The making of a Halloween Card

This is the card I will be sending out to little friends this Halloween. I never sent a Halloween card out until about five years ago. Now, every year I look forward to creating them. They are so much fun to make! I thought I would show you how it came together.

Eek! She needs a little more here and there!

All this cards needs now is the hair to be glittered up and add a black collar, so she doesn't seem like she is floating. A little more distressing wouldn't hurt either!

Plates

With all the paper crafting I have been doing lately I have been neglecting my house. After I finish the projects I am working on I am going to concentrate on a bit of decorating. I thought I might share a few of the plates that I have around the house. Nothing special, but I love plates! Believe me, there are more but it is another rainy day here and it was a struggle to get these pictures. The plate above hangs in my dinning room . The brown plate hangs in my living room. I love the brown plate hanger, usually they are white or black.

The blue plate below is in the living room. I have two of them and they hang on either side of our fireplace. What I like about these plate hangers is that it is so easy to change the plates out for the seasons. I have Christmas plates that are waiting to make an appearance. Maybe this week I can look for a few Halloween plates, great idea!

Wonderful Weekend

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I have a little food shopping to do and hopefully a little more card making. I put this little boo decoration together this morning. I still love using pages from old books. It is going to rain here all weekend, so indoor projects are on the menu.

Stamping It Up

I have an order for a few sets of note cards. I am again stepping out of my comfort zone by using stamps and coloring them in with markers. I bought a new set of pastel markers last week and they are working out quite well. I always loved to color with my kids, so I am find this very relaxing.

The flower stamp is one of my favorites. It is rather simple, but I like that the flower can be any color. I can get bored very easily. I like sunflowers right now, so that explains the yellow.

I bought this little angel stamp a few years ago. I never used it. I found it last week while looking for a few blank note cards. I liked coloring in all the little spaces. I really never thought about it but I love all the little details. That could explain all the little flowers, the buttons ...

Cards are Everywhere

I have been bitten by the "stamp bug". I stamped quite a few dresses over the weekend and have been slowly putting these cards together. I put a a lot of my papers away so I tried to use the papers I had left on the counter. My buttons are always kept in the kitchen along with my flower punch. I found my jar of glitter and have been experimenting with it.

The card below looks a little crazy, but in real life it really looks nice. The yellow is really bold! I distressed all the edges, I like that look. It gives the card a vintage look.

I bought a purple ink pad last week, because it was only $1. 00. I did not think I would use it but here it is already being used and looking quite pretty!

This card is so plain. It is really more me than all the glittered ones. I have to remember it is not always about me! Usually it is, but not always!

Fall Colors

This little table sits in the middle of my kitchen, it has so for many years. The base is from an old sewing machine. The table cloths change with the seasons. The bottom piece is upholstery fabric that seems to hop from table to table. The red floral fabric I bought to make pillows. Well, I guess that didn't happen. I think the colors should take me far into the winter season!

Cold

I have been fighting a head cold for a couple of days. Today this is what I am doing! Magazines and movies!

Have a Nice Weekend!

I went to a stamping demonstration on Thursday night. I have a few stamps but I never really took to stamping. But I will admit I liked the class and came away with a new found respect for those who stamp. So today I went to Michael's and bought this pretty dress stamp. I am trying to come up with a few new ideas for cards, so how hard could it be...

All in all it took almost an hour to make this card! That is just way to long! I did not have any white card stock, so I used a beige paper instead. I had trouble finding a very pale marker that would let the details of the stamp show through. I need some new markers! I was just about to pitch this card! Nothing I did was quite right. Then I just twisted the brown paper under the stamp and it gave the card what it needed. I sewed the edges around the stamped dress and the small piece of brown paper. I put white glitter on the dress. The heart in the corner gives it a little more texture and interest. The card looks small in these pictures it is actually 5" x 5".

I took these pictures at 11:30PM, the lighting in my house is fair at best in the daytime. Reminder to self, no late night photography!

Post It

Taking a break from all things autumnal. I have been working on a few things, nothing that special. I just wanted to use a few of my small pieces of paper, otherwise known as scraps. This is what came out of a little bit of this and that. They are a post it holders. Just lift up the top and there is a stack of post its, ready to be used!!!

Again, nothing to grand, but I love making these flowers. It does not seem to matter what colors I use, they all seem to look pretty cute! I also like that I do not have to think too much!

I bought a yard of this pretty red fabric last week. I was so "gung ho" about making a pocketbook out of it. Now, not so much. What happens between the cutting table at Jo Ann's to looking at it at home? I am pretty sure I will make the pocketbook, but not right away. If I decide not to, it will make some really nice pillows or maybe just a throw with some beautiful trim around the edges.

Fill them up!

I found these containers at Michael's last week. I have always wanted to do something with them. I know I bought some a few years ago, but I never used them and I think they eventually ended up in the trash. Last week I saw a project in a magazine using the containers .They were decorated for a birthday gift. They looked so cute. Why not use them for Halloween treats?

I bought an 1/8 of a yard of Halloween colored fabrics cut the fabric into strips and just tied them around the handle. Very easy to do!

I am happy that I found a use for my tags! It means that I can make a few more.

Creating things for Halloween is just so much fun! I can't wait to fill these with candy and other treats! I can not buy the candy too early. My will power is not what it use to be.

Fall Preview

It seems like everyone is getting ready for fall. Here is a peek at what is going on at my house. I think these two scarecrows make a lovely pair. I bought them at Jo Ann's last week. They had quite a few to pick from. I had to put them on the porch last weekend, I am not too sure how they would do in the rain. Can you spoil a scarecrow, or two?
This little basket is out for, I would say it's fifth season. I just added the purple scarecrow to it this year. It just needed a little something new.

This little guy is so cute. I just thought he needed a close up. Do you agree?

My friend Lorraine decorated this chair for me about eight years ago. We saw one like it at Michael's, let's just say the one at Michael's was no way near as full of flowers and pumpkins as this one is. I am surprised that it is still on my porch, a few friends have mentioned how much they love it and it might just end up at their house. I think not!

It is really one of my all time favorite decorations. A few pumpkins around it and the porch will almost be ready for fall.

Working on a New Banner

My daughter and I are working on a new banner for my blog. I am so accustomed to looking at the old one that it is a bit strange to see something new. It is a banner in the making, it is not finished yet. It needs just a few changes. I want to change the side color too. Sundays are all about sports in our house, so it is hard to create, clean , cook (who am I kidding I do not cook!) and keep track of all the scores! So it is a banner in the making, here is where it started on the kitchen counter!

Boo Banner!

BOO, seems to be popping up all over the place!

I know it is a little early to put up Halloween decorations but I really wanted to see how this would look in this window. If you look closely you can see that the little flags (I have no idea what to call them) are held on by clothespins. That way I can keep the ribbon on the window and just replace the banners when I want. A lot less work then putting ribbon through each flag. The black mass on each side of the banner is a bunch of black leaves. They add that bit of creepiness that the banner really needs.

Owls still seem to rule a lot of my little creations.


It is such a cool and gloomy day here! I am not happy with all the pictures. I had to use the flash and it is only 12:10 in the afternoon.

Tag the Wine Bottle

I was looking through some old magazines and found a few different ideas on how to dress up a wine bottle. I guess the wine bottle bag is always a great idea, but some of the labels are so pretty why cover them? This of course is a Halloween tag, I hope I am invited somewhere so I can bring a bottle of wine! The rooster plate is from a set of four I bought at Homegoods.

Pretty Little Mum

The rain and wind from "Tropical Storm Hanna" were not bad as predicted. However, a few of my Mums had issues dealing with the storm. This pretty little bunch did not fair too well. It does look cute in this mason jar. I put a drop of blue food coloring in the water. I want to remember this for my Thanksgiving table. Off to do a little cleaning!

Tags Tags and More Tags!

I was looking at a few sites today and noticed a lot of round tags. In between watching football games and tennis from New York, I was able to make a few tags. I still like using pages from old books. It is still hard to rip out the pages, but I really like the look. After I finished the tags, I thought they looked a little too clean. I decided to distressed them a bit. Then by accident I distressed one too much. I almost threw it in the trash.



It turned out to be my favorite. Needless to say they all got a little more distressed after that. I am still a bit glitter crazy. I found a cute idea in a magazine this week. I am glad that I can use these tags with the idea. It involves a little bit of candy, what could be wrong about that?

Witch Tags!

I am reluctantly on board the "Fall Train". I am never prepared for any holiday or celebration. Last minute shopping, wrapping and cooking that is me! I am determined to shed that habit this year. I bought two stamps yesterday along with a few pieces of autumn colored papers. I am ahead of the game so far! I wasn't quite sure about these tags. They just sort of evolved. I like them.

My daughter loves Halloween, so I made her a wristlet. It is just for fun! Everyone should have a little fun!

I used a little glitter on the tags. I like the way it makes the green hair glisten. It is not a very scary witch, just a little disheveled!

Scarecrows

I bought these cute scarecrows today. If I waited until next week to buy them, they would most likely be gone. If I put them away for a few weeks, I would probably forget where I put them. So, here they sit in the geranium pots on my front steps. I will wait until next week to buy fresh pumpkins. I have already bought a few Mums. Fall is on the way and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

Markers and Glitter

I have been doing a little more work with just my markers. I found out that I can draw flowers and snowwomen! That led to a small tree and bird. I am going to make these little drawings into cards. Getting a start on my Christmas presents. I love the little sparkle in the middle of the flower.

This flower is actually more purple than blue.

I am thinking about making a few of these for my own Christmas cards and tags. At the rate I work they will probably be done for 2009.