A Little Halloween with a Little Potter Mixed In

Is that okay? Can I squeeze in one more Halloween card for this year? I had fun with this one, taking some fun Halloween stamps and giving them a bit of a Harry Potter twist. Because who doesn't love a sorting hat and a Nimbus 2000? Right? Right. Good. Glad we had this chat.

So, not gonna lie. This one sat on my desk for several days while I decided if I was brave enough to share it. Now that I'm looking at it fresh again, I think I actually really do like it. It's fun! I stamped the hat and the broom from the Simon Says Stamp Toil and Trouble stamps and dies set onto kraft paper and then colored with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I went for the weathered Sorting hat look on the hat and um..... I REALLY REALLY LIKE IT. K? K. Thanks. I die cut both pieces, along with the tree from the Ghouls and Tree die set from Simon. 

I finished the card by adding just a touch of Reverse Confetti patterned paper and then stamped, embossed, and die cut the sentiment and frame together. 

And, my friends, there you have it. A bit of Halloween and a bit of Harry Potter all rolled into one fun card. Now... where did I leave my robes, I gotta fly......

Cute Spooks

 So, seriously. When you give me absolutely adorable Halloween supplies I just cannot help myself! I am loving creating these cards! 

For this one, I started by die cutting the  Simon Says Stamp Window Webs from a white panel. I just knew I had to create a super cool background to put behind it, so I decided to ink up another cardstock panel to create a night sky using distress inks. I then put a little white ink from a bottle of reinker on a paint brush and splattered it to create the stars in the sky.

You guys! This was a lot for me. LOL! I don't do a ton of messy things anymore, but I absolutely LOVE how this turned out and I super love that it uses those techniques and still results in a clean and simple card.

I stamped the absolutely adorable ghost witch stamp and the spider from the Too Cute To Spook stamp set from Simon Says Stamp and colored them with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I cut the ghost out, but you can purchase dies with the stamps if you prefer to go that route. Either way... this stamp set is THE CUTEST!

The sentiment is stamped and embossed on a strip of black cardstock to finish off the card. I am linking this little guy up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

I hope you have enjoyed my Halloween fun this week! I may do more, I may do some other stuff... we shall see. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment to let me know you are here! 

Friendly Little Bats

 I mentioned that I really like bats, right? When I saw the Reverse Confetti challenge to create a card with a Thanksgiving or Friendship theme, I figured it was a perfect time to combine my love of Halloween and bats with a friendship sentiment for a cute little card.

I stamped the three little bats from the Reverse Confetti Best Witches stamp set and colored them with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I am discovering that I REALLY love coloring with colored pencils. I honestly feel like I work better with them than I do with my markers a lot of the time. I am loving it. It is also wicked relaxing to feel the smooth pencil over the paper. I don't know...I just really enjoy it.

After stamping and coloring the bats I added a quick stamped star and then finished it off with a great Lawn Fawn Hello die. The friend is actually hand written with a Copic pen to get the look I was going for.  

This card was one of those ones that I just really enjoyed creating. It makes me smile.

What are the kinds of things that just make you happy when you create? Is it coloring? The actual stamping? Putting together various design elements? I'd love hear about it in the comments!

Any Hannibal Fans Out There?

We have a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! This week we are irresistible! That's right! We want to see how you use resist techniques in your projects this week! For my card, I did some good old fashioned emboss resist to create a Hannibal inspired Halloween card. 

I stamped the Simon Says Stamp wide stripe background in VersaMark ink and embossed with Ranger Clear Fine Detail embossing powder. I then used Carved Pumpkin and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks, blended, to create the background. I love the just slightly spooky feel it offers. I then colored the deer head with a Spectrum Noir marker to make it a deep grey color before adhering it to my card. Finally, I die cut the Impression Obsession Trick or Treat sentiment and adhered that to my card, as well.

If you happen to be a Hannibal fan, this card is probably a little creepier for you than if you are not. LOL! Either way, I think it's a pretty cool looking Halloween card!

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something awesome using a resist technique of some kind. Don't forget to tell us how you did it! One lucky participant will win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! WOOT! WOOT!!!

Have a Happy!

Going Batty with Bazzill!

I am up over on the Bazzill Basics Blog today with a super fun Halloween card that will literally only take you five minutes to make. For reals!

Head on over to the Bazzill Basics Blog for a full tutorial and complete supply list!

Have a Happy!

Happy Haunting!

Hello, friends! I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I was finishing up at my old job last week and started my new one this week, so I've had LOTS of non-paper stuff going on around here! It's pretty exciting, actually! Today we have a BRAND NEW Challenge for you from the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge team! This week we have a COLOR INSPIRATION challenge, complete with an inspiring mood board to jumpstart your creativity!

