It's Halloween at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog!

Hello! It's time for a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog. I'm hosting this challenge and 'It's Halloween!'

I love Halloween! With Halloween just a few weeks away, I challenge you to create a vintage or shabby chic project with a Halloween theme. Your project can be as silly or creepy as you like, but just have fun!

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.

Apologies for the long post. I tried to make a video, and failed miserably. But my son thinks he figured it out before this went live, so it's added at the end. (Fingers crossed, it works!)

I couldn't let Halloween pass without an altered birdhouse, which I make every year. The original bird house looked like this:

After applying Opaque Texture Paste through Tim's Decayed Layering Stencil and allowing it to dry, I smeared with Ranger Grit Paste, Opaque Crackle Paste and added some Prima Mini Art Stones for more texture. The entire thing was colored with a variety of products including Distress Oxide sprays and inks and Distress paint.

Here's a shot of the base before I painted it with black gesso and paint and Oxide spray in Lucky Clover.:

I made the fence with kraft card stock embossed with Lumber 3D embossing folder. I highlighted the texture with Weathered Wood, and die cut with Planks Bigz die. I rolled the planks and adhered to straws. I smeared with Crackle Paste, and when dry highlighted cracks with Distress Crayon. I tied them up with wire from my stash and adhered with Distress Collage Medium Matte. Everything is adhered with the collage medium--this stuff sticks everything quickly and permanently. I had three fence posts left over, so I cut them in half and adhered to the front of the base for a border.

I chose one of the new Halloween Quote Chips to make a sign. Those Hardware Heads fit perfectly on the new chips.

Let's take a closer look at the completed house and yard. First, the house...

 Bat Crazy die cuts are all over the place! This looks like a popular roosting place.

The five small spiders are the silver toned charms from Linda's shop. I altered them with Distress paint and crayon. The large spider is from a cheap plastic ring; so cheap all it's legs were stuck together, poor dear.

Tim's Mini Scallop 3D Impresslits make wonderful gingerbread trim on this vintage cottage.

Around back all is quiet...

Now, let's tour the garden... An Idea-ology zombie hand looks like it's pulled the rotted Idea-ology  pumpkin right from the swamp. The Pumpkin Pieces come in three handy sizes in the pack--I used all three. Mummy cloth dyed with Oxide sprays add mysteriousness. The vines are cut with Garden Greens Thinlits die and are colored with mop ups of all the leftover sprays --I cut, then color.

The cornstalks are made with Wildflower Stems #2 Thinlits stems tied on a base of raffia. I had to get those Idea-ology Creepy Eyes just for this shuck stack.  I love dem bones--the new Idea-ology Boneyard and Skull Fragments come in some new great sizes so perfect for my garden/graveyard. The tombstones come as they are shown with the zombie hand in the Cryptic pack, and I added my favorite epitaphs from Tim's Halloween Remnant Rubs. 

To the left of the house is another creepy garden. Wisps of Mummy Cloth makes great weeds!. The resin headstone in the back is from my stash -- it started out black and white, but was easily turned to 'stone' with Oxide sprays and a smudge of crayon. I was happy it matched the scale of Tim's perfectly.

Another Crazy Bat hangs out in a twig from my yard-turned-defoliated-tree, and the spiders weave their egg sacks. These are actually mini Christmas baubles from my stash covered with Mummy Cloth, and the eggs are clusters of  mini art stones colored with Oxide spray.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of my Foreboding altered birdhouse. With all the great Idea-ology Halloween goodies and Distress Oxide sprays, it was really easy and so much fun to pull together. 

We'd love to see what you're making for Halloween, so after you've seen all the wonderful makes from my teammates on the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge blog, please link up your silly or creepy Halloween make. I can't wait to see what you will create! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Bleeding Art September Challenge - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday Fall/Autumn

Scrapy Land Challenge #123 Anything Goes  I used 4 Sizzix dies.

Crafty Cardmakers #242 Add A Critter Check!

Creative Artiste Challenge #54 Anything Mixed Media Goes

Here's the links to products I used and you can find discounted every day at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Decayed

Sizzix Chapter 3 Tim Holtz Thinlits Die Set - Bat Crazy

Sizzix Thinlits - Wildflowers #2 by Tim Holtz

Sizzix Thinlits - Garden Greens by Tim Holtz

Sizzix Bigz Die - Planks by Tim Holtz

Sizzix 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Lumber

Sizzix 3-D Impresslits Embossing Folder - Mini Scallop

Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Boneyard, Cryptic, Creepy Eyes, Skull Fragments, Halloween Quote Chips, Hardware Heads, Pumpkin Pieces, Halloween Remnant Rubs, Mummy Cloth

Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Classic Kraft Stock

Ranger Mediums - Distress Collage Medium Matte and Vintage, Grit Paste, Opaque Texture and Crackle Pastes, 

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Aged Mahogany

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Brushed Corduroy, Black Soot, Weathered Wood

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayons - Set # 2 and #3

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinker Antique Linen

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Black Soot, Ground Espresso, Lucky CloverRanger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Sprays - Black Soot, Iced Spruce, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Lucky Clover, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint

Prima Art Ingredients - Mini Art Stones

Silvertone Spider Charms - Set of 5