Today finally feels a bit like fall and this morning we got some rain.  I hope that more rain is on the way because we desperately need it.  After dropping Evan off at school I came home to do the Sketch Challenge on SCS.  I paired it with Greeting Card Kids and Wicked Cool for this fun Halloween card.

The base is Rich Razzleberry.  I took a piece of Whisper White and used the Distressed Texturz plate on it before spraying it with Gold Glow Smootch Spritz and then doodled around the edge with a Basic Black Stampin’ Write marker.  I used a ruler to keep my lines straight.  I then stamped and watercolored in my Greeting Card Kids image.  I just love this stamp set.  It’s definitely a must have! I matted the layer on Rich Razzleberry.  The dsp is from the Wicked Fun Specialty pack and the striped layer is matted with Basic Black ink.  I added the small Pumpkin Pie oval with the Wicked Cool sentiment stamped in Rich Razzleberry.  The card is finished off with a Brights brad and Pumpkin Pie taffeta ribbon.

Well we are getting ready for another foster dog!  Her name is Cookie and she looks just like Bandit.  It looks like she’ll be arriving tomorrow so I may have my plate a little more full for the next few days.  My sister and my parents dog are leaving on Saturday, so then hopefully things will calm down a bit.  I hope to be back tomorrow with another project though!

I mentioned last week that I had 10 boxes of Sweet Treat cups sitting on my desk waiting to be used. Well over the last 4 days, I used 9 of those boxes! Three of them were made into these fun Halloween treats. I was inspired by the scallops Maryloves2stamp used on hers, but I switched the colors up.  I’ll show you my Thanksgiving and Christmas versions over the next few days.  Today I am happy to move away from making treat cups.  It’s time for a new project.

I finally finished my sewing projects and can share them with you. This fun Candy Corn Treat Pouch was made using the Stampin’ Up! Pennant Die for the Big Shot and felt. I simply die cut the felt and used embroidery floss that matched the colors to sew the layers together.  I added some striped Pumpkin Pie ribbon and what is normally a Pennant is now a Trick or Treat bag.  I’m planning to dress it up with a cute tag, but it’s been a few days since I’ve had a chance to post so I wanted to share it with you.  I have another sewing project to share with you later this week and then I think I’m done sewing for a while.  It’s time to move back to stamps, ink and paper for a bit.

I asked my husband today if it was bad to hope that Evan, our 3 year old, has the flu, so we at least know what he has and have a way to treat him. He’s gone from sinus infection, to possible site infection from his pneuomia shot, to running a 102 fever while on antibiotics. Obviously it’s not a bacterial infection if he is getting sick on antibiotics. Colin got sick Friday, one day after getting his flu shot. He was complaining about headache and eye pain. The flu test came back negative and he’s done pretty well with his antibiotic treatment for a sinus infection. We did take him to the ER on Saturday night after his headache and eye pain would not go away after a dose of Tylenol and Motrin. Yesterday he had a good day without fever and is back in school today. Evan on the other hand is going back to the pediatrician today because of a fever, stuffy nose and dry cough.

I do have cards to share with you. I spent World Cardmaking Day stamping. I just am having a hard time getting my photos taken and uploaded because of spending time with sick kids. I’m sure that those of you with kids understand that.

I made this card with the sketch from Card Patterns, it’s #35. I love Tasty Sweet and while it’s not in the catalog it is on the Dormant list. I started with a Perfect Plum Base and layered on Cast-a-Spell designer series paper that I added a paper piercing border. I then added the 1 3/4″ Cast-a-Spell circle punched with the 1 3/4″ circle punch.  The main image layer is Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White.  My Candy corn was inked in Barely Banana, Summer Sun and Pumpkin Pie, stamped on Whisper White and cut out and attached with dimensionals.  I used Basic Black, Pumkin Pie, Perfect Plum and Old Olive to ink the sentiment and used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to line it up.  I added more paper piercing and punched the corners with the 3/16″ corner rounder.  The Cast-a-Spell strip was cut by using a bendy ruler found at an office supply store. I simply placed it on my paper and cut around it with a hobby blade. I then added a Chocolate Chip brad and Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon before attaching it the card base with dimensionals.

