Happy Owl-o-ween

Our school is known as the Owls.  How could I not make a card with owls?  How could they not be dressed for Halloween???  This card went to one of my daughters' and my five year old grandson LOVES it.  All the cardstock is from my stash.  I think the die is pretty pink posh....the owls are cut from Cricut design space as well as the sentiment I created in design space. 

BATS

 This card went to my second daughter.  She saw a tiktok years ago of a little girl saying "it's frickin' bats" "i love halloween" 

She's also a fan of gnomes.  When I found this image in Cricut DS I knew I had to make a card.  I used an embossing folder from Whimsy. I used glossy accents and stickles to add shimmer and shine to the card.  Of course, I used design space to make a custom sentiment.  I loved how this turned out and she really enjoyed it too.

For my sisterinlaw who is really a sister

 I had colored these little guys last year and had them in my stash.  It came together quickly.  I designed the coverplate  on cricut DS . The little bats are puffy stickers I found at Target several years ago.  The stamp set, again, is an oldie from Spellbinders.

P's halloween card

 Once again, Cricut DS to the rescue and what monster isn't complete without google eyes??? So cute.

Gone batty

 I love love love this bat stamp set from Photoplay.  They are so stinking cute.  I enjoyed coloring them and then turning them into a card. Bonus, a shaker card.  Who doesn't love a shaker??  Not gonna lie, when I finish one I get a little distracted with the shaking😂.  Enjoy this adorable card.

Salem sisters

 This stamp set came from Kindred stamps.  My lifelong bestie loves the movie Hocus Pocus.  When I saw this stamp set, I knew I had to own it.  I colored the images with alcohol markers and fussy cut them.  I did purchase the SVG file they offered but had trouble getting it to size correctly.  I love how this card turned out and I know she enjoyed getting it.

Slimline friendly ghosts

 This card uses a stamp set from Whimsy.  There's a little word play in the sentiments, and I purchased them specifically for making my uncle a card.  What I didn't realize until it arrived was one of the ghosts is making a very impolite gesture.  I couldn't help but laugh at myself...something I never would have purchased had I realized.  Pay attention to the detail's friends...LOL #buyersremorse.  I used the non-naughty ghosts and added a soft dimensional spider to the scene.  I can't remember the maker of the die set I used but I love the details in the edges.

Halloween Edition 2021

 This card was inspired by the amazing Nichol Spohr.  She is one of my favorite card designers.  I love her videos and quite a soothing voice.  Everything she makes is so detailed and beautiful.  I designed this card before 2021 and knowing I didn't have the supplies she had I went to Cricut DS to see what I could find.  I love how the card turned out and the little heart eyes and that not so scary ghost.  The sentiment was a combination of photoplay stamps and cricut .The background papers were from my small stash and I created the criss cross panel on DS.  

For my sister 2021 Halloween Edition

 This card was created in Cricut DS as well as the sentiment.  I embellished with Nuvo drops (not a huge fan of nuvo anymore since pops of color work so much better) I also added a glitter wood veneer bat from a dollar tree pack of halloween items.  My sister had recently added to black kitties to her house, so I thought this card was a good one for her! Side note, this was not a super simple image to put together...like a jig saw puzzle...and I clearly messed up one of the eyes, but hey, it's halloween, right?

A costume parade

 This card was totally designed on Cricut DS.  I used background paper from a spellbinders paper pack.  The sentiment was also from DS using the chicken scratch font.  This card went to my lifelong BFF  in 2021.  These cards turn out so cute, it's hard to let them go!

How about a fall card

 This card was inspired by a pin on pinterest.  It was the layout that I liked.  I sent this card to my mom and one similar to it to another friend's mom.  I used spellbinders hemstitch square die set  and placed the focal image stickers on them.  The sunflower and scarecrow came from Hobby Lobby and the wooden leaf was something in my stash from spellbinders. It was a sticker wood veneer.  I used a Hobby lobby die to cut the sentiment. I still really like this layout.

For my little friend, P

 My friend I mentioned in my last post had her first grandchild and being that she lives a distance from me I took to sending her cards.  This was her first Halloween card.  This card did not totally please me when it was done, but I think she enjoyed it (or maybe her mom and dad more so).  Of course, I had to add google eyes to the bat.  All the images were cut from Cricut DS except the sentiments which came from the spellbinders die set I had on hand. I made a custom envelope for this card too.  

A 2020 card for a long time friend

 Another one of my closest friends received this card.  Once again, my trusty Cricut DS came to the rescue.  I added glitter to the witches' shoes but that was just about it for this card.  

My sister's 2020 Halloween card

 I got on a real roll when I jumped into Halloween cardmaking.  This is the card I sent to my sister that year.  Once again, Cricut DS to the rescue for the images.  I also used stitched slimline dies for the background papers.  The lettering was not the easiest to get on there, but I did.  I used gems as final embellishments to round out the card. 

The first year of Halloween Cards 2020

 My first year of cards will be the next several posts.  This card went to my lifelong best friend.  I loved how it turned out so much I put a note in it to ask her to let me have it back if she decided to throw it away.  Her words, " I never throw away your cards".  These little trick or treaters are from a spellbinders small die of the month kit.  I'm looking forward to trying out different "costumes" with them in the future.  Maybe this year??  I cut the house and fence from Cricut DS.  The moon I cut with a stitched circle die.  I made a matching envelope and glossy accents on the pumpkins and clay hearts on the kids finish the look. Such a fun little scene card.

Cards of Halloween past

 I have two friends that I meet up with once a month.  They always get a halloween card.  The first year, 2020, I made these cards for them.  I used a die set from Spellbinders which as the time were the only halloween supplies I owned.  I used DS to create the background and sentiments.  I even made matching envelopes.

How about some Halloween inspiration

 This is my fourth year creating halloween cards.  I only make them for a handful of friends and family and I just have the best time of it.  The next several posts will be sharing my past cards and some current ones too.  Several of my 2023 cards are actually cards I designed in past years in Cricut DS but never got around to making.  This is one.  I'm not even close to being done with my list, but I had such a great relaxing time crafting today.  The last couple weeks have been brutal with the loss of my 91 year old grandmother.  Once I got my work orders finished, it was time for me to just have fun.  I am LOVING being able to create sentiments in DS and bubble cut them.  It is tricky as it doesn't always work, but when it does, it looks so great.  The stockings are all out of glitter cardstock and the little black cats on the shoes were in my stash.  I used stitched slimline dies to create the backgound papers.  

Anniversary love

 I had a customer order for an anniversary card, and I was able to put together this sweet slimline card in shades of purple.  I think the couple was celebrating 40+ years of marriage.  I used a die set from the Stamps of Life and a font from cricut DS to customize the names.  The stamped sentiment comes from a very old altenew stamp set and is basically my only Happy Anniversary stamp...crazy, right?

My card making journey started out as a means to reach out to friends, family, or others struggling with difficult things.  I was home bound with my one year old, medically fragile, special needs daughter when I started making cards.  I had been scrapbooking for years and our homecare nurse encouraged me to try making cards.  For years, I only made sympathy, thank you, or encouragement cards. It also became so therapeutic for me.  I had no money for supplies and used whatever was gifted to me or the few things I found on clearance once and a while.  My husband purchased a cricut for me for Mother's Day several years after that and my journey has grown.  

And another one grows up

 One of my very long-time friend's 2nd daughter graduated from high school.  Although I haven't gotten to know her as an older child, I knew much of her a small child.  I have had the privilege of watching her grow through photos on facebook and celebrate her accomplishments in athletics.  Her parents are dear to me, and I miss the time we used to get to spend together.  I'm thankful social media allows me to keep up a little on their lives.  She is off to college in the fall and I have no doubts she's do amazing! 

Twins!

 My sister-in-law is thoughtful of us.  So giving.  Constantly sharing things with us things that she makes and has a long history of being more like a grandma to our kids through the years.  She's been busy make tote bags for some time and keeps sharing them with me.  Her neighbor is expecting and turns out she's having twins.  She decided to make a diaper bag for her, and I offered to make a special card that would match.  I love how it turned out.  I hope her neighbor loves it too!