When it comes to Halloween I’m a bit of a let-down. In the UK Halloween is building in popularity but was never a thing when I was growing up. Now I live in Canada I can appreciate the decorated yards and have things for the trick or treaters, but that’s about as far as it goes. For this reason I don’t tend to get specific Halloween-themed stamp sets, but aren’t unhappy if there’s the odd image included in a set. Today though, I have a fun Halloween idea using the Playful Alphabet Dies and a surprising punch…
QUICK & EASY BOX
Instead of making a box from scratch I decided to start my project with a Mini Paper Pumpkin Box. This 5-7/8″ x 3-3/4″ x 1″ box is food safe and comes ready prepared. All I had to do was fold along the scored lines, tuck in the tabs on the base and fold over the sides to secure them in place. Then after filling the box I folded over the lid and tucked the flaps into the slots at the front.
To turn the white box into one more suitable for Halloween I decided to simply wrap it with Basic Black Card. I cut the card to 5-1/2″ x 10-1/2″ and put one end half-way across the back of the box. Then I folded the card around the box creasing the edges as I went along. Next I placed the card on the desk and folded it along the rough creases making sure the sides of the card were lined up.
After sharpening each of the creases with a Bone Folder I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the ends together. Now I had a nice neat sleeve that could slide on and off my box.
Finally with the box prepared it was time for me to think about the decoration.
PLAYFUL ALPHABET & MORE
I began with the Playful Alphabet Dies and some scraps of Shimmery White Card. Using my Mini Cut & Emboss Machine I cut out three letters to spell the word BOO.
As I laid them on the top of the box I wondered what else to add, I was considering just covering the box with pairs of eyes but then a memory popped into my head. Months ago when I was using the Tulip Builder Punch I had a feeling I could use it at Halloween. I didn’t do anything about it then, so now was my chance.
From another scrap of Shimmery White Card I punched out the tulip head, and turned it upside down. Instead of a flower the shape now looked like a simple ghost. All I had to do was add a couple of googly eyes with Mini Glue Dots.
Now I was on a roll.
While I liked the black and white of the box so far I decided a little extra colour wouldn’t hurt. So I grabbed my scraps of Basic Black, Old Olive and Gorgeous Grape Card and set to work.
SIMPLE STRIPES
First I cut a 2-1/4″ strip of Basic Black Card. From the strip I cut one piece 3-7/8″ long, and then 10 extra pieces each 1/8″ x 2-1/4″. From the Old Olive and Gorgeous Grape Card I cut 5 pieces, each one 1/4″ x 2-1/4″. Then using liquid glue I attached the narrow strips to the larger Basic Black piece. Once the striped design was complete I trimmed the two sides to neaten the edges and reduce it to 2″ wide.
All I had to do now was cover the back of the assembled piece with Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then after taking off the backings I carefully placed the right-hand edge onto the ghost. Now he was secured I flipped the piece over and added some liquid glue to the back of the ghost. Then I was able to attach the striped piece and attached ghost to the black box sleeve.
Finally, with more liquid glue I fixed the Playful Alphabet letters into the bottom right corner of the sleeve and my Halloween project was complete. And to think I didn’t need a single “Halloween” punch, die or stamp set to do it!
Playful Alphabet Dies are much more than a simple set of letters. There’s actually 58 dies in the set including some duplicate letters to save time when cutting. In addition you’ll find numbers, a few mathematical symbols and other special characters. I’ve even used some of them in surprising ways. Check out these previous blog posts to see what I mean…
Well that’s all from me for today. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow.
Leave a Reply