Happy Halloween you all!

 I did it! I actually made and mailed Halloween cards to family.  Until I became a card maker I didn't know that Halloween was a card-sending occasion, but boy is it a big deal to the companies that market to us.

All of these cards were created with last year's small die of the month from Spellbinders called "Eek-a-boo". They were absolutely fun to put together and I haven't even scratched the surface of possibilities for the cute kids in costume.

Next up, I made 2 of these fabulous sugar skulls, also from Spellbinders, and promptly gave them away before remembering to photograph them. Luckily for me this one was given in person and my coworker allowed me to grab a picture. The other one is on the way to New York so will never be seen here.

Happy Halloween you guys!

More cardinals!

 

Ok, so they don't need much explanation. The cardinals are from a die from Gina Marie Designs, the "Joy" is from My Favorite Things, the little "to the world" is from The Alleyway Stamps, and the greenery is from Spellbinders.  The background text is stamped with a red rubber background stamp from My Favorite Things.  And I'm not even done with cardinals yet. Nope, I'm not!

Cardinals for Christmas

 

Cardinals are quintessential Christmas birds, not only for the male's bright red coloring, but because I only see them in the winter here in Florida. 

These birds are created with a die from Gina Marie Designs called Layering Cardinal. I have to tell you, this didn't come with instructions and I had a real time trying to figure out how to do the wing layers and the legs/feet. I found only one example of this assembled on line so I took that one and ran with it. The card above is 5" by 6.5", larger than the usual cards I make. The wreath is build with various greenery from Spellbinders' kits. 

One of my pet peeves with art featuring cardinals is that there are often multiple males in the picture, but no females. What's up with that?   So for this card I took the die and cut it from some golden brown card stock and flipped it over to make the mirror image. I used a bone folder to smooth down the cut edges since the back side isn't as finished looking around the edges.

The greenery that the birds are perched on are from assorted bits from Spellbinders' kits, as are the script die cut sentiments.  I had the silver snowflake die cuts in a cup on my desk from several years ago. The card below was also inked around the perimeter of the navy base with black soot Distress Oxide ink, and finished with some baker's twine at the top fold.

Moosing you for Christmas

 

I'm still working through very old 12x12 paper pads and larger card bases from the stash.  These are 5 x 6.5 bases.

The moose is a die from Gina Marie Designs, and the frame and sentiment on the card below are from Spellbinders. I love this moose and I'm going to use it in several more seasonal cards this year. I guess I love the moose because we don't have them anywhere near here?  The seasonal animal we do see around here are cardinals, and they will be coming up soon!

Happy Pawlidays, dog edition

 What can I say, but here come the dog versions, insides and outsides? 

Most of the dog versions are done on kraft card bases from the old stash.

Michael's 12 x 12 Pad, Happy Pawlidays - Cat edition

Last year, either just before or just after Christmas, I purchased some 12 x12 pads from Michael's, all Christmas themed.  These cards are my first efforts with the "Happy Pawlidays" set.  It is very similar to the 6 x 6 set called Christmas Pets that I worked with in November 2018. The main difference with the larger pad is that I can find larger images to fussy cut for focal points. Also, this paper pad came with coordinating washi tape. Win!  There were enough cut-apart elements that I had plenty for inside decorations, too.  Pardon my very informal photos, complete with my stabilizing digit.

I supplemented with sentiments from Sunny Studios and My Favorite Things.  I also played around with some new dies from Spellbinders.

 Next up, the dog edition!

Christmas Wishes kit (almost) 10 more cards

Nine more cards from the Spellbinders' Christmas Wishes kit, which was the kit of the month last November.  You may remember that I bought this kit last spring because I was obsessed with the poinsettia die that comes with the kit. And you can only get it in this kit.

So, technically, I'm calling this one as part of the kit because it uses the designer paper and 2 of the ephemera pieces from the kit. It uses the truck from Spellbinders' "Truckin' through the seasons", and the tree from the "Merry Everything" kit.

The kit also had dies that created ornaments, so I made a few with metallic card stock and paired them up with some of the ephemera pieces.  I also used sequins on this one.

This one used more of the ephemera, one of the chipboard pieces, and gold Nuvo drops.

Yay, more of the poinsettias that I got the whole kit for.

What's a Spellbinders card kit collection without a collage card or two?  I used the banana creme card stock, and used a wood embossing plate over it and then grouped on the "stuff".

So, I'm officially tired of the kit and I still have a bunch of stuff left in it. Should I keep the stuff together in the box or distribute it around the craft room?  I have space for one more kit box on the shelf allotted  to them.