On Hallowe'en Night...

All sorts of costumed lovelies are parading.... such a fun time of year!  I made a little card using a cute winged lady from Oxford Impressions' Masquerade stamp set.  I stamped her three times - once on cardstock to color, and twice on vellum to cut out two sets of wings for her - the top wings and the bottom, to give a little depth.  Her she is close up:

The background is my first experiment with some National Geographic pages soaked in CitraSolv - Oh. What. Fun!!!  The CitraSolv is a little pricey, but if you look at it in the context of "art supplies" (think how much you might pay for gel medium/distress inks in every color/a paper stash to last a century) it's not so bad, LOL!  Especially since you can clean up with it too, heeeheeeeee!  There are lots of tutorials on the web, and it just comes down to experimenting.  I highly recommend it, especially for some spooky Hallowe'en backgrounds.

Haunted Party House!

I've found a few moments here and there to play with two gorgeous new stamp sets from Oxford Impressions - Masquerade and Dr. Coffin's Apothecary.  I absolutely love Hallowe'en, and I've had this little house from Hobby Lobby for*ev*er!!!  I finally put it to some use.  Here are some close-ups....

I adore this little Victorian bat lady... so cute and so proper for a ghoul!

I did a little "surgery" on Mr. Skelly here.... Made a few snips at his shoulder and at his elbow so that he could take the hand of his lady..... I guess the cat got freaked out by that, LOL!

A fine and festive welcome!  Hope you are having a festive time this fall, too - my favorite time of year!

Happy Hallowe'en!

It's here already! I can't believe how quickly October has flown by.  I've made another raven, to go with my raven for the Gingersnap Creations challenge in *this* post.  I actually have three of these chipboard ravens, and had really hoped to have them all done by today.  Oh well. ;)  I am entering this little guy into Inspiration Emporium's challenge (just under the wire) to make a creation using black, orange, and purple.  The perfect color challenge for October, if you ask me, LOL!  For this raven, I started with a layer of black Ranger crackle paint, then covered and dabbed Picket Fence Distress Stain over the top.  Next come die cuts, borders, inked German text, and a fabulous sticker of poor Lenore....

Here she is in life....

And here she is in death....

Love these stickers, I tell ya! 

The raven's ruffle is made by sewing four pieces of colored crepe paper together, then cutting them into a fringe and pinching and fluffing.  The Happy Halloween ticket greeting in his beak is a Tim Holtz stamp, of course. ;)

Here are the two dark birdies together -

Have a delightfully spooky, Poe-ful Hallowe'en!!

More Halloween Banners

A few more of my swaps.  I used those twins again (I used an extra in my gluebook), and another spooky woman from The Sum of All Crafts (I decided she was some sort of medium with her ouija board.)

I also made a couple of less spooky ones for the less macabre-inclined (apparently there are lots of those kinda peeps, too, LOL!)

Still lovin' my Stampotique pumpkins!  And finally, in an abrupt change of holidays, some quickie collaged and glued tags (since I'm such a big fan of gluesticks these days, tee hee!), using office supply tags.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!  I will be crafting away in my car quite a bit... there are volleyball club tryouts this weekend for my daughter (at least 4 hours' worth!) and hockey practices for my son.  I should just convert my minivan into a studio.  Or maybe get a bigger van!

Spooky Gluing

Wow, the word "gluing" really doesn't look like a word if you stare at it too long, LOL!!  I've been making Halloween pennants for a local swap, and so I have some fun extra stuff to put in my train case and glue into my little book during my copious waiting-during-kids'-sports-practices time.  Don't ya just love these little twins?  They are freebies from The Sum of All Crafts - she has some marvelous Halloween images, and these gals were from a post of several spooky-looking people.  I added some vintage German text that had been colored with sumthin'..... distress inks, maybe?  And of course some random wordage from an old book I always have with me for just this purpose.  The hats are from a Lisa's Altered Art collage sheet.

Also finally had some material to put on the page opposite my "Poe" page:

This little gal is from Paper Whimsy, and the images (stamped and scrap) are from Crafty Secrets/Heartwarming Vintage.

