Hello, my dears, and welcome to Witchcrafted Life’s first blog post for February 2021. 🖤
How are you doing as the 2nd month of the year gets underway?
Plenty of things have been hopping around this end – starting with the launch of my YouTube channel a few days ago.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who has subscribed, commented and liked my content there already. You guys are seriously the best! 🥰
My foray into the world of YouTube content creation isn’t the only new thing happening around these parts at the moment. No siree, Bob!
In this post I’m going to be talking about what Valoween Day is, plus share a darky romantic Valoween card and shaker wand set that I recently made.
First, however, let me share some of what’s been transpring lately on my end. 😃
I’ve got a new photography set up!
As those of you who have been with my blog for any length of time have likely heard me lament, the lighting situation – coupled with using a cell phone to take my photos – at our house is far from ideal. Especially at night, which is when I usually end up photographing my craft projects.
As of late, I’ve been fortunate to be able to obtain some new photography equipment. I now have a Canon Rebel digital camera (it is actually the very same make and model of digital camera that I shot with for a while before the fire, so it’s extra special for me to connect with a familiar friend again), a 50-millimetre Canon lens, a lightbox, and two small desktop style LED lights to use when photographing my projects.
This setup works awesomely for cards, tags and smaller projects. The 50-millimetre lens + lightbox isn’t quite as ideal for layouts and larger projects, but hopefully I can make things work there, too – even if it means shooting my scrapbook pages outside of the lightbox.
So while I’ve got a bit of refamiliarizing myself to do with shooting DSLR, figuring out the best specs for this photography set up and so forth, starting from today’s post onward I plan to take most, if not all, of my craft project photos using my Canon Rebel from here on out.
To say that I am one seriously happy camper would be the understatement of the century! 😃
The project share photos in today’s post are the first I’ve taken with this new setup. What do you think of them?
(I should note, in the right lighting conditions, modern iPhones take incredible photos and am not anti-iPhone photography in the slightest. Goodness, no! I shot a ton of different images all year through with my iPhone and doubt that will change anytime soon.)
A more streamlined approach to my project share posts
Next on the list of things I want to discuss in this post is that, after months of careful deliberation, I’ve decided to streamline my project posts a bit. (Okay, maybe baring this one 😄, as I’m covering multiple topics in it, not merely highlighting a project.)
Much of what I have been sharing with my project posts over the past 13 months – including multiple photos of each project – will remain the same.
However, I want to be able to share as much as possible with all of you, be it here, on Instagram, and now on YouTube.
As such, if I can streamline the process on any of those fronts a bit more and help the whole of my collective productivity online out along the way, I’m all for it.
I hope that you’ll enjoy this approach as well and would love to get your feedback on it in the comments below.
(Note: If you like the paper crafting tips and ideas I’ve included thus far in my project share posts, watch for future ones in blog posts and YouTube videos devoted to roundups/lists focused on such, as well as still sprinkled here and there in some of my project share posts.)
What is Valoween?
Valoween is a fantastic amalgamation of Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
It sees a darker, spookier, gothy-er aesthetic that involves many of Halloween’s most beloved icons, subjects, and colours woven into the classic themes of love, romance, and passion that call February 14th home.
My research has yet to uncover just who precisely invented Valoween or who, for that matter, named it.
Perhaps it is one of those concepts that came amount rather organically from a slew of different sources all combining to make one marvelous end result.
So while an exact origin story may be shrouded in mystery, Valoween – which is also sometimes also spelled as Valloween – has been discussed online for several years now (one of the earliest mentions of it I’ve found to date is in this 2009 post from the blog Taffy Talk).
Some people even go so far as to called Valoween a second Halloween.
As someone who is a firm believer in living a #Halloween365 life, I’m all for this concept.
In truth though, Valoween isn’t exactly a second Halloween. I doubt many (if any) folks are trick-or-treating for it, Valoween falls in February not October, and there are plenty of other differences, too.
That said, it wholeheartedly embraces the spirit of Halloween and melds it with Valentine’s Day, a concept that I am behind one million percent.
Valoween is very much in the same vein as darker/spookier/Halloween related takes on other holidays and seasons, such as Springoween, Summerween, and Creepmas.
