Handmade Bats Halloween Card and Nature's Whirlpool Resort

Section of my handmade bats Halloween card

I created a bats Halloween card last year that I absolutely loved, but I wanted to improve on it and make it more dramatic.  To that end I have handcrafted a new version of my bats Halloween card.  My handmade card features a colony of black bats flying from the lower right to the upper left of the card front.  These bats are positioned on a sponged background that produces the dramatic effect of the Halloween card.  I find this card to be simple, yet striking in its appearance.  It has a definite flavor of Halloween with a touch of sophistication and drama.

Speaking of drama...my husband got a surprise when he was cleaning the fallen leaves out of our ornamental pond.  He was cleaning out the step falls feature that we have and was startled at what he found supervising him from one of the waterfall segments.

Mr. Greenlips relaxing in his whirlpool

Can you see him in the shadows above the round rock and below the overhanging rocks?  It's Mr. Greenlips and he thinks he's in a whirlpool at the froggy nature resort.  He has situated himself where he gets two different flows of water swirling around him.  One flow is from the water coming down the step falls above him.  The other is a flow of water dropping down in front of him from a side feature we've installed for the butterflies and wading doves.  The result of these two water flows is a miniature whirlpool in the area where he is relaxing.

Here's a closer look at him in his lap of luxury from a different angle.

Mr. Greenlips from a different angle

Funny guy!  He stayed there the whole time we cleaned out the leaves and was still there when we left.  Now I look at this spot when I go down by the water and once in a while I see him (or one of his buddies) relaxing in the whirlpool.


Handcrafting My Bats Halloween Card


Card Statistics

• Final Card Size: 5.5" tall x 4.25" wide
• Tools: bat punch, flying bats stamp, scoring board, paper cutter, sponge pieces, ruler
• Materials: cardstock, cover stock, adhesives, inks, spray sealer
• This Card is Available in My Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Colony of Bats Halloween Card

Front View of Handmade Bats Halloween Card

Front of my handmade bats Halloween card

To begin my handmade bats Halloween card I cut and scored black cardstock for my base card.  This is one of the differences from my previous bats card.  It had an orange card base, but I decided that black would be a great contrast to the sponged background and make the visual impact more dramatic.  I scored the card base at the top so that the card opens vertically from the bottom.

I created the yellow and orange background by sponging a variety of inks onto white cardstock that was about 1/2" longer than my black card base.  I started with the yellow in the center and worked my way toward the edges by adding orange in darker shades as I moved outward.  When my background was dry I cut the panel to size and saved the portion that I cut off to use on my inside panel.  I affixed the sponged panel to my black card base.

For the bat imagery of the Halloween card I punched 12 bats from black cardstock.  I positioned them on the sponged background so that it looks like they are flying left to right in an upward direction.  To affix the bats in place I used a gel adhesive on their bodies only and left their wings free from the surface of the card.  Once the adhesive had dried I used a dot of silicone adhesive beneath each bat wing.  The silicone secures the bat wings in place, but pops them from the surface of the card to give some dimension to the bats.  Varying the amount of silicone beneath the wings gives the illusion that the bats are each in different cycles of their wing motion and not flying like synchronized swimmers.  The silicone adhesive also keeps the wings from flattening out when the Halloween card is placed in its envelope.


Angle Views of Handmade Bats Halloween Card

My handmade bats Halloween card set at a left angle

My handmade bats Halloween card set at a right angle

These angle views of the card face give you some idea of what I was talking about with regards to the bat wings.  It's difficult for me to capture the full illusion in the photographs.


Inside Panel of Handmade Bats Halloween Card

Inside of my handmade bats Halloween card

For the inside card panel I kept the design simple.  First I printed "Happy Halloween!" in an interesting calligrapher font on white cardstock.  I matted this panel on orange cardstock.  This is another difference from my earlier card version.  Before I didn't mat the panel, but this time I wanted the contrast on the card.  I embellished the message panel with the left over strip of my sponged cardstock and popped on a bat punched from black cardstock.  I used the same adhesion technique on this bat as I used on the other bats.

Here's an angle view of the inside panel.

Inside my handmade bats Halloween card set at a left angle

I also constructed a handmade envelope from heavy cover stock to compliment my bats Halloween card.  To decorate it I sponged an orange and yellow background in the lower left corner and then stamped on a colony of flying bats.  After the inks dried I sprayed the image with sealer to protect it.

Final Handmade Bats Halloween Card and Envelope Ensemble

My handmade bats Halloween card and coordinating envelope

I think this version of my bats Halloween card turned out much better than my previous version.  The black card base really shows off the visual impact of the black bats against the sponged background.

My handmade bats Halloween card and its coordinating envelope are available in my Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Bats Halloween Card.

Card Recipe Specifics

• Cardstock: Embassy, Wausau
• Cover Stock: Staples
• Bat Punch: Martha Stewart
• Bat Stamp: Inkadinkado
• Inks: Stazon black, Colorbox pigments canary, apricot, and orange
• Tools: Martha Stewart scoring board, Making Memories paper cutter, ruler, sponge pieces
• Misc: adhesives (YES, gel, and silicone), spray sealer
• Techniques: sponging, stamping, punch art

Thank you for visiting my blog and allowing me to share my handcrafted items with you. I hope you enjoyed your visit and will come back soon!

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