Gears Turning in My Head

 

Hello lovelies, this is Natassa Blazaki and today I am sharing one of my projects for the Spooktober Challenge run by Creative Expressions UK. If there is one team that’s always inspired by Skulls, Apothecary elements, Spells, Witchcraft and all sort of Dead Man Themes, that’s definitely Andy Skinner’s Creative Team. All the members will be sharing amazing spooky projects here in the blog but also over at Creative Expressions Facebook page. So, stay tuned for the whole month October and head over to Creative Expressions’ page to play along at the Spooktober Challenge.

For the “Skull Week”, I chose to alter a plastic skull, that I had bought from a toy store.

I wanted to give a grunge, industrial look to the skull, so I chose to embellish it with gears from Andy Skinner’s Industrial Elements greyboard kit by Tando Creative.

I started by applying a first coat of black gesso. I glued the cutouts on the skull with Quick Grab Glue. The tricky part was to fit the gears onto the skull’s rounded surface, because the greyboard is thick and does not bend. So, I spritzed the pieces with water and let them relax for a few minutes. Then, I split them in half and glued them on the skull while still damp and flexible. I added some crackle paste to create more texture.

Next, I mixed Andy’s Chalk Paints with Artist Pigments, creating a dark reddish-brown color and applied a coat. I did not mix the paints completely, to achieve a variation in tones and left some of the black to peek through. I let dry and then I continued only with Quinacridone Gold in random areas, but mostly around the gears. I let that layer dry well and then with a piece of natural sponge I dabbed a very thinned layer of white acrylic paint. I let it dry naturally and then I with an old brush I applied a wash of Cobalt Teal and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide.

I did some dry brushing with white acrylic paint and continued with one more layer of Cobalt Teal and Quinacridone Gold, this time concentrating on the gears. I also used some  Cosmic Shimmer Mixed Media Embossing Powder Crystal Glaze to add to the gears’ texture. 

As finishing touches, I added one of my favorite rub on designs, the one with the pile of skulls from Andy’s Mixed Media Transfers “Curiosities” and did some partial stamping with one of the new stamps, the “Circuitree”.

I really hope you enjoy this project and get some inspiration for your Halloween projects. Enter your projects to the Spooktober Challenge and use the #CEspooktober tag. You may be a lucky winner!

I will soon be back with another spooky project.

Hope you have fun!

Natassa

👻🎃💀

Andy Skinner Creative Expressions

Artist Pigments 

Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, Cobalt Teal Hue, Quinacridone Gold, Raw Umber

Chalk paints

London Brick, Mustard Seed, Chestnut

Rubber Stamps - "Circuitree"

Quick Grab Glue

Cosmic Shimmer Mixed Media Embossing Powders  - "Crystal Glaze"

Mixed Media Transfers - "Curiosities"

Tando Creative - Industrial Elements Kit