MCT 46th Release Blog Hop: Fangtastic Day Card

Happy Release Day!!! Thanks so much for joining us on the MCT Release Blog Hop! You've probably hopped here from the Ruthie's blog. If not, head on over to Emma's blog to start from the very beginning. You'll be glad you did!

This weekend, our nephew, Christopher, will be turning 18 and I can't believe it! I still see him as the little boy who loved to dress up as Toy Story characters for Halloween. He has grown into such a wonderful young man and we are so proud of him! Move-in day for Eastern Michigan University is right around the corner and we know that he'll excel.

A few years ago, I handed Chris a handmade card for his birthday (as I usually do). He opened it and looked at me funny. It wasn't until later that day that he mentioned the Father's Day card I gave him for his birthday. The WHAT?!?! Apparently, when I grabbed a 'manly card' from my stash, I didn't check to make sure that it was indeed a birthday card. Ever since, I give him randomly themed cards for his birthday. This year, we're going with the Halloween theme!

I know he gets a kick out of the random cards each year. It's just a little something special we share. And who really cares what the card has on it when there's money inside, right? I know I wouldn't!

MCT Products Used
New! Fangastic Day Available Now!
New! Stitched Squares Inside & Out Available Now!

***Freebie Stamp & Die***

This set will be FREE
to the first 150 shoppers!

For our freebie this release, we are giving away this super cute Fangtastic Day stamp and die set to
the FIRST 150 shoppers! You do NOT have to add it in your cart. If you are one of the first 150 shoppers, Emma and her shipping crew will automatically include it in your package! If you order AFTER the 150th shopper, this stamp set will be available for purchase! If you see this set available in the store, that means that 150 shoppers have already come through. No exceptions will be made. Also, this freebie is not a part of the 45th Edition Bundle and is only sold separately.

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***Blog Hop Giveaway***
One lucky winner of today's Blog Hop Giveaway will receive a $50 gift card to the MCT online shop! To enter, simply leave a comment on each of the designers' blogs! You are NOT required to comment on every blog, but the more you comment on, the better chance you have for winning!
Very important: please leave a way for us to contact you with your comment should you be the lucky winner!

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***Sale Alert***
Don't forget that our sale starts right now! Use the code: AUGUST2015 to receive a 15% discount off your entire in-stock purchase! This sale applies to in-stock items only. The sale will end on Friday, August 28th at 11:59pm PST.

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That's it for me today, but the fun doesn't stop here! Hop on over to Leanne's blog to see what she has up her sleeve today.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Totally Treats: Everlasting Gobstoppers

Every Halloween, my brother and his family come over to my house so that my niece, Evelyn, can trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. I hate to brag, but our neighbors do a FAB job with candy and one even sets up a FREE photobooth each year!

This year, Evelyn (who will be 7 in December) has decided that she'd like to trick-or-treat for half of the night and help pass out candy for the other half. Like The Hubs and me, she likes to see all the kids' costumes. 

Wanting to be sure that I had her favorite candy on hand, I asked Evelyn what she likes. Her answer? Gobstoppers.

I'm more of a chocolate candy girl myself, so I didn't buy the mixed bags of candy that included the Gobstoppers to pass out (after all, when all is said and done, WHO'S eating all the leftovers?!?!?!). But I made sure to pick Evelyn up her very own box of Gobstoppers.

MCT Products Used

3x3 Trifold Card Die

Medium Stitched Scallop Bow Die

Fright Night Stamp Set

Since it is Halloween Week, I thought I'd share our costumes that we wore this weekend. Not only did we have three parties to go to, but we also got to run in a Halloween-themed 10K. 

My girlfriends and I went as Three Blind Mice and The Hubs was "The Fox". We had a great time and a great run! 

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to swing by Emma's blog to see what the other designers have created for Totally Treats Tuesday!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Halloween Hustle: Witch Hat Headband

Welcome to My Creative Time's week of Halloween Hustle! This week we will share 5 days worth of last minute ideas to trick your treats!  You will also see 3D projects, home decor and cards!  Hopefully you are ready for some Halloween Hustle Fun!

We will have giveaways all week: check Emma's blog to see what is up for grabs each day!  If you missed out on last week's sale, for this weekend ONLY - starting TODAY, 10/25/2013 @ 12:01am PST through Sunday 10/27/2013 @ 11:59pm PST - you can use the code OCT2013 to get 20% off your entire order in the My Creative Time Online Store!  And don't miss out on the NEW Teeny Tag Holidays stamp set available this Friday!

