Wood Block Halloween/Fall Home Decor

Hello!

Hope you are having an enjoyable day. With the first day of Fall in less than a week I wanted to share a home decor project that will take you through fall, Halloween , and into Thanksgiving. Love a home decor piece that is versatile, don't you?

This piece, really pieces, was left over from another project. Some 2 x 4 pieces already cut into 4, 5, and 6 inch high pieces. No stepped out photos on this one but I will walk you through the steps and list all the materials at the bottom of this post. 

As is my usual method I didn't have a specific end result in my mind but knew I wanted a Halloween decor piece.   Out came the Halloween colors, stamps and dies.  I ended up with this group of Halloween blocks. 

Fun, right?  I started by painting the blocks all over with black gesso. 

Once dry I applied some Ranger Texture Paste Transparent Matte through a spider web stencil.  I let the paste air dry and then pulled out some Tim Holtz Distress paints in oranges. I dabbed on and blended with a baby wipe. This was repeated until I was happy with the color. I applied this color to all sides except the bottom. A happy surprise is how the matte paste makes the wood look like it carved!  Next I die cut a variety of Halloween images and words. Some shading was added with Distress inks.  The die cuts were glued down with Ranger Matte Medium. Some were given extra texture with some crackle paint.  The final touch was some stamping of spiders and script on the sides and back.  To protect the blocks I added a layer of matte medium over the whole surfaces. 

It was at this point that I realized that I could add more die cuts on the back side!  Thus the Fall side of my blocks were born. I started the process again with some Fall themed dies, stamps, and inks. Side two turned out like this. 

I did not include the "wood carving" on this side but instead used the same script stamp as used on the sides for the background.  I followed the same process to color and glue on the Fall leaves and foliage die cuts.   Again, the final layer was matte medium to seal everything up to protect and provide long wear. 

I will display these blocks on a shelf in my great room on the Fall side. Some time in October I will flip them to the Halloween side. After October 31st I will flip them back to the Fall side and display through Thanksgiving. Three little blocks will cover the months of the Fall and Autumn holiday season. 

Hmmmm, now I'm thinking it would be fun to have a set of blocks for each season!  Winter/Christmas, Spring/Easter, and Summer/4th of July.   I've got the pastes, paints, inks and die cuts so now all I need is hubby to help me cut up some 2 x 4s!  

Hope this inspires you to look at scrap wood in a whole new way!

Supplies used:

Surface:  Scrap wood 2 x 4

Wet:  Distress paints, and inks in oranges, reds, yellows and browns;  archival ink, black gesso, Ranger Matte Medium, Ranger texture Paste Transparent Matte

Dies:  Tim Holtz Sizzix Tattered Leaves, Layered Leaf, Jack O Lanterns, Halloween thinlit word, Branch Tree, Mini Owl & Crescent Moon Mini Movers and Shapers, Autumn Gathering Sizzlet; and an original Sizzix die Pumpkin (38-0254)

Stencil:  Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Shatter

Stamps:  Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Ledger Script and MiniHalloween 4

Thank You for stopping by!  Happy Creating!

Hugs, Sharon

Busy Thanksgiving Week

Hello!

Well, we are on the countdown to Thanksgiving in the US. How are your preparations going?  Things are in full swing at the Young Household. Busy doesn't even begin to describe it. 

Oh before I forget I wanted to share some pics of our front yard tree. I am lucky to live in an area that has some great fall color. These were taken a few weeks ago when the leaves were turning.  Our neighborhood looks fantastic and really puts me in the fall mood!

So, back to this busy week. At work this is always an especially intense time of year for me as the Human Resources lady. Short weeks like this one mean payday is early and it's a race to get payroll done before the deadline. Ok, today I checked that one off my list!  I also have a couple of new hires starting who need their orientation and initial training. That's tomorrow.  Wednesday will be all about collecting all the health insurance renewal paperwork and getting the new deductions set up in our payroll system. 

At home, preparations for Thanksgiving are under way. Since we don't have much family living close by and with my busy work schedule we tend towards keeping the day mellow. This year we are doing something a little different. My sister in law and our nephew will be joining us for dinner. Ok sounds good. Last week my husband said how about if we have prime rib instead of turkey. Um, ok, that sounds good too.  Except for one thing. I have never cooked a prime rib!  Um, ya,  I have to admit I'm a little bit scared over this one.  Looked up how to cook one and some nice sides and of course a horseradish sauce. Really, what did we do in situations like this before the internet?  Thanks goodness I was able to get educated.  Though it doesn't really help me feel any more relaxed about getting this big ol pice of meat cooked just right. Yikes!  What have I gotten myself into?  Breeeeeeathe!  We pick up the prime rib from the butcher on Wednesday!  Let the adventure begin!

Tonight I made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Can you say yum?!  Oh these beauties are a little bit of heaven.  First time making them and I'm in love!  The recipie called for brown and granulated sugar. Turns out I had about a teaspoon of granulated sugar so I just added more brown sugar. Both hubbie and I agreed it was just the right amount of sweetness. 

I hope that those who celebrate Thanksgiving have a wonderful time full of good food, friends and family and lots of laughter and love!  

Be sure to check back as I take you along on my culinary adventure. 

Thanks for stopping by. Happy creating and cooking!

Hugs, Sharon

Compendium of Curiosities 3, Challenge 14

Happy Friday,

Whew!  Getting my project posted just before the deadline!

This challenge is all about the colored crackle.  You can find all the steps in Tim Holtz' latest book A Compendium of Curiosities 3 on page 53.  This amazingly fun challenge is hosted by Linda Ledbetter. You can hop on over to her blog to see what she and the Curiosity Crew have created for this challenge.

I love fall!  All the rich colors of the changing leaves are so inspiring.  I'm still having fun with the Tim Holtz Layered Leaf die.  For challenge 14 I created a fall gratitude canvas.  Hope you enjoy it.

The background was created with the Thanksgiving Background texture fade on Wallflower paper.  It's a nice compliment to the leaves and greenery.  The heart charm adds a bit of metal and movement.

Here is a closer view of some of that yummy colored crackle.  I used Core'dinations cardstock for the small leaves, branches and acorns from the Autumn Gathering Decorative Strip.

Yes, those are real acorns!  I happened upon them in an apartment complex parking lot and gathered them up knowing I would find some way to use them this fall.  I dyed some seam binding with Distress Inks to add a bit of softness.  It turned out to be the perfect place to hang the heart charm.

This fall canvas is a wonderful way to celebrate the season.  All the colors and textures make me happy.

A big thank you to Linda and the Curiosity Crew for the continued inspiration.  As always the Curiosity Crews Choice winner will get some cool things from Tim and Mario.  Another lucky winner will get a $25 gift certificate from The Funkie Junkie who is sponsoring this challenge.

Thank You so much for stopping by.  Hope you like what I created for this challenge.

Happy Creating!

Hugs,  Sharon

Falling Leaves Table Runner

Hello,

its finally beginning to feel like fall here in Northern California.  Last week we had day time temps in the 90's!  It is cooler in the evenings and mornings so I know the season is changing.  I am lucky enough to live in area where we get the fall show of colors with all the trees changing.  One of my favorite things to do is create fall leaves for my home decor and other projects.

I already gave you a peek at what I've created so far in this post Fall Leaves and More on September 29th.  I showed my place card and table runner.  I have added some more leaves to the table runner and its now complete in all its rich fall colors and leaves.

The dies I used to create my leaves and pumpkin are all Tim Holtz Sizzix dies. Really, you can't be surprised by that choice, hee, hee.  The newest die in his die and texture fade combo series in the Layered Leaf (660039).  I also used the Autumn Gathering Sizzlits Decorative Strip(657454),  Tattered Leaves Bigz (656927),  Garden Green Bigz (659436), Pumpkin Parts (660031), Mini Acorn & Pumpkin Movers and Shapers (657457), Baroque Bigz (656633) and the Textured Leaves Set Texture Fades (658251).

I have found that Kraft card stock makes the most realistic leaves when I want to color them myself.  Using a variety of reds, yellows, greens, oranges, and even a touch of purple distress inks I created backgrounds on Kraft using Tim's Wrinkle Free Distress Technique.  See list below of the Distress Ink colors I used. Then I proceeded to cut out about 100 leaves.  Yes, that one hundred leaves!  Mostly with the colored background but I also used some core'dinations Time Holtz Kraft-core Nostalgic collection.  Check it out at the core'dinations website.

The centerpiece of the runner is a dimensional pumpkin made with the Pumpkin Parts die.  I cut 12 of the base pumpkin, folded them in half, and glued together.  I used fibers from my LSS, Chico Scrapbooks to create the stem.  The pumpkin was glued to the Baroque die cut.  That whole assembly was glued to a length of burlap ribbon. 

I also created some mini pumpkins and acorns to next among the leaves.  These were cut from the Kraft-Core paper and crackled.  I topped it off with a length of sheer wired ribbon that I curled.

It will make a great centerpiece to the Thanksgiving table.

Or will work on the mantle or a console table.

Check out some of the details you can achieve with these dies, texture fades, and inks!

The options on this runner are only up to your imagination.  For a mantle only piece I would make the leaves cascade on one side so that they would hang over the edge.  A round or square center piece could be created by using a larger card stock or chipboard base.

Happy Fall.  Hope you can find some time to create a fall leaf runner for your home.  If you are in the Chico area I will be doing a class on the Fall Table Runner sometime in early November.  Keep an eye out on the Chico Scrapbooks website and Facebook page for more details.  As soon as I have more info I'll let you know.

I've got several projects in the works.  In fact I've got three holidays on my desk right now.  Of course, the fall/thanksgiving leaf projects.  For Halloween I've got some cards almost ready to show you as well as a just started mixed media canvas.  Third is some winter/Christmas experimentation going on.  The next die in the layered series is a snowflake!   I'm working on the best paper and colors for the snowflakes.  Lots to share this holiday season so please come back and check out what's next.

Distress Inks used for Fall Table Runner:

Barn Door, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord.

Thank You for stopping by.  Happy Creating!

Hugs, Sharon

Fall Leaves and More

Have you been watching all the incredible fall and Halloween projects popping up all over the web?  I just love the fall color palette,  don't you?  So colorful and vibrant!

I am enjoying my newest dies, the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Layered Leaf and Pumpkin Parts. 

The Tattered Leaves dies is one of my most used so I'm really enjoying the new leaf. I love to use kraft paper to create my leaves. It gives the most realistic look.  A variety of distress inks bring them to life. Love how I can layer these inks to create depth and dimension. 

I started with some leaves and a pumpkin to create this place card. 

Another project in the works is a fall centerpiece featuring a dimensional pumpkin. I snapped these photos quickly so they are not the best quality. So excited to share. I'm really happy with how's it's turning out. 

These leaves are a combination of Kraft paper and Core'dinations craft core.   Thinking I will add other leaves and greenery to give this piece more dimension.  I will post more photos once it's complete on the mantle and dining table so you can see what a beautiful focal point it will be to your holiday home decor. 

Thanks for stopping by. Would love to hear what you think. 

Happy Creating!

Hugs, Sharon