Halloween with a bit of Texture!

Aloha, all!

     Already it's time for another challenge from the SUO Challenge Design Team!  For this challenge – to use some texture in our project – I decided to continue with something I've been trying to do a little bit at a time.  I tried to get out of my straight-line layering box and be a bit looser with my creativity.  I know the creativity is there somewhere.  But I just think I'm trying to keep it a bit too much under control.  As you'll see from my project, I've not strayed too far from my roots.  But I hope you can also see some progress!

     For one thing, I just let those coordinating papers sit there and not worry that they don't have a lot in common – except being in the same pack of Designer Series Papers, Howlstooth and Scaringbone.  Just to diverge for a moment – who is the creative genius who thought up the name for that paper set!  I think it's wonderful and perfectly describes the patterns as well as the season for which it was designed.  Fun! 

     But enough diverging.  I keep trying to tell myself that the design experts at a company like Stampin' Up! probably know a LOT more about what goes together than I do.  So why not use what they've put out there in their products and not worry about life?!  I did cringe a little when I tore the edge of the black/gray layer.  It's not that I don't like tearing paper – I do it a lot.  But I saw it as just one more piece of "clutter" in a card that already had quite a bit of that.  Part of the "clutter" is the texture on the top layer created by running the paper through the Sizzix Big Shot with the Spider Web Folder.  Once that was done, I used a Sanding Block to sand the top layer off the paper.  Most of Stampin' Up!'s Designer Paper has a white core.  So sanding a texturized piece of it will result in a white outline of the texture design.

     OK – I won't belabor the point about the clutter any more.  For one thing, when the card was all finished, I found that I liked it!  Amazing.  Maybe I do have a "vintage" bone in my body somewhere (no remarks about my vintage age, please).

     My favorite part of making this card was putting together the ribbon element.  I was happy to finally have used the Basic Gray 1/4" Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon.  I have to tell you that ribbon is not something that I buy when I need it.  If it's ribbon and it's in a Stampin' Up! catalog, I buy it.  Straight and simple.  I'm a ribbon junkie.  But it has been four months since I've had all this ribbon, and I haven't even thought about touching that gray ribbon.  But isn't it just perfect here?!  To set it off a bit, I used my 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch and a scrap of Basic Black Card Stock to make a backing for the bow.

     And now for "da bomb."  I got out my hot glue gun (not something that Stampin' Up! sells) and finally got out my brand new and pristine (as in never before used!) Silicone Craft Sheet.  I'd heard about how fab that silicone craft sheet is, but I just couldn't believe how well it worked.  I plopped a little blob of hot glue on the craft sheet and started laying out the wrapped piece of ribbon, adding some glue as I went along.  Once I had the "bow" all made, I went to peel the glued mess off the sheet – and there was no peeling!  That sucker just lifted off the sheet like a piece of paper!  Wow!  Now off to the local craft shop to buy more glue sticks!

     OK – for the last little details – I used the same stamp that I used in my last project, the "Happy Halloween" stamp from the Wacky Wishes Hostess Stamp Set.  This time I stamped in Jet Black StazOn and then on scraps I stamped it in Basic Gray and Tangerine Tango Classic Ink.  I cut out a few of the letters from each color and used Mini Glue Dots to attach them to the main stamped image.  A little bit more tearing and some sponging of Tangerine Tango on the greeting layer, a wrap of Tangerine Tango 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon and I was finished!

     I hope you're having as much fun crafting this week as I did.  Oh, and don't forget to go check out the SUO Challenge Blog!  There's rare blog candy to be had this week!