As there are still several cut-aparts and plenty of paper left, I decided to make a few more Halloween cards.  I also used a few more Operation Write Home card sketches.

For the first card I used OWH sketch #20.  As most of the paper in the collection is a very busy print, I went through my paper stash to find a few sheets of solid color cardstock.  I think the orange cardstock, which has a pearl finish, tones down the busyness of the background paper and picks up on the orange in the sentiment cut-apart.  To finish the card, I added a few orange rhinestones in various sizes for a bit more color and sparkle.  I choose a very simple layout which I think offsets the busyness of the paper.

Supplies:

• American Crafts Pearl Specialty paper
• Recollections orange rhinestones

The second card is based on OWH sketch #61.  The small “Happy Halloween” cut-apart was just the right size for the sketch.  Since only the edges of the background paper would show, I was able to use more of the pattern paper without it being overwhelming.  For the matted layer in the center, I used some scraps of the bat paper left over from another card.  I added a strip of gold washi tape between the bat paper and the sentiment for some separation and a bit of shine.  The card was still a little “flat”, so I die cut a few small bats using the Cricut Wildcard cartridge.  I covered the bats with Glossy Accents and adhered them to the card with glue dots.

Supplies:

• Cricut Wildcard cartridge
• Recollections 3/8 inch gold washi tape
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• glue dots

For the third card I used OWH sketch #123.  Other than the size of the sentiment, the pieces are very close to the measurements provided with the card sketch.  The sentiment is part of a strip of sentiments included in the paper collection.  I simply cut the 12×12 sheet into strips and selected the individual sentiments I wanted to use.  The orange paper is some more of the pearl finish cardstock.  The final “touch” was to heat emboss a silver spider on the black banner.  I used an anti-static embossing bag to help ensure the powder only stuck to the stamped image.

Supplies:

• American Crafts Pearl Specialty paper
• Fiskars Creepy Crawlies spider stamp
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark ink
• silver embossing powder

Tools and supplies used for all of the cards includes:

• Recollections “Dead & Breakfast” printed paper
• Recollections black cardstock
• Recollections white cardstock
• Scotch Advanced Tape Glider (ATG)
• Tonic Studios Tim Holtz 12.25 inch guillotine trimmer
• Cricut Expression Diecutting machine
• white 110lb paper (for card base)

While I liked the individual papers in the collection, I found creating cards a bit challenging.  This was a 12×12 paper pad, so some of the prints were larger scale.  Also, the collection included many busy prints but no tone-on-tone papers.  It was difficult to combine multiple papers on a single card.  I do think the paper would be great to use for scrapbooking where pictures and larger scale embellishments would offset the busyness of the paper.

There is still plenty of paper left to make more cards.  However, as I don’t send very many Halloween cards, I have enough for this year and am moving on to autumn and Thanksgiving themed cards.