The Witching Hour Artist Trading Block

Hi all! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year for creating. It's cooler, life slows down a bit, and I can spend more time in my studio - yay! This sparkly, spooky Artist Trading Block might just be one of my all-time favorite Halloween projects. Everything I love is piled high on one of Eileen Hull's fantastic block dies. It doesn't get any better than this!

This girl from Tim Holtz's idea-ology Found Relatives cards is the perfect size to stand atop the block. I was inspired by Richele Christensen's use of the new witch hat Mini Blueprint stamp in a card she made for the new Stampers Anonymous release and borrowed the idea for my witch (Thanks, Richele!). I stamped the hat, then colored it in, trimmed it a bit and covered it with glitter. So cute!

The clock is a free image I shared a few years ago (you can find it HERE). After I covered the box with paper, I punched two holes in the back edge and inserted two painted dowels. I added glittered clock hands cut with Karen Burniston's new Clock and Gears die and stamped Tim's mini spiderweb in the middle of the clock, then adhered it to the posts.

The fence was cut from black cardstock using Tim's Ironwork Gate die from Sizzix. I carefully glued it around the edge of the box and cut off the gate so the pumpkins could be seen. Speaking of which - aren't they adorable?! I covered mini pumpkins with Elizabeth Craft Designs orange glitter and piled them near my witch's feet.

To create the ATB base, I cut my panels from medium weight chipboard using Eileen Hull's 3D Block die and assembled them. I painted the edges using Black Soot Distress paint and then covered the box with paper from My Mind's Eye. The text was computer generated and cut using Tim Holtz's Tattered Curvy Banners die. I added a bunting made with the punch outs included in the MME collection. The little wheels are unfinished wood disks I painted black and added punched circles to.

To finish off my witchy ATB, I gave my little witch a bat to hold. The bat is a die cut from Tim Holz that I covered with black glitter. I glued it to a black wire which easily keeps him in the air.

I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I enjoyed making it! Most of the supplies I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember, you can use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% on your order!

The glitter I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs and the chipboard and mini pumpkins can be found on Amazon.

Grafix Medium Weight Chipboard Sheets, 12-Inch by 12-Inch, Natural, 25-Pack 4 cup Bag Natural Dried Putka Pod Mini Pumpkins (1/2 to 3/4 inch diameter) Sizzix 3D Block Die Sizzix Tattered Curvy Banners Sizzix Ironwork Gate Strip Die Sizzix Mini Spider and 31 Sizzix Bewitching Hour Karen Burniston Clock and Gears My Mind's Eye - Lost and Found Halloween idea-ology Found Relatives Neenah Epic Black Cardstock Mini Blueprint 7 Stampers Anonymous Mini Halloween 3 idea-ology Adornments - Crossbones Idea-ology Long Fasteners idea-ology Paper String - Stripes Gathered Twigs Distress Ink Distress Paint - Black Soot ECD Microfine Glitter - Orange Silk Microfine Glitter - Basic Black Xyron Mega Runner Vagabond

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This month's Art With Heart Challenge theme is Fall Back. Make sure you check out the fantastic projects from the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team and share your own project HERE. The prize this month is Eileen's Candy Drawer die - one of my all-time faves. Can't wait to see what you create!

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Steampunk Poppy!

Hi everyone! It's time for the August Karen Burniston Designer Challenge! This month Karen asked the team to use any of the fun Character dies in their creations. These little dies are so adorable - I was a bit intimidated. My style is definitely more grungy than cute and I was worried that I would let the team down. I decided that I would try grunging up one of these cuties and my Steampunk Poppy is the result!

You may remember I made a similar shaped card a couple months ago as an anniversary card for my daughter. I decided to take that same idea and give it a steampunk feel. The card was cut from black cardstock and the outer edges embossed with a gear stamp from Artistic Outpost. After I embossed it, I painted over it with  Brushed Pewter Distress paint to give it a vintage look. I printed the watch stem and embossed it as well, then sandwiched it between the layers.

To make the clock, I cut white cardstock using Karen's clock face die and then stamped it with Tim Holtz's crackle stamp. I embossed it with several layers of UTEE to give it an enamel finish. The sentiment was computer-generated and then cut with the banner die from Karen's Lorna Label pop-up set.

And here's the star of the show - Poppy! To create my little steampunk owl, I cut the bottom layer from black cardstock and the top from cardstock that had been covered with foil tape. His spats (OMG, those spats!) were created by cutting the top foot layer from white cardstock and then trimming off the toes. I added buttons with black Sharpie. His little hat was cut with one of the dies from the Props 1 collection, stamped, and decorated with tiny Prima gears.

The monocle - because every steampunk owl needs one, right? - was made by cutting a piece of clear shrink plastic with the 1.75" circle die from Karen's Ring Accordion Album set, shrinking it, and then adding a wire loop around it. So cute! Since I wanted the front of the card to be clear, like the glass on a pocket watch, I cut out the center portion with another die from the set and added a piece of transparency. I added another clock on the back of the second panel so that it would show through the front.

Whew! I hope I didn't overwhelm you with the how-to! If I'd had more time I would have taken pictures along the way to better show my method. Please let me know if you have any questions on how it came together. It might look complicated, but it's not at all!

All the supplies I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs and Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off at IE. And check out what's new in their store - they have all the new dies from Karen available for preorder right now!

7/30 UPDATE! Thanks for all your kind words about my Steampunk Poppy card. You can find the ECD bundle deal in the links below!

Karen Burniston Poppy the Owl Karen Burniston Props 1 Karen Burniston Clock and Gears Die Set Karen Burniston Ring Accordion Album Die Karen Burniston Lorna Label Pop-Up Sizzix Magnetic Platform Artistic Outpost - Industrial Backgrounds Stampers Anon - Cracks and Specks Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape Ranger Clear Shrink Plastic Neenah Solar White Cardstock Neenah Epic Black Cardstock idea-ology Jute String Idea-ology Tiny Fasteners Idea-ology Long Fasteners Xyron Mega Runner Ranger Mini Glossy Accents Brushed Pewter Distress Paint Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel Ranger Silver Embossing Powder VersaMark Ink Pad Jet Black Archival Ink Frayed Burlap Distress Ink Gathered Twigs Distress Ink Vagabond

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If you'd like to make a card like this of your own, here is the watch stem I created for it. Make sure you stop by the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog on Wednesday to see what all the other designers came up with for the challenge, and to be inspired by a fantastic video tutorial from Karen!