Monday, 25 September 2023

It's The Happiest Season Of All...

Happy Monday everyone....

Hope you've all had a good weekend and as always, a new week brings a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is all about the most wonderful time of the year...CHRISTMAS!

I'm sure that it hasn't escaped anyone's notice that the festive season is on it's way and I'm sure it will be here before you know it ~ where has 2023 gone?!? In fact where have the last three years gone? But as we fast approach making for the holidays, I decided that I would create a panel using some of Tim's new idea-ology products and combining them with some Sizzix dies, and this is the result ~ they go together perfectly and that vintage sled with a paper doll is just a match made in heaven!

So, let's begin because it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

COVERING THE PANEL

To begin with I took the larger sized Rectangle Etcetera Panel from Stampers Anonymous and I covered the edges with last year's Christmas Design Tape. This tape hasn't comeback this year but is still available to buy from Simon.

I then used one of the new papers from the Christmas Backdrops set, the tartan/plaid design and once I'd cut this to size, I added some rips and tears around the edge, machine stitched a border and then adhered it onto my panel, curling back the corners to show the tape underneath. I also added a Nail Tack in the top right hand corner, bending the nail back on itself, after I hammered it into the board.

BUILDING THE LAYERS

Now we begin building the layers and I began on the left hand side. This frame is actually made from two of the waste pieces from the Collage Tiles ~ I throw nothing away, keeping all these little bits for those "ooo, this might be come in handy for a project moment", and now is the time to use it!

I layered and stuck the two waste frames together to form the frame and painted them with Black Soot distress Paint. Once dry, I added some more of last year's design tape around the frame.

I then cut a panel of one of my favourite papers from the Christmas Backdrops set, the Christmas & Co paper, concentrating on the logo area only and after machine stitching a border around the edge, I placed the panel behind my black frame, attaching it with Matte Collage Medium, which I also applied over the front of the frame to seal it. In the top left hand corner of the frame, I added some stamps from the Christmas Ephemera Pack.

I then ran the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edge, blending out any harsh lines of colour with my fingertip before I attached the completed piece on the left hand side of my covered Etcetera Panel.

To add some Christmassy feels to the piece, I applied some Grit Paste through the Speckled Layering Stencil, and then splattered some Picket Fence Distress Paint over the panel.

Once this was dry, I added Mica Flakes along the top of the frame, attaching them with a drizzle of Glossy Accents, and also added some along the bottom edge of the frame.

On the outside top right corner of the frame, I attached two of the beautiful Pine Cones that were part of the Christmas idea-ology range and to add the snow effect, I rubbed a small amount of gesso over the cones, just catching the raised areas and then smeared a small amount of Snowflake Paste over the top. I attached each cone with hot glue and then the final touch of a small twine bow.

Finally, I attached three Large Fasteners down the side. I cut the legs off the back of each fastener and stuck them to my panel using Matte Collage Medium.

We're now ready to build the scene on the right hand side....

VINTAGE SLED

We'll begin with making the sled, that I positioned behind the paper doll. 

This is one of Tim's new Christmas dies from Sizzix, and is so easy to put together. I cut the base layer from red cardstock, and then cut the remaining layers from Mixed Media Heavystock card, inking these pieces with Walnut Stain and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks to create the Woodgrain effect and adding some darker brown shading around the edges. I then assembled my sled, adding the final die cut section along the top of the sled, which I cut from silver metallic kraft card, and sanded to knock back the shiny, shiny metal look and create more of a vintage feel.

To add the touches of snow to the sled, I used a combination of Snowfall Paste and Grit Paste, applied with my fingertip to create a realistic look of snow, before adding a sprinkling of Mica Flakes.

To complete the sled, I hung a Holiday bell from the centre, which I painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint.

GREENERY

The greenery is all die cut from inked cardstock. I used a combination of Bundled Sage and Rustic Wilderness Distress Spray Stains to add the colour to my card, and then once the card was dry, I cut the pieces using the foliage dies from the Vintage Sled die set, combined with dies from last year's Holiday Brushstrokes. Once I had my selection of greenery, I started to add the snowy effect to each piece.

This is achieved by lightly dabbing the edges of the die cuts with the Embossing Dabber and then sprinkling white embossing powder over the wet ink. Tap away the excess, and heat emboss. Once the powder is cool, rub Matte Collage Medium over the pieces, and sprinkle with Rock Candy Distress Glitter. Repeat with all the other pieces and then set them to one side to dry.

PAPER DOLL

We now have the sled, the foliage and just need the doll and something for him to stand on...

The paper doll is from the Christmas Layers and Paper Doll pack and I just love this guy, he is so cool. I colour tinted the image with Distress Crayons and a waterbrush.

The pieces that he is standing on, is a Transparency Slide from the Baseboards and Transparencies pack. I cut another section of the paper that I used in the frame on the left, but this time is showed "Christmas & Orvis Co", which fit perfectly inside the frame.

I then attached the frame to a collage tile, but you can also use foam pads, before I attached this to my panel.

CREATING THE SCENE

All the pieces are ready and it's time to create the scene.


I placed the sled at an angle, using foam pads to add height and dimension. Before I attached the paper doll, I placed a music sheet ephemera piece behind him, adding some rips and tears around the edge, and attaching it with foam pads. I also clipped a tiny clip to the top of the sheet.

I then attached the paper doll over the top, placing him next to the sled and standing on the transparency slide. I arranged the foliage around the base of his feet, and then finished with a holly piece, again taken from the Christmas Ephemera pack.

The quote chip, 'It's The Happiest Season of All" is from the same pack as the transparency slide and I attached this across the bottom section of my panel, adding hardware heads to either side of the quote chip.

The final piece was the star which sits on the left of the quote and is again from the Christmas Baseboards pack. To add a touch of sparkle to the star itself, I applied a smear of Glossy accents over the surface and sprinkled with Rock Candy Dry Glitter.

Finally, I added Mica Flakes to the panel, once again attaching them with a drizzle of Glossy Accents. 

To complete the piece, I painted a hinge clip with Candied Apple Distress Paint, clipped it to the left hand side of the panel and added a Christmas Tiny Tag.

So, that's my project finished for this week and I hope you've loved what I made and enjoyed the techniques I've used to create a sparkly winter's scene.



As always, if you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to winYou have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....






Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and keep well.
Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Rectangle Etcetera Panels
Distress Paint: Candied Apple, Picket Fence, Black Soot
Distress Spray Stains: Rustic Wilderness, Bundled Sage
Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Gathered Twigs

Monday, 18 September 2023

In The Air There's A Feeling Of Christmas...

Hello everyone...

As another week flies by, it's time for the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, we are asking you to USE YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR!

When it comes to my favourite colour, even though I love the colours of Autumn and I do love black, there was always only one colour that I would choose above all others ~ and that is, blue! Yes, blue is my go-to colour and whether it's home decor, clothes or as most of you might have noticed by now, in crafting...I will always have some shade of blue going on somewhere. So with this in mind, I decided to create a project that would use blue as a background for a Christmas themed panel. I actually decided to make this based on another project I made in August using the Halloween 2023 idea-ology and I was so happy with the make, I thought it would be cool to do a Christmas version, and here it is...

So, let's begin because in the air, there's a feeling of Christmas!

For this make, I used the smallest sized of the rectangular Etcetera Panels as my base and I covered the edges with Christmas Fabric Tape. 

I then cut a panel of Backdrops paper, and I added rips and tears around the edges. I then inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink before machine stitching a border around the edge. I then mounted the panel onto my board using Collage Medium to adhere it into position. The Backdrop paper that I used, was a design from last year's Christmas pack but if you haven't got this set, then you are hiding most of it, so it really doesn't matter what you choose.

BACKGROUND

To create this background, I cut a panel of Mixed Media Heavystock card, slightly smaller in size than the panel itself and then I directly applied the Snowfall paste through the Tiny Poinsettia Layering Stencil to cover the entire panel. 
After allowing the paste to dry, I spritzed the card with Juniper and Frozen Fog Mica Sprays and a light mist of water and then set the card to one side to dry.


Once the card is thoroughly dry, I machine stitched a border around the edge and then mounted it onto my panel, placing it centrally over the top of the previous layers. I did just crumple the edges slightly and folded back the corners to add more texture.

In the top right hand corner, I had a little label on my desk that I didn't use on a previous project, but it fit this one perfectly ~ so I just attached it in the corner, and added a Mini Pin.


LEDGE

We're now ready to start bringing the scene to life and to begin with I made the shelf that everything will sit on. I used two different widths of the Bracket Trims and attached these to form an 'L' shape and a 90° angle.

I then covered the ledge with crackle paste and once the crackles have appeared and the medium is dry, I ran the Hickory Smoke crayon over the surface, blending out the colour with a damp brush, so it seeps into the cracks to accentuate them.

Attach the ledge to the panel.

FRAME

Now we're ready to move onto the frame and for this I used the larger sized idea-ology Photo Frame, and added a smear of Translucent Grit Paste over the surface to make it look more vintage. Once the paste was dry, I applied Foundry Wax over the metal surface ~ firstly, I used Statue, which I heat set and then applied a lighter layer of Sterling over the top, not applying a complete coverage and making sure the previous layer showed through in random areas. Finally, I smeared a touch of Burnt Sienna Acrylic Paint over the surface, again just applying it with my fingertip.

I then attached a piece of the Shattered Windows behind the frame, there is a slight shatter on the right hand side but I didn't want too much on this piece, just a crack.
With the frame ready, I colour tinted the photo using Distress crayons and a waterbrush. This photo is one of my favourites, she is just joyous and that smile is perfect. I attached the frame over the photo using foam pads and then I placed it onto my ledge/shelf, attaching it a slight angle so it looks as if it's leaning.

To add the icy effect, I dribbled some Glossy Accents over the frame and then sprinkled Mica Flakes over the top. I also smeared a small amount to Snowfall Paste onto the acetate.

POINSETTIAS

To the left of the frame, I added some poinsettias. These are from the Layers pack and are just beautiful ~ you don't need to do much with them except add some shape and attach them to the panel with foam pads to add dimension. Once the poinsettias are in place, I used a Splatter Brush and splattered them with Picket Fence Distress Paint and then added a touch of Snowfall paste and some Mica Flakes.

SHELF ARRANGEMENT

CHRISTMAS TREE: I used the smallest sized tree in the woodland tree lot pack and after adding gesso to the tips of the tree, I allowed the paint to dry before adding the colour. For this I used Rustic Wilderness Distress Spray Stain. Dab away the excess ink with a paper towel and allow to dry before rolling the tree in Glossy Accents, just enough to add the medium to the tips and then sprinkling Mica Flakes over the top. 

With the tree all sparkly and beautiful, I painted the wooden base with Candied Apple Distress Paint, allowed this to dry and then attached it to my ledge.

BOOKS:

The books are so easy to make, and I warn you, once you start ~ they are addictive. The covers are from the Christmas Ephemera Pack and to build these three books that I used on this make, you will need either old book pages, or you can use some of Tim's idea-ology papers ~ I do tend to use book pages, because they are easier to manipulate when building the pages, but the choice is yours and both work ok!

Taking the book covers from the Ephemera Pack, I scored the book to create the back and front and a spine and folded along the scorelines. I then cut my book pages to size ~ for this you will need to measure the front cover, width and height and then double the measurement to give you the pages that fit inside the book cover.

Once you've cut enough pages to fill the book and you do want to make sure it's really full, then fold each of them in half and then start adhering them inside the cover. I used Matte Collage Medium.

When the pages are all fixed into place and the secure, I scuffed the edges of the book pages, and then dipped my finger into some paint, and with the book closed, I rubbed the paint along the scuffed edges to add that gorgeous look of an old book.

I tied some twine around one of the books and added a Clippings Sticker to the spine to complete it.

I attached the books on the left hand side of the shelf.

On top of the book I placed two confection pieces, one red and one green and both of these are covered in Rock Candy Distress Glitter. I always use Glossy Accents to adhere my glitter as this helps to keep the sparkle.

BAUBLES: I coloured a selection of various sized baubles with Alcohol Ink, the colours I used are listed at the end of this post and then attached them along the ledge with Glossy Accents.

Now for the finishing touches and I added some Snowfall Paste along the ledge, and a good sprinkle of Mica Flakes.

I also attached the flakes along underneath of the ledge, again using Glossy Accents.

Finally, I took two of the white stars from the Christmas Baseboard and Transparencies pack and after coating these with Glossy Accents, I sprinkled Rock Candy Glitter over them and arranged them on either side of my project, netting them amongst the other pieces.
I then attached a Christmas Droplet in the centre of each.

All that's left now is to attach the quote chip, again from the Christmas Baseboard pack. I attached below the shelf using foam pads and adding a Hardware Head on either side, which I painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint.

I finished the project by clipping a Hinge Clip, painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint to the right hand side, complete with Swivel Clasp attached. I then hung a Heart Adornment and a "Joyful" Tiny Tag, again all painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint.
So that's my make finished and I hope you love what I've created using my favourite colour, courtesy of Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink, to create that gorgeous blue background.

As always, if you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to winYou have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....






Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and keep well.
Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Distress Paint: Candied Apple, Picket Fence
Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
Alcohol Inks: Monsoon, Butterscotch, Citrus, Ember
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