Halloween ATC

So tonight I will try to be brief as we are carving pumpkins as I type.  The boys have decided not to use patterns this year and make their own.  That should prove to be interesting.  My husband is busy making roasted pumpkins seeds - not anything I am interested in or like for that matter.  He's made them for a couple of years now and they go over very well at work but, they are not for me.  Yuck!  However, he does make a pretty good warm spiked cider which is probably why I don't care about the pumpkin seeds.

OK, on with my post.  You may remember, in July I went to visit my friend Pam in Minnesota and before I went she and I challenged each other. She chose a month from Page Maps - cards (see the right bar on this blog for a link to Page Maps) and I chose a month of tags from the same.  Well, tags are just big ATC's to me so that's what my challenge was, ATC's.  I really do love them.  Anyway, I've posted both our versions below for the same tag layout (there will be more to come over the next few weeks).

 

I find it interesting how two people can take the same layout and make two totally different looking cards. She very much likes the deep fall colors and uses them quite a bit in her cards, especially this time of year.  I just wanted to go for something different.  I didn't even ink up the edges on this one.  What? No ink?  What was I thinking?  No stamping either.  I must not have been feeling well at the time. Lol!  I do like how I have one skeleton upside down on the paper though.  Cute.

I've entered my ATC in the following challenges:

ATC's With Attitude-Halloween Anything Goes-ends Oct 31

2 Sisters Challenge Blog-Challenge #115 Halloween or Fall Colors-ends Nov 2

So there's my not so brief post.  Pumpkins and the seeds are done, by the way.  Nothing to do now except do a little clean up.  The cider has warmed me and I'm ready to snuggle up on the couch.  Don't worry, no long winter naps yet.

Happy Halloween to all!

Huge Give-a-way!

Hi Crafters!
A fellow DT over at Eclectic Ellapu is giving away a weekend stay in Linz for two and some other blog candy as well. For the weekend for two you're going to stay in the 4**** Prielmayerhof. Included is also a  LinzCard - which gives you entrance to all the museums in Linz and free use of all the public transports there. You only have to figure out how to go about getting to Linz - she is only giving away the stay at the hotel.  The other blog candy is 6 Magnolia Stamps, 2 PaperPacks by DoCrafts (6x6), and 4 Packs of Paper Flowers.  You can get all the details on how to register on her blog here:

This is a huge give-a-way and will be drawn on December 25 in celebration of her birthday on December 24th.  So get on over there and register for your chance to win!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #3

Hello Fellow Crafters!

As I mentioned yesterday, we are on our 3rd challenge over at the Eclectic blog.  Although it's the Pink Teams turn again I have card to post for inspiration.  Hope you will all play along.  We're having a good 'ole time, won't you join us?

OK, here's my 1,2,3 Recipe card.

Just in case it's not obvious, I have one image (from My Favorite Things), 2 papers (the ruffle at the bottom is one and the light floral behind the image is 2), and 3 embellishments.  Now, the embellishments, I guess, can be interpreted in any number of ways. I actually have 4 different embellishments - bling, flower, string, and lace.  The three embellishments are supposed to be the same so, I am counting either the three strands of string , my three layers on the flower, or the three little splashes of water that I added Diamond Glaze to as my "3" in the recipe.  So, take your pick.  I'm sure I over did the line of bling on the right but that empty space was just calling for something and three just wasn't enough!  Of course I added ink all around 'cuz I just can't resist getting my hands dirty.  I also added a little of the Diamond Glaze to the soap bubbles to help them sparkle a bit.  For the Tic Tac Toe Challenge I chose the vertical row of Gems-Sentiment-Ribbon for my card.  My ribbon is really string or it could be the folded paper ribbon on the bottom.  Well, that's it.  I hope you enjoyed my card today.  Stay tuned as I plan on posting a Halloween card tomorrow.  See you then!

I entered the following challenges:

Eclectic Ellapu - Challenge #3 - 1,2,3 Recipe- ends Nov 3
Tammy's Scrapin' Corner-challenge-#34-ends Nov 4

Challenges 4 Everybody-Anything Goes-ends Nov 9
Fussy and Fancy-challenge-#74 Anything Goes-ends Nov 1
Paper Crafting Journey-Ribbon Or Twine Challenge-ends Nov 7
Charisma Cardz-challenge #42-Dont Be Square-ends Oct 31
Lady Annes Challenges-October 8th-Anything Goes-ends Nov 11
Stampin For The Weekend-Challenge #20 Anything Goes-ends Nov8
That Craft Place Blog-Tic Tac Toe-ends Nov 10
Ladybugs Crafts Ink TLT Challenge Blog-I Need A "P"-ends Nov 4

Have a Booooutiful Halloween!

Hello Crafters!

