I’m so excited to kick off this year’s Halloween Extravaganza with this cute “Trick-or-Treaters Welcome” door hanger that I created for Halloween night to let the mini witches, ghosts, and goblins know that we’re loaded with candy and we want to get rid of it! Ha!
My husband and I usually go back and forth each year about who gets to take the kids out trick-or-treating. We both just love doing it. The past few times, I’ve won. 🙂 What frustrates me a little, though, is that people will leave their outdoor lights on as if they are expecting us and then they won’t answer their doors. It ends up wasting a lot of precious candy-collecting time. Not to mention we have to walk those extra steps for nothing. 🙂
Thus today’s genius hanger. Every home needs one of these!
We always turn our lights on and I have a welcoming light-up spooky window scene to greet the trick-or-treaters, but just in case they are still unsure, I’ll hang this on the door. 🙂
I used the new PixScan mat from Silhouette and can honestly say that it is an AMAZING piece of technology! Seriously. It baffled me with its sheer awesomeness. So I’m going to provide a tutorial below, because it came with a slight learning curve and some trial and error. But it should be smooth sailing for you if you follow the steps below.
I found a fun Halloween card at the Dollar Tree that contained the perfect art for my door hanger. So I tore off the back of the card and placed the front on my PixScan mat, ensuring that it fit all the way inside the rectangle. Next, I grabbed my smart phone and took a picture of the entire mat. The image above was that picture, which I then uploaded to my computer from my phone. If you’re using a regular camera (non-smartphone), you may need to calibrate your camera so your image will be recognized properly.
Next I clicked on the little “PixScan” icon in the upper left corner (the red arrow is pointing to it). Then click “Import from File” on the right.
Click “Import PixScan Image from File” and then select the image from your computer.
Now we need to trace the image so the machine knows where to cut. These will be the cut lines. To do so, click on the icon in the top right where the red arrow is pointing. Then click “Select Trace Area” and click and drag your mouse on the area you want to trace. You’ll see yellow lines around the image. I didn’t end up using the trees.
Then click “Trace” or “Trace Outer Edge”, depending what you’d like to have happen. I selected “Trace” because I wanted the machine to cut out the details in the middle of the trick-or-treaters too. After selecting an option, the yellow trace lines will turn red. Now you’re almost ready to cut!
Click the Silhouette machine icon in the very upper right hand corner. Then select your cut style. I clicked “Cut” because I wanted the machine to cut the details inside the trick-or-treaters instead of just around the very edges of them. I then selected “Coverstock” for my material because the card was heavier than normal cardstock. I adjusted my blade setting to 7 and then clicked “Send to Silhouette”.
Then I watched the magical machine do its trick! Don’t let your jaw drop too far when you see it at work. 🙂 It’s a brilliant thing. After the machine had finished, I carefully punched out the design and glued it to my door hanger that I had already cut out on my Silhouette machine using a design from the Silhouette shop.
This was definitely the hardest part about the whole process…transferring the trick-or-treaters…just because I had chosen such an intricate design. But it was well worth it!
Then I applied the lettering that I had cut on my Silhouette and voila! All done!
Isn’t it perfect? I’m sure the candy-loving doorbell ringers will appreciate it. 🙂
This was such a fun project! It’s truly amazing what intricate designs the Silhouette can cut with the PixScan mat! If you’d like to give one a whirl, go HERE. You’ll be glad you did.What would you make with a PixScan mat?
Silhouette provided me with complimentary materials for this fun Halloween project, but I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions and excitement are my own, as always.
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Hugs from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
www.lovecraft2012.blogspot.com
–Katie, TheCraftyBlogStalker.com