Halloween Card

Cutest Pup-Kin in the Patch with LDRS Creative

| marialrussell

Hello my crafty friends!  I am so happy to be on the LDRS Creative Inspiration Blog!  I’m back today sharing yet another cute but “spooky” card, showcasing the Trick or Treat Stamp Set and coordinating dies, along with (this is one of my all-time favorite paper pack) the Trick or Treat 6×6 Paper Pack, A2 Stitched Layered Card Toppers, In the Doghouse Border Die, and the Country Fence – Pocket Die. 

Here’s what you need to create this card:

Now that we have all of the components, we are ready to assemble the card.  

  • Adhere the pattern paper on an A2-size black note card.
  • Foam-mount the In the Doghouse Border die-cut for added dimension.
  • Adhere the colored images on the foreground with liquid glue.
  • Add the Picket Fence on both sides of the card with foam adhesive.  Make sure you are using enough foam adhesive for added stability.
  • Adhere the banner on the doghouses with liquid glue.
  • Use tape runner to adhere the sentiment.
  • Finish the design by adding some glittered star stickers.

Here’s another look at this cute Halloween card!  Don’t you just LOVE these puppies?! 

 I just love mixing and matching products from LDRS Creative to create some cute scenes! The supplies I used are listed and linked below.  Thanks for stopping by and have an amazing day!

————SUPPLIES———- 

It’s All About Candy Corn with Newton’s Nook Designs

| marialrussell

Hello and welcome back! I am so glad you joined me today!

Today is all about Candy Corns! As soon as I saw this stencil set from the August release, this card idea already popped in my head. Isn’t is strange that you sometimes get ideas right away?! Most of the times, I have to look at my previous card designs to get some inspiration (or if I’m feeling more adventurous, I’d look at Pinterest).

For my project, I am showcasing the Candy Corn 6×6 Stencil Set, along with the Candy Corn Stamp Set and Dies with the Fancy Edges Tag Die Set.

Step by Step Instruction:

  • Use Pixie Spray to temporarily adhere Candy Corn Stencil # 1 on some Neenah Solar White card stock.
  • Use some detailed blending brushes with Mustard Seed Distress Oxide Ink and blend until you get a nice vibrant color. Let this dry for a few minutes.
  • Repeat process and use Candy Corn Stencil #2 using Carved Pumpkin Distress Oxide Ink.
  • Repeat the process above but this time, use Deco Foil Transfer Gel Blanco to make it stand out. Smooth the gel out by using the Stencil Pal. Let this dry for about half an hour.
  • Stamp images on some Neenah solar white card stock and color the images in with alcohol markers.
  • Die-cut the images with Candy Corn coordinating die.
  • Cut some vellum measuring 2 1/2 by 5 1/2 and adhere to the card background with tape runner. Designer note: make sure you hide the adhesive so that it doesn’t show up.
  • Adhere this background on an A2-size notecard.
  • Die-cut some white, yellow, orange and black card stock using the Fancy Edges Tag Die Set (a must-have for any paper crafter since there are so many possibilities using this set). Adhere with liquid glue.
  • Use some black and white Baker’s Twine and add to the tag.
  • Add some foam-tape to the back of the tag and adhere on the card.
  • Adhere the Candy Corn images with liquid glue.
  • Finish the design by stamping the sentiment using yellow, orange and black ink.

It always puts me in a great mood when I see bags of candy corn at the grocery store. It just reminds me of all the great holidays coming up, especially HALLOWEEN (my favorite holiday)!

I hope you enjoyed this inspiration today. The supplies I used are listed and linked below. Thank you again for joining me, and happy crafting!

——–SUPPLIES———

Cheers, Witches! With Newton’s Nook Designs

| marialrussell

Hello Newton’s Nook fans! I am so glad you joined me today and I am also up on the Newton’s Nook blog, sharing this cute Halloween card from the new August product release. I didn’t get to join in the fun because I was traveling but rest assured that you will be seeing a lot more throughout the month.

It is so much fun to mix and match a couple of stamp sets and for today’s project, I am showcasing the Brooms & Boos stamp set and dies, Count Newton stamp set and dies, along with the Spooky Street Stamp set.

Step-by Step Instructions:

  • Stamp images on Neenah solar white card stock with alcohol-friendly ink and color the images in with alcohol markers.
  • Die-cut colored images using coordinating dies.
  • Die cut some extra elements on black card stock to create the spooky scene, using the land borders die set and extra tombstone from the Count Newton die set.
  • Apply some Unicorn ink on the edges of the tombstone, land and grass borders for added texture.
  • Use a circle die to die-cut some masking paper and adhere to an A2-size panel of Bristol smooth white card stock.
  • Ink-blend this panel with distress oxide ink.
  • Use distress sprayer to add water droplets to the ink-blended panel for added texture and interest.
  • Pick up excess water with some paper towel and remove the mask.
  • Stamp the spooky tree, bats and sentiment using black ink.
  • Adhere the hill and grass border on the card using tape runner.
  • Use white gel pen to add some detail to the black tombstone.
  • Adhere the rest of the elements to finish the scene.

I really LOVE creating halloween cards and this will be the first of many halloween cards I’ll be posting on this blog. Here’s a closer look:

The white pigment ink on the tombstone, hill and grass border added more texture and interest to this spooky scene, don’t you think?

That is all for today! I hope this spooky card will entice you to start thinking about Halloween! The supplies are listed and linked below for your reference*. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy crafting!

Love,

——–supplies——

DISCLOSURE. *I belong to a few design teams with affiliate programs and link these supplies at the end of each blog post. If you click on my affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I use these funds to pay for the cost of running this blog. If you like what I do, please consider supporting me by clicking on these links. Thank you so much!

Knight Owl Halloween Card with Newton’s Nook Designs

| marialrussell

Hello Newton’s Nook fans!  I am back today to share with you yet another Halloween card, showcasing the Knight Owl stamp set and coordinating die, with the Spiderweb stencil, just released last week.

 

 

I started by masking a panel of some Bristol smooth white card stock.  I ink-blended this panel with some distress oxide ink

 

I used the Spiderweb stencil to ink add more details to the background with some black ink.  I also sprinkled some white paint all over the background for added texture.

 

Next, I removed the mask to reveal the full moon.  I die-cut the bats from the Halloween Trio die set and adhered it onto my background with some liquid glue.

 

 

The focal image was stamped and colored with alcohol markers.  To ground my image, I die-cut the branch from What A Hoot die set and adhered on the card with some glue.

 

I finished my design by stamping the sentiment from the Spooky Street stamp set.  Here’s another look at the card:

 

 

I hope you like my Halloween card today.  The supplies I use are listed and linked below.  Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

 

——-SUPPLIES——

NND August Release Day 4 – Knight Owl and Pug-kin Stamp Sets & Dies

| marialrussell

 

I always get a bit bummed when it’s the last day of the reveals by Newton’s Nook Designs.  Have you seen the last three days?  The design team totally knocked it out of the park it!  You also have a chance to win the stamp set being revealed each day so please read through til the end of the blog post to find out more info.  [Just a little important note:  I know some of you had difficulties finding the comments section.  If you would like to leave a comment to participate in the giveaway, the “comments section” will only be ever visible when a single post on Word Press is being viewed. Please click on this particular blog post and you will be able to leave a comment below.  Thank you!]  

 

For day 4, we are showcasing the Knight Owl and Pug-kin Stamp Sets with the coordinating dies.

 

To make my first card, I cut an A2 size panel of some Neenah solar white card stock and used the circle dies from the Circle Frames die set to cut the three windows.   I used my pencil to draw the circles on another A2 size panel of Bristol smooth white card stock.  I inked up the circles with some distress oxide inks and erased my pencil lines using a pencil eraser.

 

The Neenah white panel was foam-mounted on the colored background for added dimension.   I stamped my focal image and color it in with my alcohol markers.  I adhered this onto the card with liquid glue.

 

 

My scene was created by adding the grass panel die-cut from the same circle dies I used earlier and the Land borders die.  I adhered this onto the card with glue.

 

 

The bats and “TRICK OR TREAT” were die-cut using the dies from the Halloween Trio die set.   I adhered them onto the card with some liquid glue.

 

To finish my design, I used my white gel pen to draw some dots to the sky to make them look like stars.  Here’s another look:

 

 

For my second card, I die-cut the circle from the Circle Frames die set on some Bristol smooth white card stock.  I ink-blended this piece with some distress oxide inks.   I used the same circle die and the Land Border die to die-cut the grass.

 

 

The background was created by using the Spiderweb stencil and some light gray dye ink.  I cut this panel to 4 1/4 by 5 1/4 and adhered on an A2 size panel, that was colored with the Houndstooth stencil.   I die-cut some black strip and adhered onto the card with liquid glue.  I also die-cut some black party streamers  using a die from my collection and the bats using the Halloween Trio die set.

 

 

I stamped the image and used alcohol markers to color it in.  I used the coordinating die to die-cut the image and adhered on the circle.  I foam-mounted this piece on my card for added dimension.  Here’s another lookK

 

 

Would you like to win the “Knight Owl” and the “Pug-kin” Stamp Set?  We will choose TWO lucky winners to each win this duo of stamp sets!

Here’s how to win: Comment on the NND blog and Design Team blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective reveal posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday August 20th at 9pm EST to comment  — winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, August 21st.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Ellen Haxelmans

Larissa Heskett

Samantha Mann

Zsofia Molnar

Maria Russell (you are here)

Andrea Shell

Tatiana Trafimovich

Amy Tsuruta

Amanda Wilcox

——-SUPPLIES——



D.I.Y Halloween Decor and Handmade Card with Xyron

| marialrussell

Have you ever gone to the Dollar Store and and got disappointed with the quality of the decor?  As crafters, we have a ton of supplies and with just a little patience and imagination, you can create your own cute decorations for Halloween.  It has been awhile since I created some DIY projects so here are a couple that you can make on your own.  If you don’t have the dies that I used for my projects, you can always get stickers and other supplies from the craft store.

 

For my projects today, I am using my favorite tool, the Xyron Creative Station Lite and my favorite Xyron Mega Tape Runner with products that I already have from my stash.

 

First up, the Halloween banner.  I started by die-cutting the letters “SPOOKY” using the Large Alphabet Dies by Kat Scrappiness.  I positioned the letters and run it through my Xyron Creative Station Lite to create the sticker.  I die-cut the banner six times with some black card stock using my Lawn Fawn banner die.  I used some spider web” die-cuts that I’ve had for years and adhered them onto the banner.

 

 

 

 

Since the letters are now very sticky, they were so easy to adhere to the banner.

 

 

I used some black seam binding ribbon to create the banner and hung it on my wall.  Here’s what it looks like:

 

 

For my second project, I wanted to create some luminaries using a Spellbinder die that I have in my stash for a few months now.   I couldn’t wait to create this project.  To begin, I die-cut some black card stock and some vellum using the dies.  I added some adhesive using my Xyron Mega Tape Runner.

 

 

I adhered the vellum using the tape runner and assembled the luminary.   Since this is made entirely out of card stock, I used an LED tea light candle to illuminate this piece.  This luminary has four designs and I really LOVE how it turned out.  Here’s what it looks like:

 

 

 

Lastly, I created a handmade Halloween card to send to my best friend.  I die-cut the main card base using the LDRS Creative Build A Card – Spooky Hat with some black card stock.  I die-cut the second piece with some purple card stock and used an embossing folder to add some dimension.

 

 

I adhered the pieces using my Xyron Creative Station Lite and my Xyron Mega Tape Runner.  Here is the card:

 

 

I really LOVE how this one turned out.  Using my Xyron Creative Station Lite made it easier for me to adhere the little pieces together.  Here’s a little close-up:

 

 

I hope I have given you some great inspiration to create your own DIY decor and handmade cards.  The supplies I used are listed and linked below.  Have an amazing day and happy crafting!

 

———–SUPPLIES———–

2019 Card Design Superstar with MFT Stamps – Clean & Simple

| marialrussell

 

I hope you are all having a fabulous day.  This is my second post for today for the MFT Stamps 2019 Card Design Superstar contest!   This post is to enter the Clean & Simple category.

 

For my card below, I am showcasing the Birdie Brown Fab-BOO-lous Friends stamp set with the LLD Little Letters Die-namics.

 

I started by masking the sentiment and stamping it on some A2-size Neenah 80 lb. solar white card stock.  I also stamped the two ghosts from the BB Fab-BOO-lous stamp set and colored them in with some T1 and T0 copic markers.  I used my R00 to add some pink color to their cheeks.

 

I die-cut the letter “B” on some black card stock using the LLD Little Letters Die-namics. and adhered it right next to the ghost.  I stamped the remaining sentiment with Versafine Onyx black ink and also stamped the stars using some light gray ink.

 

I adhered my foreground on some MFT Just Delightful patterned paper and added this piece on some A2-size card base.  Here’s my card:

 

 

If you guys have been following me for awhile, you know that clean & simple is not my strongest point.  This category was quite the challenge for me!  I think having this contest is amazing because it challenges us (card-makers), to go beyond our comfort zone and try something new.  Here’s a closer look:

 

 

I hope you like my card today and got inspired.  If you would like to enter the contest, please click on this link: 2019 Card Design Superstar.   The supplies I used are listed and linked below.  Have a great day and happy stamping!

 

———-SUPPLIES———-



2019 Card Design Superstar with MFT Stamps – Coloring Virtuoso

| marialrussell

 

It is that time of the year when most card-makers get nervous trying to come up with unique designs to join the MFT Stamps 2019 Card Design Superstar contest!  I have entered the last two years but never won.  There are so many amazing card-makers out there and the competition gets tougher every year.    However, I think this is a great way to interact with a lot of people and I adore MFT Stamps for giving us a chance to show off our skills.  For this post, I am entering the “Coloring Virtuoso” category.

 

For my project today, I am showcasing the Spooktacular Friends stamp set, the Tucked-In Turf die-namics and the Grassy Hills die-namics.

 

To begin, I die-cut a piece of masking paper using a circle die and masked some A2-size Bristol smooth white card stock.  I inked up this piece using some water-reactive inks.  I used my distress sprayer to spray some water on my colored background and dabbed it dry with my paper towel.

 

 

I stamped the images from the Spooktacular Friends stamp set and colored them in with my alcohol markers.  Since I didn’t have the coordinating dies for this, I used my cutter-bee scissors to fussy-cut the images.  I also colored the border on the images with some T7 Copic marker.  Since I have a night scene, I didn’t want the edges of the images to have some white border.

 

I die-cut some black card stock using the Tucked-In Turf and Grassy Hills Die-namics.  I used my blending brush and some Sweet Tooth Pigment Ink by MFT Stamps to add some texture on the grass.  Since I have a ginormous moon, I needed to make the grass look more realistic by having some light shadows.

 

 

I adhered my colored background on an A2 size card base.  I foam mounted some of the grassy hills and started assembling my card.  I stamped the tree image directly onto the foreground with some Versafine Onyx black ink.  I then used my white gel pen to add some color to the ghost.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment on the card with some Versamark ink.  I sprinkled some white embossing powder and heat-set this with my Wagner Heating tool.  Here’s my card:

 

 

I don’t know about you but I think one of the most difficult part about creating a night scene is to make sure that the images pop against the dark background.  This is the reason why I colored the edges with some dark marker.  I wanted them to pop against the dark background but I didn’t want the white edges to stand out either.  Here’s a closer look:

 

 

I hope you like my card today.   If you would like to participate and have some fun, please visit their blog post here:  2019 Card Design Superstar Contest.   The supplies I used are listed and linked below.  Have an amazing day and Happy stamping!

 

———-SUPPLIES———-



Halloween Card with Newton’s Perfect Pumpkin

| marialrussell

Hello Newton’s Nook fans! It’s been super HOT here at home and I have been dreaming about sweater weather, and anything pumpkin related.  This is my inspiration for today’s card.  Although when this post actually goes live, hubby and I will be in South Africa enjoying their winter weather; at least for about a week or so!  If you follow me on instagram, you might be able to see some photos of my trip.

 

For my project today, I am showcasing Newton’s Perfect Pumpkin stamp set, and I paired it with a lot of images from Pick-A-Pumpkin with Newton’s Boo-tiful night, and my sentiment is from the Creepy Cameos stamp set.  The birch tree is from the Forest scene Builder die set and the grass is from the Land Border die set.

 

To begin, I stamped and colored my images on some Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium white card stock.  This card stock is perfect for coloring with alcohol markers. I fussy-cut the images with my precision-cut scissors.

 

The background is ink-blended with different distress oxide inks.  I spritzed this with water using my distress sprayer and dabbed it with my paper towel to dry to get more texture.  I also die-cut the birch trees and the grass a couple of times with some black card stock.

 

I stamped the moon and stars from Newton’s Boo-tiful Night stamp set on my colored background with Versamark ink.  I sprinkled this with some white embossing powder, and heat-set using my Wagner heating tool.  I did the same thing for my sentiment.  I assembled the card by adhering the birch trees first, followed by the grass.  I foam-mounted some of the trees and Newton to create more dimension on my scene.

 

 

To finish my design, I stamped the black bats and added the white dots using my Sakura white gel pen.  I also adhered the spider web using liquid glue.  Here’s a closer look:

 

 

I know it’s too early to create Halloween projects since it’s only August but I love Halloween and creating Halloween cards is one of my favorite thing to do!

 

I hope you like my card today.  The supplies I used are listed and linked below.  Thank you for stopping by and have an amazing day!  Happy stamping!