Creepy Coffin!!

I LOVE Halloween!! 

This fortnight we are aptly focusing on it at TioT and our challenge is obviously entitled 'Halloween'!!!

It's funny as it was never something I ever did as a child and 'Trick or Treat' was not something my parents allowed us to do. 

But at some point, I caught the Halloween bug and since then I have made it a big thing in our family.  I don't really go in the Trick or Treating either but I get the whole team involved in making decorations, carving pumpkins as a competition, baking and playing games and quizzes.  We have a great half term week every year and despite all my children being mid-teens, I have managed to find new things to keep everyone having fun!!

So this year, I have made this coffin and I am going to get all of them to make their own version of it.

I started by printing out a coffin template which I cut from black card and assembled.                                                                 
I then made the rivet strip for the lid and added some crumpled tissue to give is some textures.  

I added various embellishments including plastic creatures, a balsa wood cross, bits of die cut weathered clock face, cogs and bit & bobs from old pocket watches.  Once I had the arrangement done, I painted everything with black gesso and then used a combination of Viva Ferro 901 and 912.

I used matt medium with Shimmerz Silve Fox Enamel to make some small molten metal areas and then finished it with Platinum Liquid Pearls for rivets.

I tied together some pretty pink rose buds and then "halloweened" then with Lumiere Halo Pink Gold paint for a macabre faded bouquet and dribbled orange acylic ink as a finishing touch!

It was so much fun making this coffin and I hope it inspires you to think 'outside the box' and join in the challenge!!

Wishing you a Spooky Week ...

x

Older & Wiser

I just love this cat - he's such a cool boy (all 14lbs of him!) - so I had to show him off with a page of his own!!

And the TioT challenge launched today is Textures!  Oh my goodness - this challenge was made for me as I LOVE textures of all sorts (I'm not fussy!!) Lumpy, bumpy, stripy, spotty, crackled or crazed - they are all my kinda thing!!

And, not only is this challenge super fun but there's a $10 prize for our winning entry to spend with Smeared Ink.  They have loads of great images to choose from and a rubber stamp club so it's a great prize if you get your textures rockin'!!

This layout was all about my lovely boy growing up.  He's a 8 years old and has put up with many changes throughout his years.  He has lost close companions and put up with unwelcome additions to our family and throughout he has always been a kind and tolerant boy.  With his size, he could easily hurt smaller pets, but he always takes the quiet option and simply observes or turns away from confrontation.  He is a King amongst cats and we respect him for his lovely nature.

So, onto the page ...

I used a doily on the side of the page for my first texture.  I painted it with gesso and them used molding paste and a circular stencil to create the panel for the baby photos. The frame stamp around the photos and in the top corner is by Prima.



I used gauze bandage, which is a great and inexpensive way to add fabric texture to a project, along the bottom of my page, which I painted with acrylic paint.  Small dots from a white paint pen, outlined in black, add more interest as do the few extra dots from the stencil.








I clustered up the lovely Prima blooms with a vintage watch face and a Prima metal plate.  The large flower was stamped and embossed in silver with some glass glitter in lavender added using glossy accents.  I finished the layout with funky fibres and a metal photo corner which I painted with white acrylic paint.









This layout was so much fun and came together without my usual angst (a rarity!)  I hope you get chance to pop by my other DT pals' creations as they are all inspirational.  So crack open your textures and get those creative juices flowing!  The $10 prize is only a texture away!!

Have a great week ...

x