Haunted Jars

Hello all!  I'm very happy to be hosting this month's A Vintage Journey challenge.  We're looking for Altered Art, and I can't wait to see the journeys you go on with this one.  As always, the Creative Guides have been busy making inspiration projects to get your creative engines started, and I think they've outdone themselves yet again.  Do hop across to A Vintage Journey to see what everybody else has been up to... after you've taken a look at my offering, of course!

As you'll know if you saw my sombre ATCs I've been a little low on mojo lately.  I started on a couple of altering possibilities which didn't really go anywhere, before deciding to simplify things, and to borrow the ideas from my own Candlelit Foliage jars to create some Halloween lanterns.  There's nothing quite so eerie as the flicker of a candle flame as the night draws in...

They're really very similar to the Candlelit Foliage jars.  There's a detailed how-to for those over at last month's Destination Inspiration post, so I won't go through all the steps again.  I kept things even simpler this time.  Since these new Tim Holtz Thinlits are so fabulous in themselves, I didn't feel they needed much help from me!

I know we're a little early for Halloween but, as you'll see over at A Vintage Journey, I'm not the only one who got tempted in that direction.  It must be the distinctly autumnal weather that's fooled us into thinking All Hallow's Eve is around the corner.

I'm in love with the intricate detail on these dies.  Just look at the lacy cuffs on the glorious witch, for instance...
















... or the gnarled twigginess of her broom.  I'm not surprised the cat is alarmed!














The large cobweb is almost unbelievable in its delicate fragility.














Okay, you have to do quite a bit of poking to get all the pieces out, but it's completely worth it as far as I'm concerned.















The haunted house is one which I think might get some usage at other times of the year.

I love the candlelight shining through the windows.















And the shadowy crescent moon and the bat silhouettes are the perfect accompaniment.













You've already seen the crows in action on my Autumnal Oxide Journal.  There, they were just being nicely autumnal, but now they've got their Edgar Allan Poe spook on!













And it's the only one of the set that has a different silhouette to enjoy around the other side...















... as well as following the migrating birds in between.













(Mind you, the little scene with the witch and the cat does go much of the way round the tall slender olive jar, to be honest - stars and all.)
















Just as with the foliage lanterns, I created the background detail using the Harlequin stencil, this time with gel medium for the transparent texture.















I selected the spookier tissue tapes to add extra interest.  There are some cobwebby strips, like clouds drifting across the sky...
















... and some old-fashioned script, spelling out a spell or charm, perhaps.















As I said, it's only the crow-jar which has die-cuts all the way round.  With the others, you can turn them the other way and just enjoy the textured candlelight if you so desire.















I used a little more of my discoloured Pumice Stone Distress Spray than I did on the foliage lanterns (I think I've mentioned before that it has aged with a sort of greenish tinge).

I like how it gives the jars a slightly more mottled, murky look.












As you can see, I've given my black card a spritz or two of the same DecoArt Shimmer Mister as I used on the jars themselves.

It tickles me that you can't really tell whether it's a silvery moonlit gleam or a hint of mouldy decay!













Some simple twine finishes them off - nothing to distract the eye too much.







So those are my haunted jars.  I think they'll look great on the windowsill or on a festive Halloween table.  I prefer my Halloween eerie rather than full on gory, so these definitely fit the bill for me.

I do hope you'll hop over to A Vintage Journey to see the incredible altered artwork from my fellow Creative Guides, and I can't wait to see what you'll come up with for this month's Altered Art challenge.  See you there soon.

Oh, and I'll be back in just a few hours with a really exciting piece of news, so I hope I might see you again even sooner!

It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination.
From the introduction to The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling