Best Witches.....

It's 'Halloween' week at the Card A Day Blog, and I decided I wanted to try cute rather than scary.  If you're new here from CADB, welcome.  I'm glad to have you here for a visit, and hope you'll decide to become a follower.

As I was foraging through my Halloween goodies to come up with an idea for my card, I happened upon some Sizzix dies that I had forgotten about.  I had been considering a newish stamp set that I had, and thought the combination would make for a fun card.  It all started with a certain cute little Halloween witch.................

I stamped her on white cardstock, colored her with markers and paper-pieced her dress.  I die-cut the ghost, and then backed his head with a shimmery scrap to highlight the eyes and mouth.  Then I inked him with some blue and gray for dimension.  I die-cut the word 'Beware' from a piece of gray and black patterned paper, but instead of using the letters, I used the negative and backed it with some orange that I had darkened a bit with gray ink.

Next I went to work on the jack-o-lanterns.  I had two different dies, so I cut them both twice, and reversed the colors for the eyes and mouths.  I colored the stems, and inked around the eyes, mouths and outer edges.

The card base is a two-sided patterned paper.  I liked the green for the outside of the card, but it was a bit bright.  I used gray ink on a cloud background stamp to darken the green a little.  You really can't see the clouds, but it provides the needed effect.  I used a torn paper mask so as not to stamp the lower part of the card.  Then I added a dark bottom border using more of the gray/black striped paper.

Most of the elements were mounted with dimensionals.  You can see all the layering in the next photo.

The reverse side of the card stock is sort of a wild flame pattern.  It's in the wrong orientation for fire, and I thought I would insert a liner.  Flipping the card open, I decided it would be a fun surprise to leave it as it was, and just added a sentiment and a spot for a signature which carried over the colors from the outside.

Here's a closer shot of the sentiment!

I had so much fun putting this card together.  Hope you like it!!

Here's the recipe:
     Stamps:  Unity Bella Blvd 'Best Witches'; Impression-Obsession 'Clouds'
     Dies:  Sizzix Brenda Pinnick Pumpkin Face, Ghost, Jack-O-Lantern #2
     Inks:  Stampin' Up Basic Gray and Bashful Blue; Versafine Onyx Black
     Markers:  Copic; Tombow
     Cardstock:  Glitz Design Hallow Flames; Generations Stackers; Recollections; Stampin' Up
     Scissors:  Fiskars Paper Edgers

I hope you have a sec to leave a comment........I'm really glad you stopped by today!


And remember:  keep your creative genius flowing.........

CHRISTINE

Cats and Bats and Spiders, OH MY! ! !

I think Halloween really might be my favorite holiday for making cards.  It's just so much fun to pull out all the spooky and creepy and scary elements that we can use for this wild and crazy holiday.  Today's card is another design for the Card A Day Blog theme week, 'Cats and Bats.'  This post is somewhat photo packed so you can get up close and personal with all the details and angles.

The base for today's card is a leftover piece of a 12x12 Halloween-themed heavier-weight design paper I used last year.  You can see the card, which used the reverse side of the paper, here .  Unfortunately, I neglected to note down the source of the paper.  As in that card, I decided to make this one a tri-fold shutter, it gives so many surfaces and hiding places for design elements.  The 6x12 base is scored at 2", 4", 8" and 10" and cuts are made the length of the piece at 1 5/8" from each edge and between the 2" and 10" score lines.  The spacing of the cuts can be changed as desired.  Here is a photo of the back of the card which will give you a good idea of what your piece should look like when scored, cut and folded.  The card finishes at 4"x6".

With the base prepared, I started planning all the elements.  Of course, I knew the theme I was following, so that gave me my start.  I decided to feature the 'stars' of the theme, the bats and cat, on the front.  They needed a 'setting' so I added the gravestone.  You're going to love this:  the gravestone was cut from an old envelope.  I thought the inside of the envelope was great for a look of granite.

 

I love the look of the 'blood-drip' letters in the warning sign.  And, of course there must be a spider creeping along in the fallen branches.

