October 31 Tombstone for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog

Hello and welcome! Today starts a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and Cec is hosting  'It Looks Real'. Here's how she describes her challenge:

There are so many ways to make something look real when it isn't.  For this challenge, make a vintage or shabby chic project with one or more faux elements.  Those elements could be faux rust, leather, stitching - to name a few.  Make sure you tell us what the faux element is and how you made it because it will look real.

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.

When I saw Wendy B.'s  Root of Evil tombstone, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Tim Holtz  Small  Etcetera Tombstone. Wendy has you scratching your head wondering if her tombstone is real or not; please be sure to check it out. My tombstone may not look as realistic as her's but it feels like real stone! Like Wendy, I painted all the five pieces that come in the thickboard tombstone set with black gesso. From there, I went in a different direction.

Real stone or not?

The arched overlay and two bottom pieces (barely visible in the photos) were randomly coated with Prima's Stone Effect Pastes - first Concrete and then more sparsely with Pumice Stone. Each layered was left to dry before adding the next. I sprayed the pieces with Hickory Smoke Distress Spray Stain and Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Spray. Lastly, I dry brushed with Black Soot paint and smeared with Peeled Paint Crayon.

Real etchings?

The number '31' is cut using Stencil Numbers Thinlits 4 times, and I glued the layers with Distress Collage Medium Matte and adhered to the painted background arch. Spelling out 'October' are plastic letters from my stash. After adhering the numbers and letters, I painted them with black gesso, and smeared the panel with Grit Paste and Opaque Texture Paste. I used the same sprays as before, and I had a huge mess , so I painted the entire panel with some old black crackle paint I have in my stash, that really doesn't crackle anymore, but it's real thick and adds texture.

I cut 'Wicked' with Halloween Words Thinlits 4 times and layered them up, just like Wendy did on her tombstone. Smear it with some Texture Paste and you've got an authentic looking stone etching. Additional 'carvings' on the face are Laurel 3-D Impresslits. After adhering the die cuts, I gave it all a coat of the defunct crackle paint, and when dry, spritzed both the top arch background and this tag with Iced Spruce Oxide spray.  Squeal! I love how the splatters of spray give this a real concreate appearance with practically no effort at all! Again, I randomly smeared with Peeled Paint Crayon.

Real moss?

To finish off the faux stone headstone, I used Wendy's clever idea to get that authentic dimensional mossy look, but tweaked the recipe a bit. I stirred up Peeled Paint Powder and Collage Medium until I got the desired consistency and smeared that on over some of the areas with the Peeled Paint crayon. I tried using another 'moss' recipe on my haunted bird house, including collage medium and dryer lint, but it looked like slime.

 Real  copper bats?

No, of course not! Bats aren't copper! I used Metallic Kraft Stock in copper color to cut my Bat Crazy bats and colored them with alcohol inks and Black Soot paint. You know copper gets a lovely patina when you heat it, and I bet these bats have been simmering for hours!

Real cast iron?

 The witches from the Halloween Paper Dolls colored with Distress crayons stand watch over their corroded cast iron cauldron. No, that's not real cast iron; it's hoarded Grungeboard cut with the Cauldron Bigz die.  I painted it with Black Soot paint, smeared with Grit Paste and then knifed on some more of the old non-crackle crackle paint. I painted the dried grit paste with watered down crackle paint and when it was dry, smeared with Rusty Hinge crayon. I heated it with my heat tool 'til it bubbled. The thickboard tags/tombstones and Grungeboard sure can take a lot of abuse between layers of wet mediums and the heat! I wet the cauldron from the back, shaped it and secured with a rubber band overnight to help shape it into more of a rounded bowl.

Dyed (Frayed Burlap Oxide spray) Mummy Cloth and inked/stained and 'copper' ivy (Garden Greens) creep up the sides.

  So is it a real tombstone?

 No, it's just a little wall hanging that has no place in my 'real' cemetery.

Now, that's real wicked!

 

Thank you for hanging in there with me! I urge you to stop by The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog to check out the amazing faux finishes my talented teammates have included on their projects to inspire you. Then it's over to you! I hope you'll play along in this fun challenge; I can't wait to see what you will make! Happy crafting! Sara Emily

Challenge Shares:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Spooky

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Halloween

Bleeding Art October Challenge - Anything Goes

Scrapy Land Challenge #124 Anything Goes  I used 6 Sizzix dies.

Creative Artiste Challenge #54 Anything Mixed Media Goes

The following products were used and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:
Stampers Anonymous Etcetera Small Tombstone
Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter 3 Bigz Die - Cauldron
Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter 3 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Bat Crazy
Sizzix 3-D Impresslits Embossing Folder - Laurel
Sizzix Tim Holtz  Die Set  - Garden Greens
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Jewels Kraft Stock
Ranger Mediums - Collage Medium Matte
Ranger Pastes - Grit Paste, Opaque Texture Paste
Ranger Alcohol Inks - Slate, Meadow, Rust
Ranger Distress Paint  - Black Soot
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls, Halloween
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mummy Cloth
Ranger Distress Spray Stain -  Bundled Sage, Hickory Smoke
Distress Crayons -  set #2, set #3
Distress Oxide Sprays - Black Soot, Cracked Pistachio, Frayed Burlap, Iced Spruce
Distress Inks - Black Soot, Forest Moss
Prima Art Extravagance - Stone Effect Pastes