Monday 28 October 2013

The Writing on the Wall....

Hi everyone and lovely to have you drop by! Welcome to all followers,  old and new.

Today I am sharing my final Halloween piece for this year:
I created this piece just for fun and to participate the the latest challenge over on the Ranger Blog.
I used a chipboard photo frame for my piece and started by adding texture to the frame with bits of tissue paper. I also added some hot glue squiggles, something that a few people have been using lately and is inspired by the work of the amazing Contadina K. It's not a new technique really, but it was great to re-visit it..
After the tissue had dried and the glue hardened, I gave it a coat of Gesso and when that was dry painted it with Antique Linen, Weathered Wood, Peeled Paint and Frayed Burlap Distress Paints, Spritzing with water to get the marbled effect we all love so much.

Next I added some  Distress Crackle Paint in Clear Rock Candy and then put the whole thing aside to air dry while working on the central panel.
I cut a piece of 5 x 7 Kraft Card and covered it with pre-crinkled Kraft Glassine paper. I then painted that with Antique Linen, Ripe Persimmon and Aged Mahogany Distress Paint, deepened it with the same colours of Distress Ink and added some Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edges. When it had dried I stamped a script stamp in Vintage Linen DP.
I also prepared the other elements I wanted to add to my piece. Sadly I don't actually own the fabulous skull stamp by Tim Holtz, but my lovely friend Annie let me stamp it while visiting her recently, so I fussy cut that stamped image and coloured it with some Pumice Stone Distress Ink, to make it look more 3D.
I also die cut the bottle and feather with  the Tim Holtz Alterations Writing Desk set, first in white card and then the bottle again out of some acrylic packaging. This last piece was treated with some Rock Candy Crackle again, using a fabulous technique Tim shows in Creative Chemistry 102. I gave it a greenish tone with some alcohol ink. I added the little poison label, also stamped while I was with Annie and then adhered that coloured bottle to the white card one to make it more visible.
I love how it pretty much looks like old glass now.
Time to return to the frame. I deepened the colours with some home made sprays, made with Distress Ink re-inkers. I used a whole mix of colours, Pine Needle, Chipped Sapphire, a bit of Peacock Feathers and some Walnut Stain.
Here are a couple of close ups of the crackle and texture
:



Time to put the whole thing together: I  stamped and cut a couple of leaves out of Kraft Glassine paper with the Leaf Blueprint stamp and dies set by Sizzix and coloured them with Aged Mahogany, Rusty Hinge and Walnut Stain Distress Stains. I also added a stamped Halloween ticket and a flower cluster and then computer generated the sentiment. The final bits were to colour the feather with some Pumice Stone, to add a few bits of tissue tape to the frame and a few highlights with some inevitable Treasure Gold White Fire.
Oh, I also added some shadow with a black charcoal pencil still, to give a bit more depth to it all.
As the theme over at Simon Says Stamp and Show Monday challenge is anything goes, I will add this there also.

Hope you like it, I had great fun making it and thank you so much for visiting once again. I really, really appreciate the lovely comments you always leave me!
Hope everyone will have a creative week and look after yourselves!



53 comments:

Sylvia Blum said...

Astrid, I don't like it... I LOOOOVE it!!! This is so incredibly beautiful! Thanks for sharing the process, too!
Have a wonderful week!
{hugs} Sylvia

Paula Whittaker said...

loving the texture you've created plus the mix of colours.

Stamps and Paper said...

Such a fabulous piece of artwork Astrid...great colours and textures and that skull is quite spooky...

Anne

Adriana B said...

so fabulous,,,,,, spooky halloweeenee to you tooooo!!!!!!!!! BOO! :)

Maryann Laursen said...

I love the work you´ve done on it, and the way you´ve played with the colors, but I must admit, I really don´t like the skulls and that kind, it´s a bit too dark for me, but I love your work, just wish it had other images on it, then it would be perfect in my book too he he he. But we can´t always love everything wre see, and that´s what makes the world such a great place for all of us.
Have a wonderful week ahead now.

