Halloween Surprise!

I was inspired by the new sketch at CardPatterns this week http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/2011/10/sketch-138.html and also by my sister's 'Secret Pal' at her work. It's kind of like a secret santa, but it lasts three months instead of just Christmas! ;p
And who doesn't like goodies?!

Here is Michelle's sketch. I love that is an unusual shape, perfect for a Halloween card!

This week I wanted to try and give you a more step by step process of how my cards come together..

I started with a white cardstock base that I folded 'hotdog style' and trimmed it to the desired length for this sketch. Then I distressed the edges a little with some orange stamping ink and stamped a few orange swirls at the corners.

Next I added a thin piece of black border at the bottom that I hand cut from black cardstock.

Next I layered a piece of lime green cardstock over some orange and brown polka dot patterned paper and cut a semi circle to layer over the card. The edges have been distressed with some purple and black stamping ink.

I used some thick black self adhesive ribbon at the top and some orange ribbon with a black stitch layered underneath. I had fun layering all the colors and patterns!

And this is the final product! Happy Halloween with a hand made Witches tag :)

I stamped (I've been practicing and it turned out lovely) a Happy Halloween sentiment on with paper that I had also stamped with lime 'boo' to mimic a patterned paper. I layered this over a deep purple flourish patterned paper.

This is a tag that I am extremely proud of because every little piece is hand cut! I used sparkle paper for the top of the witch's hat and some tan jewelry thread that I shredded up with my finger nail to give it a broom-ish look. The eerie bubbles are silver glitter gel pen and Glossy Accents layered on top.

I hope Barb loves her totally handmade Happy Halloween surprise! (Well, except the Candy Corn!) Dont you love my little shoe? Also all hand made from paper by me! You can find the template (I altered mine) here: 

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/templates-f143/fashion-shoe-template-t133275.html

Thanks for stopping by to peek at my spooky treats! Happy Halloween and Happy Crafting!
Thank you CardPatterns for amazing inspiration as always!!

CardPatterns Sketch 136

I decided to take part in this week's card sketch at CardPatterns (my favorite blogsite!) and give Michelle's sketch a go. I always have a hard time with asymmetrical cards and especially with grids or measured cards.
I like to stick to free-hand and more whimsical sketches. So I suppose this is exactly what it should be.. a challenge! Check it out here: http://cardpatterns.blogspot.com/2011/10/sketch-136.html

The ribbon tied around the rectangle in the center is what really did me in.. I love tiny bows! My take on the sketch:

I went with a gray-blue and cream color theme. I used bits of scrap paper (from who knows where!) and some dcwv papers. I found a chipboard sticker that matched the color theme perfectly! And I love the little quote on it.. I used a cream colored tag for my center rectangle piece and tied it off with some blue twine. I did some distressing on all the edges with some antique gold and some with a bit of turquoise stamping ink.

Here are my up close shots of my tiny details :)) I put on some hand drawn stitching around the solid blue corners as well as the upper corner of the tag. Did you notice the three knots tied above my tiny bow?

Hope you enjoy my attempt at what was truly a challenge!! Happy Fall <3