Spellbound...

Happy Monday friends...

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and the sun has been shining where you are!

Today is the start of a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is called "'S' is for...." and we want you to create a project associated with the letter S!

For my project I created a canvas panel called Spellbound, all inspired by the most spooky time of the year, Halloween and within the panel, I also featured just a few things starting with the letter 'S'...

So, let's get started and here's how I created S is for...Spellbound!

To begin with I took a canvas panel, 24 x 18cm and started by adding the texture ~ some Crackle Paste applied around the edges of the canvas and also some Grit Paste applied to random areas of the panel through the Grime Layering Stencil. 

Once the mediums were dry, and the crackle had worked it's magic ~ I then started to add layers of colour, starting with Antique Linen Distress Paint which I applied over the surface. Once the paint layer was dry, I then added a layer of Walnut Stain Distress Paint and used a semi dry baby wipe to move the colour around. The next layer was Ground Espresso, followed by Evergreen Bough and Antiqued Bronze, and then a layer of Black Soot which I dry brushed over the top, each time drying the previous layer of paint so that the layers don't become too muddy in appearance!

Once I was happy with my layers and felt I'd achieved the colour I wanted I set aside the panel to dry thoroughly.

Taking a piece of Worn Wallpaper, I cut it down to measure approx 19 x 13cm and machine stitched a border around the outside.

I then matted the worn wallpaper onto silver metallic kraft stash, lightly sanded to reveal the kraft core. Whilst the paper was still damp, I pushed a couple of holes through the layers to create rips and tears before I applied some Crackle Paste over random areas on the surface of the paper, concentrating particularly on the areas around the torn holes.

After mounting the matted paper layers onto the centre of my canvas panel, I moved onto the embellishments and bringing the witches cavern to life.

I started by creating the balcony that the witches are standing on and for this I used two of the Pinked Etcetera Trims, one placed upright and the other attached at a 90° angle. I then applied some Crackle Paste over the pieces and after allowing the paste to crackle and dry, I coloured it with the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon and used a water brush to spread the colour over the surface.

After attaching the trim across the bottom section of my panel, I then took one of the Bat Trims, crackled and coloured this in exactly the same way as the pinked trim and then attached it beneath my Pinked Trim, adding a Creepy Eye in the centre.

Now to fill the balcony and I started by colour tinting my witches with Distress Marker Pens and then attaching them into place using foam at the back to create a really good dimension on this piece. At this stage, I arranged some Mummy Cloth along the shelf, which I dyed with Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. 

I added some Tiny Corked Vials and Corked Vials, crackled using one of my favourite techniques that I've done for so many years now using Matte Collage Medium to prime the glass and adding a layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint over the top. Once the Rock Candy has dried, it leaves this wonderful look of vintage crackled glass which I then coloured using a selection of Alcohol Inks, listed below but of course, you can use any colour of your choosing!

I tied some twine around the necks of each bottle and then added some tiny labels taken from the Snippets Halloween Ephemera set before attaching them onto my shelf using collage medium.

I placed some 'S is for"....Skull Fragments into the arrangement and added some moss and Boneyard Findings.

On one of the bottle you'll notice a little raven, sitting there and for this I used the Regions Beyond die set, and cut the raven four times from black card. I then layered the card to create one solid die cut image which will sit on top of my bottle once glued into place with a good dab of Collage Medium.

To complete the balcony I added a Metal Gate and a Quote Chip, "Beware" complete with Hardware Heads either side to create the look of it being nailed onto the gate.

In the top left hand corner, I draped some more of the dyed Mummy Cloth and attached it with a rusty nail.

We're nearly there and moving onto the Zombie Hand which I attached in the top left hand corner.

I then wrapped some chain around the hand and hung the 'S is for'....Spider Adornment from the chain. The pearl that hangs from the spider is coloured using Mineral Alcohol Pearl Ink, combined with Mushroom Alcohol Ink and I painted the body with Candied Apple Distress Paint.

Finally, I added the bats and for this I cut six bats, various sizes from black card. I then shaped the wings of the bats to create the look of them in flight and applied the Emboss Dabber onto the bodies. This is a technique that I've used for many years and just adds some texture to die cuts. I then sprinkled some Charred Gold Embossing Powder over the top and heat embossed the bat. Repeat this process on the remaining bats and then taking two of the same sized bats, layer the one over the top of the other and attach to the panel.

Add the two layered remaining bats.

To complete the panel, I added "THE END" taken from the Curiosities Sticker Book, just aged with a little inking....

....and then no project would be complete without some more Hardware Heads, so I attached two each side of the inner panel and rusted them with a combination of Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze and Ground Espresso Distress Paints.

So, that's my project for this week ready to add to my Halloween Display and I hope you love what I've created, and all the techniques I've used to add texture, dimension and a rusty, crusty vintage feel!

Have fun creating your projects and 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....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope to see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Pinked Etcetera Trims, Bat Web Trims, Grime Layering Stencil
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Bat Crazy, Beyond Regions
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Evergreen Bough, Antiqued Bronze, Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain

Distress Spray Stain: Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen
Distress Marker Pens

Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Mummy Cloth, Halloween Paper Dolls, Tiny Corked Vials, Halloween Quote Chips, Halloween Worn Wallpaper, Corked Vials, Curiosities Sticker Book, Skull Fragments, Spider Adornments, Boneyard Findings, Halloween Snippets, Cryptic, Metal Gate, Creepy Eyes

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Ranger Ink Opaque Crackle Paste, Emboss It Dabber
Surfaces: Black Card, Metallic Kraft Stash, Media Board
Alcohol Pearls Ink: Envy, Smolder, Mineral, Tranquil
Alcohol Ink: Mushroom
Emerald Creek Charred Gold Embossing Powder
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Palette Knife
Moss
Hemptique Twine
Metal Chain and Spanish Moss