Before I get on with the card for today I just want to remind you to stop over at Eclectic Ellapu Challenge Blog for our newest challenge #3.  It's a 1,2,3 recipe challenge for which the DT (Pink Team) have posted some wonderful samples to inspire you with (I will be posting an entry later).

Ok, on with today's card.  This card is from one of my wonderful card group gals, Dena.  It turned out that this month it was just her and I due to illnesses and other commitments by the other members.  I just loved the card she brought for us to make and wanted to share it with you.  I believe she said the ghostie stamp was from Hero Arts, and I can't remember what she told me about the rest, my memory fails me.

 

I love the black & white theme with just a touch of color on the hat. And don't you just love the way the spider web looks so spooky?

 The angle on the card front is pretty cool too!  I added some bling to the cut edge to enhance it a bit.

Of course, the greeting on the inside had to be torn a bit and inked to fit the spooky theme.

Thank you Dena for allowing me to post your card.  It sure was fun making it.

  Be sure to leave a comment here for Dena - she would love it!

I do have one or two more Halloween projects to post for you yet so be sure to stop back by soon!

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #2 - Anything Halloween

Today marks our 2nd challenge over at the Eclectic Ellapu challenge blog .  We're on a new adventure over there and it's sure to be a blast. We have so many talented team members to inspire you and I feel very fortunate to be a part of the team (team purple).  Hope you'll play along! This is my Halloween themed project to get you started.

a little closer look

 The base of my banner is jute twine and purple tulle.  I ran the twine through the buttons and tied ribbons in the open areas to fill it in.  The chipboard tags are from Graphic 45 with the assortment of ribbons from my scrap stash.  The twine just didn't give the banner enough weight so I added the purple tulle and some buttons on each of the tags to finish it off.  Hope you like it.

Be sure to stop over at Eclectic Ellapu to see the other DT's samples.  I'm sure you're going to love them!

I have entered the following challenges

One Stop Craft Challenge - challenge #201 anything goes

Card Crafters Circle - challenge #45 halloween

Simply Create Challenges - linky party #7
Come and Get it Challenges - Halloween
Dream Valley Challenges - #43 Halloween
Opus Gluei challenge #142- I Leaf It  Up To You-ends Nov 3
Just Some Lines - Happy Halloween-ends Nov 1
The Pink Elephant Challenge - tpe171-ends Oct 28
Hooked on Craft Challenges - Challenge #25
 Lexis Creations - Challenge #76

Have a great week!

Halloween 3x3

This little 3x3 card is one I did a while back (not sure when) but seeing as how we are full blown into the Halloween season it seemed appropriate to post it now.

 No long explanations today as it is pretty self explanatory.  The black card stock is embossed, the ribbon is gathered as it's laid down, and the pumpkin is holding down the folded corner.  That's it.  This really could have been a Stir Your Stash Challenge.  So, have you made any 3x3's lately?  Add a link in the comments, I would love to see yours whatever the theme!

BTW, the Purple Team (my team) over at Eclectic Ellapu will be posting their first ever challenge tomorrow so be sure to stop by over there for a peek at the DT inspirations and join in the fun!  There are only a few hours left for this weeks Pink Team challenge if you want to join in on that one.  What's holding you back?  Give it a go!

Entered into the following challenges:

Just Some Lines - Happy Halloween-ends Nov 1

The Pink Elephant Challenge - tpe171-ends Oct 28

Hooked on Craft Challenges - challenge #25

 Lexis Creations - Challenge #76

ATC's With Attitude-Halloween Anything Goes-ends Oct 31

CYC Project #3 - Altered Twist Card

Hello Crafters!
Isn't this a fun project?  I am still using the amazing first set of Create Your Classroom stamps.  They are so versatile that you can use them on almost any project.  I have decided on a Halloween themed card for today that holds a decorated memo book.
 It's really a card and gift in one, don't you think?  The original "twist card" that I was inspired by can be found at Splitcoast Stampers. I would like to thank my friend Pam S. for showing this idea to me.  Of course,  I  made a few changes to mine so that the memo book would fit inside properly.  My tutorial is below.

Twist Card Memo Book Holder

Supplies:

CYC Stamp Set & Acrylic Block
Designer Paper 6" x 11" , KI Memories
Scorin Board & Bone Folder
Stampin' Up Pennant Punch
Stampin' Up Cardstock, Pumpkin Pie, Perfect Plum
Card stock scraps, yellow , tan
K & Company  Halloween Tag Book
Pumpkin embellishment (form stash)
Purple Ribbon (Celebrate It! - Michael's)
Purple Hemp String, The Beadery
Green Buttons, Stampin' Up
Large Envelope(office supply)
Memo Book 3-1/2 x 4-1/4
Circle Punch  2-1/2, 1-1/2, 1-1/8
Scallop Punch 1-3/4
Perfect Plum Ink Pad, Stampin' UP!
Stazon Jet Black Ink Pad
Colored Pencils
White Gel Pen
Foam Tape
1/8" hole punch
Glue Dots
 Craft Knife

Scor-Tape
Tombow Adhesive (roller and wet glue)

Directions:

Staring with a piece of designer paper 6" x 11" score diagonally as shown.

