While I know that this isn’t the best picture, I had such a rush creating this project today that I had to get it up on my blog as soon as possible. Like most moms, back to school has overtaken my life as of late.
Now I’m late to the game of getting ready for the winter craft show season. So, I’ll be busy creating cards, mini albums, and shadowboxes like these and selling my wares to those who will buy. But don’t worry… I’ll see you soon!
Happy Fall!
So….I’m behind on my son’s scrapbook. Way behind, as it were. However, I’m catching up. The sun outside is warm and bright, but the color and feel of this layout is oh so cool…
I used acrylic paint and black cardstock for the background layer. The scalloped-edge paper is from Pink Paislee. I wanted an interesting way to crop the photos, so I found inspiration in the oh-so-hot banner trend and cut them with an oval shape. Although this layout took longer than I wanted, I like the way that it ended up turning out. It was definitely a bit of a departure for me.
I can’t stay too long…I’ve got several more layouts to add to the book. Off I go! 
Since we are officially leaving the spookiest of seasons for one of hearth and harvest, I decided to do a sweet card celebrating the most popular of gourds. While I didn’t think that I necessarily had my fill of all things orange and black, I’ve been dying to find a use for this delicious collection of Lemonade paper from Basic Grey. Basic Grey is well known for their 6×6 pads of coordinating paper and once you find a design you like, it’s hard not to fall in love with each one. The shrunken size of each unique design (that is, what you would find in a full 12 x 12 size) gives you a little of the exact print you want and you get to savor each delicious little pre-distressed inch.
It’s hard to not talk in culinary terms when you’re dealing with a line like Lemonade. But the weather is becoming cool and refreshing, so why not pumpkins?
PS I’ll be editing and uploading a video (hopefully) this week on how I made this card. But just so you know, the pumpkin is a free piece of clip art I found on the web and paper-pieced together on this card. I used dimensional tape to vary the different sections of the pumpkin and added some detail to each piece with fine Sharpie markers. To make the edge detail, I used a set from Martha Stewart’s punch-around-the-page collection.
I’m happy to post this second Halloween-themed project as a Glue Dots Dottess. Although I didn’t know exactly what I would be making at first, I liked the idea of creating something that could celebrate Halloween or . . . not. There are a lot of people with birthdays during this time of year, of course, and others who just like to welcome the holiday season. Although I’ve never been a super-duper fan of Halloween (gasp!), I love to think of how it kind of signals the start of all the shopping madness, the cool, brisk, weather, and all of the things that scrapbookers love to take pictures of and make memories with in their albums.
This card didn’t take me long and I was going for a “Frankenstein’s monster” kind of feel with the eyelets and floss. The one bonus was that I finally got a little mileage out of my WRMK Big Bite. It was extremely useful in creating this card and I would have definitely struggled a bit had I not had it. The other thing that is interesting to note is that I altered the eyelet color from brown to black to better match the color scheme of the card.
How did I do that? It’s quite simple actually. The key is to have the right tools and some quality eyelets. Mine are from American Crafts. While I suppose you could use some permanent markers to do the job, I did it with black embossing powder and a heating tool. If you want to try this, you must use good set of tweezers because you can’t use your hands. It only takes a second to melt and once the powder does, be sure to give it about 30 seconds to cool before you place it down. If you don’t you risk marring the cover-up job. For other supplies and instructions, keep reading:
Die Cuts With a View (DCWV) textured cardstock
Basic Grey’s Eerie collection paper
Making Memories floss, metallic chipboard letters, Halloween foam stamps
American Crafts eyelets
Distress ink (Black Soot, Peeled Paint)
Versamark
Ranger embossing powder (black)
Glue Dots®
Distressing tool
Cut DCWV cardstock to desired size. (Card pictured is 5 inches by 6 inches.) Cut strips of printed paper into one inch sections and match them to the width of the card. Distress edges with tool and add black Distress ink directly to the edge of the paper. Stamp a sentiment in Versamark on colored cardstock and emboss with black embossing powder. Cut by hand and set aside. Emboss metallic chipboard letters and/or ink if desired and set aside. Attach paper strips to card with Glue Dots®. Mark large and small cross-stich “X’s” of varying heights with a pencil. Punch corresponding holes. Attach eyelets to larger holes. Stitch floss through the holes and tie tightly on the back side of card. Shadow edges of card with distress ink if desired. Add sentiment and other additional embellishments with mini Glue Dots®.
So tell me, does this little box hold tricks or treats? While the answer is ultimately your decision, I can show you how easy this project is to make. Here is a list of what you will need:
One unfinished wooden box (found at any craft store)
Basic Grey’s Eerie collection paper
Black cardstock
Acrylic paint (Purple, Black)
Distress ink (Black Soot)
Alcohol ink (Caramel)
Distress Stickles (Rock Candy)
Sizzix die cuts (Spooky House, Picket Fence)
Grungeboard die cut (Skeleton)
Acetate
Chipboard/cardboard
Glue Dots®
File (for distressing and finishing edges)
Instructions:
Paint the inside and outside of the box that will not be covered by paper. (This can be as much or as little as you would like.) Take measurements and using Glue Dots®, add paper to the sections of the box that you would like covered.
File edges and shade with distress ink.
Punch out assorted die cuts with black cardstock and paint assorted chipboard/cardboard pieces; add Stickles for texture. After drying, add the pieces as desired with Glue Dots®. (Note: Pop up Glue Dots® help add dimension.)
To create a “window” for the top of the box, decorate a chipboard/cardboard shape with alcohol ink (or distress ink) and attach it to a piece of acetate with mini Glue Dots®. Attach the assembled window to the box with additional mini Glue Dots®. NOTE: My “window” was made with upcycled goods. The pane was the leftover die cut from my son’s Memory card game and the acetate was leftover packaging from some acrylic stamps.
Fill with treats or tricks!
I’ve just uploaded a new video showing how to take one die cut and use it in several different ways. While I have a million and one ideas that I would love to share, it takes some time to go from idea to concept to product. (I often wake up with ideas….seriously.) However, I always try to be insightful and help you (and me) stretch a dollar with my crafting. To do that, I have to think outside-the-box a bit and try to see things from several angles. How was this supply, this tool, this material supposed to be used and how I can I use it differently? How can I improve on it and use it better?
The video was definitely an experiment. I hadn’t practiced any of the projects before I started filming. In a recent post I talked about working on a project and although I completed it, I realized that it didn’t really manifest in the way that I envisioned. That’s okay. I learned from my mistakes. But it never pays to play it safe.
You’ve got a whole new 60 minutes to work all around that little box in your brain. Think a little first.
Then, jump! When you do you can come up with something like this:
A Spooky Scene: Experimenting with Alcohol Inks
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