sarascloset

Hello! It's kind of exciting for me to put away my Halloween things and take a little step back in time with some old products. Simon Says Stamp says to Art Journal this week at their Monday challenge. I have a couple of art journal pages that I've kept to myself, but I thought this would be a good time to share one of them. Art Journaling is such a freeing experience, and I start with no plan in mind, allowing the experience to speak for itself.


I started in the usual way by applying gesso, then adding a bit of texture with a stencil and paste. Colors were added with Burnt Umber Color Bursts and Distress inks, oxides and sprays. The fact that the background was imperfect dictated how the rest of the page would come together.

Hello and welcome! Today starts a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and Cec is hosting  'It Looks Real'. Here's how she describes her challenge:

There are so many ways to make something look real when it isn't.  For this challenge, make a vintage or shabby chic project with one or more faux elements.  Those elements could be faux rust, leather, stitching - to name a few.  Make sure you tell us what the faux element is and how you made it because it will look real.

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.

When I saw Wendy B.'s  Root of Evil tombstone, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Tim Holtz  Small  Etcetera Tombstone. Wendy has you scratching your head wondering if her tombstone is real or not; please be sure to check it out. My tombstone may not look as realistic as her's but it feels like real stone! Like Wendy, I painted all the five pieces that come in the thickboard tombstone set with black gesso. From there, I went in a different direction.

Real stone or not?

The arched overlay and two bottom pieces (barely visible in the photos) were randomly coated with Prima's Stone Effect Pastes - first Concrete and then more sparsely with Pumice Stone. Each layered was left to dry before adding the next. I sprayed the pieces with Hickory Smoke Distress Spray Stain and Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Spray. Lastly, I dry brushed with Black Soot paint and smeared with Peeled Paint Crayon.

Real etchings?

The number '31' is cut using Stencil Numbers Thinlits 4 times, and I glued the layers with Distress Collage Medium Matte and adhered to the painted background arch. Spelling out 'October' are plastic letters from my stash. After adhering the numbers and letters, I painted them with black gesso, and smeared the panel with Grit Paste and Opaque Texture Paste. I used the same sprays as before, and I had a huge mess , so I painted the entire panel with some old black crackle paint I have in my stash, that really doesn't crackle anymore, but it's real thick and adds texture.





I cut 'Wicked' with Halloween Words Thinlits 4 times and layered them up, just like Wendy did on her tombstone. Smear it with some Texture Paste and you've got an authentic looking stone etching. Additional 'carvings' on the face are Laurel 3-D Impresslits. After adhering the die cuts, I gave it all a coat of the defunct crackle paint, and when dry, spritzed both the top arch background and this tag with Iced Spruce Oxide spray.  Squeal! I love how the splatters of spray give this a real concreate appearance with practically no effort at all! Again, I randomly smeared with Peeled Paint Crayon.

Real moss?

To finish off the faux stone headstone, I used Wendy's clever idea to get that authentic dimensional mossy look, but tweaked the recipe a bit. I stirred up Peeled Paint Powder and Collage Medium until I got the desired consistency and smeared that on over some of the areas with the Peeled Paint crayon. I tried using another 'moss' recipe on my haunted bird house, including collage medium and dryer lint, but it looked like slime.

 Real  copper bats?

No, of course not! Bats aren't copper! I used Metallic Kraft Stock in copper color to cut my Bat Crazy bats and colored them with alcohol inks and Black Soot paint. You know copper gets a lovely patina when you heat it, and I bet these bats have been simmering for hours!


Real cast iron?

 The witches from the Halloween Paper Dolls colored with Distress crayons stand watch over their corroded cast iron cauldron. No, that's not real cast iron; it's hoarded Grungeboard cut with the Cauldron Bigz die.  I painted it with Black Soot paint, smeared with Grit Paste and then knifed on some more of the old non-crackle crackle paint. I painted the dried grit paste with watered down crackle paint and when it was dry, smeared with Rusty Hinge crayon. I heated it with my heat tool 'til it bubbled. The thickboard tags/tombstones and Grungeboard sure can take a lot of abuse between layers of wet mediums and the heat! I wet the cauldron from the back, shaped it and secured with a rubber band overnight to help shape it into more of a rounded bowl.



 No, it's just a little wall hanging that has no place in my 'real' cemetery.


The following products were used and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:
Stampers Anonymous Etcetera Small Tombstone
Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter 3 Bigz Die - Cauldron
Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter 3 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Bat Crazy
Sizzix 3-D Impresslits Embossing Folder - Laurel
Sizzix Tim Holtz  Die Set  - Garden Greens
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Jewels Kraft Stock
Ranger Mediums - Collage Medium Matte
Ranger Pastes - Grit Paste, Opaque Texture Paste
Ranger Alcohol Inks - Slate, Meadow, Rust
Ranger Distress Paint  - Black Soot
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls, Halloween
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mummy Cloth
Ranger Distress Spray Stain -  Bundled Sage, Hickory Smoke
Distress Crayons -  set #2, set #3
Distress Oxide Sprays - Black Soot, Cracked Pistachio, Frayed Burlap, Iced Spruce
Distress Inks - Black Soot, Forest Moss
Prima Art Extravagance - Stone Effect Pastes

Sympathy cards can be some of the hardest to make, but my husband asked that I make one this evening to send to one of his cousins. I find it's always best to keep them simple.

I used Botanical 3D embossing on the frame, inking the folder with Victorian Velvet Oxide on the side with the black print. Before inserting my water color panel into the folder, I spritzed with water to allow the inks to oxidize. After it dried, I blended lightly with Frayed Burlap ink.

I cut the panel with Stitched Ovals die and backed this with a panel I gently blended with Frayed Burlap ink. I spritzed it with a little water and blotted with a clean towel. I used Big Cheesecloth background stamp by Tammy Tutterow, also inked in Frayed Burlap. My Stampendous sentiment is stamped in Forest Moss then Versamark inks using my stamp platform and clear embossed.

The die cut flower is from Wildflowers #2 set and colored with Victorian Velvet Oxide and various green inks and markers.

It's a very simple card, but I hope it brings her some comfort after loosing her brother.

Thank you for stopping by and wishing you a good start to the week. I'll be back Wednesday to share my Design Team project for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. I hope you can join me! Sara Emily

Hello friends and happy Saturday! It's my turn to present Saturday Showcase at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. I chose to shine a spotlight on Stampers Anonymous Pressed Foliage stamps by Tim Holtz. If you would like to see some close ups and a step by step tuorial, then pop over to the blog. I hope to see you there!  Happy Fall Crafting! Sara Emily

Hello! It's time for a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog. I'm hosting this challenge and 'It's Halloween!'

I love Halloween! With Halloween just a few weeks away, I challenge you to create a vintage or shabby chic project with a Halloween theme. Your project can be as silly or creepy as you like, but just have fun!

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.



I couldn't let Halloween pass without an altered birdhouse, which I make every year. The original bird house looked like this:


After applying Opaque Texture Paste through Tim's Decayed Layering Stencil and allowing it to dry, I smeared with Ranger Grit Paste, Opaque Crackle Paste and added some Prima Mini Art Stones for more texture. The entire thing was colored with a variety of products including Distress Oxide sprays and inks and Distress paint.


Here's a shot of the base before I painted it with black gesso and paint and Oxide spray in Lucky Clover.:



 Bat Crazy die cuts are all over the place! This looks like a popular roosting place.


Tim's Mini Scallop 3D Impresslits make wonderful gingerbread trim on this vintage cottage.





Around back all is quiet...





Another Crazy Bat hangs out in a twig from my yard-turned-defoliated-tree, and the spiders weave their egg sacks. These are actually mini Christmas baubles from my stash covered with Mummy Cloth, and the eggs are clusters of  mini art stones colored with Oxide spray.