Curt's Best Shots Slideshow

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR JULY 21, 2010

Hey All!

Happy Hump Day to each and every one of you!  Glad you stopped by for my Wednesday Evening Post!  I hope you find some inspiration and feel that it was worth your time to spend a little time with me.  On with the post!

I've been seeing a ton of Christmas cards showing up everywhere.  I honestly don't know how anyone can make Christmas cards in July.  Can't do it, can't do it, can't do it!  I know it's a great idea to have all your cards done before the holidays, but give me that last minute rush!  LOL  Must be the guy in me.  However, I don't think it is too early to start thinking about Halloween!!!!  My most favorite holiday of the year!  So, I thought I would start doing some Halloween cards for a change.  Here is my first:


I've hardly been able to wait to use these stamp sets from There She Goes.  Each component in the above scene was stamped separately and painstakingly cut out.  The fireplace, the skull candle, the basket of bones, the hat, the jack-o-lantern, the broom, the picture, well you get the idea.  I colored everything with a combination of colored pencils and Bic markers.  Everything but the spider and the sentiment (There She Goes) is set up on dimensionals for a 3-D look.  If you click on the picture you can see the detail and the shadowing from the popped up images.  I created the floor myself!  I took a piece of wood grain paper and used a ruler to create the planks.  Then I put little nail marks for detail.  I really do love how this card turned out.  Puts me so in the mood for more Halloween cards!

My next is this one:


I've wanted this stamp ever since I first saw it on Addicted to Rubber Stamps.  So I used some of my birthday money and bought it.  The stamp is by Heirloom stamps.  I colored it with colored pencils and Bic markers.  I cut out all of those strips you see behind the window and ran them through my CB to give them more of a wood look.  I then sponged them with distress inks to give them an old wood siding look.  I then taped them together making sure I left cracks to give it the look of an old house.  The sentiment is from a $1 stamp.  I love how this one turn out too!  I've got way more in the works so stay tuned.

I didn't want to leave you with all scary cards, so I included this next card in the post so that you wouldn't have nightmares from the above two cards  LOL!



I love this Happy Hoppers stamp.  I made some alterations to the image however.  The original image has another little bunny next to the one above asleep in an empty cone.  So I masked that one out.  Also, the original image only has one scoop on the cone.  I stamped two more cones and cut out the ice cream part to make it a triple scoop.  Who the heck only gets one scoop anyway???  Certainly not me!  LOL  I coated them with Liquid Diamonds to give a "wet" look to the ice cream, but the lights I used in the photo kind of bled out the color of the ice cream scoops.  I also made the tag using a small Nestie oval and punched two small slots with a slot punch on each side.  Slid the ribbon through and attached to the card.  The image is, of course, colored with my colored pencils and OMS.

I hope you've enjoyed your time here.  I love that you come by to see me and leave me such great comments.  I'll be coming by all of your blogs in the next couple of days to see what you have all created.  I love seeing your wonderful work.  You all so inspire me.

I hope you are all well and doing fine.  As always. . . .

Best,

Curt O'Brien

"God, please help me be the person my dogs think I am."

28 comments:

Tertia said...

As usual your cards are fantastic. I must agree with you, I work better under pressure, so no Christmas Cards for me yet - maybe next week, but definately early November.
I love what you have done with the bunny, too cute, I would have added a chocolate scoop. LOL

Dawnll said...

I am with you Curt about Christmas cards.At least give me a month yet to start. Can you believe all the Christmas stuff out in the stores already? At least they are here...yuck!
I also love Halloween cards and decorations, great job and that extra time to do the tedious pieces makes them all that more special.
Great mouse house card one of my favorites.

Patti J said...

I'd forgotten that Halloween was your fave! You should do Barb's year round Halloween challenges! It's haundeddesignhouse.blogspot.com Check it out - you'll love it! Your cards are wonderful. I cannot believe that you sat and cut out all of those elements! You rock! And that ice cream card will give this dieter more nightmares than the spooky cards will...lol! How cute that you triple scooped that cone! Great cards! So happy that you posted, hope the boys are all well!

Sue from Oregon said...

I was just thinking to myself the other day "Hmmm wonder who is going to post the first Halloween card?" Should have known! You know how much I love Halloween stamps too! Great cards and adore the Happy Hopper card with the THREE scoops too!

Becky said...

Well lookie here, I am the first post :).What a fabulous job you did on these Halloween cards, both of them are just awesome with all the great details. I also love what you did with the Happy Hopper stamp with the extra scoops, very creative. Have a great weekend, cant wait to see the next batch of Halloween cards.

A Consuming Passion said...

They are all as always great cards Curt but I love, love the first........you can see how much trouble you took over it .... Fabulous!
I also like the super cutie at the bottom soft and pretty and though it's a bit cold here of ice cream I'm sure it will be very topical over your side of the globe!

Shirley-Anne said...

Three amazing cards . Loved them all . Nothing not to like about any of them . Thanks for sharing

Lorraine A said...

fabulous cards Curt :-) We don't celebrate halloween here so I don't have much opportunity to use these fab stamps !! pity !! :-)

Love the cute hopper ,, aww ,,, such an adorable image and the colours you used are yummy ,,, :-)

luv
Lols x x x

Diane said...

You sure have my "vote"...Halloween is my favorite card making time, too! What a great idea to start now as I have tons of Halloween and never seem to get more then a few things made....looks like I will have to follow your lead and get busy! I love both your cards...what fantastic detail you have put into them! Your wood plank floor looks just like the floors in my house..no kidding!! Both cards are amazing! The little hopper guy is great, too, smart idea to add the 3 scoops,yum!! Looks as though the "boys" are having a great cooling off time in the pool, I bet Nellie would enjoy that! Another great post and well worth waiting for.....have a nice "rest of the week"!!

