A Spooky Sweet Cupcake

Mornin' y'all!  Happy LAST DAY of September...tomorrow starts the best month of the entire year!  I'm so excited, I absolutely love October--fall colors, cooler weather, comfy sweaters, pumpkin everything.  And lots more Halloween cards on the way but of course I started early and I have another one to share today.

New schtuff alert!  I first discovered this Simon Says Stamp set called Spooky Sweets back when I was looking for eyeballs for Mystery of the Glowing Eye and I finally added it to my Halloween stamp hoard last week.  I had to make a pastel candy-colored cupcake card for the Inspired By... Challenge:

I used Pretty in Pink, Highland Heather, and Peach Pie for my colors and I think I should have gotten an extra pack of that Unbounded Beauty DSP, who knew it would be so good for pastel Halloween cards?  Maybe I should have used Fresh Freesia for my purple but I still like it with Highland Heather.  Anyway, I've already made another card with this stamp set which you will be seeing soon, and I have a couple more cupcakes to ink up too.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Spooky Sweets by Simon Says Stamp
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Highland Heather, Stampin' Blends in Highland Heather, Peach Pie, Pretty in Pink, Ivory
Paper:  Highland Heather, Peach Pie, Pretty in Pink, Basic White, Unbounded Beauty DSP, Peach Pie DSP
Accessories:  Spooky Sweets dies by Simon Says Stamp, Layering Circles dies, Dimensionals, Cute Stars Sequins

It's Wednesday, so how about a Work In Progress (WIP Wednesday) update on my stitching project?  Here it is:

I've been a little bit obsessed with working on this because I think the pattern is SO cute and I finished the first block last night (there will be twelve blocks total).  This pattern was released by Shannon Christine Designs as a Stitch-Along (SAL) where one part was released each month over the course of a year; I also have her Spooky Houses SAL and I bought the floss for that already.  I'm going to go through SO MUCH black floss, but that's okay because I bought a cone of it several years ago and that should cover both of these Halloween projects.  Anyway, I finished off this square last night and started a little bit of the curlicues around the Frankenstein bucket that will go to the left, but I took this picture before I moved my stitching frame so you could see the jack o' lantern in all his glory.

And here's my stitching buddy last night, I don't know how she could breathe laying like that.  It's a rainy day today so she was staring morosely out the window because she knows I won't take her for a walk if it's actively precipitating; now she's facing the opposite direction because she's mad at the weather.  I will take her later if the rain lets up, we go if it's just wet outside but not if it's still falling from the sky.  Anyway, Daphne likes to hang out with me while I'm stitching, we've been rotating between episodes of Smallville, Pushing Daisies, and Scooby-Doo while I work.  She's the best couch companion.

A Sketch to Fall For at SUO Challenges

Mornin' y'all!  I'm running late with my blog post this morning, Ryan asked me to drive him to school and that threw off my morning schedule.  I've gotten used to him riding his bike instead : ) Then I had to do the grocery shopping and put everything up and Daphne is now giving me the hairy eyeball wanting to know when we can go for our daily perambulation.  But I told her I have to write this blog post first and it's time for a new challenge from SUO Challenges!

I always love a good sketch and here's what I made with this one:

I didn't look at Tammy's card when I was working on mine and yet we ended up with the same DSP and stamp set so we are on the same creative wavelength.  I do like that plaid pattern in the Autumn Opulence DSP and this was the first card I made with Elegant Leaves, I just happened to make it a few weeks ago (I try to work ahead on my design team commitments).  It's a simple little card but I still managed to use three different sets of dies for it!

Hope you'll join the challenge!  Don't forget to keep your card to Stampin' Up! products only, that's the whole point of our challenge.  Well, that and to have fun of course.  Byeee!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Elegant Leaves
Ink:  Cajun Craze, Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss
Paper:  Cajun Craze, Blackberry Bliss, Very Vanilla, Autumn Opulence DSP
Accessories:  Elegant Leaves dies, Perennial Postage dies, Tile Garden dies, Dimensionals, Earthy Matte Dots

Hide 'n Seek

Mornin' y'all.  I am tired this morning, I kept waking up last night but I can't remember now what I was dreaming about.  At any rate, I hope you had a good weekend, ours was pretty low-key.  I made some cards, I worked on my stitching, and I finished season 6 of Smallville : )  Plus watched a few episodes of Scooby-Doo.

So here's today's card:

I think these three friends are playing hide 'n seek in a spooky forest, what do you think?  I was going to do fall leaves or something when I saw the Sunday Stamps sketch:

But then I remembered the tree die cut in the Oh My Fright bundle so that's what I had to do.  I let the die cut and the Frightfully Fun DSP do the heavy lifting on my card--the three friends are cut out of one piece of the DSP and the moon and tree background is a different piece, with a scrap of stars and swirls for the horizontal band on the sketch.  I did move that band down from where it is on the original sketch just to work better with the shape of the tree.

