The Monster Mash, it was a Graveyard smash ...

Hello Friends

Does anyone remember the Monster Mash by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett?  I really only remember it nearer to Halloween and I can't get it out of my head.  I love Halloween and I usually make just one large project but this year I have done three!  If you missed them, you can see the others HERE and HERE, using the latest Tim Holtz Halloween products.

I also said I was not going to buy any more Tim Holtz Halloween stuff, but as you will see, I broke down and bought quite a few things.... but what the heck, we only live once!

I am not going to go through the details because I think it is fairly self explanatory, but I will say, it was an absolute nightmare to photograph!!  It definitely looks much better in real life...

Count Dracula is showing Mr and Mrs Bones the way - Mrs Bones has a blood stained shawl with a black rose to hold it together.  Mr Zombie is making his way on his own, who knows where Mrs Z is..

I decided to add some lights behind the glittery sky and at the bottom to show the monsters the way to the party.

A couple of close-ups.

Thanks for your visit.  If you are visiting today, Happy Halloween or, if afterwards I hope you had a great Halloween!

I hope to see you again tomorrow when I will be sharing not one, but two new projects.

Hugs, Anne xx

AALL & Create Project 2

Hello Friends

I am pleased to share with you my second project for AALL & Create, a large tag.  Autumn is one of my favourite seasons and Tracy Evans' gorgeous large flower reminds me of my favourite Autumn sunflowers which are still in abundance at the moment

The products I used from AALL&Create are:  A4 Stamp #109, by Tracy Evans, Stamp #6 by Tracy Evans, Stamp #45 by Tracy Evans and Stencil #39 by Autour de Mwa.  These are available from a list of suppliers HERE.

I started by covering a tag with gesso and then a random coat of crackle paint.

Once dry I gave the tag a coat of rusty colour paint, followed by a layer of blue and let this dry.  I lightly sanded the top so that some of the rusty colour would show through.

Next, I stamped the flower onto tissue paper, cut it out and painted it from the back with acrylic paint.

I attached the flower to the tag, stamped a second centre and raised it up with some silicone and used one of Tracy's trademark designs - thread, to add another texture.

I added a butterfly from one of Tracy's earlier release of stamps and used a clock hand as a body.

I always like to add charms to chunkier tags, I stamped the flower onto shrink plastic, coloured it with markers and then shrank it down, it makes a lovely sized charm.

Here is another look at the completed tag again, where you can see the stencilling I did on each side using AALL & Create Stencil #39 to tie my elements together, and the sentiment I added.

Thanks so much for your visit, as always, I appreciate your comments.  I hope to see you again next week, if not before, if I can fit in a Halloween project.

Hugs, Anne xx

AALL & Create Project 1

Hello Friends

I was completely dumbstruck when Abs (Autour de Mwa of AALL & Create) asked me to join his Design Team for a temporary period of three months, it was not something I ever expected and I am over the moon happy!  Each Thursday I will post a project using AALL & Create stamps and stencils.

I would like to thank everyone who left me messages on Facebook, I was really humbled by the comments by friends on this temporary appointment, thank you all!

Even though summer is long gone, I could not resist Olga Heldwein's gorgeous Underwater Wonders stamp set to create an underwater scene.

I started with a large MDF tag.

I painted the tag with gesso ant then applied some crackle paste here and there.  After painting over the tag with Dina Wakley turquoise paint I applied embossing paste through Stencil #39.  Once the paste was dry I used ink through the stencil here and there, it is very subtle.

I am so in love with Olga Heldwein's gorgeous seahorse stamp!  I stamped in Potting Soil Archival ink and used watercolour paints to colour my seahorses and then fussy cut them out.

I coloured a few of the shells from the stamp set and cut them out.

Next, I used embossing paste through Stencil #44, coloured the starfish and ammonites with ink and cut them out.

To create the sea floor I added some greenery, my cut out stamped elements, some real shells, wood planks and some art stones.

Finally, to finish off, I added some words from the stamp set and also some charms from my stash.

I hope you will join me next week when I will have something completely different to share with you.  

Should you wish to purchase any AALL & Create stamps or stencils you can find a complete list of world-wide stockists in the e-shop HERE.

As always, thanks so much for your visit, I really do appreciate you taking

the time.  Hope to see you soon.  

Hugs, Anne xxx

In Memory of.... the Undertaker

Hello Friends

Oh how I love Halloween!  When Tim Holtz came out with his new  Etcetera Tombstone Tag set I couldn't wait to get my hands on one (or two...).  I will say this, it was a complete nightmare to photograph but I think you will get the idea (I hope!).

I don't have many process pictures but I can show you how I started off!

After painting the elements in Black Soot Distress Paint, I applied a lighter colour with a brayer.

I then brayered a whole range of Distress Paints over the elements to create an aged 'stone' look.  I used a few of Tim's texture stamps to add some interest and then I flicked/splattered  a range of matching paints over the whole surface.

Next, I assembled the pieces, not with any plan in mind, although I was certain that I wanted the  Zombie hand to hold the light.... and the Trophy cup to hold some Halloween flowers....

I followed Tim's instructions for adding the 'hand' to a project by drilling a hole in the Tombstone.

At the bottom, I added a Trophy Cup, which I first covered in black Gesso and then stippled it with Hickory Smoke Distress Paint, to age it.  I created some flowers using Tim's Tiny Tattered Florals die.  I also used one of Tim's Garden Greens dies and also the new Tangled Twigs in the background.  The Raven was a last minute addition.

The 'Undertaker' was added to Tim's Ornate Frame and the words are from the new Halloween Quote Chips.

Finally, here is a view of the Tombstone unlit, and lit up, it looks really good in the dark!

If you are thinking of making a large piece of home decor for Halloween, the Tombstone is ideal, it is really quite large when completed and would be ideal lit up in a window on All Hallows Eve!

Edited:  I realised, (a bit late in the day) that I could enter That's Crafty's Spookalicious Challenge this month HERE....

Thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Mini Album Makers - October Challenge

Hello Friends

The first of October means that we are starting a new challenge at Mini Album Makers and as always Our Rules are very straightforward : Any Handmade Book goes.  Enter any form of handmade mini album, scrapbook, journal or book art.  Our focus is on completed works, so no layouts or journal spreads that are not part of a complete handmade book project. 

Since we are sponsored this month by Seth Apter, I have created a mini album using Seth's fabulous Baked Textures along with his dies and stamps and Paper Artsy paints.

I also used my favourite Eileen Hull journal die - Passport (Sizzix 660331).

Using heavyweight black card I brayered several colours randomly onto the card and then over-stamped with a 'crackle' stamp (make unknown) to add some texture.  I did several sheets of card.  I just love the way the colours look against the black card.

I die cut my pieces for the cover and two extras for the inside covers, in plain black.  I also cut three signature covers from the same brayered cardstock. The beauty of the Passport die is that it also cuts perfect signatures to fit inside the Passport journal.

After die cutting the spine in plain cardstock I used Seth's Baked Textures Embossing Powder  - Rocky Road to create a lovely contrast.  I also die cut several pieces from Seth's Steering Wheel die (S4-741) and his Broken Maze die (S4-743) for a couple of the signature fronts too.  These were also embossed with Rocky Road Baked Textures.  The EPs give a wonderful tactile feel to the die cuts.

I created a pocket for the inside of the journal and applied the 'steering wheel' due cuts to the signature covers.  The steering wheel on the front cover of the journal was layered up three times and I added a mini corked jar, filled with some Baked Texture powder (Vintage Beeswax).

I added the signatures to the journal and stamped the word Experiment from Seth's ESA08 stamp set, this was also embossed with Rocky Road.

To finish off I always like to add some handmade charms and I also added a black crinkle ribbon closure.

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Our generous Sponsor this month is Seth Apter who is offering one lucky winner a full set of his Baked Textures Embossing Powders by Emerald Creek - what a fabulous prize!!

Website - http://www.sethapter.com/

Blog - https://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sethapter/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thealteredpage

Twitter - https://twitter.com/sethapter

I hope you will visit us at Mini Album Makers to see what my talented teamies have made and also to join in - you might just win the wonderful prize from Seth Apter!

Thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon!

Hugs, Anne xxx