Simple Halloween

Happy Monday all, hope you had a great weekend! I think I was a bit under the weather, I did way more sleeping than I usually do. Thankfully I'm feeling much better today, JUST in time to go back to work {ugh}. 

A quick post today, for a quick card I made last week. I got this stamp from Hobby Lobby over the summer. My intention was to use it on the inside of a card, but decided it needed to go on the front. 

I even decided to go whole hog & emboss it. It took me a while to remember how to do that. 

Oh yes, & more of that Glimmery stuff. In Pumpkin :)

Some Basic Grey paper & some meshy ribbon stuff .... & this card is ready to go to a new home :)

Hope you have a terrific week! 

Trick or Treat!

Wow, two posts in one week!! Only because I had off last Friday & actually made three cards ... so yes there will be yet another posted in a day or two. 

Of course, in order to make 3 cards in one day I had to keep them on the simple side. This Penny Black image was colored with Copics & sprayed with Glimmer Mist (do people still use Glimmer Mist?? I have many many bottles lol). The papers are an old Basic Grey & Pumpkin Pie embossed with a spider web folder. Added & sentiment & a few other little extras & we have a Halloween card!!!! Do people really send cards for Halloween? Well, who cares. I enjoy making them :)

This poor mouse really got Glimmer Mistified! But it's ok, I think the color is Pumpkin something so at least it all ties together lol

Ok, looking at this closeup it looks like the mouse isn't the only thing that got in the way of the Mist. Guess I got a bit carried away :)

~ entering this one into just one challenge ~

Simon Says Stamp ~ Anything Goes {my favorite}


One more quick little tidbit .... and I'm probably the last to know {as usual} .... but I learned that Ms Gina K has an actual store about 10 minutes away from where I work!! I knew she moved from the Madison area to the Milwaukee area a year {or two?} ago .... but I assumed her only shop was online. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across her Facebook page, which led me to THIS Facebook page .... & I knew I had to go. I chatted with her a bit through Messenger to make sure I had my facts straight ... & I went yesterday after work. It's beautiful. The paper ...... ohhhh the paper ... in fact, I think that's how I wound up on her online store page. I needed more white base cardstock & I've only ever bought Papertrey. I decided I was going to give Gina's a shot, & that was before I knew I could just run to her store. Anyway, a few packs of paper later ....... needless to say I will be back. Again .... & again .... & again ....

So, if you happen to be in the Greendale area, she's located right in the Village. It's a beautiful area with many shops & restaurants so you could make a day of it!

Is it Halloween already??

No!!! But I haven't made a Halloween card in about 3 years! They've always been my favorite so I'm starting early :)

This was supposed to be a simple card. I was going to take some scraps (yay for using scraps!), use them as the background & slap on an image. Voila. Only, nothing is ever simple in my card making world. It ended up taking about 2 hours. What is WRONG with me? 

Ok, I know it doesn't look like it took a long time. But it did! I had about 53 scraps of paper to choose from so it took some deep thinking. 

Love this little cutie from Pink Cat Studios. I tried to make her face "witchy-like" {green & brown}, but she just looks like she needs a bath. 

As much as I like "bling" & "stuff", I never really use rhinestones. But, I pulled them out for this card. That's right, got a little crazy with this one. 

So when is your Trick or Treat time? Ha, just kidding. My kids haven't even started back to school yet. It's weird to think some kids have been in school for a couple of weeks already. Mine start next week Friday ... but they also go until the second week of June. 

Hope you have a great weekend! 

Halloween version of Tuesday Muse

Hello & Happy Tuesday! Halloween is still officially 2 days away, but we are pretty much done here. We had Trick or Treat on Sunday - so we are pretty much ready to move on to the next holiday!

Isn't he just so scary? My older one was bummed that we had Trick or Treat on SUNDAY from 1-4. Not on Halloween, & in the middle of the day. That's when we usually have it. So he didn't go. It was just me & this very scary skeleton zombie thing. 

Last year was the only year in the 11 years we've lived here that they had it ON Halloween night, from 5-7. It was NOT for me. I know most people prefer it to be on Halloween night & I totally get that, but we live in a rural area - no streetlights - the houses are pretty far apart - & last year my husband was in the hospital recuperating from major surgery. So it was me & the boys. It really was a bit unsettling. I probably should have met up with neighbors or a bodyguard, but the boys had a blast. 

He didn't do too badly considering we were only out for about an hour & a half! Last year he had a retainer glued in his mouth so he couldn't have ANYTHING chewy, sticky or crunchy. Which was just about everything. Clearly he didn't know what the heck to eat first. He looks pretty deep in thought! 

Do all kids do this?? My husband said "Uh oh .... he takes after your OCD side". Michael informed him he HAD to organize it all so he could take inventory of all his received goods. LOL!

So .... when is your Trick or Treat?? Did you have it already, or do you have it in the dark of Halloween night? 

