Tuesday, December 8, 2015

VINTAGE MERRY CHRISTMAS CANVAS

Hello again my blogging friends!

I am a huge fan of vintage/retro Christmas pieces.  I would love to share with you a piece that I created especially for you that is now being featured on 
DecoArt's Mixed Media Blog.  


I recently came across the most beautiful image of Santa on his Christmas Eve visit.  It is actually the cover of a Christmas Ideals magazine from the year 1946.  Happily, that was long before I was born but I remember those magazines in our home every Christmas season.  

The art of the cover of this particular edition just mesmerized me and I wanted to recreate it onto a 5" x 7" canvas that would resemble an old vintage Christmas postcard.  But I had a problem in that I am not a great painter of people or animals.  

The way I've done this canvas, you combine some of your own painting with the addition of a paper copy of Santa and his reindeer from the original artwork.  So you don't have to be a fabulous painter to get fabulous results! With DecoArt's Media products, this project came together easily and it was a lot of fun!  I really do think my finished canvas looks like an old vintage postcard.  You could really make this a showy Christmas decor piece by adding a vintage type of frame or just leave it as is and make it part of a Christmas display.

You can view the entire project over at DecoArt's Mixed Media Blog and get the complete pictorial tutorial if you'd like to make this piece.  And I'll share the original art work with you here because you will need it for your project.  Just right click and save it to your computer.  Then you can size it to fit whatever piece you are creating.


Here you go ...

Merry Christmas Blessings to you and yours.






Tuesday, December 1, 2015

VINTAGE CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS WITH DECOART

It's December 1st already!

As the Christmas carol says, "Fast away the old year passes."  Before you know it, Santa will be making his annual Christmas Eve visit.

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to create a "grandchildren's tree" for our home.  I wanted to fill that tree with ornaments that my grandchildren make for us and ornaments that I make for them....a dated ornament, one for each grandchild, each Christmas.  

Someday these ornaments will be theirs to share with their families.  I hope that they will become treasured keepsakes; hand made with love from their "Mimi".


I am so excited to share two of the ornaments I have just completed for my tree with you.  They are featured at DecoArt's Media Blog page with complete pictorial tutorials.

Perhaps you have small children or grandchildren and would like to start a Christmas tradition like this for your family.  DecoArt Products are wonderful to work with and I feel confident that year after year when I unwrap these precious ornaments to hang on my tree, they will be just as beautiful and bright as the day I made them.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

MORE MAGAZINE PEOPLE ART JOURNAL PAGES

Hello!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

I wanted to share two more of my magazine people art journal pages with you.

Magazine people art journal pages

This page is layers and layers of all sorts of different elements.  The original background is created by wiping various colors of acrylic paints onto the gesso'd surface of the page using a baby wipe.  When that was dry, I lightly spritzed some Heidi Swapp Color Shine sprays onto the colorful background. 

Next I added some fibers, a rough textured loose burlap style piece of ribbon trim and corrugated strips using DecoArt Matte Medium brushed onto the background to glue the pieces in place and then dabbing the brush with Matte Medium over the top of those pieces to seal them in place.  

The next layer consisted of a little torn 7 Gypsies tissue paper with book text words that was applied with Matte Medium in the same manner as were the textured pieces in the paragraph above.

Once that was dry, I stamped the various flowers and greenery using a black permanent ink and heat set that in place.  To add the color to these stamped images, I used my Neocolor III Watercolor Crayons and a Detailer Water Brush.  I so love those watercolor pencils.  It's so easy to fill in and blend colors. I lightly sprayed the page with a clear sealer to protect all of my coloring so that when I added my magazine girl, the colors of the flowers and leaves would not run.  After all, they are water soluble and the Matte Medium would activate those colors.

I brushed the page underneath where my girl would go, I laid her in place and then brushed Matte Medium over her to seal her in place.  Once dry, I added the tissue tape around the edges and the teal acrylic paint color to edge the page.

"Love to Create" is a IndigoBlu stamp that was stamped with black permament ink and stamped onto white cardstock.  The edges were torn and it was glued in place over a big pink bow that I thought was a little over the top on my magazine girl.  


This page began as a colorful gelli print that also had alot of exposed white on it.  It was originally done on plain deli paper and glued onto the surface of the gesso'd page using Matte Medium.   

I loved all of the exposed white because it gave me so much area to play with to create a great contrast of the spots of bright color.  My next layer is a piece of Tim Holtz' Melange Tissue Wrap.  It is basically transparent with lots of beautiful stamping on it; featuring his Papillon butterflies and some lovely French script.  That layer was also glued in place using Matte Medium and then another of Matte Medium on top to seal it in place. 

I cut out the lovely black frame from a piece of old 7 Gypsies frame tissue paper that I have.  I love that paper!  So many very cool frames to choose from.  It was also laid in place using Matte Medium. 

Once dry, I added some tissue tape to the page and then some rainbow ribbon trim around the perimeter of the page.  Again, Matte Medium was brushed on to hold it in place and seal it.

The next layer included some lovely butterfly tissue tape and other colorful tissue tapes that were placed randomly on the page.  Then I randomly stamped various polka dot type images on the page using black permanent ink and heat set it in place.  I colored the larger butterfly in using my Neocolor III Watercolor Crayons and a Detailer Water Brush.

I glued my magazine girl (from a Cinderella ad) onto the page using Matte Medium as a glue and then a sealer.  On top of her dress, I glued three butterflies in flight.  These butterflies were images found on the internet and sized to fit the page properly.  I love how they pull everything together and give more depth to the page.

Finally I took a little bit of teal acrylic paint on my finger and wiped it around the perimeter of the page to sort of "frame" the page, as I had done with all of the previous art journal pages.

I hope you enjoy these pages and that they might inspire you to pull out your art journal, a canvas or whatever you like and take a few minutes out of your busy day to find time to play!




Friday, November 6, 2015

ART JOURNALING DECOART AND YVONNE BLAIR INKY ART JOURNAL

Hello friends!

Welcome back to my blog and a very special Blog Hop and Giveaway Event for a very special lady and dear art sister ... Yvonne Blair of Life's Little Details



I was blessed to have met Yvonne at Ranger U in 2011 and we've been "soul sisters" ever since.  Yvonne is one of the most sincere, kindest ladies I have ever met and I am proud she asked me to help her launch her amazing new line of art journaling products.

** TO BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN THE GIVEAWAY, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT ON EVERYONE'S BLOG POST.  IT'S THAT SIMPLE!

Here are the lovely ladies and artists also involved in this Blog Hop Giveaway.  Each has created something wonderful using Yvonne's products. And...you will recognize almost all of the names on this list as members of the Curiosity Crew from the recent Compendium of Curiosities III Challenges!  By the way, stay tuned because most of the crew will be back together in the new year with some really fun stuff!

Annette Green
Cheryl Boglioli
Cheryl Grigsby
Linda Ledbetter
Susan Mostek
Yvonne Blair

This giveaway is celebrating Yvonne's launch of her own product line including her new Art Journal Buddy Tool, her amazing Inky Art Journals and her stamp line with Impression Obsession.  For more information about ordering the Art Journal Buddy Tool and the Inky Art Journals, contact Yvonne at yblair@gmail.com or go to her website (link above).  Her wonderful array of stamps are available through Impression Obesssion

Inky Art Journal Pages for Yvonne Blair Blog Hop

I have created an art journal spread using Yvonne's wonderful new 6" x 8" Inky Art Journal.  I totally LOVE her art journals because they lay FLAT when you open them!  No matter where you open the journal to work ... FLAT!  The cover is made out of plain chipboard so that you can alter it in any way you like ... really making your journal your own! The 32 interior pages are a wonderful manila shipping tag material.  These pages are sturdy and it  takes a ridiculous amount of wet ink or paint to bleed through these babies!  I have yet to have it happen to me. 

Yvonne's Inky Art Journals come in three sizes:  6" x 8", 8 1/2" x 11" and her brand new size, 4" x 8". 

Want to know how I created these art journal pages?  Well, here's a tutorial to show you how ...

