Tim Holtz Sizzix Autumn/Halloween 2024 - Halloween Brooches

Hello Everyone! I'm back again with my other make from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Autumn/Halloween 2024 Live, the Halloween Brooches. I really want to thank you all for all the wonderful comments on the Autumn Brooches...my cup runneth over. I had no idea that the reason I made the brooches (in honor and remembrance of my Mother) would resonate with so many of you. It makes my heart glad. These Halloween brooches are made the same as the Autumn, with many layers, and then with resin, but I did add some more bling to this set. There were many more designs that I wanted to do, especially with the ghosts, but I ran out of time...so I will probably make those sometime soon. Enjoy, and again a HUGE THANKS!

This picture is pretty much a culmination of several steps, but you know after the last tutorial for the Autumn Brooches that you have to plan what you need out first, and that takes a bit.  This time I only used Metallic Classics and Colors with Deco Sheets. I added two sided tape to the back of what I would be using, and then started die cutting the parts I wanted from the Vault Foliage Wreath, Fright Night, Gothic Portraits, and Wicked Thinlits as well as the frames from Vault Boutique for the cat/moon and silhouette girl/witch hat, and the banner from that set for the word wicked.  I die cut the same pieces again for about three layers to add to the thickness of the piece but I didn’t adhere them, and then I die cut the same again BUT from the backside of the Kraftstock with the two sided tape side up for the backing of each piece so that the backside of the brooch looks nice and finished. Once I die cut I started playing with the pieces to figure out the layout and size of the brooch always keeping in mind the closeness of the parts so that the pin wouldn’t show through from the front, so I kept the pin handy to help guide myself.  I layered the pieces and kept them close together to add to the sturdiness of the brooch as well, 3 to 4 layers is what most are. I also used a bit of Collage Medium on the border parts to make sure they stayed in place with all the layers. On the two cat pieces I added green rhinestones behind the slit in their eyes. For the Deco Sheet detail parts like the witches hair and clothing, I just die cut the entire piece and cut around the parts I wanted and just stuck them on…same for the inside of the words. I just free hand cut the inside parts, fyi.

Once all the layers and pieces were on then I added the backing so that all the pieces are covered with metallic paper on the back and Kraft is not showing. For the pieces that won’t be showing on the back, you don’t need to add a backing of course, but make sure to add a bit of Collage Medium to those pieces to make sure they stay in place. I use Metallic Leafing Pens and permanent markers to color the sides to match the fronts so no Kraft paper was showing.

Here are the pieces with all the layers adhered up a little closer. I should have taken a picture of the backs as well, sorry. But they are just solid metallic paper with no detail parts. The pin will not be adhered until the very end.

Some of the Droplets were not the color I needed so I dyed them with Alcohol Ink. If I had to do a lot I used a cup with several drops of the ink, if only a little I just colored them directly with a Qtip. I did the same with plain clear rhinestones as well. Then I adhered all the bling with Glossy Accents. The bling takes a while to do, but it’s so worth it. 

For the wicked brooch and the spider web as well, I wanted Antiqued Gems hanging down. In order the color the stones inside the bezel, I used pliers to open them up to remove the gems. To color them without moving and touching them, I punched holes in a strip of paper with a regular hole punch and added feet below it with foam tape so it was raised up. Then I added the gems into the holes, and placed a drop or two of Alcohol Ink on them and let it dry. This worked perfectly.

For the mirrored hearts and stars I just dropped Alcohol Ink directly on them.

Another pic of coloring the bling with Alcohol Ink.

I mixed 1 ounce of Ice Resin as directed and poured it over the pieces on a baking cooling rack I have designated for Art, with a piece of wax paper underneath. I tried to do as heavy as a coating as I could and I kept these on the rack over night, moving them around every hour using a craft pick so they didn’t get stuck in place. By morning they were dry and not stuck in place. The bottle says they totally cure after 48 hours.

While the resin hardened I made pillow boxes with the words cut out in the centers to house most of the brooches but some are too big to fit. I added clear packaging material under the word opening.  For all the brooches I cut black tags to fit them and added Kraft colored words to the tags. Once the brooches were dry, I used pliers to bend the hook of pin in a little more so that there wasn’t more tension to secure the pin in the closure hopefully alleviating people from pulling on the pin too much to latch it. I added the pins to the back of each brooch so they wouldn’t be seen using lots of Glossy Accents. I also used tiny letter metal stamping punches and a Craft Hammer for my initials onto Metallic Kraftstock, and added those to the back of each piece for my maker marks, and then I coated the whole back with more Glossy Accents for added strength again, and let them dry. Once dry, I measured and marked where both ends of the back of the pin would be on the black tags and punch holes for them, and then used scissors to cut a line between the holes. The back of the pin just pushes through the line into the holes and stays in place. Then the card with the brooch fits into the pillow box, well at least the smaller ones anyway.

Supplies:

(Paper Trimmer, Two Sided Tape, Die Cut Machine, Die Pick, Scissors, Standard Premium Crease Pad)

-Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Metallic Classics Kraftstock, Metallic Colors Kraftstock, Christmas Deco Sheets, Halloween Deco Sheets, Metallic Droplets, Mirrored Hearts, Mirrored Stars, Antiqued Gems, Jumprings

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits (Autumn Halloween Vault Series 2024): Vault Foliage Wreath, Vault Fright Night, Vault Gothic Portraits, Vault Wicked

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Matte

-Ranger Glossy Accents

-Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink: Dijon, Limeade, Everglades, Purple Twilight, Boysenberry, Slate, Pitch Black, Gold Mixative, Silver Mixative

-Ranger Ice Resin

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits: Vault Boutique, Vault Pillow Box & Bag

-Ranger Surfaces: Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock

-1 Inch Brooch Pins, Gold, Silver, Copper Metallic Pens, Microfiber Cloth, Various Sizes Flat Rhinestones and Pearl Halves, Containers for Ice Resin, Metal Letter Stamps and Hammer if Desired, Clear Packaging

Thank you so so much for stopping by, and for all the comments! I'll be back in a few weeks. Until then, I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!