Sunday, October 7, 2012

Spooky Halloween Matchbox


This was such a fun little piece to make.  I never can get enough of assemblage work.  The box was sent to me from Leslie over at Alpha Stamps.  It did not take me long to dream up some fun applications for this little Graphic 45 treat.



I am on a total melt art kick right now.  I used UTEE on my owl charms in the previous post, and the metal numerals in this piece got a similar treatment.  I started by painting them with black gesso.  I then placed the numbers inside of my hot melt pot and sprinkled them with a bit of bronze embossing powder.  They were finished off with some clear embossing powder.  Pretty cool effects.





Now these flowers did not start off in this spooky gray color.  I did not have anything that matched my palate, so I used my stash to transform them to something that worked.  A creepy spider bead adds a nice little Halloween touch.  I am surprised he made the cut....I really, truly on a very deep level, do not like spiders.



The inside of the box holds a lot of creepy fun.  I started with a ghost image that was printed on vellum.   The back of the vellum was painted with gesso to make the ghost pop a bit more.  I then burned the edges to mimic the shape of the ghost.  The memo pin holds him up, but to add a bit more mystery and shimmer I made a mica sandwich and tore some of it away so the ghost peeks out.  I added the moon subtly in the background to add some contrast.





The inside of the matchbox was treated with black gesso and then glittered with these amazing blue mica flakes I had in my stash.  To add movement, a bat charm charm dangles from a bit of black cording.  The bottom is reindeer moss and a few little bits of junk.  The raven is one of my favorites in here.  The tiny piece of rib cage was actually a broken bit.  This goes to show it is worth keeping those things sometimes!




The trick I used to cover this box in very short order was to simply use washi tape.  I am addicted to tapes. The little window on the front and the fence was treated with both black and white guilders paste to give it a spooky look.  

Thanks as always to stop by and take a peek at my work!  I do appreciate each and every one of my readers.

Cheers, 

Rhea 

14 comments:

  1. Rhea, this box is fabulous!! Love all the detail and yes, even the spider, which deep down I do not like in the least either, but it goes so well on the box! lol

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  2. Love your haunting little box. The vellum ghost guy is fantastic..

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  3. This is amazing! I love little boxes. Great job!!

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  4. Hi Rhea, This was absolutely genious! I love all the aspects you used to create it. Definitely have to get my hands on a couple of those matchboxes. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Take care,
    Diane

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  5. Excellent little creepy box! Thanks for reminding me to use my mica! Love how your flowers and numbers came out!

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  6. Rhea, the box turned out fabulous - super job! xoxo, c

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  7. Awesome! Thanks for giving me more inspiration to play!

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  8. that's really interesting and spooky! I like how you used flowers on it - not a normal thing to put in a Halloween project. Great job!

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  9. You've really gotten into the holiday "spirit". In real life I don't mind spiders much, but bats really freak me out. Let's just enjoy them as embellishments and keep the real critters outside where they belong. I never would have thought to use washi tape to cover the outside. The whole thing looks fabulous.

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  10. What a fun little box!!! Love all the spookiness you stuffed inside!

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  11. Wow, wow,wow!! Thank you for sharing all of the spooky details behind this box. I love it!

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  12. Very cool. I love that you share the details of your pieces.

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  13. Rhea, this is amazing. I like when it's spooky and fun but not macabre or gross. Great job!

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  14. What a fun & Fabulous Halloween box, full of surprises!
    hugs Lynn

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All the comments and feedback you leave affirms my creative spirit on a very deep level. I am grateful for your time and readership!