Vintage Style Halloween Tags

After Halloween 2012,  I purchased the Tim Holtz cat and crow die, knowing that I would use it the following year.  It is finally time to put the die to use.  I love the graphic look of the scary animal shapes so I decided that making black silhouettes was a given.  This year I was lucky to find ( in a clearance bin at Ben Franklin Crafts) a 12x12 Tim Holtz seasonal pack which had a very vintage look.  The Halloween  papers were a perfect match with the animal silhouettes.  The animals were just a bit larger than the Tim Holtz die cut tag shape so I easily cut a larger tag from gray card stock by trimming around the die cut tag. The tag die also cuts the reinforcement circles which make the tags look more finished.

I think the twine ties in the first photo make the tags look shabby chic country.  For a more upscale vintage look, I put fancy ribbons (see previous post) on the tags.  I liked this look too but thought the animal silhouettes looked too flat so in the last set I glittered the crow and flocked the cat before gluing them to the tags.  With the acrylic gemstone eyes, I think this third look (click on image to enlarge) is the one I was hoping for as it has vintage Victorian style, which I love.

Most of the supplies for these tags were purchased from Ben Franklin Crafts.  You will be able to find an abundance of Tim Holtz products there, including the Distress Stain.  This is my new favorite ink line because the dauber ink container allows me to distress the edges of my paper easily.  Distress Stain comes in a whole range of deliciously vintage colors to enable you to distress your projects and achieve the exact aged look you desire.

Next I will be working on treat bags/boxes onto which I can fasten these tags.  Later I will bake up some treats to go in the containers. Oh, maybe I'll be lazy and just fill them with store bought candy....heheehee!