A Very Vintage Halloween – Toxique Mail

Oh the trees are frightfully bare! My gardens are all cleaned out, the dirt turned over ready for spring, and the containers all packed away in the garage. The only thing left outside that’s green is the lawn but even that will soon lose its color as we head into the deep autumn despite still enjoying 70 degree days. As October comes to a close and after I manage to get in some extra calorie burning by raking up all of the leaves from the neighbors’ trees, I pulled together one more Halloween project before I put aside the ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and bones to work on some projects for Thanksgiving and then Christmas. The current challenge on the Frilly & Funkie Blog is A Very Vintage Halloween. The challenge is generously sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

I must admit that this was not what I intended the project to be for this challenge. In fact, I have a half-finished project in my craft room that will need to be re-purposed into something else. This was one of those things that literally came to me in the middle of the night. So, my neighbors probably thought I was crazy since I was in my craft room with foil sheets, an embossing folder, and rust paste at 2 a.m.! And, as it happens, the finished project is different than my original intent. Originally I intended on making a mailbox full of Halloween mail – a small book or box inside with pages that are Halloween-like. But, it morphed into a toxique mailbox with a blackbird, bone flowers, a skull, chains, “worn” (i.e. I made it look old) ephemera cards/pictures, cheese cloth, glass bottles, and shrink plastic pumpkins and ghosts. I haven’t played with shrink plastic since I was a kid.

This project combined a couple of different techniques I wanted to try – rust paste (Finnabair’s tutorial), inking foil sheets (Tim Holtz October Tech Remix), and shrink plastic (Anna-Karin’s step-by-step). The inspiration for using these techniques came from the websites as I’ve linked them and appreciate the tutorials! I am also totally amazed at the talent of those in the crafting community! And, I added a collaged skull instead of trying to paint it – I only had one and I didn’t want to have a bad paint job!

I hope you enjoy my toxique mailbox and Happy Halloween!

Items used for this project:

• Inks/Paints: Tim Holtz Distress Paint (Ground Espresso); Adirondack Alcohol Ink (Terra Cotta, Ginger, Rust, Pesto, Espresso, Snow Cap); Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain (Black Soot and Hickory Smoke); Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink (Potting Soil); Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Gathered Twigs);
• Paper: Tim Holtz Mini Paper Stash (Materialize); Core’dinations (Tea Dye, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Black Soot); Tim Holtz Ideaology Tissue Wrap (Plain); Ranger Inkssentials Shrink Plastic; Ranger Foil Sheets;
• Mediums: Prima Finnabair Art Basics Heavy Gesso (Black); Prima Finnabair Art Extravagance Rust Effect Paste (Red & Brown); Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium (Vintage);
• Die Cuts/Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz (Jack-o-Lanterns and Ghosts); Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Tiny Tattered Florals); Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fade (Riveted Metal);
• Stamp: Tim Holtz Ledger Script #241
• Embellishments: Prima Flowers (La Tela Create); Prima Sandra Evertson Relics and Artifacts (Ancient Soul); Prima Finnabair Art Ingredients Micro Beads (Copper); Funkie Junkie (Charm – Silver Skeleton Hands); Tim Holtz Ideaology (Apothecary Vials, Boneyard, Mini Plaquettes, and Hitch Fasteners); Tim Holtz Ideaology Ephemera Pack (Curiosities)
• Miscellaneous: Cheese cloth, Bead Landing Necklace, Candle Holder, Paper Mache XL Mailbox, a random black brad, and one black bird

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6 Responses

#1 stampersuzz said...

26-Oct-16 6:17 AM

Brilliant! Love the fabulous textured mailbox and then the beautiful fall embellishments and top it off with such a variety of spooky and creepy bits and pieces an you get a fantastic halloween decoration! Thanks for playing along in the Very Vintage Halloween Challenge at Frilly and Funkie!

#2 Sara Emily said...

26-Oct-16 5:55 PM

This is so cool! I love that you were busy crafting away at 2 am, because the finished product is amazing! Love the rust and all those bits and creepy pieces!

#3 Linda, the funkie junkie said...

28-Oct-16 5:05 AM

This is crazy amazing - whoopee! I LOVE it. You are so creative and talented. I can't imagine how many hours you have into this project, but it was worth every second. Every little detail is exquisite. It looks like it was a blast to make. You had to have been grinning ear to ear while you were making this gem. Thanks so much for sharing it with us over at Frilly and Funkie!

Hugs, Linda

#4 kathy/NorthCarolina said...

03-Nov-16 3:21 AM

Whoa! This is one amazing creation! First of all, the idea is just so clever. Then all that wonderful rust paste and the spooky flowers and all that great Halloween ephemera make transform this into the spookiest mailbox ever. The composition is spot on, as is the color palette. Love this! Thanks so much for sharing with us at the Frilly and Funkie A Very Vintage Halloween Challenge!

#5 Zoe Hillman said...

03-Nov-16 9:04 AM

Amazing! I love love love it! It's packed full with incredible detail. What a fantastic home decor Halloween piece. Thanks for joining us for the "A Very Vintage Halloween" challenge over at Frilly and Funkie.

#6 Cec said...

03-Nov-16 12:52 PM

What a great Halloween project. Love all way you altered the mailbox and then all the details you added. Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie. Hugs! Cec