Category: Halloween - Crystal Komara

Candy Corn Pumpkin

10/25/2023

Hello Birch Press Design readers, this is DT member Crystal Komara here to share a fun Halloween themed card with you. Hopefully it will remind you of candy corn, which are the colors that I was inspired to use on the pumpkin itself!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock that I ran through my Big Shot with the 3D Blooming Embossing folder from Memory Box Company (a sister company to BPD).

Using the Adornment Pumpkin dies, I die cut both the outer shadow and inner intricate frame from white cardstock. Then I ink blended Squeezed Lemonade and Dried Marigold Distress Oxide ink onto the pumpkin. I splattered black acrylic paint all over the pumpkin to "grunge it up".

I die cut the pumpkin stem from brown cardstock and the two leaves from an olive green cardstock. I adhered the pumpkin to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added the "boo" sentiment also with 3M foam adhesive.

I love how this card turned out with a candy corn colored pumpkin! It's fun for Halloween without being terrifyingly spooky! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day.

XO, Crystal

Eek! Creepy Crawlies!

10/10/2023

If creepy crawlies are not your thing, then today's spiderweb themed shaker filled card might not be for you. But, then again, I designed in pastel pink and orange, with glittery black spiders, so it's kinda cute!
Cute spiders aren't soooooo creepy, no??

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the new Inverted Scallop Rectangles from Whimsy Stamps, I created the frame from ballet pink cardstock. I adhered a sheet of clear acetate to the back of the frame (in order to create the shaker component of the card). On a 5" x 3 3/4" sheet of white cardstock, I randomly stamped the two smallest spiders from the Fuzzy Spiders stamp set from Whimsy Stamps in ballet pink and pumpkin pie orange. I added about a tablespoon of confetti called "Ghostly Glitz" from This Calls for Confetti onto the white stamped cardstock before adhering the shaker frame on top.

I know it's hard to tell from the images, but everything else on this card was created on the outside of the shaker frame. Using the Spiders and Webs die set from Whimsy Stamps, I die cut spider webs from black cardstock and spiders from both pink glitter cardstock and black glitter cardstock. I adhered the spider webs directly to the acetate and I used 3M foam to adhere the spiders so they would be more dimensional and raised.

*Below - take a closeup look of that cute Ghostly Glitz confetti with pink ghosts! Shop Lisa's store This Calls for Confetti for some real fun confetti mixes, polymer clay and sequins.

Using the Eek Word and Shadow die, I die cut the bottom layer from white cardstock, the middle layer from black cardstock and the top layer from pink glitter cardstock. I adhered all three layers of the Eek sentiment together using a fine-tip liquid adhesive. (*My go-to is LineCo Adhesive, a bookbinding glue). I adhered the word "Eek" to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly I stamped the sentiment "creepy crawlies" in black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock and adhered this below the word "Eek."

I love using non-traditional colors for holiday cards. Pink, black and orange is one of my go-to color combinations for Halloween cards!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Products used:

Bite Me

10/4/2023

Today's card is a bit saucy, but I love how it came out!! With sentiments like "have a fangtastic birthday" this Dracula Bite Me stamp set from Whimsy Stamps would work well for a Halloween or October birthday card.

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of the same white cardstock and stamped the vampire lips in red ink randomly. I then heat embossed the lips with clear embossing powder so the image is slightly glossy and raised. I cut a 4" x 3" piece of vellum cardstock and adhered it directly to the center of the card with vellum adhesive. Vellum helps to slightly mute the background in the middle so the words can stand out.

I die cut the words "Bite Me" using the Bold ABC letter dies from Whimsy Stamps. I cut these letter three times so that I could layer them for dimension. The first two layers were cut from black cardstock and the third (top layer) was cut from black glitter cardstock. I adhered the layers of the word "bite me" together with a fine tip liquid adhesive. Then I adhered the letters directly to the vellum. I stamped the vampire in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored the image with Copic Markers. I stamped the sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and die cut the sentiment using the Comic Speech Bubbles die set. I adhered the vampire and sentiment to the card using 3M foam adhesive for more dimension.

I loved this fun Dracula Bite Me stamp set so much that I created a second card:

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Weird-O Frame die set from Whimsy Stamps, I cut the frame from red cardstock. I placed a piece of paper from the 6" x 6" Vampire paper back behind the red Weird-O frame. I stamped the vampire in Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored the image with Copic Markers. I fussy cut the vampire out (there is no coordinating die).

I stamped a variety of the sentiments in Tuxedo Memento Black ink on white cardstock and then die cut the sentiments using the Comic Speech Bubbles die set. I placed them randomly on the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

I have some October birthday's coming up, so I think I'll make a version of one these cards this year to send to family and friends.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Products used:

Spooky

9/8/2023

I know it's only early September, but Halloween is my absolute favorite time of the year to make cards, so we're kicking the spooky season off today with this giant webbed word die shaker card.

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Coastal Cabana cardstock. Using the Inverted Scallop rectangle set from Whimsy Stamps I created the frame from black cardstock. I lined the back of this frame with a clear sheet of acetete (in order to make the shaker card). I die cut the word "Spooky" using the Spooky Large word die from Whimsy Stamps three times. The bottom layer of the die (which you can see peeking through) was cut from white cardstock. The middle layer was cut from Coastal Cabana cardstock and the top layer was cut from black glitter paper. I adhered all three layers of the the word die together using a fine-tip liquid glue from LineCo. I adhere the Spooky word die to the top of the acetate on the front side.

I added some Halloween themed confetti (retired from This Calls for Confetti) to the card before sealing the edges to make it a shaker card.

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Products used:

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Whimsy Stamps 1st Halloween Release

8/21/2023

Hello friends and happy Monday! Today is a very exciting day for me (because I love Halloween SOooooo much) and the owners at Whimsy Stamps, because today is our first release for the upcoming Halloween season! Let's take a look at the spooky cool products you can now find on the Whimsy Stamps website:

6" x 6" BOOkeh Paper Pack

Whimsy Stamps 6x6 designer paper packs - "BOOkeh" - designed by Deb Davis for Whimsy Stamps. © Whimsy Stamps. 30 single-sided sheets of high-quality papers with a beautiful sheen. 15 designs/2 sheets of each. Perfect for card making, scrapbooking, and or paper hoarding. Acid and lignin free. Individual sheets packaged in clear bag.

Batty Die Set

Whimsy Stamps Die Collection "Batty Die Set" designed by Deb Davis and Denise Lynn for Whimsy Stamps. This is a set of 7 dies - set includes 5 different flying bat dies and 2 dies with various sets of eyes. Create shaker cards with the negative shape space, or use the solid shapes with or without eyes for spooky and cute Halloween cards and scrapbook pages!

Boo Ghosts Stamp Set

Clearly Whimsy Stamps Collection "Boo Ghosts" image and sentiment set designed by Krista Heij-Barber for Whimsy Stamps.
High quality photopolymer clear stamps, use with an acrylic block Approximate size in inches: 4 x 6 polymer sheet.

Cat-o-Lanterns Stamp Set

Clearly Whimsy Stamps Collection "Cat-O-Lanterns" designed by Crissy Armstrong for Whimsy Stamps. © Whimsy Stamps.
High quality photopolymer clear stamps, use with an acrylic block Approximate size in inches: 4x6 polymer sheet.

Halloween Night Stamp Set

Clearly Whimsy Stamps Collection "Halloween Night" designed by Crissy Armstrong for Whimsy Stamps. © Whimsy Stamps. Coordinates with our Halloween Night Outline Die Set, sold separately.
High quality photopolymer clear stamps, use with an acrylic block Approximate size in inches: 4x6 polymer sheet.
*Note - this stamp set has coordinating outline dies (sold separately).

October 31st Stamp Set

Clearly Whimsy Stamps Collection "October 31st" designed by Deb Davis - Amped2Stamp for Whimsy Stamps.Set of 6 large sentiments all featuring October 31st to mark the haunting date of Halloween.
High quality photopolymer clear stamps, use with an acrylic block Approximate size in inches: 4 x 6 polymer sheet.

Nested Webs Die Set

Whimsy Stamps Die Collection "Nested Webs Die Set" designed by Deb Davis and Denise Lynn for Whimsy Stamps.This is a set of 5 dies - set includes web shaped dies, decreasing in size - each die cuts a solid web shape. Use to create a matte layers or windows on your projects.
Thin metal dies perfect for all your card making and crafting projects. Must be used with a die cutting machine, such as Cuttlebug, Big Shot, or Wizard. Please note, that it is common for long and/or thin die shapes to bend or warp when used in die machines. This should not cause any issue with the effectiveness of the die when used properly.

Be sure to check out Whimsy Stamps Instagram page and website to see some faBOOlous samples from the amazing Design Team using these new products!

Craft w/ Me at Butterfly Reflections, Ink

8/18/2023

Hello friends! I will begin teaching regular card making classes at the awesome Butterfly Reflections Ink store in Kingston, New Hampshire this fall! We have our first Halloween themed class designed (see image below):

*Details: All are welcome to attend, no experience is necessary. Your class kit includes everything needed to make these four cards (including a shaker card, and a wobble card), plus envelopes. Verbal and written step-by-step instruction will be provided. All you need to bring is your favorite double sided adhesive, foam adhesive, craft scissors and clear Wink of Stella (optional).

Class 1

Date: Saturday, October 28th
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 noon
Fee: $25/person

Class 2

Date, Saturday, October 28th
Time: 1:30 - 3:30 PM
Fee: $25/person

RSVP's are a MUST and space is limited, so call Vanessa at Butterfly Reflections, Ink to reserve your spot today. I look forward to creating with you!

Hey Pumpkin

10/20/2022

Hello friends and happy (almost) Halloween! EEEEEKKKKKkkkk! It is my absolute favorite season of the year to make cards for! I love all the ghosts, zombies, pumpkins, bats, cats and witches! Today I am sharing a not-so-scary card using the Hey Pumpkin stamp set from Joy Clair Designs and some non-traditional pumpkin colors. Black and purple pumpkins? Why not? It's one way to up the spook factor.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock, I ran it through my big shot with a diagonal lined/striped background frame die. I then flipped the frame die over and filled in the gaps with strips of orange, black and purple cardstock. I printed out the large pumpkin image from the Hey Pumpkin stamp set. I colored the image in with orange, purple and green Copic markers. I fussy cut the image and then adhered it to the card using Scotch 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I cut the words "hey pumpkin" out in thin strips and adhered them to the card also using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the image for added sparkle.

