Though a wide array of books on various different crafts continue to be published each year, exceptionally few pertaining to scrapbooking, card making, and stamping have been released in the past decade.

Granted paper crafting has declined a wee bit in popularity during the 2010s on into the 2020s, but is still a profoundly beloved activity with new paper crafters joining our ranks around the clock.

This makes the absolute dearth of newer cardmaking and scrapbooking related books all the more perplexing. Not to mention frustrating for those of us who would leap at the chance to add some fresh papercrafting titles to our bookshelves.

It is anyone’s guess as to it we will ever see a resurgence in paper crafting books being published again or not.

Naturally, I hope that we will, but as there’s only so long one can hold their breath, I figured it was high time I looked beyond the scope of paper crafting and to the wider world of crafting for a book to review.

Though not the newest title itself, the book at the heart of this review post is ideally suited to October and as such felt like a great choice to start reviewing craft books – be they new, old, or anywhere in between – with here on Witchcrafted Life.

Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween by Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio was published in 2014, making this book eight years old at the time this post is being written.

It is a thoroughly charming book that packs a wallop in terms of awesome Halloween themed projects (many of which work awesomely for Samhain, with a selection also being a great fit for Día de los Muertos as well) that are approachable, doable, and enjoyable to boot!

Book specs

Name: Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween

Authors: Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio

Page count: 132

Publisher: Lark Crafts

Binding: Softcover

Festive Halloween felting fun for fans of felting, sewing, and crafting in general

From the creativity fuelled minds of two long-time crafters (that would be Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio, respectively), both of whom had previously published crafting books prior to the release of Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween, comes this super fun collection of felt projects to make for the spooky season (or all year round, if you’re on team #MakeHalloween365)

Jam-packed with beautiful, detail-rich colour photos (each project includes at least one accompanying image), this book houses 40 awesome Halloween felt projects that were designed in part by the authors themselves, along with quite a few entries from skilled crafters who contributed their own designs to this book.

As such, the projects in this book are connected by the common threads of both felt crafting and Halloween, while experiencing a lovely degree of diversity care of having multiple design contributors.

If you are not much of a sewer and/or haven’t worked a lot with felt, but this title appeals to you all the same, fear not, you’re in luck!

Though hand and/or machine stitching is involved with a fair number of the projects in Felt-o-ween, most of the projects are not overly complex and, in my opinion, should be within the skillset means of many novice sewers.

The book begins with an introduction to what felt crafting is, the primary types of felt that are available on the market, and covers what other types of materials you will need to complete these projects.

An item that appears often throughout the book is freezer paper, as it is one method of transferring patterns onto felt.

While readily available both in physical stores and online in the States, outside of the USA, crafters may have trouble tracking down this product locally.

It has only been, for example, in very recent years that I have seen Amazon.ca start to list a small selection of freezer paper (such as Cut Rite Heavy Duty Freezer Paper and Reynolds Freezer Paper) – and I have still yet to spot it at any brick and mortar shops in this country.

If you are unable to easily obtain freezer paper either online or off where you live, there is another virtually identical product that often goes by names such as Quilter’s Freezer Paper and Craft Freezer Paper that you may be able to track down instead.

Examples of this product include:

–C. Jenkins Freezer Paper Sheets

–Quilter’s Freezer Paper Sheets

–Sew Easy Freezer Paper

–Taunton Press Best Applique Freezer Paper

The book does not mention this fact, perhaps because Freezer Paper itself is so readily available in the States where, if I’m not mistaken, both of the authors reside.

If none of these products are available in your area, happily, there is still no need to despair. As detailed in Felt-o-ween, many of the pattern templates lend themselves well to being scanned and/or photocopied, enlarged, printed and then used as tracing and/or cutting guides when pined to your felt.

This point hopefully sorted, you can now get on with exploring the forty different delightful Halloween craft projects housed in Felt-o-ween.

Are you on the hunt for festive fall home décor such as wreaths and candle mats? What about darling felt jewelry, accessories, or socks? Care for a felt cupcake topper in the shape of a tombstone, a plush vampire, tiny pumpkin shaped treat holders, or some eye-catching All Hallows’ Eve bunting, look no further!

Felt-o-ween has you covered on each of these fronts and plenty more.

Most of the projects in this book can be made with the felt of your choice/availability, though in some instances, a particular type of felt (such as wool felt, for example) may work better.

Good quality wool felt is a superb crafting material, no two ways about it, but if like me you’re allergic to wool (felt-on-skin contact swiftly gives me a very bad case of hives) or it isn’t in the budget, that is totally okay!

Most of the projects in Felt-o-ween can be whipped up using other types of felt, such as bamboo, eco felt, or acrylic just as easily.

As well, each time I’ve read this book cover-to-cover (three times and counting), I have been struck by how well I suspect many of these projects would turn out when rendered in paper crafting form.

Not all of them per se (especially when it comes to the wearable felt craft projects), but a decent number of them for sure.

And, naturally, many other types of fabric beyond felt could be used here as well. In some cases, they may need to be backed or otherwise stabilized so that they hold their shape similar to that of felt.

Throughout Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween one encounters a good assortment of projects, many of which are not overly complex, time-consuming, or difficult for those who are not yet seasoned stitchers.

I know my way around the basics of sewing but I am by no means an advanced or even intermediate sewer.

I’d place my sewing practical abilities somewhere between beginner and intermediate and my theoretical knowledge on the subject a grade or two higher.

To date, I have not felt compelled to make sewing a primary crafting focus, but I still greatly enjoy finding ways to engage with this timeless art as I go about my crafty year.

Working with felt is a stellar way to do just that, whether one has been sewing for decades or has yet to learn how to turn a hem or what a presser foot is used for.

Want to jazz up your Halloween home décor, make fa-boo-lous party decorations, whip up a wonderful Halloween costume or accessory, or create a festive piece for your crafty space? If so, this is the book for you.

Naturally, it would also make for a top-notch gift to give to fans of sewing and/or Halloween.

Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween is an appealing book both on its own merits and in terms of the additional chain of creative inspiration it may set off as you lap up its photo-filled pages.

How Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio rates with me

As you flip through Felt-o-ween, it is hard to restrain yourself from dropping everything and rushing off to craft up a litany of delightful fall time felt projects.

The crafts in this book are inviting and adorable. They come housed with easy-to-follow instructions, patterns are included, and they would make for equally terrific crafts to make for yourself or give to any Halloween fan.

Speaking of which, if you have any little ones in your life who go wild for October 31^st, chances are they would be delighted to either help you make – or try their hand at creating (if they’re old enough to safely to do so) – many of these festively fun Halloween felt crafts.

A breezy read that is chocked-full of fantastic project ideas starring the wonderfully versatile material that is felt, this book is apt to be one that many crafters return to time and time again.

It is worth noting that while photos of each completed project are included in Felt-o-ween there are not images of the steps involved with actually making the crafts in this book.

I have not yet tried my hand at making any of the Halloween crafts that reside in Felt-o-ween – but definitely hope to do so once I can pick up some more felt and a roll/package of freezer paper.

In particular, the Creepy Crawly Wreath (seen on the cover), Candy Corn Bunting, “The Birds” (Hitchcock-worthy felt crows/ravens), Spooky Friends Wall Hanging, Bat Mobile, Darkling Roses, and Skull Hairbows really jumped out at me.

Some of those projects (plus various others in this book), my fellow goth and alternative aesthetic inclined readers will be happy to know, could easily work for year-round home décor and fashion purposes.

Got(h) to love that!

(Just as you do the fact that felt, as a general rule, does not fray – meaning all the more ease of completion and longevity of your finished projects.)

The Halloween projects in Felt-o-ween are cute, sweet, relatively easy, and kid-friendly in terms of the end results they create.

Plus, every one of them is a perfect fit for a #MakeHalloween365 project share.

Those who who are aiming for a much more elegant, darkly macabre, or vintage inspired Halloween look might find a few of these project ideas tick those kinds of boxes, but may otherwise be better served by different craft project sources.

Brought to you by the same authors of Fa la la la Felt: 45 Handmade Holiday Decorations, ‘Tis the Season to Be Felty: Over 40 Handmade Holiday Decorations, and Heart-Felt Holidays: 40 Festive Felt Projects to Celebrate the Seasons, this book is teeming with fresh, joyful Halloween craft projects that are sure to have you beelining for your felt stash – or the nearest fabric store – faster than a bat whizzing across the crisp, cool October sky.

Working on a scale of 1 – 5, with five being the highest possible rating, I would give Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween by Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio 4.5 stars out of 5.

Have you read Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween by Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio?Do you enjoy crafting with felt? 

The post Book Review: Felt-o-ween: 40 Scary-Cute Projects to Celebrate Halloween by Kathy Sheldon and Amanda Carestio appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Of all the colours, purple – despite the fact that I find many shades of it to be arrestingly gorgeous – and I have never completely clicked.

Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, a time when the toy market was thriving like there was no tomorrow, (provided more than one colour option was made available) a great deal of the products released for young girls were either purple or pink.

Sure, plenty of them – from Keypers to Popples – included versions in both of those colours, and others could be found in hues such as sky blue, butter yellow, vivid fuchsia, and tropical vacation-worthy coral. Yet, to my mind – and certainly here in North America – it was pink and purple that garnered the lion’s share of the toy market for girls.  

Be it then, prior to that point, or in the decades since, these colours have remained popular with youngsters and chances are, they won’t be fading away from toy store shelves anytime soon.

Reflecting on my childhood, for as far back as I can recall, I was gaga for the colour pink.

One of my first bedrooms had pink walls (topped with a cute pink and green wallpaper border that depicted teddy bears doing ballet – ahhh, the 80s ), a lot of the clothing I wore in my youth was pink, and I found that I gravitated to pink considerably more than purple.

There is nothing wrong with that, of course, but I believe the first strains in the relationship between myself and purple likely took hold when I became a card-carrying member of team pink.

Interestingly, purple is my mom’s absolute favourite colour (though she has never been the type to make their fave colour a centrepiece of their wardrobe or home décor).

I have always been a very independent soul and even in the days of pre-school, I can remember wanting to have different preferences in many instances to those of my parents.

Thus, it is entirely possible that I gravitated towards pink (whether consciously or subconsciously) so as to differentiate my favourite colour at the time from that of my mother.

Purple is a rare, regal colour that for much of human history was one of the most difficult to come by and therefore often amongst the most expensive as well.

Before artificial purple dyes were created scores of centuries later, the primary source of purple dye throughout much of the ancient world came from the mucus produced by a type of sea snail called murex snails which reside in the Mediterranean Sea.

Sources, including Pliny the Elder, tell us that thousands of these snails (which underwent a rather pungent-smelling ten-day brining process in a lead pot over low heat) were required just to make a single ounce of purple dye. Thus, the cost of obtaining items that were dyed purple was something only the wealthiest members of society could even begin to contemplate doing.

As a result, purple has long been associated with the elite, people of power, and, perhaps above all others, royalty.

Shifting from the days of My Little Ponies and Cabbage Patch Dolls to my tween and teen years, societally, purple continued to be a popular colour in many spheres as we inched ever closer to Y2K.

I can well recall several friends – and plenty more of my peers in general – being obsessed with the colour purple during that time.

It came into play with our Kabbodles, Lisa Frank school supplies and stickers, chunky glittery makeup (ahhh, the 90s – surely you saw that coming ), hair accessories (scrunchies, mini butterfly clips, and alligator clips, oh my!), clothing, Trapper Keepers, platform sandals, and so much more.

And throughout all that time, while I certainly never shunned purple, I remained loyal to pink.

As years of middle school morphed into those of high school, I didn’t feel the need to have/wear/decorate my room with “all the pink” anymore – but it still remained my favourite colour.

In some respects, it still is – particularly dusty rose, which is the shade of pink I most adore.

However, over the years, other colours such as black (which, I know, is technically not a colour but the absence of such), grey, red, burgundy, and aged metallics have long given pink a run for its money.

At no point, did any purple hue make my top five – despite the fact the fact that it is a decently common/popular colour in both the vintage and goth fashion worlds (these being the two subcultures that I have been most immersed in from my teens onward).

I tend to strongly favour having a cohesive colour scheme in my home (and wardrobe, too, for that matter). To date, neither of them has yet to feature purple in any major way.

And yet, all that said, I do not dislike purple in the slightest.

In fact, I would go so far as to say I love many shades of it. And purple will forever hold a special place in my heart given that it has been mama’s favourite colour throughout her whole life.

Much as with my clothing and home décor, my craft supply stash tends to lean towards certain colour palettes as well. There, too, purple does not tend to take top billing very often.

I can go multiple months running without a single spec of purple entering any of my craft projects.

This makes it seem like I am at odds with purple. Rest assured that I most definitely am not. Purple just tends to wait patiently on the sidelines until an outfit or craft project calls it up to bat, if you will.

Be it the palest shade of lilac or the richest eggplant (which, along with plum, shares the title as my favourite purple hue), purple is a versatile, dynamic colour that can convey so much.

It can be peaceful and evocative of youth, dark and vampy, upbeat and summery – and much more!

I was reflecting recently on how, for all my undying love of Halloween, I rarely weave purple into my All Hallows’ Eve or Samhain-related craft projects.

Lately, we have been bopping along through Springoween. Now that June has officially begun again, we are teetering on the cusp of Summerween. This point on the calendar seemed like a terrific time to reach for one of both of these season’s most iconic and adored colours.

Instead of pairing it with orange or green, as this colour often is in a Halloween context, I opted instead to lean heavily into the dark, bewitchingly elegant side of purple by teeming it with black, white, and gold.

The end result is a delightfully spooky Halloween card that I can now give to my mom or to one of the numerous other purple adoring souls in my life.

And, as you have likely suspected already, this purple Halloween card also happens to be my June 2022 #MakeHalloween365 project share.

As always, sweet friends, please do not hesitate to use this fun and festive community-focused hashtag anytime you share a creative Halloween project anywhere online.

Gold ghost shabby chic purple Halloween card

In for a penny, in for a pound as they say, so having decided on making a purple Halloween card, I began with a purple cardstock card base and wove this colour into various other components of my design as well.

Much as I had a hankering to work with purple again, so too was I really in the mood for some classic shabby chic paper tearing/distressing that day and therefore it also appears throughout this festive handmade Halloween card.

I am wild about the vintage-style illustration of a ghost rendered in gold metallic ink on the Prima Thirty One Collection paper that provides the star image for my latest handmade October 31^st greeting card.

It is gothy, (quite literally) spirited, and ever-so-pretty, to boot!

To carry the gold theme further, I included both metallic gold cardstock, glittery gold adhesive gems, and some fabulous gold coloured Webster’s Pages (oh, I miss that company!) tulle here as well.

I adore how the tulle resembles a gold-hued take both on spiderwebs and tattered fabric – say that of the disintegrating curtains in a long-abandoned haunted house.

However, as I was aiming to ensure purple remained in the lime (or, should I say, lavender) light, I made sure to pepper this Halloween card with purple.

It appears as the card base, one of the matting layers beneath the ghost images, in a fabulous piece of light purple and black Echo Park bat print paper, in the fun little Prima ephemera pieces, as the only ink colour used in this card, and even shows up in the “Happy Halloween” sticker that I used for my sentiment.

If purple is your jam (err, grape jelly ), that of someone dear to your, or you are looking for a wonderfully gender-neutral colour palette when making your own Halloween cards, read on for a detailed list of the products used in this project plus step-by-step instructions on how to make one of your very own.

Products used to make this hauntingly charming vintage ghost Halloween card

-Black cardstock

-Purple cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Vintage ghost illustration paper – Thirty-One Collection All the Treats Paper from Prima (I used another portion of this same sheet of paper as part of my recent Happy Springoween Pocket Letter.)

-Black and purple bat print paper – Bewitched Witch Hat Paper from Echo Park

-Wavy stitched edge rectangle nesting dies (Plain, straight stitched, cross stitched, or just about any other type of rectangle nesting die set could be used here as well.)

-One or two different flourish dies (I used two different dies on this project.)

-Light opaque/chalky purple ink – Distress Oxide Milled Lavender Ink from Tim Holtz

-“Happy Halloween” sentiment sticker (This one is from a package of Crafter’s Square [Dollar Tree brand] of Halloween stickers that did not have a specific product name. I bought these stickers within the past couple of years, so they may be available again at Dollar Tree come the Halloween 2022 season.)

-All ephemera pieces used on this project – Rose Quartz Ephemera from Prima

-Black seam binding

-Metallic gold netting/tulle – Vintage Inspired Netting Collection 2 from Webster’s Pages

-Glittery gold gems – Say it Crystals Midnight Garden Self-Adhesive Embellishments from Prima

-Black gems – Balloon Blast Off Self-Adhesive Classic Gems from Forever in Time

-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)

How to make a gold ghost shabby chic purple Halloween card

Begin by making a card base from purple cardstock.

Cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than your card base. Tear the right-hand edge in a random, intentionally imperfect manner. Cut a slender piece of Webster’s Page gold tulle/netting the length of the torn black cardstock. Position it so that this layer is flush with the left side border (aka, the fold of your card). Adhere to the underside of the black cardstock.

NOTE: All paper, cardstock, and netting/tool layers that follow are also to be arranged so that they favour the left side of this card’s design.

Then, cut a slender piece of the Echo Park bat print paper a bit smaller than the black cardstock and likewise tear its right-hand side.

Cut a piece of black seam binding several inches longer than the width of the two pieces you just adhered together. Run it across the upper third of that area and adhere in place. Tie the two ends together into a bow on the left-hand side of the card.

Attach the bat print paper to the underside right-hand edge of the black beneath the bat print paper, then adhere this group of components to the card base.

Cut a piece of the Echo Park bat print paper a bit smaller than the previous layer. Tear its right-hand edge as well. Adhere.

Next, cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than the previous layer and, here too, tear the right-hand edge. Adhere to the previous layer using a dimensional adhesive such as Pop Dots or another type of foam squares/tape.

On the right-hand side of that (black cardstock layer) position and adhere a small piece of gold netting/tulle as well as the Prima light purple ruler and ticket stub pieces, as shown.

(Fun side note: While it is in reference to a US location, that lovely little ticket stub has the placename “Vernon” on it, which just happens to be the name of a neighbouring town located less than twenty minutes south of us.)

Using black cardstock and metallic gold cardstock die cut two pairs of matching flourish shapes. Arrange and adhere each matching-shaped flourish together with the black ones as the top layer. Off-center them a little so that a glimmer of the gold layer is still visible.

Tuck these flourish stacks under the lower left-hand side and upper right-hand side of the latest (torn edge) black cardstock layer that you created.

Using a larger-sized wavy stitched edge rectangle nested die, cut a rectangle from the same purple cardstock that you used for your card base. Adhere using dimensional adhesive.

Cut the central ghost panel image from the Prima Thirty One Collection All the Treats paper and ink all of its edges with Milled Lavender ink.

Then cut a gold metal cardstock matting layer a smidge bigger than the dimensions of that piece. Adhere the two together.

Die cut a smaller wavy stitched edge rectangle piece (that is large enough to work as a matting layer for the gold cardstock layer you just made) from black cardstock. Adhere previous gold cardstock + ghost image layers to this piece of cardstock and then adhere it to your previous layers.

Next, cut nested layers (by hand, with dies, etc) of gold and black cardstock, respectively, to mat beneath the sentiment sticker. Adhere those layers together then top with the sentiment sticker (optionally inking the edges of the sentiment sticker with Milled Lavender Ink, as I have done here). Adhere these elements on the lower righthand side of the card.

From the Prima ephemera, arrange and adhere a small alphabet piece so that it is sandwiched between the bottom of the central ghost image panel layers and the sentiment sticker layers, as shown.

Then, tuck a light purple domino and a light purple raffle style ticket under the left-hand side of the sentiment, angling them to the left a bit.

Place one of the largest sized gold glittery Prima gems on the middle of the black seam binding bow (you may wish to add some extra holding power to the adhesive that is there already by reinforcing it with hot glue, strong glue dots, or a heavy-duty crafting glue such as E6000 to ensure this gold gem stays put) and then position one somewhat smaller sized gold sparkly gem on the lower left and upper right-hand sides of the wavy stitched edge purple cardstock layer.

Surround each of these gold gems with two small black gems on either side, as shown.

And there you have it, one eye-catching purple, black, white, and gold Halloween card that can be made in scarcely more time than it takes a ghost to say “boo”.

Compared to many of my projects there are not, relatively speaking, all that many steps nor a huge volume of different materials required to make this eerily fun Halloween card.

If one used a template, paper trimmer, or scissors to cut out the rectangles and, optionally, nixed the flourishes, this delightful ghost-themed Halloween greeting could be made without the need for a die cutting machine.

This design is one that marries sweetness with spookiness (a perpetual fave combo of mine) and which is both timeless and ideal for October 31^st fans of all ages and genders.

From spirituality to coal tar, a (super) brief look at the meanings and history of purple

As much as we tend to associate purple with spring and summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it can certainly work well as a year-round colour.

Purple is a colour with strong ties to many things, including both spirituality/mysticism and creativity/artistry – not to mention a long-standing history of use within the LGBTQ+ community.

Given that it is the lovechild of red and blue, purple embodies elements of both fiery warmth and serene coolness.

For all the pale, pastel shades of purple out there, one finds even more that are bolder and more commanding.

Perhaps that is why – especially when combined with its relative rarity in the natural world – purple leaps out at us in many settings.

It might not be as glaring as bright yellow or orange or as tranquil as a soft blue, but it is apt to grab our eye all the same.

Both in terms of colour psychology and the meanings often linked to purple in the witchy/Pagan realm, this purple can represent such areas as intuition, peace, independence, beauty, sensitivity, understanding, empathy (and empaths), the unknown, power/status, pride, dignity, protection, wisdom, creativity, devotion, enlightenment, health and healing, openness, psychic abilities, the crown chakra, magic(k), and death – amongst numerous other things.

In fact, so closely tied to death and mourning was the colour purple to the Victorians, that it was one of just a few colours that were permitted back into a person’s wardrobe when they were in a period of half-mourning (following various lengths – often depending on the mourner’s relationship to the deceased – of full morning, which was also known as deepest mourning, during which only black was supposed to be worn).

Doing so was made all the more possible by the fact that in the very same era (in 1856, to be exact), one of the first synthetic purple dyes was invented.

Originally dubbed “aniline purple” by its then eighteen-year-old inventor, William Henry Perkin, this dye – which would later be known by the name mauveine – was created out of coal tar.

In the years and decades to follow, many other synthetic purple dyes – some certainly safer than others – came onto the market as well.

As a result, purple began to be a colour that was within the reach of more people and, accordingly, was frequently seen not only in times of half-mourning but in the day-to-day wardrobes of many Victorian individuals (it was wildly enjoyed by both women and men).

Purple also made a splash in terms of home décor, the art world (purple pigments and paints had been available prior to that point, but were often very costly and did not always promise long-term colourfastness), and as a result, was a much-favoured choice in terms of flowers + floral arranging, too.

As time went on, more and more forms of artificial purple dye were invented and used to colour a huge range of goods (including certain food, too, such as candy and grape soda).

And while, these days, purple has still managed to retain ties to the rich and famous, royalty, and religion, it is very much a colour that the majority of people around the world can access, if so desired.

In addition to the purple correspondences touched on above, spiritually speaking, purple is also associated with such things as the element Air, the number seven, the planet Jupiter, the cardinal direction of east, the fae, wands, cauldrons, spiritually significant jewelry and clothing (very much including robes/cloaks), the spirit world, and Pagan pride.

To circle back to where this post began, it is true that purple and I have not always been the closest of friends, but we share a bond that spans my entire lifetime and I have never viewed purple in a negative light or disliked it for a moment.

This is not the first paper crafting project I have made over the years that starred purple (in terms of those since the creation of my current blog, this Shabby Chic Springtime Bloom Card really stands out for me) and it is a safe bet to say that it won’t be the last either.

Especially since, again, this royal shade is my mom’s favourite colour.

Not wearing, decorating, or crafting with purple all that often as makes the times when I do opt to do just that all the more special and standout-ish to me.

Two adjectives that apply abundantly as well to my – and countless other peoples’ – cherished Halloween.

And therefore, that is all the more reason for me to reach for shades of purple spanning lilac to mulberry, orchid to mauve – and, of course, that most witchy approved of purples, amethyst – when creating some of my numerous annual Halloween papercrafting projects.

Are you a big fan of purple? Do you enjoy including this versatile and very pretty colour in some of your creative projects as well?

PS: I am well aware that if you try to say the name of this blog post five times fast, it instantly becomes a tongue twister.

The post Gold Ghost Shabby Chic Purple Halloween Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

We are even closer to All Hallows’ Eve now and as a result, I have been massively in the mood for classic Halloween colours and imagery.

Whereas plenty of folks make winter holiday season cards all throughout the span of the calendar, as many of you know, I create Halloween cards and other spooky season themed crafting projects all year long.

They bring me bliss and further strengthen the bond I have with my favourite (and most sacred) day of the year: Halloween + Samhain.

Plus, come those knee-weakingly gorgeous days of early to mid-autumn, doing so means that I usually have numerous festive Halloween cards (et al) ready to give to friends and family.

And, they are also the ideal way for me to utilize the #MakeHalloween365 hashtag that I launched last year so that Halloween adoring creatives of all types could share their work and be inspired by that of other people.

As you might guess, this fun vintage themed Halloween card is my #MakeHalloween365 project for the month of May.

Creating it in the heart of Beltane season – which is the corresponding sabbat to Samhain on the opposite side of The Wheel of The Year – felt especially meaningful to me.

The Witching Hour adorable vintage image and classic fall colour Halloween card

Knowing that I wanted to go with a timeless fall + Halloween colour scheme for this delightful project, I selected a palette of pumpkin-y orange, aged cream, deep gold, and midnight black.

And how fitting the latter is when you consider the sentiment that appears on this card.  

It reads the “The Witching Hour”, which while some people place later in the night/early morning (in the range of 3 – 4 am, when the dark heart of the night is still beating strong and dawn has yet to crack the sky’s surface once again), many others view this time as occurring from midnight to 1 am.

The concept of the witching hour, while certainly intertwined with Halloween + Samhain, applies to every night of the year and is an extraordinarily powerful and poignant point in the day to carry out activities pertaining to one’s witchery, Paganism, or spirituality in general.

And if you can do so bathed in the moon’s silvery light, all the better (though that is by no means essential, of course).

When I was but a wee lass, my (very talented!) mom made me an adorable witch’s costume from Halloween print fabric. A sturdy orange trash bag was utilized as an attached cape – which is all kinds of clever in my books (especially given the very real possibility of rain or snow that we faced on October 31st).

I wore that handmade witch costume on at least two, possibly three, different Halloweens throughout my youth. A few years later, my little sister would go on to sport it as well.

While to the best of my knowledge, this costume was likely either given away to other youngsters or lost to the hands of time at some point, I still have a scanned photo (care of my sweet mama) from the 1980s of me wearing it.

It was this very costume that I was thinking about as I set out to make my latest handmade Halloween card.

And in a flash, I remembered a sheet of Authentique Twilight paper I had picked up a while back that stars some fantastic vintage Halloween images. One of which was a sweet little girl dressed as a witch herself.

The fact that this image tied in excellently with the colour palette I had already determined was the icing on the cake – or should I say, the caramel on the apple.

As, this far out still from October 31^st, I am not sure yet if this card will be mailed or delivered in person, I opted to keep its depth below the minute two centimetres that Canada Post permits letter mail to be before it crosses into parcel territory (regardless of the other dimensions and weigh involved).

Naturally though, true to form, I wasn’t about to sacrifice too many layers or embellishments.

Doing so came together by building up a base of numerous layers of cardstock and paper to which I added a piece of cream-hued crocheted trim, two felt bats (I gave them cute little gold rhinestones as eyes), a button + rhinestone topped selection of trims, and quartet of gold rhinestones around the outer corners of the central image.

And just about as fast a real pair of bats – or a darling little Halloween witch on her broom – could zip across the enchanting Halloween night sky, my card was complete.

This design is quite easy and all things considered, not too brutal on the ol’ pocketbook – especially if you already have most or all of the types of supplies used on this Halloween card project to hand.

Should you be keen to whip up one yourself or use it as an inspirational jumping-off point for your own festive Halloween cards, read on for a complete list of the materials used plus detailed step-by-step directions on how to make this super cute vintage-inspired All Hallows’ Eve greeting.

Products used to make this charming “Witching Hour” Halloween card

-Black cardstock

-Pumpkin/dark orange cardstock

-Dark cream or taupe cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Stitched edge (or any other type you wish) rectangular die

-Ornate edge rectangular (or square) die

-Pinking sheer decorative edge scissors – Mini Pinking Paper Edgers Scissors from Fiskars

-Flax/muted gold-hued plaid paper – Fall Breezy Stripes Paper from Photo Play

-Pumpkin print border strip paper – Spook Hill 8”x8” Paper Pad from Recollections

-Witch’s broom print paper – Haunted House Witching Hour Paper from Carta Bella

-Vintage witch girl image paper – Twilight Eight Paper from Authentique

-Golden brown ink – Peanut Brittle Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad from Tsukineko

-Black ink – Wicked Black Archival Die Ink Pad from Color Box

-“The Witching Hour” sentiment sticker – Halloween Town Element Stickers from Echo Park

-Flax/gold seam binding – Trophy Gold Seam Binding from Hug Snug

-Orange seam binding

-Black seam binding

-Cream or ivory crochet trim

-Black felt bats (I bought these on AliExpress a few years back; similar can often be found at craft and dollar stores come the fall or cut from a bat die and thin black felt with many modern die cutting machines.)

-Orange button

-Black button (That is large enough to be topped by the orange button and still have its sides remain visible.)

-Two sizes of coloured rhinestones/gems (ideally one should be quite small as it will be used as eyes on the felt bats)

-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)

How to make a witch themed vintage-inspired Halloween card

Begin by making a card base from cream/taupe colour cardstock. Ink all four edges of the front (and for that matter, the back, too, if you would like ) with golden brown ink.

From the Spook Hill 8”x8” Paper Pad cut out a slender pumpkin print border strip and adhere it vertically to the left-hand side of the card base.

Using pinking sheer decorative edge scissors (or actual pinking sheers) cut a piece of black cardstock a little smaller than your card base. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of orange cardstock a wee bit smaller than the previous layer. Adhere to previous layer.

Using the same decorative edge pinking sheer scissors, cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock just a whisper tinier than the previous layer. Adhere to previous layer.

Cut a piece of Haunted House Witching Hour paper from Carta Bella the same width as the previous layer, but just under half of its. Adhere to previous layer.

Then, using the Fall Breezy Stripes flax coloured plaid paper from Photo Play, repeat the same process as above only this time the plaid paper will go on the bottom half of the card, as shown. Before adhering it down, ink the visible edges with golden brown ink.

Die cut an ornate rectangle piece from metallic gold cardstock. Run a piece of cream/ivory crochet trim across the middle of this piece, wrapping its ends underneath. Adhere to the back of the die cut gold cardstock rectangle and then adhere that to the centre of the existing card layers.

Use the pinking sheer decorative edge scissors to cut another piece of metallic gold cardstock, making it a bit smaller on all sides than the Carta Bella broom print paper.

Before adhering that layer down, tuck and adhere one of the black felt bats partially underneath of it on the upper left-hand side, as shown. Then adhere the orange cardstock rectangle to the previous layers.

With the stitched edge rectangle die, cut a rectangle from orange cardstock. Adhere to previous layer.

Next, cut the adorable vintage witch girl image from the Authentique Twilight Eight Paper.

Using the same cream/taupe cardstock as the card base, create a very slender mat for the vintage witch girl image. Ink the edges of this piece of cardstock with black ink (brown or dark orange ink would work nicely here as well).

Adhere vintage witch girl piece to the cream/taupe cardstock.

Cut a piece of black cardstock a tiny bit bigger than the cream/taupe cardstock. Adhere cream/taupe cardstock to the black layer and then adhere the black layer to the previous card layers.

Fussy cut two brooms from the Carta Bella Haunted House Witching Hour paper. Adhere one each to the left and right-hand sides of the central image panel, positioning them so that each one is at an angle, as shown.

Take the sentiment (“The Witching Hour”) sticker and lightly rub the lettering, which is white in its natural state, with golden brown ink to tint the letters so that they better match the colour palette of this card. (Alternatively, you could use a suitable marker or even a coloured pencil to do the same thing as well.)

Adhere sentiment to the bottom center of the vintage witch girl panel.

Take one relatively small piece each of flax/muted gold, orange, and black seam binding, layer them together, fold them in half, and adhere them on the left-hand side of the lower half of the card.

Take your black button, top it with an orange button, and then with a gold rhinestone. Adhere these elements together and then to the “fold” area of the seam binding.

Place one of the larger of the two sizes of gold rhinestone embellishments around each corner of the black cardstock central panel so that it sits partially on that layer and partially on the orange cardstock layer below it.

Adhere the second black felt back to the upper right-hand side of the card, as shown.

Lastly, adhere two teensy tiny gold rhinestone embellishments to each of the bats so as to give them eyes.

And just like that, you have one sweet, classic, and very versatile handmade Halloween card to give away or keep and use as wonderfully festive home décor.

The comfort and inspiration of nostalgia

Though not everyone – myself included – had a Cleaver family style childhood, I am tremendously grateful for the positives that my youth did house at times.

Few come close on that front than the Halloweens that I experienced while growing up.

They were earnest, cheerful events filled with handmade costumes and decorations, Unicef boxes, bracingly cold Canadian night air, and a sense of exhilaration that no special event – my birthday included – could top for me back then.

Nor to this very day. I continue to get no less giddy now at the prospect of another brand new All Hallows’ Eve than I did all those decades ago.

I think about Halloween, be it past, present (year), or future, just about every day of my life – often many times a day for that matter.

It is vital that we each have things in our lives that speak to our hearts, souls, and creativity alike.

Halloween is one of the biggest and most important of those for me.

The roots of this passion took hold back before that photo of me as a wee youngster with her classic plastic pumpkin pail of sweet treats was even snapped. And it is safe to say that they have only continued to grow further every day of my life since.

I adore using Halloween memories to inspire current craft projects (not to mention other things as well, such as October 31^st menus, costumes, and decorations) and when you swirl vintage – another lifelong passion of mine – into the mix as well, I am on cloud nine.

In the coming countdown to Halloween months, you can look forward to plenty of festive content including – all things willing – no shortage of additional brand new spooky season 2022 papercrafting projects from me.

Right here and now though, it is still Springoween and as eager as I am for Halloween’s return, I am grateful for the sunny side of the year and the time it grants me – and crafters everywhere – to make a slew of festive fall projects in the lead up to that bewitchingly awesome holiday.

When do you tend to start your October 31^st related crafting? Be it pertaining to Halloween or otherwise, do you like to use treasured memories as inspiration for some of your creative projects?

PS: Did you know that there is a paper crafting challenge group dedicated solely to making Halloween projects the whole year through? I caught wind of it a little while ago and have been meaning to take part, but so often seem to forget in the midst of creating, photographing, and blogging my projects.

I am head-over-heels with Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge Blog and am entering this project into it as my inaugural foray into that challenge site.

If you have not yet discovered them yourself and also adore making Halloween paper crafts, be sure to zip on over and give them a peek!

The post The Witching Hour Adorable Vintage Image and Classic Fall Colour Halloween Card appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Personally, I lean towards April 30^th, as it feels more natural to me to celebrate this exciting spot on the calendar at the end of the month, given that Halloween itself transpires on the final day of October.

Plus, I observe Beltane on May 1^st, so my focus tends to be on that beautiful springtime Pagan sabbat come the inaugural day of the year’s fifth month.

Not, of course, that I mind combining secular and Pagan holidays together. I happily do so each year for Samhain + Halloween.

A number of years ago now (if not longer still), the term “Halfoween” (aka, Half-O-Ween) was coined so as to give the halfway mark until All Hallows’ Eve its own name.

Another very charming – and clever – title that I have seen used for the halfway point to Halloween is “Neewollah“. Aka, the word Halloween spelled backwards. How fun is that!

Plenty of fellow #EverydayisHalloween souls have shared content online over the years pertaining to Half-O-Ween.

Here are but a few that have caught my eye:

-A great roundup of horror movies to watch at Halfoween from The Spooky Vegan

–Halfway to Halloween: 10 Ways to Celebrate the Unofficial Holiday from Mr. and Mrs. Halloween

–How to Celebrate Halfoween from Spooky Little Halloween

–Six More Ways to Celebrate Halfoween aka Half Way to Halloween from Mr. and Mrs. Halloween

With Halfoween rounding the bend again in a matter of days, it seemed like high time I made a papercrafting project to honour this delightful date – as well as to celebrate Springoween at the same time.

Springoween, as I detailed in my 2021 post, Sweetly Spooky Oversized Slimline Springoween Card (Plus, What is Springoween?), is an amalgamation of classic springtime elements (be they Easter/Ostara related or otherwise) and the dark, spooky, hair-raisingly marvellousness of Halloween.

If you are new to the concept of Springoween, pop by that post and get the 411 on this hauntingly fun way to embrace (and decorate for) spring.

(Lol! Who else remembers when the expression “Get the 411” was all the rage in the 1990s and early 2000s? )

It struck me a few days ago that it had been a very, very long time since I last made a pocket letter.

If memory serves me right, we are talking 6+ years (it was unequivocally pre-arson fire).

At the time, pocket letters were wildly popular within the papercrafting world. Numerous groups and forum sections devoted to pocket letters were to be – and still are in some cases – found on various websites and social media platforms (i.e., Scrapbook.com and Facebook, respectively).

I fell in love with pocket letters at first sight, though only got a chance to make around three to four (sadly, no photos survive of them) before that fateful night back in October 2016.

Jump ahead to the present month and I suddenly got the BIGGEST urge to make a pocket letter again.

So that is precisely what I did, choosing to celebrate the concepts of both Halfoween and Springoween within the borders of nine wonderful little adjacent rectangles.

Cute Pastel Hued Happy Springoween Pocket Letter

Back in early 2019, I picked up a pack of Ultra Pro Platinum Series 9-Pocket Trading Card Pages, anticipating that sooner or later, I would make pocket letters again.

Some three years on from then, I finally got a chance to do just that and, OH MY WORD, let me tell you, I am completely and entirely in love with pocket letters!!!

I recall very much enjoying the tiny number I made back around 2015. Creating one again this year was like connecting with the dearest of old friends.

Though the heyday of pocket letters may have passed somewhat, plenty of folks still like to make – and in some instances, swap – them or include a PL as part of some happy mail.

Count me amongst those ranks and prepare to see future pocket letters here now that I have rediscovered the joys of this wonderful form of paper crafting.

In fact, I am already brainstorming a future post all about the ins and outs of pocket letter making.

Until then, however, for those who may be new to the concept, allow me to briefly go over what a pocket letter (usually) is.

Generally speaking, pocket letters begin with nine slot trading card sleeves (or you can make your own version using a fuse tool such as the Photo Sleeve Fuse Tool and Fusable Clear Sheets, both of which are from We R Memory Keepers).

One then creates pieces of cardstock, paper, etc – often with some embellishments swirled into the mix – and tucks them into the front of each of those pockets.

If sending the pocket letter off in the mail or otherwise presenting it to someone else, many people opt to include small gifts on the backside of the nine slots (and sometimes on the front as well).

Examples of these gifts that fit the bill well include such things as washi tape samples, sequins mixes, flatback charms/cabochons, beads, die cuts, stickers, tea bags, and candies – amongst scores of other possibilities.

You can decorate both the inside and outside of the slots on your pocket letter, as desired. I have placed elements both inside and out on the pocket letter highlighted in this post.

Much as with just about all forms of papercrafting, the sky is the limit in terms of how to make pocket letters. Let your creativity run wild when whipping up a multi-slot PL!

Being a huge fan of cohesiveness, I usually pick a general theme and corresponding colour palette for my pocket letters.

In this case, the theme was Springoween + Halfoween and the colour palette was a classic mix of springtime pastels coupled with white, black, and hints of metallic gold throughout.

Tending to favour fall tones and dark colours, I wouldn’t say I have a ton of pastels or springtime themed items in my stash. However, as soon as I hit on the theme + hues for this darling Springoween pocket letter, I knew that I had only to reach for some of Prima’s Halloween offerings to score the aesthetic I was after.

Given the widespread popularity (especially in recent years) of what is sometimes dubbed Pasteloween (aka, utilizing a pastel colour scheme to decorate, craft, etc for October 31^st), I picked up some of the papers from Prima’s Thirty One Collection line a while back and was extra glad I did as it proved to be a great option for this particular pocket letter.

While I did feel a bit rusty on the pocket letter making front, happily and thankfully, it didn’t take long for me to find my grove as I went about creating this project.

I have no doubt that the classic “it’s like riding a bicycle” quality of reconnecting with something you have engaged in doing previously will deepen all the more with each fresh PL I create from here on out.

Theme and colour palette sorted, I set about rummaging through my stash for a bevy of suitable embellishments and trims to partner with these (mostly) pale hues.

Pocket letters are an awesome way to utilize a wide array of those kinds of materials – as well as to potentially use up paper/cardstock scraps and do some stash busting in the process.

Once I had everything gathered, I took my time and composed the various rectangles and exterior embellishments of my pocket letter. After I was pleased with the look, I set about adhering everything together and making a few more design tweaks along the way.

Humbly, I am tickled (pastel) pink with how this adorable Springoween pocket letter turned out and have already started pulling out items to make my second pocket letter of 2022 in the not-too-distant future.

It will be a gift for a dear friend and while it is spring/summer inspired, that one is not going to be Springoween or Summerween themed pocket letter – though it is a safe bet to say that I will very likely make more of those as time goes on.

Products used to make this charming pastel hued ghost themed Springoween pocket letter

-Nine pocket trading card sleeve – Platinum Series 9-Pocket Trading Card Pages from Ultra Pro

-Peachy-cream coloured cardstock

-Pink cardstock

-Black cardstock

-Metallic gold cardstock

-Black and gold floral print paper – Love Story 4.5” x 7” Paper Pad from Recollections (Michael’s brand)

-Various Halloween cut apart pieces – Thirty One Collection Magickal Haunt from Prima

-Various Halloween cut apart pieces – Thirty One Collection All The Treats from Prima

-Pinking shears or decorative edge pinking scissors – Mini Pinking Paper Edgers from Fiskars

-Black ink – Wicked Black Archival Dye Ink Pad from Color Box

-Tiny Halloween word stickers – Trick or Treat Stickers from Echo Park

-Itty-bitty ghost and pumpkin puffy stickers – from American Greetings (No specific product name appears on the packaging.)

-Light pink rosette with purple button center – Button Pinwheel Stickers from Forever in Time

-Tiny pink enamel heart stickers – Tiny Hearts Shape Sprinklers from Doodlebug Design Inc.

-Glossy gold enamel heart stickers – Heart of Gold Shape Sprinklers from Doodlebug Design Inc.

-White and gold foil alphabet stickers – Swing Gold Foil Chipboard Letter Stickers from American Crafts

-Black Foam “Happy” word sticker – this one hails from the Jot brand of products sold at Dollar Tree (No specific product name appears on the packaging.)

-Assorted Halloween stickers from Crafter’s Square (Dollar Tree brand; no specific product name appears on the packaging.)

-White resin frames (The ones used here were purchased a few years ago from an Asian home goods store in Toronto; they are remarkably similar to those produced by Prima a while back.)

-Orange, black and white Halloween sequins mix – Sprinkletz Embellishments (specific product name not listed on packaging) from Buttons Galore & More

-Tiny gold heart sequins – (specific product name not listed on packaging) from Pretty Pink Posh

-White sequins

-Black sequins

-Iridescent pink sequins

-Mini pink clothespins

-Pink embroidery floss (If using, you will need a sturdy needle with a decently large eye on it so as to be able to fit all six strands of the floss through at the same time. Alternatively, use a sturdy pink thread and either machine or hand sew the shaker pocket shut that way instead.)

-Pre-made mini orange bows (or very slender orange ribbon to make your own)

-Gold coloured seam binding

-Black seam binding

-Black lace trim

-Black and white text print ribbon – No. 3 Trim from Graphic 45

-Pink ricrac trim – Fancy Flushed Lace Wraps from Fancy Pants Designs

-Pink velvet ribbon trim – Fancy Flushed Lace Wraps from Fancy Pants Designs

-Black and white striped washi tape

-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)

How to make a super fun pocket letter for Springoween (or Halfoween)

While I usually provide detailed step-by-step instructions for most of the papercrafting projects that I post here, this time around I am not going to break things down to that degree.

Many pocket letters are, in my opinion, quite easy to dissect, so to speak, just by looking at them. I feel that statement applies in the case of this hauntingly fun Springoween pocket letter.

Instead, I will mention a bit more about its design coupled with some general advice regarding making pocket letters.

(That said, if you have any questions pertaining to how to make this exact PL that are not covered here please do not hesitate to ask them in the comments below or via the email contact form located on the header bar of this blog.)

To make cutting out the correct size of cardstock/paper/thin chipboard/felt/etc for each slot of your pocket letters, I suggest you measure the dimensions of each slot/pocket (in most types of playing card holders, these slots will be uniformly sized) and then make a reusable template based on those measurements.

I did that prior to putting together the specific aspects of this Springoween pocket letter, opting to use some medium-weight chipboard to create one template the length and width of three pockets and another the length and width of a single pocket.

Now, anytime I want to make a pocket letter using the specific card holder sheets that I currently have on hand, I need only trace the outline of these templates on my desired material, cut them out, and I’m good to go.

I have labelled my templates and placed them mere inches away from my crafting desk (it is a small desk without any drawers, therefore most of my craft stash is stationed elsewhere in that similarly wee room).

So easy and so handy!

If you regularly work with the same size pieces for any of your crafting applications, I highly recommend making reusable templates.

When making a pocket letter, keep in mind that the see-through pockets themselves are not usually very roomy from front to back. This means that there is a definite cap on the types of embellishments (and number of layers, etc) that you can fit into a given pocket.

If you wish to include larger/more 3D embellishments, it generally works best to attach them to the outside, not the inside of your pockets.

While the standard pocket letter size is three rows by three rows, I have seen other sizes over the years as well.

These include “mini pocket letters”, which are commonly between 3 – 6 pockets in total size (often cut down from a 3-row x 3-row playing card holder sheet), Project Life type pages with various numbers and sizes of slots, and other configurations created by either sewing or creating slots with a fuse tool.

If you want to shake things up, don’t be afraid to experiment with different sizes. You could also attach two or more nine-slot card holder sheets together and create a mega pocket letter!

Or, leave them separate but carry the same theme/colours across two or more pages for another form of extra-large pocket letter.

When making pocket letters, it is common to attach or thread things such as ribbon, twine, lace, seam binding, tulle, string, charms, and washi tape to one or more of the (three) holes on the left-hand side of the page protector.

This can jazz up your pocket letter further, while also helping to tie your design together to an even greater degree.

If you – or your recipient – are likely to store the pocket letter that you have created in a binder, duo-tang folder, or scrapbook album, it is usually best to either make those components easy to remove or to leave enough space in the holes for them to still be able to accommodate binder rings and the like.

Though that said, technically, one could store the most common sizes of pocket letters in a 12 x 12-inch scrapbook album with corresponding 12 x 12-inch page protectors.

Whether you will be tucking gifts, letters, etc or not into the back of your PL, it can be a really lovely touch to ensure the backside of your pocket letter is attractive looking as well.

You may wish to repeat some of the same papers/cardstocks used on the front sans most (or all) embellishments. Or you can opt to use a single colour of a paper/cardstock.

There really are no rules, so as with the front side of your pocket letter, let your imagination soar and have a blast while creating this fabulous type of paper crafting project.

Happiest Halfoween wishes!

As returning readers may likely have guessed, this festive Springoween pocket letter is my #MakeHalloween365 project for the month of April 2022.

As always, I encourage you to use this hashtag anytime you share a Halloween-related creative project of any kind online (be it papercrafting related or otherwise). It can be on your blog, website, or social media – anywhere a hashtag comes into play, have at ‘er!

When it comes to those of us who live for Halloween – or who otherwise adore this most spooky of holidays – there is something powerfully exciting about reaching the point in the year from which, for the next six months onward, we will be closer to our beloved October 31^st than further away from it.

Springoween strives to imbue springtime as a whole with a hair-raisingly delightful sense of Halloween’s mysterious spirit.

Halfoween, is a single day (or two – should one want to celebrate it on both April 30^th and May 1^st). A pivotal point on the calendar that propels us into that very six-month countdown.

Even if we have no desire for the next half a year to whiz by faster than a flock of bats flying against a harvest moon-filled sky, for Halloweenoholics, we cannot help but cross off the days until October returns.

Growing all the more gleeful that with each fresh sunrise – or, perhaps more aptly for the darkly inclined, each fresh sunset – at that very prospect.

If you are jonesing for plenty of inspiration and ideas to help inject even more Halloween happiness into your days the whole year through, may I suggest my roundup of 31 Ways to Celebrate Halloween All Year Long as well as the following selection of my Pinterest boards?

–Springoween

–Summerween

–Fall time in general

–Lammas

–Mabon

–Samhain

–Thanksgiving recipes

–Vintage Thanksgiving

–Fall and Thanksgiving cards

–Halloween

–Halloween costumes

–Halloween recipes

–Halloween cards

–Vintage Halloween

As usual here, expect to see plenty of Halloween related craft projects from me in the coming half a year (and beyond, natch! ), as well as other posts pertaining to my – and many peoples’ – most cherished holiday.

Right here and now though, as we head towards May and the return of Halfoween, know that I am wishing you the happiest of Halloween countdowns and a safe, enjoyable, creativity-filled second half of the (Halloween-based) year.

Do you take note of Halfoween? If you have done so before, when was the last time you created a pocket letter of your own?

The post Cute Pastel Hued Happy Springoween Pocket Letter (It’s the first PL I have made in six years!) appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Whether we are fortunate to ever have the opportunity to live in one of our dream homes or not, the interest and passion we have in the styles that appeal most to us often influence our worlds in myriad ways.

There are a number of different architectural styles of homes that resonate deeply with me. Chief amongst of which are most dwellings from the 18^th, 19^th, and early to mid-twentieth centuries.

I am also especially keen on rustic log cabins, elegant modern apartments + condos, just about anything with goth notes to it, and cottages of many types from around the world.

Long before terms such as #cottagecore, #darkcottagecore, #witchcore, and #fairycore had been invented (let alone turned into the social media darlings that they have become in recent years), I went weak in the knees for cottages – be they sweet and chipper or dark and broodingly mysterious.

To date, I have not had the pleasure of living in a cottage of any type myself. However, dear friends of mine – Lindsay and Jonas from the wonderful blog + YouTube channel + Instagram account, It’s a Charming Life – are blessed to reside in a cottage that sits alongside a yesteryear cemetery.

For a history-loving, cottage adoring, hardcore taphophile like myself, their abode is a dream home for me. And, I have no doubt, scores of others around the globe as well.

I have been greatly inspired by the cozy, whimsical, beautiful, and – as their online presence’s name implies – thoroughly charming world that these two sweet souls have lovingly created for several years now.

Also spanning multiple years is the wonderful snail mail correspondence that Lindsay and I have had the pleasure of sharing.

As 2021 started to wind down, but before we had become fully enmeshed into winter again, a mighty spark of creative inspiration struck me.

I knew instantly that I wanted to make a paper crafting project for Lindsay and her husband, Jonas, that celebrated not only the fact that they live in one of the most adorable cottages around but also their equally fantastic personal style which taps into many of my own favourite aesthetics.