The spider needs a sparkly web.  And it just wouldn't be right to leave out the jack-o-lantern or the skull and crossbones.  I also added a little extra sparkle here and there which doesn't show up well in the photos.

 

I hope you've enjoyed my bit of Halloween fun with cats and bats.  Here's the main recipe, followed by a few last photos.

RECIPE:

  Dies:  CRICUT October 31 Cartridge; Cuttlebug 'Creepy', 'Beware', 'RIP'

  Papers:  Recollections

  Stickers:  Jolee's boutique, K&Company Layered Accents 'Spooktacular'

  Rub-Ons:  K&Company

  Rhinestones:  Studio 18

  Ink:  Stampin' Up Basic Gray

  Glitter Pens:  Copic Spica Black, Gelly Roll Clear Star

  Dimensional:  3L Black 3D Foam Squares

  I hope you have a moment to leave some love.  See you again soon!!

Be sure to keep your creative genius flowing.........

CHRISTINE

THANKFUL

Hello, lovely blog family.  I'm here today to bring you another Card A Day Blog inspiration.  Our theme, this week, is 'Giving Thanks.'  With Canada's Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, and our US Thanksgiving not far behind, it seems an appropriate time just now to be making those cards.

I've been wanting to make a 'banner' card for awhile, so I decided to try it for this one.  First, I'll show you a pic of my supplies.  I gathered alot more than I ended up using, but sometimes doing it that way helps with the inspiration.

This ended up being another opportunity to make use of more of my scraps, especially since I took some time recently to sort them.  I don't usually have too many because I do try to use them as I go along, but there always seem to be more than enough around to play with.  The idea went through several changes before I settled on my final project.  I initially thought to make a 9"x4" card with a particular background paper, then I changed papers, then I wanted to do a 6" square, and finally I figured out something that I really liked using my always-and-ever favorite standard A2 size, 4 1/4"x5 1/2".

I had hoped to be able to take pictures along the way, but I got so distracted as I worked that I forgot all about the camera.  I'll definitely try to improve on that for future posts.  Now, without further delay, I bring you my card, which I am dedicating to you, my followers, because I truly am thankful for you taking time out of your busy day to come and visit.

Here are a couple of close-up shots where you can see the details and layering.

And here's the recipe:
     Paper:  K and Company, Recollections, Generations Stackers
     Dies:  Spellbinders Nested Maple Leaves and Petite Scallop Circles
                Die-namics Fish Tail Banner
     Stamps:  JustRite Times New Roman 60pt., Stampin Up Build a Blossom
                    Martha Stewart San Serif Typeface and Custom Stamp Setting Kit
     Punch:  Stampin' Up Build a Blossom
     Ink:  Memento Dye Ink in Rich Cocoa and Potter's Clay

Thanks so much for your visit today.  I really enjoyed making this card for you; hope you like it!


Keep your creative genie-ous flowing.

CHRISTINE

Havin' a Hootin' Good Time............

   A big welcome to those of you joining me from the new Card A Day Blog .  I do hope you'll consider becoming a follower.  If you're already a follower, and are not yet familiar with this fun, new inspirational blog, please stop on by.  We have several wonderful designers, weekly themes, and challenges with prizes!!

  I am having so much fun using OWLS on my cards this week.  Every day, it seems, I'm thinking of different ways to use this versatile image, especially when I hear the owls hooting in the woods behind our house at night.

  The card I have for you today has a slightly more atmospheric mood.  I'm using it for Halloween, but it can easily be adapted with a different style of owl and different backgrounds and elements for most any kind of event.

  I guess I've been in a 'krafty' mood this week -- paper, that is -- because that's how this card started.  But the way I feel about it.....

  My card base is the standard A2 (5 1/2" x 4 1/4") size.  I stamped the background forest in Stampin' Up Basic Gray ink using a wonderful 6"x6" stamp, 'Branches,' from Impression Obsession's Cover-a-Card line.  If you're not familiar with these stamps, do check them out.  They have some really fabulous backgrounds (disclaimer here:  no affiliation).  I wanted a shadowy look, but not too dark.  My big golden Autumn moon is cut from a lovely shimmery paper from Paper Temptress using a large Spellbinder's circle die.

