While purple has strong ties to Halloween, (in the Northern Hemisphere) it is arguably most closely connected to spring, followed by summer.

Though lilac season is over for many by this point in the year, plenty of other breathtaking purple blooms continue to dot the landscape. From irises to hydrangeas, pansies to orchids, it is hard not to be intoxicatingly drawn towards this most regal of garden hues.

As touched on in the aforementioned post, my mom’s all-time favourite colour is purple.

Keen to make a card to celebrate one of her latest visits to our humble abode, I deep-dived into the purple end of my craft stash and came up with the greeting featured in this post.

Truth be told, at the time of making this card, I still had a fair number of purple-hued products spread out on my desk in my wee craft room.

Not a day goes by that I do not thank my lucky stars for the roof over our heads and the fact that I get to whittle a tiny corner of it out as a dedicated craft space.

However, objectively, it is a rather pint-sized spot and as a result, when I bring out a decent selection of products pertaining to a specific colour scheme, holiday, theme, etc, I often try to make two or more projects with those items before tucking them back in their respective resting places.

While I am being mindful to work with purple a touch more often these days, chances are it will never usurp my beloved usual palette of dark, fall, Halloween, and antique-inspired hues.

And that is all the more reason, I figure, to create multiple projects when I do pull out a summer garden’s worth of purple products.

In addition to purple, some of my mother’s favourite colours include blue, aqua/turquoise, and crisp white. All of which, I should note, look gorgeous on her!

Thick in the heart of sunny season, where nature, fashion, home décor, and sometimes even things like acrylic dishware are rife with these very hues, it felt exceedingly natural to craft with them as radiant sunshine playfully streamed through the quasi-sheer curtains on the sole window in my craft space.

I work with ink relatively often (be it for edging, creating sky backgrounds, stamping, or myriad other uses). However, despite being a huge fan of dry embossing, I do not tend to reach for my embossing folders nearly as often as I should these days.

Pondering this point a little while ago, it struck me that a good part of the reason why is because of the fact that I often like to make larger-sized cards and most embossing folders (let alone those I own) fall short of the size of my card bases.

Really, though, the more I thought about it, the sillier using that point as a means of sometimes keeping my embossing folders on the sidelines seemed. After all, even if a single embossed piece cannot cover most of my card bases, I can still utilize them for a portion of my design.

I was in an inky mood the day I made this card and so set about creating an ombre-esque design with three assorted shades of purple Distress Oxide Ink atop a floral embossed panel of white cardstock.

To up the volume of purple here all the more, I then took dark purple acrylic paint and created some tiny splatters across my embossed and inked panel.

I have to say, I really like how his piece turned out. There is something to its gradient of lush purple hues that calls to mind a stunning summer sunset.

And speaking of sunsets, many of the other colours that appear on this card would be right at home in the summer skies that help guide us gently into the night through this segment of the year.

Though purple, aquamarine, and white are the dominant colours here, nestled amongst them one also finds rich, warm yellows and delightfully upbeat pinky-corals.

If these hues don’t scream summertime, I don’t know what would!

Lovely purple inked and embossed “Together is the best place to be” card

The delicate, yet visually impactful Fine Bouquet Die from Alte & New used here was a gift from an extremely kind and generous friend that I received in early 2021. I have been champing at the bit ever since to use it for the first time.

What better opportunity than a sweetly pretty summertime greeting?

I cut two copies of this die out. One in white, the other in dark purple, concealing the spot where they meet with some fussy cut blooms from the same floral print paper that appears here in a background layer.

In addition to its use on the embossed panel, ink appears here multiple times along the edges of most of the paper and cardstock layers.

Though a sizable percentage of my paper crafting projects involve at least a little bit of metallic and/or glitter paper, there are certain times – such as this project – where neither of them appears.

However, shimmer and sheen are not missing entirely here, as the white pearl + clear rhinestone adhesive flourish piece adds a lovely background hit of precisely that to this upbeat greeting card.

The sentiment cut apart piece reflects how wonderful I find spending time with my mom to be. Any chance we get to visit is not just a good day, but a great one, and I am incredibly thankful that we live a mere hour’s drive away from one another.

This means that (save for the initial months of the pandemic) we are able to see one another on a fairly regular basis and it is not uncommon for her to come visit for a few days at our house.

Interestingly, as do not have the space for a dedicated guest room, when my mom stays overnight here she sleeps on a high-quality inflatable bed that gets put on the floor of my craft room.

Therefore, prior to them coming together to create this card, the elements at work here would have kept my mom company while she slumbered in that area of our house. (Love that thought!)

Should you wish to replicate this card yourself or simply take a few design ideas from it, read on for a complete list of products used on this lovely purple card as well as step-by-step instructions that will guide you through creating one of your own.

Products used to make this sunny season perfect purple card

-White cardstock

-Light purple cardstock

-Dark purple cardstock

-Tone-on-tone light aqua floral print paper – Vintage Summer Basics 1935 from Maja Designs

-Multi-coloured floral print paper – Hello Baby 3”x4” Journaling Cards Paper from Echo Park

-Cut apart “Together is the best place to be” sentiment piece – ???

-Floral outline die – Fine Bouquet Die from Alte & New

-Floral embossing folder – Floral Reflections Cut and Emboss Folder from Spellbinders

-Teal ink – Memento Dew Drop Teal Zeal Ink from Tsukineko

-Three different shades of blendable purple ink – (I used) Distress Oxide Ink in Milled Lavender, Seedless Grape, and Wilted Violet from Tim Holtz

-Dark purple acrylic paint (gouache could be used here instead, if so desired) – Violet Pansy Shiny Acrylic Paint from Folk Art

-Greyish-white pearl and clear rhinestone flourish (Unspecified product name from the Dollarama brand “Crafts”.)

-Purple crochet trim – Noteworthy Addie Trims from Making Memories

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make an inked and embossed “Together is the best place to be” card

Begin by making a white card base.

Cut a piece of Maja Designs Vintage Summer Basics 1935 paper a little bit smaller than the size of your card base. Ink all edges with Teal Zeal ink. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of light purple cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer. Ink all edges with Seedless Grape Distress Oxide ink. Adhere to previous layer.

Cut a piece of multicoloured floral print paper, likewise, a little smaller than the last layer. Ink edges with Teal Zeal Ink. Adhere to previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of white cardstock a little bit bigger than the dimensions of the Spellbinder’s Floral Reflections Cut and Emboss Folder.

Use the three shades of purple Distress Oxide Ink to make an ombre-esque blended ink panel.

Once the ink is dry, take your purple acrylic paint and lightly splatter small droplets across this panel.

After the paint has dried, place this piece of inked and paint-splattered cardstock into the Floral Reflections Cut and Emboss Folder and run it through your die cutting machine.

Back that piece (as it has small cut-out sections) with white cardstock.

Cut a piece of light purple cardstock slightly bigger than the embossed panel. Adhere embossed panel to purple cardstock, in turn adhering the purple cardstock to the previous layer of your card design.

Cut out the sentiment panel, ink all edges with Teal Zeal ink and attach this piece to the inked + embossed panel using dimensional adhesive (such as Pop Dots).

Adhere the pearl and rhinestone flourish piece to the lefthand side of the card design.

Using the Fine Bouquet Die from Alte & New, cut one piece in white cardstock and another in purple cardstock. Attach these pieces, as shown, along the lefthand side of your card (on top of the embellishment flourish).

Fussy cut a cluster of flowers from the Hello Baby 3”x4” Journaling Cards Paper from Echo Park. Adhere it where the two Fine Bouquet die cuts meet in the middle of the left-hand side of the card.

Lastly, cut two equal-sized pieces of light purple crochet trim. Place each one diagonally across the lower left and upper right-hand corners of all of your card layers (save for the card base itself), as shown.

And voila, just like that you have an easy (and relatively quick) card that is sweet, fun, and ever-so-lovely!

This design – either with the same sentiment or one that better suits the occasion at hand – lends itself well to a wide array of events, including – but definitely not limited to – Easter, Mother’s Day, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, new babies, and retirement.

It also makes a great “thinking of you”, “missing you”, congratulations, or even sympathy card.

Welcoming August back into our lives

Rather mind-blowingly, we have reached the year’s eighth month already. In a matter of days, we will hit the halfway point of summer.

Having just observed Lammas/Lughnasadh two days ago (though, as with most of the Pagan sabbats, I usually celebrate for multiple days in a row and am continuing to do so as this week unfolds), my head and heart are both starting to shift towards fall.

Not, mind you, that they don’t already focus on that season the whole year through – because they most definitely do! (As things such as my #MakeHalloween365 hashtag and year-round festive fall/Halloween projects attest to).

However, as much as I madly adore autumn, I am grateful that we still have a few weeks’ worth of sizzling hot (snow-free!) summer to enjoy before the telltale nip of fall returns to the air and the world is suddenly sweater-clad and frost-covered once again.

Chances are that a sizable percentage of the paper crafting projects I’ll be sharing here between August and November will be fall/Thanksgiving/Mabon/Halloween/Samhain themed.

As most of those creations have yet to be made, it is hard to say to what degree purple will factor into them.

I am in the mood, as I type these words at least, for a fun, classic Halloween palette this year, so I could easily see purple potentially appearing in some of my October 31^st related projects. Time shall tell!

Right here and now though, with a landscape that still looks far more like the start of summer than the end of this season, I will keep delighting in the mermaid-worthy hues of palettes such as the one used on this “just because” handmade card for a little while longer.

Once you’ve pulled out a slew of items for a project, do you tend to make additional creations with them as well, too? When does summer start to give way to fall on your end?

The post Lovely Purple Inked and Embossed Together is the Best Place to Be Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Does this apply to everyone? Certainly not, but it has been my experience that no shortage of people do tend to adore the national holiday that transpires around the same time that they entered the world.

In terms of national/secular holidays, Canada Day has long been a firm favourite of mine. Not the top contender (that, as most of you likely know, goes eternally to Halloween / Samhain ), but one that I often rank as my third most beloved (non-Pagan/witchy) holiday.

Both Canada – as the official nation it has been since 1867- and I came into being during the exquisitely warm month of July.

By the time I emerged on the scene in 1984, Canada was a fully established, thriving nation with a strong economy, ever-expanding population, and a magnificent melting pot culture that has, thankfully, only continued to become my diverse with each passing year.

As a youngster, not only did Canada Day serve as the closest holiday to my birthday, but it was the first one to transpire after the school year let out.

In terms of the academic side of things, I usually adored school and was, humbly, a very good student. However, like most youngsters, come late June, the summer break could not get here quickly enough for me.

At the time, where I lived, school wrapped up sometime during the last week of June.

Canada Day returned a few short days later and always felt to me like the true start of the coming two months of school-free enjoyment that stretched out like a glistening ocean embracing the distant horizon.

There was a heady, palpable excitement to both the start of summer and the beginning of our breather from textbooks, teachers, and homework.

Though summer often whizzed by faster than frisbees we threw to one another throughout the roasty-toasty months, when school wrapped up and July began, it felt for a few brief, enchanting moments as though we had an eternity’s worth of time.

Come Canada Day on July 1^st, like many families, mine would usually fire up the barbeque or roast hotdogs, ears of corn, and marshmallows over an outdoor fire pit.

We donned red and white (the colours of the Canadian flag), made our way down to a public park where the town put on festive activities (including providing for free generously sized – and very tasty, as I recall –  slices of frosted vanilla layer cake with the words “Happy Canada Day” piped in red icing on its saccharine surface).

Live music wafted from the mid-century bandstand at that same park. Beachgoers frolicked merrily in the large lake across the street and many a soul, both young and young-at-heart, went in for the free face painting that the town also provided. Patriotic Canadian flags then temporarily emblazed on plenty of cheeks throughout the day.

As night fell, the sultry warmth that is July’s perpetual dance partner enveloped us all.

We would then clamber to find a free patch of sand on the beach or grass at a different park adjacent to that beach and turn our gaze skyward for the beautiful fireworks show that would soon unfold.

This generally happened around 10 pm and the sight of the fireworks being launched high into the air above the warm waters of Okanagan Lake, their multi-coloured hues reflecting with a magical charm on the water’s surface below, was hypnotically wonderful.

Once the fireworks had concluded, many folks leisurely made their way home. Some would carry on to bars, late-night restaurants, friend’s houses, or their own backyards to keep the festivities going.

Others stayed put, stoked small bonfires on the beach and let their cheerful chatter dot the beautiful night every bit as vibrantly as the fireworks we had just witnessed.

Then as now, I love(d) Canada Day.

We here in this country might not always wear our patriotism quite as boldly on our sleeve as those in some other countries are apt to do, but most of us cherish our homeland – or adopted country – something fierce and appreciate that July 1^st gives us an opportunity to let that adoration ring out for at least one day of the year.

Though Tony and I do not have any major plans for it, I am in the mood for Canada Day big time this year (because, let’s face it, as the pandemic lingers on, just about any excuse to celebrate takes on greater meaning and importance than it may ever have done so prior to 2020).

Two years ago I shared a charming shabby chic red, cream and gold Canada Day card that I made.

This time around, we have retained the red (albeit in a different shade) but opted for a different palette. One that nods its head happily to the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but which is more than timeless enough to ensure it is au courant at the same time.

Beautiful rose-filled true north strong and free card

Much like grilled foods, sizzling hot sand, and exuberant fireworks, one of the things that I will forever associate with early summer is roses.

At most of the homes I lived in as a child and teenager, roses grew either on rickety trellises – their paint peeling and aged to shabby chic perfection – or in short, sturdy bushes.

The first roses of the season usually took up the reigns from the local lilacs, emerging at some point in May. Though it was by no means uncommon to see both smiling in the springtime sunshine at the same time.

They often got a second wind around early July, their unmatched aroma fanned by the hot summer breeze.

In my mind, roses and Canada Day are rather synonymous – particularly if those sublimely fragrant blooms are red or burgundy. Their hue a delightful nod to one of our nation’s two national colours.

The line “true north strong and free” is amongst the best known and most beloved from our country’s national anthem.

It reminds Canadians far and wide of how fortunate we are to live in this country and of the sacrifices many have made over the years (including during both World Wars) to help ensure that sentiment remained factual.

These words, cut from a sheet of Photo Play Oh Canada Eh! paper, were the jumping-off point for this Canada Day card.

I also took a colour cue from that same festive paper, composing a somewhat darker, more refined colour palette for this celebratory greeting.

In addition to various hues of grey, I employed teal, pale mint green, aged pine green, white, and deep shades of red worthy of the most magnificent of real summer-grown roses.

A slew of die cut maple leaves upped the festive feel of this handmade Canada Day card, as did an adorable background layer of moose print paper that is just too darling for words!

In addition to maple leaves and moose, another element that is often associated with Canada (in no small part due to lumberjacks and lumberjills) is plaid, so a lovely dose of that also joined the team here.

This is an oversized horizontal slimline card, and much like various other oversized projects of mine (such as the delightful Cottage Spooky Cottage Sign that I shared here earlier this year), it was a bit tricky to photograph in my small, rather basic quality lightbox.

Nevertheless, happily, I managed to get a few usable shots in the end, which you see peppered throughout this post.

I adored making this (if I may say so myself) gorgeous card and, in the process, conjuring up many positive July 1^st memories both from my youth and adult years alike.

If you are keen to make your own version of this elegantly festive Canada Day card, read on for a complete list of the products used on this project plus detailed step-by-step instructions to assist you in doing just that.

And, should you dig the design by not wish to take this paper crafting project in a Canada Day direction, you could easily swap out the sentiment for one that worked for a different occasion. Say as a birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even Valentine’s Day card.

In addition, you could easily use this card design for things like thinking of you, just because, get well, missing you, and congratulations (very much including congratulations bestowed on those who have, or soon will, achieved Canadian citizenship).

