Halloween Cards!!

Alright! Some major craftigoodness going on right here. I got shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifome new supplies! Yahoo!! Including this super cute stamp set, Merry Monsters. I love the little monsters on this set, they are sooo cute! It is my first real Halloween stamp set from CTMH. I do have some owls, but nothing like this. On Tuesday, I had some time so I decided to make some little Halloween cards using colors from 10/5/2009.


I don't have any CTMH Halloween paper so this was the perfect solution. I love color inspiration challenges!! I did some paper piecing for the monsters and some random stamping for the EEK!. The boo! is stamped in black stazon. I just love these little cards, I made 10 of them! Took a while to cut out all the little monsters, but it felt good to create something so cute! Enjoy!



Some images may be (c) Close to my Heart!

Jump for Juniper

Jeanette's Color Me Monday colors this week are so great!! I was very ready to 'jump for juniper' this week!!


Here are my cute little 'anytime' cards made using the new 'You're a Hoot' stamp set. I colored the branch by inking it with desert sand and then using a Juniper marker on the leaves before stamping it. I used the brush end of my marker and it sort of wiped off the desert sand...I did clean the tip after a couple of leaves so it wouldn't get stained brown. I really like how the leaves look in person, I will definitely be doing this technique again.



After trimming the branch out and adhering it to the card, I added liquid glass to the leaves to make them shine. I didn't have a speck of vanilla cream in the house so I used a scrap of B&T from 'That's Amore' and a scrap of B&T from 'Perfect Day' on my card base. After finishing the card, I realized it needed some more texture, so I used my paper piercer around the edges and added some desert sand with a sponge.





I absolutely love the journaling frames from 'Frame of Mind' for cards...not just scrapbook pages. They are soo cool, I really love to layer them, like I have done here.

Sometimes when I make something for a challenge, I end up making two or more things. This happens for many reasons:
1. I don't like sketches, so I just play around with the elements until I find something I like.
2. After a lot of trial and error, I have left over parts and I want to use them on a new card.
3. The first one isn't good enough and I think I can do better.
4. I really enjoy the combination of colors and images and I have to keep going until the idea is seen all the way through or I get tired of it.
5. I have just a few leftovers, perfect for a mini-card or tag
6. I think of a new sentiment or idea that just won't fit on the original card.
7. The original card doesn't work at all....and I end up turning it into two smaller cards (sort of what happened here)
8. I just can't let one tiny scrap go into the scrap box forever...I have to use it immediately, or else it will just be forgotten and wasted....
9. I have a lot of time left before I need to drag myself to do laundry or some other chore (or bed)...so I use the time to 'keep going'...my mojo is still working, so I just continue on with the same idea, rather than try to start something new.
10. I stamp something I don't like and then I figure out a way to use it, or cover it up...sometimes this means going back to something I have placed in the 'discard' pile.

Color inspiration #49

Here is my card for this week's color inspiration challenge. I used Citrus Leaf and Tulip(I don't have SU colors)...as well as some hambly screenprinted paper, and some vintage paper and an old scratch'n'sniff sticker I found in my desk when I became a teacher (SCORE!!). I thought it was perfect for this card.

For the butterflies, I actually had the card made and thought it needed something so I punched the front of the card, adhered black to the inside and then flipped the punched butterfly shapes over and bent them a bit so they would pop off a little.


I put that scratch'n'sniff sticker on a Hambly cardstock sticker, and then put that on a scalloped punch shape. I did cheat and use a scrap of brown ribbon. I don't have any black left. But there is black on the screen print and the text of the vintage paper so that is good enough.

Color Inspiration Challenge #38

I am sooooo excited about the Color Inspiration Challenge this week! I couldn't stop making cards last night. I got some really cute new stickers from K&Company and they were perfect for this week's colors. I stayed up late making these cards and even made one more this morning!

Eeeek!! I don't have time for all the details for every card, but if you have a question email me. I made the round cards using my coluzzle and all of the stamps and colors are Close to My Heart.

Color Inspiration Challenge # 37

I have a quick post with this week's color inspiration challenge. I made 3 simple cards. One of them is for my dad for Valentine's Day. The patterned paper is from Paper Studio and the Chipboard is Basic Grey. The ribbon, heart stamp and chocolate textured cardstock is Close to My Heart. I wanted to make some cards that were more masculine. I dusted the heart with light blue chalk, but its hard to tell in the pictures. Enjoy!!

Two Challenges in ONE

***A quick edit to show the difference between night and day pictures. The first two pictures were taken with natural lighting by a window with a white backdrop. The pictures at the end of the blog were taken at night with a lamp.***







Okay, so I really love the Cinema Saturday Creative Movie Challenges, but I don't always have time every week to make something. Last week I made a scrapbook page, but I never got a chance to post it!! The snow day today provided me with the perfect opportunity to scrap these great pictures from the summer of 2007. We were in Tulsa, OK and we went to the iMAX to see the newest Harry Potter Movie in 3-D. It was awesome!!! The two-page layout I created involves lots of gold embossing powder instead of the so saffron. The color inspiration comes from Kristina Werner's Challenge #35 this week.



The blue in my layout is from a really beautiful paper pack from Close to My Heart, it is twilight instead of baja breeze. The door on the left page is hinged so I can slide my journaling under there. The 'golden' snitch is made from some chipboard dimensionals that have been embossed and the wing is from a Christmas ornament that I got from PierOne....I bought a few seeing their potential!!! The big letters at the top are die-cuts and I just added a lot of embossing powder to them. I also made the hinges and handle on the door match. The door has been dry embossed and inked to make it look a little bit older. I did find a really cool Harry Potter font here....but I downloaded it too late...I had already spent hours looking at my layout, figuring out what it was missing. Sorry if the lighting is a bit off....I took these pics at night (because I am pretty sure we will be going back to school tomorrow) and the glossy pics and gold embossing powder had a lot of reflection.