Celebrating October Birthdays!

Hello Hello from chilly California! 

October is in full swing here and in my family, that not only means Halloween, cool weather, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbuck's but it also means a plethora of birthdays--4 to be exact, in the last two weeks of the month! Nevertheless, I find myself making lots of birthday cards this time of year. 

This birthday card is a bit spooky and a bit of fun and super easy to create -- white embossing powder always seems a little spooky to me plus the blended ink over the top of the embossed image gives the card some depth and richness. 

Here's how to create this card:

1. Apply Top Boss Embossing Ink to the Hero Arts Painted People Background Stamp. Stamp onto a kraft card blank.

2. Sprinkle White Embossing Powder over the stamped image on the card and heat set with a heat gun.

3. On a scrap of Kraft Cardstock, stamp a label with ColorBox Pigment Ink -- here I used the purple Cat's Eye from the ColorBox Queties Cat's Eye Pigment Inkpad Set in Passion. Cut out the label with scissors.

4. Using a Stylus and Tips Set in a circular motion, blend the 3 colors from the ColorBox Queties Cat's Eye Pigment Inkpad Set in Passion over the top of the embossed image on the front of the card. 

5. Wrap Baker's Twine around the Right hand side of the card 3 times and tie in a bow.

6. Apply a sentiment from the Design Adhesives "Celebrate" Set to the center of the label.

7. Apply Designer Foils in Pink Punch to the Design Adhesives sentiment.

8. Adhere the label to the card front with Tombow Foam Tabs.

9. Tuck two birthday candles behind the label, adhering to the card with Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue.

Supplies:

• Top Boss Embossing Ink
• Design Adhesives - Celebrate
• Designer Foils - Pink Punch
• ColorBox Queties Cat's Eye Pigment Inkpad Set in Passion
• ColorBox Stylus and Tips
• Bazzill Kraft Cardstock
• Hero Arts Painted People Background Stamp
• Unity Stamp Co. August Stamp of the Month
• Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
• Tombow Foam Tabs
• The Twinery Twine
• Birthday Candles

Thanks for stopping by today! We're running a giveaway over on our Facebook Page so be sure to follow us on twitter and Facebook to get tips, tricks, and of course, get in on the freebies!

Visit my blog at http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com

Time Travel... Steampunk Style

Hello! Hostess Tami! 

Today, I'd like to share a special Halloween layout I made for my oldest son Drew. Our family,  the kids in particular, have become BIG Dr. Who fans. Don't know who Dr. Who is? Don't worry, it just means you aren't a geek! LOL!

Drew is also into Cosplay {again - not a geek if you don't recognize the term}, and Steampunk style. Drew wanted to combine Dr. Who, Cosplay and Steampunk into one funk-ified timetraveler costume. I spent a lot of time making his costume and wanted to do a REALLY special layout of Drew for Halloween. The only problem was that I only got a few pics of him that night, and only ONE was really any good. So I decided to do something I hardly ever do... a TWO page layout with just ONE, lonely photo. 

The good thing about doing a 2 pager with only one photo is you can REALLY embellish, and embelllish I did! This layout features inks and more from Clearsnap, papers from Graphic 45,  and lots and lots of bits, pieces and trinkets from my stash of trash and treasures...

All papers were distressed using Chestnut Roan and Blackbird Cats Eye Fluid Chalk Inks, the bottom of "halloween greetings" and the windows in the haunted house were filled in using Sundance Smooch Accent Ink, the leaves, cut from vintage book papers were first spritzed using Citrus Tickle, Limolicious, Gingersnap and Sunkissed Smooch Spritz. Then the edges of the leaves were distressed using Pumpkin Spice Chalk Ink.

If you haven't done a layout where you went ALL out with the embellishments, release your inner artist and give it a try!

Super Easy Tag Sketch with Smooch and Stephanie Barnard

Hi everyone, Denise Hahn here and I don't know about you, but I have been buried in Halloween crafts and decided to give myself a little break! So I got out some of my Clearsnap goodies that I haven't tried out yet. It's fun to experiment with new products on just some plain white paper so you can get a feel for how they work. When I sprayed on some Mossy River Smooch over a Crafters Workshop stencil I fell in love. It just looked so aquatic and tropical. So I made a little Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue tag, but I included the easy sketch for it that will work with pretty much any theme. 

I have a Tag, Card, and Layout sketch that are my "go to's" when I need to create something on the run. You get to think more about color and theme and less about the actual design.

I started with a pre-made blank Manila tag and sprayed it lightly with Vanilla Smooch. Then layed the Crafters Workshop Mini Circle Explosion stencil down and hit it with the Mossy River Smooch- TIP spray the first pump or two at the back of your color catcher to avoid any thick drops or splashes

I then inked the edges of my card- The card above is inked with Stephanie Barnards Coral Premium Ink Dye Pad and this one with Prussian Blue Color Box Fluid Chalk. I also took my Stephanie Barnard Premium Dye Ink Sprays and sprayed my burlap- I used Banana and Tangerine. I use the Xyron sticker maker to run all the component through and then assemble.

I embellished with a few cut out butterflies from a sheet of Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe. They just made the little tag pop. I also attached the chipboard piece with a Graphic 45 Metal Staple Brad.

So don't be afraid to experiment with your Clearsnap products, a little goes a long way and you may be surprised with a fun new technique!

Read more about my crafts at 

In My Blue Room

Flip-it for Halloween

Hi - Jean Okimoto here - sharing another Halloween card today.  I love when a project looks more complicated than it really is - like this fun card.  The instructions look lengthy, but it really is easier done than said!

Clearsnap Products - View the 2012 Catalog* here

• ColorBox Stephanie Barnard Premium Dye Inkpads - Licorice, Tangerine, Pumpkin, Plum (*Page 33)
• ColorBox Stylus and White Blending Tips (*Page 81)

Stamps

• The Stamps of Life Banners4All Clear Cling Set

Other Supplies

• Stephanie Barnard Sizzix Circle Flip-its Card Die
• Sizzix Circles Die Set
• Diecut Machine and 2 Cutting Plates
• Black Cardstock
• White Cardstock
• Bazzill Basics Forget Me Not, Apricot and Sour Apple Cardstock
• Acrylic Stamp Blocks
• 1/4" Hole Punch
• Screwpunch
• 3/8" Circle Punch
• 7/8" Circle Punch
• Foam Dots

Directions

• Diecut 3" circles of black, white, Apricot and Forget Me Not cardstock
• Stamp several of the curved banner cord lines on the Forget Me Not and Apricot circles
• Ink the edges of the circles using the Stylus, Tip and Licorice
• Stamp the following pennants - tiny dots on Sour Apple Cardstock with Plum, Jack o'Lantern on Apricot Cardstock with Licorice, stars on Sour Apple Cardstock with Pumpkin
• Dry the inks, cut them out (with a narrow border) and ink the edges with the matching ink
• Punch a 7/8"  circle of white cardstock
• Punch three 3/8" circles of Apricot Cardstock
• Attach the pennants and smaller circles to the Forget Me Not circle - use foam dots for the center pennant
• Stamp the solid pennant on Sour Apple Cardstock with Tangerine and dry the ink
• Stamp "boo!" over the Tangerine pennant with Licorice and ink the edges with Licorice
• Attach it to the Apricot circle
• Punch several pairs of 1/4" circles between the lines on the Apricot circle
• Attach the white cardstock circle behind the Apricot circle
• Use the screwpunch to punch smaller circles (in two sizes) in the white cardstock visible through the 1/4" holes
• Attach the black cardstock circle behind the white cardstock to create eyes
• Diecut and score black cardstock with the Circle Flip-its Card Die and crease it so the 2.5" wide panel is on the left  (view the instructions on this great video)
• Attach the Forget Me Not circle to the front of the Flip-its circle
• Attach the Apricot circle to the back of the Flip-its circle

Thanks for visiting - have a great weekend!

http://davebrethauer.typepad.com/inkollage/

"Owl" Decked Out!

