Day of Dead Project

Where did October go?! Here is a mixed media piece I created for Halloween, based on the Mexican sugar skull traditions for their Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).
While looking through my scrapbooking stash, I noticed a chalkboard paper with the banner "don't forget to smile" on and thought it would be fun to add it as an ironic sentiment to my Gothic image. I thought it would work well with the portrait as a kind of "Day of the Dead" high school yearbook concept.

I started with this 4 x 6 paintables card by Prima:

 

I painted a base of white gesso and then had fun decorating the face with inks, pens and glitter to create a Sugar Skull makeover.

Using Tim Holtz and Tattered Lace dies I created the headdress. I also used Wow embossing powder in Vintage Peacock on the flowers.

 I added some self-adhesive black pearl swirls.

 Close up of the Wow embossing powder in Neutral Ultra Shimmer

 I made a web strand with clear glue, dusted in embossing powder. I found the spider in a mixed pack at a pound store. I now have a hundred other spiders to use somehow!

 I embossed the Tonic flourish die in Angel Wings Peacock embossing powder. This is clear on white card, but transforms on black. The roses are a quilling die cut from Marianne.

 The somewhat tongue-in-cheek banner. Cut from Prima's Optimist paper.

 Detail of the Marianne rolled flower die cuts, finished with glitter and inks.

Close up: Wow Vintage Peacock embossing powder on black card, gives a textured, silver and blue glitter effect.

 

Supplies:
Prima Marketing Bohemian 4"x6" Paintables
Prima Optimist - You & Me 12 x 12 paper
Santoro Mirabelle 6 x 6 paper
Dies:
Cheery Lynn - Spider Web, Memory box - Spider web border, Tonic- floral swirls fancicul flourishes,
Marianne - Branch and roses, Tim Holtz - mini tattered florals, Spellbinders Die-D-lites Ivy, Tattered Lace - Foliage
Tim Holtz distress inks,Spectrum Aqua Pens
Embossing Powders:
Wow! Vintage Peacock and Neutral Shimmer, Lindy's Stamp Gang - Angel Wings Peacock
Hobbycraft black pearl swirls
Dovecraft glitter glue (like Stickles)
IOD for Prima - Build-a-Frame stamps, dictionary and script stamps on leaves.
Spider - pound store!
White gesso for face

Challenges:
Country View - Blue
That's Crafty - Haunted Halloween
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Lost Coast Portal to Creativity - Day of the Dead
Wow Powder - Anything Goes
That Craft Place - Anything Goes Mixed Media
Dream in Darkness - November