On a Dark & Dreary Night...

     Hello!  Today's card was inspired by Cards4Ever's Birthday card over at SCS (here).  I loved her layout and decided to change the theme from birthday to my favorite holiday - Halloween!
     Lately, I've been all about using what you have as opposed to purchasing something you may only use once or twice - this includes stamps.  While I absolutely {love} Googly Ghouls and Monster Munchies in the Holiday catalog, I decided to get a bit more use out of my Dark & Dreary stamp set.  
     I had a hard time deciding which paper combination to use and I'm still not sure I like the one I chose.  I have a hard time using different patterns on the same card, I like everything to be matchy-matchy!

Stamps: Dark & Dreary (retired)
Ink: StazOn Black
Paper: Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Tangerine Tango, Howlstooth & Scaringbone
Tools & Accessories: Glimmer brads, black grosgrain ribbon (retired), dimesionals

Using the Block in a Whole New Way

     Hello!  Today's card was inspired by Angie Juda's Flower Fest cards over at her blog Chic' n Scratch.  I am someone who must have things neat and organized and cringe when I get ink somewhere it shouldn't be - like the clear blocks!  So it took me a second or two to get used to the fact that I would need to ink up the entire clear block to make the background for this card (deep breath).
     If you've never seen this technique before it's very simple.  Instead of using a stamp to create the orange background I inked up a clear block and used that as a stamp instead.  I did press a little harder than I would have had there been a stamp on the block, just to make sure I got as much ink off the block as I could.  I love the speckled look the block gives you.  If you're more of a visual learner Angie does have a video tutorial available on her blog.  
     Once I got over the initial shock the rest of the card was incredibly easy to make.  The birds were stamped with black StazOn as was the sentiment. 

Stamps: Dark & Dreary, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, StazOn Black
Paper: First Edition DSP, Very Vanilla, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Tools & Accessories: Clear blocks (I used B), dimensionals

On a Dark & Dreary Night...

     Hello!  Halloween is my favorite holiday but surprisingly I only own one Halloween stamp set (although Spooky Bingo Bits is super cute and I may have to order that soon!).  I originally purchased Dark & Dreary when it was featured in the 2010 Holiday mini and was happy to see it carried over to the 2011 Idea Book & Catalog.
     Today's card was inspired by Patty B's Pretty in Paint card (here) over at SCS.  I absolutely loved her layout and decided to change very little on for my card.  I did want to add a bit of sparkle to one of the layers so I pulled out my Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss powder and VersaMark and applied it to the entire second layer.  I should note that I stamped the sentiment in StazOn before applying the embossing powder.
     Even though the Iridescent Ice gives this card a great "wow" effect, it was very simple to make and could easily be mass produced.  If you plan on making Halloween cards but need to stock up on paper or accessories (or perhaps a new Halloween stamp set!) there's still time to place an order!

Stamps: Dark & Dreary, Baroque Motifs, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: StazOn Black, VersaMark
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Old Olive, Whisper White
Tools & Accessories: Heat tool, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals