Fall/Halloween Tree Detailed by Linda Hess

My Creative PaperClay tree has dried and now it is time to embellish it.  First I painted it using brown and bronze acrylic paints. The hole in the tree got a touch of burnt umber.  I received some fabulous Halloween chipboard sets from Gina's Designs (http://www.ginasdesigns.net/Store/).  Perfect for fun details on and around my tree.

One of the 1st pieces I pulled was a large spiderweb from the "Spiderweb Shape Set" and placed it under the tree.  With the tree off to the side it makes the perfect base.  I painted it white, let it dry, then attached the 2 pieces together with a bit of glue.

Next, what is a spooky tree without a ghost?  I love the ghost shapes from the "Spooky Shape Set" and the "whispy" end is easy to poke into the top of the tree!  I decided to test the ghost in the tree before painting it and it worked perfectly...yea!  A bit of white paint and I pushed it into place.

Thsi one is not being glued into place, so that the ghost can be removed and the tree used for other displays.

Final touch: the tombstone.  I mean seriously, what is a spooky tree and a ghost without a tombstone??  I went to the "Tombstone Stand-Up Set" and tested a few tombstones next to the tree.  I know that sounds silly, but I wanted the perfect size...not so large as to dwarf the tree and not too small to disappear beside it.  I found the perfect one.  Small bits of Creative PaperClay will transform the flat chipboard to a dimensional tomstone.

First, flatten a piece of clay between your fingers and then smooth it over the tombstone shape.  With your fingers, press the clay over the shape and extend over the edges.  Rip off excess clay even with the edges.  Texture the face of the tombstone with a scrubbie sponge.  I found a spiderweb stamp in my stash, so I gently press that onto the top of the stone.  Lettering is created with small rubber stamps.

I decided the stand called for a bit of sprucing as well.  A bit more clay, flattened between the fingers and then pressed over the base covered the shape.  A pen tip helped to remove the clay from the "stand up" groove before I pressed the tombstone into it.  NICE!  It needed one more touch...fallen leaves.  These were created from a pea-sized ball of clay.  Flatten the ball into a round, pinch one end, make a vein down the center with your finger nail, and (voila!) a leaf. I quickly added a few to the display.  Set aside to dry.

Once dry, the ground and leaves can be painted or left aghostly white.