No...still not Christmas here!!

The wonderful thing about being a part of the scrapping world, and the enormous pool of creativity that goes with it, is that you can browse through the internet, Pinterest etc for hours and then find inspiration from your closest (cyber) friends.

That happened to me with this project. At the my2angels retreat I saw Tracy's beautiful pink birdcage, and all the gorgeous other coloured ones that the ladies made from her kit and I thought to myself - Wow! That would look awesome for Halloween!!

Mind you, we don't really celebrate Halloween here - a few chocolates in case the local kids drop in and we mostly eat them all ourselves :) BUT I think this cage looks awesome anyway, by day....

....and by night.

Here's what I used on the background...I repeated this on both sides:

Black Soot Distress Stain

Ferro Metal Effect Textured Paint (Graphite) - through a brick stencil

Some of the spider webs were stamped with Emboss-It ink and heat embossed with Zing Clear embossing powder, the others...more visible here, are the result of Emboss-It ink dabbed through a stencil using an Ink Blending Tool and then Perfect Pearls (Pearl) dry-brushed over the top. The Perfect Pearls powder clings to the ink and reflects the light beautifully. Because it's dry brushed you can easily control the amount of shine and can blur and blend the edges.

Finally, around the edges, a few thick blobs of Viva Decor Transparent Crackle Paint with Licorice Twist Sugar Beads pressed in while it's still wet.

There's a battery operated tealight candle in the house...you can turn it on from the back and replace it easily. Here's the back:

The bottom of the cage is covered with some muslin dipped in Black Soot Distress stain and scrunched up to dry. My little prison/house has just about the same treatment as the background...the Viva Decor Transparent Crackle Paint and Licorice Twist Sugar Beads are on the roof. Here are a few close-ups

The poor skeleton is chained to the house using some Antique Bronze Iron Chain and a jumpring, and this chain, along with some Black Iron Chain is also used on the house and on the outside of the cage. Have you noticed that the skeletons eyes (and the raven's and owl's eyes too) are Orange Rhinestones? He has a little Antique Bronze birdcage inside his birdcage with him.

An Antique Bronze Filigree Corner and an Antique Bronze Round Flower Filigree decorate the front of the house. The bat and the 13 on the number plate are from Tim Holtz' Halloween Ideaology Remnant Rubs.

See if you can spot the 5 Black Spider Charms scattered through the cage...and there are 3 Skeleton Charms hanging around as well :)

All my scary chipboards were painted black first with Black Soot Distress Stain, and then I used a combination of Stampendous and Zing Embossing Powders on them. There's some Aged Black, Aged Copper, Metallic Green and Apricot. 

And finally - at the top some pretty (but not too pretty!!) flowers and more spider webby muslin.

Grey and Black Roses, Purple roses and tiny Rosebuds, Tangerine Cherry Blossoms, a black Skeleton Leaf, some large Bronze leaves and some Black Star Flowers. The ribbon is Black Scallop Edged Organza.

Going to hang it out on the 31st just so the kids know they can come here for treats :)