Caroline said...

Astrid, it's fantastic!! I used tissue ppr & glue on my latest piece - doesn't look anywhere near as good. Contadina K was my inspiration too. Amazing colours here, rich & deep. In love with stamped skull too :))

artwolf2009 said...

love your choice of colours for that theme, warm and spooky

Maryanne said...

Of all the Halloween projects you've shared this has to be my favorite!! The texture on the frame is fantastic. I had forgotten about using hot glue as a texture! And, I love the sentiment with the skull! This is so fantastic! I LOVE it!

Ink Art Designs said...

This is absolutely stunning Astrid!!! The texture and richness of the colour look incredible behind the skull. It looks like it was soooo much fun to make.
Dot x

Ros Crawford said...

WOW!! What a fabulous piece of work this is ... so clever!! I'm sorry I have been AWOL but I back tracked to see your wonderful work ... You always inspire!

Marianne said...

Wauw stunning!!! What a beautiful colors. I love it!!
xxx Marianne

Aquarius said...

Well you've certainly combined lots of wonderful ideas and techniques into this fabulous piece. Love the texture achieved on the frame and the glowing effect of the central piece. I'd forgotten I had some of that paper so must dig it as it makes wonderful leaves too. Superb!!

Suzi B said...

I'm lost for words! so I'll agree with all of the above.( is that cheating?) Stunnig work.
Suzi B xx

Nan G said...

Fabulous stunning awesome! Love the texture.

Margaret Mifsud said...

Oh Astrid, you make it all look so easy and yet for the rest of us (meaning me) it really isn't. So much detail in this piece. Love the texture and the colour mix, the fabulous little poison bottle and the feather quill ... the whole piece is simply stunning!!! Totally hooked on your gorgeous art!! Love it!! ox

Rita said...

Fabulous piece of Halloween Art. I have never made anything for Halloween Astrid. Only made toffee apples, tablet and toffee. Hugs Rita xxx

Zuzu's Blog said...

and what a beauty it is.... i love this project

on to christmas crafting now!

Candy C said...

Astrid...your creativity never ceases to amaze me. I always drawn to your work because of your choice of colors and how you blend and use them. Your frame is so pretty. I love all of the texture and crackling. The glassine leaves are a nice addition as are the "glass" bottles, etc. Really a cool piece. I also love your Halloween tag on your post before and on Facebook. Beautifully done!<3 Candy

Deborah said...

Brilliant, Astrid! I love the textures on the frame (good old glue!) and the poison bottle is amazing.

Barbara Rankin said...

Absolutely awesome, Astrid. You are such an inspiration, and I love this piece so much. I am going to try my hand at making one, too, but may not get it done by this Halloween. LOL

Sandy said...

I am grinning from ear to ear - I love this - so clever - so much fun - so full of spooky good stuff!! Aren't the colors absolutely smashing!!
sandy

Anonymous said...

Hi Astrid! I just saw some traffic coming over from her to my blog and came back to you to find your gorgeous project! Thanks so much for linking back to me - I really appreciate it. Your mastery of color is really impressive. And I love the combination of hot glue and crackle - must pick up some of the latter! If it's alright with you, i would like to share a link to your blog post on my fb page so folks I know can see your creation!

Debi said...

another stunner, just adore the colours! Debi x

Jennie Atkinson said...

Fabulous textures and colours Astrid - a really super spooky Halloween piece.

Shroo said...

I completely LOVE the variety of textures you use in your art- this is an especially yummy piece of work! The little 'poison' bottle looks truly splendid! Excellent stuff - looking forward to your November posts. Very best wishes - Shroo:)x

Cathy A said...

This is fabulous Astrid, might have to get my glue gun out and give this a try

Unknown said...

oooh! very beautiful!

AuxDoigtsAgiles

Dorthe said...

