Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween to all my crafty friends!!!  I'm posting a couple of my final Halloween cards for this year that were sooo easy, as I just fell in love with this DCWV Ghosts & Goblins Matstack paper. In fact I used several of these patterns for my Halloween banner.

These two particular mats didn't need much else added to create these fun cards -- a Recollections' photograph on the front that morphs into a vampire (as seen on the photo on the orange card if you compare the two) and a bat for a fun ghoulish finish and Happy Halloween greeting inside! In retrospect, I wish I'd done a bit of distressing around the edges. I'll have to remember that next time!

Hope you all have a safe and spooky-fun holiday with family and friends!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #72: All About Sports

Our challenge at My Sheri Crafts this week is "All About Sports", so I chose to focus on cycling for my project. A sweet friend had given me this awesome Hambly Screen Print bicycle paper a long time ago and it was fun to use here -- thanks, Gwen! I kept it fairly CAS for today's card with just some embossing behind my main image. My bicycle image and sentiment are mounted on Labels Eighteen die cuts and backed with hand-cut red layers. Can't wait to see what everyone creates this week -- stop by MSC (link above) to not only see her FABULOUS new blog design and latest challenge, but to check out all the AWESOME new DT gals and their SPECTACULAR creations -- WOW!!!

Paper: Papertrey Ink's Pure Poppy and Select White CS; Hambly Screen Prints
Stamps: Papertrey's Everyday Button Bits
Ink: Memento's Tuxedo Black
Dies: Spellbinders' Labels Eighteen
Embellishments: Cuttlebug EF: Diamonds In the Rough; Papertrey Ink Buttons; The Twinery's Baker's Twine;Copic R46

Halloween Fun at the Laboratory

Having created some "adult" Halloween decor fun here lately, I'm entering this both at PaperPlay Challenges (use black) and CCEE1142 (fall scene or fall-related) challenge.

Utilizing Spellbinders' Grand Large Labels, I cut various black & cream CS & book paper DP, and added the skull Flourish Sticker (Recollections). The matching flourish is my "shelf", attached with pop dots to hold my various ghoulish bottles & jars (Martha Stewart Epoxy Stickers), pop-dotting some for dimension also!

I created my Lab label with various JustRite Times New Roman alphas (25 & 50 pt.), adding some dripping blood/spots with a $1 stamp in Tim Holtz Fired Brick. For hanging, I used Tim Holtz Ball Chain, fed through black eyelets set into each corner.

Rather than also create a separate card, I'm simply attaching another cream CS Large Label die cut to the back onto which I stamped my "Happy  Halloween 2011" sentiment and we've signed our names. Hope it brings a smile when it reaches its destination!

Dies Used: Spellbinders LF-168 Grand Large Labels 
(#s 1, 3 & 4) and S4-168 Large Labels (#5)

JustRite Friday Challenge #060: Sketch

The challenge issued at JustRite this week is to use the given sketch. I chose to do a Halloween card, as I need to quickly get mine done for timely mailing -- where has the 1st half of October already disappeared to? YIKES!
I began with a Bazzill scalloped card, cutting the scallops off the sides and embossing the bottom edge with a veritically-striped embossing folder, distressing the edges and embossed area with black ink.You may have noticed I'm pretty smitten with Spellbinders' Labels Twenty-One, especially for masculine cards, and so it appears here on my post again today! I first cut using solid black CS, then trimmed that down, using just the center pieces for a narrow border behind my word paper's circular edges.
Next I added some ghoulish Recollections' stickers I picked up recently at Michaels with grown-up recipients in mind. Utilizing my Myriad Pro 50 pt. Uppercase font, I discovered it fits the border edge of my 3 1/4" Round Stamper. By carefully inking/stamping, as the letters don't fit snugly, it worked well for me to stamp "Beware!" above the curve of my Labels die cuts -- LOVE that and I'll use this trick again!
Finishing off my card, I flattened a bottle cap in my Spellbinders' Wizard, punched a 1" scrap of DP to glue inside, then topped it off with a Martha Stewart epoxy bottle sticker. I'm quite happy with how this ghoulish card turned out!

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #71 - It's the Great Pumpkin!

