TOB - Dec Mid Month Challenge Reminder

 

Happy Holidays crafty friends,
Welcome to this month's challenge reminder post.  Have you started working on a card/project?  If yes, GREAT!  If no, WHAT are you waiting for?  We want to see your Halloween creations.   Remember  the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge, runs from the 2nd to the 28th of the month and the theme is always Halloween... ANYTHING related to Halloween!

I can't believe 2022 is coming to an end, WOW!  

Taking inspiration from the mood board, I created a ghostly banner.  This time instead of telling you how I made the card, I'm going to tell you how I would remake it, because I like the design, just not the execution.

I wouldn't have used dimensional adhesive foam on the purple frame (the banner die cut). If you want dimension (for a shaker card, etc.) die cut several extra banners to back the purple one (the top layer).  This will provided more support to the whole banner and look much better.  The outside frame on this die is just too thin and even the thin adhesive foam I used was not thin enough and ended up looking terrible.  I tried to hide it by coloring it black with a marker and made more of a mess.      

Add double side adhesive to the vellum paper before die cutting the ghosts, so that the adhesive won't show.  If your banner was dimensional, all you would need to do was not attach the banner to the card front prior to adding your ghosts on it, so that you could coat the sticky backs of some of the ghost with powder to remove unwanted stickiness.  If you're using acetate, then the ghost would just stick to the acetate.  The vellum adhesive I used was very visible. 

   Sometimes looking at a card I made (but I'm not happy with) with a critical eye helps me make better cards.  Not all cards are stars, but every card I make can teach me something.  I hope this helps.  

Here's this month's mood board for additional inspiration... Hope to see your card/project soon. 

Challenge ends on the 28th, winner will be announced on the 1st on the month before the start on the new challenge.  For a full list of all the rules please visit Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge home page.  unit next time... take care.

               

Craft Roulette #141 Card

 

Hello crafty friends, 
     here's my 66th submission to Craft Roulette, Episode #141:

Once you have the parameters, how do you decide what products to use?  Do you have an inventory of your stamps and die?  I have some stuff in AirTable, but it's not up-to-date, so I'll usually search the "inventory" directory I created and keep updated on my computer.

  This time, I started by searching for "tree" and one of the first items displayed was the Tree Ring Embossing Folder by TH. I didn't even bother looking at anything else the search found, because I was locked on the embossing folder. And It was in the "new stuff" bin that sits on my desk next to the "seasonal" bin. 

So now I had a background for my "A2" "from a tree" card. Next I set to work on some "in the corner" elements. I grab the Foliage 2 by Paper Smooches set and die cut some pine leaves from variated green pattern paper.  I also die cut the Birch Tree Circle from IO from beige card stock.  The red (my plus 1 color) ticket is from Unity's Ticket to Christmas set.  At this point, I though I was set and arranged all my corner elements.  I took my photos, selected the best photo, added the CR logo and my watermark in PhotoShopElements and saved my file.  It was only when I upload the photo here that I realized I didn't have any blue in my card.  WAIT, no need to panic, digital stamps to the recue!  I reopened my card in PSE and added three blue snowflakes, varying their sizes for interest.

Thanks for stopping bye.  Until next time, take 

TOB - Dec Challenge

 

Hello crafty friends,

Welcome to a new month at the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge, which runs from the 2nd to the 28th of the month and the theme is always Halloween... ANYTHING related to Halloween!  

When I saw the Halloween decorated cake on the mood board I knew I had the perfect stamp for a card.  This stamp by IO is a favorite (as most IO in my collection are).  I love that it's not an overly creepy design and can be used on Halloween as well as Falls cards.  I paired it with a frame and a sentiment stamp by Penny Black and used a fun pattern paper to make the stamped image pop. 

Here's this month's mood board for additional inspiration... Hope to see your card soon. 

Challenge ends on the 28th, winner will be announced on the 1st on the month before the start on the new challenge.  For a full list of all the rules please visit Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge home page.  unit next time... take care.

 

TOB - Nov Mid Month Challenge Reminder

 

Hello crafty friends,
Welcome to this month's challenge reminder post.  Have you started working on a card/project?  If yes, GREAT!  If no, WHAT are you waiting for?  We want to see your Halloween creations.   Remember  the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge, runs from the 2nd to the 28th of the month and the theme is always Halloween... ANYTHING related to Halloween!

I kept it quick and easy this time.  My cards took less than 30 minutes to make. Both are 4" square cards, which I made with a little masking, a small clear pumpkin stamp (Honey Bee Pumpkin Patch), a set of small cactus wood mounted stamps (pictured above), a sentiment (Paper Smooches Halloween Sampler) and two Wonky Stitched Square dies from MFT.  

  Here's a little video showing how I did the masking. 

Here's this month's mood board for additional inspiration... Hope to see your card/project soon. 

Challenge ends on the 28th, winner will be announced on the 1st on the month before the start on the new challenge.  For a full list of all the rules please visit Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge home page.  unit next time... take care.

               

Craft Roulette #138 Card

 

Hello crafty friends, 
     here's my 65th submission to Craft Roulette, Episode #138:

Another FUNN set of parameters this week.  The project called for Window card and initially I thought of die cutting a window into my card, but dismissed that idea quickly.  Instead I searched my dies for a window (Poppystamps Cottage Window) and die cut three of them to create Fall shaker windows for a slimline (4.75x8) card.  I inked the insides of my shaker windows with yellow and red.  Starting with the yellow at the bottom and the red at the top and them blending them in the middle.  I filled the shaker windows with a mix if gold and copper leaves.  I finished the shaker windows with small twig wreath die (3 circles).  The last step before adhering the shaker windows was coloring my card base, which I did with a light shade of purple (+1). 

 

Thanks for stopping bye.  Until next time, take 

Craft Roulette #137 Card

 

Hello crafty friends, 

     here's my 64th submission to Craft Roulette, Episode #137:

The parameters are always interesting and that's why I love this challenge.  

I took the "Peek-a-Boo" refer to heart and used the Stitched Triple Peek-a-Boo Window and Edge die from MFT to create three circle windows and a diagonal cut across my top card panel.  I torn both side of the panel following the die cut diagonal edges.  The bottom right section, I stamped and colored my High Hopes Drive Thru stamp scene using Distress Oxides inks (red = Barn Door, green = Lucky Clover, Black Soot) black)and alcohols  markers (green, purple, blue).  The top left card base was Distress Oxide inked in green (Lucky Clover) and the top left panel with the openings was Distress Oxide inked in blue (Speckled Egg).  

The top left half of the panel is lifted on what I'm thinking are super thick circle foam.  I don't remember where I got them, but I wanted to finished them off, so I reached for them.  I should have stamped the sentiment (MFT Hug In A Mug) before adhering the top panel, but I didn't so, I used one of the circles from the die cut, which I inked like the background. 

Here's a link the process video for this card. 

Thanks for stopping bye.  Until next time, take care.

TOB - Nov Challenge

 

Hello crafty friends,

Welcome to a new month at the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge, which runs from the 2nd to the 28th of the month and the theme is always Halloween... ANYTHING related to Halloween!  

This month's mood board makes me think of what Fall/Halloween must be like in Arizona, Nevada and other warm dry places were cactus live.  I wanted to go with that idea and created a cactus pumpkin version of my own using a stamp set by Picket Fence with some cute cactus kids.

I created a background panel with two of the cactus kids stamped in gray ink and inked the edges with orange Distress Oxide Ink (Craved Pumpkin).  Initially, It was going to be a portrait card (top loading) and I stamped the background kids based on the initial placement on the big pumpkin, but I ended up not like how it looked and changed the orientation to a landscape side folding card. This left a weird gap on the right side of the background panel, but other than masking some I could stamp over some of the images, I couldn't think of a way to work around it, so I moved forward.  The sentiment covers some of the gap and I made add a strip of die cut grass to the bottom of the card to "ground" the pumpkin.

I used a combination of markers and Distress inks to color the pumpkin and added the cactus kids on top on foam tape.  The sentiment is also raised on foam tape.  

Here's this month's mood board for additional inspiration... Hope to see your card soon. 

Challenge ends on the 28th, winner will be announced on the 1st on the month before the start on the new challenge.  For a full list of all the rules please visit Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge home page.  unit next time... take care.