Deja-Vu Doo with HDH

Long time, no see. My crafting mojo has been away on it's hols for a while and not a lot of projects have made it to completion, unfortunately. One project that did get completed is this altered book box. - well I did have 6 originally in my stash to work on. Two more, smaller, to go.
This one is for the challenge that started over at Haunted Design House today.

Deja-Vu Doo

The idea for this theme is to reuse a previous image, technique, paper, etc... that you have used recently, but in a new way.
My images are created using rubber stamps from the Smeared Ink "Nevermore" collection and a technique as described by Sheena Douglass using gesso and acrylic paint. See here for full instructions.

The images of Mr Poe, skull and the heart before attaching to the box. Pan pastels used to add an aged patina to the skull before applying gilding wax to the raised portions. The same gilding wax used for Mr Poe. The heart was given a red blood glistening effect using perfect pearls. The raven was coloured using perfect pearls.

The entire box was painted with black acrylic paint and the heart resides inside

 The outside of the box was then coated with decoart "weathered wood" before a coat of copper acrylic paint that has gold pan pastel added to it. This subtly changed the copper colour to old gold. Some areas were given a helping hand in the ageing process using that age old tool - my fingers. Rubbing some of the paint off when still tacky. 

The images all adhered using silicon glue. Some black pearls glued on. The silver cross was also given an aged look using pan pastels.

The challenge is on for the next two weeks - in what way will you use your stash in a different way?

Come show us over at Haunted Design House. Let's make the best use of our crafty bits and get more mileage out of it by using in a different way. Don't forget to check out the awesome projects made by the other minions for more inspiration.

Thanks for looking, hope to see you soon

Ripped To Ribbons with HDH

My second post of the day is dedicated to Haunted Design House. A place I call home. Deep in the darkest dungeon imagined. We're inviting you guys to break out your ribbon stash for this challenge. NO - not the pink and frilly variety - it's the darker side of you we want to be allowed to break free. Loose the ties that keep you in the land of Fluff and use them to create a darker piece of art fit for the Mistress of the Underworld.
Me?
I used another of the "Book boxes" I have sitting waiting for a make-over. The first was last week in orange and lemon, this one took a darker theme with purple and black.

A purple acrylic wash applied - it is - honest - the light isn't the best to capture it's true colour. Then die cuts from black paper applied . Some black lace and lilac ribbons and a touch of glamour with a strip of black gems. Both back and front are the same.

 The spine was given some decoration with lilac and purple ribbon.
The "leaves" of the book ie the sides were coated with old gold wax. All neatened off with black paper.
Now were's that photo? gone AWOL.
I'll be back later with that.
In the meantime - get those makes linked up at HDH # 189 so that we can see what you can do with a few ribbons - ripped or otherwise.

An Altered Book Box

Good day to you all. I have been working on this box for a couple of days now. Drying time added to the wait before it was totally done. I have used the Rick St Dennis image Pierrot Masque.
The colours chosen were inspired by the challenge over at the Graph-It challenge blog - Oranges and Lemons. This led me onto a challenge for me. Could I colour the image using just 3 colours? I don't have any orange graphit pens, but I do have one red 5240, one yellow 1170 and a brown 3160. These together with the blender pen and some school day art in the background (red and yellow make orange) and I came up with this.

Not too shabby I think

The box I chose to alter is one of those that looks like a book. Painted first with a wash of  Quin Gold decoart paint and a background design cut from yellow paper using a cut file from Bird's cards.stuck on.

The front has some satin ribbon, pleated as I went with some gems stuck on to keep those pleats flat. Then a medallion with the images face stuck in with glossy accents and some smaller gems added.

The back just has the image stuck on using gel medium

The spine covered in more ribbon

The "leaves of the book" were coloured with bronze pan pastel mixed with gel medium

and the spine ribbons neatened off with some glittery orange/white paper from my scrap box

I'd like to enter my altered box into the challenge at

Graph-It Marker Challenges - Oranges and Lemons

Insidious Inspiration for HDH

It's a photo inspiration at the Haunted Design House's Macabre Monday challenge this week.

Now there's lots that can be drawn from this, isn't there!

Okay, macabre fans... your challenge this week:

HDH145 
"Insidious Inspiration"

You are to create a dark, Gothic, or Halloween-based art piece

that is inspired in some way by this photo

I'm still away on holiday and this will only be a short post but was able to fling together this little altered book box. It's a paper mache base, painted.

This is it all dressed up inside. The "props" borrowed from my very gracious hostess as these are not the kind of things I tend to pack when going away, lol.
The cover of the book-box did not get overlooked

and this is the inside without the staging

Stamped using StampItUp! whisper white onto black cs. I know that two of the stamps are from Paper Artsy, the other, I will find out.
EDIT : The large skull stamp is from DeStempenwinkel
That's about it peeps.
Your turn to show how that super pic inspires you.

I'd like to enter this into the challenge over at
Vintage Elusions Cards and Crafts - Anything Goes