in the dead of night

in the dead of night, souls come to life. 

they dance and play, and haunt away; 

until the dawn, when night night is gone.

It's that time of year when we begin to see all the wonderful Halloween and seasonal creations that designers are sharing. I thought it would be fun to incorporate some of my favorite Gypsy Soul Laser Cut seasonal embellishments in a spirited display box.

I start with a chipboard trinket box die cut from Eileen Hull/Sizzix. Instead of using the latch mechanism that is cut out along with the box pieces, I decide to use small hinges and a clasp to secure the cover panel. This will ensure that the box remains closed when it is in the upright position. I paint all of the exposed box edges with black soot distress paint and allow them to dry before I begin the box assembly. The box is covered with some halloween papers from my stash. The front and back covers use a vintage Halloween candies print paper, while the main compartment is kept simple to showcase the focal piece. Using a small black and white check paper as a base, I stamp with the script stamp from the entomology stamp set. Once the ink has dried, all of the papers are edged with black soot distress ink. The front cover of the box features a flying bat from the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts creepy critters set.

The sheet contains eight different creatures, including cats, rats and ravens, perfect for all your spooky creations. I know I will be using all these creatures up in my Halloween makes! I envision the flying bat with swooping wings creating a wonderful frame above the oval opening on the front of the trinket box.  I remove the bat piece from the sheet and coat it with embossing ink. The embossing ink is covered with rocky road baked texture and heat set, creating an eye-catching textural effect. Small black rhinestone gems are adhered around the oval opening.

I love the look of frozen charlottes and have a stash of various sizes. Adding wings to them can instantly change the look from doll to winged soul, whether it be beautiful or haunting. The main focal point of "in the dead of night" is one of these charlottes featuring a pair of wings from the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts bat wings miniatures set. 

These wings are exactly as they are labeled, miniatures. The set contains three pairs of wings, graduated in size. My project features the smallest pair. I carefully remove the wings by using an exacto or sharp craft knife to cut the spots where the wings are attached to the sheet. These tabs are mainly to keep all the pieces intact during shipping. Once the wings are removed, I coat the front side of each wing with embossing ink and sprinkle with rocky road baked texture embossing powder. The powder is heat set to create a wonderful finish and set aside to cool. Once cool, the wings are adhered to the charlotte's back and some copper wire is wound around the body creating a harness.

This winged soul needs a special backdrop to shine. I select a frame from the delicate frames and ornaments shape set that seems to be made to fit my box opening, as well as the winged charlotte.

This is another awesome set from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, it contains thirteen different pieces with wonderful detail. The oval frame I am using contains an open scallop edge. I use chunky rust baked texture to create an interesting finish on the frame, that coordinates with the oranges in the paper design as well as gives the piece a very realistic rusty look. I adhere a piece of coordinating paper behind the oval to complete the backdrop.

When I begin to assemble the piece, I decide that it will add interest if I include some additional small bat die cuts in flight within the box. Using thin wire with the die cuts attached at one end, I wind a few around the frame in various spots. The wires are wrapped and twisted to give the appearance of taking flight. 

This piece will be attached to the inside of the box so that it is centered within the oval opening. I paint a wooden spindle with black soot distress paint and drill a hole in the center to accommodate a screw. A coordinating hole is drilled into the bottom of the trinket box for the screw to pass through and secure into the spindle.

A quote chip is distressed and areas are coated with chunky rust baked texture. This title piece is adhered to the bottom of the front cover. 

I am really excited to begin decorating for the Halloween holiday, and I know just where I would like to display this one. 

If you are creative and like to make your own decorations, or perhaps have been inspired to create a decor piece, I highly recommend trying out some of the seasonal sets available in the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Shop, the possibilities are endless. 

I hope you enjoy the remainder of September, fall is definitely in the air. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today.

~Ann

Supplies used:

4mm back rhinestone gems

copper wire

distress collage medium

distress inks: black soot

distress paint: black soot

Eileen Hull / Sizzix: trinket box die

Emerald Creek / Seth Apter baked textures: chunky rust, rocky road

frozen charlotte (cast resin)

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:

bat wings miniatures, creepy critters, delicate frames and ornaments shape set

Tim Holtz ideaology: quote chips,

Tim Holtz / Sizzix: mixed media halloween (bats) 

Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous: entomology stamp set

wooden spindle