I've been getting in the holiday spirit working like a demon elf these past few weeks.  I created a some new Holiday ornaments and other goodies.  I love adding a bit of Gothic charm to my Christmas decor. Here's a few of this years creations.

Nothing says Happy Holidays like the anti Santa, Krampus!

I made this fellow from paperclay along with the gravestones beside him.

Poe isn't just for Halloween anymore, or is that Nevermore.  Sorry I couldn't resist. :)

This pretty lady is my winter fairy skeleton and her sleigh.

If I had my way I would live in a home that was a cross between The Munsters house and The Addams Family home.  But I cohabitate and not everyone shares my love of all things dark and creepy.  So I have to be content with making fabulously creepy and wonderful items for other people's homes.  This week I finished a spice rack that I think would be the perfect touch in a gothic kitchen.  I gave it a bit of an apothecary design.  Who hasn't dreamed of cooking in their kitchen and grabbing spices from a rack with poison signs on it?  It can't just be me. ;)

I really like displayed collections featured in glass enclosed hutches or curio cabinets.  So whenever I find a cabinet with a glass front I snap it up for a creeptastic display shelf.  I gave this one a Black Widow theme.

Occasionally I run across clocks that I want to give new life to.  The Latin phrase, "Omnes Vulerant, Ultima Necat" (All {hours}wound but the last kills.) is a perfect phrase to remind us of times fleeting quality.  I incorporated it into this clock along with a miniature cemetery to fill the space where a missing drawer went.

Still Waiting for Fall!

It's 102 degrees today which means there is not even a hint of Fall in the air.  So I'm left to create my own hints of Fall.  First I made a Haunted House diorama.  Inside is the ghost of Annabelle and her very creepy doll.  In the front yard are the graves of Annabelle and her parents.

Then I went with the classic skull and added a spider sitting in his eye socket mounted on wood planks.  

And this week I went traditional Halloween with a Witch diorama piece.  I was all about the #CreativePaperclay for this piece.  I made the hat, pumpkins, cauldron, broom and book from the clay.  Here's a picture before I painted everything and the finished piece.

I'm feeling the chill in the air already, okay, it's really just the air conditioner but a girl can dream. :)

Looking forward to Halloween

We had a brief break in the weather allowing me to dream of all things Halloween and Fall.  The thermometer is starting to rise again and I'm building fantasy rooms filled with all things Halloween (okay, okay, I say Halloween but we all know I would keep them year round.)  Here's a couple of favorites from Etsy.

  How adorable is this fellow.  He needs to be by the door so he can greet you coming and going with his festive party hat and ruffle.
 I love this shops coffin framed prints.  Of course it can't be Halloween without Bela.
 Once that Fall weather begins it's time to fire up that tea pot and here's the perfect cup for your spooky tea time.
  What's Halloween without some chills this hand cut Exorcist image of Regan is the perfect thing for your walls.
 Looking for some extra guest for Halloween, what better way to contact them then a Spirit Board.

I don't know about you but I'm ready for a pumpkin spice late!

Vampire House

I've had this house shaped box for years and have never found the right project to go inside it.  And then recently I ran across this doll and this strange ornament featuring a baby on an over sized chair.  So of course I had to have them.  Once I got them into the studio I immediately saw that the doll and the baby were meant to be with each other.  So I got out my paints and made them an immortal mother and child.  Once that was done they needed a place to live and the house box was the perfect place.  I gave it a Victorian Gothic feel, adding the distressed picket fence and greenery to the outside of the box along with framed windows.  I even gave Lady Beatrice a miniature glass bottle filled with red liquid to feed her son Malcolm.  I think I had almost as much fun creating the story for these two as I did creating the shadow box!

Skeleton Dolls and Opium Dens

I've finished a new 1920s Opium Den shadow box.  This one is a bit different than my previous one.  Here's the first one I did.

 I went with the traditional flapper and a red and black design theme.  Here's the new one.

I made my flapper a skeleton, with cute bob and flapper headband.  I created a blue, silver and black design theme for the room.  I was inspired by the peacock paper it just screamed 20s to me so the piece took of from there.  I made the miniature candelier from some repurposed pieces, beads and clay.  My flapper is clay with a clay and lace skirt and a glitter and sequined top.  I also made a pipe from clay and a miniature hookah.

And I made another skeleton for a Day of the Dead shadow box.  I also made her entire outfit from clay with some fabric accents.  I made miniature saint candles as well.  And if you look closely you will see her silver hoop earrings with a black and white bead on them.

My next big project that I've been wanting to do is a skeleton pirate shadow box.  I need to find the right box it has to have enough room to create the scene I want to make.  It must be from watching John Malkovich in Crossbones. :)

Playing with clay and miniatures

I've been working on a Snow White shadow box.  The original Grimm version is so dark with a cannibalistic step mom who is forced to dance to death in burning iron shoes.  Of course. whenever I take on a fairy tale I have to take over the story as well.  In my version, the hunter while sparing Snow White knows better than to bring an animal heart to the Queen so he kills another girl in her place.  Which means heart and knife are part of the shadow box.  And that leads me to my latest obsession clay.  I started using #CreativePaperclay a couple of years ago and I love all the things I'm able to create.  Somehow working with clay led to another new passion and that's miniatures.  There are so many things I need for my shadow box dioramas and most of the pieces I find are out of my price range plus, I don't feel like the work is mine if I'm using other people's creations.  So here's a few of my recent pieces

I made the cauldron, candy canes, cake, cookies, bowl, and books from #CreativePaperclay for this Christmas Witch diorama.

I made this miniature graveyard and tree.

This was for an Edgar Allan Poe shadow box, I made the parchment paper, inkwell, quill and book from #CreativePaperclay.

And this is from a magic diorama.  I made the cauldron, the herb bag with the pentagram, the mushrooms, cutting board and knife, and the tombstone.