Products use to make a Victorian inspired Canada Day card

-Charcoal grey (or black) cardstock

-Medium grey cardstock

-Light-medium grey cardstock

-Dark red (or burgundy) cardstock

-Light mint (or light aqua) cardstock

-White cardstock

-Canadian national anthem print paper – O Canada True North Paper from Photo Play

-Moose print paper – O Canada Eh! Paper from Photo Play

-Teal plaid paper – the backside of the same moose print paper from Photo Play

-Two different ornate oval frame dies, one larger than the other (they do not have to be the same as one another)

-Scallop edge oval die

-Two sizes of scallop edge circle dies (or punches)

-Larger maple leaf die

-Slightly smaller maple leaf die (for the dark red maple leaf in the middle of the card)

-Corner rounder punch

-Teal ink – Tim Holtz Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink from Ranger (regular or oxide, as you wish)

-Dark greyish-brown ink – Memento Dew Drop Espresso Truffle Ink from Tsukineko

-Two sizes of dark red (or burgundy) paper roses

-Faceted clear buttons – Modern Avalanche Buttons from Bazzill

-Earthy forest (or olive) green hued seam binding

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a layered, shabby chic Canada Day card

Begin by making an oversized horizontal slimline card base from dark red cardstock.

Cut a piece of teal plaid paper slightly smaller than the card base. Round both of its bottom corners with a corner punch or corner die, then ink all four sides of this piece with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink. Adhere this layer to the card base.

Cut a piece of pale mint (or pale aqua) coloured cardstock a touch smaller than the previous layer. Round both of the bottom corners on this piece and ink all fours sides of it as well, then adhere it to the previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of medium grey coloured cardstock a little smaller the previous layer and round both of its bottom corners, too. Adhere to the previous layer.

Take the moose print paper, cut a piece of it that is (again) a little smaller than the previous layer. Round both of its bottom corners.

Then, cut the moose print paper into a few equal-sized pieces, trimming the pieces down, if needed, to allow a small vertical opening between each piece.

Ink all of the edges on each of the moose print pieces with Espresso Truffle ink. Arrange and adhere them down evenly across the piece of medium grey coloured cardstock.

Using the larger of the two sizes of scalloped circle dies (or a good-sized scalloped circle punch) cut out two circles from white cardstock and two from medium grey cardstock.

Use the smaller-sized scalloped circle die to cut two circles from the “True north strong and free” text print paper.

Arrange the circles starting with the white, then the grey, then the text print layer, so that some of each layer is visible. Adhere the layers together and then (one grouping apiece) to each side of the center of the card, as shown.

We are going to get extra Canadian here next. Die cut two maples apiece from the white, mint green/pale aqua, light-medium grey, and dark red cardstock.

Create two layered stacks of maple leaves starting with mint green/light aqua, dark red, white, and light-medium grey. Splay the layers out a bit so that each of the colours of maple leaves is visible.

Attach the layers to each other and then place one maple leaf stack on the lower portion of the scalloped circles on the lefthand side of the card. Adhere.

Repeat with the other stack of maple leaves, however, this time, you’re adhering them down on the upper right-hand side of the other group of scalloped circle pieces.

Die cut an ornate oval frame from dark grey, charcoal, or black cardstock (I used charcoal cardstock here).

Die cut a slightly smaller scalloped edge oval from medium grey cardstock. Adhere it to the ornate charcoal grey circle.

Next, die cut a decorative border-edged oval piece from white cardstock. Back that oval with a piece of mint green/light aqua cardstock so that the green/aqua cardstock shows through the openings on the edges of the white cardstock oval, but does not extend out past them at any point.

Adhere that piece to the previous oval.

Die cut a scalloped edge circle from light-medium grey cardstock with the larger of the two scallop circle dies. Adhere it to the previous (oval) layer.

Then die cut a smaller scalloped edge circle from the “True north strong and free print paper”. Adhere to the previous (circle layer).

Die cut a single maple leaf from dark red cardstock and adhere it to the centre of the last circle layer that you created.

Use the small banner/label shaped die to cut out a banner from white cardstock.

Fussy cut out a portion of the text print paper (used throughout this project) so that you have a small strip of paper that says, “True north strong and free”.

Ink all four sides of this piece with Espresso Truffle ink and adhere it to the white banner/label piece.

Gently bend the white banner/label piece so that it bows upward a little in the middle. This creates a greater sense of depth and visual appeal for the sentiment area of this Canada Day card.

Adhere both sides of the white banner/label down across the bottom of the central oval and circle layers, as shown.

Using a medium to dark shade of earthy pine (or olive) green seam binding or ribbon (I used seam binding here), make two slightly larger single layer bows and two single-layer slightly smaller sized bows.

Adhere the larger seam binding/ribbon bows to the outer edges of the center of the moose print paper, so that one larger bow appears on each side of the card design.

Repeat the process with the smaller bows, on this time, center them right beside the central ornate charcoal grey oval piece.

Take two small and two somewhat larger dark red (or burgundy) paper roses. Attach one small rose in the center of each of the larger seam binding bows.

Repeat the process by placing the two larger dark red paper roses in the middle of the smaller-sized green seam binding bows.

Lastly, place and adhere four clear faceted buttons around the smaller green seam binding bows, as shown.

And there you have it, one sophisticated, beautiful, and thoroughly festive Canada Day card for you to use as part of your celebratory décor or give to someone special before/on July 1^st.

O Canada! Our home and native land!

While patriotic music has been penned and sung on the soil of this nation for over two centuries now, the Canadian anthem that is familiar to those of recent generations is actually somewhat new.

The national anthem of this country is called “O Canada” and it begins with the same words that I used for the header above.

It was written by a French-Canadian-American chap named Calixa Lavallée in 1880. However, it would not be until 1980 that an Act of Parliament declared it as the country’s sole national anthem (as since 1939, the country had had two different national songs; the other was “God Save The Queen/King”).

Oh Canada was in use from at least the 1930s onward though, so those of both my parent’s and grandparent’s generations, along with my own, grew up memorizing and singing its stoically beautiful words.

The line “true north strong and free” is perhaps my favourite element of Canada’s national anthem, as I know it for many others as well.

Freedom is not something any of us should ever take for granted, no matter where we live in the world. We need only look to this planet’s history to see countless examples of times when peace was shattered and freedom either stolen or greatly jeopardized.

Much like at Mabon, Thanksgiving, and various other points in the year, I use Canada Day as a time to reflect on how lucky I am to call the world’s second-largest country, geographically speaking, home and to live in a land that is, in a lot of respects at least, quite free and respectful of its citizens’ rights.

No country is perfect – Canada included, of course – but at the end of the day, it is objectively a great nation overall and one that I am truly grateful to call my own, eh!

To all those observing Canada Day this year, may you have a splendidly enjoyable, safe, and festive July 1^st – and to everyone else, may the same hold true for the start of the year’s seventh month on your end, too.

Does your country have a national holiday to celebrate its founding? If it does, do you enjoy making craft projects for that special day?

The post Beautiful Rose-Filled True North Strong and Free Canada Day Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Presently, we have the joy of being so to our sweet dog, Annie. (Who you may recall from my scrapbook page project share Only Love Let’s Us See or from my various Instagram posts about her over the years.)

After a string of places that either did not allow pets at all or permitted cats, but not dogs, we were elated when the home we moved to in February 2012 (the house that would, tragically, be lost about 4.5 years later in the devastating arson fire that we experienced) was dog friendly.

Both lifelong dog lovers, Tony and I were eager to add a canine companion to our lives and began keeping an eye out for a precious pup that would fit the bill.

Jump ahead to March of the following year. Tony spied a listing from someone a few hours south of us selling puppies that really resonated with him. Or, I should say, with both of us.

Though the timing wasn’t the best (I was mere weeks away from a fairly substantial surgery and its ensuing post-op recovery), we had a feeling that we’d found our dog, so decided to take a leap of faith, drive down to the city where she was located, and see this cuter-than-cute pup in person.

She was the last of her litter – all of which were incredibly cute – by the time we arrived.

Aside from clearly being harassed a bit by an adult chihuahua that lived in the same house, she was in fine spirits, looked (and was) wonderfully healthy, and melted our hearts faster than one could say “we’ll take her”.

Driving back home that very same day, our sweet pup snuggled in my arms throughout the ever-darkening night as Tony and I conversed for a good while on what to name our new bundle of furry joy.

Many possibilities were raised, stemming from ones based on her colours (black and white) to the city that she hailed from (Delta).

Ultimately though, it was the date itself that steered our final choice.

Tony and I celebrate both our wedding anniversary (in October) and the anniversary of the day that we first met back in 2004.

To differentiate between the two, we affectionately refer to the day we met as our “loveiversary”.

As we picked up Annie on the day before our loveiversary and had already decided that she would be our gift to each other that year for our special day, I proposed the name “Annie” – as in “anniversary”.

We both felt the name click and settled on it immediately.

Officially, her full first name is Annabelle (a subtle Poe reference, albeit with different spelling, that I adore) and we do call her that sometimes, but more often than not, she’s Annie.

Or Miss Annie. Or Puppers. Or Snoop (because her colouring reminds us of the classic Peanuts character, Snoopy). Or any one of a zillion other nicknames she’s had (and continues to have) over the years.

Annie was the first dog that either of us had owned as adults and it is safe to say that her early years were an eye-opening learning experience for all involved.

She was a major chewer for the first 1 – 2 years of her life, which wasn’t the easier thing ever to handle, but thankfully, between our training and her simply maturing in due course, Annie outgrew those tendencies (save for things like plush toys and throw pillows, which we still have to keep an eye on her around).

It was immediately obvious to us that Annie was as smart as a whip. She learned most of the commands we taught her very quickly, soon settled into the routine of our daily life, and knocked our socks off from the get-go both with her energy levels and her incredibly sweet, caring heart.

These days, our beloved Miss Annie is likely heading towards – to borrow a term from my Pagan path – her crone years.

As I type these words, she is just shy of 9.5 years old. Thankfully and joyfully, she still has the energy and stamina of a dog several years her junior and shows little sign of slowing down anytime soon.

While not a hard and fast tradition, some years, when possible, Tony and I love to give Mother’ Day and Father’s Day cards and/or gifts to give to each other as a way of thanking one another for the great job (humbly) that we both do of taking care of Annie.

The card featured in this post is the one that Tony will be receiving today. It is a shabby chic design rendered in a masculine colour palette of blues, browns, white, and muted gold.

But before we delve further into the specifics of this charmingly fun handmade Father’s Day’s card, allow me to share more about Annie with all of you.

Ten fast facts about our dog, Annie

1. While many people confuse her, understandably, with being a Border Collie due to her size and colouring, she is in fact half Labrador Retriever and half American Bulldog. This mix is, adorably, called a “Bullador”.

2. She is a very high-energy animal and, like many of her canine peers, delights in playing fetch, going for long walks, hiking, and playing at the dog park.

Speaking of which, as a true extrovert of an animal if there was one, Annie usually has zero trouble getting along swimmingly with other dogs and often assumes the role of (temporary) pack leader, if one is not already firmly established in a given setting.

3. Her BFF is our neighbour’s Shepherd mix, Nova, who they rescued as a puppy in 2019. Nova really looks up to Annie and clearly worships the ground she walks on (which is the cutest thing to witness). The two have been inseparable mix since the first time they met and enjoy multiple playdates in our backyard every month.

4. As is relatively common amongst dogs, especially medium and large-sized breeds (Annie’s height and weight classify her as being a medium-large dog), unfortunately, Annie developed cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) issues in both of her back legs that required major surgeries to help repair.

The first leg was impacted in the winter of 2017 – 2018 and surgery was swiftly performed. The second back leg showed the same telltale signs in the winter of 2018 – 2019 and again, the same surgery was rapidly undertaken.

Both procedures required extensive recovery periods during which her activity levels had to be severely restricted so that the injured limb could heal.

Thankfully, in both cases, with a few months of taking things super easy and providing at-home physiotherapy to her, Annie made a full recovery. You’d never know to see her these days that she has the canine equivalent of two hip or knee replacements.

5. Annie is very sensitive to other peoples’ moods, states of mind, and physical well-being, and will immediately spot if someone is down or feeling unwell. At which point, she all but velcros herself to them and does her best to lift their spirits.

6. She has an incredibly powerful bite. So much so that, while not intending to destroy them in seven seconds flat, Annie does inadvertently wreck most types of toys that she’s received over the years (even those from numerous brands that bill themselves as being nearly indestructible). Exceptions to this include some Kong and Chuckit products.

7. While experts say that highly intelligent dogs can learn up to 250 words, we are genuinely convinced that Annie may understand somewhere in the range of 300 – 500+ English words.

If this is true, we credit it in part to her extremely high IQ and also to the fact that both Tony and I have worked primarily from home her whole life, so she’s been around us (and other sources of audible language, such as music, video calls, and Netflix) for a huge percentage of her waking hours.

8. Annie is an excellent guard dog who alerts us the second anything that she deems a potential threat (local deer and ravens included ) comes to her attention.

9. By the same token though, unless it was to protect one of us against a serious threat or to defend herself in a true dog fight, Annie wouldn’t harm a fly. She gets on awesomely with other dogs, cats, and humans of all ages (and she adores kids to no end; happily, most of the ones she encounters love her back in return).

10. Annie’s favourite foods are salmon, peanut butter, eggs, any type of beef, cucumber, and watermelon (seedless, of course, for safety’s sake). Plus, naturally, bones, bones and more bones.

She eats a diet comprised of high-quality store-bought and homemade meals in which we try to include plenty of her favourites throughout the year.

(Interestingly, while she’ll gleefully eat them, Annie doesn’t do well gastrointestinally speaking with chicken and turkey. Of the two, she handles turkey better, but knowing this, we severely restrict her consumption of either.)

Masculine shabby chic happy Pawser’s Day card

And now, a fun fact about me…

I absolutely adore puns and other clever forms of wordplay. It is borderline ridiculous how much I enjoy these things and like many a paper crafter, I delight in weaving puns and wordplay of various types into some of my handmade projects.

(If puns are your cup of tea as well, I highly recommend the excellent book, The Pun Also Rises by John Pollak.)

I did not invent the term “Pawser’s Day”, but as I had not yet created a project featuring it, doing so for Tony’s ninth’s Father’s Day as a “puprent” felt like a spot of wordplay that was long overdue.

Creating cards for my sweet hubby is all the more pleasurable because he enjoys a wide range of styles, colours, themes and so forth.

This gives me a great deal of much appreciated creative freedom and means that the elements that comprise my signature paper crafting style are still able to come out and play when I make a project for Tony.

Naturally, though I stay mindful of what colours and other elements are apt to tickle his fancy in particular and like to weave our mutual tastes together in the crafts I whip up for him.

The colours for this Happy Pawser’s Day card were inspired by the returning summer weather and the earth beneath our feet at dog parks, nature trails, and our own backyard alike.

The blue and white represent the sky and clouds, the shades of brown are dirt (something most dog owners are intimately acquainted with ), and the muted gold symbolizes the glowing sunshine of June.

A fun doggo print paper enters the fold as well. It sports a similar colour palette and does not distract from the other elements at play here.

In an ode to Annie’s unceasing passion for bones, a quartet of them appear in the form of die cut shapes that I painted with Tim Holtz Picket Fence Crackle Paint.

Pre-fire, I owned most of Tim’s paints, these days, I just have a couple so far. Thankfully, it is hard to find a more versatile colour of paint than white, so it’s easy to alter Picket Fence’s hue, if needed, once it is dry.

You can do so with various mediums including inks, alcohol markers, dye markers, Wink of Stella markers, watercolour paints, and glitter glues such as Stickles and Nuvo Glitter Drops.

Keep in mind though, that the thicker and/or darker the medium you top white crackle paint with, the less the crackle effect may show through.

I left the paint in its natural state here, as white was my intended colour for the cute little die cut dog bones.

Adding cardboard is a great way to up the masculine look of a project, so I included a distressed piece of it as a lovely, rugged counterpoint to the abundance of teal glitter cardstock.

While I don’t have a cutting die that is a dead ringer for Annie, I had a fun trio of dog silhouette dies in my stash and used all three at the top of this Father’s Day card.

The center dog, while perhaps somewhat more Golden Retriever looking, does resemble Annie a bit and the wee pup on the righthand side definitely reminds me of Annie when she was a youngster.

As I didn’t have a die or stamp with the word “Pawser’s Day”, I turned to a tried-and-true trick of mine for occasions when I don’t have a premade product featuring a specific word or sentiment and simply spelled out what I wanted to say with mini letter stickers.

