Goblins and things that go bump in the night

We survived another Halloween...190 little goblins, witches, vampires, zombies, princesses, knights, ghosts, Frankensteins and other scary things that go bump in the night!

There were some fabulous store bought costumes and some equally fantastic homemade ones too. I always like to see the homemade costumes as there is so much creativity in them! Some had scars and injuries as part of their look and the level of makeup skills to produce those scars was fantastic.

This year had an equal number of older kids...some as old as 16 or 17. My policy has always been that if you have the courage to ring the doorbell, you get a chocolate bar, regardless of your age. I do prefer a costume, but still give if they do not have one.

Sadly, for the first time ever, I had a few huge groups of teens that were a wee bit pushy. They demanded a certain type of chocolate bar, they pushed each about while on my porch, and there was a lot of profanity. A few times during the evening there was a group 50 or 60 of swearing, shouting, pushing teenagers loitering on the street just outside my house or the houses to each side of me. They were pushing in and out of my front garden beds and even throwing firecrackers at  my neighbour's car.

I got very brave and decided to sit on my front steps and pretend I was just sitting there handing out my candy. It took about 15 minutes but they eventually noticed me and moved a wee bit down the street. Cars could not get by them and it was quite disconcerning. Eventually they headed home after a police car came by. Ironically they were from the posh, multi-million dollar homes about a block and a half below my street. I could hear them telling the police officer where they lived and she asked them why they weren't loitering on their own street!!!

I took a couple of pictures of my Halloween decorations this year. I usually do much more but was a bit late getting organized with it this year so kept it to a minimum. I was very happy with the googly eyed lights that lined the sidewalk from the driveway up tot he house. Little Mr P called them Eball lights last year...He loved them!

There was a very tiny graveyard this year...usually there are a few more tombstones...

I put a few things up on the front porch...

The bench on the other side of the door seemed to be a bit of a morgue...

There were a few hanging things too...

I did walk down the driveway to take a picture of the whole scene,,,but my camera battery died!

I usually decorate all around the door frame and put up some big 6 foot spiderwebs with HUGE spiders...but was a bit stingy with the decorations this year...just ran out of time.

Hope you enjoyed your Halloween!

All Hallows

I'm back with Little Mr P's card.

He is such a typical boy. He loves scaring people, popping out from hidden places to say Booo! and having fun on Halloween. He like bats and spiders and rustling leaves, so hopefully will enjoy this card.
He will be dressed up as Darth Vader when he opens this card. Tomorrow will be dress up day for him at Kindergarten as well.

I managed to use another piece of that ancient VOS paper for the background of his card too. I matted it with a snippet of black card stock again, roughed it up with the blade of my scissors,  and adhered that to another corrugated cardboard square card.

I had a tree die cut in my stash. I had rolled it off at the local scrapbook store. They have a great selection of accucut dies that you can use for free. Thought I would use the tree on his card as he so enjoys walking through the crunchy leaves on the sidewalks on our morning walks up to the school. They always notice their surroundings and he has remarked about how many trees are completely bare now, when we walk up to school.

Another piece of the bargain ribbon, another Pink Paisley Twilight rectangle matted with black card and then I tucked the tree die cut overtop.  I only had to add a couple more MME Wicked Merchant Malvado embellishments and I was nearly done. The "piece de resistance" is the Jolees Silhouettes Spider in the frame.  Little Mr P loved the spiders my daughter put on the porch this year. He gets me to go out on the porch every morning since his Mum decorated, to ohh and ahhh over them!

Here is a close up of the Joleees Spider. He is going to love running his finger over the domed resin!

Here is a peek at the inside...

Think this is a world first for me...two cards in one day. Off to watch some British TV with DH before that 5:30 am alarm rings.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
2. Ribbon Carousel Challenge - must use spooled ribbon, theme Fall and Halloween
3. Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Halloween or colours orange, purple and black #49
4. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
5. MFP Friends of Speedy TV - Halloween

Spooky Greetings

Spooky greetings to you all!

It is so very close to Halloween and I still did not have my Halloween cards made for Little Miss C and Little Mr P!