The design team is playing with Stampendous! products this week. You don't have to use them to play along, but we'd love to see them if you have some around! I used some amazing Aged Gold embossing powder from Stampendous! for my card today!

I also used that absolutely AMAZING Tim Holtz bat stamp. I love that stamp. For reals. LOVE IT. I used distress inks to create the background and then added a sentiment from the Winnie and Walter Moonlight stamp set. 

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something awesome, inspired by the Color Inspiration Mood Board, and link it up over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! We can't WAIT to see what you create!

One lucky participant will win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! Woot! Woot!

Have a Happy, folks!

We Want Candy!

Because Candy.

Really. I love the stuff. That being the case, Halloween is kind of like crazy wicked awesome in my mind. It's an entire holiday centered around CANDY! How could that possibly be bad? For reals, though. Thus, the sentiment expressed on this little project I created with CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.



WHAT?! I know. Those ghosts are just too adorbs to even handle. They have BOWTIES, people! Well, they don't have to, the bowtie comes in the set, but why would you not add a bowtie when the opportunity presents? I mean, for reals, though?



The little ghostie on the treat bag is just peeking in... he obviously isn't dressed yet, as he is trying to snag that bowtie from the seal. Obviously.

K.... so... anyway.... I used the super cute Spooky stamp set for my shenanigans today. Be sure to head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog for LOTS of awesome inspiration! YAY!

Have a Happy!

A Dark and Stormy Night

Okay, so picture this... dark clouds overhead, it's Halloween night... and Paper Smooches Bitty Bungalows are EVERYWHERE! Bwahahahahaaaa!

Okay, you're right. Bitty Bungalows are adorable not scary, but I LOVE THEM! And I love Halloween. And I loved using them for this Halloween card. K? K. So there.



I stamped and colored these adorable houses in all greys to play with the spooky Halloween neighborhood feel. I then die cut the clouds (which are actually the CAS-ual Fridays Bubble Labels) from wood veneer and inked them to make them look dark and stormy (and adorable, yes, we've covered that... LOL!).



This was a fun card to create and I love that it doesn't even use Halloween stamps. And that bird... that bird SO makes me laugh for some reason. I have no idea why, but every time I see him sitting there on the house he just cracks me up, so... basically he wins.

It is going to be a very busy week on the blog this week! I hope you are ready and excited to stick around!

Have a Happy!

Supplies:
Stamps: Paper Smooches Bitty Bungalows and Paper Smooches Mini Monograms
Dies: CAS-ual Fridays Bubble Tag Fri-Dies
Glitter Tape: American Crafts
Cardstock: Crafter's Companion Ultra Smooth White, Simon Says Stamp Orange Peel
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, VersaFine Black Onyx
Markers: Copic

Color Coordinates with Simon Says Stamp

Hello, friends! It's time for another fun challenge from the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! I indulged in a Peanut Butter and Jelly iced coffee this morning (yes, you read that correctly) AND I am in a crazy good mood as it is a beautiful autumn day and the trees are shining with glorious color, SOOO...that being said... I might be a little chatty this morning. K? K. Glad we covered that little tidbit.

So... back to the challenge. This week we are working with COLOR COORDINATES! Every so often Shari puts together a wonderful bunch of colors for the Simon Says Stamp blog and offers great suggestions for pulling together products using those colors for awesome cards! The challenge this week is to use this fun Color Coordinates collection!

I am LOVING these fun Simon Says Stamp colors! Loving them! Obviously they work great for Halloween, but I do think they really would work well for so many kinds of card designs. LOVE!



I absolutely LOVE this adorable Costumed Pets stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I combined it with some great Simon Says Stamp cardstock and Inks for this fun Halloween card. It makes me smile. It really does! I colored the image with Spectrum Noir pens...I really love those things. So easy to use and very affordable, too! The patterned paper is from the Fancy Pants Me-Ology 6x6 pad. It's fabulous, too. EVERYTHING is fabulous! Or Awesome. Or cool if you're part of the team... whoa....sidetracked there... K... moving on...



I added a bit of metallic string from May Arts along with sequins and some Glossy Accents on the puppy nose for accents. Just a few little things, but a HUGE impact! Love that! Seriously, though...I impulsively add glossy accents to puppy noses. It just seems WRONG to not have a shiny little nose on those adorable little critters!

AND...as per usual, Simon is generously offering a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store to one lucky participant in this week's challenge! All you need to do is create a NEW card based on the Color Coordinates shown above and link it up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win! You can link up to five projects, but they must be NEW. I hope you play along!

Have a Happy!!!

Leading Lady Take 2: Super CAS & Super Scary?

Welcome to Take 2 of my Leading Lady posts for Winnie &Walter! Today we are going CAS. SUPER CAS, actually. Super SCARY CAS, even. So, firstly, what is CAS? CAS is Clean and Simple. Yup. Does that mean the cards lack technique? Nope. Does it mean they only use one thing? Nope. It just means that the finished look is Clean and Simple in appearance. Honestly, some of my CAS cards have taken me longer than ones I've done with multiple layers, so it doesn't necessarily mean EASY, either! LOL! Today I have four cards to share with you featuring the super awesome Moonlight stamp set. I loved it so much I wanted to dedicate an entire post to it. For reals, you guys. For. Reals.



Okay, so, I am starting with my favorite of the group. LOL! Is that allowed? I do hope so! This one is SUPER CAS and super simple, too. I love how this sentiment stamp stands out SO brilliantly, so I let it take center stage on a white panel and accented it only with the small mask stamp, which I coated with my Wink of Stella black for a bit of shimmer. The panel is popped up on a white card base, keeping the design simple, but adding some interest and depth, as well.



For this card I layered my images just *slightly* to bring them together. I colored the hat and then colored the sentiment in an ombre style. I love how the words look! The spider is just sorta hanging out. That is fun. Lotsa fun. For reals, though.



CAS doesn't mean leaving out the embellishments, either! For this card, I used a small bit of cork to accent the top, along with some sequins. A favorite trick of mine is to cut a sequin in half and use the partial on the edge of an accent or the card. You can see my half sequin on the cork strip. It adds a bit of shine along with the texture!



And my final card shows how the corner of a card can most definitely be your focal point! I added the spider web, letting it go off the edges a bit and then stamped the spider. A few sequins 'caught' in the web certainly are a bit prettier than flies! HA! I wanted the sentiment to both stand out and ground the design, so I stamped and embossed it on a strip of black cardstock and adhered it with foam tape.

AND... don't forget to leave a comment on this post, for your chance to win a $30 Gift Card to Winnie & Walter! I will choose a winner from the comments on ALL FOUR of my Leading Lady posts at the end of the month! YAY!!! So fun!

I am also linking these fun cards up to the Virginia's View Clean and  Simple Challenge. YAY!

Have a Happy!

No Tricks, Just Treats!

Okay, I am admittedly, a HUGE fan of Halloween! It is just SO. MUCH. FUN! Costumes, candy, and cuteness abound, my friends. ABOUND, I tell ya! I am also a HUGE fan of puppies. Huge. Soooo, that being the case, when Simon Says Stamp sent me the super adorable Costumed Pets stamp set, I was instantly in love. Insta-love, my friends. Insta. For reals, though.



This. So.much.this. (I'm not even exactly sure what that means, but people say it a lot on the interwebs, so I'm going with it. K? K. Glad we had this little parenthetical chat.) For REALS, though, people! Aren't they just the CUTEST?!!! I colored the images with Spectrum Noir pens and accented the puppy nose with some Glossy Accents. Other than that, this one is really all about the stamps! LOVE!



For the LOVE of all things cute and wonderful. *sigh* I am telling you folks, sometimes things just make me smile and this, well, this is one of those things. And Red Sox baseball. That makes me smile, too. And it's on my mind because we are TOTES going to the game tomorrow. That was pretty random. I'm sure you are glad I shared that with you.

Anyway, if you have NOT yet checked out the amazing Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember® release, you simply MUST! It is so fabulous! You know I'd never lead you astray! Happy Shopping, my dear friends!

THIS JUST IN!!!!! Some VERY exciting news!

Simon Says Stamp has just released a LIMITED EDITION Tim Holtz STAMPtember® stamp set!!! These are going to FLY off the shelves so if you want one order TODAY!

Costumed Pets Stamp Set and Dies Trick or Treat Stamp Set Halloween Craft Dies *My Mind's Eye 6 x 6 CHARMED Paper Pad Record It! REC101 *Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# SCHOOLHOUSE RED SR1 *Crafter's Companion 50 PACK ULTRA SMOOTH PREMIUM WHITE CARDSTOCK 752252 *Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive *Ranger Inkssentials MINI GLOSSY ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive .5oz *3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE Permanent My Favorite Things Black Licorice Hybrid Ink *Crafter's Companion REDS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404584 *Crafter's Companion BROWNS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404607 *Crafter's Companion COOL GREYS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404577 *Crafter's Companion WARM GREYS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404560 *Crafter's Companion ESSENTIALS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404553 *Crafter's Companion BLENDER SPECTRUM NOIR MARKER *GC-001 Spellbinders Grand Calibur Cut & Emboss Machine *Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Powder Blue & Teal 657900

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