A-Haunting We Will Glow!

Welcome to the A-Haunting We Will Glow Collab Hop with i-crafter and Pear Blossom Press! We're sharing spooky sweet projects for Halloween. Featuring interactive dies from i-crafter, and with help from Pear Blossom Press, they all really light up! Be sure to hop along with us for lots of inspiration; we’ve come up with some brilliant cards. Let me show you mine...

I started with the i-crafter Halloween Treat Lantern dies and a Graphic 45 Halloween Paper Pad. I decided the purple paper would work nicely for my lantern. I used the spiderweb insert for the i-crafter Halloween Treat Lantern and then cut a piece of 2.25"x2.25" piece of vellum to back the spiderweb with. I lightly covered the exterior of the frame and the web strings with Art Glitter Glue to attach the vellum. 

Next, I added the haunted house from the i-crafter Tunnel Card, Halloween Add-On die set cut out of black cardstock. I trimmed it down so that it fit to in the lantern and added it behind the vellum, again attaching it with Art Glitter Glue. I knew that I wanted the lights to shine through the windows so I pried the shutters back into the lantern a bit. After I had the haunted house attached, I flipped it over and used Pear Blossom Press's White Essential Gel Pen to write "Press Me" and drew an arrow to where I planned to place the button for my EZ-Lights to light up my project.

I used a Large Zots to secure the Power Pack of the EZ-Lights to the back of the Lantern, then used Small Zots to position my lights. 

To give me a little more control of the placement, I first wrapped the Zot around the wire just below the LED light, then positioned the light above the window or door, and firmly pressed down to secure the light's position. This allowed me better control of where the light was pointed than simply placing the light on the Zots like I have in the past. 

I used the same technique to secure the wires as they traveled down the back of the haunted house to the Power Pack. Typically I do this with washi tape since I have so much of it on hand, but in order to have a lower chance of them showing the Zots seemed to be a better choice to me.

Finally, to secure the extra length of wire on each string, I gathered it all up and used washi tape to secure it to the Power Pack of the EZ-Lights.

 It was hard to get a good picture of these "guts" because my camera kept trying to focus on one piece or another!

I decorated the front of the lantern last, I die cut the pumpkin from the i-crafter Tunnel Card, Halloween Add-On die set out of orange glitter cardstock and backed it with a small piece of black cardstock. I glued this over the button on the EZ-Lights.

The last piece was the ghost from the Tunnel Card, Halloween Add-On die set, I die cut it out of a White Flock Sheet backed with Foam Adhesive. I backed the ghost's face with a small piece of black cardstock as well. I used a black jewelry cord to create a loop that would allow me to hang this from a door knob or hook.

I love the finished look. It's really neat both unlit and lit up!

Here is a short video showing it light up as well!

Now, be sure you keep hopping to be inspired further by the i-crafter Inspiration Team and the wonderful ladies joining us from Pear Blossom Press. Here is the hop line up:

I-crafter

Amanda Wilcox

Niccole Kulig

Nancy May

Lauren Zertuche

Jeannie Lieu

Marcia Caradinta

Rachel Winn (You are here)

Cassie Trask (Next Stop)

Jenn Gross

Pear Blossom Press

Every good hop has prizes, right? So i-crafter, and Pear Blossom Press are each giving away a $25 store credit! Comment on this post by October 4, 2021 to be entered to win. Winners will be announced on October 8th. Ready for more inspiration? Amanda from Pear Blossom Press will be live on YouTube today, and Lynda from i-crafter will be live on Facebook today at 11:00am. Be sure to tune in!

Thanks for stopping by,

R. Winn

For more inspiration, updates, and news make sure to check out these awesome places!

i-crafter

i-crafter Instagram

i-crafter Art Facebook Page

i-crafter Pinterest

i-crafter YouTube

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

EZ-Lights Creating Bright Days with Catherine Pooler

Hello friends,

Welcome to the Catherine Pooler Designs x Pear Blossom Press Collab Hop! We're sharing fun, interactive cards to brighten your day! They feature awesome new stamps and dies from Catherine Pooler Designs, and with help from Pear Blossom Press, they all really light up! Be sure to hop along with us for loads of inspiration; our designers have come up with some brilliant cards.

We got to play with Pear Blossom Press EZ-Lights with the new Catherine Pooler Bright Days stamp and die set. I think they are a match made in crafty heaven! I created a mini slimline for the hop. I started by stamping the light fixture and light switch out using Midnight Ink on to Catherine Pooler Premium Paper.

Next, I used a Tombow Blender Pen to watercolor the light fixture using Limoncello ink for the light bulb, Cove Blue ink for the top and bottom pieces of the fixture, and Tranquil ink for the glass. The light switch was also colored with a Tombow Blender Pen, for the plate I used Sea Glass ink, for the switch I used Bay Breeze ink. I added some of the illumination lines from the Bright Days stamp to the light bulb and the wall in the Limoncello ink.

I used the light fixture die to cut a hole in the Happy Hearts Patterned Paper that I selected, I wanted it to look like it could be a wall and I thought the pretty diamond grid pattern could be used for that. Once the hole was cut, I fit my colored piece into it and flipped it over to add my EZ-Lights. I used the Narrow Double Thick Foam Tape carried by Pear Blossom Press to create a pocket around the lights (which I gathered at the center of the light bulb) to trap the light in the area I wanted it to be seen. I added the foam tape all over the back of the card, using washi tape to wrangle the wires and glue dots to adhere the lights to the paper.

I added some light blue glittery ribbon to the bottom of the card where I wanted to place my sentiment, then adhered the card front to my card base. Then I got to start building the card front! I added the light switch over the power button for my EZ-Lights, I thought it was clever. The final piece was the sentiment, I selected the yellow hearts Happy Hearts Patterned Paper to stamp on. I love the sentiments in this stamp set and selected the "thank you for brightening my day" to stamp in Bay Breeze ink and used a die cut from my stash to cut in out in a pretty shape. I popped this up on a thin foam tape and centered it over my ribbon.

Here is a short video showing my card "in action".

Every good hop has prizes, right? So Catherine Pooler Designs, and Pear Blossom Press are each giving away a $25 store credit! Comment on this post by June 25, 202 to be entered to win. Winners will be announced on June 28th. Be sure to continue hopping for additional inspiration and entries into the giveaway!

Your next stop on the hop is:

Ilina Crouse

Here is the full line up if you missed anyone:

Catherine Pooler Designs

Cassie Trask

Ashlee McGregor

Laura Volpes

Chrissie Tobas

Marcia Caradinta

Allison Cope

Jen Carter

Rachel Winn (You are here)

Ilina Crouse

Ali Farmer

Karen BakerPear Blossom Press (Mona Toth)

Thank you for stopping by today!

Until next time,

R. Winn

Playing with EZ Lights

I am SO excited to share with you my project using Pear Blossom Press's new EZ Lights; I absolutely LOVE these little guys and think you will too! Pear Blossom Press invited me to participate in a blog hop to help introduce EZ Lights, and I was completely honored and thrilled!

The EZ Lights, are a set of 3 pre-strung LED lights attached to the base of the Power Packs by Pear Blossom Press. They make doing a light up card so simple, and they last for such a long time.

I started my card by blending some Catherine Pooler inks, focusing on a dusk/sunset palette, after I had it blended I used a hole punch to create a space for the lights to shine through. I wanted lots of layers on this card, I used die cut trees directly on top of my dusk sky and added grass die cuts to the bottom. 

I mapped out my EZ Lights after punching the hole, a simple pencil mark on the card base so I know where the lights go, then deciding where the best space for my button is. It's almost error proof, honestly. 

For my images, I used the Kindred Stamps "Kindred Camping" stamp set and colored up the tent, campfire, and two of the campers using Copics.  I wanted a scene that would be beautiful on it's own, and stunning lit up.

The awesome thing about the EZ Lights is how powerful they are, they shine bright even though I don't have any transparent vellum or acetate to help them.  My campfire is on XPress It Paper which is a nice heavy cardstock, then my campfire is colored with Copics, adding another layer. As you can see below, the lights still shine through perfectly, lighting up the campfire! In fact, the light shines through in the background as well, giving my dusk sky, a bit of a more realistic feel and look.

I stamped my sentiment onto a scrap of kraft cardstock using Ink On 3's Juicy Clear Embossing Ink. I heat embossed in a nice dark brown embossing powder. I arranged my girls and the tent onto my card and added the sentiment to the top right. My EZ Light button is on the top left, so I used a Lawn Fawn stamp that says "Push Here" stamped in a dusky blue to mark it.

Now... Who wants to win an awesome prize from Pear Blossom Press?? Two prizes will be awarded to two separate winners, chosen at random, from comments left on participating blogs and videos. 

No purchase necessary. Comments must be posted by 11:59 pm PST on March 25, 2020. Only one comment per blog or video will be counted, but you can comment on multiple blogs and videos in the hop for additional entries. (This is to prevent spam.) Contest open internationally to participants over 18 years of age. Void where prohibited by law. Any personal information collected will only be used for the purposes of contacting winners, your information will never be shared or sold. Comments left on YouTube videos must not violate community guidelines. This contest is not sponsored by YouTube. Winners will be announced on April 1, 2020 at pearblossompress.com and prizes must be claimed within thirty days of announcement, or new winners will be drawn.

Make sure to visit the rest of the hop for more chances to win, and to see some pretty amazing projects!

Amanda

Lynnea

Niccole

Justin

Carol

Tanna

Nicole

Alison

Sue

Rachel (You are here!)

Your next stop is Erin

Thank you for visiting me today, I can't wait to see what you dream up with EZ Lights!

Until next time,

~R. Winn