More Halloween Cards

My second blog post for the night. Halloween wrapped up pretty quickly this year due to rainy weather. It's been nice to have an early night to work on my blog, however, I am now faced with a lot of extra candy that I wasn't planning on.

I have picked out a few of my favourites treats to keep in my desk at work (Coffee Crisp). A lot of the candy will be going to my daughter's school. They have a great program for donating the extra candy. Once we get the notice from the school, I will be shipping whatever is accepted there. The rest will come to work and I am sure my staff will have no problem making the rest disappear.

Here are a couple of more Halloween cards that I have created. For both cards I used older sketches from Deconstructing Jen. I really love Jen's sketches. I have a number of them printed and put into a binder for quick reference. If I get into a creative slump or I am a bit pressed for time, then I have these sketches within reach.

You can find all of Jen's sketches (here):

Deconstructing Jen: Sketch 08
Image: Hampton Arts (Michaels)
Paper:  K& Co, October Afternoon
Jolee's Boutique pumpkins

Deconstructing Jen: Sketch 01
Image: Stampendous "Kitty Candy Kiddo"
Paper: K & Company, MME

I tomorrow I will be tucking away my Halloween supplies for another year. I suppose I should pull out those winter and Christmas stamps soon. With the weather we have been having I am expecting snow any day now. I am not ready for winter or Christmas.

Happy creating fellow crafting geeks!

Tracy

Frankenstein Halloween Treats

This year for Halloween my daughter's and I were inspired by Frankenstein. The girls and I like to create something crafty to showcase the treats we are handing out and this year we made Frankenstein lollipop covers.

The idea for this project came from the Your Next Stamp blog (see the original post here). They have a great lollipop cover die (here), which I couldn't use for this project because the dies dimensions were too small for the lollipops I bought.

Using their design as inspiration I created my own cover.

Here are the measurements for my altered lollipop cover template:

Dimensions of the cover: 2" by 6".
Score at: 2 1/4, 2 3/4 and 5 inches
Out of one 12 x 12 sheet of green card stock, I was able to get 12 bases for "Frankie".
Cut the hair from black card stock (size 1" by 2"), trim one end with decorative scissors.
I used my Crop-a-dile to punch a small hole on the fold for the lollipop stick.

For the eyes we used a 1/2" circle punch (white) and a regular hole punch for the pupils. YNS used googly eyes, however I was afraid they would fall off in transport to the school.

For the bolts, I used a scrap of shiny grey card stock that I had (Recollections I believe). I cut a pile of small strips to glue to the side of "Frankie's" head.

We had a great assembly line for this project. I cut, scored, folded and gave "Frankie" his hair. My one daughter punched out all the eyes, while the other one assembled them and drew on the mouths. They both stuffed in the lollipops and I glued Frankie shut.

We made a total of 72 Frankensteins for their classmates, daycare teachers and for my staff at work. I don't know about the kids, but my staff were so excited about their treat.

Of course we didn't forget the girl's teachers. Here is what they received:

The plastic paint can came from the dollar store. These went together so quickly. The biggest challenge was taking the handles out and lining up a hole in my paper, so I could reassemble the handle after "Frankie" was put inside the can.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween (ours was wet). Enjoy the tricks and treats.

Tracy

Halloween Distress

I love creating cards for Halloween. Last year I purchased a lot of fun Halloween images and papers, so it was fun to finally pull them out and put them to use.

I really enjoy using Distress ink. I created the back ground using spiced marmalade, wild honey and squeezed lemonade. The moon was created by masking off with a circle. The haunting scene was from an Impression Obsession die. I added yellow paper behind the pumpkin and house window to create the look of a light. The sentiment was heat embossed.

Challenges
Little Red Wagon - Halloween
Your Next Stamp - October 2013 YNSFFC05
Simon Say Stamp - Wednesday Challenge Anything goes

Happy Haunting everyone.

Tracy

Witchy

This card was a happy accident. Initially I was hoping to create a pair of "Witch" boots for my card.  Since I don't have a image to cut with my Cricut, I was attempting to create the boots by hand. As I worked through a few different pairs of horrible looking boots, I realized one template I created actually resembled a pair of shoes.

For my Witch's shoes, I stamped versa mark ink using a dot background stamp and heat embossed with clear embossing powder for a bit of texture. I added an eyelet to her shoes for laces.

The Witch's legs and skirt were all made by hand.

Challenges:
Little Red Wagon - #208 - Brads or Eyelets (I actually have a large number of eyelets in my stash so it was fun to use them for a challenge)
Your Next Stamp - October 2013 YNSFFC05
Simon Says Stamp - Halloween or Halloween Colours

Thanks for taking a look.

Tracy Penney

Welcome Baby

This is a card that I made for a family friend that recently had her first baby. I used the Deconstructed Sketch No. 123 from Deconstructing Jen.

When I made the card on the weekend I kept the look very neutral.

I used my Cricut "New Arrivals" cartridge to create the baby buggy (cut at 3 inches). The circles were also cut using my Cricut. Once I heard she had a baby boy, I added the charm, blue hearts and gems.

The card size is 5 x 6.5

Supplies:

Die: Cricut "New Arrivals"

Paper: My Minds Eye "Fine & Dandy", Echo Park "So Happy Together"

Sentiment: My Favorite Things "Bitty Banners"

American Crafts Ribbon and twine

Recollections gems

Charm - I have had this for a long time, I think it came from a dollar store

Tracy

A Latte minis

The challenge this week over at Little Red Wagon is "Mini-mize me", which means a card no bigger than 3x3. Pretty easy right? A small card like that should take no time at all. I cut my first card base, stared at my scrap bin, rummaged through my stamps and dies and............I got nothing. No inspiration, nothing is coming to me. What am I going to make for a space so small? How am I going to layer and embellish with next to no room? Clean and simple is what it should be and that's always so difficult for me. I don't know why.

After putting the mini card aside and making a few other cards, I returned last night to this challenge, this time with a bit of inspiration. I made three mini cards all with a theme from my inspiration. Can you guess what I was craving?

You can check out challenge #207 Mini-mize Me at Little Red Wagon.

Stamp: Fiskars Latte Love

Stamp: Fiskars Latte Love

Stamp/Die: Your Next Stamp "Hot Stuff Mugs", cut with Happy Holidays die

What's your caffeine beverage of choice? I do love my Starbucks. My regular drink would be a Chai Tea latte. During the fall season, I also enjoy the occasional Pumpkin Spice Latte. I expect the winter selections (Gingerbread latte) will be here before we know it!

Supplies:
Stamps: Fiskars "Latte Love", Your Next Stamp "Hot Stuff Mugs"
Dies: Your Next Stamp Happy Holidays
Sentiments were heat embossed white (Recollections), Chestnut (AC Zing)
White gel pen
I used only scraps to create these cards, so I don't have the names of the paper that was used.

Enjoy your caffeine of choice today and thanks for stopping by to check out my creations.

Tracy

Spectacular

I am so excited to finally used this stamp. I bought it back in April at Scrapfest from Your Next Stamp. I really love their stamps. They are so cute and a lot of fun to colour. This stamp "Spectacular" I had to get because I think it looks a lot like my oldest daughter. Of course, I am now on the look out for a stamp that reminds me of my youngest daughter.

This card is my submission for the Your Next Stamp October Sketch challenge (YNSFFC05)

The image is YNS "Spectacular", coloured with Copic markers. I used Glossy Accents on the classes for a bit of dimension. I also used YNS Smarty Pants stamp for the lined paper and A+.

Inside the card I used the YNS "Smarty Pants" ruler and sentiment. I find I cannot call a card finished unless I decorate the inside. 

I haven't yet decided on the occasion that I will use this card. When the time comes I can add an additional sentiment inside the card (if needed) to create a thank you or even a birthday card.

Supplies:

Your Next Stamp: Spectacular, Smarty Pants

Cuttlebug Spots and Dots embossing folder

Spellbinders Standard Circles Dies

Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by.

Tracy

Life Blooms

I have been on a groove with making cards. I have finally dug into a pile of stamps that I have had for a year (or so). I stamped out a number of images that I want to use and now when I am looking to make a card I have the images all in front of me ready to colour.

I don't have a lot of little boy stamps so it was fun to colour this image. This is actually my second colouring attempt for this image. My blue copic markers got a bit messy when I was colouring the boy's shorts. Even my colourless blender could not salvage the mess so I started over. It was a bit frustrating, however I was happier with how the hair and the wagon turned out the second time.

Although we are into fall, I wanted the flowers in the image to go with the bright flowers (Recollections) that I wanted to use on the card.

I used the My Favorite Things Chicken Wire Die-namic twice. The first time using white cardstock for the frame and then pattern paper to fill inside the frame.

I used Deconstructing Jen sketch 122 for this card.

Challenges:
Sassy Cheryl # 188 Punches &/or dies (image: Cheryl Alger design Stamp for Kraftin Kimmie)
Deconstructing Jen # 122

Inside

Supplies:
Stamp: Let's Dish the Dirt (Cheryl Alger design by Kraftin Kimmie)
Die: My Favorite Things Chicken Wire
Flowers (Recollections), American Craft twine.

Thanks for stopping by.
Tracy

So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving (in Canada) to all of my family and friends.

Yesterday I enjoyed a fabulous turkey dinner at my brother's house with my family. It is always a lot of fun getting together. Once the rain let up it was a beautiful day and the kids were able to get outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather we have been enjoying.

I have so much to be thankful for this year, most of all my wonderful family.

Today is a relaxing day and I am enjoying a bit of time to craft. I was able to finish a Thanksgiving themed card using a cute My Favorite Things stamp "Pumpkin Patch Girl". I know my daughters are very anxious to get out and select a pumpkin this year for Halloween.

I am submitting this for Little Red Wagon challenge #206 Thanksgiving.

Supplies:
Stamp: My Favorite Things Pumpkin Patch Girl
Paper: Simple Stories Summer Fresh

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Tracy

Rock Chick

A birthday card that I made for my niece who recently turned 12.

This card is my second submission for the Two Scrapbooking Friends October Craft (colour) challenge. For my first entry see the previous post (Tiny Dancer Birthday Card). The colours that Jayne selected came from an amazing site called Design Seeds. This colour palette is called "Cats Tail Tones". I spent a lot of time just scrolling through the amazing colour selections. I am going to be visiting this site a lot when I need a bit of colour inspiration.

My card

 I added the orange for a bit of contrast with the darker brown pattern in the background.

My niece recently received a pink guitar, however I couldn't make that colour work with the orange paper I used in the card.

Stamps: Whimsy Stamps "Rock Chick", (Inside stamps) Your Next Stamp "Overdue library card", Bo Bunny "Mama Razzi"
Paper: Bo Bunny "Mama Razzi", Carta Bella "Rough & Tumble"
Studio Calico Wood Veneer

Thanks for stopping by.

Tracy

Tiny Dancer Birthday Card

This is my first project to enter in multiple challenges. I am not sure how crafters do it so often. This was tricky trying to coordinate the challenges and deadlines.

Challenges:
Two Scrapbooking Friends - October Craft Challenge - Jayne's colour challenge
Deconstructing Jen - DS 121 Sketch
Sassy Cheryl - Challenge #186 - Anything Goes

Supplies:
Digital Image: Sassy Cheryl "Beauty in the Making"
Paper: Echo Park So Happy Together, Carta Bella Rough & Tumble
Maya Road chipboard camera (painted)

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

This is a card that I made for my parents anniversary (in September). Me being on top of things made this card for them a few weeks before their anniversary. It has of course now past and I got busy with so many thing, that when I called to wish them a "Happy Anniversary" I realized I still hadn't mailed the card.

Sorry Mom & Dad. It really is a great card.

The Birds were made with my Cricut "Create a Critter" cartridge. I haven't used my Cricut in a while so it was fun to get back out. Right now I have been favouring stamping on my cards. The orange cardstock on the bottom is stamped with my Hero Arts wood grain stamp. I just used a few scraps (6x6 pads) for the background behind the birds (not sure on the company for those papers).

TSF September Sketch Challenge

This is my submission for the Two Scrapbooking Friends September Sketch Challenge. I haven't done a lot of double page layout, so this was a challenge. The layout Shelby created was fabulous and once I had my pictures selected it was pretty easy. Here is Shelby's sketch.

It did take a while for me to select the right photos. I just started scrapbooking in the Spring this year. I printed a large number of photos and for me what seems to work best is going through all my pictures and finding the ones that inspire me. When I have a sketch, there a bit more planning to select the best photos for the layout or the best way to adapt the layout to suit my photos.

I stuck close to the sketch, because it worked so well for my pictures. I hand stitched along the top scallop and twisted some additional floss along the bottom. I wasn't sure the best way to glue it down. I just used my Zig 2-way glue pen (fine tip) and traced out the pattern and placed the floss on top. It was a bit of work, but turned out okay.

I prefer (when possible) to include a spot for some hidden journaling. For this layout I created a pocket behind the house tag.

Supplies:
Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle - Acorn Hollow, Basic Grey - Hipster, Simple Stories - Harvest Lane and Kraft Core Cardstock.
Other, Echo Park Reflections Chipboard, leaf stick pins,