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Tomorrow is going to be a busy, busy day of Halloween FUN! First, we start our day off with a Halloween-themed 10K race in the morning. The best part? We get to dress up! My two running buddies and I are going as Three Blind Mice (...see how they run... LOL, get it?). The Hubs will be The Fox.

After the race, The Hubs and I are attending a Pumpkin Carving Party and then I have a Witch-themed jewelry party to go to in the evening. Phew! It'll be a little hectic jumping from one thing to another, but so much fun!

For the jewelry party, we were all asked to wear a witch hat. But I didn't want to walk into the party with the same hat as someone else! *gasp* That would be a travesty! So I decided to (kinda) make my own.

Now, I have to give my Mom major kudos for this one. I had called her about my idea for my headband hat and she kept her eye out for fun stuff while she was out shopping. In one shopping trip, she found two headbands (one black with black sparkly tulle, and one with the fancy green hat on it) that would work PERFECT for my project. And they were around $5 each. Score!

After cutting off some tulle from the hat and merging the two headbands together, all I had to do was add a bit of purple using MCT's Rolled Flower Dies and I was set!

Tip: If you have single-sided patterned paper (one side is plain white), but you want a design on the inside and outside of the rolled flower, simply cut the flower out twice in the two patterns you want. On the second cut, FLIP the paper over so you're cutting it out upside down. (First cut: patterned side up; Second cut: patterned side down). Then, glue your cuts together with the patterned sides showing. Now you'll have double-sided paper flowers!

I can't wait to show off my fancy hat at the party tomorrow! Head on over to Emma's blog to see what the rest of the designers have in store for the last day of Halloween Hustle.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Halloween Hustle: Halloween Treat Flag

Welcome to My Creative Time's week of Halloween Hustle! This week we will share 5 days worth of last minute ideas to trick your treats!  You will also see 3D projects, home decor and cards!  Hopefully you are ready for some Halloween Hustle Fun!

We will have giveaways all week: check Emma's blog to see what is up for grabs each day!  If you missed out on last week's sale, for this weekend ONLY - starting this Friday 10/25/2013 @ 12:01am PST through Sunday 10/27/2013 @ 11:59pm PST - you can use the code OCT2013 to get 20% off your entire order in the My Creative Time Online Store!  And don't miss out on the NEW Teeny Tag Holidays stamp set available this Friday!

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I love to bake. Even more, I love to receive compliments on my baking. Is that bad?

This weekend, The Hubs and I are attending a few Halloween events, and I've offered to bring 'my' famous Pumpkin Spice Muffins. The recipe isn't originally mine. But since I'm the only one around these parts that bakes them, I've claimed it as mine. Fair enough.

When I bake 4 dozen muffins for adults, I want them to be cute, but I don't necessarily want to go too crazy with decorating them. So a very simple flag does the trick... get it...? trick...

The little flag was creating using the die from Chocolate Greetings. Using MCT's new stamp set, Teeny Tag Holidays (available on Friday), I stamped the sentiment in two steps (since the original stamp has the two parts on separate lines) onto my flag.

Since I want my Pumpkin Spice Muffins to be fresh this weekend, I've used an extra chocolate cupcake I had from baking for a friend's birthday yesterday as a 'stand-in' for my photo.

There's more to see on Emma's blog today - head on over and check it out!

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

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Pumpkin Spice Muffins Recipe
Makes 12 - 16 muffins

Ingredients
1 15oz. can of pumpkin
1 box of Spice Cake mix (I recommend Duncan Hines)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).

In a large bowl, combine ingredients (Do NOT add anything that the box mix tells you such as eggs and oil. You ONLY need the mix itself.).

Fill paper-lined muffin tins with batter.

Bake for 20 minutes.

MCT Halloween Blog Hop: Trick or Treat

Boo!

Did I scare ya? *giggle*

Halloween is coming up QUICK, so Emma at My Creative Time has enlisted the Design Team to show you some AWESOME Halloween projects today (and yesterday, too!). If you've hopped here from Tracy's blog, you're on the right scary path. If not, mosey on over to Emma's blog to start the Hop from the very beginning.

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Today I have an EASY PEASY project for you that would be PERFECT for school parties or extra little treats for your kids and their friends besides candy. They'll get enough of that, won't they?