Once we got back home from walking them to school this morning, I set off to my craft room and got this one finished up...this will be for Little Miss C as she loves animals. She will be dressed up as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz when she opens this tomorrow! It is dress up costume day at school tomorrow.

I am continuing along in my campaign to use up VOS (very old supplies) and managed to find a snippet of paper that is at least 10 years old. It was originally part of an 8 1/2 x 11 Provo craft Pathways, Heartland paper stack that someone gave me for a present. It has papers that would have been considered old school, even ten years ago. So it was shoved into the dark recesses of the paper cupboards, languishing all these years.

I tore a bit and scuffed up the edges, inked it with purple chalk ink and matted it with a snippet of black card stock. I distressed the edges of that as well. Once that was affixed to my square corrugated kraft card, I added a K and Co carved pumpkin.

I stumbled across a 25 cent per yard/metre ribbon sale at my local scrapbook store. I picked up a few metres of assorted ribbons...the Halloween word ribbon I placed under the pumpkin, was one of them.
Not bad, eh? I have been trying so hard to add ribbon to my cards and usually struggle to find a place that it will look good. If you are not in the habit of using it, it can be hard at first to think of where to incorporate it into the design!

I added another snippet of black card under the Pink Paisley Twilight rectangle and popped a circular MME Wicked Merchant Maldavo 3D sticker element over the top right of it.  I stuck 2 layers of black card behind the top half of the circle, and then trimmed it so it did not show. This way the sticker sticks perfectly level as half sits on the sentiment rectangle and half does not.

A little snippet of three MME Wicked Merchant Maldavo banners and I was done. Another one of my faster cards...perhaps I am on a roll.

Here is a closeup of that K and Co pumpkin...the inside of the mouth is heavily glittered...it makes the little mouse show up so well!

I kept the inside fairly simple.

Off to put up the front porch and front garden Halloween decorations and then I will settle back downstairs in my craft room till my second card is completed...see ya later!

This card is entered in the following challenges:

1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
2. Ribbon Carousel Challenge - must use spooled item, Halloween or Fall
3. Sparkles Monthly Challenge - Halloween or colours orange, purple and black
4. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes
5. MFP Friends of Speedy TV - Halloween

Whooo Whooo loves Christmas?

Saw this cute little owl stamp at Michael's and couldn't resist.  Just loved his cheeky look and sweet toque, and wanted to colour him up, right away! Thank goodness for those great 40% off Michael's coupons. lol

I have to make a number of fairly flat Christmas cards that will need to be mailed. These cards will have to fit through the standard postage slot, so that has dramatically influenced my card designs this month.  Hopefully this one will pass through the infamous tester slot! It does not have any layers that are pop dotted...The only depth is from the layers of paper and card stock.

I stickled the fur on the toque and on the front of the owl. Here is a bit of a close up to see the sparkle.

I read about Spica pens on my friend Mary H's blog Carolina Cards  http://carolinacardsbymaryh.blogspot.ca/
I picked up a couple of them and used the graphite colour to outline the stamped image. Just gives it a little shimmer! I was happy with the result...thanks Mary.

I attended a monthly crop tonight...4pm till midnight  at a friends house...brought along my owls and all the trimmings I needed and managed to make 5 cards! That is probably a record for me as I am the worlds slowest cardmaker. I love the social aspect of a crop almost as much as the creating...and this one always included a yummy meal to start the evening. Good food, great coffee and lovely girls...what more could a crafter hope for!

Our hostess Gloria even had a little gift for all of us....a sweet pillow box stuffed full of chocolates!

Gloria has a gorgeous, walkout basement scrapbook room. She has a group of friends over once a month to craft together. She had 2 different yummy, homemade pizzas for supper, and it was my turn to bring dessert. I brought Halloween decorated sugar cookies (sorry forgot to take a picture) and a Costco cheesecake which was a medley of 4 different recipes.

After watching Gloria use her Cameo to create the most wonderful title on her scrapbook page, I must say I am hooked! Think I might have to put this on my Christmas wishlist. She also has an electric Big Shot...What heaven that was! Push a button and the dies slide through!!! My hands and wrists are really flared up from my arthritis at the moment so it was such a treat to use her machine. Maybe another one for the wish list!

Recipe
Card base and envelope - from my stash (originally Michaels Recollections, square textured cards
Design Paper - red and green striped, Making Memories Twinkle
Designer Paper - Red and white polkadots, snippets of 12 x 12 Making Memories Twinkle, Glitter snowflake strip "B side"
Designer Paper - Green damask - snippets of 12 x 12 Echo Park, Style Essentials Green Damask
Card stock - snippets of red velvet for the corner dies, and white and also kraft,for the diecuts
Dies - Spellbinders Sprightly Sprockets and Impression Obsession Snowflakes
Dies - Memory Box, leafy branch
Corner Die - Quickcuts
Bling - from my stash of red diamonds
Stamp - Stampendous - Owl on a branch
Sentiment - another Joy that I stamped a couple of months ago and don't have stamped off in my stamp binder yet. Need to sit down and get that done!

I am entering this card in the following challenges
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
2. Stamping or Pleasure Rudolph Day - must be Christmas
3. CHNC Extra - must be Christmas, anything goes
4. Marks Finest Papers Christmas Challenge - must be Christmas
5. Hiding in my Craft Room - use a critter

Christmas Card Club - On The Second Day Of Christmas

Sue P of Planet Susie chose the Christmas Card Theme this fortnight. She chose the Twelve Days of Christmas. This one was a lot of fun!

I searched through my Christmas stash looking for something to suit the brief...No luck there.
I looked through all my stamps...no luck again. I then though perhaps I might have golden rings in my Wedding themed embellishments...nada again.

Things were looking desperate...I thought I might have to hand draw 3 french hens!!! Oh my!

Just when I had given up and was further pawing through my embellies to create card kits for an up coming card crop...I found it!  The perfect embellishment...two turtle doves! I nearly fell off my chair...I just needed to look through that Wedding section a little more carefully. These little birds were part of a 12 x 12 scrapbook page...the type you cut apart into little rectangles and use them for Project Life or something.

I thought they looked a little Un-Christmasy...you know what that means...yep...pull out the stickles bottle and go to town with it. Stardust stickles and me...we're pals! Attached at the hip, so to speak!

Here is a wee close up of the turtle doves...I never knew what they actually looked like till now! This photo more accurately depicts the stickles look IRL!

I decided to go for a bit of a country look to my card...a little vintage collage paper and some embellishments chosen more for their colours. Some kraft and canvas add to the country feel but the pearl brad and tub of stickles helped to make it more in the Christmas spirit.
When it came time to fit the sentiment on, I was truly stumped...I had used up all the best spots with my other embellies. I finally decided to make it look like the Christmas tree skirt!

Recipe
Card base and envelope - square white card from my stash.
Design paper - MME All Is Bright, from my stash
Card Stock - Kraft snippets from my stash
Tag and turtle doves - Cosmo Cricket, Ever After Elements from my stash (VOS, as is from 2009)
Pointsettia, Iy, and Christmas tree - K and Co from my stash
Canvas - cross stitch aida cloth picked up at the annual garage sale at the lake RV resort
Pearl Brad - from my stash
Die Cut -  Spellbinders Fantastic Florals Two (corner die)
Sentiment - Can't remember the name and can't locate the package at the moment! Hangs head in shame...
Stickles - lashings of stardust stickles

I am entering this card in the following challenges.
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
2. Marks Finest Papers Christmas Card Club - must be Christmas
3. Christmas Card Club - must be Christmas, 12 Days of Christmas
4. CHNC - must be Christmas
5, Sugar Creek Hollow - #72 Birds of a feather
6. Polkadoodles - Christmas is coming
7. C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Christmas
8. Crafty Little Fairies - Christmas
9. Crimbo Crackers - Christmas Birds
10. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- Christmas

A Generic Stash card

I have been having a wee tidying up in my craft room. I had to make room for all the new Stamps and bits and bobs I bought in England!    lol

As I tidied, I pulled out elements to make up into Card Kits for the 8 hour card crop I am attending on Saturday. This is always a fun job as I usually find things I had forgotten about...it is like going shopping in my own room!

