The Boo Twins

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Hi friends! It's Monday again already and time for another Mojo Monday sketch. This week's sketch is based off  the Pumpkin Spice card I made a couple of weeks ago. I loved how it came together and thought it would make a fun sketch for this week.

I made a simple Halloween card for today's sample card. I just had to buy a bag of Halloween die cuts the last time I was at the store. I'm not usually a Halloween person, but the fun die cuts and coordinating Boo papers hooked me and I thought I could use them to make some cards for my kiddos.

I picked out the Boo rounded rectangle from the die cuts and thought pairing it with a bat sticker made it look like a spooky little clipboard. The spiderweb doily is from Recollections and I added the some Frosted Lace stickles to give it that silky silvery look. The only stamping was my ghostie twins from the Boo to You set, which I stamped onto spiderweb paper, cut out and added some little glowy rhinestones for the eyes. Super simple, cute and fun and I'm sure the boys will love it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure to check out the Mojo Monday blog for the sketch and samples from the fabulous design team. Have a fantastic start to your week. If you're in the mood to shop, all Verve stamps, dies and embellishments are 20% off right now!  Woohoo!

Mojo Monday 419 Sketch

Enabler's List
Stamps: Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Boo (Pebbles), black, white
Ink: black, copic W00 marker
Accessories: Boo Chips (Pebbles), spiderweb doily, bat sticker (Recollections), frosted lace stickles (Ranger), corner rounder

Friday Mojo

Hi friends!  Happy Friday.  Today I'm popping in with a card I made for this week's Mojo Monday sketch.  My boys have been super sick all week and home from school, so this card was made in 5 minutes each morning over the course of the entire week!  It's really the only tangible thing I have to show for the week, so I'm blogging it.  LOL The boys are improving finally, but we're still doing breathing treatments every 4 hours around the clock. Hopefully they'll be good enough for school on Monday, because Mama needs a break!  :)

The stamps are from the Boo to You set and I pulled out my favorite Halloween papers from the Mischievous line.  I embossed in white on black, then rubbed a little white ink with my fingers to give the chalkboard effect, then decided to add the Happy Halloween strip with a coordinating blue paper.  I stenciled on a bit of tumbled glass with a burlap stencil over the background paper to draw in some of the blue color.  I accented with bitty rhinestones, liquid pearls and a lot of distressing.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Mischievous (MME), basic black (SU!)
Ink: tumbled glass (Ranger), black, versamark
Accessories: Stitched Circles Stax (MFT), white embossing powder (JudiKins), bitty rhinestones, pape distresser, liquid pearls, wide striped ribbon (SU!)

Bots for My Boys

Hi friends!  Happy Friday!  Yesterday I got a day all to myself, and you can bet that a little bit of that "me" time involved a little time creating in the studio!  Even though my boys were gone, I kept hearing little "haunting" cries, so I decided to make them a couple of Halloween cards.  I showed them to them this morning and Trevor's little eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.  We've been quite fortunate that they seem to have different enough personalities that they always prefer different things.  We let them pick their outfits sometimes and as I do it, I'm always crossing my fingers that today is not the day they both decide they need to wear the raccoon shirt!!!  Anyhow, like clothing, Trevor picked his favorite, which is this first card.  And Kellan picked his favorite which is the second card.

Trevor's favorite... pretty sure he picked this because of all the shiny stuff on it!

The bot from Birthday Bots is stamped in Archival ink, which unfortunately still bled just a bit when I colored with Copics  (the orange is done with a Spica glitter pen).  So I ended up cutting him out to reduce some of the bleeding and pasted him onto a white cream rectangle.  The hello is also from Birthday Bots and I stamped the October from Calendar Countdown in pumpkin pie and die cutting with the Mini Curvy Bookplate Die Set.  The background is the Darice Brick Wall embossing folder and I rubbed Pewter Distress Stain all over it for a fun metallic effect.  I also used a bit of the distress stain and a watebrush to go over the body of the bot, so the silvers would match up.  I used a portion of the Award Banner Trim placed under the ribbon upside down for the scallop trim and used a couple triangles to ground the bot panel, then accented with googly eyes and some fun silver bling I found in the dollar bin at JoAnn's.