Now fold and crease well.

Score straight down the middle.

Fold and crease well matching points. Note that I changed from card stock to designer paper here.  Card stock is really to heavy for this project.  After folding I put the memo book in to measure where to cut the side points off then inked up the edges with plum ink...

and folded into the card shape again.

Now I am ready to embellish the front.  First I punched out my pennant shapes and stamped one word on each of them using scotch tape to block the words I didn't need on each pennant and inked the edges.

 Then I punched holes and threaded the string through.  I added foam tape behind the pennants to pop them up, put some buttons with a glue dot on the end of the string to hold them in place and wrapped the end of the string around my paper piercer and pinch the string a bit to keep the curl.

With a craft knife I cut a slit in the side fold to accommodate the ribbon and wrapped it around and through to tie it off on the front. Remember to tie left over right and right over left for a nice knot.  I added a yellow circle to the cat tag punching part of the circle out for a moon shape and inked up both  pieces.  The card is done.  Now on to the memo book.

This it what it looked like before I covered it.

For this book I cut plum card stock at 7-1/4 x 4-1/4.  I scored at 3-1/2 & 3-11/16ths for the spine.  I used a small piece of the designer paper to match the card to decorate the front.  Ink it up all around and add score tape along all inside edges as well as the spine.

Next, using the plum ink, I stamped the sentiment all over the front of the cover highlighting one of the images in black to make it stand out.  Stamp Pencil Pete (not sure if that's his real name), color and punch out layering on the other punch outs and use the wet glue to glue into place.

All that's left now is the envelope.  Normally I would make my own envelope for an odd size card with my diagonal score board but, I didn't have that much designer paper left so I used a ready made envelope and cut it down a bit to fit the card,

I cut off the top flap after scoring it then glued it down.

  I added a bit more scrap designer paper to the outside after inking the edges, of course and it's ready to go.

And there you have it.  A gift and a card in one.

I have entered the following challenges:

 Challenge Up Your Life - challenge# 80
Card Makin Mamas - time to get spooky
Unique Crafters Challenge - October challenge-win post on 5th
Dream Valley Challenges - #43 Halloween
No Matter Which Challenges - #3-ends Oct 25
 Lexis Creations - Challenge #76
Lady Annes Challenges-October 8th-Anything Goes-ends Nov 11
ATC'cs With Attitude-Halloween Anything Goes-ends Oct 31

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial today.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

ECLECTIC ELLAPU GOES LIVE TODAY!

Hello Everyone!

We are so excited that our Eclectic Ellapu blog goes live today.  YAY!  We have 2 amazing teams, the Pink Team and the Purple Team (my team).  The teams will be taking turns so we can have a challenge post every week.  I've seen the line up of challenges for the next few months and I know you all will not be disappointed with what the teams have come up with.  Our DT's are some very talented ladies and I am proud to be counted among them!  Praises to Miss Ellapu for coming up with such a wonderful team.

So, the pink team is first.  We want you all to participate in the challenges using the linky to post your entry, following the rules of the challenge of course, and have a chance at earning a winner's badge.  The leader of that challenge will choose the winner (no random winners here) so do your best work crafters!  

Our Basic Challenge Rules Are:

Link directly to your blog post entry, NOT your entire blog.

Any projects are acceptable for challenges.

New projects ONLY ... NO back linking.

Your entry must follow the theme.

Only THREE entries per challenge to be fair, additional entries will be deleted.

Challenge entry ends at 12:00 Midday (GMT) on the Saturday.

New challenge begins @ 12 Noon (GMT) on the Sunday.

Please turn word verification off at your blog if you would enjoy a comment from us. Thank you.

PLEASE SEE CHALLENGE RULES PAGE AT TOP OF BLOG FOR MORE DETAILS

Although I am not on the pink team I have a cute little card for you today just for stopping by.

Mostly Stampin' Up products were used.  The chipboard bat and cat are from Reminisce and the ribbon is a mystery.  Although, I did ink the ribbon (it was white and black) with my bright green ink to make it match the card better.  The broom is made from the Stampin' Up owl punch (thank you Susie W for showing us that idea!) scoring then cutting a bit.  I don't remember for sure but, I think the circle sidestep card idea came from Splitcoast Stampers.  If you can't find it over there let me know & I will e-mail the pattern to you.

