A Tiny Witching Cauldron

Hello! Do you have all your Halloween decorating complete? I have a little piece of Halloween decor to share with you today. A few years back I altered an old aluminum baking pan and a coffee pot and now that I have three pieces, I can say I have a collection of aluminum witchware.

Sadly, I have no before photos or shots, because I really didn't think it was going to amount to anything. Starting with this old aluminum pail (hereby referred to as a cauldron) I picked up at a yard sale, I adhered Tim Holtz Ideaology Halloween Collage paper with Distress Collage Medium Matte. Before adhering, I painted the flower and leaves on the reverse side first with gesso and then with Wilted Violet and Peeled Paint Distress paint. This looks really lovely, but I'm afraid the purple flower was too bright for this project. In the end, I covered most of it up. I sealed it all with Vintage Collage medium. I added some patches of Black Soot Crackle paint and Distress Crazing and let it dry. I especially love how the crackle paint chipped off around the top and inner edges because I didn't apply any collage medium there at first. It looks like the crusted over goo has been accumulating for years and just couldn't be properly cleaned off.  I later sealed it with more Vintage collage medium.

I coaxed Teakwood and Mushroom alcohol inks to drip down the sides with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle. I continued to add crackle paint until I was happy with the look. Smudging Distress Crayon accentuates the subtle Crazing cracks.

This group of witches seem to be casting an eerie light of purple--Seedless Preserves crayon. The witches are Tim's Ideaology Halloween Paper Dolls, and I layered them with his Halloween Ephemera. (I bought a couple of packs of Paper Dolls to be sure I had plenty of tiny witches for my tiny cauldron.) I used one of the scalloped borders that comes with the Stitched Ovals die set to accentuate the ephemera, smudging it with Hickory Smoke and Antique Linen crayons.

I forged a Halloween Word Band so it would sit flatly on the curve of the cauldron. I highlighted the debossed words with Wilted Violet paint and added crackle paint to the edges. The little knots are Ideaology Trimmings Solid Paper String. I love this stuff. Just wet it, and it is easily moldable to any form you wish. I adhered the word band over a bit of Ideaology Mummy Cloth colored with Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide ink and whatever black ink/crayon that was left on my fingers.

On the back, I adhered some creepy Tangle Twigs die cut from kraft paper and dripped with Black Soot crackle paint. Although this paint has been discontinued, you could substitute with Clear Rock Candy Crackle paint over Black Soot paint. A flash card from the ephemera pack was die cut with Ticket Booth Framelits, colored with Old Paper Oxide ink and Ground Espresso Distress ink and edged with more crackle paint. I splattered the cauldron with Black Soot paint and my Ideaology Splatter Brush, and then I once more sealed the entire cauldron with Vintage Collage medium.

I adorned the handles with a bit of Mummy Cloth, altered Boneyard Bones, a pair of crackled vials and a creepy charm from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. The charm was altered with Picket Fence Distress paint and smudged with Black Soot crayon.

Here's a close up of the bottles before I tied them on. I coated them with collage medium, then with Clear Rock Candy Crackle paint and Black Soot crayon,  making sure each layer dried before adding the next.  On one of the ampuls,  I used an older Halloween Remnant Rub and filled with a poisonous mixture of glycerin and Twisted Citron Distress Spray stain. To make the  magic crystals in the other vial, I colored rock salt with alcohol inks. I stuffed the openings with collage medium and crackle paint and tucked in a piece of homemade creepy cloth from my stash, so the magic potions stayed in the flasks. (Yes, this was done AFTER I dripped the poison potion all over everything, so there's only a few drops left in the bottle. That stuff makes a GHASTLY mess!)

One the bottom, I adhered a circle of black paper embossed with Tim's Lumber 3D Texture Fade and colored with Distress Crayons and Weathered Wood Distress ink. I adhered and sealed with Vintage Collage medium.

Inside the cauldron is a stack of Ideaology Skulls straight from the package and a wisp of Mummy Cloth. They sit on another 'wood' panel die cut with one of Tim's Swirling Stars Thinlits. Underneath a circle of gold Metallic Kraft Stock to show off the stars. Many thanks to Lisa Hoel for her altered coffee mugs--they offered me so much inspiration for how I should fill my cauldron!

Look what happens when the lights go out! I didn't adhere anything inside, so I could remove the skulls and the metallic panel and turn on the tealights. I love how the stars glow on the aluminum sides!

I'll leave you with these close- ups! I hope you're having fun with YOUR Halloween crafting! Happy Halloween!

Sara Emily

The following Tim Holtz products were used on my project and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9pk - Swirling Stars by Tim Holtz 663095	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Stitched Ovals by Tim Holtz 661188	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Tangled Twigs by Tim Holtz 663086	Sizzix Framelits Die Set - Ticket Booth by Tim Holtz	Tim Holtz ideaology Metallic Kraft Stock TH93586
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Collage Paper, Halloween	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Remnant Rubs Halloween	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Ephemera Pack	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls Ancestors	Tim Holtz Idea-olog Mummy Cloth
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Boneyard	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Skulls	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Word Bands	Sizzix 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Lumber	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Vintage TDA47940
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte TDA47933	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Crazing TDA47957	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayons - 6PC Set #3 TDBK47926	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayons - 6PC Set #2 TDBK47919	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Black Soot TDF52937
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Peeled Paint TDF53156	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Wilted Violet TDF50612	Ranger Tim Holtz Twisted Citron Distress Spray Stain TSS44185	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Weathered Wood TIM20257	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Old Paper
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Mushroom	Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink - Citrus	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Sunshine Yellow	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Picket Fence TDF53170	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Hickory Smoke
Tim Holtz Distress Splatter Brush