Kellan's Favorite...  I'm sure he loved the ribbon and twine.  He just loves cords of any kind!

Same bot from Birthday Bots  (embossed in black this time so no bleeding) colored with Copics and an orange Spica glitter pen.  Added the Halloween sentiment from Boo to You on a pinking circle, then embellished with some wide striped ribbon tied up with black twine.  The number strip is washi tape I found in the dollar bin at JoAnn's (love it!) and I used the same embossing folder, but this time only whitewashed the edges with some of the pewter distress stain and a waterbrush.  More googly eyes, and a few distressed layers finish things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend full of fun, family and creativity!

Enabler's Lists
Trevor's Favorite: 
Stamps: Birthday Bots, Calendar Countdown (Verve Stamps)
Paper: black, pumpkin pie (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: pumpkin pie (SU!), black (Ranger Archival), Copics, Spica Glitter Pen, pewter Distress Stain (Ranger)
Accessories: Award Banner Trim Die, Mini Curvy Bookplate Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE),  Brick Wall embossing folder (Darice), googly eyes, chevron ribbon (SU!), bling (JoAnn), waterbrush

Kellan's Favorite: 
Stamps: Birthday Bots, Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: black, pumpkin pie (SU!), cream (Neenah)
Ink: pumpkin pie (SU!), black (TPC Studios), Copics, Spica Glitter Pen, pewter Distress Stain (Ranger)
Accessories:   Pinking Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Brick Wall embossing folder (Darice), googly eyes, wide striped (SU!), washi tape (JoAnn), black twine, waterbrush, corner rounder

Trick or Treat Bot

Hi friends!  Happy October!  I was able to sneak in a little bit of stamping time yesterday, and just had to pull out the new Birthday Bots set.  I had an idea to make some little treat sacks with the bots for some of the boys' little friends for an outing we're going to have later in October, but I couldn't find the treat sacks I had in mind.  So, I decided to make a little card instead!

The bot is stamped onto a Tagged Rectangle Die cut.  I wanted  a little glow behind my bot, but am not an amazing colorer, so I decided to mask him off with some eclipse tape, then just rubbed some pan pastels around the image until I achieved the desired glow.  His little outfit is paper pieced and I added some nailheads and a shiny silver pearl to dress up his nose and mask.

Both sentiments are from the Boo to You set.  I love how the Halloween one fits on the Tagged Rectangle Die  and what's not to love about stamping on striped paper?  I always seem to stamp on white unless I'm paper piecing, but I love the subtle look of the trick-or-treat here.  The background is super cool in real life, but unfortunately I covered most of it up.  Just an excuse to make another card, right?  I used the Chevron embossing folder from SU! and the letterpress technique (ink up the raised edges on your folder, stick in your cardstock, run it through your die cut machine and voila!) with black ink on smoky slate.  It almost looks like tire tread!  I finished off with a seam binding bow from the Autumn Elements Ribbon Collection and then distressed a few edges.  Finished card size is 4" square.

Enabler's List
Stamps: Birthday Bots, Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Mischievous (MME), smoky slate, basic black (SU!)
Ink: Black, Pan Pastels
Accessories: Tagged Rectangle Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Autumn Elements Ribbon Collection (Verve), Chevron embossing folder (SU!), shiny silver pearls and nailheads (Pizzazz Aplenty), glossy glaze, rhinestone flourish, eclipse tape

Sweet Treats

Hi friends!  Welcome to Wednesday!  Yesterday I told you I'd be back with something a little "sweeter".  And that's just what today's project is all about.  The twins are loving their organic peas, carrots, squash and sweet po-TAY-toes (that's how Mark says it, and it makes the boys giggle!), and now I've got a TON of baby food jars that I can't bring myself to throw away.  Especially since we don't have a glass recycling program.  So I had a little idea to make some Halloween treat jars and thought the new So Sweet Plain Jane would be perfect paired with the Trick or Treat sentiment from Boo to You, so it would read, "Trick or treat... you're so sweet".  Clever, no???  {grin}

I started with a couple strips of SU! designer paper that I wrapped around the jar and secured with strong glue so it would stick to the glass.  The orange strip is stamped repeatedly with the Loopy Medallion Plain Jane for a fun background, and then I accented each square with a black square rhinestone.  The So Sweet plain jane is embossed in black onto a Mini Classy Label die cut, then colored with a copic marker and sponged with Black Soot ink.  I punched a small hole in the label to turn it into a tag and tied it on with some black and white cording I had.  The lid is painted with black gesso and then sprayed with a clear sealant so it won't chip off.  I added the Trick or Treat sentiment to the top with a classic circles nestabilities die cut and finished with a little sponging to blend it in.

The jar is filled with orange Reese's Pieces.  And yes, I totally took one for the team and ate all the brown and yellow ones for photography purposes!  {grin}  I can totally see a lot of baby food jar treats in the future.  Especially in combination with the Mini Classy Label Die Set.  So much fun to make!

Okay, I'm done with my Halloween crafting kick for a little bit.  I'll be back tomorrow with a little mixed-media Christmas card making fun!

Enabler's List:
Stamps: So Sweet Plain Jane, Loopy Medallion Plain Jane, Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: SU! DSP, black cardstock
Ink: Black (Mix'd Media), black soot (Ranger), copic marker, Black gesso
Accessories: Mini Classy Label Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), scallop border punch (EK Success), square rhinestones, Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon, black embossing powder, baby food jar, reese's pieces

Spiderwebs

Hi friends! Happy Tuesday! As I mentioned yesterday, I've been on a bit of a Halloween crafting kick lately. I don't like Halloween and I REALLY don't like spiders, but for some reason I combined the two on today's card! What can I say? If inspiration strikes, I follow! {grin}

The new Loopy Medallion Plain Jane looked a little bit like a spiderweb when it was sitting on my desk, so I decided to emboss it on vellum, then add the little star from Snowflake Splendor that I used the other day as a spider. I even gave it a beady little body with a black flatback pearl. The medallion is cut out with the Scalloped Flowers Die Set and then I matted it with a black Scalloped Circles Nestabilities that I looped some linen thread around each scallop for a fun look. I added a few of the last scraps of my stash of my favorite polka dot ribbon (sniff sniff).

For the side bar, I used an EK Success border punch, then stamped the Loopy Medallion three times in Pumice Stone, then the spider in black. I know, it's kind of creepy. I keep getting the heebie-jeebies just looking at them! The sentiment is from this month's Stamp of the Month, Boo to You, and it's embossed in white onto a Mini Classy Label die cut, stamped with the coordinating frame from Borderline. A bit of distr5essing with a black gelato and baby wipes grunged things up, and I finished up with a little wrap around of black scrapper's floss. Hope you enjoyed this spooky edition of the new Loopy Medallion Plain Jane! I'll be back tomorrow with something a little "sweeter"! {grin}

Enabler's List: 
Stamps: Loopy Medallion Plain Jane, Boo to You, Borderline, Snowflake Splendor (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Mischievous (MME), Black, Vellum, Cream
Ink: Black, Jasmine (Mix'd Media), Rusty Hinge, Pumice Stone (Ranger), black gelato (Faber Castell)
Accessories: Scalloped Flowers Die Set, Mini Classy Label Die Set (A Cut Above by VERVE), Scalloped Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), border punch (EK Success), ribbon, linen thread, flatback pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty), paper distresser

Halloween Greetings

Hi friends!  Can you believe Monday is here again?  I don't mind so much this month, since October is my favorite month.  I just love the crispness of the air.  Slippers in the morning, hot apple cider, sweatshirts layered over t-shirts and especially cuddling up in a nice cozy blanket.  There was lots of cuddling to be had this weekend, as the twins haven't been feeling very well.  I did sneak a little time when the grandparents were visiting to make a little card for today's Mojo Monday sketch, though!

Even though I love October, I've never been much of a Halloween fan.  But for some reason I've totally been on a Halloween card making kick this year.  This twin ghostie image from Boo to You (40% off this month at Verve!) just makes me smile and I knew I wanted to use it with the Night and Fall papers from Recollections that literally JUMPED into my cart last week at Michael's.  Seriously, CUTE paper!!!

Anyhow, the ghosties are stamped and hand cut and distressed a bit with a black gelato and baby wipe.  I made a rosette with the Tim Holtz rosettes die and layered it with a Scalloped Flowers die (distressed with a few colors of paint) and a Star Circles Nestabilties die cut.  The star flag is stamped with a border from Borderline and I hand cut and matted the tails.  I stamped the coordinating frame from Borderline onto the Mini Vintage Oval die cuts and added a little stickles and the Halloween Greeting sentiment from Boo to You.  The Pennant Trim Die made another appearance, layered behind a punched border and I finished off with some rounded corners and good old fashioned distressing.

Okay, that's all for today!  If you missed it, be sure to check out the 5 new plain janes that released on Saturday!  They're on sale 15% off through the end of today (Monday, 10/8).

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Boo to You, Borderline (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Night and Fall (Recollections), Black, Soft Sky (SU!) cream
Ink: Black Soot (Ranger), copic markers, black micron pen, craft paints, black gelato (Faber Castell)
Accessories:  Mini Vintage Oval Die Set, Scalloped Flowers Die Set, Pennant Trim Die (A Cut Above by VERVE), Star Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Rosette Die (Tim Holtz), Dotted Wave border punch (EK Success), corner chomper (WRMK), sewing machine, stickles (Ranger), paper distresser

Boo to You

Hi friends!  Welcome to October and the first Monday of the month!  That means it's CONTEST time over at Mojo Monday!  We hope you'll have time to show us your take on this week's sketch, for a chance to win some Verve of your very own!

Since it's October (even though I have no idea where the summer went!!!) I thought I'd kick things off with a little Halloween card.  Boo to You is the October stamp of the month over at Verve and it's 40% off all month long!  It's funny, when I designed this set last year, the twin ghosties were inspired by the twins I was carrying.  Now the boys are here and they totally remind me of this image in the wee hours when they're trying to wiggle free from their muslin swaddle blankets!  So cute!

Anyhow, I used a Spellbinders die I bought sometime before or after the twins were born and just now "rediscovered".  I thought it was perfect for a little Halloween theme.  The papers are some old Prima papers from my miscellaneous drawer and I added some wide striped ribbon from SU!  A little doodling and distressing with a gelato and a baby white kept things from looking to stark and I finished off with a little Zva flourish of bling.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  We've got a few plain janes we're releasing this Saturday for World Card Making Day, so I've got some crafty time in the studio ahead of me this week.  Woohoo!  Have a fabulous week!

Enabler's List
Stamps:  Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Dude Collection (Prima), Black (SU!), cream
Ink: Black (Mix'd Media), black micron pen, black gelato (Faber Castell)
Accessories:  Star Circles and Classic Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), rhinestone bling (Zva Creative), baby wipes, clear detail embossing powder, distressing tool, wide striped ribbon (SU!), rhinestones

Halloween Et Cetera

Hi friends!  Happy Thursday!  Today I've got a card to share using the new Boo to You set.  Before I left for Montana, I was straightening up my craft room and found some black Tiny Sweet Scallop cutouts hanging out on my desk next to the Boo to You set.  I thought they could work as little gravestones, so quickly sketched out my idea so I could return to it when I got home.

Last night, I finally found a little stamping time, and was happily surprised to see I already had an idea sketched out using the gravestones on a hill.  So I just went with it, pulling out some of the new paper and ribbon goodies I got on my trip.

