Halloween Pennant Swap #1

My local mixed media group is swapping individual Halloween pennants this month... it's 10 for 10, so that in the end, we have a banner (bunting?) that will fit across a doorway or small mantel.  I wanted to use up bits and pieces of Halloween papers, stickers, images, etc., so I'm making them all different, so of course, it's taking me forever!  Normally I would probably fly right through this (I loooooove Halloween!), but I'm having a prolonged period of totally missing mojo.... I just can't seem to get out of it, everything is a huge challenge.  I don't even like what I did in my gluebook today... maybe I'll share that tomorrow, the good, the bad, and the ugly....  full disclosure, LOL!  Ah well, we've all been there, right?  I'll stop whining now. ;)

Here is the first installment of my swaps.  Collage and stamped images are from Red Lead, Crafty Secrets, Oxford Impressions, The Graphics Fairy, and Lisa's Altered Art.  If you have a question about a specific image, just email me, I'll let you know what's what.

I hope your week is going well.  The kids are back in school this week, trying to get back into the daily grind.  It means I have extra time to craft... just wish that ol' mojo would join me. ;)  'Til next time.... have a happy.

Pumpkins at Tag Tuesday

Thought I'd be a bit different today and start with the close-up, LOL! Louise's new challenge over at Kard Krazy is tags with Pumpkins, so I thought I'd start with the star of the show.  And here is the whole tag....

Fall is my favorite time of the year, so I already had a bunch of fall-themed, orange-y goodness sitting around on my work table. My pumpkin is cut freehand from grungeboard, painted orange, then glittered with Martha Stewart's glitter.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Friendship Jar Fall Fillers. The frame around the dancing couple is from 7Gypsies, and the polka dot background is from Glitz.  The rest of the tag uses stamps from Crafty Secrets' new Halloween set, Costume Cuties.  I colored the couple with Copics and the moon was stamped on a piece of scrap that I had already colored with distress inks.  The dotty background is stamped on a page from a vintage German reader.  The bat is one of those double-sided stickers from Martha, with some black glitter on top.  Lastly, the seam binding is from Zipperstop.  Whew, sounds way more complicated than it actually was, LOL!

There are some great tags in the Linky over at Kard Krazy.... if you need some fall inspiration, check out Louise's tag and all the others, and maybe have a go! :)

I See the Moon.....

...and the Moon Sees Me

God Bless the Moon and 

God Bless Me!

Our ATC group is swapping Nursery Rhyme ATCs tonight, so I thought I'd go with something short and sweet and oh-so-comforting.  I started by stamping the girl image (from Crafty Secrets' Sweet Kids set) and the moon (called Senor Luna, a lovely little freebie tucked in with my Third Coast Rubber Stamps order).  I then masked them off and added a background using Distress Inks (Chipped Sapphire, Dusty Concord, Mustard Seed).  I colored the images with Copics and added a touch of sparkle to the hearts with Stickles.  I computer-generated the text and printed it onto Papertrey Ink's white sticky back paper, colored it with Distress Inks (Wild Honey and Mustard Seed), cut the lines of text into strips, then cut off the words as I peeled them off the backing paper.  I added a little Distress Stickles around the edge of this panel, then mounted the whole thing onto some pretty, nighttime-sky-looking patterned paper.  These sweet images were so much fun to play with.

Can't wait to see what the ladies have for us tonight.  If I think of it, I'll ask them if they mind if I post everyone's ATCs..... I always want to, but then I always forget to ask permission..... old noggin isn't what it used to be, LOL!

Paintchip Scraplings with Gingersnap Creations

Happy Friday everyone!  It's the beginning of a long weekend here in the US, and I am very much looking forward to some relaxing family time.  Today I'm sharing the scraplings I made for the current Gingersnap Creations art swap.  We were to use paintchips on our scraplings, but that was the only rule.  Now, as I visited other Gingersnappers' blogs, lots of folks kept remarking about how addicting these were.  I really didn't think anything of it, until I starting making them myself..... oh my! Yes! They are addicting, LOL!

For my scraplings, I used the rose spray from Stampin' Up's Elements of style on four of them.... the white ones are embossed, the brown are StazOn.  The birdie scraplings have stamps from Crafty Secrets, Cavallini, and Stampington.  Then I just started embellishing with rhinestones, pearls, glitter, microbeads, vintage text, punches, baker's twine.... yes, addicting! :)  You can click on the picture to make them bigger... I used the side of the paintchip that had the paint names for some of them, especially if they fit the theme, like "Rambling Rose" and "Rose Embroidery" and "Aviary" - so fun!  I may have to make more of these and add magnets to the bottoms, so that they can be bookmarks, with a little note inside, or maybe even a "library card" grid inside, so that you can lend out both the book and the bookmark, and have your friends "sign in", maybe even give the book a rating.  Lots of fun possibilities.

