Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

I think you know how much I love Halloween, but we don't get many trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood. So I make sure I put some treats together for my nieces and nephews to help get my treat giving fix.

I used this template from Anna Wight to package up some cute Halloween pencils I found at Target.

These were super easy to put together. I made the box then just layered some patterned paper and added a label made from images from WMS' Midnight Feast. I don't think Allison was too thrilled about getting pencils, she said "Pencils?! We have tons of pencils all over this house." Then I gave her some candy and she was happy ;) She is too funny.

Glad you could stop by - hope your Halloween festivities are downright spooky!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Midnight Feast - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Kiwi Kiss, Peach Parfait - Stampin' Up!; Smokey Shadow - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Crows (Blackbird Collection) - My Mind's Eye; Skeleton (Toil & Trouble Collection) - Making Memories
INK: Black Onyx VersaFine - Tsukineko
OTHER: Standard, Pinking Circles - Spellbinders Paper Arts; Bat punch - Martha Stewart Crafts

Thinking of You

Good evening!

How is it going in your neck of the woods? I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but yesterday morning we woke up to SNOW! Not only was it snowing, but laying, too. It was totally crazy but I secretly loved it! With all that has been going on around here, it feels like autumn went by in a blur and it almost was time for Christmas. I know, jumping the gun, but it will be here before you know it.

It feels like it has been so long, but I spent some quality time in my studio this weekend and put together a card for this week's Play Date Cafe color challenge. Here is the color story for this week. I'll take a cup of whatever that warm beverage is, please!

Here's what I came up with for this color challenge.

I combined images from Very Vintage Greetings, Woodgrain Silhouettes and Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions from Wplus9.

I have been so inspired recently by Jinny Newlin's creations, particularly this card and this layout. I just love her scrappy collage style and tried to emulate that with this card. What fun to pile the stuff on!

I'm so glad to see you stop by this evening, thank you!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Very Vintage Greetings, Woodgrain Silhouettes, Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Crumb Cake, Buckaroo Blue - Stampin' Up!; Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Postmarks - Papertrey Ink
INK: Buckaroo Blue - Stampin' Up!; Latte - Amuse|Studio; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Postage Stamp punch - Fiskars; Crocheted lace - JoAnn Fabric Stores; Sewing machine

Need Some Inspiration?

Cath Edvalson at the Moxie Fab World Blog is hosting a Halloween Blog Bop today. Lots of fantastic inspiration and lovelies to look at! (Yours truly even has a little something in it!)

I head home tomorrow, and after that hop I'm looking forward to some time back in my studio to create a little Halloween goodness.

Hope your day is fantastic!

Anya

Fall Blessings

Hi-ya!

Fall is definitely in the air today here. So here's a cute fall card, especially for you.

I used the Wplus9 set Season of Thanks to create this card. I started by stamping each of the three block images onto different colored cardstock with Coffee Archival Ink. I cut each of these blocks out and adhered them to a piece of cardstock that had been trimmed with my pinking blade and stitched around the outside. That piece was then adhered to a card base that had been covered with plaid patterned paper.

This is a larger card, approximately 4 by 7 inches. I love making this size card, I wish I could remember to do so more often.

So what is fall like where you live? It is my favorite season, and I can't wait for this weekend when Bill and I head out for a drive to take in the fall foliage, pick up some pumpkins and enjoy the crisp air. I love it. Thank you for stopping in!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Season of Thanks - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Ruby Red, Creamy Caramel, Really Rust - Stampin' Up!; Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Autumn Abundance - Papertrey Ink
INK: Coffee Archival Ink, Antique Linen, Walnut Stain Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Dark Chocolate Twill - Papertrey Ink; Pinking Blade - Fiskars; Vintage button; Sewing machine

WMS October Release - Day 3

Hi there!

Today is our third day of previews for this month's WMS release. We are previewing two sets today, 2011 Holiday Ornament and Santa's Coming to Town.

My first project is a blatant CASE of Cristina Kowalczyk. She created these fabulous mini notebooks, and I just loved the simple design.

I used images from Santa's Coming to Town, a small 4x6 set, to make my notebooks.

And a second...

These were quick and easy to make. Thank you for the inspiration, Cristina!

Next up is 2011 Holiday Ornament. These, of course, coordinate with the 2011 Heirloom Ornament dies from Spellbinders. This is a gift card or money holder, and would still be a beautiful tree decoration!

I stamped, embossed, and die cut three different sized ornaments. Using silver jump rings, I attached the ornaments to each other so they would hang nicely.

To create the gift card pocket, I just die cut a second ornament and snipped off the top. I adhered it to the back of my stamped and embossed ornament just around the outside.

For this largest ornament, I embossed it once with silver embossing powder and then once again with clear embossing powder. I cut out the scrolled pattern from the clear embossed ornament and adhered it to the silver one - I wanted a bit more contrast with this large ornament. I think it almost looks velvet, isn't it pretty?

And a final shot - it really hangs nicely, but was hard to photograph.

These ornaments are beautiful, and really make a great presentation for a gift card or money gift!

Here are the other ladies for today!

Anya Schrier - that's me!
Becca Feeken
Belinda Chang Langner
Clare Buswell
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kate Whelan
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Niki Estes
Sandie Dunne
Tosha Leyendekker
Claire Brennan (Owner)

See you tomorrow!

Anya

Recipe
Making His List Mini Notebook
STAMPS: Santa's Coming to Town (available October 15th) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Jolly By Golly - Cosmo Cricket
INK: Garden Green, Bravo Burgundy - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: Sewing machine

Be Good Mini Notebook
STAMPS: Santa's Coming to Town (available October 15th) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Jolly By Golly - Cosmo Cricket
INK: Regal Rose, Baja Breeze - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: Adhesive Rhinestone - Recollections; Sewing machine

Ornament Trio Gift Card Holder
STAMPS: 2011 Holiday Ornament (available October 15th) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Scarlet Jewel - Papertrey Ink
INK: VersaMark - Tsukineko
OTHER: Filigree Silver, Filigree Clear Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; 2011 Heirloom Ornament Die - Spellbinders; Silver Jump Rings - Darice

WMS October Release - Day 2

Good morning!

Today is our second day of previews for the Waltzingmouse Stamps October release. Six new sets will be released on October 15th. Today's set is spot-on, super trendy! Fair Isles patterns have been popping up all over not just the paper crafting world, but also fashion and home decor. Claire has designed a set called Nordic Winter, and it is the most fabulous background set featuring these patterns! I can tell you right now, this set will be a staple for my holiday creations.

My first card uses one of the coordinating images from the set to create a patchwork pattern. Stamped and punched out with a 1-3/8 inch square punch, the squares were then layered onto some cream cardstock and stitched together. I topped it off with a bow. I left a sentiment off the card, but could see a cute little tag up top with holiday wishes. It would also make a cute baby or birthday card, too!

My second card was inspired by this photo, which popped up in a Google image search for 'Fair Isles' - this is a great way to find ideas and inspiration!

{Photo Credit}

Here is the spin I put on it.

I started by printing out the Stocking Gift Card Holder (a free template in the WMS store!) onto a piece each of cream and brown cardstock. I stamped a combination of the background images in shades of pink and brown onto the cream stocking. One thing I just love about these images are the detail! If you look closely, you can see individual 'stitches'! I adhered the pieces together per the instructions, putting the cream stocking onto the brown base. I added an extra strip at the top that had been punched with a scalloped border punch and stamped with additional images and a sentiment from the set.

I have so many ideas for this set! I can't wait to have more time to use it, and I hope what you've seen so far does the set justice! It will be a favorite of yours for sure!

Thank you so much for your visit today, here are the other Design Team members that are sharing previews today:

Anya Schrier - you're here!
Becca Feeken
Belinda Chang Langner
Julia Aston
Jennifer Holmes
Kate Whelan
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Niki Estes
Sandie Dunne
Tosha Leyendekker
Claire Brennan (Owner)

Take care!

Anya

Recipe
Nordic Patchwork Card
STAMPS: Nordic Winter (available October 15th) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Sahara Sand, Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky, Pale Plum - Stampin' Up!; Spring Moss, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
INK: Riding Hood Red, Island Indigo, Garden Green, Perfect Plum - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Lavender Moon Satin Ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Sewing machine

Nordic Stocking Gift Card Holder
STAMPS: Nordic Winter (available October 15th) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Early Espresso - Stampin' Up!; Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink
INK: Early Espresso, Regal Rose, Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Stocking Gift Card Holder Template - Waltzingmouse Stamps; Pink Sorbet Baker's Twine - The Twinery; Antique Linen Distress Stain - Ranger Industries; Scalloped Border Punch - Stampin' Up!; Sewing machine

WMS October Release - Day 1

{This is my second post of the day. To see my Serendipity Stamps DT challenge post, please scroll down or click here!}

Hello there, my friends!