Setting to work immediately, I went to my wee stash of chipboard and cardboard that I save from various types of packaging to use on craft projects.

A piece measuring roughly 9 7/8^th inches wide x 7 3/4^th inches tall felt like a terrific size for the hanging wall sign that I was envisioning in my mind.

Thinking not only about Linday and Jonas’s own passion for Halloween, but also the colour palette and vintage-meets-whimsical-meets-cottagecore style of their home décor, I set off on a creative flurry and scarcely moved from my office chair until this delightful All Hallows’ themed hanging wall sign was complete.

I then photographed it, securely wrapped it up for posting, and mailed it out to Lindsay and Jonas as a Yule / Christmas gift once December returned (along with the Gothic Haunted Christmas Tree Card that I shared here last month).

Cottage Spooky Cottage detailed Halloween Scene Hanging Wall Sign

Making cards and various other types of paper crafting gifts for friends, family members, neighbours, and others is one of my favourite elements of this awesome art form.

Naturally, I am far from alone on this front and creative folks of countless kinds likewise adore giving their finished projects away.

In fact, often the greater I love a completed project, the more eager and joyful I am to present it to someone else.

That was the case with this festive Halloween themed wall hanging (which is my latest contribution to the #MakeHalloween hashtag that I created and launched last year – and which I enthusiastically welcome you to use for any and all of your own Halloween / Samhain related creative projects, too.)

I began with a piece of plain (kraft coloured) cardboard for the base of this hanging sign. If you did not have any suitable cardboard to hand, very study chipboard, a lightweight canvas, or even a suitable piece of wood could be used instead.

If opting for wood (or any other material that is apt to be acidic), I would coat it with an archivally safe preservative spray, lacquer or similar product to help prevent the natural acids in the material of the project base from potentially damaging, over time, the materials you put on top of it.

Speaking of guarding things, I wanted to protect the side edges of this sign. As it was, after all, made with a cardboard base, not a canvas or wooden one.

To do so, I ran strips of orange sparkly adhesive craft tape (aka, adhesive ribbon) around all four sides.

I then set about creating layer after layer of Halloweeny goodness atop this versatile flat surface.

A surface which I looked at less like I would handmade card and more like a slightly scaled-down version of a scrapbook page (of the standard and widely used 12” x 12” or 8.5” x 11” sizes, that is).

As touched on above, Lindsay and Jonas are fellow Halloweenoholics and – much as at my and Tony’s home – they incorporate some elements of fall and October 31^st into their year-round décor.

I do not know whether they will opt to display this hanging wall sign all year or bring it out annually as summer starts to fade. Either way, I went with colours and themes that I felt would suit their fabulous cemetery adjacent cottage the whole year through.

A fair bit of die cutting went into this project, but there was nothing difficult about that aspect – nor any other – of this sign’s design.

The hours spent bringing it to life were amongst the most enjoyable of 2021 for me and when all was said and done, I was thrilled with the end result of this spookytastically charming hanging wall sign.

Since the start of 2021, I have been using a small (very basic/entry-level) lightbox to take photos of most of my paper crafting projects in.

The dimensions of this wall sign coupled with the size of both my lightbox and the lens on my camera, made photographing this project a bit tricky. This is why the background is white in some and woodgrain in others (I kept trying to find backgrounds to use in the lightbox that worked without showing their edges in these shots).

To showcase this handmade Halloween sign on the wall, I took down some of the art from a wall in my crafty space, placed the sign up, and nabbed a couple of (very low light) pics of it hanging there.

If you would like to create a similar project – or simply take some general notes of inspiration from this one – please read on for a complete list of materials used and detailed step-by-step project instructions.

Products used to make this wonderful festive Halloween hanging wall sign

-Sturdy piece of cardboard (Measuring approx. 9 7/8^th inches wide x 7 3/4^th inches tall)

-Black cardstock

-A slightly lighter shade of black cardstock (or use very dark grey charcoal cardstock instead)

-Medium brown cardstock

-Light to light-medium brown cardstock

-Dark orange (or terracotta coloured) cardstock

-Gold glitter cardstock – Glittersilk Cardstock from Darice

-Copper glitter cardstock – Glittersilk Cardstock from Darice

-White vellum

-Black and white spiderweb print paper – Haunted House Ghastly Words paper from Carta Bella

-Orange and black pat print paper – Halloweeny 12” x 12” paper pad from Recollections

-Good sized scalloped edge square or rectangle die

-Elegant decorative border die (or punch)

-Three small, slightly different sized flying bat dies

-Full and crescent moon dies (a basic circle die or punch can easily be used for the full moon shape)

-Haunted house die

-Spooky (haunted) tree die

-Rickety fence die

-Three small, slightly different sized jack-o-lantern dies

-Small witch’s hat die (you could also use a witch’s hat sticker or premade die cut shape here instead)

-Decorative edge scissors – Heartbeat Paper Edgers Scissors from Fiskars

-Good sized white or cream paper doily

-Dark orange ink – Memento Morocco Ink from Tsukineko

-Deep golden yellow/honey coloured ink – Distress Oxide Ink in Wild Honey from Tim Holtz (Note that anywhere Distress Oxide In is used on this project, you can sub in regular Distress Ink instead.)

-Aged golden-brown ink – Distress Oxide Ink in Antique Linen from Tim Holtz

-Golden-y brown ink – Memento Toffee Crunch Ink from Tsukineko

-Dark brown ink – Memento Rich Cocoa Ink from Tsukineko

-Medium brown ink – Distress Oxide Ink in Brushed Corduroy from Tim Holtz

-White gel pen – Uniball White Ink Gel Pen from Signo

-Black alpha stickers – Weekend Black Letter Stickers from American Crafts

-“Spooky” word sticker – Trick or Treat by Steven Duncan Element Stickers from Carta Bella

-Adhesive orange glitter ribbon/trim (Crafter’s Square brand from Dollar Tree)

-3/8^th inch wide black grosgrain ribbon (or another type of black ribbon or seam binding of your choice)

-Off-white or cream ribbon or seam binding

-Orange ribbon or seam binding

-(Optional) stapler and staples to adhere the ribbon “hanger” layers together

-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)

How to make a Cottage Spooky Cottage hanging wall sign for fall / Halloween

Begin by sourcing or cutting down a piece of sturdy, but not too heavy, cardboard to use for the base of this project.

Next, cover the front of the sign with a piece of medium brown cardstock the same size as the cardboard piece itself and ink all four sides (edges) with dark brown ink. Adhere in place.

Cut (one at a time) pieces of sparkly orange adhesive trim and stick them down on all four sides of the cardboard base.

If you do not have a similar product to hand (I picked this up at Dollar Tree two or three autumns ago), you could use things such as very sturdy washi tape, orange duct tape, glittery ribbon, or even pieces of glitter cardstock.

Using a ruler and white gel pen, draw a border of stitches around the outermost edges of the brown piece of cardstock on the front of the sign.

Next, cut a piece of dark black cardstock a little bit smaller than the brown cardstock layer and adhere it to the brown cardstock.

Take a piece of spiderweb print paper and cut it a touch smaller than the previous layer using decorative edge scissors (or a suitable border punch, if you prefer).

Ink the edges of this piece of paper with Wild Honey Distress Oxide Ink (or a similar colour of ink or felt pen/marker). Then, using a ruler and white gel pen again, draw a line of stitches around the perimeter of this piece of cobweb print paper. Adhere to the previous layer.

Select a suitable premade doily or die cut one from white or cream coloured cardstock. Lightly ink the edges with the same Distress Oxide ink used in the previous step.

If it is not long enough to span the length of the center portion of the sign, cut it in half and adhere one half near the top and the other half of the doily near the bottom of the sign, as shown.

Die cut either a scalloped edge rectangle or square from light black (or charcoal grey) cardstock. Likewise, if it is not long enough to span the length of the center portion of the sign, cut it in half and adhere one half atop each half of the doily.

Using dark orange cardstock, die cut two decorative edge pieces or use a border punch to create something similar looking.

Position each orange decorative edge piece atop the black scalloped pieces that you created in the step above. Adhere in place.

Next, die cut a piece of vellum using the scape scalloped edge rectangle or square-shaped die. Adhere so that it overlaps part of the orange decorative edges (again, if needed, cut in half and adhere on half to the top and the other to the bottom central area of the sign).

Take a piece of dark black cardstock and using the same decorative edge scissors that you used on the spiderweb print paper, cut this piece a little bit smaller than the central layers that you’ve created so far. Adhere.

Cut and then rip, or simply rip to begin with, a piece of orange and black print paper. Back the top and bottom of this piece with a piece of vellum so that the edges of both pieces align at the top and bottom of the paper/vellum. Adhere together and then to the base layers.

Using the same medium brown coloured cardstock as the very beginning base layers (front and back), die cut a scalloped edge square or rectangle. Using a ruler and white gel pen, draw a line of stitches around the edge of this cardstock panel.

Back the panel with dimensional adhesive (foam square, pop dots, etc) and position it at an angle ever-so-slightly higher than the center of the sign, as shown.

Use the alphabet stickers and “Spooky” sticker to spell out the words “Cottage Spooky Cottage” (or the phrasing of your choice that is able to fit in the space of the brown cardstock panel).

Next, it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work with (more) die cutting.

Using both light black (or charcoal grey) cardstock and copper glitter cardstock, die cut one layer apiece for three different-sized bats. Adhere together and position on the upper lefthand side of the sign.

Die cut a full moon (circle-shaped piece) from dark black cardstock and a slender crescent moon piece from gold glitter cardstock. Adhere together and position towards the upper right-hand corner of the sign.

Take light to medium brown hued cardstock (ideally a lighter shade than the medium brown cardstock used elsewhere on this project) and copper (or gold, as you wish) glitter cardstock and die cut a rickety fence shaped piece from both cardstocks.

Use Brushed Corduroy Distress Oxide Ink on the edges and grooves of the brown fence layer, then adhere both layers together and adhere this pair to the lower righthand side of the central portion of the sign, as shown.

Die cut two haunted houses and two spooky trees, one each from black and glittery copper cardstock, respectively.

Position the layers slightly off-centre so that both are visible. Adhere together and then to the lower portion of the sign (haunted house on the left side, spooky Halloween tree on the right).

Die cut three cute jack-o-lanterns from orange cardstock and three of the same sized pumpkins from black cardstock.

Use the dark orange coloured ink to highlight the edges and ridges of the orange pumpkin pieces. Position the two layers of pumpkins slightly off-center and adhere together.

Position and adhere small scrap pieces of gold glitter cardstock behind the faces of the jack-o-lanterns to give them the appearance of being lit from within.

Die cut a witch’s hat from black cardstock and likewise back it with a wee piece of gold glitter cardstock. Adhere together and then adhere the completed hat onto the head of the middle jack-o-lantern.

The front of this delightful Halloween hanging wall sign is now complete.

For the backside, cut three (or more, as you wish) pieces of ribbon, seam binding, lace or trim in similar colours as those used throughout this project.

Adhere these pieces together near their ends (a stapler actually works great for this, but a strong adhesive can just as easily be used) and position those ends at least 2 – 3 inches down the center of the sign on the backside.

Once you are happy with the length of the ribbon/trim layers and where they’re positioned on the back, adhere them in place to the cardboard base layer.

Lastly, cut and adhere a piece of brown or black cardstock to the entire back (minus the orange glitter tape edges) so that the ends of the ribbon/trim are concealed beneath the cardstock piece.

Alternatively, place the brown or black cardstock down first, then adhere the ribbon/trim as described above and either leave the ends visible on the back or die cut a suitably shaped piece (oval, rectangle, etc) from cardstock to place over the ends.

And there you have it, my dears, sweetly spooky, fabulously festive Halloween hanging wall sign to keep and use as part of your own fall (or year-round) décor or to give to someone special in your life so that they can do the same.

If you do not wish to make this project into a hanging wall sign, you could use a small painter’s canvas instead and hang the completed project from a nail or suitable hook on the wall instead.

And another idea would be to create this same sort of design so that it fits within the dimensions of a shadow box frame (which, assuming the frame had glass in it, would keep this project extra safe and protected from whatever life may through at it).

Sweet, spooky, and endlessly inspiring

As Lindsay and Jonas themselves discussed in their recent YouTube video, Ups and Downs of Cottage Life, residing in a modest-sized cottage – much like just about any type of home – is not always an endless parade of sunshine and roses.

However, it can be a wonderful, rewarding, creativity sparking and very meaningful experience that if one is blessed to have the opportunity to experience, may well be worth embarking on.

I have no idea if I will ever get to live in one of my dream homes (to date, the closest I have come is when, for a few years during my childhood, my family lived in a sweet little two-story Edwardian house that was built in 1909).

Whether that comes to fruition or not, I will continue to be inspired on countless fronts by the homes whose architectural and/or interior design styles speak most powerfully to my heart.

Unquestionably, that of Lindsay and Jonas’s house will continue to inspire and resonate with me for the rest of my days – no matter if they move on from it at some point or not, as everything they have shared online about their enchanting cemetery cottage will continue to resonate with me for ages.

These two lovely people embrace and embody not just things such as cottagecore, but also slow living, a deep love of and respect for the past, and the ability to decorate a home of any just about size in the ways that presently bring your soul abundant happiness.

Both they and their house epitomize the “Cottage Spooky Cottage” aesthetic and mindset, and it was my honour to be able to contribute a handmade piece of paper crafting home décor art to their super charming home.

Do you – or have you ever – lived(d) in one of your own dream homes? What kinds of wall hanging sign would most capture the spirit of your current abode?

The post Cottage Spooky Cottage Detailed Halloween Scene Hanging Wall Sign appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Today, with a mere four days bridging the present and February 14^th, I am posting about my second Valoween card.

I suspect that a fair number of you read that recent post – and I know that some of you were also here last year when I shared an in-depth look at Valoween – so I won’t rehash things too much regarding what Valoween is all about.

That said, as I realize this may be the first time that some of my readers are hearing about it and that folks who wish to learn about Valoween may discover this post via a search engine or social media hunt, please permit me to give the quickest of overviews.

Valoween – as one might rightly guess from its name – blends classic themes and motifs of Valentine’s Day with the delightful spookiness of Halloween.

Naturally, valoween is not recognized as an official or separate holiday from Valentine’s Day itself (cool as that would be!). Rather, it is simply a different way of approaching how one celebrates and/or decorates for February 14^th.

The concept of Valoween can be applied to romantic Valentine’s Days, Galentine’s Days, celebrations of platonic relationships, or pretty much anything else that you would like to focus on come this mid-February holiday.

And akin to October 31^st itself, one can opt to take Valoween in any sort of festive direction.

It can be cute and sweet, classic and elegant, hair-raisingly frighting and more than a little bit macabre – whatever your heart desires.

Personally, when it comes to Valoween,  I tend to lean towards either cute + cheery or dark + romantic.

Much as with the Valoween Shaker Wand and Card that I shared here last February, I opted to take my second Valoween project for 2022 in a darkly romantic direction.

To say that I adore the aesthetic that this marriage of holidays swirled with a generous dose of “amore” conveys would be a tremendous understatement.

It is, by far, one of my favourite styles and the colour scheme that I rendered it in here is likewise amongst my most beloved of palettes.

Given its distinctly romantic rebus sentiment, this card is the greeting that I will be giving to my husband come the 14^th. (Hopefully, he won’t see this post before then! )

Darkly romantic you have my (anatomical) heart Valoween card

Teaming with layers, bold colours, and elements that speak to both passion and a distinct air of the eerie, this Valoween card is not for the faint of heart.

Speaking of which (yes, I created that segue on purpose ), it was the anatomic heart stamp at the center of this frighteningly festive greeting that served as this project’s jumping-off point.

For as far back as I can recall, I have been drawn to images and other artistic renditions of anatomical hearts. The more realistic looking, the better.

My various Etsy wishlists are peppered with anatomic heart-themed objects, including the popular anatomical heart vase from Dellamorte & Co. and a beguilingly lovely anatomical stained glass heart from Strong Family Connection.

What can I say, I hearts!

Both the real deal and the shape that we as a species have bestowed the same name upon.

This darkly romantic Valentine’s Day card marries the two, each one supporting the other – and not unlike two people in a committed and loving relationship – to great effect.

While the classic February 14^th colour of pink does not technically appear on this handmade card, a subtle sense of it is conveyed by layering classic white vellum over richly red metallic (mirror) cardstock.

The anatomical heart image was stamped directly onto the velum. I then let it sit for about an hour, while I worked on other components of this Valoween card, before giving it pride-of-place in the center of the design.

To drive home the “You Have My ” sentiment all the more, I made sure to include no shortage of hearts throughout this card.

They appear via the vellum shape, the set of square nested dies with their charming heart-adorned borders and the red hearts that have the word “love” cut into their left sides.

(Funnily, in a way, enough, that little “love heart” die went sailing off my craft desk moments after I cut out the second red heart and I have yet to find it again. I suspect it may have snaked its way between a shelving unit and the wall, so I will soon hunt for it there. Wish me luck!)

As well, towards each of the four corners of this card, small triple heart shapes (which, I am the first to acknowledge, could also be used as a clover/shamrock shape) appear, somewhat resembling another classic Valentine’s Day staple, flowers.

Like a good many paper crafting projects that I create, fundamentally, this is not a tricky or, IMO, fiddly card to bring into being.

You will likely find the die cutting to be the most time-consuming aspect of the project, but even that shouldn’t take too terribly long – especially if you put on your favourite romantic music or movie in the background while you crank out your die cut shapes.

I am tickled pink – actually, make that red, black and gold – with how this Valoween card turned out. It reminds me of my all-time favourite fictional couple (Morticia and Gomez Addams), is my style to a tee, and will, I very much hope, find favour with Tony as well.

In addition, this festive Valoween card is – as you might have suspected – my latest #MakeHalloween365 project share.

If you are not already using this hashtag for your own year-round Halloween related creative projects of any kind, why not give it a spin in 2022?

Should you be in the mood for some paper crafting dark romance of your own, read on for a complete list of materials used and detailed step-by-step instructions for how to make this spookily sweet Valentine’s Day greeting.

Products used to make this red, black and gold gothic Valentine’s Day card

-Black cardstock

-Pearlescent gold paper or cardstock (Similar looking, but heavier weight, pearlescent gold cardstock.)

-Metallic red cardstock – Scarlet Organza Mirror Card from Tonic Studios

-White vellum – Premium Vellum Cardstock from Core’Dinations

-Heart border nested square-shaped die set (Similar looking nested heart border die set.)

-Good-sized heart die (The one I used here has a subtle stitched border, you can opt for the same or use a plain heart, as desired.)

-Small heart w/the word love (or a plain heart-shaped) die

-Good sized vine or scrolling flourish die

-Decorative edge scissors – Heartbeat Paper Edgers from Fiskars (Yes, I specifically opted to use these scissors for this Valoween card because of their name. )

-X’s and O’s print paper – Head Over Heels Typewriter Paper from Echo Park

-Very fine point black pen – Micron 01 0.25 mm Pen from Sakura

-Black ink – Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger

-Anatomical heart stamp (Similar looking anatomical heart stamp.)

-Scrolling banner stamp – Banners Clear Stamps from Forever in Time

-Tiny black and white letter stickers – Black and White Mini Alpha Stickers from Kaisercraft

-Red polka dot letter stickers – Love Letters Cardstock Stickers from Doodlebug

-Two sizes of adhesive gold gems – Self-Adhesive (Gold) Gems from Studio G

-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)

How to make a darkly romantic “You have my (anatomical) heart” Valoween card

Begin by making a horizontal card base from black cardstock.

Cut a piece of vibrant red metallic cardstock slightly small than the card base. Adhere to card base.

Cut a piece of X’s and O’s print paper a wee bit smaller than the previous layer. Lightly ink all four edges with black ink. Adhere to the previous layer.

Next, cut a piece of pearlescent gold paper/cardstock (you could easily use metallic gold or gold glitter cardstock here instead, if so desired) about 65 – 75% of the size of your card base.

Cut a piece of black cardstock (the same cardstock used for the card base) a little smaller than the piece of pearlescent gold paper. Adhere the pearlescent gold paper to the black cardstock and then, in the center of the card design, the black cardstock to your existing layers.

Take a piece of white vellum and cut a rectangle that is a little taller than the gold and black layers you just created, but a bit narrower than it on the right and left sides.

Use decorative edge scissors on all four sides of the vellum piece. Center and adhere the vellum piece on the black and gold layers.

Take the largest die from the heart-bordered nested die set and cut a square out of metallic red cardstock.

Position it so that the square now becomes a diamond shape. Adhere with dimensional foam adhesive, Pop Dots, or similar to the previous layer.

Die a heart-shaped piece from white vellum that is large enough to accommodate your anatomical heart stamp.

Using a black ink that is suitable for vellum, stamp the anatomic heart in the center of the vellum heart. Allow to air dry or speed up the drying process by gently waving an embossing heat gun over the heart piece for a few moments (not too long though, as vellum can easily warp and/or burn from heat).

Place a small amount of adhesive on the far left and right (center) sides of the velum heart and attach it to the middle of the red metallic diamond-shaped piece.

Take two of the smaller nested heart border dies. Use the larger of the two to die cut two matching squares from pearlescent gold paper, then use the smaller of the two to die cut two matching black cardstock squares.

Center and adhere the black squares on the gold squares. Rotate the stacked squares so that they too become diamond shapes.

Die cut two small red hearts that contain the world love (or simply use a standard heart-shaped die) out of red metallic cardstock. Adhere one heart to the center of each of the black squares/diamonds that you created in the previous step.

Adhere one of the gold diamond stacks so that it slightly overlaps with the left side of the central vellum heart and the other so that it does the same on the right side of the vellum heart.

Die cut four matching vine/flourish pieces from black cardstock. Adhere two around the left and right sides of the bottom of the metallic red cardstock diamond.

Tuck the other two under the top of the red metallic cardstock diamond and the vellum piece below it, leaving most of each vine/flourish visible, as shown.

Using black ink, stamp a scrolling banner shape onto pearlescent gold paper. Fussy cut (or, if using a stamp with a matching die, die cut) the banner shape once the ink has dried.

Use tiny black and white alphabet stickers to spell the words “You”, “Have”, and “My” around the banner piece, as shown.

Place red polka dot letter stickers between those words, positioning them so that they flow with the curve of the banner piece.

Once you are happy with the placement of the red letter stickers, optionally, you can (as I have done here) trace around each of the letters with a very fine tip black pen so as to help the letters stand out all the more.

Next, use the teeny-tiny triple heart-shaped die to die cut four pieces of that shape from black cardstock and another four from pearlescent gold paper/cardstock.

Apply adhesive to the back of the gold “heart flowers” and position them a little way down the black “heart flowers”, as shown.

Adhere one black and gold “heart flower” stack to each of the far corners of your card front.

Place one small metallic gold coloured gem in the center of each of those “heart flowers”.

Lastly, use a slightly larger size of the same gold metallic gems to adorn the top and bottom tips of the central red metallic diamond, as well as the left and right sides of the smaller gold diamonds.

There you have it, one impactful, gorgeous, and hauntingly romantic I (Anatomical) Heart You Valoween Day card to give to your beloved.

Celebrate love of all kinds this Valentine’s Day

Understandably, no matter what sort of spin you put on it, February 14^th is not everyone’s favourite day of the year.

Though I am a die-hard “lover of love” who melts faster than a box of chocolates left too close to a votive candle when it comes to this holiday, I can easily see why such is the case and sincerely respect that not everyone flips their lid for Valentine’s Day.

That is, of course, perfectly okay! We are always allowed to like/love or dislike whatever special occasions we desire.

Yet, I think it is worth pausing all the same as Valentine’s season descends upon us once again to reflect on the broader subject of love.

Nearly all of us love various people and/or things. And, most (though, heartbreakingly, not all) of us have been blessed to receive and/or give love throughout our lives.

That can mean romantic love, platonic love, love for our pets, love for our work, love for causes that are important to us, love for our hobbies and passions, love for our spiritual journey, love for our favourite books, movies and music, love for our favourite foods, or deep feelings of adoration directed at countless other possible things/animals/peoples/events/etc.

If you work with an altar or would otherwise like to make a display of this nature, I encourage you to place items that represent some of the things you presently love in your sacred space.

In turn, think deeply (and/or meditate) on them and the role(s) they play in your life right here and now.

How, if applicable, have those roles shifted, changed, or otherwise evolved for you throughout your life?

What do you love, but do not or cannot focus on as much as you would ideally like?

Are there ways you can shift more attention to those areas between now and next Valentine’s Day?

In terms of people, naturally, February 14^th is a great time to remember, honour, and celebrate those you have loved – and presently love – throughout your life.

As such, you could also include images, mementos, or other objects that represent people (and/or pets) that you currently love or have loved in the past.

Valentine’s Day, not unlike the Pagan sabbats – particularly, in the Northern Hemisphere, Samhain and Yule – is an excellent time to engage in ancestor work, as well as to reflect deeply about our families, our heritage, and those members of our trees that are still with us today.

If doing so feels right and appropriate to you, try to tell one or more of your nearest and dearest just how much they mean to you and how greatly you love them this Valentine’s Day.

I firmly believe that we all need love. We need to receive it and, in turn, give it to others as well. We need events, locations, interests and other things to hold close to our hearts, too.

These are basic elements of the human journey and one that each person deserves to experience.

On Valentine’s Day, give thanks for the loves of all types in your life. If you feel you need more love, freely open your heart to that possibility and allow the universe to hopefully deliver a greater degree of love into your world.

And all the while, remember to try and give your own love generously and selflessly to others as well.

In their 1967 hit song of the same name, The Beatles reminded us that “All you need is love”.

In reality, we may require a bit more than that. Yet, this message drives home the importance of love and just what an incredible, life and history-shaping force of our collective human experience it really is.

Here’s to love, to Valoween and Valentine’s Day, and to the fact that I each and every one of you!

Are you a fellow fan of anatomical hearts? What loves in your life will you be focusing on this February 14^th?

The post Darkly Romantic You Have My (Anatomical) Heart Valoween Card for Valentine’s Day appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Harsh years can, I find, often elicit one of two states. Either you enter the start of a new year browbeaten, worn very nearly to your last nerve, or they stir up a powerful sense of wide-eyed optimism.

Both are understandable, normal, natural.

They are not the only two possible states, of course. I have experienced enough January 1^sts now at this point in my life to know though that they are amongst the most common.

As someone whose ingrained instinct is to see the glass as half full (though, at times, it does depend on whose pouring ), I often veer towards the optimistic side of things.

2021 put me and my husband – along with countless others around the globe – through the wringer and then some.

Was it, mercifully, the most brutal year of our lives? No, thankfully, it was not.

But it was deeply challenging, highly stressful, and a very far cry from ideal.

Like all years that I have thus far experienced, it still housed some positives, too. I’m not sure I would say that they outweighed the difficulties, but they certainly did their part to balance the scales a bit more.

Interestingly, I often find that the rougher and tougher a year was, the more I leap with Labrador puppy enthusiasm into the rebirth of January.

The year’s first month received its English name via Latin. It means the month of the Roman dietary Janus (who presided over doors, entryways, and beginnings).

One particularly noteworthy facet to the God Janus is that he is often depicted and described as having two faces. One looked the past squarely in the eyes, the other stared ahead, always ready to tackle the incoming future.

We as mere mortals down here on earth often embody a similar sense of duality as one year takes its final bow and the next comes barreling into town.

Looking back, we reflect and contemplate the twelve months that we just experienced. We know that all we went through then will contribute to who we are for the rest of our days.

There are some years we wish we could tightly cling to with all of our might and others that we are happy to drop faster than a bad habit.

And certainly, there are a good many that fall somewhere in between.

It can be hard, I readily acknowledge, to embrace January with intense optimism or hope – especially if the year that just transpired was a particularly challenging one.

Yet, much as it is not fair to assume that a new romantic partner might embody negative or undesirable traits or actions of an ex, so too should be given each fresh year a chance to prove itself before we jump to any judgements or conclusions.

We need to give the new year time to show us how different or similar it may be to the last twelve-month calendar we retired.

The first day of January does not, of course, erase all our troubles or set every wrong in the world right (if only!).

But is a fresh start, an intensely powerful liminal period, and the chance to begin again in some respects.

Yesterday evening, as clocks the world over chimed with the sound of midnight being announced, 2021 gave up its ghost.

We must let it go. Passing years are like breaths of air, we only continue onward because they occur.

I was thinking recently about the fact that each year has a ghost of sorts all its own. Some are friendly spectres, whereas others may, sadly, haunt us for the rest of our days.

In reflecting on these points, the idea sprung into my head to make a punny New Year’s card starring phantoms and a graveyard.

And so, as the final days of 2021 ticked away, that is precisely what I did. Creating and photographing the New Year’s card that stars in this post as December was preparing for its inevitable end.

Adorable Happy Boo Year (New Year’s) Card

After the year we just collectively endured, it would not have been out of place to go for a solemn, almost sympathy-like card for a theme such as this.

However, (and here’s that natural propensity for optimism at play again) I wanted instead to convey a sense of cheerfulness and newness.

In this card we see three tremendously cute ghostie friends hovering above a cemetery as snow – one of January’s common features in many parts of the world – waltzes all around them.

These are chipper ghosts. They have no ill intent or malice in them. They’re friendly spirits of the sort that, if one was to spend time with a ghost, you would be happy to call your friends.

The graveyard they are chilling in (winter pun intended) begins with a classic wrought iron fence – as well as a lock.

This lock was placed not in the centre of the gate, but to one side. This signifies that the proverbial gates have been opened on a brand new year (or maybe it also means these darling ghosties have a bit of mischief in them ).

I wanted there to be tombstones on this card, but not for them to steal the show. To achieve this, I stamped some tombstones in two different shades of ink. One barely-there grey, the other black. I then used both a taupe-y grey coloured marker and a silver Wink of Stella pen to outline the black tombstones.

The pale grey grave markers are intended to have a ghostly, shadowy air about them, so were not outlined or otherwise jazzed up.

To help the tombstones look they were grounded, not floating (much like the ghosts themselves) in midair, I hand drew and lightly coloured a hill using an icy shade of blue-grey marker.

The falling snow comes via a paper with that pattern on it. I did not enhance it at all. If you didn’t have a paper like this to hand, you could emboss cardstock or paper with a dotted pattern, hand draw dots with white ink (or paint), or use a polka dot stencil to create a similar effect.

Our precious little ghosties friends were all created using metal dies and white cardstock. I backed them with identical die cuts made from brown cardstock to give them a sense of depth and shadow, then outline each of these three cuties with the same silver Wink of Stella pen.

I’m on a mission this year to weave more techniques I either do not use often or have yet to try before into some of my paper crafting projects.

One technique that I’ve not utilized in a good while is die cutting words from printed paper. I opted to do so here with the word “Boo”, which I cut from the same black, brown, and grey plaid paper that appears in a background layer on this card.

To up the presence of snow all the more on this design, I placed a few silver metallic cardstock snowflakes around the ghosts. I also used AB rhinestone felt-back snowflake embellishments in six spots on this haunted graveyard card.

I adore how this card came together! It houses so many elements that I adore, such as spookiness/ghosts, graveyards (I am a massive taphophile after all), wrought iron, a gothy colour palette, snow (what can I say, I’m Canadian ), plenty of layers, and hits of shimmer and sheen.

Last year we took explored spooky takes on various seasons and holidays. Namely Valoween, Springoween, Summerween, and most recently, Creepmas / Cryptmas.

A spooky, Halloween-influenced New Year’s has yet to become a thing on quite the same level as those happenings, but I for one am really hoping that Boo Year’s will catch on in time as well.

Who knows, perhaps this card itself can help to get that (snow)ball rolling all the more.

If you’re feeling the spirit of this frighteningly charming New Year’s card and wish to create one of your own, read on for a list of all the supplies used as well as detailed step-by-step instructions.

Products used to make a haunted winter graveyard New Year’s card

-Lightly textured (or plain) white cardstock – Snow White cardstock from Colorbok

-Matte black mirror cardstock – Black Velvet Mirror Card from Tonic Studios

-Silver metallic cardstock – Silver Foil Cardstock from Recollections

-Grey kraft cardstock (or a suitable light grey cardstock of your choice – Grey Kraft Cardstock from Recollections

-Light grey cardstock (different from above)

-Sandy brown coloured cardstock

-Grey and plaid print paper – Christmas Plaid 12” x 12” paper pad from Craftsmart (Michael’s brand)

-Grey and white falling snow print paper – White Christmas 12” x 12” paper pad from Craftsmart

-Wrought iron gate die – Graveyard Gate Die Set from Stampin’ Up

-Ornate rectangle nested dies

-Elegant snowflake border die (or a snowflake design paper punch)

-“Boo” word die (or letter dies to spell “boo” with)

-Horizonal oval tag die

-Small ghost dies

-Small snowflake die or paper punch

-Light grey ink – Shadow Grey Archival Ink from Ranger

-Black ink – Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger

-Silver shimmer pen/marker – GI Silver marker from Wink of Stella

-Brown-grey, blue, and grey markers

-“Happy New Year” sentiment stamp (you will be using the “Happy” and “Year” portions on this card)

-Tombstone stamps – Graveyard Gate Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up

-Felt and AB rhinestone snowflake embellishments (sourced from AliExpress)

-Glue gun and glue sticks (optional, but handy for attaching the felt snowflake embellishments)

-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)

How to make an adorable ghost-filled Happy Boo Year card

Begin by making a card base from white cardstock.

Cut a piece of matte black mirror cardstock ever so slightly narrower but a touch taller than the card base. Adhere.

Cut a piece of brown and grey plaid paper slightly smaller than the matte black mirror cardstock layer. Adhere.

Using white cardstock cut the largest size ornate rectangle from your nested die set.

Using light grey cardstock cut the second largest size ornate rectangle from your nested die set. Adhere the two layers you just die cut together, centering the small die cut on top of the larger one.

Cut this die cut stack in half (unless you’re using a very tall slimline die set that would reach from the top to the bottom of the card) and adhere one half in the upper center of the card (let it jut out a tad beyond the top edge of the card base) and the other on the bottom center of the card.

Next die cut two pairs of ornate snowflake borders from white cardstock and two from silver metallic cardstock (or light grey cardstock, if you prefer). Arrange one of each colour so that the silver is on top of the white. Offset them a little to give a dimensional look.

Adhere each pair of snowflake borders together and then adhere one pair on each side of the center of the card base layers, as shown.

