Whimsical Haunted Village

What an incredibly fun weekend I had creating this Whimsical Haunted Village. I think I used every Tim Holtz/Sizzix Halloween die I own, plus every Village die set. I love how the accessory dies like the Surf Shack, Cottage, and Rooftops allow me to be as creative as possible to build a unique village like this.


Rather than the expected creepy and dark Halloween scene, I opted for a whimsical touch. I've incorporated Graphic 45's fantastic Hallowe'en in Wonderland papers with the new Village Manor die to build the main structure in my village. The new Twisted Edge die works well on its side to create spooky branches in the background. I simply die cut it twice and flipped it and trimmed it so each one looks a little different on each side of the manor. Tim's new Wicked Metal Adornment (spider charm) works well as a creepy decoration over the front door.


I created custom steps following the same basic construction as the base in the Village Dwelling die. 


My second structure is the Village Brownstone, mixed with some accents from the Village Cottage die. You can probably identify some of the older dies I've incorporated here, too, like the Branch Tree, On the Fence Edge, and Autumn Gatherings. (I snuck in a little paper from last year's Graphic 45 Halloween release "Rare Oddities" for this house, too.)


Tim's new Pumpkin Pieces and Broomsticks are a bit large in scale for the village, but since mine is a whimsical Hallowe'en in Wonderland, I thought they were perfect! Out of proportion makes perfect sense here. The base of this house has been created with a texture folder to resemble a cobblestone effect.



My third structure is made from the Village Dwelling, plus some parts from the Surf Shack. Tim's new Boneyard Bones are perfect on the front porch. The bats coming out of the chimney are from Tim's new Mixed Media Halloween Thinlits set. I've attached them to a thin strip of clear plastic (from Sizzix cutting plates packaging). The roof, of course, is made with the Rooftops die and some black Kraft Core, sanded for a distressed shingle effect.


Older dies like Gothic Boo and the crow (movers and shapers) are worked into this design, along with some swirls from the Festive Greenery die. (I told you I used a bunch of different dies.)



Flickering battery-operated tea lights sit inside each house to give a nice eerie glow. You can find these in a two-pack in Dollar Tree.


Thanks for stopping in today. I guess it's no surprise I LOVE all the Village dies. I'm totally and utterly addicted to them!



I'll be teaching this Whimsical Haunted Village class in Jacksonville, Florida at Crafting at the Nest, Saturday September 24th. If you're in the area and would like to join us, please contact Cindy Bosnyak at CraftingAtTheNest@bellsouth.net or phone her at 904-838-8151.



Comments

  1. Halloween is not really my thing, but I love what you've done with these whimsical houses! They are all three very cute!

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  2. Halloween is not really my thing, but I love what you've done with these whimsical houses! They are all three very cute!

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  3. Love the village! Love all the papers you used. Isn't the Manor AMAZING! I cannot wait to make a whole HALLOWEEN METROPOLIS!

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  4. I love how you combined so many different pieces to achieve this fantastic result! So creative to use the bats from the thinlets, I never considered that, I thought you must have had a punch to get the perfect scale. Love this project! Amazing creativity.

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  5. You really outdid yourself with this fun village, Annette! I love the fact that it's whimsical and has so many fun things to see! Love them!

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  6. Absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing your creativity.

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  7. I really don;t like Halloween, but I love your houses!!

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  8. OMG Annette this is so cool, fun my favorites Graphic 45 and Tim Holtz together !!

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  9. Absolutely outstanding. The whimsical approach with the Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland papers is perfect. I cannot believe all the incredible details. I will be staring at these for quite awhile. Thank you so much for your inspiration.

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  10. What a fun Halloween village! Bet trick-or-treaters would be most welcomed there! Great, no FANTASTIC job! Thank you for sharing!!!

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  11. these are adorable.... love, love, love your fun, creative houses!

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  12. Oh wow Annette, your Halloween village is an absolute delight - so whimsical and fun! The papers you used are amazing and really show the houses off to their best advantage. I am so thrilled with the Manor House die and really enjoyed building mine, just can't show them off yet though.... Love what you did! Anne x

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  13. Hi Annette, this is absolutely stunning!! I live in Orlando and I was wondering if I could purchase a kit from you? I wish I could come to your class in Jacksonville on Sept. 24. Will you be teaching this at Violettes in Lakeland? Thank you so much.

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  14. This village is absolutely amazing! You are so very talented!!

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  15. Great village! Can you tell me if you backed your paper with card stock? I've made a couple of the buildings so far and have done as Tim suggests attaching the paper to the index stock. Just curious if you were doing the same. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks, Brenda. Yes, I typically use cardstock that is the same color as the patterned paper I plan to use. This way, if something doesn't quite line up, it's okay.

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  16. These are awesome! So creative, Annette!

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  17. Fantastic job and alot of work!! Love them all. Great job and love all the details!!!

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  18. Wow this is so beautiful ! I may have to get those dies now.

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  19. Great for Holloween! Love your little village, Annette.

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  20. What wonderful little Halloween houses! Love the whimsical style of these.

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  21. As a Halloween lover, this is one of the coolest use of the TH Manor dies I've seen. It is also very clever how you incorporated other TH dies into the dwellings. I don't have any of the village dies because they are too expensive, but I have a ton of TH dies. Your geniousness gives me some other ideas for the Halloween dies. Sweet job!

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