Scrap Happy Mixed Media Halloween Cards

I’m joining the Scrap Happy crafters this month with a series of Halloween greeting cards.

My scrappy creations include paper, embossing powder, embossing enamel, Distress Oxide Ink, and Gesso.

I had one 6 x 6 sheet of paper with a small brick pattern, part of a free-with-purchase order last year. I was able to used that little paper over four cards

This year I created Halloween greetings using leftover oversized playing cards. I’ve wanted to try this altered card technique for some time, but I’ve never been successful. Halloween lends itself well to more random design, so I parked my trepidation at the door and had fun.

Applying Gesso to the face of the playing cards gives the otherwise glossy surface tooth. I wanted the number and suit of the playing card partially visible in each design, and I mostly managed that. As I created cards with the royalty suits, I realized how serious they looked, all the more so once inky spider webs entered the mix. In all the years I’ve played cards, I don’t think I noticed.

This set uses numbered playing cards.

I created one card using vintage stamps enhanced with oxide inks to make the blue stamps look like nightime sky, and a gold to soften the browns for the field. If I did this again, I would have created a softer edge between the top and bottom. I scribbled with a gold pen but I’m not sure it reads well. Again, the process and the learning is what makes this fun.

I photographed the altered playing cards, but I forgot to take pictures once they became Halloween cards. I’m writing this from Ohio, where I’m visiting a friend, so I’ll ask you to visualize a playing card mounted on black paper, then applied to a folding card. I used craft paper cards for the small brick series, and white cards for the rest. Below are two examples as finished cards.