Happy Haunting Pumpkin

This is the last of the decoupaged pumpkin posts. I had a large ivory pumpkin sitting around my studio for a couple of weeks waiting to become a project. Frankenstein is as much a part of Halloween as vampires, mummies and witches, so why not do a Frankenstein themed pumpkin? I chose the image from my "go to" Halloween cartridge (Happy Hauntings) and loaded it into the Cricut machine. This project went together very quickly- about an hour.  This pumpkin is not intended for long term outdoor use. I do intend to display the finished pumpkin on my porch on Halloween night but am using it as an indoor display until then.

Frankenstein Pumpkin

Directions for Frankenstein Pumpkin:

Modge Podge
Foam brush
Modge Podge sealant
Cricut Happy Hauntings cartridge
Black, dark green (a shade darker than the light green), light green, orange and white card stock
Recollections small gold crystal for the eyes and buttons
K&Company Tim Coffey Halloween Paper stack- for the two pumpkins
K&Company Tim Coffey Halloween Bone and Bats Layered Accents-for the bats

1.  Using the Happy Hauntings cartridge cut Frankenstein at 6 inches. Assemble Frankenstein.  Cut the cat at 3 inches. Cut the cat's bow out of a scrap of purple, green or orange card stock. Assemble the cat. Cut Happy Hauntings at 1 1/2 inches out of orange card stock (press Phrase and Frame 9), then cut the word base out of black card stock (press Phrase, Shift and Frame 9). Assemble the phrase.

2.  Apply Modge Podge liberally to the back of Frankenstein and the cat with a foam brush. Place Frankenstein on the pumpkin and the cat to his left. Press the images in place, making sure that the edges of the image are glued to the pumpkin.  Apply Happy Hauntings at the top of the pumpkin, over Frankenstein's head.

3.  Cut two pumpkins from the Tim Coffey pumpkin patterned paper. Apply Modge Podge to the back of the pumpkins and place to the right of Frankenstein's foot.

4.  Coat all of the images on the pumpkin with Modge Podge as set aside to dry. After the images are completely dry, attach the gold crystals to Frankenstein's coat and the cat's eyes.

5.  Using three bats from the Tim Coffey Layered Accents, carefully scrape the foam dots off of the back of the bats. Apply Modge Podge to the back of the bats and glue them to each side of the phrase and below the phrase, slightly to the right of Frankenstein's head.

6.  Apply a coat of Modge Podge to all of the images. Be careful not to dislodge the crystals. Set aside to dry. When the Modge Podge is completely dry, spray the front of the pumpkin with Modge Podge sealant.

Raven Halloween Card

I missed the sun. It's so nice to look out the window of my atelier and see the sun shining. The past four days have been chilly, rainy and uninspiring. During this time I did manage to complete my Raven card. While I love my Cricut and Sizzix machines, I don't always want to do die cut cards. I was looking for something different and came across this stamp. Although I don't use stamps often I just had to have this one.

I had originally stamped the Raven onto white card stock but didn't like the result so I decided to use a transparency instead. I liked the result but the image was dark and hard to see until I backed it with a lighter paper. When stamping an image onto a transparency it is important to use a permanent ink (Staz On works well), push down hard on the stamp so you get a clear image, and lift the stamp from the film in one motion (this will give you a crisp image). Set the image aside to dry and avoid touching the image while the ink is wet (to avoid smearing). Once the image is dry, the film can be trimmed with a paper trimmer.

Directions for Raven Card:

Raven stamp available at Michaels
Black Staz-On ink
Transparency film-available at office supply stores
Recollections Ravenswood Manor paper stack- purple and black print card stock
K&Company Kelly Panacci Halloween Paper stack- green skull print card stock
Grey card stock
Recollections Halloween print ribbon
Jolee's Boutique White Pumpkin Repeats
Washi tape- black and white print
Recollections Halloween self adhesive crystals- orange and fold
Small Bats- I used Sizzix Sizlets Bats and the Sizzix Big Kick machine
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Raven mist
Zots medium dots
Foam dots


1.  Fold a piece of grey card stock in half to make a half-fold card. Lightly spray the card with Raven glimmer mist and set aside to dry.

2.  Stamp the Raven image on to transparency film using the black Staz-On ink. Put a lot of pressure on the stamp so that you will get a clear image. Lift the stamp from the film quickly so the image doesn't blur. Set aside to dry (about an hour). When the image is completely dry, use a paper trimmer to cut the film approximately 4 1/4 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches high.

3.  Cut a piece of dark purple dotted card stock approximately 1/4 inch larger on all sides than the dimensions of the Raven image. Center the image on the card stock leaving a 1/4 inch border on all sides. Apply a small Zot to each corner of the transparency film and attach the image to the card stock. Be careful glue will show through the transparency. I had experimented with several glues before deciding to use Zots.

4.  Cut a piece of black print card stock approximately 1/4 inch larger on all sides than the purple dotted card stock. Use foam dots to attach the purple card stock to the black card stock.  Cut a piece of the green skull card stock approximately 1/4 inch larger on all sides than the black print card stock. Glue the black print card stock to the green skull card stock.

5.  Cut a piece of Halloween ribbon and glue it to the upper left corner of the image so that Happy Halloween is visible. Attach a small white pumpkin to the lower right edge of the purple card stock. Attach the Raven to the card, using foam dots, approximately one inch from the top of the card. 

6.  Cut a piece of black and white Washi tape the width of the card. Apply the Washi tape approximately 1/4 inch from the top of the card. Repeat and apply the tape at the bottom of the card.  Apply three gold and orange crystals evenly spaced on the tape borders.

7.  Apply two small bats to the upper right edge of the card. Place one bat at an angle and glue it to the top corner of the transparency film; apply the second bat slightly above the first. The second bat should be flying off the edge of the card.

I used black card stock, the Sizzlets bat die and the Sizzix machine to cut the bats, but any die cut or purchased small bats will work.

Decoupaged Pumpkin

 Halloween is always a fun holiday. I love answering the door and seeing the neighborhood kids in their costumes and having the chance to talk with neighbors that I only see a couple of times a year. It's also a busy holiday for me-baking and shipping Bat Cookies to Brittany and Michelle, decorating and sprucing up the front of the house. Today was warm and sunny so I spent the afternoon painting the trim around the door and windows. For a brief moment I thought about covering the areas that needed painting with craft store spider web material for a true haunted house look and going off into my studio to work on my decorations. I grabbed the paint and paint brush and headed out doors to paint. C'est la vie!

I'm really glad that I did the painting because it only took about 2 hours and I had the rest of the afternoon to work on my decorations (guilt-free). I really like the idea of craft pumpkins. They can be decorated and then stored away and re-used in the future. Rather than carve a real pumpkin to sit out on my porch, I decided to decorate craft pumpkins instead. I am working on the first of three decorated pumpkins, using Cricut and Modge Podge  I am posting this as I am working on it (the Modge Podge hasn't completely dried). As with all decoupage projects this will take several coats of Modge Podge over several days.

Directions for Decoupaged Craft Pumpkin:

Medium size Craft Pumpkin- available at Michaels
Cricut Happy Hauntings cartridge
Black, brown, orange, yellow and white card stock
K&Company Kelly Panacci Halloween Paper Pad- purple dotted card stock
EK Success circle cutter
Sizzix Sizzlets Bat die
Sizzix Big Kick or similar die cut machine
Modge Podge Clear Gloss
Colored pencils
Googly eyes
Modge Podge spray sealant
foam brush for applying Modge Podge

1.  Using the Cricut Happy Hauntings cartridge cut the Owl at 4 inches out of black card stock. Press the Owl and Shift keys to cut the branch out of brown card stock. Press the Layer 1 key to cut the eyes out of white card stock. Press Layer 1 and Shift to cut the feet and beak out of orange card stock. Finally, press Layer 2 to cut the stomach and upper part of the head out of purple dotted card stock. Assemble the owl. Accent the branch, feet, beak and stomach with colored pencils. Glue two small googly eyes to the Owl's face.

2.  Cut two sets of Bats (out black card stock) using the Sizzix.

3.  Use the circle cutter to cut a yellow circle for the moon.

4.  Glue the Owl to the front of the pumpkin with Modge Podge. Glue the moon slightly above the Owl's head on the upper right side. Glue a small Bat to the left edge of the moon. Randomly glue the rest of the Bats to the upper portion of the pumpkin.

5.  Apply a light coat of Modge Podge to the pumpkin and set aside to dry. Repeat the process until you have applied four coats. After the final coat of Modge Podge is dry spray the pumpkin with Modge Podge sealant.

Hunting Dog Birthday Card

My husband's birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to make a card that was a little different from the average birthday card. I really like the Cricut Paper Pups cartridge and use it a lot for my card projects.  Since my husband  likes to watch Duck Dynasty, I thought the hunting dog would make a cute card. I wanted the card to have a rustic feel so I used burlap ribbon for the dog's background. Paper Pups can be purchased for a limited time through Cricut.com.

Directions for Hunting Dog Birthday Card:

Cricut Paper Pups cartridge
White, tan, brown, cream and aqua cardstock
My Minds Eye Indie Chic Nutmeg Paper Stack-aqua glitter dotted card stock
Burlap ribbon or a piece of tan burlap approximately 4 inches wide by 4 inches high
Copper colored small brads
DCWV Mariposa Paper Stack
Small golden self adhesive pearls (3)
Fine point black Sharpie pen
Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Tea Dye
Small craft sponge
Zots- large, medium and 3D
Aqua and white dotted ribbon
Gogglie eyes (small)
Martha Stewart Maple Leaf paper punch

1.  Using a greeting card program print the birthday verse on the inside of the card. Use the half fold option and white card stock. Fold the card in half.

2.  Load the Paper Pups cartridge in the Cricut machine and cut the hunting dog at 3 inches out of brown card stock. Press the Solid and Hunting Dog keys and cut the dog out of cream card stock. Assemble the dog. Glue a small eye on the dogs face. Color the nose, trigger gun barrel and back of the gun with the black Sharpie. Attach the small pearls to the dog's collar. Cut Happy Birthday out of aqua card stock at 1 1/2 inches (press the Solid, Shift and Birthday Dog keys).

3.  Cut a piece of 4 inch wide burlap ribbon approximately 4 inches long. Attach the 3D Zots to the back of the dog. Center the dog on the ribbon and press in place. Attach a small copper brad in each corner of the ribbon.

4.  Cut the aqua glitter dotted card stock approximately 4 3/4 inches high by 4 1/2 inches wide. Place the card stock on an angle so that the upper point is approximately 1 1/4 inches from the top of the card. Attach the large Zots to the back of the card stock and press in place. Trim off the corners that extend past the edges of the card. Glue Happy Birthday at the top of the card over the aqua dotted card stock backed image.

5.  Center the burlap ribbon over the aqua dotted card stock. Attach 3D Zots to the back of the ribbon and press in place.

6.  Using the Martha Stewart Maple Leaf paper punch and the tan and orange glittered card stock punch 5 tan leaves and 6 orange glittered leaves. Attach the medium Zots to the back of the leaves. Alternate orange and tan leaves along the bottom of the burlap ribbon, under the dog's feet. Alternate tan and orange leaves along the left side of the ribbon. Place a tan leaf at the top of the aqua dotted card stock, just under Happy Birthday. Glue a tan and orange leaf to the right of Happy Birthday and an orange leaf to the left.

7.  Cut a piece of aqua and white dotted ribbon the length of the card plus 1/4 inch. Attach small Zots to the back of the ribbon. Position the ribbon 1/2 inch from the bottom of the card and press in place. Tie a small bow from the ribbon and attach to the ribbon border.

8.  Using a small craft sponge and the distress ink, lightly pounce the ink over the white card background.