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!

The House has Eyes.....

Ever notice that some houses seem to have an extra something? How often times one can walk into a house and feel the age it has, the personality it has developed over years of inhabitants, events, lives passing through it? Who loved it and who never noticed it was present?
I love imagining what stories a house holds, what shaped it over the years.
I made this House Room Box with 4 Cubbies with that thought in mind.

Back view....

I started with the House Room Box with 4 Cubbies.

 I cut the intereior paper for the back, remembering to cut out the slots!

I painted the the rest of the interior black and glued the pieces in, starting with the inside, center 'shelves' and then the exterior walls.

 After everything dried, I papered the outside of the box and began to glue the shingles on.
I used the Chipboard Shingles-Pointed and worked my way from the bottom to the top.
It took 12 pieces to cover one side - 6 bits with four points and six with five points. I cut them using a sharp pair of scissors. Centering the fist piece with four points and using that as a measurement for trimming the long (five points) after the glue dries.

One side completed and ready to trim.

To trim the shingles, I flipped the house upside down and using a sharp pair of scissors I cut along the edge of the short row of shingles (the four point). It gives you a bit of eaves.
I have tried using a sharp craft knife, but scissors seemed to work best for me.

I painted the roof black and added some Dresden Trim detail.....

I added more Dresden trim on the back and these great silhouettes from the Black Creepy Critters Set (coming soon)

I also painted a wooden candles stick holder black and glued it on the bottom of the house and added more trims for extra details, melted some white birthday candles and glued them on brass findings and stuck them in the house.
after that, it was me just adding lots of little things I have made or collected.
I used Graphic 45 scrapbook papers from the 'Olde Curiosity Shoppe' collection, including the great pair of eyes with the spectacles.

Little stamped brass flowers were added to the places were I didn't want raw trim edges showing. A book I made with a polymer clay cover was placed in the lower right cubby along with some fun bits and pieces including a polymer clay pumpkin. Fun!

SUPPLIES:
House Room Box with 4 Cubbies
Chipboard Shingles-Pointed
Black Creepy Critters Set (coming soon)

Additional supplies
Candlestick Holder (you can get HERE)
Dresden Trim (HERE)
Graphic 45 Olde Curiosity Shoppe Scrapbook Paper
Various brass findings and wee objects
Birthday Candles
Black acrylic paint
polymer clay

Thank you for stopping by!