Told ya I'd post something...

I told you yesterday that I was going to post something, so here I am...  Ok, a little late, but I'm here.

I thought that I'd show you the rest of the Halloween cards that I made.  Even though they are Halloween you can still get inspiration from them.  Take a peek at the sketch and the tools used to make them.  I find inspiration in almost anything.

This card used the sets Best Fiends and Web Wishes. 

This card I also used the set called Best Fiends.  Love the paper, it's the new Concord Crush ~ very purply! 

My goodness ~ I got a little carried away with this one didn't I?  This has a few sets and a jumbo wheel.  I forgot to write down the deets darn it.  I just wanted to create a little Halloween scene.  I think I nailed that one, don't you?  

I just have to show you poor little Dixie.  We have "rules" here on trick or treating.  They schedule the times for the kiddos to go out and trick or treat.  This year it was actually Saturday the 30th from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.  Last Halloween Dixie was very young and very tiny so there was not much that I could do to her as far as dressing up.  Poor thing, with those ears...  We have a little joke around here about her ears.  One night she was peeking out the window after we went to bed - all we could see was her outline and those ears.  So we've kind of given her the nick name of "Bat Girl" because from behind she looks just like her.  So I dressed her up in a cape and she did not like it ~ she went to the dining room and laid down.  I felt so bad for her that I took off her cape - but she's still Bat Girl.

Now tell me, does she not look like Bat Girl??

I hope to be back tomorrow to show you some Fall things.  It sure feels like the Fall has arrived.  I had to turn the heater on in the craft room tonight.

Have a super great day!

Only 4 more days...

Woo-Hoo!  Only 4 more days til Halloween!  Yippie skippy!!  It is a little different out here though.  When we were in California Halloween would last until late into the night.  You'd have those little ghosts and goblins - and the big ones too - knocking on your door close til midnight.  Out here it is a little organized.  This year Halloween and trick or treating will be Saturday the 30th and it is between the hours of 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.  I kinda like the fact that we know we won't be up and down to the door all night, but I will miss seeing all the little goblins.  And poor Danielle.  She's not doing so well with being 18.  She wants to dress up and go out herself Ü  I told her that was one of the disadvantages of growing older.  I think that my love for Halloween rubbed off on her...  he he he...

I have a couple of cards to show you, ready?

The base card is Basic Black that I layered with Almost Amethyst and Lavender Lace.  I stamped the image from Best Fiends and colored it in with my pencils, gamsol and markers.  I then sponged some Perfect Plum ink around the image before layering it on to a piece of Basic Black paper.  I took a 1" strip of Basic Black paper and used my white gel pen to make the "eyes" so they kind of look spooky, like they are floating.  I also accented the spiders eyes in the back ground.  A little ribbon and I was complete.

 This card was a quick one.  The base is Basic Black that I layered with Tangerine Tango, Lavender Lace and some old DP from SU!  I stamped Dracula from Best Fiends with Black ink and just colored in the "booquet", his tie and eyes with markers then layered it onto Basic Black and Tangerine Tango.  I took a "bite" out of the image panel with my scallop circle punch as I did with the card base and layers.  I also accented th eyes of the bats on the background with my white gel pen.  I stamped the sentiment from Just Between Fiends on Basic Black with versamark and embossed it with silver embossing powder then layered it on to a piece of Tangerine Tango card stock.  I took a strip of DP from SU! (sorry, it's very old and I can't remember the name of it) and added it to the front behind the image and sentiment panel - it's the same as the piece that I layered inside the card.  You can see it from the "bite" that is taken out of the lower right corner of the card.  I chomped that out with my scallop circle punch, and then I was complete.

I think that this card turned out cute.  It was an easy one to make "assembly line" style.

I've got a couple more Halloween cards to show you, but they will have to wait until tomorrow!  Have a super great evening!

A little Bugaboo for you...

Good afternoon all my blogging friends!  I'm taking a break from the beautiful day to share with you a card that I made yesterday.  I've been a little hooked lately by the digi stamp bug - and I needed to make another special card for Halloween and this is what I came up with.

I was out and about in blog land and stopped in to Bugaboo Stamps and found this cutie!  She is part of their Halloween brats set.  She reminds me of a much younger me (he he he...).  I made the card 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" square.  The base card is Tangerine Tango that I layered with Green Galore and Almost Amethyst.  The DP is from My Minds Eye and SU!  I printed out the image and heat set it with my heat gun then colored the image in with my pencils and gamsol.  I used my picket fence punch from Martha Stewart nesties to create the base behind the image.  I then wanted something in the bottom corner so I cut out the flourish with my Storybook cartridge and glued that in the bottom right corner.  I stamped the leaves and pumpkin out from SU! Happy Fall Ya'll set, colored them with pencils and gamsol and adhered them over the flourish.  I added a little stitching with my Pumpkin Pie marker around the image panel then gave it a spritz of shimmer with my Shimmer Mist and I was done.

You can kind of see the shimmer a little in this picture...

So that's all I've got for you today.  Hope to see you back here Monday for more.  Who knows what it will be Ü  Have a super great weekend!

Magnolia Monday ~ on Tuesday? RRR10

Ok, I've been bitten by the Magnolia bug.  Yup.  I just love those images.  At first I really did not care too much for them - but now, I love them.  And no, I don't own any yet, but I hope to soon.  I was blessed with a dear friend who sent me a bunch of the stamped images.  So you wanna see what I came up with?  I'm sorry that I don't have all the info for these cards, but here goes.

This card is 5" x 5" and I can tell you that the base card is Tangerine Tango and that I layered it with some old DP that did not list where it was from.  I used my Martha Stewart punch and some ribbon.  The bat's are from The Angel Company and the set is called Spooktacular.  I colored the image with my pencils and gamsol and used my markers here and there for some highlights.  The circles are cut out with my coluzzle and I added a bit of doodles to the purple layer.

The base card is Green Galore that I layered with some DP from My Minds Eye and other various papers.  I colored her in with my pencils and gamsol and my markers.  The cauldron and sentiment is from SU! an old set called Haunting Halloween that I also colored with my pencils and gamsol.  I added some ribbon and a cool button and that was it.  This card is also 5" x 5".

I hope that you like them and that they inspire you.  Sorry for the short post today - but I'll have more for you tomorrow, promise!  Have a super great day!

**Edited to add:  Thanks to True for letting me know about Really Reasonable Ribbon's Ramblings challenge.  I entered this card into their challenge RRR10 - go take a peek.

Cards and Cuppy Cakes

Ready for a card and some cuppy cakes? 

I was fishing around my tubby the other day and this stamp jumped out at me.  I have a tubby that holds pretty much most of my Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas stamps.  I'll show you a picture later ~ it's one that I only open once a year.  Anyway, I've really been into the easel cards lately and this image said or screamed EASEL to me.

The deet's are downstairs right now, I'll post them later.  But I can tell you that the image stamp is from Penny Black and the sentiment and bat are from Whipper Snapper.  Cute, huh?

Here is an up close version.  I'm a little disappointed that you cant see all the sparkle that I did on these in the picture.  Sitting in front of the TV is not one of my favorite things to do, I only have a few shows that I watch.  So sometimes I'll stamp some images and sit and color them at night while we are all watching TV.  These I worked on for a couple of nights.  I colored them and I then outlined them with sparkly gel pens.  The did turn out cute IRL. 

Now I want to show you the cuppy cakes that I made for a SCS gathering we went to last weekend.  We get together every few months or so and swap cards, it's so much fun.  This time our group was a little smaller, I guess there was too many other things going on that weekend.  We used to just order pizza but then we had a thought to all bring something and that's so much fun!  So here is what I brought this time, cuppy cakes of course!!

I found a recipe on line that I had to try, it was over at Stampin' Stressaway with Carole Anne.  Might I say that these are NO WAY as beautiful as the ones she made.  I followed her recipe to the letter and let's say that they were a disaster.  When Ricky came home from work he saw them on the counter and said they looked like chicken pot pies.  They grew huge and filled the top of the cupcake sheet, then they sunk in the middle.  I know that it was something that I did, but what I don't know.  I'm new at the cuppy cake thing.  BUT they did taste really good, like sugar cookies.  So Carole Anne if you can please tell me your secret ~ I would love to make those again ~ the correct way Ü 

And the tops.  Well they are not as pretty as hers by any means, but like I said, I'm new to this.  I only have a few tips right now so I had to work with what I have.

So that's all for today.  I hope to show you more tomorrow ~ see you then.  And have a super great day!

Happy Halloween!

I am wishing you all a safe and Happy Halloween ~ from my house to yours!

Yum-my Mummy...

I just have to show you these little treat holders that Danielle made.  She works in the day care at her school for a few hours each day.  The teacher in there asks her to do activities with the kids and Danielle likes to make things for them too.  I can't remember if I've posted anything that she's made yet or not ~ but yesterday she made these.

Now you all know how to make these treat holders out of toilet tissue or paper towel rolls, right?  Well she wanted to make some that looked like mummy's.  I thought it was perfect too because I have a set from The Angel Company that says "Yummy Mummy" and it went well.

First she took the tissue rolls and cut them in half.  Then she ripped strips of white cs and inked the edges of them and then glued them to the roll.  For the bottom she punched out a scallop circle with the Marvy punch in Really Rust and glued the tissue holder down to it.  Then she stamped the sentiment "yummy mummy" from The Angel Company's Bone Appetit T-3216 cut the words apart and glued them to the piece of Really Rust.  She stamped the mummy from The Angel Company set Trick or Treaters T-2795 and lightly colored it with a pencil then glued it on to the tag then attached it to the treat holder.

The only thing I would of made different was the inside of the treat holder ~ I  think that I would of covered it, but hey that's just me.  I am going to fill these for her today.  They are for little one's - toddler age so we got some goldfish crackers for them.  Kinda cute, huh?

I wanted to show you Danielle's project today.  If you have any questions just ask.  Have a super great day!

Happy Friday!!

Good morning everyone!  It's Friday, yippie!!  Maybe this weekend I'll get some sleep time in.  With this new puppy I've been limited on sleep hours.  Usually when hubby get's up to go to work I sleep for a couple more hours in the living room.  Not with the puppy around ~ I'm trying to rest with one eye closed and one eye open on her.  At least I can keep my fingers crossed ~ can't I?

Here's another card that I finished using the Best Fiends set.  I just love the oranges, purples, greens and black for Halloween colors.  These cards are so fun to make.

I stamped the image from Best Fiends and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol.  The base card is Tangerine Tango that I layered with paper I got in a pack from Big Lots.  I used some sheer purple organdy ribbon and then some darker purple grosgrain over the top in the center of the card.  I stamped the sentiment 'happy fright night' and layered it on to the card with pop dots and I was done.  It was a quick and simple one.

I hope to be back later with some digital pages.  Have a great afternoon!!

Happy almost Friday!

Well today was the ST day of the season that the heater went on.  There is more than a chill in the air, it's down right cold out there.  I had to take Danielle to the doctor yesterday and she said "I can see my breath" it was that chilly.  Just makes me want to make a cup of cocoa and sit and make Christmas cards.  But wait, I still need to work on Halloween and Thanksgiving first!!

I have another Halloween card for you to see.  I loved it  when SU came out with Best Fiends.  I thought that set was so cute.  It's hard to find Halloween images.  I like the fun kind, not the scary kind.  And this one with Frankie is adorable.

Once again I'm sorry for the picture.  I really think that it's how the weather is.  It's been kinda gloomy outside for a couple of days and since my craft room is all full of windows it effects my picture taking.

The set I used is called Best Fiends and I stamped the image and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol.  The base card is Basic Black that I layered with some DP from daisy d's and scrap ease and some light purple textured cs.  I used my Marvy giga scallop circle punch, my SU scallop circle punch and my 1 3/8" circle punch on this card.  The ribbon is from a spool of rick rack that I picked up at Walmart once.  I used some gel pens here and there on the card and I was complete.

I hope to get in the craft room today but I'm not too sure.  The puppy has been a little monster this morning.  Then of course after her rein of terror she went to sleep peacefully.  Now that I want to do something in the craft room she's going to be at it again, I just know it.  She's teething right now and all she wants to do is bite.  The vet said to freeze carrots and give them to her to chew on ~ the problem is she eats them in a matter of minutes!!  Ugh, I know.  I wanted a puppy and I knew it was coming.  I just wish that we could fast forward a year and see...

Have a great day!  Stop back in, I'll be back tomorrow...

Have a spooky good day!

Halloween!!  Yippie, only 17 more days!!  Woo-Hoo!!  You know I love that day!
And it seems that the weather is playing tricks on us.  I can remember back in California on year it was warm, one year it was cold, once it rained.  I never knew how to dress Danielle up.  Well the same can be said here ~ although the weather changes so fast here.  They are actually calling for snow this Friday night/Saturday morning.  I'm sure that it wont stick if it does, but really?  Snow in October?  What the heck is going on?!?  Personally (on no, look out ~ I'm on the soap box) I think that we've all messed with our ozone layer so much that we are doing this to ourselves.  We really need to take care of this world because it might not be here for our family to come.

Ok - I'm off of the soap box now.  Whew, that was a quick one...

How about a card?  I must first say sorry for the picture - my last two pictures that I've taken have not turned out too well.  It could be the weird weather we are having (remember all the windows in my craft room?) or I just need a new camera.  Maybe a little of both...  This picture almost looks cartoon like, so sorry.

My base card is Tangerine Tango that I layered with some dark purple DP and some DP by Pressed Petals.  I stamped the image from SU! Haunting Halloween and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol.  I also used some glitter pens for a little sparkle.  I added some ribbon and a piece of DP from an old SU! Halloween pack (I don't remember the name) before I added the image to the card.  For a finishing touch I added a flower that Mom made with her orange and black thread, using a crystal brad in the middle.  The inside I stamped the sentiment and I was complete. 

Short and sweet.  I'm going to try another card this afternoon as long as the puppy let's me.  She's been into everything the past couple of days.  I knew it when I got her - but she's worth it.

Have a great day!  See you back tomorrow!

I want to share with you

I want to share with you some pictures of the cards we made last weekend at the SCS shoebox swap we went to.  The theme was to make a Fall/Halloween card (my favorite!!).  I should of shared these sooner but I've been busy cleaning the craft room and moving things around a bit.  When I get in a moving and re-arranging mood it always ends up with everything in the middle of the room and me saying "no that wont work" quite a few times.

Here is some of the pictures.  The cards are just so cool!  It's so neat to see how many different styles come together .  Everyone had their own way of doing things - it's really fun to gather like this and make the cards.  So many ideas flowing, it's great!!

I love all of the cards, but there was one in particular that grabbed my fancy.  Only because I don't use my Cricut hardly at all.  Mostly just for letters, but this is great!  Now I need the cartridge!!

That tree!  I LOVE that tree.  It is one of the paper dolls cartridges I believe. 

All the cards are wonderful!  I hope that they inspire you in some way.  I know they have for me.  I'll be back later with more to look at!  Have a great afternoon!

Halloween Boxes

I must first say that these boxes are genius!  No, they were not my idea.  I followed the directions that Tammy over at Dream, Create and Share posted.  She is amazing!!  And she has step by step instructions to make these and many others.  I've only made these so far ~ I will make the others, but as time permits.

Her boxes were made out of Green Galore but I used Moss on mine.  I think that they gave him a little more of a dull look.  And I think that Frankie is kinda dull... 

I did not have the star punch from SU! to make the teeth so these are kinda made freehand.  I think that they are adorable.  Now I've got to get Danielle to agree to let me make some for her to hand out to her friends at Halloween.  You know when they get older, it's not cool to have Mom make things.

So you like?  Let me know.  I'd love to see your version of them.  Stop by Tammy's site and give her some love too.

Gum Holder Tutorial

As promised here are the instructions for the gum holder that I made. I am sorry for the fuzzy pictures. If you have any questions, just ask.
You will first take a piece of Basic Black cs cut to 8 1/4" x 2 1/2".

Score it at 2 1/4", 2 3/8", 5 6/8" and 5 7/8". Crease your score lines well.

Then you will take your end piece and cut it out with your word window punch. The word window punch will fit the small 5 stick Trident gum perfectly. Make your cut about 1/2" from the bottom and center it.