Hope everyone has a restful and relaxing weekend planned, and that Hurricane Earl doesn't ruin it for anyone! (Our skies are sunny, about 250 miles away from the storm on the Carolina coast).

Tag Tuesday - It's Spring!

The challenge this week over at Kard Krazy's Tag Tuesday is Spring.  A welcome subject for most of us, I'm sure. :)  It's sunny and in the 70s here this weekend - perfectly spring!  For my tag I used a bird image from Crafty Secrets Bird Notes, colored with Copics.  The background music image is CHF's Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock.  I used a paperclip from Melody Ross's Homespun Chic collection, some more of that gorgeous Prima petal trim, a little label from 7 Gypsies, and some flowers I pulled off of a big box floral stem.  You'll want to check out all the other creations (Louise did a house-shaped tag!) - so inspiring, so much springy goodness! :)  Have a great Saturday!

Reasons to Stamp

Are you running out of reasons to stamp this month??  Now that you think I've lost my mind, I'll explain (LOL!!)... it's that time again - Gingersnap Creations has listed our "Reasons to Stamp" for the month of December.  I certainly never knew that December was "Bingo Month," but it did inspire me to create something a little different for my Christmas decor.  For this quicky little project, I scanned a vintage bingo card and printed it out on cardstock.  Then I just reached for what was already out on my very messy craft table.  The Santa image is from Crafty Secrets (the Christmas postcard kit), as is the hanger.  I used some red felt snowflakes from Stampin' Up, some red pom pom trim that I got at JoAnne's, and a few other little bits that were just lying around.  A fun, no-stress project for a doorway or little nook.

Hope all my fellow Americans had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Onwards to Christmas...... :)

Edited to add:  I've had a request for my source for the vintage bingo card.... I happened to get this one at a local scrapbook store in Buffalo, NY, called Buffalo Stamps and Stuff.  For those of you not in western NY, you can find them on Etsy as well.  If anyone would just like a copy, here is my scan. (please note: I have no idea of the original manufacturer of this card, and so I don't know if the rights are under copyright.  Please enjoy for your personal use only. :)) 

 

 

Pumpkin Greetings - Crafty Secret Challenge EHWCMD3

I'm having so much fun completing my projects for World Cardmaking Day!  This card took the longest (so I probably shouldn't have started with it, LOL!) but was definitely the most fun!  I used a sticky back canvas image transfer technique that I learned from Becky Olsen's post over at Ellen Hutson's "the CLASSroom" blog. I just love the totally distressed, shabby chic effect that this technique produces.  I won't go into the details of the technique here (you can check out Becky's post for that).  But as for the rest of the card... All the patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye Spider's Web Collection (I'm trying not to hoard this paper, but it's very hard!).  I sketched a pumpkin freehand on some swirly grungeboard (Tim Holtz), cut it out, painted it with acrylics, and distressed it a bit.  The leaf was cut using a Cuttlebug die.  The sweet little greeting and jack-o-lantern are stamps from Crafty Secrets' Heartwarming Vintage Collection Vintage Postcard Kit for Halloween.  The buttons are vintage, tied with some hemp cord.  

I hope you're having a fun, crafty weekend!

Tag Tuesday Challenge - Metallics

A crazy little tag for Kard Krazy's Tag Tuesday challenge this week, where the theme is "metallics." I've had a package of copper in my stash for ages, and I've been wanting to try embossing it in the Cuttlebug. This little project was perfect for experimenting. The main image is from Crafty Secrets' Bird Notes set. I distessed the copper a bit with some alcohol inks, and added some sheet music as a fringe. The paper is from My Mind's Eye. Thanks for looking!

The Birds and the Bees ATCs

Our local ATC club is meeting this week, and our theme was "Idioms." I have lots of bird and bee stamps, hence my idea for my cards. I realized after I had finished that one of my stamps that I used is in itself another idiom, "You make my heart sing!" So it's a two-for-one, I guess, LOL!!

I used German scrap for the main bird image. The stamps sets I used were Sweet Bee from Cornish Heritage Farms' The Rummage Bin, Bird Notes (Medium) from Crafty Secrets, and Bloomin' Beautiful from Stampin' Up. I colored in the images using Copics and a white Souffle pen (for the pussy willows and the bees' wings). The background paper is from Basic Grey's Porcelain collection, and the card base is SU!'s Kiwi Kiss. This project was so much fun!! I highly recommend this theme for all of you who have a regular swap club... you can find sites with tons of idioms just by Googling 'idioms.'

Thanks for looking and have a great day!!