Love Never Dies

Not everyone is enamored of Valentine's Day.
So, for those of you with a great antipathy to the chubby purveyor of love, Cupid; here is my tongue-in-cheek diorama for you:
  

Have fun reading through the steps; there is a supply list at the end.

I chose this sturdy and versatile
 ATC Shrine- Wrought Iron from 
Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  

I needed to see if my parts would fit:

I had a plastic skeleton left from Halloween decorations that fit just right...well, minus 2 limbs.

   

Here is the shrine in exploded view:

I decided to use black gesso on each piece.

Everything gets a second coat:

Now for some texture:

The inside back panel gets fiber paste. I just kept thinking about rotting clothing, etc...

Now the side panels:

This modeling paste is considerably stiffer and spreads on nicely.

You can see the texture in this closer view:

Let's not forget the gate door:

I barely scraped the paste in places.

While this dries, lets back foil the 

Love sign  

It looks lovely:

While we are at it, let's make a foil back for the Wings  

Here it is under the wings:

Now the wings need some treatment:

I put a light coat of glaze over the wings to hold the soft glitter.

While the wings dry let's see how the box shrine will look:

Remember to keep the product away from the tab areas. I want it to fit.  The gesso did make the fit a little snugger. Didn't have to force it at all.

It looked so beautiful, I had to take a closer look:

Now for my creepy, crypt patina:

I used 4 separate colors to achieve what I was after.

The back panel with fiber paste gets the treatment first:

The first 4 colors:

In this order--Mud Puddle, Terra Cotta, Raw Sienna, then Navy Blue.

The sides and gate as well:

You can see the contrast in the texture as black gesso is carefully sponged on in places:

I added an antique varnish when the 4 layers dried:

Let's not forget the wrought iron gate:

We are making some progress. 

I made sure to keep the plugs in through the entire process. (The panels with the plugs hold the gate). 

Let's attach the sign to the Victorian Corner

Here it is together with the sign attached:

I mixed together a few more paints to add a lighter moss color sponged on the outside a few places:

My shrine resident (AKA Mr. Skeleton), needed to pledge his undying (Haha) devotion with a boing-boing heart.

Here's the Scalloped Heart: 

Add a spring inside a broken ribcage:

My love of glitter glue is evident in the heart eyes and the border around the scalloped heart.

My crypt resident needs to be attached to the bottom panel:

I know it looks bad...

Then the wings and red foil backing:

I'm really starting to feel bad about this guy.

Let's put the last panel in and add some glue gun cobwebs:

Here is your shrine to a humorous, macabre Valentine's Day:

I had so much fun creating my fun 

Love Never Dies.

I'd love to hear if you make something similar. Please leave a message on the blog. 

Ciao for now,

-Trish

Here is my ingredient list:

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Products--  

-- ATC Shrine- Wrought Iron 

-- Love sign  

-- Wings  

-- Victorian Corner  

-- Scalloped Heart: 

Other Products Used:

Kaisercraft--

-- Mud Puddle, Terra Cotta, Raw Sienna, & Navy Blue, Cool Grey, Grass Green.  

Jaquard

--Lumiere, Crimson

Martha Stewart

--Black

AlteredPages,com

--Darice Red Foil Tape

Eclectic Products

--E6000

Faber Castell

--Glaze

Martha Stewart

--Tinsel Glitter, Crystal

Delta Creamcoat

--Instant Age Varnish

Liquitex

--Black Gesso

--Blended Fibers

--Modeling Paste

Ranger

--Stickles, red