Friday, October 10, 2025

Not Really Creepy

Midnight greetings once again, spooky friends!  I can't believe that we're already about a third of the way through October...let's start a petition to make October have like 75 days, yes?  Great fall weather and the lead-up to Halloween, of course we need more of that.

I've got a non-traditional Halloween card to share today:


No orange to be seen here, so how about Sumer Splash and Petunia Pop?  And a bit of Pretty in Pink because why not.  I love the Boo to You stamp set, it has this monster, a werewolf, and Frankenstein's monster and they're just cute.  Plus it was fun to play with unexpected colors for this card.  I suppose I *could* have made my monster orange and green.

This time I went in the way-back machine all the way to 2011 and made a card inspired by the very first Freshly Made Sketch:



Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Boo to You
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Summer Splash, Petunia Pop, Pretty in Pink
Paper:  Summer Splash, Thick Basic White, Unbounded Beauty DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, In Color Shimmer Gems, Dimensionals

Thursday, October 9, 2025

Happy Owl-oween

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  Are you tired of Halloween cards yet?  Obviously I am not : )


Ummm it just occurred to me that I should have stamped a branch for the owl to perch on but I didn't so I guess he's levitating.  Spooky?  We had two years of Halloween DSP featuring Summer Starfruit (the funky yellow) so I'm actually working through some of my stock of that cardstock.  I used another CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch:



Spooky Cat is another one of my Halloween acquisitions from earlier this year, I have been trolling eBay and the B/S/T groups on Facebook for Halloween stamps for months.  Now I feel like I need to make another owl card and give him something to perch on...

Stay spooky, y'all!  And maybe practice your levitation.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Spooky Cat
Ink:  Summer Starfruit, Pumpkin Pie, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Summer Starfruit, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Witches' Brew DSP
Accessories:  Radiating Stitches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Tutti Frutti Sequins

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Playful Boo

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  I am trying really hard to get back in my craft room despite the post-surgery fatigue...my surgeon said I would be feeling tired for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery and I do NOT want to sleep through October, so that's a bit of a bummer.  At least I still have lots of Hex-Travaganza cards to share, like this one!


I paired last year's cute Playful Ghosts stamp set with some very, very old DSP (Cast-a-Spell, still one of my favorites) and another eBay stamp acquisition, Scaredy Cat.  Put that all together with a CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch:



Anyone else remember when SU! had all the different colors of embossing powder?  I still like to play with them on occasion, I probably have at least ten different colors.  I also dug out the old Candy Dots embellishments for some Perfect Plum accents.

Stay spooky, friends!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Scaredy Cat, Playful Ghosts
Ink:  Versamark, Perfect Plum, Stampin' Blends in Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Pretty in Pink, Daffodil Delight, Ivory
Paper:  Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Thick Basic White, Cast-a-Spell DSP
Accessories:  Tangerine Tango EP, Dimensionals, Perfect Plum Candy Dots

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Enjoy Every Bite

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  I hope you're enjoying the Halloween Hex-Travaganza as much as I am...hopefully I'll start getting some of my energy back so I can make MORE Halloween cards.

Tonight's card features another stamp set that I acquired earlier this year called Twick or Tweet, and here it is:


And here is the CASE-ing Tuesday sketch I started with:



I cut a stripe of DSP that says "yum" over and over, which I thought was funny with the image I chose.  I highlighted the image with just a little bit of color, and this was a quick card to put together.

Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Twick or Tweet
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie
Paper:  Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Thick Basic White, Ghostly Greetings DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Layering Circles dies, Dimensionals

Monday, October 6, 2025

Frankenstein Castle

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  I am still trying to recover from the appendectomy...it just seems like I have zero energy.  I can, at least, take Daph for walks now, which she appreciates since she didn't get to go for almost two weeks.  But then I require a nap afterwards.

Anyway, I do have a scrapbook layout to share today and I thought we'd go with Frankenstein Castle for a spooky vibe.


There are actually two different Frankenstein Castles in Germany, so we went to the one that was closer to our house and that supposedly has some kind of connection to Mary Shelley, though I have to say it didn't seem any spookier than any of the other castle ruins I've visited (which might be dozens?  I would have to count).  Then again, we didn't stay for the after-dark festivities either.


Today's not-really-spooky palette:  Sahara Sand (honestly I miss this color, Basic Beige has a sickly green undertone in my opinion so I find it hard to use), Groovy Guava, Mossy Meadow, Gumball Green, and white.  Nothing real special on this layout, just pictures, but that's okay.

Time to go chivvy Ryan along so we can get out the door on time, and then I have a doctor's appointment.  Probably followed by a nap.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Classic Alphabet
Ink:  Basic Gray
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Mossy Meadow, Gumball Green, Thick Basic White, Groovy Guava DSP
Accessories:  None

Smiling Pumpkins

Midnight greetings, spooky pals!  I wish October would slow down a bit because I want to enjoy it more.  My favorite month of the year : )

Tonight's card is all about the pumpkins:


I was inspired by a CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch and let the Spooky Night DSP do all the heavy lifting.



I changed the placement for the greeting to where it felt right with the pumpkins on the paper.  Isn't that a fun pattern?  I decided to do the Hex-Travaganza not only to get more use out of my Halloween stamps, but because I have quite the stack of Halloween papers and they deserve to get used too.  And even now it hardly looks like I've made a dent in the paper stack : )

Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Cutest Halloween
Ink:  Cajun Craze
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Spooky Night DSP
Accessories:  Tags & Labels Framelits, Dimensionals, Matte Black Dots

Sunday, October 5, 2025

Paper Players Costume Party!

Happy Sunday, y'all!  Are you ready for a fun new Paper Players challenge?  I hope so, because it's coming at you right...now!


This fun theme is brought to us by the lovely Claire and it was all the excuse I needed to ink up a set of Lawn Fawn stamps for my card:


I need to show this to my kiddo, he loves birds.  Anyway, I knew right off that I wanted to use a very, very old DSP pack called Sweet & Sour, which is that multicolored polka dot pattern (a quick Google search seems to indicate that this DSP is from 2011!).  I colored in my three costumed pals and put them on a circle of Granny Apple Green pattern so they'd stand out against all that pink and orange.  This is the first card I managed to make after my appendectomy surgery--it's been about 10 days and I still spend most of my time sleeping!  But I could NOT let Claire's challenge pass me by.

I hope you'll join in the fun and post your Halloween costume card at the Paper Players blog.  Don't forget to check out the fun creations my teamies made, too!  Lots of eye candy for your virtual trick-or-treat activities.

The Paper Players Design Team



Supplies:
Stamps:  Fox Costumes Before & Afters
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Granny Apple Green, Melon Mambo, Pretty in Pink, Highland Heather
Paper:  Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Thick Basic White, Sweet & Sour Specialty DSP, Sunshine & Rainbows DSP
Accessories:  Fox Costumes Lawn Cuts, Circles Collection Framelits, Mini Dimensionals, In Color Resin Dots

Witch Way

Midnight greetings, spooky friends!  How goes your spooky season?  I put on Hocus Pocus yesterday but I fell asleep in the middle, so I'm not sure if that counts as watching the movie.  Tonight I have a cute witch card to share:


This is the second Halloween card I made with this CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch:


I haven't shared the first one yet but the diagonal on that one goes the same direction as the sketch.  For Ms. Witch tonight, I wanted to use the other pieces of DSP I had left over from the first card, and I used the reverse sides for the black and white patterns.

Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Haunt Ya Later
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Highland Heather, Stampin' Blends in Highland Heather, Pumpkin Pie, Flirty Flamingo, Lemon Lolly, Old Olive, Petal Pink
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Thick Basic White, Cute Halloween DSP Stack
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes dies, Perennial Postage dies, Glitter Sequins, Dimensionals

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Halloween Brews

Midnight greetings, spooky pals!  Here we are with night 4 of the Halloween Hex-Travaganza and tonight is all about the magic potions!


I got Sweet Hauntings a couple of months ago and had to do a trio of deadly poisons for this CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch:


The original catty card that inspired the sketch:


I had fun deciding what colors the bottles should be to go with the Halloween Spells DSP.

Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sweet Hauntings
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Gorgeous Grape, Stampin' Blends in Highland Heather, Granny Apple Green, Pumpkin Pie, Pool Party
Paper:  Pool Party, Pumpkin Pie, Thick Basic White, Halloween Spells DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Party Dots

Friday, October 3, 2025

Fun with Frogs

Midnight greetings, spooky pals!  It's night three of the Halloween Hex-Travaganza and I have a fun card to share tonight!


Here is proof that a card doesn't have to be orange and black to be Halloweeny goodness!  I focused on my two favorite colors for tonight's card because green and purple are also great Halloween colors.  Once again I used a CASE-ing Tuesday Sketch:


And here is the original catty inspiration for the sketch:


I'm such a challenge junkie that it really helps me to start with at least one parameter instead of creating on the fly, and sketch challenges are perfect for Halloween cards.  So thank you to the CASE-ing Tuesday team for unknowingly inspiring a lot of the Hex-Travaganza cards I'll be sharing this month.

Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bewitching, Trick or Tweet
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Gorgeous Grape, Stampin' Blends in Lemon Lime Twist, Granny Apple Green, Highland Heather
Paper:  Gorgeous Grape, Lemon Lime Twist, Thick Basic White, Toil & Trouble DSP
Accessories:  witch hat punch, Stylish Shapes dies, Purple Shimmer Gems, Dimensionals

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Batty Boo

Welcome to night 2 of the Halloween Hex-Travaganza!  And tonight we're hanging out with a couple of spooky bats.


I love that Ghostly Greetings pattern with the orange swirls and I finally convinced myself that I really needed to use it on some cards.  The moon was super easy too--it's just a circle cut out of a marbly pattern from the retired Perfectly Artistic DSP.  The only thing that took a bit of time on this card was fussy cutting my bats, which are from the Autumn Apparitions stamp set (another eBay find from a couple of years ago).  I've spent this entire year picking up extra Halloween stamp sets just for the Hex-Travaganza and I still have some that I haven't played with yet.  So here we are on night 2 and I'm already certain I will have another Hex-Travaganza next year.  For the moment, I need to start mailing out these Halloween cards!

Stay spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Autumn Apparitions
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Granny Apple Green
Paper:  Basic Black, Thick Basic White, Perfectly Artistic DSP, Ghostly Greetings DSP
Accessories:  2 1/2" circle punch, Glitter Enamel Dots, Mini Dimensionals, Wink of Stella

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Hello October!

Mornin' y'all!  I am continuing to recover from my appendectomy last week but I'm happy to report that I'm feeling better, though I still sleep a lot.  Hopefully I'll be able to get back in my craft room very soon, but in the meantime, I have a card that I made last week and didn't get to share with all the craziness.  Here it is:


Hello October!  I had to use the Gathering Together DSP for the Addicted to CAS challenge:


Which I paired with the sketch from CAS on Friday:


I couldn't resist adding a couple of stamped leaves and an acorn above my greeting but I think it's still CAS.

Didja see the first Halloween Hex-Travaganza card I posted at midnight?  I'll be doing spooky sweet cards for the entire month of October because it makes my little goblin heart happy : )  I've been planning for that all year and I'm tickled to finally get it started.

Anyway, time to get the kiddo off to school.  Cheers!
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Gathering Moments, Everyday Arches
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Early Espresso
Paper:  Basic Beige, Gathering Together DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Gold Cord

Spooktacular Monster Bash

It's the witching hour, y'all!  Last year I lamented how I didn't get to share nearly enough Halloween cards, and I love Halloween cards so I had to think of a way to fix that : )  The answer:  a month-long Hex-Travaganza of Halloween goodness!  Every night at midnight for the month of October, I will be sharing a Halloween card with lots of stamp sets and Halloween papers from years past.

We're kicking off the Hex-Travaganza with a monster bash!


Our friendly spooks here are all cut out of the Spooktacular Bash DSP so the only stamping is the greeting on the headstone-shaped die.  I started making cards for this last December (which is good because it means that last week's drama queen appendix won't affect the Hex-Travaganza) and I frequently start with the CASE-ing Tuesday Sketches as a jumping off point.  Here's the sketch I used for this card:


And the card in the annual catalog that the sketch is based on:


I am looking forward to sharing lots more Halloween goodness this month, this might just be my favorite type of card to make!

Keep it spooky, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Spooktacular Bash
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Terracotta Tile, Basic Beige, Monster Bash DSP
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, Ornate Frames dies, Matte Black Dots, Dimensionals

Monday, September 29, 2025

Hocus Pocus, It's a Sketch

Mornin' y'all!  I didn't get really anything done last week because I went back into the hospital on Saturday morning.  Turns out recovering from the appendectomy is just as challenging as the part leading up to the surgery!  I'm taking it slow, the hubs is taking great care of me with Ryan as his nurse and Daphne is the emotional support/physical therapy member of our team (because petting a doggo is physical therapy).  And my parents got here yesterday afternoon to help too.

All that to say, I have a Paper Players card to share today.


I had my card made well in advance, and luckily I had already added it to the Paper Players post, but as of last Monday I hadn't written my own post here for it because I thought I had lots of time to get it done but then my appendix had other plans.  But I couldn't just not share it here because it might be my favorite card that I've ever made.  Like EVER.  And here it is:


It's Winifred Sanderson!  I swear I pulled out ALLLL the Blends for this one and I am just so tickled with how she looks.  I made her cheeks VERY pink like in the movie; Bette Midler said she wanted Winifred's makeup to look like she put it on herself and couldn't see very well while doing it.  Probably should have put more eye shadow on her though.

