"Haunted Within" Dark Etchings Altered Bird House + Smudgy Antics Embellishments Challenge!

Howzit Friends!  

The last couple of weeks I've been working on a series of artwork I've called Dark Etchings because they remind me of the etched prints I created as a Fine Art student.  

It's week 2 of Smudgy Antics current challenge "Use Embellishments" and my DT inspiration for you is an altered 'Dark Etching' bird house called "Haunted Within" which symbolizes being trapped by fear inside your own mind.

"Within" is one of Smeared Inks newest digital images.  My Dark Etchings so far were all rubber stamped and I'm creating the same 'faux etchning' look this time using digitally printed images instead.

I sized the digital stamp to fit the 4 sides of the wooden bird house and printed them out on watercolour paper.  The inkjet ink acts just like the Black Soot Distress Ink does when water is added to the image.  I again used my Japanese water brush pen to pick up and spread the ink around to achieve the same effect.  To create some of the really dark areas I added a touch of Black Soot Distress Ink too.  The image came with a black frame which I removed in Photoshop so I used a Copic black Multiliner to extend the hair strands to fit the size of the bird house.  This was also the first Dark Etching I added a touch of colour to as well.  I used a red watercolour pencil and the watercolour brush to apply the pigment to the roses and her lips.   

I painted the unfinished wooden bird house with Black Soot Distress Stain.  I then ran the images through my Xyron to add permanent adhesive and applied them to the bird house and used an Xacto knife to trim away the excess along the edges and to cut out the bird house hole.  I have a bottle of Distress Crackle Paint clear Rock Candy with only a bit left in the jar that's gone a bit crunchy and I had a ball pasting it onto the roof of the bird house with a wooden skewer.  Once dry I dabbed on Distress Paint Metallic Pewter over the crackle with a scrunched up paper towel and applied it unevenly to other parts of the bird house for a weathered and worn look.   I then proceeded to embellish my bird house with decorative washi paper tape, glitter glue, silk fabric roses and a Tim Holtz Idea-ology cog with spinners.

Here's my other Series 1 creations if you missed them ;0)
Stormy Sky ATC

Sacred Ground

The Signs

Thanks for visiting with me today and hope to see you over at Smudgy Antics!
Before you go I'd like to invite you to come over to DominoART and check out my upcoming 31 Days of Halloween event!  DominoART is participating as a Wicked Blogger in the Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween blog hop and I need scary altered game art to feature each day!  I'd love it if you'd come and join my Wicked Players for a scarey good time and a chance at some awesome prizes ;0)  

Happy Stamping!

 THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * Lost Coast Designs * Smeared Ink * About Art Accents