Cut a piece of matte black mirror (or plain black, as desired) cardstock slightly smaller than the piece of grey and brown plaid paper. Adhere to previous base layers.

Next, we’re going to create the snow-covered graveyard scene.

To do so, start by cutting a piece of “falling snow” print paper slightly smaller than the previous matte black mirror cardstock.

Run your silver Wink of Stella pen around the inner edges on all four sides of that piece of paper.

Using stamps from the Stampin’ Up Graveyard Gate Stamp set, stamp a few tombstones with black ink and a few with light grey ink.

Use taupe-grey and grey markers to add dimension to the black tombstones you just stamped, but not the light grey ones.

Using a grey-blue marker, hand draw the top shape of a hill. Use that same marker to lightly colour in the hill, leaving a small border uncoloured around all of the stamped tombstones.

Adhere this layer to the previous base layers.

Die cut three ghost shapes from white cardstock and three matching ghost shapes from brown cardstock.

Edge the ghosts all the way around with your silver Wink of Stela pen. Arrange the white ghost layers on top of the matching brown cardstock ghost layers, offsetting them slightly for added dimension. Adhere ghosts to falling snow layer using dimensional adhesives.

Using silver metallic cardstock, die cut two larger snowflakes and three smaller snowflakes (all sof them hould be on the tiny side though, so as to not steal the show from the ghosts). Adhere them around the ghosts as shown.

Die cut a wrought iron gate from matte black mirror cardstock using the Stampin’ Up Graveyard Gate die. Then, using scissors or a sharp craft knife and a suitable cutting mat, cut vertically down the middle of the gate to create two equal-sized halves of the gate. Adhere each half to the falling snow layer.

Using silver metallic cardstock, die cut a lock from the same Stampin’ Up die set. Attach through the bars of the gate on the left-hand side.

Die cut an oval tag-shaped piece from white cardstock. Rim the edges all the way around with silver Wink of Stella.

Die cut the word (or letters to spell the word) “boo” from the same grey and brown plaid paper we’ve used already on this project.

Center word in the middle of the die and, once you’re happy with the placement, adhere the letters down.

Next, use your “Happy New Year” sentiment stamp and black ink to stamp the words “Happy” and “New Year”. If you have one, I highly suggest using a stamping platform here so as to get the placement of these words right on both sides of the “Boo” die cut.

Adhere sentiment oval in the center bottom of the wrought iron gate die cut.

Lastly, arrange and adhere six felt and rhinestone snowflake embellishments around the card, as shown in the photos throughout this post.

And there you have it, one uber-cute ghost-themed New Year’s card that you can send or give in-person to someone special.

Happy 2^nd birthday to Witchcrafted Life

Precisely two years ago to the day, I launched this blog.

In that time, more than a hundred and fifteen posts have been published, readership and monthly visitor counts have grown substantially, and I have been fortunate to find my blogging voice again (after retiring my previous blog in early 2017).

This time around, the focus is on Paganism and witchcraft, paper crafting, taphophile, books, crafting in general, and more. These subjects are very dear to my heart and I delight in sharing about them here with all of you.

Little did I know when I hit the “publish” button on Witchcrafted Life’s first post that the world would soon be engulfed in a global pandemic that would still be going strong two years later.

I was unaware as well of the myriad fresh challenges (including serious health issues for both myself and my husband) that would lay ahead.

And likewise, I did not yet know that we – like a lot of people – would find ways to cope, grow more resilient, and even find silver linings amongst the profound changes to the way many of our lives had previously been lived.

When we slipped on our first face masks in early 2020, who amongst us could have guessed that the pandemic would keep going for two years and counting?

That it is and, sadly, this brutal illness (and its ever-emerging variants) shows little sign of slowing down any time soon.

Even with Covid still raging though, there is more to life than the pandemic. Serious, of course, as it is though, no two ways about it.

All around the globe, there continue to be births and deaths, weddings, holidays, achievements, heartaches, and reasons to smile.

The moon and sun still greet us daily, the seasons engage in their eternal dance throughout the year. And though it has been greatly altered in some ways, life continues onward.

Our planet takes a beating, but we’re not down for the count yet.

There is still hope, still (if only just barely) time for us as a species to save Mother Earth.

Just as there is hope for this brand new year.

I am anything but naïve or pollyannish. I know that 2022 will not be without its substantial challenges and hardships. Some can be predicted; others will likely hit us like a comet that no one saw coming.

Yet through it all, we will persevere.

It is human nature to keep going, to adapt to just about anything life throws our way, and to hold fast to hope.

Here, on the blogging front, I look forward to continuing to (all things willing!) bring you an average of 4 – 6 new posts per month.

Those entries will cover plenty of fresh craft projects (including monthly #MakeHalloween365 project shares – for which this haunted graveyard card is my first #MakeHalloween365 creation of the year), reviews (be it book or otherwise), interviews with fascinating individuals, self-care related subjects, inspiring ideas, helpful tips, holiday and sabbat happenings, Cemetery Journey adventures, updates on what’s transpiring in my life, and plenty more.

I would also like to collaborate with more companies and indie sellers here as well. If you have a business that you feel would be a good fit for this website’s audience, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me anytime (my email is: autumnzenithwitch@gmail.com).

One very exciting thing that I will be sharing more about here soon is the fact that I was recently asked to write a magazine article for an incredibly beautiful publication. Following which I was invited to become an ongoing content contributor to that magazine. This is a profound honour and something I know will help to enrich 2022 for me.

Whether you have been here since Witchcrafted Life’s first day of life two years ago, are discovering this blog here for the first time now, or anything in between, I thank you from the bottom of my immeasurably grateful heart for the support and kindness you have blessed this blog with.

I view my readers as friends and I am thankful for each and every one of you who shares your time with me in any capacity – be it here, on social media, via email, or otherwise. You are an integral part of the backbone of this blog.

It is safe to say that 2022 is not apt to be a walk in the park for most of us. Hopefully though, when all is said and done, we make it through and be able to join together at this same time next year to look ahead to what another fresh round of twelve months holds in store.

Joyful New Year’s wishes, sweet dears! May this year be a time of wellness, serenity, happiness, safety, creativity, meaningfulness, and no shortage of hope for all of us.

Do you have any predictions or gut feelings about 2022? What kind of content would you be especially interested in seeing here on Witchcrafted Life this year?

The post Adorable Happy Boo Year (New Year’s) Card + Witchcrafted Life’s 2nd Blogging Birthday appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Earlier in the year we took a gander at Valoween, Springoween, and Summerween.

Today, with a mere half a month of December left, it is high time we explore the subject of Spooky Christmas (aka Creepmas).

We will be doing so both through the following paragraphs on the subject and via a festively adorable ghost themed Christmas card that I recently made.

Read on to learn more about Creepmas, as well as how to replicate this charming haunted Christmas tree card yourself.

What is Creepmas?

Creepmas is taking the Christmas season and applying a dark, Halloween-inspired spin to your décor, attire, menus, gift wrapping, holiday cards – you name it!

Objectively, there need not even be a straight-up Halloween element to Creepmas. The key element is to inject spooky, scary, and/or macabre qualities into the Christmas season.

They can be gothic, Halloween related, horror/slasher genre inspired, shift the focus from Santa Claus to Krampus, or focus on any other more eerily influenced spin on Christmastime.

Creepmas is not the only name for spooky Christmas. Indeed, the term “Spooky Christmas” itself is one of Creepmas’ alternative names.

Others that I have seen over the years include Cryptmas, Dark Christmas, Spookmas, Ghoulmas, Hexmas, and Gothmas (though the latter would, objectively, apply more so to those who identify as goths or deeply appreciate and understand the gothic subculture and its aesthetic).

I am particularily fond of the name Cryptmas myself.

(It should be noted that with the meteoric rise in the popularity of cryptocurrency, I have started seeing some products on Etsy – such as this Merry Cryptmas Sweatshirt that put a cryptocurrency spin on Christmas images. So this term now means at least two different things.)

Of all the holidays and non-fall seasons that have had a spooky, Halloween-influenced twist put on them, perhaps none has yet to top Creepmas in terms of its growing popularity.

Nor, in turn, the number of spooky Christmas-themed products that are hitting the markets these days. Particularly amongst indie sellers and smaller-sized companies (though some of the bigger alternative brands are getting in on the festive fun, too).

This makes a lot of sense for multiple reasons.

First and foremost, save for American Thanksgiving in the US, many of us do not celebrate any major holidays between Halloween/Samhain and Christmas (or Yule).

For those who are card carrying members of team #MakeHalloween365, this means come Yule and/or Christmas, we are often missing our beloved Halloween/Samhain something fierce already.

So, we figure, why not carry the dark, spooky elements that we cherish about October 31^st over to our December holiday season!

(The haunted Christmas tree card featured in this post is my #MakeHalloween365 project for this month.)

Another reason is that, much like Halloween, Christmas is a very popular and commonly observed holiday – be it religiously or secularly.

Depending on the faith and/or culture we were raised in, we may have grown up celebrating December 25th. And as a result, we tend to have a bevy of memories, traditions, and festive happenings surrounding the Christmas season that we adore and would like to put a Halloweeny stamp on.

Or, in some cases, perhaps it is the very adding of darker and more macabre elements that make Christmastime considerably more appealing to us in the first place.

In addition, while the Winter Solstice does officially usher in the more light-filled half of the year, in most corners of the Northern Hemisphere, we are not going to start getting a sense of those longer hours of daylight for at least several more weeks.

Christmas, early and mid-winter (and even late winter in some respects) can be extremely dark, cold times that have a certain ingrained air of mystery and even spookiness to them.

A point which many people in generations past – and some folks to this day – embraced with the classic tradition of telling Christmas ghost stories.

I suspect the fact that many Halloween lovers adore decorating and collecting (and/or making) items pertaining to All Hallows’ Eve spills over into the other holidays that we observe.

For as far back as I can recall, I have loved decorating for and celebrating holidays, birthdays, and all manner of special events.

Once I got old enough to start putting a spooky spin on things beyond the Halloween season itself – and even more so after I learned that others were doing the same thing – there was no looking back for me.

I enjoy and appreciate a wide range of holiday decor aesthetics, including many that differ significantly from my own.

At the end of the day though, my most beloved Christmas season aesthetic is one the combines a dark Victorian look with elements of both Halloween and my passion for taphophilia (so hence, no doubt, why I’m particularly fond of the term “Cryptmas” ).

If you feel the Creepmas spirit beckoning you, I wholeheartedly encourage you to find the dark/Halloweeny December holiday season aesthetic that appeals most to you at the moment.

You are, of course, not locked into that style for life and can switch things up anytime, if you so desire.

How to achieve a spooky Christmas look

If you’re keen to get in the Creepmas spirit, there are seemingly endless ways to do so.

Select a decidedly spooky/dark/gothic colour palette (or go eclectic and use a range of colours) such as any of the following colour combinations:

-Black, white, and grey

-Black, grey (and/or white), and purple

-Black, white (and/or grey) and red or burgundy

-Dark brown, pine green, and aged gold or brass

-Lime green, white and/or grey, and black

-Cream or ivory, white, and silver (this combo tends to have an especially delightful ghostly air to it)

-Black, pine green, and burgundy

-Charcoal grey, navy blue, and silver

-White, orange, and yellow (aka, candy corn colours)

-White, black, and orange

-Black or dark grey partnered with assorted aged metals

-Cream, dark red or burgundy, and black or dark brown

-Black or dark grey, dusty rose, and burgundy

-A timeless Christmas palette of red, white and green interspersed with some hits of black

Next, decide if you want to go all out or keep your Creepmas décor to a select area or two of your house.

Naturally, if you do not have many (or any) decorations that fit the Creepmas/Gothmas aesthetic right now, you do need to break the bank and rush out to purchase a bunch.

You can start small. Look through your current winter holiday décor as well as your Halloween decorations, plus your house in general. Are there pieces that can lend a spooky/mysterious quality to your Christmas décor?

Are there any Christmas items that you could paint (acrylic, spray paint, etc), re-cover, decoupage, or otherwise give a gothy makeover to?

Doing things as simple as using a black table runner and chargers or placements and black candles on your festive table or baking some skeleton gingerbread cookies can be terrific ways to begin injecting more of the Creepmas looking into your seasonal happenings.

If you are in the market for a new artificial Christmas tree, consider picking up one in black, white, silver, orange, or red. The darkest of dark green shades can work splendidly as well.

You can then DIY Your Creepmas Tree as the wonderfully talented Amber from The Dahlia Crypt has done.

And transform some run-of-the-mill dollar store Christmas decorations into gloriously spooky Creepmas versions care of this terrific video from The Gothic Homemaker (aka, Aurelio Voltaire – whose music, YouTube channel, and myriad other contributions to the goth community I have been an ardent fan of for many years).

You could also make some cheesecloth ghosts to tuck between garland, tinsel, or other festive décor around your house.

Hang black or grey stockings, read A Christmas Carol in front of the fire, cut snowflakes out of black cardstock or tissue paper and hang them around your home, or decorate, paint, or carve faux pumpkins with Christmas images such as bells, a Christmas tree, snowmen, candy canes, or Santa Claus.

Why not pick up a Creepmas sweater/sweatshirt/t-shirt or two (Etsy has an ever-growing selection of such garments and the offerings over on Dolls Kill are awesome, too), watch scary Christmas movies, deep dive into Spooky Little Halloween’s fantastic array of Spooky Christmas posts, top your tree with a black bat decoration, visit r/Creepmas over on Reddit, or put black Santa hats on some of your favourite Halloween décor?

Have fun with Creepmas/Cryptmas/Gothmas. Let your imagination run wild, build up your spooky festive décor collection a little more each year, make or purchase some Creepmas holiday greeting cards, and revel in the enjoyment that comes from merging elements of Halloween with December 25^th.

And if you are looking for even more Creepmas ideas and inspiration, pop on over to my Creepmas / Cryptmas Pinterest board.

Seasonal sentiments to use on spooky Christmas cards, other crafts, home décor projects, etc

The following is a selection of Creepmas, Cryptmas, Gothmas, and Spooky Christmas sentiments that I have compiled. They work splendidly for all manner of festive cards crafts, home decr projects and so forth.

-‘Tis the season to be spooky

-Scary Christmas / Creepmas / Gothmas / etc

-It’s beginning to look a lot like Cryptmas / Creepmas / Gothmas / etc

-All is merry and fright

-Merry or Happy Creepmas / Happy Cryptmas / Happy Gothmas / Happy Spooky Christmas

-Season’s creepings

-Happy skulladays

-We witch you a merry Christmas / Happy Holidays / Creepmas / Gothmas / etc and a Happy New Year

-I’m dying to spend the holidays with you (you could partner this sentiment with an image of a ghost, the Addams Family, the grim reaper, tombstones, or your favourite horror movie character, for example)

-All I want for Christmas (or Creepmas, etc) is you

-Have a creepy Gothmas / Cryptmas / etc

-Have a spooky Gothmas / Cryptmas / etc

-It’s batty how much I love Christmas / Cryptmas / Creepmas / Gothmas / etc

-Hail Santa

-Boo and happy holidays!

-I’m screaming of a white Christmas

-Here comes Santa Claws (you could partner it with an image of a cat or Krampus, for example)

-Slay bells ring

-Happy ten months and five (or six, depending on if you count down from December 25^th or 26^th) days until Halloween

-He knows when you are sleeping (from the Christmas song Santa Claus is Coming to Town – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Is_Comin%27_to_Town)

-Have yourself a spooky little Christmas / Cryptmas / Creepmas / etc

-On the thirteenth day of Creepmas / Cryptmas / Gothmas / etc

-Happy holidays from our crypt to yours!

-Time spread the holiday spirit (combined with an image of one or more ghosts)

Naturally, there are others that could easily fit the bill as well. Turning to lyrics from classic Christmas songs and poetry, as some of the examples above have done, can be a great place to find lines that could easily be made festively spooky by changing some of their words.

Note: Should you wish to use a Creepmas (etc) sentiments that pertain directly to death, please be mindful of any losses the receiptent may have experienced this year. As well as how people are presently doing in the face of the ongoing global pandemic that we are all collectively battling.

If you think that someone might be offended, saddened, or otherwise hurt by death-related wording, be considerate of this point and refrain from using such language.

Gothic haunted Christmas Tree Card

While there are Tim Burton-esque elements to this card – chiefly the black and white striped paper (very Jack Skellington!) and overall spooky theme – I wasn’t per se channelling this source of inspiration.

Not, mind you, that I take any issue with it being there. Far from it! Like many a Halloween fan, I have a great fondness for Mr. Burton and his work – very much including the Nightmare Before Christmas.

This was one of those card designs that just popped into my head as I sat down to craft recently and I knew that I had to bring it to reality immediately.

I had picked up a roll of white “fall snow” design tulle at Dollar Tree back around the start of October and was itching to craft with it.

(You can purchase a very similar looking white snowflake tulle on Amazon. The quanitiy provided there is a fair bit bigger than my roll from the dollar store.)

That tulle appears twice on this card, along with some festive shimmer via the red glitter cardstock, silver metallic cardstock, glossy black cardstock, and the silver tinsel trim on the Christmas tree.

Not to mention the hits of sparkle coming from the fun shaker mix that I composed out of red and black sequins, clear sequins/gems, white and black ghost-shaped sequins, and red and white polymer clay peppermint candy shapes.

