Would You Dare Take A Bite?

Hello everyone...

Another week has flown by and it's Monday already but the good news is that because it's Monday, it means that there is a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge starting today and this week our theme is all about HALLOWEEN and everything SPOOKY! As always, we would love you to join us and play along and the DT can't wait to see your projects.

This is sadly my last Halloween project of the year because it's time to pack away the ghouls and break out the snowflakes but I wanted to make a Halloween Treat Box, that could be filled with chocolate pumpkins and ready to display amongst my table decorations. So, with this in mind, I chose to create a vignette box, packed full of Tim Holtz goodies that will create a spooktacular scene including tombstones, wonky trees and an uninvited guest...

So, it's time for the brand new challenge to begin and here's how I created this piece...

 

To begin with I took the second largest vignette box and matching Vignette Panel which would become the lid and painted them both with Black Soot Distress Paint. Once the painted box and lid was thoroughly dry, I then cut and attached panels of the beautiful flocked paper (I am in love with this design, it's so rich and opulent and perfect for this project) and using Matte Collage Medium, adhered these to the sides of my box. I then cut a panel of the wood effect paper from the Paper Stash and adhered this to the lid.

At this stage, I also lined the inside of the box with paper, giving it a really nice finish before adding the Mini Foundations to the bottom of the box, which I'd altered with Mushroom Alcohol Ink, combined with a little Rose Gold Mixative.

Setting the box to one side but with the lid in front of me, I started work on this section ~ bringing Count Dracula to life!

For this I used the vampire from the Ghoulish die set and started by cutting four images from thick pieces of card, about 350gsm in weight and then layering the card over the top of one another to create one solid figure. Once the figure is set and it feels solid, I then painted it with Black Soot Paint, back and front and again allowed it to dry. I also added just a flash of Festive Berries Distress Paint to his collar.

To give some shading to the figure and add a look of being dusty and worn, I applied a touch of Old Silver Alchemy Wax around the edge.

To build up the scene, I added some cheesecloth, or Mummy Cloth whichever you have to hand which I dyed with Peeled Paint, Pumice Stone and Black Soot Distress Spray Stain and draped the cloth over the lid, attaching it with dots of Matte Collage Medium to hold it in place. At this stage, I also attached my black silhouette, applying the medium along the bottom of the die cut and just holding it in place until it felt as if it would stand. To make sure this is solid, I would leave it overnight with a support at the back!

Next, I took my Tombstones and using my fingertip, I smeared a tiny amount of Grit Paste over the surface, you only need a minimal amount. Once the paste was dry and I'd given it a dirty appearance, I added the Remnant Rubs onto the fronts (I just love the names of these people, makes me laugh every time). I attached the Ima Goner and Izzy Dead's tombstones over the top of the cloth, placing them either side of Count Dracula.

Now for my wonky trees, and for these I used the Mini Woodland trees, dyed with a combination of Peeled Paint and Pumice Stone Distress Spray Stain. Once the trees are dry, I then bend them slightly to give the weird and wacky look and attached them amongst the scene.

I used the die cut bats, taken from the Ghoulish Die set and placed these onto the trees...

...before attaching some moss in-between all the pieces and adding some pumpkins, a skull and boneyard findings. I also added some Mini Art Stones at the front, just to create a little texture. These stones are adhered with the Collage Medium and painted with metallic paints.

As the finishing touch, I added my metal gates either side of the scene.

Finally, I attached a Halloween Quote Chip, 'an uninvited guest' to the front of the box...

...and all that's left for me to do is fill it with chocolate pumpkins (thank you Marks & Spencer for making these every year because they are delicious) and it's all ready to add to my decorations!

Thank you so much for daring to drop by today and all that's left for me to do is wish you all a very happy and safe Halloween!

Don't forget, you can find more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog 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....

See you very soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Dies: Ghoulish
Distress Paint: Black Soot

Distress Spray Stain: Hickory Smoke, Black Soot, Peeled Paint

Idea-ology: Halloween Quote Chips, Boneyard Finding, Halloween Remnant Rubs, Skulls, Metal Gate, Mini Pumpkins, Tombstones, Mini Woodland Trees, Mini Foundations

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste

Surfaces: Tim Holtz Halloween Paper Stash, Vignette Boxes, Vignette Panels
Alcohol Ink: Mushroom, Rose Gold Mixative
Prima Marketing Art Stones
Cheesecloth

Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Tim Holtz Guillotine

Heat Gun

Moss from my own stash