Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Compendium of Curiosities iii, Challenge 13 - Spooky Spell Book

I am participating in the Compendium of Curiosities iii Challenge on the Studio L3 blog by Linda Ledbetter. For Challenge 13 we are creating something using the Tim Holtz worn cover as found on page 35 of Compendium of Curiosities 3 by Tim Holtz.

Challenge 13 is sponsored by Inspiration Emporium, with more prizes courtesy of Mario Rossi and Tim Holtz!

I have been so impressed with the Curiosity crew's worn cover creations and the other CC3C participants' beautiful creations that I was at a loss as to what to create. I'd had an old worn cover still in the package and I wasn't sure what to do with it because I didn't want to ruin it as the worn covers are already pretty cute as is. I had no ideas. Nothing. So I decided to just create something and give up on trying to create something cool like all the wonderful projects I had seen.

(hang head in creative sorrow here...envisioning my dumb project on display...a worn cover with a sticker on it...oh the creative shame!)

So a few chocolates later, I was back in gear and I threw caution to the wind and just went nuts with my collection of Halloween trinkets.
The more I became lost in the process, the more I was enjoying my worn cover project. So I learned something from this project. Do what you love, and that love comes out in the project!!! I love October, the color orange in October, spooky images from vintage die cuts, owls, and charm bracelets.


So I'm happy with my project now and I'll have to say this dreaded project has been one of my favorites of all time!!! It was so fun to create using stuff from my stash of saved goodies!


Background
For the background I used the Tim Holtz gothic stencil and texture paste, lots of distress ink, then I sealed it with decoupage glue so if the cover accidentally gets a little wet, ink won't run all over the place. It turned out looking like leather, but at first I wasn't so sure about it. I ended up covering most of it up anyway but you can still see it a little.



Vintage Die Cut Images
I love vintage spooky die-cut Halloween party decorations from the 1919-1935ish time period. I have quite a collection of these as digital images on my computer. I decided to use a few of my favorites, the owl, and the witch. I had an orange frame from the craft store. I antiqued it with black soot distress paint. Distress paint is my favorite antiquing medium as it dries slowly, is easy to thin down with water, and is easy to wipe off leaving lots of paint in the crevices. I put the paint directly onto the frame and brushed it all over the frame before I rubbed it off. I love how the frame turned out! I printed the image to fit, sealed it with decoupage glue, and put a uv-curing coating over the picture just for fun.


The Rusty Lace Owl
I found a lace owl at Hobby Lobby that I painted with Modern Master's Iron paint, then I rusted it with the rust solution. I could have just painted it with rust colored paint, but I like to experiment with rusting things. It's as exciting as watching paint dry, but I like to walk by and check the progress every half hour or so...like a science project...I like to see what happens. I used stickles (purple and green glitter glue) on the eyes.



Canvas for Ink-Jet Printers
For the back I printed some images on Ink-Jet Canvas that is made for ink-jet printers. It's pretty cool as the canvas is coated with a gesso-like coating so the ink holds up. I cut out the images, distressed them with a sanding block, and used distress ink on them too. Then I just glued them on the cover.
The black lace doily was from a $2.00 bin at Michaels. I cut some off and glued it on.




The charms
I created some jewelry charms, and some shrink plastic charms with the wood-cut looking Tim Holtz stamp set. I like the skull bead with the fringe charm I created.


I had so much fun creating this worn cover, I don't know why it was so hard to get started. I plan on using the book to store my favorite "October" things, vintage images, photos of grandchildren at the pumpkin patch, spooky embellishments I make.


Hey, I have an idea, I'll write down creative project ideas and keep them in the book for next Fall!

So thanks to Linda and all the curiosity crew for challenging me to create! Thanks to Tim Holtz for the cool products with that vintage look that we love and the compendium of curiosities! Sometimes it's hard to make time for creating, but it makes me so happy when I do! I can't wait to make more of these little books! I love the worn covers!

12 comments:

  1. Oh, Vic I can SO relate to your struggle!! Sometimes it seems like these challenges are, well, challenging! But the ones that I struggle with the most seem to give me the most satisfaction in the end. Seems to be true for you here; your Worn Cover is fabulous!! The lace owl is incredible! Great entry! <c <c <3 <c

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  2. Vic, this is fabulous. The bling alone is amazing and then there are so many other elements and textures you've included... what a super book! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at CC3C.

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  3. Oh my goodness, your post cracked me up! Believe it or not I felt the same way, stumped and dumbfounded as to what to do! BUT WOW!!! Girl, you went to creative Halloween farm!!! SO much to see and LOVE!!! The owls, the moon, the lace, the rusty colored background...amazing texture! This is just over the top super! Thanks so much for playing in our Worn Cover challenge at CC3Challenge!!!

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  4. Vic...OH MY GOSH, MY GOSH, MY GOSH!!! Your Worn Cover is amazing!!! I'm so happy that you took the bull by the horns and dove head first into this project! The results are incredible! I can't tell you the number of times that I dread a project and then it turns out to be a favorite of mine! Your Worn Covers are such a perfect array of texture, color and design. I totally love all of the textile things you've added...the owl, the lace and the ribbon. Those combined with the feathers, the metal, the colors and all of the paper images really make for a fantastic display piece. I love it! Thanks for sharing your art with all of us at CC3C. <3 Candy

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  5. Ummm I think you forgot the kitchen sink here! Really a stunning piece. I'm with you. I wasn't sure how to approach my Worn Cover. It's so pretty without messing it up. My Worn Cover sat a few days as I struggled too. But like you I used all the things I love and threw it all over the cover. I love all the layers to built into this. Your goulish things dangling about are perfect. So much to look at. This is the best time of year to create! You've rocked it...or would that be HAUNTED it. EEEEKKKK!

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  6. Wow! Wow! Wow! Very very cool worm cover Vic! So much interest going on, love the owl in frame, love the word October, love the look on the moons face. FAAAAABULOUS. Karen.x

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  7. I think it's absolutely SPECTACULAR in every way possible! LOVE it!

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  8. Oh I am so with you on deciding what to do but I love how yours turned out, it was definitely worth not over-thinking it! I love the gorgeous owl and all those wonderful embellishments you added and I also love that you did a Halloween theme. Incredible work! Anne x

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  9. WOW! I love this fun book and what an amazing job you've done altering it. This is enchanting! I pinned it to my Halloween Papercrafts board and definitely on my list for next year's projects. Thanks for the inspiration! :)

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  10. Holy Cow, this is absolutely amazing! I'm so glad you forged ahead and let your creativity run. The results were worth the initial anguish. Gorgeous!

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  11. Totally amazing spooky cover. Love all the different textures and layers applied and your charms. Fantastic project.
    Julie x

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