Happy Halloween

Hi my friends, who knew that 2020 would be a year that none of us will forget in a hurry, certainly not me, when I stocked up in January with ready made cards, envelopes and gift bags for 12 months of  mass production makes to continue the fundraising for Brodie's Machu Picchu Challenge. 

But with no craft or school fairs on the horizon, those plans are on hold for the foreseeable future, so I'm putting my cup half full/ever the optimist/best foot forward on my own personal 2020 challenge and my mission to make a dent in the stockpile, starting off with some Halloween treat bags for the kids in the street who probably won't be out trick or treating this year.

I trimmed Distress Watercolor card to be slightly smaller than the front of the gift bag and die-cut a circle from masking paper. I spritzed Hickory Smoke, Stormy Sky and Speckled Egg Distress Oxide Sprays on to the craft mat on my Glass Media Mat, placed the card on to the ink, dried and tapped the card into the ink to pick up the remaining droplets. I removed the mask, spritzed around the moon with water and let the ink run to create a more moody moon.

I die-cut the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Haunted House from Distress Watercolor card but didn't realise I was trying to die-cut through 2 layers of card and of course, the second layer didn't cut through but, as luck would have it, left behind the aperture window sections from the top layer of card.  I coloured the house with Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide ink, fixed to the background with Distress Collage Medium Matte, coloured the window pieces with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink and puzzled pieced back into the spaces. I added Tim Holtz/Sizzix Adhesive Sheet to the back of Idea-ology BlackOut Kraftstock, sanded back to reveal the kraft core, die-cut the accents and added to the house. I used a Distress Detailer Brush with Black Soot Distress Oxide Spray to add splatters and shadows around the house.I die-cut the paving stones from Haunted House, the lamp post from Christmastime from the remaining Idea-ology BlackOut KraftStock, the Trick or Treater and the pumpkin from Idea-ology Classic KraftStock and Distress Watercolor card coloured with Distress Oxide inks.I die-cut the sentiment from scraps of Idea-ology BlackOut KraftStock and coloured card using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Shadow Lower Thinlits and added Idea-ology Small Talk Stickers. I die-cut the bats from Idea-ology BlackOut KraftStock using Gatekeeper Thinlits and added eyes using a Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen. I fixed the Trick or Treater and pumpkin to the panel using Sizzix Foam Adhesive to create dimension.To add a little interest to the plain bag, I used Black Soot Distress Oxide Spray to add splatters on the back and sides, fixed the panel on the front and used Idea-ology Mummy Cloth coloured with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Spray as a closure.

Woohoo, the wait is almost over, the brand new colour to join the Distress family will be revealed on Tim Holtz Facebook Live tonight at 6.00pm if you're in the UK. I'm so excited and a little worried, will it replace Speckled Egg in my affections. Hope to see you there.

Hugs Kath xxx

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