Don't Go In The Woods and Haunted Couture Cards

Hello again everyone, and welcome back!  I'm in a bit of a Halloween mood, and The Robin's Nest is offering their Halloween collection for 20% off this month.  We have also paired up with a wonderful company, Connie Crystal, this month.   They have the most beautiful crystal products around.   I love making Halloween themed projects, and I could not be more pleased to share my cards with you today.  I have three cards today, so grab a cuppa, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Supplies Used:

The Robin's Nest:  Black Trees Glitter Cardstock
                               Purple Glitter Crackle Cardstock
                               Spiderweb Glitter Cardstock
                               Orange Glitter Crackle Cardstock
                               Halloween Glitter Stripe Cardstock
                               Boo Words Glitter Cardstock
                               Ghost Camo Glitter Cardstock
                               Pumpkin Heads Cardstock
                               Witch Accessories Glitter Cardstock
                               Haunted House Cardstock
                               Black Classic Glitter Cardstock
                               Almost Black Classic Glitter Cardstock
                               Bats Chipboard
                               Little Friends - Dress-up - Dracula Costume
                               Mascarade Diamond Dew Drops
                               Classified Mini Dew Drops
                               Halloween Dew Drops
Connie Crystal Beads
Specialty Stamping Paper
Copic Markers: Y38, Y35, Y06, YG23, V04, V17, 0-Blender
Tuxedo Black Memento ink pad
French Lilac Palette Hybrid ink pad, Black India Ink pad (Stewart Superior)
Chipboard mini dress form (Maya Road)
Rubber Stamps:  Haunted Couture, Haunted Dress (Lockhart Stamp Co.)
Dies:  Spider Web (Quickutz); Ribbon Label, Fancy Tags, Scallop Circle, Lacey Circle (Spellbinders); Graveyard (Tim Holtz)
Martha Stewart spider web edge punch
EK Success tiny spider punch
Pumpkin Smooch (Colorbox)
Popcorn chalk ink (Colorbox)
Pitt Big Brush Artist Pens: White, Black (Faber-Castell)
3mm and 4mm googlie eyes (Hobby Lobby)
Silver eye pins
Jump rings

Directions for Don't Go In the Woods:

Cut Almost Black Classic Glitter Cardstock to 6" x 12", to make a 6" square top folded card.  I decided to put the fold at the top so it could act as an easel and stand for display.

Trim Black Trees Glitter Cardstock slightly smaller than card front, edge with Black Soot distress ink, and adhere, as shown.  (Tip:  Pick a section of the trees you like for the front.)

Adhere Purple Glitter Crackle Cardstock to chipboard and die cut with the graveyard die.  Edge chipboard piece with a black marker.  Choose the direction of your light source and add white chalk ink to the tombstones to look like moonlight shining on them.  (Unfortunately, it is very subtle in the picture, but much more effective in person).

Adhere to bottom of card with a strip of foam tape for dimension.

Cut out two spider webs from Spiderweb Glitter Cardstock and two ghosts from the Ghost Camo Glitter Cardstock.  Adhere to card front, as shown.  I used pop dots under the ghosts to give them some dimension.

Cut out small raven from Haunted House Cardstock and place on top of one of the tomb stones.  Add 3D crystal lacquer for strength and to help it stand out against the dark background.

Choose three small bats from the Bats Chipboard package, two black and one purple.  Color the black bats with a light coat of pumpkin Smooch.  Adhere purple and orange diamond dew drops to each bat.

Cut out small "B" "O" "O" letters from the Boo Words Glitter Cardstock.  I chose these because they look like eyeballs to me.  I cut them out individually because I wanted to place the letters "O" upside down, and place all the letters closer together to look like they are hiding in the trees.  I used two black dew drops and two silver dew drops from the Classified Mini Dew Drops to make eyeballs.  I needed mini black dew drops for the letter "B", but did not have any. So I placed them onto a piece of double sided tape and inked them with my black permanent ink pen.

I found it easier to adhere the letters to my card first.  Then, you can either add 3mm and 4mm googlie eyes, if you have them, or a white pen to finish off the eyeballs.  I thought the googlie eyes were a lot of fun and always make me smile.  I even added one to my raven.  I think he even looks scared now!

And what wooded cemetery doesn't have it's very own vampire?  Of course, this calls for the addition of Little Friends - Dress-up - Dracula Costume.  So, stay out of the woods at night, or you might run into a few of these critters.

My next card is more along the lines of Halloween costumes and the whole idea of dressing up.  I remember having so much fun as a kid, but alas, I was very tall, and the ready made costumes were always too short on me.  I had to learn to sew so that I could make my own.

Directions for Haunted Couture:

Cut Pumpkin Heads Cardstock to 6" x 9", fold in half to make card 6" x 4-1/2".  (Note:  I am using the reverse side of the pumpkin heads for the outside, but the inside is directional, so make sure your pumpkins are upright.)

Stamp Haunted Couture dress onto specialty stamping paper, color with Copic Markers.

Fussy cut the dress, a witch's hat and broom from Witch Accessories Glitter Cardstock, and ink a mini dress form with French Lilac.  Be sure to ink the edges for a finished look.  Set aside.

To make the spider web doily, I die cut Lacey Circles from Purple Glitter Crackle Cardstock, and a smaller scallop circle from Orange Glitter Crackle Cardstock.  Then I cut the web from Black Classic Glitter Cardstock, layering one on top of the other and trimming the web, as shown.

Cut fancy tag from Boo Words Glitter Cardstock, placing die between words.  Edge with a bit of Spiced Marmalade distress ink.  Stamp Haunt Couture phrase in the center with Black India Ink.  I used my trusty stamp positioner for this.


Adhere doily and fancy tag to card front, as shown.

To make the dress form longer, cut it in half and adhere to the back of the dress, as shown.  I added a small piece of foam tape between the cut dress form to make up the difference.

Adhere dress form, witch's hat and broom to center of doily.  Add yellow and orange mini dew drops, and two purple diamond dew drops to the fancy tag, as shown in finished card photo.

I have one last thing to share.  Since we are partnering with Connie Crystal Beads this month, I wanted to show off a card using their gorgeous crystals.  This card needs to be a bit more substantial to support the Connie Crystal Beads.  These beads are so nice and shiny, and have a very nice, heavy weight to them, unlike plastic beads.  I have some more ideas for using them, but that will have to wait for another time.  Now, I want to show you a real simple, but very cool, way to use them on this last Halloween card.

Directions for "BOO" card:

Cut  Black Trees Glitter Cardstock to 5" x 6".  Layer onto a pre-folded 5" x 6-1/2" black card.

Punch two spider web borders from  Black Classic Glitter Cardstock and adhere to top and bottom.

Adhere Orange Glitter Crackle Cardstock to a piece of chipboard and cut out using the "Boo" die.  Ink chipboard edges with black pen to finish it off.

Thread three Connie Crystal Beads  onto an eyepin and make a loop at the open end.  Attach a crystal drop to the bottom loop with a jump ring, and attach the entire bead piece to the chipboard, as shown.

Adhere "Boo" chipboard to card front.  Punch tiny spider from Black Classic Glitter Cardstock and add to web beneath the letter "B".

And there you have it!  I really love my Halloween cards, and I hope you like them too.  Please be sure to visit the online store for the sale papers, as well as the other wonderful Robin's Nest products.  And don't forget to take a moment to check out Connie Crystal Beads to see all of their beautiful crystal beads.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope I didn't take up too much of your time with my long post, and I hope you will come back to the Robin's Nest blog to check out the rest of the team's creations, too.

Have a very happy, creative week!

Barbara

Tunnel Card with Classic Glitter Swirls

Hello again, Robin's Nest fans, and welcome back.  I am so glad you stopped by today because the Robin's Nest Design Team continues to showcase the beautiful Classic Glitter Swirl papers this month.  I have been making cards for almost two decades now, so I have a plethora of card ideas stored away in the recesses of my mind.  I have always been extra fond of interactive cards, cards with different types of folds, dimensional cards, moving cards, etc.  So, I want to share with you a fun card that really is easy to make, but looks like you spent days working on it.   It is often referred to as a tunnel card, and here is my finished piece, inside and out.

Supplies Used:

The Robin's Nest:  Black Glitter Swirl on White CS, Silver Glitter Swirl on Black CS, Pink Glitter Swirl on Pink CS, Summer Pink Classic Glitter CS, Black Classic Glitter CS
Classified Mini Dew Drops
Spellbinders die (S5-041-Floral Doily Motifs)(Classic Circles)
1-3/4" circle punch
Black India Ink (Stewart Superior)
Flower Stamp and die (My Favorite Things)
Decorative edge punch (Martha Stewart)

Directions:

Cut Black Classic Glitter CS and Black Glitter Swirl on White CS to 5-1/2" x 8-1/2".