I entered this card into the following challenges:
 
Crafty Mess Challenge Blog - anything goes
Divas By Design Challenge -#56-anything goes
Paper Crafting Journey - add some bling
Through The Craftroom Door - #38 anything goes
Tuesday Alchemy - #35 anything goes-ends Oct 15
2 Sisters Challenge Blog - #113 anything goes
Challenges 4 Everybody - #5 anything goes
Crafts and Me Challenges - #105 anything goes
Colour Q -#158, black, orchid, mustard, tango
Card Makin Mamas - time to get spooky-ends Oct 26
Unique Crafters Challenge - October challenge
Dream Valley Challenges - #43 Halloween
 No Matter Which Challenges - #3-ends Oct 25

Looking forward to seeing you in blogland!  Cheers!

SYS (Stir Your Stash) Saturday

Hello Crafters!

As promised I have another project for you. I did a bit of stirring and found these make your own key chains.    I stamped them up using 3" scrap pieces found in my stash.   Oh, I thought I would use these a long time ago for a craft with the kids.  However, when I spotted them recently, the CYC Stamps immediately came to mind.  And they are the perfect size stamps for this project.  You will recognize the papers from the mini book I made on the CYC first post. Take a peek:

If you are a teacher, maybe you could make these and use them in the classroom for hall passes?  Go shopping here to find these adorable stamps.  You won't be disappointed!   There are so many possibilities!  The key chains are so easy to work with.  So why did I wait so long?  I guess they were meant just for you!

I entered this project into the following challenge(s)
Hiding In My Craft Room - #67 super scraps saturday
Pennys Challenges - #97 anything but card
Deep Ocean Challenge Blog - #36 - anything goes
Party Time Tuesdays - anything but a card
Through The Craftroom Door - #38 anything goes
Tuesday Alchemy - #35 anything goes
2 Sisters Challenge Blog - #113 anything goes
Crafts and Me Challenges - #105 anything goes

 See ya'll soon!

Create Your Classroom project #2

Hi Crafters!

Here I am with another project for CYC Stamps.  Today I'm going to show you 2 versions of the same project.  My project this time is using the little bookworm.  My bible school class has dubbed him Billy-Bob the Bookworm.  Too cute!  So, I decided to make some jewelry with shrink plastic.

Now, as cute as this is, I made it better by adding ribbon bows to the earrings

and did a bit of weaving on the bracelet.

I think one of my son's teachers will love these!

Now, for a few notes.  If you have never worked with shrink plastic - read ALL the instructions.  I have found over the years that if I am careful I can use my heat gun instead of the oven holding the piece in place with my long neck piercing tool.  But don't get too close.  You will have to use a heat safe surface and don't set this down on top of your stamping mat, it will warp (unfortunately I know this first hand)!   And don't worry if the shape isn't exactly perfect - it probably won't be - it is art after all.   Most of all, be creative - use your shaped punches.   You'll love the results!

That's it for today everyone but, stop back on Saturday as I have another project to share with you using CYC Stamps that will make another great teacher gift!  T T F N!

Halloween Treat Box

Hi Crafters!

I was just cruisin' through blogland and found several challenges that this project was perfect for.  It's a little treat box perfect for your favorite little trick or treater at Halloween time.  You can watch a video here to see how to score and fold.  Here's my sample.

I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the band and made the oval behind the image with the same punch.  The stamped images are from Iinkadinkado and the paper is from Me & My Big Ideas, and the card stock is from Stampin' Up!.

The inside has a little twist with the sentiment on fishing line to look like it just floats there.  There's even enough room inside for a small bag of M&M's - the whole point in the box!  Just make sure you leave enough room in the belly band to go around the box card with the candy in it.

I have entered this project into the following challenges:

Dorcerela Creations Challenge #22

Catered Crop

Mema's Crafts
Unique Crafters Challenge - october challenge

Lady Annes Challenges-October 8th-Anything Goes-ends Nov 11

Have a great day!

Create your Classroom Mini Book

I just love the new stamps from CYC!  I created the project below using nearly all the stamps in this first release.  I can't wait for you to see the next project I come up with too.  But, you'll have to wait a bit for that.  For now set your peepers on this:

Front Cover

I used white acrylic paint to stamp the words "Welcome" on the chalkboard.

We have to claim our books, right?

No book should be without a dedication page.

Add a picture or a few words about the first day.

What did you learn today?

This sentiment was perfect for the leaves floating around on this page.

Mother Goose thinks School is Cool!

Don't forget a picture

or two!

The End

Well, I hope you'll go check out these stamps at the Create Your Classroom store.  I just know you'll love using them as much as I have (& will).  The other products I used were from Graphic 45, Simple Stories, EK Success and, Stampin' Up! with the ribbons and other accessories purchased from Hobby Lobby.  Have a great day!