Check out the Halloween mullet!!!

 Okay, so when I was a kid Halloween was NOT about store bought costumes- it was all about making up your own cool costume using whatever odds and ends from home. In the 80's, it was super cool to be a punk rocker for Halloween and for some reason I had a mullet! So that is what I was...(I am in the back row with the awesome white sunglasses!) The trend back then was also that hair dye in a spray can. It was my Halloween staple for a few years! And I loved that it would stay in for a few days so I had coloured hair when I went to school the next day! My sister and I would easily get 2 pillowcases full of candy every Halloween! Our neighbours were people we knew and trusted so getting candy apples and popcorn balls was a huge treat and not something we had to worry about. I have so many wonderful memories of Trick-or-Treating with my dad and my sister! No wonder it is one of my favorite times of the year!!!

I used Doodlebug products for this layout. This year's collection: Haunted Manor is so cute! The title and the bat are from last year's collection. I used an EK Success border punch on the black strips by the photo and the striped strips. I made faux stitching on the orange paper using a Sharpie.
                                                                        Fun times!!!

Random Christmas Cards

 Every year I buy the Holiday Card Ideas magazine by Paper Crafts and I usually have good luck finding some ideas for card designs. I have already purchased this year's issue but I have yet to find that special card that I will be sending this year.

Here are some ideas! This card is very simple to make. I embossed vellum with a Cuttlebug Snowflake folder. I attached the vellum to the Bazzill dot cardstock using double sided tape and then hid the tape using ribbon on top. The sentiment was a rub-on.

 I did not buy enough of this pink paper by October Afternoon: Good Cheer to make more than one card :(
I used brown Bazzill cardstock for the background. I used a Martha Stewart border punch to make the scallop dotted border on the pink dotted paper, also from October Afternoon. The sentiment was done with alpha stickers and the deer was a rub-on from Basic Grey. I also added 3 bling to the snowflakes.

I think this is one of my favorite Christmas cards. It is so simple yet I think the paper is just so lovely. I used brown Bo Bunny Double Dot paper for the background. The ribbon is from American Crafts. The sentiment is a rub-on. I bought the bell (came in a big package of them) at Hobby Lobby. The gorgeous paper was Making Memories:FaLaLa.

Maybe November will inspire me to find that perfect Christmas card! 2 days until Halloween! Can't wait to post my scary yard and my attempt at zombie make-up this year!

Snow Cute!

I am back today with another Christmas card! I just bought the new Cricut cartridge Create A Critter 2 and it has some really cute characters for the holidays! I made this snowman using my new cartridge. I added Doodle bling for the buttons and I added a red stickle stripe on his hat. The paper is from Doodlebug. I pop dotted the top layer of glitter paper and tucked the snowman behind it so it looks like he is in a snow drift. I added an Echo Park Christmas sticker to the background.

Thanks for the comments on my posts- it is so nice to know that you enjoy my creations! I hope that you find inspiration in the things I make!

More Christmas Cards!

 We are safe from the snow for now- only rain tomorrow they say! But it is time to plan those Christmas cards! I made this card using my Cricut and the cartridge Winter Frolic to make the ornaments. I used a Martha Stewart punch to make the pine tree boughs by punching many of the leaves and putting them together. I used a rub-on for the title and I added a Recollections bling to the bottom ornament. The background paper was from My Mind's Eye: 12 Days Of Christmas. I used Bazzill cardstock for the ornaments.

 I decided to break out my dry embossing templates for this card. I have a whole stack of Lasting Impressions templates and I still love them! These snowmen are super cute and I dry embossed them onto white cardstock. I used a Sharpie marker to colour in the nose, eyes, and mouths. The pink and blue hats were embossed on Lasting Impressions paper. I used old Christmas Doodlebug paper for this card and the So Sweet Cute Cut. I added 2 bling to either side of the Cute Cut. I used a tab punch for the top and the card pulls out of the pocket as seen below.

 I made a second version of this card using the same snowman embossing template from Lasting Impressions. I used various snowflake punches and added a bling to the centers. I used old winter Doodlebug paper to make this card. The stripe part is a flap that lifts to reveal the sentiment.

       I have a thing for snowmen, snowflakes, and santas. Chrismtas is so much fun!

Halloween with Doodlebug

 I had intended to make some Christmas cards with my Doodlebug stuff but then somehow I made a Halloween layout instead! I just adore the Mini-Doodlepops from this collection- Haunted Manor. I started with black cardstock from Bazzill. I cut a stip of the green dotted paper and then used an EK Success border punch for the zig zag strip in the purple dot paper. I added the fence sticker and put the pumpkin Mini Doodlepops on top.

 The cobwebs are from the package you can buy to decorate your house. Not the easiest stuff to work with on a layout but somehow I managed to get it to work. I added Mini spider Doodlepops to the ends of 2 strands.

 I added more cobweb at the bottom corner and then had some cobweb trailing down the side with a spider sticker at the end. I used a circle punch on the spider paper and tucked it behind my photo. I used 2 of the Cute Cuts from this collection for my title and sub-title. I made my husband up as a zombie last year for Halloween. It was my first time experimenting and I am so excited to try again this year!

I really wanted to do something with pumpkins sitting on a fence because it reminds me of that Halloween poem from elementary school. 12 days til' Halloween........I am so excited!

PS: I used Becky Fleck's sketch below for this layout!

Fall is Here!

It was my mom's birthday last weekend so I made her this fall inspired card using paper and stickers for Simple Stories. The sentiment was a sticker from Bella Blvd.'s Thankful line. I also inked the edges using a brown from ColorBox. I stickled the red berries as well.

I guess I have not been feeling too inspired these days! I am not sure where my time is going- too many things going on I guess. I am hoping to get to some Christmas cards today.....only 70 something days I think. I keep seeing these reminders everywhere!

With Halloween around the corner it is also time for me to start planning my spooky yard decor! I love decorating for Halloween! We made a little graveyard last year on the side of our house. I bought a huge ghoul to hang up this year and some more tombstones to expand the cemetary. I just love anything spooky!

Christmas Cards!

 I am trying to find my signature Christmas card for this year and I am having no luck! Every year I come up with an idea for a card that is easy to replicate so I can make a mass of them to hand out. These cards are a few that I have used in the past. This stocking was made using a die and embossing set from Sissex that came out last year. I added some stickles to the Merry and added a gold rick rack ribbon and I had a simple but cute card.

 For this card I used a scallop Spellbinders nestibilities die on aqua paper and white cardstock. Many years ago, Doodlebug came out with a set of 4 Cuttlebug die cuts that included this snowman and the trees. I added stickles to the snow, the buttons on the snowman, and I added stars to the trees. I used a Sharpie to colour in the arms and the eyes on the snowman. So cute and easy to replicate!

I used my Cricut and the cartridge Three Birds On Parade for this card. I used a Spellbinders nestibility to make the shape "Label 1". I embossed the background using a Cuttlebug Snowflake embossing folder. I die cut the bird and title using the Cricut machine. I added some fake snow to the hat, scarf, and boots which I purchased at Micheals. I used Ranger black pearls for the eyes. The Cricut machine allowed me to make many birds at the same time so I could replicate this card over and over fairly quickly.

Apparently Christmas is 11 weeks away so it is time to start thinking about making those cards!!! I hope you have found some inspiration to get started!

Back to Bella Blvd.

 I was feeling inspired for Christmas with the big dumping of snow we had this week!!! Thankfully the snow did not stick around but it is a sign that winter is around the corner. And that means it is time to think Christmas cards! I used Bella's Christmas line from last year to make this card. The tree was Ciao Chipboard and I added some Doodle bling and stickles to it.

 I used Bella's Birthday Girl line for this layout of me when I was 5 years old- check out that unruly hair!!!! Yes, my hair is wild and curly and when I was very young it was very blonde!! I have learned to manage my crazy locks these days. I used to love Oreo cookie cakes when I was little. I loved my birthday because it meant all kinds of treats that I just did not get on any ordinary day. Good memories!

                      I used some Ciao Chipboard, flags, and buttons on the left side of the page.

Bella's sticker sheet always includes alpha stickers to match the line- so handy! and that is what I used for the title.

 I used 3 border strips, one above and 2 below my picture. I also mounted my black and white photo on white cardstock.

Many people scrapbook their kids or family and too often forget to scrapbook themselves! Find a photo of yourself and cherish the memory by making a layout of just you! My husband certainly got  a laugh out of this one of me!!!!

Plumeria Sympathy Card

I made this card last night and I made some mistakes......I think a week off from my blog has not been such a good thing! I made the front of the card, had everything adhered and then looked on the inside to find that I did it upside down and backwards!!! So I cut off the front and had to glue it to a new card with no sentiment on the inside. I left it until this morning because I was so mad that I made that mistake but it was fixable.

Our secretary at work lost her husband to a heart attack so I will be sending this card to her. My heart goes out to her as she journeys through her grief.

I used Basic Grey's Plumeria line- love the purples!!!! I used a black Sharpie to make faux stitching around the edge. I stamped the sentiment at the top. I used pearls on the butterflies and pop dotted them as well to add dimension.

I am hoping this week I will be a little more regular with my posts! Life gets so crazy busy sometimes.