October Fun!

Good Tuesday all you "spooky" crafters!!  Can you believe that October is about to be over???  My goodness, where did the month go?  There are some parts of this fabulous month that I just simply want to do ALL OVER AGAIN!!  Alas, I will trudge on!! LOL  I hope you have all had a fun month and are looking forward to the holidays!

Today I will share a couple of tags with you that I did just for fun!!  We don't celebrate "Halloween" per say in my family.  My girls have gone to "parties" whereby the have dressed up and have gone to October Festivals, we've carved cute pumpkins, but they don't "trick or treat!"  Just a choice we have decided to make in our home. That being said, the tags I want to share with you today are really out of character for me but I couldn't help myself because I have really seen some fabulous Halloween "shares" in our art community!  You guys have really made some fun "tricks AND treats!"  I love to have fun and so these were really done in that light!  Plus, I found the stamps I used for $.99 in a bargain bin and I had to buy them because they were too cute!!

I really had a ball doing these and hope you enjoy!  I started them both off with gesso because at first, I wasn't sure where I was going with them, but then it turned out I went in a different direction that I initially thought (I know none of you have ever done that! LOL)  The only products I pulled out were my Distress Ink pads in Dusty Concord and Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain.  I also pulled out my Dylusions spray in Squeezed Orange. I like simple!

I was really glad I had opted to start with the gesso because it kind of gave the background on the purple "Happy Halloween" tag an eerie, smoky feel to it.  I then added the Distress Spiced Marmalade in areas here and there and also "flicked" the Dylusions Squeezed Orange around the tag as well for a sort of "moon glow."  I then finished with Dusty Concord on the edges and then added clear embossing powder to it and heat set.  I saw that online somewhere and thought I would give it a whirl and I like it! LOL  It added a nice effect! The moon, starts and "happy halloween" I stamped with Versamark and heat set with a black glittery embossing powder.  I then ripped some scrap paper to make the little "hills" and shaded with a black gelato that I had placed on my craft mat with some water and applied with a brush.  I then stamped the fence and cat with StazOn in black and as it wasn't dark enough for me I went over them with a Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen.  I added my ribbon that I had distressed and voila!

On the "boo," "spooky" tag I applied Spiced Marmalade first and then added the Squeezed Orange that I moved around with a baby wipe.  Then I lightly stamped for some background texture with one of my favorite backgrounds stamps from Christy Tomlinson and applied some strips of washi tape for just a tad more texture. I wanted to use the same technique that I used on the other tag and I swiped Versamark on the edges and heat embossed with that same black glittery embossing powder to give it a more eerie look!  A happy mistake that I made was that when I was pouring off the embossing powder, it kind of stuck to the tag in various places but rather than trying to "fix" it, I just left it on and when I heat set it, it looked really cool to me.  I then stamped "boo," "spooky," "the bat & stars," and the house with Versamark and used again that same black glittery embossing powder and heat set.  I added my distressed ribbon and another cute tag, voila!

So, what do you think?  How am I at spooky?? LOL  All said, it really was fun and even my girls thought they were "cool!"  Yay me! LOL  I hope your plans for Halloween will find you safe and if you do get into the festivities, I hope you have fun!!

Have a blessed rest of the day! :)