Halloween Card - There's a Scare in the Air

Here is my first Mini Monsters card of the season :). I could not wait to get started on some Halloween cards this year. I had ordered the Scrappy Moms stamps a couple months ago and even though this set came out last year it is all new to me now. I used some googly eyes for my Monster. I cut the spider from Paper Doll Dress Up. I want to get the MS Spider Punch if it is out again this year though. I picked up the spiderweb ribbon at M's. I also got a great deal on Halloween, Fall and Christmas paper at Joann's with their 40 percent off sale and then the extra 20 percent off coupon I had! Can't beat it. Hope you enjoy.

In Memory of my Niece, 3 Cards For 3 Special Kids, Asking for Your Help!

In Loving Memory of My Niece

Mara Ann Smith

(December 16, 1998-December 17, 2000)

My Niece Mara passed away 10 years ago this month from a very rare genetic disease called Sandhoff's Disease. She was just barely 2 years old. She was such a sweet baby and she loved to giggle. She could really put a smile on your face, even in the harder times. Not to mention she was so darn cute! My sister in law posted this year asking for friends and family to do something to help a child during this holiday season, in memory of Mara. She asked that we donate time, money, or anything to help a child. I thought for a little bit on what to do, and then I heard about this wonderful site called Cupid Cards and I knew just what I wanted to do in memory of Mara.

Here is another picture of Mara with her big sister Gwen! Gwen is almost 14 years old now. To learn more about Sandhoff's or to see the stories of other children you can visit Here and Here.

The website, Cupid Cards is a wonderful site where people can nominate sick children who could really use a care package, also it is a site where people can help by making cards (although store bought cards are OK to) or donate money to help the cause. All of it really helps to put a smile on the face of some special kids who really need it. In memory of Mara I decided to make 3 cards for 3 special kids who need to have cards submitted by December 27th so they can receive their care package and really have something to smile about. So here are my cards:


This cute one is for Jessica. She is 14 years old and has Hemphagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis and Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis. To read more about her, click here. For Jessica I decided to make this adorable card using the bee from Create a Critter! I just love how cute this card turned out and it was made just for her. I used lots of stickles so that it sparkles and shines. Also the yellow paper was glittery to begin with. They don't want cards with loose glitter so stickles and glitter paper like this work the best. The sentiment is from Scrappy Moms. I hope Jessica likes her card!



This next adorable card is for Jillianne who is nearly 5 and has HLHS-Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, DORV -Double outlet right ventricle, and mitral atresia varient. To read more about her you can click here. For Jillianne I decided to use these pretty colors and this adorable patterned paper from DCWV Sweet Stack. I love it. I thought a pretty smiling dragonfly would be nice for her. As you can see I added plenty of sparkle using gemstones and I also used black stickles on her mouth. I used a sentiment from Scrappy Moms which is really awesome! They ask that the cards not say "get well" or things like that. They want cheerful happy cards. I hope this card puts a big smile on Jillianne's face!



And the last card I made is for a special little boy named Wyatt. He will be turning 6 this month and just so happens to share the same birthday as my niece Mara so that just seems meant to be that this little boy receive a card too! Wyatt has an inoperable brain tumor that they are treating very aggressively. To read more about Wyatt click here. For Wyatt I needed a very boy like card, so I used this adorable creature from Mini Monsters and I love the bright happy colors. I used the Spots and Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and I made my own pattern paper at the top by adhering those tiny black circles. I used a Scrappy Moms sentiment and just stamped it right into his big belly! I really love how this card turned out and I am sure it will make Wyatt smile too!

So these are the cute cards I made. It took me about 2 and a half hours, just 2 and a half hours to put a big smile on the faces of some very sick children. That was me spending 2 and a half hours doing something that I love, and thinking of someone that I love and hopefully brightening even one day for these kids.

I hope that you will help me honor my niece this holiday season by making cards for even 1, 2 or all 3 of these special kids. It would mean a lot to me as well as my niece's family. It helps the spirit of one child live on as well as helping kids who really need it right now. If you want to help just use the links I have provided.

Also if you would you do participate please leave me a comment with a link to your card so I can take a peek at it or if you just want to leave me some comments about these 3 cards that would be nice too!

As for me, I am making a New Year Resolution to take some time out each month to send a card to at least one child through Cupid Cards because it really is a great cause.

Birthday Card - Four Legged Monster

I made this card using the scrap papers from the dino card from a couple days ago. The arms over hung the card so I just snipped them off. I figured it's a monster and it doesn't have to have arms, besides it has 4 legs to make up for it. I wanted a nice big monster, but going bigger meant the arms went longer too LOL. Just a simple card for a kids birthday. Hope you enjoy.

Halloween Card - Miss You

My hairdresser requested a Halloween card for her son who is away from home, and she wanted it to say "Miss You" on the front. So I decided to take this chance to make a little scene card with a mini monster and a tree and such! I love how this turned out. As I was piecing the fence together I thought that it would look nice and creepy to have spider webs on the fence and then I added the little spider. I love how it turned out. The tree is perfect and I chose a shade of brown that would really show against the black sky. I made the grass using my Martha Stewart Grass Border punch. My hairdresser loved this card. Hope you enjoy too!

Birthday Card - Water Monster

How cute is this. I think I saw a card similar to this on someone's blog...using this embossing folder. I just can't for the life of me remember where. I wanted a colorful Monster with greens and purples and rather than use it for Halloween I decided to make it into a Happy Birthday card suitable for a young one. I just love it! Hope you enjoy!

Halloween Card - Boo Pumpkin

I think this pumpkin image is so adorable! I decided to make it big, and it is big. It barely fit on this card, which didn't leave me room for much other embellishments. Maybe if I had some buttons and twine I could have accented the other corner, but do believe I don't even have buttons yet? I think I need to get some with cord to go through them because I like the look better when the button is strung in some way. But the pumpkin is cute. I just can't say this is my favorite card.

On a side note I wanted to explain how I do my blog posting.

I tend to make a lot of cards each week. I used to post all of them at one and then I wouldn't have anything to post for days, so I began a month or two ago to stagger my posts using the pre scheduled feature. Now what I do is I take a day on the weekend and I work with all my pictures of the cards I have made the previous week. Then I package them. Then I make a blog post for each and usually there is enough cards or projects to have two posts being made each day for the coming week. I set one up for shortly before I wake and one for the evening. Then that is done. I can just enjoy reading blogs all week and not have to worry about posting very much here unless I do a challenge part way through or have something that needs to be posted right away...then I move a post out to the end. It works well for me, because I don't have to feel rushed all week to post here and I can just sit back and enjoy my posts coming all week and looking at all my cards that way again too! Then at the same time I post the whole week's worth onto my Etsy store too! It seems to work out well for me, and this way my blog always has something new happening, and I don't feel as tied down the the up keep of it!

Trick or Treat Tag Style Hat Card

This hat from Mini Monsters is cute as heck! So is the candy. I just wanted a very simple card, but in the style of the tag and the decorated envelope, which all then fits into a hand made A2 envelope! I love the colors and the brightness to this set! Hope you enjoy.

Boo Mummy Card

I decided to try out the mummy from Mini Monsters too! How cute is this? I wanted to go for a black sky with the fence and then the mummy front and center. The Boo sentiment is from a dollar stamp at Michael's. I love those! The stars that are in the sky are just from a hole punch that makes those tiny stars. It's perfect for adding the starts to a sky or for other celebration themes I am sure too!I think this one turned out cute. I might have used another color for the fence, but I still think the mummy stands out from it. I used Stickles on each star in the center for an accent. Hope you enjoy!

Boo Monster Card

This little 4 legged monster is so cute! I love it. I also love how these are not your typical colors for Halloween. This monster turned out bigger than I expected but I went with it anyway...that is why there is a very simple design surrounding him. I stamped my sentiment right onto the body and I kind of like how that turned out. Hope you enjoy.

Trick or Treat Monster Card

I figured I had better start making some Halloween cards to list on my Etsy Shop so I decided to grab the Mini Monsters while it was on sale. I had some money from sales I have been making in my pay pal account. It's so funny, because I wouldn't ever make these type of cards necessarily unless I was trying to have a nice variety to offer on my Etsy, but I have been falling in love with everyone's monsters that I had to try my own. In reality I think they would be cute for kids birthday cards too. I love the corner cob web...I just had to move the dangling spider to another part, because of the monster. This monster is so cute. I love it. The layering is neat because you can get so many colors. The sentiment came from a dollar wooden stamp from Michael's. Can't beat it! I embossed it. I added some bling for my spider's eye and then some Stickles to accent everything! I think this card turned out so adorable! Hope you Enjoy!

Trick or Treat Girly Spider

I just love this spider web and spider from Mini Monsters. In fact what is not to love about that cartridge. It has so many adorable images and the detail is outstanding. I decided to go for a girly spider. You know in reality I freak out if I see spiders. In fact if I see one in my bedroom I won't sleep till I know it's gone...but working with paper cute girly spiders is perfect for me. I didn't like that hour glass shape on her body so I replaced it with a flower. Hope you enjoy!