Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - G-G-G-Ghost!

Hi all! It's time again for Karen Burniston's Designer Challenge. The theme this month is G-G-G-Ghost! And this card has some very spooky ghosts in store for you...but they're very shy.

I was inspired by my fellow teammate, Fran Sabad's, Phantom of the Opera card from a few weeks ago. I love how she combined the Katherine Label and the circle from the Snowman Twist Circle set to make a rising moon card. I thought a spooky graveyard scene with the moon rising at the card was opened would be perfect for the ghostly theme.

And here are my spooky little apparitions! I thought it would be cool if they weren't just stationary, but rose with the moon as the card was opened, floating out from behind the tombstones. I figured out an easy way to make it happen and it really takes the card to a whole new level!

One thing I've really been wanting to try is the new Distress Oxides on black cardstock. I thought it might make a really eerie night sky for my witch to fly across and I was right! I took a few pics while I was making my card to show you how I created it.

I started by pressing Faded Jeans, Wilted Violet, and Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide inks onto a non-stick craft sheet as shown, then spritzing them with water.

I dragged black cardstock through the ink and dried it. Then pressed it into the droplets to pick up more ink and dried it again. How lucky was it that the Fossilized Amber ended up right where my moon would be? Cool! I wanted to add a bit more depth so a wiped my sheet clean and pressed just the Faded Jeans and Wilted Violet into the sheet - this time I spritzed with Perfect Pearls mist to see what kind of effect I would get.

 Ooooooh. Pretty good effect, right?? I love how this turned out!

So the mechanism would match the card, I inked up a scrap of cardstock and then die cut the mechanism and assembled it. To get my ghosts to dangle, I cut a small slit in the bottom of the mechanism and threaded a thin piece of clear acetate through, securing with tape. After fiddling with the placement, I adhered a ghost to the strip, adding another ghost to his arm with glue.

The moon was created by cutting watercolor paper with the large circle from the Snowman Twist Circle set, then pressing it into a nonstick craft sheet that's been inked with Antique Linen and Pumice Stone Distress inks. The witch is a Tim Holtz stamp that was stamped in black and fussy cut. The tombstone strip is popped out in the center with foam dots, then adhered to the card on the edges with double-sided tape.

How gorgeous is that spooky night sky?! And how adorable are those little ghosts peeking out from behind the tombstones? I wish you could see it in motion - it's so fun to see those ghosts popping up! I will probably post a video on my Instagram, so be sure and follow if you'd like to see it.

You can find all the supplies I used at Simon Says Stamp via the links below.

Karen Burniston KATHERINE LABEL POP UP Die Set 1011 Karen Burniston SNOWMAN TWIST CIRCLE Die Set 1012 Karen Burniston HALLOWEEN SCENE Die Set 1014 Karen Burniston HALLOWEEN ELEMENTS Dies 1013 Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad FADED JEANS Ranger TDO55945 Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET Ranger TDO56355 Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad FOSSILIZED AMBER Ranger TDO55983 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad PUMICE STONE Ranger TIM27140 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad ANTIQUE LINEN Ranger TIM19497 Neenah ECLIPSE BLACK Astrobrights 8.5 x 11 Cardstock 99370 Heidi Swapp VELLUM MINC Surfaces 313004 Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps MINI HALLOWEEN 3 CMS140 Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps HALLOWEEN SILHOUETTES CMS115

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Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed my take on the challenge and my Distress Oxides tutorial. I had a blast making this card! Be sure and check out Karen's blog tomorrow for an amazing card tutorial and lots of G-G-G-Ghostly inspiration from the team.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:
Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge - A Walk on the Dark Side
Frilly and Funky Challenge - Show Us Your Stamps

Transforming a Dollar Store Candle with Die Cuts!

Hi everyone! I haven't done a dollar store project in ages, but I have a super fun one for you today. I bought a bunch of these battery operated candles last year, thinking I'd do something to them, and then never had time. With the release of Karen Burniston's new Halloween dies, I was inspired to turn them into some spooky little decor pieces. So easy you can make one in less than 30 minutes - 10 of that is just me cleaning off my desk! ;-)

To create adhesive die cuts, I covered black cardstock with 2" wide double-sided adhesive, then placed my dies on top and ran them through my big shot. After that, it was as easy and removing the backing and placing the images where I wanted them. I was surprised to find that they adhered to the slightly waxy coating with no problem.

The base is an unfinished wood piece from the craft store. It's painted with black acrylic paint. The candle just sits on top of it (if it was adhered it would cover up the switch).

I added a scrap of the spider web to the tree to dangle a spider from. Thin wire makes a perfect web strand. It's tucked under the web and secured with the adhesive on the back. I cut two spiders and sandwiched the wire between them.

The graveyard die cut almost covers the entire candle, leaving the perfect gap to add a pumpkin and raven.

Here it is all lit up. Not bad for a buck, right?! Oh, and I added spider webs to the inside of the word 'BOO' by first cutting out two spider webs, then cutting them again with the boo die. I saved the inside portion of the o's and place them into the center of the die cut boo. Make sense?

I love how these turned out - and it was SO easy! You could also use this idea for any type of holiday or theme. These would make super inexpensive party favors or gifts for the holidays, done in a different theme.

The supplies I used can be found Simon Says Stamp via the links below.

Karen Burniston HALLOWEEN SCENE Die Set 1014 Karen Burniston HALLOWEEN ELEMENTS Dies 1013 Ranger Paint Dabber BLACK TIE RAD43683 Neenah ECLIPSE BLACK Astrobrights 8.5 x 11 Cardstock 99370 Elizabeth Craft Designs DOUBLE SIDED TAPE ROLL 2.5 Inches Clear Adhesive 020505 Sizzix MAGNETIC PLATFORM FOR WAFER THIN DIES Accessory 656499 Sizzix BIG SHOT PLUS MACHINE Gray And White 660340

LinkDeli.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great rest of your week!

Paper Pros Challenge - Halloween

Hi all! This month, the Paper Pros challenge theme is Halloween - woo hoo! I don't need much encouragement to get out my inks and stamps when it's a Halloween challenge. :) I haven't had the chance to use Karen Burniston's new Charm Accordion die set, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to break it in.

I started by created backgrounds using various colors of distress ink, plus wilted violet distress oxide. I love the way the inks work together! After drying the backgrounds, I die cut them using the Charm Accordion die. I was inspired by Karen's road trip card to alter my accordion to make the panels offset. To do this, you just cut the joined panel in half and flip one upside down. I added a hinge made from black cardstock to rejoin them (not shown in this pic).

The small panel is just perfect for Tim Holtz's mini blueprint Halloween stamps. I stamped them first on the panel, then again on white cardstock. I cut them out, then colored them and adhered them to the panels with foam dots.

I had the idea to use the spiderwebs from Karen's Halloween Scene set to join the panels. To make sure they were extra secure, I made little tabs from vellum to attach them to the panels.

Finally, I added stamps and rub ons from Tim Holtz, plus little mirrored stars - perfect for this week's 'It's Written in the Stars' theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog.

Here is the front of the card. I sponged a piece of white cardstock with wilted violet distress oxide, then die cut the boo using the die from Karen's Halloween Elements set. A bit more stamping, and I was done.

The supplies I used can be found at Simon Says Stamp via the links below.

Karen Burniston HALLOWEEN ELEMENTS Dies 1013 Karen Burniston HALLOWEEN SCENE Die Set 1014 Tim Holtz Distress OXIDE INK PAD SET OF 12 Ranger RANGER97 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad BLACK SOOT Ranger TIM19541 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad HICKORY SMOKE Ranger TIM43232 Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps MINI BLUEPRINTS 7 CMS203 Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps MINI BLUEPRINTS FIVE 5 cms170 Tim Holtz Idea-ology GOTHIC Remnant Rubs TH93308 Tim Holtz Idea-ology MIRRORED STARS TH93083 Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps HALLOWEEN CUTOUTS CMS139 Heidi Swapp VELLUM MINC Surfaces 313004 Tim Holtz DETAILER WATER BRUSH Ranger Watercoloring TIP33080

LinkDeli.com

Thanks so much for stopping by! Check out Karen's blog to see what she came up with for this challenge, plus find links to the other Paper Pros' projects.