Hello! Hostess Tami here with another Halloween card to show you; this one features a dapper owl handsomely outfitted in the latest Steampunk attire...

The harlequin backgrounds were stamped using ColorBox Dye Inks. The inner piece was stamped using Jalapeno dye ink, while the card front was stamped using Pumpkin dye ink. The owl was then stamped and embossed over the inner piece using Top Boss Tinted Embossing Pad and Truffle Mix'd Media Embossing Powder. The owl design was filled in using Smooch Accent Inks. Smooch Accent inks are VERY opaque and cover well in just one coat. So the background does not show through the design. Smooch Accent Inks also have fabulous precise brushes that let you really get into the nooks and crannys of your design.

Here's a view of the owl close-up...

The following Smooch colors were used to fill in the owl:

around the eyes: Snickerdoodle

beak & feet: Pumpkin

eyes: Moonlight

irises: Green Apple 

inside face: Silver Fox

outer face: Mocha

hat: Grape Soda

hat shading: Sugarberry

belts on hat: Mocha

belt buckles: Gold Lame

bowtie: Green Apple

bowtie highlights: Kiwi

clock face: Moonlight

clock case: Pool

owl body and wings: Mocha, Silver Fox, Molasses and tiny touches of Green Apple

Smooch Accent Inks also blend together nicely so you don't end up with hard edges. Just be sure if you get colors mixed on your brushes, you wipe them off before returning them to the bottle. You can avoid contamination by using beauty swabs to blend the colors.

To assemble, the owl piece and a shadow of dark brown cardstock were diecut using the 2 largest dies from the Spellbinders Nestbilities set and layered and adhered using 3D Foam Squares to the card front.

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap Products:

• Top Boss Embossing Pad: Tinted
• Mix'd Media Embossing Powder: Truffle
• Smooch Accent Ink: Pumpkin, Grape Soda, Kiwi, Molasses, Snickerdoodle, Mocha, Pool, Silver Fox, Moonlight, Green Apple, Sugarberry and Gold Lame
• Clearsnap ColorBox Premium Dye Ink: Jalapeno
• Stephanie Barnard ColorBox Premium Dye Ink: Pumpkin

Other Products:

• Stampendous: Steampunk Owl
• Hampton Art: Harlequin Background
• Spellbinders: Labels Ten
• Bazzill: Kraft and Dark Brown Cardstocks
• Beacon Adhesives: Zip Dry
• 3D Foam Squares

Tools:

• Trimmer, Scissors and Heat Gun

Got Treats?

Hi - need some treats for your favorite tricksters, or party favors for the 31st?    Jean Okimoto here - with a few colorful ideas for you.

Clearsnap Products - view the 2012 Catalog* here
Design Adhesives - Fright Night, Spots and Dots, Brocade, Branches and Blooms (*Pages 62-64)
Designer Foils - Lucky Penny, Silver Fog, Plum Crazy (*Page 65)
Jumbo Rollagraph and Design Wheels - Mixed Dots, Wordswords (*Pages 71-72)
Jumbo Rollagraph Handles (*Page 69)
Jumbo Rollagraph Ink Cartridges - Flannel Gray, Henna (*Page 69)
Black ColorBox Pigment Inkpad (*Page 14)
Lemonade Scentz Embossing Powder 
Mix'd Media iNx Embossing Powder - Jasmine, Black (*Page 27)
Glitter - Peridot, Silver Lining, Sweet Orange, Grape Fizz (*Page 55)

Other Supplies
Memory Box Dies - Ghost Trio, Swooping Bats, Distressed Tag
Memory Box Stamp - Boiling Pot
Diecut Machine and Plates
Heat-tool
Paintbrush (for glitter)
Xyron Create a Sticker
Tulle - Purple, Orange, Black
Poly Bags for Candies
Bazzill Basics Apricot Cardstock
Woodware Black and Metallic Cardstock

Directions (tags from left to right, dry all inks before proceeding to the next step)

• Diecut two tags from each of the three cardstock colors
• Score the bottom of the tags 3.5" from the top and crease the tags
• Tag 1 - Stamp Wordswords on an Apricot tag with Henna.  Burnish the Brocade flourish onto the tag and emboss it with Black Embossing Powder.  Burnish the Fright Night Crow onto the tag and brush Grape Fizz Glitter onto the adhesive.
• Tag 2 - Burnish the top portion of Branches and Blooms onto the black tag and press Silver Fog Designer Foils (shiny side up) onto the adhesive pattern. Diecut Swooping Bats and run them through the Create a Sticker.  Brush Peridot and Sweet Orange Glitter onto the adhesive and attach the bats to the tag.
• Tag 3 - Burnish the Brocade flourish onto the metallic tag and brush Sweet Orange Glitter onto the adhesive pattern.  Burnish the Fright Night bird onto the tag and emboss it with Black Embossing Powder.
• Tag 4 - Burnish the small Brocade flourishes onto a black tag and press Lucky Penny Designer Foils (copper side up) onto the adhesive.  Burnish the Spots and Dots circle onto the tag and press Plum Crazy Designer Foils (purple side up) onto the adhesive.  Diecut the  big ghost from the Ghost Trio die and attach it to the tag.
• Tag 5 - Burnish the Fright Night stars onto the metallic tag and emboss it with Lemonade Scentz Embossing Powder.  Burnish the Fright Night web and emboss it with Jasmine Embossing Powder.  Burnish the Fright Night spider and emboss it with Black Embossing Powder.
• Tag 6 - Stamp Mixed Dots on an Apricot tag with Gray Flannel.  Stamp Boiling Pot with Black and emboss it with Black Embossing Powder.  Burnish the Fright Night stars and brush Silver Lining Glitter onto the adhesive.
• Overlap the tags along the creased sections and glue the bottoms together
• Fill the polybags with candy and tape the bags to one of the tags
• Tie the tops with tulle

Thanks for visiting - hope you like the designs!

http://davebrethauer.typepad.com/inkollage/

Pumpkin Fascinator

Hello! Hostess Tami here with an "on the cheap" Halloween decor project to show you.

This altered paper mache' witch's hat shouldn't cost you more than $5 and a few supplies you probably have laying around the house. Use it as a Fascinator to give your pumpkin a stylish twist! I think it would look pretty topping the altered pumpkin I made in the Ghostly White to Spook-tacular post a few weeks ago...

Smooch Spritz is a great product to use when you want to change the color of something and add a little sparkle too. Smooch Spritz works on a variety of materials: paper, wood, flowers, felt, denim, silk, paper mache' like the hat used for this project, and pretty much any other porous material you can think of.

Unlike some sprays and mists on the market, Smooch Spritz is not watered down; it is an ink you can spray. You'll get excellent coverage, vivid color, tons of shimmer and NO warping! Another plus is that it also dries quickly. Smooch Spritz was used on every part of this project.

The paper mache' hat was covered with vintage book paper pieces using Xyron's 5" Create-A-Sticker Machine in the same way I covered paper mache' apples in Xyron & Clearsnap * Apples For Teacher. The only difference was that the hat was sprayed AFTER all the paper pieces were adhered. I sprayed the hat first with Black Velvet, leaving a few places lighter or not sprayed, then spritzed with Grape Burst, to cover the lighter or unsprayed areas...

Next, I sprayed a piece of vintage cotton lace using Sun Kissed Smooch. After it dried, it was adhered as a "hat band"...

Next, I used some vintage zippers I had in my stash to make some zipper flowers to embellish the hat with. You can find zippers fairly inexpensively at flea markets or tag sales. There are lots of tutorials online that show how to make zipper flowers; I perused several videos, then decided to just play and see what I could create. You'll need a quick grab glue like Beacon's 3-in-1 Glue or Fabri-Tac to make the flower making easier. I used 3-in-1 to make the flowers and to adhere all the embellishments to the hat. After the flowers were made, I spritzed them with Smooch Spritz. Gingersnap, Grape Burst and Sun Kissed were the colors used...

If you don't have any zippers handy, you could use paper flowers or follow Diana's tutorial that she posted a few days ago: Pretty Paper Flowers, to make your own.

The leaves were cut from more vintage book pages that had been spritzed with Citrus Tickle Smooch Spritz...

For the bow, I spritzed some cream wired ribbon with Grape Burst, then wadded it up, and spritzed in a few places using Citrus Tickle Spritz. This created a "distressed" look on the ribbon...

A few black feathers tucked in behind the flowers finish the look. Here's a closer view of the embellishments...

SUPPLIES:

Clearsnap Products:

• Smooch Spritz: Black Velvet, Grape Burst, Sun Kissed, Citrus Tickle and Gingersnap
• Color Catcher

Other Products:

• Xyron: 5" Create-A-Sticker Machine
• Beacon Adhesives: 3-in-1 Glue
• Paper Mache' Hat
  
• Vintage Zippers
• Vintage Book Papers
• Cream Wired Ribbon
• Black Feathers
• Black Faceted Beads

Tools:

• Scissors

A Witchy Welcome

Hello! Sabrina here today to share a witchy Halloween canvas created with lots of ink layers - including several shades of the new Stephanie Barnard Sprays! and a template from the Crafter's Workshop. This upcoming holiday is most definitely a favorite to celebrate and decorate for and even though I've been seeing lots of spooky wreaths on Pinterest and in stores, I chose to go with a canvas to welcome guests to the front door instead.

I started with a plain canvas and masked off the background adding Tangerine, Grape, Spearmint, Licorice and Gold Glow sprays. Use a stencil or paint in the girl's face adding details to make her less than lovely - red eyes, warts and a greenish hue. Glittered hair gives her a little bit of glam.

Adding a few details like a felt hat, striped bow and Grape sprayed flowers give the canvas a bit of dimension and bring the witch to life. Are you ready to create your own? Let's get started...

Step 1: Create the background.

You can go with all one color or separate the canvas in half.  The bottom half uses Tangerine and Grape Sprays! and easy-to-remove washi tape to create stripes. To create the night sky on top, use Spearmint Sprays! over the entire back. Lay die cut stars and add another layer with the Licorice Sprays! and Smooch Spritz in Gold Glow. Use a tissue or paper towel to blot the background - it creates great texture while removing excess ink and blending the colors together. 

Allow to dry or use a heat gun to speed up the process.

Step Two: Add the witch's face.

Position the stencil on the background and spray with Licorice Sprays! Keeping stencil in place, use your Glue Gloss to fill in the hair sections and sprinkle with Charcoal glitter. If you don't care for the sparkly hair, replacing the Glue with Emboss Gloss and some embossing powder would work just as well. Remove stencil and allow to dry or use a heat gun.

Step Three: Color the witch's face.

Using some Frost White pigment ink and your stylus and tip, add a heavy layer of white to the witch's face. Don't worry about the features as they will be added back in shortly. Blend the colors together within the boundry of her face, adding just a touch of Spearmint Sprays! to achieve the sickly, greenish hue. Now position the stencil back over the face, lining up with the hair and add another shot of Licorice Sprays! to redefine her features. Use Smooch Accent Ink in Olive Twist to paint on some wart's and Siren for the red eyes and lips.

Step Four: Add details and dimension.

Cut a pointy hat from felt and details like Grape sprayed flowers and a bow. A phrase or greeting with chipboard letters is a nice finishing touch for the bottom. Get them a little grimy by running your fingers over an un-dry portion of the canvas and smear along the edges. Leave the circles in the letters such as "A" and "O," then add a dot with Tuxedo Smooch Accent ink to turn them into eyes.

Step Five: Add to decor or hang from door and enjoy!

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for dropping in today - hoping your Halloween is the spookiest!

- Sabrina Alery