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

My Pisa de Resistance for The Robin's Nest

Hi everyone.  I am back with another with another scrapbook page layout (and a little play on words) for The Robin's Nest that I think will surprise you when you find out how I did it.  I am so excited to share this with you, and I absolutely love how this turned out.  

Would you believe this paper was once black?  This is a fabulous technique that I learned from Tim Holtz when using his Kraft resist papers, but I am using it on black card stock paper from The Robin's Nest.   This paper is certainly beautiful as is, but what if I needed some colored paper?  Well, I have lots to tell you so let's get to it.

After applying Picket Fence Distress Stain all over the gold on black paisley paper, blend 3 to 4 distress ink colors with your blending tool.

When completely covered, your paper will look like this.

Voila, black paper no more.  Isn't that fantastic?  Hard to believe this was ever black paper.  

After a wonderful visit to Italy this year, I chose this picture taken of the Tower of Pisa.  It goes so well with this paper.  I adhered the picture to a piece of corrugated cardboard, then added some hard molding paste for a shabby look.  I also added hard molding paste through a brick stencil along the edges, which appears in this photo, too.

I used a tag from the Blue Glitter Journaling tag sheet and fussy cut around it to make a decorative tag for journaling.  After determining where to place my journaling tag, I punched two small holes on either side of a straight cut I made through the paper.  

On the back, you can see where I have inserted the tag through the slit and placed double-sided tape around it.  I attached another piece of card stock to close the pocket and prevent the tag from falling through.

I inked an embossed chipboard butterfly with the same colors used on the background paper, then covered it completely with 3D Crystal Lacquer.  Halloween and Fall Foliage Dew Drops were added to form the body.  I love the dimension achieved with Dew Drops.  The butterfly was attached at the top of the tag and acts as a pull tab.  

I used letter rub-ons to spell out "Pisa" on the tag.  

Now for even more fun.  I am going to show you how you can take a seemingly uncoordinated piece of paper and make it work with another.  In this example, I used Tulip Wheels paper to make flowers to add to my page.  After punching five-petal flower and scalloped circles, I made quite a beautiful bouquet, don't you think?  Pictured below are several five-petal flowers punched from the Tulip Wheels paper, then inked with the same colors of ink used on the background paper.  A little bit of folding and curling the petals give these flowers lovely dimension.  The further addition of Cherry Chocolate and Christmas Dew Drops to the centers also make them even more lovely.

My scalloped circle flowers were made by punching five circles, removing sections, as shown below, and gluing each piece into a cone shape.  Insert the cone shapes inside of each other results in a beautiful rose.  These were also punched from the Tulip Wheels paper and inked.

For variety, I used some of the scalloped circles individually, snipping into the center to lift and curl each petal for more dimension.  I again used Fall Foliage and Halloween Dew Drops for the centers of these flowers.  The green sprig is a piece of a tree branch from one of my bushes that was being trimmed.  (NOTE: No trees or bushes were harmed in the making of this page.)  I sprayed it with a clear sealer and attached it to the arrangement.  I also die cut a leafy border using the back side of the Tulip Wheels paper, which is actually a stripe.  I simply placed the die within the stripe of color I wanted, added a bit of ink, and adhered one to the top and one to the bottom.  Add a bit of ribbon, and I think this turned out to be a beautiful page.  

It just goes to show you how easily we can change the look of our papers and other surfaces with simple things as ink and foam.  I am so very happy with the way this turned out.  I love The Robin's Nest papers and embellishments, and I know you will, too!

Robin's Nest Products Used:  (with quick links below each image)

Gold on Black Paisley

Tulip Wheels

Glitter blue journaling

Dew Dew Glue

Halloween dew drops

Fall Foliage dew drops

Christmas dew drops

Cherry Chocolate dew drops

Please visit The Robin's Nest online store to check out their fabulous papers, dew drops, rub ons, and other wonderful embellishments to use in your scrapbooking and altered art. They have new things every month that I know you will love and just have to have, so please check out their website.  

I hope you enjoyed my project and will come back often, as well as visiting The Chattering Robin's blog to see what the other wonderful design team members have cooked up for you.  In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful week and happy crafting!


Barbara

Tips and Techniques Thursday

Hello again, and welcome back to another edition of tips and techniques.  Today, I want to show you a technique that I learned from Tim Holtz when using his Kraft resist papers, but I am using it on a piece of gold glittered black card stock paper from The Robin's Nest.   This paper is certainly beautiful as is, but what if I needed some colored paper? 

Gold on Black Paisley

The Ranger products I used are pictured below.

The first thing you will do is apply the Picket Fence Distress Stain all over the black paper and blend out (somewhat) with a clean paper towel or cloth.

When completely covered, your paper will look like this.

 Next, use your blending tools to pick up various colors from your Distress Ink pads and blend them out across the paper.  For deeper color saturation, I applied the ink pad directly to the paper, then blended with the foam tool.  

Voila, black paper no more.  Isn't that fantastic?  Hard to believe this was ever black paper.  The picture does not do it justice.  It is absolutely gorgeous in person.  It just goes to show you how easily we can change the look of our papers and other surfaces with simple things as ink and a foam blender.  

I will show you the finished piece in my next blog post for The Robin's Nest, which is scheduled for next Monday, 17 September.   I hope you will drop by their blog and check it out.  

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting!

Barbara

The Robin's Nest Flourishes and Flowers Layout

Hello all of you Robin's Nesters!  Barbara here, with another page layout that I am really excited about.  I love these papers and their colors and how well they work together.

I used the Glitter Vanilla Wedding paper as my base.  Then I fussy cut the three large flourishes from the Linen Fleur Blue cardstock and layered it over the same flourishes on the vanilla paper.  The blue flourish in the lower right corner was layered after using a craft knife to cut a slit around the decorative design in the vanilla paper to allow it to fully show.  I did not want to cover that up with the blue flourish.

I used several Spellbinders dies to cut various flourish shapes, frames, and flowers.  I used a layered die to cut the three layers used in the focal picture, including the picture of the pretty lady.  I added Halloween dew drops at various end points on the frame for added bling and dimension.  Yes, I did say Halloween, but don't let the name fool you.  These colors are gorgeous, and how wonderfully well they work with so many of the Robin's Nest papers.  The colors are rich, just like the paper.  They are fabulous!

I even placed a few dew drops on a couple of the blue flourishes, following the print pattern in the paper. 

I used one of the frames in the die set to make a small journaling block with a white frame insert for writing.  

Another die was used to make the pretty borders along the top and bottom edge.  I used the opposite side of the blue flourish paper and added dew drops on each design element.

Pretty lady needed some flowers, and this paper made the most beautiful flowers (in my humble opinion).  I used more dies to cut out the flower shaped pieces, pinch, curled, and bent the petals to make them look more realistic.  

The green flourishes were used to imitate leaves, and this was the print on the opposite side of the copper butterflies double-sided paper.  How beautiful is that?  I just love these papers from The Robin's Nest, and I know you will too.

I will be back next month, on 3 September, with another project for you.  In the meantime, please visit The Robin's Nest to see all of their beautiful papers and embellishments.  And don't forget about their monthly page map challenge in which you can submit your very own layout for a chance to win $25 to spend in their online store.  

Robin's Nest Products Used:

Halloween Dew Drops

Copper Butterflies

Glitter Vanilla Wedding

Linen Fleur Blue double-sided

You can click on any caption below each picture to view each product.  Until next time, I hope you enjoyed my project and will visit The Robin's Nest.  

Happy crafting!

Barbara