Friday, October 26, 2012

BOO! A Halloween Banner

I can't get enough Halloween.  It's always been my favorite holiday.  I love going into every costume shop that I drive past.  Even though they are all almost identical and stocked with most of the same exact product- I'm still thrilled.  The only thing I don't like about Halloween stores are the dip$h!ts blocking an aisle while they giggle over the "Dr. Seymour Snatch, Gynecologist" costume, as if they've never seen it before or as if it were even hilarious.

I also like to decorate for Halloween.  I usually go through obsessions with a specific 'item.'  For many years, I had to make a scarecrow for the front porch.  One year, it was ghosts.  One year, it was 'googly eyes.'  You know those plastic googly eyes?  I thought I HAD TO GLUE THEM TO EVERYTHING.  Initially, I only bought them so I could glue them to a kleenex.  After I'd wrapped the kleenex around the top of the Tootsie Pop, of course.  But then, I couldn't stop.  I glued those eyes to everything. 

What am I obsessed with this year?   The same thing everyone else in the craftosphere has been obsessed with for a year- BANNERS AND GARLANDS!!!

I would love to think of myself as being so unique and cool as to avoid a trend.  But I'm not.  I like a trend as much as the next hexagon-hugger.  And banners are so freakin' cool.

So here it is, Kory's Halloween Banner:


As you can see, it only says BOO.  My first 'want' was to do an entire HAPPY HALLOWEEN banner- but then I thought of all the letters.  So BOO it was.  Not that I'm lazy, I just didn't know where I'd hang such a monstrosity.  (get it?)

I wasn't content to just hang the pennants on a string.  I've been dying to use my new Tim Holtz stamps, from Stampers Anonymous: CLASSICS #6.  They look like borders- filled with distressed text and all kinds of beautifulness.  I stamped the 'crown' strip looking one a few times onto some manila cardstock and cut them apart.  Then, with about five different colors of Distress Inks, I colored them into some nice fall shades and flicked some water on them for some splotchy creepy beauty.

Here's some close ups of each flag:


I used a slightly smaller sized pennant for the 'end-caps.'  After cutting each pennant, thank you Spellbinders, I embossed the edge.  You know, as you do and as is the beauty of Spellbinders.  However, I don't emboss with my Spellbinders the way everyone else (and the way Spellbinders say to do it).  It just seems like so much trouble to run the things through a second time with the rubber mat to get the embossed edge- especially for such a simple shape.  After I run the die through to cut the paper, I just lay it on the table and run my stylus along the edge of the die- and zip, zip, zip- each one is embossed.  Takes seconds! 

Then, I stamped the pennant with a wood background stamp and inked the edges.

For the cat's base, I used a plain 'scalloped circle.'  I painted it with some plain white acrylic paint, distressed and inked the edges and stamped with a Tim Holtz text stamp from one of the new Halloween sets. 

I cut the cat with some black KraftCore the small Movers and Shapers die and roughed it up with some sandpaper Then, I spent about an hour obsessing over and admiring the beautiful wonder that is KraftCore.  How amazing is this stuff?!





I cut the letters out of more KraftCore, using my Cricut and the Happy Hauntings cartridge.  I sanded them, inked randomly and smeared some Rock Candy stickles on each letter. 

I took some plain twine (from Dollar Tree- I love their 'kitchen twine!) and colored it with some Brushed Pewter Metallic and Bard Door Distress Stains.  I threaded the twine through the tops of each pennant and then put the entire thing together with the border strips with some brads.  Now that I'm looking at it again, I wish I'd pulled out my Texture Hammer and banged those brads a bit!  Oh well, there's always tonight.  No, there's not TONIGHT.  Tonight, I've gotta run home, finish sewing my Halloween costume (I'm gonna be a werewolf) and go to a Halloween party.  Yeah- I made my own costume with some fake fur (what a mess) and my sewing machine.  It was like Project Runway up in that house last night!



Supplies:

Cardstock:
     Plain Manila
     KraftCore: Black
    
Sizzix: Tim Holtz
Cat/Raven Movers and Shapers

Spellbinders: Nestabilities
     Scalloped Circles
     Lacey Pennants
     Lacey Circles

Stamps:
     Stampers Anonymous: Tim Holtz, Classics #6
     Mini Halloween 3

Cricut Expression 2 and HAPPY HAUNTINGS cartridge

Distress Inks:
     Vintage Photo
     Aged Mahogany
     Rusty Hinge
     Black Soot
     Dusty Concord
     Frayed Burlap
     Scattered Straw

Distress Stains:
     Brushed Pewter Metallic
    Barn Door

Twine: from Dollar Tree
Brads
White Acrylic Paint
Sandpaper

11 comments:

  1. Fan-frickin-tastic Kory. Please come decorate our home!!!! That is one cool banner. I know what you mean about having every fibre in your being shouting out to do anything other than follow the trend and then going ahead and giving in. I'm a mass of contradictions with that one haha. But that's between me and my therapist. Hope you're gonna show piccies of your werewolf costume after the party. Have a grrrrreat time (geddit?lol) So good to see you posting again. Missing you too. Pxx

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  2. Really like the banner like the cats in the opposite end of the banner. They stand out to me. It seems like you go all out for Hollween, lol.

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  3. Well, I giggled at the Dr. Seymour thing...I guess I don't get out much.

    Love, love, love this banner! And yes, kraft core is awesome. Please take a pic of you in the werewolf costume - it sounds totes amaze! :)

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    1. Yeah- who am I trying to fool- I laughed too. But I didnt block any aisles! LoL

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  4. What a great banner!Thanks for the great embossing tip.

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  5. Cute banner Kory. My 4 year old is scared of the skeleton that makes noises, she wont go anywhere near it. I try to scare her every chance I get with it. Bad mom I know. Great job.

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  6. That's very lovely. I've prepared a lot for this coming Halloween celebration and I must say that it is starting to look like it's going to be the most fun ever. Everything is all set up and ready to go. Thanks for the banner ideas.

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  7. Great post, you always make me laugh, Kory.

    And we have GOT to see that costume......!

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  8. Fantastic banner Kory. I was missing you already! Glad to see you getting crafty!

    Hugs! Frank

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  9. Glad I got to see the banner before I read the Dr. Seymour bit...too funny! It was good seeing you today and meeting your friend! Vickie

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  10. Mr KK - be sure and look at my blog today (my second post today), there's something there for YOU!! :)

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