Catch up post: Lots of cards, a couple layouts and some Halloween creations

Lots of catching up to do.  I have been hard pressed to find time to post to my blog, seeing as how no one really frequents it anyway.  But I do aspire to one day be on a design team and maintain a well-visited blog, so here I am.
Although the dates will be a little out of order, I'll put the couple other Halloween things towards the bottom with my last posts, and then work backwards so the newest is at the top.  And if you are here for a visit, thanks so much for stopping by and taking a few minutes to peek through my latest creations.



For the Viva la Verve! November week 1 sketch challenge: 

It's a little early for me to normally start on Christmas cards, but the circular shapes in this sketcher were just calling from some 3D round shapes, so ornaments it was!I used Verve's Holly Jolly set, paired with a sentiment from the Holiday Phrases set (and these are both on sale this month!!).
Stamped each ornament 5 times, cut out, folded in half and adhered half to half, back to back, to make the 3-Dimensional shapes.  I stamped and embossed the ornament tops/hooks in silver.  And even that little holly on the larger ornament hook is in the Holly Jolly set.
Papers are Echo Park's Season's Greeting.  The sentiment is cut out with dies from PTI.  Some seam binding and glaze pen finish it off.



For the Viva la Verve! October week 5 sketch challenge:

I used MFT's Sew Nifty stamps and Die-namics set.  Papers are Cosmo Cricket Odds and Ends printed from the digital file by JessicaSprague.com and SU's Riding Hood red cardstock.

On the inside, I strung the tiny thimble, ruler, and scissors dies cut out of aluminum foil on the same blue twine as is wrapped around the larger spool on the front.

And the inside.  A sentiment will go here, too...but the girl I made this for (who intends to give it to her grandmother) gets to choose what she wants it to say.  I'm partial to "Love is the thread that binds us"

Surprise...a layout!  

My local scrapbooking group offered up a "recipe" challenge.  You randomly pick amongst several options (ours was Halloween themed) and then those items are revealed to correspond to various scrapbooking elements you had to use on your page.  My recipe consisted of 1 photo, black cardstock, rubons, bling, stamping and inking.I just love this picture of my son on his first day of playing soccer.  However, being an action shot, it was a bit blurry.  I tried converting it to black and white first, but not quite what I wanted.  So then I used the "Posterize" feature within Photoshop Elements.  It resulted in this cool, slightly sketchified (??word??) look like an old time newspaper.
I used old rubons:Heidi Swapp Rummage for the title, and some Basic Grey Wholly Cow All Boy rubons for the definition and the soccer ball and circle in the bottom corner.
Stamped a place for the date in the bottom corner using an old SU stamp, and embossed in white.  Inked a mat to give a double mat look using Weathered Wood distress ink.  And added some tiny bling to the spots between the four words in the Basic Grey swirl rub on at the bottom.
I was inspired by the motivational posters you see everywhere, and thought this simple graphic design would really show off my very cool son.  ;)



For the Viva la Verve! October week 4 sketch challenge: 

I bought this Verve Bountiful Harvest set after Thanksgiving last year, so this was my first time inking it up.  This little turkey just kills me...so cute!  I colored him with Copics and added a tiny bit of Sakura clear glaze pen to the buckle on the hat.I used MME's Mischievous paper line, some frosted flatback pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty and seam binding.



For the Viva la Verve! October week 3 sketch challenge: 

I actually combined an MFT image with a Verve sentiment for this one.  The circular shape of the Sunflower Who's That Girl worked perfectly for the larger circle in the sketch.  And while I like the sentiments that come with that set, I was in need of a thank you card.  Verve's Bloom & Grow set offered up the great Thanks a Bunch sentiment.I used papers from the new MME Lost and Found Two Sunshine 6x6 pad.
I cut two papers with the MFT Rolled Sunflower Die-namics, and carefully wrapped and layered them around the edge of my sentiment circle.  Added some pen detail to mimic the circle around my image panel.
The border is cut with the Fiskars Upper Crest punch.  Some stitching, Copics, and flat backed pearls for the center of the sunflower finish it off.



Sneaking a layout in on you.  I only finished this one layout and the following card at an ALL DAY crop (sad, I know).  But I really like it.  Hubby captured some great photos of our 6 year old (almost 7) after losing his first tooth.  He was rather disappointed that he hadn't lost any, and I think we were starting to worry a tiny bit, when he lost this one, and the second followed two days later!  
I used a shaped pp from the MME Stella and Rose collection, and cute tree and bird chipboard shapes by Maya Road.  The trunk of the tree is covered in cork.

For the Viva la Verve! October week 2 sketch challenge: 

I used a sentiment from Verve's Small Phrases set, on a banner cut from MFT's First Place Award Die-namics.  The heart is cut by Verve's Jotted Heart die.  Papers are MME's Lost and Found Two Rosy collection.  A little hand stitching and pen detail, some seam binding, and a rolled rose from MFT's smallest rolled rose dies.



For the Viva la Verve! September week 4 sketch challenge: 

I used a sentiment from Verve's Words of Wisdom set (isn't this the coolest font combination?) on a Sweet Scallop Tag stamped, die cut, and popped.  Papers are October Afternoon, and I cut the banners with the Taylored Expressions Pennant Border.  Some shabby wrinkled seam binding, black twine, and rhinestones.


I used the new Verve Boo To You set and Echo Park's The Apothecary Emporium papers.  I cut the ghosts out with a Spellbinders Labels Two Nestability, masked the ghosts, and inked with Weathered Wood distress ink. The "Boo" portion of one of the sentiments and the little pole were cut out with MFT's Mini Pennant Die-namics.  SU scalloped border along the bottom with some tiny black rhinestones.

This haunted house was just too much fun to make.  Made from SVGCuts' Elmhurst Manor cutting file, my Cricut and SCAL software.  Nothing special to include, other than I Stickled the bats.  Three battery operated tea lights fit inside.  We placed it outside while handing out candy to trick or treaters this year.

My son's class had a pumpkin decorating contest.  We couldn't cut or carve our pumpkin, so we painted one of the tiny ones with black acrylic paint and decorated him/her? with a witch's hat and shoes on pipe cleaners for legs.  So fun.  Used the Easy Rosette die from TCP and some K&Co papers.  I just cut circles and crafted the cone shape for the hat by hand.  I found a free SVG file online and cut the little shoes with my Cricut and SCAL software.

 And here's a little close-up of the hat.