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Saturday, September 17, 2011

Waltzingmouse September Blog Waltz- Witch's Closet

I have been looking forward to this day for quite awhile now.  It's the September Blog Waltz for Waltzingmouse stamps and the theme is Halloween!
I have a special love of Halloween because on a Halloween night, almost 20 years ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to become parents to our sweet daughter, Carly.
She was supposed to be born on Thanksgiving day, but with a vision of things to come, Carly was born a month early and quite dramatically.  It is a long story, but I will tell you the funniest part of it.  My husband and I had two sons and my brother had 4 sons.  So needless to say, we were both pretty sure we were having another boy.  It was 5 pm on Halloween evening and I was having an emergency C-section and had been given spinal anesthesia that for whatever reason did not work.  I ended up having a second dose and that caused me to see double.  So, there I was, lying on the table seeing double and being quite scared and I could hear the two doctors working on me chatting with each other.  About Halloween.  A dramatic and exciting moment for my husband and I and the doctor is talking about Halloween.  One doctor said, "...and I haven't even bought the d___ pumpkin yet, and oh, it's a girl!"  Just like that.  No pumpkin and it's a girl.  All in the same sentence.  We almost didn't even hear what he said.  Since that day, we have always celebrated Carly's birthday with a little hint of a Halloween touch to it. 
For that reason, Carly's birthday card always has something to do with Halloween.  So, what does the stylish Halloween Birthday Witch keep in her closet?
Pretty stylish witch, don't you think?  I hand-drew a witch's armoire.  I used dark chocolate cardstock stamped with a woodgrain stamp and then embossed with a woodgrain impression plate.  I sponged it with black ink to make it good and distressed. 
Here's a closeup of the door panels on the armoire.
The panels are popped up with dimensionals.  I used aluminum foil to make a mirror for the back of the armoire.  Do you notice the little cracks I added to the mirror for some pretend "back luck"! How about that hat hanging from the top of the door?
The top of the armoire is stamped with a swirly image from Waltzingmouse Join Us stamp set embossed in silver.
Now what is inside this spooky witch's closet?  I used Waltzingmouse You're Lovely stamp set to cut a dress form and cover it with a glittery top and sparkly tulle skirt.  I used a running stitch and pulled the ends to gather the skirt.  Hanging from the left side armoire door is a pretty long dress for the best dressed witch around. 
                              Here's a closeup of the long dress with embossed top and rhinestone trim. 
Did you notice the witch's shoes in the closet?  How about the witch's broom propped up just waiting for the next spooky ride.
I added some really cute "skull" brads to the armoire drawer for handles and the sentiment on the bottom of the card says, "My Halloween Girl".

I wrapped some spider webs all over the front of the card and added a spider stamped with Waltzingmouse's Halloween Party stamp set.  I hope you also will notice the bottles of witch's brew using Wanda's Pantry labels along with more spider webs and candles to add to the spooky feel of the picture. 
You can probably tell I am really proud of this one and can't wait to give it to Carly.  She knows I was working on something special for her and I think this card will be one I put away and keep it somewhere safe for her to show her kids one day. 
Thanks for bearing with me with the super long post.  Enjoy the Blog Waltz.
Here's a pic of the Halloween Birthday girl today:



Join Us




Halloween Party




You're Lovely


30 comments:

Deborah Frings said...

What a lovely story, and what a beautiful girl! Carly will be more than delighted with this card - just love all the elements in it - the spider's web gives so much texture. And the dresses - lovely. I'm sure Carly's birthday will be fabulous!

Carly has a very talented mum!

Jen Adcock said...

Oh Cathy, how extraordinary are you my friend?! This was such a wonderful post. Your creations of both the daughter kind and the paper kind are extraordinary! I am so spell bound by ALL of their loveliness. what works of art. So special. Hugs.

Renee said...

It's fabulous...
truly, unconditionally fabulous!!
Love all the elements...
that "mirror"...
the fabby spooky dresses...
just everything...
she's going to love this!!
And what a great story about her birth...
and she is gorgeous!
I think it's really cool to have a Halloween birthday...
it's a super fun day to start with...
but having a birthday too...
makes it extra special fun! :)

Lynn Mercurio said...

Wow, Cathy - can I tell you how much I love this "spread". Every inch contains so much detail that I could spend hours just gazing at it. I know your daughter will love it and who wouldn't it's incredible. WOW!!!

Pauline said...

What a lovely story! Your Halloween girl will love this, I love the purple dresses and sparkly bling! Gorgeous!

Teresa Kline said...

what a super fun gift and project..great job!

enjoy *~*

Julia Aston said...

Oh my goodness girl! what a wonderful armoire you created!! so pretty and spooky at the same time - this is so creative anc clever!! and what a fun story to remember the special day your baby girl was born (she's lovely by the way!)

Erin (Homemade Cards by Erin) said...

Seriously how fun!

Unknown said...

OH MY WORD! what a fabulous creation, I am taking in all the details, this is incredible!!! Hugs!

Joyce said...

Wow! This is truly a work of art, and a work of love. There are so many wonderful details in this card and the tableau you made to display it in, that I don't even know where to start. You must have been doing nothing but making this card for weeks. I love the armoire, the dress you made with the tulle, how you paper pieced the other dress, and all the spooky Halloween details. I'm sure I've left something out because there is just so much here. I'm sure Carly will love this card--definitely save it forever.

Mona Pendleton said...

Oh my Cathy! What a stunning project! Love the armoire full of WM goodness! Happy Birthday to your sweet daughter! Thanks for waltzing along with WM stamps!

Tosha Leyendekker said...

What a FANTASTIC card!! I love your armoire filled with the stylin' witchy garments!! And the atmosphere you've created is just fabulous!! Your daughter will feel treasured for sure!! A huge Happy Birthday to her too!!

Jeanne J. said...

This is so neat! I love all the details the armoire that is open, the dresses, the tags on the bottles WOW! Really awesome!

Kara said...

such a cool project! loved the story of your daughter's birth!! too funny!

Jeanne J. said...

Cathy, I had to come by for another peek! I wanted to get through all the addresses on the blog hop - now that I'm done I can take my time looking at your card! Every time I look at it I see another detail - I can't imagine how much time you put into this. Carly will flip! I liked reading her story - and I'm glad you got your sweet pumpkin girl!

Sue Ann said...

FABBY POST and I love what is the Witch's closet ~~ your daughter is BEAUTIFUL!!! Where are you bottles from ......... so spooky!!!

Niki Estes said...

Cathy, this is such an amazing creation! I love all the little details you added!

Meredith MacRitchie said...

WOW... that is quite the project! I am sure Carly will love it, and I loved your story of the day she was born - I think sometimes the docs forget that we DON'T do this every day like they do!!

Helen Berry said...

Oh my goodness - this is FANTASTIC!! I can't really add much more that hasn't already been said - but I simply adore your Witches Halloween Closet!!

Clare said...

Brilliant!!! I just LOVE it, SO creative!!

Crafty Math Chick said...

I am impressed! You really went all out with your projects! They all look fantastic! Happy early birthday to your lovely daughter too!

Kim Heggins said...

This by far is the best Halloween card I have ever seen! So much detail, the dresses, shoes and I just love the hat! What a beautiful card for such a beautiful daughter. You must stay awake nights coming up with this incredible creation.

Kelly S. said...

I wrote a comment that disappeared! Must be the magical nature of your post ;)

First off, your daughter is GORGEOUS, Cathy! This is an outstanding creation! It's soo magical and creative! I just love that you used the dresses from You're Lovely like that! Love the fun fabrics and the embellies like the broom and those SHOES! This is so much fun I can hardly stand it. My daughter Claire's birthday is October 14th and I want to have a Witch's Wardrobe party now!!!!

Jen Cuthbertson said...

Amazing card, Cathy, and your daughter looks like such a sweetie! I love your armoire with those lovely dresses and all of the witch garb is perfect! Amazing!!

Sam B said...

Wow, this is just the coolest Halloween card, just love it! I especially love the witch hat and broom and the cobwebs all over...great job Cathy! I will have to remember this idea; my SIL is also a Halloween baby!! (And your daughter is gorgeous btw!)

Sharron said...

Congrats on your win--certainly well deserved! Your card is FANTASTIC! What a creative approach for a Halloween birthday, with every detail so amazing! Your daughter certainly is lovely. And I'm sure she will LOVE her card!

Pauline said...

Congrats on your win too! So well deserved for such a gorgeous creation. Great inspiration!

JJ Bolton said...

Love the story to go along with the knockout projects! "Fabulousness" all around:)

Marybeth said...

First the Halloween birthday girl is beautiful! Your card is so amazing I wont even go into detail, its all amazing. I know Carly will keep and treasure this. TFS you wonderful story and card! We love Halloween too. You have such a special bond with it though.

Diane Jaquay said...

WOW, I just saw this on the WM blog and had to come take a closer look! You really went all out here, and the results are AMAZING!!! Truly fabulous project, and I loved reading the story about your daughter. She's gorgeous btw :)