Spooky Halloween Card

Halloween Cards are my favorite to make! And this Spooky Halloween Card is an easy one to make and it turns out great! The only secret to success with this card is making sure that you emboss correctly and take your time with it. It is a little complicated so if you are fully unsure of how to do it make sure to check out this Youtube video by KarolinasKrafts. She explains embossing very easily!

How To Make:

1. Cut your 8.5″ x 11 Shine, Pearl White, 107lb cover in half. This will fit into a Shine, Pearl White, A9 Envelope. The inside of the card is a full half sheet: 5.5″ x 8.5″. The front of the card flap is cut to 7.25″ and scored at 1.25″, so the card front is 6″ long. 

2. I found it easiest to do the front and back flaps separately and attach them last, right before you put on the witch. Place the front on the back and using masking tape on the 1.25″ that folds over the back and use a long piece of blue masking tape to temporarily attach them. Using more blue tape on the top sides, make sure they are in their final position, with the back flap seated up in the crease of the front flap. I taped it to a clean countertop. I cleaned that counter with alcohol so the card would stay clean. 

3. To do the large circle die, use a 5.25″ circle die and cut it from Shine, (Light) Gold, 107lb cover. Place it on the front of the card that is temporarily attached and draw a light line around the circle. Mine is about 1 7/8″ from the top and 7/8″ from the bottom. Make whatever positional changes you wish. Using masking tape to hold the circle in position and draw a line where the front of the card ends. Cut it and add it to a piece of Silhouette Double Sided Adhesive Sheet. 

4. Before you add the Gold circle to the front, use your Stampabilities, Star Bright Background Rubber Stamp, PR1022, and cover it with glue using your glue stamp pad. Mine is Tsukineko, The Essential Glue Pad. I put the stamp face up on the counter, covered it with glue, and applied the paper to the stamp. This way I can line the paper up better. Sprinkle some Martha Stewart, Iridescent Glitter, fine grain, Lemon Drop, while holding it over your Recollections Glitter Tray, and tap off the excess. I put the glitter back in the bottle before I cleaned up any excess glitter with a brush. That is an easy stamp to use. It is deep cut red rubber and stamps cleanly. 

5. Using the 5.25″ circle die cut again, cut half of a circle, using the Gold. I cut a scrap of paper to size first. That partial circle is 2 7/16″ deep. Go with larger rather than smaller. You might need to trim the flat side. Add it to a piece of Silhouette Double Sided Adhesive Sheet and trimmed the Adhesive Sheet, either with the die or by hand. I think I just did it by hand as it was easier; Tim Holtz scissors trim through adhesive well. Place it on the paper and lay the front on it to see that the circles line up at the perimeter. Use a light pencil to draw a line around the semicircle to help with placement. Now remove the masking tape holding the card together and do the front and back separately. 

6. Still on the inside of the card, before you put the semicircle down, add your cats. I could not find the stamp I used; too old. So I would use the first listed silicone unmounted silicone stamp so that you can see the placement. Use your Inkadinkado Embossing Powder Tool for Stamps. Add glue to the stamp and repeat the stamping 5 times. I would add all of your cats and then holding the card over the Glitter Tray generously sprinkle on Martha Stewart Embossing Powder, fine grain, Ebony. Tap it off and holding the heat gun 6″ from the back of the card, slowly heat the powder. Heat the whole paper so it doesn’t warp. Occasionally run the gun over the front to even the heat. Do it mostly from the back so it doesn’t crack. Patience pays off. Let it cool for a bit. 

7. Finish the front of the card, referring to the photos. Pull the backing on the Gold circle and place it on the front, right up to the pencil lines. My circle is 4 1/16″ long. Place the Gold circle on the front, lining it up from the bottom. The circle will cover some gold stars. 

8. Now add some blue masking tape to temporarily attach the front of the card to the back; make sure the inside of the card is exactly right up to the crease and very straight. Line up the bottom Gold semicircle on the inside, checking your alignment that it completes the circle. Use light pencil lines to change any positioning of the inside circle. Blue tape it on the bottom before you pull the backing and make sure the line on the inside is parallel to the top and right under your cats. Make any trims to your paper at this time. Pull the backing and put down the inside Gold semicircle. I trimmed the corners of the Pearl White at the bottom of the front flap so there were no white triangles at the edge of the Gold circle. 

9. I put the witch on a Pearl White circle cut to 3.25″ wide as it was a risk to run it through the die-cutting machine after embossing it. Apply the Ebony embossing powder and tap off the excess. Be sure to first use your Inkadinkado Embossing Powder Tool for Stamps. It keeps the embossing powder from sticking to any place but the glue, for the most part. Use your fine tip brush to remove any stray particles. Be very patient. Those stray particles will emboss without the glue, but they will brush off easily at this point. I held the circle in my hand and heated it from 6″ back. Heat the whole circle by moving your fingers around. It will emboss from the back; slowly and surely. You cannot re-stamp the glue stamp so use plenty for the first stamping. It doesn’t align well on a second try. I used Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, but I had to tape the edges of the circle as the magnets were so close I could not get good contact. I could have used a clear acrylic block and that would have worked also. Once the Platform lid is closed you have to push down on the top Platform cover to make contact. The circle pulled up with the Platform top, but I just peeled it off; that works. At least I had enough glue. 

10. Apply 2 strips of 1/2″ ScorTape to the back of the front flap and attach it to the card back. Refer to the photos.

11. After the Pearl White circle with the witch cools down, apply some 1/2″ Scor-tape to the back and put it on the Gold circle on the front, referring to the photos. If you are great with embossing you can emboss the witch directly on the Gold circle, on the front, but for me, it was an unworthy risk. 

12. I applied the Happy Halloween using American Crafts Thickers, gold foil, Happy. It took some adjusting to get the word on the bottom flap. The Happy is on the inside and shows when you open the card. 

Make sure to have fun while making this craft like I did! And make sure to send a very Happy Halloween to your friends and family!

Materials Used In This Craft:

• Shine
  • Pearl White, 107lb cover
  • Pearl White, A9 Envelope
  • (Light) Gold, 107lb cover
• Martha Stewart Embossing Powder, fine grain, Ebony
• Martha Stewart, Iridescent Glitter, fine grain, Lemon Drop
• Recollections Glitter Tray, very helpful
• Circle Die Cut, 5.75″ & 3.25″
• ScoreTape, 1/2″
• Silhouette Double Sided Adhesive Paper
• American Crafts Thickers, gold foil, Happy
• Tsukineko, The Essential Glue Pad (use your own)
• Heat Gun
• Alcohol for cleaning
• Tim Holtz Stamp Platform, very optional & helpful
• Inkadinkado Embossing Powder Tool for Stamps, 1.5” W x 2.5” L, not optional
• Small Paint Brush, pointed tip. 
• Small Paint Brush, flat tip and stiff
• Blue Masking Tape
• Stampabilities, Star Bright Background Rubber Stamp, PR1022