It's Close To Midnight...

Hello friends! It's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, we are being INSPIRED BY MUSIC!

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year and as my inspiration, I used Michael Jackson's Thriller to create a burlap panel using Tim Holtz's spine tingling Day Of The Dead stamps. It was my intention not to inject too much colour into this particular project, thinking along the lines of the Thriller video and also, the colour will come later on another project using the Day of the Dead stamps! But for this canvas...I wanted to keep the overall look quite vintage and a little dark, adding the sepia toned image as a focal point and just including that pop of red and a shimmer of burnished gold.

To begin with, I took a burlap panel and changed the colour to black by spritzing over the surface with Black Soot Distress Spray Stain. Set the panel aside to dry thoroughly.

Whilst that is drying, I moved onto the stamped image and for this, I inked up the Bride & Groom stamp with Jet Black Archival Ink and stamped onto a piece of watercolour card. I then coloured the image using Distress Marker Pens. I wanted to capture a worn sepia image but have just a pop of red, so I kept the majority of the image neutral, using Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone, Antique Linen and Old Paper and then went in with some Candied Apple and Fired Brick to add highlights of colour.

Once I was happy, I then used the large Web background stamp form the Web and Damask set and stamped onto the corners of my card. 

Ink the card with Antique Linen and the edges with blends of Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso, adding a shadow beneath the happy couple so that they don't look as if they're floating in mid air.

I flicked small amounts of Ground Espresso across the surface, protecting the stamped image before adding the Salem, Mass from the Gothic Remnant Rub set and applied it to the bottom of the image. Machine stitch around the outside of the image and then matt the card onto gold kraft core, followed by a panel of paper from the Materialize paper stash.

Moving back to the burlap panel, I wanted to add the look of moss around the outside and for this, I used Tim Holtz's Grit Paste and added a small amount around the edges. Once the paste was dry, I then coloured it using Distress Crayons. Because I didn't want it to look to muddy, I then used the Vintage Gold Foil Transfer Sheets and added some foil highlights to give a slight shimmer.

Now to start building up the layers on my panel...

I attached the matted image onto the front of the burlap panel, using foam pads for some dimension, I then die cut a piece of card using the Drip Edge die. You can just see the drips at the very bottom, beneath the panel and the 'bones' arrangement.

I coloured the drip die cut using Candied Apple and Barn Door Distress Paint and then attached it onto my panel.

I wanted to add a touch of metal onto my panel and for this, I created the "Trouble Beware" plaque. I began by cutting a panel of gold kraft core metallic card and used the Halloween Words to die cut the wording into the panel. Scratch the surface of the die cut panel using sandpaper.

Mount the wording onto a piece of silver metallic kraft core and then add some Black Soot Distress Paint over the top, wiping away the excess of the paint. You only want a hint of the black and for the metal to remain that it shines through.

Attach the metal plaque beneath the image, over the top of the drip die cut.

To complete my card, every bride needs a floral arrangement but because this is a corpse bride, she needed something different and so I created a "bone bouquet". I used small pieces of cheesecloth and dyed them with Distress Spray Stain and then attached these with some sisal fibres to either side of the metal plaque. I then tied two bones together using some black and orange jute and attached these over the top of the cheesecloth. Finally, I added a small resin Heirloom Rose, coloured with Cranberry Alcohol Ink.

To finish the panel, I attached a metal stud to each corner of the stamped image and some Gothic Industrious spiders, complete with jewelled red backs.

So, I really hope you've enjoyed the creative process behind this panel and hope that some of the ideas will inspire you to create some Halloween decor pieces of your own. As always if you do need any further inspiration, then you need look no further than our blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Products used:

Tim Holtz Dies: Drip Edge, Halloween Words
Tim Holtz Stamps: Day of the Dead 2, Web and Damask

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Candied Apple, Barn Door
Distress Crayons Set 2 and 3
Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso
Distress Marker Set
Distress Stains: Black Soot, Hickory Smoke, Rusty Hinge 

Idea-ology: Burlap Panel, Heirloom Roses, Gothic Industrious Stickers, Bones, Black & Orange Jute, Gothic Remnant Rubs, Materialize Paper Stash

Surfaces: Manila Card, Tim Holtz Core'Dinations Kraft Core Classic Paper Stack, Kraft Core Metallic Paper Stack

Mediums: Jet Black Archival Ink, Grit Paste, Vintage Foil Transfer Sheets

Red Gems

Cranberry Alcohol Ink

Ranger Craft Sheet

Heat Gun

Blending Tool
Floristry sisal, metal studs and cheesecloth from my own stash