Frightful Night House

Something very different to post today! I was doing the blog check the other day and came across a wonderfully talented mixed media artist, www.dianesalter.blogspot.ca, and fell in love with these little wooden houses she made. Well, wouldn't you know it but the very next day my hubby's cousin stopped in for a visit (and brought some squash from his garden for us) and he happens to be a carpenter. I asked him if he had some left over pieces of wood, say 4" by 7" or 10" or 12" etc that he could cut into a point at the top like a house roof and he assured me he did. His wife, bless her soul, piped up and told him it would be even better if he routed the edges instead of leaving them sharp. Now, I kept telling him, scraps of wood, any type but the guy is a carpenter and his scraps were maple. Nice..and yet he didn't charge me much for them...even nicer! He had no idea what I was going to do with them and, like my husband, doesn't ask anymore but he dropped them off Tuesday morning (along with more squash and some cabbages and homemade tomato juice - delish!). I couldn't wait to get at them but I didn't feel well Tuesday so I let them sit...and while I sat, I plotted a course of action!  Once he sees what I did to his beautiful piece of maple he'll probably think "I should have given her plywood!"...which would work too.

By all means, pop over to Diane's site and check out her work. Incredible!! Now, her's are professionally completed and lovely and whimsical with birds and butterflies, etc. but mine is a wee bit different. Here's what I came up with.

Hey, Halloween is fast approaching so I just had to make a fright house. The house is 4" wide and about 12" before the peak starts. This cannot be hung outdoors though because it has a lot of paper on it. I didn't have any wood parts for the peak so its paper too. (I'll have to come up with a plan for this bit for the next house) The paper is all from a Tim Holtz mini pack. After adhering the paper down with Mod Podge I used some paint and ink and stamps and stencils to add some dimension.

The raven, tombstone and owl were die cut and assembled using some Sizzix dies and they have a piece of thin meat tray liner behind them to make them stand out a bit. (I know a meat tray liner in a vegetarian house - my friend gave them to me because it is one thing that never comes into this house) 

The skull and spider webs came from the fabric store and they are actually heat set type but I just glued them down. Lots of shading and bit and pieces added. The strip at the bottom is a piece of transparency that I stamped some skulls on (on the rough side) and then Mod Podged it down.

The sides had a coat of white Gesso first and then black acrylic paint that I wiped down while wet so they look streaky and weathered. Not sure what I'll do with the other five houses but stay tuned!