Boo! Quick Halloween Skeleton Postcard

This year I had a very slow start to holiday crafting due to personal trips and shipment delays.  However, I just HAD to make one last-minute spooky card before going on to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This postcard was inspired by the Nebula Designer slimline paper from Whimsy Stamps. Although I think these papers were for outer space cards, to me they seemed spooky.  It was really simple to stamp the 'BOO' (old Hero Arts) and heat emboss with neon yellow green Moxy powder.  The TAJ skeleton stamp was used around the words and heat embossed with Hero Arts white pearl powder. I had imagined that the color would be more whitish but silvery white is okay...perhaps I needed to shake the jar of powder a little more.  Anyway, I am pleased with the way this postcard turned out.  Did you know that you can make and send postcards in a multitude of sizes for very little postage?  I think the slimline size and shape make it ideal for a quick, different way to send a greeting.  Let's bring back the use of postcards!  Happy Halloween!

 

While searching for some decorative white, silver and gold papers for a wedding card, I accidentally came across a Japanese sample card which I used as a template to make this card.  It was a really simple design so I was able to trace the original card and fold up this rather elegant copy to which I added a sticker from my ancient sticker stash.

When opened, the card looks like this. The foil looks orangey because of the reflection of the camera flash.

When the front flap is further opened, it reveals a space for writing a message. I glued on some lightly lined vellum paper because the surface of the crinkled card is too lumpy for handwriting.

Because Japanese cards are generally sized differently from American ones, I had to create my own custom envelope. I chose gold vellum paper and I think it makes the card look very classy....perfect for a wedding card.

Here is what the original sample card looked like when I found it in a bag of paper scraps sold in a Japanese paper store for 200 yen.  I am usually happy as a pack rat with whatever I discover in the mystery paper packs, but finding this sample was a bonus.  For this first card I simply traced around the sample, marked the folds and presto the card was done!

For future cards I think I will make a card stock template to make tracing easier.  Also I will look through some of my origami folding books to see if I can find measurements for making this card easier to construct.  I do believe that there is a simpler way to construct this card.  I will work on this idea after the holiday season.  I think that this basic card will make lovely, easy birthday, sympathy, etc. cards using printed and solid origami paper.  Okay, still time for one more Halloooweeen project!
 

The 'Rabid' Squirrel Card

This card was inspired by a 'rabid' squirrel that we encountered while visiting my son in Boston.  This sweet little squirrel somehow got into the 'catio' (cat patio) built by my daughter in law.  I heard my DIL scream and then slam the window shut...boy she was fast...I only stood there in shock.  Once the squirrel was trapped in the cat patio it was clueless as how to escape. It went crazy running in circles as the cats watched from the other side of the window. In a brilliant solution my DIL figured out how the squirrel got in to the catio and put some bird seed on the outside of the gap. It worked!  The squirrel 'figured out' how to get out of the trap and I'm sure he'll never return.  I'm pretty sure the squirrel wasn't 'rabid' just a little 'nutty'!

I thought that making a shaker card would b appropriate because the squirrel and all of us were pretty shaken up. (This might have been the excitement of the trip!)  The ring of leaves was cut with the Lawn Fawn die from some dyed, water colored, and gold ink splattered watercolor paper.  Using the appropriate sized circle Spellbinders die a simple shaker element was created.

I put some tiny leaf confetti in with the crazy squirrel to emphasize the spinning motion.

I love the Lawn Fawn squirrel set not only because it's so cute but because my grandson's favorite toy is his squirrel (for security reasons he has six of them).  I'm sure there will be many more 'squirrely' craft projects in my future. Go 'nuts' crafting this autumn!

 

Oh boy, Lawn Fawn really has some cute autumn stamps and dies this year.  I couldn't wait to get stamping, coloring and die cutting these adorable mice and die cutting the intricate leaf frame.  It took me three tries to get the color of the watercolor paper just right before I die cut the frame of leaves.  I started with four autumnal Ranger reactive inks, then tried four colors of Hero Arts reactive inks before I applied Gensai watercolors and flicked on Liquitex gold ink.

The LF mice set comes with leaves that pair well with the mice so I stamped and heat embossed them with copper (Hero Arts) embossing powder.  After coloring the mice with Copic pens and adding Fun Flock ( remember that oldie?)  to their tummies every thing was glued or adhered with foam dots.

Oh yeah, the word were stamped first and then heat embossed before adding everything else. I used a Misti tool to align the words (a freebie from Whimsy) to make sure everything would fit and I could re-stamp if needed.  The mice on this card make me smile and I am happy that the leaves are very pretty just like the ones I've seen in the fall on the east coast . Oh, Autumn is my favorite season of the year!

 

Gemstone Bead and Crystal Necklaces

While taking a break from paper crafting, I decided to make some necklaces for gifts and for sale in my Hilo locker box.  The top necklace consists of aquamarine beads on a sterling chain. The second one down is labradorite on a gold filled chain, The third one is chrysoprase on a sterling and gold filled chain. The last one has multi-colored moonstone beads on a gold filled chain.

These last three necklaces have amethyst, blue labradorite, and green labradorite crystals on gold filled with sterling and sterling chains.  I am happy with the result of my jewelry making and liked the last one so much that I made a similar one just for me....*wink*wink*! Which one is your favorite?
 

The Purrfect Birthday Card

I usually try to tailor my birthday cards to the recipient so I knew that this one had to have cats and cactus. My daughter-in-law has grey sister cats who will not allow her to have cactus (or any live plant) in her house so she has fake potted cacti on a shelf...sad huh?  Anyway, I designed this card for her birthday.  I ended up using three stamp and die sets because I couldn't decide which of the cute images would make her smile.  I started by stamping the Hero Arts background image onto white watercolor paper with green waterproof ink.  Then I dabbed on some Hero Arts reactive purple and turquoise ink before spraying with water. The cats and other images were stamped on marker paper (with waterproof ink) before coloring them in with Copic pens.  It was easy work to cut out the images with matching dies and adhere them to the card with foam dots.  

For a finishing touch, I stamped the words (from My Favorite Things set) and heat embossed it in white. The strip was hand cut...so easy to do...no need for a die.  For the inside of the card, where the hand written message will go, was further embellished with two of the cute Hero Arts cat images and a birthday cake. ((The Hero Arts stamp and die sets were in one of their monthly kits so may no longer be available from HA but perhaps you can find it for resale.)  Of course I had to decorate the envelope too because I have an enormous collection of cat themed washi tapes...and I don't even own a cat!  Luckily, I know many cat owners so all my 'cat' craft stuff will get used eventually. LOL!

 

Halloween Cats on Trick O' Treat Bags

One of the best things about flying on an 11 hour Hawaiian Airlines flight is the snack bag....NOT the snack (I refuse to eat it) but the sturdy bag with the neutral colors and woven handle.  The bags have a small logo on the top front and back of the bags. These are easily covered up with printed card stock. This is a good way to use up leftover Halloween paper.

The new Lawn Fawn Halloween stamp and die sets have adorable cats whipping up a secret potion.        The images were stamped, colored with Copic pens and die cut before adhering them to the bag with foam adhesives. (The cats were colored grey because these bags are going to a family who have grey sister cats.)                                     

I used a different card stock paper on the backs of the bags and added tags cut from leftover card stock. Since the backs of the tags were plain I added stickers.  (I'm never going to use up all my Halloween stickers.  Who should I will them too? They will be antiques soon!)  Okay, going to work on some more fall and Halloween ideas or should I do the laundry...wink*wink*???

 

Cape Cod Thank You Card

This is the third day since we returned from Cape Cod....jet lag day.  I am having a hard time focusing on crafting but I really did need to send out a thank you card to some dear friends who made us a fabulous fresh lobster dinner complete with appetizers and homemade dessert! This card (like the last posted one) didn't show up well in my photo.  I kept it simple and started with a card stock that was printed with a photo scene that looked a bit like Cape Cod.  I stamped the words with blue ink and dusted with sparkle embossing powder before using a heat gun.  I stamped the shells on watercolor paper before coloring them with Gensai pearl watercolors and die cutting them. Foam dot adhesives used under the shells made them more dimensional. Wow, that was so simple even with jet lag!

 While digging around for an envelope for the Cape Cod card, I happened upon an envelope that exactly matched a tie-dyed washi paper scrap on my desk  so I glued the paper scrap onto a card blank and added a die cut foil 'thank you'.  ( I had the foil words already cut because I always cut 'extras'  so when I'm in a rush the words are there in the package with the die...a time saver! )  This thank you card goes into my stash for future use.  Even though tired, I had a good crafting day!

Bridal Shower Card

I assumed that my niece's bridal shower would be cancelled because of Covid, but surprisingly it was not.  Therefore, I had to hurriedly put together a card for the bride-to-be.  Looking through my stash of appropriate bridal stuff, I chose a few dimensional stickers and some decorative pieces.  I had to color enhance the card front with Photoshop so that you could see the details. (For some reason my photos are washed out...perhaps it was the time of day or the change of light bulbs.)

To fancy up the card I added an envelope liner using the Paper Accents tool I purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts. The package has four templates so other sized and shapes can be accommodated. Even though the papers from the Kaiser paper pack are not exactly the same on the card and envelope liner, I think they look good together.

Since I'm planning to give a gift card to the bride-to -be, I decided to create a pop-up element using the Lawn Fawn die.  I used more Kaiser Craft paper for the card holder and the inside liner. The card base was too rough for writing on so an inner liner was needed.  Although not easily seen, I rounded the liner corners using my trusty corner clipper tool so that they would match the scallop edge of the card holder.

Although barely visible, the envelope front was enhanced with some 'old' Martha Stewart embossed sticker strips.  I think they add extra elegance to the card as well as covering a small dot on the envelope.  (The stickers are so old they didn't stick well so I had to glue them on...LOL! This craft hoarder is not embarrassed.)

I thought you might like to see the pretty silver flecked card blank back which doesn't show much on the card front.  Choosing interesting elements for your cards can really elevate them and disguise the fact that you had to compose the card in a short time. Okay, I need to get cracking on some Halloween and Autumn projects.  Please visit again to see what I've created for the fall season. Hugs!