Letterpress Halloween cards for 2012

Halloween is fun for so many reasons.  There is the candy and the decorations.  The darling children in costume.  The candy and the cards.  The leaves and the wonderful colors and the candy.  Presented here are my Halloween cards for 2012.  I will not be giving directions for them because they involve the use of the Letterpress machine by Epic.  There is no reason you cannot use the same design using stamps or stickers.  I kept it fairly simple because I am new to this form of Letterpress.  While I did enjoy it very much it is not up to the standards of letterpress machines I was fortunate to be able to use in college.  It has some limitations but is worth the effort and you substitute some of the materials that come with the basic kit.  A really good soft brayer was my first substitution.  I also stopped using the foam pads to mark placement almost immediately.  They were a bear to clean up from your platform.  Enjoy and don't forget the candy!

Welcome to my blog.   I was going to make a video to show you how to make the stars pictured here but there are some wonderful videos on youtube about the StampinUp star that are much better than what I could produce.  The only change I made to the original design was to use my punches, Cricut  and Sizzix to cut the pieces.  I do not own the lovely set that is offered in the catalog but once you watch the videos you will see how easy it was to substitute shapes and accomplish a similar end result.
   I would recommend you start with the bottom layer being at least 3 inches.  When you try and fold the smaller pieces in half it gets very tedious.  Use up some of that light weight paper you have been trying to find a use for first.  Cricut Craft Room offers two free ornaments to cut which are good for this project.  It would be so easy to make the star with simple ovals if you happen to have a Sizzix die that cuts those for you.  If you have any questions do not hesitate to leave me a message. You could always draw your own ornament and use that for a pattern.
   My sincere thanks to StampinUp for the excellent work of their design team.  The Cricut cartridges I used in producing my designs were:
Joys of the Season
Ribbons and Rosettes
Flower Shop
The tree that is in the middle design is from Ribbons and Rosettes, page 28.  The single leaves are from Flower Shop.  The ornaments were in Joys of the Season, page 62.  Any shape that can be folded in half with both sides the same will make a shape you can use to build your design.  Make the stars big or small to suit your needs.  

Bunny bags for Easter

The bunnies were cut using Cricut cartridge Creat a Critter in 5" size. I found treat bags at the craft store to cut down for the basket. Now they just need some Easter grass and candy and they will be ready to drop into the cellophane bags for presentation. The Create a Critter cartridge has many applications for dimensional projects for children.

Kaisercraft mini cubby kit

This kit by Kaisercraft was a lot of fun to work on. It took a great deal of abuse while I painted and repainted it four times! I finally found a color I like and then I started gluing on the bits and pieces. There are no directions with the kit but it is easy to see where each piece goes and with a bit of wood glue for the box itself it is assembled in no time. The little cubes need a bit more attention and I would recommend some rubber bands to keep them together while the glue dries. I am not finished with this one but am going to let it sit for a day or two while I assemble a little birds nest complete with clay eggs for the top. I also have to decide what to put on the top for the nest to rest in. Maybe a couple of sticks...? Lots of fun decisions to make.

Getting organized

This is my new ring binder that is the designated site for my new projects for 2012. I have downloaded some patterns from Annie'sAttic and signed on for a sewing class from Craftsy. The tiny box was cut on my Big Shot using sizzix die #604969 that Molly bought me for Christmas. It is just the right size for a Hershey's kiss and works well using cardstock so it has some body to it. This is my start and I hope to have completed projects to share very soon.
Happy New Year!