BOO! A Halloween Banner

I can't get enough Halloween.  It's always been my favorite holiday.  I love going into every costume shop that I drive past.  Even though they are all almost identical and stocked with most of the same exact product- I'm still thrilled.  The only thing I don't like about Halloween stores are the dip$h!ts blocking an aisle while they giggle over the "Dr. Seymour Snatch, Gynecologist" costume, as if they've never seen it before or as if it were even hilarious.

I also like to decorate for Halloween.  I usually go through obsessions with a specific 'item.'  For many years, I had to make a scarecrow for the front porch.  One year, it was ghosts.  One year, it was 'googly eyes.'  You know those plastic googly eyes?  I thought I HAD TO GLUE THEM TO EVERYTHING.  Initially, I only bought them so I could glue them to a kleenex.  After I'd wrapped the kleenex around the top of the Tootsie Pop, of course.  But then, I couldn't stop.  I glued those eyes to everything. 

What am I obsessed with this year?   The same thing everyone else in the craftosphere has been obsessed with for a year- BANNERS AND GARLANDS!!!

I would love to think of myself as being so unique and cool as to avoid a trend.  But I'm not.  I like a trend as much as the next hexagon-hugger.  And banners are so freakin' cool.

So here it is, Kory's Halloween Banner:

As you can see, it only says BOO.  My first 'want' was to do an entire HAPPY HALLOWEEN banner- but then I thought of all the letters.  So BOO it was.  Not that I'm lazy, I just didn't know where I'd hang such a monstrosity.  (get it?)

I wasn't content to just hang the pennants on a string.  I've been dying to use my new Tim Holtz stamps, from Stampers Anonymous: CLASSICS #6.  They look like borders- filled with distressed text and all kinds of beautifulness.  I stamped the 'crown' strip looking one a few times onto some manila cardstock and cut them apart.  Then, with about five different colors of Distress Inks, I colored them into some nice fall shades and flicked some water on them for some splotchy creepy beauty.

Here's some close ups of each flag:

I used a slightly smaller sized pennant for the 'end-caps.'  After cutting each pennant, thank you Spellbinders, I embossed the edge.  You know, as you do and as is the beauty of Spellbinders.  However, I don't emboss with my Spellbinders the way everyone else (and the way Spellbinders say to do it).  It just seems like so much trouble to run the things through a second time with the rubber mat to get the embossed edge- especially for such a simple shape.  After I run the die through to cut the paper, I just lay it on the table and run my stylus along the edge of the die- and zip, zip, zip- each one is embossed.  Takes seconds! 

Then, I stamped the pennant with a wood background stamp and inked the edges.

For the cat's base, I used a plain 'scalloped circle.'  I painted it with some plain white acrylic paint, distressed and inked the edges and stamped with a Tim Holtz text stamp from one of the new Halloween sets. 

I cut the cat with some black KraftCore the small Movers and Shapers die and roughed it up with some sandpaper Then, I spent about an hour obsessing over and admiring the beautiful wonder that is KraftCore.  How amazing is this stuff?!

I cut the letters out of more KraftCore, using my Cricut and the Happy Hauntings cartridge.  I sanded them, inked randomly and smeared some Rock Candy stickles on each letter. 

I took some plain twine (from Dollar Tree- I love their 'kitchen twine!) and colored it with some Brushed Pewter Metallic and Bard Door Distress Stains.  I threaded the twine through the tops of each pennant and then put the entire thing together with the border strips with some brads.  Now that I'm looking at it again, I wish I'd pulled out my Texture Hammer and banged those brads a bit!  Oh well, there's always tonight.  No, there's not TONIGHT.  Tonight, I've gotta run home, finish sewing my Halloween costume (I'm gonna be a werewolf) and go to a Halloween party.  Yeah- I made my own costume with some fake fur (what a mess) and my sewing machine.  It was like Project Runway up in that house last night!

Supplies:

Cardstock:

     Plain Manila

     KraftCore: Black

    

Sizzix: Tim Holtz

Cat/Raven Movers and Shapers

Spellbinders: Nestabilities

     Scalloped Circles

     Lacey Pennants

     Lacey Circles

Stamps:

     Stampers Anonymous: Tim Holtz, Classics #6

     Mini Halloween 3

Cricut Expression 2 and HAPPY HAUNTINGS cartridge

Distress Inks:

     Vintage Photo

     Aged Mahogany

     Rusty Hinge

     Black Soot

     Dusty Concord

     Frayed Burlap

     Scattered Straw

Distress Stains:

     Brushed Pewter Metallic

    Barn Door

Twine: from Dollar Tree

Brads

White Acrylic Paint

Sandpaper

TAGGING ALONG! Mr. Holtz's HALLOWEEN tag!

Heyyy there, everyone!

What a crazy busy week!  Along with everything else that pops up during a regular Monday through Friday, I was also somewhat busy with the production of FRANKENSTEIN at the theatre I work for-  what a production!  And a great set.  If you're in the OKC area, get yo'self downtown and see FRANKENSTEIN!

We've reached the second half of October.  Halloween is speeding towards me and I still don't know what my costume is gonna be...  decisions, decisions.  But at least I DID finally sit down and make my version of Tim Holtz's OCTOBER tag!

I LOVED the technique he taught us with this tag-  smashing and smooshing up the tissue paper when gluing it down and smearing acrylic paints on top.  It was fun and just looks great!  I didn't have a roll of tissue wrap - so I used a 'newsprint' background stamp on the tissue paper, first.  It looked pretty similar.

The skull was stamped and embossed before I ever-so skillfully cut it out, using my nifty Cutterbees.  Those scissors are little gifts from God, aren't they?!  I also embossed the 'Happy Halloween,' using some gold embossing powder.  The 'Happy Halloween' stamp is one of my favorites- I found it in the dollar bin at Jo-Ann last year.

There's some detail of the newsprint and colors.  I LOVE this technique!  It's somewhat similar to what I did on another Halloween project- but it was a 'technique' that I kinda made up as I went- I'm excited to add paint to more projects, now-  I LOVE PAINT!

Here's the full view of my version of Mr. Holtz's October tag:

Hope all y'all are having a great weekend!  Be back soon!

-kory

What's UP in KORYLAND?!

It's been a busy week! 

A busy CRAFTY week, too!  Which is always good.  Isn't it?

I think it's a combination of the darker weather, the cooler weather and the approaching HOLIDAY season that's hitting my bloodstream in the way a ten dollar crack rock ignites the GO GET 'EM attitude in a streetwalker.  You know what I mean.  YOU know.

I spent a crazed lunch hour at OKC's hidden treasure- BASKET MARKET.  Awww.  You don't live in OKC and can't experience the pile of cheap scrappy goodness that can be found at this unofficial Hobby Lobby outlet?  Well!  You should move to OKC so's you can experience the fun of fighting over a brand new sheet of Studio Calico with your right hand while your left hand tries to grab and drop a package of SPELLBINDERS down to your foot so you can deftly kick it across the aisle into your (already full) basket.

Wanna see today's haul?  Ya do?!  You nasty perverts.  Always up for some ScrapPorn, aren't ya?!Here it is:

I don't know if you're going to believe me or not- but ALL of that scraptacular goodness was purchased for 39.16.  That's right.  Not even forty bucks.  As we say on the corner of 1st and Main, "What you driving away so fast for, Mister?!  That's a BARGAIN!"

Besides shopping- what else have I been up to?  Well, believe it or NOT, I got the Cricut out!  My poor, neglected Cricut Expression 2.  Purchased in a fit last Black Friday, amongst cries of, "I MUST HAVE IT NOWWWW, I SWEAR I WILL USE IT ALL THE TIME," then left to sit on my shelf.  Sitting on my shelf, staring at me like a kid with a runny nose. 

There it is- all lit up and cutting like a pro.  See that lattice-y looking thing to the right?  I love that- can't wait to find a reason to use it...  Also had great fun cutting out lots of stuff from the 'Happy Hauntings' cartridge.  Has anyone cut out the entire 3-D Haunted Mansion, from that cartridge, and lived to tell the tale?  Call me.  I'd love to hear about it. 

I've also been throwing together some layouts like it's no tomorrow.  Because, as far as we know, there won't be a tomorrow.  Mayans, you know.

That's the 'background' of one of my STATE FAIR layouts, using the very inspirational "MIDWAY" collection from those geniuses over at OCTOBER AFTERNOON.  Can they get any cooler?  I love how they manage to be cool, vintage, modern AND colorful all at the same time? 

As you can see, I cut a few pieces of papers from the MIDWAY collection into strips and kinda threw them down and attached them (thank you, Glossy Accents!) to the base paper.  The 'detail,' on this layout of mine, that I'm obsessing over is this:

No, I didn't get my sewing machine off it's lonely shelf when I was breaking Lil' Cricut out of jail- those ain't real stitches!  I know, it fooled you.  They're just RUB-ONS!  Yeah, I'm sure all y'all have seen rub-on stitches before- but for those of you who haven't and especially for those of you that didn't know such a wonder existed:  YES.  You don't have to sell your blondest child so you can get a sewing machine so's you can make them classy layouts with nifty zig-zagging stitching.  You don't even hafta fall for an infomercial's claims that their little piece of plastic and crap can sew a hem on a skirt while you're wearing it so therefore it should stitch a photo to a piece of cardstock.  No.  All you gotta do is go to Jo-Ann and pick up packs of RUB-ON STITCHES from their DOLLAR SECTION.  Yeahp.  Gets even better, don't it?  Not only can you quickly and painlessly add stitching to a layout, but it will only cost you ONE DOLLAR.  Amazing days we live in, huh?

Alright, people.  I got paperwork to do, calls to make and coffee to drink... so's I can get back home and rub stitches on cardstock. 

See you soon.

-k

Mama? How many more sleeps 'til Halloween?

I am too excited for Halloween.  I can't drive by a Halloween store without slamming on the brakes and running inside, to try on hats and play with motorized 'Zombie Babies.' 

Until I can decide what my costume will be this year, I'm keeping myself busy with random Halloween projects. 

The first project this week?  This cute Halloween tag! 

I used a Martha Stewart Halloween stamp set to get the witch hat.  I cut it out and stuck it on the top of the guy- he's one of my favorite stamps from Catslife Press.   I stuck a fall-colored 'jewel' over the number on the guy's suit, since the number '14' didn't seem too Halloweeny.  The skeleton in the background is from one of the new Crafter's Workshop templates!  There's also a strip of Martha's Halloween paper tape and lots of Distress Ink colors.

A Very Dollar Tree Halloween

I know- I say it all the time.  This just might be the thousandth time I've said it- but I'ma say it again:  I LOVE HALLOWEEN! 

And I love the Dollar Tree.

Halloween and the Dee-Tee.  What's there not to be happy about?  Yeah, it's passing eight-two degrees outside and heading towards ninety, outdoors.  Global warming isn't real, my ass.  Why, I remember when I was fourteen years old and it was COLD by October 1. 

What the hell was I talking about?

Oh yeah!  This year's exciting "Kory K's Dee-Tee Halloween Crafts Spectacular!"   Hmmm.  Maybe I should call it a "Spooktacular," since I'm going to cliche retro obviousness.  Ha.  You know, in the way, at Easter, someone always calls something "EGGS-CITING!" 

I don't think I had my blog o' fun last Halloween- so I thought I'd start off with a project I did LAST year and posted to my gallery over at Scrapbook.com. 

What was it?  Well- CHECK IT OUT!

I made the photo collage up there with the terrific app for iPad- ScrapPad.  I love that app-  get it!  But if it doesn't explain it all to you- I'll tell you a little bit more:

I bought one of the little 'Christmas Houses' from the Dollar Tree - and with the help of some fitty cent acrylic paints, turned it into an adorable little Haunted Crackhouse!

If you'd like to try it yourself- it's pretty basic-  just use brown and black paints to darken it up and scarify the place.  (I recommend using your finger to rub the paint on and around to get the best effects- paintbrushes are for classy people like Thomas Kincaid, may he rest in peace.)  ((But you might need a paintbrush for little areas.))

I might do another this year-  I need a HALLOWEEN VILLAGE! 

-k

on tape and gifts and being busy

Ohhhh it's been a long week!

As usual, I've been BUSY!

I like to keep busy.  If I'm not doing something or about to do something, I feel like world will end.  Actually, I don't feel like the world will end- I KNOW it will end.

Last night, as I was leaving MICHAELS, I looked up to see a bright orange streak burning far far farrrr up in the sky.  It was much higher than a plane could be flying.  Clearly, it was an asteroid headed straight towards New Mexico.  I couldn't believe that I was going to die in the parking lot of MICHAELS.

Needless to say, it wasn't an asteroid and a survivor didn't have to pry the bag of washi tape from my cold, dead fingers.

YES!  Washi is back at MICHAELS!  The much talked about 'WALL O' WASHI' at MICHAELS!  Imagine the embarrassingly pre-teen squeal that escaped from my mouth.  You would've thought a twelve year old girl turned the corner and saw Justin Bieber- not that a handsome gentleman in his, um, late mid-thirties, saw a rack of tape.

Yeah- they call it 'crafting tape.'  Which does sound kinda classy, doesn't it?  All kinds of new designs- my favorite?  A kinda kraft chevron. 

There's a close-up for your tape viewing pleasure.  Pervert.

Just when I think that I can't be excited any further, I run across this little end-cap of joy:

7gypsies!

Loads of stamps and 'ephemera packs.'  (And up above, those nifty 'Mix'd Media Inks.'  Love those!)

I can't tell you how long I've been wanting the 7gypsies 'BEAUTIFUL' stamp.  I like the font and I like the simplicity.  And now, I can't wait to use it...

So, what else has been going on in KoryLand? 

Well, in my show business career, I just closed another hit run of HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH.  Yes, I say 'another,' because it's the third run of this same production that I've stage managed.  The show that won't quit!  And I love every second of it!

But you know how much I love to give opening night gifts to all the actors and stage crew.  I don't care how many shows I've done-  I can't help but give SOMETHING.  The energy that is backstage on an opening night is one of the most addictive drugs in the world!  And I love to fuel it by delivering a small gift to everyone. 

Like last show's opening night gift, I made the same/similar necklaces-  using some inexpensive satin cord and chains with (also inexpensive!) clasps and a variety of tokens from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology line- along with a few random charms I've found along the way.  You can really make LOTS of neatly impressive necklaces this way, for not much money at all. 

But PACKAGING is what I really enjoy.  I love using paper lunch sacks and twine (Dollar Tree!) and some embossed tags when I package my gifts.

Something seemed to be missing...though...

TELEGRAMS!!!  Just like the 'olden days!'  You know- you've seen the movies.  A show is opening and telegrams are being delivered to everyone backstage.

A quick search on the internet and I found this incredible Western Union telegram template.  All you hafta do is type your information into the boxes- it puts it into an authentic 'telegram' font and PRINT.  The website even shows you how to fold them as Western Union did!!!

There's one of my completed 'telegrams' right there- trimmed to the authentic size and all!  I didn't have any cream colored paper or newsprint, so I settled on what looked to be an attention getting 'official yellow.' 

I wish I had a photo of the next step- but to make my telegrams look more official, I pulled out some stamps at the office and stamped "RECEIVED" in 'official' red ink.  It really added a cool detail!

There it is, all folded up!

And there they are- attached to the gift bags and tags and boxed up- ready for delivery!

Okay- that's all I got for ya, today.  I can't stay and talk for hours, ya know- I've got a mountain of work to do and then hafta run home and get to work with unpacking books, books and more books.  I clearly need to have a book SALE.

See you soon!

-k

busy, busy, busy

I'm not dead!  I feel like I might be close to the end, tho-  between moving to a new apartment, a new show opening and all that happens in between-  wow, am I tired!

Last night, while taking a break from carrying heavy boxes of books up a flight of stairs, I began to put my scap 'n craft supplies into their new spaces.  I love organizing supplies.  It's so inspirational.  Sadly, I didn't have time (or a clear surface) to make something new- but I've gots plenty of new ideas!

In the meantime, here's a picture of me at last week's opening night party, with one of the stars from CATS, down the street!

I can't wait to scrap this pic!

I'll be back, soon, with more Halloween projects, more layouts and MORE fun!  Don't forget me!

-kory