From Regions Beyond....

Hello friends and welcome to a new week and a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! With Halloween just 10 days away, this week we are concentrating on all things that go bump in the night with our SPOOKY theme and hope you will join us and play along.

Now as you know I love all things spine-tingling and together with Christmas, Halloween is definitely my favourite time of year, so I decided to get my spook on and create this project full of mystery and darkness and of course, Halloween wouldn't be Halloween without some Tim Holtz products and I used these in abundance to bring you a story from regions beyond!

So, let's get started and here's how I made the Undertaker's Mausoleum...

To begin with I took one of the new Tim Holtz Tombstones ~ these come in three different sizes, Size 8, Mini and Small but for this project I used the mini size.

All the pieces that you need to create this tombstone are provided in one pack and I began by covering the main tag using paper from the Abandoned Paper Stash and adhering it to the tag using Matte Collage Medium. I then applied a coat over the top to seal the paper and allowed it to dry.

Once the medium is thoroughly dry, I then added some Crackle Paste to the edges, smearing the paste onto the surface using a palette knife and again, allowing it to dry and work it's magic. When the crackles have appeared, I then took the Black Soot Distress Crayon and ran it along the edge of the covered tag. With a semi dry baby wipe or a damp paintbrush, move the colour from the crayon around the surface, allowing it to seep into the cracks to accentuate them. Once I was happy, I then moved onto the remaining pieces of the tombstone and painted all the pieces in Black Soot Distress Paint.

Starting with the rounded top section which comes in two separate pieces ~ a main solid section and a frame that will sit over the top, I took the main section and covered it with some more of the Abandoned Paper Stash, again adhering it with Matte Collage Medium. I then applied some more of the Crackle Paste onto random areas of the covered piece and once it was dry and crackled, I used the Black Soot and a touch of Walnut Stain to accentuate the cracks.

Take the painted black frame and apply some more of the Crackle Paste around the edges. At this stage, I also applied some Grit Paste to the ledges that sit at the bottom of the tag/tombstone. Once the mediums are completely dry and starting with the frame, apply Black Soot and Walnut Stain Distress crayons, blending the pigment into the cracks with a damp paint brush. Dry brush some Brushed Pewter Distress paint over the top of the frame and after a quick blast of the heat gun to dry the paint, place the frame over the top of the solid covered top section and adhere with Matte Collage Medium, clamping the pieces together with clips so that they stay in place.

Taking the grit paste covered ledges, dry brush Black Soot Distress Paint over the top of the paste, gently heat dry the painted areas, being careful not to overheat or bubble the paste and then apply a second layer of paint, this time Peeled Paint over the top of the raised areas ~ removing the majority of the paint on your brush, so you have a minimal amount remaining and then when applying the paint, just allow it to just kiss the surface of the paste ~ you just want a hint of the Peeled Paint.

Heat dry once more and then apply a dry brushed layer of Brushed Pewter Paint over the top and then attach the textured pieces to the bottom of your tag, layering the smaller section over the top of the larger one to build up the ledge.

Moving back to the top of the tombstone, you will see that I've added a Bat Trim, together with one of the strips that come in the pack of trims and then, as with all the other chipboard pieces, I painted these with Black Soot Distress Paint and then added a dry brushed layer of Brushed Pewter over the top once the first layer of paint was dry.

After attaching the pieces to the top section of the tombstone, I added a Creepy Eye in the centre, that was inked with a little Mushroom Alcohol Ink to take away the 'whiteness' around the pupil.

After adding some moss to each corner of the trim, I then took the gorgeous skull metal embellishment taken from the Halloween Accents set and altered it with a little Rust Alcohol Ink and some Black Soot Distress paint and then attached this in the centre, at the top of the tombstone.

Now to build up the scene and it starts with a ledge that everything sits on. For this I used one of the Pinked Etcetera Trims and after painting it with gesso, I added a layer of Crackle Paste which I allowed to dry. I then coloured the crackly surface with Black Soot and Walnut Stain Crayons before attaching it along to my tag, placing it above the textured black ledge.

