Creative Paperclay® Halloween Link Up! and DT Submission

Hello my fellow creepy-friendly Halloween pals, and welcome to our first Halloween Link Up party.    Today, the design team is not only sharing our creations for the link up, but some of us, like myself, are also applying for the Creative Paperclay® design team again.  So, I really, really hope you like my project today.  In addition, we have invited everyone to play along and link up with us for a chance to win some prizes.  I have included the link above if you want to add your blog project to the party.

I think Halloween is just about my most favorite kind of art to make.  I'm a sort of creepy Halloween freak myself, so this is just my kind of thing.  I am so excited to be able to share my project with you, but I am equally as excited to see what you all are sharing with us, too.  So let''s get started.

I decided to make a graveyard scene.  It all started when I found this wooden Halloween tree at my local Michael's store.  That got the old juices flowing, and the rest is history.  I believe this is the grave of Manny Bones.  May he Rest In Pieces.  What do you think?

Here is a view from the side.

Supplies used:

Creative Paperclay® modeling material
Delight™ Air Dry modeling compound
Creatology 3D Halloween Tree (Michaels)
Acrylic Paint:  Charcoal (Ceramcoat); Burnt Umber (Folk Art); Taupe, Vintage Lace (Paper Artsy);
Amazing Mold Putty
Wilton Candy Molds (Skeleton Bones, Mummy)
Martha Stewart Molds (Gothic Manor)
Distress Paints: Forest Moss, Antique Linen
Distress Marker:  Picket Fence
Distress Ink:  Pumice Stone
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist: Chocolate Covered Cherries
Maya Mist: Wheat Grass
Dylusions Ink Sprays: Fresh Lime, White Linen, Squeezed Orange
Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up)
Wood Grain embossing folder (Sizzix)
Silhouette electronic die cut machine
Silhouette Coffin with lid
Sizzix die: Tombstone, On The Fence (Tim Holtz)
Spider and Web die (Quickutz)
Perfect Pearls Forever Violet, Green Patina, Mandarin, Blue Patina, Pewter (Ranger)
Black netted beads, Autumn Garland
Judi-Kins Speckles: Espresso

Directions:

Roll thin sheets of Paperclay® between two layers of wax paper.

Place sheet on top of wooden tree form and use roller to adhere it.  You will begin to see the formation of the tree branches beneath the Paperclay®.

Tear off excess clay.  This gives a more realistic bark look.  Remember, this is a spooky Halloween tree.

Turn tree over to see what else needs to be torn away from the wood branches.

Take the excess pieces and "crumbs" of clay, knead it back together, and roll out another thin sheet.
Continue adding sheets of clay, removing the excess, etc., until the tree is completely covered.  You will need to cover both sides of both tree pieces.  (TIP:  I also found that I could place some of the small clay bits onto the small areas that still needed coverage, and place the wax paper over the top.  Then use my finger to smooth out the Paperclay® to the end of the branch.)

Emboss the Paperclay® with the woodgrain embossing folder.

Turn the embossing folder sideways to emboss the branches so the woodgrain does not look like it is all vertical.

Continue covering and embossing the wood tree parts until completely covered, front and back.  Allow Paperclay® to dry.

Paint tree with brown and charcoal acrylic paints, maintaining a splotchy effect.  Hit the high spots by dry brushing a mixture of Taupe and Vintage Lace over the wood grain.

I had a couple of charms of a black cat and a raven, so I made a mold so I could make more of these with my Creative Paperclay®.  To see how to make a mold, check out the Amazing Mold Putty youtube video here.

 

After the molds cured (about 20 minutes), I filled each with Creative Paperclay®.  Since the backs of these pieces will be seen, I misted the Paperclay® lightly with water and used my finger to smooth it out.

Roll out a thin piece of  Paperclay® and stamp the bat image into it.