My goal for this week is to have all of us healthy at home and hopefully update my blog more often.  When dealing with a sick family the latter is not always the easiest. 

ETA: Evan did test positive for Influenza A and they said that 99% of these cases are the H1N1 strain so he’s being treated for that.  Boy is Tamiflu hard to find, it’s on manufacturer backorder and took me over an hour to find a pharmacy that has it.

All products are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased via my Demonstrator Website: http://igotstamps.stampinup.net

Wow, what a week we had here last week. I think Evan is starting to feel better and hasn’t had a low grade fever since Saturday morning. To be sure he’d keep getting well we kept him home from Church yesterday and while Roger and Colin were there I actually stamped. I think it was the first time all week and it felt good! I tried out a new technique that I learned when I was in Cincinnati. It involves Stampin’ Pastes and Crystal Effects. To do this you shave a bit of pastel off the side of the square with your hobby blade into an empty button or brad container. Squeeze a few drops of water into it from your AquaPainter and then mix in Crystal Effects. You can then use that to paint your images. It does not photograph as pretty as it is in real life. I’m going to give it another try and I’ll make a little video tutorial for you this week. Hopefully that will make up for my prolonged absence.

To Make this card:
Dimensions:
Old Olive 4 1/4 X 11 scored at 5 1/2
Ruby Red 2 3/8 X 5 1/4
The Write Stuff Specialty paper 2 1/4 X 5 1/8 and Die cut
Whisper White scraps

Steps:
1. Attach The Write Stuff Specialty paper to Ruby Red card stock and then to card base.
2. Stamp Holiday Best image onto the Die cut. I trimmed mine to 3 X 3 1/4 and then rounded out the edges with the corner rounder punch. The image was colored with Stampin’ Write Markers in Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry and Old Olive. Use a Stamp-a-ma-jig for placement.
3. Sponge edges of main image panel with Soft Suede ink and attach with dimensionals.
4. Stamp Autumn Harvest images in Basic Black ink and heat emboss with crystal clear embossing powder. The faces are stamped in Summer Sun craft ink and heat embossed too.
5. Color in with Pastel tinted Crystal Effects.
6. Tie on ribbon and add a Latte button with Linen Thread to the striped Pumpkin Pie bow.

The die cuts are textured and you can really see this when you stamp on them with a solid image.  I like the effect of it though.  It looks worn and rustic.  For this card I used Karen’s Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #37.

Here is to a fantastic week of stamping for all of us!  I can’t go that long with out being in my crafting space again and hopefully I won’t have to.

All products are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased via my Demonstrator Website: http://igotstamps.stampinup.net
Stamps: Holiday Best (Level I Hostess), Autumn Harvest
Paper: Old Olive, Ruby Red, Whisper White, The Write Stuff Specialty Paper,
Ink: Stampin’ Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Crushed Curry and Ruby Red, Basic Black and Soft Suede Classic Ink, Summer Sun Craft ink, Stampin’ Pastels in Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Crystal Clear Embossing Powder, Hobby Blade, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon, Latte Button, Linen Thread

Welcome to the September Tour de Freaks. This month it’s my turn to be the 1st stop on the tour. However, it does make a complete circle so if you came here from Cindy Major’s blog, welcome!  I have no doubt that she shared some fabulous projects with you.  There are 15 stops on the tour so please make sure to visit them all. This month the theme is Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love all things Fall and Halloween and Thanksgiving are two of my favorite holidays. I had a million ideas running loose in my head, but I narrowed it down to just a few so I don’t slow the tour down.

My first project is a spooky Halloween card.  I just love this image from House of Haunts and I paired it up with the fun papers from Cast-a-Spell Designer Series paper.  I pulled colors right from the package and threw in Elegant Eggplant to add to the night time scene.  I even tried to make some spooky shadows lingering in the windows.  The sentiment is from Spooky Treats Rub Ons.  I put it on Basic Gray, sponged the edges and drew in some stitches with my Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker.  I don’t know about you, but my Basic Black ink takes forever to dry and I’m actually able to heat emboss with it.  The house is embossed in Crystal Clear Embossing powder and the windows, gravestones and grass are watercolored in with an AquaPainter before they were embossed.  I then used sponges, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and Elegant Eggplant classic inks to sponge in the sky.  It’s really spooky, but the fun happens when you open it.

