Gothic Tombstones and Halloween ATC Fairy Box

Is this just too much fun, or what?????

 

I had a blast making these little lovelies. I show you a few steps to them here.

 

The Gothic Tombstone ATC Swap is under way, and they need to be in by Oct. 7th. So get them in the mail people. There's still time.
 

 

This is the Halloween ATC Fairy Box kit with a couple of small chipboard Skellies and 2 Gothic Tombstone ATCs in it.

 

 The box has been painted with Fresco Paints and stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink.

 

A Label Pull Frame and 2 Victorian Flourishes are painted up and added, one to the back and one on the front.

 

 

I used the Raven Background stamp on the back and bottom of the box with some white pen accents.

 

The Fence was coated with Viva Bronze Crackle Paint. When dry I added Inka Gold - Green Yellow and Gold. This stuff is really cool!

 

The fence back is just painted white with Fresco Snowflake and stamped with the Raven again in an orange ink.

 

I added a few pieces of Graphic 45 Steampunk Spells paper on the ends - inside and out, and glued it together. Viola!

 

Now for the Tombstones...I LOVE how this one turned out.

 

The 2 Antique Skeleton Paper Cuts  are sitting on mini tombstones that are the punchouts from my Gothic Haunted House Shrine. Never throw away anything that looks interesting!

 

Paint the little tombstones and stamp them up. Too cool!

 

 

A Vintage Newspaper Word, a Black Chipboard Cut-Out Bat, and a Halloween Lantern decorate this piece.

 

 

I'll try to show you how to make the fascinating background that I stumbled onto.

 

I start with 2 colors of Fresco Paint...I tried a couple combinations. And heat set to make sure it's dry.

 

Then I globbed (literally) on the Bronze Crackle and let it dry. It's supposed to dry over night, but here's the thing.

 

I thought it "looked" dry. So I tested it, of course. In the middle where it's thick, you can scratch some of it off as shown. When you like how the pattern looks....stop. Heat set it, or let it dry over night.

 

It leaves this really terrific pattern on the green paint.

 

Then to make sure more didn't come off, I added Metallic Glaze, or any clear glaze you'd like to seal it.

 

Now it has a glimmer to it, but I wanted more contrast....so add some Copper Inka Gold.

 

Let it dry and buff to a shine.....amazing!

 

These are just 3 of the ones I used for backgrounds.

 

 

And this is the cute little stamp I used for the back of one of the Tombstones from the Mini Halloween Set 3 by Tim Holtz.

 

Inka Gold is added around the edges.

 

That's a lot of pictures, and a lot of fun to check out, so give it a go!

 

Check out all the links here to Retro Cafe Art Gallery for great supplies.

 

Linda



Halloween Spider House

Hey everybody!

 

This is my project for Inspiration Emporium's Monthly Challenge. 

 

I used Eileen Hull's really adorable Sizzix ScoreBoard XL Birdhouse 3D die.

 

This is how my little "bird" house changed into a Halloween Spider House.

 

Sorry if it "creeps you out!"

 

We start with plain old chipboard, Metal Foil Tape with sticky backing, and Vintaj Patinas.

 

The Patinas are perfect for applying to metal. Here I used them on the DARK side of Cut-n-Dry foam. It's less absorbent than the WHITE side and really makes a smooth application.

 

First I ran a few pieces of metal through the Vagabond using a couple of Halloween Texture Fades.

 

Then I started adding different colors of the Patinas with a thin amount of the ink. If you get too much on it will seep into the embossed areas.

 

This shows how I added just a very thin line on the foam. You need to re-ink  it several times per color as it dries very fast.

 

I used the lighter colors first, and then added the darker colors over the edges where the color meets.

 

I heat set for a few seconds. Don't torch it or the glue on the back won't like it. And remember...METAL GETS HOT WHEN YOU HEAT IT!

 

I'm just sayin'.....you don't want to BRAND yourself.

 

 

Find the sections you like best from your pieces. This is one of the sides.

Trace around the sections of your embossed metal, cut out the shape, and add it to the house. I cut my metal about 1/8" smaller so the black edges create a frame.

 

This shows how I  run a Chisel Tip Sharpie marker around all the edges making a large border. This will make your colors pop and give you room to bend your chipboard.

 

I also edge the metal with the Sharpie.

 

 

Trace the birdhouse hole onto the backing paper for that piece. I used a hole punch slightly larger to keep with the black framing around each side of the house.

 

I cut the piece for the roof leaving the cute scalloped edges alone so I could add Stickles to them.

 

 Next you add Wonder Tape to the edges per the Sizzix instruction information.

 

This is how the house looks with all the metal, and with the Wonder Tape added.

 

I also added some Alcohol Ink to the "31" Plaquette, punched holes, and added it with brads before I put the house together.

 

 

The Spiders are easy to attach with black foam squares.

 

So there you have a fun little house. Make a Village or add a name on the front as a Place Card for a Halloween Dinner.

 

Put a piece of Fishing Line through a hole in the middle of the roof line and hang it from your Studio lamp. I have several on my lamp of different sizes, shapes and styles!

 

Check out the links below for Inspiration Emporium and have fun!

 

Linda

 

Products Used:

 Eileen Hulls - Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Birdhouse, 3-D

Ranger - Vintaj - Patinas-Rusted Hardware and Weathered Copper

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Plaquettes

Tim Holtz - Texture Fades - Halloween Words and Cobwebs

Tim Holtz - Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Sandal

Ranger - Stickles Glitter Glue - Copper

Ranger Inkssentials- Metal Foil Tape

Ranger Inkssentials - Cut-n-Dry Foam

Ranger Inkssentials - Wonder Tape

Scrapbook Adhesives - 3D Foam Squares-Black

Sissix - Tim Holtz Vagabond Machine

 

Other Products:

Plain chipboard

Chisel Tip Black Sharpie Permanent Marker

Retro Cafe Art Products - Furry Spiders and Mini Dried Pumpkins

Hole punch

Tim Holtz Stencils are in the House!

Just a few pictures of the 6x12 piece I made with the new Stencils from Tim Holtz.

 

 

 

 

This is on Manila Cardstock and the base is Distress Inks of various colors.

 

 

Then I used the stencils to add a layer of Grunge Paste or stencil paste, here and there.

 

You can also see the Copper Inka Gold here, but not the wonderful shine it has.

 The stencils were used again with Distress Ink and Clear Embossing Powder.

Distress Markers add the shadows.

More Stamps, Inks, and several Distress Markers show up here with a side angle.

 

I layered it onto a piece of Black Chipboard.

 

Looking down you can see the texture of the Grunge Paste, with inks and stamps added over them.

The last thing I added was Inka Gold. The only way I know to show metallic paint is to have another light source hitting it.

 

So this is a shot under a regular candescent light that shows the Inka Gold...Gold and Copper on top of the stenciling.

 

I LOVE how this turned out. Stencils are so much fun to play with.

 

Linda

 

Products Used:

• Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous Stencils - Eye Chart, Measured, Bubble, Honeycomb, Cargo
• Tim Holtz Ranger  Distress Inks and Distress Markers
• Tim Holtz Stamper's Anonymous  Mixed Media and Steampunk Stamp Collections
• Ranger - Black and Coffee Archival Ink, Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder
• PaperArtsy - Grunge Paste and Nougat Fresco Paint
• Inka Gold - Copper and Gold