When the trim has dried and is set in place, I added the metal fence at the back. After altering the fence with Rust and Pitch Black Alcohol Ink, to make it look a little more rusty, I broke the fence into two pieces and then swapped the pieces around and adhered them into place with Collage Meidum, placing them so that the broken edges would overhang the edge of the tag.

Using the spooktacular lady from the Halloween Paper Dolls set, I colour tinted her dress using the Peeled Paint Distress Marker and then placed her onto my tag.

You will notice that she is actually standing quite away from the background to create some dimension and for this, I usually place a small wooden block, carefully hidden on the back of the paper doll and this allows me to attach the doll to the background but still give me some dimension to the figure.

At the back of the paper doll, I added a Halloween Ephemera piece but cut away the man's name from the top of the piece as I wanted it to be all about this mysterious lady. 

I then attached a couple of die cut bats that I had left over from a previous project.

Now this lady needs to be carrying something and I decided that the raven from the Regions Beyond Sizzix set would be the perfect size for her. So, I cut the raven three times from black card, layered the pieces over the top of one another, added some shading onto the bird and then attached it to her hand ~ it was the perfect match!

To create the curtain, I used Mummy Cloth, dyed with Pumice Stone and Frayed Burlap Distress Spray Stains and once dry, I frayed them a little and then attached them underneath the Bat Trim, allowing the ends to hang loose down the sides.

To complete the scene, I added a tombstone from the Cryptic set and applied a Remnant Rub, In Memory RIP.

I attached the tombstone to the ledge, together with a Skull Fragment and a painted pumpkin.

To complete the scene, I added a twig, some Reindeer Floristry moss and some Spanish Moss.

For the finishing touch, I used a Halloween Quote Chip and attached this along the bottom ledge, complete with Hardware Heads either side.

I then added some more hardware heads at the top of the tombstone, together with a couple of Vignette Hardware Findings nails that I hammered into the chipboard. 

Have fun creating your projects and don't forget, if you would like to see 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: Mini Etcetera Tombstone, Bat Web Trims, Pinked Etcetera Trims

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Regions Beyond
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Brushed Pewter, Peeled Paint

Distress Spray Stain: Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap

Idea-ology: Cryptic, Mummy Cloth, Halloween Quote Chips, Boneyard Findings, Skull Fragments, Abandoned Paper Stash, Halloween Accents, halloween Ephemera Pack, halloween Remnant Rubs, Halloween Paper Dolls, Vignette Hardware Findings, Pumpkin Pieces

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Crackle Texture Paste, peeled Paint Marker Pen
Surfaces: Black Card
Alcohol Inks: Rust, Pitch Black
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot
Moss

Spanish Moss and twigs from my own stash

Boo...I have some exciting news to share!

Hello all and welcome to today's post...

I'm so excited to be sharing this latest post with you all and today is finally the day I get to let you in on my little secret ~ I'm now contributing Tim Holtz projects and tutorials over on the Sizzix Blog and even though I made this quite a few weeks ago, I'm thrilled to be sharing my first project today!

As many of you probably already know, I have always loved designing with Sizzix products, and of course you all know I love everything Tim Holtz ~ so, this is definitely a huge honour for me and I can't thank everyone enough for giving me the opportunity to bring my two loves together and I hope you will all enjoy the projects that I create!

So, it's time to share a little sneak peek of my first project, featuring Chapter 3 dies from Tim and of course, indulging my love of all things Halloween. So, if you would love to join me and see the project in it's full entirety and check out all the details, plus step by step instructions, then just pop over to the Sizzix blog and please say hello!

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I'll see you soon with another project!
Love Emma x

In Memory Of Lost Souls....

Happy Monday friends and welcome to another week here on my blog and a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week the DT are showcasing Tim Holtz products and combining them with our Autumn/Fall challenge theme. So, if you love all things Autumn as much as I do, then this is the challenge for you and we hope you'll join us and play along.

When I think of autumn, which is my favourite time of year, my thoughts turned to walks in my local park, bundled up against the chill in the air and watching how the leaves start changing colour from their vibrant green to a gorgeous, burnt orange and I was going to do a something to celebrate this but then I started thinking, and my second favourite thing about this time of year is Halloween. So, with this in mind, I combined the two things and created a Halloween home decor piece, complete with die cut leaves as decoration and voilà, my Lost Souls wreath was created.

