BOO!

We're at the mid-point for the month! That's the signal that you still have plenty of time to get your Halloween card or project completed and shared with us. The Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge closes on the 28th.

My card borrows from the general overall black and tan tones of our inspiration board, with a specific nod to the top left Haloween door wreath and bats on the right. I started with a black card base and die cut the elements from various die sets I own. The circular die is cut from kraft wood-embossed card stock using Tim Holtz's Christmas wreath ("Vault Festive Wreath" #666715); the branches in three colors of textured papers are from a couple of Spellbinders seasonal dies; and the bow is from "Christmas Cocktails" by Spellbinders. The ghost of course is my favorite Tim Holtz Halloween ghost that I've used hundreds of times.

Before assembling all of the parts I rough cut a circle from a bat printed paper scrap and white heat embossed the sentiment. I lined a kraft A2 envelope with the remaining black and tan circle printed paper to coordinate with the wreath's bow. Check out the great inspirational cards from my fellow designers:

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge: August 2026 Mid Month Reminder

A NOTE OF THANKS

 It's August and time for a new Simply Clean & Simple Challenge! This month's theme is "Mother Nature", which brings to mind a lot of options for representative images. Our challenge is always "anything goes" as long as it's CAS, and I decided on a thank you card.

Simply Clean & Simple: SCAS August 2026 Challenge

I might have pushed the limit a bit on this card, as CAS is minimal layers. But it seemed that if the layers were the same color/texture as the background, that might be okay. I made this card with watercolor paper - the A2 base and slightly smaller front panel. I cut an opening in the front panel with a rectangular die (love the plate mark watercolor paper leaves) and stamped the sentiment in olive green ink. The image is a scrap of printed paper that I trimmed out with a deckle edged rectangular die and attached a narrow kraft mat. I die cut one of Tim Holtz's floral stocks and some tiny butterflies, added a panel of green behind the opening, and layered it all together.

Come and join us in our CAS challenge! You have until the 28th to enter your project. And check out the inspirational cards designed by the team! 

AUGUST 2026 TWO OLD BATS HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE

It's August and starting to close in on Halloween, so come and join us at Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge! We have a brand new inspiration board with some great images - or you can create your own Halloween images. You also don't really need to make a card, because this is an 'anything goes' challenge - so, bring them on!

Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge: August 2026 Anything Goes Halloween

I'm CASing it for this 2-week period and using a favorite postage die and new-to-me Whimsey Stamps "October 31st" #CWSD457 stamp set (with black witch's hat). The sentiment is white heat embossed from Newton's Nook "Spooky Roundabout." The envelope is custom made from a sheet of double-sided paper in my stash.

I made this card quickly and early, because as our challenge goes live I'll be attending a 63rd high school reunion! 63rd, you say? My class of 1963 has reunions every year now because we're all in our 80s and losing a couple of members a year. Our class was a small one and started the first year of a brand new school. When there are only 142 in a class, all of the missing ones are noticed, so we pay tribute to them. Our gatherings are very casual, meeting for lunch in the banquet space of a pizza parlor that we all enjoyed in high school. Meeting every year is a nice way to keep contact with each other. The class is spread out over the state and country, so not everyone can attend each year, but for me it's only a 2-1/2 hour drive.