More Halloween cards!

Hello everyone!  I'm back with a few more Halloween cards I've made lately.  Like so many crafters, I love to collect product and the newer, the more fun, right!?  Well, yes, but then again, all my "old" stuff is really cool, too!  I am really blessed every time I go into my studio and see how many lovely papers and pretty embellishment I already have!  I LOVE all my crafty goodies!  Having said that, I have been trying to use what I already have on hand this year and I pulled out Anna Griffin's gorgeous Halloween collection from HSN last year.  She has some of the best vintage styled Halloween graphics and papers.....not too cutesy and certainly not scary!  I also confess to hoarding many papers from the (sadly) now defunct Daisy D's Paper Co. but I decided to dip into the stash and combine some of their papers and graphics with Anna Griffin's line.  I really liked the results! 

First up is a card I made by cutting up a 12 X 12 die cut sheet of bats, from Anna Griffin (AG).  I layered it onto a yellow patterned paper from Daisy's D's and then layered that on top of a piece of black glittered cardstock.  (Did I mention the bats are also glittery cardstock? Eeek, so cute!) .   I finished off the design with an AG sentiment.

The Daisy D paper actually has large dots on it here and there and I like the effect it has----like multiple moons behind the bats in flight. 

Next I used a postcard from Daisy D's featuring the sweetest vintage ghost.  In the original image, his sign was an invitation to a party so I covered it with another AG sentiment.  

I added a second sentiment that looks a bit like a tombstone in front of the ghost and put the image on AG orange and black damask print paper.  This paper is so pretty in person!  It really feels like "Halloween" but it's very classy in the damask!   I edged the ghost image with a bit of gold Stickles.

Here's another variation of the same ghost image, using a different AG Halloween sentiment:

 I fussy cut the ghost this time, backing it with a lacy oval die cut from Spellbinders.  I also added a strip of glitter tape down the left side.  Here's a close up of the sweet ghost:

 

The next card is one made with an Anna Griffin witch die cut from last year's collection. 

 

 



I layered the witch image on top of a circle of flocked yellow paper.  The orange flourish behind the sentiment is an AG die cut made from orange flocked cardstock (flocked cardstock from Doodlebug )  I then layered the design onto black glittered cardstock which, in person, really looks like a dark sky twinkling in the moonlight!  (all glittered cardstock in these projects is also from Doodlebug)

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!  I hope I've inspired you to get your hands on some gorgeous Anna Griffin papers and make some vintage styled Halloween cards of your own!  Have a lovely week!

I know, I know.  This blogging thing doesn't seem to fit into my schedule as well as I would like!  It's been another summer of various health woes and then before I knew it, time to begin year two of homeschooling!  I have actually been squeezing in a fair amount of time card making and am really enjoying the creative process again, but blogging has fallen by the wayside.  I would love to begin blogging regularly this winter, but we'll see.  Teaching and spending time with my soon-to-be teen boy is much more important than crafting or blogging, but I sure miss connecting with other creative spirits!   I'm popping in today to show a few Halloween cards I made, using, as usual, Crafty Secrets' images.  Truth be told, I am not big on celebrating Halloween, but I love the vintage images and the bright bold colors associated with the holiday!   Aww, who am I kidding? I love crafting for ALL holidays whether I actively participate in the holiday or not!  LoL  !   So, first up, two Halloween cuties.....

The card on the left features a background of Anna Griffin orange and black damask, some Prima gemstone flourishes and a matted image of a lady with a jack o' lantern man, from Craft Secrets'.  The card on the right is another Crafty Secrets image, this time a sweet vintage photo of a little boy in a clown costume.  It was preprinted with the orange and white dotty print so I found some patterned paper very similar and used it along the botton of the card.  I also went for a lot of texture on this card, using a handmade tulle rosette with a spider brad in the center.  There is also orange mini pom pom trim and the "trick or treat" sentiment is printed on a piece of twill and attached with brads. 

Next up:

A Halloween card done in non traditional Halloween colors of black and white!  I love this Crafty Secrets picture of kids peeking over the edge.  I used black trim to frame the image, then matted it on glittery black cardstock.  There is a white doily behind that.  I used printed cardstock along the right side and added felt flourishes, a sheer black ribbon and finished with a domed metal framed sentiment that simply says "Boo!" 

