Dark & Spooky Cards

I know we don't really celebrate Halloween here in Australia, (well I actually take my kids "trick or treating" at Old Gippstown) but I just couldn't help myself, I had to make something Halloween.

Stamps: Holiday Home & Gorgeous Grunge
Card stock: Mossy Meadow, Basic Black, Whisper White & Vellum.
Blendabilities: Smoky Slate, Daffodil Delight, Night of Navy & Colour lifter.
Ink: Mossy Meadow, Pacific Point, Night of Navy Elegant Eggplant, Smoky Slate & Memento Black.
Extras: Top Note Die, Washi Tape, Circle Punch & Acetate (for making stencils).
Techniques: Tearing, Alcohol Colouring, Masking & Sponging.

Here you can see I've used a craft knife to cut the door open on the house, then I stuck in a ghost that I stamped in Smoky Slate onto Vellum, fussy cut & used a glue dot to adhere.
I also masked the edges of the windows before stamping the ghosts again in Smoky Slate ink, then used the colour lifter to lighten them a little bit.

This card was for my daughter-Jayda's friend, so Jayda stamped & coloured the girl with Alcohol Markers herself, (which I thought she did a pretty good job), then came to me & asked me to make the rest of the card to go with it....
Her requests were to match the girl, in colour bule, purple & black, as well as keeping it spooky. We also need somewhere to put the money (which was her present + chocolate).
Stampin' Up! Stamps:  Sassy Salutations, Gorgeous Grunge & Wicked Cool
Other Stamps: Devilish Donna- Kenny K
Card stock: Concord Crush, Basic BLack & Whisper White.
Ink: Concord Crush, Night of Navy Pacific Point, Daffodil Delight & Basic Black.
Extras: Circle Punch & Envelope Punch Board
Techniques: Masking & Sponging.

This one was for my sister in-law, so Jayda also stamped and coloured in the girl on this card as well since it was for her auntie. The idea was to make it like Linda (the recipient) who wanted red & purple ombre hair.
Stampin' Up! Stamps: Just Sayin'
Other Stamps: Devilish Donna- Kenny K
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla & dsp?
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Elegant Eggplant & Basick Black.
Extras: Word Bubble Framelits, Washi Tape, Spiral Punch & Striped ribbon. 

Giggle & Hoot Birthday

My neighbours decided to have a Giggle & Hoot birthday party for their son Max's 1st birthday.

My job was to make the jelly slice, but of course how could I go without making a Giggle & Hoot card & box too.

To make the box I used the Fancy Favor Bigz XL die & the Top Not die (sorry the photo went upside-down).

Punches: Small Heart, Two Step Bird, Petal Builder, Owl Builder, 1" circle, Scallop circle, 1 3/8" circle.

Sorry this photo turned upside-down too : / Just in case you don't recognise the cream shape  next to the heart, it's a bird with it's head cut off.

I used a Chocolate Chip marker to draw stitches on the wings & the heart.

I cut the head off the bird to use the tail end as the eye brows.

Fold the Top Note in half & start building the face.

These jewel pickers are great for adding tiny little bits.

Whoops...another upside-downer... I cut the bottom corner off the tab of the Fancy Favor box before putting it together. 

Sticky Strip is great for 3D projects.

Build the body before putting the bottom of the box together, it's easier to work on it while it's still flat.

Put the feet together & set them aside (looks like I got a bit carried away with the Tombow glue here).

Flatten the box to decide where to add adhesive. You may need it in a few places.

Good old Sticky Strip always works a treat when sticking these sorts of things together.

Add the feet after the box is assembled. A bone folder is handy to add pressure in hard to reach places.

Squeeze the top of the box together to prepare for the lid.

More sticky strip to attach the Top Note (face).

Once the face is attached, add a velcro dot to the inside flap, keep both pieces stuck together.

Then close the lid. 

When you open the lid, the other side of the velcro dot will have landed in just the right place.

The Woodgrain back ground stamp didn't quite cover the card stock from top to bottom, but that's alright because  bunches of bushy grass can cover that.

I googled images of Giggle & Hoot, to try and match the characters as much as I could.
I didn't even know he had a girlfriend till then.

I used the little heart from the Owl punch to make the flowers on the card. The stems are from the Two Step Bird punch & the bushy grass is made with the Boho Blossoms punch.

Tree leaves are made with the Boho Blossom punch & Scallop  Circle punch. I also added ink with cling wrap to create the leafy texture.

This is what Viv done to decorate inside the house, I think it looks fabulous.

Opps... it seems I was too late to get a picture of the cake, Yum!

There's my jelly slice on the table.

This one's a bit fuzzy....

There was so much delicious food, & lots of blue & orange food too. & if you look really closely you might see the little blue & orange owls on the food labels.

Jelly slice in Blue Heaven & Orange.

Mmmmm... It was yummm!

Works of the workshops

At a couple of workshops I recently run, I decided to include projects using the Big Shot, Christmas, & something I had learnt at regionals (Melbourne 2011).

This little Pillow box is Wild Wasabi card stock, with Wild Wasabi ink brayered onto the  Hounds Tooth embossing folder, before running it through the big shot (ok that bit wasn't new, but the next bit was).
The ribbon flowers were show on stage by Miriam Spiess, along with lots of other great ideas.
Punch out a circle (or I used the fancy flower punch), cover it with sticky sheet, then stick the ribbon down working from the outside into the centre, ruffling it as you go. & add a pretty brad.

These were the make & take projects. I tried to keep the colours & stamp sets to a minimum, so that it's easier for the guests to recreate at home. But of course I still have to add somethings in for fun.
Colours: Wild Wasabi & Whisper White. Stamp sets: Welcome Christmas & music notes.

The hostess already had an Idea Book & Catalogue, so I made this little set of 3" christmas cards, & Tote as her gift.
I used the current christmas dsp & the same stamp set that we used for the make & takes.

 Faux photo tinting technique: This card was part of a colouring class.
Winter Post & Lovely as a Tree.

Gothic Green

I have a sister inlaw who's a bit of a Goth, and she also love green, so naturally for her birthday I had to try and make a green gothic type of card.

Linda's Birthday Card
Colours: Wild Wasabi & Basic Black. Stamps: Grunge Rock & Extreme Elements.
Big Shot: Top note die & Vintage Wallpaper. Extras: Crochet Ribbon, string, Black ink refill, Eyelets & saftey pin.
1.) Cut a Top Note from Wild Wasabi card stock. 2.) Brayer Black ink onto Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, then add wasabi top note & run through big shot. 3.) Add Versa Mark ink all over top note, then sprinkle with clear embossing powder & heat. 4.) Cut top note in half, & Sponge Black ink around edges of top note. 5.) Use Crop-a-dile to punch holes & add eyelets. 6.) Mix several drops of black ink refill to small dish of water, mix in crochet ribbon, microwave for approx 30 secs to help fasten colour. 7) .Repeat dying process with cotton string. Allow to dry before using (a heat tool can seed-up drying). 8.) Stamp and sponge back ground. 9.) Thread string through eyelets, stick top note down using dimensionals, one half at a time. 10.) Tie a knot in crochet ribbon, add a small saftey pin, & stick down using glue dot. 11.) Add a greeting to finish.