You're a Great Friend--#tgifc443

 The TGIF Challenges team has a great inspiration challenge this week.  There are a lot of ways to go with this one.  The inspiration photo is kind of magical with a silvery mottled background and a few magical looking bits with an owl on top of one--a bit of Harry Potter for Halloween.  So what did I do with this?  Something unexpected!  The first thing I was drawn to in the photo was the mottled background-so that is what I used for my inspiration.  The collection of items on the page made me think of a collage.  I wasn't feeling the color palette on the card today, so I made my mottled background and collage piece with a Fall theme using Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight, falling leaves, and bare trees:

My first step was to stamp and emboss the typed image from the Gorgeously Made stamp set (#161193) using VersaMark ink and Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder on Watercolor paper.  I repeated this image up the front of the paper and then stamped and embossed the bare branch from the Earthen Textures stamp set (#161504) randomly over the page.  Next, I placed dots of each of the three ink colors one at a time on a clear block, spritzed them with water, then picked the ink up off the clear block and on to the embossed images using a piece of Window sheet.  Once the watercolor piece was dry, I dry embossed the paper using the Leaf Fall 3D embossing folder (#159847).  The greeting was stamped in Granny Apple Green on Basic White and die cut.  The greeting and die are from the Gorgeously Made stamp set and coordinating dies (#161202). The tree branch was stamped in VersaMark and embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder then die cut using the Earthen Textures dies (#161513).  

The finished piece was layered on Granny Apple Green card stock and a Basic White thick card base.  Here is the inspiration piece:

How did I get my card out of that picture?  My inspiration came from the background with a barely visible hint of walls that inspired me to use a collage and watercoloring technique that I haven't used in a few years.  Hope you like it!

Have a spooky Halloween!

--Sara Nell  

  

 

Boo to You in Glow in the Dark--#tgifc442

Life has a way of taking unexpected turns, but I am back again to enter another TGIF Challenges sketch challenge.  I had fun with this one.  I have been wanting to try my hand with the Glow-in-the-Dark specialty paper (#162221) from the Them Bones Suite Collection in the current mini catalog. So, I created this card using this week's sketch challenge:

The skeletons of the person, dog and cat were stamped on the glow-in-the-dark paper with VersaMark ink and then embossed with white embossing powder.  The stamped images and die cuts were made using the Bag of Bones stamp set and dies bundle (#162219).  The designer series paper is from the Them Bones designer series paper pack (#162215).  This photo was taken in full light as was the close-up below:

The next two photos were taken in the evening after the card was covered and with just a soft evening light from my ring light.  I think you can see a bit of the glow-in-the-dark effect on the skeletons.  It took a bit of trial and error to get these photos.  You could really see the skeletons glow when the lights were off in my room.

I took a few liberties with the sketch but I still think I kept to the spirit of the sketch with the dog (named Raven after my grandson's neighbor dog) and the cat (named Ghost after another neighborhood pet--and, yes, those are their real names!!!) taking the place of the floral stems in the sketch.  The greeting was changed to a circle but placed over a horizontal rectangle in the form of grass in the cemetery.

Hope you have a great day!

--Sara Nell

   

Creation Station October Blog Hop--Tricky Treats!

 Hello!  Welcome to the October Creation Station Blog Hop!  We are an international group of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators who hop on the first Sunday of each month.  Our theme this month is Tricky Treats.  We will be sharing ideas for your Halloween festivities this year.  We've got lots of fun ideas, so don't forget to click on the Next link at the end of each post.  You don't want to miss a great idea, tip or trick. 

My Tricky Treats are for my Grandson, Easton.  He 4-1/2 years old and is well and truly into Halloween.  I made him a Halloween banner and a couple of treat envelopes plus found him a great Halloween book.  Easton called the last set of Halloween banners I made him his "scary, spooky Halloween."  They stayed on his door for almost two years until they fell apart.  This banner is bigger and sturdier than the last set so I am sure it will be on his bedroom door for a while.

Easton loves skeletons.  Of course,  I had to make his banner and treats with the Them Bones Suite Collection (#162222), including the Bag of Bones stamp set and dies (Bundle, #162219), the Them Bones designer series paper (#162215) and the Glow-in-the-Dark Bats & Ghosts (#162220). I did not use the Glow-in-the-Dark specialty paper (#162221) in the suite on these projects.  All of my flags were made with designer series paper glued over pieces of Smoky Slate card stock for sturdiness.  The large flags are 3" x 5-1/2" and the small flags are 1-1/2" x 5". 

The fish tails were made by marking the center of the flag at 1" (large flags) or 3/4" (small flags) from the bottom of the flag and then cutting in from each edge to the mark. 

It is so easy just to have fun with these products!  So many ways you can dress up and change up these skeletons.  I had to include a dog and a cat skeleton because Easton loves his neighbors' two pets:  Raven the dog and Ghost the cat--how could they not be on a Halloween banner!!!  I chose colors from the designer series paper:  Basic Black, Starry Sky, Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray plus Smoky Slate.  Each skeleton was stamped in VersaMark, heat embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder and die cut.  The ribbon tying the flags together is 1-2/3 yards of Black & White gingham ribbon (#156485) colored with a Pumpkin Pie Dark Stampin' Blends marker.  

The envelope treat holders were made with a Pumpkin Pie card stock base and covered with coordinating Them Bones paper patterns.  The tombstone and the Deckled Rectangle (#159173) were stamped in VersaMark, embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder, and decorated with the Glow-in-the-Dark ghosts and bats.

These treat envelopes are quick and easy to make.  For the base cut a 4" X 10-3/4" 

piece of card stock and score it at 1", 5-1/2", and 6-1/4".  Fold the bottom 1" piece up and adhere it to the base using Tear & Tape adhesive on each side.  To make a tab to slip into the 1" pocket: measure 1-1/4" up on each side of the top piece and make a pencil mark.  Then measure and mark 3/4" in from each side.  Cut off the triangle formed between the two marks.  

Next up is Barb Pfeffer over at justBstamping.  Check out her Tricky Treats by 

clicking on the link below.  You are sure to be inspired by Barb's projects!

To Barb's Blog . . .

Have a "Spooky, Scary Halloween"!

--Sara Nell