Elusive Ghost - 4x4

Here's another haunted Halloween chunky.

This one started with some scraps of torn patterned paper that I dry-brushed with white acrylic paint.  I then added some vintage Czech book text, stenciling with distress ink, a stamped crackle background, and a distressed rub-on.  The bat was stamped on plain vanilla cardstock, colored with pencils, trimmed closely, and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder for dimension.  I added a layer of Crackle Accents to the tree branch for even more texture.  The English book text was found in my favorite1920s novel.

Wow!  This is my 500th post.  That does not seem possible.  When I started this blog, I wondered whether I'd be able to keep it up.   Guess I surprised myself (lol).  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Medium weight chipboard coaster; patterned papers by Authentique; titanium white acrylic paint; Dylusions and Heidi Swapp stencils; vintage photo and dusty concord distress inks; My Mind's Eye distressed rub-ons; vintage book text; crackle background stamp (unknown); Stazon black ink; bat stamp from Oxford Impressions; Stampin' Up very vanilla cardstock; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Versamark ink; clear embossing powder; Crackle Accents; dark and white charcoal pencils; Adirondack black acrylic paint dabber; soft gel medium.

E.E. Forrest, Druggist - 4x4

Here's another 4x4 chunky with the theme haunted Halloween.  It has so many details and loads of texture.  And this chunky even involved FIRE!  I lightly singed the edges of the prescription pad in a couple of places.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Medium weight 4x4 chipboard coaster; vintage book text; patterned paper by Authentique; white acrylic paint; crackle background stamp (unknown vendor); Stazon black ink; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger picket fence distress crackle paint; peeled paint, antique linen, vintage photo, and black soot distress ink; rubber stamps: Hero Arts (skull), prescription pad (Artistic Outpost), bottle, label and mortar/pestle (Oxford Impressions); Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; dark charcoal pencil; clear embossing powder; Glossy Accents; Crackle Accents; Adirondack black acrylic paint dabber; soft gel medium.

Ace of Skulls - 4x4

As usual I used a lot of different products to create this layered, distressed piece.  (You can see a complete list of supplies below.)  The skull is a rubber stamp by Inkadinkado.  It's wearing a Grungeboard crown that I colored with distress ink and painted with crackle paint.  I also used crackle paint on the background to help age it and give it some texture.  And here's something fun that I discovered:  the moon glows in the dark!!  It's a Martha Stewart sticker that I've had for a couple of years, and I never knew that.  It's pretty cool.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Medium weight 4x4 chipboard coaster; patterned papers by Authentique; vintage Czech book text; titanium white acrylic paint; Heidi Swapp stencil; rusty hinge, vintage photo and antique linen distress ink; Ranger white distress crackle paint; skull stamp by Inkadinkado; Crackle Accents; Ranger archival black ink; Stampin' Up whisper white cardstock; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Martha Stewart stickers (moon and bat); old playing card; Tim Holtz Grungeboard crown; self-adhesive numbers (unknown); black Dresden trim; medium charcoal pencil; Pitt black artist pen; Adirondack black and copper acrylic paint dabber; Golden gel medium.

Black Eyes Blazed - 4x4

I haven't given up on the idea of participating in a Halloween chunky swap, so I sat down last night to try my hand at another one.  This time I started with one of my favorite spooky images: a bat from Oxford Impressions.  I used this stamp last year to create these ATCs that were traded in record time.

I spend a lot of time building up the background layers on projects like this, and it's where I have the most fun.  Even if the first layers end up largely obliterated by what is added on top, a little bit peeks through here and there to add depth and interest.

Happy hump day!  Thanks for dropping in.

Supplies:
Medium weight chipboard coaster; patterned paper by Authentique; titanium white acrylic paint; Dylusions fresh lime ink spray; Heidi Swapp clock stencil; crackle background stamp; Ranger archival black ink; punchinella; dusty concord, rusty hinge, old paper, walnut stain, and black soot distress ink; bat stamp by Oxford Impressions; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; vintage book text; My Mind's Eye distress rub-ons; Prismacolor Premier pencils; odorless mineral spirits; white, peat, and burnt orange charcoal pencils; Adirondack black and espresso acrylic paint dabbers; Elmer's glue stick; Golden matte gel medium.

Arthur Coffin - 4x4

Last week was a busy one, leaving me little free time to work on any art projects.  And I swear I suffered withdrawal because of it!  So yesterday I skipped doing laundry and started to play around with some ideas I have for a Halloween-themed chunky swap.  After a while I decided that the images just weren't working for me, so I switched gears and this is what I ended up with.  It's not particularly "Halloween-y," but it is kinda spooky!

I started by covering a 4x4 inch chipboard coaster with some Halloween-themed patterned paper.  I toned it down with white gesso and added some stamping, stenciling, and book text.  The main images are stamps by Oxford Impressions.  A lot of distress inks, acrylic paint, and charcoal pencil went into giving this piece a dark and mysterious feel.

Have a great Monday!  Thanks for popping in.

Supplies:
Medium weight chipboard coaster (4x4 inches); patterned paper by Authentique; vintage book text; rubber stamps by Oxford Impressions; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Ranger archival black ink; distress inks: dusty concord, antique linen, vintage photo, black soot, frayed burlap, rusty hinge; Adirondack acrylic paint dabbers or distress paint: espresso, frayed burlap, snow cap; white gesso; charcoal pencil; Dresden trim; white gesso; punchinella; gel medium.

Beauty and Grace - Chunkies

A chunky (as I understand it), is a 4x4 piece of art that includes dimensional embellishments on the front, top, right side, or bottom.  You'll often see them with some type of fancy trim, dangling items such as beads or charms, or other "chunky" hardware that fits the theme of the piece.  When people make chunkies for a swap, the left side is to remain free of embellishments so that the chunkies can be bound together to form a book.

My chunkies started with two coasters covered with patterned papers and vintage sheet music.  I stamped a flourish and heat embossed it in gold before adding these beautiful clipart ladies that were in a kit I purchased at Mystic Paper in Mesa, Arizona (which sadly, is now closed).  The labels are stamps from Darkroom Door.  For embellishments I used Dresden trim and paper flowers accented with rhinestones.

It's not too late for me to add some danglies to the side (I thought about adding a few beads on a ribbon), but I am running out of time and choosing beads from my stash can be time-consuming.

Have a great Wednesday!  Thanks for stopping by.