Halloween 2024 | Boo!

Hi friends!  For today’s Halloween card I wanted to try something different.  I’ve combined a little watercoloring, colored pencil work, and vellum stamping to make a not-so-spooky little ghost card.   This project can also be found on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@VeehattInspired

The supplies used were:

§  Paul Rubens Hot Press Watercolor Paper

§  Schmincke Watercolor Paint – Colors:  Deep Sea Black & Tundra Orange

§  Whimsy Stamps “Dungeon Door” Red Rubber Stamp

§  Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing and Watermark Ink

§  Taylored Expressions Anti-static Powder Tool

§  Ranger Super Fine Black Embossing Powder

§  Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils – Door: PC947, PC1082, PC1033, PC1034, PC942, PC914 and Stones: PC1058, PC1056, PC1052, PC1050)

§  Tonic Studios Craft Perfect Pearled Silver Vellum

§  Honey Bee Stamps “Lovely Layers: Party Frames” Die Set

§  Sizzix/Tim Holtz “Vault Gothic Portraits” Die Set

§  Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz “Spooky Spirits” Red Rubber Stamp

§  Xyron Creative Station Sticker Maker

§  Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain Cardstock

§  Altenew “Black Diamond” Glitter Cardstock

§  Thermoweb iCraft Black 3D Foam Tape

§  Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Deco Sheets (Orange)

§  My Sweet Petunia Misti Stamp Positioner

For the background, I started by placing a piece of Paul Rubens hot press watercolor paper into my Misti stamp positioning tool and dusted it with anti-static powder.  I then stamped the Whimsy Stamps “Dungeon Door” red rubber stamp onto the watercolor paper using Simon Says Stamp clear embossing ink.  I applied Ranger black embossing powder over the stamped image and tapped off the excess.  Lastly, I used my embossing tool to melt the embossing powder.

Once the embossed image cooled, I used masking tape to adhere the watercolor paper to a hardboard.  I added a few drops of water to my pans of Schmincke watercolor paint in the colors Deep Sea Black and Tundra Orange to get them ready for use (these come in a tube, but I keep quarter pans of all my colors, I feel I waste less paint that way). 

Using a #16 round paint brush, I applied water to the entire piece of watercolor cardstock and began to apply a watered-down layer of Deep Sea Black to serve as a base layer for my colored pencil work that will come later.  Then I used a #6 round paint brush to apply a watery layer of the Tundra Orange watercolor paint.  I used my Ranger Heat Tool to speed up the drying process.

Once the watercolor panel was dry, I used my Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (colors listed above) to color the dungeon door and the stonework directly surrounding the door plus the steps.  I removed the cardstock from the hardboard and set it aside.

For the ghost, I stamped one of the ghosts from the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz “Spooky Spirits” stamp set and Jet Black StazOn ink to stamp it onto a piece of Tonic Studios Craft Perfect Pearled Silver vellum.  To make the ghost image less transparent, I ran the piece of vellum through the Xyron Creative Station to essentially make it a sticker, then adhered it to a second piece of vellum before fussing cutting the image.  Once the ghost was trimmed out, I ran it through the Xyron again to add adhesive to the back of the double-stacked vellum ghost.

To create the sentiment, I cut the “boo” die in the Sizzix/Tim Holtz “Vault Gothic Portraits” set twice from black cardstock and once from the orange piece of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Deco Sheets that were from a Halloween release.  I adhered the stack sentiment die cuts together using liquid glue.  I also cut the smallest bat from the same die set out of Altenew Black Diamond glitter paper.

Now for the card front.  I used Honey Bee Stamps’ “Lovely Layers: Party Frames” and used the postage edged die to cut out the watercolored panel and then used the largest die in this set to cut my base layer from Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain cardstock.  I believe Tim Holtz commented that this cardstock was no longer going to be made; however, I had purchased several packages when it was released.  If you want to recreate a similar look you could use black cardstock ran through a woodgrain embossing folder or simply use a piece of black cardstock… it’ll still look great.

I applied Thermoweb black 3D foam tape to the back side of the watercolor panel and adhered it to the woodgrain cardstock.  I removed the ghost from the Xyron backing sheet and adhered it to the card front at the bottom of the steps.  Using liquid glue, I adhered the sentiment and bat toward the top of the dungeon panel. Lastly, I glued the completed card front to an A2 size, top folding card base.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!

Halloween 2024 | Skully

Hi friends!  I love this time of year when I can begin making for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas without feeling like I’m getting too early of a start.  This is my first Halloween project for 2024 and I was inspired by the Spellbinder’s “Skully” Betterpress plates and the nostalgic feel it gives me.  Inspiration is everywhere!  I created my first YouTube video for my channel during the making of this card which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@VeehattInspired .  The card is an easy one to make and I thought it was best to go easy on myself for the first video.