To create the tiny comma between the “r” and the “s” in Pawser’s Day, I simply hand drew one myself using a white gel pen.

This card was oodles of fun to make. I really hope that Tony gives it two big thumbs up. Just as I like to think it would get two approving paws up from Annie, if she could weigh in with her vote.

Should you be looking to replicate or take inspiration from this card yourself, read on for a full list of materials used and detailed step-by-step instructions for creating your own Happy Pawser’s Day card.

(Naturally, you can swap out the sentiment and utilize this design for a wide range of other occasions, too. Birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, thinking of you, congrats on your new pet, Mother’s Day, and both spring and summertime in general would all be great fits for this doggo themed card.)

Products used to make an adorable dog themed Father’s Day card

-White and dark brown cardstock

-Teal blue glitter cardstock – Glitter Silk Premium Cardstock from Darice

-Natural/kraft colour cardboard (this piece was recycled from a shipping box)

-Brown wooden board print paper – Kiss The Cook Baked Fresh paper from Bo Bunny

-Two-tone blue or turquoise floral print paper (or another pattern of your choice; polka dots would be fab here as well)

-Dog print paper – Dachshunds paper from Recollections (Michael’s house brand)

-Pawprint and bone rectangle frame die (I purchased this die on AliExpress a few years ago. A fairly similar-looking bone and pawprint frame die is currently available at the time of writing on eBay. As well, Whimsy Stamps sells an awesome Paws and Bones Border Die Set that I would absolutely love to add to my stash one day. You could use the dies in this set to create your own rectangle shaped frame.)

-Small sized dog silhouette dies

-Elegant frame die with curved corners (or another frame die of your choice)

-Scripty font “happy” word die (or use single letter dies or stickers to create this word instead)

-Fancy edge border punch – Flourish Scroll Border Punch from EK Success

-Teal blue ink – Dew Drop Teal Zeal Ink from Memento

-Medium grey ink – Dew Drop Grey Flannel Ink from Memento

-White crackle paint – Distress Crackle Paint in Picket Fence from Tim Holtz

-White gel pen – Uniball White Gel Pen from Signo

-Brownish rose gold coloured mini alpha stickers – Necessities Metallic Alpha Stickers from My Mind’s Eye

-Flax/muted gold coloured seam binding

-Glue gun and glue sticks (option, but helpful for securing heavier elements here such as the cardboard)

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a masculine shabby chic Father’s Day card

Begin by making a card base from white cardstock.

Cut a piece of the dog print paper slightly narrower, but at least ½ an inch taller, than your card base. Ink edges of this piece with grey ink and adhere to card base.

Cut two thin strips of brown wooden floorboard print paper, two thin strips of teal glitter paper, and one piece of blue/teal floral print paper. Ink edges of floral print paper using teal ink.

Arrange and adhere the floral print paper in the center of the card. Adhere the teal glitter strips, then the brown wooden board print strips, on the top and bottom edges of the floral print paper.

Using the dark brown cardstock, die cut a curved corner frame die and adhere it to the previous layers.

Cut and lightly distress a piece of brown/kraft cardboard. Adhere to previous layers.

Top the cardboard with a piece of dark brown cardstock (lightly distress edges, if desired), a slightly smaller piece of dog print paper (ink edges with grey ink), a frame cut from teal glitter cardstock and the same elegant frame die used above, a piece of wooden floorboard print paper, a frame cut from the pawprint and dog bone frame, and a piece of white cardstock (to back the opening of the pawprint frame with).

Arrange and adhere these layers as shown in the photos.

Die cut the word “happy” from teal glitter cardstock and adhere to the white center portion of the pawprint frame.

Use brownish rose gold coloured mini alphabet letter stickers to spell out the words “Pawser’s Day”. Then use a white gel pen to create the comma on the letter “s”. Adhere below the word “happy”.

Die cut one set of dog silhouette shapes from brown wooden floorboard print paper and another from teal glitter cardstock.

Adhere the teal glitter shapes slightly offset to the brown floorboard shapes. Arrange and adhere at the top of the card, as shown.

Create a bow from flax/muted gold coloured seam binding (pre-scrunching/crumpling and drying seam binding beforehand, if you wish).

Lastly, die cut four small bone shaped pieces from white cardstock (or thin chipboard) and apply a medium-thick layer of Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint.

Allow paint to fully die, then adhere bones around the corners of the pawprint frame.

And there you have it, a delightful Father’s Day card that celebrates one’s passion for pups, marries cute with sophisticated, masculine with shabby chic, and which is sure to find favour with any pet parent or lover that you bestow it upon.

Fatherhood comes in many forms

Much as with motherhood, fatherhood is not a one size fits all situation.

While, in a human context, we tend to think of words like “dad”, “papa”, and “father” in the context of being a parent or guardian to fellow people, this word can also be extended to those who are pet parents.

I know that this makes some folks cringe, but personally, I don’t have an issue with it.

From day one with both Annie and our (late) cat, Stella, Tony and I have referred to one another as “mommy” and “daddy” in the context of raising and taking care of our pets.

In fact, as Tony and I rarely address one another by our first names (preferring nicknames or terms of endearment such as “sweetie” or “honey”) but will often say “daddy” or “mommy” when referring to each other around Annie, I’d bet you a jar of Annie’s favourite all-natural peanut butter that she thinks those are our names.

Tony is an excellent pet parent. Care, love, compassion, and a steadfast commitment to our animals are just some of the many positive traits that help to make him one.

He adores Annie with every fibre of his being (as I do) and relishes the responsibility and honour of getting to provide her with the best life we possibly can.

At nearly 9.5 years old, we know that Annie almost certainly has fewer years ahead of her than those she has already experienced.

We accept this heartbreaking fact and try not to dwell on it too much. There’s little sense in letting the natural course of life rob of us the joy of experiencing the present moments that we are blessed to have with Annie.

Right here and now, she is healthy, spry, energetic, (super) playful, and doing great overall. Be it on Father’s Day or any other day of the year, this is an invaluable gift.

As is having a partner in life who cares about and loves animals every bit as much as do (which is why I wanted to celebrate this fact via Tony’s Father’s Day card this year).

Not all of us are dads, of course. Nor do we all have relationships, for whatever reason(s), with our fathers.

This day can be challenging for some people. More than I could ever adequately put into words, believe me, I get and relate to this myself.

I sincerely hope though that it is possible for you to still enjoy Father’s Day or at least not find it unbearable. Think of those dads you’ve known throughout your life (be they family members or otherwise) who excelled in this role.

Reflect on favourite fictional or celebrity fathers, the way (if applicable) your partner is a great papa to your kid(s), and all the fantastic pet parents you may know.

Beyond that, there is the universal element of the divine masculine, male deities pertaining to fatherhood, and the fact that not a single human being would have come into being were it not for the combination of (biological) male and female DNA.

To all those celebrating, honouring, or remembering dads and father figures or archetypes today in any capacity (pet parenthood very much included), I hope that you have a terrific time doing so and that all the papas in your life enjoy a very happy Father’s Day.

A wish that, I have no doubt, Annie seconds all the way.

Do you celebrate the pet parent side of Father’s and/or Mother’s Day? What are your favourite occasions to make pet themed paper crafting projects for?

The post Masculine Shabby Chic Happy Pawser’s Day (Father’s Day) Card – Plus Get to Know Our Dog, Annie appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Of all the colours, purple – despite the fact that I find many shades of it to be arrestingly gorgeous – and I have never completely clicked.

Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, a time when the toy market was thriving like there was no tomorrow, (provided more than one colour option was made available) a great deal of the products released for young girls were either purple or pink.

Sure, plenty of them – from Keypers to Popples – included versions in both of those colours, and others could be found in hues such as sky blue, butter yellow, vivid fuchsia, and tropical vacation-worthy coral. Yet, to my mind – and certainly here in North America – it was pink and purple that garnered the lion’s share of the toy market for girls.  

Be it then, prior to that point, or in the decades since, these colours have remained popular with youngsters and chances are, they won’t be fading away from toy store shelves anytime soon.

Reflecting on my childhood, for as far back as I can recall, I was gaga for the colour pink.

One of my first bedrooms had pink walls (topped with a cute pink and green wallpaper border that depicted teddy bears doing ballet – ahhh, the 80s ), a lot of the clothing I wore in my youth was pink, and I found that I gravitated to pink considerably more than purple.

There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but I believe the first strains in the relationship between myself and purple likely took hold when I became a card-carrying member of team pink.

Interestingly, purple is my mom’s absolute favourite colour (though she has never been the type to make their fave colour a centrepiece of their wardrobe or home décor).

I have always been a very independent soul and even in the days of pre-school, I can remember wanting to have different preferences in many instances to those of my parents.

Thus, it is entirely possible that I gravitated towards pink (whether consciously or subconsciously) so as to differentiate my favourite colour at the time from that of my mother.

Purple is a rare, regal colour that for much of human history was one of the most difficult to come by and therefore often amongst the most expensive as well.

Before artificial purple dyes were created scores of centuries later, the primary source of purple dye throughout much of the ancient world came from the mucus produced by a type of sea snail called murex snails which reside in the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources, including Pliny the Elder, tell us that thousands of these snails (which underwent a rather pungent-smelling ten-day brining process in a lead pot over low heat) were required just to make a single ounce of purple dye. Thus, the cost of obtaining items that were dyed purple was something only the wealthiest members of society could even begin to contemplate doing.

As a result, purple has long been associated with the elite, people of power, and, perhaps above all others, royalty.

Shifting from the days of My Little Ponies and Cabbage Patch Dolls to my tween and teen years, societally, purple continued to be a popular colour in many spheres as we inched ever closer to Y2K.

I can well recall several friends – and plenty more of my peers in general – being obsessed with the colour purple during that time.

It came into play with our Kabbodles, Lisa Frank school supplies and stickers, chunky glittery makeup (ahhh, the 90s – surely you saw that coming ), hair accessories (scrunchies, mini butterfly clips, and alligator clips, oh my!), clothing, Trapper Keepers, platform sandals, and so much more.

And throughout all that time, while I certainly never shunned purple, I remained loyal to pink.

As years of middle school morphed into those of high school, I didn’t feel the need to have/wear/decorate my room with “all the pink” anymore – but it still remained my favourite colour.

In some respects, it still is – particularly dusty rose, which is the shade of pink I most adore.

However, over the years, other colours such as black (which, I know, is technically not a colour but the absence of such), grey, red, burgundy, and aged metallics have long given pink a run for its money.

At no point, did any purple hue make my top five – despite the fact the fact that it is a decently common/popular colour in both the vintage and goth fashion worlds (these being the two subcultures that I have been most immersed in from my teens onward).

I tend to strongly favour having a cohesive colour scheme in my home (and wardrobe, too, for that matter). To date, neither of them has yet to feature purple in any major way.

And yet, all that said, I do not dislike purple in the slightest.

In fact, I would go so far as to say I love many shades of it. And purple will forever hold a special place in my heart given that it has been mama’s favourite colour throughout her whole life.

Much as with my clothing and home décor, my craft supply stash tends to lean towards certain colour palettes as well. There, too, purple does not tend to take top billing very often.

I can go multiple months running without a single spec of purple entering any of my craft projects.

This makes it seem like I am at odds with purple. Rest assured that I most definitely am not. Purple just tends to wait patiently on the sidelines until an outfit or craft project calls it up to bat, if you will.

Be it the palest shade of lilac or the richest eggplant (which, along with plum, shares the title as my favourite purple hue), purple is a versatile, dynamic colour that can convey so much.

It can be peaceful and evocative of youth, dark and vampy, upbeat and summery – and much more!

I was reflecting recently on how, for all my undying love of Halloween, I rarely weave purple into my All Hallows’ Eve or Samhain-related craft projects.

Lately, we have been bopping along through Springoween. Now that June has officially begun again, we are teetering on the cusp of Summerween. This point on the calendar seemed like a terrific time to reach for one of both of these season’s most iconic and adored colours.

Instead of pairing it with orange or green, as this colour often is in a Halloween context, I opted instead to lean heavily into the dark, bewitchingly elegant side of purple by teeming it with black, white, and gold.

The end result is a delightfully spooky Halloween card that I can now give to my mom or to one of the numerous other purple adoring souls in my life.

And, as you have likely suspected already, this purple Halloween card also happens to be my June 2022 #MakeHalloween365 project share.

As always, sweet friends, please do not hesitate to use this fun and festive community-focused hashtag anytime you share a creative Halloween project anywhere online.

Gold ghost shabby chic purple Halloween card

In for a penny, in for a pound as they say, so having decided on making a purple Halloween card, I began with a purple cardstock card base and wove this colour into various other components of my design as well.

Much as I had a hankering to work with purple again, so too was I really in the mood for some classic shabby chic paper tearing/distressing that day and therefore it also appears throughout this festive handmade Halloween card.

I am wild about the vintage-style illustration of a ghost rendered in gold metallic ink on the Prima Thirty One Collection paper that provides the star image for my latest handmade October 31^st greeting card.

It is gothy, (quite literally) spirited, and ever-so-pretty, to boot!

To carry the gold theme further, I included both metallic gold cardstock, glittery gold adhesive gems, and some fabulous gold coloured Webster’s Pages (oh, I miss that company!) tulle here as well.

I adore how the tulle resembles a gold-hued take both on spiderwebs and tattered fabric – say that of the disintegrating curtains in a long-abandoned haunted house.

However, as I was aiming to ensure purple remained in the lime (or, should I say, lavender) light, I made sure to pepper this Halloween card with purple.

It appears as the card base, one of the matting layers beneath the ghost images, in a fabulous piece of light purple and black Echo Park bat print paper, in the fun little Prima ephemera pieces, as the only ink colour used in this card, and even shows up in the “Happy Halloween” sticker that I used for my sentiment.

If purple is your jam (err, grape jelly ), that of someone dear to your, or you are looking for a wonderfully gender-neutral colour palette when making your own Halloween cards, read on for a detailed list of the products used in this project plus step-by-step instructions on how to make one of your very own.

Products used to make this hauntingly charming vintage ghost Halloween card

-Black cardstock

-Purple cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Vintage ghost illustration paper – Thirty-One Collection All the Treats Paper from Prima (I used another portion of this same sheet of paper as part of my recent Happy Springoween Pocket Letter.)

-Black and purple bat print paper – Bewitched Witch Hat Paper from Echo Park

-Wavy stitched edge rectangle nesting dies (Plain, straight stitched, cross stitched, or just about any other type of rectangle nesting die set could be used here as well.)

-One or two different flourish dies (I used two different dies on this project.)

-Light opaque/chalky purple ink – Distress Oxide Milled Lavender Ink from Tim Holtz

-“Happy Halloween” sentiment sticker (This one is from a package of Crafter’s Square [Dollar Tree brand] of Halloween stickers that did not have a specific product name. I bought these stickers within the past couple of years, so they may be available again at Dollar Tree come the Halloween 2022 season.)

-All ephemera pieces used on this project – Rose Quartz Ephemera from Prima

-Black seam binding

-Metallic gold netting/tulle – Vintage Inspired Netting Collection 2 from Webster’s Pages

-Glittery gold gems – Say it Crystals Midnight Garden Self-Adhesive Embellishments from Prima

-Black gems – Balloon Blast Off Self-Adhesive Classic Gems from Forever in Time

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a gold ghost shabby chic purple Halloween card

Begin by making a card base from purple cardstock.

Cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than your card base. Tear the right-hand edge in a random, intentionally imperfect manner. Cut a slender piece of Webster’s Page gold tulle/netting the length of the torn black cardstock. Position it so that this layer is flush with the left side border (aka, the fold of your card). Adhere to the underside of the black cardstock.

NOTE: All paper, cardstock, and netting/tool layers that follow are also to be arranged so that they favour the left side of this card’s design.

Then, cut a slender piece of the Echo Park bat print paper a bit smaller than the black cardstock and likewise tear its right-hand side.

Cut a piece of black seam binding several inches longer than the width of the two pieces you just adhered together. Run it across the upper third of that area and adhere in place. Tie the two ends together into a bow on the left-hand side of the card.

