Ah Halloween! My second-favorite holiday after Christmas. Such fun to decorate and prepare for... so this month's tag was both a
trick and a
treat to create. I got out the stash I
thought I would need. As it turned out, I changed my mind part way through as you'll see...
First I cut out two tags (one for me, one for
The Scrapbook Cottage) in both cardstock and chipboard (for stability) from Tim's Tag & Bookplates Bigz Die. Then I taped down his "Shatter" Layering stencil over the tag - even though this simulates broken glass, I think it also looks like a spider web.
I spread gesso over the delicate stencil with a palette knife - and after carefully lifting it off, was relieved to see this technique worked! I set the tags aside to dry where little feline paw prints wouldn't ruin them - a necessity when you are creating in a small room where three cats HAVE to keep you company and watch exactly what the heck you are doing at all times.
Next I got out a Graphic 45 Halloween stamp of a black cat - now this is where I deviated from my initial plan... I was going to do a pumpkin with "Boo" spelled out underneath in Scrabble tiles (similar to Tim's sample), but instead of using my own hand-drawn pumpkin (I have a few in my
Digidrawn store), I thought this cat would be perfect for a frightening scene with a large spider in the web.
So I stamped the cat with Ranger's Archival black ink, coloured in the edges and shaded a bit with Tim's Distress markers (Black Soot and Spiced Marmalade) and topped it off with Glossy Accents (as he demonstrated on his pumpkin).
For the spider, I simply went into the dining room where I had a few rubber spiders sitting in the bowl of candy (why yes, I DO have a bowl just for us with the best of the chocolate bars and candy... doesn't everyone?)
*Ahem* But I digress... so I brought two spiders into my studio and added some Black Diamond Stickles to their backs to jazz them up a tad. But then I once again changed my mind...
(I seem to do that a lot)
Instead of a huge spider on each tag, I decided it would be even creepier to have just THE LEGS of the spider crawling into the edge of the tag... so I sliced one spider into two sets of legs and returned the other spider to guard the candy (which he is a total failure at, by the way).
For the charms, I used Tim's Cash Keys set. It comes with the metal backer and clear epoxy cover. All I had to add was a white oval cardstock piece that was inked on the edge and Tim's "Words" Rub Ons for the saying. I added the cardstock with Glossy Accents and pressed the epoxy cover over top.
Now that the tag backgrounds were dry, it was time to colour them in. We don't have any of Tim's new Distress Sprays that he uses in his demo up here yet (and I left it too late to order any online), so I got out my Distress Stains and made a mess.
Er, I mean, I "created an artistic background"...
and a mess to be honest. Good thing I have his craft sheet to work on. I used Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Dusty Concord, Wild Honey, Crushed Olive and Spiced Marmalade and went to town splattering and spraying with water for some cool effects.
The Graphic 45 Halloween stamp set also came with a stencil (and with all Halloween at 70% off at Michael's, it was a steal for $5) so I used that with Tim's Distress Black Soot ink and Mini Distress Tool to add some spooky sayings. I also used the black ink to darken the edges of the tags and added more purple with some Dusty Concord Distress ink here and there.
Now that my cats were dry, I added them with Glossy Accents and glued the cardstock tags to the chipboard backers with Scotch Quick Dry adhesive. I also coloured in the tag reinforcements and glued them on the front and back of each tag.
The spider legs were also attached with Glossy Accents, creeping in from the edge of the tag. A strip of black jute string was secured with the Tiny Attacher (a smaller version of a regular stapler).
The charm is held in place with ScorTape and secured to purple jute string looped through the tag hole.
Love the way the ink seeped into the cracks to create a web effect.
And the way the cat has spotted the arachnid...
Yeah. I do believe I would react the exact same way...
Happy Halloween!