It’s the second Monday of the month, which means today is the October Silhouette Challenge! A bunch of my Silhouette blogger buds and I are teaming up to share some awesome ideas for making your own garlands and banners. Plus, there are several Halloween-themed ideas, like my Spooky Ravens Halloween Book Page Banner!
Read on to see how I made my banner and to check out all of the other banner projects!
I’m not typically one for Halloween decor. I usually chalk it up to the fact that we don’t have kids, so why go all out for just the two of us? But when I get an idea in my head, I have to run with it. And that’s what happened when I saw that this month’s theme for the Silhouette Challenge was garlands and banners with a Halloween bonus. I started thinking about birds and ravens, which of course led my English major brain to literature, which in this case = Edgar Allan Poe. i.e. the perfect muse for Halloween.
And so the idea for this Spooky Ravens Halloween Book Page Banner started a-brewin’.
I started by designing my banner shape in Silhouette Studio. Sure, you can find different flag and banner shapes in the Silhouette Store, but it’s such an easy shape to draw that you might as well save yourself a few cents! Just draw a rectangle, then select the “Edit Points” tool (the arrow with the dots around it) to create an indentation along the bottom edge of the flag.
Then draw two lines at the top of the flag. These will cut as slits and make it easy to thread a ribbon through each flag for hanging.
For the ravens, I Googled “raven” in Image search, saved each as a .png file, imported them into Silhouette Studio and traced them. Then I sized each bird shape to fit inside the banners.
I utilized the Print and Cut feature to print the ravens onto each banner with a black Silhouette Sketch Pen, then cut each banner out. Of course, I had to use book pages for my banners! It wouldn’t be a Poe-inspired banner without book pages (wink).
Once each banner was sketched and cut, I wanted to fill the ravens in. I decided on watercolors because I wanted to give them an inky/aged sort of look.
Once dry, I aged each book page with brewed tea, then baked them in the oven for a few minutes to get them nice and crinkly.
To hang, I threaded black satin ribbon through the slits of each banner.
This one little banner inspired a whole Edgar Allan Poe-inspired Halloween mantel, which you can find here!
Sharing with: Halloween Spooktacular / Work It Wednesday
Want to check out even more Silhouette garland and banner projects?
My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration!
1. Two Purple Couches // 2. DIYJustCuz {Brittany} // 3. Create & Babble // 4. Whatcha Workin’ On? // 5. A Time For Seasons // 6. Get Silvered // 7. Cutesy Crafts // 8. The Small Stuff Counts // 9. Cupcakes&Crowbars
I can’t even begin to describe how obsessed I am with your banner! I love that you used watercolor…any time I can think of to use it myself I jump at it. The watercolor gives it the best look against the pages. I’m 10000% pinning this 🙂 thanks for sharing!
Brittany @ DIY Just Cuz recently posted…Spider Sparkle Halloween Wreath
Awww, thank you so much, Brittany! I am new to watercolors, but love them so much! I will find any excuse to use them!
I love this. I have a Silhouette but still need a lot of practice with it!
Amy Dowling recently posted…Mad for Plaid
Thanks Amy! I’ve had mine for almost two years, but I like to stick to the simpler projects 😉 If you haven’t already, check out Silhouette School blog – she has tons of amazing tutorials for every kind of Silhouette project!
Emily, Emily, Emily… you *are* going to get me into watercolours, aren’t you? LOL. I love this banner. The watercolour adds that extra spookiness…nay, eerieness..and book pages are the perfect canvas for this project. I can’t wait to see what you’ve come up with for your Poe mantel. Looking forward to it with glee. :^)
Eff @ Whatcha Workin’ On? recently posted…Halloween Mini Bat Garland
Thank you so much, Eff! You really do need to try watercolours… I think you’ll love them 😉
So clever to use book pages, and your watercolor ravens are fantastic! This is so perfect for Halloween!
Christine | Where The Smiles Have Been recently posted…The BEST Way to Organize Vinyl Scraps Plus FREE Cut Files!
Thanks Christine!
Oh, I love how you’ve combined this with the watercolours. The whole effect is just brilliant!
Pam – GetSilvered recently posted…Halloween Spider Wall Garland
Thank you so much Pam!
You know I love any kind of book inspired project! This is such a unique banner. You are always mixing it up your crafts with different techniques. LOVE!
Kelly of Simply Kelly Designs recently posted…3 Easy DIY No Carve Pumpkin Ideas
Thank you so much, Kelly! I’m really loving pairing different techniques together!
Oh my gosh! I LOVE this! I want to learn how to watercolor now. It looks so great on the book pages.
Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts recently posted…Felt Fall Leaf Garland
Thank you Jessica! Watercolors are so much fun to play; you should definitely give them a try!
PS – Your hover “pin it” buttons aren’t working for me. Totally pinning though. Just wanted to let you know. 🙂
Jessica @ Cutesy Crafts recently posted…Felt Fall Leaf Garland
Thanks for the head’s up! I’ll look into it!
This was such a fun project! I love how you change up your mantel so much and in such different ways. Sad that I missed this challenge.
Thank you Michelle! This was a fun challenge – hope you can join in for November!
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This book page banner is so fun. Kind of spooky but not scary.
I love the watercolor on book pages! So cool. Sharing #MM
Kim
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