Cozy Girlfriend

I made this card for the Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger. This sweater is the trigger. Now I don't really like sweaters. They make me itch and they seem to highlight every bulge (and there are plenty!). But, I decided to play along. I love a good challenge!

For this card I used a square format; something I hardly ever do. It just seemed to work. The kraft background piece is stamped in Hero Arts White Chalk ink with Hero's Dot Background (CG139) stamp and I used lots of Ranger Distress Ink. The focus is one of my Hero Arts favs, "Girlfriend" (G5416). The doily and buttons were thrift shop finds and the pin and yarn are from my stash.

Now, tell me. What is more warm and fuzzy on a cold day than a chat with a girlfriend? Better than a lousey old sweater any day.

May I just say.... I HATE haunted houses, spooky spiders, masked trick-or-treaters, wicked spirits and anything else that goes bump in the night. But I LOVE images and cards that bring a little whimsy and play into the spooky holiday of Halloween. Isn't it just the height of holiday crafting fun?

With that in mind, here is the last Halloween card I will be sharing with you this year. Here is a spider in all his Halloween glory!

Be safe out there in your haunts and remember, it is ALL about the candy corn.

Treat Boxes

Treat boxes
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

I found these cute litttle metal tins in the clearance bin and got busy! I covered them with designer Halloween paper and added a moon and a 3-D bat on one side and happy Jack with googley eyes on the other side . The sweet little Ghostie on the tag was sprayed with Perfect Pearls mist to add some serious shimmer. Vintage lace ties it all together.

All stamps are Hero Arts, bat punch and funny stickers are Martha Stewart. Inside treats by M&M!

Treats!

Treats!
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

Good morning all! This card uses a technique that I learned at a recent Stampin' Up party hosted by my craftin' pal Antoinette. The cardfront was dry embossed in my Cuttlebug and then it was inked in black with a brayer, which inks only the raised portions. Lots of paper layers, a fun sticker by Martha Stewart and Mr. Googly-eyed Ghost (Hero Arts stamp) complete this fun and textured card. Have a good one - only a few more days to add the finishing touches on your costumes!

Another Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger!

Cath is at it again! The latest Tuesday Trigger is Momento Mori - I don't want to be there after dark! My take on this is my card, which I call "Bells in your Bat Tree!". Too much fun! Okay, I did get a little carried away with the MS bat punch (thanks, Anne!) - but I love those little guys!

I used three Hero Arts stamps: CG119, CL468, & D397. The tombstones are a Michael's stamp on dictionary pages with 3 layers of UTE on top to make them curl and deeply shine in the moonlight (the lighting makes it difficult to photgraph the depth of the glow). Silver embossing powder, Stickles, some cool velvet ribbon from the Clearance bin and lots of Distress Ink complete the nightmare.

Come on down!

Those of you who follow me on a regular basis know how I feel about the paper-crafting and rubber stamp company Hero Arts. Their products are top quality (in fact I no longer buy stamps from other companies - I just do not do it!), their blog is most inspiring and their instructional videos are the best. I have been making cards with their products and submitting them to various challenges for several months. I actually developed this blog to help spotlight their products and the cards I make with them. Well, yesterday I learned that a card I made was a "fresh face" winner in the Holiday Card Challenge! Read more about it here.

The technique for this card came from Jennifer McGuire's great Two Peas in a Bucket series on Holiday Thinking Inking. She is the most amazing mentor! The dear deer (I stamped it twice and raised its head with dimensionals) is a Hero Arts digi image provided free by 2Peas and the city is one of my favorites, Hero Arts' Silly Scape. I used lots of Ranger Distress inks!

The sentiment inside the card is "Where are the reindeer games?" I am so touched by this recognition and I can't believe the quality of the work of the other winners. I still have lots to learn and Hero Arts will provide the tools and inspiration. Thanks, Hero Arts; love ya!

Returned and Re-boo-venated!

We just returned from the most wonderful little trip! The main purpose was to visit dear ones in NH, PA and Upstate NY but we also stayed in Boston - so much amazing history! - and Stockbridge, MA - where we saw the Norman Rockwell Museum and Arlo Guthrie's church from the song "Alice's Restaurant" - way COOL. We saw beautiful fall colors and ate lots of yummy seafood. It was all good, and it's good to be home!

Here is a simple little Halloween card made without rubber stamping. I love the crazy images, the googley eyes and torn edges. Scary!

Hallo-Scrooge?

Is there a "Scrooge" for Halloween? Let me know because that is me! I just don't get it - when did Halloween become more of a national holiday than Thanksgiving? It is crazy! So, even though I don't like the holiday, I sure think the images are all so cute - I love using them in my paper crafts. So, you will see a few more Halloween cards here later this month.

Here is a simple little card made with "Stampin' Up" products. I love their ribbon - it ties so nicely.

I am going to be unplugged for a couple of weeks, so be good. Get your costumes planned, your yards decorated and your candy purchased (buy it early so you can eat it all and still have time to buy some more - that's what we do).

Bonjour, mes amies!

I have a good pal lucky enough to be going to my favorite city of all time, Paris! A good excuse to make a little french card, n'est pas? I love anything and everything French!

For this card I decided to use some printed acetate (another friend gave me a tablet of it some time ago). It is difficult to work with, but it gives such a unique look. One must think about all the surfaces of the card at one time because the material is transparent! The paper stamped with the little tower is behind the printed acetate and appears to be "floating".

Ayez un magnifique voyage, Mary!

"Aged" Pumpkins & Mousie

"Aged" Pumpkins & Mousie
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

This is a circle card - a new challenge for me. It is made by running the folded card with a circular die through the die cut machine(my Cuttlebug), but being careful not to cut through the fold. Fun. The background is a dictionary page (Sorry, Mrs. White, my elementary school librarian!) which I crumpled up and inked. The image stamp is very vintage Hero Arts (colored with Copic pens) and the swirl background is CG119. Lots of distress ink, some vintage lace, a MS punched bat and lots of bling. I guess we can finally call it Fall, darn it!

Thanks, my friend

Thanks, friend
Originally uploaded by mkmermaid (Maureen)

My friend returned from a recent trip to China and she brought me this amazing bookmark from the Great Wall. It even has my name and the date burned into the wood! Unbelievable. Also this beautiful bag and set of chopsticks. I made her this little thank you card with the paper-pieced little Asian girl to say thanks for thinking of me. I'm sorry that the gold coin reflected the light - it was a cloudy day and I had to use my flash. Thanks, Jill!

Offset Scallop Gallop - Argyle Pumpkin

Cath at Moxie Fab World designed another super challenge - her Offset Scallop Gallop! Woopie! Where does she get these crazy ideas? I actually made three scalloped cards (I guess I got into it!), but this is my favorite. I took this photo from the side to show the argyle pumpkin's dimension. Hero Arts Stamps F4031 and CG187 were used. I stamped the "Stitched Pumpkin" 3 times, cut it into sections and mounted them with dimensional dots. The vintage image is from Crafty Secrets. I also used lots of distressing, a Fiskars punch and I topped it all off with some great ribbon and a pin from my stash. Thanks for this crazy challenge!

It is really starting to feel like Fall here and the mornings are as dark as night. Darn! I am just not ready. People are actually decorating their houses for Halloween! No way! I plan to wear peddle-pushers and tank tops for at least another week, even if I have to wear a sweatshirt over it all. I want summer to last all year! I'm off to put on some sun screen and look for some watermelon - have a great day!