Count Catula Card

Hello! The spooky night of Halloween is fast approaching and I couldn't resist making another card for this holiday. Last year I made a door hanging using the Count Catula image by Stampendous! along with several other images (click here), so today I made this Count Catula Card using the hanging as inspiration. The background was made using distress oxide inks. A creepy tree was die cut using a die from Simon Says Stamp and black grass die cut with the land borders die by Newton's Nook. Then I stamped and colored Count Catula by Stampendous and colored it with Copic markers. Several smaller stamps all from Hello Bluebird were stamped and colored and then everything was fussy cut. Everything was adhered flat and that's it! As you can see the cat is the star of this card, that grin is too cute to spook. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!🦇👻🎃

Challenges entered:

• Fab 'n' Funky: Spooky Season
• Show Us Your Pussycats: Furrything Goes/Meowloween
• Simon Says: Spooky/Halloween
• Two Old Bats Halloween: Anything Halloween

Halloween Pals Card

Hello! Are you counting down the days until Halloween? We started decorating our yard. In our neighborhood our Halloween decorations are always a big hit. It's fun to make the kids smile with decorations and of course candy. 🎃

Awhile back I colored these cute images from the Halloween Pals stamp set by Pretty Pink Posh. So, I decided to make an inky background using distress oxide inks and put them on a card. A black fence was die cut using a Lawn Fawn die called Little Picket Fence. The sentiment was heat embossed with silver embossing powder and two punched bats added to the sky. That's it. I've almost finished all my Halloween cards for this year. I plan to make a couple more and I'll be done. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day! 🦇

Challenges entered:

• The Paper Funday: Anything Goes/Halloween or Purple Option
• Watercooler Wednesday: All About Occasions
• Unicorn Challenge: Autumn and/or Halloween

Meow-ing in the Rain Card

Good day! It's been rainy here in Oklahoma for the last couple of days, which we definitely needed. We don't have a lawn irrigation system, so I always welcome the rain. 🌧🌨🌧

Last week I started coloring this Newton's Rainy Day Trio image and then life happened and it just went unfinished. So, I sat down yesterday and did my best to finish the coloring. I decided to paper piece the umbrella because I wanted a pattern. The polka dot paper by Bo Bunny matched the purple kitties outfit which made me happy. For the background I used distress oxide inks on mixed media paper. Then the raindrops were made using a cutting plate I bought on clearance at Taylored Expressions. The sentiment was added using Jet Black StazOn ink and everything was adhered flat. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Krafty Chicks: Anything Goes
• Make My Monday: April Showers
• Show Us Your Pussycats: Furrything Goes
• Simon Says: Anything Goes
• The Cutie Pie: Raining Cats and Dogs 

The Poisoned Apple Blog Hop

Happy Halloween! Today I'm taking part in a blog hop called the Poisoned Apple Exhibit. There are 13 creative projects for you to view. The majority are mixed media in nature and many of them are dimensional. We would love for you to hop along and enjoy these spine-tingling creations. The hop list is below along with a photo of the prize donated by Gecko Galz.🍎 Have fun!

My creation is more cute than spine-tingling, it's as spooky as I get. I made this Happy Halloween wall hanging using distress oxide inks for the background adorned with several stamps that were colored with Copic markers and then fussy cut. The black embossed trees are made using a stamp by Whimsy Stamps called Tree Silhouette used with Zing! black glitter embossing powder. To add a little spooky the Tree Menace and Count Catula stamps by Stampendous! were used along with some cute Hello Bluebird stamps from the Frightful Little Bits and Halloween Party stamp sets. Once I had everything assembled I decided I needed to add a little toad from the Springtime stamp set by Hello Bluebird. The Happy Halloween die cut is from Impression Obsession and that's it. 👻🎃 I'm glad you stopped by and I hope you have a hauntingly fun Halloween!🦇

Hop List:

It's Oddly Appealing

Creatif Edges

Ink Stained Roni

Helen Angel-Cullum

Chaitali Dekhtawala

Louise Thompson

Monique's Pretty Dark Art

Lyne's Laboratory

ZoeB

Rituparna

Angela B

Savvy Handmade - (That's me)

Monica Longard

Hop Prize:

We have a wonderful digital prize package up for grabs, courtesy of Gecko Galz (https://www.etsy.com/shop/geckogalz)! You'll receive: Face To Face Jewel It Collage Set, Steam Punk Collage Set, Picture Perfect ATC Set, Clockwork Christmas ATC Set, and Spellbound Digital Stamp Set (which has 25 images!).

To have a chance of winning, leave a comment on this post, along with your email address or social media contact (IG, FB, etc) from now through Monday, 2 Nov. One lucky winner will be picked randomly from all comments left from all of the artist's participating! The winner will be contacted via email or social media so it's important you leave your address/social media contact info! Good luck and enjoy the hop!

Hoppy Halloween Card

Hello! This year I need to get my Halloween cards mailed earlier than usual due to the postal delays. It hasn't been that bad, but I don't want to risk it. Thankfully I only have a couple more to make and I'll be done. This Hoppy Halloween Card was made using the colors from the Inky Paws Challenge to use Orange, Purple, Yellow and Black. Distress Oxide inks were used to make the inky background. The spooky tree was made from a die cut from Simon Says Stamp and the grass die is by Newton't Nook. Two stamp sets and coordinating dies by Newton's Nook were used. The bunny is from the Hoppy Halloween stamp set and the ghosts are from the Boo Hoo set. Copic markers were used to color the bunny image and the sentiment was heat embossed. That's it! 👻👻👻 

Challenges entered: Cute Card Thursday (Halloween), Double Trouble (Twisted Sister- No Bats), Inky Paws (Colors), My Time To Craft (Halloween or Cats) and The Paper Girls (Halloween).

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Significant Otter Card

Good day! I have a quick post to share this Significant Otter Card that I made for a wildlife rescue here in Oklahoma. Early in the Spring they took in a baby male otter, but they didn't have any other otters to raise him with or release with him. Then last month they got a phone call from a rescue in Kansas that had a young female otter and they decided to introduce them. Long story short.... they met, fell in love and are now released together. They have each other and it was the answer to increase the odds of their long term survival. 💚

To make this card I used the Christmas Like Not Otter stamp set by Lawn Fawn which was the STAMPtember collaboration with Simon Says Stamp from 2017. The images were colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating dies. For the water a blue inky background was made with mixed media paper and Distress Oxide inks. The grassy paper is by The Paper Studio and to frame the otters a wavy center was cut out using a Wavy Pierced die by Whimsy Stamps. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Animals: Anything Goes w/ Animals
• Creative Fingers: Anything Goes
• Creative Knockouts: Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times: Create a Scene
• Simon Says: Frame It
• Watercooler Wednesday: Anything Goes w/ Masculine Twist

Otterly Amazing Card

Good day crafty friends! A local wildlife rescue in my area is raising an orphaned baby otter, so I had to make them a card to send with my donation. The daily cost is $80 a day to supply fresh fish to the little guy. His name is Emmett and he is a cutie. I adore otters and I've enjoyed the photos and videos they share on their Facebook page.

To make this Otterly Amazing Card I used the Otter Friends stamp set by Hello Bluebird. The images were colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating dies. I made an inky background using Distress Oxide Inks in Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch. The design was kept simple and everything adhered flat onto a piece of speckled paper by Lawn Fawn. I'm not going to write anything inside that way if they want to send the card to someone else they can. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day. 😊

Challenges entered:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies: Anything with Critters
• Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes + A Sentiment
• Crafty Creations: Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday: Anything Goes!
• Simon Says: Use Your Favorite Tool (Big Shot)

Thanksgiving Card with Squirrel

Good day! Over the next few weeks I'll be making several Thanksgiving cards to send to family and friends. When creating this Thanksgiving Card with Squirrel I was thinking "what could be more thankful than a squirrel with a arm full of nuts". We have several squirrels that frequent our backyard and I buy them nuts, I'm a sucker for cute critters.

The images featured on this card are by Newton's Nook. They are from three different stamp sets, but the squirrel is from the Harvest Tails stamp set and they were colored with Copic markers. To create the sunset I used distress oxide inks and the scene die cut is called Birch Tree Collage by Simon Says Stamp/Memory Box. As usual, everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• 2 Crafty Critter Crazies: Anything with Critters
• Addicted to Stamps: Anything Goes
• Simon Says: Thanks/Thanksgiving
• The Paper Funday: Anything Goes/Thanksgiving Twist

Spooky Halloween Card

Happy Halloween! Well... it's almost over, but I usually make a Halloween card while waiting for trick-or-treaters. This Spooky Halloween Card was this evenings creation. I made a inky background using distress oxide inks. The stamped images are by Hello Bluebird from the Halloween Party and Little Haunters stamp sets. Copic markers were used to color the images and then they were die cut with the coordinating dies. The spooky tree was a freebie I received with a recent Simon Says Stamp order and that's it. The tree definitely added the spooky vibe to the card. I hope you had a fantastic Halloween and thanks for stopping by.

Challenges entered: Addicted to Stamps and More (Photo Inspiration), Aud Sentiments (Anything Goes + Sentiment), Simon Says (Anything Goes), Southern Girls (Happy Halloween) and Little Red Wagon (Scary It!).

Photo Inspiration:

Kitty Trick or Treat Card

Greetings! Overnight a cold front moved in and brought with it some rain, which we needed. When I left the house to run errands I didn't bring a jacket and definitely wished I had. It's that time of year here in Oklahoma where it can be short sleeves one day and coats the next.

I'm almost done with my Halloween cards and plan to mail them on Saturday. I like the cards to arrive right before the holiday. This Kitty Trick or Treat Card features an image from the Newton's Nook Boo-tiful Night stamp set and trick or treat die cut from the Halloween Trio Die set. The background was made with Distress Oxide Inks and then I stamped some grasses from the Nature's Beauty stamp set by Stampin' Up!. It was adhered to a swirl patterned paper by Doodlebug Design from the Boos & Brews paper pad. Three sequins were added for sparkle and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• C.R.A.F.T.: Halloween/Thanksgiving/Bonfire Night
• Her Peaceful Garden: Cat Lovers Hop
• Inky Paws: Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas
• Shopping Our Stash: Halloween
• Watercooler Wednesday: All About Occasions

Kitty Witch Halloween Card

Happy Friday! This month is quickly getting away from me and I still have several Halloween cards to make. If you've followed my blog for awhile then you know I love cats, rabbits and pretty much any cute critter. Earlier this year I found a new to me stamp company called Hello Bluebird and they have some super cute critters. This Kitty Witch Halloween Card features images from their Halloween Party stamp set which were colored with Copic markers and die cut with the coordinating dies. A piece of star paper from the Bootiful Night paper pad by American Crafts (2016) was selected and the focal area was made with Distress Oxide inks in: Carved Pumpkin, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves with a touch of Black Soot. The final touch was adding the Happy Halloween die cut from Impression Obsession. Like most of my cards everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. I'm glad you stopped by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Crafty Gals Corner: Halloween Colors 
• Cute Card Thursday: Halloween
• Fab 'n' Funky: Halloween
• Krafty Chicks: Be-Witched

It happens all the time! I get up from my craft chair and return to find one of my cats taking advantage of the warm seat. This is one of the reasons I don't get more accomplished. I let him keep the chair and I wait until the little chair thief moves on. 😊

Oh Nuts! Happy Fall Card

Good day! My backyard is frequented by numerous squirrels who like to steal the birdseed and that's fine by me. I think they are adorable! It's common to see them hanging upside down or chasing each other. They are definitely entertaining little critters! When I saw the Oh Nuts! stamp set by Hello Bluebird it was an easy decision to add it to my stamp collection.

To make this Oh Nuts! Happy Fall Card I stamped the images with Memento black ink and colored them with Copic markers. The coordinating dies were used to cut them out. For the background I used mixed media paper and distress oxide inks in Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Peeled Paint. Then the sentiment was added. A piece of woodgrain paper was used for a frame and everything was adhered flat for easy shipping. That's it! I hope this card made you smile. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• 2 Crafty Critters: Anything with Critters
• Creative Moments: Anything Goes
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• Simon Says: Fall/Autumn
• Stamping Sensations: Trees, Leaves or Autumn

Happy Hoppy Halloween!!!

Happy Hoppy Halloween!!! The trick-or-treating has begun and a sugar rush is sure to follow. We always decorate our yard and try to make it fun for the kids. Unfortunately, it is raining and that may keep some of the ghouls and goblins away. That could mean leftover candy... which I'm sure my hubby will have no problem polishing off.

