Have Your Elf

Jumping forward to Christmas again - got to get those cards done so I can enjoy the season!

I pulled out a great Waltzingmouse (no longer in business) set called Jolly Old Elf for today's card.  I added some pine to his hat, hand and sentiment along with a little jingle bell.

My card was inspired by this week's 

Merry Monday Challenge

 I have a terrible cold that has been hanging on for over two weeks -  I'm off to bed a little early to hopefully help myself get better!

FYI -  if you need some spook-tacular inspiration -  check out the A Vintage Journey challenge for October - Anne's challenge is to Make it Spooky!

Ghosting Trick or Treat

Today I'm playing along with the CAS Mix Up challenge highlighting the Ghosting technique.

For my ghosting, I first sponged a panel of white card stock with Ranger Distress Blue Print Ink.  Than I spritzed water onto my Owl Tree Tag stamp and pressed it onto the panel pressing down and holding it there for 10 seconds or so.  I lifted the stamp off and dried the panel with my heat tool and the 'ghosting' appeared!

I also flicked some drops of water onto the panel and dried it again.  I die cut the Small Gothic Window and layered it over the stamping with foam dots. 

I stamped 3 black bats and white embossed the sentiment on a punched strip of black.  I added orange Tiny Twinkles to the eyes of the owl and pumpkins for a little glitter.

Loll and Bonnie show other ways to do 'ghosting' over on the challenge blog - check it all out here.

I'm also linking to the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches 

(I flipped the shape and sentiment to opposite sides) 

Stamps:  Owl Tree Tag - Rubbernecker, Midnight Feast - Waltzingmouse
Paper:  white, true black - PTI
Ink:  Ranger Distress Blue Print, True Black - PTI, Versamark
Accessories:  Modern Label Punch - SU, Small Gothic Window Die - Poppy Stamps, foam dots, Tiny Twinkles - Taylored Expressions.

Watercolored Terraced Lane

Today I'm joining in the new CAS Watercolor Challenge - I have just started getting into doing various styles of water coloring and want to hone my skills with this monthly challenge!  This month's theme is Autumn.

 I used a beautiful Terraced Lane stamp by Penny Black - stamping it in WV Archival Potting Soil ink over a panel of white card stock.  I used my heat tool to dry the stamping.  Then I brushed water over the image and brushed water colors over the areas - oranges, reds and yellows on the trees, a little green and yellow along the ground cover and some gray along the stone pathway. 

 I cut the image down so there would be white space around it and popped a die cut window frame over the scene with foam dots.  I stamped the Happy Thanksgiving along the bottom and adhered the panel to my white card base.  I love how this came out - it almost looks like a photograph IRL!

Here's the link to this fun new challenge, where you will find all the challenge instructions and samples by Loll and Bonnie - the challenge hosts!  They're also looking for people who would like to be on the design team for this new challenge!

CAS Watercolor Challenge

 Also linking my card to:

Just Us Girls - Leaves

Stamps:  Terraced Lane - Penny Black, Peace and Plenty - Waltzingmouse
Paper:  White - PTI
Ink:  Wendy Vecchi Archival Potting Soil, True Black - PTI
Accessories:  Small Madison Window Die - Poppy Stamps, foam dots, watercolor paints, brush, water.

Cat on a Broom

Another quick Halloween card! Using a spooky broom stamp from Stampendous, a  cat stamp from Rubbernecker and a sentiment from Waltzingmouse!  I added a touch of color with a yellow Zig Clean Color Brush to the cats eyes!

 A clean and simple design

I used this week's CAS(E) this Sketch

Up late to get this card done -  now I'm off to bed!

Stamps:  Broom - Stampendous, Cats - Rubbernecker, Happy Halloween - Midnight Feast - Waltzingmouse.
Paper:  White, True Black - PTI
Ink:  True Black - PTI, Archival Jet Black.
Accessories:  Yellow Zig Clean Color Brush.

Clip on the Witch Hat!

In my continuing quest to make lots of Halloween crafties for my church fair later this month - I made these Halloween treat bags for the Featured Stamper challenge over at Splitcoaststampers.

I was inspired by Featured Stamper Candee's Boo-made Treat bag . I have been wanting to make these cute little witch hats since the tutorial was posted over at Splitcoaststampers last week - instead of a printed treat bag like Candee used with her witch hats - I adhered pieces of patterned papers onto kraft bags - stamping on some of them. 

Here's a close up of these fun and easy witch hat clips.  I used a thicker sparkle card stock cutting the hat with 2" circle Nestability die with a 1" circle inside it (cutting like a donut).  You use the outside piece for the hat brim - and then cut 2 pieces 1 1/2" x 2".   Make a dot in the middle of the 1 1/2" edge and cut two triangles for the crown piece of the hat. You glue a tiny clothespin (up to 2") I used a small bow die by Lil Inker Designs for the bow.

Here's a view from the back - I stamped a spider hanging on it's web on the back of the bag and if I clip the hat right there on the side -it looks like it's hanging from the hat!

and a view of the tiny clothes pin inside that enables you to 'clip' it on!

These worked up really quickly, which I needed as I want to make several more! 

I'm linking my treat bags to Brenda's Halloween Giveaway.

Stamps: Midnight Feast - Waltzingmouse 
Paper: DCWV Ghosts and Goblins Mat Stack, Glitter Paper - Michaels
Ink: True Black - PTI
Accessories: 1" tiny clothes pins - Joann, Kraft bags - Joann, rhinestones - Kaiser Craft, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive, Bow Die Small - Lil Inker Designs

Decorative Dishes for Halloween

I got some great inspiration for Halloween cards over at today's Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge.  Steph is the guest host today and she wanted us to check out the web store Decorative Dishes - I was inspired by two dishes.

My first inspiration was this dish

 And here is Halloween version!

I just learned great Alcohol Distress technique from Tim Holtz while making his September tag. I have a couple of photos showing how I used this technique.

 First I die cut circles out of Yupo paper.  Then I dropped some Soot Black and Mushroom Alcohol Inks onto the felt application and pounced it over the Yupo Circles.

I inked up stamps from Tims Mini Halloween and Undertaker using both Watering Can and Jet Black Archival inks.  I stamped them on the circles and then quickly rubbed off the ink with a soft cloth and it leaves this marvelous ghostly shadow!

Then I added a small amount of Alcohol Blending solution to a sponge applicator (really small amount!) and sponged over a stencil that removed more ink.

 (if the sponge is too wet it will just wash off the ink without showing the stencil pattern - see the top watery spot?!)

 I layered the circle to a scalloped circle of black cut with a Nestability die and adhered it over a piece of Paper Stash Regions Beyond after sponging the edges with Ranger Distress Ground Espresso.  I added the sentiment, 3 enamel dots and stamped a spider hanging off the bottom edge!

I was inspired by this dish for my second card

but I went with the negative of it - using the same Alcohol Resist technique as above.  I used the Birds on Trees background stamp from Impression Obsession, and Tim's bat stencil.  The sentiment is from Amuse

And while I was at it - I also made this card using the same background stamp in black ink over white card stock.  I added some small black punched butterflies (pretending they are bats!) added the same sentiment and a spooky spider pumpkin from

I need lots of Halloween cards to sell at our church fair -  so I'll no doubt be posting many more in the next couple of weeks!  

Have a great weekend everyone - and thanks for dropping by today!

