Santa's Christmas Eve Journey....

Hello friends...

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend? Here in London, the temperatures have definitely taken a tumble and we've already had a visit from Jack Frost who's spread his icy magic and bought a touch of winter to our mornings! And with this in mind, I can't think of anything better than staying inside where it's warm and cosy and maybe join us over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for the brand new challenge ~ TAKE FLIGHT!

For my project, I created a framed panel telling the story of Santa's Christmas Eve journey and charting his flight around the world and I used plenty of Tim Holtz products, old and new to build the scene and bring this project to life....

So, it's time for the new challenge to begin and here's how I created this piece...

 

To start with I painted my framed panel. This panel comes in two separate pieces, the frame and the back board and to prep these I applied a layer of gesso over the two.

Once dry, I then used Barn Door Distress Paint to add colour to my frame and to the back and sides of the panel. Once again dry the painted surfaces and then using a paint brush, I dry brushed Black Soot Distress Paint over the top to create a more vintage look to the paintwork. To complete the frame, I added a touch of Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax over the top to accentuate the beading.

Set the frame to one side but with the backboard in front of you, cover the surface of the board with a piece of paper from Tim's Christmas Paper Stash. I just adore this design and love that it has a black background showcasing that gorgeous Christmas foliage.

I adhered the paper with Matte Collage Medium, which I also applied over the top to seal the surface. To create an inner frame to the panel, I used some Polka Dot Design Tape, which I adhered around the outside so that it will show when the red painted frame is laid over the top. Attach your frame to the backboard using Matte Collage Medium.

Moving on, it's time to build up the scene and I started by creating my globe which I die cut from Mixed Media Heavystock card. I then applied a layer of Versamark Ink over the top of the die cut and sprinkled with Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder. After heat embossing the powder until molten and shiny, allow it to cool slightly before dabbing the ink pad over the top again and repeating the process. I did this three times to create the enamelled look before then applying a small amount of gold embossing powder which I then melted into the final layer.

I used foam pads to attach the enamelled die cut over a circle of card covered with the gold glittered Deco Sheet. By applying different heights of pads, it creates a domed effect to the globe. I then attached the globe over the top of one of the Baseboard frames, matted onto burlap and a layer of gold metallic kraft stash card. Attach the mounted globe over the top of the patterned paper.

Now to chart Santa's flight path and for this I used decorative pins but cut them down so they would be the exact height that I needed. I then placed the pins into the globe before wrapping cotton around them.

For the next step, I stamped the image of Santa from Tim's stunning Yuletide Stamp Set and stamped him in Jet Black Archival Ink onto Mixed Media Heavystock Card. He was then watercolored using Distress Marker Pens before I went on to fussy cut him, carefully trimming around the outline. Setting Santa to one side, I moved onto creating the baubles and for this I didn't want any colour on them, they needed to remain white but I did add some Rock Candy Glitter to half of them ~ so some of them sparkled and others shone which created a lovely contrast. I attached each of the baubles with Matte Collage Medium, placing them beneath the frame and attaching a Christmas Quote Chip directly below.

Retrieving Santa, I attached him with foam pads, placing a Christmas Tree taken from the Tim Holtz Ephemera Pack behind him. You will see that I have lightly glittered the tree for added sparkle and adding a small amount of cheesecloth beneath his feet to ground him.

The foam pads create wonderful dimension to this piece, which you can see below....

For the little details to complete the project, I added hex Fasteners to the corners of the frame and placed a mini plaquette at the top.

As a finishing touch, I added some stars ~ three die cut stars, left over from a previous project and cut from gold metallic kraft stash which I placed onto the globe and then two small Star Adornments painted with Barn Door Distress Paint and added to either side of the Quote Chip.

As always, I hope you've loved how this project came together and the story behind it ~ it sure was a lot of fun to create and I hope the photos show all the sparkle and shimmer that this gives!

Don't forget, you can find more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

See you very soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Stamps: Yuletide

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Dies: Globe
Distress Marker Pens
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Barn Door

Idea-ology: Christmas Quote Chips, Baseboard Frames, Star Adornments, Hex Fasteners, Mini Plaquette, Baubles, Christmas Design Tape, Christmas Ephemera Pack

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder, Gold Embossing Powder, Rock Candy Dry Glitter

Surfaces: Tim Holtz Christmas Paper Stash, Framed Panel, Textured Surfaces, Metallic Kraft Stash, Mixed Media Heavystock Card
Cheesecloth
Prima Marketing Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax
Dina Wakley Brushes

Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Tim Holtz Guillotine

Heat Gun

Cotton thread, Deco Sheets and pins from my own stash