It's the Witching Hour! Happy Halloween!

This Halloween card features Chilling, a gorgeous and spooky stamp by Stampendous. I first created the background with by sponging Distress inks (Ranger) onto a piece of 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore), then heat setting the ink. Chilling was stamped with Jet Black Archival ink (Ranger) over top of the sponged background, then touched up with Black Pitt Artist pens (Faber Castell).

Matte black cardstock was die-cut with a Wrought Iron Fence die (Spellbinders) and Onyxyite Treasure Gold (Paper Artsy) was gently smooshed onto the fence die-cut with my finger. Black shimmery cardstock was die-cut with the Graveyard Border die (Cottage Cutz) and some tiny cats were die-cut using one of my myriad cat dies (All Occasions, Impression Obsession, Poppy Stamps).

The image panel was matted with black cardstock and the Graveyard Border die-cut was adhered. The Wrought Iron Fence die-cut was adhered over both the image panel and the Graveyard Border die-cut, then the three black shimmery kitties were adhered. The image panel was edged with Onyxite Treasure Gold, then mounted onto a black card front. A sticker from the Occasions Small Talk pad (Idea-ology) was edged with Onyxite Treasure Gold to finish the card.

Happy Halloween!

Hocus Pocus

Here's a card with Miss Hagatha Crone, one of the fabulous Rick St. Dennis rubber stamps available at I Brake for Stamps.

Miss Hagatha Crone was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts), colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with a black marker. I tried to make the apple look rotten. Black Spica Glitter pen was used on Miss Hagatha Crone's pupils and nails. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to Miss Hagatha Crone's warts, teeth, nails, and the apple stem.

The fussy-cut image was placed atop a piece of patterned paper from the Halloween Haunts Kraft Resist paper pad (Idea-ology). The image was loosely outlined with a Sketch and Wash charcoal pencil, then put aside for safe keeping.

The Sketch and Wash charcoal pencil was used to fill in the outline of the image, then a water brush was used to smooth out and soften the charcoal tone. Fired Brick Distress ink and Black Soot Distress ink(Ranger) were sponged over the Kraft Resist patterned paper and also used to edge it. Picket Fence Distress ink was used over the skulls in the patterned paper.

Stickers from the Occasions Small Talk pad (Idea-ology) were used to add three sentiments to finish the card.

I Brake for Stamps has a large selection of exclusive Rick St. Dennis rubber stamps plus a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Shake It Off ATC, Version #1

This is my first version of this ATC design, featuring Stampotique's Betsy (Karen Hayselden), whichwas created for the Monochromatic ATC swap over at Stampotique's Facebook page. These swaps are a lot of fun, so you should join in if possible.

I will mention that I came thisclose to binning the ATC because I didn't like how it came out, so I went and made a second one using my trusty Copic markers. Then when I woke up, I looked at this ATC and decided that it didn't suck after all.

Ost Blue Brusho Crystal Color was applied to a piece of wet 140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock to create a variegated blue background Betsy was stamped with Danube Blue Memento ink (Imagine Craft) then colored with the same color of Brusho. Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) was used to add a touch of dimension to  Betsy's eye.

Ancient Making Memories rub-ons were used to add the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting today!

Shake It Off ATC, Version #2

This ATC, with Stampotique's Betsy (Karen Hayselden), was created for the Monochromatic ATC swap over at Stampotique's Facebook page. These swaps are a lot of fun, so you should join in if possible.

140 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore) was sponged with Sky Blue Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) and  Betsy was stamped with Danube Blue Memento ink then colored with Copic markers. Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) was used to add a touch of dimension to  Betsy's eye.

My rapidly dwindling supply of Doodlebug rub-ons was used to add the sentiment.

I should add that this was my second version of this ATC idea. I came thisclose to binning the first one and will share that in my next post.

Thanks for visiting today!

Here's my card with What Big Eyes from the wonderful Eyes of Fable Collection of rubber stamps by Carmen Medlin Designs available at I Brake for Stamps.

What Big Eye was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) onto white cardstock was colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, edged with a black marker, then set aside while a background was created for her.

Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch Distress ink (Ranger) were sponged over the Garden Birch Landscape stencil (Memory Box) onto textured white cardstock, which had a circle mask placed on it. When I was done stenciling, the birch trees were detailed with an Old Paper Distress marker. The circle mask was lifted, and a white acrylic paint marker was used to make the moon a bit whiter.

Black background was added to the base of the panel using a black marker.  Black Soot Distress ink was used to edge the panel.

Patterned paper from a very old Halloween themed stack (Recollections) was cut to size and sponged with Hickory Smoke Distress ink. Black Soot Distress ink was sponged over the word "Beware" on the Halloween Mini Layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous). The word wasn't dark enough, so it was darkened with a black marker.

The image panel was adhered to the card front, which was then mounted onto a kraft card.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Revised Beware!

After posting the card on Facebook, I realized that the birch trees should have been in front of the moon. Rather than embrace imperfection since:  (a) it already has enough flaws from coloring, etc. (b) I'm a Virgo, I decided to fix it and share my fix with you. Teachable moments and all that hooey.

I placed the Birch Landscape stencil back over the piece, lining it up as well as I could. I then traced the branches over the moon using the Old Paper Distress marker. Alas, the fine point of the marker was dry and the ink didn't work well over the acrylic paint on the moon, so I had to "Plan B" it and grabbed a Sepia Pitt Artist marker (Faber Castell), which of course, was darker than the Distress marker. I couldn't just darken the lines of a few branches and a tree, so I had to outline all the trees and branches to make them all the same-ish color. When I was done, I used the acrylic paint maker to touch up the white of the moon.

By the way, it's still not perfect. I just saw another mistake, but I'm going to let it go.

So there you have it.

To reiterate, the stamp is What Big Eyes from the wonderful Eyes of Fable Collection of rubber stamps by Carmen Medlin Designs available at I Brake for Stamps.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Revised Beware!

After posting the card on Facebook, I realized that the birch trees should have been in front of the moon. Rather than embrace imperfection since:  (a) it already has enough flaws from coloring, etc. (b) I'm a Virgo, I decided to fix it and share my fix with you. Teachable moments and all that hooey.

I placed the Birch Landscape stencil back over the piece, lining it up as well as I could. I then traced the branches over the moon using the Old Paper Distress marker. Alas, the fine point of the marker was dry and the ink didn't work well over the acrylic paint on the moon, so I had to "Plan B" it and grabbed a Sepia Pitt Artist marker (Faber Castell), which of course, was darker than the Distress marker. I couldn't just darken the lines of a few branches and a tree, so I had to outline all the trees and branches to make them all the same-ish color. When I was done, I used the acrylic paint maker to touch up the white of the moon.

By the way, it's still not perfect. I just saw another mistake, but I'm going to let it go.

So there you have it.

To reiterate, the stamp is What Big Eyes from the wonderful Eyes of Fable Collection of rubber stamps by Carmen Medlin Designs available at I Brake for Stamps.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Beware!

Here's my card with What Big Eyes from the wonderful Eyes of Fable Collection of rubber stamps by Carmen Medlin Designs available at I Brake for Stamps.

What Big Eye was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) onto white cardstock was colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, edged with a black marker, then set aside while a background was created for her.

Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch Distress ink (Ranger) were sponged over the Garden Birch Landscape stencil (Memory Box) onto textured white cardstock, which had a circle mask placed on it. When I was done stenciling, the birch trees were detailed with an Old Paper Distress marker. The circle mask was lifted, and a white acrylic paint marker was used to make the moon a bit whiter.

Black background was added to the base of the panel using a black marker.  Black Soot Distress ink was used to edge the panel.

Patterned paper from a very old Halloween themed stack (Recollections) was cut to size and sponged with Hickory Smoke Distress ink. Black Soot Distress ink was sponged over the word "Beware" on the Halloween Mini Layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous). The word wasn't dark enough, so it was darkened with a black marker.

The image panel was adhered to the card front, which was then mounted onto a kraft card.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Celebrate the Season with Fwiver!

I clearly am in the Halloween spirit! Here's a card with Fwiver, one of the fabulous Rick St. Dennis rubber stamps available at I Brake for Stamps.

Fwiver was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) and colored with Copic markers. The image panel was die-cut, left in the die, then Milled Lavender Distress ink (Ranger) was sponged onto the image panel. The image panel was matted with black cardstock, then several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to Fwiver's horns, claws, the button on his outfit, and the skull charm to add glossy dimension to those elements.

Here's a close-up photo so you can see the dimension and shine.

Patterned paper from the Eerie collection (Basic Grey) was sponged with Black Soot Distress ink, then layered. Vellum was die-cut with a nameplate die (Spellbinders) and a sentiment from a Christmastime Remnant Rubs sheet (Idea-ology) was added. Black shimmery cardstock was die-cut with the Delicate Chain die (Memory Box) and used to attach the nameplate. Purple brads were used to further secure the sentiment.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:

• The Male Room Challenges: Halloween
• Try It On Tuesdays Challenges: Scary and Spooky
• Dream In Darkness Challenges: Halloween
• Let's Craft and Create Challenges: Halloween

Creepy, Kooky, Freaky, Spooky!

This week's Stampotique Designer's Challenges (#259) is "Halloween".

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenges!

Here's my second card for this challenge, this time combining Jasper Fruhling, the skull from Halloween Cube, and the top hat from Hat Cube (all stamps by Daniel Torrente).

Jasper Fruhling, the skull from Halloween Cube, and the top hat from Hat Cube were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts), colored with Copic markers, fussy-cut, and edged with black marker.

The patterned paper, from the Midnight Magic 6x6 pad (Recollections), was trimmed, edged with Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger), and a strip of road-patterned Washi tape was added to the base. The morphed skull creature was adhered in place and a sentiment from the Seasonal Chit Chat sticker book (Idea-ology) was added to complete the card.

Thank you for visiting today!

I shall enter this card into the following challenges:
• The Male Room Challenges: Halloween
• Try It On Tuesdays Challenges: Scary and Spooky
• Dream In Darkness Challenges: Halloween
• Let's Craft and Create Challenges: Halloween

Halloween Potion!

This week's Stampotique Designer's Challenges (#259) is "Halloween".

If you'd like the chance to win your choice of $30 worth of Stampotique stamps, you should play along with this challenge. Visit Stampotique Designers Challenge blog and be sure to read the rules so that you'll have the chance to win that great prize!!! Remember to check to see the deadline for all of this month's Stampotique Designers Challenges!

Here's my card with Stampotique's Spiderwitch (Kira Nichols).

Spiderwitch was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) twice, once onto Eclipse Tape (JudiKins) and once onto white cardstock. The Eclipse Tape version was fussy-cut and set aside while the other image was colored with Copic markers. The mask was adhered over its counterpart, and Wild Honey Distress ink (Ranger) was sponged over the Mini Shattered Layering stencil (Stamper's Anonymous). The words "Potion" and "Shake Well", from the Curiosities Remnant Rubs (Idea-ology) sheet, were applied. Spiderwitch's mask was lifted and the label was set aside.

My Apothecary Bottle Alterations die (Sizzix) was used to die-cut 180 lb. Mixed Media cardstock (Strathmore). The die-cut was painted with Pthalo Green-Blue and Pthalo Green-Yellow Media Fluid Acrylic (MFA) paints (DecoArt) and allowed to dry. Some shading was added to the bottle with Jet Black Archival ink (Ranger). When that was dry, a reflective accent was added with Titanium White MFA paint and allowed to dry. The bottle was blasted with heat gun to ensure that it was totally dry before adding a thick layer of Media Crackle Glaze (DecoArt). This was left to dry for several hours.

The Apothecary Bottle's crystal stopper was colored with Copic markers, painted with Iridescent Medium, and allowed to dry. When dry, it was coated with a layer of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) to add some shiny dimension to the bottle.

The Spiderwitch label was adhered to the painted, crackled Apothecary Bottle.

Plain patterned paper was punched with a Spider Web Border punch (Martha Stewart/EK Success) and adhered to layered patterned papers from Graphic 45 (spider web) and My Mind's Eye. The sentiment, from a Seasonal Chit-Chat sticker booklet (Idea-ology) was adhered to the spider web border, and the Spiderwitch potion bottle was adhered to the card front.

Thanks for visiting today!

Be Fearless

Here's my card with the Be Yourself set  from the wonderful BraveHearts Collection of rubber stamps by Carmen Medlin Designs available at I Brake for Stamps.

The Be Yourself stamp set includes this wonderful little girl and a sentiment. The Be Yourself girl was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) twice, once onto white cardstock and then onto Eclipse Tape (JudiKins). The Eclipse Tape version was fussy-cut and set aside to become a mask. The Be Yourself girl image stamped onto white cardstock was colored with Copic markers.

The mask was placed atop the Be Yourself girl and the background was airbrushed with Copic markers. The mask was left in place while Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger) was sponged over the Batground Layering stencil (Stampers Anonymous). The image panel was edged with Black Soot Distress ink, then matted with black cardstock.

A white cardstock panel was airbrushed with the same marker, then the image panel was adhered to it. The sentiment is from a Chit Chat sticker sheet (Idea-ology. I selected that sentiment because it worked with the expression on the Be Yourself girl's face and her background scene.

After the card was assembled, several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to the Be Yourself girl's sweatshirt ties, shoes, and hair bauble.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!

Getting into the Spirit!

Here's my card with Skelly Tonn, from the wonderful Randi Dandi Halloween Series One rubber stamps from the exclusive Rick St. Dennis Collection at I Brake for Stamps.

Skelly Tonn was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink (Imagine Crafts) and colored with Copic markers. The image was fussy-cut, then edged with a black marker.  All the patterned paper was edged with Black Soot Distress ink (Ranger).

I was delighted to discover that patterned papers from the Eerie Collection (Basic Grey) matched the brightly colored image.

Green cardstock was die-cut with the Happy Halloween die set (Top Dog Dies). Vellum was die-cut with one of the dies from the the Tiny Bubbles set (Memory Box).

After the card was assembled Red Spica Glitter pen (Copic) accents were added to the cigarette tip, and all three sets of eyes. Several layers of Clear Gelly Glaze pen (Sakura) were added to the Skelly Tonn's eyes, teeth, cigarette holder, plus the skulls on the bows and cuff.

I Brake for Stamps has a huge and varied collection of rubber stamps that you ought to check out right now. Click on my badge below to be whisked over to I Brake for Stamps to check out all of the goodies! Best of all, if you buy something, you can get a 10% discount off of your purchase if you use this code: SAVE10KATHI!

Thanks for visiting today!