At My Sheri Crafts the challenge is to create a project with a pumpkin on it -- Halloween related or not -- it's entirely up to you. How easy it that?! We'd LOVE to have you join us!
My glow-in-the-dark pumpkin decor piece was created using Spellbinders' Fleur de Lis Squares for the BG and featuring one of SB's Jack 'O Lantern dies as the focal point. I die cut the largest square from Kraft CS and distressed those lovely edges.

(Taken with a black light shining into Photo Tent)

The next smaller square was cut from black CS and then for the fun part, I used 1/2" glow-in-the-dark tape to cut just the fancy edges again. Then it was simple to just tape them to my black square. Sadly, I used the last of this tape that I've had for many years, but I'll definitely be looking for more and in a wider format. I'd LOVE it in sheets too, as it cut so easily with these dies! I also used it for my Jack 'O Lantern's eyes/mouth, as you can see in these next two photos.  
My hubby is a much better photographer than I, so he helped me capture the "glow"!  ;~)  I also have some glow-in-the-dark embossing powder (also really old) that I'm going to try to see if it will still glow. A little eerie/spooky Halloween FUN added to a project!!!

(Taken in total darkness)

Products Used:
CS/DP: Papertrey Ink: Kraft CS (BG, stem, nose), Ripe Avacado; Bazzill Black; Making Memories' Spook Alley (orange DP for Jack)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress: Antique Linen
Dies: Spellbinders: Fleur de Lis Squares and Jack 'O Lanterns
Miscellaneous: Glow-in-the-Dark Tape and 1/4" black ribbon from my stash

My Sheri Crafts Challenge #70 - Think Pink

Copic Markers Used: E000, E32, E33, R00, R20, B00 

This lady (Hero Arts - retired stamp) is all dressed up for My Sheri Crafts Challenge and thinking pink to raise Breast Cancer Awareness. I've had her since 2002 when I took a class taught by a lovely lady at my local LSS which was then less than a mile from my house. I've since moved away and the store closed long ago, sadly. I still LOVE these awesome ladies in hats stamps which are mightily stained from much use. Gosh, that was five years before I even thought of blogging!
Today I stamped her in Tuxedo Black Memento Ink on white CS, die cut with Spellbinders' Big Scalloped Oval, colored her with Copic Markers and used a Sakura glitter pen to highlight her earrings. Her paper-pieced hat and collar were cut from pink suede paper, 1/8" pale pink ribbon was used for her hat band and the Breast Cancer symbol on her left shoulder. She's attached to a side-folded 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" white card embossed with Sizzix EF and my "HOPE" sentiment is made using JustRite 50pt. Curlz alphabet stamps onto a retired Spellbinders' tag die cut, tied on with the 1/8" ribbon along the card's folded edge.
Thankfully, beautiful weather is expected here tomorrow for the Phoenix Race for the Cure!

JustRite Friday Challenge 059: Fall Festival

I've been wanting to create a banner with Spellbinders' Nested Pennants' dies, so this JustRite challenge was perfect: "think warm, rich colors for your Fall themed project -- which can be anything you choose: a card, scrapbook page, 3D/altered project or maybe even share a Fall recipe/card that utilizes your JustRite stamps! For purposes of this challenge, “Fall Festival” covers the general Fall season or any occasion/holiday within: Back-to-School, Fall sports or outings, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc.  If you don’t have any Fall themed stamps for this challenge, remember you can always use our Fonts to create anything you’d like!"

Awaiting the arrival of more fonts/stamps from JR's current Super Sale, I die cut each pennant from different Halloween-patterned papers and varied my CS colors for my Lacey cuts. Then adding Frilly Velvet Ribbon (Hobby Lobby) to each pennant's top edge, I taped with 1/8" Scor-Tape, punched and set eyelets with my Crop-a-Dile II.
'Halloween' was created using JR's 95-pt. TNR Upper Case Font in the center of their “Damask” 1-Letter Borders. Because I LOVE the decorative touch these borders add, I alternated each of the three across my nine pennants! They were stamped with VersaMark Ink, heat embossed with "Halloween" EP (black EP/orange glitter) onto Vintage Cream CS (Papertrey Ink), die cut with Spellbinders' Lacey Circles and mounted with foam squares. After stringing the pennants together with black hemp twine, I tied a Bazzill bosher and fun fiber trims to each end. It's all ready for my recipient's Halloween decorating (if I can bear parting with it)?!