Halloween is a fun holiday for any age; there’s trick or treating, costume parties, and plenty of candy. Do you have a favorite Halloween tradition? Going trick or treating or going to a costume party can be super fun! I think my favorite costume that I ever wore was when I dressed up as the Two of Spades playing card from the 1951 animated Alice in Wonderland by Disney. In the movie, the playing cards are painting white roses red, because they mistakenly planted white roses instead of red, and didn’t want the Queen of Hearts to find out (spoiler alert: she does).
Now that I’m a parent, I can appreciate the best part of that costume: it was easy and cheap! All my mom needed to make it were two sheets of poster board, some white silk roses, a paintbrush & bucket, and paint. Easy and affordable costumes are the best; Caleb is too little to really appreciate costumes, but I plan on us doing plenty of Halloween crafts. I think we may even make some Halloween cards together this year! If you’re looking for a fun & easy Halloween card tutorial, then this one is for you.
Making the Card
For this tutorial, I’ll be using my Cricut Maker, as well as images from Cricut Access and Canva. If you don’t have access to either of these paid subscriptions, that’s okay! You can still find similar graphics online, especially through Creative Fabrica, like this decorative spiderweb bundle. I’m also using Cricut’s Print Then Cut feature, so make sure to have a printer nearby. The graphic we’ll be printing is something I made in Canva that I will be listing as a freebie on Creative Fabrica, so you can download it here.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Black cardstock
- White cardstock
- Silver foil cardstock
- Paper craft glue
- Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore capable of using Print Then Cut
- A printer
- The FREE Happy Halloween Banner graphic
Getting Started
First, open the Design Space software. For the base of the card, I made a rectangle – 10 inches wide and 7 inches tall – and then placed a score line down the middle. Selecting both the rectangle and the score line, I clicked “Attach”. Next, I uploaded my Happy Halloween PNG banner to Design Space and added it to my screen. I made it 5 inches wide and just under an inch tall and made sure it was selected as a Print Then Cut item. Next, I browsed Cricut Access for a spiderweb design that I liked. I saw image #MCD68A20 (Spider Hanging Border) and decided to choose that one. I set the size for the image at 6.75 inches wide, which is just under the width of the card. You can make it a little bit bigger to the full width of the card if you want, but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of room. For the spider hanging border, I set the operation as Basic Cut.
Cutting Out the Pieces
Once I had all of my pieces arranged and sized correctly, I pressed the “Make It” button and followed the instructions on the screen. The card base is cut out of black cardstock, the banner is printed (and then cut) on white cardstock and the spider border is cut out of silver foil cardstock (Make sure to be extra careful when removing the spider border from the mat, as there is a lot of detail and some parts of it are very thin and easy to break.).
Assembly
Now that I have all of my pieces cut out, it’s time to assemble the card. For glue, I like to use Elmer’s Craft Bond Paper Craft Glue Gel. It dries clear, which is perfect for paper crafting projects. You could also use a permanent adhesive tape runner, but it dries very quickly and doesn’t allow you to adjust the item you’re attaching, unlike the glue gel.
First, I fold the card in half along the score line several times, to make sure I have a sharp fold. This card is landscape orientation, so the top & bottom of the card are the widest parts. I carefully applied glue to the spiderweb, making sure to get as many of the small, thin pieces as possible, and applied it to the card at the top. After I get that positioned exactly where I want it to go, I add the Happy Halloween banner that I printed & cut with Cricut Design Space, making sure to apply glue along the edges and in the middle for maximum adherence. I let my card dry for an hour before I moved it, just to be safe. I really like how this turned out! I keep a stack of A7 (5×7 inches) envelopes in kraft paper brown for when I make cards, but you could use any type of envelope that you wanted.
Other Options for Your Card
One of the best things about this card is that it allows for endless customization. You could change the color of the cardstock or use other graphics. I decided to try using the Cricut Foil Transfer Kit and used silver foil for the spiders. I love how it looks! My only problem is that a little bit of the foil rubbed away on the right side, so one of the spiders is a little smudged. If I had taken a little more care in how I picked it up, I could have probably avoided that. Another way that you could add detail to this project would be to draw the name of the recipient on the envelope with the Cricut. If you have horrible handwriting, as I do, it’s a great option!
Finishing Up…
I really enjoyed working on this project, and I think this makes a simple and cute Halloween card. Are you planning to make cards for Halloween this year? What are your Halloween traditions? Let me know in the comments section below. Have a safe & fun holiday!
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