Open Day Or Night...

Hello friends...

Hope you're all well and having a good week! Today, I'm back on the blog to share a project that I created for the Tim Holtz idea-ology Halloween Facebook Live ~ the Open Day Or Night Vignette Box! Before I share all the details of this box, I just wanted to say thank you because I have had so many wonderful messages saying how much you loved this particular project and asking when I'll be posting it...so, I'm sorry I've made you wait but today's the day you finally get to meet the evil doctor in person, a man of medicine who is always open for business, day...

....and night!

So, let's get started and and I'll be showing you all the details of how I created that tiny light bulb that sits in the back of the box, together with those little books that sit on the bookshelves and at the end of this post, I've listed all the full recipe of everything you need! 

For this project, I used the second largest and second smallest of the vignette boxes which come in a set of 4, together with the largest sized vignette panel and added some of the new Halloween Tape Trims around the raw edges on the front of each of the boxes. I used the neutral shade tape that has a pinked edge and just applied it to the edge, adhering it with a touch of Matte Collage Medium.

I then covered the outside and the backs of each of the boxes using one of the gorgeous designs of the Worn Wallpaper. To add a real touch of vintage to these boxes, I also added some Crackle Paste around the edges and created some small rips and tears in the paper. These are simply made by picking away at the paper, to create a rip and then folding back the edges of the torn paper and smearing some of the Crackle Paste over the top. Once all the pasted surfaces are dry, I used the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the top to accentuate and colour the crackle paste.

Moving onto the insides of each box and the vignette panel and to cover these I used some of the papers from the Departed paper stash. Inside I used a design that complimented the Worn Wallpaper perfectly and on the panel, I chose a crackled design which will be ideal to create the look of flooring!

To create the texture around the edges of the panel I used Translucent Grit Paste that I applied quite thickly and after allowing it to dry, I then took a fine detail brush and just painted some Black Soot Distress Paint over the pasted areas. One the paint was dry, I added a touch of Treasure Gold Gilding Wax over the top to highlight the pasted areas and all the gnarly little bits.

I now have all my boxes covered and after using Matte Collage Medium to attach the small box onto the larger box, I placed them both onto the vignette panel and set it to one side to dry thoroughly. Once they're dry, I used one of the Pinked Etcetera Trims which I painted with Distress Paints and after cutting it down to size, I attached the trim across the centre of the larger box, to form a bookshelf, attaching it with Matte Collage Medium on the edges of the trim.

Now the boxes are in place, I wanted to create the light for the small box and for this I used one of the Tiny Corked Vials with the rounded end and a set of Tiny Lights. I bore a hole into the back of my box to place the lights through and then taking a pair of scissors to the lights, I cut them down so that only three bulbs remained on the wire! Cutting the lights does not affect them from illuminating, they will still work as long as the wire at the back remains intact. I attached the battery box with a foam pad.

You now have the three lights on the wire on the front and to create the glass fitting, I took the tiny corked vial and crackled it. To do this, I primed the surface of the bottle with Matte Collage Medium, allowed it to dry and then applied a layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint. Allow for the paint to dry, the crackle to appear and once it has, I used a combination of Mushroom, Sepia and Gold Mixative Alcohol Inks to colour the crackle. Just drizzling the ink over the surface of the glass. Attach the glass over the top of the tiny lights, feeding them into the glass bottle and then apply some Matte Collage Medium around the top of the rim and attach to the back wall of the box. You might need to hold it for a few minutes, until it adheres and then I would walk away ~ don't be tempted to touch it! I can tell you now, that's not a good idea!!

...and once it is set into place, this is how it makes the whole box shine once it's lit!

To complete the box, I added a handle on the top which is from the Hardware Pulls set and attached this with matte collage medium and added some Hardware Heads so that it looks like it's nailed on.

Around the edge of the box, I cut strips of the mummy cloth from the Halloween Trimmings set, dyed it with a combination of Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains and then pulled the cloth, to create these fine shredded pieces, which I adhered around the edge of the box. YOu'll also notice that I have a domed piece sitting just below the lightbulb and this is simply a piece of Halloween ephemera that I adhered with Matte Collage Medium onto the back of a Prima Melange Pebble. I then allowed it to dry before inking the front of the pebble with some Mushroom Alcohol Ink before attaching it inside my box.

