StampinB Halloween Challenge

Happy Thursday! It's time for a new challenge from the Stampin' B's Design Team. This week Faith is our hostess, and she is challenging us to make a Halloween card. I had so much fun with Mr. Smiles earlier in the week that I just had to press him into service again:

That SPOOK bingo card is another digital element from the Haunted Collection by Carina Gardner that I first used earlier this week. Mr. Smiles once again was colored with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits. And that bejeweled spider web? An adhesive embellishment I picked up in a clearance rack at Target last year after Halloween. (Unfortunately, there was no way to try out how it would look against that bingo card without it sticking. I'm afraid that it blends into the background way too much. It would have looked better if I'd adhered the web to some vellum and cut out around that before adding it to my card. Ah, well. Hindsight really is 20/20.)

I'm playing along with these challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp Challenge : ANYTHING GOES
• Paper Sundaes Challenge: ANYTHING GOES

Thanks so much for dropping by today. If you'd like to try your hand at this week's Stampin' B's Challenge, post your project on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! :)

See you soon!
Emily

PS The sweet Paulina of Pretty Pink Posh is offering an awesome giveaway: a Big Shot Machine and two sets of Spellbinder dies. If you are interested, you should definitely check it out HERE.

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mr. Smiles by Jane's Doodles
Paper: The Haunted Collection digital papers and elements by Carina Gardner, white CS, purple and lime green CS from The Paper Company
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: Lilac baker's twine from The Twinery, colored pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, foam tape, scissors, EK BOO border punch, lime green buttons from Doodlebug, Colorbok adhesive gem spider web
Techniques: digital papers, Gamsol Magic

Boo! to You

It's Monday, Monday! How did your weekend treat you? It's been warm and muggy here ever since last Friday, but we had a lot going on to take our minds off the less than fall-like weather. On Friday, my kids had an early release day, so we went out to lunch and did a little shopping. We were finally able to celebrate their excellent end-of-{last}-year report cards! With a little help from some coupons and reward bucks, they were each able to pick out a new stuffed animal from Build-A-Bear Workshop, a little something fun from A.C. Moore, and a new long-sleeved T-shirt for fall. (Although that new T-shirt will have to wait a little while longer 'til the autumn weather returns.)

On Saturday and Sunday, our daughter went on a Girl Scout camping outing with her troop. Sounds like they had a super time, including a flying squirrel experience on a high ropes course! On Sunday our son had his first Cub Scout meeting of the year, his first as a newly minted Bear Cub. He is psyched for a good year! And as for me? Well, I enjoyed a phone date getting caught up with my sister on Saturday afternoon, and then met a few friends for dessert at the Cheesecake Factory that evening. It was my first time ever to eat at a Cheesecake Factory! (I know, where have I been?) It was a difficult choice, but I finally indulged in the Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake. YumMMMEEE!! But it was so rich that I could only eat half. You can bet your bottom dollar, though, that I brought the rest home with me for a Sunday evening treat. ;)

I'm thinking that our extended summer vacation really kickstarted my mojo!! It was hard to get back in the groove at first after we returned home at the end of August, but once I got going, I just couldn't seem to stop!! Ideas are popping out at me from everywhere, and my mind won't rest until I've created whatever I've been imagining. Here's my latest:

I'm playing along with The Play Date Cafe's terrific color story this week:

That lovable monster is Mr. Smiles from Jane's Doodles. I won him in a giveaway in June and thought he would be perfect for a Halloween card! I colored him by blending colored pencil with odorless mineral spirits.

The patterned paper and "Boo!" sentiment are digital elements from the Haunted Collection by Carina Gardner. I picked up this awesome black/white on kraft collection for just $1 during the One Buck Wednesday sale at Jessica Sprague last week. I just LOVE One Buck Wednesdays! It's a great way to snap up trendy paper collections (think Carina Gardner, Echo Park, and Cosmo Cricket!!!) for a song, and then I just print what I need when I need it. No storing bulky paper pads, no dealing with too pretty/too expensive scraps, no worrying about whether to hoard my favorite prints in the collection. Through the magic of digital, I can print out my favorites again and again without running out. Whoopee!!

I hope you had a great weekend, too!! Thanks for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss.
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Mr. Smiles by Jane's Doodles
Paper: The Haunted Collection digital papers and elements by Carina Gardner, snow storm CS, SU tangerine tango CS
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: sewing machine, Mandarin baker's twine from The Twinery, colored pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, foam tape, scissors, 1" and 1.25" circle punches, brads from Making Memories
Techniques: digital papers, machine stitching, Gamsol Magic