Cricut Explore Air2 Review - Haunted Mansion Project

I was sent the Explore Air2 to review and I did a pretty complicated project for my first project with the machine and instead of writing a bunch of stuff and taking a ton of pictures I did a video instead. Actually my friend Carmen suggested a video as it would be easier for people to see the detail. I hate video's because I hate my voice and I am not very good at making the dang things but here it is!!

Here is a picture of the house in case you don't want to watch the video. The house is the Haunted Mansion from the Happy Hauntings cartridge and I did have to do some editing *okie thinks saying "some" is the understatement of the year* to the images to get the patterned paper to cut like I wanted so I could apply it to the house it's self.

I am really pleased with how well the Explore Air2 cut all the images and I had some pretty tough ones in there after I got done with my edits of the house. I really liked the ability to speed up the cuts on the regular cardstock. The machine settings won't let you speed up cuts for things that would likely tear up if it did, such as the chipboard setting. One thing I did find annoying was that the Air2 is quite a bit louder than the other Explore machines I reviewed but it is still more quiet than the other Cricuts, Pazzles or the Cameo's I have heard cutting. I think the quietness of the original Explore just has me spoiled 

The house is open at the bottom so you can add lighting if you wish. In the video I used battery operated tea lights and they work okay but for maximized lighting I think I would find something with a few more lumens so the windows really light up. 

I am super glad I chose this as my first project as Graphic45 was having contests all last week on their Facebook page and my little Haunted Mansion won the really nice prize package in the picture to the left!

This was just a win win situation for me!

My Daughter's Shadow Box - Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells

When you are using the same papers and embellishments it is hard to make things look differently but I was able to find a few things to help my daughter's shadow box look different than the one I did for myself.

Here is the full view of my daughter's shadowbox and when I finished and sent her the picture she said she loved it! Which she sure dang better as much time and effort as I put in the dang thang! BBWWAAHHHAHHAAA

This was what my daughter said was her favorite part of the shadowbox and I really think I love this lady as well. I used some Perfect Pearls on her feathers. I cut out one of the little flowers and layered it up to add on the hat and it covers a rose that was in that area. I didn't want to cut up a full sheet of paper so I could make the rose dimensional. The crow was on the handlebar and since I couldn't make the bird fit and it looked silly for him to be cut in half I layered him up and then made him go on the edge of the shadow box. 

She did actually look a little plain until the gears, moth, cat banner and little gold embellishment at her waist was added. Oh yes and Glossy Accents on her glasses of course!

The clock square was easy enough to do but there is a lot of fussy cutting on those images. As you can see I also used a lot of pop dots in the project. 

I think Dr. Dreadful shows up better in this picture than he did in the one I posted yesterday and Carmen said he was her favorite and she thought it was because of his glasses. 

This little Miss Ima Fraid is the lady that was in the memory slide on my shadow box but for my daughter's box I decided to layer her up and make her pop. Once again some Perfect Pearls on the feathers add some glitz and I even did her hair with them. 

See the little bats in the hot air balloon rectangle? Some of them are printed on the paper and others are fussy cut. Yes I said they were fussy cut and YES I needed my reading glasses and was trying to figure out how to tape a magnifying glass to them so it would be easier to see the little things. The banners were "waved" so they would fit in the rectangle, just like I did a sign on my shadow box. 

I loved this image and I knew I had to make a sign out of it somehow but I did have to take up two rectangles to make it work. The little bottles at the bottom have lime green flock and black diamond embossing powder in them to make them potion bottles. I filled in with "charms", okay actually buttons but we will call them charms so they tie in with the sign since it says potions and charms. The little banner is from some cardstock embellies that go with the collection. I used some chain to make the sign look like it was hanging and it would have not been possible without the use of some Sobo glue. I tell ya'll that stuff is like a miracle!

I did the skeleton on this one like I did for mine but I did do a different one with using the "Love Potion" image. My daughter said she loved this rectangle because of the little bottle with the "potion" in it. I just poured a little glimmer mist in the bottle. I added some Sobo glue to the cork and then pushed it in the bottle so I could make sure the cork wouldn't come out and the potion spill out on everything. 

There isn't really much to say about the last two squares since they are like the others but just different images. That and I'm tired of typing now and can't think of anything else to say!

Shadow Box - Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells

One of the Graphic45 collections that Carmen was able to pick up was Steampunk Spells. When she got it I'm not sure either one of us realized it was Halloween which was silliness on both our parts since it did say "Spells". And the crazy part is that neither of us do a lot of Halloween!

Carmen had given me two shadow boxes when I was last in Houston and my daughter had been asking about making something for Halloween so I told her we could do the shadow boxes and while she seemed excited about the whole prospect she didn't show up on the day we were suppose to make them because she had one too many shots the night before. The girl just can't handle her liquor! *okie crack up laughing*.

Since I had already planned on making mine I moved ahead without her and started mine. It took me almost a full week to finish the dang thing! I think because of all the fussy cutting and trying to figure out what would work in the little rectangles. 

Here is the picture of the whole shadow box and you might need to click on the picture and make it bigger to see it better.

I think you can tell a little better in this picture how much fussy cutting was really involved. I used Glossy Accents on Dr. Dreadful's glasses to make them look like glass. I loved the Potions and Charms image and to get it to fit correctly I had to "wave" it a little. The little fence behind the crow was some border that my friend Amy sent me years ago.

See that tiny little flower on Madam Macabre's hat? Well it's about the size of my pinky nail. I thought I was going to go blind cutting that little thing out! I went through my "antique" button jar for embellishments on the project and added those here and there. The spider web in the cat rectangle was another border that my friend Amy sent me and I have been hanging on to for just the right project...and it only took like 5 years to find the right project!

It's hard to see the little beads in the memory frame but I wanted them to resemble something like pills since I couldn't figure out how to add little bone looking embellies in such a small space. The key and owl were some charms I had in stash. I picked up the little bottles the LSS and I added embossing powders in them. 

I think a lot of people stopped using Ranger Inkssentials Memory Frames a few years ago since I don't see them around much anymore but I still love using them on projects and that is what image of the lady is in. All the flowers around her were fussy cut and layered. The little butterfly in the square to the left is layered as well. 

I'm not sure what airballoons have to do with Halloween other than they are orange but I really liked them and wanted to incorporate them into the shadow box and since there is a full sheet of them in the collection I knew they had to match. The clock on the skeleton's hat was cut out again and then pop dotted and Glossy Accents added and all that work was worth the end result.

The banner was from a package of banner's that goes with the collection and these worked out great for the space. The metal gears are some embellies I bought off a Facebook group probably last year and I did have Graphic45 paper in mind when I purchased them and they were perfect as embellishment on the shadow box.

I did end up making the shadow box for my daughter as well and I will post it tomorrow. I did try to make it look different but they do look quite a bit a like. 

Happy Haunting! Layout for MTC Users!

I really should have been spending the evening entering some treatment plans in the database but then I thought designing a Halloween layout sounded like a lot more fun and I can enter the treatment plans in the morning while having my coffee, or at least that is the plan!

I should have had this done earlier but Make The Cut shut down on me, totally my fault for not saving it in the first place, so I was delayed by having to start all over. Since my daughter is all grown up I don't get to make Halloween layouts anymore and I do love them so I guess just designing was the next best thing.

I know some folks like just one page layouts but sometimes I think a double page is in order when there are a lot of pictures that need to be scrapped. I tried to design this it could be used with both pages or each page individually. I sure hope at least one person can use this file and will make an awesome looking layout with it! All the images are included in the MTC file that you can download below.

DOWNLOAD FILE HERE -Happy Haunting Layout

Sorry SVG users, I got lazy and only saved it in MTC format.

The Candy War

Let me share a little story about what happened at my house last night....

My friend Rosemary sends me care packages for holidays and for Halloween she sent me a box of wonderfully packaged candy treats. I was amazed at the great packaging she made, as always they are just over the top!

When Shiane came in and saw the packages she said "what is that?" and I told her "care package from Rosemary" to which Shiane squealed "ROSEMARY IS MY FAVORITE!!" and she started digging through the candy. I told her to get out but then I made a mistake and read the note Rosemary and included that said "I gave you plenty so there would be enough for the kids". Sounds pretty nice and simple doesn't it? Well some how this turned in to THE CANDY WAR!!

I had given the tube of candy corn to Chuck and to be fair I gave Shiane the tube of white chocolate M&M's. I also gave Chuck some of the other candy as Shiane had gotten some earlier. Well Shiane's friend Alicia had come over for supper and she said something about stopping on her way home and getting some Twix and Kit Kats. I told her "hey go get some from Chuck, he had plenty". When I went to tell Chuck something I had seen he had a little tackle box looking thing full of candy and I told him to give me my candy back, which he refused to do so I though telling Alicia would get back at him a little.  I took the dogs outside and soon heard commotion from inside the house...running, laughing, yelling, smacking...

When I came back in I saw Shiane shoving candy down her shorts and Alicia saying "this chocolate is going to melt in my bra". As you see from the picture Alicia did get a KitKat!

Chuck came in the kitchen telling them to give him his candy, holding his little tackle box thing tightly so they couldn't get it. Both of the girls were laughing at him and told him he had enough candy and they weren't giving it back. By this time I had gone to the craftroom and Willy Wonka followed me and had lain down at my feet. I heard him chewing on something and he had a packaged gummy eyeball. I took it away from him and went to tell the kids to be careful.

When I went into the bedroom, of course I was still hearing laughing and thought I better take my phone with me in case more pictures needed to be taken and I saw Shiane getting into Chuck's dresser and finding his stash of candy, as you can see by her hands she was grabbing it by the handfuls! You can see Alicia in the background encouraging Shiane to keep taking more!

There was a short melee of the kids chasing each other through the house. I heard them going into and out of bathrooms, cabinet doors opening and closing, dryer being opened and shut, fridge being open and shut and several other things I couldn't quite identify and I knew the chase of finding the candy on.

I thought things settled down as the kids got kinda quiet. A few minutes later I hear "MOOOMMMM!!!" and I go back to the bedroom and Shiane tells me "CHUCK TOOK MY PHONE!" and Chuck was telling her to give him his candy back. Shiane said "I was tweeting!" and Chuck's reply was "well tweet my candy back in my box and you can have your phone back" at which point I cracked up laughing and retreated back to the craftroom. Well the dogs and I sat in the craftroom while the kids were chasing each other like crazy through the house yelling about candy and phones. Eventually they settled down but I never did get it straight where the phones were hidden or if Chuck got his candy back!

So to my friend Rosemary I say...THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! for providing this wonderful memory I will always have of my young adult children acting like little rotten brats over some Halloween candy!

Nugget Tin Bandwagon

Years ago when I first got my Cricut I remember hearing about nugget tins that people were making and I never bit the bullet and jumped on that bandwagon. That has now changed!! My friend Amy, aka Scraparazzi, recently did a share on nugget tins and I figured I might try some to so I could have quick gifts for minor occasions. The problem seems to be that the nuggets disappear before they make it to the tin and given to friends *okie so wishes Lucy didn't like chocolate since she knows that has to be where they are going*.

I know it is a bit late for posting a Halloween project, or it is very very early, which ever I am doing it now because that is how I roll! I made a few of these for some of the workers at McCalls, the ICF/MR where I see clients. The ones I gave them to are always wonderful on consulting and collaborating with me on the therapy of the residents on my caseload and I wanted to give them a little thank you.


Supplies Used:
CTMH Cricut Artiste
CTMH Magic Potions Stamp Set
Cricut Design Studio
Nugget Tin
Various cardstock/paper
Various Inks/Markers
Mounting Foam
Mini Glue Dots

I chose this stamp since it seemed to be rather humorously appropriate due to my job title, and the receivers got a kick out of it as well! One great thing I love about using the CTMH Cricut cartridges are the awesome stamps that coordinate with! It is super easy to line them up and the images stamp so clear.

I used Design Studio to make a shadow for the label and making the spider web border the length I needed. I pop dotted the label on the ban and made the ban where it could just slide off and on.

On another cut file I have loaded in this computer I have the strips designed for DS to cut them. For these tins I just cut them with my paper cutter. I liked using the Making Memories 6x6 pad because it allowed me to just cut 1x3 in strips from each sheet and not waste anything. I had asked on Facebook about the nuggets sliding around and one of my FB friends said she just adds a Glue Dot to the bottom of each one to keep them in place. This worked like a charm!

