Thanks for all your prayers and support-things are starting to look up here! thanks for stopping by!



Supplies: Stamps (Flourishes-Strawberries), Patterned paper (Basic Grey-Nook and Pantry), Ink (Tsukineko Memento-Rich Cocoa) (Clearsnap-Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown), Twine (May Arts), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Rustic White, Kraft), Copics (R81, R83, R85, W3, Y11, Evergreen Collection(YG91, YG95))Spellbinders die templates (Lattice Borderabilities, Classic Ovals Large, Classic Scalloped Ovals Large)

Etsy and a card!

So, I noticed the other day that my Etsy was empty. I loaded quite a few cards in there yesterday. All the cards are priced from $2.50-$3.50. You can check it out here: My ETSY.

And, can I ask a favor? Can you please turn your profiles and emails on in your Google profiles? You all leave the nicest, sweetest comments, and good questions too, but I have no way to continue the conversation. I would love to talk more with so many of you, but without the profile on, I cannot even find you. And email would make it very quick to chat. Thanks SO much!!

And, because I am feeling guilty about no cards lately, here is one from last Halloween. I love the little witch and coloring on kraft.

Hope that you have wonderful weekend plans. Life around here is insane, my sister has the H1N1 flu, my mom has the shingles, my grandmother is deteriorating quickly and is struggling with dizziness, and we continue our job worries. Such is life. A little less stress would be good, though. :) thanks for stopping by!!!

Supplies: Stamps (Heidi Grace Halloween), Patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Kraft), Bazzill (Black) Ink (Memento Tuxedo Black), Twine (May Arts), Prismacolor pencils

Fall Fun

This past weekend, we rode the North Shore Scenic Railroad’s Pumpkin train. The train ride takes you to a pumpkin patch and everyone gets to pick a pumpkin. The weather could not have been more perfect! And while everyone had fun riding the train, I had fun taking a million photographs. :) Don't worry, I narrowed it down to only a few. :)

The little man was very particular about the pumpkin he chose. It was funny how he wandered all over, checking each pumpkin, but when he found the perfect one, he grabbed it.

A view of the train from the pumpkin patch. Its a gorgeous train, with refurbished cards. It has a dining car, bud car, double-decker cars, and in the summer, a couple of open cars.

A view of the sunshine through the trees and through the window of the train.

The tracks run along the shore of Lake Superior. The paved pathway you can see is called, The Lakewalk. There is a wooden (just along Canal Park) and paved path (most of the extention of the path) that everyone can use. In the summer it is packed. The scenery is spectacular and reminds me how lucky we are to live here. That is the Arial Lift Bridge in the background.

The highlight at the end of our journey was the Conductor letting the little man wear his hat. E was so excited! (like how he is guarding the pumpkins? :))

Once again, I apologize for my blog not being very active these days! Once October is over, things should get back to normal. One deadline is down and now I am working on the second one, which is for Stampendous. I also have a Tattered Angels and Spellbinders blog hop project coming up, make sure and head to the Spellbinders blog to see the projects already revealed. Have a super day and thanks for stopping by!

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday

I have to start by wishing my super-sweetie friend and fellow FOF'er, Silke, a Happy Birthday!!! Make sure and stop by her blog and send her birthday wishes! :)

“It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC38)! Dee Jackson is our challenge host this week. Dee is challenging us to a water-colored card. We are to make a card and watercolor the image. Pretty simple and straight forward. Looking forward to seeing what you create with this very festive challenge!”

Check out the rest of the team:

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson

Makiko Jones

Silke Ledlow

Good Tuesday morning! It always seems like I am cheating on all these challenges…*blush* Today’s challenge is to watercolor, but I did it with my Copics. *blushing*

I started by coloring each marker on some left-over pieces of Crystal Clear Cardstock that I had. Color quite a bit in the same area, so the color shows up. Yes, that is a water brush on my desk, but I filled it with Copic Blending Solution instead. (PLEASE be sure and mark this pen, so you do not confuse it with water. I have used a black sharpie and colored the top and bottom, along with the clip part of the cap.) Use the water brush the same as you would with watercolors. Pick the color up with the brush and have fun! Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Flourishes-Dove and Holly), Patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket-Jolly by Golly (Red Music), Earth Love (Brown), Cardstock (Flourishes-White, Crystal Clear)Papertrey Ink (Ripe Avocado), Twine (May Arts), Ink (Memento-Tuxedo Black), Buttons (Papertrey Ink-Rustic), Copics (The Fields Collection, E55, E57, E59, R27, R59, Y11), Spellbinders die templates (Squares Large)

BOO!

