The cooler temperatures have me pining for Halloween decorations. I think my kids are thrilled…or at least tolerating me as I start to drag the boxes and boxes out of the attic. The way some people decorate for the Winter holidays is how I am about Halloween! The kitschier and kookier, the better!

To kickstart the season, I made this gatefold card using Technique Junkies’ stamps: S599 Bat Swarm and SD447 Happy Halloween Circle.

I started by opening up the gatefold and stamping the Bat Swarm stamp in waterproof ink on the top and bottom flaps, aligning the stamp so that the image would be upright when the card was folded shut.

I sprayed the paper with a heavy coat of Art Anthology Paprika Colorations (note: Rustic could be used instead), and the dragged the edges through some Art Anthology Plush Colorations that I’d sprayed onto my craft sheet and let it DRIP.

Once this was dry, I ran Art Anthology Copper Metal Effects paint over the Dot Matrix stencil along the top and bottom edges.

I stamped the sentiment with waterproof ink onto a manila tag for reinforcement and placed it over a lace cutout, also sprayed with Plush.  After spraying it with the two same Colorations and letting them blend together and dry, I painted the circle with Splashed  Sorbet paint to give is some shimmer.  I then outlined the edge with Perfect Paper Adhesive – Gloss, and sprinkled a mix of three colors of Prills over the top: A Penny Saved (copper), Plum Crazy (purple) and Power Outtage (black), to frame it.  Even the names of those Prills seem Halloween-inspired!

A bit of batty May Arts ribbon completes the design.

So that is a Tuesday BOO to you! Now I need to get my thinking cap on and decide how to best dress up for the trick-or-treating this year. Last year I was pretty much accompanying my husband, who wore an inflated black suit and a giant paper mached Lemon head for Halloween. Teens and tweens who watch ‘Adventure Time’ were loving it.  Really! But I did try something new and made a latex ‘skin’ with a zipper face. It was pretty cool.

Do you like to dress up your home and yourself for Halloween? Do you make your own decor? Send cards? So much fun to make and do once Autumn arrives!