31 Days of All Hallows Eve - Day 31 - Today's the Day!

 Today is Halloween! Or is I put it in my original poem, Hallowee! I hope everyone has a good time, safe and courteous and reaping in the candy!! Today I created a hybrid project, which is a mix between digital and paper crafting.

I pulled together several images that were free clipart, adding them to a paper from Rucola Designs, paper #7 from her Dead or Alive paper set. I printed them twice so that I cold cut out the figures and add them with dimensional tape. I added highlights with a white gel pen, and outlined th figures with black marker.

The poem is an original by yours truly. I was complaining to my daughter that I had lost my mojo (here, mojo, pretty please come back, mojo) regarding Halloween crafting. Shocking, isn't it? She suggested I write a Halloween poem, since I've been working on an e-book of Haiku poetry. What I came up with today is not Haiku. It's an adaptation of the little kids' poem called Five Little Pumpkins.

To qualify as a craft project, I needed to first write the poem, then use it on a papercraft project. I used Photoshop Elements 2022. The text is called Viner Hand ITC Regular. I cut out the cats, mummy, ghost and flying witch with my special scissors that I use for what I call "fussy-cutting". It's shaped like tweezers and about the same size. I can get into really tight places as you can see.

I hope you've enjoyed my series of 31 Days of All Hallows Eve. I promised one lucky person who visited and commented on my posts a prize. It's a culmination of all my coloring pages/Zen doodling I've drawn. Some have been published on this blog; others have not seen the light of day. I am putting together a coloring book early next year. I'll let you all know who won this prize during November. 

Challenges I am Entering:

Crazy for Cats - Anything Cats Goes/Meow-o-een

Creative Fingers - Anything Goes

Most Magical Time of the Year - HAlloween/Christmas

Classic Design - Anything Goes

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie - Mostly Black

 

Anything Goes at Catch the Bug

This month the challenge theme at Catch the Bug is ANYTHING GOES! I'm still working on my Christmas cards, so my project features two holiday-themed images from Bugaboo: FURBAC Front Steps & BUGCAT Christmas Topper.
To give my card dimension, I printed my image three times. After coloring my front door scene, I used dimensional tap to add two extra Copic-colored images of the cats. I also colored and cut out an extra door's ribbon.
Once the card had all its layers, I added papers to frame and embellish it. I added a few sparkly snowflakes and a row of jewels, with a sentiment sticker on the door to finish off my holiday card. I can't believe I'm so close to reaching my holiday card stash goal! A special thanks to Bugaboo Stamps for offering a Christmas in July daily challenge last week. I won some awesome digis from the store!

Challenges I am Entering:

 Catch the Bug - Anything Goes

12 Months of Christmas - Sparkle, Glitter & Bling

Crafter's Castle - AG w/optional Any Occasion (Christmas)

My Time  to Craft -  Christmas in July

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Critter Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything Animal Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Sheepski Designs - Animal Madness

A Plaid Christmas at the 12 Months of Christmas blog

Hello, crafters! My DT make today is for the 12 Months of Christmas. Their challenge twist this month (which is optional) is Christmas Plaids. I used some lovely papers from Decosse's Dynamite doodles for my card, and an paw-some, I mean awesome, digi image from this month's sponsor, Ike's Art. It's called Waiting for Santa, which I thought made the perfect sentiment for my card.

I printed the uncolored image onto a Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' paper from the set below to create an outdoor scene for my cats to look out on.

Once it was printed, I colored the image with Copics and gel pens. How do you think my carpet turned out? I used 4 different markers for that! Once I was finished coloring, I framed it with red cardstock (not really-I'm out of red! so I colored white cardstock with my red Copic marker) and popped it onto my Christmas plaid paper, also from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. This is from the set below. 

I hand lettered my sentiment since my printer decided to run out of ink, and wouldn't you know it, I bought the wrong cartridge series, so I got to practice my calligraphy. A little bit of lace, some jewels and a bow complete my card.

Although the Twist is Christmas Plaids, you don't need to follow the twist to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, or for a chance to win a gift certificate from Ike's Art. You do, however, have to remember to link your card up with the 12 Months of Christmas blog to get your chance of winning prizes. Challenge ends the end of the month, so good luck and have fun!

Challenges I am Entering:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Critter Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything Animal Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Papers - Anything PP Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Double Trouble - Christmas in July & Make It Square
Sheepski Designs - Early Christmas

Animal Antics at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenge and a Halloween Freebie From Me to You

This week's challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings is all about Animals, and has not one but TWO sponsors from whom participants can win prizes, Decosse's Dynamite Doodles.

AND

Crafty Sentiments

My card above uses some goodies from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles: Kitty Curiosity Brown Patterned Paper, Grungy Christmas Red Textured Paper, Colors of the Rainbow Wine Textured Paper, Taste of Summer Floral 1, Mommie Dearest Button 1. I decided to let the sweet kitty on the paper take the stage, using a sentiment to bring it to life on my card. By the way, I am severely allergic to cats, so I can only enjoy them when they're on paper (yes, pity me). On a good note, I am less allergic to dogs, and a happy owner of a Silkie Terrier (no fur, just hair) named Wilson.

The card below uses an image from Crafty Sentiments called Couples.

I created an anniversary card for our neighbors. Like hubby and myself, they have a Fall anniversary.
You have a week to create a project using animals prominently. Don't forget to use a sentient or greeting. After all, that's the name of the challenge! LOL Whatever you create, have fun!

Here is another Halloween Paper I created. Resources include Pixel Scrappers: Janet Scott’s Plastic Spider Toy & Toolbox Calendar Template #182; Elif Sahin’s Bootiful Googly Eyes Up & Left; Brooke Gazarek’s Skeleton; Melo Vrijhof’s Jane Torn Paper Lace Stacked Frame (pixelscrapper.com)

Challenges I am Entering:

(Anything Goes)

Craft Your Passion

Critters & Creatures (Animal AG)

Lacy Sunshine's Color Your World

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

(Themed)

The Crazy Challenge - Cozy (I am always cozy snuggling with my husband)

Christmas Card with Sami Stamps Image Today

We've reached the midway point of the Gifts Galore challenge at the 12 Months of Christmas Link-Up blog. Gift giving is a fun part of Christmas and something we all look forward. Weather we are giving or receiving, it is always fun to watch the surprised faces on Christmas morning when opening up our packages. While it may be a bit early for gift giving, let's add some presents to our cards this month.

This month the blog is sponsored by Sami Stamps. 

I got to play with one of their digi stamps called "Curious Gifts." I  colored it with Copics and then printed out some festive digital patterned paper from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles (ribbons paper from Merry Mix Paper Pack, Chevrons paper from Gifts Galore Paper Pack, Bauble 3 from Bauble Bonanza Paper Pack and Red from the Glitterati Se 1 Glitter paper. I love using digital papers-I can print and cut them out for my cards, or create a card in Photoshop-either way, the storage is SO much easier! LOL
I finished my paper off with a sticker, a tiny bow and my sentiment. Want to get ahead with your handmade Christmas cards? Join the 12 Months of Christmas Link-Up and create and link up two cards each month. Every one who does so will receive free patterned paper each month. If you choose to create with the optional theme (Gifts Galore this month), you will have twice the chance to win prizes from the sponsor.

• Prize being offered:   $12.00 gift certificate from Sami Stamps  for one random winner chosen from those who participate in the optional theme.
• Additional Sponsor: Décosse's Dynamite Doodles
• Prize being offered: One free digital paper to everyone who links up a minimum of two cards to the challenge.  Cards can be anything goes for this prize, they only have to follow the theme if they want a chance at the sponsor's prize.  The mini set of six digital papers called Gifts Galore, will also be offered up as a prize to one random winner.

Challenges I am Entering:
Southern Girls challenges - Patterned Paper Free-for-all
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
A Snowflake's Promise - Anything Goes

Christmas in July

I have a very good start on my Christmas cards for December, and I owe it all to the DigiStamps4Joy Progressive Christmas Card Challenge and this month's Christmas in July challenge over at SBP Challenge Blog.
Today used FREEBIES (don't you love freebies?!). My image, called "Irresistable Bling"  was given to me by DS4J just for joining in their progressive challenge last month! You get a free image each month you link up your card with them using their last image given out.
My paper is another free giveaway from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles offered as incentive to create for the SBP challenge. DDD is this month's sponsor and she's giving away some great digital papers, sentiments and embellishments to FOUR lucky participants!
So after I printed out the paper and created my card base, I printed out my image and colored it with Copics. Aren't those mischievious cats cute?! My sentiment is vellum from Daisy D's and I used some leftover rub-ons to frame the words, then colored in just the holly berries to coordinate with the colors in my tree as well as the baker's twine I used to embellish my card.
Want to get a headstart with your Christmas cards? Join in the SBP Christmas in July challenge through July 14 for some great prizes! Don't forget to check out the DS4J progressive Christmas card challenge, too!