I got very nice compliments on the tins when I gave them away, also accompanied one of the WICKED HALLOWEEN cards that I had made last year, and I felt it made it well worth the effort. One of the ladies just kept saying "you made that" "you really made that" and I kept telling her yes. She said "well I have never seen anything quite like it. That must have taken a very long time" and I told her it doesn't really take too long and tried to explain the Cricut to her to which she replied "We really gotta find you a man". I told her "yeah I tried that, believe me I get a lot more pleasure from my Cricut". I thought she was gonna choke from laughing so hard!

Have A Wicked Halloween

I had made 12 of these cards to take to the card swap at the Swarm I was suppose to go to and since I was unable to attend for several reasons I now have these cards sitting at my house and wondering what to do with them! Actually I will probably put them back and give them to the ladies at the next swarm since they were nice enough to send me the cards they made! Renee of Paper Renee has been hosting the Swarms recently and she does a fantastic job. I am hoping Linda, aka LGuild, and I can go up some weekend soon just for a nice little lunch and shopping date with Renee.

Supplies Used:
CTMH Wicked Stamp set
Stampin Up Crackle background stamp
Stampin Up Inks
Stampin Up Markers
Glimmer Mist - Mimosa
Cardstock - various
Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper
3/8" Striped Ribbon
1/8" eyelets
Cat Eye Chalk Ink
Signo UM 153 white gel pen






The Close To My Heart stamps are really high quality and I love the crisp images I get from them. I know there are a lot of acrylic stamps out there in the big world of crafting and I have tried quite a few but to be honest, I don't think any of them have stamped as well as the CTMH brand. I do think they can be a little pricey but then I think about not getting a good image and like the old saying goes "ya get what you pay for". Needless to say I am sure my CTMH stamp family will be growing!



I played around with how I wanted to stamp the image before making a final choice. It just seemed to stark for me on some white or off white paper. Deciding on a nice background stamp I then stamped the image of the witch on top of that. While I liked the effect it seemed to need a little something. I sprayed with Glimmer mist and it seemed to be just what I was looking for. I am not sure how well the shimmer shows up in the picture but in person it looks really nice.

I wish you all a Wonderfully Wicked Halloween!!

All-Things-Halloween Projects

I was recently asked if I would like to share some Halloween projects with my readers and of course I said "YES!". All three projects look pretty simple to make and look like they could be modified for other images as well.

Bat Mobile:

 Instructions

1. Find a smooth stick 16" long and spray paint it silver. Let dry completely.

2. Cut a length of wire or cord 22" long and bend or tie each end to the ends of the stick to create a hanger.

3. Cut 5 double sided bats from black, patterned, double sided cardstock 2" tall.

4. Punch a small hole in the top of the bats and secure with a black eyelet.

5. Tie varying lengths of string to the bats and hang them by tying along the stick.

6. Tie a ribbon at the top if desired.

What you will need.

Provo Craft Supplies

•   craft paper

•   E-Z Set Eyelets - black 1/8" short

•   ribbon

Other Supplies

•   black metal wire

•   thread

•   stick

 Scary Halloween Layout:

Instructions:

 1.  Layer 11-3/4” x 11-3/4” striped patterned paper onto 12” x 12” black cardstock. Layer 4”x 10-3/4” green patterned paper onto 4-1/4” x 11” black cardstock. Layer 6” x 10” purple spider paper onto 6-1/4” x 10-1/4” black cardstock. Cut striped paper into 1-1/2” x 12”

2. Layer papers together as shown.

3. Cut spider web paper into a 4” x 6” and 4” x 3” rectangles. Layer these onto black cardstock cut at 4-1/4” x 6-1/4” and 4-1/4” x 3-1/4” to create photo mats.

4. Layer “Scary” word art with black on bottom, orange in middle and green on top. Layer bat with orange behind the black. Layer crow the same way. Adhere rhinestones to bat, crow and spider.

5. Adhere large spider web to layout as shown. Adhere small spider web to 3-1/4” x 2-1/2” orange glitter paper, keeping web flush with bottom of paper. Punch out a white oval and a scalloped oval with the web paper. Layer together. Adhere to small web. Add this onto bottom of larger photo mat as shown. Add rhinestones.

6. Adhere crow, bat using pop dots to layout. Adhere large photo mat to layout as shown. Adhere smaller photo mat.

7. Adhere “spooky” and spider to web. Adhere rhinestones to web and layout.

What you will need.

Provo Craft Supplies

•   Cricut V1/Create/Expression/E2 Machine

•   Cricut Teresa Collins Chic N Scary Cartridge

•   Cartridge Cuts: Cricut Teresa Collins Chic N Scary Cartridge: Scary - 2” (cut 3x) Web - 6” and 3-1/2” Crow with Crown - 2-1/2” (cut 2x) Bat - 2” (cut 2x) Spider - 2”

Other Supplies

•   Cardstock - black, white Glittered Cardstock - orange, green Patterned Paper - diagonal stripe, stripe, purple spider, spider web, green

•   Rhinestones Scallop oval punch Oval punch

•   Adhesive - wet and dry Pop Dots

•   Paper Trimmer

Scallywag T-shirt:

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry t-shirt and white cotton fabric. Iron items and allow time to cool.

2. Iron backing onto white cotton fabric as packaging directs.

3. Using the Cricut E2 machine and the Cricut Teresa Collins cartridge cut out the skull using the white fabric at 9 1/2".

4. Iron onto shirt.

What you will need.

Provo Craft Supplies

•   Cricut E2 machine

•   Cricut Teresa Collins Chic and Scary

Other Supplies

•   Black t-shirt

•   White cotton fabric

•    iron on backing

Raven in a Tree

I have no idea what this Cricut cut is called but it looks like a Raven in a tree so that is what I am calling it *okie figures it's her card and she can call it what ever in the heck she wishes to call it and there is nothing anyone can do about it*. I think I might be feeling a little saucy!*okie cracks up laughin* And no.....I have not been drinking, well Diet Coke but that's it. However I told my friend Linda, aka Lguild, that I thought about getting drunk and making a video of some sort and calling it "The Drunken Scrapper". She kinda liked the idea, but she would since it would surely make an azz out of me.

Oh yes back to the Raven In A Tree card. The cut is from Celebrate With Flourish and will be the last from this cart for a little while. Again I don't know what the paper is that I used for the matting of the card, maybe Cosmo Cricket...and maybe not.

I do think the bats look better on this card than they did on yesterday's card. That raven looks like he is gonna eat one!

I have to tell you that the tree is a pain in the b-u-double T to layer! The little branches kept moving on me and it wasn't even windy! I would suggest gluing the moon down first and then doing the top layer of the tree so your branches line up right in the moon.

What do you mean you see Stickles? WELL DUH! OF COURSE YOU SEE STICKLES! *okie rolls her eyes and sighs deeply* You know I love Stickles and will use them on anything I possibly can! And for those of you who don't like Stickles...I think you are seriously disturbed! Again with the Stardust this time and then I used Black Diamond on the raven. I inked the edges of the moon with some orange ink.

I also used some more of those stickers for the sentiment on this card. They have a slight embossed feel to them but they are not as heavily embossed as if you used one of those old fashion label maker things.

This is the last Halloween card for now. I think I am done with making series of cards for a bit and I am not sure what I will be posting next...guess you will just have to stay tuned to find out! *okie sure hopes she can think of something but right now her brain feels fried and can't think of a thing to make*. Maybe I will take tomorrow off crafting since it is Labor Day.....but I doubt it!

Since this is the last for this cart for right now I will tell you how I got the cart so cheap...EBAY BABY!! OH YEAH! There was an auction for Celebrate with Flourish and Lovely Florals. I won the auction and paid $52 for the both carts and that included shipping.

Jack O' Lantern

I think this card was cuter in my head than it turned out on paper. But since it is cut and put together it will just have to do. Besides who cares since it will go in my card box never to be seen again! This is also from Celebrate with Flourish.

I really can't remember what the background mat paper is and I think I got it probably over 2 years ago. I thought it would look good because of the bats but I think I needed to cut the Jack O' Lantern smaller...but too late now!

The words "Jack" and "O Lantern" are actually some stickers I had. I might have gotten them during the "send okie ugly stickers" campaign or I might have gotten them at the LSS that had went out of business. *okie shrugs* Either way I think they worked good for this card.

Yep you see Stickles! Yellow and Stardust were used to try and liven up the Cricut cut. I inked the edges using Pumpkin Pie Stampin Up ink and used the same color marker to do the lines on the pumpkin. Old Olive was used for the leaf and swirl.

Looking at the pictures just now I think I do like this card, but this might be one of those occasions where the picture is better than the real thing!

Tomorrow I will be posting one more Halloween card and then it is on to something else!

Flying Witch

I just loved this cut when I saw it on the Celebrate With Flourish booklet! I thought I would use patterned papers on the witch and moon to give the cut a more whimsical look. And of course I love polka dots so that is the paper which I chose to use on the witch *okie laughs at her nerdiness*.

The paper for the mat is Making Memories. I got this little 6x6 stack almost two years ago when I was in Phoenix. I found it at a Tuesday morning for $1.99 and I had never used any of the paper in there. I thought it gave a good background for the Cricut image. I used a very light gray as a second mat and inked the edges with Lime Pastel.

This gives you a little different look on the pattern of the paper. It is the same from yesterday, Little Yellow Bicycle.

I added Stickles to the green flourishes. Do you know which Stickles I used?? *okie puts her hand behind her ear as if trying to hear* WRONG!! It's not Diamond! It's Stardust! See I am not totally predictable!

Linda, aka LGuild, said she thought this one had too many layers also but she did say she liked the flying witch. Hmm...come to think of it it does look a bit like Linda! *okie falls out chair laughing and knows she is gonna be in big trouble for that one*.

Trick Or Treat

I recently got Celebrate with Flourish *okie wonders if she should tell them that she only had to pay $26 for the cartridge, and then decides she will keep it a secret* and I thought I would make a few Halloween cards with it. Now why I wanted to make Halloween cards I just have no idea since I never send them out. I gave my friend Linda, aka LGuild, the Halloween cards I have made over the last two years so she could send in her box of cards for the Cards For Soldiers program.

This was the first card I made with the cartridge. I loved the layers on it. My friend Linda, aka Lguild, was over this past weekend and when she saw it she said there was too much work involved for her tastes. But....what does she know? *okie cracks up laughing knowing Linda is gonna comment on that one*. Since I couldn't do inking on the tiny letters I did add some Stickles to the green letters and then faux stitching on the orange. I used purple thread to stitch around the mat of the card. I think I do prefer the zig zag stitch over a straight stitch most of the time.

The printed paper is Little Yellow Bicycle, I don't know the line it is from and I am too lazy to go over to the other side of the room and pull some out to see *okie wonders if anyone admires her honesty*. On the yellow cardstock at the top I used the Forrest Branches Cuttlebug folder and then inked over it.

I pop dotted the cut off the card and I know you guys are totally shocked by that *okie can just see the eye rolls with that statement*.

The ribbon is some that I ordered from Ribbons and Bows Oh My!. I hope you guys did get some ribbon from there while they were running their free shipping special! I tell ya the prices are awesome even when you do have to pay for shipping.

I will be posting three more Halloween cards from Celebrate With Flourish so be sure to check back!

QUICK HALLOWEEN CARDS!

I was able to whip out these six cards in no time! I found the layout idea in a Cards Magazine that my friend Scraparazzi sent me and couldn't wait to try it. I was at the LSS yesterday and ran across some Pinecone Press Halloween paper. One of the sheets was all word blocks and I knew it would be perfect for quick cards *okie loves quick.....most of the time....but she won't talk about that right now*. The great thing is that there were enough word blocks for plenty of cards and I will be able to share with my friend Linda!



You can click the pictures to see close ups of the cards.


I used Stickles to jazz the cards up some more for the main images. I used Prima flowers on some of the cards. They are from a Halloween set I got last year. Then on some of the cards I used smaller word blocks. I did use the Threading water punch on some of the card mats and then the Victorian blade from my Purple Cows Cutter on some of the others. On the image mats I used my Purple Cows cutter with the Deckle blade *which is totally okie's favorite blade by far*. I used the Signo Um-153 pen on the image mats and Stampin Up black marker for the stitching look on the green mat. For the card edging I used some white acrylic paint with a piece of sponge.

Skull Halloweeen card

There are times when I forget what all cuts are on the carts I have, I mean seriously how I am suppose to remember what is on every cart! *okie knows that no one else knows either so she doesn't feel so bad*. I wanted to make a Halloween card and I wanted a skull. I don't have Indie Art so I went and did a keyword search in Design Studio and found this really cool skull and cross bones on Paper Doll Dress Up and thought it would be perfect for a SKULL HALLOWEEN CARD

- Stamped and Paper Doll Dress Up are the carts used
- Patterned Paper is Bo Bunny
- Doodling is with Signo UM-153 pen and Stampin Up black marker
- Rhinestones for the eyes
- Studio G Halloween stamp for the sentiment


I used the Cricut markers on the skull...and hate it! But nothing I can do about it now. I think it had something to do with the paper, it absorbed the ink a little too well! I wasn't using Prism cardstock, that is for sure!

The file is set to cut 6 at a time and was designed on a 12x12 mat. On the skull mat you will want to put your white on the left hand side row of skulls and the black on the right. I hid some of the contours so I could have the black in the eyes and nose since I didn't see a feature like that on the cart. Oh the sentiment mat will actually work with several of the Studio G Halloween stamps!

Motivation Challenge 1/21

Posting it tonight to give everyone ample time!! Here is the sketch for the challenge. I have been checking out some two page LO's for challenges as I have had requests for those. I will see if I can find a good 2 pager for the challenge this weekend! Okay folks grab your paper, pictures, tapes, glues, glitters, brads, ribbons, cutters, tweezers....heck even the kitchen sink if it will help.....AND GET TO SCRAPPIN!









**************UPDATE*************

Here is my LO for the challenge. I chose pictures from Halloween this year. I also turned the sketch so my pictures matched the measurements better.

LAYOUT INFO -
- Title, word and cutouts are black velvet stickers. I don't know who makes them as my former LSS owner gave them to me.
- Picture mats are cut with the Cricut Stamped cartridge
- Pattern paper is Cosmo Cricket...from their Halloween line this year I believe
- Brads are from Wal-Mart in their office deparment, I embossed them...see the picture below for close up.
- Journaling is with a white Uniball Signo pen
- Inking is with Tom Holtz walnut distressed ink
- Flowers are Petaloo's
- double sided adhesive foam to pop the pictures
- ribbon is Stampin Up more mustard

Here is the close up of the brad. The embossing powder was a very small vial I got at the stamp garage sale this fall and it looked purple but when heated it had some white in it. I think it looks pretty cool! To emboss brads just heat your brad in front of your heat gun and dip it your embossing powder. Simple as that!

Trick or Treat

What will I do with Halloween cards? WELL I JUST DON'T KNOW!

But they are kinda fun to make. I used the LO from the August issue of Sheetload of Cards website for this one. I was able to make 6 at once. I used PDDU for the ghost, bat and spider. The sentiment is a Studio G from series 12. The paper is some scraps that my LSS owner gave me today so I have no idea what line or company it is from.

I did use the swiss dots cuttlebug folder on the black strip. And of course I had to add some Stickles!! *okie knows everyone is surprised that she used Stickles..HA!* I like this card design and it seems like it will work well with a lot of the Studio G stamps!! I want to try this LO with some fall/Thanksgiving cards also!

Haunted House

I don't usually do Halloween since my daughter is now 16 but I couldn't resist the Haunted Halloween cuttlebug folder! After I got it I had to decide what I was going to do with it. Soooo.......I decided to try a Halloween card.

This one took me awhile to do because I couldn't decide what to do. I had my friend Scrappinbee on the phone and kept taking pictures and sending to her and she told me what to add. I think it turned out pretty nice!!

I used the Coredinations Black Magic paper for the house. I used stickles on the bats, moon, windows, roof and fence. The bottom part is with the forest branches cuttlebug folder. The brads are some that I inked and then used clear embossing powder on. OH yeah and the inking is done with the cat eye ink.


BUT THE NEXT ONE! I LOVE!!




Again I used the Haunted Halloween folder and Black Magic paper. But this time I used some glow in the dark Scribblers in the windows and on the moon. I hand cut the clouds, grass and tombstones. I used plain black scribblers on the bats and fence. Sorry the photo doesn't show the glow in the dark well but let me tell you.........IT IS AWESOME LOOKING IN PERSON! My daughter said "OMG MOM! That is spooky looking! I hope you aren't sending that to some little kid!" LOL

So did ya get scared lookin at the card?? *totally cracks up laughin!!*