Time to get Ryan off to school and then Daphne has an appointment to get some vaccinations.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Oh My Fright
Ink:  Granny Apple Green
Paper:  Granny Apple Green, Basic Black, Basic White, Frightfully Fun DSP
Accessories:  Oh My Fright dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Glitter Enamel Dots

Gomez & Morticia for The Paper Players

Happy Sunday, y'all!  Thanks to everyone who played along with my bear challenge for The Paper Players last week, I loved seeing all the bear cards!  I said something about Fat Bear Week to Ryan and he didn't believe me that that's a real thing (the nerve!) so I showed him a video introducing some of this year's fat bear contenders and now he believes me.  Anyway, it's time for a new Paper Players challenge and this time the wonderful Jaydee has a great sketch for us:

I had an idea in my head for what I wanted to do, but then I was looking through my Halloween paper stash and I got distracted (typical) and this is where I ended up:

The Monster Bash DSP is some of my very favorite Halloween paper, I got a second pack on a Facebook BST group this year so I can hoard that and have all the funs with my first pack.  There's a whole page of spooky character portraits so I chose this Gomez and Morticia couple for my card--I wish the coordinating stamp set had more of the characters!  It only has a vampire and a mummy, there's a whole bunch of different characters on the DSP which is why I tend to fussy cut them instead of stamping, though I do use the great greetings in this stamp set on the regular, and the greeting is the only stamping done on this card.  Anyway, I had to highlight a really fun pattern for the large panel on the sketch, and finished off with a few black rhinestones.

Check out the other design team creations on the Paper Players blog, and you can hop through their individual blogs to leave some comments too:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier

Stef Perry

you are here --> Christy Stanford

And then upload your card at the Paper Players blog!  Keep in mind a few simple rules:
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL
4.  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Spooktacular Bash
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Basic White, Monster Bash DSP
Accessories:  Ornate Frames dies, Dimensionals, black rhinestones

The Sinister Omen

Happy Saturday, y'all, and welcome to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today's book is #67, The Sinister Omen:

We have three wildly different covers this time.  I don't particularly care for the arch cover on the left, I just think it's boring; the middle cover is bonkers with Nancy's artistically ripped jumpsuit and the downed plane; and the one on the right wins the prize for the silliest Nancy Drew cover in the history of Nancy Drew books.  Okay the middle one is silly too but in a fun way, not in a roll-my-eyes way.  The middle one is definitely my favorite.

Case file:  Nancy is back in Florida and things always seem extra bonkers when she's in Florida.  Nancy flies Bess and George down to Fort Lauderdale in a seaplane (because of course she does), where they're supposed to meet up with the road trippin' boy half of the Drew Crew and help Carson with a case involving...a cartel of bad guys who steal valuable stamps.  Postage stamps, not my paper crafting stamps.  I bet you wouldn't have guessed that from looking at *any* of the book covers.

So here's my card for the first cover:

When the girls arrive in Fort Lauderdale, they find out that Carson has been kidnapped, but with Nancy on the case he doesn't stay that way for long.  She finds a clue and stupidly goes by herself to an abandoned hotel and has a run-in with a colony of rats before she rescues Carson single-handedly (because of course she does).

Yikes, the colors look off in this picture, the card is a better match to the book cover IRL I promise.  Happily for me, I have a suitably creepy-looking rat in my Halloween stamp stash.  Side note:  how many buildings in Fort Lauderdale have basements?  Because that seemed extremely unbelievable to me.  Anyway, I used Gray Granite, Boho Blue, and Secret Sea for my card colors.  I decided to forego the red on the book cover or else my card would have resembled a crime scene.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Piece of Poison, Spooktacular Bash, Ghoulish Grunge
Ink:  Gray Granite, Boho Blue, Secret Sea, Versamark
Paper:  Gray Granite, Boho Blue, Secret Sea
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Smoky Slate embossing powder, Neutrals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

On to the middle cover:

So the bad guys call their little club the Brotherhood of the Vulture (bunch of drama kings), but the only vulture stamp I have is in Animal Alphabet and just didn't work for what I wanted.  And actually this is my second hack at a card for this book cover, the first one was awful so I decided to go with a raven for a different avian harbinger and ended up with a sorta-Halloween looking card that I like.

I only bought this book last year and I paid probably too much money to import it from Canada but I was just so excited to add this cover to my collection even though Nancy does not crash the plane.  I used Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, and Basic Beige for my colors and for once the greenish cast to Basic Beige ink worked in my favor.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  The Raven
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Beige, Peach Parfait
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Beige, Well Suited DSP
Accessories:  Deckled Circles dies, Dimensionals, Clear Epoxy Shapes

And now for the third one:

The B mystery in this book involves a very old lady who was a friend of Carson's grandparents I think, but sadly my stamp collection is lacking in old lady stamps so I decided to go with the spring break angle instead.  The Drew Crew does manage to fit in trips to the beach and taking out a yacht or two in between solving the mysteries, and this was a good excuse to use the water mask I bought at the end of summer.  Hopefully I won't forget that I have it next summer.

Nancy has a nightmare at the beginning of the book that involves a vulture, and that's even before the Brotherhood of the Vulture even gets involved, which is where this silly cover originates but I still think it's stupid.  None of the SU! blues is a really accurate match for this cover, but in the end I went with Pacific Point, Summer Splash, Poppy Parade, Flirty Flamingo, and Basic Gray/Smoky Slate for my colors.  And I finally used the camera stamp in Summer Happiness along with my favorite sunglasses and some teeny flip-flops.  Is it weird that I wish the images in this stamp set were drawn on the same scale?  Otherwise the sunglasses and flip-flops must be made for a Funko Pop.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Summer Happiness
Ink:  Pacific Point, Basic Gray, Stampin' Blends in Poppy Parade, Smoky Slate, Flirty Flamingo
Paper:  Pacific Point, Basic White, Summer Splash DSP
Accessories:  Summer Happiness dies, Textured Notes dies, Water Decorative Mask, Mini Dimensionals, Wonderful Gems

Mostly what I remember from reading this book as a kiddo is the old lady, who is quite acerbic but gives Bess a well-deserved confidence boost so I like her.  The postage stamp angle of the story reminds me of the movie Charade, one of my favorites, which stars Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant and I shouldn't have to put a spoiler alert on a movie that's about 60 years old and if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out.  Anyway, Nancy's Florida adventures always seem to have an extra bit of crazy and this one continues that trend.  The Drew Crew is rubbing elbows with the uber-rich and apparently stealing collectible stamps is super lucrative based on how much stuff the bad guys have.  There are some really bananas aspects to this book (a retired stunt man, a sinkhole, a suspicious butler and more) and you know I love me some bananas plot shenanigans so I'm giving this one four stars.  If you're inspired to make a card based on this book, leave me a comment!  I will be especially impressed if you choose that stupidly silly third cover with the vulture.  I'll see you next week when Nancy tracks down The Elusive Heiress.

Hello Fall

Afternoon, y'all!  I just had to come back this afternoon with another fall card because I am enjoying the beginnings of fall weather here.

I mixed and matched three stamp sets for this card and I have three challenges as well.  Let's start with the new Festive Friday challenge:

I have green, brown, woodgrain, and distressed technique for my card.  And this challenge works pretty nicely with the Retro Rubber Challenge:

I told you I was coming back with a fall card for this one!  This time I did a diagonal with die cuts - leaves - distressed edges.  I actually die cut the woodgrain panel with the Deckled Rectangles dies but then hit it with an old distressing tool that SU! had once upon a time, and then I added more ink around the edges.  This is the first time I've inked up Truly Grateful (the woodgrain) because it's a recent acquisition, but Gorgeous Leaves is five years old and For All Things (the greeting) is now twelve years old, so extra retro.  I love revisiting old favorites : )

And last up is Time Out Challenges:

I've been taking pictures during my daily walks with Daphne for daaayyysss thinking about this challenge and here's one from this morning:

We had to detour around a flock of Canada geese.  Mostly the grass is still green, though in other places I see a lot of yellow and dark orange on the grass specifically, so that dictated my color choices of Old Olive, Crushed Curry, and Cajun Craze.  I inked up the leaves with Crushed Curry and then applied a bit of Cajun Craze ink with a sponge before I stamped, which came out pretty subtle but I like it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Gorgeous Leaves, Truly Grateful, For All Things
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Pecan Pie
Paper:  Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Sweet Days of Autumn DSP
Accessories:  Intricate Leaves dies, Deckled Rectangles dies, Hello Honey ribbon (which is pretty much the same color as Crushed Curry), Earthy Matte Dot, Dimensionals

Speaking of Daphne...

I took her picture because I thought her teefers were so cute but then I saw what her ball says and it made me laugh.  She's a happy Bark Box subscriber and she just got a bear toy today (among other things), so even Daphne is celebrating Fat Bear Week.  Cheers!

Periwinkle Hydrangeas

Mornin' y'all.  Ryan doesn't have school today (no idea why) so we both lollygagged around and had a bit of a lie-in this morning.  Daphne knows I have finished my first cuppa so she's telling me it is Time To Go For A Walk NOWWW Mahm so I'd better type fast.

So here's my card for today:

I brought out last year's Thankful Garden for the current Atlantic Hearts sketch:

I think I went a little overboard with the die-cut leaves but it's all stuck down.  I chose Thankful Garden thanks to the Retro Rubber TTT challenge:

I plan to circle back to this one because I really want to make a fall card : )  This time I did the top row, with ribbon - stencil - die cuts, and I chose Thankful Garden because that's the only stencils I have other than this year's Painted Pumpkins.  Thankful Garden is a year old so it just counts as retro in stamp years, and that hydrangea stamp was perfect with this Color Dare duo:

I used Peaceful Pine and Hydrangea Hue for my colors and white for a neutral.  Now that I've gotten this card out of my system, I will be back to fall and Halloween cards for a while I think : )  They're my favorite to make.

Okay, Daph is making with the puppy dog eyes so I'm going to take her for a walk and I'll see you later, kids.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Thankful Garden
Ink:  Hydrangea Hue, Peaceful Pine
Paper:  Hydrangea Hue, Peaceful Pine, Basic White, Mosaic Garden DSP
Accessories:  Thankful Garden stencils & dies, Textured Notes dies, Peaceful Pine ribbon, Dimensionals, Clear Epoxy Drops