Halloween 2023 | Fang-tastic Halloween

I came across the cutest Sweet November Stamps Halloween stamp set while browsing the Simon Says Stamp website during Stamptember this year and I’m thrilled to share the card I’ve made using it with you.

I selected a 4” x 5-1/4” piece of My Favorite Things “Boysenberry” cardstock and used Tim Holtz/Ranger’s Villainous Potion Distress Ink to darken the edges. Next, I misted the non-inked side with water using my Distress Sprayer, inserted it into the Simon Says Stamp “Tangled Web” embossing folder and ran it through my Spellbinders die cutting machine. I set it aside to dry and moved on to the next step.

I used VersaMark embossing ink and stamped two of spider stamps from the Sweet November Stamps “Spider Salutations” stamp set onto a white piece of scrap cardstock, applied Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Black Embossing Powder to the images and heat set them with the embossing tool. I used a YG01 Copic marker to color the eyes and cut the images out using my Brother Scan N Cut machine. Using Altenew’s Ultraviolet Crisp Dye Ink, I brushed ink over the white areas of the spiders (being careful not to get any on the eyes) and applied “Night Sky” Nuvo Glitter Drops over each of the spider’s bodies to make them sparkly.

Now back to the purple panel – I used a Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink pad and lightly pulled it across the raised/embossed web lines that were created by the embossing folder to give them some dimension. Next, I glued the purple panel to the center of an A2-size card front. For the frame, I used a piece of Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain cardstock and used the largest die from Rubbernecker Stamps’ “Nested Scallop with Holes” die set. I applied strips of black foam tape to the edges of the frame and applied it to the center of the card front.

For the sentiment, I used Simon Says Stamp’s “Spooky Salutations” Sentiment Strips, cut out the one I liked and colored the sentiment strip with the YG01 Copic marker so that it matched my spider’s eyes. I applied black 3D Foam Squares to the back sides of my spiders and sentiment strip, as well as added a piece of DMC black metallic floss to the upper spider and adhered everything to the card front. My final touch was adding some Trinity Stamps “Cave Crystals” sequins across the card and that wrapped it up.

I hope you enjoyed this spidery Halloween card - I appreciate you stopping by! Until next time… Happy Making!

Halloween 2023 | Trick or Treat

The Unity Stamp Company released this adorable “Ghostly Bat Ensemble” stamp set that I had the perfect patterned paper to serve as a background. Today is the first day of Fall 2023 and I was inspired to start making for the spooky season.

For starters, I grabbed a gorgeous piece of patterned paper from the Whimsy Stamps “BOOkeh” designer paper pack… sort of a candy corn color theme happening – too cute – and cut it to be 4” x 5-1/4” using the Trinity Stamps “Modern Embossed Rectangle Stack” dies. I also used this die set to cut an A2 sized piece of black cardstock to frame my decorative panel on the card base.

Next, I stamped the ghost stamp from the Unity Stamp Company “Ghostly Bat Ensemble” onto a piece of white cardstock using VersaMark watermark ink and added a layer of Brutus Monroe Raven Sparkle Embossing Powder and melted the embossing powder with the heat gun. I used Prima Marketing “Shimmering Lights” watercolor paints (Chandelier and Antique) to paint the ghost image to give it a pearlescent finish and used the Brother Scan N Cut to cut out the image for me.

I stamped the “Trick or Treat” image from the same stamp set onto the upper right of my BOOkeh card panel using StazOn Jet Black ink since the patterned paper has a bit of a shiny finish and I wanted to ensure the ink wasn’t going to smear. I added Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Squares to the back side of my ghost and adhered it to the card front. I found some This Calls for Confetti “The Autumn Leaves” sequins in my embellishment stash and glued a few of those cascading across the panel.

Lastly, I adhered the decorated panel to the A2 black cardstock panel using Simon Says Stamp Big Momma Foam Tape and used Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium to glue the card front to the card base… DONE! This was a quick and easy card but was so much fun to make. Until next time… Happy Making!

Hamsterific Birthday | September 2023

For this birthday card, I’m using some supplies that were already in my stash from My Favorite Things (MFT) and Mama Elephant that I just didn’t think I showed enough love to during their initial release.

I started this project by cutting a piece of diagonal striped patterned paper from the My Favorite Things “Time to Celebrate” paper pad and trimmed it to measure 5” x 5”. I took the paper and cut a hole in the center using a circle die from the Hero Arts “Nested Circle Infinity Dies. For the decorative trim for the circular hole, I used the “Nested Decorative Circles” dies (the middle sized one that looks rainbow-ish) from Scrapbook.com and a piece of black cardstock, then glued this trim piece to what will be my card front.

Using a scrap piece of white cardstock and the hamster with balloons stamp from Mama Elephant’s “Celebration Hamsters” stamp set, I stamped and used my Prismacolor Premier colored pencils to color the balloons in colors that closely resembled the stripes of the MFT paper for the card front, as well as colored in the little hamster. I also stamped a sentiment from MFT’s “Itty Bitty Celebrations” onto white cardstock, used Simon Says Stamp Black Ultra Fine Embossing Powder, and heat set the birthday greeting. When the heat embossing cooled, I cut out the sentiment using Avery Elle’s “Simple Sentiment” dies.

Since this card was going to be a shaker, I cut a piece of acetate and glued it to the back side of the hole in the card front and added strips of foam tape around the edges of the card front and around the edges of the hole in the middle. I filled the well (the center of the cardstock that is covered with acetate and surrounded by foam tape) with a few different types of clay bits I had in my stash and carefully placed this aside so I could work on the card base.

For the card base, I cut a piece of 110# cardstock to measure 10” x 5” and scored it on the long measurement at five inches. I used another piece of patterned paper from the MFT “Time to Celebrate” paper pad and glued it to the front side of the card base. Next, I carefully removed the backing from all the foam tape and adhered the card base to the shaker card front. WHEW!! That part is always sketchy for me!

Now for final assembly. I added Simon Says Stamp 3D Foam Squares to the back of the sentiment strip and hamster with balloons image and adhered those to the card front.

My final touch was adding Pink & Main “Musical” enamel dots in random places on the card front for some additional interest. Project complete!

I hope you enjoyed the card. Thank you so much for stopping by to see me - I appreciate you doing so!

Until next time…