3D Halloween House - Elmhurst Hollow

As I said before - Halloween is not my favourite holiday, but with  a good friend coming out from the UK to spend this week with me, I decided to make the effort.  So Cheryl, this one is for you.

I made this house from the Elmhurst Hollow Kit from SVG Cuts, the details of which (including a great step-by-step video) can be found here.  It really was a lot of fun to put together and decorate.  The paper I used is the Martha Stewart 'Designer Witch', a little vellum for the windows and some wire to hold the bats.  I just love all the little details of this kit.  Here are some close-ups.

And a view of the back with some battery-operated tea lights inside.

Finally a picture of what it looks like when the tea lights are on.

I can't wait to see what my friend thinks when she gets here (OK maybe I like Halloween a little bit!)

Spooky Halloween Cards (and something new)

So I admit it - Halloween is not my favourite holiday, but seeing how much others really enjoy it - I try to get into the 'spirit' (no pun intended.)  I made these cards to send off to my daughters who are both away at university, just a little something to let them know I'm thinking about them (despite phone calls, texts and emails, they still love to received good old-fashioned 'mail'.)

These cards are part of an svg file called Elmhurst Hollow which I purchased from SVG Cuts.  These are only a small part of the kit, the main part being a 3D Haunted House which I intend to post soon.  Here are the cards.

Although they are 3D cards, they do fold flat for posting.  Here is a look at all the component parts.

Other than plain white and black card stock I also used Martha Stewart 'Elegant Witch' designer paper pad, black glitter card stock (for the bat wings), purple Core'dinations card stock, purple ink (inking the edges of the interior, flowers and moon), a brad, a small piece of ribbon, and some good strong glue (Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive was my choice.)  The card is really quite straightforward to put together, the video for it can be found here.

Here is a look at the inside of the card, I used Purple Plum ink by Stampin' Up and the sentiment stamp is from a dollar set I bought from M's (waaaay back.)

Just in case you are wondering what the 'something new' is, it's this...

...my purple ecraft machine. (Details about the machine can be found here.)  I have had the machine for a little while now, but apart from making a few quick cuts I haven't really played with it much (I know, shame on me!)  There is a little bit of a learning curve (well, in my case there is) that goes with this machine, finding the correct blade depth settings for the paper you are using, in particular.  That having been said, I used it completely to do this project, and I love it.  So Caroline from Paper Craft Weekend Challenge does this fit your 'something new challenge'?

Halloween Countdown Calendar

So this is a quick project that I made for a friend who loves Halloween   I wonder if she will be able to contain herself enough just to open one door each day?

To make this calendar I altered the svg file that I used to make my daughters advent calendar - details here.  Each of the doors is decorated with a cut from Happy Hauntings, and the paper is from a DCWV Halloween paper that I had leftover from last year.

 I want to shout out to my friends here (affectionately known as 'The Colorado Crafting Coven') who helped me fill each cavity with Halloween goodies.

Pink 'Courage' Card

Just a quick post of a card I made this evening for Caroline's 'Pink' challenge over on Paper Craft Weekend Challenge.  This card is made totally from my stash, and gave me a chance to play with the Flower Shoppe cartridge (which I've had 3 weeks and until this evening was unopened!)  Here is my card.

I made the flower which is on page 16, and cut each piece at the following sizes. <Fun1> (pale pink cardstock 5"), <Fun2> (musical score paper 4.25"), <Fun3> (darker pink cardstock 4.5" - cut 6 individual petals) and <Fun4> (pale pink cardstock 5").  I inked each of the flower pieces with pink pigment ink from Studio G before assembling it.  The finished card size is 6" x6", the black cardstock is run through a floral cuttlebug folder, and the "Courage" embellishment is actually a word brad I bought at Joanns sometime ago on clearance.  Here is a close-up.

Thanks Caroline for the challenge.

Dress Form Tags

OK I admit it, I completely cheated on Allison's challenge over on Paper Craft Weekend Challenge.  I made these tags for a dress form tag swap over on the Cricut message board.  The two group I was in were Vintage Ladies and Belle of the Ball.

Here is my first tag for Vintage Ladies (it's a bit rude - don't look if you blush easily!)

The tag size is 61/4" x 31/8".  The background is stamped with some vintage style stamps I have in my stash (script, lace heart, old gramophone, wrought iron) at various angle all over and then I used distress inks from Tim Holtz to add a little colour.  The dress form is from the French Manor cartridge and cut at 5", the clothes (or lack thereof!) are all cut free-form - had this idea in my head, but no cartridges or svg files, so what's a girl to do.  A little white cardstock, some vellum, embroidery floss, Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder, and the "ooh-la-la" stamp is from Stmpin' Up - voila.

The second tag is called Belle of the Ball.

This tag is the same size as the first cut from Core'dinations shimmer cardstock and run through the cuttlebug using the Paisley folder.  This dress form is also cut at 5" and is from the Nifty Fifties cartridge.  The dress is made from gold wired ruffle ribbon (4 individual strips wrapped round the bottom part) and the top is purple sheer ribbon wrapped round the top until it is not see-through (that would have been too risque!)  The party tickets are from a stamp set by Inkadinkadoo.

Thanks Allison for the challenge, and thanks for checking out my projects.

Relaxing in Paris

I made this card for Caroline's challenge over on Paper Craft Weekend Challenge to use shimmer on your project.  I've had this idea in my head for a while, to translate it in to an actual card took quite a little time.  The stamps I used are from Rubber Romance, I LOVE THESE STAMPS.  The lady who designs these images is great to work with, and if you don't see what you want in her etsy store but it is on her website, just email her and she'll get the images you want, (she is super speedy about it too.)

Here's my card.

The image of the lady in the tub is stamped twice - once onto the paper you are using as a background, and once to be cut out and coloured (and yes I did cut out all those bubbles.)  The image is coloured with Stampin' Up markers, the tub covered in Diamond Glaze and the bubbles covered with stickles. I mounted them on pop-dots and stuck it over the first image to give some dimension (I also did this with the lotion bottles.)  The scene of Paris is also a Rubber Romance stamp which I cut down to fit into the window size, the blind is made from a piece of sheer ribbon from my stash, and the towel ring is an embellishment from Jolee's (picked up from Big Lots for 25c.)  The picture does not show it very well but I used Pearl Ex on the tiled floor (harlequin stamp from M's), it really does shimmer I promise.

I had almost forgotten what fun it is to use Pearl Ex - thanks Caroline for the great challenge.

Maui Welcome - Sketch Challenge

The last weekend in Sept I had a fantastic time at a scrapbooking/crafting retreat with some friends in Colorado Springs - too much fun and too many laughs.   Unfortunately after that I had to 'play' catch-up with housework etc., so no time to play in my craft room :(

Now I'm all caught up, and decided to use Allison's sketch from Paper Craft Weekend Challenge this weekend to scrap some of my photos from a recent trip to Maui.  Sometimes when I get 'stuck' for how to arrange my photos, a sketch is all I really need to get me going again.  Sorry this isn't a great photo - the colours are a bit washed out.

The paper I used is from K & Company and is called 'Abrianna' (picked it up on clearance at M's), the title is cut from the Opposites Attract cartridge at 1.5" and welded with the Gypsy (I used 'Oppsosite' and 'Opposite Shadow"), and the Tiki Torches are cut from the Luau seasonal cartridge at 4".

Thanks for looking.