Here is the list of supplies you will need:  
  • Yvonne's 6" x 8" Inky Art Journal
  • Seth Apter Faded Fragments stamp set from Impression Obsession
  • D17042 Stamp from Impression Obsession.  
  • DecoArt Media White Gesso
  • DecoArt Media Matte Medium
  • DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - Titanium White, Titan Buff, Cobalt Teal Hue, Cadmium Orange Hue, Cadmium Red Hue, Quinacridone Gold, Burnt Umber, Diarylide Yellow, Hansa Yellow Medium, Yellow Green Light, Yellow Iron Oxide
  • DecoArt Americana Dark Chocolate and Flesh Tone Acrylic Paints
  • Various Book Text and Emphemera
  • Fabric Scraps
  • Lace Scraps
  • Cardstock cut into a heart shape
  • Tissue Tape
  • Neocolor II Watercolor Crayons
  • Hickory Smoke Distress Marker
  • Permanent Black Ink Pen (for detail work)
  • Paint Brushes 
  • Stylus
  • Black Cardstock
  • Permanent Black Ink
  • Specialty Stamping Paper
  • Black Thread and sewing machine
  • Detailer Water Brush
  • 1/4" Scor Tape

You will begin with a blank page spread in the 6" x 8" Inky Art Journal.  Notice how FLAT the journal opens!  I can't stress enough how easy this book is to work in and how beautifully your art flows across the pages!



Next I sketched my idea of the girl coming out from behind a big heart in the center directly onto the pages of the art journal.  Then I traced them onto a piece of tracing paper for later use.



I then brushed DecoArt Media White Gesso over the pages.



While the art pages were drying, I cut out a big heart out of scrap white cardstock.  I tore strips of fabric to create a homespun quilt like heart.  Using Matte Medium and a brush, I glued them in place on the cardstock heart.  Then I set it aside to dry.



Here is the backside of the heart as it was drying.  The fabric hanging over the edges would be cut shorter and frayed later.



While the fabric heart was drying, I began working on my art journal page layers.  Using Matte Medium and a brush, I began with torn book text.  Then I started adding little pieces of ephemera that I liked.  Not too many...just a few for interest.  Remembering that my girl would be peeking out from the center heart on the right hand side, I didn't need to add a lot of ephemera on that page.  Then I added some patterned cardstock for more interest.  Once I had those items in place, I brushed over them with Matte Medium and sealed them in place.



Once the heart was dry, I cut off the straggling ends and left enough fabric to fray all around the heart.  Here I have just laid the heart on top of the pages to get an idea of how everything is taking shape.



I removed the heart from the center and added some more fabric strips to the art pages to tie everything together.  I added them by brushing Matte Medium onto the pages, adding the strips and then brushing Matte Medium over them to seal them in place.  Matte Medium dries clear and is a fantastic glue and sealer.



For more pattern and interest, I added some 7 Gypsies Tissue Tape to the mix.




Now here are the basic art journal pages, layered with lots of different elements, pattern and color.  Everything is sealed with Matte Medium and set aside to dry.



The colors on the fabric heart make my heart happy but they were very vivid.  I wanted the focal point of these art journal pages to be the sentiment and the girl, not the heart.  So, to soften the colors, I added a wash of water and DecoArt Titanium White Fluid Acrylic Paint over the heart.  Then I let it air dry.



While the heart was drying, it was time to transform the art journal pages into a colorful union.  So using a baby wipe, I first swiped Titan Buff mixed with a small amount of water over the pages followed by Cobalt Teal Hue mixed with a small amount of water to make the colors more semi transparent.  I also wiped away some of the color from the pieces of ephemera.  I continued to add more color until I was happy with the background.



Laying the heart on top of the newly colored pages, you can see how everything really is starting to come together!



Next I did some messy machine stitching using black thread on the heart.  I laid the heart in it's place at the center of the pages but I did not glue it in place yet.



I laid my piece of tracing paper with my girl on it under the one side of the heart and using carbon paper between the traced image and the art journal page, I traced the girl onto the art journal page.



Here you can clearly see the outline of the girl on the art journal page.



I painted a basecoat of DecoArt's Media Fluid Acrylic Titanium White on the girl so that the colors I would be adding would be a truer and more opaque.  Then I began filling in the colors ... first her face with DecoArt's Americana Flesh Tone Acrylic paint.



And here is the way the art journal pages look at this point.



I painted the hair using DecoArt's Dark Chocolate, Titan Buff and a touch of Quinacridone Gold and then I started adding the facial shading using Neocolor II Water Color Crayons and a Detailer Water Brush.



Next it was time start filling in her dress. I decided to combine the Cadmium Orange Hue and Cadmium Red Hues to create the dress color and shading.



To give the art journal pages more depth, I added Hickory Smoke Distress Marker around the exterior of the girl and where the heart would eventually rest.  I smudged the gray using my finger and a tiny amount of water if necessary to create a feeling of depth and shadow blended into the background. 



Here you can see the effectiveness of the Hickory Smoke shading.



Next I added some small little flowers using a small paint brush and Titanium White paint.  I outlined everything with a Permanent Black Pen.



Then I added some scrap vintage lace to the neck and sleeve of the girl's dress using Matte Medium to hold them in place.  First I gathered the lace for the sleeve with a needle and thread and secured it with a piece of Scor Tape. Then I brushed over the collar and the gathered taped area of the sleeve with Matte Medium to seal them in place.



I stamped the sentiment, and the inspiration for these journal pages from Yvonne's wonderful stamps, available at Impression Obession a couple of times onto a piece of Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper using Black Permanent Ink.  Then I cut out the sentiment and glued it onto a piece of black cardstock. I cut it out again, leaving a black edge around each of the words. Those were then glued onto the heart.



The girl's dress was really sweet but it needed something else.  So I added polka dots using a stylus and DecoArt's Titan Buff Fluid Acrylics Paint.



Now to finish off the left side of the art journal page by adding some whimsical flowers ...
I stamped Tim Holtz' Flower Garden large stem and just the small flower from Wendy Vecchi's Ticket To Art flower directly onto the art journal page using Black Permanent Ink.  The leaves on those stems are from Tim's stamp.  Then I colored the flowers and stems in using a small paint brush and DecoArt's Fluid Acrylic Burnt Umber, Diarylide Yellow, Hansa Yellow Medium and Yellow Green Light paints.



I also added some really cool black designs from Seth Apter's Faded Fragments stamp set from Impression Obsession randomly around the perimeter of the pages.  Here is the almost completed art journal pages.  They just need the sentiment heart in the center.



Here is a closeup of the heart that has been glued to the center of the art journal pages.



And once again, here are the finished pages.  I just loved this sentiment from Yvonne's various stamp sets and as I said earlier, it was the inspiration for these pages.  

Please take a few minutes to visit the other blogs and leave comments so you can be eligible to win and Art Journal Buddy Tool and the new 4" x 8" Inky Art Journal.

Good luck everybody!










Thursday, October 22, 2015

A HAUNTED HOUSE ART/JUNK TWINE BINDING JOURNAL FOR A VINTAGE JOURNEY

Hello everyone!  

I am so excited to announce that I was recently asked by Brenda Brown to do a guest designer spot 
for A Vintage Journey.  This was like a homecoming for me as I was one of the original "Creative Crew" when A Vintage Journey launched in February of 2014.

The theme for October is "Journaling with Tim" ... something right up my alley as I have always been a huge fan of Tim Holtz' style and I am currently have so much fun learning, experimenting and creating my own art/junk journals.

I played around with Tim's Artful Dwellings die cuts and created a very dimensional Haunted House cover.  Complete with ghostly visitors, rickety old siding and spooky roof peaks, this book is definitely a one of a kind.  With a combination of some Tim Holtz and DecoArt Media Line products, I had a complete blast making this book and so can you!

Here are a couple of little sneak peaks for you ...


"Knock Knock ....
"Who's There?"
"Doncha."
"Doncha who?"
"Doncha 'witch' you could come in and play?"

 

Looks like Tim's "Creepy Kids" are stopping by for a visit ...


And what would a Haunted House art journal be 
without good ol' Grandma's portrait hanging in the foyer?

For a complete pictorial tutorial on how to create this art/junk journal, head on over to 

Happy Fall and Happy Halloween! 




Wednesday, October 7, 2015

BATS IN THE BELFRY HAUNTED MANSION FOR DECOART CHALLENGE

Boo!  

Welcome to my blog and DecoArt's "Haunted" Mixed Media Challenge for the International Design Team.  What fun we all had in creating our spooky surprises for you!


Bats In The Belfry Haunted Mansion for DecoArt Challenge using DecoArt Media products

I created a spooky Halloween home decor piece.  



