Tempus Fugit -- A Mixed Media Tag

It's the end of August. Days are growing shorter, leaves are beginning to fall, and Autumn will soon be here, which means it's time to turn my attention to all things Halloween! I started to prepare for this season by casting a batch of skulls using FastCast™Urethane Casting Resin and the Finnabair® Imaginarium Wings and Bones Mould by Prima Marketing.

Here's the first project created with one of these skulls. It's a mixed media tag made with the Eldaro Greyboard Kit by Andy Skinner for Tando Creative, Ltd..

Products Used:

FastCast™Urethane Casting Resin by Environmental Technologiy, Inc.

Imaginarium Wings and Bones Mould by Finnabair® for  Prima® Marketing

Eldaro Greyboard Kit by Andy Skinner for Tando Creative, Ltd.

Media® Black Gesso by DecoArt®

Silver, Pthalo Blue, Ultra Marine Blue, Quinacridone Violet,  Cobalt Teal Hue, Quinacridone Red, and Quinacridone Magenta Media® Fluid Acrylic Paints by DecoArt®

Caramel and Buff Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints by PaperArtsy

Ink and the Dog #26 Mini Cling Rubber Stamp by PaperArtsy

Watch Stencil by Stamperia

Jet Black Archival™ Ink by Ranger Ink

Inkssentials™ Cut 'N' Dry™ Stamping Foam by Ranger Ink

Fuschia Netty stuff from my stash

Strong glue

Steel wool

Instructions and Notes:

Part 1: Casting your skulls

1. Cover your work surface with newspaper. Be smart (unlike me) and wear a pair of latex gloves. 
2. Follow the instructions on the FastCast box to mix the two components to make the resin.
3. Quickly pour the resin into the moulds. 
4. Wait patiently (unlike me) until the resin turns white and cools off a bit.
5. Unmold each skull, trim the edges with scissors, and press onto a hard surface to flatten. 
6. Peel out any detritus from the moulds.
7. Repeat Steps #2 until you have a nice quantity for your stash.
8. Pop downstairs and loudly proclaim that dinner will have to wait until you're done casting and trimming your skulls. 
9. Watch the reaction to your announcement.

Notes: 

• I found that making smaller batches of the resin works best because the resin changes viscosity quickly. and becomes less pourable. Waste not, want not!
• Try not to overfill the moulds to make a flatter backed skull and remove the trimming the skulls with scissors step.
• Wear gloves and be sure to clean all surfaces quickly. Removing the resin from skin takes a while and some skin as well. 

Instructions: Part 2

1. Free all of the greyboard components from their backing. Save the backing because it's lovely thick greyboard and/or can be used as a stencil.
2. Paint the tag, both sets of Industrial Wings, and the heart with Silver Media Fluid Acrylic Paint.
3. Apply drops of Pthalo Blue, Ultra Marine Blue, Quinacridone Violet,  Cobalt Teal Hue to a piece of Inkssentials foam. 
4. Pounce the foam onto a craft mat to mix the drops.
5. Pounce the foam onto the tag and small Industrial Wings, repeating Steps #3 and #4 as needed to attain the coverage you want.
6. Sponge of Quinacridone Red, and Quinacridone Magenta Media Fluid Acrylic Paints to another piece of foam.
7. Pounce the foam onto a craft mat to mix the drops.
8. Pounce the foam onto the large Industrial Wings and the heart, repeating Steps #6 and #7 as needed.
9. Heat set all painted greyboard.
10. Sponge or brush Jet Black Archival ink over the time stencil onto the tag. Heat set.
11. Edge the tag with Jet Black Archival ink and heat set.
12. Use steel wool to apply specks and dots of Jet Black Archival ink to the tag and the tags components. Heat set.
13. Use Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp the text from the Ink and the Dog #26 Mini Cling Rubber Stamp onto the heart. Heat set.
14. Use strong liquid glue to assemble the tag.
15. Use a fine tip Sharpie pen to color the nose and eye holes of the skull.
16. Use Buff and Caramel Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints to age the skull.
17. Use steel wool to apply specks and dots of Jet Black Archival ink to the skull. Heat set.
18. Adhere the skull to the heart with strong liquid adhesive.
19. Add fiber stuff through the hole of the tag.

Notes:

• When you apply color paint onto a silver painted surface, you end up with a lovely shimmery colored surface that will please your inner magpie.
• Trim a small piece of steel wool with ink to use to apply dots and speckles to your project. Toss the steel wool when you're done. 

Thanks for visiting today!

I shall enter this tag into the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges: Glimmer and Sparkle

• Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenges: Anything Goes

• Mixed Media Lovers: Challenge #4 - Anything Goes