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For the next three days since it's finally Halloween week I've decided to post some of the cards I've made for my department.  I am attaching candy to all of them and leaving them on their desks for a happy Halloween surprise!

I've had a lot of this Halloween themed paper and embellishments for quite some time but unfortunately I don't have very many photos from Halloween to use them with.  These cards are a good way for me to use some of my favorite spooky things and know that some one will appreciate them!

Fast Card Friday

Today's card was a super fast card that I honestly made just to get rid of the last little bit of twine ribbon that I had left.  I've had it for years and years and was sick of looking at it.  I kept holding onto it for the "right moment" but that never came so I decided to force a "right moment"!

The rest of the card was super simple, just stamping thank you and punching out some cute hearts.  I think it turned out nicely and it suites the fall season well.  Of course, it wouldn't be one of MY projects without some bling.  

Not only did I get to use my twine but I also was able to use scrap paper that I unfortunately can't identify.

Identifiable Elements:

• Tree paper- "I Love Family" collection by Echo Park Paper Co.
• Thank you stamp- Wacky Wishes by Stampin' Up!

Heavy Weight

Today was a day that was a test of my adhesive abilities.  I bought these cool bows not long ago without fully taking into account how large and heavy they were.  It took  a lot of glue dots and a lot of patience to get them stuck down for good (hopefully).

Since the bows were so thick I tried to keep the page from getting to massive.  I didn't want to add 5 lbs. to my scrapbook just for one page!

Luckily, I feel that the paper, enamel stickers, and light weight Thickers were able to give the page enough interest without me have to add to much to what was there.

Identifiable Elements:

• Background paper - "Newsprint" from the Classic Calico Collection by Studio Calico
• Enamel dots - Enamel Dots by We R Memory Keepers
• Bows - Ribbon Trim Bows by Santoro London
• Thickers - Here + There by American Crafts
• Torn papers - Modern Graphics Deluxe Paper by Cricut

Fast Card Friday

Today's Fast Card Friday truly was fast.  I used all pre-made pieces and was able to slap it together quite quickly!  I thought this would be a good card to use as more of my friends are taking major steps in their lives with getting new jobs or buying their first houses.

The other great thing about this card was that I was able to use up the last of a rhinestone sheet and the last of these pink flowers which means my goal of clearing my stash is even closer to being completed!

Because of this goal I unfortunately can only identify one piece of this card but at least it's one of the important bits!

Identifiable Elements

• Pink flowers- Paper Shapes in Gerbera Cotton Candy by Bazzill Basics Paper

Make It Work

Today's page inspiration came from a set of border stickers that I've had for quite some time but always found an excuse not to use.  I decided that today would be the day I would use some of them and find a way to make them work!

It really was a struggle for me to find paper and other elements that I found "match".  I've not been as on board with the eclectic style that I have seen a lot of lately in the scrapbooking world so it was difficult to remind myself that things don't need to "match" in order to "match".  (Do you think I've said the word "match" enough there?)

I don't hate the way this page turned out so that in and of itself makes this venture a success.  I was also able to use those bright blue letter stickers that I've deemed to bright to use on multiple occasions.  The page isn't too fancy but it turned out better than my negative attitude going into it had expected.

Identifiable Elements:

• Background paper - "Record" by Studio Calico
• Yellow flowers - Burlap flowers by Petaloo
• Blue pearls - Double Dot Jewels by BoBunny
• Yellow paper - "I Love Family" collection by Echo Park Paper Co.
• Red paper - "I Love Family" collection by Echo Park Paper Co.
• Border stickers - Border Stickers from the Random Collection by Crate Paper

Meh

I'm not too pumped about this page but after staring at it for way too long, walking away from it, coming back to it a few days later, staring at it some more, etc. I felt it was time to just call it done and good enough.  I need to allow myself some "bad pages" or else I will go absolutely insane.

The goal I had set out with in mind for this page was to use some of the these quote stickers that I had had stashed away for quite some time.  I've stock purchasing quote stickers recently because I always find it difficult to match the quotes with appropriate pictures.

In that sense, this page isn't a failure, though I wish I could've found a way to give it a little more "umph" but I was feeling uninspired.

Some pages won't be as good as others and that's okay.

Identifiable Elements:

• Black flourishes - Rub On Borders from the After Five Collection by Kaiser Craft
• Quote stickers - "ChitChat Stickers" from the Chalk Garden collection by Three Bugs in a Rug
• Hexagon pattern paper - I Love My Family collection by Echo Park Paper Co.

Float On

Today's post was a fun relaxing one to do that let me use a background paper that I had been dying to find the perfect picture for.

I love the way that this paper looks with the photo of my dad and I paddle boating at one of my grandparents' friends' house back in the day.  The colors match perfectly!

