Where Did October Go?

Seriously. How can it possibly be the end of October already? I love this time of year so much, and it's over in the blink of an eye--hardly seems fair!

So while I can still post them, I guess I'll share a Halloween card with you today. The background paper (no clue who makes it) is folded using a Technique Junkies technique called Pleated Paper. No rocket science to the technique at all: it's just paper folded accordian style with the folds accented with chalk ink. Simple, but kind of fun.

The image is a dollar stamp I picked up at Michael's colored with Copic markers.

Enjoy!

Let the Raking Begin

Take a look at this pic of my front yard. Can you actually see any of the yard? Now look at those trees...still plenty of leaves to fall. Yikes! As pretty as they are, I have to admit that the raking thing can get a bit old. Oh well, guess what we'll be doing for the next couple of weeks, LOL!

This was the last good weekend around here for leaf peeping, so we took advantage by going for a long walk on the Greenway on Saturday. Here are a couple of pics I took along the way. The first on is a Wood Duck we spotted in Beaver Pond. He kept swimming away from me, so this was the best I could do. Part of the trail goes through a farm, and the second pic is the view looking over a field of cabbages.

And last, but not least--or maybe it is, I'll let you be the judge--Here's a card I made this weekend. The leaf stamps are from Memory Box. The leave is a solid stamp, which I colored directly with watercolor crayons and then spritzed with water. I stamped onto watercolor paper that I had also spritzed lightly with water. After everything was good and dry, I stamped the veins and drew in the leaf outlines.

Just for Fun

What is it about cupcake stamps? I'm not often drawn to a particular thing (OK, except for flowers), but I find that I just can't resist cupcake stamps. These are from an Inkadinkado set I picked up at Michael's last weekend.

I colored them with Copic markers and added Dew Drop "cherries" to the tops. The printed paper is Basic Grey, and the layout comes from Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 197.

Fall Folliage

I went out for a walk the other day hoping to get some pictures that I can use as reference shots for a painting. For those of you who are familiar with this area, I was out on the Greenway heading North from Copper Hill Road in East Granby, CT. The foliage is right at peak here, and I was out late in the afternoon, so the lighting was amazing. I took TONS of pictures, and thought you might enjoy seeing a few of them.

More Penguin Cuties

This is going to have to be a really fast post...don't want to be late for work.

I used my Serendipity penguin stamp again on this one, but this time I colored them with Copic markers. The snowflake panel is a Technique Junkies technique called Cuttlebug Highlights. I used Brilliance silver ink for the highlights.

Well...gotta go. Have a great day!

By Jove!

I think I've got it! I just finished this pencil painting, and it was FUN! I didn't feel like I was struggling with it the whole time--I just worked on it and enjoyed the process. I'm so pleased with the way my little birdie came out, so if you don't mind, I'm patting myself on the back and tooting my own horn.

The piece is about 8x10, done with Prismacolor pencils on matboard.

The weather lately has been picture perfect Autumn in New England weekend gorgeous here in my neck of the woods, so not much stamping has gotten done. I've been out enjoying Mother Nature's spectacle most of the weekend. Maybe I'll get some stamping in tonight during the football game, then again, maybe I'll sit in front of the game and do some knitting. So many crafts...so little time, LOL!

What about the rest of you? What'cha been up to this weekend?

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

It's World Cardmaking Day, and I was stuck at work most of the day. What the heck is up with that? I probably won't get a chance to make a card today, but at least I can share one that I made last weekend.

My DH bought me this cute stamp from Serendipity for my birthday last year, and this is the first time it's seen ink. Well, at least I used it before my next birthday rolls along next month.

I colored these little cuties with Prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits. The paper is from my stash of scraps and I really can't remember the brand.

Enjoy the rest of the "holiday", and I hope you got to make a card (or two, or three, or more) today!

A Pair of Paper Pieced Pumpkins

Say that three times fast!

Today is Tea Party challenge day over at smARTworks, and I decided to play along. This time, the challenge was hosted by Peggy, a sketch challenge with a twist...the image panel had to be paper pieced. I love paper piecing and I'm addicted to sketches, so I grabbed some paper scraps and made up some calico pumpkins.

If you have a minute, grab a cup of tea and head on over to Susan's blog, In the Works at smARTworks, to grab a copy of the sketch and check out the other challenge cards.