Friday 7 October 2016

Shabby Halloween box for AVJ


'Tis the season for all things eerie, mysterious, curious and weird. As it's the beginning of October then what better than some challenges to get you in the Halloween mood and A Vintage Journey is one of them to help you on your way. Anne is the spectral host this month and she says - 
As we approach All Hallows' Eve we want you to create a vintage, shabby, industrial, steampunk or mixed media project to celebrate the spookiness of Halloween, don't limit yourself to black, orange and purple - just 'Make it Spooky'!

Me? I just decided to alter one of those hard paper maché type boxes to hold some of my spooky supplies and to make it seem even more weird I have gone shabby creepy.




Quick process steps

  • Paint a coat of rustic chalky finish paint over the outside of the box and dry. 
  • Apply random areas of weathered wood and leave to dry. 
  • Paint a coat of white crackle paint. Leave to dry.


  • Sand back some of the edges and ink with ground espresso distress ink.
  • Rub over with a damp babywipe and a dry cloth to expose some of the burnt umber areas as well as the darker crackles from the ground espresso.



  • Main focus for the lid - stamp the skull on a piece of tissue paper - dry.
  • Take a wooden frame, ink the edges with ground espresso, stamp with a texture image and black archival ink and paint on a coat of transparent crackle glaze - leave to dry naturally.
  • When dry paint over with white antiquing cream leave to dry again dry and then rub over with a babywipe to remove the antiquing cream except in the crackles.


  • Adhere the stamped, crumpled tissue paper image to the box lid with Decoupage glue which is a sealer as well as an adhesive. Apply the Decoupage to the top of the paper and the whole top of the lid to seal it, heat dry.
  • Paint a watery wash of titan buff over the skull but leave the teeth white.


  • Give the rest of the box a coat of the Decoupage glue/sealer.
  • Adhere the frame over the stamped tissue paper.



  • Line the box and lid with tissue wrap and when glue is dry give a watery wash of titanium white acrylic paint. This helps it look more ethereal and gives the insides a finished look.



  • Seal the base of the box with the Decoupage, I didn't worry about the inside as it had been sealed before it had been given the ethereal look when I glued over the top of the tissue wrap.
  • I had intended to add borders, labels and embellishments to the lid and base of the box, but when it came down to it I just preferred the look of the remnant rubs on their own.





Over to you now to enter your projects at the new spooky challenge on AVJ but before you do I recommend you pop over to the challenge post to see all the incredible inspiration from some of the team, I promise you it's well worth a look.

Have a fabulous spooky month.

hugs Brenda xxx


On Hallowe'en the thing you must do
Is pretend that nothing can frighten you
And if somethin' scares you and you want to run
Just let on like it's Hallowe'en fun.
~Author unknown

40 comments:

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Awesome project! I LOVE the crackle...love the skull! I'd have this filled up with chocolate and wouldn't share! Way COOL!

Julia Aston said...

Love all the wonderful crackle and that spooky skull front and center Brenda! It looks great with just the remnant rubs on the sides great distressed colors too! Julia xx

Kerstin F. said...

Spooktacular !!

Monika Gulyas said...

Fantastic! I love the vintage style and all crackles!! What a good idea to put a frame on the top of the box, this enhance your spooky skull! And the text, "Found Objects" just brilliant! xx

Barbara said...

Fabulous altered box!! the crackle effect is fantastic! barbara

Susanne said...

Wow, what an awesome box! I love it !

Jennie Atkinson said...

I absolutely LoVE this Brenda! Your crackle is just stunning and with the stamped skull, so vintage, yet really creepy ! Jennie x

Jane said...

Good morning dear Brenda. What a fab box.....it looks like a spooky tomb with all that amazing texture. The stamped skull is awesome, great work! Thanks for your lovely comments this morning...we did have such a wonderful day didn't we and the weather was just sooo kind. Have a wonderful weekend hugs xx

Gina said...

Perfect storage for any random heads/skulls found laying around the house :D Mwahahahaha..... XXX

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Gorgeous , I love this Brenda and that crackle is fantastic. Perfect for storing embellishments. Fantastic piece . Tracy x

Rita said...

This is certainly the spookiest box I have ever seen. So life like too Brenda. Love the crackles on the box too. Hugs Rita xxx

Amanda said...

Absolutely fabulous Brenda
Love
Amanda x

Suzanne C said...

Fabulous! Love the crackle and the beautiful aged effect of the box with the striking skull.

sarascloset said...

Perfect in every way! Love the chalky finish and of course, your amazing crackle! The skull and frame with a touch of text is all this needs, because your background is so amazing! The frame is perfectly grungy, too! Your techniques are un-earthly! Big hugs!

Redanne said...

I LOVE this SO much Brenda, my favourite skull stamp, fabulous crackling and brilliant choice of words. This looks like it has been sitting in a crypt for dozens of years, and all because you worked your magic... it is absolutely fantastic!! Hugs, Anne xx

A Pink said...

Your shabby Halloween box is an absolute beaut! Brenda. Love that you have let your fantastic paint and crackle techniques speak for themselves allowing the viewing eye to indulge ! And I can assure you I have certainly done that! LOve it ! Thanks so much for sharing the process steps - appreciated . hugs x

Astrid Maclean said...

Totally brilliant box Brenda, the crackle effect you have achieved is just fantastic, it truly looks ancient! The skull is just perfect for this and I love that you have stuck to neutral tones rather than go with the more trad Halloween colours. Completely fabulous!

Two Mad Dahlias said...

This is so sick! I love how everything turned out. Amazing.

froebelsternchen said...

A WOWSER!!! Super!

Words and Pictures said...

Stunning crackle and brilliantly subtle tinting on the skull - this is a joy!
Alison x

Valerija said...

A gorgeous box!

Meggymay said...

A fantastic shabby chic style ''spooky'' box. The stamped skull looks great.
Yvonnexx

Kaz Hall said...

I just love this Brenda! So much shabbiness, perfectly put together, it's just up my street love it xx

Kaz xx

Annie said...

Totally love your Shabby Spookystorage box Brenda x wonderful details and textures. Perfect for your halloween stash

Hugs xx

Jackie PN said...

OMGosh is this ever cool Brenda!!
I have been wondering where to put my Halloween stash and now I am inspired to create storage as well!
I'm really digging the shabby spooky feel here!
Thanks so much for sharing your steps! hugs xx

experiments in paper said...

LOVE this, Brenda!! Absolutely incredible crackle, and loving the neutral palette - perfect!! xxx Lynn

Deb said...

Deliciously creepy Brenda, amazing texture and love how you've framed that wonderful skull, thanks so much for sharing it! Deb xo

Tee said...

The vintage old texture look you have created is awesome! Spooky and fabulous.

Rupa Swaminathan said...

Love the shabby vintage box Brenda, especially how you made the frame...looks like snakes skin!!!! Amazing. Hugs.

Juliz Design Post said...

Loving your shabby crackle box Brenda, it works so well with the skull for a striking design.
TFS, Julie X

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Gorgeous box Brenda, I'm not surprised you chose not to put anything else on it as the crackle effect is stunning. Happy crafty week, Angela x

AlexaCzar said...

Oh wow. Ich Love all Pfingsten it. So fantastic altered Art.
Hugs
Alexa

AlexaCzar said...

Oh wow. Ich Love all Pfingsten it. So fantastic altered Art.
Hugs
Alexa

pearshapedcrafting said...

What fabulous crackle you got going there Brenda! The skull is just scary enough Thank you! Errm! We are going away again tomorrow LOL! Hugs, Chrisx

S@ndy Diller said...

Very spooky indeed, love everything about this.

Seth said...

This is a stunner Brenda. That texture!!!!!

Nikki said...

Love your skull box that texture looks fantastic

Jenny Marples said...

This has an understated elegance to it and the perfect amount of vintage age - creepy with class! Love it to bits xx

diane said...

I love this. The crackle paint looks great!
I need to find that stuff :-D
diane @ thoughts&shots

Unknown said...

Oh my this is terrific. Thank you SO much for sharing and giving me inspiration to try making one for myself.