Crafter’s Workshop and Clearsnap have teamed up for the next three days to create hauntingly inspiring projects for this Halloween season. It’s all tricks, treats, and techniques so join us on a fright night jaunt to remember, hopping from blog to blog.
I will admit that when I found out this hop was Halloween themed, I was terrified. I grew up in Turkey where we don’t celebrate Halloween and I am terrified of anything even remotely scary. So Halloween is not my thing. (Though I’ll admit that the pumpkin carving is growing on me.) I’ve been doing a lot of art journaling lately, so the first thing I decided to do was an art journal page to express how I feel about this holiday.
To create this page, I used watercolor paper, covered my background with blue pan pastels, and then put the Branches Reversed template so I could crate a spooky tree.
I then used the awesome chalk inks to create my tree. Here’s what it looked like when I finished:
Then I used the Birdhouses template and Clouds template to create a crooked fence and add my clouds. Finally, I drew a little pumpkin on the edge of the fence and colored it. Then I used a dotted-rolling adhesive to add some Design Foils. And I had a shimmering pumpkin:
I took a side photo because when you look at it straight on, you can’t see the shimmer, though I still like the dotted look the foil+adhesive gives:
To finish off the page, I just used my inks and a few other templates to add some texture. The three templates I used are Wonky Circles, Punchinella, and Chevron) I tend to favor the chalk inks cause I like how super-quick they dry and the chalky finish. I then added my title and stitched around my page.
And there we are:
here’s a slanted view so you can see the shimmer:
isn’t it so shimmery?
After I was done, I wanted to whip up something quick and small just for fun so I covered a white cardstock with green ink and pastels.
put my Leaf Frame stencil on it.
and used different chalk inks to create leaves.
I then cut them all up
and glued them on to a tag:
I also put down two different orange inks on a cardstock and drew a pumpkin on it:
I cut my pumpkin out, nestled it inside the leaves, added a title and ta-da my tag was done!
There we go. Simple and super quick!
Those are my two projects with a huge thank you to both Clearsnap and Crafter’s Workshop!!
Here’s the other artsy spooksters to visit along the way:
Blog List:
Clearsnap
Crafter’s Workshop
Jaime Echt
Sabrina Alery
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
Charlotte Jenkins
Mary Dawn Quirindongo
Karen Grunberg – you are here
Jennifer Priest
Jen Clark
Daniela Dobson
Leave your “Trick-or-treat” comment on each blog in the hop in hopes of winning candy, blog candy that is! For every 50 comments posted on this blog we’re giving away a set of inks and accessories to spook up any crafter’s projects!!! We’ll choose the winners from the blog comments posted on all the blogs in the Hop. The prize includes Smooch Spritz in Frosted Grape, Green Olive, and Carrot Cake, ColorBox Pigment InkPad in Spooktacular, Glitter in Grape Fizz, Design Adhesives in “Trick or Treat” and “Eeeeks!?”, plus our new Design Foils in Lime Burst. That’s a lot of spook to go around!
Receive extra entries in the Hop for following us on Twitter and Facebook and for tweeting or posting on Facebook about the Hop – just post here afterwards that you have followed us or posted about the Hop to increase your chances to win. Happy Hopping!!!
Both of these are fab! Love the spooky feel of the first page, and the pumpkin tag is just gorgeous 🙂 happy Halloween!
For not liking Halloween, you did a couple of great projects. I love how quick and easy they appear. I am inspired to try something like what you have done. Thanks for the inspiration.
I was so excited to see your name on the hop, couldn’t wait to see what you made. I’m not surprised at the painting, it’s so you!! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays but not the spooky part just the cute and fun stuff.
You painting is so COOL, love how you did it and the colors. What a cute little sparkle pumpkin too. The page is dark and dreary but the pumpkin shines on it, great job.
What a cool idea for the leaves, I love love this too. You totally rocked at these today. So glad you got to share these with us. Maybe now you will like Halloween a little more.
I want those stencils too, never seen them before but really WANT THEM NOW!!
Love the way you used the leaf stencil! Awesome! And the journal page is great. There are some things I don’t like about Halloween, but i do like the fun parts!
