Trick or Treat for Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome! Suzz hosts the latest challenge over on the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog. She's called it 'Trick or Treat!'; "I challenge you to create a vintage or shabby chic project with a trick or treat. If you are feeling funkie you might want to incorporate a trick in your design or if you are feeling frilly you can incorporate a treat. The trick or treat can be anything from a hidden pocket, unexpected design element, a treat hidden in a card or an unusual technique used on your project. Make sure to include in your blog post a description of your trick or treat!"

The team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, so there are plenty of reasons for joining in the fun.

I went with the treat option for this challenge because giving people treats always makes me happy.
There's also a trick to creating the aged metallic look to that basket that I'll share in the description below.

The basket base was cut, scored and hole-punched by one die - Eileen Hull's 'Basket' die from Sizzix - being a Bigz die you can use thicker materials to create sturdy carriers (in this case I used mountboard). Before constructing the basket I applied Ranger's Opaque Matte Texture Paste through Tim Holtz 'Flames' Stencil across the sides. Every piece was coloured with a mix of Dina Wakley's Acrylic Paints (Ancient, Turquoise, Lime, and Evergreen) and then I embossed the stencilled areas with Emerald Creek Charred Gold Embossing Powder. This powder is special because it includes a mix of colours within the jar that give an instant aged effect. At this point the basket was assembled with Tim Holtz Matte Distress Collage Medium (this stuff is incredibly strong!) and some Long Fasteners. Now for the extra ageing trick - I sprayed water over the basket and dripped Butterscotch Alcohol Ink across it, allowing it to move in the moisture.

With the major assembly finished attention was turned to adding the finishing touches. Linda carries a huge range of filigree metals and charms in the store - I went for a Steampunk Gadget Bee Charm, an Owl Charm and a Tiny Jingle Bell, all of which were linked with bronze Jump Rings. To spice them up they were painted with a mix of Butterscotch and Snow Cap Alcohol Inks. When dry it's easy to take a black Sharpie to highlight the clock face features and owl eyes. They were all tied to the basket with some Seam Binding, dyed with Wild Honey Distress Spray Stain. Once loaded with treats and some Thanksgiving ephemera it was ready to be given to someone special.

Here's a short video sharing more views of this treat basket;

So for now that's my DT project for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge 'Trick or Treat!' Make sure you check out what my talented team mates have been inspired to create for this challenge, and remember to link your own shabby chic or vintage projects featuring rust to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes that are up for grabs. With the challenge open until Tueday, November 7th there's still time to join in the fun.

I'll be back on Friday with more ideas for using Carabelle Studio designs while the special discount still applies at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.
In the meantime take care of yourselves and get creative! Jenny xxx