Welcome to the Spookiest Month of the Year

 October is finally here, and my house is nothing but Halloween crafts, supplies, wall decor, shadow boxes, artwork, sentiments, decoration--you name it, I have it!! Today's card features an unidentified image called Betelgeuse. Although I've had this digital stamp for a few years, I believe it's the first time I've used it. I'm discovering a lot of unused craft supplies in my yearlong decluttering and organizing. 

I used leftover papers from a Halloween paper stack and leftover trim from a crafting friend, Holley Barnhart. The EEK! sentiment and the tombstone reading MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM are from the same paper stack. I found a pack of plastic spiders so one could hang from the big guy's hand.

I have a nice thick stack of Halloween cards I'll be giving to friends and neighbors this month along with a little handmade item or snack. I usually do this on either Halloween or Christmas. Last year I made Charcouterie boards with cheese and a Halloween spreader and napkin for my neighbors. I haven't decided what to make this year. Maybe I'll just do Thanksgiving and Christmas...

I also make special goodie bags for my neighbors' children. Last year the bags were filled with candy and trading cards. I better get on that because I haven't thought of what to do this year... I hope you are ready for my favorite holiday--Is it yours too?

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Welcome to the 31 Days of Halloween - DAY 28

 Definitely was in a dark place when I thought this one up. I think I might just do a creepy cute 31 days of Halloween next year. I hope it doesn't give me nightmares!

The wreath is made from branches of a weeping willow (I had to look it up). Around this I wove wired ribbon with a Halloween print. Next I used up ALL my plastic skulls. I had three different kinds! After I adhered them with hot glue and E6000, I left a small space for my Skull King. Actually it's a diffuser that was broken that I had bought from Bath & Body. Looking sad and plain, so I added a small bow made from orange and black netting (tulle). 

I finished off my newest Halloween decoration by attaching a spooky black floral deco that I had bought after last year's Halloween. I think you have to zoom in to see it. A single spider on a skull nearest the king finishes my project for today. And it is on my front door now (do you think I'll get any  solicitors?)...  

31 Days of All Hallows Eve - Day 29 - Spooky Skull Candle

 

Halloween is so close I can taste it!! I'm hoping to get more than a handful of trick-or-treaters this year. I don't want to have that candy sitting around my house, hypnotizing me into taking a bite...and another...and another...LOL

Today I made a candle for Halloween. Well, I didn't pour melted wax into a mold and make it. I used a thrift-store-bought candle that was still wrapped in its plastic. Tearing off said plastic, I used a leftover Halloween napkin and peeled the two layers of paper apart. I adhered it to the candle, and I'll tell you how I did it:

I cut out the napkin to fit my candle, then cut out a longer piece of wax paper. I covered the candle first with the napkin, then the wax paper. Holding tightly to the ends of the wax paper to get a smooth surface, I used my heat gun to melt the wax from the wax paper onto the wax candle. It looks and feels like it was produced that way. I've had success with selling my candles at craft fairs, separate or in sets.

With my skull candle decorated, I added a line of adhesive pearls to the top and bottom. If I were selling this, I would place it in a plastic gift bag and tie some Halloween ribbon to keep it closed. But I'm not selling any of my Halloween makes this year. I have a whole basement of collectables and trading cards, etc., from my mom's basement to inventory, photograph and list to sell. I want my basement back in livable condition!

 

31 Days of All Hallows Eve - Day 25 - Day of the Dead

 

Today's project is a re-do from one I created last year. Evidently the bin I had placed my DIY Halloween decorations wasn't closed properly and some of them got ruined or needed emergency care. This is one that I salvaged, scraping off the old and adhering a new felt Day of the Dead skull. I added new ribbon, flowers and gems to freshen it up.

Did you know that, here in the States, Halloween is almost neck to neck with the Christmas holidays when it comes to decorations and parties?!

in house decorations and parties 

31 Days of All Hallow's Eve - Day 19 - Dollar Tree Deck Decor

 

Hello, crafters! I have been seeing a lot of YouTube videos of Halloween decor made from Dollar Tree items, but today I wanted to put my own spin on one, using the Skull and cross bones fences. I have a porch light that I wanted to "cover" with the fencing but still let the light shine on for trick-or-treaters. So I cut one fence into three parts using my kitchen shears, cutting off the "stakes" from the bottoms.

Once I measured my light with the pieces I had cut, I first tied some ribbon around the pieces, attaching them long enough to hot glue them into a three-sided square or box. Since there weren't any clean edges from my cutting, I had one heck of a time getting them glued together, but it finally held.

When I put my decoration over my porch light, I discovered I needed to keep it from falling off. So I tied more ribbon above and below my decor and it works beautifully and this design was mine, not just something off of YouTube! 

As you can see it looks good during the day as well as at night. I can't wait for Halloween night. I've been getting fewer and fewer trick-or-treaters each year since COVID. I hope I don't have to eat all the candy I just bought!! LOL

Setting a Scene with Several QKD Stamps

I have been buying up several QKD background stamps for the last year, and today I wanted to show you what you can do with them, besides using one as a standard background for a card or a tag.

For this Tim Holtz inspired tag, I used the following QKD stamps:
Just Batty background and Skulls background, along with the Chinese Temple, Briggitte, and Street Lamp stamps.

The base is covered with book page patterned paper, then distressed it with Tim's inks.  I stamped the Chinese Temple on the left in black ink. I used the Just Batty background stamp on cardstock, ink-distressed it, and tore the inside edge to blend into my scene.  After adhering it, I stamped more bats to give it some height.

The next layer is the Skulls background, which I distressed then used pop dots to give it dimension.  I made the top layer using the street ;amp and Briggitte stamps (she's colored with Copics).

Embellishments include washi tape around the edges, some fun, tiny "dingle balls" trim on the bottom, purple feathers and metal stars, and a cool epoxy pebble.

If I had to use a sentiment on this tag, I think it would be something like:
"Friends don't let friends walk home alone on a street paved with skulls" or some such nonsense! LOL

Anyway, what are your favorite stamp combinations?