Wow…great art journal page. Glad to see that you were able to express your feelings about Halloween.
Love it! Love it! Love it!!!! Great job!!
I like the whole Halloween piece! Very Spooky. The leaves with the pumpkin is very clever. What a great card! You have my vote.
Karen both of your projects are fantastic! Thanks for the inspiration on using the leaf stencil – great idea!
Love the leaf tag and will make it forthwith!!!
Wow, you did a great job on both projects for someone who doesn’t like the holiday.
Love these projects and the supplies you used. Love the versatility of the stencils. Lots of inspiration from you.
Fabulous! I love the journal page! I am in the UK and Halloween still seems quite dark to me. My little granddaughter was frightened half to death when a mum knocked at the door with what she thought were two real goblins – talk about scream!!
Wow, I never saw the use of those dot rolling adhesives like that. I tend to not get those too much but you have changed my thought process on that. LOVE IT!!
Love the simplicity
very inspirational… my middle school students are writing poems for Halloween and they can decorate them with these products…they will love it
I love that tree stencil. I certainly can’t tell you don’t like Halloween. Great page.
Love your color combinations and the shimmer.
Love your page! I’m not into Halloween either, but you made nicely your own twist on the subject.
beautiful projects.. love the tag!
love both your projects – especially the quick tag!
I really love that spooky tree template!
Great projects!
Great projects Karen!
I love your Halloween piece! I know how you feel, not my favorite “holiday” but I do love fall! Love the techniques you shared. And that tag is gorgeous! Thanks so much!
I love your journal page……so nice.
love your journal page and great tag!
Love how you used typical halloween images but made the page so dark and adult. Super cute tag – dont think I would have thought of cutting up my stencil image like you did – awesome idea.
Like the techniques you’ve shared
Great pumpkin tag with the cut-out stenciled leaves. Great use of stencils on both pieces.
When you can create wonderful pieces such as this, why would you dread Halloween? Thank you for the step by step photos and for sharing your art.
I love the tag with the cut out leaves…so cute!
I love your two designs. The tag is so neat I can’t wait to play more with stencils so many ways to use them.
Thanks for sharing.
Trick or Treat! Great ideas! I’m going to try the one with the tree.
So very awesome and not even a little scary! Just beautiful!
Karen, I love what you did with the Designer Foils! Great page and tag 🙂
Love what you’ve made. Just love the stencils, they are so versatile.
Love that you’ve cut out the leaves.
Thanks for sharing.
Wendy
I’m not one who likes the scary or spooky side of Halloween. I like the cutesy side of it. Your projects are wonderful. I love the journal page. TFS.
Love the tag and the foils, oh my! As part of the Trick or Treat Blog Hop, I have posted your blog giveaway to my FB wall. Thanks for playing!
P.S. I am Maggie Mannwieler on FB 🙂
SO refreshing to see something for Halloween that is NOT garish orange and black 😀
Love this! i’m into art journaling as well – love the tree!! i’ve pinned to pinterest…
http://twitter.com/#!/iamthediva/status/122723394855763968 tweeted
Really nice project especially leafs tag … sure i’m going to make one 😉
Thanks for you great job 😉
Karen,
I love the templates you used.
I too dread Halloween, but I love what you
did with the tree. I really want one of those!
Love your cards and love the tree template!
Fabulous art journal page and loved the bonus of the equally fab tag. Thanks!
Oh my goodness. I love what you did with both the halloween picture and the tag. I think the tag is the one I will try first, but both of them are terrific. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Linda E.
Great job, I love that tag
I really like both projects. The foil makes for interesting texture. The tag is so wonderful. Really great. Thanks.
This is a tutorial I know I can replicate. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely fabulous! Both of your projects – the best I’ve seen!!!
love love love
Love both of these doable projects…TFS
Very cool tag!
Woo hoo! Spooky candy! Thanks for a chance to win…a hoppin’ i will go now!
very cool! love the use of the templates!
DeniseB
What great projects! Love the colors and the tree is so awesome!
Love both your projects. Thanks for the step outs.
I love your projects — your tutorials are very well done. I especially love how you used the leaf stencil!
I love this project. Hope I can do half as well as you.
