Halloween Advent Calendar | Design Team: Nikki Sher

by Amy Sonnemann August 23, 2026

Hello fellow Layle by Mail friends!

Happy Aug-tober! In case you didn’t know, Halloween is my absolute favorite time of year. So when Layle debuted her Moonlight Manor Collection, I knew I had to make something special with it!

I love Halloween so much that celebrating for just one day—or even one month—never feels like enough. Around here, Halloween crafting can start as early as August! So I decided to create a Halloween Advent Calendar with 31 tags—one for every day leading up to Halloween.

I started by creating thirty-one individual tags using patterns from the 6x8 Moonlight Manor Paper Pad. I wanted the tags to be large enough for a photo but still small enough to display together, so I went with a standard #7 tag size—2 7/8" x 5 3/4".

Of course, an advent calendar needs numbers! The Postage Builder Stamp was the perfect starting point for creating mine, and the brand new Christi Alpha fit perfectly inside the two smallest postage stamps. I stamped and die cut all 31 numbers so I could add one to each tag as I decorated.

Once all of my tag bases and postage numbers were ready, the really fun part began—decorating!

I love how so many of the embellishments from the Moonlight Manor Collection are the perfect scale for these tags. I mixed everything from the 6x12 Stickers and Die Cut Icons to the Word Strip Stickers, which were perfect for giving each tag its own little title. I even worked in the Star Metal Dies here and there for an extra spooky touch.

Creating a different mini scene on every tag was so much fun. There are witches, ghosts, pumpkins, bats, spiders, candy corn and plenty of other Halloween favorites tucked throughout the set. I think tag #11 might be my favorite with its little framed shaker window—so cute! Although I’m also pretty partial to those googly-eyed pumpkins.

Yes, thirty-one tags is a lot, but I had so much fun making each one unique! Once they were finished, I knew I wanted a fun way to display them throughout the Halloween season—and hopefully for many Halloweens to come.

I painted a Tim Holtz Vignette Box with black acrylic paint and then added a layer of sparkle paint over the top. After all, there’s nothing wrong with a little glitter for Halloween! The tags fit perfectly inside, and I love seeing all of those orange, black and white ribbons peeking out of the top.

As much as I loved the tags displayed in the box, I knew it wasn’t the best long-term storage solution—especially if I wanted to keep the project accessible year-round without necessarily having it on display.

Then a lightbulb went on: I bet these tags would fit inside 3x4 pocket pages!

I had a Simple Stories 4x6 Flipbook on hand, so I tested my theory, and it worked perfectly. The tags stick out of the tops of the pockets just a bit, but I actually love it! All of the ribbon and twine spilling out of the album makes the whole project feel even more fun and festive.

For a few finishing touches, I added chipboard to the spine of the album to help accommodate all of the dimension and then decorated the cover with patterned paper, ribbon, stickers and die cuts. Of course, I needed a few extra stars, so I die cut them from holographic paper using Layle’s Star Metal Dies. I love the little bit of shine they add against all of the black and orange.

I absolutely love how this project came together, and I can’t wait to add a photo to each tag every day this October. By Halloween, I’ll have an entire month of memories captured in one very festive little project!

I hope this inspires you to look at your supplies in a different way and create something unexpected with them. Sometimes an idea starts with a collection, turns into an advent calendar, ends up in a box—and then becomes an album! You never know where a little creative inspiration will take you.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy crafting!

Best,

Nikki

Crafty Creations by Nikki

Products Used:

Moonlight Manor 12x12 Paper Pack

Moonlight Manor 6x8 Paper Pad

Moonlight Manor 6x12 Stickers

Moonlight Manor Die Cut Icons

Moonlight Manor Wordstrip Stickers

Christi Alpha 5x7 Stamp Set

Postage Builder Frames 4x5 Stamp Set