Plate of the Dead

I’m not one for Halloween, but when I saw these new stencils from etchall, I knew I had to have them to make something for my cousin. She loves skulls. Personally, I do not understand her obsession, but I knew they would be the perfect gift.

These Etchnet reusable stencils are quick and easy to use. You simply cut them apart, tape to your project and apply etching cream. Then, rinse and dry and use again and again.

I started with six dinner plates I found at Goodwill. I love how the scratches created a spooky feeling to the dishes and thought they would be perfect for this project.

I taped the stencil to each plate with painters tape. In order to get the stencil tight, I taped one side to the plate. Then I placed tape on the opposite side of the stencil and pulled it taught before sticking it to the plate.

Next, I used the squeegee to push the etching cream through the stencil and then piled it nice and thick to sit for 15 minutes.

Because I planned to use three of the stencils from the package, I was able to do three plates at a time, so the entire process went quickly.

When the first three plates were finished, I removed and washed the stencils and then reapplied them to the remaining three plates. That is the great thing about these new stencils — you can use them over and over, which makes them perfect for party favors, or dishes!

Here is the first one …

And the next one …

And my personal favorite … super scary!

Can you imagine sitting down to dinner and slowly seeing these creepy skulls appear as you finish your meal?! My cousin is sure to love them.

Are you ready to create your own creepy masterpiece? etchall is ready to help … use the code CANDYS and you will get 10% off your entire order — including the brand new Etchnet stencils. Click here and get etching today!

NOTE: I received compensation for this post.

Ready for Summer?

This month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl is to create a project using arrows, numbers and the color blue.

I decided to make this tag …

I started with a plain office tag. I used a layer of Texture Paste and a stencil to create the background.

Once dry, I covered it with a few layers of Distress Ink and some water … blotting randomly. Then I edged the tag with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and got to decorating …

The papers are from Graphic 45. The bicycle was a gift from a friend. The numbers are from Tim Holtz and the arrow is a die cut using a Tim Holtz die. I added ribbon to the top, fibers at the bottom (another gift from another friend) and a little bit of bling.

Now it’s your turn … create a project — in can be a card, tag, ATC, scrapbook page, home-decor project or whatever else you want to do — using numbers, arrows and the color blue. Submit it to the Scrap It Girl website and you could win a great selection of prizes!

The 3-Day Card

Things do not always go the way you plan — even in you are making cards.

For this month’s card swap, I wanted to make a pretty background and then stamp an image in the middle of it. It looked beautiful in my head.

I started by smearing several colors of Distress Paint onto my non-stick craft sheet. I spritzed it with water and then drug sheets of Specialty Stamping Paper through it. I randomly blotted them with paper towel and then dried with a heat gun.

The results were cool, but I wanted more. So, I smeared Distress Ink onto my non-stick craft sheet, spritzed it with water and ran the pieces through. I also added a bit more Brushed Pewter Distress Paint so I could get more metallic shine in the pieces. Again, I randomly blotted with a paper towel and then heat dried.

That was cool, but I didn’t think it was quite done. So I spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mists.

After that dried, I was happy with the background and ready to stamp. So, I pulled out my stamp, made one impression and realized there is no way it would work. The stamp was too delicate to compete with the crazy background.

At this point, I was devastated. I had invested all of that time and energy into making 12 backgrounds and my idea was a total failure. I spent an entire day stressing over what to do. I was determined to use the backgrounds, but had no idea what to do.

With no vision in mind, I began pulling stuff out. I grabbed a stencil and some Metallic Silver Embossing Paste and coated the top of each card with it.

The next day, I added a few strips of Tissue Tape. Then, I punched out circles, die cut the word “Hello” and adhered them to the cards. I added a few Tiny Attacher Staples and some Glitter Dots.

Each card was slightly different, but I think they turned out well … even if they did take me three days to make!