Can you believe it is already time for another Waltzingmouse Stamps release? Six new sets are being released on October 15 - Claire is pushing the schedule to get these babies out to you, and you won't be sorry!! Today we are sharing previews of Seasonal Remedies, a holiday version to follow up the very popular Rescue Remedies!

The set features a variety of labels designed around Christmas and other holiday sentiments, and of course they coordinate with Spellbinders dies! How about some projects?

To create the focal point of this card, I started by heat embossing the Joy label onto Crumb Cake cardstock. I stamped it again using purple ink and then cut out the letters. Then I embossed it onto melon cardstock and cut out the little banners. The bold, graphic features of this particular label made this paper piecing easy. I layered it onto a doily that had been swiped with white ink then onto another piece of cardstock that had been stamped with a snowflake image from another new set we'll share later this week.

Here is some treat packaging. Starting with a plain brown paper bag, I stamped a variety of the label images with Versamark ink and then heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. This really helped to add something to the packaging without overwhelming the design. Then I stamped the snowflake label (yep, a perfect companion to the label image from Very Vintage Christmas) and die cut it using the coordinating Spellbinders label die. The Goodwill sentiment was stamped in the interior of the label.

I created a patterned paper band for the top of the bag and then tied a bow with grosgrain ribbon. I used some other holiday fixins, including a berry sprig and rusty jingle bells, and together with my tag, adhered them to my bag with a clothespin. These tags are awesome, my dears. The detail is just amazing and exactly what you'd expect from WMS!

My last card for today features another of the square labels... and perhaps images from another set we'll showcase later this week. ;)

This is a favorite color combination of mine for the holidays - I just love red and teal together. Again, this label was stamped twice: once in navy and again in red. I then cut out the center portion of the red image and adhered it to the navy. These labels, of course, would also be stunning colored in and I can't wait to hop around to the other Design Team ladies to see what wonders they created! I'll end there for today.. what do you think so far?

I will be back tomorrow with more previews, I hope you will stop back! Until then, here are the other Design Team ladies sharing previews today! Enjoy!

Anya Schrier - that's me!
Becca Feeken
Belinda Chang Langner
Claire Brennan
Jennifer Holmes
Julia Aston
Kate Whelan
Kelly Schirmer
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynn Mercurio
Mona Pendleton
Niki Estes
Sandie Dunne
Sarah Martina Parker
Tosha Leyendekker

Have a great day!

Anya

Recipe
Pure Joy Card
STAMPS: Seasonal Remedies, Santa's Coming to Town (available October 15) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Melon Berry - Papertrey Ink; Crumb Cake, Ruby Red - Stampin' Up!
INK: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry - Stampin' Up!
OTHER: French Pastry Doily Die - Cheery Lynn Designs; Detail White Embossing Powder - Stampendous; Adhesive Rhinestones - Recollections

Goodwill Treat Bag
STAMPS: Seasonal Remedies (available October 15) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: Dear Mr. Claus - Cosmo Cricket
INK: Handsome Hunter, Cherry Cobbler - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Filigree Clear Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; Labels Small Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Vintage Cream Grosgrain Ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Rusty Jingle Bells, Berry Sprig, Clothespin, Paper Bag - JoAnn Fabrics Stores

Old Fashioned Christmas Cheer Card
STAMPS: Seasonal Remedies, Nordic Winter (available October 15) - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Riding Hood Red, Tempting Turquoise - Stampin' Up; Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
INK: Riding Hood Red, Tempting Turquoise, Night of Navy, Going Gray - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Sewing machine

Here's to the Blessings

Hi there! Today is a Serendipity Stamps DT challenge day, and today we're using an inspiration photo to kick start our creativity.

(Photo Credit)

I love the rich colors and warmth of this photo. This is the card I created based on that inspiration.

The image and sentiment are from the Sweetgum & Acorns Cling Set. The image was stamped with Versamark, heat embossed with gold embossing powder, then cut out. I love the detail of this image, it would be a beautiful one to color.

Thanks for stopping by today. Please be sure to visit the other Design Team members playing along today to see their take on this challenge!

Amy
Jenny
Kathie
Lynda
Miriam

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Sweetgum & Acorns Cling Set (929QCL) - Serendipity Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Enchanted Evening, Rustic Cream - Papertrey Ink; Really Rust - Stampin' Up!
INK: Coffee Archival Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Filigree Gold Embossing Powder - Stewart Superior; Linen and Canvas Impression Plate, Rustic Cream Button Twine - Papertrey Ink; Sewing machine

Get Well

Hello, my friends!

We're on the last leg of our vacation.. I bet you didn't even know we were gone! We'll be back later this weekend, and I will be back to posting live! :)

I wanted to share a Get Well card with you today, one I made for a dear friend of mine who is recovering from successful breast cancer surgery. Say a little prayer of thanks along with me, won't you?

I used Wplus9's A Pocketful set to create this card.

The little cluster of flowers is sized perfectly for the little pocket, so I simply stamped it twice for the larger pocket. I stamped the flowers again on to scrap cardstock so I could cut out a few and pop them up on my card. I added the Get Well sentiment to the label image. After I had the design together, I felt like it was missing something, so I stamped just a portion of the fancy stitched image along the left hand side.

And since I was making this card with a recipient in mind, I even finished the inside :)

The inside sentiment helps to tie the whole pocket theme together, and helped to keep the front a little less busy. I used a combination of words to build my phrase - I love it when I have this flexibility!

I'm so glad that you stopped by today. I can't wait to tell you all about our trip - have a great one! See you soon!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: A Pocketful - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink; Baja Breeze - Stampin' Up!
PATTERNED PAPER: Fly a Kite - October Afternoon
INK: Real Red, Sahara Sand, Baja Breeze, Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Star Dust Stickles - Ranger Industries; Sewing machine

Country Living Fair

Hi there!

A few weekends ago, I made the drive west to attend the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio. I went last year and really enjoyed it (I posted about it here), and made a point to attend again this year. I don't have anything crafty to share with you today, but I thought I'd share a few photos that I took at the Fair, just some things I saw. If you ever have the opportunity to attend, I would completely recommend it. Full of fun crafty things, antiques, beautiful displays - it is great inspiration! I even had the chance to meet the perfectly adorable Jenni Bowlin. What fun!

Fun shadow boxes full of random bits and pieces.

White table, white chair, white pumpkin.

Tower of fabric pumpkins.

Ribbons, and buttons, and trim - oh my!

This combination of a blue mason jar of fall flowers + chippy patio chairs = simple beauty.

Old suitcase full of lace.

I hope you enjoyed! Have a lovely day!

Anya

Wanda's Witch's Brew

Happy Monday!

How about some Witch's Brew?

I just love creating for Halloween. It is so much fun! I combined a bunch of different elements with the Witch's Brew label from the Wanda's Pantry stamp set to create this card.

The patterned paper is of old apothecary labels and was a perfect fit. After stamping and die-cutting the label, I scrunched and crunched it up before inking it with Black Soot Distress Ink. Like it just came off of Wanda's pantry shelf!

Thanks for stopping by!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Wanda's Pantry - Waltzingmouse Stamps
CARDSTOCK: Soft Stone, Spring Moss - Papertrey Ink; Elegant Eggplant, Basic Black - Stampin' Up!
PATTERNED PAPER: Annonce (Avignon Collection) - 7gypsies
INK: Jet Black Archival Ink, Black Soot Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Labels Four Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Dusty Concord Distress Reinker - Ranger Industries; Bat punch - Martha Stewart Crafts; Sugared Grape Cabbage Rose Ribbon - MemrieMare; Crocheted lace - JoAnn Fabrics stores

Thinking of You

Good morning, how are you?

I'm so glad you are here today! I have a card to share that I made with Wplus9's Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions set. I adore this set.. all those gorgeous leaves!



I layered the leaves onto the plain frame image from Very Vintage Greetings, which I had stamped onto patterned paper and cut out. The sentiment is from the same set, and the font is gorgeous. I added some button embellishments to compliment the colors. I really like this card!

So glad to see you here, I hope your day is great!

Anya

Recipe
STAMPS: Woodgrain Silhouettes Additions, Very Vintage Greetings - Wplus9
CARDSTOCK: White, Fine Linen - Papertrey Ink
PATTERNED PAPER: 5 & Dime - October Afternoon
INK: Not Quite Navy, Pear Pizzazz - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger Industries
OTHER: Enchanted Evening buttons - Papertrey Ink