The only patterned paper here is a black and white striped piece behind the shaker window, as I wanted to keep the emphasis more on the colour palette and haunted Christmas theme than on multiple different patterns of paper.

If you do not have, or as an alternative to, black and white striped paper, a black or grey snowflake print paper would likely look marvellous here as well.

I have been champing at the bit to share a Creepmas card with all of you and am delighted that I got a chance to do just that here this month.

Should you wish to replicate my sweetly spooky Christmas card, be sure to check out the list of materials used and the detailed step-by-step instructions that follow below.

Products used to make this elegant red and black gothic Christmas card

-Black cardstock

-Glossy black cardstock – Glossy Black Mirror Card from Tonic Studios

-Silver foil or metallic cardstock – Silver Foil Cardstock from Recollections

-Red glitter cardstock – Premium Glittersilk Cardstock from Darice

-Black and white striped paper – Halloween Party Bone Chilling paper from Echo Park

-Clear acetate

-Christmas tree die set with tree, tree stand, bow, and star dies (or assorted dies to create a similar-looking Christmas tree)

-Holly leaf/winter greenery oval frame die (I have had this one in my stash for a few years. You can currently get a similar looking holly oval frame die from Simon Says Stamp)

-Elegant decorative edge scissors – Victorian Paper Edgers from Fiskars

-Black pigment ink pad (or really, just about any black ink pad that works well for inking paper edges)

-Small clear sequins or gems – 3mm Sparkling Clear Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh

-Red sequins

-Black shimmery sequins

-White and black ghost-shaped sequins (check sites such as eBay, Etsy, and AliExpress for ghost sequins)

-Red and white polymer clay peppermint candy shaped pieces (available from various sellers on the aforementioned websites, including Etsy seller Diystencilca)

-White “falling snow” tulle (Crafter’s Square brand from Dollar Tree)

-Red and white micro pompom trim – Handmade Floral Embellishments #500153 Ribbons from Prima Marketing

-Silver tinsel trim – Designer Tinsel Trim from Webster’s Pages

-Black seam binding

-Black pleated ribbon trim

-Glue gun and glue sticks (optional, but especially handy for gluing the seam binding bow in place)

-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)

How to make a gothic haunted Christmas tree card

Begin by making a card base from plain black (or charcoal grey) cardstock.

Cut a piece of white falling snowflake print tulle slightly smaller than your card base. Adhere.

Use decorative edge scissors to cut out a piece of red glitter card that is slightly smaller than the piece of white tulle. Adhere.

Cut a piece of black and white striped paper a little smaller than the piece of red glitter cardstock. Ink all four edges lightly with black ink.

Next, die cut a festive holly greenery oval frame in the center of the striped paper.

Die cut the same frame itself from red cardstock. Gingerly align the red frame so that it sits flush in the frame aperture that you die cut from striped paper.

Die cut two equal-sized ovals of clear acetate (or another suitable lightweight, flexible clear plastic material).

Create a festively spooky shaker mix using a blend of red, black, and clear (or white) sequins and/or small gems, white and/or black ghost-shaped sequins (bats would also be fantastic here!), as well as some polymer clay red and white peppermint candies and/or candy canes.

Sandwich the sequins mix between the two pieces of clear acetate and adhere their edges together.

Place this oval sandwich of shaker card goodness into the oval aperture of the holly greenery frame. You may want to use foam dots, pop dots, or a similar raised adhesive to give your shaker card an even greater sense of depth (that’s what I did here).

Back the aperture (open area of the frame design) with a piece of the same white falling snowflake tulle. Adhere.

Then adhere the frame layers, with the shaker portion, to the base layers of the card, making sure that the last layer behind the clear oval is the white snowflake tulle.

Next, die cut a Christmas tree shape from glossy black cardstock (you could also use black glitter cardstock or plain black cardstock instead). Die cut a small star and the Christmas tree stand both from silver metallic cardstock (or grey cardstock).

Assemble the tree, top it with the star and put the tree trunk in the tree stand.

Die cut three small red glitter cardstock bows (or use small bow-shaped cabochons or tiny bows made from real ribbon) and pick out five white ghost sequin pieces. Adhere the red bows and white sequin ghosts to the Christmas tree as shown.

Wrap a small length of silver tinsel trim around the tree, adhere it on the backside of the tree.

Adhere the fully decorated tree to in the center of the clear shaker window oval.

Make a multi-layer bow out of either plain or pre-scrunched (used here) black seam binding. Adhere above the shaker window.

Lastly, cut a piece of red and white micro pompom trim and a piece of pleated black ribbon and adhere them below the shaker window, as shown.

And there you have it, boos and ghouls, one delightfully cute + spooky haunted Christmas tree card that you can either keep and use as Creepmas décor yourself or give to a fellow Cryptmas/Gothmas adoring friend or relative.

All is merry and fright (for some of us at least )

Often, we have our sights firmly planted on the fresh new year that lies tantalizingly close to us throughout December and, as a result, all but forget that the present year will soon pass away.

Into the ethers of time and history it will slip, never to be repeated, unlikely to soon be forgotten.

Acknowledging and even celebrating the life and death of a given year is another component that one can readily tie into a Creepmas celebration.

The handoff between one year and the next is a powerfully liminal time.

As December winds down, I embrace Yule, and celebrate Christmas with loved ones. I lean into that liminal aspect of early winter both in my witchcraft and in terms of how I process, make peace with, and choose to honour the outgoing year.

As the only year-round spooky soul in my family, I am especially grateful for the community of Halloween lovers around the world who join me in embracing a dark, gothy Christmas time aesthetic.

Even if you do not feel pulled towards this style yourself, I hope that you enjoyed learning more about it here.

After all, it can be a lot of fun to see and be inspired by a wide range of different Christmas décor styles.

Year after year, I most certainly am and I delight in finding ways to interpret them in a fa-boo-lously festive Cryptmas manner.

Do you enjoy the Creepmas/Gothmas look? What is your current favourite type of holiday season aesthetic?

The post Gothic Haunted Christmas Tree Shaker Card + What is Creepmas/Cryptmas? appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Our respective nations share much in common, though also differ in a number of ways as well (from our political systems to the size of our populations, for example).

A point that falls in between, with certain similarities and notable differences alike is the observation of a day of Thanksgiving.

In this post, I will be sharing with you a vibrantly hued Thanksgiving card that I recently made for someone dear to me whose presence in my life is something I feel immensely thankful for all year round.

First, however, let’s take a quick look at the complex histories of American and Canadian Thanksgiving Days, respectively.

Note: I would like to preface the following discussion by saying that this is a brief and incomplete picture of the history of Thanksgiving in both countries.

There is much more pertaining to both days that is not covered here. I am simply touching on this subject in the context of sharing a handmade fall harvest season card, not to produce a highly detailed overview of a nuanced, multifaceted subject.

Nor am I delving deep into my personal views on Thanksgiving, how I observe it presently, or what this day means to me when viewed through the context of being a Pagan witch.

American Thanksgiving Day gets its start

In the US, this classic holiday traces its roots back to the pilgrims that landed at Plymouth Rock. This journey was a perilous one and not everybody who had boarded the Mayflower in Europe reached the Eastern shores of America alive.

Not long after the surviving passengers and crew of the Mayflower reached what would one day become a nation called America, (possibly) in October 1621, these voyagers shared a meal of Thanksgiving with some of the Wampanoag Natives in the area.

This event is widely considered to be amongst the first days of thanksgiving enacted by European settlers on American soil and from it grew the now centuries-old tradition of setting aside one day a year to feast on fall’s seasonal bounty and give thanks for the blessings in one’s life.

In 1789, Thanksgiving was officially recognized across the newly forged United States of America as an annual day of giving thanks and saying prayers of gratitude.

Thanksgiving floated around across various fall time dates, until, in 1863, President Lincoln declared that the last Thursday in November would be the official annual date for this fall time holiday.

That date stuck, and Thanksgiving has remained a cultural cornerstone of the American experience and calendar alike ever since.

Not everyone embraces Thanksgiving (and that is 100% okay!)

It is important in discussing the subject of Thanksgiving Day to acknowledge and respect the choices of those who opt not to observe this holiday.

The account of the pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving, when it transpired (1621, 1623, or 1637, or example), what was actually being celebrated, and various other factors are called into question by some people. And rightfully so.

The notion of a huge, picturesque feast shared between Native Americans and the pilgrims as it has been envisioned by many in the ensuing centuries is likely a long way off from the reality of what really went down at the meal that would contribute greatly to the day we have long called Thanksgiving.

Tragically, some of the early (and no shortage of subsequent) Europeans who came to what is now the US quickly began invading, bringing disease, stealing land, mistreating, enslaving, and killing local indigenous peoples.

As such, many who eschew or boycott Thanksgiving do so because of the wrongdoings that the pilgrims and other later (primarily) European settlers and their descendants inflicted on North American First Nations peoples for centuries.

This is a wholly valid and very important perspective. I can sincerely understand why Thanksgiving (especially the embellished “sunshine and roses” communal feast origin story of this holiday) does not sit right with everyone.

I believe, however, that it is possible to reclaim this day (or to set aside your own personal day of harvest season celebration) and create a vastly more inclusive holiday that focuses on the positive aspects of gathering and celebrating with loved ones, community members, etc in our lives today. As well as the universal gifts of the harvest season and the role that it plays in helping to support life on this planet.

This is not to gloss over the profoundly important history regarding the despicable treatment of Native American and First Nations people at the hands of Europeans and others over the course of history.

Instead, it opens up the question of if it is possible to evolve Thanksgiving, so to speak, into a day of unity, remembrance, harvest season celebration, and fairness for all.

Some might see that statement as woefully pollyannaish, but I do not feel it necessarily has to be.

The concept of universal peace, tolerance, and respect is one that we as a collective culture still have a long ways to go before we reach.

To my mind, there is little reason why Thanksgiving (or a newly created take on Thanksgiving with fresh origins and motivations) can’t be transformed into a day that focuses all the more on ways that we can each try to make global harmony a possibility.

While, in the process, never forgetting (or, goodness forbid, repeating) the appalling mistreatment of North America’s first peoples.

To this end, since 1970, some people have chosen to observe Thanksgiving as a day of National Mourning.

If you are not familiar with this important occasion, I highly encourage you to learn more about it – including, if possible, by holding space for Native Americans to share their stories, thoughts and feelings pertaining to both Thanksgiving and the broader picture of their history.

A great article to further your understanding of this topic is What Does Thanksgiving Mean to Native Americans on the Native Hope blog.

The origins and history of Canadian Thanksgiving

Up here, north of the 49^th parallel, while the types of foods enjoyed and the themes of fall time, the harvest season, and counting one’s blessings are common to Canadian Thanksgiving as well, our celebration does not share the same pilgrim roots as that our American neighbours.

Nor, interestingly, does it take place on the same day of the year.

In the US, Thanksgiving falls on the last Thursday in November.

Canadian Thanksgiving, however, transpires annually on the second Monday in October (this year it happened on October 11^th).

This date is a holiday in America as well, with Columbus Day also taking place on the 2^nd Monday of October. This turns that date on the calendar into a fall time holiday for both nations.

(Related side note: The latest date that the second Monday in October can fall is the fourteenth and as October 14^th just happens to be my and Tony’s wedding anniversary, every few years our anniversary takes place on Thanksgiving Day.)

Spurred on by the Protestant clergy at the time (who were inspired by America’s tradition of holding a fall time day of thanks), Canada’s first officially recognized Thanksgiving Day took place in 1859.

However, some believe that the origins of a meal and/or day of Thanksgiving stretch back considerably further in Canadian history. Possibly to Martin Frobisher’s arrival in 1578 or to a feast hosted by none other than Samuel de Champlain on November 14, 1606 (at which some male members of the Mi’kmaq People were in attendance).

Initially, during the 19^th century, Canadian Thanksgiving was intended by the church leaders who advocated for it as a day to collectively recognize and give thanks for the mercies and blessings of God.

Even at the time though, not everyone was wild about this merging of church and state (in the sense of the soon-to-be nation of Canada declaring a holiday, outside of Christmas and Easter that is, with such strong religious undertones).

Nevertheless, Canadian Thanksgiving caught on quite quickly, with observers simply including (or not) the degree of religion into the equation that aligned with their personal beliefs.

Following Confederation, the first Thanksgiving to be observed in the fledgling nation of Canada took place not in the summer or fall months that correspond with the harvest season, but rather on April 5, 1872.

In that same year, Thanksgiving was declared a national civic holiday, rather than a religious one.

A few days later, in 1879, Thanksgiving was moved to the first week of November to correspond with the harvest season as well as various anniversaries pertaining to the British monarchy.

For quite some time afterward, Canadian Thanksgiving would bounce around in terms of when it fell. Occurring, at one point, as late in the year as December 6^th.

As the 19^th century progressed and melded into the early 20^th century, the newly formed (in 1867) nation of Canada quickly began to expand ever westward. This included settling and establishing a thriving agricultural trade in the prairie provinces.

In doing so, Canada soon began growing a great deal of wheat, oats and various other grains, with large crops of additional classic fall foods such as apples, pears, grapes, carrots, potatoes, and corn being successfully raised in various parts of the country.

It is safe to say that the identity Canada took on as being one of the world’s biggest grain suppliers helped to further cement Thanksgiving as a harvest season event in this country.

In the wake of WWI, it was decided that Thanksgiving and Armistice Day (which was introduced in 1919) would be celebrated together on the first Monday in the week that houses November 11^th.

However, in order to accord the recognition deserving of those Canadians who had participated in the Great War, by the early 1930s, November 11^th had been designated solely as Remembrance Day.

Thanksgiving did not vanish when that happened. Instead, it held on and was bumped back a month to October.

It was not, however, until as recently as 1957, that Parliament officially proclaimed the second Monday in October as being “a day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.”

Despite the religious wording used, once again, Canadian Thanksgiving remained open to celebration by those of all faiths/beliefs and has long been viewed primarily as a civic holiday that honours the bountiful crops and wonderful harvest season that occurs across Canada each autumn.

As well as serving – just as with Thanksgiving in America – as a time when many people gather together with friends, relatives, neighbours, coworkers, members of clubs and groups they belong to, or anyone else they desire to share a delicious fall time meal on this holiday.

In the primarily French-speaking province of Quebec, Thanksgiving is called Action de grâce. And while observed by some, interestingly, this holiday has not been embraced by many Quebecois to the same degree that it has been across much of the rest of Canada.

As with the festive feast that often accompanies Thanksgiving, another element of this annual event that I eagerly look forward to is the making of harvest season and Thanksgiving Day cards for some of the special people in my life that I am grateful for.

Naturally, I’m not alone on this front and many a paper crafter enjoys creating Thanksgiving cards to exchange in person or zip through the post to loved ones near and far.

Humbly, the card shared in today’s post is amongst my very favourite Thanksgiving Day greetings that I have created over the years and I have been champing at the bit to share it here with you since the moment it was completed.

Warm colours of fall flower and leaf adorned “feeling thankful” Thanksgiving card

Being that we are a northerly nation with a real proclivity for winter weather, I have long felt that it makes a great deal of sense that Canadian Thanksgiving falls in the first half of October.

Nevertheless, plenty of us have experienced snowy Thanksgiving Days here in Canada. As a whole though, in most parts of the country, the relentless grip of wintertime proper has not taken complete hold yet at that point in time.

It was to the jaw-droppingly gorgeous days of September and October, when the leaves were at their most spectacular in our area and the local crops were being harvested, that I turned to for both the colour palette and overall inspiration of this card.

A card that, while not as in-your-face Halloweeny as say, this one, is fully autumnal and has enough fall time charm for it to easily classify as a #MakeHalloween365 project.

As such, it is my #MakeHalloween365 share for this month.

We live in a rural farming community and while not farmers ourselves, we love to experience and give thanks for the local bounty that springs forth annually from this region of British Columbia – and elsewhere in the country, too.

Tapping into the theme of harvest season on the farm, I included a piece of Carta Bella paper with a charming vintage pickup truck print on it.

The other side of that very same piece of paper offered up a beautiful orange and white plaid print that worked terrifically for the card design I had in mind. These two patterns serve as the only prints on this card.

This was done intentionally to let the rich, autumnal-hued cardstocks and bevy of fall leaves and blooms take center stage.

Quite a lot of people grow mums and sunflowers around these parts and late-season roses are by no means unheard of either.

These enchanting flowers, coupled with the breathtaking fall leaves with which Mother Nature paints our landscape each fall inspired the blooms and foliage here.

It is safe to say that in some parts of the world, including both Canada and America, no other vegetable is quite as closely linked to fall time as pumpkins.

Thus, I decided to sprinkle a few adorable 3D Mini Pumpkins from Tim Holtz amidst the fall leaves and flowers on my card.

These darling little pumpkins not only serve to further represent the fall harvest, they also echo the illustrated pumpkins nestled into the beds of the pickup trucks on the Carta Bella paper.

The two-word sentiment of “Feeling Thankful” might not be the longest greeting ever, but it accurately conveys how I feel about the person this card is destined for.

If you would like to create a similar-looking harvest season (to say nothing of autumn birthdays, anniversaries, thinking of you, missing you, just because, etc) card, you can find a list of supplies and detailed step-by-step instructions to do just that below.

Products used to make this charming, multi-layered fall harvest season card

-Dark brown cardstock, terracotta cardstock,

-Matte gold cardstock

-(Fairly pale hued) kraft cardstock – Kraft Cardstock from Carta Bella

-Orange plaid + fall pickup truck print paper (both sides of the same sheet of printed paper) – Hello Fall Great Harvest paper from Carta Bella

-Oval nested dies

-Small leaf dies (or a background style die that cuts out multiple leaves)

-Flower border rectangular die (any suitable rectangle die can be used here)

-Decorative edge scissors – Victorian decorative edge scissors from Fiskars

-“Feeling Thankful” sentiment sticker – Autumn by Steven Duncan Elements Stickers from Carta Bella

-Diamond print stamp – Diamon Pattern Play Clear Photopolymer Stamp from Altenew

-Dark brown ink – Acorn Archival Ink from Ranger

-(Second type of) Dark brown ink – Memento Dew Drop Rick Cocoa Ink from Tsukineko

-Mini plastic embellishments – Mini Pumpkins from Tim Holtz Idea-ology

-Orange mini paper roses (from Dollarama)

-Sunflower/Black-eyed Susan style fabric flowers (from Dollarama)

-Dusty orange coloured fabric flower – Fall Floral Accent 635169 from Michael’s (fall seasonal décor)

-Red and yellow felt leaves (fall seasonal décor item from Dollarama)

-Metallic gold stiff cardstock leaves – Christmas Belle Fleur Leaves from Prima Marketing

-Two sizes of orangey-peach coloured adhesive pearls (or similar flatback pearls that you adhere yourself)

-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)

How to make a beautiful country farm-inspired fall time card

Begin by making a card base from kraft cardstock (cream, ivory, and pale brown cardstock would all work nicely here as well).

Cut, by hand, four small, equal-sized triangles of matte gold cardstock. Position and adhere them slightly inward from all four corners of the card base.

Cut a piece of terracotta (dark reddish-orange) cardstock slightly smaller than the dimensions created by the matte gold cardstock. Adhere to your card base.

Using the decorative “Victorian” edge scissors, cut a piece of dark brown cardstock slightly smaller than the terracotta cardstock (if you wish, you can distress this piece of cardstock a bit before adhering it). Adhere to the terracotta cardstock base.

Cut a piece of the same kraft cardstock that you use for the card base. Using Acorn Archival Ink from Ranger, stamp the Diamon Pattern Play Clear Photopolymer Stamp from Altenew. Adhere this piece of cardstock to the dark brown cardstock layer.

Die cut an oval-shaped piece of matte gold cardstock, adhering it in the middle of the previous layer (as you can see in the photos, only a small portion of this matte gold cardstock layer is visible in the completed card design, so you could just cut a portion of an oval, if you wished to conserve cardstock).

Using the decorative “Victorian” edge scissors, cut a rectangle of terracotta cardstock. Adhere horizontally across the middle of the card base layers.

Die cut a flower design rectangle piece from the white and orange side of the Hello Fall Great Harvest paper from Carta Bella. Ink edges of this piece with Memento Dew Drop Rick Cocoa Ink from Tsukineko (or the Ranger Acorn Ink used earlier; objectively, there’s no need for two different dark brown inks here, so long as one of them works well for stamping) and adhere to the white and orange plaid layer.

Cut a somewhat smaller (than the previous layer) piece from the fall farm truck print side of the Hello Fall Great Harvest paper from Carta Bella. Ink edges of this piece with dark brown ink. Adhere to the white and orange plaid layer.

Cut (by hand) two small triangles of matte gold cardstock to use as photo corners on the top and bottom right-hand sides of the fall farm truck print paper. Adhere to that layer (the other two corners will be hidden by the flower and leaf cluster you’ll soon be making, so do not require photo corners of their own).

Die cut a small oval from terracotta cardstock. Freehand cut a curve-top-shaped sign/rectangle-shaped piece from dark brown cardstock (or use a similar shaped die, if you happen to have one) and die cut small fall leaves from it.

Top that dark brown cardstock piece with the “Feeling Thankful” sentiment sticker from Carta Bella.

Adhere the dark brown cardstock piece to the terracotta cardstock oval, attaching the latter to the fall farm truck print paper.

Next, attach three smaller (of the two sizes) orangey-peach coloured pearls to the top left and bottom righthand sides of the dark brown layer of cardstock that sits atop the orange plaid base layer.

Adhere a few of the slightly large size of peachy-orange pearls on the points of the diamonds on the stamped kraft cardstock layer.

Next, using the photos throughout this post as a guide, assemble a selection of vibrantly coloured felt fall leaves, fabric and paper flowers, and gold Prima Marketing leaves. Attach all of these components on the lower left-hand side of the card using hot glue or a strong liquid adhesive (such as E6000).

There you have it, one cheerful fall time greeting that suits Thanksgiving Day to a tee. And which could easily be used for a wide range of other harvest season occasions and events (including the Pagan sabbats of Lammas and Mabon) as well.

The world needs a universal day of Thanksgiving

Days of giving thanks – whether they pertain to the fall (or spring, south of the equator) harvest season or not – far predate the origins of both Canadian and American Thanksgiving.

People across the globe have often celebrated successful harvests with merriment, coming together as a community, and feasting for, if not since time immemorial, then at least since many early peoples adopted a more agrarian way of living.

It is likely that harvest season celebrations date further back still, reflecting successful harvests, so to speak, of forged and/or hunted foodstuffs.

Far fewer of us are solely dependant on collecting and storing all of our own food in the 21st century and, as a result, days of harvest season thanksgiving are not quite as widespread as they likely were for many of our ancestors.

Personally, I have long felt that we need a global day or two of Thanksgiving (i.e., one for the Northern Hemisphere, another for the Southern Hemisphere) that embraces the shifting seasons and acts as a time to reflect on what we are currently grateful for in our lives.

In saying that, I readily acknowledge that food availability/abundance is, heartbreakingly, far from a universal given. As such, that particular element of a universal Thanksgiving Day would need to be addressed.

Ideally, those nations with an abundance would share with others who needed a food supply boost.

Looking beyond the large meal so often connected to times of Thanksgiving, this day could have universal elements of gratitude and celebrating the shifting seasons.

Be it fall or spring, these chapters of the year are incredibly beautiful. Certain elements of nature are retiring, dying, or going into hibernation for a few months, but there is still so much vitality, beauty, and wonder to be had in these seasons.

Whether a universal Thanksgiving Day ever comes to be, I hope that the fall time stirs happiness in your heart, helps to remind you of the many blessings in your life, and brings a deep sense of inner contentment your way.

At Lammas and Mabon, as well as both Canadian and American Thanksgiving, I make a point of counting my blessings.

Big or small, short-term, long-term or perpetual, I know that even on the very roughest days of my life, I have an infinite number of things to be grateful for and strive to acknowledge them to the best of my abilities.

Coming together with loved ones for Thanksgiving and other autumn gatherings is one of my favourite ways to do just that. Creating and giving lovely Thanksgiving/fall harvest cards is another.

The true history of Thanksgiving Day may not always be clear and what this date means to those in the 21^st century will, understandably, differ a good deal from person to person.

Beyond the actual holiday of Thanksgiving itself, fall is one of the most incredible seasons.

As the year winds down, we can reflect on how far we have come in 2021 – as well as over the course of our lives. In addition to centring our thoughts on the history (good, bad, and truly horrific) of our ancestors and others who populated the lands many of us now call home.

Let us give thanks for the blessings in our lives, for the progress we have made beyond some of the darker chapters of world history, and for the leaps and bounds forward that will hopefully continue to occur as new pages are written in the history book of humanity.

To Canada’s American neighbours who observe Thanksgiving this month, may you have a safe, beautiful, happy celebration.

And to those who observe a day of mourning or otherwise consciously opt-out of Thanksgiving Day (be it Canadian or American), please know that you and the stances you take are seen, acknowledged, and wholly valid as well.

The post Warm Colours of Fall Thanksgiving Card & a Brief Look at the History of both Canadian and American Thanksgiving appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.

Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand. – Rodney Lynn Temperton

It is safe to say that 365 days is a fairly long time to wait for anything. Yet some events are more than worth the days, weeks and months of pining and patience.

In my books – and those of many others – one such happening is October 31^st.

This enchantingly magickal day houses not only Halloween, but for many Pagans, witches, and Wiccans who observe it, the sacred sabbat of Samhain as well.

There is almost a sense of disbelief that greets me when my eyelids blink open on the morning of Halloween/Samhain (I observe both events, seeing them as being akin to two sides of a coin).

Can it really and truly be October 31^st? Have I fallen asleep on an icy February night or a sizzling hot July afternoon and dreamt that All Hallows’ Eve had returned once more?

Awesomely, today is not a figment of one’s imagination. Halloween/Samhain is real, it is magnificent, and it never fails to be even more incredible and meaningful than I could have hoped for.

On this day, the veil between the worlds is the thinnest (in the Western Hemisphere). Mystery hangs in the air like a chorus of bats dangling from a fall maple tree branch.

Halloween swirls with nostalgia, spine-chilling thrills, a glut of sweet treats, old favourites, new ways of celebrating, and the promise of a day filled with intrigue and enjoyment.

As much as I could (gleefully) wax poetically at length about Halloween and Samhain alike, I know that plenty of us are very, very busy today, so I shalln’t keep you for too long.

Here, on the last and final day of October, when spirits drift through the nippy fall air, grinning pumpkins peer out from porches near and far, and magick of all kinds reigns supreme, I am popping in to share one of my latest Halloween cards with all of you.

Sweetly spooky multi-layer Halloween card

Here on the blog, October began with a Spooky Multi-Window Halloween Ghost Shaker Card that featured a colour palette of dark blue, black, cream, gold, and copper.

Thirty-one days on, a good chunk of that same colour palette returns in the card featured in this post.

Gone, however – much as on many of the local trees that now sit barren until spring jolts them back to life again – are the warm autumnal hues of sunshine and fire.

From the colour scheme to the imagery, I set out to create a Halloween card that channelled the dark, inky evening hours of this resplendent annual happening.

A realm filled with things that go bump in the night, where shadows seem to take on a life of their own, and which those of us who celebrate Halloween and/or Samhain are likely to have many fond memories of throughout our lifetimes.

A touch eerie, but considerably more sweet and charming, this card is a multi-layered symphony of All Hallows’ Eve related imagery, merriment, and the timeless soul that embodies October 31^st.

It features a palette of midnight blue, jet black, grey the colour of cold sidewalks, ghostly white, and a wee hint of gunmetal (via the pearl embellishments).

Only one patterned paper appears on this card. That of the black tree silhouetted against a dark blue sky. This layer is subtle though, and that is intentional.

Much like how one often begins to make out their surroundings more clearly after you’ve been outside in the dark for a while and your eyes have had a chance to adjust, so too did I want there to be little details to this greeting that take a moment to spot.

Vellum – a most apt and delightful material to use on Halloween cards – appears here three times. One of which creates a ghostly base for the “Happy Halloween” sentiment before extending on to the top of the design.

This card takes a little while to compose due to the volume of die cutting involved. However, the materials required are (aside from the dies) both relatively minimal in number and fairly budget-friendly to boot.

You could recreate this All Hallows’ Eve card in different colours – think, orange, black and green or an earthy harvest season combination, for example – if so desired and it would be no less festively fantastic.

If you are aiming to channel Halloween night itself, though, then I would suggest sticking with at least one or two intensely saturated shades and, likewise, one or two paler ones to help convey a sense that darkness is indeed falling across the land…

Products used to make this beautiful blue and black Halloween trick-or-treat card

-Black, light grey, navy blue, and white cardstock

-Pearlized white paper or cardstock – Cool Metallic Sheets from The Paper Company

-White vellum – Vellum from Core’dinations

-Dark blue night sky and tree silhouette print paper – Full Moon Night Sky Paper from Ella & Viv

-Leaf frame die with an oval aperture

-“Spooky” and “Trick-or-Treat” wavy word dies – Halloween Trimmings Dies from Studio Katia

-“Happy Halloween” oval shaped sentiment die

-Various small pumpkin, bat, spider, spiderweb, and cat-shaped dies

-Decorative edge scissors – Heartbeat Paper Edgers from Fiskars

-White gel pen – Signo White Gel Pen from Uniball

-Two sizes of dark grey/gunmetal coloured pearl embellishments (silver pearls could be used here, too)

-Liquid glue with a very fine tip nozzle (or use double-sided adhesive sheets with your die cut layers when cutting them out)

-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)

How to make a festively spooky multi-layered Halloween night themed card

To begin with, I suggest die cutting (and, where applicable adhering) each of the layers that you’ll be using for this handmade Halloween card in advance, as doing so will help speed up the process of putting your card together.

Cut two layers (one light grey, one black) of the leaf frame. Then, once adhere to each other, cut your layered frames in half vertically down the center, as you will be using half of this frame on each side of the middle of your card.

Cut two layers (one white, one black) of the “spooky” and “trick or treat” curved words

Cut two layers (one light grey, one blue) of the leaf frame.

Cut two layers (one pearlized white paper or cardstock, one black) of the “Happy Halloween” sentiment and cobweb-filled oval piece.

Cut two layers (one white, one black) of the bats, pumpkins, spiders, spiderweb, and cat.

Once you have die cut and adhered these layers together, it is time to start assembling your Halloween card.

Start your design with a card base made from white cardstock (pale grey would work well here, too).

Cut a piece of white vellum slightly smaller than your card base and then adhere it to the card base.

Position and adhere the light grey and black (die cut) leaf frame halves on the center of the vellum layer.

Use decorative edge scissors (or a suitable border punch) to cut a piece of dark blue (or navy blue) cardstock slightly smaller than the vellum layer.

Utilize a ruler and a white gel pen to hand draw stitching lines around the edges of this piece, then attach it to vellum + leaf frame layers.

Cut a large rectangle from black cardstock. Top it with a layer of vellum that is just a teeny bit smaller than the black cardstock itself. Adhere these two layers to one another, then to the previous card base layers.

Top those two layers with a piece of Ella & Viv nighttime sky and tree print paper, cutting the top and bottom edges with the same decorative edge scissors (or border punch) used previously on this project. Adhere this layer of paper to the latest vellum layer.

Next, take the second pair of leaf frames that you die cut earlier and back the oval opening with a piece of vellum. Top this vellum with the “Happy Halloween” sentiment pieces. Adhere across the center of the vellum oval.

Use the smaller of the two sizes of dark grey/gunmetal coloured pearl embellishments to create an oval ring around the border of the central oval opening (see photo immediately above).

Arrange and adhere your die cut “Spooky” and “Trick-or-Treat” wavy words across the top and bottom of the central card panel.

Place layered die cut Halloween critters and pumpkins around the card, as shown in the photos here (or, however you please).

Adhere the larger of the two dark grey/gunmetal coloured pearl embellishments on some of the central panel layers, also as shown.

And there you have it, one sweet, spooky, and thoroughly eye-catching Halloween evening themed card that is sure to bring howls of happiness to any lucky soul who receives it.

Joyful Halloween and Samhain wishes to one and all!

Fellow Thriller fans may have spotted that the quote which begins today’s post is from that wildly iconic Michael Jackson hit, which many of us make a point of listening to on Halloween.

While just a few words long, it does a stellar job of capturing the sense of anticipation and elation alike that October 31^st delivers.

Halloween is as much a day (and night) of possibility and promise as it is of mystery and hair-raising fun.

The card featured in this post, naturally, falls squarely under the header of a #MakeHalloween365 project.

A huge and incredibly heartfelt thank you to everyone who has used this hashtag not only throughout October, but since its launch back in March of this year.

So much of the driving force behind the creation of this hashtag was, and is, for oodles of people to embrace and derive inspiration from Halloween throughout the entirety of the year.

I plan to continue sharing at least one new Halloween themed project here with you every month for the foreseeable future.

This means that my fellow Halloweenoholics can join me in (quite literally) making Halloween an amazing part of our lives the whole year through.

And I enthusiastically encourage you to keep using #MakeHalloween365 long after Halloween 2021 has wrapped up, as this festively fun hashtag is fully intended for ongoing year-round use by one and all.

For many years now, I have opted to focus a lot of my Samhain related happenings in the early morning and late evening hours of October 31^st. The time that sits between these two points in the day is filled primarily with Halloween activities of all sorts.

Objectively though, for me personally, there is a lot of crossover between the two and each one helps to ensure that my undying love for All Hallows’ Eve grows stronger with each passing year.

With the pandemic still going strong, we are once again foregoing holding a Halloween party at our house (something that we did for several years running before Covid gripped the planet).

Instead, much like last year, Tony and I will celebrate the holiday here at our house with mom (who only lives an hour’s drive away from us).

Costumes will be donned, candy piled high in multiple bowls, ready to hand out to all who come knocking; beloved movies will be watched and songs listened to on repeat, a festively themed jigsaw puzzle will be done, and we will nosh on plenty of hauntingly delicious fare.

What does this Halloween/Samhain (or Beltane, for those in the Southern Hemisphere) look like for you?

Are you as excited as I am that October 31^st has returned again at long last?

However you spend this today – be it a time of sacred reverence, lighthearted fun, chilling suspense, or simply the final day of the year’s 10^th month – I am sending my unending wishes your way for a sweetly spooky October 31^st.

Have a safe, incredibly happy Halloween/Samhain, dear friends!

The post Sweetly Spooky Multi-Layer Halloween Card, and The Happiest of Samhain + Halloween Wishes Coming Your Way! appeared first on Witchcrafted Life.