Spider Web Box... Spooky!

What's your least favorite insect?... wait,  that's a dumb question... like ya have a "favorite" insect??? duh...

I know so many people, ok women, who are scared to death of spiders... are you? I can't say I am, but then I do avoid any encounters with them...  and don't ya hate it when you walk through a spider web you didn't see... ahhh.. your arms are flinging all over the place and you're spitting your lips to avoid any accidental ingestion of a trace of a spider's leg or something...

But I must admit the new Spider Web Embossing Folder from Stampin' Up is pretty stink' cute.... here's a great "spider web" box I found on Chick nScratch blog you can make and fill with your favorite treats for those little munchkins that come knocking at your door on the 31st....

Score a 12x12 Basic Black Card Stock at 3 inches and 9 inches. Turn to opposite side and score at 4.5 inches and 7.5 inches. Fold all score lines in and tuck the short sides of the boxes in together. You can just staple them to secure them.

You box front will be 4.5 inches by 6 inches. You can design the front with the embossed spider web in black card stock. If you brush the top of the web with white paint or our white craft ink using your sponge you will highlight or pop the web so it's easily seen. Decorate as desired.

So I made my own version... using the Fang-tastic Set....I improvised on the handle and just used matching cardstock... tell me whatz ya think???? I made some little matching note cards and wrapped up some Fall colored M&Ms to make it extra sweet!!

Doesn't this cute little Dracula guy sorta look like Brayden??? oh dear!

Then I kept going and made a couple more using the DSP Wicked paper...
matches the Wicked Cool stamp set....
think I might offer a "Spooky" class on this set!!

So now I'm working on a Fall Box with matching cards... woo hoo...
these are so fun to make!!
I'lll post those when I finish.

Are you ready for a Masquerade Party???

Halloween is about masquerading, so many costumes and so many masks.... so get ready to make the cutest black kitty with the cutest glittery mask you've ever seen... all ready for her Masquerade Party! Then you can decorate your Treat Bags for your family and friends... they'll be purrr-fect treats!

HOW TO MAKE THE MASK:
You will need 3 punchers:

- Large Oval Punch

- Curly Label Punch

- Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack (the round one)


At a straight edge of a cardstock, punch out a small piece of with your oval punch. Then punch half of the curly label punch as illustrated. Lastly, using the Itty Bitty Shapes punch, punch 2 circles. (Not to close to each other, I would mark the mask with 2 dots first before I punch the circles)

HOW TO MAKE THE CAT:
Punch Used:

- 5 petal flower punch (for the ears and the legs)

- Full Heart Punch (half piece for the tail)

- Large Oval Punch (for the head)

- Word Window Punch (for the neck)

- 1/2" circle punch (for the eyes)

- 2 Step Owl Punch (for the iris)

- Slot punch (for the neck leash), I think it's no longer available for sale but you can always improvise by cutting a small rectangle piece.
Now just follow the step by step illustrations below....

TAADAAAHHHHHH !! You have your darling black kitty cat!

Position the mask slightly below right of the cat's eyes. It would give the cat a cute shy expression. Remember to draw your whiskers and eye highlights with white gel pen. Then GLITTER!!! This will give the full dramatic effect of your Masquerade.

OK now get going... you're gonna have a blast making these!!!

And of course all credit goes to Creations on Paper!!!!

There's No Place Like Home!

After the Wizrd granted the wishes to the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion, he reveals that he's from Kansas himself and came to Oz in a hot-air balloon, in which he proposes to take Dorothy home.

The Wizard appoints the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion rulers of Oz in his absence. Just as the balloon is about to take off  Toto runs away and, unable to stop, the Wizard leaves without Dorothy. But Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, appears and explains that Dorothy has always had the power to get home; Glinda didn't tell her before because Dorothy wouldn't have believed it.

Bidding her friends a tearful good-bye, Dorothy taps her heels together three times, repeats "There's no place like home," and the Ruby Slippers take her and Toto back to Kansas.



So now at last you get to create Dorothy, whom without we wouldn't have had this trip down memory lane... so use your brain and your heart and your courage.. and keep on stampin'!

TOOLS USED

- 2 Step Owl Punch (use Marina Mist for owl)

- 1/2" Circle Punch (for the eyes, but no eyelids this time)

- Large Oval Punch and Scallop Oval Punch (for the white skirt).