Apply a strong adhesive to the end and fold up and secure. Now is the time to add any decorative paper to the front. I used my scallop circle, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle to decorate the front of mine. I then took a Velcro dot and cut it in half to secure the holder shut. One little tip that I do with my Velcro: I cut some of the fibers off of the dot. It allows for the Velcro to shut and secure but you don't have to pull so hard to open it. I do this with all the items that I use Velcro on. We are working with paper and you don't want to have to pull so hard that it makes tears on your creation.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I'd love to see what you make ~ if you make one link it back here!

Happy Friday

Good almost afternoon everyone! Sorry I'm late, balancing the checkbook and paying bills came first today.

I wanted to show you a little treat holder that I made last year but got a jump start on it this year. It's a little gum packet holder. Cute huh? What kid would not like to have that in his stocking this year? I know I would. And it's Trident so it is good for the teeth.

I just used some Basic Black cs and a piece of DP ~ this is my OLD SU! stash of DP Ghostly Greetings. I used my scallop circle punch, my 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" circle punches and that was it. The little Halloween cuties are courtesy of The Angel Company's Trick or Treaters set.

I was in hopes that I could show you lots today, but my checkbook put me in a bad mood Ü

I will be back tomorrow for sure to show you more. I've been busy.

**EDITED TO ADD: Some of you have asked for the directions for the gum holders. I will get back to you in a day or two with the instructions.

As promised...

As promised I've got your coffin box template here to make.

I am trying to place it in this post but for some reason blogger wont let me. If you can not click on the template below, try HERE.


Coffin Box Template

I'd love to see what you came up with! Post a comment with a link so I can check it out!

Hope to be back later, but if not I will see you tomorrow!

Pumpkin Milk Cartons?

I sat down and made 11 of these yesterday. I had some leftover Easter grass that I added to the bottom of the milk carton and filled it with candy corn. I normally make them without a window, but I thought that the colorful candy should show through.

I've had this template for a while now - but you can find it here if you'd like.

I'd love to see what you come up with ~ create one of your own and leave me a comment. I'll be sure and stop by to see it!

I'm here ~ just coffin!

Yes, it's becoming that time of year again - shift into Halloween mode. Well, maybe I'm just a 'little' early, but if you know me you know that I love Halloween!! Not the scary, creepy kind - but yes I love the movies - but the cute little kids dressed up, the fat decorated pumpkins, the candy. Just that time of year. I love love love Fall!!

Betty had brought over one of the coffins that made last year that I totally forgot about! She had said to make some of them so I did ~ just 15 for now. They a re quick to make. The longest part is the stamped decoration on it!

I may be shifting into Halloween mode sooner than I think!! Time to dust off the stamps and bring them out! It's never too early to get ready for the holidays.

See, I've been busy....

Really I have. I've been working on my scrap books. Here's a few pages that I've done.

One day when Danielle was little she threw a fit and did not want to take a bath, so I promised she could call Nana when we were done. She called Nana to tell her how "mean" I was to make her take a bath. Little stinker ~ trying to get Mommy in trouble.

I hid the journaling on this page. I like to make pages with interaction so when someone looks at it they are doing more than just looking at the pages.

This was a page that I made of when Danielle turned 4. We did all we could to make it a happy day, but my Father had just passed away 2 weeks before that.

This picture is hilarious! This goes way back ~ I think it was 1996. A friend and I dressed up for Halloween at work. I looked like that all day long. By the time I took off the avacado mask it had been on for HOURS. My face was so red. Tami ~ if your reading this remember??

These were pictures that we had taken at Sears for the holiday. Danielle looked so precious in those pictures. I loved the softness of them. And to pose like a little lady, she was adorable. The paper I found did not have a name on them, but I loved how they are pink and black. Different colors for Christmas but I thought that they were pretty. Look at the pink and black candy canes.

So see. I've been busy, just not with card making.

Have a great day!

Happy Tuesday

Good morning everyone. I'm sorry that it's taken a few days to post. That whole life thing just get's in the way...

You wanna see what I've been doing? Sure you do. A friend back in California posted on her page that another friend who I worked with just had a baby. Shocked I was, but I thought I get to make something baby. That's something that I rarely get to do so I was off to make something.

I had some tins that I wanted to do something with other than collect dust so I made one for her. I took one of the tins with the accordion fold pieces in it and carefully covered it and made this. I was so careful with it when I covered it not to break the folds open. Well of course when I was showing my Mom what I made I pulled too hard and the pieces came apart. Well, then I had to go into thinking mode and figure out what I was going to do next.
Not a problem. I added an eyelet to the top right corners and used a chain to keep them all together. I actually like them better this way. And as you can see I altered the tin too. There is a space on the inside that she can add info to. Next came the baby card.

This card I had seen on Lauren Meaders blog a long time ago and loved it! Every time, which is not many, that I get to make a baby card I make this one. It is so simple too! I actually sat down to make it and thought that I'd need the directions but I didn't. If you have a 1 3/8" circle punch, a scallop punch and a ruler that's all you need!! I'm sorry for the picture being weird, I could not fix it...

And this is not all I have been up to. I actually made a 2 page layout on National SB Day. I just have not got around to posting it til now.
I have a box filled with pictures. Yes, they are all in order... Sorry, OCD. And I reached in there Saturday and pulled out the next pictures to be scrapped and this was them. Danielle when she was a little one. This was her 2nd Halloween and she was so in love with Barney it's not funny. I could not let her be Barney though, he's a boy. So she was Baby Bop. And a mighty cute one I might add.
We went to Mom and Dad's house that Halloween. Well, we were always over at Mom and Dad's. They loved her to bits, and I wanted her to spend as much time with Dad as she could. His birthday was May 12th and her's is the 16th. But when Dad passed away he was 2 weeks shy of his 73rd birthday, and Danielle was almost 4. She remembers bits and pieces, not too much because she was young ~ but she holds Dad in the highest regard. That makes me so proud.

Anyway....
If you notice in the pictures Ricky was there too. He stayed with Mom and Dad. He worked for Dad for years then when he came down sick he moved in to help take care of him because it was a lot for Mom. But Ricky has always been a part of Danielle's life. As a matter of fact he was her "Uncle Bick". She couldn't say Rick. And look at Mom's hair. Hardly any grey. Hey, I wonder if I did that? Hey wait! I've got grey, so who did THAT????

Well, I'm sorry that's all for today. I will be back tomorrow. I've got something almost done on my desk and I will show you tomorrow!

Until then, have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Howdy Everyone!

I want to wish all my cyber friends good afternoon!

I hope that your holiday was a safe and happy one, it was a nice holiday here. The weather was perfect! I wanted to share a picture or two with you.

This picture my daughter took of our fur baby. Ginger kinda thinks that she is a people. She's been very spoiled all of her life, treated like my baby. If she were human she would be the kind of child that would always say "Mom likes me more than she likes you" kind of kid. As a matter of fact if you said something to us like "oh, your dogs so cute" she would say "dog? We have a dog? When did we get a dog?". But anyway ~ Danielle put her bunny ears on Ginger, so that was her costume. We put the candy basket next to her and she just posed for us.

Remember when I mentioned that she had to have the tube put in her ear? Well this past Saturday we took her to the vet to have it removed. In just 3 weeks Ginger gained just over 5 pounds - that was from the steroids! So needless to say Ginger dear is on a diet. She just does not know it yet.This picture we took out front. Now as you well know I love Halloween, but this year I really did not decorate for it. We've been so busy with this and that - I did not have time. What you see here we just tossed out really quick after dinner. The skull is one of those inflatable ones, and we stuck a light behind it so it would glow. I always buy things after Halloween on sale. This year I've got some fencing and some more tombstones all 1/2 off!

I did want to share my pumpkin with you. We always buy a punch of pumpkins because we roast the seeds. This year we waited too late to get them and could not find any at all in town. This one we bought when we went to the pumpkin patch, and just this one because those places are generally very expensive. I HAD to have this one because it was cool looking with it's warts. And no, I did not cut it open. I've got it sitting next to the door for fall with my yellow mum. I'm sure that I'll kill it because I don't do well with flowers, but it looks nice for now.

This weekend was a very busy one for us. We planted tulip & Hyacinth bulbs and cleaned out the flower beds. I cleaned the back porch and part of the garage. We've got a lot going to Salvation Army. I always donate things to them, I think that they are a great organization! So needless to say I did not craft this weekend. But stay with me, I'll be back in the next day or two.

Besides, I've got 24 days left before my blog-aversary! So I will be giving some blog candy away!

Tootles for now Ü
Hugs,
Joani