...Waltzing

Ed - we're also in the middle of a big ole release - 4 new sets are being released on Monday and the DT ladies have some samples to whet your appetite!! I will also have some samples later today so pop back and see us again!

Good Saturday....ahem.....morning!!!

It's Blog waltz day today at WMS and I'm playing!!!! woohoo, see my previous post here, for how to play along!! You still have time, if you can squeeze out a card today....

Our theme this month is Halloween!!!!

On my card for the waltz I used two new sets (both releasing here on the blog on monday, two sleeps!!!) Hocus Pocus and A Cottage Home.

A Cottage Home was the set the DT ladies previewed yesterday. It's a sweet little set, but don't be fooled into thinking that you can only use it for 'new home' projects! I can picture many projects that could use a little cottage imagery and I've been itching to make this card since I got the cottage in my hot little mits!

I began by stamping a cottage and rubbing it with a clean sponge (NB - I used Tea Dye distress ink - On the second impression - which means I stamped it off on a scarp of paper first and used the remaining ink to stamp the cottage onto my sheet of cream card.) I then sponged over, very lightly with some Chipped Sapphire distress Ink. I love how this stuff Doesn't dry too quickly, meaning you can play around a little.

Here's what it looked like. Quite ghostly, don'tcha think? OOh the windows I filled in with copic E43 Dull Ivory.

Next I trimmed it out with a large and gloriously proportioned Labels 20 Die Template from Spellbinders. TM. I used Big Bertha, my Grand Calibur :) I seem to have a need to name this machine and previously may have called him Red Henry or something, but lately it's Big Bertha...

And here we get to one of my most favourite things about Spellbinders dies, you can leave the die cut in the die, and sponge away till your heart is content!! (More Chipped Sapphire, applied with a light touch)and when you take out the die cut? a gorgeous un-sponged border....can you tell how happy this makes me???

And! Guess what? if you aren't finished stamping, you can slip the die cut back in the die and add some more detail - I stamped the spooky railings and gate from Hocus Pocus across the front of the house. I used the Chipped Sapphire ink again as I love the colour and really don't mind the slightly 'rough' stamped image this gives. I thought that this put the railings on the foreground and helped the house to slip back into the shadows. The railings are my intended focal point.

I also added a little foliage to the card at this point (tho you can't see it in this photo) a few light impressions with the tip of a bough from Festive Foliage was all it needed I thought, 2nd impression stamping with pumice stone ink for these.

 Finally I added two little ravens, both from the Hocus Pocus set, I thought these fun little guys just added the right amount of life to the scene. The sentiment "beWitched" is also from Hocus Pocus, also the 2nd impression using Tea Dye ink., and if you peek again you will see Wanda's broom, leaned up against the railings!! I love this card!!

I mounted the panel on a beautiful mat made from a piece of dark blue card trimmed out with a labels 17 Die Template, also Spellbinders. My actual card base is an ordinary plain card base with about an inch trimmed off the side and bottom and simply adhered to the back of the panel.

Hope it tickles!! Can't wait to see who else is waltzing!!

ALSO!! I will be back later with some samples!!! The ladies are all very well organised and are ready to show you there goodies!! Me? as usual I'm late!!!

• Anya Schrier
• Becca Feekan
• Claire Brennan
• Clare Buswell
• Jennifer Holmes
• Julia Aston
• Kate Whelan
• Kelly Schirmer
• Laurie Schmidlin
• Mona Pendleton
• Niki Estes
• Sandie Dunne
• Sarah Martina Parker
• Tosha Leyendekker