Day 2- 31 Days of Halloween: Skeleton King Box

Thanks for visiting on Day 2! Today my project is an altered box that sorta matches my countdown calendar that I showed you yesterday. I used the same scrap papers and colors, and actually this was made before the calendar and is what inspired the coloring. I am entering this one into the Simply Betty Challenge 12 Days of Halloween - Day 1, which was to incorporate a skeleton into your project.

I started with one of those really cute and sturdy boxes that jar candles come in; this one I found at Target. The bonus is that after I took out my candle to use, the box still smells like it! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Bamboo Juniper, I'll get to enjoy the scent every time I open it up...

*click for larger views


A coat of paint went down first, and then I cut my scraps of paper to fit each side and top. I used inks to distress and age the box (after paint dried) and papers, and then once again stamped with my crosshatch stamp from Quoth The Raven (Smeared Ink). I attached the papers to the top and sides of the box and modge podged. For the bottom of the box, I distressed and stamped with the spider web from Lonely Boy and Puff, then also covered in modge podge.

My main images come from our As Death stamp set, and features a great scene of a skeleton king hypnotizing his subjects...or maybe he's cursing them, who knows. But I love the image! Because it is slightly bigger than the sides of my box, I stamped each image a little off to one side every time so it looks like the pic is panning from left to right as you turn the box to see the four images.



I distressed these images as well, and then modge podged them to the sides of the box. Finally, I decided to make my life difficult by punching holes up each side of the box with my awl and stitching all the way up with black embroidery floss. Not only was it difficult, but I slipped and drove my awl half way into my finger. Ouch!!!! Oh well, sacrifice to the skeleton king I guess!



So, that's it. This guy will be going on my mantle with other skeleton goodness once I lug out all of my Halloween decorations, maybe this weekend. Eventually I'll share a pic of my house all done up; probaby toward the end of the month when I'm done with all my projects. Until then, have fun hopping through the Wicked Blogs today, and don't forget to leave a comment if you're a Horrifying Hopper. If you need a refresher on the 31 Days Rules, scroll down two posts and read all about it. See you tomorrow!!

Day 1- 31 Days of Halloween

Yay! I'm SO EXCITED to bring you my very first 31 Days project! In case you missed my earlier post, check out all of the rules and regs for 31 Days of Halloween on S&S in the post below this one; it tells you all about prizes, rules, and really what it's all about!

This year, I am not only challenging myself to complete 31 Days, I am also challenging myself to only use supplies that I already have in my stash. That's right! I am not allowing myself to go and splurge on all the latest and greatest Halloween goodness at the stores...if I don't already own it or can't find it for free, I won't be using it! The only exception I am giving myself is adhesive. Lucky for me I have a pretty big stash, but I know this will still be a task for me. I LOVE all the goodness that can be bought each year!

This year you will also find me making alot of stuff that is more of a decoration, rather than just cards. I plan on using most of the items I make to display as decorations. Even if I do make cards, they will either be specifically for someone or made to display. So, for my first project I busted out all my little paper scraps and found some that I love. I decided since it's the absolute begining of the countdown, well, I would make a deco inspired by those little countdown calendars that you usually find around Christmas. You know, the ones where you open a window each day and find a piece of candy. Here's what I came up with...I have tons of photos, so just bear with me.

*click any image to make it larger


I started with two wooden frames and distressed them using various inks. The insert with doors was made using chipboard, patterned paper, and stamps from Smeared Ink. I used inks to color my chipboard, and then used the papers on the door flaps.


You can see that some of the doors are patterned paper, some are stamped with the hatch stamp in our Quoth The Raven set, and the orange ones were made using The Patch digi set.


Here are some close-ups of the images behind the doors. I used stamps from our As Death and Lonely Boy and Puff stamp sets, as well as various pictures that I liked from old Halloween magazines I've collected over the years. All of the images were aged using distress ink to make them more cohesive.


Gotta love the upside down witch!


My fave As Death image...and you can barely see a raven peeking from the door underneath it.


Aaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!


Poor Lonely Boy missing Puff...


Ok, so here is a slightly angled view so you can see what I meant by two frames. They are hinged together on the other side using some book binding material. In case you were wondering, there are 30 door flaps on the front, one for each day of the month, until you get to Halloween. Then you open up the frames to reveal the Halloween surprise!

My favorite Halloween picture from last year! I will probably add in a new pic every year to replace the old one. I haven't yet decided if I would like to decorate the inside front cover, or leave black as is...hmmm.......

By the way, did you catch the cute little skull heads hanging from the ribbon? I received those in a RAK, but unfortunately I don't remember from who, so if it was you, THANK YOU!!!! Oh yes, and the flower at the top is a dried center that came out of my yard this year. You'll see another one in a few days.

So, I hope you like it; this fits prefectly with my decor for Halloween, a little bit vintage feeling but still pretty creepy!! I think alot of my stuff will be that way this year, or at least until I go into full creep mode.

Before you move on to the other projects, I have some great news about the Smeared Ink Design Team. Yep, that's right, today is the first day of our new term! I'd like to welcome back all of the returning members, and a big fat welcome to our new members! All of the applications were awesome this time aroud, and it was a tough decision, but we narrowed it down and these are the ladies that will be Rocking the Smeared and Smudged Forum from October through March!

Alison
Kelli
Black Dragon
Lady Brayton
Danielle
Meredith
Kapree
Lisa

You can see all of these fabulous ladies today; they are all participating as Wicked Blogs. Congratulations ladies!!!!

Now, I'm going to "run" to the other Wicked Blogs and see what they have up their sleeves for the first of 31 Days...I hope you'll join me!

31 Days of Halloween Rules and Regs

Well, today's the day...it's officially the first day of October, AND the first day of 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN 2010 here on Smeared and Smudged!!!

This year we are doing things a little differently; we've recruited some Wicked Blogs to join in the 31 Days extravaganza of projects, so you'll have a plethora of Halloween goodness to feast your eyes on all month long! The challenge for the Wicked Blogs is to participate all month by providing a different stamped project each and every day in October. If they complete the task, they will be entered into the huge prize drawing at the end of the month!

I know I am looking forward to the challenge again, and I hope you are excited to participate as a Horrifying Hopper or Sinister Lurker. Here's how you do it...
See that long list of participating blogs in my sidebar? The one under the Wicked Blog Button?
<----------------------------------------------------------------- Yep, that's the one. Be sure to visit each one every day in October, and here's how you can win prizes!!

Horrifying Hopper: What You Have To Do:Hop through each of the Wicked Blogs that are participating and leave a comment on each project.

The Rules:You must leave a comment on EACH participating blog every day to qualify for the prize drawing. Your comment should be about the project or something related (i.e.-no "Here's my comment for today" or "I'm here!"...these types of comments won't count!) If you miss a day or a blog, you will still qualify to receive a survival button, but will not qualify for the prize drawing.

Sinister Lurker: What You Have To Do: If you can't comment every day on every blog , you will still have the chance to win some Lurker prizes! We will be hiding scavenger hunt pictures randomly throughout the month on various participating blogs...if you find one on any given day, you will be put in for that day's freebie drawing. It may be a coupon, a free digi, or a Halloween goodie, who knows!

The Rules: Scavenger Items will be hidden randomly, and are not guaranteed to be available every day. You will have to visit blogs to find them. If you find one, you will email and let us know exactly where it was and your name will go into that scavenger item's drawing. Each person who finds the "hidden" picture will get one entry. Bloggers are able to participate and find scavenger pictures as well, unless it is hidden on their own blog.

Anyone can qualify for the scavenger prizes by visiting blogs and finding the prize; if you find it, email terra@smearedink.com .Everyone who finds it will be entered into the scavenger drawing, and the winner will be announced here the next day. It's that easy!

Doesn't this all sound like fun? But wait, I know you are now asking yourself "What huge prize drawing at the end of the month is she talking about?" In addition to some awesome scavenger prizes provided by some pretty amazing sponsors, we are offering up this glorious concoction of 31 Days goodies!

*click it to view larger

Each person who successfully completes the 31 Days as either a Wicked Blog Participant or a Horrifying Hopper will receive one entry toward this prize drawing. If you successfully complete both, you will receive two entries. (Meaning if you are a Wicked Blog Participant and you comment on every blog every day, you have successfully completed both)

That just about covers all the rules and regulations for this year's celebration. We can't wait to share 31 Days of Halloween with you, so sit back and enjoy the ride!