Happy Halloween {Retro Trick-or-Treat}

Happy Halloween, friends! I'm popping in to share one last Halloween project using a fun mix of products! I bought these cute Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets Retro Halloween dies a few years ago with great intentions and then they just sat. I remedied that this year and now they have graduated from the "new and unused" basket to their proper home with the rest of the Halloween collection! It does make me sad saying goodbye to all of the Halloween goodies until next year.

I created a set of three identical tags and a coordinating card . To begin creating the cats, I die cut all of the base layers from cream cardstock and the detail portion from black. I also cut the eyes and the mouths again from Summer Sunrise cardstock. I wanted the mouth to be more orange so I added some Canyon Clay ink over the top.  I glued the outline to the cream base and added the black mouth back on. I then layered the Summer Sunrise mouth over the top of the black inlaid mouth. I did the double thick mouth so I could add Ranger Glossy Accents. I didn't do this on the first attempt and I wasn't very steady with the gloss, so it got a little messy. The two layers helped remedy that problem so I did it on the other two tags as well as the card.

The cats were inspired by a vintage cat illustration and the cat had an orange polka-dot bow. Some of you may remember having decorations like that when you were a child; I sure loved all of our Halloween cut-outs my mom would hang around the house! The bow was cut from Orange Zest Bitty Big paper using the Wrap-it Ribbons Die and then assembled using liquid glue and foam squares. I did add some Canyon Clay ink around some of the edges, especially around the center, for depth, interest, and dimension.

I was thrilled to find that the Hocus Pocus Patten Paper gave the perfect retro vibe to accent these cute cats! I love this paper, but find it doesn't lend itself to every style of Halloween products, so I'm so happy it works so well with these dies. Each tag has a sentiment from Spooky Sweets II that has been retired for quite awhile, but I just love it so it seems to make an appearance every Halloween. I gave everything a spritz of Sparkle Shimmer Spray for some shine. I punched a hole at the top of each tag and added some True Black Baker's Twine. 

As I mentioned earlier, I made three tags in total, all identical (with the exception of the messy-mouth cat! haha!) . I used the Love to Layer: Elegant Points Die as the base for my tag. I oftentimes struggle with finding a suitable tag die and I had a lightbulb moment (or maybe a "duh!" moment) and realized I have been neglecting my biggest resource for unique shaped tags: Love to Layer dies AND Reflections dies! These are all the perfect solution for all different shapes and sizes of tags and will come in SO handy this holiday season!

As you can see, I used the largest die included with the Elegant Points for one of the layers on the card. I used the smaller print of that same paper from Hocus Pocus to keep everything cohesive, but not identical. For the card, I also used the wonderful new Circle It: Pierced Die cut from Ocean Tides cardstock with some Stormy Sea ink around the edges . I also added some black ink splatter for additional interest.

I cut a black card base and added the star paper that is included in another older pad of pattern paper from PTI. I think it's called Halloween Prints and is most likely discontinued. I layered everything up using foam squares. It seems I can find a use for the Into the Blooms: Anemones Die no matter the occasion or season! ha ha! I cut two of the leaf designs, the berries, and berry sprigs from white and cream cardstock (just what I had on my desk; no particular reason for both colors) and then colored them with black ink and Stormy Sea ink. I added some black ink splatter and fossilized amber distress spray and then tucked them around the cat.

I did add some glossy accents to the berries and just realized I forgot to add some white gel pen "shine" details so I will need to go back and do that before it gets sent to the recipient. I die cut the BOO word twice, once from Summer Sunrise and once from True Black using the To Die For Sentiments: Halloween Die and glued them together slightly off-set. I tucked the "open if you dare" sentiment in the opening of the O and secured it with a foam square. I had so much fun creating the  card and set of tags! Have a happy and safe day and thanks for fluttering by!