Halloween Configurations

Hi again

I just wanted to share some pics of the configuration shadow boxes I made last year. They stored pretty well. When I pulled them out last week, there was very little I had to repair. I did end up replacing the battery pack for the lantern because I made a bonehead move and kept the batteries in. Holy corrosion! Oops. Oh well, live and learn. Here's a peek...

Tammy T tutorial tribute

Hi everyone

I was excited to see a homage to Tammy Tutterow over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge blog. 

 http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/challenge-inspired-by-tammy-tutterow/

I've been following her blog for about a year now and, Tammy, you are so gracious with your tutorials. I don't know how you come up with ideas week after week. The photos and the step by steps for the projects must take you hours to prepare, so - Thank-you from the bottom of my crafty rogue heart.

Here's the link for the tutorial that I was excited to try:                  http://tammytutterow.com/2013/06/tuesday-tutorial-distress-paint-linen-texture/

Of course, anyone who knows me by now, would expect a tropical card from me. I love the way the linen texture makes it look like an old vintage hawaiian shirt. Take a look...

I can't believe the texture on the cardstock. It's so cool. Hope this inspires you to give it a try as well.

Thanks for stopping by

Halloween carnival event finale

Hi again 

One last post to showcase the last 3 pieces of the Haunted Carnival.  The first 2 are inspired from the creative genius Laura Carson over at artfullymusing.blogspot.ca  The third one is an original piece using some of the images from the collage sheets.

Stare down a Gargoyle. 

Cute and creepy all at the same time. I had to modify it a bit because I didn't have the cubby hole cabinet or gargoyle beads so I made my own using a box lid and some foam core for the dividers. I adjusted the size of the gargoyle image and copy/pasted it 3 more times.

Dodge the Zombies...

Dodge the Zombies is a really cool attraction. Again, a bit of adaptation. I cut the tombstones out of light chipboard using a die (Tim holtz' tombstone and arched frame) painted them and added to the display. Same with the tombstone on the edge die around the perimeter. Bones, chain, pumpkins and leaves add a decorative element to the mossy ground.

Madame Zelda

Here's my "original piece". Every carnival needs a fortune teller. I started with the leftover piece of a paper mache pumpkin, modge-podged some great background paper from graphic 45 inside and then started building the scene.

The crystal ball was a wood bead, colored, then glossy accents glazed over the top. A little spell book and skull sit on her table.

Zelda's hair is steel wool

The back of the pumpkin turned out cool. I painted it gold, then stained it with black soot distress stain and finally, dry-brushed some peeled paint and ripe persimmon distress paint on top. 

Well that's it, hope you enjoyed the posts about the Carnival.  I really had a lot of fun building it. 

Once I get it all displayed, I will add on a picture. Until then, stay crafty my friends.

12 tags of 2013 - October

Hello again,

What a week, this nasty cold/flu bug I have is brutal. It's really encroaching on my creativity ( or maybe it's the cold medication hahaha) Tim's October tag is sure to inspire though, I was a glittering fool. Let's take a look...

Distress paint marbling background with some Distress ink over top to brighten the colors. The weathered clock was glittered with pumice stone and a bit of antique linen. The halloween die set from Sizzix is fab. I love every single one in the package. That's where the pumpkin and the crows came from.

More marbling on the tag, a great stamp from Stampendous was layed on top with black archival ink. The spider web was glittered and adhered with glossy accents, topped off with a murder of crows.

This one was fun too, I cut the tombstone, stained it with black soot then embossed with the cement embossing powder. I cut out the spooky cat ( before inking) so I could add him back in there as an inlay after I glitzed him up. The vine die cut was added to the top. The word (Graphic 45 steampunk spells set) was stamped on clear plastic and stuck on with glossy accents.

I can't decide on a favorite. Which one do you like the best?