- 2 Step Owl Punch (use the vest part of the punch to make
            a Basic Black Headband). Just cut the bottom part to get the shape.

- Ruby Slippers:   Punch out the half bottom part of the owl (from the waist down)
            in Real Red CS and glittered the feet red.
           Soo cute! The piece looks like an owl's panty hose.

- attached the Real Red piece onto the Marina Mist Owl to cover the bottom part.

- Then attach a white vest onto the owl

Are you clicking your heals three times???

Dorothy gets so much more than she could have asked or imagine...

and so will you when you just believe, step out in faith and take action.

I hope you've enjoyed our trip to Oz...

my challenge for you now is to create a Toto Owl...

he's the only one missing!!!

Courageous or Cowardly?

Have the courage to do the things that inspire you to inspire others!  That's exactly what Dorothy did... and that's really why The Lion became Courageous... The Wizard didn't give him anything that he didn't already have... think about it.. We're the same way.. just step out on faith to be courageous and you'll inspire others too.

I think this guy is my very favorite... he's toooo cute!!

Here's what you need to make him....


- 2 Step Owl Punch (use So Saffron CS)

- Scallop Circle Punch ( Chocolate Chip Brown for his mane)

- 2 Step Bird Punch (use the leaf part of the punch for his
        tail and snip off the other leaves)  Use one brown leaf for the tip.

- 1/2" circle punch (for eyes and eyelids - Summer Sun)

- 2 Step Owl Punch (use the same circle on his iris and his nose).

- Use Daffodil Delight CS for his vest

- Use Black fine pen to draw his whiskers

OK so maybe he just looks like he's half cat and half turkey....

....just use your imagination!

Who can answer this... what was it that the Wizard

 gave to each of them to grant their wishes?

Guess first before you scroll down for the answers.....

A diploma for the Scarecrow,

A medal of valor for the Lion, and

A testimonial heart-shaped watch for the Tin Man

If I Only Had a Brain!

As Dorothy traveled down the Yellow Brick Road with the Tin Man... she meets a talking Scarecrow whose dearest wish is to have a brain. Hoping that the Wizard can help him, the Scarecrow joins Dorothy on her journey...

Do you remember my clues from yesterday.... the farmhands Hunk, Hickory and Zeke.... in Dorothy's "dream" they each became one of the characters who join  Dorothy on her adventure... The Scarecrow is Hunk... played by Ray Bolger. So this movie was made back in the '30s right... and now they think we have weird names... who names their kid Hunk????


Punch and Color:

- Small Scallop Oval Punch - for his hat (So Saffron)

- 1/2" circle punch - for eyes and eyelids (Old Olive)

- 2 step Bird Punch - using the wings (Tangerine Tango)

- 2 step Owl Punch - for the owl (Chocolate Chip brown and Summer Sun or Daffodil Delight)



Freehand Cut:

- Straw in his hands - cut a small A-Frame piece then snip the ends (Crumb Cake CS)

- Patches - cut small squares (Marina Mist and Real Red)

Draw "X"s on the patches and asterics on his hat.

Don't forget to apply snips on his hat too!

Land of the Munchkins?

Do ya know where I'm going with this one?? Here's a few clues... Auntie Em, Uncle Henry, Professor Marvel, Hunk, Hickory and Zeke.... or how about this... flying monkeys, melting witches and ruby slippers???

Yep, The Wizard of Oz... don't ya love it.. what a great story of a teenage girl on a Kansas farm, who daydreams about going "over the rainbow.  I think I've seen it a gazillion times... probably could have recited most of it in my younger years...

My favorite thing about Dorothy was how she expressed her heart and opened her soul to everyone .. when her goal was just to get back home, she ends up helping others she meets along her journey... which only made herself smarter, compassionate and courageous!!! ... it's one of  my favorites and always makes me wanna sing... Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Follow the Yellow Brick Road.. and We're Off to See the Wizard... don't ya just wanna get up and dance now?

So I've come across a series of the main characters from the story... all made from our darling 2-Step Owl Punch. You remember the Halloween Owls I shared last month... well these are similar and gonna knock your socks off.. all cased from Creations on Paper. Like Dorothy, we'll meet one character at a time.... starting with the Tin Man

I think you know what he needs.... he needs a Heart! But it really doesn't take much to turn a owl into a Tin Man...  You'll only need Card Stock and White Craft ink to sponge.. how easy is that??


Here are tools and hows to instructions:

- 2 Step Owl Punch - Punch out on Basic Gray CS

- 1/2" Circle Punch (for eyes and eyelids)

- Cut a little triangle piece to put a cap on the owl and
          a cut a little piece for the funnel.

- Use Crumb Cake CS for the vest (layer a smaller vest onto
        the owl so he has 2 vest). To make the smaller vest, just cut
        down on the bottom side of the vest to make it shorter.

- Sponge all pieces with White Craft Ink before assembly

- Finally, use your White Gel pen and a Black pen as screws
        and bolts for your Tin Man.

Isn't he darling???

No need for an oil can on this one.. there's nothing squeaky about it...

Can you believe it's October???

Halloween has never been one of my ideal  holidays... the dark side of it that is... but if you keep it cute and cherrie and fun, with little pumpkins and cute little kids in their homemade costumes... it's darling. I use to love to answer the door just to see all the little kids in their costumes.  However, living on the Reed Ranch for the past 25 plus years, I can probably count on one hand the entire number of trick r'treaters we've had over the years.... ok maybe on two hands... but that's it. So some years, just to get my fix, I'd have to go into Clairemont where Jerry's mom lived in a "normal" neighborhood (with houses and side walks and street lights), and hang out in her living room on Halloween night just so I could see the little munchkins come to the door.

Perhaps another reson I've not focused on Halloween is because David's birthday is the next day November 1st... and I never wanted to combine Halloween parties with his birthday... just wanted to keep it separate and special for him. Jerry was good at helping me be sure to do that... you see he has a December birthday and knows what it's like to share your day with a holiday!

So the Reed Ranch has never been a "Haunted House".... but thanks to Jerry and his incredible skills and talents.. it's been not only Our House, but Our Home. He's built two additional garages and knows how to do construction when that's not even his field.... when we built our home he really did a good portion of that as well. Even though we had a contractor, Jerry was sure to have his hand in it... he did the entire electrical system, put in all the flooring not to mention did all the painting himself.. so he not only saved us a chunk of change, but he made it a part of him.. a part of us ... The Reed Ranch.

So with my dedication to Jerry and with Halloween quickly approaching, I thought I'd share with you this tutorial on how to build a Haunted House treat box.... I cased it from Creations on Paper so you can see the structure of the box... but you'll have to use your creative imagination to decorate to your liking.... kinda likie what Jerry does at the Reed Ranch!

First you will need the following supplies:

Cardstock:
- Basic Black
- Basic Gray
Tools:
- BigShot Fancy Favor Box Die #115965
- Texture Impression Folder - Square Lattice #119976
- Scallop Trim Border #118402


Measurements:
- Cut 2 pcs - 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" Basic Black CS
- Cut 2 pcs - 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" Basic Gray CS then score @ 3/4"
- Cut 2 pcs - 1-1/2" x 2" Basic Gray then score @ 1/2"


STEP 1: CUTTING and EMBOSSING
Die cut a Fancy Favor Box. I use an 8-1/2" x 11" and cut the CS length wise first at 5-1/2" so it would fit the Big Shot. TIP: Position your CS at the side of the box where there is no flap then make sure you have a small flap at the bottom to seal your box.

Cut the 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" piece at a slant. Position one tip to the -3/4" and the other tip at 0" (cutting edge). Then emboss your pieces with the Square Lattice Folder.

STEP 2: PUNCH

Take your 2 pcs of 1-1/2" x 3/1-2" Basic Gray CS, Punch with Scallop Trim Border then score at 3/4". Do the same with your 2 pcs of 1-1/2" x 2" but score these at 1/2".

STEP 3: ADHERING
Adhere the 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" on the bottom of the roof as illustrated

Then, cut off the small piece that shows at the edge of the roof.

Adhere the 1-1/2" x 2" (scored at 1/2") on top of the roof as illustrated.

Now you are ready to glue your roof onto your box! Apply Crystal Effects glue (it holds the strongest) so you may fill your boxes with goodies!

BOO!!! You have your Haunted House Treat Box

You may also decorate them with your favorite Halloween Owl!!!!

If you think these are cute..

just wait til you see Brayden dressed up in his Halloween Costume..

any guesses on what he's gonna be???