The crafters cafe and 31 days of Halloween : day 24

I'm so excited to share with you all that I was recently invited to join another design team

The crafters cafe is a fun little challenge blog

Where there is a monthly challenge with great prizes!

This months challenge is Halloween with distressing.

I made this fun coffin candy holder!

Apparently all my candy was ate by a hungry hubby!

But the coffin remains!

The image is from The stamping boutique

I colored it up with my copic and prismacolor markers as usual! 

The black background was stamped and embossed with clear embossing.

I then colored the I embossed areas with perfect pearls

It's really a very pretty technique!

Here's another view

Please hop on over to to The crafters cafe and check out what the other DT members 

have come up with! 



Entering this into:

Corrosive Challenges: Trecherous Treats

31 Days of Halloween: Day 20

Wow, only 11 days till Halloween.

This month is just flying by! 

I have been getting back into my running the last few days, and so I haven't had as much time for crafting.

Don't despair, I have a fun offering for today! 

I appologize ahead of time for the  pictures,

this product is hard to photograph!  But it's one of my most favorite products and techniques to use!

That's right, you've all seen it before (and you'll see it again!)

It's the aluminum tape at work again!

This time I dry embossed it using Tim Holtz gears embossing folder.

I then put the tape on the tag.  Then I used my alcohol inks in plum and green

(sorry I forget which one I have)

to add some color to the tag... then I ran the tag lightly across my staz-on black ink pad

this just picks up parts of the gears and highlights them!

Ok, enough talk... here's the tag!

I used a pretty image from Dilly Beans, and I'm gonna play along with their Cute and Creepy challenge

I colored her up using my copics and prismacolor markers.

I then added some glossy accents to the hearts

Here's her close up...

Isn't she lovely?  The hearts were die cut using a Sizzix die cut that I rescently got.

I added a little doily behing for some interest, and I distressed that using my peeled paint distress ink pad.

I am also playing along with Cut it Up Challenges: Eek, boo, ahh  Halloween.

The BOO is grungeboard letters that I painted first, and then covered in the glitter! 

I LOVE glitter! Kitty even had some glitter on his face today from playing in the craft room with me!

I'm also playing along with Alphabet Challenge Blog: Anything Spooky (or not?)

And Anything Goes Challenges: Make your own embellishments (I think I've done quite a bit of that!)

Bearly Mine Challenges: #57 Anything Goes

Crafty Catz Challenges: Halloween

Desert Island Crafts: Challenge 40 (Purple, punches, CASE (come back for my next post and

you'll see where!)

Diva's by Design: #57 Something Spooky

Simon Says Stamps challenge: Eerie inspiration

Simon Says Stamp and Show: Use your favorite (Can I say Aluminum tape any more???)

Tammy's scrapping cornerAnything Goes

Cute card Thursday: Got glitter?

Alright, I think maybe that's enough challenges to enter!  After all, I wanna be able to play along with some other challenges this week!  It's my long weekend (4 days) so I'm hoping to finish off some DT commitments, and get some fun posts up for you all! 

Have a great rest of the weekend! 

31 Days of Halloween: Day 18

I'm really staring to love the challenges over at Sk digis

I've never tried a shaped card, and that's their challenge this week...

 Sooo I pulled out my tag die cut and did my best to line up the side of the tag on a fold without cutting into the tag itself.

This cutie is the result!

I can honestly say that I often feel this way!

Especially when hubby wakes me up way too early! 

Here's a quick peek at the inside... 

Plus with that fun mummy wrapped all up I think he fits into the 31 days of Halloween!

Only a little under two weeks til the big day! 

Do you have your costume all picked out??

Entering this into:

Sk digi's: Challenge 6 shaped card

31 Days of Halloween: Day 15

Today I have a tasty and super easy treat for you....

No, not a treat you eat (I should do one of those posts)

But a treat as in something you could use around the house, or you could make a bunch and give away as presents even!

My friend Mary posted a fab tutorial a few weeks back, and I knew I just had to 

try to make her creation!

Check out her fab blog Here

Plus she designs for Saturated canary's video team their like a design team but they do videos

And a lot of super fun tutorials!

Ok, so what I made is a couple of super cute coasters.

I was able to pick up a 2 pack of coasters on sale at Michaels.

They are the tile kind with cork on the back, and they were a blue floral pattern. 