I'll finish up posting my pennants tomorrow, once I get them photographed.  I'm off to watch my daughter's volleyball game. :)

Ravens with Gingersnap Creations

If you love all things Poe, all things Halloween, all things spooky.... check out the new Random Redhead challenge over at Gingersnap Creations - Ravens!  How fun is that?  Well, I can tell ya, I had tons of fun with this one.  I started with an extra large chipboard raven from Red Lead.  I painted him black, then went a little wild collaging all sorts of scraps to make him a party bird.  I had tested out my new Halloween stamps from Stampotique in the margins of some vintage sheet music.  I just couldn't part with that little scrap, so it became the bird's belly (my sick sense of humor... a cat in a bird's belly... yep, I'm losing it!).  There's some vintage German text, and scraps of old Halloween paper.

He's wearing a dapper hat that is actually a stamp from Red Lead (retired?), stamped in orange over patterned paper.  Also stamped some bats, added a rhinestone eye, and a beak from some scrapped alcohol-inked paper.  The ruffle is crepe paper edged with stickles.

Mmmmm, yummy kitty, LOL!  The "Nevermore" is made from stickers from the Apothecary Emporium line.

The bit from The Raven poem is from *this* stamp, stamped on an alcohol-inked background scrap.  (You can see some of my messy embossing... I just went with the grungy-ness of it all.)

And, if you need a bit more incentive to play along.. there's a wonderful Alpha Stamps giveaway to be had by one lucky participant in the Raven challenge.  Fun stuff, I tell ya.  I hope you'll check it out!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Where does the time go???  I'm coming along slowly with my Halloween pennants for my swap... here are two that feature a Paper Whimsy image (the girl, along with a hat from Lisa's Altered Images), and stamps from Red Lead (the small ravens with Poe quotes) Oxford Impressions (large raven and ouija board), and Tim Holtz (Halloween ticket).

Lately I've pretty much had time to scrap only on the go, and even then, I haven't done much.  I mentioned in my last post that I was feeling mojo-less and wasn't even happy with my gluebook pages.  So I will share... the good, the bad, and the ugly.....

First up, the good.... those little cuties are my dad and his twin brother, and the sentiment is from a piece of vellum patterned paper that I've had in my stash for centuries....

Next up.... a Poe page that I am basically happy with.... it's just that I cannot for the life of me seem to complete the page next to it.  There are some scraps in the foreground that I'm trying to use... I think I just might have to actually stamp or go gather something "real" from my stash that will work.....

Okay, as promised, the ugly.... this is waaaay too busy.  It seemed a good idea as I was putting it together.  I closed it up, ran off to some school event or other... came back and opened it up again and really had to say "What was I thinking?!"  But that's what's so great about a gluebook - you can try things, experiment, and if it doesn't work out, it's no big deal.  All you've done is use up some scraps that weren't making it into anything else anyway!!  Totally forgiving, and really, a learning tool.... a record of what does and does not work.  (I'm trying really hard not to rip this out, LOL!!!)

Still hoping to find more time to visit all of your lovely blogs.  Unfortunately, today I have to go out and spend way to much money on a dishwasher... ours totally gave up the ghost (I had been making do with certain features not working, but now it's finally dead and not worth fixing).  I've been spending all of my time online trying to figure out which models are best, etc.  But I'm tired of doing dishes, so I'm buying today no matter what, LOL!  Have a happy Wednesday. 

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.

Gingersnap Creations "Horror Stories"

A new theme challenge has just begun over at Gingersnap Creations, and this month it is "Horror Stories."  Our inspiration for the entire month of October is Edgar Allan Poe... how fun is that?!?  I decided to use The Fall of the House of Usher as the inspiration for my piece - the poem within the story (from which the quote is taken); the narrator's vision of the fissure that extended from the top to the bottom of the house, with its "vacant eye-like windows"; the ghost of the sister, Madeline.  All of the stamps used are from Oxford Impressions - "Haunted" and "Trick or Treat."  All of the DT's projects are so wonderful, I hope you'll have time to go take a look.  There's so much cool stuff gong on over at Gingersnap Creations this month... with AlphaStamps is our sponsor, and Mary Green (of gluebook fame!) as our muse.... you won't want to miss it. ;)

Is She or Isn't She?

Hello!  If you are looking for the Scrap365 Blog Hop, please click on the link - it will take you to the post below so you can get all the deets, leave a comment, and continue on the hop!

