65th Anniversary

A couple that I know is celebrating their 65th Wedding Anniversary. This is such an important occasion that I wanted to do something special for them. I love poetry and like to give framed poems a gifts. I chose Sir Philip Sidney's the Bargain. I framed the poem with a textured ivory mat and decorated the mat with roses.




Directions for 65th Anniversary Gift:

Pewter frame (8 x 10)
8 x 10 ivory textured mat
Parchment Paper
Recollections Adhesive Faux Pearls
Recollections Foral Embellishments-Shades of Purple
Dark olive card stock
Martha Stewart Leaf Paper Punch


1. Type the poem into Microsoft Word using the French Script Font at 18 and print it on parchment paper.

2. Trim the parchment paper to fit into an 8 x 10 inch mat. Center the poem in the mat.

3. Remove the glass from the picture frame. Place the matted poem in the frame and put the back on the frame.

4. Position three roses (one light purple, one medium purple and one dark purple) in the upper left hand corner and lower right hand corner of the mat. Glue the roses in place. Punch 4 leaves out of olive card stock using the paper punch. Glue 2 leaves under each set of flowers.

5. Arrange the faux pearls in the corners opposite the roses and press in place.

Portrait de Les Squelettes

I wanted to do one more card for Halloween but didn't want to do witches, haunted houses or pumpkins. I wanted something different! I had purchased some cute K & Company skeleton stickers and wanted to use them. The skulls peering over tombstones or looking out of the windows of a haunted mansion just wasn't what I was looking for. I had just finished reading the Picture of Dorian Gray and was putting the book back on the shelf when the idea popped into my head. What about skeleton portraits? I could frame the skulls and then cover the entire card in spider webbing.

Here's the finished result. It's hard to see the spider webbing because I used a thin layer to cover the card.




Directions for Portrait de Les Squelettes:

Cricut Happy Hauntings cartridge
K & Company Tim Coffey Halloween Bone and Bats Layered Accents
Black, lime green and white card stock
K & Company Kelly Panacci Halloween Paper
Spider Webbing

1. Using the Happy Hauntings cartridge cut Frame 3 twice, once at 3 3/4 inches and the second time at 3 inches out of black card stock. Press the Phrase, Frame 3 and the Shift keys and cut the word CREEPY at 2 1/2 inches out of black card stock. Cut Frame 7 at 3 3/4 inches out of black card stock.

2. Place the lime green card stock on the Cricut mat and load into the machine. Press the Phrase and Frame 3 keys and cut the word CREEPY at 2 1/2 inches. Glue the green word over the black word base.

3. Print a Halloween greeting on the inside of the card using white card stock and a card program. Choose the half fold card option. Fold the card in half and crease.

4. Cut a piece of purple and black dot card stock from the Halloween paper to fit the front of the card. Glue in place.

5. Position the frames so the smaller frame is centered on the purple card stock approximately 4 inches from the bottom of the card. Place the larger frames below the small frame (the square frame to the right and the oval frame to the left). Glue the frames in place. Place a large skull in the center each of the 3 3/4 inch frames and a small skull in the center of the 3 inch frame.

6. Glue the word CREEPY above the smaller frame. Place a bat to the left of the word.

7. Tear off a small piece of spider webbing a pull it apart until it starts to form web strands. Cover the front of the card with the webbing a glue the loose ends under the front edges of the card.

Waiting For The Great Pumpkin

This weekend is devoted to Halloween-both decorating and working on projects. While I was out buying supplies for my up coming projects I came across a Linus and a pumpkin sticker set. I just couldn't resist it. The story of Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin is one of my perennial favorites.







Directions for the Great Pumpkin card:

K & Company Kelly Panacci Halloween paper- yellow print card stock
EK Success-Peanuts Linus Halloween dimensional sticker set
K & Company Tim Coffey Halloween Grand Adhesions-pumpkins
Medium purple ribbon
Foam Dots
White card stock


1. Print a Halloween greeting on the inside of an 8 1/2 inch by 11 inch piece of white card stock. Print the card using a greeting card program and the half-fold card option. Fold the card in half.

2. Cut the yellow print card stock 7 inches high by 4 1/2 inches wide.

3. Position Linus and the pumpkin 1 1/4 inches from the bottom of the card stock. Center the image and press in place. Position two of the smaller pumpkins from the Tim Coffey set to the right and left sides of Linus and his pumpkin. Press into place.

4. Center the Halloween sticker from the Linus set approximately 1 7/8 inches above Linus' head. Then center Happy above Halloween. Position the smaller bats to the left and right of Happy and the larger bat above Linus' head and slightly to the right.

5. Attach foam dots to the back of the yellow print card stock and place it 1 1/4 inches from the bottom of the card and 1/2 inch from the fold of the card. Press into place.

6. Cut a piece of purple ribbon 5 3/4 inches. Place the ribbon slightly below the yellow print card stock. The left end of the ribbon should touch the fold of the card. Glue the ribbon in place. Tuck the remaining ribbon under the right edge of the card and glue to secure. Cut a piece of purple ribbon and tie a small bow. Center the bow over the ribbon and glue in place.