Keeping it Neutral

The challenge on Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog this week is to create something with neutral colors. It's a tough challenge if you love colors!! However, it's a great opportunity to create something very graphic and still appealing to the eye. I decided to "celebrate" this challenge with some chevron stripes and a mustache!

Be sure to stop by the Heart 2 Heart blog and see the neutral art from the design team. You should play along too!!

Capture the Date {and savings!}

It's a new month! That means a new Stamp of the Month and a fabulous new monthly special!

Capture the Date is a fantastic stamp set. If your a scrapbooker this would certainly come in handy for your journaling. If your only a card maker this stamp is perfect for recording that special date for a Birthday or Anniversary! I was thinking of creating a Christmas Countdown project with it like this one here.

When you spend $50 or more in full retail products, you qualify to purchase the Stamp of the Month for only $5. For this month's special when you qualify for and buy the Capture the Date stamp set, you will also get 50% off another stamp set of your choice!

{50% off stamps include A-E and M size stamp sets. K size stamps, Workshop on the Go, Cricut collection and Stamp of the Month sets are not eligible for this promotion. One per order.}

You can place your order with me directly or shop here online! Don't miss out!!

BOO!

I am looking forward to some Halloween movies tonight and eating some sweets! I hope your Halloween is filled with fun and not too many spooks!!

 

Pear & Partridge Cards and Box

This weekend I will be hosting the Pear & Partridge card making workshop. As an added bonus the ladies will also be making this cute little box to hold all the cards from the kit. The magazine holder style box is cut on the new Artiste cricut cartridge.

My box was created very basic and simple. The ladies will have the opportunity to decorate their boxes however they choose.

A workshop cutting guide is provided in the kit. These are the cards as they are shown in that guide. I also made several more cards with little variations in the paper placement and the stamped images to give them more creative options!

 

I am excited to get together this Saturday for this fun class! If you would like to order the Pear & Partridge card kit go to my online site here. You'll have fun making these cards while getting a head start on you Christmas "to-do" list!

"Candy" Corn!

Another project owed to Pinterest! I unfortunately don't have any one particular person to thank for this idea. I saw similar variations of it on several boards. So sorry that I don't know the true originator of this fabulous idea.

Making the tasty chocolate covered popcorn was the simple part. {The kids and I will finish a whole jar of this before we get to the middle of the Nightmare Before Christmas movie!!} The fun and creative process was decorating the canning jars. I pulled in some Dotty For You papers, black & white grosgrain ribbon, black and sunset twine, a fun dotted scallop from the Perfect Fit Frames stamp set and the "candy corn" label from an older Halloween Word stamp set. They turned out so cute, almost too cute to eat! {That's not going to happen!}

Fall Table Setting

I've shared a couple different ideas for Halloween decorated dining tables this month. I am preparing now for a fall inspired table. This is also a class that I am offering this week. It has a darling pumpkin name holder/treat holder and a large napkin & cutlery holder. I am also entering these projects in this week's Heart 2 Heart Halloween/Pumpkin Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!

Snowmen 3D tags

Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog is all about Christmas creations this week. This is the second Christmas challenge this year! The designers have come up with some wonderful projects this week, you will have to stop by and see their art! For my project today I was inspired by some tags I saw on the Papertrey Ink blog made my Heather Nichols. Instead of a flat tag though, I thought how cool it would be to add some CTMH treat cups for a 3D effect! Now these cute little snowmen are in a winter wonderland!

The ornament was cut on the Art Philosophy cartridge in Kraft paper. I then embossed them with a variety of embossing folders. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the snowmen are colored in, glittered, and have snowflakes surrounding them within the treat cup.

When my daughter saw them she said, "Mom, after you use them as a tag, you could put them on the tree as an ornament!", and I was like... "Yeah, that's what I totally was thinking!!" {tee-hee} Goodness do I love that little girl, she's my biggest fan!

Skull Charms

I kind of fell in love with these Skull Charms from Jolee's Boutique. Ideas to use them kept coming to me!

My first thought and first project was to turn them into wine/martini glass charms. I just needed some craft wire, beads and wire tool.

The back of the charms are self adhesive so I simply stuck the wire to the back, covered the remaining surface with some cardstock, then added beads to both ends.

I created a loop closure on the back so that I can easily remove the charm before washing. Great way to dress up those glasses!

I also used one of the little charms on my table to decorate this cake stand. I just made a bow of black ribbon and stuck the charm in the middle.

My daughter and her best friend were playing games while I was creating the wine glass charms, so I thought I would surprise them with some rings. Like the wine charms I strung some elastic wire with the black beads. Instead of cardstock to back them I used a piece of black silk so they would feel more comfortable on their little fingers!

My final project was to take more of that black silk and make some hair bows with it. My daughter and I both made one. I showed her how to do it as I made mine, then she did hers all on her own. I gave her some tweezers though to burn the edges in the candle flame. There was only one wild mishap, but it was quickly under control!! {Did you know that if you drop fabric in the wax of a scented candle that it will smell like the candle? Mmmm...smells good, who knew!!}

My daughter's bow is the one on the right. She let her edges curl more, they look so good! I like how hers turned out more!! They have little alligator clips on the back so they are easy to clip in your hair, add it to a blazer or cardigan, or even a necklace!