Also linking my card to:
Brenda's Halloween Giveaway

Addicted to Stamps - Holiday

 Country View Challenges -  All things Spooky

Trick or Treat:
Stamps:  Mini Halloween and Undertaker sets - Timi Holtz/Stampers Anonymous
Paper:  Yupo, True Black and Soft Stone - PTI, Paper Stash Regions Beyond - Tim Holtz
Ink:  Archival Jet Black, Wendy Vecchi Archival Watering Can, Ranger Distress Ground Espresso, Adirondack Alcohol inks Black Soot and Mushroom.
Accessories: Blending Tool and Felt applicator,  Adirondack Alcohol Blending Solution, Word Window Punch - SU, flower stencil - Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, circle and scallop circle Nestability Dies, enamel Dots - My Minds Eye, foam dots.

Black Boo:
Stamps:  Birds on Trees - Impression Obsession, Boo - Amuse
Paper:  Yupo,  White,Soft Stone and True Black - Papertrey Ink
Ink:  Archival Jet Black, Ranger Distress Ground Espresso, Adirondack Alcohol Inks Black Soot and Mushroom
Accessories: oval punches - SU, foam dots, Adirondack Alcohol Blending Solution

White Boo:
Stamps:  Birds on Trees - Impression Obsession, Boo - Amuse
Paper:   White and True Black - Papertrey Ink
Ink:  Archival Jet Black, Ranger Distress Ground Espresso 
Accessories:  Oval Punches - SU, foam dots, bat punch - Martha Stewart, white pumpkin - Jolees.

September - Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2016

I've been wanting to try Tim's Sept tag techniques all month -  and I finally got into my craft room last night to get at it before the month ended and it was too late!

and here's my version of Tim's Tag.

First I created a paint patina background on the manila tag according to Tim's tutorial.  I used Distress Inks in Antiqued Bronze, Cracked Pistachio, Weathered Wood , Mustard Seed and Fired Brick.

I spritzed the paints with water and dragged 3 tags through the mix - so I'll have two to use later!

Then I sponged Ranger Distress Hickory Smoke all over each tag and flicked with water.

 Next I took a piece from Alpha Parts Framed and colored it with Cracked Pistachio, Fired Brick and then Antiqued Bronze according to Tim's tutorial

Then I moved onto the Alcohol Ink resist part.  I rubbed Adirondack Alcohol Inks in Black Soot an Mushroom over panels of Yupo Paper.

I inked up some stamps from Tim's Mini Halloween set using Archival Jet Black and WV Archival Watering Can stamped them over the Yupo and rubbed immediately over the stamped images with a soft cloth to create the resist effect (at this point I got so involved in creating this cool panel I forgot to take photos!)  Then I laid Tim's Burlap stencil over the panel and pounced over it with Alcohol Blending solution - I had the sponge a little too wet so basically it just 'melted' the black it - but it gave a cool look anyway! 

Then I added some Remnant Rubs Curiosities, some Small Talk Occasions, and Ephemera/Frightful.  I layered the Yupo panel to a slightly larger black panel and then stapled it to the tag base.  I dropped some Black Soot Alcohol ink onto three Heirloom Roses - dried them with my heat tool and glued them to my tag.

I'll definitely be trying this super cool Alcohol Resist technique again!  LOVE the shadowy look it creates!

You'll find lots of inspiration from others who have  linked up over at Tim's blog here.

I'm also linking my tag to the following:

Addicted to Stamps - Holiday

My fellow A Vintage Journey Creative Guide - Brenda -has a Halloween Giveaway for one randomly chosen person who links up a Halloween Creation!

Stamps:  Mini Halloween Set - Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous
Paper:  #8 Manila Tag, Yupo, True Black - Papertrey Ink.
Ink:  Ranger Distress Hickory Smoke, Archival Jet Black, Wendy Vecchi Archival Watering Can, Adirondack Alcohol Inks Black Soot and Mushroom.
Accessories:  Idea-ology Alpha Parts Framed, Small Talk Occasions, Ephemera Frightful, Remnant Rubs Curiosities, Trimmings Naturals Black/Cream, Jute String, Mini Attacher, Heirloom Roses, Distress Water Sprayer - Ranger.