Til Death Do Us Part was inspired by the attic scene in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. The story is of Constance Hatchaway, a ghost bride who basically murders all of her husbands. The attic is filled with mementos and wedding photos of all of them, ending with the ghost of Constance holding an axe and repeating her wedding vows ...until death....
In order to do the story justice, I decided I needed to use both sides of the new Idea-ology Coffin Vignette to show both sides of Constance’s story. This piece was a sample for the newest Halloween Idea-ology release from Tim Holtz.
To begin, I covered the Coffin Vignette. To do this I needed a template of the inside and back side of the shape so that I could cut the paper to fit. I started by laying cardstock across the front of the vignette and rubbing a bone folder or something like it across the front edges.
You should end up with something that looks like this. You will want to cut along the inside lines.
If you want to check to see if it fits before you cut it, just fold the sides in and check first.
I used my Tonic Trimmer to get straight sides when I cut along the lines.
To get a template for the back of the coffin, just draw around the outside edge. Once you have the templates, draw around the templates on the paper or wallpaper you want to use. I used paper from the Departed stack and some of the Halloween wallpaper, then used my scissors and trimmer and cut them out. Adhere the papers to the wooden vignette with Distress Collage Medium. Brush on a thin but even layer, then lay the paper in place and use something to press the paper down all over so that there are no air bubbles or raised areas. You will need to measure the sides, both height and width, and then cut pieces to cover the sides. I'll talk about the papers I chose later on.
I also wanted to make a base for the coffin so I could expand my attic story area. I covered the large and second largest Vignette Panels with some paper from the Departed paper pad after I painted the edges of each panel black. Then I adhered the smaller one on top in the larger panel in the very center. Gather four of the Metal Corners and four of the Idea=ology Mini Foundations.
Once the paper is adhered to the panels and they are secure, attach the Metal Corners to each corner of the largest panel. I even had to slip the edges under the corners of the smaller panel just a little bit as I worked. Then I squeezed the sides to make sure they were secure.
When the corners are secure, drill four small holes (I used a Dremmel) and then, as seen above, pound a Vignette Hardware nail into each hole to hold the coffin securely in place.
I covered the back of the coffin with this amazing architectural piece of paper from the Departed pad. Then I went through all of my Clippings and Chit Chat stickers to find all the words I wanted to be able to tell the story. It was tough but I managed to find all the words I wanted. This is to be a bit of foreshadowing as to what is to come....
I added the Lace Baseboard Frame around one of the new Halloween Vellum scenes to hint at the Haunted Mansion. Also I picked this bride and groom from the Halloween Paper Dolls.
At the top of the lace frame I added this ribbon adornment but wanted it to feel a little more like a wedding ribbon.
So I put some white Picket Fence Distress Crayon on it and rubbed it in with my finger. That softened the darker color of the ribbon to go with the wedding feel.
I wanted this side view to show you the two different sides to the story, but also to show you that I covered the outside of the coffin with this wallpaper. I sanded it to bring out the texture. Once I adhered it I went over the sides with Distress Vintage Collage Medium to age it a little.
For the wedding flower arrangement, I took one of the Garden Relic urns, painted it with Distress Paint in Hickory Smoke and then aged it slightly with a little watered down Walnut Stain Distress Paint. Once I brushed it on wet, I wiped it off quickly.
The plant that goes in the Grave Relic can be made with die cuts or whatever, but I wanted to use the same products for both the front and the back of my coffin to give the same items a very different feel depending on which side of the altar you are looking at. So for the wedding side I wanted it a little green. I took one of the Broomsticks from last year's Halloween release and pulled the handle out, then scrunched it all up into a ball and sprayed it green with some green colors of Distress Oxide Sprays.
Once it is dry, put some hot glue in the holder of the Grave Relic and then push the Broomstick plant down into the glue.
For my floral arrangement I added some moss around the base and then attached a few flowers from Bouquet and some Beaded Berries from last year's Christmas Idea-ology release. I LOVE the Beaded Berries and am so sorry that last year was the last release, so hopefully you have some on hand or can find someone who still has them in their inventory.
The Idea-ology Metal Gates were perfect for this scene. They allow the design to have a church altar feel.
To help the Metal Gate fit in the wedding feel, I rubbed some Picket Fence Distress Paint over it and let it dry.
Then I adhered it to the bottom level of the Vignette Panel base with some Distress Collage Medium. To add to the wedding feel, I draped Mummy cloth over the Gate, doing my best to keep it from fraying so it felt more like tulle. Then I decorated it with some Heirloom Florals.
I wanted the Heirloom Florals to have a little something more than just the cream color, so I wet them and then brushed Perfect Pearls over them. I had to do this application a couple of times to get this to look like a pearl finish, but I was successful and pleased with the final outcome. At this point, I mixed some perfect pearls in a little water on my Glass Mat and then brushed it on the Mummy Cloth, the flowers and the lace frame to add even more of the pearl sheen to this side.
Here you can barely see the pearl shine of the florals and the Mummy Cloth.
As with the foreshadowing in the wording at the top on this side, I added a little foreshadowing here as well by adding a Black Widow Spider from the Halloween Adornments pack.
I love just that little hint on the lovely wedding flower, that the bride might be who she seems.
That does it for the wedding side of the Halloween Coffin Vignette. Message me through the link at the side if you have any questions about something I described above of something on this side that I didn't cover.
Thank you for sticking with me through this long post. I hope it was interesting and helpful.
Tami
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