Pumpkin with Personality

Challenge #300 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we have the theme

Autumn Celebrations Around the World

Challenge 300 is being sponsored by doodlebugsWA and they are very kindly offering our top pick as chosen by the design team a $25 store credit and the Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge!  

Speaking of guest designers, our guest designer this fortnight is Jaydee of Stamping with Jaydee - our winner from Challenge 293!  Be sure to check out her gorgeous creation inspired by our photo as well as those of my talented team mates over on the Time Out Blog!

I'd been havering for days about which direction to go for this challenge - I was thinking of the Vizfest celebration (apple pressing) we have here in Luxembourg in Mid October or possibly Oktoberfest which is also popular here!   But yesterday I received a lovely surprise in the post - a stamp set from Donna Walls of Inspiration Station which included Halloween elements so I decided to go with a Halloween theme and use the new stamp set for tone on tone interest behind this very old but still NBUS pumpkin die (Sizzix Movers and Shapers Pumpkin Jack by Tim Holtz).  I also bought the matching Movers and Shapers Mini Scary Jack-o-Lantern Set all those years ago (2014) and both have been overlooked.

I cut the pumpkin with the face from yellow card stock and shaded with some Carved Pumpkin DI, then backed it with a black pumpkin without the face.  The mouth and eyes looked a little dull, so I went over them with Wink of Stella, added the stalk and arranged the new stamps on my stamping platform and stamped with Versamark for a subtle effect behind the pumpkin.  Here's a closeup!

I did have to make a larger than normal card base to accommodate this pumpkin - these Bigz dies are just that!  It measures 12.5 x 17cm (just under 5" x just under 6.75") so should fit in a 5 x 7" envelope.  The larger size is probably why it's sat unloved for so many years.  How many dies have we bought that were much larger (or smaller) than anticipated when they were bought online???

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #79 - NBUS Pumpkin Jack, Jack o'Lantern, Bloody Good Halloween;

Four Seasons October Challenge;

Two Old Bats October Challenge;

Traumfabrik Challenge #144 - Coco Day of the Dead (Halloween Theme);

Inspiration Station Challenge #78 - See below (I was inspired by the pumpkins);

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate