Spells, Halloween Tag - Julie Ann

Hello Everyone! This week, as the 31st October draws ever closer, I have another Halloween project to share with you. It's a giant MDF Calico tag to hang on our door to welcome Trick or Treaters,

Last time you might remember I invited you to Hecate's Witchy castle home? This week she has been practising her spells and she has somehow managed to shrink herself down to fit into one of her ancient storage jars! With a tremendous bang and a puff of smoke - and a few magic words, of course - she found herself not much bigger than a baby bat, stuck in a jar and on the highest shelf of the spell cupboard! While she puzzles over how to get out, I'll show you how the tag was put together.

I started with the colours of an autumn sky in a range of pink and purple acrylic crafting paints.

Then came the fun part, gathering lots of Calico craft parts and giving them a good coat of black gesso.

For a suggestion of a magical autumn glow, I dry brushed my large tag with some translucent red and orange acrylic paints.

I had lots of fun creating crackle effects on my craft parts and using an autumn leaf stamp with some sepia pigment ink to add interest to my background.

I always enjoy this stage - playing with positioning the elements of my tag. I usually try all kinds of arrangements until I decide on one that works best. To create different levels to the scene, I fix my craft parts with tiny pieces of MDF or beads of different depths.

I think Hecate's spell might have done more than just shrink her! She seems to have conjured a whole family of bats from one jar and a very wacky toadstool from another.

Scraps of cheesecloth fixed with matt medium give the impression of smoke.

Calico have such an original and varied range of Halloween craft parts, it's hard not to want to use them all!

The Jack 'O Lantern pumpkins seem to be finding Hecate's predicament very funny! Maybe a nibble of some of that magic mushroom might get her back to the right size - after all - it worked for Alice!

Thank you so much for stopping by today. Until we meet again, I wish you a creative and a cosy time.
Calico Craft Parts used in this Project
MDF Tag Shape, Rounded Top, 200 x 100 mm
MDF Wood Corner Embellishment
Apothecary Jar MDF Shape, Medium and Small
Sheet of Mini Label Holders MDF shapes
Sheet of Mini MDF Apothecary Bottles
Spider Web Flourish
Curly Double Toadstool Shape
Sheet of Mini MDF Bat Shapes (Flying Bat Colony)