Danielle said...

What fabulous cards Curt! Love those halloween images and cards - so good to make an early start!!! Your 'What's the Scoop' card though is my absolute favourite - he's just adorable and who doesn't have triple scoops on their cones!!! lol The gingham paper is the perfect choice - love it! Hope you're keeping well Curt and that Jay's health is good!
Hugs, Danielle

Stacie (craft-princess) said...

WOW! Great cards once again! Love how you did the wood look on the scary card and gotta love $1 stamps!! Just love that cute bunny with ice cream too! I agree...who just gets one scoop?? Is that even legal? If your going to eat ice cream you must go all out!! LOL!

Have a good day!
-Stacie

Carmen O. said...

Oh Curt! You definitely make me want to create this weekend. I work Sun-Thurs and this weekend we have a Mudhens game and possibly going to go see Ramona and Beezus. I used to read Beverly Cleary books as a kid and just loved getting to the next one.

Love that bunny who has three scoops!! I LOVE ice cream and that'd be my choice :D. Love your Halloween cards as well. You really think so very creatively, I like that you embossed the one to make it look more like wood.

I so enjoy coming here and being inspired by your work. Hugs Hope you and Jay are well!

Gina Wrona said...

Absolutely adorable, especially all the detailed cutouts you did. You must have a tremendous amount of patience. I agree, I'm not ready for Christmas yet either even though it's less than 6 months away. Love that ice cream card too!

Well our household is down to 6 precious puppies who will be 9 weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how fast they've grown in such a short time. So if you know of anyone looking for a 4 leg addition to their family, please send them my way asap.

Hugs,
Gina

lisa808 said...

Well, I'm truly in awe of you yet again. Your creativity & detail on the first card make for a masterpiece! The second card is such a fun Halloween creation. And, I can really relate to the third card--one scoop is just a tease! That little cutie knows how to enjoy ice cream.

mudmaven said...

Fantastic cards - as always - Curt! Love all the fine detail that you always put into everything you make. I'm feverishly getting ready to go spend a month with dh on the boat and so haven't been by much to comment - sorry! All the best to Jay and give those big boys a hug from me. ~chris

Sue said...

Hi Curt
im better late than never eh?? got hectic few days.
Stunning cards as always, luv the halloween scene fabulous card, fab cutting out, im not so hot on that! lol.
Aww and the bunny is gorgeous, awesome colouring as always,
hugs to all, sue,xx.

fairie said...

These are such cute Halloween cards. I agree w/ you on the Christmas cards. Hope to see more of your Halloween cards.

Jackie said...

Love your Halloween cards - it's my favorite holiday! The one with the fireplace is wonderful - and a lot of work, all that cutting out! Your mouse is too cute! I hope you are staying cool in this sweltering heat.

Serendipity Stamping said...

Hi Curt, boy I wish I had your patience! Cutting all of those little pieces to create such fantastic cards. And the bunny, I almost, almost, jumped in the car to go and get an ice cream cone, LOL. Have a great weekend! Hugs, to all.

Celeste said...

I love Halloween too. Yes, it is too early for Christmas! Love your cards. Check out this site
http://haunteddesignhouse.blogspot.com

Jane Wetzel said...

WOW Curt...these 3 are ALL awesome cards! Esp love the Halloween ones- yikes alot of work!

Sharli Schaitberger said...

Curt, your blog was just the thing I needed today! What a blessing! I {heart} your halloween cards - they are absolutely PERFECT!!! WOW. I'm glad you ended with a darling card - I can almost taste the ice cream. I love bunnies. Speaking of - I love your photo of the week, too. Awww, how sweet.
Thank you!
Hugs!

Bonnie Weiss said...

TRIO PERFECTION...3 adorable cards from the Master!

Kelly said...

Curt... your blog just makes me smile! I swear I can hear the smile in your voice when you post. And your attention to detail is stunning!

As 'thread head' on the S2S Challenge thread at SCS ( http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/splitcoast-challenges-f40/stamp-2-spend-challenge-2010-a-t474163.html#post17059256 )
I've chosen you as our Challenge Spin blog this week.

The girls are instructed to stop by and say 'Hi! then pick one of your designs to put their own spin on. Can't wait to see what they come up with. I'll be visiting your blog frequently

Alex. said...

Halloween is my Season!!!
I love your cards!
Hugs
Alex.

Percy said...

Wow Curt, those Halloween cards are out of this world....I can't imagine all that cutting...it turned out beautiful!

The bunny one is a cutie too, I love how you mask and make it look all different from the original stamp.

Thanks for sharing!

Have a good week.

Jodi said...

Oh Curt!! AS Always, you have inspired me to want to create for Halloween too!! I LOVE this time of year and I know you do too!! =)
You have really created 2 masterpieces!! The first one really is a work of art because you've done such intricate work with the cutting out of all of those images and then drawing in the floor!! Whoo hoo!!
Your next card is just SO inventive! I love the idea that you used your cuttlebug folder for the wood and then distressed it too!! Great work and you are such an inspiration!! OH I just can't wait for Halloween and to start creating too!!
Hugs
Jodi=)

Lorraine said...

Hi Curt I am guilty I have started my Christmas cards. We do not really celebrate halloween in Jersey, with cards anyway. I just love yours. Hugs to the dogs I am minding my daughter`s schnauzer Oliver at the moment, he will be 13 in November, such a sweety.