Glittery Haunted House

Hi Blogger Friends,

Today I have a  l-o-n-g and photo heavy  post for you so if you get tired of me rambling on just take a look at the pictures.

I've been working on this project off and on all month and think I should get it posted before the big day comes (Halloween) and I'm too late.  I've had this idea for some time so decided to get going.  Of course I had to take some time out to do a few other things like Creative Chemistry 102, hosting some play days with friends and then of course cleaning the house now and then.

I will be entering this one as my October Tag over on Tim's blog.  He used Distress Glitter on his tag this month. I will also enter it over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Spooky and yet again at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Halloween.

Here is my Haunted House - Can you say Distress Glitter????

It's hard to tell by photos but it's 18" tall and nearly 13" wide
I used the Tim Holtz battery operated lantern to light up the inside.

Oh yes, it's cute and a fun home decoration but that's not all-----it opens to hold a mini album.  I did the mini using the Steampunk Spells Paper from Graphic 45. I will show photos of the pages at the end of the post.

It all started out innocently enough with this sketch - but some how got out of control.

From the sketch I made a pattern and cut the front and back from black chipboard.

Then cutting out the holes for the windows and door.

To form the sides so they would curve to the shape of the front and back I cut them from black chipboard and ran them through a paper crimper 5 or 6 times.  This process breaks down the fiber of the chipboard so it will bend but still remain strong.  I used hot glue to put the main body together.  It was rather messy but this is where the Non Stick Craft Mat from Ranger really comes in handy.  I could get glue on the edge of the chipboard and still pull it off the mat when cool.  The construction part is not pretty but it will all be covered with glitter eventually.

For the roof I cut the basic shapes I needed from black chipboard and then cut 2 small pieces of metal (copper in case - since I had it) for the curl.  I first covered the copper with black cardstock, curled it and then attached it to the chipboard.  In order to make the roof curl on the ends I simply wrapped them around a piece of PVC Pipe.

Now the fun begins!  I covered the entire body of the house in Black Soot Distress Glitter and the roof in Dusty Concord Distress Glitter.  In this process I used an entire jar or glitter and nearly an entire bottle of Glossy Accents.  Lots of glitter but I have to say it's not as messy as regular glitter. 

For the trim piece on the front and the roof I used Tim's Alterations "On The Edge"
die Scallops (Sizzix #656627).  For the roof I cut several scallops, covered them with glitter, then glued them on.  You will see some places where the glitter is not even or missing but I decided to leave it that way.  It is a Haunted House after all.

I stamped, colored, and die cut the witch from the Retro Halloween Set

I started adding some features - first is Miss Witch from the Tim Holtz Retro Halloween set (Sizzix 659374) .  She makes me smile!  Next was a cobweb for the other window which I cut on my Wishblade.

Sometimes I wonder why I save things like boxes -  and now I know.  This box was in my stash and it turned out to be perfect for the inside of the house.  Like I planned it - NOT!

After reinforcing the sides with chipboard I added the light and placed the box inside the house.  I then added the chair, a die cut I found in my stash, and the welcome mat.
My spooky friend was cut with my Wishblade from vellum.

For the lamps I used the Tim Holtz Holiday Lamppost Die (Sizzix # 657469), cut away the parts I didn't need and inserted the plastic skeleton heads.

The owl is from the Retro Halloween set as well as the bats.  The creepy spider is the Candlelight Fright Die (Sizzix #657456).  I simply added some eyes and a black rhinestone.  The border around the widows walk is cut from the "On The Edge" (Sizzix #656918) 

 

Other details like the gable and bird are from the Sizzix set (#659015). For the grass around the gravestones I used Tim Holtz Strip Die "Tapered Fringe (Sizzix #658553)

 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing this as much as I've enjoyed making it! 

 

Happy Haunting!

 

 

Ok - that's it for the house, here are a few photos of the mini album pages.

 

 

Something spooky is going on with my blog!!  EEK!

 

My apologies if you are getting some old posts, I'll get it fixed ASAP