Stack o' Jacks

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  We are fast approaching Halloween night, but I still have a few more Hex-Travaganza cards up my sleeve : )  Here is tonight's card:

I am CASE-ing LeAnne's card for this week's Paper Players challenge because I loved it so much : )  I found a similar polka-dot pattern in my Halloween paper stash and her cute image made me think of this stack of jack-o-lanterns from Twick or Tweet.  I also loved the inspiration photo at Just Add Ink:

I worked in my best approximation of all the colors except the brown at the top, going with Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla (because it was in the DSP), Basic Gray, and Gorgeous Grape.  I don't have a good match for that beautiful purple color but I tried!

Stay spooky, friends!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Twick or Tweet
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Gorgeous Grape, Basic Gray, Stampin' Blends in Pumpkin Pie and Highland Heather
Paper:  Gorgeous Grape, Very Vanilla, Spooky Night DSP
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes dies, Purple Shimmer Gems, Dimensionals, Wink of Stella

SUO Challenges: Frankie & Friends

Hey hey, happy Tuesday!  And it's time for a new challenge from SUO Challenges!

Check out the inspiration photo:

Tammy does such a great job of putting up challenge graphics for the design team well in advance, which means I had time to by (yet another) retired Halloween stamp set just for this challenge!  Take a look:

That cake made me think of this Frankie stamp and die set from Tricks & Treats, which I remember debating whether or not I should get it when it was first introduced.  Better late than never, right?  I paired Frankie and the haunted house with some retired Pumpkin Pie DSP.  All the black is heat embossed so it's shiny.

We still have a couple of days before Halloween, so time to get some last-minute spooky sweet cards done!  Or maybe you can take that inspiration photo and turn it into something NOT Halloweeny?  Ooh, I might have to take that challenge up myself.  ETA:  so right after I hit publish on this post, I took a look at Cynthia's blog and she DID make a non-Halloween card for this challenge, and it's amazing!  Now I really can't wait to get the Branching Out bundle in my hot little hands, I ordered it last week.

Hope you have fun and don't forget to upload your creation on the SUO Challenges blog.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Tricks & Treats
Ink:  Versamark, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Granny Apple Green, Highland Heather, Smoky Slate
Accessories:  Tricks & Treats dies, Textured Notes dies, Black EP Mini Dimensionals

Witch Hair, Don't Care

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  I have a hair-raising card to share with you tonight:

Isn't she ADORBS???  I got the stamp set Hair Scare from Sweet November *months* ago and just now inked her up for the first time.  I tried to get close to the Color Dare Challenge colors:

I went with Berry Burst, Starry Sky, and Call Me Clover because that was as close as I could get with Blends colors.  I happened to find that Color Theory DSP scrap in my Berry Burst folder and I loved it since it looks like lightning to go with the lightning Harriet has magically manifested.  (Come on, I had to call her Harriet!)  I also gave Harriet a very sparkly background with some ombre In Color glimmer paper from a few years ago.  I had fun coloring her in and tried to make her glorious hair look fun.  Sometime I would like to do a class in coloring with alcohol markers, I think I have much room for improvement.  I didn't have embellishments in the color I wanted so I used the darker Call Me Clover Blend to color in clear rhinestones.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed Harriet's debut.  I think I'll have her on display with Medusa and Winifred for a while.  Stay spooky, friends!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Hair Scare by Sweet November
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Starry Sky, Call Me Clover; Stampin' Blends in Starry Sky, Orchid Oasis, Smoky Slate, Basic Black, Petal Pink, Call Me Clover, Berry Burst
Paper:  Call Me Clover, Thick Basic White, Color Theory DSP Stack, In Color Ombre Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Deckled Rectangles dies, Dimensionals, Rhinestones

Happy Boo!

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  I can't believe that this is the last week of October already.  At least this year I feel like I got to post enough Halloween cards : )

Here is tonight's offering:

Despite owning Spooky Bingo Bits for years, I haven't used it very often at all, so for tonight's card I paired it with a fun greeting from the new-to-me Monster Munchies.  And once again I have a CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch as my starting point:

I thought this sketch was a fun one to showcase the smaller images from Spooky Bingo Bits.

Stay spooky, friends!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Spooky Bingo Bits, Monster Munchies
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Highland Heather, Flirty Flamingo, Old Olive, Thick Basic White, Cutest Halloween DSP Stack, Pumpkin Pie DSP
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Sketching with the Paper Players

Happy Sunday, stampy friends!  It's time for a new challenge from The Paper Players, and we have a wonderful sketch courtesy of the fantastic and amazing Joanne!  Take a look:

Isn't it great?  Lots of fun ways to use the sketch, as you'll see when you check out the Paper Players blog, but since we are in late October (wahh, I want October to last forever), you KNOW I made a Halloween card.  But one that's a little less traditional.

I absolutely adore the Have a Hoot bundle (had to get it on a BST group on Facebook since I didn't buy it when SU! first released it) and I hadn't used it for any of the Hex-Travaganza cards this month, so I had to take this opportunity to ink it up.  I thought my wannabe spooky owl would look nice on one of the sky backgrounds from the Everyday Skies DSP Stack which I also used for my Winifred Sanderson card (stock up now, I got an extra pack yesterday because I couldn't resist doing an itsy bitsy free shipping order) and I ended up with a lot of purple on my card.  I stamped "Have a hoot on Halloween" on the inside but forgot to take a picture of it.  This owl is serving my level of spooky here, which is to say only as much as your average Scooby-Doo episode ; )  I don't go for the scary stuff.

Anyway, I hope you'll have as much fun with Joanne's sketch as I did!  Don't forget to check out my teamies' cards too and upload yours at the Paper Players blog.  Cheers!

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier

Stef Perry

Eliz Stewart

  and now me : )

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Have a Hoot
Ink:  Secret Sea, Blackberry Bliss, Fresh Freesia, Bubble Bath, Stampin' Blends in Darling Duckling, Pecan Pie, Ivory, neutrals, Blackberry Bliss, Bubble Bath
Paper:  Blackberry Bliss, Thick Basic White, Everyday Skies DSP Stack
Accessories:  White EP, foam stars, Dimensionals

Magical Bats

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  I can't believe we are heading into the last week of October already and on night 26 of the Hex-Travaganza, but here we are!  And to celebrate, I have some elegant bats.

I love the filigree look to these bats from Hallows Night Magic, and I paired them with the also fancy Magic In This Night DSP.  Once more, I have a CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch as my starting point:

I've used these bats (and this DSP) for another Hex-Travaganza card, but that's okay.  I still have a few uninked Halloween stamps so maybe next year I'll do a better job of using a different set every night (and yes, I am quite sure I have enough Halloween stamp sets to use a different one every night for the month of October!).  I have enjoyed the challenge of making so many Halloween cards this year so I plan to hex again next year.  After all, I haven't even made a dent in my Halloween patterned papers.

In the meantime, stay spooky, friends!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Hallows Night Magic
Ink:  Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Cajun Craze, Pretty Peacock, Basic Black, Magic In This Night DSP
Accessories:  Halloween Magic dies, Thoughtful Expressions dies, Dimensionals, Faux Glass Dots

The Secret in the Old Attic

Happy Saturday and welcome back (finally) to another Nancy Drew Challenge!  Recovering from a ruptured appendix is a long process and I am fighting hard to get back to normal around here, it's just slow going.  Anyway, I have a great book in the Nancy Drew series to share today, The Secret in the Old Attic, and I just had to highlight this spooky entry before the end of October!

The OT cover on the left is one of the most often used Nancy Drew covers when it comes to other Nancy paraphernalia, and I can see why--it's amazing.  First off, I would love to have Nancy's dress, it's gorgeous.  Second, it's just a great scene of Nancy exploring the titular attic with a candle, and you might not notice at first the super creepy face lurking behind the door to the left of her.  Most excellent.

The RT cover is also pretty good, definitely bringing the creep factor with the skeleton hand and a mysterious shadowy figure once again lit only by Nancy's candle.  I don't like this dress quite as well as the red one, but let's be real here, I'd still like this blue dress in my closet.  Not that I wear dresses very often, but maybe I would if they were excellent mid-century designs.

Both covers are great, but I think the OT cover is my favorite just because it's so iconic.  So let's take a look inside!

Case file:  Carson Drew is approached by the elderly Philip March, who says his deceased son Fipp's musical compositions have been stolen and there is supposed to be a clue to the music's whereabouts in the love letters between Fipp (Philip Jr.) and his (also deceased) wife Connie.  He wants the Drews to find the music so he can sell it to support his granddaughter Susan.  Carson is busy with another case involving industrial espionage, so he turns the letters over to Nancy, who spends a lot of time exploring Mr. March's attic looking for clues.  She also helps on Carson's case, where a fabric-making process involves spider silk and the bad guy is obsessed with black widow spiders.  Meanwhile, some hussy is trying to steal Ned away from Nancy, but of course that doesn't work.

Here's my card:

For this one, I wanted to highlight the musical mystery, so I pulled out two long-retired but new-to-me musically themed stamp sets, Musical Manuscript and Concerto.  I was actually looking for some music-themed DSP when I came across a pack called Love Letter, and I thought that was just perfect since Nancy starts the mystery by reading Fipp and Connie's love letters for clues as to where Fipp hid his music.  Side note:  Fipp is THE CUTEST nickname ever, I love it.  Anyway, the Love Letter DSP featured several lovely Riding Hood Red and Very Vanilla patterns, so I started there and built my card from that.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Musical Manuscript, Concerto
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Pecan Pie
Paper:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Love Letter DSP
Accessories:  Deckled Circles dies, Circles Collection Framelits, Dimensionals, Black Rhinestones

Next up is the RT:

Case file:  This one very closely follows the OT, but omits the boyfriend-stealing subplot and I think ups the spider content a little bit.  As I said, the bad guy (who has the glorious bad guy name Bushy Trott) is obsessed with black widows and sets one loose on Nancy, but Ned saves her.

Here's my card:

Obviously this time I was inspired by the skeleton hand on the cover and Bushy's spiders.  In the book, there's a skeleton hanging inside a wardrobe in the attic that gives Nancy a clue as to where to search for the music, and according to the Regular Nancy Drew podcast when this book was written (and revised, for that matter), plastic skeletons weren't a thing yet so the skeleton would have been REAL human bones (it was owned by a cousin who was a med student).  Which is an interesting fact and somehow ups the creepy factor here.  Anyway, one of my more recent retired Halloween stamp set purchases is Piece of Poison, which has both the skeleton and the spider image, so perfect for this card.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Piece of Poison, Wicked Cool
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Granny Apple Green, Azure Afternoon
Paper:  Granny Apple Green
Accessories:  Glitter & Clear Epoxy Stickers

I hope you enjoyed this rather spooky addition to the Drew-niverse, I love this one despite being rather arachnophobic myself.  If you're inspired to make a card based on either of the book covers or the story itself, please leave me a comment as I would love to see!  See you here next Saturday when we'll be searching for The Clue in the Crumbling Wall!