Something Wicked Pocket

Inspiration: Just Us Girls #604 (Halloween) 

I am really excited about how this treat bag turned out. I ended up working on this in sequences. At first, a couple of weeks ago, I had sprayed a dollar store clothespin with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink, let it dry and then I covered the sides with Boo Crew patterned paper, inked the edges and embellished it with a fussy cut image and a chipboard sentiment. I left it aside to have ready to embellish a treat bag when the time would come.

I recently put my hands on the Jack-O-Lanterns stencil from Simple Stories. I find this one to be really cool because it works as a full background, but I also very much plan to use the individual faces to stencil on Halloween stamped images or die-cuts. I really wanted to test the stencil with some sort of black glitter paste, which I don't happen to have on hand, so I improvised. I needed a treat bag, so I went looking through my stash and pulled out the now-retired chevron bags from Stampin' Up! I blended an ombre look using Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon and Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide inks with blender brushes. I used Dried Marigold on the back of the pocket as well so that it would show when the top of the bag is folded over, but you can barely tell I've added this ink colour as it doesn't show up much once dry. For the embossing, I was thinking of creating my own paste with black glitter and liquid glue, but then I remembered seeing a lot of crafting videos where people were using the Nuvo Drops or Liquid Pearl with a palette knife to fill in their stenciled images, so I investigated to see if I had black, and turns out, I do have black Enamel Accents! I had no clue if that would work, but I used both a scraper and a silicon spatula to fill in the details and it worked out way better than I anticipated. I was planning to sprinkle my fine black glitter over the top before it dried, but I liked the glossy look so much that I changed my mind. I made sure to use Pixie spray on the stencil before using it so it wouldn't shift, but I have to say, the details of the faces came out so crisp! And the result is pretty flat, so I was able to glue a layered die-cut on top easily and the shine is amazing! I barely use my Liquid Pearls anymore, so I have to revisit this technique to put them to good use.

So the pocket got left aside to dry overnight and then I decided to do the embellishing on it today. I went back to the Boo Crew collection since the colours would match. I used a banner and a flower sticker at the top and I placed one of the cute tag cut-aparts over the folded edge of the bag, clipping it in place with the clothespin. I had a polka dot scrap that I slid under the edge of the tag, and I added star stickers from the collection and star sequins from Stampin' Up!'s current Halloween suite.

The Chicken Wire die (from Impression Obsession) is a recent acquisition. I jumped on it when my local store showed it in a "what's new" video as a chicken wire die had been on my wish list for a long time. I have a stamp, but I love that this die is really dainty (craft companies have made so much strides and the images are not as bulky as they were when die-cutting started to appear on the crafting scene). I've noticed this is the kind of generic detailing that can be worked into many projects and adds texture and details without taking precedence over other elements. I had pulled my foil papers out thinking I might do copper, but then the Generous Grapefruit holographic paper caught my eye. It was a freebie during SAB a few years ago and even though I didn't think much of it at the time because I wasn't a fan of the Grapefruit colour, I have thoroughly enjoyed using this foil paper. It reads more as a rose gold/copper colour and the holographic treatment makes it that much more special. This is one of those craft items that you end up with a little randomly and that you later wish you could stock up on if you run out. I think I might be able to find something similar in the mirror cardstock from Tonic when that happens.

I tried covering as little as possible of my cute jack-o-lantern pattern on the envelope, but I did add two sentiment strips at the bottom to balance the overall design better. The back of the envelope seemed too bare, especially since the orange ink was not showing up (I should have done the same ombre on the back), so I used a strip of the 2" x 2" square cut-apart paper, more sentiment strips and a little candle holder sticker on the side. I didn't think when I started this treat holder that it would end up so intricate, but this might be my favorite Halloween project I've done so far this year.

 

 

 

Supplies
Patterned Papers, Chipboard Stickers, Cardstock Stickers: Boo Crew (Simple Stories)
Ink: Crackling Fire, Dried Marigold, Ripe Persimmon Distress Oxide, Black Soot (Ranger)
Dies: Chicken Wire (Impression Obsession)
Accessories: Cute Stars Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Chevron Treat Bags (Stampin' Up!);
Jack-O-Lanterns Stencil (Simple Stories); Black Enamel Accents, Black Soot Distress Oxide Spray (Ranger);
Blender Brushes (Picket Fence Studios); Silicon Spatula (Nuvo); Clothespin (Dollar Store)

 

Comments

[Sue VanDeVusse]

This treat bag is absolutely amazing! I love the ink blending and the stenciled faces using the black Enamel Accents and that delicate chicken wire die cut is fabulous. Thanks for playing along with us at JUGS!

[Elizabeth Stewart]

Cindy... what a fun, fun, fun treat bag! I hope you are planning to give it to someone special. The chicken wire fooled me... hard to believe that is a die. The composition is just great. Thanks for joining and sharing at Just Us Girls this week!