  I needed something for my owl to sit upon, but I wanted a change from the branch, so I put him on Martha Stewart's Spooky Fence punched from Recollections black card stock.  The owl, itself, is from the Stampin' Up set, Dark and Dreary, and was stamped on white cardstock with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Zing black embossing powder.  The sentiment comes from a Studio G mini set, and is stamped on the same gold shimmer paper used for the moon and also embossed with the black powder.  It's matted on a bit of the punched fence for a little added detail.  Both the owl and the sentiment are mounted with dimensionals.

  The three little birds in the tree are actually part of the fence punchout.  I felt I needed a bit of something on that part of the card, so I cut them off the fence, coated them with Glossy Accents and put them in the tree.  For a finishing touch, I used glitter pens to add a spooky glow to the owl's eyes and some moonlight glimmer to the spider webs, the fence and the ground between the fenceposts.  If you click on the photo, I think you'll get a better look at the detail and texture on the card.

Here is a photo showing you the supplies I used:

  Just for a fun surprise, the inside of my card is stamped with the same background as the front.  It reads, "So Have a Happy Whoooootin' Halloween."

  I hope you've enjoyed your visit with me today.  Feel free to leave some love, and tell me what you like (or don't) about today's card.


Do remember to always keep your creative juices flowing.........


CHRISTINE

Owl Love You Always.........

I'm so happy to be bringing you my first card as a designer for the brand new Card A Day Blog which was just launched a few days ago.  We'll be getting into a Christmas Card Blog Hop in October, but for the month of September we are offering weekly themes which we hope will give you lots of inspiration for your own cardmaking.

Our theme for this week is OWLS.  It was quite a challenge to decide how I wanted to play with this idea, but I decided on a cute idea for an anniversary card.  This idea works equally well anytime you want to share your love with someone.  It's a fairly easy card to make, so you should have no problem adapting the idea for yourself.

I started with a Neenah kraft card base in standard A2 size (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"), and added a design paper mat.  Sorry, I used a scrap and don't remember the source.  The main face of the card can be made with any generic white or off-white card stock, mine is white.  The owl stamp is from a mini set by Studio G, and was stamped with Versamark, then heat embossed using Sweet Stamps Fine Detail Copper embossing powder.  I hand cut the owl, and set it aside to work on the other stamping.

The branch is from the set Birds of a Feather by taylored expressions. I colored it using Tombow and Stampin' Up markers, and, using the "huffing" method, I stamped the image.  I had stamped a few samples before stamping on the actual card, and decided I liked the rustic look I got when I didn't color in the image too carefully.  The word OWL is from the same mini set as the owl stamp.  I stamped it using Stampin' Up Soft Suede ink on a die-cut circle and layered it onto a petite scalloped circle.  I then inked the edges with Memories Direct red.  The rest of the sentiment is from the same set as the tree branch and also stamped with the Soft Suede along with the inking on the card edge.

Finally, I stamped a few hearts from the Heart and Flower set from Martha Stewart in the same red mentioned earlier.  I decided to give the owl a big heart, so I used the smaller of the two heart stamps and colored it in with another Stampin' Up marker because I wanted a brighter red.  I gave it a coating of Stampendous clear embossing powder.  The owl itself, as well as the word 'owl,' the owl's heart and one of the floating hearts are all applied with dimensionals.  Here's a photo of most of the supplies I used:

I sure hope you've enjoyed today's project, and would love your comments.  See you again soon!


Remember, keep your creative genius flowing.........

CHRISTINE

CDAC Progressive Challenge

As promised, I have a card to share with you for the other new challenge group in which I am now participating.  This challenge is sponsored by Crafter's Digital Art Center, which is a site focused on the use of digital images.  I've signed on for a new Progressive Challenge which is a series of six challenges and will run through the middle of November.  The images are provided by various digital artists on the site, but members must participate in order to continue to receive new images.  So, without further delay, here is my entry in the first leg of the challenge......................

