Aloha, all!
I suppose I could have limited myself to just one stamp set for this Halloween and have been just as happy as if I'd brought 3 or 4 if I'd known how much I loved working with the Jar of Haunts Stamp Set!
As it is, it turns out that this is really the set that I used through most of my Halloween card making, even though I bought other sets. The images can be both cute and creepy at the same time, with the grins that cute generates just about outweighing the yucks that lurk just beneath the grins. Today's card almost has the creepy taking over, though I really cannot help but grin that someone would think of making a stamp set like this, let along using it to make a Halloween card.
Those eyeballs are truly just creepy. But they're fun, too! In fact, I had so much fun coloring this jar that I could probably have made a dozen of the cards and been just as happy as I've been using all the different images in the stamp set.
The second most fun part of this card was choosing the color for the liquid in which the eyes seem suspended. I saw quite a few different ideas about this on the internet, but the Old Olive Color was my favorite. Then, once again, I happened across a card made by the fabulous Connie Babbert, and not only had she colored her liquid green, she'd added on the dripping slimy-looking image at the top of the jar. Oh, my, the creepiness continued!
Finally, I had to choose which colors I'd use for the background for the card. Going through my designer series paper stash, I happened across this silver and black spider web image from the Halloween Night Specialty Designer Series Paper set. There's only one sheet with this design in the set – and it's one of the sheets that makes this "specialty" paper, with its silver webs spread across 12" x 12". This project almost didn't get that spider web it in because there was only one sheet. When that happens, I tend to shy away from cutting into the paper for fear I'll need it for an even better project later. But I've done a lot of thinking about how I use the fun Stampin' Up! papers, and I've come to realize that I often end up not using them at all by the time they're retired – as this set will most likely be retired come the end of the Holiday Catalog's run at the end of the year. So I'm using it – and using it all!
The Pumpkin Pie-colored piece of paper at the bottom is also from the same designer series paper set, as is the strip of black with silver metallic dots on it under the jar.
For the final touch, I wrapped a piece of Linen Thread around the mouth of the jar. No lid on this jar as I want the person who gets it to wonder whether there's more liquid in that jar that might run out. Oh, and it's a special person who'll get this card in the mail – my teenage grandson, Quin. What better card than this for a teenager!
So that's if for the jar image in my Halloween cards. Later this week I'll share some other cards using the same set, but I've put the jar stamp away for a few days, in favor of more "cute" stamps!
If you'd like to buy this stamp set or the paper or thread that I've used in this card, it's oh, so easy to order online and have it shipped directly to you. Just click on a picture below to go right to my Stampin' Up! store! And have fun with your own Halloween cards as the day quickly approaches!!!
