Halloween 24/7

Yep. You know how you get a little itchy when you haven't done something Halloween related in a while?
No? Really?
Well, okay. But just to mix things up a bit, it's Halloween in May at my house.
Here's a fun thing I made using Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts super-sturdy-do-anything-on-'em Chunky ATC Blanks. I love these things. They are just about indestructible and put up with a lot of mixed media, sanding, painting over and general artsy masochism.
This is a straightforward project, so I wasn't so hard on the poor things this time, but I like the visual effect.

  They are fairly simple but I like the stark contrast of the black trees (I used the 3D Chip Board Tree-3inch and just a little black silhouette of a Halloween critter (which I just drew in with a good black marker) with some borders I cut from the Graphic 45 Rare Oddities Ephemera Cards.
Easy, but effective.
Here's where it began...

I then covered the fronts of the ATC's with my chosen papers.

I cut the borders from the G45 papers and cut the trees in half. I painted them black (some are white in the photo, but later I changed them to all black).

Please note that the borders are larger than the ATC's and that is okay.

Setting aside the trees to dry, I flipped the ATC's over, lined them up and glued a ribbon down the center of the ATC's, leaving enough ribbon at the top to loop over as a hanger.
Do a dry run of the frames on the ATC's with the frames and ribbon to make sure you've left enough space for you to glue the frames on to the ATC's and not have them overlap.
I chose to have very little space between each piece, but you might like more of the ribbon to show between each one. Your choice!

After the ribbon dried, I glued the frames and the trees on the front, making sure the frames were centered as best I could make them on the ATC's. 

After the trees dried I drew in some simple Halloween shapes with a pencil and went over them with a very black marker.
I chose a bat, a cat and a spider, but you can let your creepy critter flag wave here and choose whatever you like.

Not to waste, I finished off the backs with the center pieces I cut out of the G45 ephemera cards.

Simple but effective.
Going for the simple design that has visual impact.
Hope you like it!
Thanks for dropping by.

SUPPLIES:
Chunky ATC Blanks
3D Chip Board Tree-3inch 
Graphic 45 Rare Oddities Ephemera Cards
Ribbon
Black paint
Black marker

Be kind to your sleeping heart

Sometimes we all need to remember to be kind to ourselves. To go out into the world, take a deep breath and reconnect with the bigger picture.
This week I've used the Vintage Triptych Florentine to make a peaceful and (hopefully) charming little reminder to do that.

Here is where I started...

I used the Vintage Triptych Florentine and Stamperia's 'Forest' Scrapbook papers.

Using the pieces of the triptych, I drew and cut out the papers I chose for the front and the back of the piece.

I used linen hinging tape to connect the triptych. I like taping both front and back, it makes a nice strong connection and remains flexible. I left about a 1/4" gap between the side and the middle to account for the addition of the scrapbook papers and still allowing for the piece to close properly.
Make sure your pieces are the placed straight across the bottom, otherwise when you stand the triptych up, it will be wobbly.
The above picture shows the first two pieces of tape already applied.

When I apply the second pieces of hinging tape, I use a folding tool or even a ruler (whatever is handy) to press the tape into the center of the 'hinge' before I stick it down to the side and center piece. This way there will be no gaps, the tape stays together and looks tidy.

I glue my papers down on both sides of the triptych. I painter the center frame cream and glued it down. I used a gold ink pad and a brown one around all the edges of the triptych.

The Kingfishers came from a rice paper collage sheet. I cut them out and attached them using matte medium. (I used Liquitex Matte Medium)

Using a piece of tracing paper, I practiced writing my quote and working out the placement of the words.....

I used a permanent black marker and wrote them over the arching center, used matte medium over the top of the words and after it dried, I inked up the words to soften the black words an dhelp them become a part of the whole.

After the inside dried, I flipped the piece over and glued a soft velvet ribbon the the center back piece ONLY of the triptych. I made sure the ribbon was high enough not to block the image of the fox. (which I cut out and glue in place from a piece of the paper collection and forgot to take a picture of)

I glued two pretty brass stamped leaf ornaments on either side of the front flaps of the triptych and added white paint dots as extra detail to the inside and the outside of the piece.

And there you have it! Thank you fro stopping by and don't forget to breath!

SUPPLIES:
Vintage Triptych Florentine

Additional supplies:
Stamperia 'Forest' scrapbook papers
Ciao Bella Rice Paper Collage sheet (the kingfishers)
White paint
Ink pads
Black permanent marker
Velvet ribbon
Brass stampings

Another Tiny Thing

I am going through a phase of making small things. Well, some of them are smaller than usual. Lora here for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts with a very small birdhouse.

Here is a picture of it in my hand for scale....

And the back..

It was a fun, simple project and in the end, I really like how it turned out.
Just a couple tips on construction:
I started out with the Little Bird House.

I assembled it, primed it with gesso and sealed it with varnish. I will often do this even if I put paper on things later-it seals the chipboard from moisture and gives the piece a longer life and it becomes a pretty tough surface to apply all kinds of techniques to if you wish. This is not a step you have to do.
I set the little house aside to dry for a bit and took a small block I had (about 1/2 square) marked the center and drilled a hole in the it the size of a 1/8 inch dowel.

I papered all sides of the house except the bottom, which I drilled another (same size) hole in for the other end of the dowel. I used a scalpel to refine the hole.

I did not attach the dowel to the birdhouse - I left that until the last in order to make embellishing the wee thing a it easier. I papered the little block and stuck the dowel in that end after painting it white.
I used a gold ink pad to age up the edges of the bird house and the block, a tiny bit of scrap Dresden to trim out the gables and a couple of scraps of paper added to the house, like the stamps on the roof and the feather on the back for extra detail.
I then glued the house on the dowel.
I snipped some twigs off of my old dogwood tree and glued them upright on the dowel. I also glued a tiny twig into the lower smaller hole on the birdhouse for a little perch.
Then added moss and tiny rose buds to the piece.
The last thing I put on was the tiny little robin with a dab of glue.

I really like this tiny little thing.
I hope you make one!
Supplies:
Little Bird House

Wooden dowel
Wooden block
Stamperia Garden scrapbook paper
Dresden trim in white
Tiny rosebuds
Moss
Twigs

Thank you very much for dropping in!

New Specimen Box at Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

I love this new 6x4 Specimen Box! 
It's a great size and you can choose to put in as many of the inserts as you choose. Nice, flexible design.

 In my bug specimens theme, I chose to leave out the insert on the far right, so I could place some bigger critters in there.
Here's where I started:
I assembled the box frame and painted the sides (on the inside only), the top front edges and the inserts.

I cut paper to fit the inside back and all of the outside of the box. I glued in the papers ...

fitted and glued in the inserts, let them dry and then gave the whole thing a coat of matte medium and then a coat of Quinac gold, wiping most of it away with a damp paper towel, but leaving the 'goo' in the cracks and crannies to give the box an aged looked.

I also painted the Layered Flouishes Aria and assembled them for adding to the box later.

I then fussy cut my insects with a scalpel, glued them each on a tiny cork (you can get them HERE) and then glued them into the box.

After that was dry, I glued the flourishes on to the front of the box, added a few tiny brass stamped flowers et voila! A pretty little specimen box.
A fun project and most enjoyable.

 Supplies:
6x4 Specimen Box
Layered Flouishes Aria
Faux Metal Number Plates

Stamperia 'Spring Botanic' scrapbook papers
Acrylic paints
Stamped brass flowers

Thank you for visiting!

A Sugar Skull House for Halloween

I know it's only June, but I am all about Halloween lately, and most everybody knows how much I love doing houses, so here is a Sugar Skull in a house.
With bats.
And some scary tree bits.
Here it is lit up with glowing eyes.

 And unlit, but still looks pretty cool in the daylight.

  I started out with the Mini House Room Box 4x4 Open. I took away the attic floor to make room for the Sugar Skull 1.

I laid the skull on top of the large center piece and marked where I wanted to drill holes for my glowing eyes.

I drilled the holes to the size of the tea light flames, NOT the whole tea light. I'm going to glue the body of the tea light in place on the back of the house, but we'll do that in a later step. For now, I dry fit the tea light to make sure the flame fits through the holes I drilled.

I cut papers for the main body of the house, back, front and sides (outside only). I glued the sides and the roof on, painted the inside of the house walls, ceiling and floor and then glued all the papers on.

 Next, I painted almost everything else black. Sugar Skull, Creepy Tree (I used bits and  pieces of the 8-inch Creepy Tree and the 5-inch Creepy Tree) Chipboard Bats Set (you can get them HERE) and the ridge ornament, which is the Chipboard Fleur Border. (Get it HERE)

I shingled the roof and painted most of it brown, adding a few rows of black to accent the pattern. I glued the ridge ornament on as well. You can see some of the roof and ridge in the picture below. I apologize for not getting a WIP shot. I was all into the groove and forgot.

when all the glue and paint dried, I added the trees and the bats on the back. I used black double stick foam tape to stick the trees on and mounted the bats on wires and then glued them on to the tree and added some black roses to pretty up the joined bits. I got the roses from Alpha Stamps, the same place I got the bats and the ridge ornament and the Dresden trim, which I glued on to the base of the ridge ornament and the gable edge of the house front.

Last but not least, I added some corks to the sugar skull and glued into place and turned on the lights!

That's a good start on Halloween!

SUPPLIES:
Mini House Room Box 4x4 Open
Sugar Skull 1
Creepy Tree (8inch)
Creepy Tree 5inch
Chipboard Shingles-Pointed

From Alpha Stamps:
Chipboard Bat Set
Black Zig Zag Dresden Borders
Chipboard Fleur Border

Additional:
BoBunny Double Dot Vintage Chiffon
Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe Genuine Article
Two tea lights
Black Paint
Thank you for stopping by!