So, let's get started and here's how I made this Halloween Home Decor project...

To begin with I wanted to create a base and originally, I did think about using a twisted willow wreath but then remembered I had some embroidery hoops in my stash and decided to use these instead ~ an 8" and 5" hoop.

I applied a layer of black gesso to the surface of both hoops, back and front and allowed this to dry.

Once they were both completely dry, I added some Grit Paste ~ I usually apply it with my finger to ensure I get a really good application of the paste but you can use a palette knife and apply the it directly to both hoops, inside and outside, back and front, placing it at random intervals on the surface and varying the thicknesses.

The paste will take a little time to dry, so be patient as it really does need to be rock hard before adding the paint over the top. Once it is, I began with a layer of Black Soot, heat dried the painted surface and then using a clean paint brush, I dipped the brush into Brushed Pewter Distress Paint but brushed away the excess onto a towel, leaving a minimal amount of paint on the brush. I then dry brushed this over the surface of the textured hoop. The paint will accentuate the raised areas of grit paste. If you need to add more, just repeat and if you feel you've added too much silver, then pick up a second brush and repeat the dry brush technique using Black Soot Distress Paint.

Once I was happy and the painted hoops were thoroughly dry, I attached the smaller hoop inside the larger one, using Matte Collage Medium as my chosen adhesive, slightly offsetting it and placing it in the bottom left hand corner of the large hoop.

I left the hoops overnight to dry but if you don't want to ~ just lay them down on a flat surface and be careful when you begin to decorate.

...and for these decorations I began by creating the gorgeous webs that sit behind the frames.

I used a combination of old and new Tim Holtz dies for this, which I'm sure many TH addicts will own. The larger die that sits at the back of the small hoop is cut from black card using the older Cobweb die. I cut the image and then embossed it by pouncing clear embossing powder over the top and sprinkling with Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder. Heat emboss the powder until molten.

I then attached this large cobweb behind my smaller hoop, placing the Matte Collage Medium along the edge of the hoop to adhere it.

The smaller webs that sit around the top of the small hoop are taken from the Frightful Things die set and cut from black card. I spritzed the two die cut webs with Antique Linen Oxide Ink and allowed it to dry before attaching these two pieces to my hoop.

Now to add even more spookiness to this piece and add some more webs and for this I used black cotton thread and wrapped the thread around the hoop to give the effect of cobwebs that have been spun all over the surface.

We now have the hoops ready for my autumn leaves...

...and for these, I used the Tim Holtz Skeleton Leaves Die from Sizzix to cut Mixed Media Heavyweight card. To create the colour on this card I began by inking with Pumice Stone Distress Ink, then misted the inked card with a light spray of water. I then spritzed the card with a combination of Crushed Olive and Frayed Burlap Distress Ink before heat drying the inky surface. To add even more depth of colour to the card, I applied some Pumice Stone Distress Ink to my glass mat, spritzed with water and dipped the coloured card into the inks. Heat dry between layers and repeat this process by using Walnut Stain,  Forest Moss and Wild Honey Distress Inks, in that order.

I now have my perfectly coloured card and cut a selection of skeleton leaves from it ~ I used 9 in total for this project.

I adhered my leaves using hot glue and placed some Spanish Moss from my stash amongst them, arranging the flourish on the left hand side of the embroidery hoop wreath.

You can see how much dimension there is to the leaves in the photo below.

I then created a bow and for this I used Mummy Cloth, dyed with Peeled Paint and Iced Spruce Distress Spray Stains. Just spritz the stains directly onto a strip of the cloth and heat it gently to dry before tying the cloth into a bow.

Attach the bow to the leaf arrangement before adding some Boneyard Findings to stick out of the centre.

To complete the arrangement, I used three Baubles, coloured with Cranberry and Pitch Black Alcohol Inks and just adhered these in the centre of the cluster of bones...

I attached a Halloween Token, Lost Souls the bow using a loop pin.

Now we move onto the right hand side of the wreath and those creepy hands...

I stamped a pair of hands onto Mixed Media Heavystock card using the image from Tim's Cadaverous stamp set and fussy cut both hands before colouring them with Distress Marker Pens. I then attached these to either side of a Halloween Quote Chip before I adhered the chip and hands onto the right hand side of my hoops, carefully balancing the arrangement between the hoops.

I added some moss around the hands and then placed a skull fragment, again carefully balanced on top of the quote chip, stuck into place using Matte Collage Medium.

For the final touch, I used the spider from the Frightful Things die set to die cut 5 spiders. I coloured the bodies of each one very lightly with a white pencil before attaching them to my project, placing them on the hands and webs.

To complete my wreath I added a hanger and used a mini book ring and some chain which I attached at the top of the hoop.

So, that's it for today and hope you've enjoyed the creative process behind this piece and loved and been inspired by all the techniques I've used to create it.

Have fun creating your projects and don't forget, if you would like to see 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: Cadaverous

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Frightful Things, Skeleton Leaves, Cobwebs from my own stash
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Brushed Pewter
Distress Inks: Pumice Stone, Walnut Stain, Forest Moss and Wild Honey
Distress Oxide Sprays: Crushed Olive, Frayed Burlap

Distress Spray Stain: Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint

Idea-ology:Mummy Cloth, Bauble Findings, Halloween Tokens, Halloween Quote Chips, Boneyard Findings, Loop Pins, Mini book Rings, Skull Fragments

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, black Gesso, Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Ink
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Black Card
Alcohol Inks: Pitch Black, Cranberry
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot
Moss

Spanish Moss, chain and hoops from my own stash

The Palm Reader...

Hello friends...

Today, I'm sharing another of the projects that I created for the Tim Holtz idea-ology FB Live ~ I will be sharing all of the projects that I made for Tim's Lives, which will include the Christmas Chapter 3 Sizzix projects, together with the idea-ology samples and many more, so if there's a project that you've seen of mine, then please just keep checking back here as they will be shared, asap!

So, back to today's project and this one was all about the Palm Reader. I instantly fell in love with this paper doll as soon as I saw her and when I looked at the Quote Chips and some of the ephemera pieces, they were a match made in heaven and I knew exactly what I wanted to create and here it is...a piece of home decor that can be displayed for Halloween.

So let's get started and here's how I created this project...

To begin with I took a medium sized Etcetera Tag and covered it with paper from the Abandoned Paper Stash. This one is actually my favourite design from the stash, if I could get multiple sheets, I would ~ I just love it so much!

The size of paper doesn't actually fit the size of tag but the way around this was to cover the top section with one section of the paper and then with the offcut, place that along the bottom section of the tag and once everything is added to this piece, you won't even notice the join ~ it will be seamless!

Now to add some texture and for this I used Grit Paste and applied the paste with a palette knife around the edges of the covered tag. Once the paste is dry, I took the Black Soot and the Rusty Hinge Distress Crayons and applied the crayon to the paste, blending out the colour with a water brush and my fingertip.

Moving onto the frame, and I used one of the Mini Framed Panels and took just the frame, setting aside the back panel which will be perfect for using in another project. After prepping the frame with gesso, I then applied my paint layers starting with Ground Espresso Distress Paint, which I carefully heat dried before dry brushing Antiqued Bronze over the surface and then a layer of Black Soot, each time drying the previous layer of paint. When you use the dry brush technique, always use a separate brush for each colour of paint and after picking up the paint from the craft sheet, wipe away the majority onto a kitchen towel or cloth, leaving you with the minimal amount of paint on the brush before applying it to the surface and if you need to add more of any colour, just apply more to the areas you think needs it. Once I was happy, I dried the painted frame thoroughly and then added some Aged Brass Alchemy Wax directly onto the surface to accentuate the beadwork on the frame.

To build up the scene and create a background for the little gypsy girl, I took one of the Baseboard Frames from the Baseboard Frames and Layers set. The frame that I used, sits perfectly inside the larger wooden frame and after distressing the baseboard frame slightly to create more of a vintage, worn feel, I adhered it to my wooden frame using Matte Collage Medium and clamping it into place until it was attached.

Attach the layered frame with collage Medium, adhering it onto the tag and once again, clamping it into place so that you ensure it really does hold and whilst this is drying I took the Gypsy Fortune Telling Card from the Halloween ephemera pieces, mounted this onto a piece of gold metallic kraft stash card, leaving a narrow border of gold showing around the outside. After adding Mini Fasteners to each corner of the ephemera piece, I then placed this inside the framed panels, attaching it directly onto the tag on the right hand side of the frame. 

The final layer of this frame is the curtain and this is just one of the fabulous pieces you get in the Baseboard Frames and Layers set. I attached the curtain to the baseboard frame but wanted to create a bit of texture, so for this I then took some Mummy Cloth which I dyed with Pumice Stone and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains before arranging onto the top section of the red curtain. To complete the curtain, I added a Hitch Fastener on either side and wrapped the cloth around each fastener.

Now all you need to do before creating all those embellishments is create the shelf that you can see running along the bottom of the frame and for this I used one of the Bracket Etcetera Trims which i painted with the same colours of Distress Paint as the frame itself and then I attached it by adding a line of Matte Collage Medium to the back of the trim and attaching it directly along the bottom of the frame to create a ledge.

Now to make those embellishments which sit on the shelf, surrounded by some more of the dyed mummy cloth, tiny Hematite Quarry stones and moss.

...and we'll start with the Crystal Ball. For this I took the largest size of in the Bauble Adornments pack and coloured it with a combination of Smolder and Alcohol Pearls and Mushroom Alcohol Ink. I used a generous dome of Matte Collage Medium to attach the 'crystal ball' to an upturned thimble which I altered with a little Rust, Patina and Pitch Black Alcohol Inks to create a more vintage look to the thimble. I attached the Crystal Ball to the shelf, placing it next to the Gypsy Girl paper doll, that I colour tinted with Distress Marker Pens.

On the opposite side of the shelf, I added an egg timer...

I actually made this from two tiny different sizes of corked vials that I attached to one another using some Glossy Accents to seal them together, but before you do this, I began by crackling the corked vials, covering them with Matte Collage Medium which I allowed to dry. I then applied a good layer of Rock Candy Crackle over the top of each bottle and set them aside to do their thing. Once the medium is dry and the crackles have appeared, I dropped a blend of alcohol inks, gold mixative, smolder and mushroom, dribbling them over the top and allowing the ink to drip down the bottles. I attached one of the creepy eyes onto the larger sized bottle and then placed some glitter inside the bottle. Now, you can seal the bottles together to create the egg timer.

I placed the egg timer onto the shelf, attaching some more ephemera pieces, the palmistry hand and ticket stub behind it. I added some Bouquet Findings flowers to complete the arrangement.

At the top of the tag, I attached the gorgeous owl, again altered with a combination of the Rust, Pitch Black and Patina Alcohol Inks with just a touch of Mineral Alcohol Pearl. I attached the owl to the tag, placing it to slightly overlap the top edge and then added the Palm Reader Quote Chip underneath, adding a Hex Fastener to either side.

So, that's my tag finished and all that's left is to add the hanging spider on the side...

...which is just one of the amazing Spider Adornments but I coloured the pearl with Gold Mixative and Mushroom Alcohol Inks and then attached it to a Hinge Clip, altered with Evergreen Bough, Antiqued Bronze and Picket Fence Distress Paints.

Hope you've enjoyed today's post and all the techniques and ideas that I've shared for you to use as inspiration! Thank you so much for visiting today and see you again very soon!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Stampers Anonymous: Bracket Etcetera Trims, Medium Etcetera Tag

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Ground Espresso, Evergreen Bough, Picket Fence

Distress Crayons: Rusty Hinge, Black Soot
Distress Spray Stain: Antique Linen, Pumice Stone

Idea-ology: Bouquet Findings, Mummy Cloth, Thimbles, Paper Dolls, Spider Adornments,  Tiny Corked Vials, Halloween Baseboard Frames and Layers, Halloween Ephemera, Mini Fasteners Brads Screws Hardware, Halloween Accents, hitch Fasteners, Large Hinge Clip, Mini Framed Panels, Creepy Eyes
Alcohol Ink: Mushroom, Smolder, Mineral, Gold Mixative, Pitch Black, Rust, Patina

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint
Surfaces: Abandoned Paper Stash
Hematite Quarry Gemstones
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Palette Knife
Moss