So we now have the main structure, lit and ready to be decorated with the embellishments, and starting with the books which are so much fun to create but really simple. The size of each book cover really does depend on how small or large you want your book to be, so if you need a complete book measuring 2.5 x 3cm, then cut a panel of card, any colour you want to use but I chose red and black and cut this to measure 2.5 x 6cm. Bend the card around a pencil to create the spine of the book. I then inked the edges of the book cover, and added a touch of gilding wax. For the insides, I used some old book papers that I cut into small sections. You need to cut the book paper to measure 2.3 x 5.7cm in size and I used approx 10 pieces for the inside of each book. Fold each piece in half before attaching them inside the book cover, layering them over the top of one another and attaching each of them down the centre to create the pages. You now have one mini book and will probably become addicted to make more.

I added Remnant Rubs and Snippets Ephemera pieces to create the book titles and images on the front of each of them.

Now for my Paper Doll to be put in pride of place ~ I coloured this with Distress Marker Pens and placed him into the box, adhering a Halloween Baseboard piece next to him ~ this creates a support to the figure and he also has support from the boxes across his back, so add the adhesive wherever he leans against something and he should be nice and secure.

The next embellishment will be all the bottles and these are a mixture of Tiny Corked Vials and Apothecary Vials. I added crackle to each vial using the same technique as I used on the light bulb but used different alcohol inks to add colour to each one ~ from browns to green, but this is your choice and you can decide what you love! To complete each little bottle I added either a Snippet ephemera, a label and some black twine from the Halloween Trimmings set. You'll also notice that some have wax dripped over the corks, this is achieved by simply lighting a candle and dripping the wax.

To create the scrolls, I cut used some offcuts of papers from Tim's paper stashes, all of which I pop in a box for one of those days when I might need them, and this was the day! I rolled the papers around a pencil and then after securing them with a dab of Matte Collage Medium, I inked the edges, created a few rips and tears and made them look a little older in appearance.

I now have the majority of my embellishments and attached my vials, scrolls and books into the box with Matte Collage Medium, and I also added some moss, a few die cut spider webs placed into the back and some coconut fibre strands, all scattered around to add that extra hint of creepiness to the room!

I also added some boneyard findings, painted with a little gesso to make them whiter and placed these into the vials, and a resin skull sat on top of the scrolls in the box at the top.

Now for those finishing touches...and that spill of blood on the floor!

This was created by drizzling a good amount of Glossy Accents onto my craft sheet, (make sure the craft sheet is non-stick) and then allowing it to dry. I left it overnight and once it was dry, I then coloured it with Cranberry Alcohol Ink before carefully peeling it off my sheet and adhering it to the floor of my vignette, so that it appears to be spilling out of the bottle.

The finishing touch of a Halloween Clippings Sticker, 'Open Day Or Night' was added along the front of the vignette panel and finally, I placed the whole piece of decor onto some Mini Foundations which were painted with Black Soot Distress Paint.

I really hope you've enjoyed how I created this project ~ it was so much fun to make and as always, thank you Tim, Paula and Mario for inviting me to bring my crazy imagination to life and create with so many wonderful products! Love you all... ❤️

Thanks for all your visits and I'll see you all again really soon...Emma x

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Spider Webs

Distress Paint

Distress Ink
Distress Crayons

Distress Spray Stain

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Departed Paper Stash, Curiosities Sticker Book, Hardware Heads, Vignette Hardware Findings, Mini Hardware Pulls, Vignette Panels, Halloween Worn Wallpaper, Paper Dolls, Skulls and Pumpkins, Halloween Trimmings, Boneyard, Tiny Lights, Tiny Vials, Apothecary Vials, Halloween Baseboards, Snippets Ephemera, Halloween Trim Tape, Halloween Remnant Rubs, Mini Foundations

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Translucent Distress Grit Paste,  Crackle Paste, Rock Candy Crackle Paint

Alcohol inks: Mushroom, Sepia, Cranberry, Envy Alcohol Pearls and Gold Mixative

Glass Media Mat

Big Shot

Heat Gun

Melange Pebbles
Moss, coconut fibres, old book pages, coloured card and Treasure Gold Wax from my own stash