Trick or Treat Halloween Vignette

Hello friends,

I've been busy creating new projects in preparation for Tim's YouTube LIVE all about idea-ology Halloween 2025! I'm excited to share the four new pieces I made over the next couple weeks, starting with my favorite, Trick or Treat! The whimsical Halloween theme truly shines with the harlequin paper from the Halloween Backdrops 2025 pack. The star of the show is a little witch, perched next to a giant, sparkly pumpkin filled with candy! 

This is a very easy project. You can basically see everything in this shot. The boxes covered in paper, the fringe, the pumpkin and the Alpine trees.

I took the planks from the Baseboard pack and nailed them to the top box to make a "floor" of sorts. I had previously painted them following this easy technique (explained in a previous post). 

Three Alpine trees were sprayed with Black Soot Distress Spray Stain, then sprinkled with Distress Snowflakes (a combination of twinkling glitter + mica flakes). I dried the trees with a heat tool then set about to adhere them to the surface. 

There are lots of ways to use the new orange and black fringe. I started by spraying it with Walnut Stain Spritz to give it a more vintage feel (just dry it with a heat tool before moving on). On the project, I used hot glue to glue the fringe to the surface. I glued the tallest Alpine Tree (with the base cut off) to the fringe.

ps) if you have never used fringe before - you just cut off a piece and rub it between your hands. Like magic, it just comes out all crazy and fringe like! It is surprising every single time!

Then I moved on to the small tree on the right and repeated the same steps by gluing a flat portion of the fringe to the surface, then adhering the tree on top. Just make sure some of the fringe is showing from under the tree. 

The third tree (it's about half of a small Alpine tree) was placed in front. The fringe I used here is another piece that I cut just for this tree, so its only about 2" long. My first piece was about 4-5" long.

I added the sign post and the Paper Doll to the center before adding the completed pumpkin I made a day earlier.

I used a dollop of Collage Medium to add the pumpkin and the loose candy since that is the best glue for longevity. 

I made the Trick or Treat sign using a sticker from the sticker book and one of the signs that are in the Baseboard pack. I just added the sticker over the words of the sign, cut off the ends, then used Scorched Timber Distress Ink on the edges. And now I have a sign with the perfect saying for this piece.

The back (I like how the fringe pokes through the trees).

The right side.

The left side.

This was a really fun one! I love the pumpkin and confections covered in Rock Candy...and that fringe, it is the perfect addition for these kinds of whimsical pieces!

Now carry on,
paula

Treat bags

Hello Friends,

Popping in to share a quick post about some Halloween treat bags I've made using Palette Halloween fabric from FreeSpirit. I've paired the treat bags with tags featuring the Stampers Anonymous Tiny Frights stamp set + the matching wafer dies from Simon Says Stamp. 

You can make the treat bags any size, depending on what you want to use them for (or how big the treat is). There are plenty of tutorials for drawstring bags on YouTube if you don't know how to make one. I admit, the smaller the bag the more challenging it is to sew. But still a beginner project and oh so cute!

TAGS: I stamped the Tiny Frights on Distress Watercolor Cardstock, then colored them in with Distress Ink and a paint brush. I always find this part so relaxing! 

Once they were dry, I used the matching wafer dies to cut them out. SO EASY!

I added the Tiny Frights to each tag with the Thin Foam Square so they are slightly raised. 

I think the Palette Halloween fabric is perfect for this kind of bag. Something any Halloween enthusiast would love!

Now cary on,

paula

New Wafer Dies from Simon Says Stamp

Hello Friends,

We are celebrating a new release of wafer dies from Simon Says Stamp that match 6 current Stampers Anonymous stamp sets. Here is the list of the stamps and matching dies (images at the bottom of the post).

Tiny Frights Dies: 468sss

Tiny Frights Stamps: CMS468

Doodles Sketch Dies 437sss

Doodles Sketch Stamps CMS437

Sketch Manor Dies 408sss

Sketch Manor Stamps CMS408

Pumpkinhead Dies 309sss

Pumpkinhead Stamps CMS309

Nature's Wonder Dies 434sss

Nature's Wonder Stamps CMS434

Halloween Sketchbook Dies 469sss

Halloween Sketchbook Stamps CMS469

I created a few things to share in the coming days, starting with this fun card that just puts a smile on your face! The line up of Pumpkins is so easy to create using the matching wafer dies. 

For the background, I used my FAVORITE of the "shifter" series of stencils: the Harlequin pack. It is a 3 stencil pack with 3 different sizes of Harlequin stencils to choose from. I used the middle one for both the card and the tags I created.

My base a Tim Holtz Watercolor Cardstock and I used both Oxide and regular Distress Ink for the colors. The new Mini Blending Tools are the perfect size for this stencil. Of ocurse you need to keep Oxide and Distress Ink on separate brushes so I mark the end of my Distress Ink Brushes with a D (sharpie marker) and keep them in separate tins.

Once I was finished stenciling, I made a puddle of Oxide Ink and used a thick brush to splatter the ink over the surface.

Then it was time to stamp and color the pumpkins - so easy on the Watercolor paper! Next, I went to my workhorse Vagabond machine to cut out the pumpkins. I love how the die cuts so close to the edge and gives you just a bit of a white halo. I swear it makes you smile every time it comes out of the machine.

The words, "A little Hocus Pocus" are from the Life of the Party set (CMS380).

And as a bonus, I used all the same products to create some fun tags.

The stencil is the same size as the cards, but this time I used multiple colors of Distress ink over the harlequin stencil. I love this look!

I used Snarky stickers because they just worked so perfectly with the different faces of the pumpkins.

Stay tuned, because I will be back in a couple days with another wafer die project. 

Now carry on,

paula

New Distress: Twinkle Texture Paste + Snowflakes

Hello friends,

Today I am sharing a make featuring the new Distress products Twinkle Texture Paste and Snowflakes. I wanted to use the new products in as many ways as possible:

Twinkle over paper - the background

Twinkle through a stencil - with added re-inker

Twinkle over Distress Paint - the shelf

Twinkle over Distress Crayon - the Word Plaque

Twinkle over metal - the Figure Stand

Snowflakes over Distress Spray Stain - the Alpine Trees

Snowflakes over Texture Paste Opaque - the faux snow

Lets get started so I can give you all the details!

Use Collage Medium to adhere two Christmas Collage Strips to a Mini Etcetera Tag (4 1/2 x 8").

Add a layer of Texture Paste Twinkle over the top of the Collage Strips. It will look a bit milky at first, 

...but once dry, the paste will be clear and you will be able to see the random iridescent glitter that is a beautiful feature of the new Texture Paste.

Off to the side, I mixed Twinkle with a drop of re-inker in Walnut Stain.

Then use a palette knife and stencil to add small poinsettias to the surface.

I was going for a vintage look, but you could use a re-inker in any Distress color to color the Twinkle Texture Paste. Just like the paste over the paper, the poinsettias look a bit milky at first.

But when dry, the Twinkle paste becomes transparent and quite shiny + the iridescent glitter adds even more shine. Set the tag aside to fully dry while you work on the embellishments.

Spray 2 sizes of Alpine Trees with Bundled Sage Distress Spray Stain.  Cut off the bases with Tonic scissors.

Once dry, add Glossy Accents to the trees with your fingertip. Pour Snowflakes, which is a mix of clear glitter and Mica Flakes, over the trees.

I LOVE the coverage you get with this product. The tiny clear glitter coats the tree and the Mica sits on the tips of the tree branches. Just perfect!! I dried the trees with a heat tool and they were ready to go in just a few minutes.

Next, create a small shelf using Etcetera Scallop Trims. Trims come in different lengths and widths - this is the smallest size. I used a total of 3 trim pieces. I cut one scallop off the end of each piece to shorten them. Again, there are different width too. I used one wide one for the top and two narrow ones stacked together for the base - having two stacked helps the wide piece on top much more stable. Anyway, I glued the three piece together, then painted them red using Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint. Once the paint was dry, I brushed on Twinkle Paste so I could get nostalgic 50's look with the glitter.

I adhered the shelf to the tag once the poinsettias were dry.

Then I added the Alpine trees (hot glue) + a Snowflake Figure Stand and some bells (some I painted red). To make the snowy effect I use a small Palette Knife to add Opaque Texture Paste (its thick) and then sprinkled Snowflakes over the top. If your Opaque Texture Paste is a bit dry, you can just paint on some Collage Medium before you add the Snowflakes. Now just wait for the mediums to dry, then shake off the excess.

I needed just a couple more things to complete this project. I dug out my Mini Paper Dolls pack. This is a HUGE pack of tiny Paper Dolls - as you can see, this guy is only 2 1/2" tall. That is absolutely perfect for him to stand next to the trees. Hi clothing is dark so I went with dark colors and colored directly on the surface. Then I rubbed the Crayon till I had thinned it out. I added a few detail with my Detailer Water Brush.

I used a double stack of 3D Foam Squares to add the boy to the surface behind the large metal snowflake. I also added the dog (with a painted red collar) to the front of the trees. Like he's watching out for any trouble.

A Word Plaque was added at the top of the tag with some red and white twine. I used Picket Fence Crayon in the background of the Word Plaque (paint would also work). Then I added a wash of Twinkle Texture Paste to add a bit of shine. I love how it even works over the metal and the crayon!

The sticker at the top is from the set I made last year using the blank page of stickers at the back of the Postmarked Sticker book. I made an entire sheet of them and still had plenty left after using some on Christmas cards in 2024. (see next photo for reference)

If you are interested in the post about making the stamps, just click on this link.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Working on Christmas in August is not for the faint of heart, but I loved getting to know the two new products from Tim Holtz and Ranger. Experimenting with new products is always fun!

Now carry on,

paula