Troublesome Endings

Hello Friends,

Popping back on the blog today to share a quick Halloween inspired Mini Etcetera Tag. This is easily a one afternoon project that would be great for anyone. 

The background of the Mini Etcetera tag is covered with one of the fantastic 2024 Halloween Backdrop papers. I cut it to size, stitched around the edge a few times, then added it to the Etcetera Tag with Collage Medium. Once secure, I splattered it with Rusty Hinge Distress Spritz and dried it with a heat tool.

The windows and planks come in the Baseboards pack, but they do not match. I wanted them to be similar to each other, so I decided to use a easy technique to make that happen. 

Paint over the Baseboard (window or plank) with black paint. I used some black craft paint that was already on my desk (craft paint dries quick too). 

Dry with heat tool.

Once the paint was dry, I sanded the Baseboards with my sanding block, removing some of the paint.

Then I took my Distress Ink pad in Gathered Twigs and rubbed the pad over the entire Baseboard. 

Now both the window and the planks look like they go together.

Use Collage Medium to add Screw Heads to the ends of each plank. The Screw Heads make the planks look like they are screwed to the window frame. I also added a bit of black paint to the top of each Screw Head so they look age appropriate.

The curtain in the background is from the Halloween Layers pack and has been colored with Distress Crayons (Crackling Campfire and Villainous Potion) before being glued to the Tag.

I added a "broken glass" Transparency to the window before adhering the window to the Tag with a double stack of 3D Foam Squares.

The Paper Doll was colored with Black Soot (jacket) and Villainous Potion (vest and tie) Distress Crayons.

Hard to tell in the photos, but the Entomology Bugs were colored with Wilderness Alcohol Ink. It's a nice dark green color. Perfect for bugs. I adhered the bugs to the Tag with Collage Medium.

I think the metal elements really make this piece look realistic. The Screw Heads are small but they add so much!

The Optic Frame was painted with white paint, then Mushroom Alcohol Ink was added in several layers. The words are of course from the Clipping Sticker Book.

You can also see the use of Cello Tape Stickers on the edge of the paper and in the Optic Frame. Because I can't imagine a Halloween project without using Cello Tape!

One thing I really love about this piece is the dimension. Using double stacks of 3D Foam Squares allowed me to not only place the bug under the Transparency, but it also gave so much depth to the piece. Something very satisfying about all the layers.

This was a quick tutorial today! I will be back next week with another Halloween project. This time a spooky Display Panel using more Baseboard pieces.

Now Carry On,
paula