Don't you just love when you find a product that can be used in so many ways!!

Wicked Skulls {Spooky Halloween Dining}

As promised here is my other Halloween table setting. I incorporated those skulls again that I gave a makeover. The table still has an elegant feel with the white cloth, blinged out chargers and martini glasses, yet it screams spooky!

Each of the skulls sits on top of a place setting with a napkin wrapped in the same tulle I used on my Wicked Wreath! I would normally be frightened by a spider this size, but the black glitter makes him fabulous!!

I peeled the label off of a wine bottle and applied this one from Martha Stewart. I also found these awesome skull charms and created my own glass charms with them. I will show you more on how I did that later.

Skeleton brains anyone? For a fun treat I popped some kettle corn and coated it in gooey green chocolate! I served it up in some skull printed cupcake liners on top of a decorated cake stand. There's one of those skull charms again. Hmmm... I wonder what other projects those might show up in on my blog this month?!!

My centerpiece is this elegant candelabra from Partylite. It certainly adds to the sophistication of the table setting, yet the taper candles oozing blood from Yankee Candle make it frightfully delightful!

Trick-or-Treat Skull Box

Before I share my new Halloween table setting as promised in my last post, I wanted to share this treat box I made on the Artiste cartridge. I am also entering this in Ribbon Carousel's Halloween Spirit Challenge. 

 

This cute little box was cut on the Cricut Artiste Cartridge page 79 at 5". This size is perfect for filling with mini Halloween assorted chocolates or even a couple of homemade cookies! The skull is from the Thriller stamp set and was embossed in black. The "Oct. 31st" tag is from the new Perfect Fit Halloween stamp and was tied to the top of the box with some black&white striped grosgrain ribbon and olive green twine.

 

This was a fun and simple project that could be duplicated easily for gift giving this Halloween! Please be sure to check out the Ribbon Carousel Blog for more Halloween inspiration!

Skull Makeover

Do you ever just feel like your skull needs a makeover?

Earlier this week I shared my Spooky Elegant table setting with you. Remember my martini of skulls?

I wasn't 100% satisfied with how they looked in the store. They were purchased from Walmart for less than a dollar, so giving them a quick makeover was no problem. They looked dull and were a gray coloring.

So I painted them with a couple coats of white craft paint. In this photograph I only have the first coat on it.

Once the white paint dried I dry brushed the eye and nose sockets as well as the mouth and gums with black paint. To set the paint and avoid future scratching I coated them with lacquer. Every skull needs a little shine!

You have to come back and see how I used these skulls again in a new table scape! Here is a sneak peek for you!!

Birthday Numbers ~ H2H Challenge

Heart 2 Heart Blog has a fun challenge this week! Create a Birthday card using "numbers" on it. I made a few of these already this year, but just happened to need a "boy" card. I decided on a clean card using some nuetral colors and a pop of Twilight. For my number I chose to ink up some cork with black ink that fit perfectly in the Perfect Fit Frames stamp set!!

All product used is Close To My Heart; except the dots embossing folder.

You must check out the H2H designs this week! They have some amazing cards to inspire you!

Bump in the Night ~ Mojo 262

Creating some spooky greetings this morning and thought I would use the Mojo Monday sketch!

What a fun sketch for Halloween! Well really I love anything lately with pennants in the design!!

All products are Close To My Heart {except noted}. The papers and chipboard compliments are from the Moonlight pack, even the purple swirly banner is from the zip strip on a sheet of cardstock. The scallop punch is Fiskars.

Elegant Spooky Dining Table

I have been setting my table with lots of fun accessories lately, trying out some new Halloween looks. I wanted to try something that was just black and white. Then I saw the inspiration photo on the Inspired By Blog. I love the white pumpkins in the photo, but wanted to make it a bit spookier. Once it was all done I thought I achieved that spooky feeling, yet it still seems elegant!

{the inspiration photo}

{My Elegant Spooky Dining Table}

I found lots of items around my house that I simply re~purposed and made new stuff with my craft supplies. Instead of pumpkins, I chose skulls as my centerpiece. I will share more with you later this week on how I "re-skulled" them!

The table setting came together with some blinged out chargers, plain white plates, black napkins and a handmade napkin ring. The ring is made from dry embossed cardstock, stitched ribbon and a Cricut  Artiste rose made from Moonlight paper.

My candle votives came from a metal holder I use throughout the year in the center of my table. I simply covered them in Silhouette paper. This paper is definitely elegant!

These frosted glass coasters come with an opening in the back for a picture. I stamped this awesome skull from the Thriller stamp set and sponged some grey ink to really make it pop!

If you would like to know where I found any of these items, please leave me a comment. I will show you another table setting I created with a fun pop of Halloween colors, stay tuned!!

Trick-or-Treat Decor

I love decorating for Halloween and wanted to make a fun focal point in the family room. The fireplace is already the main focal point so I did some rearranging and created a colorful spooky display!

The banner is made from cardstock, a variety of ribbons and shapes cut on the Cricut including the letters. I've had my Mr. Bones skeletons for a couple years now and absolutely love them! The glittery pumpkins are a new and fun addition.

At night I light the candles in the skeletons and their trusty dog. It gives the perfect amount of glow on the wall and banner pieces!