I started realizing that I don't have a ton of photos from my childhood left to scrapbook so I might have to raid my mom's stash when I visit them at Thanksgiving.  These pages are always some of the most fun for me to make and I'd love to have more old photos to work with.

Identifiable Elements:

• Background paper - "Somewhere in Time Passage" from the Somewhere in Time collection by BoBunny
• Enamel hearts and circles- Enamel Shapes by We R Memory Keepers
• Large letters- Summer Fresh collection by Simple Stories
• Small letters- Summer Fresh collection by Simple Stories

Fast Card Friday

Today I was inspired by the most random thing possible.  I was looking through some of my font stickers and noticed I was running out of these red ones so I decided to try and figure out what I could spell with them.  When I realized I could spell "Good Luck" I knew I had a Fast Card Friday on my hands.

To make the rest of the card I sprayed some distressing ink, punched out some cute ovals, and slapped on some rhinestones.  It truly was a fast card AND it had the added bonus of letting me use up some of the pieces I'd been meaning to.

Luckily I have friends who are constantly growing as people and taking on new endeavors so I know this card will be put to good use!

Identifiable Elements:

• Distressing ink- Pinstripe by Mister Huey's Color Mists
• Oval paper- I Love Family collection by Echo Park Paper Co.
• Rhinestones- Adhesive gems by Imaginisce

Hoarder's Hump Day

Today's hump day was definitely needed.  I'm still trying desperately to get my craft room organized and part of my biggest problem is the sheer volume of stuff I have to find space for so I figured the best way to solve that problem would be to just use it all, right?!

I have a TON of journal note cards which I honestly know I will never use for their intended purpose so I took some and punched all of these pretty flowers out of them.

I also got to use more of the transparent paper that I used for a SOS challenge last month and I only have a little left so thankfully that'll be gone soon too.  Since this is a true Hoarder's Hump Day I unfortunately can't name many of the bits that I used for this page.

Identifiable Elements:

• Background paper- American Crafts
• Transparent paper- "Raven Dots" by Bazzill Basics Paper

Glitter Gone Wild

Today's page really tested my patience to make.  I impulsively decided to cover a majority of a piece of plain blue card stock in gold glitter to make a cool looking pattern, but I didn't totally think it through.  Not really a total shock given my personality.

While the glitter background turned out really cool, it presented a massive problem in which I couldn't get anything to stay glued to the glitter.  I ended up lightly scraping away some glitter to get glue and mini glue dots to stay attached to the page after trying multiple other techniques (I almost resorted to gorilla glue but wasn't sure how that would affect my photographs).

Despite the fact that this page took me literal days to make when most of my pages require about a quarter of that effort.  I really think it looks cool.  I'm not entirely sure how well it'll hold up, but we'll see.

It really should be used for a Hoarder's Hump Day since I can only identify one element in it but at the effort equated to the page being more than that.

Identifiable Elements:

• Jewels - Jewel Borders by Forever in Time Paper Craft Collection

Fast Card Friday

The dreaded orange felt is back.  I promise there's not much of it left. Sorta.

Once again, this was a quick card that I slapped together.  It was for a friend of mine who was kind enough to send me a gift card to Meijer after I found out I am a celiac a few months back and needed to get all new (more expensive) groceries.  

There wasn't much time for digging through embellishments so I used some unlabeled orange glitter glue (it was a gift, I didn't buy any shady black-market glitter glue) to add some more texture and dimension to the piece.

Glitter glues really emphasize the handmade element of cards that I love.

The base card is from a really old (I'm talking YEARS) card kit.

Identifiable Elements:

• Orange paper- the "Melon Ball" paper pack by Colorbӧk
• Tree paper- "I Love Family" 6X6 Paper Pads by Echo Park Paper Co.

Couldn't Wait 'Til Wednesday

This page probably should've been saved for a Hoarder's Hump Day but I'm just too proud of it to wait!  I'm super excited that I got to use the custom Thickers of glitter that I had originally made for a different page.  I had ended up not using them because I didn't think they worked but when I found these photos and realized the phrase and the date were right I immediately knew I had to work with them!

Lots of times I find myself trying to steer away from red and especially yellow so I'm really proud of myself for embracing this background paper.  I'm surprised at how much I ended up loving it!

I used a lot of things I'd been hoarding so unfortunately the pieces I can identify is limited.  It's my goal to eventually pare down my stash to only things that I name but I believe that's just a pipe dream at this point.

Identifiable Elements:

• Background paper- School Days collection by Bazzill Basics Paper
• Rhinestones- Adhesive Gems by Simply Creative
• Custom thickers- DIYthickers in Shoebox by American Crafts