The Witching Hour 🦇

Hi everyone, well here we go again - having just finished the last page of my 2025 Lavinia calendar I’ve dived straight in and made a start on my 2026 one! Similarly to last year I’ve started with the month we are currently in, so I can make a scene that will be topical for current challenges. I mentioned in a previous post that I was very lucky recently to win a challenge over at Country View Crafts FB page, so I chose the blank calendar as part of my winnings. However I also selected a new witch stamp (Faba) and the spooky Hill House, with the primary objective of being able to make a Hallowe’en calendar page that is different from what I made for this year. Here it is.

…and a closeup view.

I cut a piece of stamping card 19.5cm x 14.5cm (I’m still not stamping directly onto the calendar page!) and started by stamping and masking the moon, then created the sky with blended Elements and Distress inks. I created some landscaping using a Mini Hill mask and blended Nocturne VFC, then stamped Faba, Hill House and the Fairy Path (which I masked then later coloured with Zig pens), then added more landscaping to ground the house. I stamped the Pixie Lanterns then coloured them plus Faba’s dress and the house windows with Wink of Stella coloured pens. I used Berry Branch stamp to create a fork of lightning over the house using Versamark embossed white, and coloured with white Posca pen (thanks to Jo Rice for this idea!). I then added some background wording, and foreground foliage. I stamped a couple of small dwellings on the left to balance things up, a large owl in flight over the moon and a few bats flitting around the house. Finally I added white Posca highlights and lots of sparkle to the moon with my Spectrum Noir sparkle pen. After I’d finished I decided it needed something else, so I added a tree on the right. I then realised that meant I had used 13 stamps on this project - spooky! 

This really is an uber sparkly project, so here is an angled pic.

Stamps: Lavinia Faba, Hill House, Fairy Path, Small Dwellings, Pixie Lanterns, Spring Trees, Berry Branch, Brodwin and Maylin, Moon, Field Grass, Bats, Slender Mushrooms Mini, Witching Hour;

Media: Lavinia Elements ink (Dark Denim); Tim Holtz Distress inks (Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Twilight, Morning Mist); Versamark; WOW Opaque Bright White ultra fine embossing powder; Kuretake Zig Clean Color watercolour pens; Wink of Stella pens (blue, gold); Sakura Stardust pen (yellow); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); Posca pen (white).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Alphabet Challenge - N is for Night

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (October) - Heavenly Bodies (3rd entry)

C.R.A.F.T. #766 - Hallowe’en - TOP 3

Craft Rocket #130 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

Crafty Calendar (October) - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Crafty Gals #271 - Fill in the Blank - Spooky … (2nd entry) - TOP 3

(House on the hill)

Creatalicious #294 - Anything Goes with option Fall Colours or Hallowe’en - TOP 3

Creative Crafting Uncles #70 - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Creative Inspirations (October) - Autumn/Something Spooky! (2nd entry)

Creative Moments #275 - Things With Wings

Daisy Chain #101 - Autumn and/or Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

DL.Art Thankful Thursday #381 - Anything Goes with option Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Dream Factory #144 - Hallowe’en (2nd entry) - TOP 5

Hand Stamped Sentiments #474 - Inspiration Photo

(I was inspired by the spooky house)

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #10 2025 - Anything Goes Fantasy (2nd entry)

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #209 - Spooky Fun (2nd entry)

Inkspirational #352 - Seasonal (2nd entry) - TOP PICK

Lavinia Creative Challenge (October) - All Hallows’ Eve (2nd entry)

LeighSB Designs Hallowe’en Blog Hop 2025 - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Outlawz Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone (October) - Anything but a Card (2nd entry)

Outlawz Festive Friday (October) - Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

Paper Funday #81 - Anything Goes with option Cute or Creepy (2nd entry)

Papercraft #123 - Spooky Delights

Shopping Our Stash #558 - Hey Ghoulfriend (Hallowe’en) (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - Add Some Text

Two Old Bats Hallowe’en Challenge (October) - Anything Goes Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Unicorn #114 - Autumn and/or Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

I don’t generally do Hallowe’en, but that’s 2 Hallowe’en themed projects in a row - I think that’s me all spooked out now!

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

I Spy With My Little Eye #31

Hi everyone, October is flying by, it’s the third Wednesday of the month and it’s time once more for another I Spy With My Little Eye... challenge over at Ellibelle's Corner. Thanks so much to everyone who joined in last time - please do check over on Ellie’s blog to see if you are one of our top picks. 

I chose the challenge theme this month, and it is

I Spy With My Little Eye 

*** Something Spooky ***

We look forward to seeing your Hallowe’en and other scary makes!   Please don’t forget to pop over to Ellie's blog to see her fab creation and link up your entries here.

Here’s my card for the challenge.

I die cut a square of stamping card using AALL & Create Papyrus Essence die set, and created a background by blending Green Parrot, Flying Fig and Violet Chalk Elements inks onto it. I stamped the moon using 2nd generation Monarch VFC, then stamped Hattie the witch using Nocturne. I added some grounding landscape using blended Nocturne VFC with torn paper, then stamped the cauldron and rising mist. I stamped Textures 2 around the edges to create depth, then added some 1st and 2nd generation foliage. I coloured Hattie’s dress and the mist with purple Sakura Stardust pen to add some sparkle, and also added sparkle to the moon with Spectrum Noir sparkle pen; then I decided it needed something more so added the spooky house. I stamped some bats flying in the sky, and added white Posca highlights to the various elements. Finally I stamped, cut up and attached the sentiment, and matted onto black cardstock also die cut with the same set. Idiot that I am, I couldn’t leave it alone, and decided last minute to add the mini cat. He turned into a bit of a blob, so I did my best to define him with white Posca outlining - not ideal but it is what is now! When will I ever learn, eh?

Here’s an angled picture to show the sparkle.

Stamps: Lavinia Hattie, Hill House, Willow the Witch (cauldron), Magical Mist, Moon, Texture 2, Dill, Bats, Mini Jinx, Believe In Magic;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Green Parrot, Flying Fig, Violet Chalk); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Monarch); Sakura Stardust pens (purple, yellow); Spectrum Noir sparkle pen (clear); Posca pen (white);

Tools: AALL & Create dies Papyrus Essence.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Cardz 4 Galz #260 - Purple and Green - TOP 3

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (October) - Heavenly Bodies (2nd entry)

Craft Rocket #130 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Crafty Calendar (October) - Hallowe’en

Crafty Gals #271 - Fill in the Blank - Spooky …

(Hallowe’en nights)

Creative Crafting Uncles #70 - Hallowe’en 

Creative Inspirations (October) - Autumn/Something Spooky! 

Daisy Chain #101 - Autumn and/or Hallowe’en (2nd entry) - TOP 3

Die Cut Divas (October) - Anything Goes with a die

DL.Art Thankful Thursday #381 - Anything Goes with option Hallowe’en

Double D - Hallowe’en Colours

Dream Factory #144 - Hallowe’en

Four Seasons (October) - Anything Goes Fall (2nd entry)

Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge #10 2025 - Anything Goes Fantasy

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #209 - Spooky Fun

Inkspirational #352 - Seasonal

Lavinia Creative Challenge (October) - All Hallows’ Eve

LeighSB Designs Hallowe’en Blog Hop 2025 - Hallowe’en

Outlawz Festive Friday (October) - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Paper Funday #81 - Anything Goes with option Cute or Creepy

Shopping Our Stash #558 - Hey Ghoulfriend (Hallowe’en)

Sweet Stampin’ - Inspired by a Book/Song/Film

(Hocus Pocus)

Two Old Bats Hallowe’en Challenge (October) - Anything Goes Hallowe’en

Unicorn #114 - Autumn and/or Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

The I Spy Challenge will end on the Sunday before the next challenge starts at 23:59 US Central Time - so this time that is Sunday November 16th, and the next challenge will begin on Wednesday November 19th.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

The Witching Hour

Hi everyone, I’m very late to the Lavinia Hallowe’en party as I think I have said previously that I don’t really “do” Hallowe’en, but I decided somewhat belatedly to buy a small selection of the 2024 Hallowe’en stamps so that I could decorate the October page of my Lavinia 2025 calendar. I’ve not had a Lavinia calendar before and I have to confess that it has sat in the cupboard since about July, so I recently woke up to the fact that I need to get a wriggle on to complete it before the end of 2024! My new Lavinia stamps and ink pads arrived on Tuesday so I set straight to work, mixing my new items with existing ones to create the October page. My concept was to incorporate both Hallowe’en and autumnal elements - here’s the result.

.

I wasn’t brave enough to create straight onto the calendar page, so I measured up and cut a piece of stamping card 19.5 x 14.5cm. I started by creating a background with blended Elements inks, working outwards from light to dark. I then created some landscaping using hill masks and blended Elements, then started stamping. I started with Hattie the witch in the middle of the page, then added the castle, trees and cauldron all in Nocturne VFC. I stamped the moon using Morning Mist, then added the owl, bats, mini mushrooms and cat in Nocturne, and the magical mist and wording using lilac VFC. I coloured the castle windows, mist and Hattie’s dress with Sakura stardust pens, added white Posca accents and highlighted the scene with a clear Stardust pen to suggest moonlight. I then stamped a few autumnal leaves in various  shades of Elements inks, added some shadows with grey Inktense pencil, and blended darker Elements ink around the edges of the panel. 

