Matchbox Halloween Collage

Paula Cheney created a wonderful Matchbox Halloween Collage using the Tim Holtz Sizzix matchbox die and posted a really detailed tutorial. I decided to try making one of my own with splashes of rusty hinge to compliment the oranges and browns in my autumnal home decor.

I accidentally broke one of the miniature terracotta pots so used my texture hammer to finish the job and break it into pieces small enough to slip into one of the bottles. The other I filled with a little rusty hinge distress glitter and the middle bottle was crackled glazed and inked.

I tried to incorporate orange into each section to get the cohesion through colour that Paula mentions in her tutorial. This is a great project to get your seasonal dies out and stretch their legs.

I made these miniature potted skulls in real terracotta plant pots and photographed a step by step to show how.

1. supplies used: texture paste & tool /distress paints/snips scissors/flower soft/wood skewers/miniature terracotta pots/miniature skulls (repurposed from a halloween bracelet).
2. mix a little texture paste and distress paint on your craft mat and scrape into the terracotta pot using a spatula or lollypop stick. set aside to start drying.
3. paint the pointed ends of 4x wood skewers with peeled paint distress paint and then dab the darker forest moss over the top to give a mottled effect. set aside to dry for a few minutes.
4. before the texture paste dries completely, trim 2x wood skewers to different lengths and gently push into the centre of the pots.
5. once the texture paste is completely dry, cover the top of the top with glossy accents and apply flower soft or faux/real moss. set aside to dry.
6. sit and watch your pots drying while resisting the urge to touch them. 😉
7. cut the remaining 2x wood skewers and push into/glue onto the top of the skull.
8. very very carefully push/glue the skull into/onto the stick in the pot.
9. glue the pots onto the bottom of a matchbox and sprinkle flower soft or moss onto any glue that squeezes out from underneath them to give it an organic look.

Thanks for taking time to look at my Matchbox Halloween Collage and be sure to check out Paula’s tutorial posted on Tim’s Blog. I plan to make a Christmas themed one next, but for now, I hope you have a Happy Halloween.

Before the clock strikes pumpkin hour, I am entering a couple of online challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – Anything Goes
Inspiration Emporium Monday Challenge – In Disguise (matchboxes)
Sizzix – Halloween Challenge

(Sizzix Dies Used)
Tim Holtz Matchbox Bigz
Tim Holtz Spring Greenery Decorative Strip
Tim Holtz Mini Spider & 31 Movers & Shapers
Tim Holtz Cobwebs Decorative Strip
Tim Holtz Ornate Frame Bigz
Tim Holtz Graveyard On The Edge
(there’s a theme here) 😉

~

Supplies: tim holtz; dies (matchbox, ornate frame, mini spider & 31, graveyard, cobwebs, spring greenery)/surfaces (cardboard, grungeboard, manilla cardstock, mirror card, shrink plastic, sticky back canvas)/distress inks (antique linen, rusty hinge, vintage photo, walnut stain, black soot)/distress stains (rusty hinge, black soot)/distress paints (rusty hinge, peeled paint, forest moss, walnut stain, black soot)/distress glitters (antique linen/rusty hinge/black soot)/distress crackle glaze/layering stencil (#26 gothic)/idea-ology (jump rings, screw eyes, wishbones, corked vials, fractured dolls, crossbones, corners, crinkle ribbon, adornment, apothecary remnant rubs, laboratorie tissue tape, menagerie paper stash)/stamps (#140 mini halloween 3, #198 mini halloween 4).
other; glossy accents/archival ink (jet black)/archival ink re-inker (potting soil)/sewing machine/heat tool.