Here they are halloweenified.... Well sort of!

I wanted Halloween but I wanted to be able to use the coasters after Halloween too! 

So I figured the bat was halloweeny, but the sentiment made it universal...

But wait, there is another version as well!

Both of these images started life as a digi!

Yep, from the super talented Angie delarie 

Aren't they just the cutest images? And don't they make the cutest coasters?

Ok, a couple more pics

And.....

I love them! Go try this super fun and easy project!

Entering into:

All sortsToo cute to spook

Craft room challenges: Alter it

Divas by design: Anything goes

Shopping our stash: Tic tac toe (sparkle, yellow, sentiment)

Spark your creativity now: Anything goes

31 Days of Halloween: Day 14 and Anything but a Card Challenge 4

Ok, ok, ok, so I made this project over a month ago!

It's been really hard to no share it, but I wanted this to be my Halloween/ Fall post for Anything But a Card

I know if you check out my blog at all that you know this Challenge blog is super fun!

And it's anything but a card, so let your imagination run wild!

I know I did!

Sooooo hubby and I picked up this bad boy at an estate sale some time in August,

I was trying to plan ahed for my 31 days of Halloween 
and I loved all the rust and old goodness I found!
But what to do, what to do?

How about a halloween doorhanger? There are lots and lots of possiblities with this non traditional art product!
Ha ha ha is that an understatement??
Ok, here's what I created......

First I painted the wood parts with a green acrylic that was washed down with water.  I hoped that some of the original graphics would come through, and they did a little... then....

Yep, I used some of my hoarded Graphic 45 papers, some vintage lace, some vintage ric rac,

a found piece of metal (the skull) and a gear covered in glitter..

on the top I added a strip of paper, also from Graphic 45,

And then I added a glittery orange pipe cleaner for the handle

(sorry for the glare off the glass that is in fact my back yard ha ha ha!)

Soooooo this fun piece was super fun to create, and it was really pretty easy as well!

Sooo, next time you see one of these big bad boys at a garage or estate sale, pick it up, maybe you'll be inspired to create a christmas decoration???  Or just a Halloween decor...

Sooo get out there are create! It's good for the soul, and calming to the spirit as well!

31 days of Halloween: Day 9

I am sooooooo excited about today's project!

I have attempted to alter an altoid tin before, and it was an epic fail!

Today however I am very excited about my hand coffin

Yep, that's right, a hand coffin...

Just in case you have some hands hanging around your house and you need somewhere to keep them!

I started this project trying to make the box look rusted. Does it??
I have never really tried this, and I decided to use paints
To achieve this rusted look!


It worked, but was a lot of work... Layer after layer of paint!

I looked at the box when it was done, and thought well, what can I make it into?? So I decided to add the bone hands inside.

I added some lace around the bottom, and even though you can't see it,

There are little feet on the bottom.

I had some white faux fur in my fabric stash that I added to the bottom of the box!

Then I did some embossing and glitter on the top inside of the box. 

Finally I embossed the clock onto some aluminum tape that I colored with alcohol inks.

I ran a little staz on over the face of the clock so the numbers would pop out

Then I pounded some glass beads and adhered them to the surface.

I am finally happy with the outcome of an altered tin! 

Entering into:

Recycle, repurpose, reinvent: Halloween and no bones about it

Simon says stamp and show: Rustification

Craft room: Alter it

Tuesday alchemy: Anything goes

Pile it on: Vintage or shabby chic

Shopping our stash: Tic tac toe (sparkle, ribbon, embossing)

Alphabet challenge: R for recycle

31 days of Halloween: day 8

Yeah! Day 8!!

Today is quick and easy!

A corner bookmark! I have seen them all over, and I wanted to try!

Sooo why not?

The image is from skdigis... I had hoped to enter the contest they had last week

To use a monster, but I missed it by a few hours! This week their challenge is

To use a ghost! So I'm hoping to whip out another one of the fun and easy bookmarks for that 

challenge later this week! Anyways, hope you like him, colored up with copies and prismacolor 

markers... I just love him!

Here he is workin it on a corner!

Fun and cute too!

Entering this into:

Clear ir out: Anything goes, use black, purple and orange

The crafters cafe: Halloween and distressingl

Corrosive Challenges: Something wicked (he's wicked even though he's cute??)

31 days of Halloween: Day 7

For the record the party went off without a hitch, and my mother in law

Had a fabulous time... The cops even showed up and asked us to turn the music down!!

Soooo for day 7 I'm sharing this fun ATC that I made

I wanted to use my new stamp that I won from Viva Las Vegas stamps

This is a good size stamp, and I wanted to try it out on aluminum foil

So I stamped it using staz on and let it dry (so about 30 seconds)

I then wanted to color the skulls and flowers, so I pulled out my alcohol inks

And I used a paint brush (gotta work really fast)

To finish it off I added a little glitter to one of the eyeballs. 

What do you think??

Don't forget today is the halfway point of the challenge at Anything but a card

And something like this is perfect for the shine challenge going on over there! 

Entering into: 

Wicked Wednesday ATC: Flowers with a dark twist

Simon says stamp challenge: Glimmer and shine

The crafty bloggers: Challenge 4 anything goes

31 days of Halloween: day 6

Ok, ok so I missed day 5 of 31 days of Halloween!

 In my defense, yesterday was super busy for me... We are throwing a 

60th birthday party for my mother in law!

Soooo today is world card making day!

So get creating!

I made a Halloween card to share with you all! 

The main image is from graphic 45 (my secret obsession!)

The cute bottles are from a piece of paper from cloud 9 design.

I fussy cut them out and ran a strip of purple ribbon across the bottom

Then I added a green ribbon bow and some black enamel accents across the top corner.

Hope you're creating a card or something else today!

Entering this into:

Bearly mine challenges: Halloween

31 Days of Halloween: Day 4

Back to work for me yesterday!

So todays post is going to be quick! 

I had made these fun and easy pots a few years ago! 

Hey I never said all the projects would be brand new!

Every year for Halloween I pull them out....

Sometimes I fill them with candy, sometimes I fill them with nothing at all!

Sometimes I debate planting something in them!

But I never do! 

So super easy!  You can pick these little guys up at any big box home store

(home depot, lowes, ect)

Or you could support local and get them at ace or any other number of small businesses!

You just need some orange, yellow and white paint.

Be careful to try to keep your lines as straight as possible!

I love these little guys cause candy corn is my most favorite halloween candy!

So quick, easy, and fun! 

Happy creating! 

31 days of Halloween: Day 3

I've made it to day 3!! I know that doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment,

But for me it is!

Today I'm sharing another Pinterest inspired creation!

This was a can of beans! Yes it was!

But any tin can will work! 

So go eat a can of soup and come back!

This guy was super easy and fun to make!

Paint your can green! 

Cut a little piece of felt for the hair (I happened to have some with a swirly design)

Attach the nose. Do this first, or his face may come out lopsided

Then the eyes, and then grab your sharpie it draw on the mouth and some extras

Finally add a little pink on his cheeks (I just used some distress inks)

And finally the ears!!

There is of course a story behind the ears!

I had some pretty orange earplugs all picked out and sitting on my craft table....

I walked away.... When I came back they were missing!

 I was able to find one, but the kitty isn't giving up the other, so lucky me I 

Found this yellow pair in the nightstand.... There was no sitting around, I hot

Glued those bad boys right on! 

Hope your enjoying the Halloween posts! 

Entering this into:

Shopping our stash: Go green or recycle (my project is both green and recycled!)

Craft room challenges: Alter it

Recycle, repurpose, reinvent: Halloween (must include a recycled item)

Tuesday alchemy: Anything but a card or tag

The Corrosive Challenge: something wicked

31 days of Halloween day 1

I worked extra hard the whole month of September, and am hoping to have 

31 Halloween Posts for the month!!!

We'll see!!!

So for day one, I am sharing the frame I made for a swap with my craft group

I found the original on pinterest, and knew I just had to try it!!!  Super easy, and even 

your little ones could probably help out with this one...

I started with a frame I picked up at the goodwill on half price Saturday

it was a fake wood brown, and pretty ugly!!!

I painted it green, and then stuck the many eyeballs all around it!

Wound some purple glitter ribbon around the bottom and attached the SCARY glitter letters

Super easy, and super cute!  I can just picture a fun 

Halloween picture staring back from inside the frame!

So if you have an old frame just sitting around, you can create something just as fun! 

Come on back tomorrow for some more Halloween fun!

Entering this into:

Pin and Tack/ Spark your creativity: anything goes