I love this little treat holder that I made and here is why. I was never good at geometry. In fact, I have nightmares about it. This straight A girl will not even speak of the grade she got in it during her sophomore year. So, when I can come up with my own design for a box or bag like this, I think, hey, I get it, in my own little way! LOL! :)

I started by making a box, but instead of folding the sides like a box, I ran a score line down the middle of each side. I stopped about an inch above the bottom of the bag. Then I scored from the bottom corner to the bottom of the side score line, on each side. Pushing the sides in at a little bit of an angle, lets the box become a bag. Hopefully the photo helps that make more sense.

To create the window, I die cut a Long Rectangle Nestabilities from the center of the bag before assembling. Using the same die template, and the next size up scalloped template, I cut the orange frame from patterned paper. The inside window is a piece of Clearly Cardstock. I stamped a spider web in StazOn Jet Black in, an adhered the window to the inside.

The tag was made from the JustRite Stampers set, Favorite Occasions. I only used the outside and let the button take the center. I love the options!! And finally, the ghost and little pumpkin are Hero Arts images and were colored in with Copics.

We are going to ride the North Shore Scenic Railroad this weekend. They have a pumpkin train on Saturday. We will ride up to a pumpkin patch and all pick our own pumpkins. It should be fun, especially because the little man ADORES trains! Have a wonderful weekend! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Hero Arts-Owl-Oween), (JustRite Stampers-Favorite Occasions), Patterned paper (My Mind’s Eye-Free Bird), Cardstock (Flourishes-Clearly Cardstock), Ink (Palette-Dark Chocolate), (Memento-Tuxedo Black), Twine (Martha Stewart), Twill (May Arts), Button (Basic Grey-Ambrosia), Copics (W3, Yr04, YR09, Y13, Y15). Spellbinders Die Templates (Long Rectangles Small, Scalloped Long Rectangles Small, Classic Circles Large, Classic Scalloped Circles Large, Label Trio)

published cards

Good morning! I just wanted to share a couple of published cards with you. I forget to share these and while looking for something to post, I came across these. This card was published in the April 2009 issue of CARDS magazine. Did you know that you can subscribe online? You can download the magazine right to your computer!

Supplies: All Papertrey Ink unless noted, Cardstock (Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate), Stamps (Remember), Ink (Palette-Ocean Tides, Water lily, Summer Sunrise, Dark chocolate), Ribbon (Ocean Tides Grosgrain), Stamps (Cornish Heritage Farms-Fine Houndstooth Scrap Block), Spellbinders die template (Labels One), Gems (Hero Arts)

This card is in the Scrapbook Trends Stamping Idea Book 2009.

The image is colored with Copics and I added Glossy Accents to the strawberries. The paper is from Scenic Route and it is one of my favorite lines. I will miss them dearly!!

Supplies: Patterned paper (Scenic Route), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-White, Dark Chocolate) Ink (Memento Tuxedo Black), Copics, Glossy Accents, Twine (May Arts), Gem (Doodlebug), Spellbinders die templates (Classic Circles, Label Trio)

Today we are off to pre-school screening. It is the “test” that children in MN take before they start kindergarten. Yikes. That’s not too terribly far away. At least he has a spring birthday, so I get to keep him for one more fall. Let’s hope he stops telling stories long enough to answer the questions! LOL! Wonder where he got the gift of gab…? :) thanks for stopping by!

Timeless Tuesday with Flourishes

"It is time for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge(FTTC37)!!! The blog design team is celebrating Flourishes release week with you. We are sharing two of the six sets that will be released this Friday!!! Christmas Drummers & Musical Score and Words. Cindy Haffner is our challenge host this week. She has a sketch challenge for you. Instead of it being just one sketch, though, it is a sketch four ways. The same sketch turned a quarter turn to give us four different looks. We like to call it a Sketch March in keeping with the drum and musical sets we are showcasing. So, you can decide if you want sketch option A, B, C, or D!!! You may even want to do all four!!! We would love to see which sketch you choose and what you create!!!"

