HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Well, it's Halloween! The weather was so nice and mild today that the little trick-or-treaters were able to be out tonight without having to wear heavy winter coats underneath their costumes! This is the card I sent out this year for Halloween. I was happy with the card and with the fact that the paper matched the M&M's perfectly! The little clear, plastic treat cup is from SU and made to go along with their Sweet Centers set.

Stamps - Halloween Backgrounds and Sweet Centers by Stampin' UP!

Ink - Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie

Paper - Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White, DP from the SU collection called Halloween Night.

The large bat is from a Martha Stewart punch. The small spider was given to me by a friend, but I think it was from a Cuttlebug die cut. I used a white gel pen to make eyes on the bat, and a black marker making the line for the spider. The bat was raised up on the card using dimensionals.

I hope you all had a great Halloween!

HALLOWEEN TREATS

I was busy this week working on making Halloween treats for the Halloween party that my granddaughter Lucy is having at preschool. I loved these smiling lollipops and thought they'd make a perfect treat for all the 3 and 4 year old children in the class. I used a new set from Stampin' UP's mini holiday catalog called "Sweet Centers". I stamped the image in Old Olive on Whisper White cardstock then cut black cardstock measuring 3 1/8" wide by 6 1/8" long, scoring it at 3" and again at 3 1/8". After scoring, it makes the top look like a matchbook and that extra 1/8" is enough to keep the paper flat against the back of the lollipop. I used a 1 3/4" punch to punch out the circle front for the lollipop which have a great rounded front like a pumpkin and not your usual flat lollipop you find in the stores. Using small pieces of red sticky tape kept the bottom and sides of the paper stuck together for a nice, neat, flat look. I also decided to let everyone know who the treat was from, so I punched a 1 3/4" circle from Very Vanilla and stamped the words and image using the 15 point font set and "Witch Way to the Treats" limited edition set from JustRite, then used a color duster with Old Olive to give it a little bit of extra color. The circle was then attached to the back of each lollipop. I hope the kids enjoy Lucy's Halloween treats as much as I did making them for her.

SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN

I joined a sketch challenge swap and what a frustrating challenge it ended up being for me! I was definitely outside of my comfort zone using angles and not the usual rectangles and squares.... seeing as Halloween is just around the corner, I thought making it as a Halloween card as well would be a good idea. Even though I came close to tossing the card out and starting over, I stuck with it and think I pulled if off. :)

Stamps - I used a wonderful (limited edition) set by JustRite called Witch Way to the Treats, and both Halloween Backgrounds and Antique Crackling Background by Stampin' UP

Paper - Basic Black, Old Olive, Very Vanilla. The DP used was last years SU Halloween Night and the Cast-A-Spell DP from this year. All cardstock and DP is from Stampin' UP.

Ink - Old Olive, Basic Black

I used a color duster with Old Olive ink to add a little of the olive color to the circle of Very Vanilla, then cut out the circle and scalloped circle using Nesties. The little bat was cut from a Cuttlebug die cut and given to me by a stamping friend. Dimensionals were used to raise it up off the card.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

HALLOWEEN SMILES

I enjoy making Halloween cards more then any other kind of card. Perhaps it's because the holiday falls in Autumn which is my favorite season, or maybe because I normally use the color orange somewhere on my cards and that's my favorite color....or just maybe because it's such a fun holiday and I always look forward to having the little ghosts and goblins knocking at my door for trick or treat!

Stamps - Halloween Smiles by Stampin' UP

Paper - Very Vanilla,Black,Pumpkin Pie, and retired DP from SU called Cast-A-Spell

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Jim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink, and various Copic markers

I also used SU grosgrain Pumpkin Pie ribbon, orange brads and SU's ticket punch. A friend had sent me a packet of black bats she cut out using a die cut from her Cuttlebug. Dimensionals were used to raise it up off of the card and ribbon. Sponge daubers were used with the distress ink on the vanilla paper.