Refine the edges and impression while the Paperclay® is still wet.  Leave to air dry on your craft sheet. (TIP:  If you need to move the piece, roll the Paperclay® onto a scrap of white cardstock, then you can move it out of the way while it dries.)

Paint with Charcoal, brush on Pewter pearl powder, and highlight the bat with a Picket Fence distress marker.

I wrapped  the Autumn garland around the tree, adhered Halloween wiggly eyes to the trunk, and hung a few large black netted beads from the branches.

Cut out the coffin box with your Silhouette and Chocolate Chip cardstock.  Glue box together.  

Spread a thin layer of Paperclay® onto box lid, leaving a "torn" opening in the middle.

Emboss the clay with the wood grain embossing folder and allow to dry a bit before trying to remove it.

Color the top with a watered down Burnt Umber.

Cut out a hole in the middle of the coffin and curl the edges back.

For stability, I glued a piece of corrugated chipboard I had laying on my desk to the inside of the box lid.  I removed the area showing through the hole.  Insert box bottom.

Mold two bony hands with Delight™ modeling compound.  Drape over a small bottle to give the hand a curve.  Color with a wash of watered down Charcoal.

Glue to opening in coffin.  Hmmmm, looks like something is trying to get out!

Color two strips of gold German paper scrap with a wash of Burnt Umber.

Apply to sides of coffin.  Mold and paint rose with Charcoal and brush on purple and green pearl powders.  Adhere to coffin.

Mold and paint raven with Charcoal and brush on Blue Patina pearl powder.  Mold and paint cat with Charcoal and brush on Pewter pearl powder.  Mold and paint Spiders with Charcoal and brush an hour glass design onto its back with Mandarin pearl powder.

Die cut four spider webs from black card stock.  Add to tree limbs.  Place spiders over two of the webs, the Raven at the very top of the tree, and the black cat will be glued to the "ground".

I needed a tombstone for my coffin.  So I covered chipboard with almost black glitter card stock and cut out with the tombstone die.  I then watered down a small amount of Paperclay® to form a paste and brushed it over the surface of the shape.  I made a crack in the tombstone, and wrote "R I P" in the paste.  Then I painted it with a watered down Charcoal wash.  

I needed to make a stand for my tombstone to stand on its own, so I took a piece of paperclay and rolled it out thickly, and formed a rectangular base for my tombstone, which I inserted into the wet clay.  I cooked the piece in my toaster oven at 275 for 20 minutes, and added the same Charcoal wash.

Mold and paint hand holding skeleton key, and brush with Blue Patina pearl powder.

Adhere to bottom of tombstone.

Mold a bunch of bones and paint with Charcoal wash.  Set aside and allow to dry.

Cut a piece of corrugated cardboard to fit inside a 9"x12" clear acrylic box frame.  Paint with Forest Moss distress paint, then spray with Chocolate Covered Cherries, Wheat Grass, and Fresh Lime.  Sprinkly Judi-kins Expresso speckles all over the bottom.  Allow to dry and adhere to bottom of frame.   

Die cut fence from chipboard.  Paint with Antique Linen distress paint. Sand to distress and apply Pumice Stone distress ink over all.  Adhere picket fence around perimeter of frame.  

Set up your graveyard scene as shown in the photograph.  Sprinkle the bones on the "ground" around the coffin.  Adhere the black cat to the "ground".

Here is another view at sunset.  It looks like it is completely dark outside, but in reality, there was still quite a bit of daylight left.  It is really funny how different pictures look, depending totally on the lighting.  I kind of like this photo because it gives me that eerie feeling of being in a cemetery after dark.  EEEEK!!!!

So, I hope you have enjoyed my project today.  I know it was long and involved, but I absolutely love how this turned out.  And now I can bring it out every year to display for Halloween.  And I really think I was able to add some real details to this piece with my new favorite medium, Creative Paperclay® and Delight™ modeling compound.  

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the rest of the blog hop!  And be sure to check out the Creative Paperclay® online store and blog regularly for more inspiration.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!  

Barbara