Halloween Branches

Posted on October 8, 2009 by mauistamper

My kids are old enough now that they don’t do those little goodies bags of candy for their classmates. They don’t come home with backpacks stuffed full of sugary loot, either, and then head out as soon as the sun goes down for more. It’s a good thing, because like all devoted mothers, I felt obligated to save them from all of that candy, especially the dark chocolate. Well, and the Butterfingers. And maybe a Snickers or too.

Oops. Chocolate Detour. Back on track.

I don’t buy Halloween stamps much anymore because I just don’t use them. A couple of cards and I’m done. I have friends (not to mention any names, Robbie – you too, Claudine) who adore anything and everything Halloween, and I can enjoy Halloween cards vicariously through them. All the same, as October rolls in I start to think about stamping a Boo or two.

Were you paying attention yesterday? Didn’t I tell you Branch Out was an all-purpose stamp set?

Halloween_Branch_Out_crop

Branch Out and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
Basic Black and Pumpkin Pie Classic ink pads; Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Stampin’ Write Markers
Naturals White, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Old Olive cardstock
Old Olive 1 1/4″ stripe grosgrain ribbon
Slot punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig

This card was inspired by one that Claudine brought to share at our last club. She had spiders in the tree, which I actually liked better. But the bird from Branch Out is a raven today and that will have to do.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Hallow-Roo!

Posted on September 18, 2009 by mauistamper

I have had this cut-out Roo sitting on my desk just waiting to be loved for a good 6 weeks. About two weeks ago I spotted THIS CARD and thought I might have found a use for my Roo. I’ve never quite made peace with that bear (What? You didn’t go look at the card? Go see…) because, well, there’s something about his unibrow that bothers me. But I love the Roo so the substitution seemed natural.

Happy Hallo-Roo

Build-a-Roo, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Pocket Silhouettes, and Holiday Best (hostess) Stamp Sets
Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie and Kiwi Kiss (ret) Classic Ink
Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Stampin’ Write markers
Naturals White, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede and Kiwi Kiss (ret) card stock
Small oval and Slot punches
Kiwi Kiss stripe ribbon (ret)
Big Shot and SU Backgrounds 1 Texturz plate
Stampin’ Sponges, Dimensionals, Aquapainter

First, I apologize (I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry already!) for using Kiwi Kiss. I couldn’t resist. It was there on my desk, whimpering about being neglected, and whispering to me that it would be SO perfect. You could use Old Olive and I’m sure it would be wonderful. The Kiwi Kiss made me do it.

Second, I have to confess that there was surgery involved. In fact, I had to cut the Roo in Two. The pumpkin was too big and I would have had to hide those exuberant arms or those fabulous roo feet.

Third, the pumpkin in the patch is marked from the Trick or Treat stamp in the Holiday Best hostess stamp set.

There. I think that’s enough commentary.

Happy HalloRoo to you!

Gimme a break…

Posted on September 9, 2009 by mauistamper

Doesn’t seem like that long ago when September and early October were all about costumes. There were a number of years when the costume had to come from Disney du jour. There were sessions with the tape measure, trips to the fabric store, and hours spent behind the sewing machine. As the kids got older, their costumes needed to reflect their growing maturity and the home-made Disney costumes became a thing of the past. Sweet memories.

The Pocahontas Ensembles

Now the sweets come from packages. My kids’ candy never looked this good! It’s simple, though I’m not sure I would have done this for 3 classes of 25 kids!