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - My Style

Hi all! I'm so excited to share a new card and some great news with you! The incredibly talented Karen Burniston has formed a design team for her new company and I was very honored to have been invited to join it. Yay! This month is our first Designer Challenge and the theme is 'My Style'. I couldn't resist using some of her new Halloween dies along with Tim Holtz's papers to make a spooky Twist Panel pop-up card.

The card measures 5"x 5". On the front, I used the tombstones die from the new Halloween Scene die set. The spider is from the same set. I love all the cool dies that come in that one! The tag comes in the Twist Panel Pop-Up set.

The Twist Panel die set makes it so easy to create a WOW card like this! I thought the panels would be perfect for a coven of witches. I added little hats cut from glitter paper using the die from the new Halloween Elements set. The fence is from the new House and Fence Pop-Up set - can't wait to use that set more! Finally, I added ravens, spiders, spider webs, and a bat using dies from the Halloween Elements and Halloween Scene sets. The sentiment stamps I used are both from a set called Wicked, by Oxford Impressions.

The supplies can be found at Simon Says Stamp via the links below.

Twist Panel Pop-Up Die Set House & Fence Pop-Up Halloween Elements Halloween Scene Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Mini Paper Stash HALLOWEEN Paperie TH93595 Tim Holtz Idea-ology HALLOWEEN Trimmings TH93608 Tim Holtz Idea-ology GOTHIC Remnant Rubs TH93308 Heidi Swapp VELLUM MINC Surfaces 313004

LinkDeli.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Make sure you check out Karen's blog tomorrow for a cool technique video and tons of inspiration from the team!

Halloween Inspiration and Huge Sizzix Sale

Hi all! It's been such a busy summer that I haven't really had a lot of time to post. I have been working on a major studio redo that I can't wait to share with you - in just a few more weeks I should be totally done!

In the meantime, I thought I'd let you know that Sizzix is having another great Labor Day sale. I gathered up a few projects from last year plus some older projects that all use sale dies. Eileen Hull's cool Twist and Style tool is also on sale and it's a fun way to incorporate wire into your projects like I did on the little fairy witch cloche project. Hopefully you'll find some inspiration for your Halloween crafting!

Click the project title below to see the original post/tutorial.

Boo Wreath

Wicked Halloween Altered Book

Halloween Fairy

Apothecary Shadow Box

Halloween Luminary

Spooky Yupo Resist

The Witching Hour ATB

Click the banner below to shop the sale!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a fantastic weekend!

New Eileen Hull eBook - Journal Treasury

Hi all! I have exciting news! The eBook I hinted about a couple months ago is being released today! Yay! If you're a planner addict, or love art journaling, or are obsessed with making books of all types, this eBook is for you. Eileen's Journal die from Sizzix is seriously one of the coolest dies out there and Journal Treasury contains 85 projects created by some of the most talented designers in the industry using this amazing die. This eBook is a treasure trove of inspiration.

You might remember this cute little shadow box I did back in May showing a new way to use the die. The instructions for this one are in the book!

And here's a sweet Christmas version I did just a couple weeks ago. I love finding new ways to use my dies - you get so much more bang for your buck that way. I also have a couple actual journals in the works that I will be sharing very soon.

The price of the book for the month of August is $11.87 which is 30% off the regular price of $16.99! Click on the image above to buy your copy. After you purchase it, you'll be emailed a link to download your copy. It make take a few minutes due to the amount of images in the book (that's a good thing!). After that, just grab your dies and supplies and have fun!

If you don't already have Eileen's Journal die, you can get one from Sizzix. They finally have them back in stock, so get one while you can! They seem to fly off the shelves in minutes.

Eileen Hull Journal Die Grafix Medium Weight Chipboard Sheets, 12-Inch by 12-Inch, Natural, 25-Pack

LinkDeli.com

Thanks so much for stopping by today - have a great week!