How to Make a Halloween Card with Halloween City Holiday Decorations

Hello, crafty friends! It’s Mona Tóth here, and I’m so happy to be back on the Spellbinders blog with another detailed step-by-step tutorial.

Today, I’m creating a cute Halloween card using the Halloween City Holiday Collection from Yana Smakula. For this project, I used the Halloween City Holiday Decorations Die Set and the Happy Halloween Sentiments Press + Foil Plate + Die Set.

I wanted to show how versatile the Halloween City Holiday Decorations Dies are. So I used them on this playful spooky card without the City Holiday Etched Dies with a touch of pink and peach colors.

Let’s start creating!

DIE CUT THE HALLOWEEN ELEMENTS

1. Start by choosing all the dies for the main Halloween elements. For this card, I used ghosts, bats, pumpkins, and spiderwebs from the Halloween City Holiday Decorations Die Set.
2. Place the dies onto the cardstock with the cutting edge facing the cardstock:
   • Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock for the ghosts,
   • Raven ColorWheel Cardstock for the bats and the back side of the pumpkins,
   • Tutu ColorWheel Cardstock and Coral ColorWheel Cardstock for the pumpkins,
   • Glitter Metallic cardstock from the Rose Gold Assortment Treasured Cardstock Pack for the spiderwebs.

3. Tape the dies onto the cardstock with Best Ever Craft Tape to keep everything in place.
4. Create the die-cutting sandwich for the Platinum SIX die-cutting Machine. Place the plates in this order from bottom to top: Platform A, Platform B, Cutting Plate C, cardstock with the dies, second Cutting Plate C.

5. Run it through the Die-cut machine.

You can see in the photo the number of die-cuts needed for this project.

TIP: When I have small leftover cardstock pieces, I still like to use them for the tiniest die cuts. It is a simple way to waste less paper.

6. Continue die-cutting the same pieces

7. Keep the cut-out pieces organized. This will help you during the assembly.

CLEAN UP THE INTRICATE DIE CUTS

1. The glitter cardstock spiderwebs are delicate, so after die cutting, use the Tool ’n One to help remove the tiny cut-out pieces.
2. Brush over the die cuts until the little pieces release.

3. If needed, hold the die cut in your hand and work carefully with the tool. Sometimes that is the quickest way to clean up the small pieces.

This is completely normal with glitter cardstock. The paper has a different texture, so the little pieces can stay inside a bit more, but using the Tool ’n One it’s quicker and easier to remove them.

PREPARE THE GHOSTS

1. Take the ghost die cuts and the small black circle die cuts.
2. Turn over the ghosts and add small dots of Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue around the eye openings.

3. Place the black circles behind the openings so the eyes appear black from the front.

4. Repeat this for all the ghosts. The Reverse Tweezers help a lot with the placements.

ASSEMBLE THE PUMPKINS

1. Sort the pumpkin pieces by style and color to have a better look.
2. For the carved jack-o’-lantern pumpkins:
   • one larger and one smaller Coral front,
   • one larger and one smaller Tutu front,
   • two larger and two smaller Raven backsides.
3. Turn over the jack-o’-lantern pumpkins and use liquid glue on them.

4. Place the jack-o’-lantern pumpkin on the Raven one. The tweezers can help here as well.

5. Repeat the process with the other pumpkin heads as well. Make sure not to use too much liquid glue.

6. Push the pieces together with tweezers for a few seconds.

ADD DIMENSION TO THE BATS

1. The die-cut bats look great, but you can make them more dimensional.
2. Use the Tool ’n One gently over the bats’ wings while holding them in your hand.

3. This helps the wings curve upward a little, which gives the bats a more natural look.
   TIP: This is a small detail, but it makes a big difference on the finished card.

CREATE THE CARD FRONT

1. Use the largest part, 4.25 x 5.50 in., from the Precision Layering A2 A Etched Dies to cut the card front from Fawn ColorWheel Cardstock.

2. Tape the die onto the cardstock with Best Ever Craft Tape to keep it in place.

3. Use the Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine to create the same die-cutting sandwich. Place the plates in this order from bottom to top: Platform A, Platform B, Cutting Plate C, cardstock with the die, second Cutting Plate C.

4. Cut the panel from the warm orange/tan background cardstock.
5. Run it through the die-cutting machine.
6. Put the die-cut card front to your splatter box.

7. Add black watercolor splatters to the card front and let it dry completely.

TIP: The splatter adds a nice mood without making the card too heavy. A few splatters are enough for a fun touch.

HOT FOIL THE SENTIMENT

For this part you will need the Glimmer Hot Foil System and the Platinum SIX die-cutting Machine.

1. Turn on the Glimmer Hot Foil System. The power light will turn red, and when the platform is heated to the right temperature, the ready light will turn green.

2. Place the hot foil plate onto the heated platform when it’s ready.
3. Press the timer button. When it turns solid green, the plate is ready to foil.

4. Place the foil on top of the hot plate with the shiny side facing down. I’m using the black foil from Glimmer Hot Foil 2 Rolls - Opaque Black & White Pack.

5. Place the Glitter Metallic cardstock from the Rose Gold Assortment Treasured Cardstock Pack facing down on top.

6. For this setup, use the Glimmer Machine Spacer Pad & Thin Shim set. I also added an extra white cardstock between them for a better result. The correct placement order from the bottom is: Thin Shim, extra white cardstock and the Spacer Pad on the top.

7. Remove the platform from the base and slowly roll it through the Platinum machine.

8. Remove the shims and carefully peel back the foil to reveal the foiled sentiment.

Spellbinders glitter cardstock foils beautifully, even with finer detail, and I really love that elegant look.

DIE CUT THE SENTIMENT

1. Once the sentiment is foiled, align the coordinating die around it.
2. Secure it with Best Ever Craft Tape.

3. Run it through the die-cutting machine in the same die-cutting sandwich for the Platinum SIX die-cutting Machine.
4. Place the plates in this order from bottom to top: Platform A, Platform B, Cutting Plate C, cardstock with the dies, second Cutting Plate C.: Platform A, Platform B, Cutting Plate C, cardstock with the die, second Cutting Plate C.

5. The result is a lovely-looking sentiment on a perfectly glittering base.

ADHERING THE SPIDERWEBS

1. Adhere the card front to a 4.25 x 5.50 in. white card base.

2. Turn over the spiderwebs and use liquid glue on them.

3. Place them in their correct position. The reverse tweezers are useful here too.

4. Trim any overhanging spiderweb excess with scissors.

ASSEMBLY OF THE CARD

1. Turn over the card elements and start putting adhesive squares on them. Use Small and Small White Foam Adhesive Squares.

2. First, remove the parchment paper, and place a Tutu pumpkin on the card. Use tweezers for better handling.

3. Place a Coral jack-o’-lantern pumpkin to the other side.

4. Adhere the first Raven bat under the pumpkin.

5. Place the ghost under the jack-o’-lantern pumpkin.

6. Adhere a Coral pumpkin and a smaller Tutu jack-o’-lantern pumpkin between the bat and the ghost. We only added six elements, but the card starts to look nice.

7. Add two large adhesive squares on the back of the sentiment, then adhere it to the center of the card.

8. Add the second ghost to the card.

9. Place a Tutu pumpkin and a smaller Coral jack-o’-lantern pumpkin under the second ghost.

10. Place the second bat next to the sentiment.

11. Add the third ghost under the sentiment.

12. Place the larger Tutu jack-o’-lantern pumpkin under the ghost.

13. Add the third bat to the remaining open space.

I decided not to use the final pumpkin because it would make the card dense. Once all the main pieces are attached, step back and check the balance of the card.

14. Finish the card by adding silver gems for a little more sparkle. I chose the darker silver gems from the Silver Mix Color Essentials Gems, because I wanted the card to feel a bit blingy and girly.
15. Add the gems around the design as you wish.

I really love how this card turned out. It has that fun Halloween vibe, but is girly and playful at the same time. This is exactly the kind of Halloween card I enjoy making. Something cute with a touch of bling.

Thank you so much for spending your creative time with me today. I hope this tutorial inspires you to get crafty. For more inspiration and easy-to-follow photography tips for cardmakers, check my Instagram, and let's be online crafty friends. I wish you an amazing crafty day! Mona

Other Supplies

Black watercolor for splatter, white A2 card base