Halloween--Stampin' Up! Style

Okay, so I should be going to bed after this busy day, and what am I doing instead?? Surfing to see what's going on in everyone else's stamping world! But after finding this gem, boy, am I glad I didn't head right for the pillow!

Check out the link below to see how the Stampin' Up! staff at the home office celebrated Halloween during their lunch hour. There are some awesome pictures and a short video of some of the creative people responsible for the happiness we find between the covers of the SU! catalog! We're usually treated to some of their musical talent at SU! events--it's great to get a snippet at home.

http://kwernerdesign.com/blog/2008/10/halloween-2008-stampin-up-style.html

Happy Halloween!

Since I seem to be spending more time in my car than with cards and my stamping friends lately, I thought I'd sneak in here and at least show you some of the great cards I received in a recent Holiday Mini Catalog swap I participated in. I have a couple groups that I swap with on a regular basis, and they always amaze me with all the new ideas they come up with. I'll proceed with all my commentary on all these works of art, but just scroll through and enjoy the pictures if you'd rather not hear about all the "gruesome" details. Have a great day!!





I love all the detail that Barbara Faulkner put into the card at the right! She used "Season of Friendship" and "Halloween Frights," both from the Holiday Mini Catalog, to create this spooky scene. This picture doesn't do justice to the glossy cardstock background, but the fence was stamped in Stazon, a circle mask was added to create the moon, and then Not Quite Navy and Close to Cocoa inks were brayered on. Both the tree and the owl were stamped and then cut out before being added to the card, which adds great depth. The owl was adhere with a Dimensional, and even has two Crystal Effects dots for eyes. Summer Sun ink was daubered in to color the moon, with a little Pumpkin Pie dotted in to really make it glow. Add two bats and it's done.




This next card, designed by Andrea Bareis, is cool--because other than Glenda, the Good Witch (of Wizard of Oz fame), I've never really thought of witches as glitzy characters--but this fashionable witches' hat (from the "Eat, Drink & Be Scary" set) is bewitchingly be-dazzled! Andrea used some Chunky Sprinkles glitter on the "ribbon" of the hat (underneath the brad) and the irridescent quality of the glitter adds just the right touch! (Other details: background design: Ghostly Greetings Designer Series paper. Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain ribbon, Vintage brads, black embossing powder, Dimensionals.)

Here's another card that uses glitter! Scheli Abraham used embossed images from "Halloween Frights" over those cool circles from "Pick A Petal" and layered them on top of Kiwi Kiss and Perfect Plum cardstock, and some designer paper from "Ghostly Greetings." She added the "bling" by first putting down some Sticky Strip and then sprinkling Fine Cosmos glitter on top. A little piece of Tangerine striped grosgrain tied once to make a bow and it's ready to go!

Love the "up-to-no-good" look on this cat on Alison Cope's card. This card uses Basic Gray cardstock, an option I tend to forget about. It's a perfect choice for a Halloween card! The moon is a punched 1-3/4" circle of So Saffron cardstock that was adhered to the gray before rolling with the "Frightful Fence" jumbo wheel.The stars are stamped with silver ink and Basic Gray ink is sponged here and there to give that smoky/spooky feel.

Strips of Designer Paper make up the "quilted" background of this card design by Sara Cimbaro. It's a great technique for using up those scraps of paper too nice to throw away. The smiling scarecrow is from the "Happy Blessings' stamp set, found in the Holiday Mini catalog. This is one swap I won't be putting away just yet--the colors work great for November too!

Glossy cardstock is again used to create that "spooky night" feel here on Lynn Weiss' House of Haunts Halloween card. The tree is stamped with Black Staz-On ink, and a 3/4" punched circle mask is used to create the moon before Not Quite Navy, Perfect Plum, Tangerine Tango and Kiwi Kiss ink is sponged on. Summer Sun ink is then added to the moon. Lots of "little extras" that you might not notice (like the Kiwi AND Tangerine cardstock pieces under the glossy cardstock) make this one of my favorite cards of the "season!"

And last but not least, here's "Frank," a treat bag project that my stamp clubs did earlier this month. I'm sure you've seen lots of him all over Splitcoast--he's certainly not my original idea. He was just so cute I couldn't resist. It was so fun to see all the different "personalities" that came out on everyone's treat bags, depending on the angle of the eyes, etc.

Frank's "base" is just a little white peanut bag from the party store, cut down to about 4". Then we used the Top Note die and the Big Shot for his face and hair. Punches make up the rest of his features. Can you guess how we made the "bolts?" They're actually the middle-sized arrow from the "My Way" punch, with just a bit of the tip of the arrow trimmed off. How clever is that!

Ready, Set, Here Goes Nothing. . .

I've been thinking about getting a blog started for awhile now, especially since my newsletter efforts have resulted in less than desired outcomes! I'd get something just so, there'd be a glitch, a blip or some other electronic hiccup, and poof! My content was gone. Probably operator error, but no matter what the reason, I'd have no newsletter to show for all my work. So, here I am, adding something else new to an already-crazy Fall schedule! Who knows, maybe it'll be just the thing I need to add some sanity to my day!!

I hope to use this blog to keep you updated on stamping opportunities and ideas you can use for projects, as well as Stampin' Up! promotions and specials. With having two main catalogs plus Occasions and Holiday mini catalogs every year, there's a lot to keep up with, and I don't know about you, but taking it in little chunks seems to be working better for me lately! AND if my blog posts don't go *poof* into cyber space like some of my disappearring newsletter entries, that'll be an extra bonus!! Let me know what you think!