Great projects!! Love to see different uses for stencils!
Love the “Dreaded Halloween” lo. Love the tree stencil.
You have nothing to dread! These projects are perfect.
Cool goodies – thanks for the giveaway.
like both of these projects. one is dark and freaky and the other is so cute. great use of the stencils.
You really show the versatility of stencils. Awesome job.
Great journal page, especially the tree.
How funny that you don’t like Halloween—It is my favorite holiday (just because of the decorations, candy, cute costumes, and Great Pumpkin movie (peanuts)). You did a nice job—love it.
I like how the tree comes off the page. Very artsy.
I think that I might have that tree template. I’ll have to try it.
Beautiful projects! I love how you used the templates.
Your card really captures the feeling of halloween and would put fear in trick or treaters. I love the tag. I did that one time with apples in a basket and it came out beautifully. The time it takes to do the inking is so worth it.
Great projects. Especially love the leaves and the pumpkins cut from the stencils. Super idea.
I love your projects and your leaf tag is too cute.
I like how you made the fence and everything shimmers on your LO.
Your projects are so fun!!
I know what you mean, I’m in Australia and we don’t have halloween here either, I dread halloween projects lol. Love yours BTW!
I Love the pumpkin and leaves! Great job for someone who dreads Halloween : )
I love this its Beautiful. the punpkin and the leaves great job.
abbraddock@msn.com
Love your projects. They look great. Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome set of examples! Thanks for sharing!
Great Job!! I love the use of BLUE for a Halloween Project!
Very Unique and Beautiful!
The Leaf tag is super cute idea too, and i am already
thinking hmmmmmmm this could be a card instead of a tag too!!
I love when you provide the steps in your projects, these are great! Thank you.
Outstanding projects! Best projects in the hop! Awesome work!
Amazing! And very spooky for someone who dreads Halloween!
Love your story about growing up in Turkey and dreading Halloween here, and the journal page that grew from that. I NEED to try those chalk inks! Super cool effect! And I am not a glitter girl, but am loving the dotted adhesive/foil shimmer! Looks funky cool instead of glammy!
I am with you about Halloween. Not my favorite holiday, but when you have kids, it’s hard to avoid! I learned something here too… using that dotty adhesive tape for adding foil glimmer. Awesome idea! I like the tag too!
The tag was so creative! Thank you for the idea.
you did a great job! love your journal page
Meant to comment on this post but I got lost in your blog for a little while. You do a great job on your blog! Loved your thoughts about how you are attempting to take people off of the ‘pedestal’. And about how you can avoid or put off doing the things you love, I definitely do that! Thanks. Anyway, I love your two projects! Love how you layered or created dimension with the pumpkin, fence and tree! Very neat way to make leaves as well, I would not have thought of using the template that way. Thanks for sharing.
Katie B.
Love it.. adds that little bit of spooky.
I love pan pastels and was happy to see you include them in your card. I haven’t heard of adhesive dots or the foil so now I’m tempted to get MORE supplies. Thanks for tute and giveaway. Hope I get some treats in my bag!
My kids are older but somehow halloween always gets celebrated one way or the other, I think they don’t want to leave their childhood behind.
Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me some CANDY! I know you don’t like it but the back ground on the first piece says Halloween for me. The air itself seems to tremble. Nice job on both.
In the Netherlands we only celebrate halloween since a few years,the kids love it (of course!) but i have a great time as well. Both my boys have birtdays in october and we always make something in halloween theme to bring to school on their birthday.
I love the tag you made!
These were so beautiful…love it.
I follow on facebook
Your spooky page is fab, but the most amazing to me is how you used the stencil to create the leaf cutouts! Wow – your work is awesome!
That tree template is my favorite one!
tweeted!
shared on FB!
So cool, love all the projects and products.
Love them both! The first one is especially cool and pretty. It kinda reminds me of a cool and rainy october day. 🙂 i’d love to be entered in for the prize. thanks! 🙂
Loved both of your projects! The first was my favorite project so far across the blog hop!
Love your halloween projects!
i love all the awesome details. the branch template is fabulous and i love how you cut all the leaves
I love your work! The Halloween page inspired me!