Just wanted to check in today with a little peek of my post for the Rogue Redhead Designs blog.... you can get all the how-to's for my spooky little gal over at the Rogue Blog.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.  We have hockey, and volleyball, and hockey again, and volleyball again.... you get the idea.  It's all good! :)  Thanks for visiting, my friends.

Macabre Glue Book Page

As some of you may know, I do my gluebooking in the car, while waiting for my kids to emerge from school or from their various sporting activities... toting my supplies in my vintage train case.  It's a teensy bit possible that the fumes are getting to me, ROFL!  Here are some frightful little pages I put together.... getting in the mood for Hallowe'en.  I only had a few pages of book text left that were actually in English... I worked with what I had ... and I suppose I have a bit of "Poe" on the brain.  Serious fun. ;)

More Halloween Pages

Working away on my 24 Hallowe'en pages - good thing I love Hallowe'en, or I'd have given up long ago, LOL!  I had totally lost my mojo, but quickly got it back after being inspired by a tutorial on Gingersnap Creations by our October muse, Kris Dickinson.  I have long admired Kris's work, and her tutorial got me going again.  The page above uses a gothic Marie image from Itkupilli and stamps from Tim Holtz, Stampin' Up, and... hmmmm...... not sure where that chandelier is from. ;)

Next up is a vintage cutie page, with a fun Ouija board stamp from Oxford Impressions.  The letters are from some ancient 8x8 Tim Holtz paper.

A little card that is more "autumn" than Hallowe'en, although I did add a little Hallowe'en greeting to the picture.  The leaves were made with Tim's new Tattered Leaves die - love it.  BTW, the vintage images above and below can be found at Clearly Vintage.

For something a little different.... these fortune teller images are all from Heartwarming Vintage.  The Haunted and Halloween stamps are from Oxford Impressions.

This last piece was completely and totally inspired by - CASEd, really - from a piece done by Lynn Stevens for The Artistic Stamper blog, and you can see her original piece by clicking HERE.  You can also go be inspired by her fabulous blog Trash to Treasure Art.  Here is my version - not nearly as beautiful as hers.  Thanks for the inspiration, Lynn!!! (Hope you are feeling better, too :) )

Stamps are from Oxford Impressions, Red Lead, and Inkadinkado.
Happy Monday!

Another Halloween Page

Just a very quick post today.  I have family in town and probably won't get crafting this weekend, but I thought I'd share another little 6x6 Halloween page I'm doing for a swap.  Image is from Clearly Vintage.

If you'd like to take a peek at my blog candy, you can comment on THIS post.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

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! :)

Compendium Of Curiosities Challenge #8 - Ink Some Grunge

Got to get out the inks and stain my fingers yesterday, playing along at Linda's Compendium of Curiosities Challenge, which this week is to ink some grungepaper or grungeboard.  Perfect excuse to stop hoarding the stuff! (Why do I do that?  If I were to die tomorrow, my family would just chuck all of my beautiful stash in the garbage bin..... carpe grungeboard!)

Anyway, I decided to get out Tim's "Seasonal" grungeboard set that came out ages ago.  I inked up several components of the set in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Dusty Concord, and Black Soot Distress Inks.  Then I went in with some Distress Stickles in Rock Candy, along with a bit of Black Diamond and Gunmetal for a bit of spooky sparkle.  Since I don't have any of Tim's Halloween stamps (you do feel sorry for me, don't you LOL?), I had to draw in the jack-o-lantern face, and I used an Oxford Impressions spider web stamp.  Also added some tea-dyed cheesecloth for a spidery-webby effect, and some bling for the cat's and owl's eyes for that eerie glowing effect.

 The "Haunted" letters are suspended from an acetate diecut that I made using Tim's "Elegant Flourishes" die - I left the swirls that come out the side, cuz my daughter said it looked like ghost trails, LOL!  I'm working with it.  I do have to figure out a better hangy thingy, though... right now it's just gold floral wire.

Thanks for popping in, hope you have time to play along!

Tag Tuesday Challenge #59 - Hearts

The challenge this past week at Tag Tuesday was to make a tag with hearts.  Aaaahh, a heart challenge, turns one's thoughts to love, romance, passion, beheading, Hallowe'en.... No?  Then you haven't gotten your hands on the Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland papers, LOL!  I've been sooo itching to use these, and I've done it just by chance.  You see, I had every intention of joining in on Linda's Compendium of Curiosities challenge last week, which was to use distress embossing powders, but it went horribly wrong.  You can see a bit of it in the form of the scrolls around the outside of this tag, but the dirty secret lies beneath the images.... scary, I tell ya.  So instead, I decided to salvage what I could of my Compendium of Curiosities disaster and go the Curiouser and Curiouser route instead! (......oh, shhh, I can hear you groaning from here!!! ROFL! Yes, somewhat bonkers today ;))  Thus a heart-filled Alice Hallowe'en tag with a little distress emboss stamping, a coupla bats, some distressing, some inking... you get the picture.  This will go on some treats for the kids come October if I don't lose it before then.

Will try to stop neglecting the blog so badly!!  My daughter is now required to be at school at 7:20, my son at 9:15, then I get in line to pick up my daughter at 2:00, my son at 3:30 - back and forth, and it's making me totally zonk out by 10:00 pm, which is when I used to start crafting.  Gotta get a new rhythm going ;).  Plus I've been neglecting all of your beautiful blogs - I'm determined to visit soon.  Hope your Monday has been sweet - back again tomorrow hopefully.

Witches Brew ATC

A witchy little ATC for the Wednesday Stamper challenge, which this week is Halloween.  I need to make a batch of Halloween ATCs for my swap next week, so this is one of the things I might work up.  The witch image is by Crafty Secrets, and the "moon" is from NASA.  The stamps are Stampin' Up! and Little Yellow Bicycle.  Vintage German text in the background.

Spooky Brads

Here's a Halloween card that I made for the Spicy Supply Challenge (which is to use brads) over at Gingersnap Creations.  That adorable little owl is the Owl Silhouette stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms.  She's stamped on some Ambrosia paper by Basic Grey.  The background was made by first embossing the Trees Backgrounder with black embossing powder from Ranger, then sponging in purple, orange, and yellow Distress Inks to make an eerie sky.  I used two shaped brads to adhere the "Spooky" paper and give it dimension - a skull and a ghost - not your ordinary brads! (I got them at Michaels).  If you'd like to participate in the Brads challenge, post your project on your blog/gallery/flickr page and link to THIS post at Gingersnap Creations.  PLUS, your name will be entered to win blog candy from Cornish Heritage Farms (A Royal Birthday stamp set from The Rummage Bin). 

Oh, and speaking of blog candy, there's more...... Enter the Orange/Green/Brown color challenge at Gingersnap Creations and you could win Cornish Heritage Farms' stamps The Pines, Nesting Maple Leaves, AND Nesting Oak Leaves sets.  Cool, heh?  It's all good :)

Happy Hump-day, everyone!

Boo Banners

A couple of little projects that were inspired by THIS project by Hilary Kanwischer.  Hilary has a wonderful tutorial on her post if you'd like to make these.  I just got out a bunch of stuff from my stash and had fun.  I used Inkadinkado stamps, Colorbok alpha cards, some Martha Stewart punches and stickers, and lots of old stuff  from my stash (I won't say how old, but the cobwebs looked awfully authentic for some reason, LOL!).

For more Halloween inspiration, check out Gingersnap Creations, where Lynn Stevens has a frightfully inspiring post of several of her gorgeous Halloween projects.

AND.... there's a chance to win some great Cornish Heritage Farms blog candy over at Gingersnap Creations as well... check out these two posts: HERE and HERE.

One more little card before I go... During World Card Making Day over at theCLASSroom, I came across a wonderful card posted by Nimue (HERE).  I was super inspired by her design idea of letting the patterned paper do some of the work, so made this using Memory Box Twilight paper:

 Happy Haunting! :)

World Card Making Monday? EHWCMD1 Inchie Challenge

Well, it's a dark and rainy day here in my patch of North Carolina, and so, thanks to the weather and Ellen Hutson's generous gift of an extra day of cardmaking, I'm still at it, LOL!  This card is my entry for Cindy's challenge over at the CLASSroom, which is to arrange three inchie squares on a simple card, and stretch the image over the three squares.  This was great fun for me, since I usually don't do clean and simple cards (jumped out of my box again!).  All images are from Inkadinkado.

If you want to get in on the fun, there's still time to play in the World Card Making Day challenges and have a chance at winning a great little batch of goodies from Ellen Hutson's store.