HAPPY HALLOWEEN

WOW!!!!

     Can you believe we're at the end of  October?  I sure can't and as busy as I've been, I sure have not accomplished much this month.

     Let's see. What's gone on this month? Rain to start the month, a few sunny days and fog, fog, fog and more fog with only a few partially sunny days.  And in between all that, repairing my fence that came down during the windstorm at the end of September, card making, making and freezing pumpkin puree from these great sweet pink pumpkins for soup, custards and pies, card making and creating Halloween Décor.

      This was such a fun project that I ended up making several of these hangings for all the great nieces and nephews homes and I included last year's pictures in them.    I was lucky enough to have this fun 7Gypsies Artist Printers Tray (part of a  prize box from Xyron's 50K fan celebration earlier this summer) in my stash.  So I raided my stash for DCWV Halloween Bewitched paper stack, embellishments, flowers and left over pieces of jewelry and put this tray together.  My inspiration came from DCWV September 19th Spookytime blog where they had   a shadow box tray decorated using the Spookytime stack.

     So much fun and easy to make with my Xyron 2.5 sticker maker, DCWV Bewitched Stack, Petaloo flowers, ghosts and cat as well as some die cuts, and old jewelry.

   Here's a close up of the tray.                                                                

      Can't wait to try this for Thanksgiving and Christmas trays as well.  Then each year, I'll can  add current pictures to keep the board updated.

    Happy Halloween!!!   Till we craft again.

                              Aunt Dee





Supplies used:  Xyron 2.5 sticker maker, 7gyspies artist paint tray, DCWV Bewitched stack, Petaloo Dazzlers, Petaloo Flowers, Spellbinder Gear dies, Tim Holtz metal gear embellishments, Glossy Accents,

Halloween Fun!

     What an unusual October we have had in the Pacific Northwest this year. We started with rain and then the fog came.   It gets sunny during the afternoon and then the fog comes back. Now, we can't get rid of it.    Most days, it's been foggy all day with a few days getting sun by the late afternoon.

     However all the fog  and damp air has given  me a great excuse to stay in the house  and craft instead of working in the yard.

     My friend Joyce and I have been busy making Halloween Cards and trying to use up all that paper we bought last year.   So here's a sample of some of our cards.  

 This card is so fun with the little monster stamped across the card  and colored in different colors. The stamp is from Sweet Stamp Shop's   "Out in Space"  Set.  The paper is from Jillibean Soup from a few years ago.  Love how this card is so fun and I decorated then envelope with matching little monsters.


   
 As I didn't have a lot of the DCWV green & black polka dotted paper left over from the Bewitched collection, I decided to stretch it out by using it with some other papers from that collection and I weaved plaid backgrounds for several cards.  Again the little monsters are made from the Out  In Space Set from Sweet Stamp Shop.  However their antennas and feet are the left over pieces from a punch a friend had.


 
My last two cards are made with Sweet Stamp Shop's Haunted House set  and Clear Snap's Color Box Frost White Archival Pigment Chalk Ink.   I wanted this card to have a soft chalkboard look so that it wouldn't scare a two-year old.  She's going to love this card with it's haunted house and picket fence.


      






Along with the cards, I've been buy decorating their  envelopes for  mailing to my favorite little monsters.





Until we craft again!

Aunt Dee

POSTAL FUN............

 

      I can't believe I'm going to say this, but, I'm actually excited to write this blog. This is one of my most favorite things to do when I mail cards, letters and packages. 

 

 

      Don't you just love to receive cards and letters in the mail. It is SO EXCITING to receive a card that someone felt was just right  for you………….. Besides, the USPS needs our business.

      After reading my card making blog, my niece called me up saying  “Aunt Dee, the cards were great, but you have to blog about the envelopes, too. And the last envelope you sent was so disappointing ............ it was just a PLAIN addressed envelope.   Half the fun of getting your card is the envelope.”  

      Every month I mail a card to family members (nieces and nephews, young cousins)  Some months it's a holiday, birthday or anniversary card and other months just a fun card . They love getting mail, especially the 5 & 6  & 9  year olds.

   
     Anyway, I needed to make a card for my 2 yr old niece who's birthday is coming up soon and her mother told me that  the “Mouse” was her favorite carton. So, of course, I had to make a card of her favorite cartoon character. That was easy part, but I still had to address her envelope. So I turned the O in her name into a mouse. 

    It came out so cute. Every little girl (or boy)  will love getting that envelope in the mail. In fact, when it's the parents birthday, and a decorated envelope arrives, the 6 year old is sure it's for her because "Aunt Dee" makes her envelopes special. She was  so disappointed, because her dad and sister got the cards, not her. She'll just have to wait for  her “Back to School” card .
 

      Now, how did I learn to decorate envelopes?  Well, I'll tell you. A while back I took this fun class at my LSS Stampadoodle, taught by my favorite calligrapher, instructor and friend, Christy Schroeder, of Pilgrims Quill Studio.  She taught us how to decorate envelopes for any occasion and the envelope will go through the mail without being returned.

    Christy's class is full of fun lettering techniques, ideas, colors, designs and her encouragement to use your imagination in making your envelopes just as much fun as the cards and letters that go in them. You'll be amazed at how easy this is and how much fun you will have.  It’s addicting.

   

   In fact, it's so much fun, it is easy to get carried away. After taking the class I made Halloween cards with decorated envelopes for everybody in the family as well as my classmates in my Calligraphy Class I was taking.  I think every relation in the US & Canada got a Christmas Card  with the fancy envelope that year. My postage bill was huge. But boy, did I have fun.  What's more, once you create a master design you can reuse that design as many times as you want or you can  freehand the envelopes as needed.

     Here are some fun envelopes that I created for upcoming birthdays, holidays and more. 

 




     
 Stampadoodle is offering this class as well as others this fall. So take a moment and check out their fall class schedule.  They have some fabulously fun classes scheduled as well as lunchtime  demos,  along with the best instructors. 

You know you want to try it, so go for it!   It'll be fun!

Happy Crafting till next time!

Aunt Dee