Aloha, all!
Where has September gone???? Well, to begin, I spent several days on the island of Maui crafting with my friend, Cheryl Hamilton’s, demonstrator team. I can’t even begin to tell you what fun that was. But once I got back, I spent most of the next two weeks getting ready for a trip my husband and I are taking beginning this coming weekend. We’ll be in Florida and North Carolina for three weeks. But today I finished the last details of our itinerary and getting mail held and the newspaper stopped. I still have to pack. BUT! I have time to start sharing with you what I’ve been doing in all the in between minutes all month.
It Starts With Halloween
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year for sending cards. My favorite kinds of cards are those that make people smile and remember the fun time that Halloween was in their childhood. And if they’re still children, they’ll certainly enjoy the images that Stampin’ Up! has created for us this year.
Fun Halloween Designer Series Paper
All three of the cards at the beginning of this article are made with papers from the same set of patterned papers. It’s the Cute Halloween Designer Series Paper from Stampin’ Up!’s July – December 2021 Mini Catalog. “Cute” is definitely the word of the day. What could be cuter for Halloween than cute Skulls, Bats and Ghosts? I chose these patterns because all three have some Highland Heather accents so I could use Highland Heather Cardstock for all three. It’s a nice change from Pumpkin Pie or Cajun Craze.
The Fold
All three of these cards are made with the same fold, and there’s nothing difficult about it at all.
All you need is a piece of cardstock that’s 5-1/2” tall and 8?1/2” wide. Score where you usually would at 4-1/4” and then again at 2-1/8”. Fold in on the 4-1/4” score just as you would if you were making a regular card. Then fold the front back at the 2-1/8” score so that the edge of the front of the card meets the first fold. Simple! But here’s a picture just in case you still have a question.
Adding the Patterned Papers
There are two pieces of the Cute Halloween paper on each card. For the inside of the card, cut a piece of paper with either the skull pattern, the bat pattern, or the ghost pattern. The size is 5-1/4” tall and 4” wide.
One thing that I did before I started cutting these papers was to see how the 2” of paper that would show on the front would look. It’s really personal preference. But I wanted the skull with the raven on the top to show for that design. I wanted the cute little ghost with the magic wand to show for that print. And I definitely wanted that cute little bat hanging upside down to show with the other bats. Bottom line is to pay attention the first time you use any design. After that, you’ll know exactly how to cut your paper.
The pattern on the left side of the card is the same for all the cards – the multicolored dotted pattern. To spice it up a bit, I added some small images. For the bats, I stamped two of the bats from the Frightfully Cute Stamp Set. And for the skulls and ghosts, I hand-cut (some of us call it “fussy cutting”) images from the papers I used.
The Sentiments and Note-Writing Section
Both of the sentiments that I used are from the Frightfully Cute Stamp Set. There are lots of other sentiments in Stamp Sets such as Banner Year and Cutest Halloween. And I used the Banners Pick a Punch to punch the sentiments. But there are so many punches and dies available – just use what you have! Of course you can always order something from my Stampin’ Up! store if you’d like.
Inside the folded front of the card, I added a strip of plain Basic White Cardstock for writing and signing a note. Rather than leaving it blank, I stamped an image or glued on another image that I’d fussy cut from the patterned paper. I love how that makes the whole card come together! You can see at the left that I used the Bat stamp from the Frightfully Cute Stamp Set on both the front panel and inside on the note-writing section.
Products You’ll Need for this Card
- Cardstock, 5-1/2” high x 8-1/2” wide. Score at 2-1/8” and 4-1/4”
- Designer Series Paper Print 1 (left side of card), 5-1/4” high x 1-7/8” wide
- Designer Series Paper Print 2 (inside of card), 5-1/4” high x 4” wide
- Basic White Cardstock (or Very Vanilla depending on the paper you’re using), 5-1/4” high x 1-7/8” wide
Stamp set and ink of your choice.
As I mentioned, I used Highland Heather Cardstock, the Cute Halloween Designer Series Paper and the Frightfully Cute Stamp Set. I used Memento Tuxedo Black ink for all my stamping.
Of course you can buy any of these products from my personal Stampin’ Up! store and have them shipped directly to you. Just click on any of the pictures below. Once you get to an order form, you can just enter the product numbers that you see below the picture.
Coming Up
Halloween is one of my three favorite card-making and card-sending holidays, right up there with Christmas and Valentine’s Day. And boy have I made a bunch. When I wasn’t making travel plans, I was cutting and stamping and gluing my heart out. You’ll see all my Halloween cards in the next few weeks. And mixed in with them will be some of the projects I made at that fun Maui stamping retreat. Don’t miss them!!!
Happy Stamping!
