Craft Roulette #92 Card

Hello crafty friends,

Here's my submission to Craft Roulette Challenge, Episode #92:

Wow... I can't believe this is my 30th consecutive submission!  I've been card making for years, so I would call myself an advance card maker in the skill department.  But playing along with Craft Roulette challenges has 1) reinforced my love of card making. 2) given me a whole lot of confidence in my creativity and abilities and 3) taught me some new things. 

For my card this week I started by using the parameters selected blue, green and my plus one (red) to create a Christmas tree gatefold opens to reveal my interpretation of a close up of a Christmas tree section with a hanging ornament and branches with Christmas light bulbs.

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

TOB - Dec Mid Month Challenge Reminder

Hello crafty friends,

Welcome to this month's challenge reminder post.  Have you started working on a card?  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 went with a square 5x5 card using a wood mounted stamp I got on ebay by Outlines Rubber Stamps K703.  I feel in love with the stamp and couldn't wait to color it up once it arrived.  The stamped image can stand on its own, but I added a large, but thin Trick or Treat die cut by Pretty Pink Posh on top for an extra something.   

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 #91 Card & Video

Hello crafty friends,

Here's my submission to Craft Roulette Challenge, Episode #91 (29th consecutive):

I went with a one layer card this week.  I bought back Retiform, by sectioning off  the top card panel and stamping different parts of my scene within them... before I knew this was Retiform, I thought of it as comic strip design.  

I used bright and cheery Christmas colors (red and green) and of course purple also made its' Holiday appearance.  I used a large post-it note to create a draft/template for the top panel, where I tested stamping each of the image to get a feel for placement and how to sectioned off the panel.   

When creating a scene like this, I like to have at least one section have images that get cut off.  In this case, the fireplace and the stuff on top of the mantle are cut off and I think it adds to the overall design of the scene.    

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

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

Craft Roulette #90 Card & Video

Hello crafty friends,

Here's my submission to Craft Roulette Challenge, Episode #90 (28th in a row):

I actually found a FUNN fold I like... this is my first bridge card and I will definitely be making more of these babies. They are easy, quick and FUNN to make.

Since I don't have a lot of color ink pads other than my Distress Oxides and not even all of them, I used a shade of blue and green to create some mint color trees, which to me look more teal, but it is what it is. Pink, brown and black were my other main colors. I used two stencils on the background and a large die cut word to meet all the crafty wheel's parameters.

I started by cutting and scoring my card stock. I waited to fold the scores until I was done with the stenciling. The first stencil layer was the Wonky Merry Christmas Text 6x6 by Paper Rose inked in Picked Raspberry. The second stencil layer were the trees using the Evergreens 6x6 Stencil by The Crafters Workshop. Sorry, I couldn't find a link to this stencil for you, but Newton's Nook has something similar. I layered the tree stencil over the text stencil. The two stencils didn't clash, because I inked the text stencil very lightly and it faded nicely into the far background, but still added a nice extra bit of interest.

Once my background was done, I colored my reindeer by Dare 2b Artzy, which I had in my bin from last year's Christmas card leftovers. I adhered him to the center section background on foam tape for dimension. The MFT Stacked Merry die die cuts with the letters connected, but I cut some of the letters apart in order to fit them on my two outer panels. I die cut the the Pretty Picket Fence by Penny Black from black card stock and it was a prefect fit at 5.5" wide. The die cut Christmas box word came from the Christmas Stitched Words set by IO I used my Picked Raspberry distress ink pad to color the card stock before die cutting the word and adhering it to the fence. Added stickles to the reindeer's hat top as a finishing touch.

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

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

TOB - December Challenge

Happy HOLIDAYS 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!

You may not be thinking Halloween during December, but part of me still is.  My card this below is a simple shaker card one using a big bold sentiment stamp.  

If you are asking yourself, how can a shaker card be simple, well, these flat shaker cards that have been trending are super easy and fast to make.  

Find some plastic.  I used one of my stamp storage pockets for the first card, but in the video I used a zip bag.  Trim the plastic to 1/2" bigger than the size of the element you want to stick inside your shaker element.  My stamped cardstock was 5" square.  Add double sided adhesive to the back of your shaker element along the edges.  Adhere the sides and the bottom of the shaker pocket.  Add the shaker bits and close the top opening. Add more adhesive (I used double sided tape again) and adhere to card base.  

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.