There are still 11 days left until Halloween! You have time to brew up some scary creations! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

October 2022 Mood Board

10/1/2022

Hello friends and happy October! This is my personal favorite month of the year because I LOOOOOOOoooooove all things Halloween! The Design Team at Joy Clair Designs is excited to share the mood board for this month. Mood boards (also commonly called "inspiration" boards) are a combination of colors, images, textures and patterns that can offer guidance or direction. If you feel like you don't know where to begin a project, try looking at a mood board and let the creative juices flow. You might just be surprised by the end result!

Let's take a look at the October 2022 Joy Clair Designs mood board:

This month's mood board is very spooky and moody with its black and white photos of haunting images, eerie cemeteries and mystical black cats. But, there's also a touch of modern flair with DIY pumpkins and folk home decor.

We would love to see YOU create using this mood board as inspiration too! Feel free to use similar colors in whatever brand of cardstock you have readily available. We'd love for you to use your Joy Clair Designs stamps if you have them! And if you don't have any yet CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING TODAY!

Be sure to tag us on social media using the following hashtags so we can see your cards or other papercraft projects:

#joyclairdesignsmoodboard
#joyclairmoodboard

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

Be sure to sign up for Joy Clair Designs newsletters. You will receive notifications of new releases, sales and exclusive offers to subscribers. You can also follow the team’s creations from Joy Clair Designs on Facebook Page, Joy Clair Stamp Projects Facebook Group, Instagram , Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube!

XO, Crystal

Whimsy Stamps Special Guest

9/22/2021

Hello friends! Today I am excited to be a special guest on the Whimsy Stamps blog and I'm thrilled that the ladies behind Whimsy Stamps invited me back to be a guest for all things Halloween, because it my my favorite time of the year to make cards! Whimsy Stamps has some of the best Halloween themed products around from zombies and aliens to gravestones and haunted houses. Today I am sharing a card made using the oh-so-spooky-cute stamp set, Candy Corn Dress Up.

I just love these cute little candy corns and I wanted to color them in non-traditional colors, hence the addition of pink. But wait, there's more - it's a shaker card too! Because cards are just infinitely more fun when they move and shake!

Card details:
The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Wonky Window 4 die, I die cut the frame from the same white cardstock.

I lined the back of frame with a piece of acetate:

I then made sure to line over the the acetate with foam adhesive, end-to-end so that no sequins could fall out:

On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Bristol White Smooth cardstock, I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry:

I placed color sequins in the coordinating color section of the background (so that they would remain separated when I added my shaker frame). I stamped the Candy Corn Dress Up images in Memento Tuxedo black ink on Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored the images using Copic markers. I used my Brother Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine to cut the images, in lieu of fussy cutting.

Using a piece of black glitter cardstock, I cut the haunted house using the Slimline Hill House die. I only wanted the haunted house portion, so I cut it down to size. I adhered the haunted house to the card using a Tombow adhesive runner.

I adhered the candy corn characters to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "Hauntingly Sweet" in Versamark ink on black cardstock. This sentiment is also included the Candy Corn Dress Up stamp set. I heat embossed the sentiment in white embossing powder and adhered it to the top left side of the card using 3M foam adhesive.

I hope you have enjoyed this fun Halloween inspired shaker card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal
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P.S. - Are YOU ready for Whimsy Stamps annual 31 Nights of Halloween?!

Get ready for Whimsy's creepy Creative Team and spooky Special Guests sharing 31 haunted Halloween projects and inspiration all month long! It's seriously spooktacular!

Made by Margaret

10/30/2020

I am very blessed to have many talented crafty friends and I am always excited to receive happy mail from each of them. I hang these cards on a display wall as you walk into my craft room and they bring me great joy as I enter and leave the space. These cards are a constant reminder of the lifelong friendships that I have made, and how I have inspired others by teaching and sharing my passion.

Today I would like to share with you two ah-mazing Halloween cards created by my friend, Margaret. I hope she doesn't mind that I am sharing these cards with you, but I know that you will be WOW'ed with her creativity and impressed with her attention to the smallest detail.

This first card was last year's Halloween card made by Margaret. Once you open the Velcro gate you see this beautiful alcohol ink background that is covered by spooky trees and an awesome moon. She used the images from the Witch Way is the Candy" stamp set and dies from My Favorite Things to embellish the card.

This year's Halloween card from Margaret features products from Honey Bee Stamps. She used the House Builder Card Base to create the card and then decorated it with stamps and dies from the Haunted House Add-On. The house is made extra spooky with lots of distress inks and vellum ghosts!

I deeply admire Margaret's attention to detail and the time and patience she devotes to her cards. She inspires me to slow-down and appreciate that the art is in the making, NOT in the completing.

Please leave Margaret some love in the comments below. Thank you!

XO, Crystal