Bat bat Batty

Hope you're all ready for the Trick or Treaters tomorrow night!  We never quite know how to judge the sweetie stash ... some years it's a constant stream of youngsters to our door and other years there's hardly any about!  With a bit of luck we'll not run out of treats and have to turn the lights out to pretend we're not home ;)

I don't make many spooky cards (we're not really into cards at Halloween here!), but this one is for Mum using some Eat Cake Graphics stamps:
Bert Batula
A little bite (text)
Skully flowers

I inked up my background, added some cloud effects and then some orange and black splatters for good measure.  I used the inlaid die effect for my moon - though I'd had a clever idea of cutting through the white card at the same time as the base and it left a bit of an imprint.  A few silver stars and that's it really!
Of course I had to take my picture before my gloss on their eyes was dry and managed to drop it! grrr.  Though I didn't re-do it as I kinda like the effect.  Lucky eh?

• Addicted to Stamps #265 - make someone smile
• Creative Inspirations #282 - Halloween
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - anything goes
• As You Like It - people or animals - I've definitely waaaay more critter stamps than people.  I find them more versatile, and easier to colour too! 
• Creative Kockouts #217 - Halloween

Blue Snowy

I can't believe I haven't posted here for nearly a whole week!  I'm struggling with my mojo, but I need to give myself a shake and get on with my Christmas stash.

This one stars Snowy again, I'm lovin this Penny Black dude!

Coloured with watercolour pencils and sparkle added to his hat, clear gloss to his nose and glitter to his buttons.
My fancy snowflake is a newbie from Memory Box, bit of a faff though to poke out all those wee bits!   I've also rediscovered my old snowflake embossing folder :)

• ABC Christmas - U for Unlimited
• Simon Says Stamp Monday - monochrome
• Layout from Sketch Saturday #486
• Hazel's Christmas Card challenge #356 - traditional Christmas colours
• Cute Card Thursday #500 - snowflakes
• Happy Little Stampers October - anything goes with dies

Wedding Congrats

Well I'm still here, Ophelia didn't quite blow us away.  Very sadly there were 3 fatalities down South, but up here we were mostly trees blown over, gates blown off etc so I think we got off very lightly.

I hadn't intended to go for this golden colour theme but I was looking for different DP and then I found this stuff ... and then covered most of it up anyway ;)

I don't know what I did before I discovered the splatter effect.  This looked a bit unfinished until I added the gold spalts ... of course I decided I would do it after I'd added the clear gloss to my roses so it was a bit of a faff trying not to get any on my bride and groom!

Coloured with watercolour pencils and sparkle added to the trim on her dress.

• Word Art Wednesday #304/305 - anything goes
• AAA Cards #101 - inspired by a film - The Wedding
• Always Fun #28 - monochrome
• Happy Little Stampers October watercolour challenge - option, gold
• Get Creative #63 - wedding

Zombies and Betty's Birthday card

We're battling down the hatches for tomorrow, Hurricane Ophelia is coming to visit - she's supposed to weaken to a storm by the time she gets to us so we'll see how that goes.  Needless to say our weathermen are beside themselves with excitement - something different to the usual rain or showers forecast!   Having said that, it's been a lovely calm day today, I actually managed to get out to the garden and get some cutting done and  pots cleared for winter.

I'm just scraping in nearly on time for my Naughty or Nice card reminder ;)
This month's is a spooky theme - hope you'll play along and link your card over at the NoN blog

My stamps are oldies from The Alley Way Stamps, now sadly closed.  Coloured with watercolour pencils and popped up on foam pads.

Other challenges:

• Cardz 4 Guys #180 - Boo
• Retro Rubber #73 - Boo
• That's Crafty - Get your spook on
• Cupcake Inspirations #427 - monster

And this one's just a wee quickie for my SIL.  I've used this cute Penny Black stamp and my never-ending pink Birthday DP stack.  

I added sparkle to his apron with my clear glitter pen, and then clear gloss and lots of glitter to the icing.  I used a snippet of the darker pink cardstock for the sentiment - it was a bit lost in the snazzy DP but looked better when I cut an extra set and stuck it on top.

• Allsorts #437 - think pink
• Layout from Sugar Pea Designs Mix It Up #36
• Craftaholics R Us #40 - cute
• Pixies Snippets Playground #303/304
• Creative Kockouts #215 - CAS

Friends and family ... look away now!

I haven't made a card all week, I've had a real stinker of a cold, so this is me getting inky today thanks to some new goodies delivered by my Postie this morning :)

I've jumped on the 'Snowy' bandwagon for my Christmas cards this year .... Normally I make a rake of cards and then it's a mad last minute panic to get my own made so I'm getting ahead of the game this year.  I've loved the Penny Black snowman cards I've seen, so probably all the cards I'll be sending from me this year will be a variation on this snowman / background theme.

Coloured with watercolour pencils; sparkle added to the pink bits on his hat/scarf/snowflake and then clear gloss and lots of glitter to his hat.  Snowy popped up on foam pads.

• Layout from CAS(e) this sketch #243
• Penny Black and More October - close to nature
• Happy Little Stampers October Christmas challenge - silhouette
• ABC Christmas - U for Unlimited
• Word Art Wednesday #304/305 - anything goes

A Three-fer

Ack I'm stuffed with the cold, and the weather was a bit icky, all dark and mizzly, so it was a good excuse to not go too far and get crafty.  I wanted to have a play with some of the MFT challenges for WCMD anyway!

Card 1 is for their 1st challenge - colours of the rainbow.
My image is from High Hopes, not sure about the sentiment.  All coloured with watercolour pencils and clear gloss added to the sentiment and to the duck's (goose?) beak and legs.  My cloud panel is popped up on foam pads.

Other challenges:

• Just Us Girls #414 - light (as in light as air)
• Crafting by Design October - anything goes

Card 2 is for their challenge: By the Numbers
I've used this stamp from Woodware - paper pieced the numbers and popped the holly up on foam pads.  Clear gloss and glitter added to the berries.
Nice and easy and I love how it turned out :)

Other challenges:

• ABC Xmas: U for Unlimited and V for Vibrant
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Christmas

And finally, card 3 is for Make and Mail
It's for a friend in work so I'll be posting it tomorrow.
Not sure of the make of this stamp, maybe Cornish Heritage Farm ... it was one of the first stamps I ever bought and is possibly one of the most inked :)


Other challenges:

• Layout from AAA Cards #100
• The Flower Challenge #13  

Cat 'n Mouse

Boo hoo I'm feeling a bit yech tonight ... not surprising though, the amount of colds and bugs going round, and not helped by the number of people coughing and spluttering on the bus to work who don't know how to cover their mouths.  Pet hate of mine!

But it's Word Card Making Day and I need to get my card stash built up before I start tacking the Xmas cards, so here's a wee quickie using this old Whiff of Joy mousie.  For my background I puddled some watercolours onto a plastic and then rubbed my white card in it.  I love how it turned out, definitely less of a faff than using brushos or watercolouring.  Popped my mouse up on pads and added clear gloss and glitter to the icing.

• Simon Says Stamp - Word Card Making Day
• Daisy Chain #13 - Happy Birthday
• Penny Black and More October - close to nature
• Addicted to Stamps #262 - make your mark
• Word Art Wednesday #302/303 - anything goes

This one uses a mixture of MFT stamps and the sentiment and mouse are from Paper Smooches.

MFT wonky stitched circular die and Woodware corner punch.  And that's it really, nice and simple!

It is a lesson however in not being so lazy - I knew when I stamped this sentiment that it wasn't the best but I carried on and used it anyway.  Should have stamped it again!

• Layout from MFT Wednesday Sketch Club #353
• Sparkles challenge #96 - dies and punches

Well it's different!

I thought the CAS Mix up challenge looked like fun this month so had a go.  The challenge was to use more than one stencil, so I used my brick stencil and watercoloured in some blue; then I turned my falling snow stencil on its side and used some blue sparkle paste.  I think it maybe looks a bit heavy down that side, but hey, I had fun making it!!

My duck is an oldie from High Hopes - popped up on foam pads so he doesn't get lost amongst all that rain!

• CAS mix up October - layered stencils
• Make My Monday #56 - animal antics
• Creatalicious #124 - anything goes / make your own background
• Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes

Pumpkins and footballs

We'd a gale force wind blowing today, combined with 200+ emails to look at in work, I wasn't too long before I was wishing I was back in sunny Spain ;)
Our leaves are coming down at a terrible rate, it will be no time before the trees are bare, so I added some to this month's calendar page.  My image is an oldie from High Hopes - coloured with watercolour pencils and clear gloss added to the pumpkin.  The leaves are from a Simon Says Stamp set.

• Stamping Sensations October - Autumn glory
• Sweet Stampin - Autumn
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - anything goes
• Fab'n Funky #364 - Fall colours

I'd had my eye on this LOTV stamp for ages and then when I went to buy it, it wasn't being made any more! So I was delighted to see it on Ebay, straight into my shopping basket :)

I'm intending to use it on my niece's birthday card as she plays for her local junior team, but thought I'd have a wee practice and see how it coloured up.

I thought I would use pink grass, but I'm not sure anyone other than me would know that's what it is as I did my usual trick of covering most of it up LOL.

Image coloured with watercolour pencils, clear gloss added to the black bits of the ball and sparkle to the white stars.  MFT Wonky Circles dies.  Sentiment is an oldie from LOTV.

• Layout from MFT Wednesday Sketch Club #352
• Word Art Wednesday #302/303 - anything goes
• Crafty Creations #351 - anything goes
• Pixie's Snippets Playground #301/302
• Dream Valley #164 - one for the girls

Something Spooky for Naughty or Nice

It's been a bit quiet here as I've been off on my jollies ... to Alicante in Spain for some sun, sangria and sightseeing.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, such a pleasure not to have to lift a coat, cardigan or umbrella when you headed out the door!  But it's back to normality now and back to the grindstone on Monday.

I'm always a bit shocked when the first of the month comes round, it kinda always feels like where did that month go!!  So it's time for the new challenge at Naughty or Nice and this month it's ...

For my card I've used these goodies from Eat Cake Graphics ...
Count Bitesalot
Bert Batula
A little Bite (text)
The Count and the bats both coloured with watercolour pencils and popped up on

I also used my old Cuttlebug embossing folder - I just wish they were a tad bigger to cover the whole card!

• Addicted to Stamps #261 - anything goes
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - anything goes
• Cute Card Thursday #497 - trick or treat
• Love to Scrap #102 - frightfully fun
• PINspirational #200 - anything goes