The second pic is just a bit closer and at a slight angle to show the dimension a little more.

The image was provided by Digistamps4joy  Here's a look at the original..............................  
                                               
 The card is a basic A2 size.  Card base is generic.  The blue mat and striped dp are Generations Primary Color Stacker.  I used Copics for the coloring, and Versamark Onyx Black ink for the sentiment which is from Inky Antics Baking Kitty set.

See you again soon with my first offering for the Card A Day Blog and thanks for visiting!!


CHRISTINE

NEW BEGINNINGS

Well, yes, we usually think of new beginnings being associated with Spring, and, here we are, coming to the end of Summer and the first hints of Fall.  But I've had some of my own news since we last saw each other.  One of the most special new beginnings in our family has been the birth of Hannah Dorothy, my first 'grand.'  She is actually my sister's first granddaughter, born to my niece, Allie, on July 27th.  I was lucky enough to be visiting with my sister in Chicago at the time, so I saw Hannah within two hours of her arrival.  We had been at the hospital for quite awhile, but it was worth every minute of the wait!

In other news, I have a new computer.  I had been working this blog entirely on a tiny netbook - not really fun.  But the little computer was going a bit crazy, so I decided to upgrade before it failed and made ME crazy.  So now I'll be working on my sweet new laptop, except when I'm down in my studio where I'll be on the big desktop.  The only negative is the time it takes to make the transition.  I'm still getting used to Windows 7, but I guess I can live with it.

Some additional really special news.........I have also joined two new groups.  You won't learn about one of them until tomorrow when I post my first card entry.  But I'll tell you all about the other one right now........

I will be designing for a new blog.  We will launch the CARD A DAY BLOG on September 1 with a new card every single day. Our goal is to fill your mind with inspiration by constantly coming up with new ideas in the way of themes, techniques, images, recipes and who knows what else.  Designers of all types will bring you fresh ideas because there is just no end to what you can create with paper, glue and a few embellishments.

Our launch will start you off with ideas for the Fall season.  Never fear, it won't be limited to just Fall; we'll surprise you with other offerings as well.  THEN, on October 1st, World Card Making Day, we will launch our fantabulous Christmas Card blog hop to give you ideas for all the holiday cards you plan to make.  We know not everyone celebrates Christmas, so we'll do our best to include all of you out there.


We're planning challenges and prizes so be sure to check back every day for your dose of inspiration and fun!!!  Just click on the blue butterfly above to the right.


And, as always, keep your creative genius flowing............  See you tomorrow!!

CHRISTINE

'Tis Better to Give Than to Receive

I am so happy to announce the winner of my blog candy for the Creative EdVentures First Ever Blog Hop!  I just love giving prizes.  Congratulations go out to:

MORNINGLASS

Who said:

Nice projects! they are all 3 beautiful. I really like your choice of blue for Santa's suit, it makes him seem more gentle than the old red standard. I also really liked your use of the pastel colors on the forest keeper stamp. Oh and I like silver best!

AND Surprise, Surprise-----------I am giving a second prize!!!  My second winner is:

Audrey Frelx

Audrey said:  What terrific projects!!! I really love that pin!!! Have fun in the hop!

Look for an email from me so I can get your mailing info.  If you don't see an email within the next 24 hours, please contact me (either by email or comment) so that I can get your mailing info.

Thank you so very much, everyone, for joining our hop and for your thoughtful comments!!


And remember, keep your creative genius flowing.........
CHRISTINE

AND THE WINNER IS.......

No, I'm not making it that easy.  I told you my winner in the Creative EdVentures First Ever Blog Hop will be announced tomorrow.  (tee hee)  But, since you were nice enough to stop by, I do have a card to show you.

A long-time friend of my husband lost his dad last week.  The family knew it was coming, but, of course, it's always a difficult time, and so sad that it came just before Father's Day.

I wanted to use a soft color scheme for this card.  I'm happy with the pretty blue.  This photo shows the signature page on the inside:

Here is a full view of the inside of the card:

I was very pleased with the soft simplicity of the card front.  I used generic papers, and stamped the white cardstock to make my own background design paper.

I thought it might be hard to read the sentiment, so here's a closer view.

I mentioned the paper.  Here are the other ingredients:

Stamps:  Gina K Designs, PapertreyInk, Hero Arts and Unity

Spellbinders dies: Plain and Scalloped Ovals, Fancy Tags and Lacy Squares

Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze ink

Thanks for visiting today, and don't forget to come back tomorrow to see if you're a winner!!!

Keep your creative genius flowing.....

Christine

We're At the Hop for Creative EdVentures

Welcome to the Creative EdVentures First Ever Blog Hop.  We are really excited to have you join us, and we promise not to take up too much of your time.  There are only ten stops, and you have from 9:00am eastern on Saturday, June 18, to Midnight eastern on Sunday, June 19, to finish.  If you've arrived here from Fab's blog, then you're in the right place.  If you just happened along and you want to start at the beginning, then  Creative EdVentures  is the place to go.

This hop is featuring the lovely images of designer Sue Miller.  If you are not familiar with her designs, please check them out.  We think they're wonderful.  Sue Miller and Queen Kat Designs are sponsoring our hop, and have given us prizes for some lucky hoppers.

I know several of us were inspired by Sue's images to bring you more than one creation.  I, being one of them, have three projects for your viewing pleasure today.  So, without further delay, here you go........................

For my first project, I selected Sue's 'Princess Melis' image.  I was making a Choski Pin to use in a swap, and I thought this would be the perfect image to depict the face of the little fairy I was putting on the pin.  This first photo illustrates the pin as a whole.  For those of you who don't know what a Choski pin is, it's a lovely, blingy piece that can be used in so many ways: on a hat or a bag, on a lamp shade or, gosh, even as an actual piece of jewelry.  It's totally up to you.

Here you can see a close-up of the facet with the fairy's face.  The facet is from Tim Holtz.  Most of the other supplies are from one of my local shops, Red Lead Paperworks, Webster Groves MO, the sponsor of the swap I'm in.

Here's one more shot where you can see that the little fairy in the charm is wearing the same garland in her hair as Sue's sweet image.  I thought it was just a perfect match.  Of course, we must have a little fairy dust to sprinkle as we go along our way.

I chose a wooden craft frame for my second project.  The frame came from Michael's, and I covered it with a pretty design paper from Stampin' Up using a glue stick.  I then inked the edges of both the paper and the frame itself with SU ink and used their pearl stick-ons for the little flowers in two of the corners. I enjoyed coloring this image with chalk pastels; the colors are so soft.  I love the overall soft misty look of the frame with the sweetness of Sue's image, 'Keeper of the Forest.'

I really like this project because it is relatively simple and inexpensive to make.  Perfect for a quick gift.  I did give the image some sparkle with glitter pens, but I couldn't quite manage to get it to come across in the photos.

Here's a nice close-up so you can see the Keeper's lovely, sweet face.

I know some of you think it's much too early to even think about Christmas, let alone start working on projects for the holiday season.  I also know there are many of you out there who started working on this years' cards right after January 1st.  My final creation for you is a Christmas card using Sue's adorable 'I Still Believe' image.  This one was colored with Copic markers.  The design papers came from a packet my sister gave me (sorry, lost track of the wrapper a while ago).  I put together the sentiment using a Just Right Stamps alphabet; the letters are so tiny that I wasn't sure I could manage them--tweezers to the rescue!--and stamped it with Making Memories ink.  I also used dimensionals for lots of layering and my ATG tape runner.

The snowflake paper has a bit of glitter, and I also added sparkle to this image.  Once again, it just didn't come through in the photo.  And, as you can see, I chose not to give Santa the traditional red suit.  Those of you who know me well, know I like to be a bit different sometimes.

Santa is encouraging us to be hushed in the snowy 'Silent Night' of winter.  He doesn't want us to wake the kiddies while he's on his rounds.

I added this last image just to show all the layering of the card front.

I do hope you've enjoyed your visit with me to see the lovely designs from Sue.  Now, what's next?

