Christmas House Ornaments

Hi Everyone,

I've got a quick last minute ornament or gift tag for you.

Start with your Simple House Ornament cover both sides in the paper of your choosing. I added a bit of shimmer using my clear shimmer pen.  I tried to capture it in the photos, but it's so subtle.  

Apply a thin layer of white acrylic paint to both sides of your Snowflake Border.  You won't need the whole border.  I placed mine on top of my ornament and got a basic placement idea and then trimmed it accordingly.  

Once your paint is dry emboss the snowflakes using Fractured Ice Embossing powder. 

Color your Tim Holtz paper doll using Distress Markers.  I also added some stickles for sparkle. 

Glue your snowflakes to your house(be sure you don't cover the hole in the top of the ornament).  Add your people using some foam tape for dimension.  Add stickers from the Tim Holtz Christmas clippings stack.  A little bakers twine and your ornament is finished.   

I liked this so much I made a second ornament using the same process, but these snowflakes are embossed with Charred Gold.The paper doll had a tiny jingle bell added to his hand.

Have a very Merry Christmas,

Jess

try it on Tuesdays- Twinkle, Twinkle
A Vintage Journey- Winter Wonderland
Mixed Media Monthly- Challenge 43

Dashing through the snow

Hi Everyone,
I have the cutest little sleigh ornament for you today.

I started with my slight ornament from Gypsy Soul Laser cuts.

Paint all of the solid pieces using red acrylic paint.  

Emboss the fancy edge pieces using Charred Gold embossing powder. 

Cover the solid slight pieces in Fractured Ice embossing powder and then glue on the fancy gold parts.  The sleigh has slots and tabs, making it easy to assemble.  I always assemble my pieces together before I start any project so I can be sure I assemble them correctly when I am done embellishing them. 

Another great tip- if you emboss a lot you need to invest in one of these Embossing Daubers.  They are amazing!

Cut out a bunch of greenery using the Tim Holtz Holiday Greenery Die.  Then cut out several pinecones using the tattered pinecone die.

Add grit paste and Soft Fallen Snow Embossing Powder or Distress Rock Candy Glitter to add snow to your pinecones. 

There are several pieces from the Tim Holtz Christmas Ephemera pack that fit right in the front of the sleigh. You could also cut a piece of paper to fit and stamp out names if you would want to use these as place card holders.   I chose the vintage pricing sign and aged it using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

Color several Beaded Berry Stems. I used Candied Apple Distress Stain to color mine.  

Once all of your greenery, pinecones, and berries are ready you fill the sleigh.  

I added the vintage elves to the sleigh for my finishing touch. 

Look at the sparkle from the Fractured Ice!

This little guy is hanging on tight!

This little guy is relaxing.  

Here's a little aerial view so you can see how everything is just tucked in to fill the sleigh. 

Happy Crafting!

Jess

Joy ornament

Hi Everyone,

Do you remember trying to take family photos and being told to smile over and over? I think these kiddos have had enough.  I just love the grumpy faces and then giving them silly headgear.  

The oversized tart tin was a perfect place to perch these grumpy guys.  

I'll be back soon with more Christmas makes!

Jess

Frilly and Funkie- Most Memorable Gift (one of my most memorable gifts was a bike. The look on these guys faces sums up my feelings on a bike). 

A Vintage Journey- Winter Wonderland

Simon Says Stamp- Winter/Holidays

Merry and Bright Lantern

I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today with a Christmas Lantern.

I have to admit I had one idea for this lantern and it turned into something completely different.
I started by assembling the lantern, just to be sure I was doing it correctly and so I would know what I would need to paint.

I disassembled it and started painting.

This is a really heavy duty chipboard and paint doesn't absorb into it like it does with thinner chipboard.  I did not put down a layer of gesso. I just went right in with a thin layer of black acrylic paint.  The entire piece was covered.  Once the black was dry I stippled on metallics.  I used Dina Wakley Paints in Gilt, Ancient, Penny, and Sterling.
To decorate the top I used the snowflake border from the Winter Shape Set.  Two snowflakes fit perfectly on each side of the top.  The snowflakes got a quick coat of silver paint.I wanted to add glitter, but didn't want to deal with using glue to make the snowflakes tacky. I decided to run them through my Xyron sticker maker on the painted side.  I added a clear glitter and had very little mess.
The snowflakes were glued to the top.

Here's where I changed my mind.  I decided I wanted to make this look like an actual lantern and not a winter scene inside the lantern like I had originally planned.  I took plain tissue paper and Tim Holtz's Frosted Film to line the inside of the panels.  Vellum would work too, but I like the frosted film because it gives an icy look and feel.  I did not attach the one side that isn't notched so you can add a flameless candle inside to make it look like a real lantern.

Grit paste with glitter sprinkled on top made the snow on the lantern.  The top was covered with grit paste and my pieces were stuck in while it was still wet.

The santa was colored using acrylic paint and then aged using alcohol inks.  The deer were aged using alcohol ink too.  The berries on his neck are old mercury glass that I colored using alcohol ink.   

The front of the lantern has the Tim Holtz Holiday Wreath that I stuck some extra greeny into and then added some frosted berries.  The big bow is from the fold up bow die.  The bells are from the new ideaology assortment. The sentiment is from the holiday chip quotes. 

This thing is really hard to photograph!

Happy holidays!

Simon Says Stamp Icy Inspiration

A Vintage Journey- Winter Wonderland

Christmas Wishes

Hi Everyone,

I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog with a Christmas piece that could be a wallhanging or an ornament.  

I started with a canvas tag and added Distress Inks in pretty much every shade of green.  

Once the ink was dry I added the stars using one of the new Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Holiday stencils and Festive Berries Distress Ink. 

The house is the Mini House Shadowbox 1 from Gypsy Soul.  I love these teeny houses and they come in four different sizes.  I covered the house inside and out with paper from the new Tim Holtz Christmas pad and then embossed the front edges using Emerald Creek Hammered Metal. 

A tiny bottle brush tree and deer were popped in there. The mirrored star and deer are covered with Mushroom alcohol ink.  Mica snow was added to the roof and the bottom of the house.  A vintage bingo marker gives that extra Christmas magic.  

I covered the Large Swirl Medallion from Gypsy Soul with Emerald Creek embossing powder in Charred Gold and then glued the house in the center.  The medallion was then glued to the canvas tag.  Look at how fine the cuts are on this thing! I love this medallion.  

A Tim Holtz rub on was added to the top and the piece is done! 

A few glamour shots for you. 

I hope you enjoy!

Jess

Frilly and Funkie Time Worn Challenge

Try it on Tuesdays- Colorful

Country View Challenges- Stencils

My unsung hero

Hi Everyone, 

I have am up on the Emerald Creek Dare Blog today and our current dare is Unsung Heroes.  My mum is my unsung hero.  She works so hard and always has time for everyone and everything else.  She is the one that instilled the love of creating in me.  I remember being 8 or 9 and doing craft fairs with her selling my little lace and bead ornaments.  She's my biggest cheerleader and supporter, so I wanted to make her a little something. She is a reader and a sewer, so I came up with this oversized bookmark. 

I started with a large heavy weight chipboard tag from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and painted it with a very thin layer of White Acrylic paint.  

The I added my stamps using my Tim Holtz stamping platform. This is the back.

This is the front. The butterfly has a layer of Fractured Ice Embossing powder over the Black Soot Archival ink and the sentiment(from the Fallen Blossom set) has Onyx Frost embossing powder for shimmer.  

Once I layered on all of my stamps I colored the images on the front using Distress Crayons and Dina Wakley scribble sticks.  

I added the button brads and made the thread using Oil Rubbed Bronze powder right over a line drawn with a pen.  

The top of the tag was embellished with seam binding, twine, and the Handmade charm. 

Here you can really see the Fractured Ice over the black.  I added scissors to the body of the butterfly. 

The back was colored using Magenta's Nuance Powders and the entire piece was edged with charred gold.  

Here is the finished piece. 

Who is your unsung hero? Be sure to enter the dare and you can win money to the store!

Jess

Items from Emerald Creek:

Fallen Blossom Stamps

Fractured Ice Embossing Powder

Oil Rubbed Bronze

Onyx Frost Embossing Powder

Button Brad

Scissor Charm

Handmade Charm