Anyway, I found the perfect cloudy night sky in the Everyday Skies DSP pack and then pulled up a reference photo of Winifred to color her in.  I fussy cut her, popped her on some Orchid Oasis glimmer paper, and then used my Blends to color some rhinestones in Orchid Oasis for a little embellishment.


Here's what Winnie looks like from the back : )

Go check out the Paper Players blog to see just ow versatile this sketch is and don't forget to link up there, we love to see what you create.  Cheers!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Sisters and We Fly from C.C. Designs
Ink:  Secret Sea, Stampin' Blends in Pumpkin Pie, Shaded Spruce, Shy Shamrock, Petal Pink, Melon Mambo, Orchid Oasis, Pecan Pie, Darling Ducking and maybe that's it?
Paper:  Shy Shamrock, Thick Basic White, Everyday Skies DSP Stack, In Color Glimmer Paper
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, rhinestones, Dimensioanls

The Paper Players Design Team


Friday, September 26, 2025

Hide & Seek Champion

I wasn't trying to play hide 'n seek this week, but it's been a wild time.  Monday afternoon I started having strong abdominal pains but it wasn't until after being admitted to the ER twice that they figured out my appendix came in like a wrecking ball.  Got that taken out on Wednesday (by which time it had ruptured, to add insult to injury) but today is the longest I have been upright since Monday night.  The hubs, Ryan, and Daphne are all taking good care of me.  I'm going to sit up for as long as it feels okay and then climb back in bed.

As it happens, over our weekend at Estes Park, Missy was wearing a Bigfoot shirt and I mentioned that I own Bigfoot stamps that hadn't been inked up yet.  Well, on Monday (before the fireworks started), I got out that stamp set and here's what I made to send to Missy:


What do you think?  I love the fall palette from Creative Colour Challenges:


I made the card base Early Espresso to make the colors pop, and I used Pecan Pie for Bigfoot.  I also had fun playing with the Atlantic Hearts sketch:


I don't much like to make square cards, so I stretched the sketch out into a rectangle.  Hoping to be feeling better soon but it might take some time before I get to post as much as I did before.  That said, I made another card on Monday that I may share this afternoon so I don't miss out on entering challenges : )

Cheers, y'all, and an important life lesson:  Don't let the ER doctor release you without a diagnosis.  I wish I had stayed instead of going home on Tuesday afternoon.  Just glad it's over now!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Autumn to Remember, Squatch on from The Ink Road
Ink:  Pecan Pie, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lolly, Pumpkin Pie, Versamark
Paper:  Early Espresso, Granny Apple Green, Lemon Lolly, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White
Accessories:  White EP, Starburst Sequins, Dimensionals

Monday, September 22, 2025

Rodalbens

Scrappy Monday, y'all!  We were actually gone last weekend; we drove up to Estes Park with friends.  We visited the Stanley Hotel (only to get a souvenir for my mom), walked around the town a bit, enjoyed some fall foliage, and did a really great Jeep tour up into the Rocky Mountains National Park.  We saw lots of elk, some deer, and the hubs caught a glimpse of a bear near our cabin.  He also got an unintentionally close look at some elk when he went out for an early morning jog.  We took many many pictures and I need to upload them onto the computer so I can see them larger.

Anyway!  Today's layout is also fall colors:


This was one of our early explorations in Germany in 2020, when pretty much all we were allowed to do was to go hiking while staying away from other people.  Rodalbens was only a short drive from where we lived and we got to see some pretty neat sandstone formations even though Ryan opined that "Hiking is just walking and trees are boring!"  Yeah, we're planning to go back to Estes Park and do some hiking around there.  I want to go to the national park again, it was amazingly beautiful.


Today's fall palette includes Wild Wasabi, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Close to Cocoa, and Very Vanilla.  I haven't done any scrapping in a while (as I've been preoccupied with the Nancy Drew stuff) but this is making me really want to bust out the 12x12 paper again.

