The Raven- Part 2

Hello friends! I hope you had a fantastic start to your week! I am back with my tutorial for part 2 of the Raven project that I made for the recent Sizzix Halloween release.

This time its all about the Raven, his feathers and putting the finishing touches on the project using none other than the new “Crypt Paste” or in other words, the AWESOME new Grit-Paste that Tim Holtz and Ranger released for Halloween last year! This year, it’s in a bigger jar. They must have heard us all chanting “Crypt paste, crypt paste, we need more crypt paste” because bless our lucky Halloween loving hearts, it is HERE! Woot, woot! It will finish off any and all your Halloween makes in a fabulously eerie way!

Let’s get started with the Raven…

I started by cutting out several feathers from the new Feathery Thinlet set. These were cut from paper that I had in my scrap bin that had been pre-inked and blended with Black Soot, Walnut Stain, Ground Espresso and other inks. You all know how I love to grab my scrap bin and dig to find papers that’ll work with the idea in my head.

See the feather on the far left? That was a paper that I made last year for one of my idea-ology projects. It had been embellished with some of the Black Glitter that was released last year…it was the perfect paper to use for building my Raven and adds to the his creepy cute personality.

Then I cut out the pieces from scrap papers to build the bird from the Bird + Egg Thinlet set that was released this past spring. The base of the bird was cut from idea-ology Kraft Stock Black Paper. Once I had his base cut, I lightly sanded it with my sanding grip to reveal some of the Kraft paper, then rubbed the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink using a blending tool.

All the other edges of the “raven” pieces were rubbed with either Black Soot or Walnut Stain Distress Ink, then dried with a heat tool. Using a detail water brush and a combo of Rusty Hinge Distress Paint and water, I lightly painted on the color for his beak, around his eye and his tiny feet and claws. Two sparkled feathers were used at the right side of the bird to give the bird a more “raven” look. I adhered the 2 feathers behind the right side of the bird, then adhered the regular bird layers into place.

To give the raven some additional feather “ruffage”, I cut a small piece from another sparkly feather and adhered it to the left belly area of the bird.

The feathers in the new Feathery thinlet set were really the key to transforming the sweet spring bird into a cute but creepy, scrappy raven.

Then, using the feathery set again, I cut more feathers to create a “nest” and resting place for the bird to be placed. I cut 6 feathers, 2 for each feather. I rubbed the edges of them with Black Soot and/or Walnut Stain Distress Ink, then took them over to my sewing machine and stitched them down the center to give them some more visual layers.

I messy stitched them lengthwise using both straight stitches and zig zag, then ruffled them up a bit with my fingers.

I gathered bits of floral moss, sisal, twigs, a stick and some scraps of mummy cloth that I had from a previous making session, then began adhering all the pieces into place to create a nest and to give the piece some age. I used my needle tool to stuff moss into the letters of “POE” and adhered it with collage medium.

Using my finger, I applied the new “crypt-paste” to the front of all the words and letters. Some areas received more grit, like at the top, bottom and edges of the plaque. Then, I set the piece aside to dry. Once the grit-paste was set, I used my Walnut Stain and Rustic Wilderness Distress Crayons to add some “moss” to the paste. I just rubbed the crayon directly onto the dried paste, then rubbed it with my finger.

Here’s a quick peek of the gritty grungy moss spots….the perfect finish of a Halloween project!

I painted a couple of wooden craft cubes that I found at the dollar store with Distress Paints and adhered them onto the plaque where I wanted to place the skull and the bird.

They work really well for vignettes and are super easy to camouflage with paint and ink.

See what I mean, you can hardly see them…

Then, adhered the raven and skull to the cubes using collage medium.

I rubbed an idea-ology spider charm with Dina Wakley White Gesso and using my heat tool, dried the paint. Once dry (and cooled down) I used my finger again to apply a small amount of Black Soot Distress Paint, then let it dry again.

Next, using my finger, I added a tiny bit of Envy Alcohol Pearls to the body of the spider.

I tied a piece of thread to the spider, then rubbed the thread with collage medium and sprinkled it with some Clear Rock Candy Glitter.

I decided that the spider needed to be lifted off the back of the piece to be adhered to the plaque so I adhered a small pearl bead that had been painted with Black Soot Distress Paint, let it dry, then adhered it to the spider. I added it to the piece as if it was hanging from the Etcetera Spiderweb trim.

With that, my project was complete!

Thanks so much for stopping by, I sure appreciate the time you take to visit and the kind comments and happiness you bring into my life! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and can’t wait to see you again really soon!

Take care!

Creatively yours,

Stacy

Products used to create this project- to purchase from Simon Says Stamp CLICK HERE, to purchase from Scrapbook.com, CLICK HERE

Sizzix Spencer Colorize, Feathery Thinlet Set, Acorn 3D Folder, Bird + Egg Thinlet Set, Halloween Grit-paste Crypt, Halloween Nightfall Glitter, Distress Inks, Paints, Crayons and Sprays, Distress Watercolor Paper, Stampers Anonymous Etcetera Tombstone, Etcetera Spiderweb Trims, idea-ology Kraft Stock Black paper, sewing machine and thread, floral moss, sticks and twigs, and more…

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