31 Nights of Halloween - Night 6 - Special Guest Tonya Brooks

 

Tonight we welcome the talented Tonya Brooks to the Whimsy blog. Are you ready for some spooky inspiration?

Hello, crafty friends! For this card I used the Haunted Parlor Background stamp, the Sheets and Giggles stamp set, and a piece of Haunted Paper.  

I started off by cutting all my paper to size.  I cut white card stock to 7" x 10” and scored it at 5” to create my cardbase. I trimmed black cardstock into two sizes, 6 7/8" x 4 7/8" and 5 1/2" x 3 3/4", and trimmed the Haunted paper to 4 1/8" x 6".

Next, I stamped images from Sheets and Giggles onto watercolor paper with black archival ink. I stamped 2 of each ghost. I also stamped the Haunted Parlor Background and 1 of each of the two sayings. I trimmed the background image down to 3 5/8" x 5 3/8”.  Now, we're ready to add the color! 

For the Ghost I only colored in one of each image. I used Sharpie Neon markers in yellow and green for the eyes and a light pink for the mouth. I then used Glossy Accents to cover the eyes and then set the ghosts aside to let the gloss dry. Once dry I fussy cut them out. Then I used foam tape to attach the colored layer to the matching front of the plain stamped image.

I also add inks to my sayings and then fussy cut them out following the flow of the words. I then glue those to a scrap of my black card stock and emboss the saying and the black background. Once that cools I then trim around the black to match the saying cutout. 
While that was drying, I started painting in my background image. I used a watercolor brush and Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Oxides to paint it in. Here is a list of colors and what I used them for:
Chair seat and back- Abandoned Coral and Aged Mahogany
Chair wood, Clock, Door Trim, and picture Frame- Walnut Stain
Floor and Stairs- Gathered Twigs
Sofa cover, sayings- Antique Linen
Walls- Peeled Paint and Forest Moss
Upstairs wall also has touches of Hickory Smoke
Picture, Clock Face and Glass door- Tumbled Glass
Holes and open door- Black Soot
Upstairs Door and Stair railings- Hickory Smoke Oxide 
After coloring, I let the image dry and then inked the edges using Black Soot distress ink. I also added Glossy Accents to the clock face, door and glass in picture frame.

Now I start building my card.
I start by distressing the edges of my black layers with Picket Fence Distress Ink. I glue the larger black layer to my card front first, making sure to center it. Next, I apply a tape runner in a couple places in the center of that black layer to hold the gauze in place until I glue down the pattern paper. I apply glue to the back of my pattern paper, making sure to get to the edges, then center that over the gauze, pressing down well so the glue takes hold. Next, I glue my stamped background image to the smaller black layer, making sure to center it, then glue that onto the pattern layer. 

This is when the fun part begins....
I first give my saying cutouts a few crinkles by gently bending them in some places, then use foam dots to add my sayings to the top and bottom of my card.
The ghosts get little white dots to their eyes using a white pen and then foam dots on the back of them, and they are placed on the card also. 
Last, I add two gems to both the top right and bottom left corner of the card. 

This card was so much fun to make thanks to the Whimsy Stamps adorable ghosts and that very cool background stamp. I hope you enjoy this card!

Thank you, Tonya, for the awesome inspiration! To view more of Tonya's work, check out her Instagram account.