Perpetual Happiness Calendar

Sometimes, I need a reminder to breathe more than I need to recall that it's Sunday the 29th of October.

So I've taken the Gypsy Soul Perpetual Calendar Bracket Style and turned it into a Perpetual Happiness Calendar.

Instead of days and dates, I've replaced them with reminders to kick ass, to sparkle, and included images of some of my favourite things like Christmas robins, Van Gogh and pretty ladies in pink.

Both sides of the cards are decorated to give lots of variation. When the mood strikes, I'll select new cards, reminders to inhale/exhale, to think nice thoughts and encouragement to keep at it!

I've added gold and pink dresden trims and colourful fun bits of sparkle.

With little angel feet to hold up my happiness.

If you really do need to remember what day it is, laser cuts of the months, days and numbers come with the Perpetual Calendar Bracket Style

Or you can set them aside and decorate the inserts with your own joyful reminders.

I've created a short video with tips on putting together this piece. You can skedaddle over HERE to see it. 

The list of requirements!

Perpetual Calendar Bracket Style

Scrapbook paper
Dresden Trims
Cherub Metal Box Feet Set
Oak leaf charms
Gem/Jewel bits and bobs
Washi tape
Stickers
Glitter
Glue

Haunted House Shadow Box

 A little haunted house shadow box today, for alphastamps.com

Inside a collection of spooky ooky bits

I've kept the little spaces pretty simple and haven't cluttered them up too much since they'll be covered by the house exterior most of the time.

The papers I used for the background are the Tim Holtz 8x8 Kraft Paper Stash. I like them a whole bunch! The simple black and orange patterns are nice and functional and easy to coordinate.

If you know me at all, you know I'm a bit lazy when it comes to hinges. I've opted to not have hinges in this piece at all and simply use a length of ribbon that is tied around the back and hold the front of the front facade in place.

Mine is filled with just a mish-mash of halloween images, but it would be a load of fun to create a themed house. A vampire abode. A monster mansion. Or maybe even include pics of your own family members in their Halloween regalia.

Want to make your own haunted shadow box? Here's the goodies I used for this piece:

Mini Haunted House Kit
Small Haunted House Add-On Kit 

Red Brick Wall Scrapbook Paper Small Haunted House Window TrimsSmall Haunted House Shadowbox  Halloween Labels Collage Sheet Tim Holtz 8x8 Kraft Paper Stash - HalloweenLittle Darlings Collage Sheet

Baroque Dresden Borders - Black 

Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Black 

Assorted tiny bottles
Corked Domes 
Acrylic Black Standing Cat Cut-Out 

Brass Setting

Cameos
Plastic bats, and spiders

Ribbon

Acrylic Paint

A vision of loveliness

The tiniest of projects today.

A wee little shadow box. 

With a pretty little wizard. 

And the sweetest snippet from an old book.

If she belongs with you, you can find her listed HERE

Friday the 13th, creepy protective amulets

 In the wee hours of this morning, Friday the 13th, these creepy little fellows came to life.

They may appear ooky and totally spooky.

And I suppose they are in a way.

But the only thing they're meant to frighten away is negativity directed toward their owners.

Sort of like your own personal boogy man.

Protecting you while kicking evil in the eye!

They're made with rusty old nails, twigs, jute, paperclay and wool roving.

And are really quite tiny!

If you'd like your own, they are available HERE

How is your creepy Halloween creating coming along?

Cheery mixed media ATC's

A break from the creepy and ooky today.

A trio of mixed media ATC's

Playing with paper and paint and ink and old stuff.

Whatever was scattered on my desk.

A Dilapidated Greenhouse

More creepy today! A miniature dilapidated greenhouse.

It's crawling with creepy things and covered in fine spider webs.

And there's something icky hatching inside, it's tentacles reaching and squirming...

Let's call it Junior.

There's all sorts of bits, crawly things, and bottles, vials, and bowls of terrible things.

A skull, lantern, gargoyle, and toadstools too (which are undoubtedly poisonous).

All atop a mossy cobble stone base. 

The finished piece is listed HERE

Or try your hand at making your own, Here's THE BIT LIST:
Wooden base
Miniature Greenhousee with Stand
Heavy acrylic medium
Cobblestone Texture Sheet
Faux moss
Large White Turquoise Skull Beads*
Tiny Wooden Flower Pots
Various glass bottles
Thrifted gargoyle
Speckled Eggs**
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Black
Creative Paperclay*
Plastic spiders and ants
Faux spider webbing
Moss
Polymer Clay (for tentacles)
Handmade toadstools
Chipboard Shingles - Half Scale Sampler
Silicone Mold - Architectural Flourishes
Acrylic paint

Halloween Hotrods with Tutorial

One of my very favourite projects from last year were the Mad Max hot rods built with my buddy Paula Mould. It's one of those projects that is just so much messy fun. I mean you COULD be neat and proper and make something stunning... or you can let loose and just glue crap to other crap and have a grand old time doing it.

There's Halloween junk all over the Dollarstore aisles and it made me nostalgic and inspired to revisit that project. This time with a video tute (see below) for you to make your own monster machines.

Since this is a dollarstore, stash busting project, it's not going to break the bank.

We're starting out with simple plastic toy cars and trucks.

Embellishing the heck out of them. Giving them a knock out paint job. And ending up with something like this...

They check off most of the boxes for a kid friendly project. They're cheap, fun, neatness isn't exactly a factor. You WILL need to supervise/modify the project depending on age appropriateness (i.e. glue guns are the devil) but it's do-able for and little hotrodders you know.

I've just used my trusty old hot glue gun for this project. If you want something that can be handled (crashed? raced?) and remain somewhat intact, you'll need to invest/experiment with a better method of adhesion. Or, you know, let them be the $3 works of art they are and just enjoy the destruction.

Here's your supply list:

Toy cars: trucks, busses, boats, planes... whatever strikes your fancy!

Halloween swag: skeletons, bugs, beads, bones, skulls, spiders, bats

Black spray paint: I used gloss in the tute... I MUCH prefer flat/matte

Acrylic paint: I mostly used a product from Colourarte called Silks Acrylic Glaze It has a nice pearlescent finish and it was in my stash. Metalics looks super cool.
Paint brush
Sponge brush (for blending)

GLUE: I used hot glue because it's fast and easy. Do what works for you!
Cutting tools: for chopping up spiders and plastic skeletons

Tape: for covering any bits you don't want spray painted

That's it weirdos! Go make something hotroddy!

Here's how to put them together.