This panel is very sparkly … here’s an angled picture.

Stamps: Lavinia Hattie, Willow the Witch (cauldron), Magical Mist, Far World Castle, Seasonal Tree, Skeleton Tree Scene, Brodwin & Maylin, Bats, Moon, Small Lanterns, Mini Jinx, Slender Mushrooms Mini, Leaf 1 Mini, Mini Maple, Witching Hour;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Sundance, Sahara, Russet Orange, Violet Chalk, Merlot, Mulberry, Graphite); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist, Lilac Bloom); Sakura Stardust (clear, yellow, orange, purple); Posca pen (white);

Tools: Lavinia Hill Masks, Mini Hill Masks, White Orbs stencil.

Challenges I would like to enter:

613 Avenue Create (October) - Anything Goes with option Lots of Leaves (4th entry)

Country View Challenges (October) - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Crafting Happiness #198 - Bats

Creatalicious #282 - Anything Goes with option Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Creative Crafting Uncles #58 - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Dragonfly Dreams (October) - Anything but a Card (3rd entry)

Dream Factory #133 - Hotel Transylvania (Hallowe’en) (2nd entry) - TOP 5

Fab ‘n’ Funky #603 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Hallowe’en and Other Occasions #19 - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #197 - Boo! Eek! (2nd entry)

Inspired By … - Witch - WINNER

Make My Monday #237 - Spooky/Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Outlawz (October) - Anything Goes in a Card Free Zone with option Name Game (3rd entry) - WINNER

(I used P for Purple and Posca)

Papercraft #111 - Spooky Season (2nd entry)

Simply Create Too #205 - Hallowe’en/Hallowe’en Colours (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #255 - H is for Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Sweet Stampin’ - Hallowe’en

Try It On Tuesday - Make It Magical

I must admit I had been putting off decorating my calendar as I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but having completed my first page which was a real labour of love I’m now feeling fired with enthusiasm to continue! So hopefully in amongst the Christmas rush there will be 11 more of these coming along over the next few weeks - watch this space! 

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Bewitched

Hi everyone, this month’s Lavinia Creative Challenge is “Bewitched” … clearly in homage to Hallowe’en. I don’t really do Hallowe’en as I have no young children to send cards or treat boxes to, so I’ve never invested heavily in Hallowe’en supplies. I have actually extremely belatedly ordered a couple of this year’s Lavinia Hallowe’en stamps, primarily so that I can decorate the October page of my calendar, but they’re not here yet so I had to get my thinking cap on in order to sneak a last minute project in before the challenge closes! The upside is that there are also lots of other Hallowe’en/spooky themed challenges around right now to enter!

I decided to go for Mooch the cat being bewitched by the moon, and the scale of the scene I had in mind best fitted the dimensions of a tag - something else I don’t create very often! So I also had opportunity to bring into play a grungy tag die set that I bought a while ago when there was a promotional offer, but I hadn’t used yet.  Here’s the result.

I cut my tag from white stamping card, and the tag border from black linen card stock. I blended Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide on the bottom 1/3 of the tag, and Wilted Violet and Villainous Potion on the top part with a circle moon mask in place. I then  created the landscape with Black Soot DOX and my Mini Hill Masks, and stamped Mooch near the bottom. I added some softly blended Spiced Marmalade DOX inside the moon circle then stamped the moon over it using 2nd generation Morning Mist VFC. I stamped the castle at the edge of the tag, added some branches, mushrooms and a flight of bats. I coloured the castle windows with watered down Posca sparkle pen, and highlighted the scene with orange Sakura Stardust pen and white Posca. I blended Black Soot DOX all around the edges to add depth, and finally added some orbs using sparkle pens coloured through my White Orbs stencil and dotted with Posca pen. When dry I matted onto the tag border, punched a hole and edged with a teeny die from the same set, and added black glitter twine.

Here’s an angled pic to show the shimmery orbs.