I set out to make up kits for some very overdue thank you cards for my English relatives and also kits for get well cards. In the midst of all this, I got waylaid when I spied this Sentiment die...funny how that happens!!! To keep myself on task and not so easily distracted....I made a little deal with myself that once I finished creating the kits, I could then make this sentiment up into a card.

I have kept the card to this sentiment only, just for now. I think it could be used for an Autumn Anniversary card or even a Birthday card. I will add the appropriate verse to the inside once I know which occasion I will be using it for.

As always, enlarging the photo shows up things that perhaps could have been done differently. I am going to make a couple more of these cards and next time I will mount the die cut flower and butterfly stickers to a scrap of card stock, fussy cut them and then attach them to the card. This would prevent that slight bent look when a sticker is attached to two different surface levels.

Here is a shot of the interior...

When I found the Doily die cuts, I knew I wanted to use them. I like the contrast between the feminine look of the doilies and the more masculine look of the sentiment. I do think I will use this card for an Autumn Anniversary as I think it has elements that suit masculine and feminine

Recipe
Card base and envelope - square cream set from my stash
Design paper - Teresa Collins Fabrications Canvas, Gold Damask. From my stash.
Design paper - MME Lost and Found, Red floral. From my stash
Cardstock - red from my stash
Sentiment Die Cut - MME Dilly Daily, Celebrate. From my stash
Die Cut - Colorbok Victorian Parlour doillies. From my stash from CHA Feb 2012 release! VOS
Flowers - Studio 112 Flower die cut stickers. ..originally from Joanne's.
Bling  - red pearls from my stash
Corner Die - Quickcuts corner die

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
2. Jo's Scrap Shack Fun Friday - # 22 Anything goes
3. Sister Act Challenge - Anything Goes
4. Word Art Wednesday - uplifting words
5. Cards Galore - Flowers
6. Creative Craft Challenges - Anything goes

She's a Princess!

Once the girls cards for the baby shower were done and dusted, I needed to make a card from DH and I.
I'm sure you can spy that I used the cupcake liners from the party banner once again! Yes, I pulled out the iron and pressed a couple more of those babies. I am getting my mileage out  of that dollar purchase!

This time I layered two cupcake liners over a snippet of hot pink Bazzil dotted card. I added a hot pink scalloped die with a doily over top. The scalloped circle was to prevent the doily from getting lost in the damask pattern.

Now I had a little giggle here as I found the butterfly I searched for when I made the last card. I did not vacuum it up after all! It was just hiding, wanting to perch on my card instead! I added a pink shimmery chipboard princess sign and tucked three teensy flowers on the bottom left, to give some balance to the butterfly.
Sorry about the picture...I know it is not very straight! Just when I learned how to straighten on my old computer...I am now on windows eight with only the photo editing that came with it... and I have not figured it out yet! lol

The inside of my card is a bit different for me.
The Mum-to-be went to a Catholic, private school with my daughters. I wanted my message to be prayer based but did not want to make any of the other girls feel preached at.   I decided to make the sentiment a hidden message.
I tucked in a tiny envelope and placed the prayer inside. I then signed the back of the prayer!
Here is how it looked...

The little prayer/poem read as follows...

Two little eyes to look at God
Two little ears to hear His Word
Two little lips to sing His praise
Two little feet to walk His ways
Two little hands to do His will

It was from one of my Grandchildren's books and I have always loved those words. The book has a poem/prayer hidden in teensy envelopes on each page.  I decided to steal the idea and go with the envelope system too!

I am entering this card in the following challenges
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets

Christmas Card Club - An UPcycled card

Sunday Oct 6th, is my turn to host the theme for the Christmas Card Club. I challenged everyone to use an UPcycled item on their card.  It could be a piece of a used card, a scrap of ribbon off a gift you received,  a piece of a  coffee cup sleeve, a piece of wrapping paper, a scrap of corrugated paper...anything that you are giving a new lease on life too!!!  I  have had to post this card early, as am going to visit my Mum and will not have access to the internet until after Sunday!

I have been saving this wonderful tag for quite some time. It was the front of a store bought card I received. I loved the look of it so much that I carefully freed it from the rest of the card when I put Christmas away that year. It originally sat on a wonderful, glittery snowflake base and I saved that piece too...eventually I will use it up as well.