Dear Astrid, what a fabolous piece,-
I don`t know where to begin and end,- all is so amazingly made with all the different techniques ,giving such wonderful results -the glass bottle, the frame with tissue, and that glassine paper -love that-
so exiting and beautiful.
Hugs, Dorthe

Jenny Marples said...

Massively gorgeous Astrid. I love the way you've used that initial layer of texture to build the structure of the design around. Superbly blended colours too. Jenny x

Anjas-Artefaktotum said...

WOWOWOW what a breathtaking art work, love the beautiful color mix and texture and everything on that project.
Big hugs Anja

Evelyn Walter said...

Wow! Super cool! I like the texture and the colors.
Hugs
Evelyn

Anonymous said...

Such an amazing piece and so very cool!
The effect is oozing richness and texture and I simply love that bottle, it looks like a piece of seaglass.
This altered frame highlights your skill when working with such varying techniques.
Such a pity this is your last Halloween piece.
Wishes
Lynne

Meggymay said...

Amazing textures, its a stunning Halloween project.
Yvonne

Elly said...

OMG...OMG...OMG!!!! Looooove it!!♥ I can't count anymore, how often you took me out of my shoes this year (:o)....and it's still not over...*lol*

Dan said...

What a great Halloween piece, so atmospheric and spooky! Great step-by-step too. Thanks for joining us for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

marda said...

Amazing...love all that texture, and the colors. Another great Halloween treat.

massofhair said...

Adore the frame textures & colours, so very beautiful!!! Fantastic project Astrid:-)

Thank you for the link to ContadinaK:-)

Annie said...

Like !!!! I love it :-) The texture and depth you have created is wonderful. Amazing colours and wonderful details. THanks for the shout too.

CRafty Hugs
Annie x

Sophie said...

Wunderbar, Astrid, schön gruselig.
Und der Totenkopf sieht so schrecklich echt aus :-)

Liebe Grüße von Sophie xx

Netty said...

Loving your wonderfully textured project Astrid, great colours and design, have a good week, Annette x

Bärbel said...

Ein bemerkenswertes Projekt, liebe Astrid. Der geknitterte und gestempelte Hintergrund und die Gestaltung des Rahmen zum Halloween-Thema sind ganz großartig.
Liebe Grüße, Bärbel

Brenda Brown said...

Love how you have displayed the fabulous skull in the textured frame. A great piece Astrid.
hugs {brenda} x0x

Scrumplescrunch said...

Hello Astrid
Wow!!! I think this is one of your best creations I have had the pleasure to view, even though I am not into anything Halloween, this has certainly turned my eye, not the theme so much, but your skill in designing such a piece, the texture, the colour palette, the dimension all sits perfectly and provides the onlooker with quiet sigh, as the completed project is a wonderful expression of Art.
Smiles:)
Sue

Lorraine said...

Wow! Astrid. That is awesome.

Rossella said...

This is stunning and beautiful
Rosie x

Ozawa said...

Wow, it's sooo spooky!

barbarayaya62 said...

FAbulous! it's the only words in my mind!!!!!! I love all in this project!!!! Pinned!!! barbarayaya

Paper Profusion said...

Absolutely stunning Astrid. TFS all the step x step details. The depths of colour and techniques used make for one exceptional piece. Nicola x

Terry said...

So inspiring, Astrid! I have frames just screaming to transformed! So much texture and great elements! I love this and that bottle does look like glass. At first I thought it was shrink plastic! Love this frame! Hugs!

Unknown said...

This is just amazing!! I, like Terry, also thought your little bottle was shrink plastic - the whole project is just so creative & so inspiring!!

SanDee1899 said...

Wow this is totally fab I absolutly love this piece of art - wow!!!
xoxo SanDee

Words and Pictures said...

Glorious!! Stunning colours, and the textures on the frame are just wonderful... a really brilliant make, Astrid - this is a showstopper!
Alison xx

Meihsia Liu said...

This is totally fantastic! Love everything on this project! :)

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