I plan to make Valoween a regular annual fixture on this blog, as it could not be more up my dark and spooky, Halloween + gothic loving alley.
Here are some fa-boo-lous links to fellow goth and Halloween related blogs that have posted about Valoween (or Valoween appropriate) topics over the years:
–A Bewitching Guide to Halloween
Valoween reminds us that there are multiple ways to look at, decorate for, and embrace various holidays.
For those whose hearts reside with Halloween the whole year through, it is a means by which to welcome a hefty dose of our beloved October 31st into the middle of February.
And, in doing so, Valoween helps to make the wait until fall returns a bit more bearable. Not to mention eerily enjoyable! 🎃🌹🖤
Dark and romantic Valoween card and shaker wand set
With the Yule and Christmas decorations now packed away for another year, my mind started to shift to Valentine’s Day.
Or, as I now choose to primarily celebrate it, Valoween Day.
Naturally, paper crafting related thoughts soon followed.
I awoke one morning not too long ago with the idea to base a project (or in this case, two) on the concept of that most classic of marriage vows “To (or ’til) death do us part”.
The wording of which is chocked full of inspiration for Valoween and anytime you wish to take romance in a darker, more macabre, Halloween, or even horror-related direction.
Naturally, this led to thoughts of my all-time favourite fictional couple, Morticia and Gomez Addams.
While Morticia and Gomez didn’t appear directly on either of these creations, the spirit of their eternal love (not to mention their beguiling aesthetic) was a guiding factor in the creation of this darkly charming shaker wand and matching card set.
I began by making the shaker wand. To do so, I backed two layers of glittery red cardstock – which I die cut with a decorative edge nesting circle die set from Spellbinders – together.
This was topped with ruffled black ribbon trim, a layer of grey striped patterned paper, a handmade cupcake rosette made from a Halloween cupcake liner, some wonderful black eyelash trim, a hanging vine covered heart die cut from the same red glitter cardstock, three cute bats die cut from black cardstock, and the eye-catching black coffin shaker element.
To make the coffin, I die cut the shape a few times from thin chipboard (saved from some product packaging) and topped it with the same coffin shape cut from glossy black Tonic Studio cardstock.
I lined the coffin with the same striped grey and black paper, as well as the (skull image) center of the Halloween cupcake liner that I used for the rosette.
Into the shaker, I put a mix of bat-shaped and round sequins, small clear plastic gems, die cut red glitter hearts, and small red pearlized heart embellishments.
For the stick part of my shaker wand, I used a white and black striped paper straw (which can often be found at dollar stores, party stores, home goods stores, eBay, Etsy, AliExpress, and various other online suppliers).
For the finishing touches, I die cut the word love from white cardstock that I topped with pearly white Nuvo Drops, and added some delightful whisps of black eyelash trim, sheer black ribbon, and narrow red ribbon.
And voila, my Valoween shaker wand was complete. ❤️
For the card, I used many of the same supplies. In this case, I started with a dusty red cardstock base, utilizing the same grey striped patterned paper, red glitter cardstock, plain black cardstock, glossy black cardstock, black ruffle trim, black eyelash trim, sheer black ribbon, and red heart embellishments, as well as the coffin die.
The latter was used to cut out two coffins (one from glossy black cardstock, the other from plain black cardstock), which I topped with a black and creamy-white coloured skull and cross bones cameo flatback cabochon.
As well, I included some grey and white heart print paper, Graphic 45 paper, a set of heart border dies (from Alina Crafts on AliExpress), an elegant journaling card from Creative Imaginations, vintage style white trim, and a classic black-on-clear sentiment stickers (brand unknown).
I love how the sentiment – complete with an infinity symbol – on this card taps directly into my jumping off theme of ‘til death do us part.
I’m a huge fan of shaker wands and love to create them. This is the first one I’ve made and shared here on my blog. I highly doubt it will be the last!
These items are both going off to the same friend. She is a die-hard year-round Halloween lover like myself, so I hope that she’ll enjoy this gothy Valoween duet.
And if you’d like to get a more interactive view of this Valoween set, I’ve created a YouTube project share video of it.
Products used to make this handmade Valoween card and shaker wand set
-Black cardstock
-White cardstock
-Red glitter cardstock – Darice
-Dusty red coloured cardstock – Craft Smith
-Glossy black cardstock – Glossy Black Mirror Cardstock from Tonic Studios
-Thin chipboard
-Black and white heart print paper – Maggie Holmes Carousel Carried Away paper from Crate Paper
-Valentine’s Day text strip paper – Mon Amour Collection One and Only paper from Graphic 45
-Two-toned grey striped paper
-Clear acetate or other thin translucent plastic to use for the shaker window element of the wand
-Scalloped edge nesting die set – Nestabilities Picot Edge Circles from Spellbinders
-Nested heart boarder die set – Alina Crafts on AliExpress
-Bat dies
-Foliage heart die
-Coffin die
-Love (word) die or individual letter dies that can spell the world love
-Elegant cream and black journaling piece – Narratives by Karen Russel Journaling Frames from Creative Imaginations
-Black text on clear background sentiment sticker (you could also use a rub-on, stamp an image on velum, emboss a stamped image, or handwrite a sentiment of your choice for the card)
-Halloween skull and spider print paper baking cup (cupcake liner) – Dollarama
-Sequins, including bat shaped sequins (picked up 2 – 3 years ago on AliExpress)
-Tiny red pearl style flat back embellishments
-Black and white/cream plastic skull and cross bones cameo flatback cabochon
-Tiny clear plastic gems (used in shaker mix)
-White enamel drops – Ivory Seashell Crystal Drops from Nuvo
-Sheer black ribbon
-Black eyelash (tinsel) trim
-Skinny red ribbon
-Black and white striped paper straw
-Glue gun and glue sticks
-Dimensional foam, pop dots, or similar to elevate some of your layers
-Adhesive, such as a tape runner, of your choice (I often use my Scotch Tape Glider)
Whether you celebrate Valoween, Valentine’s Day, both, neither, or something else entirely…
This February, I hope that you both feel loved and have many things and/or people in your life to love dearly.
The state of global affairs is anything but perfect these days. Life is harder than forged steel for many of us still and there is no shortage of things to get us down.
Holidays and special occasions – even if they differ from how we may have traditionally observed them – are, to my mind, more important than ever.
They are powerful reminders of happier times, of the importance of traditions, and of how we humans have the ability to select certain dates from the calendar and make them into events that are not just special, but often greater than the sum of their parts.
We need holidays and special occasions. And however we opt to celebrate them, the concepts behind such times are familiar threads that link us both to generations past and to our present-day fellow human beings the world over. ❤️
I’ve got a very cool witchery related post planned for Valentine’s Day this year, so be sure to stay tuned for that a bit later in the month.
Thank you all for joining me in my joy about the new starts and positives that are transpiring in my life right now. I truly hope that others will continue to follow as 2021 unfolds, both for myself and for each of you as well.
Much 🖤 always!
I’m so pleased to hear that you were able to obtain new photography equipment. I’d be interested to know more about the light box and led lights you are using, as something similar has been on my wish list for a while. I’m currently using both my old and faithful Canon DSLR, as well as the brilliant camera which came with my new phone, as each has its own merit.
I’d never heard the term Valoween, but can fully imagine its appeal to you 🙂 The card and shaker are both brilliantly executed, as usual. I’m admiring the time and talent that went into them. Wishing you a wonderful month of February, Autumn. xxx
Your kindness is as warm and welcome as springtime sunshine, dear Ann. Thank you so much!
Absolutely! Happy to share more about those two items and provide (Amazon.ca, as that’s where I purchased them from) links to both:
LED lights: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B079BPB9HR?ie=UTF8&linkCode=gs2&tag=nosearchca-20 (Aside from the fact that, odd as this sounds, they really don’t stay up on their own unless you prop them against something else or sandwich them between two items, I have zero negatives to say thus far and am really happy with this purchase.)
Lightbox: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08MDXV3CQ/ (The LED strips in mine do not work at all, it took over 90 minutes to set up, and the front is not as easily accessible as the photos would lead you to believe. I don’t feel it’s worth what I paid, but it’s not terrible and I’ve opted to keep it for now – especially since I’ve been dreaming of owning a lightbox again ever since the fire and, now that it’s set up, it does objectively do what it’s supposed to – save for its LED strips not working. In time I might buy, or make, another lightbox though – we shall see.)