You can check out Tim's complete tutorial and other uploaded links here:

http://timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2013-october/

Carnival Rides

Here we are again,

As promised, pictures of the project that started it all. I must say that compared to the ferris wheel, the carousel was a breeze. And the spinning cauldrons ride was just plain fun to do. I hope you enjoy the pics.  Thanks again to Laura Carson for her inspiration and digital files I purchased. I had so much fun.

The carousel turns on a lazy susan bearing I bought at Home Depot.

The new spiderweb die from Tim Holtz is awesome as an overlay.

The Ferris Wheel...

This project took me about a week to complete. I had to walk away from it a couple of times.

I couldn't find lampshade hoops anywhere, embroidery hoops weren't the right size and I was resigned to the fact that I wouldn't make the ferris wheel. Then the lightbulb moment hit me in the dollar store.

Splatter screens (you know, when you're frying bacon and don't want the grease splatters everywhere)

They even had knobs and a washer with them. SWEET!

Yes it turns!

Side view

Spiderweb and spider stamps from "Stampendous" 

Spinning Cauldrons...

Love how this one turned out. I wanted the base to kind of look like burning embers. I had a piece of perfect paper in my stash. I did an overlay using the Graveyard on the edge die from Tim Holtz.

Another lazy susan mechanism so it turns. Check out the skeleton riders. One is just chillin' the other has his arms up for his need for speed.

Final shot from above. 

Well that's it. I have a few more items I haven't made yet, but I think I will let this flu bug run its course and give myself a creative break for a couple of days. Thanks for stopping by. Chat soon.

Carnival Games

Hi again,

I've decided that I am a terrible picture taker. Trust me when I say, I have deleted more pictures than kept. They look good on my screen, but when I go to post them, I find that they're blurry or grainy.  It's very frustrating. Anyway...

I wanted to share the next part of the Halloween Carnival I've been working on, so without further delay, here are the carnival games.

 

Stump An Owl. I used a cobblestone stencil from Prima. The pumpkins are Stampotique. The images are, of couse, from the collage sheet bought from Alpha Stamps.

                                                                                                               Scary Meter. How scary am I? Depends if I've had my my coffee quota yet. (Really)

                                                              Next up we have Bag the Rats & Skull Toss

The trees are die cut (Tim Holtz) from chipboard glued together for height crackled and stained.

Skull beads from Michael's, pumpkin stamps from Stampotique.

So far so good? Next post will be the project that inspired it all, causing this HUGE snowball effect. I'm really happy with the way everything  is coming together. See you soon.

Help, I've buried myself in a project and I can't get up.

Hi again,

Yes I know I have fallen off the face of the earth for a while, trust me when I say it's not from me slackin' off.  I have bolted full steam ahead into a halloween project that has taken many, many hours to  half complete (hahaha). 

When I first saw the event posted on "artfully musing blog" by Laura Carson, I got a tingly, goosebumpy feeling and I knew I had to make her Haunted Carnival.  I bought the .png files and set to work. 

Check out the link here, trust me, it's the coolest thing ever. Laura Carson, you are my new internet crush.

http://artfullymusing.blogspot.ca/2013/09/halloween-carnival-event-is-here.html

I will start sharing some of the projects with you. 

Here is the ticket booth and entrance sign for the carnival. 98% of the images I am using here are from the downloads I bought from Laura Carson on the Alpha Stamps website. I went crazy at Michael's craft store as well and bought a lot of chain, skeletons and beads etc. Dollar Tree was a great resource too.

Every carvinal needs a direction sign, and buy yourself a balloon while your there.

Perhaps a Pumpkin Pet? These guys make me smile.

Feeling a bit peckish? Coffin Candy, chocolate covered spiders, heebie jeebies? Artfully Musing even has a tutorial on making the umbrellas, complete with pattern!!

Thanks so much to Laura Carson for being so generous with your ideas and instructions. I am having so much fun with your images and project. Everyone, Please check out the link I included at the top. 

I will be back with more rides and attractions soon.