Skip to main content

Into the Woods

Our state is officially on a 'shelter in place' order and my little pumpkin diorama is complete! There was a lot of finger crossing going on while making the end bits, but thankfully, everything turned out great.

Supplies:
Aves Apoxie Clay
Model Trees
Black Acrylic Paint
Tim Holtz Boneyard
Tim Holtz Skull Fragments
Tim Holtz Tiny Lights
Clean Applesauce Cup
Thick Foam Sheet
White Paper
Shrinky Dink Paper (frosted)
E-6000
White Acrylic Paint

Tools:
Rotary Tool w/ Drill Bit
Paint Brush
Scissors
Plastic Paint Cup

First, I had to get the courage to drill a hole in the back of the pumpkin so I could feed the Tiny Lights through. Once I did, I had to widen it so the thicker plastic part of the strand would fit through.

Next, I kneaded the two-part Aves Apoxie and created a base inside the pumpkin. I added small balls of the clay to the trunks of the trees and then added them to the clay base, making sure they were anchored well and then smoothed out the raised areas. It took several hours for the clay to dry.

Once dry, I painted all the clay with the acrylic paint and dry-brushed the trees to give them more character.

I cut the applesauce cup down so that it was a shallow, 1/2 inch deep cup. I then cut a notch to fit the light strand. With patience, I wound the strand into a spiral and used E-6000 to glue it in place.

The lights were very bright and you could tell it was just a strand of LED lights, which I didn't like. After much trial and error, I took a sheet of very thick foam sheet for shipping items and cut out a circle slightly larger than the lip of the applesauce cup. I added E-6000 to one side and glued a sheet of white copy paper over it. Then I added a layer of Shrinky Dink paper. As it all dried, I trimmed it up neatly. I added a thin layer of white acrylic paint and used the extra copy paper to blot it off. I added a ring of E-6000 to the edge of the foam and glued it to the plastic cup, letting it dry overnight.


With a held breath, I pushed the moon back into the pumpkin over and behind the trees. Success!

Feeling confident, I dry-fit the skulls and bones in the foreground of the diorama and then added E-6000 to each one, placing it carefully.



I'm so proud of this piece and can't believe how everything worked out so well.

The snow may be falling right now, but I'm glad to be getting my Halloween creations going. Anyone else thinking Halloween?

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the Witch's Lair

So a little while ago, Tim Holtz had a video showing all of the new Ideal-ology goodies for Christmas. You know me, I bleed orange and black, but one thing in particular made me OOL (ooh out loud). The Vignette Box Tops. When I saw the sweet scenes he made out of Vignette Boxes and those tops...my Halloween vein started throbbing! I ordered them and finally got them Thursday. I was off work yesterday and not feeling well so I created this neat little vignette! Everything used to create this project is Tim Holtz except for the black creepy drape cloth, the glass glitter, and the moss. It all started with larger Vignette box. I cut a piece of Halloween paper to fit the back and edged it in Black Soot Distress ink.  I took the largest box top and traced it out onto a piece of Lost and Found paper stash. I wanted to use a Halloween design, but the paper was just a bit too small. Once I had the box top traced, I cut it out and cut out the little window portion as well. I added Black
6 comments
Read more

My Submission for Needle's Flash Fiction Challenge

"Gone Fishing" Copyright 2010 by Carey Burns Prissy jumped down from Veronica's lap and skittered to the front of the fishing boat, her paws on the side rail as she barked at the kids fishing on the shoreline. "Von, will you keep that ratty dog quiet? She's scaring away the fish." Sam reeled in his slack line, wishing he would have left her and that damn dog of hers at home instead of letting her weasel her way into his fishing trip with Bailey. Baily Evers was the only reason Von had any interest in fishing and she flirted with him mercilessly in the truck and for the first hour on the lake until Sam told her to shut her silly mouth. Since then Veronica sat sulking with Prissy whimpering in her arms. Bailey chuckled. "Maybe we can hang ol' Pris over the edge and see if there really are barracuda in this lake." He tilted back his Dodgers' cap and wiped the sweat from his brow, squinting as he stared off across the lake. "Should we
4 comments
Read more

I Have No Words

This post has been a difficult one to write.  Like so many others, the pandemic has really thrown me into a loop and brought many unexpected and unwanted changes.   I left my job of over 19 years in October. The stress, frustration, and unhappiness was too much and the negativity was seeping into my off-time and basically killed any motivation I had to write or make anything.  Around that same time, my sister's breast cancer returned with a vengeance and destroyed the funny, loving, energetic woman I had always known and loved. She became a fragile shell and then she was gone.  My heart was still raw when my mother, the rock of our family, died unexpectely on Friday. I'm stunned. Shocked. It makes no sense. She's gone.  I'm not sure what the future holds for me. I've been working in the healthcare field and I'm happy with the job but life keeps telling me how short it is and I think I need to really listen this time.
Post a Comment
Read more