Time to go walk the Daph.  I think she was happy to see us yesterday but she spent most of the afternoon sleeping--must have worn herself out playing with other dogs at the dog sitter's house.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Empire Alphabet Upper, True Friend, Coffee House Alphabet by Inkadinkado
Ink:  Really Rust, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze marker
Paper:  Wild Wasabi, Really Rust, Close to Cocoa, Thick Very Vanilla, Crushed Curry DSP
Accessories:  Layering Circles dies

Sunday, September 21, 2025

Misty Watercolor Memories with the Paper Players

Hey y'all!  It's Sunday which means it's time for a new Paper Players challenge, and Jan has a fun one for us today:


I was quite taken with the idea of a watercolor landscape, so here is what I made:


I die cut a piece of watercolor paper with the square from the Stylish Shapes dies, and then die cut some mountains from the Scenic Adventure dies, which did cut my square into two pieces but we'll get to that in a minute.  I watercolored my scene, hit it with my heat tool to make it dry faster (impatience, thy name is me), and then adhered both pieces to a Basic Beige card front and stamped the greeting on it.  I die cut the trees out of Mossy Meadow and scrunched up a piece of cling wrap, inked it up on my Mossy Meadow ink pad, and pounced it on the trees to give them a bit of texture.  Easy!

My mom is still recovering from open-heart surgery, so I sent this card off to her as soon as I finished making it.  I hope you'll play along and share your card on the Paper Players blog.  Don't forget to keep it CAS!  And take a look at what the other Paper Players made for more wonderful inspiration!

The Paper Players Design Team

  and now me : )

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Scenic Adventure
Ink:  Mossy Meadow, Old Olive, Lost Lagoon
Paper:  Basic Beige, Mossy Meadow, Watercolor paper
Accessories:  Scenic Adventure dies, Stylish Shapes dies

Saturday, September 20, 2025

The Clue in the Jewel Box

Happy Saturday y'all and welcome to a new Nancy Drew Challenge!  This time we're attempting to unravel The Clue in the Jewel Box.


I think it's fun how the OT and RT covers have the creepy dude, Nancy in pink, the old lady, and NOT the titular jewel box on the cover.  We'll get to that last part in a minute.  Nancy is feeling VERY 60s on both covers and they're both by Rudy Nappi so maybe that's why they are so similar.  I like them both quite well.


Case file:  Nancy becomes acquainted with Madame Marie Alexandra, the deposed queen mother of a never-named European country (Russia, obvs) who is searching for her grandson, the only other member of the royal family to survive the revolution.  This is Anastasia with a boy instead of a girl.  Nancy finds a man who has some bona fides, but his uncouth manners make Nancy doubt that he really is the lost prince.  The Easter egg with the nightingale in it (and that piece is consistently referred to as an Easter egg, not a jewel box) sings instructions to look for the clue in the jewel box, which is shaped like Madame Alexandra's favorite footman from the palace.  Nancy finds the real prince and also smashes a pickpocket ring operating in River Heights.

Here's my card for the OT:


I knew from the jump that I wanted to use the Bird Ballad DSP because it has the same colors as the book cover and it's got birds, which calls back to the nightingale in the Easter egg.  I let the DSP be the star of the show here, the only stamping is the greeting.


Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Free as a Bird
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Pool Party, Thick Basic white, Bird Ballad DSP
Accessories:  Lots of Labels Framelits, Dimensionals, Solid Faceted Gems

And here's the RT:


Case file:  The story remains the same as the OT, the only obvious changes I can think of are that Helen is married to Jim Archer in this one instead of having Buck Rodman as her date.  Also I think the OT is the first reference to Dave and Burt, who turn into Bess and George's regular dates for the rest of the hardback Nancy Drews.  Anyway, basically the same story and still the cover doesn't have the jewel box on it.

Here's my card:


I still used the Bird Ballad DSP but I brought in the Winterly Tree Tops stamp set, which coordinates beautifully with Bird Ballad and Free as a Bird, a stamp set that predates this one by a couple of years and was released with the Bird Ballad DSP.


Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Winterly Tree Tops
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Pool Party, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Pecan Pie
Paper:  Petal Pink, Pool Party, Thick Basic White, Bird Ballad DSP
Accessories:  Winterly Tree Tops dies, Dimensionals, Petal Pink Foil Gems

Side note:  My favorite part of these books (this happens in both) is that Nancy and her father Carson go to a daddy-daughter picnic thing where a judge drops his daughter's compact and complains that women's clothing doesn't have pockets.  PREACH, JUDGE!  Why is this still a problem in 2025?!

So there you have The Clue in the Diary, which is a great addition to the ND lineup.  Leave me a comment if you want to make your own card for the challenge, I would love to see if you're also inspired by Nancy!  As always, you can read (lots) more at Hey, Nancy Drew, where my most recent post is a deep dive into The Message in the Hollow Oak.  Next Saturday on this blog, we'll be working to uncover The Secret in the Old Attic, another great one!