Attach the bat print paper to the underside right-hand edge of the black beneath the bat print paper, then adhere this group of components to the card base.

Cut a piece of the Echo Park bat print paper a bit smaller than the previous layer. Tear its right-hand edge as well. Adhere.

Next, cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer and, here too, tear the right-hand edge. Adhere to the previous layer using a dimensional adhesive such as Pop Dots or another type of foam squares/tape.

On the right-hand side of that (black cardstock layer) position and adhere a small piece of gold netting/tulle as well as the Prima light purple ruler and ticket stub pieces, as shown.

(Fun side note: While it is in reference to a US location, that lovely little ticket stub has the placename “Vernon” on it, which just happens to be the name of a neighbouring town located less than twenty minutes south of us.)

Using black cardstock and metallic gold cardstock die cut two pairs of matching flourish shapes. Arrange and adhere each matching-shaped flourish together with the black ones as the top layer. Off-center them a little so that a glimmer of the gold layer is still visible.

Tuck these flourish stacks under the lower left-hand side and upper right-hand side of the latest (torn edge) black cardstock layer that you created.

Using a larger-sized wavy stitched edge rectangle nested die, cut a rectangle from the same purple cardstock that you used for your card base. Adhere using dimensional adhesive.

Cut the central ghost panel image from the Prima Thirty One Collection All the Treats paper and ink all of its edges with Milled Lavender ink.

Then cut a gold metal cardstock matting layer a smidge bigger than the dimensions of that piece. Adhere the two together.

Die cut a smaller wavy stitched edge rectangle piece (that is large enough to work as a matting layer for the gold cardstock layer you just made) from black cardstock. Adhere previous gold cardstock + ghost image layers to this piece of cardstock and then adhere it to your previous layers.

Next, cut nested layers (by hand, with dies, etc) of gold and black cardstock, respectively, to mat beneath the sentiment sticker. Adhere those layers together then top with the sentiment sticker (optionally inking the edges of the sentiment sticker with Milled Lavender Ink, as I have done here). Adhere these elements on the lower righthand side of the card.

From the Prima ephemera, arrange and adhere a small alphabet piece so that it is sandwiched between the bottom of the central ghost image panel layers and the sentiment sticker layers, as shown.

Then, tuck a light purple domino and a light purple raffle style ticket under the left-hand side of the sentiment, angling them to the left a bit.

Place one of the largest sized gold glittery Prima gems on the middle of the black seam binding bow (you may wish to add some extra holding power to the adhesive that is there already by reinforcing it with hot glue, strong glue dots, or a heavy-duty crafting glue such as E6000 to ensure this gold gem stays put) and then position one somewhat smaller sized gold sparkly gem on the lower left and upper right-hand sides of the wavy stitched edge purple cardstock layer.

Surround each of these gold gems with two small black gems on either side, as shown.

And there you have it, one eye-catching purple, black, white, and gold Halloween card that can be made in scarcely more time than it takes a ghost to say “boo”.

Compared to many of my projects there are not, relatively speaking, all that many steps nor a huge volume of different materials required to make this eerily fun Halloween card.

If one used a template, paper trimmer, or scissors to cut out the rectangles and, optionally, nixed the flourishes, this delightful ghost-themed Halloween greeting could be made without the need for a die cutting machine.

This design is one that marries sweetness with spookiness (a perpetual fave combo of mine) and which is both timeless and ideal for October 31^st fans of all ages and genders.

From spirituality to coal tar, a (super) brief look at the meanings and history of purple

As much as we tend to associate purple with spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it can certainly work well as a year-round colour.

Purple is a colour with strong ties to many things, including both spirituality/mysticism and creativity/artistry – not to mention a long-standing history of use within the LGBTQ+ community.

Given that it is the lovechild of red and blue, purple embodies elements of both fiery warmth and serene coolness.

For all the pale, pastel shades of purple out there, one finds even more that are bolder and more commanding.

Perhaps that is why – especially when combined with its relative rarity in the natural world – purple leaps out at us in many settings.

It might not be as glaring as bright yellow or orange or as tranquil as a soft blue, but it is apt to grab our eye all the same.

Both in terms of colour psychology and the meanings often linked to purple in the witchy/Pagan realm, this purple can represent such areas as intuition, peace, independence, beauty, sensitivity, understanding, empathy (and empaths), the unknown, power/status, pride, dignity, protection, wisdom, creativity, devotion, enlightenment, health and healing, openness, psychic abilities, the crown chakra, magic(k), and death – amongst numerous other things.

In fact, so closely tied to death and mourning was the colour purple to the Victorians, that it was one of just a few colours that were permitted back into a person’s wardrobe when they were in a period of half-mourning (following various lengths – often depending on the mourner’s relationship to the deceased – of full morning, which was also known as deepest mourning, during which only black was supposed to be worn).

Doing so was made all the more possible by the fact that in the very same era (in 1856, to be exact), one of the first synthetic purple dyes was invented.

Originally dubbed “aniline purple” by its then eighteen-year-old inventor, William Henry Perkin, this dye – which would later be known by the name mauveine – was created out of coal tar.

In the years and decades to follow, many other synthetic purple dyes – some certainly safer than others – came onto the market as well.

As a result, purple began to be a colour that was within the reach of more people and, accordingly, was frequently seen not only in times of half-mourning but in the day-to-day wardrobes of many Victorian individuals (it was wildly enjoyed by both women and men).

Purple also made a splash in terms of home décor, the art world (purple pigments and paints had been available prior to that point, but were often very costly and did not always promise long-term colourfastness), and as a result, was a much-favoured choice in terms of flowers + floral arranging, too.

As time went on, more and more forms of artificial purple dye were invented and used to colour a huge range of goods (including certain food, too, such as candy and grape soda).

And while, these days, purple has still managed to retain ties to the rich and famous, royalty, and religion, it is very much a colour that the majority of people around the world can access, if so desired.

In addition to the purple correspondences touched on above, spiritually speaking, purple is also associated with such things as the element Air, the number seven, the planet Jupiter, the cardinal direction of east, the fae, wands, cauldrons, spiritually significant jewelry and clothing (very much including robes/cloaks), the spirit world, and Pagan pride.

To circle back to where this post began, it is true that purple and I have not always been the closest of friends, but we share a bond that spans my entire lifetime and I have never viewed purple in a negative light or disliked it for a moment.

This is not the first paper crafting project I have made over the years that starred purple (in terms of those since the creation of my current blog, this Shabby Chic Springtime Bloom Card really stands out for me) and it is a safe bet to say that it won’t be the last either.

Especially since, again, this royal shade is my mom’s favourite colour.

Not wearing, decorating, or crafting with purple all that often as makes the times when I do opt to do just that all the more special and standout-ish to me.

Two adjectives that apply abundantly as well to my – and countless other peoples’ – cherished Halloween.

And therefore, that is all the more reason for me to reach for shades of purple spanning lilac to mulberry, orchid to mauve – and, of course, that most witchy approved of purples, amethyst – when creating some of my numerous annual Halloween papercrafting projects.

Are you a big fan of purple? Do you enjoy including this versatile and very pretty colour in some of your creative projects as well?

PS: I am well aware that if you try to say the name of this blog post five times fast, it instantly becomes a tongue twister.

The post Gold Ghost Shabby Chic Purple Halloween Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

We are even closer to All Hallows’ Eve now and as a result, I have been massively in the mood for classic Halloween colours and imagery.

Whereas plenty of folks make winter holiday season cards all throughout the span of the calendar, as many of you know, I create Halloween cards and other spooky season themed crafting projects all year long.

They bring me bliss and further strengthen the bond I have with my favourite (and most sacred) day of the year: Halloween + Samhain.

Plus, come those knee-weakingly gorgeous days of early to mid-autumn, doing so means that I usually have numerous festive Halloween cards (et al) ready to give to friends and family.

And, they are also the ideal way for me to utilize the #MakeHalloween365 hashtag that I launched last year so that Halloween adoring creatives of all types could share their work and be inspired by that of other people.

As you might guess, this fun vintage themed Halloween card is my #MakeHalloween365 project for the month of May.

Creating it in the heart of Beltane season – which is the corresponding sabbat to Samhain on the opposite side of The Wheel of The Year – felt especially meaningful to me.

The Witching Hour adorable vintage image and classic fall colour Halloween card

Knowing that I wanted to go with a timeless fall + Halloween colour scheme for this delightful project, I selected a palette of pumpkin-y orange, aged cream, deep gold, and midnight black.

And how fitting the latter is when you consider the sentiment that appears on this card.  

It reads the “The Witching Hour”, which while some people place later in the night/early morning (in the range of 3 – 4 am, when the dark heart of the night is still beating strong and dawn has yet to crack the sky’s surface once again), many others view this time as occurring from midnight to 1 am.

The concept of the witching hour, while certainly intertwined with Halloween + Samhain, applies to every night of the year and is an extraordinarily powerful and poignant point in the day to carry out activities pertaining to one’s witchery, Paganism, or spirituality in general.

And if you can do so bathed in the moon’s silvery light, all the better (though that is by no means essential, of course).

When I was but a wee lass, my (very talented!) mom made me an adorable witch’s costume from Halloween print fabric. A sturdy orange trash bag was utilized as an attached cape – which is all kinds of clever in my books (especially given the very real possibility of rain or snow that we faced on October 31st).

I wore that handmade witch costume on at least two, possibly three, different Halloweens throughout my youth. A few years later, my little sister would go on to sport it as well.

While to the best of my knowledge, this costume was likely either given away to other youngsters or lost to the hands of time at some point, I still have a scanned photo (care of my sweet mama) from the 1980s of me wearing it.

It was this very costume that I was thinking about as I set out to make my latest handmade Halloween card.

And in a flash, I remembered a sheet of Authentique Twilight paper I had picked up a while back that stars some fantastic vintage Halloween images. One of which was a sweet little girl dressed as a witch herself.

The fact that this image tied in excellently with the colour palette I had already determined was the icing on the cake – or should I say, the caramel on the apple.

As, this far out still from October 31^st, I am not sure yet if this card will be mailed or delivered in person, I opted to keep its depth below the minute two centimetres that Canada Post permits letter mail to be before it crosses into parcel territory (regardless of the other dimensions and weigh involved).

Naturally though, true to form, I wasn’t about to sacrifice too many layers or embellishments.

Doing so came together by building up a base of numerous layers of cardstock and paper to which I added a piece of cream-hued crocheted trim, two felt bats (I gave them cute little gold rhinestones as eyes), a button + rhinestone topped selection of trims, and quartet of gold rhinestones around the outer corners of the central image.

And just about as fast a real pair of bats – or a darling little Halloween witch on her broom – could zip across the enchanting Halloween night sky, my card was complete.

This design is quite easy and all things considered, not too brutal on the ol’ pocketbook – especially if you already have most or all of the types of supplies used on this Halloween card project to hand.

Should you be keen to whip up one yourself or use it as an inspirational jumping-off point for your own festive Halloween cards, read on for a complete list of the materials used plus detailed step-by-step directions on how to make this super cute vintage-inspired All Hallows’ Eve greeting.

Products used to make this charming “Witching Hour” Halloween card

-Black cardstock

-Pumpkin/dark orange cardstock

-Dark cream or taupe cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Stitched edge (or any other type you wish) rectangular die

-Ornate edge rectangular (or square) die

-Pinking sheer decorative edge scissors – Mini Pinking Paper Edgers Scissors from Fiskars

-Flax/muted gold-hued plaid paper – Fall Breezy Stripes Paper from Photo Play

-Pumpkin print border strip paper – Spook Hill 8”x8” Paper Pad from Recollections

-Witch’s broom print paper – Haunted House Witching Hour Paper from Carta Bella

-Vintage witch girl image paper – Twilight Eight Paper from Authentique

-Golden brown ink – Peanut Brittle Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad from Tsukineko

-Black ink – Wicked Black Archival Die Ink Pad from Color Box

-“The Witching Hour” sentiment sticker – Halloween Town Element Stickers from Echo Park

-Flax/gold seam binding – Trophy Gold Seam Binding from Hug Snug

-Orange seam binding

-Black seam binding

-Cream or ivory crochet trim

-Black felt bats (I bought these on AliExpress a few years back; similar can often be found at craft and dollar stores come the fall or cut from a bat die and thin black felt with many modern die cutting machines.)

-Orange button

-Black button (That is large enough to be topped by the orange button and still have its sides remain visible.)

-Two sizes of coloured rhinestones/gems (ideally one should be quite small as it will be used as eyes on the felt bats)

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a witch themed vintage-inspired Halloween card

Begin by making a card base from cream/taupe colour cardstock. Ink all four edges of the front (and for that matter, the back, too, if you would like ) with golden brown ink.

From the Spook Hill 8”x8” Paper Pad cut out a slender pumpkin print border strip and adhere it vertically to the left-hand side of the card base.

Using pinking sheer decorative edge scissors (or actual pinking sheers) cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than your card base. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of orange cardstock a wee bit smaller than the previous layer. Adhere to previous layer.

Using the same decorative edge pinking sheer scissors, cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock just a whisper tinier than the previous layer. Adhere to previous layer.

Cut a piece of Haunted House Witching Hour paper from Carta Bella the same width as the previous layer, but just under half of its. Adhere to previous layer.

Then, using the Fall Breezy Stripes flax coloured plaid paper from Photo Play, repeat the same process as above only this time the plaid paper will go on the bottom half of the card, as shown. Before adhering it down, ink the visible edges with golden brown ink.

Die cut an ornate rectangle piece from metallic gold cardstock. Run a piece of cream/ivory crochet trim across the middle of this piece, wrapping its ends underneath. Adhere to the back of the die cut gold cardstock rectangle and then adhere that to the centre of the existing card layers.

Use the pinking sheer decorative edge scissors to cut another piece of metallic gold cardstock, making it a bit smaller on all sides than the Carta Bella broom print paper.

Before adhering that layer down, tuck and adhere one of the black felt bats partially underneath of it on the upper left-hand side, as shown. Then adhere the orange cardstock rectangle to the previous layers.

With the stitched edge rectangle die, cut a rectangle from orange cardstock. Adhere to previous layer.

Next, cut the adorable vintage witch girl image from the Authentique Twilight Eight Paper.

Using the same cream/taupe cardstock as the card base, create a very slender mat for the vintage witch girl image. Ink the edges of this piece of cardstock with black ink (brown or dark orange ink would work nicely here as well).

Adhere vintage witch girl piece to the cream/taupe cardstock.

Cut a piece of black cardstock a tiny bit bigger than the cream/taupe cardstock. Adhere cream/taupe cardstock to the black layer and then adhere the black layer to the previous card layers.

Fussy cut two brooms from the Carta Bella Haunted House Witching Hour paper. Adhere one each to the left and right-hand sides of the central image panel, positioning them so that each one is at an angle, as shown.

Take the sentiment (“The Witching Hour”) sticker and lightly rub the lettering, which is white in its natural state, with golden brown ink to tint the letters so that they better match the colour palette of this card. (Alternatively, you could use a suitable marker or even a coloured pencil to do the same thing as well.)

Adhere sentiment to the bottom center of the vintage witch girl panel.

Take one relatively small piece each of flax/muted gold, orange, and black seam binding, layer them together, fold them in half, and adhere them on the left-hand side of the lower half of the card.

Take your black button, top it with an orange button, and then with a gold rhinestone. Adhere these elements together and then to the “fold” area of the seam binding.

Place one of the larger of the two sizes of gold rhinestone embellishments around each corner of the black cardstock central panel so that it sits partially on that layer and partially on the orange cardstock layer below it.

Adhere the second black felt back to the upper right-hand side of the card, as shown.

Lastly, adhere two teensy tiny gold rhinestone embellishments to each of the bats so as to give them eyes.

And just like that, you have one sweet, classic, and very versatile handmade Halloween card to give away or keep and use as wonderfully festive home décor.

The comfort and inspiration of nostalgia

Though not everyone – myself included – had a Cleaver family style childhood, I am tremendously grateful for the positives that my youth did house at times.

Few come close on that front than the Halloweens that I experienced while growing up.

They were earnest, cheerful events filled with handmade costumes and decorations, Unicef boxes, bracingly cold Canadian night air, and a sense of exhilaration that no special event – my birthday included – could top for me back then.

Nor to this very day. I continue to get no less giddy now at the prospect of another brand new All Hallows’ Eve than I did all those decades ago.

I think about Halloween, be it past, present (year), or future, just about every day of my life – often many times a day for that matter.

It is vital that we each have things in our lives that speak to our hearts, souls, and creativity alike.

Halloween is one of the biggest and most important of those for me.

The roots of this passion took hold back before that photo of me as a wee youngster with her classic plastic pumpkin pail of sweet treats was even snapped. And it is safe to say that they have only continued to grow further every day of my life since.

I adore using Halloween memories to inspire current craft projects (not to mention other things as well, such as October 31^st menus, costumes, and decorations) and when you swirl vintage – another lifelong passion of mine – into the mix as well, I am on cloud nine.

In the coming countdown to Halloween months, you can look forward to plenty of festive content including – all things willing – no shortage of additional brand new spooky season 2022 papercrafting projects from me.

Right here and now though, it is still Springoween and as eager as I am for Halloween’s return, I am grateful for the sunny side of the year and the time it grants me – and crafters everywhere – to make a slew of festive fall projects in the lead up to that bewitchingly awesome holiday.

When do you tend to start your October 31^st related crafting? Be it pertaining to Halloween or otherwise, do you like to use treasured memories as inspiration for some of your creative projects?

PS: Did you know that there is a paper crafting challenge group dedicated solely to making Halloween projects the whole year through? I caught wind of it a little while ago and have been meaning to take part, but so often seem to forget in the midst of creating, photographing, and blogging my projects.

I am head-over-heels with Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge Blog and am entering this project into it as my inaugural foray into that challenge site.

If you have not yet discovered them yourself and also adore making Halloween paper crafts, be sure to zip on over and give them a peek!

The post The Witching Hour Adorable Vintage Image and Classic Fall Colour Halloween Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Allow me to elaborate, dear readers.

While spring might technically commence during the third week of March, in reality, the season rarely gets underway in any sort of serious way where we live until around mid-April to early May.

It is not uncommon for snow to linger on the ground and/or keep falling well into April around these Canadian parts.

So while plenty of corners of the world have been enjoying spring’s return since February, March, or April, I often associate May with the full-on start of this energetic season.

Spring is usually comically short-lived in our corner of BC (much as it is in a lot of Canada). It is not uncommon for us to go from temps in the range of -25C to +35C in the span of just four to eight weeks.

This means that spring – in its idyllic, mild weathered, new bloom-filled sense – is often over before you can even slip your rain boots on.

As layer upon layer of ice and snow gradually retreat, cocoa hued brown earth still damp and chilly from winter’s receding deep freeze meets us beneath our feet.

Overhead, skies so blue it almost seems as if someone took a fluorescent highlighter to them cradle fluffy, cotton ball-esque clouds and the promise of a few brief months of warm weather before we are thrust back into the snowy season once again.

While winter houses plenty of enjoyable outdoor activities unto itself (skiing, sledding, snowman making, etc), it is in spring when a lot of us reconnect with our favourite activities that are enjoyed in nature.

Last year my mom bought her first e-bike. Like many of us, she learned to ride a bike as a young child and while she has owned numerous bikes throughout her life, she’d not had one for a decent while now.

She immediately fell in love with her new set of wheels, quickly embarking on rides with both friends and with my husband, Tony (who is an avid cyclist himself) throughout the spring and early summer.

Save for the absurdly warm heatwave that struck much of British Columbia around the end of last June/start of July, it wasn’t the temperature that put the breaks (pun mildly intended ) on cycling for many folks around these parts last year.

Instead, it was the genuinely dangerous air quality stemming from the plethora of brutal wildfires that swept through this province during 2021’s toastiest months.

By the time the smoke had dissipated, the fires had burned out (or very nearly so), and the risk of evacuation was behind us once again, it was pretty much fall already.

Rides, as you might imagine, were quickly savoured by many a cyclist during that all-too-brief window between summer’s end and the return of snow.

Now spring is back and that means my mom, Tony, and countless others who like to cycle can hop on their bikes – be they e-bike, traditional bikes, recumbent bikes, or any other form of bicycle – and take to the open roads and nature paths once again.

For Mother’s Day (which transpires on Sunday May 8^th this year here in Canada + US), I wanted to make a festive card that tapped not only into my mom’s rekindled passion for bike riding, but also the earth and sky colour palette of springtime that is surrounding us at the moment.

Early Spring Colour Palette Bicycle Themed Mother’s Day Card

By my layer + embellishment adoring standards, this card is neither chock-a-block with such things nor did it take very long to make (less than three hours – which for me personally, is very speedy on the paper crafting project front).

Much as with the elephant card that I made my mom for her birthday last year, it was not until I sat down to craft a cycling themed card that I realized how few bike related products are in my current stash.

Surely, I would have guessed beforehand, I must have at least one stamp set that includes a bike. Nope, not as far as I could unearth that day, at least.

Okay, what about metal dies? Save for a small-sized penny-farthing die, again, nada.

Hmm, this is getting interesting, I thought. Will patterned paper come to the rescue?

As you can no doubt see from these project photos, that it did. Big yays all around!

But even then, this was the only cycling themed paper I could find in my stash (and that includes going through any 6×6, 8×8, 12×12, etc paper pads that might possibly have included a biking related print or two).

Given that both Tony and my mom are keen cyclists, going forward I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more bike riding related products.

The banner/bunting-shaped pieces here were simply cut from rectangles of brown cardstock and blue floral print paper, respectively.

To achieve the desired banner/bunting shape, flip your paper or cardstock over so that the backside is facing you. Take a ruler, align it with on bottom corner and at a 90 degree (or so) angle, make a straight line until you’ve reached the halfway mark of that piece of paper or cardstock.

Repeat the same thing from the other bottom corner, joining the two lines. You should now have the shape of a wide vee. Following the pencil lines you just marked, cut out that wide vee shape and, presto, your banner/bunting piece is good to go.

If you wish to create two or more layers of bunting/banners that will be stacked on top of each other, repeat the same process using gradually smaller-sized rectangles to create your banners/bunting pieces.

According to the Teleflora blog, approximately 1/4^th of all flowers sent annually on major holidays are purchased and delivered for Mother’s Day.

That is no surprise, really, as flowers are often one of the first things many of us both associate with Mother’s Day and which we are apt to give our moms come this special day that is held in their honour.

I was especially happy then that blooms appeared twice on the bike image that I fussy cut from a piece of Jillibean Soup bike patterned paper.

Not only do the flowers tap into that connection, but they speak to the eternal connection between spring/summer and blooms on this side of the globe.

Unlike real flowers, however, these beauties are not apt to fade anytime soon (which is another point in their favour).

I have always enjoyed working with brads in the context of my paper crafting projects but had not done so in a while. This prompted me to dive deep into my collection to see if I had any brown brads on hand.

Delightfully, the answer to the question was “yes”, and these good-sized cocoa powder hued cuties from We R Memory Keepers fit the bill to a tee.

A strip of heathered cream twill ribbon, complete with a matching bow, provides further dimension and visual interest to this fun Mother’s Day card.

Swap out the sentiment here and there is no shortage of other occasions that this same sort of card design would suit.

Birthdays, Easter, Father’s Day, thinking of you, happy travels, graduation, missing you, retirement, congratulations, or just because cards would all be good fits, amongst others.

If you are vibing with this charming bike themed card and would like to create one of your own, read on for a complete list of products used plus detailed step-by-step project instructions.

Products used to make this sweet and cute biking card

-Textured (or smooth) dark brown cardstock

-Textured (or smooth) mustard yellow cardstock

-Cream cardstock

-Blue-on-blue floral print paper

-Cream/flax and brown floral/damask print paper – Portrait of a Lady Collection Grace paper from Graphic 45

-Bicycle print paper – Spoonful of Soul Trust the Journey paper from Jillibean Soup

-Nested oval die set

-Tag/label die

-Circle design border punch – Double Bubble border punch from Fiskars

-Mother’s Day sentiment stamp

-Dark brown ink – Memento Dew Drop Ink in Rich Cocoa from Tsukineko

-Dark yellowy-orange ink – Memento Dew Drop Ink in Cantaloupe from Tsukineko

-Dark blue ink – Archival Cobalt Letter It Stamping Ink from Ranger

-Brown brads – Neutral Painted Brads from We R Memory Keepers

-Heathered beige coloured twill ribbon

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a wonderfully fun bicycle themed Mother’s Day card

Begin by making a card base from textured (or smooth) cream coloured cardstock. If working with smooth cardstock, you could also run it through an embossing folder with an understated design for some added texture as well (such as small dots, hearts, lines, leaves, flowers, or stars, for example).

Cut a piece of dark brown textured (or smooth) cardstock a touch smaller than your card base. Adhere.

Cut a piece of Jillibean Soup bicycle print paper slightly smaller than the dark brown cardstock layer. Ink all four sides (edges) of this piece of paper with Memento Dew Drop Cantaloupe Ink. Adhere to the dark brown cardstock layer.

Take the blue-on-blue floral print paper and cut a rectangle a little over 1/3^rd the width of your card base. Ink all four sides (edges) with Ranger Archival Cobalt Letter It Stamping Ink.

Adhere this piece of blue paper horizontally in the middle of the card layers that you have assembled thus far.

Cut a rectangle of dark brown textured (or smooth) cardstock slightly smaller than the piece of Jillibean Soup bicycle print paper.

Use the Fiskars Double Bubble border punch on the bottom edge of that piece of cardstock. Adhere piece to previous layers.

Cut a piece of cream/flax and brown coloured Graphic 45 paper slightly smaller than the previous (brown cardstock) layer. Use the same Fiskars border punch on the bottom of this piece of paper as well. Adhere this layer to the previous brown cardstock layer.

Next, insert brown We R Memory Keepers brads through the top and bottom corners of these two layers, as shown. Adhere this stack of two layers to the previous card base layers.

Cut a rectangle of dark brown cardstock and a slightly smaller rectangle of blue-on-blue floral print paper. Turn the bottom of each piece into a banner/bunting shape using the method described in the section immediately above these instructions.

Ink the piece of blue floral print paper on all sides/edges with dark blue Ranger ink.

Adhere floral print paper on the dark brown cardstock. Then, take a small piece of mustard yellow cardstock, use the Double Bubble border punch along its bottom edge and adhere this piece of cardstock in the uppermost portion of the “vee” shape of your banner/bunting layers.

Adhere these banner/bunting layers to the previous card layers.

Run a piece of heathered cream twill ribbon/trim across the middle of the card, tucking its ends beneath the first dark brown cardstock layer of this card’s design.

Create a bow from the same twill ribbon/trim and attach it on the lefthand side of the middle of the card, as shown.

Die cut an oval from mustard yellow cardstock. Adhere to previous card base layers.

Die cut an oval from dark brown cardstock and adhere it to the mustard yellow oval piece.

From the same Jillibean Soup bicycle print paper that we’ve already used, fussy cut a single bike and adhere it to the brown cardstock oval.

Die cut a label/tag shape from cream cardstock. Stamp the Happy Mother’s Day sentiment in the middle of it with dark brown ink. Attach a slightly smaller sized (if you have two different sizes on hand, if not another two of the same size that you already used is A-okay as well) brown brad to each end of the label/tag.

Lastly, adhere the label/tag so that it overlaps slightly with the centre bottom portion of the oval pieces.

That’s all there is to this splendidly sweet card that is perfect for biking fans, lovers of spring, nature enthusiasts and plenty of others as well.

Given its relative simplicity and the speed that it takes to make this card, it would be a good design if you needed to make multiples for an occasion or event (including invitations).

Let’s ride!

As much as I wish I could, riding has been beyond the scope of my health for about twenty years now.

One recent summer, thinking maybe, just maybe, I could bear the immense pain + symptom flare-ups that cycling causes some of my chronic illnesses, I purchased a bike and rode it a couple of times.

Sadly, that was all it took for me to realize that no amount of hoping and gritting my teeth through the discomfort was going to make that possible in the long run. So, with tears in my eyes and heart alike, the bike was swiftly returned to the shop from which it was bought.

Thus, while actually jumping on a bike and hitting the open road is not feasible for me, thankfully, I can still delight in cycling vicariously through Tony, my mom, and other relatives who are avid bikers.

Plus, I can enjoy the ride in spirit via fun paper crafting projects like this, watching cyclists zip through our region of the province (including as part of the annual Ironman Triathlon that is held each summer about two hours south of where we currently live), and care of the tales about their rides that loved ones regale me with throughout the sunny season.

Whether you are a keen cyclist, have (as I do) fond memories of riding earlier in your life, or just enjoy images of bikes, I encourage you to take to your stash and whip up a biking related project or two this year.

They suit spring and summer marvellously and can be an awesome way to make meaningful projects that tap into the interest of friends, relatives, colleges, neighbours, teachers – your name it!

Are you a bike rider yourself? Do you enjoy making cycling themed craft projects as well?

PS: To all those moms, stepmoms, grandmothers, and others of all genders who take on the role of being a mama, may you have a radiantly beautiful and abundantly happy Mother’s Day tomorrow.

The post Early Spring Coloured Bicycle Themed Mother’s Day Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

As someone whose paper crafts are rarely small in size or lacking in dimensional elements, I had been on the prowl for just such a product since the day I completed my first scrapbook page (in the fall of 2010). Therefore, as you might guess, I snatched it up immediately.

I got through that package fairly quickly and I was not able to locate another one afterwards.

Now, more than a decade on, the name of the company that manufactured it has long faded from my memory (as has the precise dimensions of that cardstock pack; it *might* have been in the range of 15×18 or 16×20 inches, but please do not quote me there!).

Every now and then, I still deep-dive on the ol’ interwebz, trying to see if I can find scrapbooking friendly (aka, acid-free and, ideally, lignin-free) cardstock and have yet to unearth much that fits the bill.

If having a given project be archivally safe is less of a concern, there are a few – mostly white and cream coloured – options out there. For example, Strathmore JAM Legal Cardstock comes in at 8.5 x 14 inches.

Even there, while you gain two inches on one measurement, you drop back down to letter size on the other. This means that the total dimensions of this product are not all that different from standard twelve-inch cardstock.

At the time of writing, Amazon also has some white and cream legal size cardstock options available as well. However, they are a bit lower weight than Strathmore’s offering and are the type of cardstock often employed for use as restaurant menus.

Handy as having sheets of cardstock larger than the industry standard (biggest size of) 12×12 inches can certainly be, what I wish existed even more is oversized scrapbook page protectors – and in turn, scrapbook albums themselves.

That way, I would not have to get creative all the time when it comes to how to store the layer + dimension loaded 12×12 inch scrapbook pages that I adore making.

I swear, if I ever have the incredible opportunity to either launch my own papercrafting line or partner with an existing one, oversized scrapbook albums will be one of the very first things I try to bring to market!

Right here and now, though, I do not have any cardstock (or albums) larger than 12×12 inches in my stash. Thus, when I need to go wider than that – or than the max width of a folded sheet for a card – I need to adhere two or more pieces of cardstock together.

Objectively, I don’t make too many projects that exceed standard scrapbook layout, card, and slimline card sizes, but it does happen occasionally.

Case in point, the delightfully springtime-y thank you card at the heart of today’s post.

I am huge on both being grateful and expressing gratitude, so when someone else does something kind, caring, generous, or otherwise thoughtful for me, I truly love to express my appreciation to them.

Sometimes, even if you factor in oversized slimline cards (such as my Sweetly Spooky Oversized Slimline Springoween Card), standard sizes of homemade cards just do not feel large enough in my books – especially when one is keen to present a visual representation of their abundant appreciation.

That was precisely what I was aiming for when creating this card to send along to a dear friend who showers me with kindness on a regular basis.

And thus, this oversized thank you card was born.

Charming Springtime Bloom and Bird Oversized Thank You card

The method that I generally employ when creating oversized cards with dimensions that exceed those that a single piece of 12”x12” cardstock can be folded into, is to determine what size I want my card to be and then cut matching sized pieces of out of two (or however many are required for a given project) pieces of cardstock.

So long as their sizes match up, it is not strictly necessary that you use identical sheets of cardstock for each, as one piece will be for the front of the card and the other one serves as the back of the card.

That said, I do tend to use the same cardstock for both sides. Mixing it up can be lots of fun too, though, especially with holiday season greeting cards. Think red on one side, green on the other for Christmas or black and orange for Halloween.

Once the matching pieces have been cut out, I line them up so that one is evenly placed on the other and then adhere about 1/8th to 1/4^th of an inch from the top of one piece of cardstock and attach it to the other.

You can do this with various products, such as the following:

-Glue sticks

-Liquid glue that isn’t too runny or likely to warp your cardstock

-Tap runner adhesive

-Adhesive dots and squares

-Staples (Tim Holtz’s Tiny Attacher stapler works awesomely in this context – and many others, too, of course!)

-Stitching (thread, embroidery floss, etc)

-A row of small brads or eyelets (If they are going to be visible, try to match them with the other colours used on your project.)

This is one of those rare times when I don’t reach for dimensional adhesive, however, as I usually want the top edge of my card to resemble a standard folded card top. I find that things such as dimensional glue dots/foam and hot glue can make achieving that look trickier, so typically skip them in this instance.

Utilizing this approach, you could make a card as big as 12×12 inches if you wanted! Or, theoretically, larger still if you overlapped the edges of two or more pieces of cardstock just a touch and adhered them together to achieve whatever dimensions you were after.

For my oversized springtime thank you card, two matching pieces cut from sheets of 12×12 inch cardstock were plenty.

Much like myself, the recipient of this greeting is someone who loves to live closely in tune with both nature and the seasons. As it is headed their way soon, I went full-on springtime with my choice of colours, images, and embellishments.

I have a few skeins of twisted cord trim in my papercraft stash that I have been itching to start working with. A card this big and bold seemed like the ideal time to do just that, so once I had selected the papers I would be working with here, I partnered them with a suitably coloured twisted cord.

I am delighted with how using this type of trim to create a border for my card turned out and highly suspect that I will utilize it again not only for cards, but also on things such as scrapbook pages and tags.

If you have – or wish to pick up – some twisted/braided trim of your own, I highly recommend giving this embellishment technique a go!

Just make sure that you have sturdy adhesive on hand to hold it in place. Unlike above, now is the time to bust out your trusty glue gun – or you could use a powerful liquid adhesive such as E6000 (doing so in a well-ventilated workspace, of course).

The Bo Bunny floral print piece of paper that I used behind my central bird image here had a delightfully pretty scrolling banner as part of its illustration. I utilized that as the spot for my sentiment – extending the letters a bit beyond it on the right-hand side, as that part of the banner is covered by flowers in that paper’s design.

This too was a fun technique (utilizing a printed banner image) and change of pace from stamping and/or die cutting a banner and using it in much the same capacity.

While there are numerous layers and embellishments here, I didn’t want the overall card design to read as (in my books at least! ) too busy. Plus, given that it was going to be posted out, I wanted to use materials that would hold up well for this card’s lengthy journey through the international mail system.

Despite the fact that I love it, I do not work with royal blue very often in my paper crafting. As a result, I was quite a happy camper regarding getting to do so here.

Clearly, my latest strong interest in utilizing blue in my cards (which took hold last fall and can be seen in some of my seasonal projects back then, such as this Chicly Spooky Multi-Window Halloween Ghost Shaker Card) is still going strong. I do not mind one iota.

Blue, with its countless hues, is an extremely versatile colour and one that I have rarely met a soul who did not like (with plenty of folks listing it as their fave colour, point-blank).

It is also an ideal match for spring and summertime projects, as it can call to mind everything from perfectly pristine blue skies to the twinkling waters of our favourite beaches.

For the elegant white crochet-style trim/lace that appears here in two areas, I utilized the trim as a whole for the central piece and then cut it down the middle and attached one half to each side of the bird image.

This is a terrific approach to take with suitable trims/laces when you want two different widths of the same product (and/or simply don’t want to “waste” trim by obscuring it with other layers/embellishments).

I was thrilled with how this sweet, beautiful springtime thank you card turned out and hope that the person I am giving it to will delight in its seasonal charm as well.

Products used to make an extra big springtime thank you card

-Pale peach or pink cardstock (cream or ivory could easily be used here instead, if desired)

-Royal (or cobalt) blue cardstock

-Light aqua, turquoise, or baby blue cardstock

-Raspberry pink or dark pink ink – Classic Stampin’ Spot Magenta Madness Ink from Stampin’ Up

-All printed papers used in this project – Harmony 12”x12” Paper from Bo Bunny

-Green mini alphabet stickers – Tiny Type Stickers from Cosmo Cricket

-Floral spray/sprig (from Prima; product does not have a specific name on its packaging)

-Cream/ivory coloured paper (or fabric) flower

-Pale green and grey enamel dots – Classic Enamel Dots from Forever in Time

-Twisted gold coloured trim (the one used here is from the “Crafts” line that is sold at Dollarama)

-3/4^th inch to 1+ inch wide white crochet/lace trim that can be cut in half horizontally and still have each part remain intact

-Dark pink twill ribbon – Vicki B. Wraps from Bo Bunny

-Strong adhesive such as a glue gun or E6000 to adhere the twisted trim in place

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

NOTE: This project does not require any dies or embossing folders, so it is a great option for those who do not have – or don’t always want to use – a die cutting machine.

How to make an elegant, shabby chic bird and flower themed card

Begin by making an oversized card base from pale peach or pink cardstock using the method described above.

Once it is assembled and ready to work with, cut a piece of royal blue cardstock a little smaller than the overall size of your card front. Adhere to card front.

Cut a piece of light aqua, turquoise, or baby blue paper a whisper smaller than the previous layer. Adhere.

Next, take your twisted trim and working in small segments at a time adhere it in place to create a border right near the edges of the last layer of (blue) cardstock.

Once the adhesive has dried, cut a piece of white crochet style trim/lace and run it across the middle of your card design. Adhere in place.

Top this piece of white trim with a piece of dark pink twill ribbon (or another dark pink ribbon of your choice). Adhere to the white trim layer.

Then, using the same royal blue cardstock as earlier in the project, cut a piece that is a tiny bit smaller than your previous layer, ensuring that it fits snugly within the twisted cord frame that you just created.

Attach this piece of royal blue cardstock to the previous layer using the dimensional adhesive of your choice.

Cut a piece of Bo Bunny “Harmony” paper a little smaller than the latest royal blue cardstock layer. Ink the edges of this piece of paper with raspberry pink or dark pink ink. Adhere overtop of the trim layers.

Important note: If using the same paper that I worked with here, make sure this piece includes the scrolling banner area of the design.

Cut your central bird image out of Bo Bunny paper. Ink its edges with the same raspberry/dark pink ink used above.

Mat this central image with the same pink cardstock as your card base, followed by the same royal blue cardstock used earlier.

Cut a piece of the same white trim used before in half horizontally down the middle. Adhere even-sized pieces to both the left and right-hand sides of the mat stack you just created.

Position this (now) trim-adorned stack at a bit of an angle and adhere it down to your previous layers using dimensional adhesive.

Use tiny green alphabet sticker to spell out your sentiment on the banner portion of the Bo Bunny paper.

Attach a dimensional flower and leaf spray along the left-hand side of the central image, then attach a cream/ivory/light beige hued paper flower immediately below the spray.

Fussy cut two blue flowers and their leaves from the same Bo Bunny “Harmony” paper. Adhere one flower to the top and the other to bottom of the floral cluster area.

Adhere two different sizes of matching pale green and grey enamel dots around the corners of the bird image piece of paper, as shown.

Lastly, create a bow out of the same dark pink twill trim used earlier and adhere it (using a glue gun or other study adhesive) to the middle of the top side of the twisted gold trim layer.

Voila! One splendidly seasonal oversized card that can be used to convey your thanks or, by swapping out the sentiment for another, a wide array of different occasions.

In particular, I think this card would excel for Ostara, Easter, Beltane, Mother’s Day, baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, and birthdays. It would also be very appropriate for a thinking of you/missing you/just because card or even – perhaps forgoing the bow in that instance – as a sympathy card as well.

The birds are chirping, the blooms are blossoming

Little-by-little these glorious telltale signs of spring’s return can be heard and seen all the more with each new day.

It is safe to say that humans have been using the seasons to inspire creative works for countless centuries now.

This is wonderfully alive and well still in the 21^st-century and as crafters (and/or witches/Pagans), we know there are few easier or more enjoyable ways to celebrate a given season than to make a project inspired by it.

Much as with my recent Ostara card, this oversized thank you card taps directly into the spirit (and colour palette) of spring to convey an upbeat, beautiful sense of the season.

Spring is often the shortest-lived season in our area. Therefore, I try all the more to work with elements that express its revitalizing loveliness and ingrained optimism during those few, all too brief weeks before summer’s blazing heat comes barreling back into town.

And I am certainly not alone on that front. It is such a joy, as The Wheel of the Year turns ever onward, to see and be inspired by the seasonal projects created by many of my fellow crafters (be they paper crafters or otherwise).

A lot of folk rank spring as their favourite season. Much as with the fall, I am sure that is part of the reason why there are scores of springtime craft projects created each year as sunshine, warmth, and countless fresh flowers fill our lives again.

If you have not done so lately, I encourage you to let spring inspire some of your creative happenings.

Chances are, if you do just that, you will soon want to give Mother Nature herself an oversized thank you card in appreciation for all of the magnificent inspiration she delivers your way this season.

What is the biggest-sized card you have ever made? Do you find that springtime helps to inspire some of your creative projects as well?

The post Charming Springtime Bloom and Bird Oversized Thank You Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

I glanced out the window at the signs of spring. The sky was almost blue, the trees were almost budding, the sun was almost bright. — Millard Kaufman

Some areas of the Northern Hemisphere are already wrapped in the warm embrace of early spring.

Others, including our corner of Western Canada, continue to experience the telltale biting chill and starkly snowy landscape of wintertime proper.

Yet, even if a late-season blizzard comes barreling into town, there are usually captivating stirrings of the season that we are sitting on the precipice of. And that, for those who enjoy spring at least, is certainly a happiness-sparking prospect.

There is not a time in my life when I cannot remember madly adoring butterflies (and moths, too, for that matter – assuming they aren’t turning the contents of my closet into their own personal buffet! ).

It goes without saying that I am far from alone on that front. Countless others throughout the course of human history have been fascinated by butterflies and their immense beauty.

Items depicting or shaped like butterflies never seem to go out of style – and I highly doubt they ever will.

Though, that said, there have certainly been periods when butterfly-themed items experienced a notable spike in popularity.

One such time was the late 1990s and very early 2000, a point in history when I was in my teenage years.

From those super-easy-to-accidentally-bend-open-to-the-point-where-they-break mini butterfly hair clips to butterfly print tees (bonus Y2K points if they were cropped) to the revealing rhinestone covered Emmanuel Ungaro butterfly-shaped top that Mariah Carey famously wore to the VH9’s Divas 2000 tribute to Diana Ross, butterflies were landing everywhere and we could not get enough of them!

These days, with some of the fashions from that era enjoying their own moment in the sartorial spotlight, we are seeing butterflies appear a bit more often again in the clothing and accessory world. Right down to a Gen Z-led revival of those aforementioned butterfly hair clips.

And why not? Fashion was a blast back then. It could be glam and gorgeous, but it could also be silly, fun, girly, sporty, preppy, retro, OTT, sometimes futuristically inspired, and a million other things.

Though I am not slipping on a pair of wide-legged jeans that drag on the ground beneath my chunky (black) platform slip-on sandals, nor rocking a messy bun full of darling butterfly clips atop my head these days, my lifelong passion for butterflies is still going strong.

Butterflies are often one of the first harbingers of spring’s return. Their mosaic-like patterned wings flapping gracefully by our suddenly-once-again-open windows, taking said butterflies to land on the nearest flower, leaf, or other spot they wish to visit.

Recently, I found myself yearning to see real live butterflies again. Alas though, when I looked outside, the only thing fluttering around in the sky was a fresh load of snowflakes.

Knowing that I wanted to make a least one Ostara papercraft project this year, the idea quickly struck me to create one centred around the theme of butterflies.

As a big fan of these beautiful insects, I have numerous craft products that star their depiction. Therefore, I knew this project would not require much rifling around to find the products that I had in mind.

Once I had located them, I made like a busy butterfly and quickly set to work whipping up this vibrant, dynamic springtime greeting card.

Delightful butterfly-themed Ostara shaker card

While not a hard and fast rule by any means, generally speaking, it is somewhat rare for me to craft with the cheery, confectionary-worthy palette of spring – particularly outside of that season itself.

I tend to favour darker tones and autumn + winter palettes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy dipping my proverbial proboscis in the nectar that is spring’s upbeat hues from time to time.

Having selected the butterfly print papers that I would use on this project, I let them guide the remainder of the colour palette that I utilized here.

It is undeniably a bright, fun one. But it is toned down a touch by some mellow, sun-baked shades as well as hits of both navy blue and black.

I wanted a warm palette that was at once soothing and energizing at the same time, as that is a combo I often associate with spring itself.

This same menagerie of hues could very easily be used for craft projects intended for later in the spring, too, as well as those throughout the summer. Heck, I think it would even suit Mabon/the Fall Equinox as well.

Though there are a fair number of different colours at play on this card, I made sure to repeat some of them two or more times throughout its design so as to help create a cohesive overall look.

For example, there are three different areas of both pink ombre paper and dark gold metallic cardstock, four of light green cardstock, and some of the fussy cut butterflies are repeated as well.

In addition, all of those fussy cut butterflies have a twinkling line of Diamond (coloured) Stickles running down their thoraxes, thus unifying this bevy of winged friends all the more.

My choice of sequins colours echoes some of the shades found in many of the other elements of this card. This in turn helps them to look all the more coordinated.

This card design – for all that is going on here – is actually quite versatile.

For example, you could easily swap out the “Happy Ostara” sentiment for one pertaining to Easter, Beltane, Mother’s Day, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, baby showers, christenings, graduations, retirement, bon voyage, good luck, congratulations, and scores of other events and reasons.

And if you are not feeling the palette, keep the general design but sub in a colour scheme of your choosing.

Products used to make this charming springtime butterfly shaker card

-Light green cardstock – Soft Tones 8.5”x11” Cardstock from Paper Accents

-Dark metallic gold cardstock – Foil Cardstock Paper from Recollections (Michael’s brand)

-All printed papers used in this project – Conservatory 12”x12” Paper Pad from Craft Smith (Michael’s brand)

-Clear acetate

-Smaller sized scalloped edge rectangular die

-Oval die – Nestabilities Classic Oval Dies from Spellbinders

-Larger sized scalloped edge rectangular die – Nestabilities Lattice Rectangles from Spellbinders

-Small butterfly cut out rectangle die (from AliExpress)

-Dark blue/navy blue ink – Memento Dew Drop Nautical Blue Ink from Tsukineko

-Iridescent clear glitter glue – Diamond (Glitter Glue) from Stickles

-“Happy” word sticker – Soup Labels Farmhouse Stew (Word) Stickers from Jillibean Soup

-Small black and clear letter stickers – Mambi Sticks Clear Stickers from Me & My Big Ideas

-Green and gold sequins mix – Evergreen Sparkle from Pretty Pink Posh

-Micro-sized gold heart-shaped sequins – Unnamed product from Pretty Pink Posh

-Pin sequins – Princess Sequins from Craft Medley

-White lace trim

-Peachy-pink crochet trim – Stella & Rose Hazel Memories Trim from My Mind’s Eye

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a beautiful butterfly themed shaker card for Ostara/The Spring Equinox

Begin by making a card base from light green cardstock (if you do not have light green, white cardstock would look lovely here as well).

Cut a piece of white lace trim the vertical length of the card base. Adhere on the left-hand side of the card base so that this trim extends out beyond the card base itself.