I transformed a plain pretty much square paper mache house into a "Haunted Mansion" complete with an added belfry with a widow's walk, rounded turret and spooky front porch.

I will share with you the step by step in creating this fun mixed media piece.  All of the products used to transform this haunted mansion are DecoArt Media Line products.  I LOVE THEM! The Media Fluid Acrylic Paints stay true to color and flow so beautifully on a brush. The Media Modeling Pastes, Texture Sand Paste and Gesso has a wonderful consistency to spread with a palette knife, work through a stencil or brush on.  Crafting is easy and you can depend on the quality of DecoArt's Media Line products.

There are lots of pictures and instructional steps for this piece but don't let that scare you! It was tons of fun to make and the more you get into it, the more your imagination takes over!  I seriously was creating as I went with this house!

Let's get started .... I will show the steps for the "Haunted Mansion" in the order that I used to create each piece.

Here is your list of supplies:

·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Dark Grey Value 3
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Yellow Ochre
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Blue Green Light
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Sienna
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Gold
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Gold
·         DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Silver
·         DecoArt Media Matte Medium
·         DecoArt Media Black Modeling Paste
·         DecoArt Media White Modeling Paste
·         DecoArt Media White Gesso
·         DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste
·         Glossy Accents
·         Sizzix Texture Fade Notebook
·         Tim Holtz Stencil Crocodile
·         Tim Holtz Stencil Bricked
·         Sizzix Bigz Sized Arches
·         Sizzix Alterations On The Edge Graveyard
·         Sizzix Alterations On The Edge Plaque and Postage
·         Sizzix Alterations Iron Gate
·         Fiskars Bat Punch
·         Paint brushes for painting and dry brushing
·         Grungeboard
·         Cardstock
·         ¼” Scor Tape (double sided adhesive tape)
·         Skeletons, skeleton heads, skeleton hands
·         Gauzy material (for ghosts)
·         Wire
·         Spider webs
·         Glue Guns and slue sticks
·         Mossy grass
·         White Signo Uniball permanent pen
·         Black Stabilo Pencil
·         Wire jewelry head pins (for skeleton skull charms)
·         Tracing Paper (for window panes)
·         Exacto knife
·         Light bulb and cord (to light house)


The Belfry Construction


Create a belfry from chipboard.  These belfry walls measured 4 1/2"x 2 1/4" for the back wall, 4"x 2 1/4" for the front wall and a 1/4" miter on either bottom side, 4 7/8" on the long side and 3 5/8" on the short side of the wall x 2 1/8" width.  Measure 1/4" from the top of the wall, center the medium Sized Arches arch and die cut it into the wall.  Create 8 "structure strips" from a 1" (width) piece of cardstock, scored 1/2" (in the middle) and add a 1/4" piece of Scor Tape to each side of the structure strip. Cut the strips to fit the length of each portion of the walls. (The color of the chipboard and structure strips does not matter.  All will be covered up).


Press the structure strips in place on the inside of the walls to join the walls together.


Paint the interior of the belfry with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black.


Place the remaining structure strips on the outside walls.  Adhere one side of the fourth structure strip to one end.  Once the belfry is put together, you will join the ends with the structure strip to hold in place.  Place the die cut centers of the arches in place so that you can add "bricks or stone" to the exterior in the next step.


Working on the two exterior ends first, lay Tim Holtz' bricked stencil on top of the chipboard wall.  Use a palette knife and scrape DecoArt Media Black Modeling Paste across the stencil, creating a brick or stone embossed exterior. Gently heat set or let air dry and then repeat for the interior walls.  Immediately wash the palette knife and stencil after use.  Once the walls are dry, you will see areas that need to be painted black to cover all of the chipboard.  Simply brush over these areas with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black.


Add screens to the arches using rusty mesh and 1/4" Scor Tape. The screens can be cut before or after you add them to the arched windows.  Cut the screens and then fold the ends of the cut mesh to the outside, creating an opening. (If the mesh screen needs reinforcing, a little bit of hot glue will also hold the screen in place).


Add accent "stones" around the arches with DecoArt Media White Gesso and a small brush.  Heat set and lightly dry brush a light coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6 on top of the White Gesso.


Create "stone" caps to go underneath the arched windows by cutting small pieces of chipboard the width of the windows and the desired thickness.  The shelf pieces are 1 1/8" long and 1/2" wide.  Underneath the shelves are 1 1/8"x 1/4".  Paint all of the shelves on both sides and the under pieces on one side with DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste.  When dry, add a very light coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6 to the "stone" pieces.  


Glue all of the "stone" pieces in place using Glossy Accents.  Glue the shelf pieces on first and then attach the underneath pieces.  Hold each piece in place for a few seconds while gluing to be sure that they are secure.


Dry brush DecoArt Medium Grey Value 6 over all of the exterior "stone" wall.  Use a fairly stiff brush and take small strokes going in all directions when dry brushing.  Go over areas to create different depths of color from the dry brushing.


Add even more variation and depth of color to the "stone" walls by dry brushing with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Yellow Ochre followed by Quinacridone Gold.  Lightly go back over some areas with the Medium Grey if needed to thoroughly blend the dry brushed colors. 

Adding the Widow's Walk To The Top Of The Belfry


Die Cut two of Tim Holtz' Iron Gate die cut out of heavyweight cardstock.  Glue them together using DecoArt Media Matte Medium first as a glue to glue them together and then a sealer to seal both sides of the fence. Gently heat set or air dry.


Once dry, brush on a layer of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Silver followed by a light random coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Gold. Heat set. 


To further age and weather the fence, randomly add DecoArt's Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber then Burnt Sienna to darken and "rust" the fence.  Finally add touches of a mixture of DecoArt Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff and Blue Green Light to create a patina metal effect.  Gently heat set.


Looking from the inside of the belfry walls, add 1/4" strip of Scor Tape along the top edge of the wall and centering the gate of the fence on the center front wall, adhere the iron fence to the top of the belfry wall.  Then paint over the rough edges of the fence with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black so that it matches the rest of the interior walls.


Here is a view of the exterior belfry walls with the widow's walk in place.  Leave the two edges of the extra fence hanging over the edge of the walls.  When the wall is joined together in a box, part of the fence can be overlapped and the rest cut off to join it together as well.  And now for the spooky residents of the belfry ...


Create skull charms out of some wire and some store bought little skulls.  These are approximately 3/4" long.  (I purchased them at Michaels on a Halloween necklace and cut the necklace apart to use the skulls and bones separately).  Roll up one end of the wire up so that it will "catch" inside of the bottom hole that is drilled up through the skull.  Add a little Glossy Accents to the rolled up section of wire and run the wire up through the skull.  The Glossy Accents will adhere the skull to the rolled up end of the wire.  Center the skull in the arched window and in the hole cut in the rusty wire mesh.  Hot glue the top of the wire in place on the inside of the wall.  Do this to all four windows.


Here are the same skulls peering out of the torn mesh windows.  See all of the detail that is picked up by the DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics that have been dry brushed over the DecoArt Media Modeling Paste?  I LOVE this technique!  It looks like real stone!

Finally, what is a belfry without BATS???  


Create the bats and the illusion of them flying around the belfry with wire and a Fiskars Bat Punch.  Two bats and one piece of wire create a flying bat.  Be sure to cut the wire long enough to allow the bats to fly high and low around the belfry.  Roll up one end of the wire a little bit so that when the wire is hot glued in place, it will adhere better to the interior walls of the belfry.  You will see the flying bats in later photographs.

The belfry can simply sit on the rooftop of the house so that it can easily be removed for storage or you can permanently glue it into place.  I chose not to permanently glue mine to the roof.

Transforming The Simple Paper Mache House Into The Haunted Mansion

The "Tin Roof"


Using heavyweight cardstock, dry emboss the "tin roof" using Tim Holtz' Sizzix Notebook Texture Faces Embossing Folder.  Emboss several pieces of cardstock, cut to pretty much fit the width and length of the paper mache roof.  Then brush a mixture of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6 and Metallic Silver (about 60% Medium Grey and 40% Metallic Silver) and a bit of water over the entire surface of the embossed cardstock.  Heat set.


To create the illusion of a weathered tin roof, mix DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics with water to create almost a wash, but not quite that watery.  Then using a baby wipe, wipe the paint mixture onto the "tin roof". Add more if desired or wipe away excess.  Heat set.  Then paint the top of the house using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black.  Make sure that you cover the chimney and the peaks of the roof as those will not be covered with the "tin roof" material.  Also paint the peaked walls in the front and sides of the top portion of the house.  (Those will later be dry brushed).


Cut the "tin roof" pieces and glue them in place on the roof by attaching them with rows of 1/4" Scor Tape that has been added directly onto the sloped roof.  In some cases, if might be easier to create a pattern out of copy paper and then transfer that to the tin roof to cut it out to fit the roof.  Completely cover the roof.


Once the roof is covered with the "tin roof" exterior, add even more weathering and aging effects first with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Quinacridone Gold to give a rusty appearance.  Then add a mixture of Titan Buff and Blue Green Light for a patina metal effect.  Apply all of these paints with an almost dry brush.


Now you can sit the belfry on top of the "tin roof" to see how absolutely amazing they both look together ... thanks to DecoArt's Media Line.  What a crazy illusion ... stone and tin roof out of paper!!!

The House Exterior Walls

The house walls are done almost exactly like the walls on the belfry.


Cover each wall with DecoArt media Black Modeling Paste using a palette knife and Tim's Bricked Stencil.  You will have to work in sections and either gently heat set or allow the Modeling Paste to dry before covering part of it with the stencil again to work the next section.  Be sure to wash the stencil and palette knife right after using.


Paint the areas where the paper mache is showing through with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black.  Heat set.


To create the "stone" exterior, first dry brush all over the walls with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6.  Use a fairly stiff brush and work in small strokes.  Change up the direction of your brushing and go over areas where you want to add more color and depth.


To add a more weathered and aged appearance to the "stone" walls, dry brush first with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Yellow Oxide then Quinacridone Gold and finally a bit more Medium Grey Value 6.


Find the center back of the house and using one of the DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics bottles, draw a circle and cut out the circle with an Exacto Knife.  This is the hole where a light bulb will be added at the very end.


Add "windows" to the interior of the large house (and later the turret) by using Tracing Paper.  Cut it a bit larger than the length and width of the windows.  Add Glossy Accents around the perimeter of the windows, in between the windows and on the interior panes of the windows.  Press the Tracing Paper into place.  This paper will allow the light to softly shine through the windows without seeing the actual starkness of the light bulb.

I did not get a picture of this but at this point, you will add the front porch overhang to the front of the house.  Remove the roof portion of the house and set it to the side.  Cut a piece of plain chipboard to fit the width of the house and determine how much of an overhang you want.  In this case, the overhang is 5"x 3".  Paint the underside of the overhang black.  Add a structure strip cut to the long width of the overhang.  Leave the other half of the structure strip alone at this point. Apply 1/4" Scor Tape to the top side of the overhang and add the "tin roof" material just as you did on the roof top to completely cover the overhang (hiding half of the structure strip.)  Add the aging effects of the DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics paint, as was done on the "tin roof".  Now lay the overhang against the top of the house and secure it in place with the other half of the structure strip pressed over the top and just inside the top of the house opening.  Secure with another piece of tape or Glossy Accents.  
Now you will still be able to open the roof of the house if you choose to do so.

Creating The Rounded Turret And The Fireplace


Create a fireplace out of chipboard and structure strips for the side of the house.  This fireplace flue was created to go between the upper sets of windows on the side of the house.


Using the Bricked Stencil, a Palette Knife and DecoArt Media White Modeling Paste, stencil the "stone" appearance directly onto the fireplace.  Gently heat set and add your own stones to the sides of the fireplace using a paint brush.  Heat set or let air dry.  Set aside.


Using a tube from a cardboard paper towel roll, cut the height that you want for the turret and cut up the center of the paper towel roll.  Measure and create an outside "stone" wall for the turret using Heavyweight Cardstock, the Bricked Stencil, a palette knife and DecoArt Media White Modeling Paste.  Gently heat set or air dry.


Using a mixture of DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste and Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff, brush over all of the "stone" wall paper and the "stones" on the fireplace. Gently heat set or let air dry.  These walls are done in light colors to contrast with the grey walls of the Haunted Mansion.


Create weathered "stone" walls for the turret and fireplace by lightly almost dry brushing first with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide then Medium Grey Value 6 and finally touches of Dark Grey Value 3.  Be careful not to brush to hard because you want to leave the sandy texture of the wall in tact.


Create three windows in the center of the turret.  These windows are approximately 1" tall and 3/4" wide.  Apply 1/4" Scor Tape to the front side of the turret paper towel roll and glue the stone wall into place over it. 


Using a plain piece of Grungeboard, cut a top for the turret using Tim Holtz' On The Edge Plaque and Postage die cut.  As done on the accent stones for the belfry, paint DecoArt Texture Sand Paste over the front side of the die cut.  Add a light coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6 paint over the Texture Sand Paste.  (Also seen in this picture are die cut Grungeboard grave stones that are being painted with the Texture Sand Paste).


Once dry, lightly brush first DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Medium Grey Value 6 then Titan Buff then Dark Grey Value 3 to simulate old "stone" headstones.  When dry, use a fine point black or dark brown permanent marker and create writings on the headstones.  (These headstones were cut from Plain Grungeboard using Tim Holtz' Graveyard On The Edge die cut.  I cut two and sometimes three graves and glue them on top of each other to create the illusion of depth.  They are glued together with Glossy Accents). I later separated them into three sections by cutting them apart and gluing them around the house.

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As done on the belfry tower, brush small accent stones around the windows using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff.  Heat set.  Then using a Black Stabilo pencil, add accent marks around the stones.  Lightly spray the turret walls with a sealer. Add the "windows" using Tracing Paper and as done on the house.  


Paint vines on the turret and fireplace walls using a thin paint brush and DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber.


Add structure strips to either long end of the turret.  These will be used to glue the turret in place on the right front corner of the house.  The sets of windows shown in this picture will be hidden inside of the turret.  The left side of the turret will attach at the outside edge of the front right windows.  The  right side of the turret will attach just to the right of these windows.  Add a bead of hot glue down the side of the 1/4" Scor Tape on the structure strip, press the turret wall into place and hold until it is secure.

Cobblestone Front Porch


Create a front porch floor out of a piece of chipboard and cut to match the overhang on the front porch tin roof.  Use Tim Holtz' Crocodile Stencil, a palette knife, DecoArt Media Black Modeling Paste and create the cobblestone floor.  Gently heat set or let air dry.  Once dry, dry brush with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff and then Yellow Oxide to create a worn look.  Apply a structure strip on the underside of the front porch floor and attach to the house front at the base.


Cut the heads off of two purchased plastic skeletons from a Halloween skeleton garland.  Hot glue the feet and press into place until a good seal is made.  Then hot glue the tops of the necks and lay the "tin roof" overhang down on top of the necks.  Press until a good seal is made. Hot glue the skulls on top of the "tin roof" where the neck, lining them up with the necks.  Hold in place until secure.


Hot glue the "stone" fireplace in place on the center of the side of the house. (The vines were painted on while painting vines on the turret).  Hot glue the mossy grass on the two sides of the house and then hot glue the gravestones in place on either side of the fireplace.


Hot glue the remaining gravestones on the right side of the turret.



Cut little scraps of chipboard into the size of small "boards" that will be made to hang across the doorway and some windows of the house.  To create a faux wood look, paint with a coat of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber.  Then almost dry brush some random Titan Buff followed by an almost dry brush of Burnt Sienna.  Finally, add a bit more Burnt Umber particularly around the edges of the "board".  Then using a permanent white marker, write warnings on the "boards". Hot glue the boards in place.



Create little ghosts for the house by cutting a small piece of gauze.  Create a "head" out of some pillow stuffing.  Wrap the gauze around it and tie off with a piece of thread. Add a small amount of hot glue to the end of a wire and run the wire up into the head of the ghost. Cut off some lower arm portions of plastic skeleton arms and hot glue to the wire. Add a dot of hot glue under the hands to close the gauze. Draw eyes using a black permament marker and hot glue the ghosts on to the roof of the house.



The Haunted Mansion with Bats in the Belfry



Closeup of the belfry and skeleton guests.



The fireplace side with graveyard and ghostly residents.



The turret side with graveyard.



The front porch.

Install the light bulb in the back hole that has been created in the house, plug it in and enjoy your lighted Haunted Mansion this Halloween!  All thanks to DecoArt's Media line products and a little creative imagination!