Along Came The Spider...Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 3 Release

Hello friends...

Today, I'm sharing another of the Sizzix Chapter 3 projects that I created for Tim's FB Live which you can catch up with HERE and I must apologise that I haven't posted it before but I've been a busy bee, locked away making more super secret projects for Tim, all of which you can see very soon ~ just keep watching this space!

For this project, it was all about the Geo Halloween Die and that spider! Now, in real life ~ I would literally run a mile if I saw that spider, I can't even handle a small one, they just freak me out but strangely enough in dies, and jewellery...I have no problem whatsoever! So, back to the project and I combined the creepy spider with the Timekeeper clock and some idea-ology to create a clock tower and will talk you through some of the stages of how this came together...

This is quite an epic piece to make with lots of details and techniques that I have shown you in previous posts. So in this tutorial, I'll concentrate mostly on the clock and spider but also give a brief description of how I bought other areas to life but I'll begin with the Vignette Tray and how I prepped it ready for decorating. This is the largest of the trays in the set and when you receive it, it's a beautiful natural wood but I wanted to change it to black and for this, I used Black Soot Distress Paint and applied it directly to the box, back and front.

Once it was dry, I then took the Cobwebs Thinlit Die that I have in my stash and used this to die cut some webs. I then cut them into sections and attached them to my sides and the top of my box using Matte Collage Medium.

At this stage, I also cut a spider and it's web from the Frightful Things Die Set and attached this to the both sides of the box, placing them to hang down from the main web.

Once the webs are secure and the medium is dry, I applied another coat of Black Soot over the top, dried it thoroughly. To accentuate the webs, I took a dry paint brush and dipped it into a small amount of Brushed Pewter Distress Paint. Remove the majority of the paint on the brush, wiping it onto a cloth and then lightly brush over the top of the webs, allowing it to kiss the raised surface, just catching it so that it adds a hint of shimmer.

Once everything was dry, I applied some Cobweb Design Tape from last years set around the edges on the front of the box. I always add a layer of Matte Collage Medium to secure the tape into place.

Now to decorate the inside and I started by adding the paper, which is taken from the Dapper Paper Stash and cut panels to fit the inside before adhering them with Matte Collage Medium.

I then wanted to give more of a creepy feel to the box and for this I added some Crackle Texture Paste, just applying it randomly around the edges of the box.

You'll also notice that I've added some more webs to the inside of the box which were die cut and then embossed using Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder, combined with Charred Gold. You can see them shimmering just behind the clock face.

Moving onto the clock...

1. The clock and the hands are all cut twice from thick chipboard and then layered to create substantial die cut pieces. I then applied some Grit Paste over the top of the chipboard, allowed it to dry before applying a layer of Black Soot Distress Paint.

2. Once dry, I applied some more paint layers to create the rusty, crusty look to the clock ~ Evergreen Bough, Rusty Hinge, Antiqued Bronze and Tarnished Brass. Applying the paints one at a time and just dabbing them onto the surface using a dry paint brush. Once I was happy I backed the skeleton clock face onto a circle of chipboard which was painted with Distress Paints.

3. To create the cog section of the clock, I added some Sprocket Gears, rusted up with a little Alcohol Ink and combined these with a few old watch parts that I had in my stash, all of which I arranged to look like the inside of a clock.

4. I then took the Steampunk Parts die set and cut some more chipboard to create the circle that sits in the centre of the clock. I applied a coat of gesso over the top of the chipboard to prime it before applying the Distress Paints, starting with a solid layer of Antique Linen, before applying Picket Fence, Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke and Ground Espresso in layers over the top of one another using a pouncing technique that adds the paint to the surface but doesn't create a solid coverage.

5. Fix the centre onto the clock using Matte Collage Medium.

6. For the effect on the hands I used embossing powders. Applying a layer of embossing ink to the surface and then using a combination of Liquid Platinum and Charred Gold powders over the top. I then heat embossed the powders until molten and repeated this process a couple more times to create the beautiful enamelled effect.

7. Attach the clock hands to the face, attaching a Hardware Head in the centre before placing the clock into position inside the box.

Moving onto the spider...

1. I cut the spider twice from gold metallic kraft stash and then attached both die cut pieces to a piece of acetate. I cut around the outline of the spider die cuts to create two separate pieces. Put one of the die cuts to one side.

2. Apply Black Soot Distress Paint to one piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card and Candied Apple to a second piece, and once the paint was dry, I cut a further two images of the spider from the black and red card. I then took the coloured red and black inner pieces of the spider die cut and inlaid them into just one of the gold spider die cuts, attaching them to the backing of acetate.

3. Layer the inlaid spider over the top of the second die cut that you put to one side, using foam pads between to create a little more height and dimension.

4. I attached the spider to the bottom section of the clock face, placing it over a bed of sisal fibres for a creepy web look.

To complete the box, I added the Handmade lettering to spell out the word, Wicked. I cut the letters from chipboard and gave them an ombre effect using Black Soot and Candied Apple Distress Paint. I mounted the lettering onto Vignette Panels that I layered and attached them over Bracket Etcetera Trims that are crackled with Crackle Paste which is then accentuated with Distress Crayons.

I applied dried moss around the edges, rusted some Hardware Heads and attached them to the corners of the panel and then added some of those spooky skulls.

To complete the box, I added lots of details ~ Nailhead Findings from my stash, more moss, some Mummy Cloth, boneyard findings and a little bouquet of red flowers wrapped in some paper.

To complete the box, I added some Halloween Clippings Stickers from the Curiosities Sticker Book and a Vignette Accent to the top.

So, that's 

Thank you so much for visiting today and see you again very soon!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Geo Halloween, Handmade, Frightful Things, Timekeeper, Steampunk Parts, Cobwebs
Stampers Anonymous: Bracket Etcetera Trims

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Brushed Pewter, Antiqued Bronze, Picket Fence, Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke, Ground Espresso, Candied Apple, Rusty Hinge

Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone, Peeled Paint
Distress Spray Stain: Candied Apple

Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Vignette Accents, Vignette Tray, Mini Sprocket Gears, Sprocket Gears, Curiosities Sticker Book, Skull Fragments, Vignette Panels, bouquet Findings, Boneyard Findings, Mummy Cloth
Alcohol Ink: Pitch Black, Rust, Patina

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Crackle Texture Paste, Grit Paste, Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder, Emerald Creek Charred Gold Embossing Powder
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Chipboard, Dapper Paper Stash, Halloween Wallpaper, Metallic Kraft Stash
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Palette Knife
Moss
Big Shot