It is funny how card designs "come together". When I found that wonderful bargain on the poinsettia embellishments last year, I tucked these silver ones away to use with this tag! I was keeping my eyes open for other embellies but they had to be quite small to fit on this tall, portrait style card.

Recently, I went to a private crop at fellow card maker's home. It was such a wonderful crafty evening! I brought some Memory Box Dies for anyone to borrow, and another lady brought some Impression Obsession snowflake dies. She offered for me to cut a few to try, and voila, this card idea crystalized!! This snowflake die is especially sized for cards...I really liked the size of the die cuts! I used tiny snippets of copic paper for the snowflakes. I did not stickle them although I was temped...I thought there was enough sparkle on this card already.
Here is a little closeup of those embellies...I thinkthis photo has captured better the true colours of this card. The photo above makes the tag look cream coloured...but IRL it is ivory and white.

Recipe
Card base and envelope - from my stash, 5 x 6 1/2 size
DP - DCWV, Glizty Glitter blue paper and also a snippet of a blue and ivory damask looking pattern...leftovers from a scrapbook page, ID strip long gone!
UPcycled item - tag off an old Christmas car
Embellishments - silver poinsettias from Michael's clearance bins
Dies - Impression Obsession snowflakes
Bling -  cobalt blue diamonds from my stash

I am entering this card int he following challenges
1. Christmas Card Club - must be Christmas
2. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
3. CHNC Extra - must be Christmas
4. CHNC - #145 picture inspiration. I used the colours to inspire me.
5. Creative Card Corner - Tag
6. Christmas Cards All Year Round - Getting ready for Christmas (my poinsettias and snow are two things that most expect before Christmas)
7. Marks Finest Papers Speedy TV Christmas Card Club - must be Christmas
8. Crafting Musketeers - Christmas in October

I will be a bit late with return visits...but will drop by once I am back home with internet access again!
I have not been able to return visits yet from my last post, but as Arnold says...I will be baaaaack!!!

Butterflies and babies...

Remember my post about the banner and photo booth accessories I made for the baby shower?
Here is the card I made for my daughters to give to their friend that day.

My brief was keep the colours to black, white and hot pink and not to make a traditional baby card!

I thought I had saved one of the black rhinestone Eiffel Tower embellies from the banner, but looked everywhere and could not find it.  Arggggh! I think I may have vacuumed it up when I cleaned the room after creating the banner.

My mind was a blank and time was running out.  Then I remembered the beautiful butterfly cards and envelopes that were given to me by Di of Pixies Crafty Workshop.

I decided to use the Stampin' Up sizzlets textured butterfly die and cut them out of the snippets of the Bazzil dotted, hot pink, card stock that I used for the banner. The butterfly edged cards were just a tad too small to carry the weight of all those butterflies so I sliced the card in half and used the front of the card like a fancy mat.
I love these butterfly cards and it was so hard to cut into it,  but I think the finished result looks good on this card. I had one leftover butterfly from the banner. Sadly it was plain black, but I used it anyway. In retrospect, I wish I had stamped and embossed it with white ink, but time was of the essence that day.

I decided to use graphite coloured rhinestones for the bodies of the butterflies and I think it helps tie together that plain black butterfly I layered in. I wanted to use a very teensy, self inking stamp I have that says "precious" in tiny print. I would have stamped it in the bottom left hand corner...but this idea was vetoed!

Once finished with Di's fancy butterfly "mat", I mounted that on another snippet of the dotted Bazzil and then mounted that on a snippet of black card before attaching to the white card base.

I used one of my favourite baby sentiment stamps for the inside and tried to tie the colours in from the card front.

The black and white damask paper bag beside my card holds a little black, white and pink dress I gave for the gift. I also wrapped a package of newborn diapers in hot pink wrapping paper!
The hot pink picture frames were used for the names of the food items on the buffet table. I tucked one in beside my gift to show you all.

No recipe today as I have basically already told you the supplies I used!

I am entering this card in the following challenges.
1. Pixies Crafty Workshop - must use snippets
2. Sparkles Monthly Challenge - butterflies or fairies