Halloween Shaker Tag – Spellbinders Craftoween Day 1

Well, I already shared a card with my Day 1 dies from the Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween box. However, I really wanted to make a Halloween tag as well. You give treats on Halloween after all. I’m honestly not sure why I don’t make tags more often. They are really fun and less space to fill than a card. Plus, who doesn’t like getting a little gift with a handmade tag?

So, I started with my die set from day 1 which was the cute little vampire. I knew I wanted to make a shaker tag so I grabbed my Spellbinders Essential Etched Arches die set. The nested dies allow me to make a shaker frame for my tag plus the arches reminded me of a castle window. What better place to find a vampire? I cut the tag backer from Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb cardstock using the 7th largest arch die. Then I cut a frame from the same cardstock using the 7th and 5th largest arch dies. Don’t ask me why I chose white. My original vision for my tag isn’t where I ended up. Anyway, I also cut one more frame from a dark gray cardstock scrap. My vampire was also cut from Neenah 110lb cardstock.

With all my pieces cut, it was time to ink blend. For my background, I chose some of my Altenew Fresh Dye ink cubes to create my Halloween shaker sky. I have those colors listed below.

I blended those colors in that order from the top of the tag to the bottom letting each section overlap with the next. This is my favorite combination of colors to use for a Halloween sky. On my gray frame, I used Pure Graphite Fresh Dye ink to create a little bit of shadow with a blending brush and I also ink blended that white frame so it didn’t stick out like a sore thumb under the dark layer.

Next, I needed to color my little vampire. Once again, I used my Altenew Fresh Dye inks.

Originally, I made his cape black but once I put it against the black shaker frame, it didn’t stand out. So I die cut another vampire and used a gray cardstock scrap for the base layer and used Pure Graphite to color his hair. I also created some dark shadow in his mouth and on his cape. Crisis averted.

To assemble my shaker tag, I cut a layer of acetate using the 7th largest arch die. I sandwiched that between my two frame layers using double-sided tape and liquid glue. That was my shaker topper. Then I used some foam strips to create my shaker border on my background layer. Once the border was done, I poured in some of the confetti that came with my Craftoween box plus some Moonlight confetti from Trinity Stamps. It added just a little bit of lightness amongst the dark purple, orange and black. With my confetti in place, I glued the shaker topper on.

On top of the acetate, I adhered my vampire using liquid glue to the bottom of my shaker. Then I grabbed some of my leftover black bats from my Day 1 card which were cut using the bat die in the Spellbinders Haunted House set. I stamped my sentiment from the stamp set included in the Craftoween box on a white cardstock scrap, trimmed it down and then created some shadow with leftover ink on my black blending brush. I tucked that just behind my vampire’s head and then adhered three bats around the sentiment using liquid glue.

Wait a minute…what’s a tag without some ribbon? I have so much ribbon. More than I’ll ever use I fear. A couple years ago, Michael’s had some bundles of Halloween trim ribbon on clearance. I couldn’t pass that up even though I had no idea what I would use it on. I could find a use for it, right? Well, two years, I found a use for a very small portion of ribbon….as a finish for my tag. You can find a similar bundle here through my Amazon affiliate link. I grabbed four different styles that coordinated with my tag and trimmed to the amount I wanted to use. I couldn’t punch a hole in my tag so I had to create a way to attach my ribbon. I just grabbed a thick piece of white cardstock scrap to create an anchor strip on the back of my tag. I looped three strands through that anchor and then used the fourth to tie a knot around the bunch. My first Halloween tag was complete and I love it! I’m going to have a hard time putting it on a gift to give away.

To see my process video for this tag, click the link to my YouTube channel below. If you’ve never made tags, I encourage you to give it a try. They come together a bit quicker than a card and if you have a lot of ribbon lying around like I do, tags are a great use for that. Stay tuned for more Halloween tags. I can’t shut this door I’ve opened. As always, thanks for stopping by today. Now go get crafty!

Products Used:

Supplies Used: