Twilight Trick or Treat Banner Tutorial

Hello, Friends!  It's never too early to get your Halloween decorations up, right?  Today I'm sharing a Spook-tacular Twilight Trick or Treat Banner Tutorial with you.

Is there anything more festive than a holiday banner?  I don't think so!  The Twilight Collection from Authentique is done all in shades of classic orange, black and cream.  The vintage images are a great mix of sweet and slightly spooky.  I just had to use it to make a little Halloween Home Decor.

I've used dies and tags to create the pennants for this fun banner. It measures a little over 4 feet in length.  Here are the steps I followed to make this Boo-tiful banner.

• First, die cut 3 large pennants with the Eileen Hull House/Pocket Stitchlets Die.  Use the large outer frame and cut the shapes from black cardstock.
• Next, cut 3 pennants from designer paper.  To do this, place the insert die inside the frame.  Die cut from the 12" x 12" Collection Kit so that the patterns match the scale of the project.
• Now, place the patterned paper pennants on your cutting tool.  Line the stitching holes up so that they are half way on the cutting edge.  Then cut around the perimeter.  This leaves you with a really cool shaped edge on each pennant.
• Adhere each patterned pennant on orange cardstock.  Then trim out using your paper cutter.
• Finally, stitch the 3 layers together on the sewing machine.  Or, if you don't stitch, simply glue them together.

The banner has 4 small pennants.  These are made with Graphic 45 ATC Tags, turned upside down so that the grommet is on the bottom.  Cut the paper liner using the ATC die. For these pennants, work with the 8" x 8" Twilight Pad so that the scale of the pattern matches the size of the pennant. Then adhere the liner to the tag.  Easy peasy!

I like to machine stitch my banners to ribbon.  First, stitch along the top edge.  Use bulldog clips or pins to hold everything in place.  If you are adding ric-rack, as I did, go ahead and stitch this on at the same time.  But if you don't stitch, you can simply attach each pennant with a clothespin or a bulldog clip.  That is perfectly fine.

TIP: Once you have stitched along the top edge, turn the banner and stitch a second time along the bottom edge of the ribbon.  This only takes a second, but it ensures that the banner will lie flat when displayed.

You can die cut rosettes (see the link below), or make your own.  There are also loads of tutorials on YouTube showing you how to make your own rosettes without using a die.   String some spooky metal embellishments through the grommet hole of each tag.  If you use jewelry wire, this is easily done.

TIP:  If you die cut your rosettes, be sure to run a strip of washi tape over the back side before you fold.  This keeps the perforated lines from separating.

Each of the large pennants is decorated with a little treat box/book insert.Paint wood clothespins black, then cover the front with a bit of ribbon, a burlap string bow and small posy.  Use the clothespins to hold the treat boxes in place on the banner.

The box is a dimensional envelope, cut with Eileen Hull's new Sizzix die.  Then I  used the gift card holder die to make a little book to tuck inside each envelope.

The book opens to reveal a little treat pocket and a mini sentiment card.


I've prepared an easy to follow video tutorial showing you how to make the treat box and the book insert.  I hope you enjoy!

Of course, you can still hang the banner once the treats have been removed.  The patterned papers underneath mean that it still looks fantastic.

I hope I've shared some tips and tricks that will help you get your Halloween groove on!  Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,
kathy

Supply List

SUPPLY LIST

• Authentique Paper
  • Twilight Collection
    • 8x8 Paper Pad
    • 12x12 Collection Kit (comes with stickers)
• Cardstock
  • Orange and Black Cardstock...whatever you have on hand
• Dies:
  • Eileen Hull House/Pocket Thinlits Die
  • Eileen Hull Gift Card Folder and Label Die #2
  • Tim Holtz Decorative Rosette Strip Die
  • Thinlits Rosette Dies
• Ribbon
  • Tangerine with Gold Shimmer Satin
  • Orange Ric Rack
  • Black Ric Rack
  • Spider Webs on Black Satin Ribbon
  • Halloween Bold Diagonal Stripe
  • Burlap String and Baker's Twine
• Embellishments
• Halloween Tokens
• Tim Holtz Halloween Adornments
• Vintage Buttons, flowers and Jack-o-Lanterns from my stash