Halloween magic

I did not set out to make a Halloween card per se, but now I am glad I did. 

It all started with stencils and sprays.

 

To build up texture I used more stencils and 'Aged silver' embossing enamel (Stampendous).

 

I wanted a grungy look, so I stenciled black gesso onto the card, then poured the enamel over and heat embossed it.

 

To complete the card I found die cuts of a gigantic star and two cats that I had received from my crafting friends. Never knew what to use them for, but today was apparently the day - I was aided in my thinking process by a couple of challenges.

 

I cut out the bats from black card stock and arranged everything. I printed out the sentiment.

 

Entering this in the challenges that inspired me today:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Add some texture

TioT: Emboss it 

Archiscraps: Use a large star as a feature

Craft Rocket: #140 Use dies 

As You Like It: Favorite Halloween colors - and why?  - Mine is anything with purple, be it yellow, orange, black, even green.

Creative Artiste Mixed media: #130 Anything MM goes 

A jungle cat in his garden

 Today I am showing the card which has already gone off to its recipient (go meet Julia and view her great blog). We both participated in the Daisy Chain card exchange - perhaps you will, too? (here)

 

The card started with a brand new embossing folder ('Enchanted jungle' by Craft Consortium). After having watched a bunch of YouTube videos on how to apply multiple colors on an embossing folder, then pressing it and calling it a day, I wanted to try it too. However, I got very disheartened as I just didn't get this technique to work for me.

I resorted to easier means. I swiped the debossed side of the folder with black in and pressed it through. This gave me a blotchy background (which was easy to correct later), but it also gave me me outlines. I painted the figures in with my Gansai Tambi watercolors.

The result reads like a wonderful painting of a leopard sitting in his jungle garden.

 I am showing this in these challenges:

Craft Rocket: #138 Animals

SUYP: #125 Summer

Critter Crazy: #112 AG w/a critter 

CYHTP: AG w/a twist of Purple  - I am playing AG

NBUS: #88 AG never before used schtuff - the item being my embossing folder

 

 

This little piggy -

- wants to say: Happy Birthday!

I have a new piggy die (by Creative Depot) and an old four leaf clover stamp (bought in 2009 at Papersource!!) and now it was time to combine the two. 

I stamped the clover once directly to the card and once on paper, then cut it out and adhered behind the die cut. I colored the clovers in with watercolors, and then some of the background. (Which would have been easier to do beforehand had I thought about it...)

The text is a die cut as well, green peeking behind the pink as a shadow.

Entering this card in the challenges that inspired its creation:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #rrcb209 Summer scenes

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies

AAA Birthday: #50 Watercolors

Try Stamping on Tuesday: #612 sketch 

Double Trouble: #141 Something, Anything - Claiming  THING 1 and THING 3 (twice!). 

Snippets for CAS

 Why is CAS - clean and simple - so hard to pull off??  When elements are reduced and the background noise is not there everything else has to sit.

I am in awe of this style and wanted to try my hand at it again. 

The vase is stamped directly onto the card base, the floral arrangement of golden twigs was actually a snippet of golden craft paper put to good use. It's a birthday card. I handwrote the text ("Armfuls of happiness").

Entering it into the challenges that inspired it:

We Love Stamping: June AG / or CAS - I was inspired by the CAS option

Crafty Chicks Challenge: #668 CAS

Addicted to Stamps: #448 Birthdays

Snippets Challenge: #456 

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies

Male greetings...

 ... are the hardest for me to make. I don't know men that enjoy getting cards with tools or beer bottles on them, as I don't do cards for women with lipsticks or perfume bottles on them. So something more neutral, while still being fun, was the order of the day.

I started by making my own background with Yupo paper and alcohol markers. I used two shades of grey for the background and a dark brown for the 'matting'.

I then stamped leaves with two colors with Distress inks, then went in with the outline stamp and stamped it a bit offset from the leaves. The stamp set has coordinating dies and it took some fiddling to get them to die cut properly.

 

Here is the finished card. I added a birthday-appropriate sentiment and a small paper flier to bring in some movement and add a fun factor, both recently purchased from the wonderful Perlenfischer company.

I am entering this into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge: 671/2 Masculine

Friendship Challenge: #76 Die Natur wird grün

Stamping Sensations Challenge: April - I love...   - I love that leaf stamp set by Altenew!

Craft Rocket Challenges: #91 For the boys/ men - This card is for my son

Mod Squad Challenge: April anything goes