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 

Altered Holiday Bits

I have manged to get a few things done today and thought I would celebrate with a post.  I have a looming deadline for some swaps, which always helps to push me along.  One of the projects I completed was a mystery element ornament swap.  Our lovely hostess, Deb, provided us with a material which we had to utilize in some way to create a Christmas ornament.



She gave us a round, plastic disc which ended up being my base in these holiday junque ornaments.  I die cut an oval and glued on a Santa image.  The edges were covered in memory tape and a hole was punched up top.  Then I started to embellish with lots of found objects and fibers.  I used small scale ornaments, lights and real replacement bulbs. A recent score of keys allowed me the freedom to add another element to these along with some holiday muse tokens by Tim Holtz.  I used white picket fence distress strain on the tokens to add another wintry element to some of the metal. 

      

I used Tim's texture hammer to pound the edges of the memory foil for texture.  Each part was placed at a different level to add interest.  The hangers were simply hand formed from heavy gauge wire once it was twisted together.  I love how they add a unique whimsical element to the ornaments.  I attached old replacement Christmas lights some of them as well. 



This is an altered 250 count matchbox.  I made this for a holiday swap, so the inside is filled with goodies for my partner.  Lots of fun supplies were used: tissue tape, kraft paper, broken jewelry, German scrap, shrink plastic, a Tim Holtz adage ticket, stickels and tinsel.  One of the items inside of the box is a smaller Christmas Ornament, pictured below.  I am going to enter this into Simon Says Stamp and Show's weekly challenge.  This week they are looking for tickets. 



Here I used snow cap alcohol ink and stickels on the glass before adding Santa with glossy accents.  The top is adorned with a bit of vintage tinsel from Tim's etsy shop this season.  Another muse token and unique wire hanger finishes off this tiny gift. 

I hope you found some inspiration in my recent holiday happenings.  Be sure to come back soon as there are many projects in the works!

Cheers,

Rhea

My Premier Post

Well, here I go.  I have often thought of starting a blog, and day one of my winter break has offered me the opportunity to finally put my thought in motion. 

Today I am going to highlight a little shrine I have made for one of my swap pals.  Little does she know, but the recipient of this shrine is a true inspiration of mine.  She really likes fairy tales, so this was my chosen theme.  I can only hope she likes it. 

I have never made a shrine on this scale prior to this project, it is made from a 250 count matchbox as the base. 

 



The images used for the "door" of this shrine were found in a calendar.  I loved the image of the window and I thought this added some shape, by extending beyond the boundaries of the matchbox.  The keyhole was found in my stash, as was the vintage key I attached to the outside for movement.  Amazingly, the little transfer was also discovered while rummaging through some stuff.  I was so pleased that the perfect little decal presented itself at the perfect time!