Danse Macabre Throwdown

Well, skeleton crew that we are, we made it!

Haunted Design House is back in the 

Smeared and Smudged DT Throwdown!

Just me and  fellow Minion, Donna this time around though.

The chosen theme for this month's challenge is 

"Danse Macabre" or the "Dance of  Death".

Last month's throwdown winners, Airless Chambers  chose the theme.

And what a wicked theme it is!!

Growing up and listening to metal bands, I immediately thought of

a song by "Celtic Frost", aptly named, "Danse Macabre". 

Well, it was sort of a song. More like track from a

creepy, Satanic movie soundtrack.
Here is the YouTube link, incase you're feeling inquisitive.

But, that was my inspiration for my throwdown piece.  

I tell you this, thinking it might make some sense now, but it probably
just makes me seem that much more bizarre.

I have been collecting old baby dolls lately, when I visit the thrift shop.

I felt kinda embarrassed at first, with this filthy baby doll at the check out.

But now, I feel like I'm liberating these poor, neglected souls.

After apologetically removing his appendages and head, I gessoed, 

and then painted the head with various acrylic paints.

 

Made quite few rookie mistakes,but it all ended up working well in the end.

I applied TH Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy, (rather thickly at times)

for the final crackle effect. 

Rock Candy is now my "go to" crackle medium.  

Then, I got the bright idea to use old dictionary pages for some punches

later. I used some homemade Distress Ink sprays, but didn't factor in the

unexpected humidity and rain we were having. It took what seemed like

forever to dry, but the end result was awesome!

Still damp!!! I cannot punch damp paper!!!!

I decided that I needed a crown, so I fashioned one out of old jewelry and

some grungeboard.

Ah! The dictionary paper is finally dry, so I use a piece to add my  required, 

stamped image. I used this cool, Stamper's Anonymous stamp that was gifted to me. 

I also started punching stars for the baby's collar.

I hand wrote the quote, "The Dance of the Dead unites us all!" 

on an old dictionary page. Basically meaning, that we all are on the same level once we die.

No one cares who was rich or poor when the Reaper comes a callin".  

I wanted an old, corroded, gritty feel to this project. 

I feel that the use of resin sand achieved this effect quite well.

I mixed it with black acrylic paint to save myself the step of painting it

black later. This way, once it was dry I could go directly to the highlights. 

I used metallic acrylic paints to give it all a metal feel.

Here is my other stamp! I actually used two on this side, but the winged skeleton

under the Deceased stamp is super faded after all the painting and stuff.

I used my cherished, Meer Image stamps.  The very first scrapbook expo I ever

went to (ages ago), is when I found Meer Images and the talented artist behind them,

Steven Vander Meer.

My little baby head needed a collar, so I created one out of distress inked

dictionary pages, and a star punch. I felt that a circle or a scallop wasn't

going to be pointy enough for my little friend. The star gave the perfect

amount of sharpness needed.

 It kind of mimics the points of the crown.

I added some more resin sand to the crown, along with a

handmade polymer clay skull and more acrylic paint.

Well, here is my nut can, turned gritty commentary on Death.

Drop by HDH see what kind of wickedness Donna cooked up

for her entry. We kinda ROCKED it!!!

Voting starts on Thursday, and we'd really love it if you voted for

your favorite project from the team who deserves it the most.

Go to Smeared and Smudged ning group to see all of the entries

and to cast your vote. Voting ends Saturday at midnight.