The supplies used were:

  Spellbinders “Skully” Betterpress press plates

  Spellbinders “Make a Wish Arch Labels” die set

  Spellbinders Bisque Cotton Card Panel for Betterpress

  Spellbinders Betterpress Black Ink

  Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors W532, W518, and W553

  Lime Satin Shine cardstock from Your Paper Insider (Box 2)

  Chiyogami Multi 731C pattern paper from Your Paper Insider (Box 3)

  Spellbinders Betterpress Letterpress System

  Simon Says Stamp “Spooky Salutations” Sentiment Strips

  Ranger / Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Dusty Concord

  Pinkfresh Glittering Mountains Ombre Glitter Drops

  Glue and other adhesives from my stash

I started the project by cutting the 8-1/2” x 11” piece of Lime Satin Shine Cardstock in half to create an A2 top folding card base.

I taped a piece of Bisque cotton card to a small waterboard using a light tack painters tape to help hold the cotton card flat while I apply some watercolor paints.  Using Mijello Mission Gold watercolors (exact numbers listed above), I painted the top third of the cotton panel with the green then used my Ranger Heat It tool to speed dry the paint, the middle section was painted with the orange paint – heat dried it, then lastly painted the bottom third with the purple paint and heat set it.

Using the Spellbinders Betterpress Letterpress System, I attached the watercolored panel to the platen, positioned the Skully press plate to the chase, and inked it up with Betterpress Black ink and ran it through my Spellbinders Platinum 6 die cutting machine.

Next, I die cut the Chiyogami Multi pattern paper and watercolored/Betterpress panel using the Spellbinders “Make a Wish Arch Labels”.  I cut the pattern paper using the second largest die and the watercolor panel using the third largest die from the set.

I used Scrapbook.com double sided adhesive to adhere the pattern paper to the card base then popped up the watercolor panel using Simon Says Stamps’ Big Momma Foam Tape for a little dimension and to help flatten the watercolor cotton panel.

For the sentiment, I selected a cute one from Simon Says Stamp’s “Spooky Salutations” sentiment strips and edged it with a sponge dauber and Tim Holtz/Ranger’s Distress Ink in the color Dusty Concord.

I added a few Pinkfresh Studio Ombre Glitter Drops in the color Glittering Mountains here and there across the card front for a bit of sparkle and adhered them with Tim Holtz/Ranger’s Distress Collage Medium Matte.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own Halloween card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!

Halloween 2023 | Fang-tastic Halloween

I came across the cutest Sweet November Stamps Halloween stamp set while browsing the Simon Says Stamp website during Stamptember this year and I’m thrilled to share the card I’ve made using it with you.

I selected a 4” x 5-1/4” piece of My Favorite Things “Boysenberry” cardstock and used Tim Holtz/Ranger’s Villainous Potion Distress Ink to darken the edges. Next, I misted the non-inked side with water using my Distress Sprayer, inserted it into the Simon Says Stamp “Tangled Web” embossing folder and ran it through my Spellbinders die cutting machine. I set it aside to dry and moved on to the next step.

I used VersaMark embossing ink and stamped two of spider stamps from the Sweet November Stamps “Spider Salutations” stamp set onto a white piece of scrap cardstock, applied Simon Says Stamp Ultra Fine Black Embossing Powder to the images and heat set them with the embossing tool. I used a YG01 Copic marker to color the eyes and cut the images out using my Brother Scan N Cut machine. Using Altenew’s Ultraviolet Crisp Dye Ink, I brushed ink over the white areas of the spiders (being careful not to get any on the eyes) and applied “Night Sky” Nuvo Glitter Drops over each of the spider’s bodies to make them sparkly.

Now back to the purple panel – I used a Hero Arts Unicorn pigment ink pad and lightly pulled it across the raised/embossed web lines that were created by the embossing folder to give them some dimension. Next, I glued the purple panel to the center of an A2-size card front. For the frame, I used a piece of Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain cardstock and used the largest die from Rubbernecker Stamps’ “Nested Scallop with Holes” die set. I applied strips of black foam tape to the edges of the frame and applied it to the center of the card front.

For the sentiment, I used Simon Says Stamp’s “Spooky Salutations” Sentiment Strips, cut out the one I liked and colored the sentiment strip with the YG01 Copic marker so that it matched my spider’s eyes. I applied black 3D Foam Squares to the back sides of my spiders and sentiment strip, as well as added a piece of DMC black metallic floss to the upper spider and adhered everything to the card front. My final touch was adding some Trinity Stamps “Cave Crystals” sequins across the card and that wrapped it up.

I hope you enjoyed this spidery Halloween card - I appreciate you stopping by! Until next time… Happy Making!