Saturday, September 24, 2022

Bewitching Fun

Good morning all!  Hope you're doing great today and getting much accomplished.  I know I've mentioned more than once that I totally love autumn, but I'm not so much a fan of Halloween.  That said, I just had to try another card with the Bewitching stamp set on page 57 of the 2022 July - December Mini Catalog.  It would be a shame to only make one card with a set and then give up on it.  Of course, my card isn't ghoulish or gory, none of that stuff.  Just kind of cute and innocuous.   But I hope it makes you smile anyway.

I started out with the idea of using Parakeet Party and Pumpkin Pie together with large amount of Basic Black to make the card.  Then it was a matter of trying to figure out how I wanted the colors used.  I remembered the brick-like die in the Brilliant Wings die set that would be a good background for my little witch.  This die set is found in the 2022-2023 Annual Catalog on page 169.  The bricks were die-cut into the Basic Black layer four times - twice on the top and twice at the bottom.  The contrast between the Basic Black and either color was too strong for me, so I die-cut a number of bricks from Basic Gray cardstock and inlaid random pieces into the black layer.  At this point, I decided to make the card base Pumpkin Pie and not Parakeet Party.  That left my witch to be Parakeet Party instead.

I laid down a piece of Parakeet Party on the Stamparatus and then attached both the hat and legs to stamp on the cardstock at the same time.  It's a good thing I did!  Using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I stamped them onto the cardstock.  Tip:  You're never going to get a true coverage when stamping on a color of cardstock versus white or vanilla.  There isn't the same smoothness on the color cardstock and the ink doesn't lay on the surface the same as with Basic White and Very Vanilla.  Looking at this image, you'd never guess I inked and stamped it seven times! It certainly doesn't look like it at all.  I figured if I hadn't gotten solid coverage after seven times, it simply wasn't going to happen.  And it's amazing how much more the 'speckling' stands out in a photo than real life.  Oh well, live and learn!  If I was starting over again (which maybe I should have), I would have stamped on Basic White and colored in the areas with a Parakeet Party marker.  I just didn't want any white on the front of the card.

Before cutting out, I used Wink of Stella to color the polka dots on the hat, the hatband, and the stripes on the stockings.  I have a Gold Wink of Stella that I used on the buckles.  After stamping and coloring the hat and legs, they were cut out with my Paper Snips.  I didn't care for them placed directly on the brickwork, so I used a Stitched Rectangle die and cut a piece of Vellum to go between.  I liked this much better because the brightness of the brick was still bothering me a little.

A small bit of the Parakeet Party 1/8" Metallic Woven Ribbon is wrapped around the middle of the hatband.  Then a small bow is made for an accent.  It's stretched out a little on the bow and at the tail ends.  The bow is attached to the hatband with a Mini Glue Dot.

The hat and legs were attached to the Vellum layer with Dimensionals.  The vellum has adhesive on the back only underneath the hat and legs and that's how it's attached to the card front.  This way none of the adhesive shows through the vellum to the front of the card.  

It's too bad the Wink of Stella isn't showing off its glimmer on the photo.  It really does add a little bit of extra pizzazz to the card.  Tell me, do you think the card needs more bling?  And if you think it does, what would you suggest using to step it up another notch??  Help me out here ladies.  I'm sure you have some excellent ideas!

Lastly, I want to share the inside of the card.  It's quite simple looking.  I started out with a piece of Basic White that measures 2 1/2" x 3 3/4".  I stamped a spider from the Bewitching set on the left side with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then I stamped another on the right side, but down lower.  I used a Black Stampin' Write Marker to add enough dots to reach the top of the card.  Then I used it to write Boo!  between them.  Nothing says you can't add your own sentiment if you don't have a stamp that says just what you want!

The Basic White layer was attached to a Basic Black layer that measures 2 3/4" x 3".  Then both of these were attached inside the card with adhesive.  There's plenty of room left to write a little note to the recipient of the card underneath the dangling spiders.

Well, that's it for today's edition of the blog.  Hope you enjoyed it and maybe learned something new from my misadventures.  Many times you just don't know how something is going to work out until after you try it.  Thank goodness it's only paper!  There have been a few card ideas that never made it past my work table, but hit the trash can fairly quickly.  Or I've pried pieces apart and used them on different card projects.  Yes, I've made my fair share of duds too.  So give your ideas a try.  If you don't like them, repurpose, reuse, or recycle.  It's only paper!  But if you create a masterpiece along the way, make sure you share it!!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Remember that the Perfect Partners sale is going on right now until the end of September.  Don't wait too long in case any of the new die sets sell out before then.  If you have questions, I'd be happy to help you out.

Did you know that October 1st is designated as World Cardmaking Day?  Stampin' Up! has some festivities planned and you can sign up for the card making fun.  I'll probably be doing some creating that day myself so come join me.

Happy stamping and creating,
Sharon 

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