What you need to do to be eligible for the main prizes:
Visit every designer on the list - Become a Follower of their blog (not mandatory, but always most welcome), and leave a comment on their blog hop entry.
*Please note: if an individual designer is offering candy JUST for their blog, make sure you follow whatever additional rules they may have on their own blog.
When you have visited ALL the designers, you will return to the Creative EdVentures homepage and Leave a Comment there about the Hop, our designers, Sue Miller's images, your favorite designs...you get the idea.  We love feedback, and want to know what you thought of our first hop.  Remember, your comment needs to be in by Midnight on Sunday, and needs to include your email address to WE can contact YOU if you're a winner.

I also have blog candy for you!!!
Be sure to leave a comment for me, here, before midnight on Sunday, with your email addy so I can find you later.  AND answer this question, "Which is your favorite, Silver or Gold?"  That's all you need to do, and you'll be eligible.  I'll post the winner on Wednesday, June 22nd.  GOOD LUCK!!

If you've done the hop in order from the beginning, you have only one more stop.  Time to visit Cindy Coleman.

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LOVE & HUGS TO ALL!!
CHRISTINE

I'm a Designer!!!

I am sooooo excited.  This is my first time designing for a blog hop, and I am thrilled to be participating for Creative EdVentures!





I hope you will join us this weekend, starting at 9 A.M. Eastern time ( 6 AM Pacific, 7 AM Mountain, 8 AM Central) for the first ever Creative EdVentures Blog Hop featuring the beautiful designs of Sue Miller.  I am just loving her designs!  Sue Miller and Queen Kat Designs are generously sponsoring this hop, and you will have a chance to win some wonderful blog hop candy after you visit. Some of the participating designers will ALSO have blog candy of their own to give you.  (They will have separate instructions posted on their own blogs on how to be eligible for those prizes.)
All you have to do in order to be eligible for the main prizes from our sponsors is to visit each of the designers on the hop and comment on their beautiful work.  Of course, we would love for you to Become a Follower!  Then, head on over to the Creative EdVentures blog and leave a comment on the main blog hop post – let us know what you thought of the blog hop, tell us about your favourite Sue Miller images, or favorite ways to use her images – we want to hear it all!  That’s it!  You’ll be in!  Be sure to include your email address with your comment so we know how to reach you!

The HOP will run from 9 am Saturday and end at midnight on Sunday .
Prize winners will be drawn Tuesday June 21st and announced by Wednesday June 22nd.
Winners and their comments will be posted on the Creative EdVentures homepage.

So, grab your hopping shoes and come along.

Oh, and remember always keep your creative genius flowing.
CHRISTINE

Coming Soon to a Computer Near You............

FIRST EVER BLOG HOP!!

Sure hope you'll join us!

My Neverending Shower...............................

card.  Okay, I know you haven't seen me lately, but I really haven't been in the shower all this time.  I'm talking about an adorable card I made for my niece's recent baby shower.  I wish I could remember just where I first saw this style of card, but I forgot to write it down at the time.  There are several videos and tutorials out there for those who are interested in the technique.  It involves only two squares of paper to make the base.  A couple of folds and cuts create the many-sided aspect of the card.  The fun...and challenge...is in the placement of your design elements.  The card even comes with instructions; you'll see what I mean.  I'll group the main photos first, with close-ups to follow.  Yes, this is a photo-heavy post.

This is the front of the card, pictured with the double hang-tag with instructions.  The tag was tied on with ribbon to keep the card closed.

This pic is what is seen after the first fold.

This is after the second fold.

And this is the back of the card after the final fold.
Here are the closer shots:

I had a really fun time making this card.  With a little more time, it might have gotten a bit more extravagant.  I think I'm glad to have had limited time.  I was lucky to have used colors that coordinated nicely with the shower decor.

Check this out while you're here:

Finished-on-the-Fifteenth FaveCrafts Blog Hop for June

I hope you've enjoyed my little foray into a new, for me, card technique.  I'd love your comments.

Thanks so much for visiting, and remember to keep your creative genius flowing.
CHRISTINE