That’s right the Christmas Tree Pop Up die is not just for Christmas. Look at this spooky tree, complete with a Pumpkin Pie and Elegant Eggplant Medallion Tree skirt. The sentiment is from Grateful Greetings. I dressed up the tree with Natural Hemp Twine and more Spooky Treats Rub Ons. I put them on Whisper White card stock before cutting them out and adhering them to the tree.

You can’t have a Spooky card without some candy to go with it. Well where is the candy? I wanted to show you the lovely Spooky Brocade Decor Element. Isn’t it fun? I applied it to a glass jar that I picked up at a big box craft store. I then attached a wide Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon, Chocolate Chip corduroy button threaded with Linen thread and then attached a tag I made with the Holiday Best Hostess stamp set. I colored it with markers before punching it out and sponging the edges with Old Olive ink.

Now aren’t you glad I showed you the details of the jar before filling it with candy. You wouldn’t have seen all of the fabulous spindly legs of the spider and the details of the brocade if I hadn’t.

So let’s move onto a card that can be used just for Fall or for the Thanksgiving holiday.

This is based on a card by Karen Burniston. She is gracious enough to share her files for her lovely Pop Up Tree cards with Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.  As you can see, I used the corduroy brads, the fold and the ribbon like she did.  I changed just about everything else and I love it.  The base is Close to Cocoa and I paired it with with Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper and Elegant Eggplant.  I stamped the leaves from Autumn Splendor in More Mustard, Ruby Red and Always Artichoke and then colored them in with an AquaPainter and included Old Olive in the mix.  The acorns are stamped in Soft Suede and colored with Chocolate Chip and Creamy Caramel.  I added the sentiment from Grateful Greetings on a Large Oval punch with a Ruby Red scallop oval punch.  Since I gave away it’s a pop up card, I bet you are anxious to see the inside.

Here it is in all it’s glory! Again the Medallion stamp makes the perfect tree skirt. This time I have Ruby Red berries on a Chocolate Chip textured card stock tree that has been run through the Big Shot with the Finial Press embossing folder. It’s it so rich and luxurious? I also used more Autumn Traditons paper, Kraft Taffeta ribbon, a silver ribbn slide and more Autumn Splendor leaves. This time they are cut out and up on dimensionals. The sentiment is from Holiday Best.

I hope you enjoyed my projects. It’s now time to head over to Wendy Janson’s blog. Simply click the button below to continue on your tour.

All products are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased via my Demonstrator Website: http://igotstamps.stampinup.net

As you can tell I’m running way behind again today. Usually I enter my stamp room and feel inspired, but lately my inspiration has not been there. Luckily, Beate had a fantastic sketch today, so I used that for a starting point.  I wanted to show you that the Sweet Centers stamp set can be used without the treat cups too, so it makes the set even more versatile.  I just stamped my image in Perfect Plum and punched it out with the 1 3/4″ circle punch before adhering it with dimensionals.

To make this card:
Dimensions:
Perfect Plum 4 1/4 X 11 scored at 5 1/2
Pumpkin Pie 4 X 5 1/4 and scraps for 3/4 circle punch
Cast-a-Spell dsp 5 1/8 X 2, 1 3/4 X 2 1/4, 1 3/4 X 2 3/4 and scraps for 1/2 circle punch
Whisper White scrap for main image

Steps:
1. Attach Cast-a-Spell dsp to Pumpkin Pie layer and add paper piercing around each of the 3 rectangles. Tie on Pumpkin Pie striped bow.
2. Punch 3 Pumpkin Pie circles with the 1/2 circle punch and three Cast-a-Spell circle with the 3/4 circle punch. Attach to largest Cast-a-Spell dsp rectangle and place 3 silver brads with paper piercer. Attach to card base.
3. Stamp Sweet Center image on Whisper White with Perfect Plum ink. Punch out with 1 3/4 circle punch and attach to card with dimensionals.

Something big happened in our house last night around dinner time. See that gap in Colin’s teeth? He lost his very first tooth!

Evan had to get in the photo too. He wouldn’t let us dry his hair from his bath until the picture was taken.

My Dad says he wants to get out of the house this weekend so they are going to come and visit. I think the last time they were here was in April for Colin’s birthday party. He certainly hasn’t been here since his accident on May 16th, so the boys are excited. My mom and I plan to craft so I’ll get ahead on my projects. If I have a chance to post this weekend I will. Otherwise have a fabulous Labor Day weekend! I’m looking forward to the long weekend at home.

All products are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased via my Demonstrator Website: http://igotstamps.stampinup.net

Stamps: Sweet Centers #116521
Paper: Perfect Plum #101889, Pumpkin Pie #105117, Cast-a-Spell dsp #115677, Whisper White #100730
Ink: Perfect Plum #101437
Accessories: Mat Pack #105826, Paper Piercer #116631, 1/2 circle punch #104390, 3/4 circle punch #107217, 1 3/4 circle punch #112004, Pumpkin Pie striped ribbon #110715, dimensionals #104430

I’m still working my way through the Dare to Get Dirty challenges on SCS. This is for KrystieLee’s Clearly Creative challenge. I pulled out a Medium thickness Window Sheet and my new Big Shot Scalloped Square die. I knew I wanted to go with a Halloween Theme so I used Haunting Halloween and All Holidays for the sentiment and Cast-a-Spell designer series paper. I wanted it to have an eerie feel so I sponged in my background with Elegant Eggplant and Perfect Plum. I really like the effect of the glowing moon with the house and sponged night time sky.

To make this card:
1. Cut your window sheet to 4 3/4″ X 10″ and score at 5″. Place it on your scallop square so the folded edge lines up with the top row of scallops without cutting them. Pop your clear scallop square card out of the die.
2. Punch holes in each scallop with the Crop-a-dile. Make sure you aim away from your face, as the window sheet material really pops out quickly. (Don’t ask me how I know . . . it really hurts if it hits you in the eye . . . )
3. Cut a piece of Perfect Plum to 3 3/4″ square and two Whisper White to 3 1/2″ squares, one is for use in the next step. Stamp the tree in Basis Black on the lower left corner and adhere the layers together. Place in the back of your card (this is not pictured but you can see it in the background).
4. Cut Cast-a-Spell dsp to 3 3/4″ square and use the 2nd piece of Whisper White from step 3. Stamp your house image in Basic Black. Use an AquaPainter to watercolor in the windows with Summer Sun and So Saffron ink. Use the same for the Moon.
5. Mask off the house and sponge Pumpkin Pie around the moon, Perfect Plum around the house and Elegant Eggplant around the outer edge. Remove your mask and watercolor the grave stone with Going Gray ink.
6. Attach your image to the Cast-a-Spell paper and attach to the front of the card. Tie on your Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon.
7. Stamp the sentiment from All Holidays in Pumpkin Pie on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Punch out with the Modern Label punch. Add a vintage brad in one side. Attach to the card with dimensionals.

When you attach your images to the window sheets you will be able to see the adhesive through the sheet. You can mask it by dividing your image mats in half. Instead of attaching the Whisper White to the Cast-a-Spell dsp or the Perfect Plum you can put those layers on the back of the sheet and then mount the main images over them on the other side so the adhesive is inbetween the layers. You can also just cut 2 more 3 3/4″ squares to put on the back of the layers. I used minimal adhesive and it doesn’t really bother me that I can see it slightly. It actually doesn’t show up on the back of the Cast-a-Spell paper I used. Go with whatever your preference is when making the card.

Well it’s Wednesday already! I’ve been so happy to not have swimming and to actually be at home to stamp! It’s been so relaxing. I hope you have a great day stamping.

All products are Stampin’ Up! and can be purchased via my Demonstrator Website: http://igotstamps.stampinup.net

Stamps: House of Haunts, All Holidays
Paper: Medium Window Sheet, Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Cast-a-Spell dsp
Ink: Basic Black, Perfect Plum, Summer Sun, So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Sponge, AquaPainter, Modern Label Punch, dimensionals, vintage brads, Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain