Make Halloween
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To make Halloween greeting cards is a great activity for those of us who absolutlely love to get into the Halloween spirit but aren't necessarily going to go out trick or treating anymore or anything like that. I live close to Boston and also close to Salem, Massachusetts home of the real witches. Around here people really get into Halloween. Especially in Salem. I have visited Salem every year on Halloween for many years past and many to come. In Salem it is like one gigantic Halloween party going on all over town!Anyway, around here people love to get into Halloween! This will be my daughter's first Halloween! I can surely dress her up but she is much too young to go trick or treating. We will stay home where she can help me give out candy! I'm going to take pictures of her and send them out to friends and family in our very own handmade Halloween greeting cards. Just one of the many ways I will celebrate one of the most fun and exciting holidays of the year...
Tools used to make halloween greeting cards:
8 1/2" by 11" cardtstock
halloween decorative paper
construction paper
maple leaf shaped paper punch
paper punch for ribbon lacing
thin orange ribbon
plain white paper
craft glue
glue stick
Step One: Choosing Paper. To make these Halloween greeting cards you will need to choose a cardstock and also a decorative paper to match the halloween holiday theme. You can find many decorative holiday themed papers at any local arts and crafts supply stores. Check the scrapbooking section. These papers are sold by the sheet so you only have to buy what you need to make halloween greetings cards. Once you have chosen a paper you will now need to find a cardstock. This will also help you choose which color to buy your cardstock in. Choose a color to compliment the decorative paper. You will want to make sure and buy cardstock that is sized at 8 1/2" by 11". This size, when cut in half makes a perfect sized card. It also creates a card that fits perfectly into a standard size of envelope found in stationary and office supply stores.
Step Two: Paper Cutting. You have a choice here to cut the paper by hand or to visit a local copy shop to have the paper cut for you. Cutting by hand can be harder than you think and gets very tedious but will save a buck or two. Having them cut at a copy shop makes the job very easy and is usually pretty inexpensive to boot.
The first paper to cut is the cardstock. This paper needs only to be simply cut in half. Once cut in half it should create two sheets measuring 8 1/2" by 5 1/2". Next cut the decorative paper into squares to attatch to the front of the card. These should be cut to measure 3 1/2" by 4 1/4". The last paper to cut is to cut some plain white paper into squares to fit into the middle of your halloween greeting cards. These really only need to be added to the card if you choose a dark colored cardstock. The white paper provides you with a space to write a message to the recipient. You can cut this paper any size you please. I cut mine to measure 3 1/4" by 4".
Step Three: The next action to take would be to punch square lacing holes across the top of the decorative Halloween paper. You can do this using a special paper punch made especially for lacing ribbon and other materials through paper. It is shaped as a series of small rectangular punches spaced evenly apart.
To execute this step perfectly is alot harder than you may think. If you just hap-hazardly punch across the top of the paper the holes will come out uneven and the card will look messy. Also you need to be mindful that the ribbon will fall right so that when you tie a bow into it, the bow will be in the middle. I'll try and explain how to make sure everything is even and straight as best I can. First of all you will need to start punching from the middle. This is how you will know the ribbon bow will end up to the middle of the card. Line up the paper to the back of the punch as far as the paper will go and hold it straight as you can. Punch through the paper. Once you have completed the first punch to the middle of the paper you will need to fill out to the edges. The best way I know - and believe me this gets a little tricky but once you have it down it is easy - flip the paper punch over so you can see where the holes will be punched exactly. Line the rectangle punch on the actual paper punch up with the outer most punched rectangular hole. Line it up exactly and punch the next series of holes. This way they will all be lined up exactly the same distance apart. Repeat this for the opposite edge.
Step Four: Cut out lengths of ribbon to lace into the card. Pick a ribbon that has the correct width according to the paper punch you use. You will need to lace the ribbon through the paper before you attatch it to the card. Two seperate lengths of ribbon should be cut. This is because one side of the ribbon will wrap itself all the way around the back of the card. One length should be cut about 10 - 11 inches long. The other should be 6 - 7 inches.
To make sure everything comes out evenly you should start lacing from the middle and from the top. Lace all the way to the edge. The ribbon on the right hand edge of the card should be pulled in from the center so that
most of the extra length is haning out of the middle of the paper. It should only overlap about a 1/2 of an inch or so at the right. The left side is a different story. This side should have enough slack hanging over so that the ribbon could wrap around the back of the card. There needs to be enough length towards the front of the card that a bow can be tied from both sides of the ribbon.
Step Five: Attatch the decorative Halloween themed paper to the front of the card. This is what really does make Halloween greeting cards - the decorative paper! I recommend using a good glue stick to attatch these papers as anything to goopy will warp the card when it dries. Start by flipping the decorative paper over (with the ribbon lacing entact) and apply a thin layer of glue to the entire back of the paper. Don't forget to get some on the top lip above the lacing punches and in between. Attatch the paper starting from the bottom up and align it on all edges as best as possible. Press the paper down firmly starting from the bottom.
Step Six: Finishing touches on the ribbon for the Halloween greeting cards. Now that the decorative paper has been secured to the front it is time to finish attatching the ribbon. Start by using a little craft glue to attach the ribbon to the back of the card. I recommend pouring a little puddle of glue and applying it to the back of the ribbon using a Q-tip or your finger tip. Apply the glue all the way across the ribbon to the end. Hold the ribbon straight out from the card by holding the very end and then slowly lower it onto the card. smooth it out with your finger and let the very end of the ribbon lie over the edge. you can snip this edge off after the ribbon has dried. The extra length hanging over on the right side of the card should be folded over to the inside of the card and glued down using the same craft glue method as on the back of the card. Leave it to dry - we will finish that part up later. Once the ribbon has dried a little you can then tie the left over length in the front of the card into a small bow. Make sure the bow comes out right without worrying about the ends. After you perfect the bow you can snip off the ends of the ribbon.
Step Seven: Here's where the maple leaf paper punch comes in. Of course, you are not limited to using a maple leaf. Anything Halloween related will do. You can make Halloween greetings cards using pumpkin shaped punches, or ghosts, or candy! Choose a colored construction type paper (any colored paper really) to match your color scheme. Punch out 4 or 5 of the shapes for each card. Glue a few of them to the top left corner of the card. Place them kind of askew and facing away from each other. It just looks better this way. To finish off the ribbon end glued to the inside of the card glue one of the shapes to cover the end of the ribbon.
Step Eight: (optional) Here's where you would glue the plain white paper square to the inside of the card. You really only need to do this if the cardstock is a color that is very dark. If you want to write on the inside of the crad then the color of the cardstock needs to be light enough for the ink to show up on it. Otherwise, attatch the plain white paper squares to the inside of the card using gluestick. This is where you will write or print your message.
* If you want to make this project just a little bit easier you can omit the step whee you lace the ribbon through the decorative paper. An alternative is to simply glue the paper to the card and then cover the seam by glueing the ribbon down over it. You can still add a bow and everything!
* Make Halloween greetings cards with any kind of Halloween theme by changing the decorative paper and using different shaped paper punches.
* If you want to use the exact paper I used it is made by Masterpiece Studios and is called Halloween Harvest (#171498). Visit my page on decorative paper for ideas on where to find papers like this.
* Make Halloween greetings cards more interesting by adding accents like felt shapes or googly eyes to decorate the cards.
Other pages to visit...
Wanna use the ideas on this page to make Halloween Party invitations instead of Halloween greeting cards? Check out these pages for some help:
*Halloween Party Postcard Invitations
*Printable invitations templates
go from Halloween Greeting Cards
back to Make Greetings Cards page
