Halloween | Catered Crop

Did you take your meds today? You seem a few fries short of a happy meal.
~ My Sister (just yesterday)

Yep, that's me . . . definitely a few flies short of a happy meal. Oh, you guys are in such trouble because after yesterday's post, I'm still playing with frogs. Stay tuned, because tomorrow – it's raining frogs!

I know the suspense is killing you, So, here's just a sneak peak of tomorrow's post.

As you can tell from the colors, it's another Halloween post. I happened upon this great Kraft-paper pillow box at one of the paper crafting stores (okay, Archivers). Sizzix also makes a die cut to make a pillow box you can find just about anywhere. I ran it through a Tim Holtz embossing folder for a wood grain look. Cool, huh?

I really made this to show off the ribbon from The Ribbon Carousel September Club Kit. So yummy, and such a good deal.

Catered Crop Recipe

Paper – Kraft pillow box from Archivers (because I was too lazy to get out my Sizzix pillow box die), My Mind's Eye Mischievous
Fibers – May Arts Ribbon from the Ribbon Carousel, Benzie Bazaar felt for the mum
Tools – Tim Holtz embossing folder; My Favorite Things Rolled Die-namics
Misc. – Goodies to go inside the box.

Want another sneak peak?

And, just because it's fun to keep my sister guessing . . .

Biologists have recently produced immortal frogs by removing their vocal cords.

They can't croak.

Hee Hee! I got a million of 'em. See you tomorrow.

September 20, 2011 | Filed Under: Halloween, Ribbon Carousel Tagged With: Halloween, Ribbon Carousel | 4 Comments

Glinda, the Good Witch of the North: Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?
Dorothy: I'm not a witch at all. I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas.
Glinda: Oh. Well, is that the witch?
Dorothy: Who, Toto? Toto's my dog!
~ The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Can you tell I'm totally bewitched by Halloween? I love everything about it except maybe the scary parts.

I would definitely be a goody-two-shoes kind of witch if I were a witch at all because I just get scared too easily. I tried to read the Exorcist when it came out 1973, but I got so scared, I threw it in the backyard. I was afraid to even have the book in the house. I don't think Mailey Dog or Pillow Pup would make very good witches, either. I'm just sayin'.

We're following the soft, shabby chic inspiration from E.T. for our follow-the-recipe #20 party. So, okay, mine may be shabby, but maybe not so chic. But, that's okay because you never have to use the entire recipe for our parties – just pick and choose the ingredients that work for you and stir up your own magic. For my magic potion, I choose the following from E.T.'s recipe: a digital stamp, lots and lots of glitter, ribbon/lace, (black) pearls, and die cuts.

As I mentioned before, I first met our sponsor, Heartfelt Creations at a stamping convention last Winter. I was mesmerized by the amazing products they were demonstrating. I always love it when I find something I've never seen before, and I learned more watching them at that booth than if I'd taken a dozen classes.

One of the things Heartfelt Creations demonstrated was this amazing ultra-fine transparent glitter. It's so fine and transparent you can actually stamp right on it. I applied double-sided sticky tape to the one side of my center panel, removed the release paper and sprinkled microfine glitter over the top . . . just like they taught me. I wanted the background to resemble a dewy, Fall night. It's really quite a site in person.

Here's the rest of my recipe.

Pattern Paper – My Mind's Eye Mischievous
Cardstock– Stampin' Up!, Kraft and Neenah
Stamps – Claire Keay Little Witch.
Color Mediums – Copics, Stampin' Up! Stampin' Pastels
Embellishments – May Arts Net Ribbon, Stampin' Up! Trim Lace (Raven), My Mind's Eye Decorative Brads
Tools – My Favorite Things File Tab Die-namics Woodgrain Fence, Nestabilities
Misc. – Crystal Glitter Ritz Transparent Micro-fine Glitter, Be Creative Sheet (two-sided adhesive sheets)
Challenges – My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club 36 (MFTWSC36), Jellypark Challenges Pass it On*

*What a great challenge – asking us to be sure to not just make a card, but actually give it to someone. I do have someone designated to receive this card, but it's a little secret I can't tell or it will spoil the surprise.

Be sure to swing back by later today. We have an extra special, fantastic . . . amazing treat for you. The Heartfelt Creations design team is joining the Catered Crop Top Chefs for our Quickfire. Ah, the creations are just GOR-Jusss. You do not want to miss this.

Off to bed for me . . . it's way past my bewitching hour.

September 11, 2011 | Filed Under: Claire Keay, Copic Markers, Halloween, Heartfelt Creations, My Favorite Things Tagged With: Claire Keay, Copic Markers, Halloween, Heartfelt Creations, My Favorite Things | 14 Comments

When witches go riding, and black cats are seen,
the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween.

I know, I know, I'm a little early. It's no where near Halloween. It's just that it's my all time favorite holiday.

I love the way the moon laughs at Halloween.

Of course, for a Halloween card, you have to have a pocket inside for a treat.

Yeah, even though it's 105 degrees outside, I'm celebrating Halloween inside the Crop Crib.

Catered Crop Recipe

I'm crazy nuts about Claire Keay's illustrations. I usually find her illustrations as clear stamp at My Favorite Things. If I need an immediate fix, Claire just opened up a new store of her digital stamps and a challenge site at Jellypark Challenges. I'm such a fan, I've been itching to play along with her challenges, so I grabbed a favorite stamp for my favorite holiday.

If you'd like to see more of my Claire Keay cards, just click here.

Have you ever seen anything like that gorgeous net ribbon behind the two panels?! My dear friend and one of our Top Chefs, Corinna McGregor sent that to me as a sample from her store, Ribbon Carousel. Oh, it's yummy.

Here's the rest of the recipe.

Pattern Paper – Some old Daisy D's paper from my stash (Gypsy Halloween)
Cardstock– Stampin' Up!, Kraft and Neenah
Stamps – Claire Keay Little Witch.
Color Mediums – Copics, Stampin' Up! Stampin' Pastels
Embellishments – May Arts Net Ribbon, Ranger Stickles (around the panel with the little witch and over the witch's costume), lace
Tools – My Favorite Things File Tab Die-namics, Nestabilities, Sizzix Embossing Folder
Challenges – My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club 34 (MFTWSC34, I'm a little late), Jellypark Challenges Gettin' Punchy