Halloween Inspiration

Hello, all!

It's about that time... Papertrey Ink's first group post of the August release! 
Today the design team will be featuring three of this years Halloween sets (all available for purchase beginning August 15th).

Part of me loves getting to work on Halloween ideas early... but the part of me that *loves* summer is still writing this post outside while I watch the kiddos in the pool :)  To get me in the Halloween spirit I determined that I must start with a sweet.  Of course ;)

I made it into a spooky sweet by using the new Happy Haunting set.  Using the coordinating ghost die was the perfect way to add a simple but spooky touch.  I just cut a panel of white cardstock to fit in the medium glassine bag and cut the ghost out of the bottom corner. 

Happy Haunting comes with lots of little options for the ghost details... I went for classic on this one.  It's stamped right on top of the bag with PTI's True Black ink.  The bags are slippery when you're stamping on them, so the key is to move slowly, press down gently, and pull the block straight back up.

The negative image makes for a fun detail... love that it gives a peek of the chocolate bar inside...

The Tag Sale #5 die makes just the right spot for the spooktacular sentiment.  I used the new Orange Zest patterned paper for the tag and trimmed the top off with a pair of pinking sheers to echo the zig zag at the bottom of the ghost. A little stitching at the top of the bag keeps everything together.

Sidenote... totally *loving* these patterned papers lately.  Really a go-to basic for me now.  If you haven't tried one or aren't sure about patterned paper in general, I'd say go for it... and that's coming from a girl who definitely keeps the craft supplies to a minimum.  (The polka dots and stripes are my favorites, but probably just because they are a bit more in line with my personal style.)  You'll especially love them for projects like this one where you might make multiples. 

Next I pulled out the new Tremendous Treats: Halloween set for this little cutie...

And along with it, I used one of my favorites from this release... the new Spider Web Trio dies. 
*love*

Love it embossed like this (this post has the details on embossing using dies), but I also tried cutting some webs from silver glitter paper... yeah, love that, too. 

It makes the perfect little home for this cutie pie spider... love his little big/small eyes!  I stamped him on Smokey Shadow cardstock and heat embossed him using some black embossing powder to give him a little shine. 

A few Copic marker details (I used the three Smokey Shadow Copics) gave him a little depth and a white gel pen brightened up his eyes.

I finished it up with a strip of the new Royal Velvet patterned paper and a few little buttons for some balance...

And one last Halloween treat... a little bottle tag using the new Mr.Bones set...

This is a simple and fun one, too.

The "come as you aren't" sentiment is so clever that I wanted to figure out an equally clever way to use it with Mr.Bones.  To start off, I die cut the wine bottle tag from both a piece of Simply Chartreuse patterned paper and vellum and adhered them together.  A little snip on the vellum layer lets you see the patterned paper underneath.   

Mr.Bones got die cut an stamped as well and also received a few Copic highlights. I placed him on the patterned paper layer and stamped the sentiment on the vellum layer along with the pumpkin. 

You can lift the vellum layer up to see that Mr.Pumkin Head is just Mr.Bones costume... love that ;)

Suitably spooky for you??  I tend to be more on the cute side of Halloween than the spooky side... evidence here...

That would be me and the hubs last year disguised as Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep. Those of you with kids (or children of the 80's) will recognize my kiddos as Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach :) (Note the spot on hat that I crafted myself, of course, haha!)


And the year before we went as the cast of Peter Pan, complete with Peter Pan (and homemade suede hat), Captain Hook (yeah... made that one from quite a few thrifted finds... the leather "boots" made from a thrifted pair of leather pants were a fave), Wendy, Tinkerbell, and Tick Tock the alligator.

Yup... we're totally dorks.
And my husband is, obviously, quite good at taking one for the team :)

Any thoughts on what this party of 5 should do for this year??  I'm open to suggestions :)


For even more Halloween fun, be sure to check out the rest of the PTI team...
Nichole Heady

Betsy Veldman

Maile Belles

Dawn McVey

Heather Nichols

Melissa Phillilps

Danielle Flanders

Cristina Kowalczyk
Erin Lincoln


And I'll see you back here tomorrow.
Same bat time, same bat channel :)

{Spooktacular} treat bag

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps - Happy Haunting
Die -Happy Haunting
Supplies available now:

{Spidery Trick or Treat} card

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps -Tremendous Treats: Halloween
Die - Spider Web Trio 
Supplies available now:

Other -white gel pen

{Come As You Aren't} tag

Supplies not available now but available 7/15: 

Stamps -Mr. Bones
Die -Mr. Bones
Supplies available now: