A Power Poppy Halloween!

Hello all! Since we are three weeks away from 'The Night of Fright', I thought I'd share a little something I came up with on how to transform Marcella's super fun Halloween illustrations into home decor! 

I was at Michaels the other day and they have two rows full of wood pieces that you can use to create your own signs. That's where my idea was ignited! When I saw the options along with some of the fun wooden Halloween messages, I knew I had the start of something fun! 

Want to see what we are creating today? Here's a peek. 

Isn't that super fun? And, while I thought this might take me quite a bit of time to put together, I was done in a little less than 3 hours. I started by printing the digital stamp "Boo Cat & Pumpkins" at 81/2 by 11 inches. Basically, I opened it and printed it so that it would cover an entire sheet of card stock. My wooden base was 91/2 by 14 inches, so I thought this would work perfectly. Then, I continued with some loosey-goosey coloring. No need for super intricate coloring here! I used super large strokes and just colored with strokes instead of constant color. 

So this.....

Grew into this....

And, ultimately, this...

Now it was time to turn my attention to my sign! This is what I started with: a few bottles of acrylic paint, some foam brushes, the natural wooden sign, a natural Halloween sentiment and some decoupage glue. 

You can see I started painting the base of my sign black. I started wanting to cover only those cracks but quickly decided it would be better to give the entire sign a coat of black. You can see, I wasn't too careful to provide an even coat. I already knew I was going to cover this up a bit! 

From there, I took and dry brushed some purple paint over top to create a kind of weathered look. I also painted my Happy Halloween words --- although please ignore this color. After I painted this black I decided I needed a pop of color here and painted over top with a lime green shade of acrylic paint! 

And now, it's time to add my boo cat to this backdrop! I just fussy cut around my image cutting a jagged edge around the kitty so that I didn't have to cut all the little pieces of fur! After it was cut out, I attached it to the wooden base by putting some decoupage glue on the back side with one of the foam brushes. Make sure the edges of your paper don't curl. The key is to apply a super light coat, press down and then weigh the image down by covering it with a book or a few magazines to hold it all in place. 

From there, I added some layered ribbon at the top, securing with a little hot glue. I adhered the Happy Halloween wooden piece with some foam tape so that it would have some dimension. After everything was dry, it was time to add it to the hearth for a little home Halloween flair! What do you think?

And that, my friends, is it! A fun little way to use a digital stamp to create some home decor that's both frightful and fun! Until next time, 

Bloomie Friday: A treat for you!

Hi all! Since it's Bloomie Friday at Power Poppy, I thought just in case you missed my little tutorial on the Power Poppy Blog, I thought I'd share a snippet here and then, if you like, you can click HERE to see the step by step tutorial! I was the hostess this past Monday for Inspire Me Monday! I figured with the 'Night of Fright' upon us, I would share a SUPER EASY, SUPER CUTE project that you can literally whip up in a jiffy! The folding portion of this project takes less than a minute -- no joke -- allowing you to just take your time and enjoy dolling up this little treat bag for the little ghosts and goblins in your life!

Here's a peek at the finished project 

It's made with a square piece of paper --- really any size! It just depends on how big you want your pocket to be when you are done! The one I made, above is from 8" by 8" piece of paper and as you can see, it creates the perfect little pocket for fun-sized candy bars!

It's just the right size! 

I wanted to show you just how big or small you could go with this treat bag! I started with a 6" by 6" piece of paper and honestly, this is small enough for a few Hershey's kisses, a Ghiradelli square, or one fun-size candy bar. Maybe this one would be best for dollar bills? ;-) As you go up in size, the more you can fit! I actually started with a 12" by 12" piece of paper but when I was done, I thought, wow -- that's pretty big! That might actually make a nice little gift bag in a jiffy for smaller gifts? So easy! 

After seeing Instant Gardener Nancy Sheads color up this cute kitty from Power Poppy's Feeling Fall stamp set, I knew I wanted to give her video coloring tutorial a try - so I stamped with Memento Ink Tuxedo Black and cued up the video and colored away following all her cues! If you missed this tutorial, you need to check it out HERE. It was so fun to follow along! Just a little note, if you want instant gratification, Power Poppy just released this cat image in a Halloween digital stamp set called Boo Cat and Pumpkins.  So many fun images in this digital set!

So, when I was done, this is what my treat bag looked like! You can stuff it with candy -- I chose mini Ghiradelli squares -- and even hang this little treat on a doorknob as a sweet surprise!

I hope you like this little tutorial (click HERE to see the step-by-step version) and I hope you give it a try yourself! It can be used for so many different occasions --- Christmas (maybe you use these instead of an Advent calendar?), Easter, Valentine's Day, May Day! So many opportunities!

Be sure to stop by these ladies' homes on the web to see what crafty awesomeness they've whipped up for you this week!

Stacy Morgan

Ally Cope

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you have a wonderful and creative weekend ahead!
~Julie 

Scribbled Sketches.....

Hello folks and HAPPY WEEKEND! If you missed me earlier this week over on the Power Poppy blog throwing up this week's Creative Confetti challenge, never fear! I have a rewind here in the hopes that you'll join me in all the fun!

Are you a sucker for a great card sketch? Do you doodle future layout ideas in notebooks just for times when you suffer a severe mojo drain? If you answered "yes"... then you and I have a little something in common! It's why I am so excited to throw up this week's Creative Confetti! Check it out sweet peeps! 

HOW TO PLAY: It's just as simple as this. Take a peek at the sketch below, use it to create, have fun and then, when your done with your card, link it up using our linky below! Couldn't get much easier than that!

Before we get to my card, I just had to show you the stack of sketchy doodles I keep in my craft room. Some of these are literally years old. I figure they never really "expire" and sometimes, I get a wild hair to pull them out and see if one fits. It's funny, in today's design world, the card layouts aren't as "fancy" or detailed as they used to be, so, sometimes I take off an element or just make it a little more on the simple side. Kind of like the sketch above! 

On to my card! On the heels of yesterday's Instant Garden Release - Painting Pumpkins, I just had to use this image. I love those little pumpkins -- they just make my heart smile!

Oh my... don't you love that little trio of happy faces? I do! After I printed it all off, I colored this scene using Copic markers and actually used so many that listing them all might take the entire post! I will say that I did add the shading with BV0000 and BV00 and above using G0000. I love the purple glow that the BV markers gave this image. I also added a little white gel pen to add some accents to the pumpkins eyes and give them a little more expression. Not that they needed it -- I just have a love relationship with my white gel pen! ;-)

And, here's a closeup for you!

The sentiment on the little sentiment tag is from Power Poppy's clear stamp set Feeling Fall. I thought it was perfect for this because of its size!  I added some BV00 accents and, of course, some white gel pen there too!

And, here's a peek at the inside. I just added the sentiment from the set and made the "Happy" like my son's favorite candy -- candy corn! This will probably be stuffed into a college card package to him. He doesn't really appreciate my handmade cards fully but I stick a little extra love inside to make up for it! ;-)

So there you have it! Now it's your turn! Let's see you take this super simple sketch for a test drive. Keep in mind, you can add more to it, flip it, and make it your own. All you need are the basic elements that I have above! So, get to it and link up your creation. I can't wait to see what you come up with! Again, just click HERE for all the deets on how to play! Remember, a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy shop is on the line! Woo Hoo!


Happy Creating! 

~Julie

A Boo-tiful Card for a Saturday!

Hi all! I had a little something fun to share today in between softball games and football games! Yes, with active kids, you have to steal the time when you can get it!! :-) If you stop by my blog from time to time, you might have heard me rave about Birdie Brown and all the fun over on her blog HERE. She has digital stamp releases and once a month, she offers a free image with a challenge. If you use her image and are randomly chosen with the challenge, you win three digi stamps of your choice. So, how could I refuse that offer?

You can find this month's freebie and challenge HERE.

And... here is my creation!

This card is as easy as printing it off, coloring it up with Copic Markers -- I used V04, V06, V09, YR04, YR07, YR08, YR18, YG21, YG23, Y32, Y35 and then accented my little pumpkins and B with a white gel pen. You can see I also added some shading underneath thanks to C00, C03, and C05. Mat it thanks to a Spellbinders Wonky Rectangle, some foam tape, a loopy brad that a threaded with some fun orange and black gingham ribbon. the paper was some old K and Company Halloween paper that I had. The punch is a Martha Stewart punch that I sponged with some Brilliance Moonlight White ink. And last, but not least, the background was accented with the help of a Stampin' Up Spider Web embossing folder that I embossed and then sanded. 

Want to see a close up of these darling little pumpkins? So cute!  

And that, my friends, is it! If you've never gone over to Birdie Brown's site, you really need to -- darling images there!

Hope you all have a fun and relaxing weekend! I'll see you back here soon!

~Julie

It's a Costume Party!

Hi all and happy Thursday! Are you ready for a little costume party? Impression Obsession is! In fact, that's the theme for today's Impression Obsession DT Challenge! 

So, how do you play? Make a card inspired by your favorite Halloween costume! Are you ready to see mine? Actually, it wasn't *my* costume, but my daughter's. A few years ago, I showcased this fun picture one of my best friends took of my DD out in front of our house....

I just adored the way she jumped for the photo and you'd swear she was flying! ;-) So, when I went to create my card, I knew just the stamp set I would reach for! It's called Witch on Broom by Sarah Phelps and the sentiment is called Every Day with You. Here's a peek!

I stamped my little witch with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then colored her up with Copic Markers and used these colors: C7, C5, C3, V04, V06, YG00, YG000, RV02, YR04, YR07, BV00, and BV000.Then, I accented with a little glitter glue and a little white gel pen. I also used a few Spellbinders dies and picked up the Wonky Rectangle and Labels Twenty Three.  Add some gingham ribbon and paper piercing and... voila!


Here's a closeup! 

Want to play along in this fun-filled challenge? It runs through next Wednesday, October 12th. You can check out all the details HERE! And, while you're hopping, be sure to check out what the other IO designers have in store!

Daniela Dobson

Dina Kowal

Jeanne Streiff

Jenny Gropp

Julie Koerber-- you're here!

Laura Fulcher

Vicki Garrett    --our newest team member! :-)

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Hope your week is wrapping up nicely. I'll see you back here soon! 

Something Kinda Spooky!!!!

Ok.. a friend of mine emailed me a link to this a few days ago from when I was the weekend anchor at the CBS affiliate here in Billings. GOSH, were we silly. I thought just for a laugh I'd share! I should mention.... this was 12 years ago! :-)





Hope you and all the little ghosts and goblins in your life have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Trick or Treat???

Hi all! Happy Friday! This day is MUCH anticipated in my house because this week has been a heck-of-a work week! So... cheers to the end of the week! :-)

I wanted to show you a fun project that my DD and I did Thursday afternoon to get ready for her BIG Halloween Party at school. This is a fun one!!

What do you get when you mix some Candy Corn, Black M&Ms and.....

Some oh-so-delicious Chocolate eyeballs????
Well, you get Eye of Newt, Witches Teeth & Black Cat Toes!!! See? Don't laugh at my Halloween inspired nails... that was my nail lady's idea! ;-) They are kinda fun though!!!
We decided to stamp and color one of the little pumpkins from the Witching You A Happy Halloween set from Flourishes to deck out the front of our little tag... see? We colored with Copic Markers (YR04, YR09, YG00, YG03) and then added a little glitter!
I should REALLY say my daughter did the coloring.. she had her first Copic experience! ;-) I think she did a FABULOUS job!!!
I colored a few, but believe it or not, most of this was her handiwork!
And this.... is where the fun begins! When we stack our black cat toes, eye of newt and witches teeth!!! I actually bought these tubes from a friend who bought extras. So, I am not sure where she picked these little numbers up! I will say, if you google plastic test tubes, you'll find a BUNCH of options!


From here, add the little pumpkin tag with some halloween inspired ribbon and... voila!!

I thought these turned out really, really cute and I know that her classmates will love them! I can just hear some of her little girl friends say... "EWWWwwwww!" and then giggling! Fun stuff!

There are more "treats" for you today over at the Flourishes Blog! Stacy Morgan is doing a fabulous tutorial on how to make windows in your cards and creations. So, hop on over HERE to take a peek! Also, Flourishes is a part of Rubber Stamp Chat's "Virtual" Convention. What does that mean to you? 10% off anything in the store, even sale items if you use the code CHATITUP in the coupon code box!

Being that it is Flourishes Friday, you'll have to stop by and give some of the other Flourishes gals some love too! ;-)

Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Danielle Kennedy
Dawn Burnworth
Laura Fredrickson
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Thanks for making my day and stopping by! I'll see you back here soon!

Another witchy one for you!

Gosh, time is running out to show some of my Halloween creations! it's T-minus 3 days! So... I best get to sharing some of what's gone on in my craft room! I have to say, this is a new to you, old to me card. I actually made it last summer to kick off Impression Obsession's fall release.

Isn't this little image too cute? Love those little birdies! It's called Birds on Brooms.

This card couldn't be easier. All I did was color with Copics (YR04, YR07, C03, C07, Y17, V06 and V09) and shaded with a B000 marker, cut using a circle die, matted on a black sanded piece of paper that had been cut and embossed with the Blossom die from Spellbinders. Deck out with some decorative Halloween paper, a button, some fun ribbon, some stitching and... almost done! I did add a scalloped border. Voila!

So, are you all ready for those little ghosts and goblins to arrive on your doorstep??? I am! We are in a new subdivision and with more houses sprouting each year, we get more kiddos -- which is so much fun! My mom already raided the candy aisle at the store and claims to have enough candy for 150 kids. I don't know if she realizes she doesn't live in a major metro area any more! We just might be eating lots of candy when Halloween comes and goes!!! :-)

Hope you have a fabulous rest of the week! I have one more Halloween treat to show you and I'll pop back in tomorrow to give you a peek! Until then!

The night of fright is almost here.....

Hey all and happy Tuesday! I have a quick show and tell for you from a recent class I took with my LSUP (Local Stampin' Up Pusher! HA). All of these projects are so fun and festive. I'm going to stuff some candy in the bag and give this little goody bag to by kiddos come Halloween!

Here's a list of some of the main things we used: The Wicked Cool Stamp set, the Spider Web embossing folder, some, and this beautiful black lace!


Isn't this bag above darling? So quick and easy!!! It would also be fun to sponge on some ink to make the web stand out even more.

We used the Itty Bitty box template (Big Shot) to made this adorable little box above and... look what's inside... how fun!
This card below was super fun! We used the spider web folder and sponged on some black ink then.. the rest is just stamping using the Wicked Cool set. The sentiment was added thanks to a oval and scalloped oval punch. Add some ribbon and bling and ... voila!

And... ths is the inside!!! HOW FUN! We just punched out those bats and made them "fly" with the help of some acetate strips!
And that, my friends, was a really fun Sunday afternoon! :-) Hope your week is off to a great start and I'll see you back here soon!

The Witching Hour is Near!!

With Halloween approaching, this week was the week we drug out the Halloween decorations and literally waited til dark to get outside. My husband thinks I am nuts that I don't decorate when it's broad daylight, but I (and the kids) think its fun!

I tried to get a shot of my full decorated house but ... well.. it was dark! So, here's a peek at some of what is on the front lawn! The headstone reads.. Here lies Frankenstein. I think it's hysterical but my 7 year old daughter doesn't call them head stones, she thinks (honestly) that they are called dead stones. HA. I should correct her, but I haven't yet. ;-)

Here's another little scene we have....

Because I was feeling in a spooky mood, I decided to carry that over to my craft room and make something a witchy woman would love! I used the Witching you a Happy Halloween set from Flourishes and went to town....

After stamping my hat and masking it, I stamped the broom behind it and then, I picked up my Copic markers. I used the Cool Neutrals, Spring Greens and Tiger Lily collections grouped by Flourishes. Then, I used the Labels 16 from Spellbinders, cut out my shape and using a sponge, I sponged Vivid Lavendar and Violet Mist all over the background. You can see, I left the die on to keep that little white edge while I sponged. Add some purple decorative paper, two orange blocks for color, some black twine, glitter glue and a fun halloween inspired gingham and... ta da!! Oh yeah, I also added some decorative stitching too and a pinked edge border on my center purple strip. Easy peasy!

Here's a close up!

And that, my friends, is it! I just love this time of year. The kids are all excited about trick or treating. Cal is going to hang out with friends (he thinks he's too cool to trick or treat in 8th grade) and Ellie is going to be a hippie. Fun stuff! Now, if only I can stop eating the Halloween candy before the big day! ;-)

Happy Wednesday everyone. See you back here soon!