BOO ... IT'S A SCARY NO RULES WEEK

Hi everybody! It's another Monday at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  This week is a "NO RULES, JUST CRAFT" challenge.  Hop on over to the blog and see the amazing ideas that my Design Teammates have waiting for you!   Then let your creative juices start flowing and post an entry to our blog.

I recently participated in a fabulous online course by Andy Skinner called "Timeworn Techniques".  I found it a challenge and fascinating.  The course was all about technique and the amazing things you can do with acrylic paint.

Halloween will be here before we know it.  I thought I'd get a jump on it by incorporating some of the products I love with the techniques I've just learned. 

Here is my finished piece. 

I started out with a plain paper mache coffin.  Not very interesting!  (smile)

In order for the new techniques I'd learned to really be effective, I needed to create texture and detail on the coffin.  

Enter Tim Holtz' die cuts....

Movers and Shapers Mini Ticket, Alphetical Decorative Strip, On The Edge Ornate and On The Edge Iron Gate.  I cut the shapes out of Plain Grungeboard and then attached them to the coffin.  The "RIP" was cut out of cardstock three times and then layered on top of each other for more dimension.

    

Here is the coffin with the Iron Gate added around the base before painting.

 

 I built up the top and bottom of the headstone by adding layers of the On The Edge Ornate Grungeboard pieces.  I glued them together with Glossy Accents.  On either side of the headstone is a piece of ornate wood trim that I purchased at a craft store.  I also added two Melissa Frances half pearls from her Trinkets and Baubles at the bottom.  As you will see in the finished piece, those turn into rivets.

This is the headstone portion of the coffin before painting.  

I also added the pearls around the top of the coffin lid.  They will also look like rivets in the finished piece.

So here are the pieces before they are painted.  The skull is a plastic one that I bought at a craft store last Halloween.  I cut it in half so that the skull would lay flat on the coffin headstone.

Next step, all of the pieces (except the skull) are painted black to give them a good base coat to work from.  Even just the black is a dramatic difference.  The skull is painted with an off white paint base coast.

Out of respect to Andy Skinner, I will not give the specific paint colors or the details of the techniques I used on this piece.  But, if you are fascinated with this, I encourage you to visit his website and check out his online classes.

Again ..... coffin lid before

Coffin lid painted black.  See the difference in those "rivets" already?

And here is the finished coffin lid...using a technique to make it appear rusted.

Coffin painted black.

Coffin with rust technique added.  Don't those Melissa Frances pearls and Tim's Iron Gate piece just POP?  Love it!

Plain headstone painted black.

Plain headstone after the rust technique.  Again, see how the wood trim, the pearl "rivets" and the built up On The Edge Ornate die cut really pop? 

Now all I needed to do is add all of the embellishments.

 The skulls and the "RIP" are all done using an aged ivory technique.  I added some Crackle Accents to the top of "RIP" for even more dimension and aging.

The skull in the center is hot glued in place.  The two skulls on either side have red glowing eyes courtesy of Hero Arts Red Gemstones that are held in place with Glossy Accents.  I added the chain, the little keys and the little door knocker and hot glued them all into place.  Since I love interactive stuff, the chains and keys hang freely.

The RIP plate is done using Tim Holtz' Mini Tickets die cut.  I glued it on top of plain Grungeboard and cut out a slightly larger ticket behind it.  I then added two more little pearls for rivets on either side.  The plate is then aged using a burnt copper technique.  I love this effect and there is actually a rough texture where it looks like the copper has oxidized on the plate.  

There is a "resident" inside the coffin.

He was a sort of yellowy plastic little fellow that I purchased last Halloween.  I replaced the head on him with a larger one.  I think it gives him much more character than the little boring head he had before.  (smile)  And...after taking Andy's classes, this is exactly how MY head feels...like's it's exploding with all of the techniques I learned in his classes.  (smile) 

  

So that's it....no rules this week!  Only crafting for the sake of crafting and loving every minute of it!  I hope you'll join in on the fun at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  Post your entry to the blog and you could be the lucky winner of our most generous sponsor's 

$50.00 voucher to spend any way you like in their store!  Now ... I warn you ... with all of the wonderful products at Simon Says Stamp and Show and with all of the new products being released after Summer CHA, you're probably going to spend more than $50.00!  But, what a great start!!!

You may also be chosen as one of our TOP THREE entries for the week.  That is quite an honor, considering the level of entries we receive each week.  Beautiful work from so many talented people!  

Good luck!  I can't wait to be inspired by your entry this week.

 Here are the products from Simon Says Stamp that I used in the creation of this piece:

*Tim Holtz Sizzix Die MINI TICKETS Movers & Shapers 657216 Alterations	*Tim Holtz Sizzix ALPHABETICAL Decorative Strip 657482	*Tim Holtz Sizzix Die ORNATE On The Edge Alterations 656626	*Tim Holtz Sizzix Die IRON GATE On The Edge Fence Alterations 656918
*Tim Holtz Idea-ology GRUNGEBOARD BASICS PLAIN Altered Art	*Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive	*Ranger Inkssential CRACKLE ACCENTS Glue Dimensional Adhesive	*Melissa Frances CREAM PEARLS GN297 Trims Baubles
*Hero Arts Bling Gemstones GREEN & RED Gems Gem Stones ch120

InLinkz.com