Super scary season

As we’re approaching Hallowe’en, Rizwana would like to see some scary ghosts, witches, bats, spiders etc for this week’s challenge at Daring Cardmakers. Traditional green and purple welcome but branch out if the mood takes you that way!

I always say I don’t have any Hallowe’en stamps, so when I won a prize from Lost Coast Designs a while ago, I chose a stamp that might fit the bill! I think this raven would have done Edgar Alan Poe proud so could have gone for “Nevermore” but decided to leave it with no sentiment. I did play around with a sentiment strip but I liked it better without. LCD have their usual October 31 Days of Hallowe’en challenge running so I’m linking up there too. 

Stamping, masking, ink blending over a torn paper edge and a touch of Copic colouring is as complicated as things get here. I did doodle a border and splatter some white gold watercolour as finishing touches.

Stamps:
Goth Raven  (Lost Coast Designs)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink  by Ranger (Dusty Concord) and Oxide (Wilted Violet) 

Other:
Copic markers
Gansai Tambi Starry Colours paints
Fineline marker

Uh oh... here comes trouble

The end of the month is almost upon us so Dawn is asking us to be inspired by all things Hallowe'en for this week's challenge at Daring Cardmakers. If you don't want to make something spooky, you might choose something like the colours usually associated with Hallowe'en to inspire an autumn or even Christmas card.

As Lost Coast Designs is nearing the end of their annual 31 Days of Hallowe'en celebration, I thought I'd play along there as well so I've used Frankenstein and gone with a black and white theme since the classic film is B&W.

It’s a one layer card with just simple stamping and masking and minimal supplies here but I think it's got impact - what do you think?

Stamps:
Frankenstein (Carmen's Veranda)
Sentiment from Little Monsters (Technique Tuesday, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite, Charcoal)

Other:
Copic markers (Cool Grey 1, 3 & 5)
Shattered stencil (Tom Holtz)
Black fineliner
Corner Chomper

Come play…if you dare!

Fright night

We're fast approaching Halloween and Rizwana would like to see spooktacular makes for our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week.

I don't own any stamps or other supplies that are spooky so I found a way to improvise and made a postcard! I used a cheesecloth background stamp and torn edges as masks to create a "wrapped bandage" effect  and a longer word ("KABOOM!") with selective inking and a marker pen to fill in missing lines for the sentiment. The eyes are drawn using circle dies as templates.

This year may have gone wonky in many ways but Lost Coast Designs have their usual 31 Days of Halloween going on so I'm linking up there, too.

Stamps:
Cheesecloth backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Kaboom (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Black fineliner 
Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinder (to draw round)
White paint pen by Posca
Microglaze

Thanks for stopping by, hope you are keeping safe and well.

Ghostly and gothic

Time for a new monthly theme for the regular postcard swap at UKStampers. I didn't manage to play in September so I was determined to get to it this month even though the theme is a tough one for me! As ever, cards are to be posted "naked" and must include stamping.

The theme is "spooky" and for me it's a tough one because I don't have any Halloween stamps or anything vaguely scary! I managed last year with some digi elements combined with some "filler" stamps and this year decided to see if I could take it a step further and just use colour and composition to set a spooky mood with otherwise non-spooky stamps.

I got some new stamps at the weekend so I set about giving "Molly" a ghostly makeover.

She's stamped and masked so she kept a ghostly pallor while the rest of the card got sponged with purple and black inks. I concentrated black at bottom left so Molly's head is looming out of the dark. I added some scripty writing and bare branches (which actually made me think of capilliaries or nerves once I'd stamped them!) and then stamped selected bits of a drippy frame stamp along the top.

A tiny bit of Copic colouring finished it off (green for her eyes and some grey shadow down the side of her face).

Stamps:
Molly by Beeswax Stamps
Sarah's Choice and Nature by Indigo Blu

Paper: smooth white

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Dusty Concord, Black Soot)

Other:
Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by!

Boo!

Our theme this month for the Tando Creative Challenge is "spooktastic" - why not come and play along and be in with a chance to win the prize this month (details, including a link to the rules to be eligible for the draw are here).

I think mine is probably more cute than spooky but it's Halloweeny either way!

I used a cut down Tetrapack (the brick shaped sort, not the square section one), painted it black and cut a window in the front. Using vellum in the window means it can be used as a lantern (battery operated tea light is safest since there's paper involved!) or you could fill it up with Halloween treats and use it as a gift bag. I embossed the spider web and accentuated it by using a white Posca pen on the back of the raised lines.

I used an embossing stylus and "drew" grooves in the pumpkin then added darker color there to accenuate the texture. I added a bit of acetate coloured with a black Copic behind his features so they show black in daylight but let light shine through if you use it as a lantern.

Supplies:
Pumpkins Small (chipboard by Tando Creative)
Empty Tetrapack carton
Black spray paint
Vellum
Webbing embossing plate by Fiskars
Copic Markers
Chipboard letters
Florists' wire

Thanks for stopping by - we'd love to see some of your spooktastic creations in the challenge if you have chance to play before the end of the month!

Bad dream...

October's theme for the postcard swap on UKStampers is Halloween.

Now I'm not a Halloween person and have a grand total of ZERO Halloween stamps. I didn't want to miss a month of the swap though so I decided to improvise by mixing stamps I did have with other stuff and found myself well out of my comfort zone with this!

I had an Itkupilli digi collage sheet and remembered that it had a skull on it. I made the happy discovery that it also includes a bat and while messing about with the two images in Photoshop it struck me that I could combine the two for spooky flying skulls. I printed them onto heavy paper and again on regular copy paper to cut out and use as masks.

I used a punched circle to mask the moon and then sponged inks onto the paper, first just as a background layer and then over a torn "cloud" mask. I sponged a little more ink on after removing the moon mask to tone it down a bit. Stamped tree, barbed wire and sentiment finish it off - I'm sure the "dream" definition is more commonly used as encouragement to indulge in positive thoughts but I thought it could fit a bad dream, too!

Stamps:
Tree branch from Nature plate (Indigo Blu)
Dream definition from Sarah's Choice plate (Indigo Blu)
Barbed wire from Hot Topic plate (Green Pepper Press)

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Weathered Wood, Dusty Concord, Black Soot)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Steampunk Vintage Clip Art sheet by Itkupilli

If you fancy having a go at a Halloween postcard why not come over and join us? You can see what other people have been making and post a picture of your own card for the swap here.

Thanks for stopping by!