So true about phone cameras and DSLRs both having immense merit and pros to them. Ideally, I hope to always have one of each to work with again going forward. Fingers crossed!
Thank you again, my sweet friend. You are such a lovely, supportive soul.
♥ Autumn
I do agree that any excuse to celebrate at the moment is very welcome and is something to bring cheer. Your creations are awesome and I love all the fabulous details you’ve added to make them extra special. Congrats on getting your new camera and you seem to have the hang of it already!
Hugs
Carol x
You are terrifically kind, Carol. Thank you so much for sharing in my happiness and for your blush-inducing compliments.
Absolutely!!! I’m a born celebrator, so to speak, and truly love the chance to do so for almost any positive occasion.
Many hugs & wishes for a cozy, wonderful tail end of February.
♥ Autumn
Gorgeous creations!! I love the colors and fabulous spooky elements, the details and layers are amazing, the heart border dies are absolutely beautiful! Congrats on your new camera and set up… the photography looks awesome.
Take care, Tammy
Thank you So much, Tammy. You are such a wonderfully kind and supportive person.
I can’t begin to put into words how happy I am to not feel like I’m photographing my cards and other smaller projects in a bat cave anymore. Granted, I’m usually all for bats and their caves, but this is one of the rare instances when I want a fairly generous abundance of light. 😄
Big hugs & oodles more heartfelt thanks,
♥ Autumn
Well, how about that? I am a Valloween fan, and I didn’t even know it was a thing! I love Morticia and Gomez Addams (you could also name Nadja and Lazlo from What We Do In the Shadows, they are my current favourite couple of loving vampires!). This is very much in my aesthetic, Autumn.
Your shaker is amazing – I love the coffin – and your cards are always a feast for the eyes, with all the layers and attention to detail you put in.
*Squeal* I adore What We Do In The Shadows as well. We’re spooky fictional couple twinsie-ing big time in both cases.
It’s awesome that you’ve long been a fan of Valoween, too. I suspect that many of us who enjoy darker/spookier subjects are, whether we knew about this specific term or not.
Having hit upon Valoween, I enjoy and adore Valentine’s Day more than ever. Indeed, a full week after it graced us this year, I’m still flush with Valoween spirit and am already looking forward to next year’s Feb. 14th.
Thank you wholeheartedly for your extremely kind compliments about these projects. You are sweeter than all of Purdys’s Valentine’s offerings.
♥ Autumn
So excited you were able to get new photography equipment, enjoy! Your cards are beautiful, like all your details and the colors.
Thank you deeply for your support and for sharing in my excitement about having been able to add some new photographic equipment to my life. I really appreciate it, Donna.
Big hugs!
♥ Autumn
A beautiful card and shaker wand Autumn, your photography is fabulous, great news that you managed to get a new camera, lights and lightbox, you must be so happy. Another super post full of lots of great information.
Pauline – Crafting with Cotnob
x
You’re making me blush darker than the crimson on this projects, Pauline. Thank you so much for your kindness and support.
I hope that you and your loved ones had a relaxing, beautiful Valentine’s celebration.
Many hugs,
♥ Autumn
Autumn, I had not heard of Valoween before! What an intriguing take on Valentine’s Day. And of course I would learn about it on your web site!!
Your card and wand are the perfect tributes! I love how you combined the black and red! Just beautifully romantic and the perfect touch of spookiness!
Your comment sincerely just made my day and then some. Thank you SO much, sweet Donna. I’m tickled pink (err, red and black?😄) to have introduced you to the concept of Valoween.
I am ridiculously in love with this take on Feb. 14th and adore how it deepened my connection to February 14th all the more.
I hope that you and your DH had a cozy, fantastic Valentine’s Day, my dear friend.
Scores of hugs,
♥ Autumn
Thank you for popping by my blog.
Wow a fountain of knowledge, I’ve never heard of Valoween, you’ve made some great projects!
Hi Ali, you’re sincerely welcome. A very big thanks in turn for your visit here and for your super kind compliments. It’s a pleasure to connect with you online.
Big hugs & cheery February wishes coming your way,
♥ Autumn
Valoween sounds like a fun new thing that might become a cool tradition on its own. It’s wonderful I was able to learn about it on your blog. Congrats on your Youtube channel and on getting new equipment. Your card is amazing. I love Morticia and Gomez- that’s true love! So cool you were inspired by them for this card.
What a wealth of kindness and support, sweet Ivana. Thank you immensely on each and every front.
It’s awesome that you’re inspired by, and adore, Gomez and Morticia as well. We have Amazon Prime Video and, at present, they have both of the 1990s Addams Family movies there. Rare is the month I don’t watch them at least once or twice. I can never get enough of the Addamses from any era, but the way they were depicted in those films is my absolute favourite take on this sensationally spooky family.
Thank you again, my dear. I hope that you’re doing well and enjoying a relaxing, lovely February.
♥ Autumn
Yes to this part!!! ‘The state of global affairs is anything but perfect these days. Life is harder than forged steel for many of us still and there is no shortage of things to get us down.
Holidays and special occasions – even if they differ from how we may have traditionally observed them – are, to my mind, more important than ever.
They are powerful reminders of happier times, of the importance of traditions, and of how we humans have the ability to select certain dates from the calendar and make them into events that are not just special, but often greater than the sum of their parts.
We need holidays and special occasions. And however we opt to celebrate them, the concepts behind such times are familiar threads that link us both to generations past and to our present-day fellow human beings the world over. ❤️”
There are so many haters of Vday but I agree with you and love it! I have never heard of Valloween but gah! Right up my alley!!!!!!
Wishing you and yours peace and love – especially tomorrow! May it be filled with cheer and good tidings. YOu put so much kindness and beauty in the world! I hope you can also receive so much! xoxo
Thank you deeply across the board, dear heart. I greatly appreciate the thought that you put into your wonderful blog comments – just as I do that you opt to spend time visiting my wee corner of the interwebs.
While I can understand and empathize with the various reasons why Feb. 14th isn’t everyone’s all-time favourite holiday, it almost worries me how much of a trend it has become to hate on Valentine’s Day.
Surely, just about all of us, if needed/desired, can separate the romantic connotations and connections (of this date) from those of the broader subject of love and then opt to focus on that instead.
There is sooo much to love and be grateful for in life, and Valentine’s Day is a perfect opportunity to focus on some of those elements (much as Thanksgiving or the harvest season in general is an ideal time to count our blessings and express our gratitude).
What a gorgeous and sincerely appreciated wish. Thank you so much! I extend it in turn to you, and hope that these last few weeks of another lengthy Canadian winter as kind and sweet to you as you always are to me. 😘
♥ Autumn
First of all, your photos look absolutely amazing!! You must be so thrilled! I’m still using my iPhone and that’s going to have to do for now. I choose to not be jealous but to be happy for you – and thankful that I get to enjoy your wonderful photos and creations!
I’d not heard of Valoween before. I’m all for extra holidays – especially this year as we have to find ways to embrace gratitude for what we have when we could focus on what’s lacking.
And the details you’ve included in your card and wand are fantastic! “Til death do us part is extra special to me given the loss of my greatest love, my darling husband of 25 years – so I’m especially taken with your wonderful and lovingly-created set.
Sweet soul, let me begin my expressing my profound sympathy on the loss of your beloved husband. There are not words enough in the universe to adequately convey how sorry I am that he has passed on. 🥀 Thank you for sharing such an extremely personal fact about your life here with me/us.
Grief, be it new and searingly raw or a now familiar part of our lives, deserves support, understanding, and compassion at all times. 💗
Please know that I am always, day or night, just an email away if you ever need someone to talk to about anything in the universe.
Aww, my sweet friend, please know that if we lived closer (why must this gorgeous country of ours be so gosh darn vast?!), I would happily let you borrow any of my photographic equipment that you wished.
And know as well that the project photos you share on your blog are beautiful! You’re rocking it on the cell phone picture front, fear not.
Thank you deeply for your beautiful compliments and for the whole of your comment.
Immense hugs,
♥ Autumn
Both the card and the shaker wand are fantastic! I love the colours and all the lovely textures you used. You are very creative. x
And you, dear Anesha, are awesomely kind! Thank you very much for your heart-touching compliments. ❤️
Please know that creativity flows like the mightiest of rivers through you and your (fabulous!) work as well.
♥ Autumn
Congrats on the new camera set up! And I love that Valloween is catching on!! I think it is brilliant!
xoxo
-Janey
Thank you very much, my sweet friend! ❤️
Same here, big time!!! I can scarcely put into words how much closer I’ve become to Feb. 14th since discovering Valoween (which, in some ways, I was already doing before I knew that this spin on Valentine’s Day had an official name).
As we’re both big fans of it, perhaps we could team up one year for a joint blog post/project/other idea to help celebrate and spread the good word about this dark take on February’s best know special event. 😃
♥ Autumn
I’m not into Valentine’s Day, as you might already know, but you can easily trick (!) me into Valoween! 😀 I’ve never heard of it before now, but am completely in love! ♥ And that coffin wand! ♥♥♥ Congratulations on your Canon camera, I am a Canon fan too. And although smartphones do take pretty good photos, nothing beats a real DSLR. It is a joy working with such and getting the photos you have imagined in your mind instead of something completely else decided by automatic features in a phone. Have a lovely day, dear. 🙂
Thank you so much, my dear friend. 😘
It is phenomenal – absolutely phenomenal – to have a DSLR again. And not only to have one, but for it to be the exact same Canon Rebel model that I was shooting with in the months leading up to the fire (I wore out my previous, earlier Rebel model, taking literally tens of thousands of photos for my Etsy shop at the time). I am grateful beyond measure and feel like a part of my life that had long been missing is once again in place. 🙏
Yay!!! I’m delighted that Valoween strikes a chord with you as well. While I do not personally dislike the more traditional take on Feb. 14th, this dark, spooky, Halloween-influenced version is a million times more my style. 🎃🌹🖤
Thank you so much for your wonderfully lovely compliments on these projects. I’m smitten with this shaker wand, too, and might just have to make a similar one to keep and use as part of our annual Valoween decor.
Big hugs & the very happiest of wishes for March coming your way,
♥ Autumn
Valoween!? This is the very first I’ve heard of it and why not! 😉 I’m not big on the commercialized Valentine’s Day anyway so a different spin on this lovey holiday is refreshing and interesting. Fabulous card and coffin shaker wand. The shaker wand is so creative and imaginative. Your card once again is packed with amazing texture and dimension.
You are awesomely kind and supportive, Trina. Thank you SO much!!! 😘
I hear you! I’m not wild about the massive commercialization of the year’s various holidays and tend to prefer traditional approaches and/or fresh new or alternative spins on special occasions. Happily, Valoween falls squarely into that camp. 🥰
Many hugs & joyful March wishes,
♥ Autumn
So here I was chatting on the last comment I wrote to you about shakers and here you have a beautiful shaker! I love seeing them just not making them! 🙂 This shaker is absolutely stunning and so is your card. I love the idea of valloween! 🙂 So fun. Your projects are gorgeous! I agree with you! We need holidays! They leave markers to our years. As one who can’t remember yesterday, I do remember special moments during holidays! Hugs!
Thank you deeply on every front, sweet Angie. 😘
So true, at times the ordinary days that tend to fill most peoples’ lives can easily blur together and, in turn, fade into the ethers of time. Yet, sometimes at least, holidays and special events stand out (and for good reason), helping to both connect us to the past and guide us toward the future.
Oodles of hugs & the loveliest of March wishes coming your way,
♥ Autumn
This is so beautiful, very dramatic too, so many little details to admire. I love a good shaker card – it brings out the kid in me:-) Emmax
Thank you very much, sweet Emma! So true! Shaker cards have an inherent happiness and carefree spirit to them.
I’m a huge fan as well and just love finding new and creative ways, as well as utilizing tried and true faves, to incorporate shaker elements into some of my papercrafting projects.
Big hugs & happy weekend wishes!
♥ Autumn
PS: If you have not already seen it, you may enjoy The Ultimate List of Things to Put in Shaker Cards post that I shared here last year.