The last of my Halloween cards...

I love making the pop and twist cards, so here are two I made for Halloween.

I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on my tag (which was also cut with a Cuttlebug die) and then lightly brushed over the raised portions with a white ink pad. The cool skeleton is an unbranded die as are the spider and web, but the "Boo!" was cut out with some very old Cuttlebug alphabet dies. Did you notice the green gems I put in the skeleton's eye sockets?

The fun part comes in embellishing the inside panels. I've used a variety of stamps, dies, punches, stickers, and cut-outs from paper pads to finish them. It's a great way to use up all those odds and ends!

Fun cards, don't you think?

Finally, I made a waterfall card. The flipping panels on this card gave me a chance to use some of the little stamps I rarely seem to get a chance to use. I also found some little pumpkin eyelets in my stash that I didn't even know I had! The sentiment on each panel was printed with my computer.

Here's a collage of photos of each small frame on my flip panel.

And, at last, a peek at the inside of my waterfall card.

While these cards take a lot of time to make, they are definitely satisfying when they turn out well.

As it is now past 9 pm on Halloween night, the stream of trick-or-treaters to our door has pretty much stopped. We have only a few packages of treats left, so it seems I calculated fairly accurately, even though it was pretty cold here (32 degrees Fahrenheit). The little ones were all so cute in their costumes. I love seeing them and wishing them Happy Halloween.

I hope you've had an enjoyable evening, too.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Don't judge a card by its cover...

This Halloween card looks pretty ordinary. I used a heat-embossed sentiment on a stitched flag/banner. I also added half of a spider web doily.

The spider strip came from the same 12" X 12" Halloween stack as the paper for the card base. I just cut it out, matted it with black and adhered it to my card. Oh, yes, I also added a few black gems in between the spiders. They're casting those weird green shadows from the green paper my card is sitting on.

But when you open up this very ordinary card, the inside has a fun dimensional aspect that is SO EASY to achieve.

My little scene is set inside the window with a sparkly bat adhered to one of the bottom corners.

Here's how I did it:

I decided that I would make a 4" X 6" card, so I cut a 12" X 12" piece of striped cardstock in half.  Then I scored it at 3/8", 4", 4 3/8", and 8" and reinforced those score lines with my bone folder.

I adhered a strip of strong double-sided tape between the end of the CS and the first 3/8" score line. You need to put your tape as close to the fold as you can, without covering the fold.

Between the first and second score lines, I cut an aperture with a rectangular nesting die (you can use any shape), then I cut a frame for my aperture with that die and the next bigger nesting die. You can see that I also added a bat and a small triangle where I can write a brief note and sign the card.

The panel on the far right (above) is the card front, which I embellished as I've described.

Then it was time to decorate the inside. When the CS is flipped over, the aperture should be on the right, and the panel to decorate is now between the first and second scores from the left. I cut a piece of black cardstock that was about 3" X 5 3/4" and added my embellishments so they would show through my aperture. You really only need a piece large enough to cover the space behind your aperture. I just used this longer piece because it was there!

Now lay your inside panel flat between the first and second score lines and make sure you can fold the front of your card easily over the inside. If not, slightly trim that first 3/8" flap (where the double-sided tape is) so that you can easily fold your card. Once that is done, pull the backing off your tape, and continuing to hold the card flat, fold the front over to the right and press down so that the tape makes contact with the inside front.

Now, when you open the card, the back of your card will form a little 3D scene, almost like a shadow box.

Here's a look at the card from the top when it's open. The beauty is it will lie flat in your envelope.

If you would rather make a 5 1/2" high card, you can easily just cut your 12" X 12" cardstock to that height and proceed the same way. You'll end up with a 4" X 5 1/2" card so it will fit nicely in an A2 envelope.



I made a couple of Christmas cards using this technique, and I'll show you those in a later post. This post has gotten long enough!

Just one little whine, though, before I go. Guess what it did here today? It SNOWED! Ugh! And they're predicting that we are going to have a cold and snowy winter - which could mean 70-100 inches of snow. Double Ugh! I just hope it isn't too cold for the little ones to go trick or treating on Halloween.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Halloween box card...

I made this fun box card recently. I actually used a die (unbranded) for the card base, but made my actual box a little taller than the die by not cutting the bottom edge and extending the side cuts and scores by hand. Hope that's understandable.

My flying bats are actually stickers that are held up with a narrow strip of clear plastic packaging. I stuck them onto the strip and then backed them with some black cardstock.

My stamped sentiment on the front flap is by My Sentiments Exactly.

My moon (stitched circle die) and witch are both unbranded dies, but my spooky tree was cut with a Spellbinders die. The tiny little stars came with the box card die set. I love this size of star - it makes the perfect tiny little embellishment.

The front of my card was decorated with a pale orange web and black spider (both unbranded dies). I think you can see in the photo that I've added some sparkle to the body of the spider. I also rounded his body with a flower-shaping tool and then used a pop-dot to keep it elevated in the center.

The back of my card has a white panel so that I can write a personal note. Just a funny little spider stamp to decorate it!

Well, my problems continued with my computer (less than a year old), even after it had been sent back to the manufacturer where they replaced the hard drive. I contacted the tech at the store, and he told me it would have to go back to the manufacturer AGAIN for repair of the graphics card or mother board. He wasn't sure which.  I was so fed up that I took it back to the store and told them it was a lemon!!! I said I wanted them to take it back and give me a new one. After a little hemming and hawing (and after I threatened to beat up the manager...in a humorous way), they said I could go ahead and pick out any computer in the same price range as an even exchange. Well, I couldn't get back to the computer display room fast enough. I didn't want to give them a chance to change their minds!

They had an upgraded version of the same computer as my previous one on sale (so it was the same price) and I decided to go with that. It's a mid-price computer, and there really wasn't much else to choose from with all of the attributes I wanted.

I've now had my new computer all of one day, and I'm still in the process of reloading all my programs, etc., that I use on a daily basis. It's a lot of work, but so far I'm happy with this one. Fingers crossed it continues to work well. If it doesn't, beware--there will be some four-letter words included in my blog posts!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Up, up and away...

I love hot air balloons - I even took a ride in one once. It was such a peaceful ride, other than the occasional firing of the burner to keep the balloon aloft. The view was incredible! It's surprising how many animals are hiding in the landscape below and come scurrying out when they hear the sudden noise of the burner. 

I made this card for my SIL's birthday, which is today (Happy birthday, Marcel!). The balloon and cloud dies were purchased online from an unbranded source. I cut the bigger balloon four times so that I could piece together the different colors. I kept all of the extra cutouts so I can use them on another card or two. The smaller balloon was backed with double-sided adhesive and then the cut-out areas were filled with glitter.

I think you can see in this photo how I've attached the larger balloon and one of the clouds with foam tape to give them a little "lift" (pun intended).

The inside was kept pretty plain - this is a masculine card, after all. :)

Today, I am doing the laundry and also hoping to get my fall decorations out. It's definitely time to do that. If I don't get at it now, it'll be too late, and I'll just have to skip over them and go right to Christmas. LOL.

I hope you have a spectacular week. Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.

Cheryl

Three-step flower stamping...

I made this card before we went on our trip, but I'm just getting around to sharing it with you now. I used an unbranded stamp set for the hibiscus image that called for three different colors of ink. It's definitely not the most sophisticated stamp set, but I still think it turned out rather pretty.

The embossing on my pink strip at the bottom was made with a border embossing folder (by Darice, I think).

Here's a close-up of the flower.  The butterfly and the sentiment are from a freebie set that came with a magazine.

I've used a couple of ProMarkers to color the butterfly.

If you look closely, you can see that I used a gold metallic pen to draw in the stamens for my hibiscus.

The sentiment on the inside of my card is one from a Fiskars birthday set.

The fancy corners here and on the front of my card were made with a Cheery Lynn die.  I don't usually think to use my corner dies, but I'm glad I did here.

I've been working on Halloween cards, lately, and I'll be sharing those with you in the near future. I've still got lots more to make, so I've got to keep my nose to the grindstone, as they say.

I also want to share a few pictures of our trip with you, but I've got to get them onto my computer first. Hopefully, I can get that done sometime this week, too.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #130: Witchy or Autumn...

It's that time of year when we all get to enjoy some Autumn splendor (at least in my hemisphere) and look forward to Halloween. For our latest challenge over on Let's Craft and Create, I decided to focus on the "Witchy" part.

I first cut out a circle from a Post-It note, to be used as the mask for my moon. Then I set about inking up the rest of my cream-colored panel with blues and pinks and even a little yellow ink around the edges of my moon.

Once that was done, I used some unbranded dies to cut my witch, tree and grass out of black CS

My sentiment is from one of the various Halloween stamp sets I have collected over the years. I used some Versafine ink and then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder to help make those tiny letters more legible.

On the inside of my card I added a die-cut sentiment and a stamped and heat-embossed cat. If you look closely, you'll notice that I gave him some green eyes!

Now it's your turn. Do you have as much fun making Halloween cards as I do? Well, then, join us for this super fun challenge. Just post your creation on the Let's Craft and Create blog, and we'll pick a winner the first week in November.

This is just the impetus you need to get those Halloween cards made, right? I'm REALLY looking forward to visiting your blogs and seeing your projects. Halloween is my favorite card-making holiday!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and remember to laugh--a little or a lot--every day.
Cheryl