After I mailed my Halloween cards to family and friends, I decided to make one more card using some of the scraps. Everything was laying around my craft desk and the image was already colored. All I had to do was trim a few pieces, die cut the bats, stamp the sentiment and adhere everything together. The orange polka dot paper really soaked up the Memento black ink I used with the sentiment. It started out much darker, but it's much lighter now. Well, that's it! I hope you have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Challenges entered:

• Always Fun: Halloween
• Crafty Catz: Anything Goes/Halloween
• Fab 'n' Funky: Halloween
• Shopping Our Stash: Witching Hour/Halloween 

Our decorated front yard

Halloween Cards are Mailed!

After all the cards have been carefully made it's always a big relief to get them mailed! This year I ended up making fourteen cards. I made a few extras because there are a couple I didn't want to give away. Here is the last card I made using the Halloween Trio stamp set by Newton's Nook:

It's one I'm keeping or I'll give it to my hubby. The background was made with distress oxide inks and the patterned paper is from the Trick or Treat paper pad by Pebbles (2016). Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered: Crafty Creations (Anything Goes), Crafty Gals Corner (Halloween Colours), Simon Says (Halloween/Spooky) and Watercooler Wednesday (All About Holidays). 

Halloween Trio Card

Good day crafty friends! It's getting closer to Halloween and I'm behind on making my cards. I got a really bad sinus cold a couple of weeks ago and I'm just now starting to feel better. It's been years since I got a cold that bad and I didn't want to contaminate my crafting supplies. So that means I'll start making multiples of the cards I create instead of many different designs. I made three of this Halloween Trio Card. The design is all the same but the patterned papers change and the colors used on the image vary some. Distress oxide inks were used to create the background and then it was die cut with a deckle die by Tim Holtz. The image is by Newton's Nook and it's called Halloween Trio. A coordinating die was used the cut out the image and the little bats are from the same set. The yellow moon was added and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Aud Sentiments: Halloween/Fall Sentiment
• Cards in Envy: Something Spooky
• Cute Card Thursday: Halloween
• Sweet Stampin': Halloween  
• The Sisterhood of Crafters: Cute Spooks

Another version:

Autumn Newton Card

Hello and happy Friday! One more day until the arrival of Fall/Autumn! A cool front is arriving in our area today and we are expecting some rain, both of these make me happy. Our weatherman assured us the heat is over!!! So, bring on the cooler weather.

There are several Fall/Autumn challenges right now and I made this Autumn Newton Card to participate in a few. My intent when making this card was to send it to my Aunt Cindy, but now I kinda want to keep it. I just love the mix of colors and of course the Autumn Newton stamp. The floral patterned paper is from the Woodland Forest paper pad by Pebbles (2016) and the Fall plaid is by Lawn Fawn. I made the inky background using Distress Oxide Inks and then die cut it with a deckle die by Tim Holtz. After stamping and coloring the images with Copic markers they were die cut with the coordinating dies. Everything was adhered flat for easy shipping and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Challenges entered:

• Back to Basics and Beyond: Inky Backgrounds
• Creative Knockouts: 2 or More Patterned Papers
• Inky Paws: Fabulous Fall
• SumMore Fun: Mood Board Inspiration
• The Sisherhood of Crafters: Cozy Plaids

Happy Birthday Card

This year is flying by super fast, I can't believe it's already April! Although the weather can't decide if it wants to be warm or cold. It was really nice for a couple of days and now if feels like January again. That's okay, I use these cold days as an excuse to play indoors in my craft room.

Since I spent the majority of March making Easter cards I was happy to see a couple of birthday challenges this morning. The colors for this Happy Birthday Card were inspired by the photo inspiration at the Inky Paws Challenge. It was also clear I needed to use the Newton Loves Cake stamp set by Newton's Nook. The image was colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut (don't look too close, I don't excel at fussy-cutting). Mixed media paper and distress oxide inks were used to make the yellow background. Oxide colors include: Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber. When I sprayed the paper with water and heat set with the heat gun it really didn't "spot" like I was hoping. So, I tried splattering white acrylic paint and you really can't see it. Then I decided to spray gold glimmer mist but the bottle was clogged, so I used a paint brush and painted the gold glimmer liquid around the edges of the yellow background. It did add a really nice shimmer that doesn't photograph well, but it looks really pretty in person. The plaid scalloped border was made using a Taylored Expressions cutting plate and patterned paper from the Hello Easter paper pad by Echo Park. To add a little more color three glimmer dots by Jolee's were added and that's it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your day!

Challenges entered:

• Inky Paws: Birthday 
• Always Fun: Happy Birthday
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: Anything Goes
• QKR Stampede: Anything Goes

Owl Love Card

It's been a long and crazy day around my house! So, to help reduce my stress I made this Owl Love Card. The colors were inspired by the current Pretty in Pink challenge at Inky Paws. Pink isn't a color you see often on my card creations but this time of year it's perfect for Love/Valentine's Day Cards. I thought the cute owls from the What a Hoot stamp set by Newton's Nook were perfect for this card. They were colored with Copic markers and then die cut with the coordinating dies. The sentiment stamp is by Stampendous! To create the pink background Distress Oxide inks in Picked Raspberry and Worn Lipstick were used on mixed media paper. The paper was spritzed with water and then a heat gun was used to dry the wet spots. Picking the patterned paper was the hardest part! The stripes by Doodlebug Designs are subtle and I thought it worked well with the design. Then I decided to add some stitching and the final touch were three clear sequins. That's it! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day.

Challenges entered:

• Newton's Inky Paws: Pretty in Pink
• Simon Says Stamp: Patterned Paper
• Southern Girls: Stitching
• 4 Crafty Chicks: No Winter Blues
• Creative Moments: Anything Goes

Otter Anniversary Card

It's been a few days since my last post but it's been pretty busy around my house. This week my hubby and I are celebrating our Twentieth Wedding Anniversary. It has really gone by fast!!! I wanted to make a special card to celebrate and I bought the Christmas Like No Otter stamp set for Simon Says Stamp by Lawn Fawn for the occasion. We love to visit the otters when go to the local Tulsa Zoo. They are fun and charismatic creatures!

To make this card I started with a piece of watercolor paper and oxide inks in Broken China and Salty Ocean for the water and Antique Linen and Vintage Photo for the sand. After inking the paper it was spritzed with water and a heat gun used to speed the drying process. Then the panel was die cut using a scalloped frame by Taylored Expressions. The outside frame was then darkened with more Salty Ocean distress ink. I went back and stamped the waves and little circles in the water. Then the otters and images were stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Copic markers. They were then die cut with the coordinating dies. The sand was die cut with a small wavy scallop stitches die by Simon Says Stamp. Everything was adhered flat to a piece of natural cardstock and that's it! Thanks for stopping by!

This Otter Anniversary Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Use Your Stuff: Old and New
• Sweet Stampin': Cute and Cuddly
• Retarte: Anything Goes

Newton Halloween Card

Happy Tuesday! I mail around a dozen cards for Halloween to family and friends. Since it will be here next month I decided to get a start on my cards. To create this Newton Halloween Card I used the sketch from Newton's Inky Paws Challenge. When I first saw the sketch I thought it would make a cool moon card. The flying broom and kitty image from the Newton's Boo-tiful Night stamp set was the best choice to use in front of the moon.

To start I made the moon using watercolor paper and distress oxide inks in Antique Linen and Fossilized Amber. A small amount of Frayed Burlap was added to the edges of the moon, then it was spritzed with water and a heat gun used to speed the drying process. Then I made the sky background with distress oxide inks in Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves and Black Soot on mixed media paper. The same process was used, spritz with water and heat set. Once this panel was dried I heat embossed several stars with Wow! Glow-in-the-Dark embossing powder and the sentiment with white embossing powder. The white strip of paper was stamped with the little bat. Newton was colored with Copic markers and then fussy-cut. Next everything was assembled and adhered flat for easy mailing. I decided it needed a little more sparkle, so I added three star sequins and that's it. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!

This Newton Halloween Card is entered into the following challenges:

• Newton's Inky Paws: Sketch
• Simon Says Stamp: It's Written in the Stars
• Glitter 'N' Sparkle: Anything Goes
• Show Us Your Pussies: Furrything Goes

Sketch: