Halloween Candy Tray

I'm still have my mind on Halloween this week so my newest creation is a Halloween candy tray.

My grandson had a birthday last week and I just happened to spy a box in the trash from a new toy and instantly knew I wanted to make something with it. It was the exact shape and size that you see (about 12 inches by 7.5 inches by 2 inches). How perfect for a Halloween candy tray.

Since the Simon Monday Challenge is Dotty and I have such a stash of Halloween paper, dots work for me. I pulled out three kinds of paper with dots to use in my project and began cutting and staining the pieces to fix the box. At that point, I had no idea what I wanted to do next with the tray other than to put legs on it. I bought the Tim Holtz Idea-ology FOUNDATIONS Metal Box Feet last week and was eager to use them. I attached them after I had the back of the tray completed.

I wanted the tray to have some sort of back that stood up and could be decorated. I still had a few sheets from the Graphic 45 Halloween In Wonderland Paper Pad. I love Alice in the witch dress, so cute. I can't say I am crazy about the movie Alice in Wonderland but I love her with the broom in her hand and the witch hat. 




You can see the two yellow and black background papers in this image.

I fussy cut Alice, inked the edges and glued her on the dotted background. After I glued her on, I was digging through some paint, I found one that was very similar to the blue color in her dress. I dabbed it on the dress. Perfect, and it added a little dazzle to her dress. 


The paint is Shimmer DazzlerZ Gummy Berry Blue. I'll use it again a little later in the project. This was the first time I had used their paints so I was excited and pleased with the results. 

I took pictures as I was completing each step but deleted them, accidentally, from my camera so I'll just have to zoom in on my completed tray and describe what I did in each step. 

For stamping, I used two Graphic 45 stamps from the Happy Haunting 1 collection on the background. Both were stamped with Archival Jet Black ink, fussy cut, inked around the edges, and stained lightly using Ranger nibs and Distress Stains and Distress Markers. Both stamps were stamped again, cut and stained just like the first time then popped on over the first set for dimension. 

I didn't have the metal door plate by Graphic 45 so I made my own using green patterned paper from the same collection. I stained the paper using my brayer and Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed, clipped each corner using the edge of a circle punch. I used green Stickles to make an inner line around the door plate to look a bit like a bevel. 

My doorknob is a blue rose that looked great with Alice's dress color. I tipped the edges of the rose with the same blue paint as the dress. The keyhole is Graphic 45 and stained with Distress Stains Mowed Lawn. 

 Now for the box feet: I painted the metal with Viva 3D Stamp Paint, let it dry and glued them on with Glossy Accents. I choose not to use screws since my box was cardboard. I weighted the tray down so the feet would dry and the tray would sit level. 

Graphic 45 paper was cut apart for a small Alice scene and a stamp of the her hat were used on the inside of the tray. 

Here's another picture of it.

I tweaked key whole a little more with Distress Stain Mowed Lawn and now I am all done with the Halloween Candy Tray.

Thanks for stopping by - Judy.

Linking to: 

Simon Monday Challenge: Dotty

Crafts - It's Fall Ya'll @ The Lettered Collage

A Circus Fan

Do you remember going to the circus as a kid? I remember when the circus came to town and I was so excited. To remember the circus, I have created "A Circus Fan" as a memento of this fun day from my childhood.

The clowns were always so fun at the circus. Then there were the elephants, the lions, and the beautiful girl on the tight rope. All of these are wonderful memories of the circus.






I decided to create a fan for all of the fun memories because I remember how hot it was under the "big top" and people fanning to keep cool. I had the perfect paper from Graphic 45 - Le Cirque Collection to use for my project.
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Here are the steps:

1. Lined up several items to use       on the fan. I used a tag as the       base.
2. Brayered the tag with Distress     Strains.
3. Sprayed the tag with                   Dylusions Ink.

4. Inked the cut outs with               Distress Inks.
5. Lots of fussy cutting and             inking of pieces.
6. Gluing and sealing with Glue       N Seal.
7. The tight rope girl and a small     clown at the top are popped         up for a little added                     depth. Just about every piece        is cut, inked and glued on the fan.








7. The paper for the fan was creased every 1/2 inch then folded back and forth. The ends were glued together.











8. The stick of the fan was created with a re-purposed paint stick and inked with Distress Inks. 













Two stamps from Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz TINY THINGS (the big top tent and the elephant) were used. Both were stamped at the top of the tag. You can see them in this image. 






It's all done with so many memories from the circus. I'm added a small loop of ribbon on the back so the fan can be hung.

Linking to:

Simon Monday Challenge: Carnival

Make The Cut and Make It Spooky Canvas

The challenge this week for the Simon Monday Challenge is Make The Cut. I love Halloween and have been planning (mostly thoughts running through my head) with projects for this fun day. Why not use some die cuts for my project and Make It Spooky?

I used a 5 x 7 canvas sealed with Claudine Hellmuth multi-medium matte to start my spooky house. Three papers were torn, inked with Black Soot and Mowed Lawn, and glued to the canvas. The green was used to look like green slime oozing out of the crack of the house. The burlap was cut, inked with more Mowed Lawn and glue on with the Matte. You can see where I glued some burlap on the right side, then pulled it off to get a little more texture. The door is framed in corrugated cardboard.

The window is the first die cut which was a little too big so I trimmed off the bottom to fit my canvas and painted it black and framed it with more of the corregated cardboard sprayed with Dylusions Ink Spray - Cut Grass.

You can see the finished window and now a witch is looking out from the window. I'll color her face green in a bit. 

The witch is a purple paper from Graphic 45 - The Magic of Oz.

The Sizzix - Tim Holtz Alterations Weathered Clock die was also cut using The Magic of Oz paper then the edges were inked with Black Soot.  I sprayed the clock with Dylusions Ink Spray - white linen. The hands of the clock were sprayed with Lemon Zest, inked with Black Soot, then positioned to allow the witch to keep peering out the window. I'll add something to secure the clock hands shortly. The Iron Gate die was cut using black paper but too dark to show up on the house. I sprayed it with Dylusions White Linen then again with Melted Chocolate for a rusty look.

The tree, also a die cut from Tim Holtz, was sprayed with the Melted Chocolate then Viva Crystal Gel - Hologram was applied after the tree was dried with a heat tool. I would have preferred to use a black tree but knew it wouldn't show up. 

A small black stick-on was added to the clock hands.   

The cat die cut is  from the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Mini Cat & Raven Set.

The spooky sign was stamped, inked, scrunched just a little,  and the edges rolled before it was glued to the house. You can really see the purple paper of the clock and the White Linen spray in this image. 

A dimensional tattered roof and upstairs window were added to complete the spooky house.

Challenges:

Simon Monday Challenge: Make The Cut

Letter To A Soldier - Airmail

The Simon Monday Challenge this week is Airmail, so my thoughts are airmail letters to soldiers. 

I would like to think this letter is a special one to a World War II soldier from his sweetheart.

The project began with a selection of Basic Grey porcelain dresden paper that had a nostalgic look. I have had the paper for some time and it must have been waiting for this project.

I opened an A2 envelope and traced it on the back of the Basic Grey paper, cut it out then inked with Ranger Distress Ink - pumic stone. 

The paper was not double sided so I cut a duplicate and glued them together and added more pumic stone to the back side of the envelope.

The front of the envelope was addressed to a special soldier and was ready for stamping. First a postage stamp from Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection - TINY THINGS was stamped on a separate piece of paper, colored a bit with a red colored pencil then glued on the envelope. The letter shows the cancellation mark and the date & place the letter was delivered to the care of the Postal Service.   These were from the Close to My Heart - Live Inspired stamp set. The Air Mail stamp is also from the same set.

A envelope contains a letter to the soldier expressing love and prayers. Nothing was more special to a soldier than a letter from someone at home.

There you have it, a Letter to a soldier - Airmail - Judy.