I hope you've enjoyed my latest cards. Check back soon because I have many more to hopefully post before Halloween arrives.   Thanks for visiting and have a lovely fall week!!! 

Hi Friends!   Hope you've all enjoyed a great weekend.  We actually had some sunshine and milder temps here in middle Tennessee so I am all smiles today!   I just wanted to pop in quickly and show you a few cards I made this week.   This is also the end of the monthly Crafty Secrets linky party so I will be sharing my card creations there.   First up is a get well card I made for hubby's grandma recovering from a fall.   I really wanted to use the beautiful bird "Blessings" image from CS, but I also really wanted to use the "wishing you well" themed sentiment so I just covered up the original "Blessings" word while still showcasing the gorgeous bird and rose. 

My card was further embellished with some pink and pearl gemstones from Prima.  The background card and papers, as well as the sentiment, are from Anna Griffin.  
I have a couple of ideas underway for St Patrick's Day items, but the sweet Easter colors and images called more loudly so I kicked off this year's spring cards with two Easter bunny images, both from Crafty Secrets again. 

The pink card features a sweet bunny layered atop a scalloped circle tag and multi-colored pastel rosette.   There is a touch of yellow glitter around the image, too.  The embellished rosette was then adhered to a card background made up of mosaic tiles cut from the same multi-colored pastel paper.   I also used the Easter sentiment from Crafty Secrets. 
The green card shows my rabbit image layered on label tag cut with a Spellbinders die and embellished with Bo Bunny green pearl gems.  Then I layered it over two pleated rosettes and gave it a 3D effect.   The card background is created with two Anna Griffin floral prints.   Thank you so much for visiting my blog today. Don't forget to visit Craft Secrets, too, because their design team consistently inspires and wows with their vintage style creations!  

Happy March!!  I'm always happy when spring arrives but, like most of the country, this winter has been particularly rough and I am very excited and anxious for spring's arrival! I've been super busy with homeschool the last month but the craft studio has also been loudly calling to me.  All holiday crafting is fun for me, but my very favorite seasonal crafts are Easter and springtime themes!   I've worked this week on a few things, as usual using many Crafty Secret products.  Be sure to check out the online shop; Sandy and her team have added some super adorable Easter images to the digital collection. 
I've wanted to create some new spring home décor pieces so  I upcycled a wire basket first.  I wish I had taken a "before" picture because this basket was in excellent condition but very dated with a metal panel on its front showing one of those country cows we all loved so much in the 1980s.  The natural finish on the wood had some damage so I began by misting all the wood surfaces with Tattered Angels glimmer mist in Patina which, on the wood, was a perfect vintage-y green.  And I had some adorable tulle fringed trim from Webster's Pages that matched exactly!  I hot glued the tulle fringe to both the top and bottom edges of the basket and then I used the Crafty Secrets bird image over the top of the metal panel.  

 

I added some paper straw and fake speckled eggs to display during the Easter season but this sweet basket will be used to store my rolls of washi tape after the holiday.   The birds are truly one of my very favorite CS images ever! 

 

My second home décor project uses more of Crafty Secrets beautiful bird images.   I have lots of bird-themed items and many backyard birds, too, so this wall hanging fits our home to a tee.  One of my goals this year is to use as much of my stash as possible and avoid spending money on craft supplies, other than consumables.   I had been saving these metal frames from Making Memories that I bet are nearly 10 years old.   They came in an ivory color but I used Martha Stewart's pearlized paints (which are beautiful in person and I highly recommend them!) to give them some springtime shine.   I painted one in lavender, one in blue and one in pink.  Next I added bird images from Crafty Secrets creative scraps. I attached all the frames to a wide silk ribbon with a bow at the top. 

 

 

 





I'll be back soon with some new cards I've finished.  Hope you find some inspiration in my latest projects!   Be blessed!  

Hello crafty readers!   Wow, I can hardly believe my poor blog has been stagnant for close to a year!  The last several months have  been quite an adventure for my family, and blogging fell off the priority list.  I made the decision to begin homeschooling my son at the start of the current school year so that has been a huge change in our home and takes a  lot of my time.  Just before we were slated to begin the school year, I suffered a devastating complication following eye surgery I'd had in the early summer.  As a result, I lost all vision in my left eye and the entire fall season was spent recovering from multiple follow up surgeries.  I'm doing much better now but partial blindness has been quite an adjustment!  

The good news is I have felt more inspired to create since being laid up for so many months and I have been busy making cards and a few home décor pieces!  This week was the Crafty Secrets monthly linky party and I have made three new Valentines using the Crafty Secrets' new digital Valentine kit.   I adore the vintage images and the patterned papers are versatile enough to use for any occasion! 

First up is a Valentine using the sweet children's kitten image from the digital kit.  In addition, the papers are from Crafty Secrets' Radiant digital patterned paper collection. 

 I used a piece of the black and pink diamond print to create a Rosette and I outlined both the sentiment and image with a mat of glittered cardstock.

The next Valentine I created uses the oh-so-sweet honeybee image from the new digital kit.  I just love this little bee and when I saw it, I knew exactly who I wanted to create a bee card for!  Donna Elizabeth over at My Wells of Fancy makes delicious honey products from her hubby's homegrown bee colonies and shares my love of all things "Bee!"   Shhh!  Don't tell her to be watching for this one in the mail!  ;-)

 

 I'm afraid my photography doesn't do the card justice----the bee and "honey" portions are layered and pop-dotted for a 3D effect and the wings of our little friend are highlighted with some Stickles.   I used a wonderful velvet textured yellow paper as the background, matted against red glitter cardstock.  I used the same glittered cardstock to die cut the heart behind the image.  I also embossed both the heart and yellow background with a honeycomb pattern! 

The bubble letters spelling "sweet as" are from my stash and are  K & Company.   The honeycomb embossing folder is from Darice and the heart shape is a die from Spellbinders. 
Just to show you that crafty mistakes can often be camouflaged, I have to confess I messed up the embossing on this card and had no more of the lovely yellow velvet paper.   What to do?  I ended up covering the mistake with the ribbon and, to be honest, I probably would not have set the ribbon so far from the side normally but once I placed it, I really liked the slightly asymmetrical effect after all!  No one would even have to know the embossing lines are not lined up under that ribbon!!  LoL! 

Finally I made a more elegant Valentine using a heart image from the Crafty Secrets' digital kit.  I am disappointed you can't see the flowers better in the photo, but this image is ringed with images of lovely flowers and I decided to make it more dimensional by attaching an assortment of ribbon and paper roses in the same colors as the original image.   I mounted the heart image on a pink heart doily on top of  embossed white cardstock and added a bottom border made from more of Crafty Secrets digital paper.   Then I added a strip of pearls and a length of lace to finish it.

I'm so glad to be both crafting and blogging again, even if it's on a limited basis!  I hope to post again soon and share a few more Valentine goodies I've been working on!  Have a lovely week and stay warm if the Polar Vortex is still hanging around your area!!  

Crafty Secrets April Linky Party......and I almost missed it (again!)

I made another wall hanging and it's  is going in the mail to surprise (shhh!) a wonderfully generous friend, Donna of Lizzie Bee & Co She sells fresh honey and honey based products like yummy lotion soaps, so who better to give a pretty Queen Bee hanging??

It uses another favorite (I know, I know, they're ALL my favorite! ha ha) Crafty Secrets image from the Creative Scraps collection. This pretty bee image is now also available as a digital stamp ; those digital stamps are so cool because you can print it over and over in varying sizes and then you can color it however you wish. It's also fun to print black imagery on colored or lightly patterned paper.

 

I used my Spellbinders scalloped circle die to cut out the bee image and I layered it on top of another scalloped circle in blue, as well as a lacey edged circle in red paper from the Crate Paper Little Bo Peep 6 X 6 paper pad. Next, I cut two strips of light red paper with Martha Stewart's Garden Trellis deep edge punch and lined them up bottom to bottom edge, creating a very wide lattice patterned strip to put down the middle of the pennant.

 

The blue dotted paper from Webster's Pages is mounted on a Maya Road scalloped pennant shaped piece of chipboard. I added a piece of pink silk ribbon on top of my punched trellis pieces, pop dotted the bee image and then edged everything in French Blue Cat's Eye Chalk Ink and then again in Silver Stickles. The bottom points are accented with large pearl embellishments. For the hanger, I wanted to continue with the soft delicate look of pearls and pastels so I created a beaded hanger of pink and white "pearls" strung on wire and attached to the pennant. 

 

 

I can't wait to get this one in the mail, but for now I need to go link up with Crafty Secrets....don't forget to check out this this month's linky party entries, as well as the latest pretty projects from the Crafty Secrets design team. What a talented group of ladies!! Hope everyone has a great week and checks back in with me soon.

Be blessed and be a blessing!!

I really hope to be a blogger who posts at least somewhat regularly and predictably, but so far, I'm not off to a great start, eh?  The second half of March brought me numerous computer problems, including issues with my server so I have fallen far behind on correspondence, emails and blogging.  I was really disappointed, as I had planned to post several Easter cards and a special Easter mini album in the days leading up to my favorite holiday.  Boo!  Those project may show up belatedly in future posts, but tonight I want to share two wall hangings I made which feature Crafty Secrets products.  Today is the last day of Crafty Secret's Linky Party for April and I am barely in time to play along!  So sorry I wasn't able to invite you to join in, but at least pop over and take a peek at all the lovely entries! 

I enjoy making wall hangings, thinking of them as pretty cards on steroids!  Today I made two to share and the first one uses one of my favorite spring themed Crafty Secrets' images from their Creative Scraps collection.   Isn't the little girl just the sweetest thing?

I knew I wanted to showcase this image in such a way that I can enjoy it year after year.  I covered a piece of Crafty Secrets chipboard with paper from an older Prima collection called Fairy Flora.  The soft pastel watercolor style pattern fits with our cheery spring girl perfectly. I have only a few scraps of this collection left in my paper stash and cannot find it available anywhere anymore. Do any of you know where I might find some? (never hurts to ask!)

I layered a lacey paper doily and die cut a piece of a coordinating Fairy Flora paper under the image and then framed it with some fabric floral trim in pink. 

I edged the entire piece in a scrumptious piece of pastel blue tinsel I found in the Easter section at Hobby Lobby! It has just the right amount of shimmer in it and I wish I had bought more when I found it!  Don't you hate when that happens?

Once again, I created a swag underneath the image, using paper roses from Michael's, vintage velvet millinery flowers and some glittery plastic mini eggs.  Some of the flowers are accented with pearls and gemstones, and there are some fabric leaves peeking out, too. There is a pearl brad from K & Company accenting the middle bottom.

I chose a vintage style metal hanger to hang this project, and using another Crafty Secrets creative scrap, I added the word "Springtime" to the hanger. 

                                   This is perfect for hanging from the middle of my mantle.
                          Thanks for visiting me today and taking a look at my latest project!

Are you familiar with The Little Pink Studio?  If you love vintage bits and bobs, you definitely need to visit it.  Owner Cerri, is the sweetest and most helpful lady, and she makes some truly lovely goodies.   Right around the holidays, I ordered a few supplies from her and, almost on a whim, I added a cute house shaped "shadowbox" ornament that was ready to alter.  Sadly I don't think she has the houses in stock anymore, but right now she does have similar heart shaped box ornaments like these:

There were so many ideas I could have used for the house ornament, but I love birds very much so I knew as soon as I had it in hand that it would be fashioned into a birdhouse! 

This is the house I got.  It's about an inch deep, with an easy off back so you can place your 3D scene or item inside the round window. Very cute idea, huh??!    I began by tracing every side of the house onto Pink Paislee's  London Market (I used the 6 X 6 papers so the prints would be smaller)

I adore this paper line, with its delicate roses, soft colors and overall shabby mood of the collection.  I crimped the papers to give them a little more depth and texture on the house.  I also die cut strips to layer and overlap on the rooftop, giving the effect of shingles.  I should have taken photos of each step, but oops!  I guess I was so excited putting it all together that I forgot to snap as I went!! :-o

Here's how my house turned out when I was finished:

I used a vintage greeting card image to fussy cut the two cute little birds and the interior "Love Lives Here" image is from, who else?  Crafty Secrets!  I used a fabric covered brad from K & Company at the top of the roof, embellished with my beloved millinery flowers and leaf ribbon, as well as a strand of dangly beads along the bottom.  As you see in the photo, I haven't yet hung the ornament, but when it is hanging, the beads will dangle straight.  I also used a bit of ribbon (the pink along the roof and the green around the window) from Doodlebug.  See the green frame around the window?  That's an epoxy coated frame from K & Company.  The edges of the house and chimney were outlined with Cotton Candy Stickles.   I covered and decorated the back, too, so that when this house is hanging, you can enjoy it from any side.

