That's Life: Mr Frostie and his shining stars....

Hello friends ~ remember me?!? It's definitely been a while and not the easiest six months. If you don't know why I've been absent from the challenge blog, then you can read all about it HERE and I would just like to say a huge thank you to every single person who has supported me and reached out to me during my darkest days ~ it really has been appreciated and I am so grateful to you all.

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Anyway, back to today, and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge which this week is called Make It Sparkle and the DT are showcasing the products from PAPERARTSY within their makes.

Now, since I've been absent from this challenge there have been quite a few new releases from Tim Holtz and they have all been spectacular including Mr Frostie from the Christmas release of Stampers Anonymous 2024. He just stole my heart immediately and with this theme in mind, I chose to use one of the images of this beautiful snowman, which I placed in the Festive Wreath from Sizzix.

So here we go...it's time to make it sparkle and bring this scene to life!

For this make I used the smaller sized Rectangular Etcetera Panel by Stampers Anonymous and began by covering the edges with the black and white gingham tape from the Christmas Tape pack.

BACKGROUND PANEL

With my panel prepped and ready, I chose a piece of decorative paper from the Christmas Backdrops pack and because I wanted a frosty feel to this piece I went with the mint green snowflake design.

I cut the paper into three pieces ~ one piece that will be placed across the centre and then two extra pieces that I will be attaching at the top and bottom. I did this so that it creates the look of multiple layers of paper on the background and also adds detail and texture.

I stitched the three pieces together to form one whole piece that will cover the panel, leaving 0.5cm around the outside edge to show the design tape.

After ripping and tearing around the edge of the paper and also along the joins where I've attached the panels at the top and bottom, I machine stitched a border before adhering it to my panel using Matte Collage Medium.

Now to add the wording and for this I used a combination of three products, including:

Believe and surrounding sparkles ~ PaperArtsy Jofy Printed Tissue
Christmas Magic ~ Mr Frostie Stamp Set
No.01225 ~ Christmas Remnant Rubs from my stash

I began by applying the word 'Believe" and for this you will need a water brush or a brush dipped into water. Remove any excess water from the brush, you only need it damp and draw a line of water around the word believe before gently tearing it from the sheet. Once you have piece of tissue, using a Collage Brush, apply a thin layer of Matte Collage Medium to the back of the tissue and place it directly onto the background paper. Very gently use the collage brush with a little more medium to brush over the tissue to create a seamless finish.

Apply the sparkles/stars to the background using exactly the same technique.

Underneath the word believe, I stamped the Christmas Magic sentiment from the Mr Frostie stamp set, using Black Soot Archival Ink and then beneath that I applied the remnant rub, No.01225.

To complete the background I added two tiny pieces of idea-ology Cello Sticker Tape to the opposite top right and bottom left hand corners.

The background can now be set to one side whilst moving onto making the wreath.

WREATH

To begin with I cut the base of my wreath from Mixed Media Heavystock card using the Sizzix Vault Festive Wreath die set by Tim Holtz, and cut the card that I coloured using the following colours of Distress Spray Stain:

Greenery and Base: Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, Peeled Paint and Rustic Wilderness
Poinsettia: Lumberjack Plaid and Barn Door
Pinecones: Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain

Once dry, I began die cutting the base, which I cut twice to form a substantial base, together with enough pieces to form the all the greenery. I wanted to add some extra frosty sparkle to each of these pieces and for this I used white embossing powder. I just gently dab the ends of each piece into a clear embossing ink pad, and then sprinkle the white powder over the top, tapping away the excess. After heat embossing the powder, I take one piece at a time and begin to build up the wreath, layer by layer.

Once all the greenery is in place, I die cut the poinsettias from the red inky card and layered these to form two flowers. I added gold Metallic Droplets in the centres of each before placing them onto the wreath.

To complete the wreath I used a brush to very gently apply touches of Matte Collage Medium over the tips before sprinkling Rock Candy Glitter over the finished piece, tapping away excess glitter before allowing it to dry.

The wreath is ready and now we can move onto the star of the show... Mr Frostie.

MR FROSTIE

After stamping the image of Mr Frostie onto watercolour card, I then used the co-ordinating die set from Simon Says Stamp to cut the stamped image. If you don't have this die set, then you can fussy cut the image.

I then watercolored the die cut image using Distress Pencils and a watercolour brush. Once I was hapy with the colours, I added some white pen details.

To complete Mr Froste, I used Snowfall Grit Paste, which I just applied with my fingertip to the top of his hat, onto his arms and of course, on the tip of his nose.

I placed Mr Frostie into the wreath before I placed him onto my panel using foam pads to add height and dimension.

STARS ✨

For the dimensional stars, the one that Mr Frostie is holding and the one that is also on the background, I used the die from the Vault Christmas 2020 set and cut the two stars from gold metallic kraft card. I then assembled each star by folding along the score lines on the die cut before placing them onto my panel and into his hand.

I then cut a few more gold stars that you can see dotted around the background. Once again I used gold metallic kraft card as my surface and cut the stars using the Falling Stars die by Tim Holtz. I then adhered each star into position with a dot of collage medium, before adding a silver metallic droplet to each of the centres.

We're nearly there and all that's left is the finishing touches and all that Mica Flake sparkle....

MICA FLAKES

All around the outside of the panel, I added some extra sparkle using Mica Flakes.

I personally always use Glossy Accents for this process, as I find this doesn't dull the sparkle and using the fine nozzle on the bottle, I just drizzle the adhesive around the edge, then sprinkle mica flakes over the top. Tap away the excess before adding some more Glossy Accents along the two joins in the paper and once again, sprinkle the flakes over the top.

Always apply the mica flakes and adhesive in sections, don't try to do it all at once because you will get into a bit of a mess.

HOW TO CREATE THE HANGER

Finally, with the panel complete, I added the hanger so that this piece can be displayed.

For this I used two Hinge Clips which I painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint. Once the clips are dry, I clipped them along the top edge of the panel before adding rope.

I finished this piece by hanging two Holiday Bells from the rope, both of which are painted using Candied Apple Distress Paint and then hung using an idea-ology loop pin.

So that's it from me for today and I hope you've been inspired by this project, as it really is so much fun to make...

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 win. You have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....