From the Conservatory paper pad, cut a piece of (white background) butterfly print border strip paper. Ink it on all four sides with dark blue or navy blue ink. Mat it with a piece of ever-so-slightly larger (than that strip) pink ombre print paper.

Layer and adhere this matted border piece along the left-hand side of the card, overlapping it somewhat with the white trim layer.

Cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock a little bit smaller than your card base. Cut two equal-sized pieces of peachy-pink crochet trim that are the length of the top and bottom of the gold metallic cardstock. Adhere trim to the underside of the top and bottom of that piece of gold cardstock, then adhere the cardstock to the card base.

Next, cut a piece of pink ombre paper (this paper, like all others used throughout this project, hails from the Craft Smith 12”x12” Conservatory paper pad; this is not a terribly old paper pad, so it may still be available at some Michael’s locations) just a tiny bit smaller than the gold cardstock layer. Adhere to gold cardstock layer.

Cut a piece of dark blue + multicolour butterfly print paper a whisper smaller than the previous layer. Adhere to the previous layer.

Next, cut out the border strip that says, “Happiness Blooms Within”. Mat it with an ever-so-slightly larger (than that strip) piece of the same light green cardstock you used for your card base.

Adhere the border strip to the green cardstock and then, using foam tape, pop dots, or a similar dimensional adhesive product, adhere the green cardstock to the far left-hand edge of the previous (butterfly print paper) layer.

Using the larger of the two scalloped edge rectangular dies, cut a rectangle from the pink ombre print paper. Then use the oval die to cut an oval aperture in the middle of that piece. Back the aperture with a piece of the same light green cardstock that you used for the card base. Adhere this scalloped rectangle piece to your previous layers.

Use the smaller of the two scalloped edge rectangle dies (mine comes with an oval opening in the center already; if yours does not, cut an oval the same size as the one on the previous layer in the center of that rectangular piece) to cut a rectangle from metallic gold cardstock.

Cut a small oval-shaped piece of clear acetate and adhere it to the back of the metallic gold rectangle.

Adhere the gold rectangle (with acetate) to the pink ombre rectangle so that the two ovals are perfectly aligned.

Flip that layered piece over and add in the various colours and shapes of sequins.

Use foam to create a border all the way around the oval shaker element opening. Carefully bring the green cardstock + ombre pink layer to the foam adhesive, gingerly apply some pressure to really stick the foam adhesive in place (as we don’t want any sequin going rouge and escaping our shaker! )

Next, measure and cut a piece of the same white trim that you used earlier so that it is the length of the pink ombre layer. Then cut that piece of trim in half, if so desired (only half of it will be showing, so why not save the other half for use on a different project?). Adhere the white trim to the underside of the bottom of the pink ombre layer.

Follow that up by adhering that rectangle layer “stack” to your previous card base layers.

Cut out a label piece using light green cardstock and the small rectangular-shaped butterfly (cut out) label die. Mat this piece with an ever-so-slightly larger piece of gold metallic cardstock. Adhere together.

Then adhere that “stack” a little bit below the central (rectangular layers), so that some of the dark blue + multicolour butterfly print paper is visible between the two-layered areas, as shown.

Use the “happy’ word sticker and black + clear letter stickers to spell out “Happy Ostara” (or the similar-sized sentiment of your choosing).

Take a piece of butterfly print paper from the Conservatory paper pad and fussy cut out several different sizes and colours of butterflies. Adhere them around the card as shown (or however you wish to place them).

Then cut out duplicates of a few of the butterflies. Apply adhesive down the middle of the backside of those butterflies. Gently bend their wings upward a bit, then adhere them down on their corresponding “flat” butterfly layers.

Lastly, take your iridescent glitter glue (be it Stickles or otherwise) and with a light touch, apply a small line down the thorax (middle vertical area) of each butterfly.

I know that the above instructs are a bit lengthy, but in reality, this project is not (IMO) very tricky and it does not take terribly long to complete. The most time-consuming part, by far, is fussy cutting the butterflies out.

I adore fussy cutting, so do not mind. However, if it isn’t your favourite activity or if using scissors for a long time is difficult for you due to health (or any other) reasons, you could use similar sized premade butterfly die cuts, chipboard pieces, butterfly die cuts that you make yourself, punched butterflies, or stickers here instead.

This festive Ostara/Spring Equinix/Easter card is a pleasure to both make and bestow upon someone special in your life – especially if they are a big fan of butterflies.

Ostara – like springtime sunshine – returns with gusto!

North of the equator, March houses the Spring Equinox. From that day onward until the Summer Solstice we will be surrounded by the beauty, gentle warmth, and the general air of happiness that is inherent to spring.

On – or in the general vicinity of – the Spring Equinox, a fair number of witches/Wiccans/Pagans opt to observe the calendar year’s second sabbat: Ostara.

A lively, hope-filled celebration of the earth’s reawakening, new life, new beginnings, optimism, and much more, Ostara is, for many, a jubilant sabbat that bounds into our life as merrily as a baby lamb.

If you are not familiar with, or would like to read more about, Ostara, I welcome you to do so via the following entries that I have previously penned about this sabbat:

–10 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Celebrate Ostara

–35 Wonderful Ostara Crafts, DIY Projects, and Décor Ideas for The Spring Equinox

–Ostara Candle Spell for Clarity and Renewal (Guest post that I wrote for TheWitchofLupineHollow.com)

While relatively few who are not witches/Pagans observe Ostara in its 21st-century iteration, many individuals – regardless of their spiritual path – enjoy celebrating the return of spring.

The upcoming Equinox is a stellar time to do just that.

A lot of people in my life were born in the spring and numerous loved ones – including my mom and her only sister – rank springtime as their favourite season.

They are far from the minority there, as spring takes top billing for scores of folks around the world.

It is not hard to see why. After months of freezing temps, long hours of darkness, and the need to wear more layers than you’d find on mille crepe cake, many of us are champing at the bit for even the slightest degree of warmth.

Our patience is, thankfully, rewarded sooner or later. And then, after a few sun-kissed days, as if by magic, we often all but forget the lengthy cold spell that we just endured.

Suddenly our lives are illuminated in fresh, wonderful ways again. And while we know that winter will eventually return, for now, we are as far away seasonally from that point as one can possibly be.

And that, if you ask me, is worth celebrating and sending out a butterfly-themed card or two in honour of!

Additional gift of mini butterfly hairclips, 100% optional!

Do you equate butterflies with the return of spring (or autumn, if you live south of the equator)? What is one of your favourite things about the upcoming sunny season?

The post Delightful Butterfly-Themed Happy Ostara Shaker Card for the Spring Equinox appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Today, with a mere four days bridging the present and February 14^th, I am posting about my second Valoween card.

I suspect that a fair number of you read that recent post – and I know that some of you were also here last year when I shared an in-depth look at Valoween – so I won’t rehash things too much regarding what Valoween is all about.

That said, as I realize this may be the first time that some of my readers are hearing about it and that folks who wish to learn about Valoween may discover this post via a search engine or social media hunt, please permit me to give the quickest of overviews.

Valoween – as one might rightly guess from its name – blends classic themes and motifs of Valentine’s Day with the delightful spookiness of Halloween.

Naturally, valoween is not recognized as an official or separate holiday from Valentine’s Day itself (cool as that would be!). Rather, it is simply a different way of approaching how one celebrates and/or decorates for February 14^th.

The concept of Valoween can be applied to romantic Valentine’s Days, Galentine’s Days, celebrations of platonic relationships, or pretty much anything else that you would like to focus on come this mid-February holiday.

And akin to October 31^st itself, one can opt to take Valoween in any sort of festive direction.

It can be cute and sweet, classic and elegant, hair-raisingly frighting and more than a little bit macabre – whatever your heart desires.

Personally, when it comes to Valoween,  I tend to lean towards either cute + cheery or dark + romantic.

Much as with the Valoween Shaker Wand and Card that I shared here last February, I opted to take my second Valoween project for 2022 in a darkly romantic direction.

To say that I adore the aesthetic that this marriage of holidays swirled with a generous dose of “amore” conveys would be a tremendous understatement.

It is, by far, one of my favourite styles and the colour scheme that I rendered it in here is likewise amongst my most beloved of palettes.

Given its distinctly romantic rebus sentiment, this card is the greeting that I will be giving to my husband come the 14^th. (Hopefully, he won’t see this post before then! )

Darkly romantic you have my (anatomical) heart Valoween card

Teaming with layers, bold colours, and elements that speak to both passion and a distinct air of the eerie, this Valoween card is not for the faint of heart.

Speaking of which (yes, I created that segue on purpose ), it was the anatomic heart stamp at the center of this frighteningly festive greeting that served as this project’s jumping-off point.

For as far back as I can recall, I have been drawn to images and other artistic renditions of anatomical hearts. The more realistic looking, the better.

My various Etsy wishlists are peppered with anatomic heart-themed objects, including the popular anatomical heart vase from Dellamorte & Co. and a beguilingly lovely anatomical stained glass heart from Strong Family Connection.

What can I say, I hearts!

Both the real deal and the shape that we as a species have bestowed the same name upon.

This darkly romantic Valentine’s Day card marries the two, each one supporting the other – and not unlike two people in a committed and loving relationship – to great effect.

While the classic February 14^th colour of pink does not technically appear on this handmade card, a subtle sense of it is conveyed by layering classic white vellum over richly red metallic (mirror) cardstock.

The anatomical heart image was stamped directly onto the velum. I then let it sit for about an hour, while I worked on other components of this Valoween card, before giving it pride-of-place in the center of the design.

To drive home the “You Have My ” sentiment all the more, I made sure to include no shortage of hearts throughout this card.

They appear via the vellum shape, the set of square nested dies with their charming heart-adorned borders and the red hearts that have the word “love” cut into their left sides.

(Funnily, in a way, enough, that little “love heart” die went sailing off my craft desk moments after I cut out the second red heart and I have yet to find it again. I suspect it may have snaked its way between a shelving unit and the wall, so I will soon hunt for it there. Wish me luck!)

As well, towards each of the four corners of this card, small triple heart shapes (which, I am the first to acknowledge, could also be used as a clover/shamrock shape) appear, somewhat resembling another classic Valentine’s Day staple, flowers.

Like a good many paper crafting projects that I create, fundamentally, this is not a tricky or, IMO, fiddly card to bring into being.

You will likely find the die cutting to be the most time-consuming aspect of the project, but even that shouldn’t take too terribly long – especially if you put on your favourite romantic music or movie in the background while you crank out your die cut shapes.

I am tickled pink – actually, make that red, black and gold – with how this Valoween card turned out. It reminds me of my all-time favourite fictional couple (Morticia and Gomez Addams), is my style to a tee, and will, I very much hope, find favour with Tony as well.

In addition, this festive Valoween card is – as you might have suspected – my latest #MakeHalloween365 project share.

If you are not already using this hashtag for your own year-round Halloween related creative projects of any kind, why not give it a spin in 2022?

Should you be in the mood for some paper crafting dark romance of your own, read on for a complete list of materials used and detailed step-by-step instructions for how to make this spookily sweet Valentine’s Day greeting.

Products used to make this red, black and gold gothic Valentine’s Day card

-Black cardstock

-Pearlescent gold paper or cardstock (Similar looking, but heavier weight, pearlescent gold cardstock.)

-Metallic red cardstock – Scarlet Organza Mirror Card from Tonic Studios

-White vellum – Premium Vellum Cardstock from Core’Dinations

-Heart border nested square-shaped die set (Similar looking nested heart border die set.)

-Good-sized heart die (The one I used here has a subtle stitched border, you can opt for the same or use a plain heart, as desired.)

-Small heart w/the word love (or a plain heart-shaped) die

-Good sized vine or scrolling flourish die

-Decorative edge scissors – Heartbeat Paper Edgers from Fiskars (Yes, I specifically opted to use these scissors for this Valoween card because of their name. )

-X’s and O’s print paper – Head Over Heels Typewriter Paper from Echo Park

-Very fine point black pen – Micron 01 0.25 mm Pen from Sakura

-Black ink – Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger

-Anatomical heart stamp (Similar looking anatomical heart stamp.)

-Scrolling banner stamp – Banners Clear Stamps from Forever in Time

-Tiny black and white letter stickers – Black and White Mini Alpha Stickers from Kaisercraft

-Red polka dot letter stickers – Love Letters Cardstock Stickers from Doodlebug

-Two sizes of adhesive gold gems – Self-Adhesive (Gold) Gems from Studio G

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to make a darkly romantic “You have my (anatomical) heart” Valoween card

Begin by making a horizontal card base from black cardstock.

Cut a piece of vibrant red metallic cardstock slightly small than the card base. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of X’s and O’s print paper a wee bit smaller than the previous layer. Lightly ink all four edges with black ink. Adhere to the previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of pearlescent gold paper/cardstock (you could easily use metallic gold or gold glitter cardstock here instead, if so desired) about 65 – 75% of the size of your card base.

Cut a piece of black cardstock (the same cardstock used for the card base) a little smaller than the piece of pearlescent gold paper. Adhere the pearlescent gold paper to the black cardstock and then, in the center of the card design, the black cardstock to your existing layers.

Take a piece of white vellum and cut a rectangle that is a little taller than the gold and black layers you just created, but a bit narrower than it on the right and left sides.

Use decorative edge scissors on all four sides of the vellum piece. Center and adhere the vellum piece on the black and gold layers.

Take the largest die from the heart-bordered nested die set and cut a square out of metallic red cardstock.

Position it so that the square now becomes a diamond shape. Adhere with dimensional foam adhesive, Pop Dots, or similar to the previous layer.

Die a heart-shaped piece from white vellum that is large enough to accommodate your anatomical heart stamp.

Using a black ink that is suitable for vellum, stamp the anatomic heart in the center of the vellum heart. Allow to air dry or speed up the drying process by gently waving an embossing heat gun over the heart piece for a few moments (not too long though, as vellum can easily warp and/or burn from heat).

Place a small amount of adhesive on the far left and right (center) sides of the velum heart and attach it to the middle of the red metallic diamond-shaped piece.

Take two of the smaller nested heart border dies. Use the larger of the two to die cut two matching squares from pearlescent gold paper, then use the smaller of the two to die cut two matching black cardstock squares.

Center and adhere the black squares on the gold squares. Rotate the stacked squares so that they too become diamond shapes.

Die cut two small red hearts that contain the world love (or simply use a standard heart-shaped die) out of red metallic cardstock. Adhere one heart to the center of each of the black squares/diamonds that you created in the previous step.

Adhere one of the gold diamond stacks so that it slightly overlaps with the left side of the central vellum heart and the other so that it does the same on the right side of the vellum heart.

Die cut four matching vine/flourish pieces from black cardstock. Adhere two around the left and right sides of the bottom of the metallic red cardstock diamond.

Tuck the other two under the top of the red metallic cardstock diamond and the vellum piece below it, leaving most of each vine/flourish visible, as shown.

Using black ink, stamp a scrolling banner shape onto pearlescent gold paper. Fussy cut (or, if using a stamp with a matching die, die cut) the banner shape once the ink has dried.

Use tiny black and white alphabet stickers to spell the words “You”, “Have”, and “My” around the banner piece, as shown.

Place red polka dot letter stickers between those words, positioning them so that they flow with the curve of the banner piece.

Once you are happy with the placement of the red letter stickers, optionally, you can (as I have done here) trace around each of the letters with a very fine tip black pen so as to help the letters stand out all the more.

Next, use the teeny-tiny triple heart-shaped die to die cut four pieces of that shape from black cardstock and another four from pearlescent gold paper/cardstock.

Apply adhesive to the back of the gold “heart flowers” and position them a little way down the black “heart flowers”, as shown.

Adhere one black and gold “heart flower” stack to each of the far corners of your card front.

Place one small metallic gold coloured gem in the center of each of those “heart flowers”.

Lastly, use a slightly larger size of the same gold metallic gems to adorn the top and bottom tips of the central red metallic diamond, as well as the left and right sides of the smaller gold diamonds.

There you have it, one impactful, gorgeous, and hauntingly romantic I (Anatomical) Heart You Valoween Day card to give to your beloved.

Celebrate love of all kinds this Valentine’s Day

Understandably, no matter what sort of spin you put on it, February 14^th is not everyone’s favourite day of the year.

Though I am a die-hard “lover of love” who melts faster than a box of chocolates left too close to a votive candle when it comes to this holiday, I can easily see why such is the case and sincerely respect that not everyone flips their lid for Valentine’s Day.

That is, of course, perfectly okay! We are always allowed to like/love or dislike whatever special occasions we desire.

Yet, I think it is worth pausing all the same as Valentine’s season descends upon us once again to reflect on the broader subject of love.

Nearly all of us love various people and/or things. And, most (though, heartbreakingly, not all) of us have been blessed to receive and/or give love throughout our lives.

That can mean romantic love, platonic love, love for our pets, love for our work, love for causes that are important to us, love for our hobbies and passions, love for our spiritual journey, love for our favourite books, movies and music, love for our favourite foods, or deep feelings of adoration directed at countless other possible things/animals/peoples/events/etc.

If you work with an altar or would otherwise like to make a display of this nature, I encourage you to place items that represent some of the things you presently love in your sacred space.

In turn, think deeply (and/or meditate) on them and the role(s) they play in your life right here and now.

How, if applicable, have those roles shifted, changed, or otherwise evolved for you throughout your life?

What do you love, but do not or cannot focus on as much as you would ideally like?

Are there ways you can shift more attention to those areas between now and next Valentine’s Day?

In terms of people, naturally, February 14^th is a great time to remember, honour, and celebrate those you have loved – and presently love – throughout your life.

As such, you could also include images, mementos, or other objects that represent people (and/or pets) that you currently love or have loved in the past.

Valentine’s Day, not unlike the Pagan sabbats – particularly, in the Northern Hemisphere, Samhain and Yule – is an excellent time to engage in ancestor work, as well as to reflect deeply about our families, our heritage, and those members of our trees that are still with us today.

If doing so feels right and appropriate to you, try to tell one or more of your nearest and dearest just how much they mean to you and how greatly you love them this Valentine’s Day.

I firmly believe that we all need love. We need to receive it and, in turn, give it to others as well. We need events, locations, interests and other things to hold close to our hearts, too.

These are basic elements of the human journey and one that each person deserves to experience.

On Valentine’s Day, give thanks for the loves of all types in your life. If you feel you need more love, freely open your heart to that possibility and allow the universe to hopefully deliver a greater degree of love into your world.

And all the while, remember to try and give your own love generously and selflessly to others as well.

In their 1967 hit song of the same name, The Beatles reminded us that “All you need is love”.

In reality, we may require a bit more than that. Yet, this message drives home the importance of love and just what an incredible, life and history-shaping force of our collective human experience it really is.

Here’s to love, to Valoween and Valentine’s Day, and to the fact that I each and every one of you!

Are you a fellow fan of anatomical hearts? What loves in your life will you be focusing on this February 14^th?

The post Darkly Romantic You Have My (Anatomical) Heart Valoween Card for Valentine’s Day appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Save for one male cousin who is in his twenties coming down with it last year (thankfully, he did not get terribly ill and bounced by quite quickly), no other close relative in our family had contracted this frightening illness until my sis fell ill a few days.

Mercifully, thus far, she has not needed hospitalization and appears to be gradually improving a little already (knock wood!).

As she is a lifelong asthmatic with some other health issues as well, I have worried a great deal since the pandemic began that my sister might end up getting Covid.

I would gladly come down with this illness a million times in a row if it spared her getting sick with it even once.

Alas, no entities or higher powers have shown up to offer me that sort of Faustian bargain and, sadly, the Coronavirus found my sister.

The past 2 – 3 years have been rather rough on various fronts for my sis (including multiple car accidents – none of which were her fault), and I am certain this is truly the last thing in the universe that she needed or wanted.

On my end, not for the first time since this blog’s inception, I genuinely wasn’t sure if I would be able to get a blog post up this week.

Thankfully, as the week wore on, I was able to briefly spend some time crafting which meant a post was still feasible (yay!!!). The end result is the darling Valoween project featured in this entry.

I needed something lighthearted, upbeat and festive – and in my books, this sweet Valoween card ticks all of those boxes.

The last few days have indeed felt long at times. However, January as a whole has whizzed by faster than a snowflake on a strong arctic wind and that means Valentine’s Day is rounding the corner again soon.

Hey, ghoul friend adorable Valoween Day ghost themed friendship card

Hard as it is to believe that we are almost 1/12^th of the way through 2022, it is even trickier for me to wrap my head around the fact that close to a year has elapsed since I first posted here about Valoween.

If you are not familiar with the concept of Valoween – which is essentially adding a dark/spooky/macabre/Halloween spin to Valentine’s Day – be sure to check out my post Dark and Romantic Valoween Shaker Wand and Card Set for the 411 on this frightfully fun spin on Feb. 14^th.

This year, I am planning on bringing you two Valoween project shares – with this super cute card being the first.

It is, admittedly, on the sweeter side of Valoween (which, I should mention, is sometimes also spelled as Valloween).

I doubt very many people would be frightened by the trio of squeal-worthily precious ghost friends here, nor the red-dominant colour palette.

While red does take center stage, other colours find their way into the fold as well. Grey, black, cream, and pink all play supporting roles.

I love the mix of red and white lettering. The white alphabet stickers are Thickers and made of foam, which gives them this fabulously charming quality that I find works sooo well into the context of nearly any type of ghost or otherwise spooky related project.

Naturally, as a project pertaining to Valentine’s Day, this Valoween greeting includes some hearts. This is not required for any take on Feb. 14th, of course, but the perpetual “lover of love” in me can rarely help including at least a heart or two when crafting for February 14^th.

Two of the central layering pieces are wonky/wavy-edged ovals, which I opted for as I felt they had a certain ghost shape element all their own that fit the theme here to a tee.

My perpetual addiction to metallic cardstock appears here again, as does my endless love for layers and embellishments.

This handmade Valoween card began with a project concept in my mind’s eye (as many do). However, when all was said and done, the end result deviated somewhat from how I had initially pictured it.

I know this is something that many a paper crafter – and creative soul, point-blank – can wholeheartedly relate to!

Happily though, in the end, I was (am) very pleased with the final result and will keep my original concept in mind for a possible future project.

This card design is quite easy to make. There is really nothing tricky to it and the most time-consuming aspect is simply manually die cutting out the various layers and ghost figures.

This is an enjoyable card that works great for Valoween/Valentine’s Day. While at the same time, it could also be used for a wide range of other occasions as well – provided you swapped out or simply ditched the “Happy Valentine’s Day” part of the sentiment.

I can also see this charming ghost themed card fitting the bill for events such as birthdays, Halloween, and Samhain – as well as thinking of you, missing you, congratulations, and just because cards. Assuming, of course, that the recipient is a fan of sweetly spooky creations.

And given the highly spirited (pun intended) October 31st influence at work on this card, it is my latest #MakeHalloween365 project share.

If you would like to make your own adorable Hey, Ghoul Friend Valoween card, read on for a complete list of materials used and detailed step-by-step instructions that will guide you through doing just that.

Products used to make this super cute ghost themed Valoween card

-Black cardstock – Raven Black Cardstock from Bazzill

-Light grey cardstock

-Cream cardstock

-Light red cardstock – Tim Holtz Distress Collection 4.25”x5.5 (mini pad) from Core’dinations

-Matte silver metallic cardstock

-Red metallic cardstock – Scarlet Organza Mirror Cardstock from Tonic Studios

-Pinkish-red metallic cardstock – Opera Red Mirror Cardstock from Tonic Studios

-Pink polka dot and damask-y floral print papers – Je t’Adore 8”x8” Multipack from Making Memories

-Decorative edge oval die

-Wavy/wonky edge nested die set (you can currently score a very similar looking Wavy Nested Frame Set from Whimsy Stamps.)

-“Wave” decorative edge scissors (Mine are unbranded and likely came from a dollar store at some point; you can, at the time of writing, find a similar pair of wavy edge scissors on Amazon.)

-Ghost and spider stamps – Ghosts 4”x6” Clear Stamp Set from Gerda Steiner

-Happy Valentine’s Day sentiment stamp – Perfect Match Stamp Set from Papertrey Ink

-Black ink – Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger

-Very dark red or burgundy ink – StazOn Claret Solvent Ink from Tsukineko

-White metallic ink marker – White Metallic Marker from Forever in Time

-Small dark red alphabet stickers

-White foam alphabet stickers – Thickers Rockabye Foam Letter Stickers from American Crafts

-Mini stapler and staples – Tiny Attacher and Staples from Tim Holtz Idea-ology

-Cream/flax coloured paper raffia – Earth Tones Paper Craft Ribbon from Craft Medley (dollar store brand)

-White seam binding (or ribbon)

-Pink seam binding (or ribbon)

-Black rhinestone embellishment strips – Black Jewel Stickers from Crafter’s Square (dollar store brand)

-Grey rhinestone heart embellishments – Pyramid Gems Classic Hearts from Forever in Time

-Sparkly creamy-white gem embellishments – Say It In Crystals Pretty Pale from Prima Marketing

-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers

-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)

How to Make an Adorable Hey, Ghoul Friend Valoween card

Begin by making a card base from light grey cardstock (you could also use white, cream, medium grey, or black cardstock here instead).

Cut a piece of Making Memories light pink polka dot paper slightly smaller than the card base. Ink all edges with burgundy ink. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of Opera Red Tonic Studio Mirror Cardstock slightly smaller than the previous layer. Adhere to the previous layer.

Cut a piece of matte silver metallic cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer. Use the “wave” decorative edge scissors on all four sides.

Using black cardstock, cut two slender pieces about ½ of an inch or so wide and a little less than half the length of the card front long. Cut their outer (left) edge with the wavy decorative edge scissors.

Next, cut a piece of cream cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer. Ink all four edges with burgundy ink.

Tuck one of the black cardstock pieces under the top left-hand side of the cream cardstock. Adhere to underside of cream cardstock. Repeat the same process on the bottom right-hand side of the cream cardstock, then adhere the cream cardstock piece down.

Cut a black rhinestone (gem) adhesive bling strip piece in half and adhere one half to each of the two black (wavy edge) pieces of cardstock from the previous step. Repeat the process, only this time the other half of the rhinestone strip goes horizontally, as shown in the photos.

Cut a piece of elegant damask-y floral paper a touch smaller than the previous layer. Ink all four edges with burgundy ink. Adhere.

Run a piece of pink seam binding (red, white, grey, black, silver, or gold could also be used here instead) across the center of the layers that you’ve composed so far. Adhere in place.

(Note that most of this piece of seam binding will be hidden – you only see a wee glimpse of it on the right-hand side of the center of the card.)

Using the largest-sized die from the wonky/wavey oval die set, die cut one shape out of Scarlet Organza Tonic Studio Mirror Cardstock. Adhere.

Using the second largest wonky/wavey oval die, die cut one shape from light red cardstock. Adhere.

Die cut an oval-shaped piece using black cardstock and a decorative edge oval-shaped die. Adhere to the previous layer.

Use red and white letter stickers to spell out the sentiment “Hey Ghoul Friend” on the black oval layer that you just created.

Take a piece of light grey cardstock (the same cardstock that you used for your card base here) and, in black ink, stamp three ghosts and one adorable little dangling spider from the Gerda Steiner Ghosts Stamp Set. Die cut (or fussy cut) the ghosts out.

Colour the bodies of the ghosts and the whites of the spider’s eyes with the metallic white marker (or paint pen; in lieu of either, you could use anything from a white gel pen to white chalk and a chalk fixative to white Nuvo Drops).

Adhere the ghosts around the wavy/wonky oval layers, as shown. Adhere the dangling spider from the bottom right-hand side of those layers.

Use a stitched (or plain) edge heart die to cut three identical-sized heart shapes from cream, light grey, and black cardstock (one heart per colour). Ink the edges of the light grey heart with burgundy ink and stamp “Happy Valentine’s Day” in the same ink on that heart.

Adhere the three hearts together, offsetting them a bit (as shown) so that each colour is visible.

Punch a hole near the top of the heart stack and string a small piece of cream/natural (or white, black, grey, red, or pink) raffia, paper raffia, or other suitable trim through the hole. Tie the ends of this piece of trim around the pink seam binding layer (or adhere in place instead, if so desired).

Do not adhere the heart stack down to the card layers beneath it. You want the hearts to dangle and be able to move around freely.

Create a multi-loop bow from white (or cream, pink, red, grey, or black) seam binding. Optionally, crinkle the seam binding ahead of time if you are going for the same look as the seam binding bow shown here. Adhere on the left-hand side of the card so that the bow conceals where you tied/adhered the raffia/trim in place.

Adhere one grey rhinestone heart embellishment to the center of the seam binding bow and four others around the card in various spots.

Lastly, adhere a few sparkly creamy-white colour Prima gem embellishments around the card, as shown.

And there you have it. One over-the-moon cute Valoween, Valentine’s Day, or Galantine’s Day card to give to one of your favourite ghoul pals (naturally, you could swap out the word “ghoul” to the less gender-specific “boo” instead, if desired).

There is spooky, and then there is scary

The concept of Valoween as a whole can certainly be spooky, mysterious and/or eerie, but it is unlikely to evoke genuine fear in many people.

As much as I love spooky things – and even some very specific hair-raisingly frightening ones as well – I am rarely looking to be or to feel sincerely scared.

That is one of many responses, however, that most of us feel when somebody we care about falls ill or gets injured. And it is one that countless millions around the globe have contended with since the pandemic took hold.

Though the initial fear I experienced upon learning that my sister had come down with the Coronavirus was powerfully intense, it has subsided somewhat at this point and now sits at a mid-level worry.

I do not see that shifting downwards further very much until we know she is safely out of the woods and doing substantially better again.

Our family has been exceedingly lucky thus far regarding Covid-19 and not a day has gone by since the pandemic began that I haven’t given thanks for that being the case.

I am acutely aware that many others have not been able to say the same thing and that our own luck could vanish in the blink of an eye. As far as medical science knows, save for a tiny subsection of the population who appear to possibly be immune to Covid, this virus can strike any of us at any time.

In the face of the most real of threats and worries, it is perfectly normal (and healthy) for any of us to be scared. Who hasn’t experienced at least a bit of fear since Covid burst onto the scene?

Creating this card helped me to momentary relax and connect with the fun side of spooky for a few hours.

All the while, never losing sight of the ever-greater poignancy that concepts pertaining to death, the afterlife, and spirits have taken on for many of us over the past couple of years.

Know that whether you, your partner, your child, your parent(s), your sibling(s), or anyone else that you care about is ill or has lost their battle with Covid, my thoughts, heart, and perpetual understanding are with you.

And should you ever need someone to talk to on that front, please remember that I am always just an email away.

Here’s hoping that February is a vastly more positive month for all those who need it to be – and that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t feel quite as speedy. (#wishfulthinking)

On top of the second Valoween project that I will be sharing, I have some really cool content coming down the pipeline in the next few weeks, including an exciting author interview post with one of today’s most beloved + best selling Pagan authors.

So you will certainly want to keep your dial set to Witchcrafted Life as we embrace Imbolc’s return and do our best to stay safe and well all February long.

Have you and/or anyone close to you contracted Covid-19 so far? Do you enjoy the concept of Valoween or are you more a traditional Valentine’s/Galantine’s Day person?  

PS: On a largely unrelated note, earlier this week my browser crashed moments after I had opened up nearly three weeks of recent blog feeds in my feedreader and somehow that ended up marking them all as read and in turn instantly, irretrievably deleting them from my feed (what? how? why?!!! ).

As a result, if I missed commenting on some of your January blog posts (and I normally visit your site), please know that this is the reason why, my dear friends.

Many sincere apologies about that! It is unusual for my computer to freeze or crash (thankfully), even though it is getting on in years at this point.

When it does crash or freeze though, I find that more often than not, this happens so when I am doing something that I don’t want to risk losing or having to start from scratch with (Murphy’s Law all the way).

Oh well! Not a big deal of course, especially in the grander scheme of things – but I did want to mention it here all the same.

The post Hey, Ghoul Friend Adorable Valoween (Spooky Valentine’s Day) Ghost Themed Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.