Betty Wright

Cindy Haffner

Dee Jackson

Makiko Jones

Silke Ledlow

For today’s challenge, my card is focusing on the Music Score and Words. Music is such a huge part of my family, but Christmas music brings back especially happy and wonderful memories. To make this music sheet image look old-fashioned, I started by stamping it on cream cardstock. The edges were distressed with a distressing tool and ink. I then took a pencil and rolled up the top and bottom edge. To keep the rolled paper down on the card, I adhered it with Scor Tape. The snowflakes are from Create a Flake 1 and the tag is another Spellbinders die, Tags 5.

We made it through our crazy weekend. It really was a good time! We didn’t make the zoo though, with 24 degrees, snow, and a 17 mph wind, we decided that was one activity we could do without. In January, we will be happy with that kind of weather, but we just aren’t ready for it yet! LOL! :) Hope that you had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to a great week! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Flourishes-Music Score and Words; available Friday), Patterned paper (Cosmo Cricket-Jolly by Golly), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Kraft, Vintage Cream), Ink (Palette-Jardin Moss, Fresh Snow, Dark Chocolate) (Clearsnap-Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown), Ribbon (Offray), Twine (Martha Stewart), Stickles (Ranger Industries-Star Dust), Gems (Kaiser), Spellbinders die templates (Tags 5, Create a Flake 1, Classic Circles Large)

layouts

Good morning! I am happy to be able to share some of my Spellbinders design work layouts with you! My posts are going to be limited for the next couple of weeks. I am working on some big deadlines and some pretty cool projects right now. They are taking up all my time and then some, so be patient, I will share when I can. In the meantime, here is some photo overload for you. :)

This layout is a photo from my little man’s first time playing in the fall leaves. I love the close up of his hands because it perfectly captured the moment. He was in awe of the texture of the leaves and couldn’t stop touching them. The products I used were, Flourish Accents, Nesting Maple Leaves, 7gypsies paper and letters, and Magic Mesh. Die cutting Magic Mesh is very easy with the Nestabilities. It adds such nice texture to objects, especially leaves. Sorry I didn’t take a close up, you would be able to see all the sanding, inking, and dimension I added to the leaves. This layout was used in an advertisement in Scrapbook Premiere magazine.

Here are some more photos from that day. It was early in October. And yes, those are real. No photoshopping. Our first house had many sugar maple trees in the backyard. Every fall it left a carpet of red leaves over the entire lawn. That afternoon, it rained and all the color came out of the leaves. What timing. Don’t you just love that little jean jacket?

Here is my little man on his 3rd birthday. Its hard to believe that he is closer to 4 now. We even have pre-school screening next week! For this layout, I focused on the Stars Five set of Nestabilities. I cut the points off of the largest star to make the banner across the bottom. The papers are from Fancy pants and Core’dinations. I wish you could see the Unity Stamp background with Stars of Worn. Its subtle, but looks great in person.

This photo I took this summer. Unfortunately for our lawn, the little man LOVES blowing the seeds off dandelions. Well, I had to capture some photos, mostly because I thought the new Eyelet Pendant looked like a dandelion. Each of the Pendant shapes is covered in Sparkly Fluff, so it is soft and fuzzy. The other products are from My Mind’s Eye (Andrea Victoria), Core’dinations, and Thickers, oh and the Flourish Accents die again. Its a pretty simple layout. I guess I was too busy looking at the photo. :) Like the ouchie on his face? Let’s just say he has my grace…

Indulge me one last photo. While taking the dandelion photos, I caught him sitting there like this. Could anything be more precious? Could I be any more sappy? LOL!

Anyways, thanks for stopping by. I always appreciate it! We have the in-laws, hockey games, Boo at the Zoo, and college friends all arriving and going on this weekend. Wish us luck! LOL! ((HUGS))

AND a very, very, very Happy Birthday to my Dad today!! He is the best! :)

The Scrap Review: Pink Persimmon Stamps

Today I have a review of Pink Persimmon Stamps at The Scrap Review. I know, you are thinking, what? Yes, I made the creative team after I had requested the topic! LOL! Seems like things were meant to be! Stop on over at The Scrap Review to see all my cards and to have a chance to win some stamps!

for a very sweet friend

SORRY! This project has been removed for publication! It will appear in the Scrabook Trends Stamping Idea Book due out in July 2010.

Happy Monday! So, who is wiped out from World Card Making Day? Did you make a ton of cards? I got several completed! Thanks for all the wonderful inspiration everyone!!

This card uses stamps from Pink Persimmon. The red buttons were created with stamps from, Cute as a Button. I stamped the image and then heat embossed with white powder. I die cut the buttons with a Circle Nestabilities and added a clear button with twine over the top. The stems and butterfly are from, Flower Garden, and the sentiment is from, Sweet Greetings.

Today’s card is based on Dawn McVey’s Raspberry Suite Color Challenge #17. And this card fits in perfectly, because Dawn truly is a sweet friend!!

This is Dawn and I last weekend in Kansas. (it was so good to see her again, it had been too long!!) Dawn and her wonderful hubby were sweet enough to meet up with us for dinner one night. Our quest for some life changes lead us to their hometown. They showed us a wonderful evening out on the town. And hooked us on their favorite gelato place, Paciugo. (and I need to have the Sea Salt and Carmel flavor again-yummy!!) To say that they were a blessing would be a huge understatement! Amidst a stressful weekend, they brought a ray of sunshine. We laughed the night away and could have visited for many more hours. Dawn also set us up with the BEST banana bread ever! Their thoughtfulness completely overwhelmed us, and I can never thank the two of them enough!

Hey look! Dawn got a picture of hubby and I at Paciugo. We never get in front of the camera, so this is great to have. (and don’t expect another one for quite some time! LOL!)

And not to leave out the rest of the family, here is the little man with one of his creations from World Card Making Day! :) He saw this die cut and said, “hey its a tree, no a pine tree, NO a Christmas tree, hey, it needs lights! “ And being the crafty momma I am, I handed him some gems and away he went! Most of you will laugh, but his teacher at school can’t get over how well he can stamp….duh!! :)

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend! I know we did. In the midst of stress, we are still blessed and I am so thankful. thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Pink Persimmon-Sweet Greetings, Flower Garden, Cute as a Button), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Kraft, Dark Chocolate), Ink (Palette-L’Amore, Ripe Avocado, Dark Chocolate) (Versamark Watermark (Tsukineko)) (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown (Clearsnap)), Patterned paper (October Afternoon-Cherry Hill), Clear buttons (Hero Arts), Twine (May Arts), Border (Bazzill-Just the Edge), Spellbinders die templates (Labels 8, Blossom, Circles Small, Label Trio)

World Card Making Day

Happy World Card Making Day! Are you ready to be inspired? Share your marvelous creations? Shop? (don’t forget the coupon for the store over on the right side of my blog) Well, whatever you are in the mood for, have fun!! :)

Here is the card that I made for today. Its been in my head and now that I made it, meh. Its missing something and DH thinks its just weird. I guess I am hoping that you can pick it apart and take something away from it that you like; the color combo, the pumpkin rosettes, the fabric, or whatever else makes you want to get creating. :)

I did make a video about this card and it is in two parts. Part I covers the cutting of fabric with the Nestabilities and making the rosettes and Part II covers the making of the card.

Yes, two parts. Seriously, I am working on the chatty. But I really felt like I narrowed it down. Oh well, editing doesn’t lie. I chopped the entire end of the card making video off because, you have the photos of the card and you don’t really need to watch me use glue. LOL! Hope you like it!! Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

For Part I click HERE.

For Part II click HERE.

Supplies: Patterned paper (Sassafras Lass), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Enchanted Evening, Kraft, Rustic White), Burlap (Hancock Fabrics), Buttons (Basic Grey), Stamps (Papertrey Ink-Vintage Picnic Sentiments), Ink (Palette-Dark Chocolate), (Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown, Ribbon (Papertrey Ink-Enchanted Evening Satin), Twine (Papertrey Ink-Rustic White), Spellbinders die templates (Labels 8, Tags Five)