The ghost image is stamped onto Et Cetera book print, then sponged with Brushed Corduroy ink and I highlighted their eyes with black Stickles.  The gravestones are cut with the Tiny Sweet Scallop Die Set and embossed in clear using the background from Wishful Elegance.  I tucked them behind a half circle to look like they're on a hill, then lined the circle with some gold cording.  The sentiment from Boo to You is stamped onto the frame from Tag Time, which I sponged around the edges, then lined with glue and Champagne glass glitter before matting with a black Curvy Bookplate die cut.  I finished with a little ribbon and a black heart spray, then aged the edges and turned down the top corner.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Have a fabulous day!  I'll be back tomorrow with another mixed-media project.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Boo to You, Tag Time, Wishful Elegance (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Et Cetera (BoBunny), Black, Cream
Ink: Black, Brushed Corduroy (Ranger)
Accessories: Curvy Bookplate Die, Tiny Sweet Scallop Die Set (A Cut Above by Verve), Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon, heart vine, chunky glass glitter, clear embossing powder, gold cording, black Stickles, black flatback pearls (Pizzazz Aplenty)

Happy Haunting

Happy Friday!  I'm still on my little getaway with Tosh & Laurie, but I do have a little sample for this week's Viva la Verve! sketch to share with you.  Charmaine is this week's hostess and designer of this fun sketch, which I turned on its side.  I again used the new Boo to You set and some Halloween papers from years gone by.

I stamped the twin ghosties on a classic circle, then outlined with a stardust glitter pen and a blender pen.  You can't see the sparkle in the photo, but it's so super shiny in real life!  {grin}  I then masked off just the Boo portion of the boo to you sentiment and stamped it between the two ghosties.  The happy haunting sentiment is stamped onto copy paper, then run through the crimper and added to the card as a little sentiment flag.  A few little Candi paper embellishments are used for the circles and I covered them with orange peel stickles to make them shimmer.  I finished off with a curled corner and more polka dotted ribbon.

Enabler's List:
Stamps: Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Halloween dp (Making Memories), Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Ink: Jet Black Archival (Ranger)
Accessories: Classic Circles & Lacy Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Candi paper embellishments, Orange Peel Stickles (Ranger), paper crimper (Fiskars), ribbon, liquid pearls (Ranger)

Boo to You

Hi friends!  Today I've got a brand new Verve set to share with you, called Boo to You.  I'm not typically a Halloween person, but I have several friends that really get into this holiday, so I finally gave in and designed a not-too-creepy Halloween set.  Unfortunately, design and manufacturing delays have pushed the release of this set late in the season.   We will be having a November release, but since this set is so late already, I decided to release it by itself.  We have a limited supply of Boo to You available on the website today with more arriving in the coming weeks, but we can't guarantee the re-stocking will be here in time for Halloween.  So if you've got to have it, grab it fast!  {grin}

For my card design, I went with the title sentiment and the twin ghosties image hanging over a tent card.  I {LOVED} this Toil & Trouble designer paper from The Girls' Paperie that came out last year, and even though I rarely make Halloween cards, I just had to have it!  I made a 1/2 accordian by cutting a strip of paper, punching one end with a decorative border, then scoring every 1/4".  For the sentiment piece I matted several sizes of circles on a lacy circles nestability, then added some liquid pearls to each connecting point.  The card is finished off with some of that wide striped ribbon from SU! that I just can't get enough of.

That's all on the card front today.  I'm getting ready to head out of town tomorrow to meet up with Tosh & Laurie for a fun-filled weekend.  But I've got some cards and posts pre-scheduled, so as long as blogger cooperates, there should still be some new eye candy over the next few days.  Thanks so much for stopping by!


Enabler's List:
Stamps: Boo to You (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Toil & Trouble (The Girls Paperie), Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black (SU!)
Ink: Jet Black Archival (Ranger), Spica glitter pen
Accessories: Classic Circles & Lacy Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders), liquid pearls (Ranger), Scor-pal, wide ribbon (SU!)