You can probably tell this project used a lot of bits and pieces from my stash.  I think the London Market paper was the only "newish" product I used here.  I'm trying very hard to use what I have on hand!   This was such a fun project and the birdhouse is perfect for welcoming spring!   Thanks for visiting today! 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope everyone has had a pleasant and relaxing weekend, maybe with some crafty time included!  I've been really enjoying making cards over the last week.  I just love Easter, and making spring themed cards and layouts are one of my favorite things to work on!

Tonight I have another Easter chick card using an image from Crafty Secrets:

I'm sorry the lighting isn't too good in my picture.  It wasn't a very pretty day out today soooo........(I'm not the best at photographing, either, truth be told! ha ha!    One of my besties, Barbie is a super talented photographer and sweet enough to help me if I wanted help with pictures, but, sadly, she moved a few months ago, from here in Tennessee all the way to freezing cold Minnesota!!  

Moving on to the card, I used a pre-printed card (background) from one of Anna Griffin's fantastic card making kits. I used a Cuttlebug embossing plate in Textile design on a piece of K & Company paper which I also edged with scalloped scissors.  The "Dear Friend" sentiment is also from K & Company and I popped it with 3D foam adhesive.  The velvet flower ribbon is from my stash and I adhered a pearl from Melissa Frances in the center of each flower.  Finally, I highlighted the lighter parts of the chick with Stickles in Icicle.

This was a simple and quick card to put together but the chick image is really the focus and makes a great card to send a sweet friend for Easter.   Thanks for visiting me today.  I wish you a safe and joyous week! 

Better Late Than Never, Even With a Linky Party!!

I had hoped to post a new entry sooner but then LIFE HAPPENED all week----you know what I mean? The week has just flown by and I have been swamped which means I did not get to post about Crafty Secrets monthly linky party. Crafty Secrets has long been a favorite company of mine and Sandy over there hosts a linky party every month on the first Monday. During the week of the linky party, you can enter any project you've made that includes some Crafty Secret product. I've always stalked the Crafty Secrets blog, admiring everyone's entry but never getting around to entering myself and I almost missed it again this month!! Grrr...



Anyway, without further ado, I have two sweet Easter cards to share with you today, both using a couple of my favorite Crafty Secrets images, adorable little chicks. The first card is the boy chick image:





Remember I mentioned I am on a quest this year to use up, recycle or make do?? Um, yeah. That's a problem when trying to list what supplies I use on any given project. I am pretty good about knowing my products and manufacturers, but when you dig out 7 yr old papers, sometimes it's hard to remember exactly who made it. Most patterned paper today has the company name and pattern on it, either on the back or on a detachable tab, but many of us remember when that wasn't alway the case! I'll tell you the supplies I do know. This card used a background from a K & Company photo mat. I used Lifestyle Crafts wafer thin die in nesting lace rectangles to cut out three mats from pastel vellums. The chick image and the frame around it are both from Crafty Secrets; I covered the frame in pink glitter and further embellished it with some vintage millinery flowers and some Leaves Ribbon from May Arts.. Iadore that leaf ribbon and use it often in my mixed media or card projects.



My next card uses the companion image, showing a precious girl chick all dressed up in her Easter Best. The cover "Springtime" sentiment is also from Crafty Secrets.

   On this card, I used a light blue paper with some pink flocking designs on it. I am not sure where this paper came from, but it may be Heidi Grace. Again, I used a glittered Crafty Secrets frame around the image and I embellished it with Prima  paper flowers.  The pearls around the frame and the gemstones in the flower centers are from K & Company and the velvet leaves are from Making Memories.   The doily behind my image is from a party supply store and the ribbon behind "Springtime" is from my stash.  Both cards are 6.5" X 5" and blank inside to write my own personal note or sentiment.

Thanks so  much for stopping by and seeing my Easter cards.  I plan to post several more in the coming days.  Easter is my favorite holiday and I love making cards, layouts and other crafty goodness during this hope filled season of spring!  Hope you all have a blessed week!!