Can't Get Halloween Out if My Head (and off my craft table)

 

Hello, Halloween lovers! Today I made a square card featuring skeletons. The background paper featuring Mr. Skeleton is from the Dead or Alive Paper collection from Rucola Designs. The Copic-colored skeleton child is from Kenny K Stamps. I haven't bought cardstock in months due to a towering stack leaning precariously in my basement, so all papers are "leftovers".

I framed my card face with lacy die-cuts I made from a scrapbook crop (and I haven't been to one in years!).  It showcases the paper well, I think. After coloring my image, which is called "Skull Man", I fussy-cut him out to place under the outstretched hand of his parent. He's so very anxious to go trick-or-treating like all the little goblins and ghosts.

I had forgotten to print my greeting, so I used my circle punch and wrote on black cardstock with white ink the words Trick or Treat. The only other embellishment I used was the cloth Autumn leaf in the top left corner.

I hope you like my Halloween card today. I am building a nice new stack of cards to send out this year. Unless I find a craft fair before the holiday, and on make a little money (m-wa ha ha). All's fair in love and crafts, right? Don't forget to check out the challenge at Halloween Crafts All Year 'round

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

welcome to the 31 Days of Halloween - DAY 22

 

Ok, this one is totally digital, but what fun I had!! I used so many elements and added so many layers, but I really like it. It screams, "This is not your usual sing-around the-Girl Scout campfire". And believe me, I am a lifelong girl scout since Juniors (grade 4). I have been a leader, assistant, day camp crafts guru, day camp first aider, as well as grade 4 through 9 girl scout and cookie mom. I'm not counting my years with Cub Scouts...

The paper is from the Dead or Alive set from from RUCOLA DESIGNS by Ildi Geist. as well as the digital element dancing around the fire (skeletons 2,3 &4). the campfire is actually from a photo taken by my sister-in-law in Arizona. The bats and hands reaching up from the ground are free clipart found on Google. I'm going to frame this so it will keep in perpetuity...(forever). Mwahahahaha...

31 Days of All Hallows Eve - Day 16 - Gaze into my Crystal Ball

 

My bins of craft supplies are like Mary Poppins' carpet bag. Today I pulled out a crystal ball I had bought from Dollar Store last October. It was decorated...okay, but not what I really wanted. So I removed the ball from its base and covered it with Black chalk paint.

After it dried, I added my accessories: part of a necklace chain that had broken (I swear I don't know how to throw anything out), a couple of leftover skulls from the Dollar Store skeletons, some moon and star buttons, and these weirdly-shaped glass beads that looked like leaves (part of a necklace I bought at Savers for $1.50) and a string of sees beads I had got on clearance who knows when (I don't).

There was a little color clashing going on, so I brushed some gold acrylic paint onto those accessories. Then I had to edge both the top and bottom of the base with gold. Before putting the globe back onto its base, I put batteries in a set of twinkle lights (I inherited a shoe box full of these) and placed the lights into a ball of batting. Once the globe was on with the lights glowing eerily through the batting, I was very happy with the effect! and since my bf had ordered the polyester batting from Amazon, she had tons of leftover, which found its way to my house (the bag of batting was as big as Santa's bag on Christmas Eve).

And now comes the best part...come closer while I look into my crystal ball. Do I see love entering your life? Should you not travel our of the country until next year? What will my magical crystal ball tell you about your own future???  

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

A Place to Start - Anything Goes  

Corrosive Challenges - Anything Goes

We Love 2 Create - Anything Goes

31 Days of All Hallow's Eve - Day 7 - My very first Meme

A couple days ago, I created two Halloween characters our of skeleton bodies and pumpkins for heads. Today I created my very first meme! And, it being the season, I made it a Halloween meme. 

Using my newly-created Halloween characters, I used the magic of Photoshop to feature in this meme. The background is compliments of Rucola Designs, whose papers I adore and purchased on Mischief Circus. I wanted a speech bubble, but I couldn't find one, so the "punchline"  is just a blurb at the top in quotes. 

What do you think? Should I switch my job from crafter to meme maker? Maybe I should just stick to what I love doing...

31 Days of All Hallow's Eve - Day 5 - Pumpkin Heads

 As I continue to create Halloween makes like a mad scientist, I often take items apart, saving the leftovers for another project. Today I created these fun creatures from skeletons whose heads I had used for another project. I have an excess of small pumpkins and I remembered the story of the Headless Horseman. He rode at night, a phantom being scaring the townspeople, no head, except for the Jack o' Lantern he carried in his arm. Poor Ichabod Crane was one of his victims... 

So I attached my pumpkins to these two skeletons since they seemed to be missing theirs. I drew on their faces with my black Posca paint marker. Then I got this crazy idea to pose them by hot gluing their hands to their new heads. They look like they just woke up to find their new looks. I'm thinking about using them in Photoshop to make a Halloween meme. If I create one, it will show up on my blog during the 31 days of Halloween.

31 Days of Halloween - "Dude, I Got Your Back" Halloween Decor

 

Into the bin of Halloween goodies my hand reached, and out came more skeletons. That's a good thing, because when I worked on my first skeleton montage, I had painted several of the thin black wood pieces from my first skeleton project, so I was ready to glue the skellies onto the base. Again, I ripped the limbs from these little dudes so that I could pose them better.

This time I got my inspiration from a Halloween shirt I bought years ago. It showed 2 skeletons on the front with the words, "I got your back" and 1 skeleton holding the other's spine. I think it looks good in 3D as well as on my shirt. I threw some straw on the base and left room to personalize it if it sells. I started using Facebook Marketplace to sell my art and have had some success.

This piece is sitting next to the first skeleton scene I created, which you can read about in an earlier post. I love making projects for Halloween. Do you? It's too bad there are only 31 days in October...

Challenges I am Entering:

Ike's World -Anything Goes or Trick-or-treat
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes

We Love to Create - Anything mixed media Goes

Use Your Stuff - Autumn/Fall

31 Days of Halloween - Eternal Love Halloween Decor

I was watching a few YouTube DIY videos using Dollar Tree items, and I instantly wanted to crate the dog and run to the store. However, my brain kicked in and said, "Pat, you have at least two Rubbermaid bins full of Halloween crafts. My God, woman, stay home and use it  all up!" 

 So I grabbed a bin, paint and hot glue gun and created the first of several Halloween decor items. I was inspired by my BFFs text, updating me with news of her son, who just proposed to his girlfriend. I decided to create a scene in which a skeleton is on his knees proposing to his beloved. 

I discovered several thin wood pieces, approx. 6"x3" and painted these black. Next, I pulled a few skeletons apart so that I could pose them. The skeletons were from Dollar Tree and  came in a set of 4 or 5. The straw stuff also came from Dollar Tree, to, a big bag I don't think I'll ever finish. I  used leftover  yarn from my stash (who know where that came from!?) for the girl's hair.

The ring was tricky. I finally used a jump ring from my jewelry stash, and glued on a small (tiny) stone bead. I think the guy's head is a little askew.  I wanted him looking up at her face, but I didn't notice how weird an angle it took until the glue was dry. I may just rip it off and reposition it (or not).

It's sitting in my living room shadow box with another one I made the next day.

I didn't spend a dime (today).I used my stash, and continue to whittle it down for the sake of my sanity...so, what are you creating for Halloween this year?

Challenges I am Entering:

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenges - October Halloween Anything Goes

Avenue 613 Create - Anything Goes

We Love to Create - Anything Mixed media Goes

Happy Day of the Dead card

Twelve days until Halloween. Thirteen days until Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. "Dia de los Muertos is celebrated throughout Mexico. Many other countries around the world celebrate similar (or hybrid) versions of Day of the Dead as well, by having special days for honoring the dead.  It is a festive, joyous time of celebration, falling on November 1 and 2 of each year, coinciding with the Catholic holidays All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day."  (http://www.art-is-fun.com/day-of-the-dead-facts)

Today starts a new challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings. The theme is to "use flowers or brads" on your project. My DT project is a hybrid card, one made from both paper-crafting and digital crafting. I colored up an image from Rick St Dennis, one of our Guest Sponsors this week. The image is called Death on Saturday Night. After fussy-cutting the image, I created a scene in Photoshop and popped my image into it.

I like the way it turned out, and hubby asked me to print up a card for him. I'm going to give the Spanish teacher this card in a few weeks.

So, you can see where the grey flowers embellish the upper corner of my card, but I also used tiny flowers on top of my image. Where are YOU going to add your flowers (or brads) to your card or project? Don't forget to link up at the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge blog for your chance to win prizes this week!

Here's what has gone into my project:

Digital image from Rick St Dennis: Death on Saturday Night, colored with Copics.

Papers from Decosse’s Dynamite Doodles Christmas Grunge set Purple; from RUCOLA DESIGNS by Ildi Geist Dead or Alive Collection patterned paper 12.

Elements from RUCOLA DESIGNS by Ildi Geist Dead or Alive Collection: Flower 1 & 3, Clouds (behind my sentiment), Tomb 3, Tree, Gateway 2; Pink Lotty Designs: Human Skeletons 2, 3 & 4; Krysty Scrap Designs Overlay 09.

Challenges I am Entering:

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Halloween

Left of Center Creative challenges - Good Old-Fashioned Horror

Quoth the Raven - Color challenge

Our Creative Corner - Halloween Horror

A Love of Lists

I am a list maker.  I LOVE making lists.  

Not just your hum drum to-do lists, but lists that tell a person’s life story.  Lists like “the many ways my husband shows he loves me.”  Or “all the things I have for which to be thankful.”

One that really helps me pull my wretched self out of a deep pit of depression is “how many people whose lives I have touched (and who have touched mine).”

One year I kept a journal of lists and wrote in it at least once a week.  Luckily I am just enough of a hoarder to have buried the journal for a couple years.  I just re-discovered it while cleaning out my dresser drawers.  And upon reading my lists, I re-discovered myself. 

I remembered the things that made me happy not so long ago.

I re-discovered my passion for art and painting.

I renewed my dreams.

I re-evaluated my bucket list.

And most importantly, I reminded myself how much I LOVE making lists!!

I created the project above for the Path of Positivity's February Challenge on the theme of LOVE.  Since I LOVE making lists, I decided to make a journal cover for all my 2014 lists.

I started with a 4x6 index card notebook.  It has an acrylic cover, which works perfectly for setting the background of heart-themed patterned paper from DCWV.

Next I chose my image.  Since journaling is really just a conversation with yourself, I used a digi image called "Skellie Gossip" from one of our monthly sponsors, Ike's Art.  I used very little color (Copic E000) for my pair of bony companions, then fussy-cut them out.  I adhered a leftover diecut of patterned paper on the front cover of my notebook, placing a border of washi tape from Recollections on which my pair could rest their weary bones (pun intended).

I embellished the patterns on the tape with black Skittles.

A few adhesive-backed jewels and a large heart charm almost finish off my project.  I just needed to bring out the edges of where the two front flaps join together to keep all my lists from spilling out.  I used black and Diamond Stickles for that and my altered notebook is complete.

What's going to be my first list of the year?  The people I love to LOVE-that would make a very good start to the new year.  Judging from my project, 2014 will be another banner year for my list-making love.  

Will you share something you LOVE with us?  Go to the Path of Positivity to play in this month's challenge.  The fabulous sponsors and prizes are:

   Ten digital images from Creative Bug Digitals for the person out of the top seven who receives the most votes during voting week.

    Three digital images from Ike's World for the post or project that the DT deems most inspiring of the bunch.

    Three digital images from Scribbles Designs, our guest sponsor this month, for a person chosen in a random draw based on all entrants.

    One digital designer paper from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles for one lucky voter who leaves a comment.

     One digital sentiment for every single person who enters the challenge from Décosse's Dynamite Doodles as well.

Welcome Halloween!

I am loving this holiday this year!!  I can't find enough time to create all the wonderful ideas brewing in my head.  Here's a little Welcome sign I made using something from the Dollar Store.

The black wooden box originally held sand and a rake, and sold as a "Zen Garden."  After almost a year of the granddaughter playing with it and getting sand all over the table and floor, I threw out the sand and tiny rocks and sea shells I had added to it, and was about to throw away the box and thought, "wait a minute, this would be perfect for..."

So I added a patterned paper background and bent (and snapped) a Dollar store skeleton to his present seated state, keeping him in pace with hot glue (the woman's duct tape).  Some moss on the bottom and I was ready to embellish.

After placing a skull under (I have no shame when it comes to skeletons) my sitting skellie's knee, I thought of my young grandchildren and decided to "cute-ify" my welcome sign just a tad.  By adding the smiling pumpkins, ghost and white flower, the spider hiding in the moss who spun her web around the skeleton was taken down a notch on the scare-o-meter.

I'm not quite satisfied with the actual sentiment WELCOME, as it doesn't show up well.  What do you think, black Stickles??  Maybe some thin black outlining around each letter??  Help me out here, crafting peeps!!