Fold Black Classic Glitter CS in half to form card front that measures 5-1/2" x 4-1/4".  Make score lines on the Black Glitter Swirl on White CS  at , 2-1/8", 4-1/4", and 6-3/8".  Set card front aside.

 Reverse side of Black Glitter Swirl on White CS

Center circle die over the center (4-1/4") score line and cut out an opening.

Reverse side of Black Glitter Swirl on White CS

Fold along score lines as follows:  valley folds on both outer scores, mountain fold on center score.

It should look like a "W" when folded properly.

Cut a circle frame in Pink Glitter Swirl on Pink CS with the floral motif doily, then center the same size circle die used before and center it over the doily to make a frame.  Set the circle aside.  We will use it later.

Glue the pink frame to the card inside, as shown.

Open card front and lay flat, open this inisde card front a lay flat.  Adhere both pieces, wrong sides together, only along the outer edges and up to the first fold on each side.

When you close the card, the center will pop up, like this.

Adhere circle die cut through frame opening, as shown.

When you open the card, you can still see the circle piece through the frame, just like you are looking through a tunnel.

A view from above

Next, I cut 2" x 5-1/2" strips of Pink Glitter Swirl on Pink CS and used the decorative edge punch along each edge.  Adhere strips to each side, as shown.  

Figure 1

I thought the design got lost a bit, so I took a strip of the Summer Pink Classic Glitter CS and place beneath the strip as far as it will go.

Mark through one of the design's openings that is furthest out but will still allow you to cut a straight line.  In this case, you will not be able to include the scallops unless you fussy cut a scallop shape.  This really is not necessary.  Let's keep it simple.

My strips measure 3/4" wide to accomplish this.  I placed a strip beneath the decorative border and glued it in place.  Then I cut off the excess on either end.

This allows your eye to see the design a little bit better.  You can compare this photo to Figure 1 above.  I also added 1/4" strips of Black Classic Glitter CS to the outer edge on both sides.  She finished photo above.

Stamp sentiment onto scrap of Summer Pink Classic Glitter CS.  Punch out with 1-3/4" circle punch.  

Open card and adhere die cut piece through opening.

Cut Silver Glitter Swirl on Black CS to 4" x 5-1/4" and layer onto card front.  Punch another strip of the Summer Pink Classic Glitter CS with the decorative edge punch and layer across the top of the card.  This time, I added a 3/4" strip of the Black Classic Glitter CS and adhered it beneath the pink strip.  Now this color really stands out.  I wanted to show you the difference you can achieve by using darker, lighter, or similar colors of card stock strips.

I had a tiny strip of the Black Classic Glitter CS left, so I punched it once again.  The strip was thinner and did not give me the whole design, but I like it.  It is going to be perfect for my next step.

Dew Drops, of course.  I added silver metallic mini dew drops from the Classified Mini Dew Drops collection along the black decorative strip.  It really pulls out the beautiful silver flourishes in the paper.

To finish off the front, I still need a focal point.  I stamped the daisy flower twice on Summer Pink Classic Glitter CS with black ink.

A little trick I learned along the way.  Not sure who to give credit to, but an easy way to align your die to cut out a stamped image is to first tape the die to a scrap of paper, forming a "hinge", and die cut the scrap.  You can then swing the die up without removing it and align the opening in the scrap over the stamped image.

 You can then tape the scrap down, and swing the die back down over the opening and stamped image, and proceed to die cut as usual.  This gives you a nice, close cut to your stamping.

I glued a second die cut frame to the front, inserting the stems of the two flowers beneath the frame.

To keep it dimensional, I added a few foam dots to the back of each flower head.  The picture below is from the side to show you some of the dimension.  

So,  I hope you enjoyed my tunnel card today and will give this gloriously scrumptious glitter swirl paper a try.  It is on sale for 20% off through the end of August.  Needless to say, these papers are so beautiful and elegant, and they work so well together.  I have really enjoyed working with them.  So go ahead, check out the Robin's Nest online store, and be sure to come back to the Chattering Robin's blog for more inspiration from the Design Team using these fabulous papers!    

As always, thanks tons for stopping by, and have a wonderfully creative week!

Barbara