BOO!

I took one look at this pair of crow dies and knew immediately that I would have them standing guard on a gatefold card . . .

 . . . both stately and spooky and lots of fun to put together!  Most gatefold cards stand up on their own, but the crows have so much cardstock removed that they were a little on the wobbly side.  So I attached another black card base to the back of the gatefold card. Perfect solution . . .

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Designer paper Purple Harlequin

Dies:            TEMU Halloween Crow, QuicKutz Bats            

BOO!

My original plan was to have a few pops of color added here and there.  But somehow, this happened . . .

Good thing I like black and white!  Hope my recipients do too . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill White, Love Nicole Licorice, Tim Holtz Silver

  Sparkle        

Stamps:       EZ Mount Halloween Set

Inks:             ColorBox Frost White, Gelly Roll Clear Star

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:             Frantic Stamper Spider Web, DieNamics Sentiment

  Strips, Memory Box BOO!            

To-Do List

Of all the events I make cards for, I think Halloween is always the most fun . . .

  . . . the creative possibilities are endless, and every trick and technique I’ve ever learned in card-making can be employed in some way on Halloween-themed layouts.  Some of the major holidays involve rather limited themes, but for Halloween it seems that just about anything works.  While my Christmas and Easter cards are always religious, I enjoy cutting loose on Halloween.  So I leave you with this thought: 

BOO!           

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Stedner Bright White, Assorted printed

papers                   

Stamps:       Impression Obsession Halloween To Do

Inks:             Superior India Ink Black, ColorBox Frost White

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:            Gina Marie Raven on a Branch, Gina K Rectangle

Small Set Double Stitch, Frantic Stamper Spider Web            

Doo Dads:    Past Time Stamps Crystal Gold Ultra Fine Glitter        

Beware

Halloween is always one of the most fun card-making experiences of the year for me and probably for a lot of us . . .

This year, I had the pleasure of using another beautiful stamp that was gifted to me from The Peddler’s Pack - the background spider web.  When white-embossed over black, the multiple dots used for shading in the web also looked to me like a starry sky!  I didn’t expect that effect and I think it’s beautiful . . .

After die cutting a rectangular shape into the card front, the focal point was glued to the inside of the card below the message, which says,  “I’d turn back if I were you . . .”.

I need to do more cutouts – I really like the interesting effect they have . . .

 

Cardstock:   Beckett Cambric Linen New Black, Strathmore Ultimate

White        

Stamps:        Peddler’s Pack Halloween Spider Web, Picture Show

Haunted House, Vippies Jennifer Boo

Inks:               ColorBox Frost White, Gina K Amalgam Black

Waterclrs:     Zig Clean Color Yellow, Orange

Emb Pwdr:   Hero White

Dies:              Spellbinders Classic Rectangles Large, Frantic Stamper

Scary Words: “Beware”               

Spooky

 Halloween cards are always so much fun to do . . . lots of drama!

 The roiling background was done by smooshing on three colors of Distress Stains and then misting for a mottled look.  The inside message reads, "I'd turn back if I were you."

OOH, shiver!

 

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Strathmore #90 Mixed Media,

                     Tim Holtz Silver Sparkle    

Inks:             Distress Stains Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord,

                     Faded Jeans, Wink of Stella Black, Gelly Roll Clear

Dies:            Impression Obsession Mid-size Frame, Little B

                     Halloween:  “Spooky”, Gina Marie Raven on a Branch           

BOO

 A lot of this layout was inspired by a recent blog I saw.  I loved the pop of white and orange against such a dark background . . .

The bats were actually die cut from a dark navy blue metallic background because I didn't have any suitable cardstock in plain black.  After brayering black ink over the metallic cardstock, I was glad to see that while the color changed to the black I wanted, the metallic aspects glistened through the ink.  The bats changed from flat to a mild shimmer that made them much more interesting.  Nice surprise!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Ash, Strathmore #110 Bristol, Generic scraps

                     Orange, Brown, Black, Metallic Blue           

Stamps:       Judikins Swirls & Curls

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam Black

Dies:            DieNamics Pinking Edge, Frantic Stamper Open Borders,

                     QuicKutz Bats, Dies to Die For Pumpkin Patch, Frantic

                     Stamper Scary Words: BOO               

Doo Dads:    Wink of Stella Black           

EEEK!

Halloween artwork runs the gamut from cute to scary and I have fun playing with all of it!  This year, I went with adorable . . .

Wouldn't you just love to open your front door on Halloween to a gaggle of ghosts like these?

I used metallic cardstock for the EEEK word die cut but the purple shade was off.  Copics to the rescue!  How I love alcohol inks for their ability to change the color of practically every medium out there . . .    

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Nicole Bristol Smooth White      

Stamps:       DRS Ghost Family Portrait, Stacey Stamp Corner Web,

                     Computer Generated “Ghost Family Portrait”

Inks:             Gina K Amalgam Black

Colorants:    Copic C1 Cool Grey #1, V09 Violet

Watercolors:   Zig Real Brush Geranium Red, Orange, Bright Yellow,

                     Light Green, Cobalt Blue, Lilac

Emb Powder:   Stamp Zia Black Sparkle

Dies:            Top Dog Pocket Page: Winter, Frantic Stamper Scary

                     Words: EEEK!, Stampin’ Up Lakeside Framelets: Label     

                       

Beware

Halloween themes are always so much fun to play with . . .

 The only part that didn't work at first was the four words:  they didn't show up against the background, even though it's not at all a fussy one.  The solution was to mount the words onto narrow, deckle-edged strips of white cardstock and pop them up with foam dots.  Much better . . .

Cardstock:   Dorset Black Diamond, Strathmore #100 Bristol, Bazzill

                        Velvet, Generic Orange  

Stamps:       Inkadinkado Happy Haunting

Inks:             Hero Black

Dies:            Spellbinders A2 Distressed Edges, Frantic Stamper

                        Scary Words               

Doo Dads:    Ranger Studio Black Gesso 

Trick or Treat

My long overdue love affair with Tim's Crazy Birds may have gotten off to a late start, but oh boy, am I ever making up for lost time . . .

The set of Crazy Things (stamps and matching dies) makes it so much fun to play with these wonderful birds.  Kristina Werner designed these accessories and she covered all of the major holidays with various motifs:  in this case, a pumpkin, broom, and witch's hat.  Along with a large variety of useful images including hats, glasses, and balloons, this means you make these birds work for just about any event you can name! 

This is really the most versatile collection I've ever owned . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Blueberry, Strathmore #100 Bristol, Kid’s Series

                           Paint Pad   

Stamps:        Tim Holtz Bird Crazy, Crazy Things, Crazy Talk

Inks:               Distress Carved Pumpkin, Dusty Concord, Shaded Lilac,

                           Black Soot, ColorBox Black

Emb Powder:   Distress Black Soot

Dies:              Tim Holtz Bird Crazy, Crazy Things, Spellbinders A2

                           Distressed Edges

Doo Dads:    Glossy Accents        

Yes I Can

Making her way through a frosty October sky, Wanda the Witch is quite confident of her abilities in driving a standard broom . . . I can identify, having never owned an automatic myself.  Automatic car, that is.  Have never actually tried driving a broom, although I can be witchy at times . . .

Wanda is steering through a purple and blue Distressed sky I sprinkled with just enough water spatters to suggest an early snowfall.  Then I stamped the images in black.  This was the perfect opportunity to use a non-shiny embossing powder - I think of witches as being dressed in sooty clothes rather than shiny ones, so a matte finish powder really works well here.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Purple, Tim Holtz Watercolor paper, Generic Black                

Stamps:        Lost Coast Silhouette Witch, Rubbernecker Bats, Northwoods

                           "Yes, I can drive . . ."        

Inks:               ColorBox Black, Hero Black, Distress Stains Dusty Concord,

                           Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky

Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull

Dies:              DieNamics Grassy Edges, Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares            ,

                           QuicKutz Bats

Doo Dads:    Wilhold Glitter Black            

Witchin'

This one did not come together smoothly, and it was all because of a few color issues . . .

And here's a look at the inside . . .

If I stamped the hat in black over black cardstock, I'd get wonderful texture but no visible design.  And since I wanted the card itself to be black, I was in a pickle.  I tried stamping on a gray cardstock background, but that fell flat.  Then I tried stamping the hat on white cardstock and coloring in with gray.  That seemed to work.  The clincher was when I did some grunge-style (ie: artistically sloppy on purpose) silver embossing  around the two main elements.  That tied everything together and yet provide some needed contrast.

Happy Halloween!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Strathmore Ultimate White

Stamps:        Unity You Witch!, Stampington Fresh Flowers (broom)

Inks:               ColorBox Black, Silver

Emb Powder:   Distress Black Soot, Delafield Silver

Dies:              Spellbinders Fancy Tags 2, Deckled Rectangles Large

Colored Pencils:     Inktense Tangerine, Apple Green, Neutral Gray

Markers:        Copic Tuscan Orange, Chrome Orange

Message:      Amuse Witch Feet, DRS Shoe Fits Greeting 

Trick or Treat!

I could happily make Halloween cards all year long . . .

It's so much fun to play with strong colors, wonderfully graphic images, bizarre scenarios, and no end of really cheeky comments.  To say nothing of enjoying a truly legal chocolate rush!

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cutie, Raven, Champion Snow Day, The Paper

                           Cut White Matte Coate

Stamps:        Tim Holtz Trick or Treat- Spider Webs, Picture Show

                           Haunted House, Vippies “Smell My Feet”

Inks:               Hero Black, ColorBox Frost White, Distress Markers

                           Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade

Emb Powder:   Stamp Zia White, Black Sparkle

Dies:              Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles, Simon Says Talk Bubbles

No Bones About It

Of all the cards I enjoy making for various themes throughout the year, Halloween invariably turns out to be the most fun . . .

 . . . it must be because the usual artistic objectives of kindness, love, beauty, and maybe even a little sweetness are not remotely required for a successful Halloween card.  Instead, we get to dip into a little of the macabre, the bizarre, and even into a smidgeon  of scary.  Sounds like fun to me!

And a happy BOO! to you too! 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Raven, Marigold                

Stamps:        Just For Fun Spider Web Background, Unknown “No Bones

                           About It”, Rubber Stamp Tapestry “Time for Halloween”,

                           Judikins Dancing Skeletons, Raindrops on Roses

                           Watercolor Splashes

Inks:               Versamark, Hero Black, ColorBox Black, Frost White

Emb Powder:  Judikins Opaque White, Detail Black, Black Diamond,

                                Distress Black Soot

Dies:              Quickuts Bats                                    

                        

The Things We Do . . .

 When is a rosebud not a rosebud?  Why, when it’s a broom instead, of course!  When my friend Carol gifted me with Christine Adolph’s classic long-stemmed rosebud stamp, I instantly saw a broom instead of a bud, and decided it would be fun to play with for my Halloween cards this year . . .

 

A little silvery outline along the top of the broom to make things frosty, a clever crow enjoying the ride . . . and I think this trick has become a treat!

Cardstock:       Bazzill White, Watercolor paper, Beckett Iceberg

Stamps:             Christine Adolph Trims X 4 Set, the bird from Inkadinkado
                               Star Pumpkin Mini Set, Stamps ‘n More “The things we do . . .”,
                                CC Rubber Stamps Fibers                                            
Inks:                   Distress Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky, Spiced Marmalade, ColorBox
                                 Black, Stampin’ Up Going Grey, Ancient Page Coal, Perfect
                                Pearls Mist Silver, Gelly Roll Clear Star, Archival Jet
                                Black                                             
Emb Powder:  Judikins Detail Black  
Dies/Punches:  PaperTrey Ink Angled Labels, EK Success Corner Adorner
                                Flames           

               

Twiggy Witch

 . . . while I enjoy using traditional colors for all of the seasonal events we celebrate, once in awhile, it’s fun to go in another direction:

  . . . I was hoping to capture the look of dusk at a frosty time of the year, when both witches and bats take to the skies and scare the daylights out of the rest of us.  Purple and blue may not be the standard go-to colors for this major event but that’s OK – I plan to eat more candy corn to make up for the switch!  When it comes to scoring candy corn, I can justify any excuse . . .

Cardstock:  Bazzill Festive, Black, PaperCuts watercolor paper

Stamps:       Lost Coast Silhouette Witch, Bats from EZMount

                           Halloween Set

Inks:             Distress Stains Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord,

                             Archival Jet Black, Gelly Roll Clear Star

Emb Powder:  Vippie’s Transcendence Clear

Dies/Punches: EK Success Corner Rounder Flames punch

Doo Dads:    Candi Dots from the Blackjack Collection

Raven's Treasure

 . . . it’s Guest Artist time, and once again, we are fortunate to have Carol Chiaramonte on stage!  She does more with single layer, Clean & Simple than anyone else out there.  Truly.  See for yourselves:

 . . . one of Carol’s favorite techniques is Stamp Kissing which is a neat method because you never know exactly what you’re going to get with it.  For anal types like myself, this amounts to a real walk on the wild side, I can assure you.  But it’s hard to fail with this, so if you’ve not tried it yet, pull your socks up and give it a go. 

Here’s how Carol did it for this card:  ink up the solid bird image with black ink, take an UN-inked somewhat detailed stamp such as a flower or sun rays (just about any image will work), and lightly press it (“kiss”) onto the inked bird.  Twist the second stamp ever so slightly and then lift off.  Stamp the bird onto your cardstock, step back, and admire!  Even the skeleton (lower right) is excited with the results . . .

Cardstock:         Generic White Glossy, Orange

Stamps:              Meer Image Raven, Inkadinkado Flourish, Fred Mullett Lace Paper 2, Vippies

                            Skeleton, Rubber Tree Sun Rays used for the Kissing technique.

Inks:                    Document Black, Ancient Page Mandarin

Scary Spider

 . . . few holidays are more fun to do cards for than Halloween!  I’ve read that it is second only to New Years in providing grownups with a chance to get dressed up in admittedly wild costumes and have fun!  So naturally, our cards can be over the top as well.  The choice among really clever and spooky images out there is endless and I admit to growing my collection of Halloween stamps every year.  Irresistible!

I hope the camera picks up one of my favorite uses of silver glitter pens: spider webs!  Those lacy and intricate beauties look so great when the strands are highlighted with what looks like silvery trails of frosty morning dew . . .

Cardstock:         Bazzill Black, Ember, Beckett Candlelight

Stamps:              Tim Holtz Spider Webs, Studio G Hanging Spider, Vippies’ ‘Scary’

Inks:                    Archival Jet Black, VersaFine Onyx Black, Gelly Roll Pen Clear Star

Emb Powder:    B’Muse Ebony

Dies/Punches:   Marvy Scalloped Rectangular Punch

Doo Dads:          Black plastic spider

SCARY!

Out of all the years I’ve done Halloween cards, this one is still my favorite.  Hard to lose when the Master of Hilarious Macabre – Edward Gorey – is on the scene . . .

 . . . Gorey’s Running Man perfectly illustrates the way most of us would feel when passing a cemetery on a dark and spooky night.  Not that we would ever find ourselves there at such a time!  It took a little time to fussy-cut my frightened subject:  usually I think it actually looks better to leave a little margin around cut-out elements, but in this case, I decided my guy would look better without any white edges showing.  So it was worth the effort, which was greatly aided by outlining him with a black marker after I’d finished cutting – this covered up any errant glimpses of white.  And no, it’s not too early to be thinking about Halloween!

Cardstock:     Generic Black Linen, Beckett Moonlight,

Stamps:          Sideshow Graveyard, Gorey’s Running Man, Vippie “Scary”, Amuse

                               Hanging Ghost

Inks:                Archival Black, Marvy Plum marker, Gelly Roll Silver pen,

Colored Pencils: Prisma Nectar, Framboise, Black, Sandbar Brown, Sienna Brown

Dec. Scissors: Fiskars Deckled in two sizes