That's Life: Hello, Santa Claus...

Hello everyone...

Well, there's not long to go until the big day and as we begin the new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, I thought our challenge theme was the perfect chance to share some Tim Holtz Idea-ology inspiration. As you know, I love all of Tim's products from mediums, and Sizzix Dies to Stampers Anonymous stamps, but my one true love is idea-ology and with the theme in mind, I chose to create a vintage style panel all about the night before Christmas, that will be perfect to display throughout the holidays...

So, let's get started because it's time to share all the details of how I created some Christmas magic...

To begin with I have a recent post that will help with how I created some of the sparkly magic for the Woodland Garland and you can find that post if you click HERE.

PANEL & FACADE

For this make, I used the larger sized Rectangular Etcetera Panel and began by covering the edges with Design Tape. I still have some of the Christmas Design Tape that is now sadly retired but any design will do, it's really only there to give a nice finish and cover those raw edges.

With my tape in place, I started selecting some of the Collage Strips that I would be using on both the panel and the facade. The strips need to be cut into sections so that they will fit both surfaces perfectly, so you might have to play around with these to get the perfect fit but once you have chosen the pieces, I adhered them to each surface using Matte collage Medium. I also added a coat of the medium over the top of each piece to seal them.

To cover all those joins and to give this piece that vintage touch, I used the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edge of the panel and facade and also applying it between each of the joins of the Collage Strips. Blend out any harsh line of crayon with your fingertip.

The panel is now complete and can be set to one side whilst we add the finishing touches to the facade.

Behind the aperture of the facade, I cut and adhered a piece of Christmas Backdrops paper. At this stage, I also adored a panel of Heavystock Mixed Media card to the back of the facade, as this will help to give a bit more stability to the paper. Once again I used the Walnut Stain Crayon around the edges, blending out any harsh lines of colour.

I attached some Screw Heads around the top edge of the facade and then added an idea-ology Mini Flair Pin that I had in my stash. To complete the facade, I applied some Snowfall Grit Paste around the top and down the sides, and then sprinkled Chunky Rock Candy Glitter over the top. Set aside to dry.

Attach the risers from the Etcetera Facade pack to the back of the facade itself and then attach this to the Etcetera Panel using Matte Collage Medium and allowing the facade to slightly overlap the top edge of the panel. I always add a weight over the top to ensure every section of the facade, adheres to the panel.

Underneath the facade, I added two Scalloped Etcetera Trims to form a ledge.

I used the Decorative Trims die to cut some Christmas Backdrops Paper to cover each trim and then placed the trims to form a 'L' shape, before adhering them to the panel and then applying Crackle Paste onto the top of the ledge. I allowed for this to dry before adding a good amount of Snowfall Grit Paste. Again, you need to allow this to dry....

To complete the facade, I adhered two stamps from the Ephemera Pack onto the right hand side and added a Remnant Rub, before attaching some Cello Sticker Tape as a finishing touch.

Along the ledge, I added a good amount of Snowfall Grit Paste and then set this to one side to dry whilst I move on to the embellishments.

WOODLAND GARLAND

To colour and add some sparkle to the Woodland Garland, you can pop on over to my post and see exactly how I created this. Once you've got the perfect colour and a good amount of sparkle, then all I did was to shape the garland by manipulating the wire and then attach it with hot glue. I placed this underneath the ledge.

BUILDING THE SCENE

We're now ready to bring this story to life and for this, I began by attaching the Santa from the Layers and Paper Dolls pack, using foam pads to add some height and dimension to the piece.

Using two of the candy canes from the idea-ology Confections pack, I attached these to either side of the facade. Each candy cane has been smeared with Glossy Accents and had a dusting of Crystal Rock Candy added.

Around the base of each candy cane, I added some idea-ology 'bubbles', again smeared with Glossy Accents before having their sprinkle of Rock Candy added over the top.

I attached the sparkly bubbles using Glossy Accents and then, attached two of the poinsettias from the Layers and Paper Dolls pack to either end of the ledge, placing them over the top of where the garland is attached.

Finally I drizzled Glossy Accents over the top of the dried out Snowfall Grit Paste, and sprinkled some Mica Flakes over the top. I also added some flakes and rock candy to the poinsettias.

I also added some flakes around the top edge of the Christmas Tree that Santa is holding...

We're nearly there and all that's left is the Christmas Greetings sentiment, which is from the Chrismtas Ephemera pack. I adhered this to a piece of mount board, and then attached it to my panel, placing it underneath the garland.

After a gentle splatter of white acrylic paint, my panel is complete and I hope you've enjoyed the process and all the little tips and techniques that I've shared to bring this piece to life.

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....