Stamps: Lavinia Mooch, Far World Castle, Moon, Bats, Tree Branch, Slender Mushrooms Mini;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Spiced Marmalade, Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion, Black Soot); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist); Sakura Stardust pens (Orange, purple, clear); Posca sparkle pen (orange); Posca pen (white);

Tools: AALL & Create die #30 Taggletastic; Lavinia White Orbs stencil; Lavinia Mini Hill Masks and Circle masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Cardz 4 Galz #236 - Pick 3 of Purple, Orange, Black or Green - TOP 3

Country View Challenges (October) - Hallowe’en

Craft Rocket #119 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Crafting Happiness #197 - Moon

Crafty Gals’ Corner #260 - Anything Goes with option Make It Spooky 

Creatalicious #282 - Anything Goes with option Hallowe’en and/or use Black and Purple - TOP 3

Creative Crafting Uncles #58 - Hallowe’en - TOP 3

Daisy Chain #90 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (3rd entry) - TOP 5

Dream Factory #133 - Hotel Transylvania (Hallowe’en)

Fab ‘n’ Funky #603 - Autumn/Hallowe’en

Hallowe’en and Other Occasions #19 - Hallowe’en

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #197 - Boo! Eek!

Inkspirational #327 - Seasonal (2nd entry)

Lavinia Creative Challenge (October) - Bewitched

Make My Monday #237 - Spooky/Hallowe’en

Papercraft #111 - Spooky Season

Simon Says (Monday) - Spooky/Add Some Purple

Simon Says - Celebrating 20 Years of Distress #SSS20YearsofDistress

Simply Create Too #205 - Hallowe’en/Hallowe’en Colours

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #255 - H is for Hallowe’en

Tag Tuesday - Spooky Vibes - CHALLENGE FAVOURITE

Try It On Tuesday - Hallowe’en - TOP 5

Two Old Bats (October) - Anything Goes Hallowe’en

Unicorn #103 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (3rd entry) - TOP 3

I think that’s me all spooked out! Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Try It on Tuesday GDT - Hallowe’en

Hi everyone, I was really thrilled to be asked to be a Guest Designer for this fortnight’s Try It On Tuesday Challenge as it is one of my favourites which I enter as often as I can.

The theme for this challenge is perfectly in keeping with the time of year, and is 

Hallowe’en

So we would love to see your scary projects or those that are too cute to spook!

Here is my GDT card.

I have to confess this was a bit of a challenge for me as I don’t send Hallowe’en cards so I have only very limited supplies .. I already had Willow the Witch and the gorgeous castle, but I also persuaded myself to invest in some flying bats and I managed to get the dragon stamp from a craft de-stash site!

I blended Elements inks over a square of stamping card using an acetate moon mask, then used my hill masks and more Elements to create the landscape. I stamped the moon directly over the circle I had masked using 2nd generation VFC in Morning Mist, then stamped the fairy castle, Willow, bats and ground foliage in Nocturne. I stamped trees either side in Twilight to give a bit of depth, then coloured the castle windows using yellow and orange Sakura Stardust pens. I highlighted various items with white gel pen and smudged white pastel pencil, then did a lot of further highlighting to represent the reflection of the moon with my clear Sakura Stardust pen … the card is actually VERY sparkly, much more so than shows up on camera. I used the tiniest circles on my White Orbs stencil to create the bubbles rising from the cauldron using orange and purple Stardust pens, interspersed with white pastel pencil “steam” and white gel pen dots. Finally I added some sparkly orange fire coming from the dragon’s mouth, and edged the panel with blended Graphite Elements ink before matting onto black card stock and a 7” square card blank.

Here’s an angled picture to show the sparkle.

Stamps: Lavinia Willow the Witch, Far World Castle, Mideela (small), Moon, Bats, Forest Scene, Tree Branch, Slender Mushrooms Mini,  Flower Collection;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Graphite, Violet Chalk, Dark Denim); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Twilight, Morning Mist); Sakura Stardust pens (orange, yellow, clear); gel pen (white); pastel pencil (white);

Tools: Lavinia circle and hill acetate masks, White Orbs stencil.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Art Impressions #362 - Give Us a Fright

Craft Rocket #108 - Autumn/Hallowe’en

Crafting Happiness #147 - Hallowe’en

Crafty Calendar (October) - Autumn Colours/Hallowe’en

Crafty Gals Corner #248 - Hallowe’en Colours - TOP 3

Creatalicious #269 - Anything Goes with option Hallowe’en - TOP 3

Creative Crafting Uncles #46 - Hallowe’en

Creative Inspirations (October) - Autumn/Hallowe’en

Daisy Chain #79 - Autumn/Hallowe’en

Dream Factory #121 - The Fantastic World of Oz - WINNER

(keyword - witches)

The Fairy and the Unicorn #10 - Anything Goes Fantasy

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #176 - 31 Days of Hallowe’en

Papercraft Challenges #99 - Happy Hallowe’en - TOP 3

Sheepski #79 - Autumn or Hallowe’en Colours

Shopping Our Stash #507 - Franken-card (Hallowe’en)

Through the Purple Haze #209 - Hallowe’en

Two Old Bats Hallowe'en Challenge (October) - Anything Goes Hallowe'en with optional Moodboard

Unicorn Challenge #92 - Autumn/Hallowe’en

I hope you can join in with the challenge - please do head over to the Try It On Tuesday Challenge blog to see the fab inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and to link up your entry. Thanks again to Avril for inviting me to be GDT for this challenge.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Hubble bubble II

Hi everyone, today I would like to share my extremely last-minute make for this month's Lavinia website Creative Challenge "Dancing orbs".

I racked my brain over this one, as I don't have the orb stamps and have never attempted colouring orbs in before, but I have the "White orbs" stencil, so I decided to make a little ATC with Willow the Witch with her cauldron, from which orbs float upwards as she casts her spell!

I cut a piece of stamping card slightly smaller than standard ATC size, and created my night sky with Distress Oxide inks and a circle mask, including some wispy clouds across the moon. I stamped and heat embossed Willow and her cauldron, then "grounded" them with a torn paper mask and sponged DO. I used my orbs stencil to colour various tiny circles using my Sakura Stardust pen, and then dotted the centre of each one with a white gel pen. Finally I stamped my branches and birds which I (clumsily) turned into bats by drawing on them with a black fineliner, highlighted everything with my Sakura stardust pen, and matted the finished piece onto standard ATC size black linen card stock.

Here is the usual angled pic to show the sparkle.

 Stamps: Lavinia Willow the Witch, Birds, Mini Branch;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, Villainous Potion, Seedless Preserves); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Sakura Stardust pen (clear); white gel pen; black fineliner;

Tools: Lavinia stencil - White Orbs.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Tiny Craft #14 - Spooky (2nd entry)

ATC's With a Heart #121 - Hallowe'en (2nd entry)

Country View Challenges (October) - Hallowe’en or Harvest (3rd entry)

Crafty Calendar (October) - Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

Creative Knockouts #475 - Hallowe'en - WINNER

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #153 - 31 Days of Hallowe'en (2nd entry)

Make My Monday #186 - Spooky or Hallowe'en Colours - TOP PICK

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Spooky

The Most Magical Time of the Year #1 - The Most Magical Time of the Year (4th entry) - TOP PICK

Try it On Tuesday - Hallowe'en Time - TOP 5

No more tricks or treats from me for today. Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Dragon's Night Flight

Hello, today I would like to share a pair of ATC's I made with Hallowe'en in mind.  My newest acquisitions include a Lavinia fairy castle and teeny tiny dragon, so I tried to represent a flight of the dragon over the castle at night with a blood red sky  - very Game of Thrones!!

I created an inky background on a large snippet of stamping card using Gamboge (yellowy orange), Vermillion and Purple brushos spritzed with water, then cut the inked panel into 2 pieces each 3 3/8" x 2 3/8". On each panel I stamped my castle using Versafine Clair, then used a small punched circle mask to create a moon using black Distress oxide ink. I stamped my li'l dragon and some tree branches to frame the scene, then coloured the castle windows and highlighted the moon, dragon and castle with Sakura Stardust pens. Finally I added sentiment stickers related to the flight of the dragon (as I don't have any specific Hallowe'en wordings, but I thought these would work well with the dragon), and added some gold Posca Pen spatter before matting onto standard ATC size cards cut from snippets of black card stock.

Here is an angled pic to try to show the sparkle ...

... and a close up of each ATC.

1/2

2/2

Stamps: Lavinia Far World Castle, Mini Dragon, Mini Branch;

Media: Brushos (Gamboge, Vermillion, Purple); Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink (Black Soot); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Sakura Stardust pens (copper, clear); Posca pen (gold);

Other: Tim Holtz Idea-ology "Small Talk" stickers.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Tiny Craft #14 - Spooky

ATC's With a Heart #121 - Hallowe'en - TOP 3

Country View Challenges (October) - Hallowe’en or Harvest (2nd entry)

Crafty Calendar (October) - Hallowe’en (2nd entry)

Dragonfly Dreams (October) - Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #153 - 31 Days of Hallowe'en - WINNER

Sheepski #67 - Autumn/Hallowe’en (3rd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - Hallowe'en/Spooky - DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT

Snippets Playground #439 - Anything Goes With Snippets

The Most Magical Time of the Year #1 - The Most Magical Time of the Year (3rd entry)

That's all for today - take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,