I've always followed the beat of my own drummer which is one of the reasons why I've always loved Tim Holtz's unique scrapbooking supplies and tools.

When Tim introduced the entomology stamps and matching die set, he thought maybe people might find it odd, but was excited to show the possibilities of the set by showing off some samples. As soon as I saw the stamps, even before I saw the samples, I fell in love with the set. They called to my soul. I just love odd things...after all, I love Edgar Allen Poe! My Halloween decor is completely centered around The Raven and other Poe tales. I just love gothic and elegantly macabre Halloween decor, but I knew these stamps were perfect for even more than just Halloween stuff!

To start off this project, I added a layer of black gesso through a stencil on a 9x12 black canvas.  I also gessoed some embellishments that I would be adding to the canvas later. While those were drying, I worked on stamping out my bugs and then coloring them using Distress Ink and a water brush pen. I then cut the bugs out with the matching die set and also cut out a set using acrylic.

Once the gessoed canvas and embellishments were dry, I began glueing the embellishments on where I wanted them. I also added art stones which I covered in black gesso after the soft gloss gel dried. When the embellishment's glue was dry, I then placed my canvas in a splat box and used some metallic sprays in brown and antique gold to give a hint of color to the background.

Then I glued the acrylic cut outs to the bugs with wings. I also added some glass glitter in copper to the bugs.


Next was adding my bugs, papers and other embellishments. I adhered some torn Prima paper from The Archivist collection to the bottom of the canvas, added some flowers and an ornate plate. I used my Typecast typewriter to add text to the project as well as some gold wax to the canvas and embellishments.


To see my full process laid out step-by-step, check out my video below.


Products Used
Tim Holtz: Stampers Anonymous - entomology; Alterations - entomology; Idea-ology - gadget gears, pen nibs, sprocket gears, ornate plates; Distress Ink - fired brick, spice marmalade, fossilized amber, twisted citron, peeled paint, mowed lawn, peacock feather, broke china, wilted violet, dusty concord, antique linen, tea dye, ground espresso, black soot | Prima: Art Basics - heavy body gel, black gesso, soft gloss gel; Art Ingredients Glass Glitter - copper; Art Ingredients Stones - art stones, mega art stones; Art Alchemy Wax - vintage gold; Watercolor - metallic accents; Stencil - 12x12 grunge; The Archivist - posterity, fragments, f&w | Ranger Ink: Glossy Accents | Tattered Angels: Glimmer Mist - tattered leather | Marion Smith Designs: Color Lab - antique gold | Umbrella Crafts: Dye Ink - black | Bazzill: Plastic Paper - 12x12 | Recollections: Gems | Other: 9x12 black canvas, meal findings, pop dots, lots, craft bond spray 


For more inspiration and tutorials, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel!


Happy Crafting!
Adrienne