More Halloween Fancy

I have received some wonderful vintage Halloween images from Dover Publications through their weekly free image samples. Here are a couple of wonderful cards I've made this week to send Halloween greetings to friends. Click on the images for larger views.

The top image is mounted on a scrap of paper that has a brick print background. I stamped spider webs in the corners and then embellished it with Martha Stewart's "Glow in the Dark" glitter.

The lower image has panels of paper from the Twilight Collection (Memory Box). Both have some of that to-die-for silk ribbon from I {heart} Papers.

Happy Halloween!

Fall is my least favorite season -- it means winter is just around the corner! But the colors are never more magnificent than they are this time of year.

Recently, Lynn Mercurio shared the technique for these windshield wiper cards on Splitcoast Stampers' Monday Techniques challenge. You can find her post and tutorial information here. The first one you make takes a little bit of time, but once you figure out how these deceptively simple cards go together, it's a breeze, so don't let a card with moving parts intimidate you!

This first card was my first attempt at a windshield wiper card. I finished both the front and the back. The image on the front is a free download from Dover Publications. The sentiment is on the back and is a Unity Stamp, "Tis Near Halloween". The patterned paper is from Memory Box's "Twilight Collection". Both are from I {heart} Paper.

I also used Gina K's Chocolate Kiss card stock, which makes a very sturday card base, Versafine's Vintage Sepia ink, copper Stickles, the Martha Stewart Leaf Edge Punch, and a small scrap of a two-sided red and orange ribbon from Michael's. I actually used the punched out leaves from the decorative border punch to embellish.

When I made the second card, I used paper from an 8.5 inch K&Co. paper pack for a base and the size of the paper limited the width of the card.

This card is also reversible and features a watercolored pumpkin on the card front and tag. The bright orange ribbon is inch wide silk from I {heart} Paper. I am a silk ribbon junkie - it's so easy to work with and it makes a stunning bow.

For this card, I also made a coordinating envelope lined with the same patterned paper and with the smaller pumpkin stamped and painted on the lower left front corner.

I used a large spider web stamp from Tim Holtz to stamp across the side panels on both the front and back sides.

To get the rounded corners, I punched each corner with the card completed and closed. I used the Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper to do this -- first time I used this gadget and I love it. I'm embarrassed to admit that my husband Steve decided I needed this and bought it for me -- about three months ago. I'm so intimidated by gadgets, it has sat in the package in my closet since I got it! This was the first time I used it and I am now thrilled to have it!

Here's the complete recipe for this card:

Stamps: Large pumpkin, Inkadinkadoo #9515; Small Pumpkin, Hero Arts #LP017 Halloween; Spider Web, Tim Holtz' Trick or Treat Collection (Stamper's Anonymous by Stampendous)

Paper: Que Sera Sera Collection (K&Co.)

Ink: Burnt Umber (Palette); Classic White (SU); Aged Linen Distress Ink (Ranger)

Accessories: Orange silk ribbon (IHP); Brads (Making Memories); Nestabilities dies; Mica Watercolor Paints; Tombow markers; Watercolor pencils.

Fall Colors at the Rose Cottage

I can't believe that Halloween is just days away! The summer here lasted about ten days. Spring lasted forever, with eight straight weeks of cool wet weather extending through July. We got a hint of summer in the August humidity, and then autumn arrived very early, with November temperatures settling down on us in early in October and our first snow fall two weeks ago (and melted already, thank heavens). Even though it's back up to the 50's and 60's this week, and projected to be 70 degrees for Trick or Treating, I am suffering summer withdrawal!

But the garden looks lovely every time of the year, and so I decided to update my blog with a new look for fall. If you like the background, you can find lots of gorgeous ones at this blog, which I recently discovered. And if you want a special treat, visit her Etsy shop. Kirsi has an amazing collection of vintage ephemera. I indulged this weekend and am having so much fun just looking through all of the images, planning ways to incorporate them into projects of my own.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of the glorious fall colors in our garden this year. While the summer was a definite disappointment, fall has never been so lovely at the rose cottage!

Happy Birthday to I {Heart} Papers

One of my favorite places to spend some time chatting with other artists and getting inspiration is the I {heart} Paper group at Papercraft Planet. This friendly and talented group is the namesake of group owner Kate's store, where I have found many incredible finds -- gorgeous papers, some great new stamp lines, the most luscious silk ribbon ever, and my absolute favorite adhesive in the world, Kate's I {stick} Paper.

This week, I {heart} Paper is celebrating the one year anniversary of the opening of the store with a week of fun challenges and prize drawings for great prizes for randomly selected daily winners. The one hitch -- all cards or projects have to somehow be tied into a birthday theme.

Birthday challenge #1 was to create a card using the colors of IHP's logo: rose, light green, light blue, and black. I was fortunate to have some rose, green and blue plaid patterned paper from Paper Pizzazz and a scrap of green that matched perfectly to mat it on and embellish it. Another small scrap of a rose and green print added extra depth to the tag panel. The butterflies, all from different Serendipity sets, are stamped in Palette Noir and clear embossed and watercolored with pearl and light green mica paints.

The flower is layered silk, shimmer, and tulle Primas attached with a shimmery rose brad. The green tulle leaves are several thicknesses that have been heated and shaped with a heat gun. Ribbon is one of my most favorite embellishments and nothing makes a perfect bow quite like this 1-1/2 inch wide light pink silk ribbon. My friend Jerri, of A Touch of Grace introduced me to silk ribbon earlier this year and I have been hard pressed to use anything else since I acquired my first length of it.

The lay-out of this card was inspired by this week's sketch challenge at StampTV.