~Linking up with Tuesday Muse at A Rural Journal~

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you all had a fantastic Labor Day weekend! The roar of the Harleys is finally starting to dwindle.... I think I'll miss that sound! What a party this weekend - I truly hope everyone who was here has nothing but good tales to tell about Milwaukee!

So ... as I was scrounging through my craft area, trying to get more goodies ready to sell ....I came across my SU Halloween Hedgies set. Oh, how I love the hedgies! Always have, always will. I always wished they had made more sets with those cuties. Anyway, I was thinking about how much I LOVED making Halloween & fall cards.. even more than Christmas. So ... I sat down ... & before I knew it, I had made a card!

Not too shabby ....except ......

Here's the reason why card making & I were never a good fit. I. Am. ANAL. I know, most paper crafters ARE a bit Type A. But - I panic when even the smallest detail has gone wrong. And that happened with this card. I'm just going to leave it at that. 

I had actually made this pumpkin out of punches about 3 years ago for a project & never ended up using it. It sat gathering dust. In fact, look up at the base of the stem, you can see the dust!! And no, that's not the part I'm having a fit about LOL

I still have a huge stash of charms - & this pumpkin worked perfectly. I can't wait until fall, & all things pumpkin! I can't wait to make pumpkin pie & pumpkin bars & pumpkin cookies. I actually hate pumpkin ... but I love baking with it :)

Tomorrow is the first day of school - Matthew starts High School & Michael is in 5th grade. Back to the grind. Back to homework every night. Back to getting up at 5 -stinkin' -o'clock. Sigh .... 

How much do I love Halloween??

THIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSS much!! I *heart* Halloween -- yes even more than Christmas! Wayyyyyy more! That's because there is no work involved, but it's just as much fun :)

We went to the Zoo again this year for their Trick or Treat festivities -- we went last year for the first time & I decided we are going to do it every year. Here are just a few pics from our outing (if you are my Facebook friend you may have seen these already)

They have fun displays like this one all throughout the zoo. That's the train in the background, in case you're wondering what the smoke is :) We waited until dark to ride the train -- kind of eerie riding through the zoo on a train when it's completely dark out!

Lots of pumpkin art displayed as well ....





One of my favorites :)





There were 3 guys carving pumpkins right there -- you can see one arranging a pumpkin in this display -- it was fun watching them carve -- flip flip flip DONE -- they are pumpkin artists :)





They also made this -- this pumpkin weighs 832 pounds!!

My husband would like these antlers over our fireplace!

He was chomping on something all red & meaty-like...

These 2 rhinos were so funny -- clearly they had roommate issues -- the were snorting & growling -- & drooling all over the place -- while bumping horns. I think I heard something about one always leaving the toilet seat up --

This jaguar sat perfectly still the whole time we watched -- what a beautiful creature --

This poor cheetah was pacing back & forth like he was having a panic attack. See the pumpkin in the background? They give most of the animals pumpkins -- some filled with treats -- it was fun to watch them having a snack --

I don't know, every picture I wanted to take of the boys, Michael (on the right) groaned & complained -- yeah, he sure looks like he hates having his picture taken!

There's a pathway leading around the cage where the wolves are -- & they set up ghosts, tombstones & other scaries -- & they have music & lights all synced so the lights are "dancing" -- so cool!

Hmmmm.... I don't think these guys are from Milwaukee...

Sitting for a spell ..... hahaa get it?? A SPELL -- yeah it would have been funnier if that were a witch in the background.

We had such a fun time -- the weather was perfect -- & it was so fun seeing the little ones dressed up :)

Today was our Trick or Treat & the weather is not as nice. Very windy & we got rained on -- usually we are really lucky with the weather -- last year it was warm & sunny. Ah well, at least it didn't snow (we've experienced that while Trick or Treating as well. You just never know in Wisconsin)



One of Michael's pumpkins. Yes, Halloween is spelled wrong, lol




Their other pumpkins...

Not a very good one of the boys -- kind of blurry -- but you get the picture. One dressed up, one did not. Hmmmmm....

I hope you had a fun filled Halloween -- I'd love to hear what you did & let me know if you took pictures -- I'd really like to see them! Halloween comes & goes way too quickly -- & from now until the end of the year I'm going to feel like I can't breathe. That's why Halloween is my favorite -- no pressure! No last minute gifts to buy! No malls!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!! I'm off to get my roasted pumpkin seeds out of the oven ....

EDITED --- & here they are -- all together now -- Yummmmmmmmmmm!!

Happy Halloween!

You know, I really can't imagine what it would be like to sit down & make a card, from start to finish, in ONE sitting!! All you bloggers out there who make a few cards a day, & manage to post to your blog every day - I bow to you. I don't know how you do it!!

Well I didn't get to make many Halloween cards this year, which is sad because I LOVE Halloween -- it's my favorite holiday & my favorite card theme. I dug out an older Tilda for this one.....



This is Tilda with Spider - my very first Halloween Tilda. She's colored with pencils -- I have a really hard time working with purple. I never have the right shade. The hat didn't turn out the way I want it to -- the Stickles actually turned my purple pencil PINK! I had to go over it with Black Stickles. Ah well -- could have been worse :)

Other than that, just the usual Halloween-y stuff -- bats -- spider webs -- I died some cheesecloth black -- very spooky :)

I couldn't find any Halloween challenges since I'm late to class again -- but I am entering this into this one:

Simon Says Stamp -- Anything Goes (my favorite challenge, lol)

Well I hope you all have a terrific Halloween -- we are going to the zoo tomorrow. We went last year & had a blast. Sunday is our Trick or Treat -- another thing I *heart*. I'm so glad I have kids -- otherwise I'd have to go by myself!

Betty is ready for Halloween!

TGI-almost-F!!! It's been a loooong week & I am ready for the weeeeekend!



I got this cute little Betty last year but never inked her up. She comes in a set of 2, with a sentiment. I got mine from 7 Kids College Fund -- HERE is the link. I used the other image on THIS CARD -- wow, has it really been almost a year since I made that? Time sure does speed on by!

Anyhoo -- I colored Betty with my pencils & Goo Gone -- the papers are Basic Grey Eerie (look, 7 Kids still has this paper!) -- the fence is a Sizzix die -- lots of Nesties & punches -- the sentiment is a dollar stamp from Michael's from a few years ago --




This was actually my second attempt -- the first one went into the circular file after I completely messed up the clouds. I hate when that happens! I'm pretty skillful at covering up my errors (only to point them out in my blog posts) but there was no saving this one! So I colored up Betty again, & very gingerly added some clouds).


Speaking of clouds --- here's the reason my pictures totally stink! Can't blame the camera this time -- but I can blame the lack of natural light --





Crazy crazy weather here in SE Wisconsin today. Wind advisory --- sunny, then cloudy, then sunny, then DARK clouds, raining, no, wait -- it's hailing --- oops wait it's sunny again --



One more thing before I go -- you may have heard of a little team called the Milwaukee Brewers ---




Sorry Dawn.

A day at the zoo, & a wee bit o' Halloween candy.....

Hello everyone, & happy Halloween!! The boys & I had such a fun day yesterday --they had off of school for teachers convention & I took off of work. We decided to go to the zoo, since we hadn't been there in a while. I knew they were having their Trick or Treat there at night, but we decided to go early & avoid the crowds. Well as the day came to an end, we decided to stay for the Trick or Treat -- so we were there almost 8 hours! I wish I had worn my pedometer ----we walked the zoo twice, & then some. But it was soooooo fun --we had gone years ago & I think they had just started doing it, there weren't many stops & not much candy. And we gone on Saturday afternoon. It was SO MUCH MORE FUN walking around the zoo at night. They had HUNDREDS of pumpkins all lit up, & a light display set to music, & tons of Trick or Treat stops for the kids. We had a great time -- I just HAD to share some pictures with you!! Bear with me, there might just be a TREAT at the end!!




They had a ton of these fabulous displays, which were way cooler at night, all lit up!





My boys complained every time I wanted to take their picture, but I think they actually enjoyed posing with the mummies :)





Aliens! I wish I had gotten a picture of this display after dark ---it was sooooo cool ---it was like Close Encounters, LOL!!




This turned out kind of blurry --but the worker was PETTING the octopus --see his hand in there?? I swear his eyes were rolling in the back of his head he was so happy (the octopus, not the worker).




My little monster......




And my pumpkin :)




This is probably one of the best pictures I have of my two boys ---at the time I didn't think it turned out that well but was pleasantly surprised when I uploaded it!





This pumpkins hails from Eagle River, WI & is the biggest at 944 lbs!!





Ok I *think* Michael is rolling is eyes in this one.....





They had a scarecrow sitting on the bench outside one of the Trick or Treat stations. I told them I wanted separate pictures of them with the scarecrow.





This picture was taken right before the scarecrow turned toward Matthew & put his hand on his shoulder. Yep, it was a human & it scared the CRAP out of Matthew. I actually had my head down & was putting my camera in my purse when it happened so I missed it ----but I did hear the screams, lol. Oh that would have been SUCH a great picture!



And, for bearing with me & all my pictures --I am offering a small piece of candy. I recently came across a spare High Hopes stamps so I thought I would share with one of you...Fairy Princess. Along with that, I am offering some charms that I sell in my Etsy store. There are 3 pumpkins, 3 snowflakes, 3 autumn leaves, 3 cherries, 3 Xmas trees & 3 hollies. All you need to do to enter is leave me a comment! It can be about anything --what you like about fall, what you are doing for Halloween, what you are doing for Thanksgiving (which is just around the corner --eek!), what you're asking Santa for for Christmas --anything!! I will ship anywhere! I will keep this open until Thursday night & I will use Random.org to draw the winner on Friday!!!



Thanks so much for visiting --have a GREAT Halloween!!!!!