This Trick Tac Toe uses bottle caps as pieces and a simple piece of card stock for a board (laminating the board wouldn't be a bad idea). For the pieces, I stamped and colored the candy from Treats for my Sweet, and stamped the web (green) and spider (black) from the same set onto white card stock. After punch them out with my 1" Circle Punch, I adhered them to the inside of the bottle caps with pop dots. They were then glittered with Star Dust Stickles. Pieces: done.

I created the board in Photoshop and printed it out. I then stamped the bats and kitty from Treats for my Sweet to add some spookiness.

What's that? You love the board? Fabulous! You can download it (absolutely FREE) right here.

Now here comes the fun stuff...

You could win ALL of this!

***GIVEAWAY***

This wouldn't be a party without a FANTASTIC prize .... right? Random.org will pick ONE winner from each day of this Blog Hop (yesterday and today) to win ALL OF THIS! All you have to do is leave your comments for a chance to win everything pictured here! DON'T FORGET to leave us your contact information in your comment just in case YOU are one of the LUCKY winners! You have until Sunday, October 21st at midnight to leave your comments! GOOD LUCK!



**SALE INFO**
We are ALSO having a sale going on RIGHT NOW that will end on Sunday, Oct 21st @ midnight!  Use the code SPOOKY save 20% on your order! Click here to start shopping now!

Thanks for hopping by today. I'm your last stop.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 3D Wednesday: Button, Button

Halloween is quickly approaching and I've been hard at work decorating inside and outside to prepare for the holiday. Last year was my first time really decorating for Halloween and my decor supply is pretty low. To add to last year's decorations, I've been traveling to my local dollar stores and Salvation Army to find cheap items I can use to spook up the house.

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For today's 3D Wednesday, the My Creative Time Design Team was asked to create a 3D project incorporating buttons. Not long ago, I pinned a beautiful letter frame on Pinterest - knowing it would come in handy one day. And it did!

I purchased this frame from Salvation Army for $3. It was a brassy gold. But I knew that with a little black spray paint, this baby would be PERFECT! What is great about this frame is that the 'photo' sits far back in the frame while the glass is pressed against the front. Similar to a shadowbox. I knew that this configuration would allow me to use buttons and STILL have the glass in the frame.

After laying out my buttons on my card stock for a 'dry run', I glued them into place. Of course, I used an "H" for "Halloween", but you could use any letter or even spell out a word (...wouldn't "Boo" be perfect?).

I added the black shadow around the card stock with my Tim Holtz Distressing Tool and some black ink. I also stamped the bats and spider from MCT's Treats For My Sweet.

This colorful frame looks great on our foyer table along with some other Halloween decorations!

Be sure to swing by the My Creative Time blog to see what Emma and the other designers have up their sleeves for today.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT Beary Special Blog Hop: Boo Bear

Hello there! Thanks for joining the My Creative Time Design team on this Beary Special Blog Hop! If you've traveled here from Tracy's blog, you're on the right track! If not, head on over to Emma's blog to start the hop from the "beary" beginning! *giggle*

Even though it's not quite Halloween, Emma has decided to give you all a "Beary Special Treat"! This treat doesn't cause weight gain, but will cause CUTENESS OVERLOAD! Included in this hop, you will see a "Beary Special" stamp set that was designed by Emma for this special hop!  Also, as an added bonus, we have five VERY TALENTED Guest Designers joining us for this hop.

Speaking of Halloween...

I've always LOVED getting dressed up for Halloween! When I was little, I insisted on being a kitty cat every year. Every. Year.

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For today's project, I wanted my little teddy bear to feel the same pride and adorability (okay, so I totally just made that word up) that I did whenever I was dressed in the feline persuasion.

First, I stamped my teddy bear (MCT's newest stamp set: Beary Special Thoughts) onto white card stock. After adding his costume with a black pen, I colored him with my Copics. To give the illusion that he is sitting on the "Boo", I 'masked' him with a post-it and then stamped the "Boo" (MCT's Treats For My Sweet). I colored the polka dots and spider with my Copics, and glittered the polka dots with Star Dust Stickles.

To get the 'shadow' effect on the edges, I used my Tim Holtz Distressing Tool in black ink and rubbed in circles over the edges.

I also stamped the spider web from Treats For My Sweet in the corner and drew a string of web to the spider and outlined him with my black pen.

After stamping and coloring the jack-o-lantern and ghost (Treats For My Sweet), I cut them out and popped them up onto the bear/boo layer. The sentiment was hand cut from a piece of scrap white card stock.

I used my Scor-Pal to make the diamonds on the card base layer and Stampin' Up!'s Scallop Trim Border & Corner Punches on the purple layer.


**GIVEAWAY ALERT**

Emma has a few GREAT giveaways to give to THREE LUCKY readers!

1st GRAND prize ~ "Teddy Bear Parade" Cricut cartridge AND this newest stamp set "Beary Special Thoughts"
2nd prize ~ "Create a Critter 2" cartridge "Beary Special Thoughts"
3rd prize ~ this newest set "Beary Special Thoughts"

How FUN is this? All you have to do is leave your comments on each designer's blog! The more blogs you comment on, the BETTER your chances are at winning! Random.org will pick all the winners on Tuesday! So you have until Sunday, Sept 30th by midnight to get all of your comments in! AND PLEASE don't forget to include a way for us to contact you just in case YOU are one of the lucky winners! Good Luck!

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What was I thinking? Halloween 1997

So you might be asking yourself: Veronica, do you STILL dress up as a kitty every Halloween? And the answer is no.

Once I saw this yearbook 'action shot' of me at my 6th grade Halloween 'dance', I knew my kitty days were over. What was I thinking? What was I WEARING?!?! I've never in my life, seen a cat with so much makeup on. *giggle* Ahhh...memories...

Nowadays, The Hubs and I like to coordinate for Halloween. In the past we've been Diddy & Candy Kong and BP oil spill workers. Last year was my favorite: I went as a trophy wife and he was my "Hugh Hefner". We've got something really fun planned for this year's costume! Can't wait to reveal!

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm your last stop on the Beary Special Blog Hop.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

MCT 19th Edition Release Blog Hop: Sweet Treats

It's finally here! The 19th Edition is officially released over at My Creative Time today! If you've hopped here from Trell's blog, you are certainly on the right track! If not, click on over to Emma's blog to start this Hop from the beginning (you WON'T be sorry - promise!).

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Today I created a little treat holder for my "Sweet". This holder is really easy to make - only using ONE piece of card stock (plus your extra card stock for embellishing). Inside my little holder are two Andes mints (or, Andes Mountains as I call them *giggle*). I'm sure a Ghirardelli chocolate square would fit inside, too (perhaps some minor size adjustments?).

I cut my orange card stock at 4.5" x 6". I then scored at 1.75" on both ends of the long side. After centering my candies in the middle area of the scored card stock, I folded on the scored lines and taped it shut. This left me with two open ends. I taped the two open ends shut and used my paper crimper to get the wavy edge-effect. The crimping helps to keep the ends shut, too. This easy holder would be GREAT for a classroom of kids!

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Now comes the fun part! I stamped the little bat from Treats For My Sweet in Versamark randomly on the green layer. After stamping and embossing the sentiment (from the same set) on the white card stock, I used my scissors to 'rough up' the edges a bit. Most of the layers are popped up (of course!).

If you've visited my blog before, you probably recognize the awesome green striped ribbon. I use this ribbon for everything from Christmas to my wedding album to Halloween! It's so versatile! It was found at Hobby Lobby a while ago and I'm always sure to stock up on it when I find it on the shelves (...and my Mom stocks up for me, too! Thanks, Mom!).


***BLOG HOP GIVEWAY ALERT***

For our Blog Hop giveaway, there will be 2 winners chosen from ALL the comments combined!

1st Prize: Guest Design spot for the September My Creative Time Release

2nd Prize: $50 worth of My Creative Time product - YOUR CHOICE!

How to enter to win: Just leave a comment here along with the rest of the design team's blogs AND also leave a way for us to contact you!  Emma will use random.org to pick the lucky winners!  The more blogs you comment on, the more chances to win! The deadline is Sunday, August 19th at midnight! EASY PEASY!!! GOOD LUCK!

Thanks so much for hopping with the My Creative Time Design Team today. I'm your last stop.

I hope you were inspired!

- Veronica

Happy Halloween!

It's here, it's here! The house has been spook-ified, the candy is purchased. Now all we have to do is wait for the Trick-or-Treaters to arrive!

Isn't it so much fun to see all of the kids dressed up in their costumes? Here in Michigan, we usually see children all bundled up with their costumes on OVER their hoodies and sweatpants. Nothing like a princess with mittens on!

My husband and I went to our friends' annual Halloween Party on Saturday and had a great time! The first year we went, we were dressed up as Diddy and Dixie Kong (from the Donkey Kong video games). Last year, we were BP Oil Spill Workers. So this year, I told my husband that I wanted to be something 'pretty'. No monkey costume; no coveralls.

I thought and thought and finally settled on my costume. I wanted to be a Trophy Wife. They do actually make a costume for this. But I'm a DIY-er! I purchased a gold top/mini-dress and some gold leggings (I'm SURE I'll use those again - kidding!), added some accessories and gold makeup and VOILA! - a Trophy Wife!

The sash was actually my husband's idea (kudos, Honey!). We didn't want people asking all night, "What are you supposed to be?", so we figured that a sash would do the trick. But where was I going to find a sash to decorate? Creative Hubby to the rescue! He suggested that I purchase a white plastic tablecloth and fashion my sash out of that. What a great idea! I folded my dollar store tablecloth in half, cut out my sash shape, glued the ends together and decorated it with black vinyl (using my Cricut for the letters), rhinestones and Stickles.

We like for our costumes to complement each other, so to go along with my Trophy Wife costume, he went as a 'Hugh Heffner-type'. I think he just wanted to wear pajamas! *wink*


Funny side note: As I sat in his truck in my skin-tight leggings and itchy top on our way to the party, I looked at him and said, "Well, at least ONE of us is comfortable..."

We had a great time at the party and I'm looking forward to showing off my costume to the neighbors as we sit on our front porch to pass out candy tonight. The costume might not have the same affect when I wear a long sleeved shirt underneath it, but I'm sure my neighbors will appreciate the idea.

Happy Halloween!

- Veronica

Halloween Pretzel Treats

Cute little packages filled with goodies are fun for 'kids' of all ages! Why should elementary children be the only ones bringing adorable treats to their friends?

My husband had a Halloween Potluck at work yesterday and needed a 'dish' to bring in. I'm no chef! I prefer to stick with baked goods and chocolate. I had seen some cute Christmas pretzels on Pinterest and knew that with a little altering they'd be a great Halloween treat to send in to those hungry Software Developers!

I started out by melting Dark, Light and White Chocolate in separate mugs. This can be done in the microwave, but that's not the way my Mom taught me! Here are Mom's directions:

1. Put 2 paper towels in the bottom of a fairly deep pan (the kind with real 'sides' to it)
2. Fill the paper towel-lined pan about 1-1/2" to 2" deep with water.
3. Heat the water on low/medium (the water should not boil).
4. Put as many mugs into the pan as you need colors/flavors.
5. Add chocolate candy melts to each mug and stir occasionally as they melt

Once my chocolate was good and melt-y, I dipped pretzel rods into the mugs (one at a time) and let the excess chocolate drip off (no need to go crazy with the chocolate - unless you want to, of course!). I then sprinkled each pretzel with crushed up Reese's Pieces (crushed with love by yours truly).

Side note: How do YOU pronounce 'Reese's Pieces'? I know how it's supposed to be pronounced, but I can't help but say "Reesies Peesies" *giggle*

I set each pretzel into a wine glass (Because I'm classy like that. *wink* No, actually because the rims were low enough to not really interfere with the chocolate and crushed candy). I didn't want to lay them down onto wax paper until they were dry enough to not stick to it and get flattened on the bottom.

When I was all done dipping and sprinkling 50 pretzels, I wrapped them in treat bags (found at your local craft/baking supply store) and tied a sweet little tag to them using twine.

I wanted to keep my tags simple (since there were 50 of them and it was 11pm) so I just punched a fun shape out of Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla Card Stock and stamped cute Halloween images from Peachy Keen's Nikkity Knack Cat Gang (kitty and bat) and My Creative Time's Small Talk ('Boo!' sentiment). I did half the tags with the kitty and half with the bat. I used a Light Prawn Copic Marker (R22) to color in the kitty's ears and nose.

I originally thought about not packaging these treats and just putting them in jars, but wanted they to be transportable - easy to take back to your desk to enjoy while you're working! I stuck the wrapped and tagged pretzels into a basket I had around that I lined with black tissue paper. I hope my husband's coworkers enjoy these treats as much as I enjoyed making them!


Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to come back next week for more fun projects!!!

- Veronica

2011 Halloween Living Room Table Decor

Just because you're done using an item for its original purpose, doesn't mean you're done USING the item! Think of alternate uses for your 'oldies' to make them come back as 'goodies'! It's not only good for the environment (reduce, reuse, recycle!), but it's good for your WALLET - be green, SAVE green!

I found this raven on sale at Michaels. And though I didn't have a use for him in mind right when I spotted him, I knew that if I went home without him, I'd regret it. I decided later to 'cage' him in a hurricane I had laying around and set him atop some black river rocks (from my June wedding centerpieces) and purple feathers (that I had purchased for my Halloween Wreath).

I wanted the glitter spiders (a Michaels find) to 'climb' into the hurricane, but didn't want to get the hurricane all glue-y (I plan on re-using it for my Fall decor). Instead, I punched out 3/4" circles of black vinyl and 'pop-dotted' my spiders onto their own little circles. The circles then stick to the glass and come off without any hassle (or leftover residue)! GENIUS, if I may say so myself. *wink*

My glitter sticks with feather flowers are a TOTAL DIY project! The sticks were originally brown branches adorned with autumn flowers and buds. They were used on last year's Fall wreath (just WAIT 'til you see THIS year's!). Since I no longer needed them as they were, I popped the flowers and buds off and glittered the sticks (Mod Podge + Martha Stewart Purple Sapphire Fine Glitter). I then put some black leaves on the sticks (left over from the black roses I used on my Halloween Wreath, Dining Centerpiece, and Flower Arrangement). For the 'flowers', I used some leftover purple feathers. You know those teeny, tiny feathers you find in the pack? I used THOSE!

I hope you've been inspired to re-purpose your old decor! Stop back tomorrow for an extra-special TREAT!

2011 Halloween Table Centerpiece

A candelabra is a great way to add a classy touch to any dining table. Add 'bloody' candles and some spider webs, and you have a SPOOKTACULAR centerpiece!

Most of the pieces that make up this spooky decor are from Salvation Army (my FAVORITE store!). The white pillar holder was originally a beige/brown color and I spray painted it with Rustoleum Flat White to give it new life. The 'collar' that the 'boy' skull sits on is another pillar holder that I grabbed from Salvation Army. I kept it as-is; figuring that I could also use it in my Autumn decor.

The skulls were purchased from Walmart a couple years ago. They both originally look like the 'boy' skull here on my table. I added the rose to his mouth - just stuck it through (the skulls are made of foam). I Mod Podged the 'girl' and glittered her with Martha Stewart Black Onyx Fine Glitter. I then made a cute little bow and stuck it to her head using floral wire.

The candelabra's base (a STEAL for $2.99!!!) is wrapped in black roses and then covered in faux spider webs. I just love the added spookiness the candles add to the table.

If you're interested in adding 'bloody' candles to YOUR Halloween decor, you'll need:

1. As many white taper candles as you want to make 'bloody'
2. One red taper candle ***Be sure the candle is red ALL THE WAY through and not just a white candle dipped in red! You must have red wax to do this technique!***
3. Small container filled with sand (to catch any wax that 'misses' the candle)
4. Lighter

Directions

Stick your first white candle in the sand.

Light your red candle and angle it so that the wax drips onto your white candle

Repeat with more white candles.

Easy peasy, right? I burned my white candles for a little bit BEFORE adding the red wax. This way, they looked used and not brand new, out-of-the-package.

I hope you've been inspired by my centerpiece! Come back tomorrow for more Halloween decor!

2011 Halloween Foyer Decor

Re-purposing is a great way to keep costs down when decorating (or when creating of any kind, really). I love taking something old and giving it new life. I ESPECIALLY love it when it involves glitter!!!

As I took my returnable cans and bottles back to the store a few weeks ago ($.10 per container here in MI - you BET I'll return 'em!), the machine wouldn't take my empty IBC Creme Soda glass bottles because they don't have a barcode on the bottles themselves. I figured I'd just take them back to the original store I purchased them from and continued with my shopping. I TOTALLY forgot to stop at the other store to return my IBCs on my way home. But I swear that as soon as I walked in the door, I had an epiphany!

I cleaned out the bottles and caps and took them directly up to my Creative Studio to get to work. I thought about designing my own Halloween Labels for this project, but figured that if I could find something pre-made (and free) online that I liked - why re-invent the wheel? I found these awesome free potion label printables online! Sa-weet!

After printing my labels, I cut them out and - using a foam brush - glued them to my bottles with Mod Podge. I brushed the Mod Podge directly onto the backs of my labels so that I didn't get any glue outside of the area I needed it on my bottles. I smoothed them out well, making sure there weren't any bubbles.

Now I needed to do something about the IBC bottle caps. Even though they were orange (very Halloweenie), I didn't want to be able to see the logo on the cap. I opted to cover them in Martha Stewart Black Onyx Fine Glitter (LOVE that stuff). I just brushed on more Mod Podge and covered the cap in the glitter. Ms. Stewart's glitter covers VERY well - there's no need to paint the object before glittering. Once my new potion bottle was ready, I filled it with water that I tinted with purple food coloring. I looks more black than purple - but that's okay. Still something that I wouldn't want to drink! Cost of project: pretty darn FREE!

I found this white skull and black pumpkin at my local Michael's. Something about that little skull piqued my interest and I knew he had to come home with me. I love him just the way he is - no altering needed. The pumpkin needed a little something, so I striped it using my white Sharpie Poster Paint Marker. I then glittered the stem (bring on the Mod Podge!) with Martha's Purple Sapphire Fine Glitter. When I put the pumpkin and skull together on my foyer table, the skull was just dwarfed by the size of the pumpkin. I had a few small decorative boxes in my stash, so I took out the black & white one, removed the lid, flipped it over and VOILA - a stand! The bottom of the little box was originally white with a barcode on it. More glitter to the rescue!

Thanks for dropping by! Check back in tomorrow for my Halloween Dining Table Centerpiece!

- Veronica

2011 Halloween Door Wreath

I don't have a pretty front door. Some people do. I'm not one of them. It's gray, drab - blech. A great way to add some flair to an otherwise boring front door is to add a wreath - and they're not just for Christmas anymore!

I went to my local craft store and found a 24" grapevine wreath for $7.99. After pairing it with my handy 40% off coupon, I walked out as the new owner of a wreath for just $4.79 + tax! I knew that the brown color wasn't going to give the effect I was looking for, so when I got home, I laid some newspaper down in the garage and gave the wreath a good coat of black gloss spray paint. It doesn't have to be perfect!

Once it was dry, I brought the wreath up to my Creative Studio to start adding the accents. I have a tendency to go a bit overboard with accents, so I tried my very best to keep it simple and classy. I added some black maribou feathers, purple craft feathers and black and purple roses to start. Then I popped in a couple purple glitter balls (read more on that here) and wrapped the wreath in a fun polka dot wired ribbon.

The sign was a great find at Michael's! It was clearance for $1.99 - so I picked up two (you can see how I used my other sign in my Outdoor Decor). It was originally hung vertically, so I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch two new holes to hang it horizontally (I LOVE my Crop-a-Dile! It will punch a hole through almost anything!). I used Sharpie Poster Paint Markers in white and purple to write our name and border the sign. Believe me - my handwriting is NOT that good! I printed out our name in a font I like on my computer, cut it out, traced it onto the sign with pencil, and then filled it in using the markers. It was not a quick process, but I really love the way it turned out! In one day, I brought my front door from drab to FAB!

Stop by tomorrow for some inexpensive indoor Halloween decorating ideas!

2011 Outdoor Halloween Decor

This is my first time really decorating for Halloween. A couple years ago, I threw some fake spider webbing over our very dead tree ON Halloween Day, but this year - I actually put thought into our Halloween decorations.

I started out by simply placing two pumpkins on our front porch. That was fine for a couple days, but something was definitely missing. So I took a trip to my favorite store - Salvation Army - and found some AWESOME goodies!

I noticed a small hay bale in the shop window, but decided to go over into the "Brick-a-Brack" section first. And what do you know? Another hay bale! I checked out the price: $1.99 - can't go wrong! So I picked it up and high-tailed it back to the front window to get the other bale. It was marked at $4.99, but the manager said he'd give me the $1.99 price. In the basket it went!

I also found this great black urn that was not-too-big, not-too-small for $4. I knew it would make a great addition to my front porch if I just added some spooky flowers (of which I had some leftovers at home from other projects) and black river stones (left over from my June wedding centerpieces).

After a bit of moving things around, I'm really happy with the way it all came together. It's not too spooky and is a very nice welcome for visitors (and Trick-or-Treaters)! I love that I'll be able to re-use the hay bales for my Fall Decor and I'm sure I'll find something to do with that black urn throughout the year!

Another great find I got from Salvation Army was this white plastic picket garden fencing. I knew exactly what I was going to do with it when I saw it and the $.99 price for 3 pieces was a total bonus!

I took it home and got out my hack saw! I sawed away at each piece creating broken slats - a really spooky look. After it was all broken up, I inked up my Tim Holtz Distressing Tool with Antique Linen Distress Ink and went to town! I knew Antique Linen wouldn't be enough, so after letting each piece dry a bit, I distressed them again with Walnut Stain.

Little trick: After you've finished inking up the plastic, use your heat tool to set/dry the ink. Be careful and don't get too close or you could melt the plastic!

Now that my fence was dirty-looking and spooky, I was ready to create my own personal Garden Cemetery! I had a few tombstones from a couple years ago, so I stuck them in my (very sad) garden by the front porch.

This is where I make my confession: Hi, my name is Veronica and I'm a terrible gardener. 

It seems that dying/dead plants and weeds really add to the effect of a Spooky Garden Cemetery, so I'm going to pretend like that was my plan the whole time. I MEANT for my garden to look awful so that it would be PERFECT for Halloween. Yep. That's my story.

It's been super windy here for the last little while, so I filled sandwich bags with rocks and placed them on top of the stakes that keep the tombstones from blowing over backward. That seems to be helping as I haven't lost a tombstone yet!

I tossed a couple furry spiders into my Hostas and hung a BEWARE sign on the broken fence.

Our front porch/walkway area is now ready for Trick-or-Treaters! Check back tomorrow for a look at my Halloween Door Wreath!

MCT Oct Stamp Release Sneak #3

Welcome, welcome to my BRAND NEW BLOG! I'm so excited you're here!

If you've followed my VK Design Company blog, you know that I haven't been too diligent in posting in the past. But I've got high hopes and lots of great ideas and projects to share with you!

Today I have my 3rd Sneaky Peek for My Creative Time's 11th Release. We are featuring XL Label Borders - which coordinates PERFECTLY with the XL Label Die. This stamp set and die are SO versatile and can be used for many different projects.

I've been in the Halloween mood lately and have recently added some spooky decor around my home. I used the XL Label Die and XL Label Border stamp set to add a little spice to my black and purple decor.

I used SEVERAL of Emma's stamp sets together to complete my projects. I just love how well her stamps work together!

I used the Peachy Keen Stamps Funny Spider along with Emma's Small Talk for my spooky flower arrangement tag. I colored the spider in with my Copics (little trick: follow the same colors as on the stamp package and you can't go wrong!).

For my little Cookie Bag, I used XL Label Borders with Anyday Bingo & Crossword, Whimsical Calendar Days, and Build A Banner Kit. The XL Label Die was a perfect little treat bag topper!

Click to view larger

This is my first time really decorating for Halloween and I've had a BLAST adding spookiness to my home. Here you can see a close-up of my spooky flower arrangement. 

I used a black glittery rose bunch and single purple rose along with some purple fuzzy flower ball-thingies (LOL) and feathers. To add some sparkle, I glittered two small Styrofoam balls with Martha Stewart's Purple Sapphire and Black Onyx (first cover the Styrofoam balls with Mod Podge using a foam brush - no need to paint, the glitter covers REALLY well) and stuck them on lollipop sticks. Everything is stuck into floral foam that is easily removable from the urn so I can change out the arrangement for each season! 

If you've enjoyed the Halloween decor you've seen here today, be sure to come back next week for more spooky decor!

Sneak Peek Giveaway Time!

Listen up "My Creative Time" friends! We are giving all of you an opportunity to win some AWESOME prizes during Sneak Peek week with a total of "6" winners to be announced during Friday's Stamp release! All you have to do is leave a comment HERE along w/the rest on the design teams blogs for a chance! These are prizes you do NOT want to miss out on!!

 1. SPREAD THE WORD TO THE WORLD ON FACEBOOK about this release & whatever connections you may have! Let us know on "My Creative Time's" FB page that you did so! OR you can just tag My Creative Time in your post!

 2. Just comment on ALL of the designers' blogs EVERY DAY during Sneaky Peek week!  THAT'S ALL you have to do to qualify for the giveaways! ;)

All winners will "randomly" get chosen and Emma will announce all six winners on Friday, October 21st @ 12am PST in her video during the release & blog hop of this AMAZING new stamp collection! GOOD LUCK! Log onto to your facebook now & let's start spreading word!

- Veronica