12 Tags of Christmas - #12

Here is my project for the final week of 12 Tags of Christmas sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Linda created this fun tag full of vintage bits and pieces so I decided to make a card with a real vintage vibe.

My card is very, very simple though because I discovered that each of the very shabby cards I made earlier in this challenge cost me $1.80 each to mail.  This card is the first card for Christmas 2018 and I am determined to make all of them for next year so they can be sent with regular postage.

I started with some rusty red card stock (Recollections) for the blank and then added a panel of patterned paper that looks like vintage newspaper ads (Farm House Paper Company) that I immediately covered with more patterned paper (Graphic 45).

Next came a strip of burlap.  I added a snowflake cut from the Paper Snowflakes die (Tim Holtz) and then topped that with a Found Relatives - Occasions card (Tim Holtz)  I added some Christmas ephemera (Tim Holtz) and a Metallic Holiday Talk sticker (Tim Holtz).  Finally I added a loopy burlap string bow.

I definitely had fun participating in Linda's challenge for the first time and I will do it again if she has it but look for more simplicity and not so much dimension from me - unless I win a lottery, of course.

12 Tags of Christmas - #11

I am back with my project for week 11 of the 12 Tags of Christmas sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Here is Linda's tag and this time I took my inspiration from the mitten and made a gift card holder that is masquerading as a tree ornament.

I found a template online, printed it on card stock and then cut it out.  I used this as my pattern, laid it on the back side of my patterned paper (Graphic 45) and traced around it before I fussy cut it.  I repeated this making sure to flip the pattern before I traced it.

Next I turned one half of the mitten to the back side and marked where the gift card was going to sit.  This time I decided to let it peek above the top since the gift card came in a nice green wrapper but you can hide it below the top by just marking where you want it to stop lower inside the mitten.

I added double sided tape (Scor Tape) to a small strip of fun foam (Michaels) and added it to bottom of the outline I made.

Next I glued both halves of the mitten together using a fine bead of glue (Art Glitter Designer Dried Clear Adhesive) around the edge but leaving about 1/2" open on each side at the top (you can see where I erased the lines to remind me).  Once the glue was dry, I trimmed away any bits that did not match up perfectly.

To finish the mitten I added cuffs cut from quilt batting and a length of burlap string for a hanger on one side.  I decorated the opposite side with a label from the paper pad (Graphic 45), some greenery cut with a punch (Martha Stewart), paper roses (Wild Orchid Crafts), sparkly berries (Michaels) and a loopy bow from burlap string.

12 Tags of Christmas - #10

Here is my offering for week 10 of the 12 Tags of Christmas sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Here is Linda's tag but I am making cards this year and this time I chose the wreath as my inspiration.  Following are the steps to create this card:

1.  Ink the top half of piece of white card stock with any combination of blue inks.  I used Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans and Broken China Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz) and then followed up with Weathered Wood and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) and set aside.  The Hickory Smoke was a decision when I started to put the card together so it is not in the photo.

2.  Paint a piece of card stock with Coffee Bean Acrylic Paint (Folk Art) or any other dark brown paint making sure to cover it.  When dry paint with White Acrylic Paint (DecoArt) but don't completely cover the brown.  Make sure your brush strokes are all done vertically on the card stock.
3.  When the paint is dry turn the card paint side down on a scoring tool (I used Martha Stewart Scoreboard) and score every half inch.

4.  Turn the paint side back to the top and run ink pads vertically down the card stock holding the pad at an angle.  I used Walnut Stain Distress Ink (Tim Holtz), Coff Archival Ink (Ranger) and Watering Can Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi).
5.  Cut a semi circle on the top of the faux wood panel.

6.  Cut greenery from the Holiday Greens die (Tim Holtz) using a variety of the dies and different colours of green card stock.  Snip the greens apart and glue into a ring to create a wreath.
7.  Add clusters of adhesive pearls (The Paper Source) and a loopy bow of red satin ribbon (Fabricland).

To assemble the card:

1.  Glue the sky panel to the card blank.
2.  Add the wooden gate on top of the sky panel lining the bottom with the bottom of the sky panel.
3.  Adhere the wreath to the gate.
4.  Add a wavy piece of white card to the bottom of the gate.
5.  Punch a number of tiny snowflakes (Martha Stewart) and add them to the sky and on top of the wavy card stock to make a pile of snow.
6.  Add some Stardust Stickles to the centre of each snowflake.
7.  Add white dots in the sky  with a white pen (Signo Uniball)

There we go, another one completed so time to work on week #11.

A Stamps and Stencils Card

It is time for the December challenge at Stamps and Stencils.  Sue is our hostess this time and calls it Festive Stamps AND Stencils.  Here is what she has to say about the challenge:

Now normally to join in with us we ask you use either stamps or stencils, but for this challenge I want to see both and lots of them with a Festive theme ! So dig out all your stamps, maybe some long forgotten that need some love and all of your stencils and let them take centre stage!

I created this large card and I will give you all the steps for making it but I apologize for not having any process photos. I did take them but I discovered when I went to take a photo of the completed card that I should have changed some settings in the camera when I changed the bulbs in the lamps in my studio and the process photos were so horrible they could not even be edited.

1.  Stamp image from set called Xmas (Cloud 9 Designs) using Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger) onto a rectangle of white card stock
2.  Ink edges of stamped image panel with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) and distress
3.  Mount stamped image panel on a rectangle of green card stock (Recollections) and distress the edges
4.  Stencil rectangle of Red Check card stock (Lasting Impressions) using Flourish Stencil (Tim Holtz) and Metallic Silver Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi)
5.  Use Versamark (Tsukineko) to stamp the sentiment from the Xmas set onto Green Stripe card stock (Bo Bunny) and heat emboss with Sterling Silver Embossing Powder (Stamp-N Stuff)
6.  Cut "greenery" from scraps of white card stock using Holiday Greens die (Ti, Holtz)
7.  Coat "greenery" with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint (Tim Holtz) and while it is still wet sprinkle with chunky silver glitter (Dollarama)
8.  Cut two poinsettia leaves from paper-backed foil tape (Home Depot) using Poinsettia die (Marianne Creatables)
9.  Paint poinsettia leaves with Shimmering Silver Metallic Acrylic Paint (DecoArt)
10.  Layer poinsettia leaves and adhere large red seed beads to the centre - Note: Use gel medium or some similar wet glue because double sided tape doesn't work on the foil

To assemble the card:

1.  Distress the edges of a panel of green card stock (Recollections) and adhere to card blank
2.  Adhere the striped panel next
3.  Adhere the stenciled panel and add a strip of lace to cover the seam
4.  Add the "greenery and then mount the image panel on top
5.  Add the poinsettia
6.  Glue a few red sequins (Dollarama) on the card

I love the combination of stamps, stencils and patterned paper and it was so easy to do.  I hope you will join us for this challenge and show us how festive you can create with stamps and stencils.

My Most Memorable Gift

It is time for the last challenge of 2017 at Frilly and Funkie and Suzz, our hostess is calling it Most Memorable Gift.  Here is how she describes it:

December for many of us is a time where we give and receive. That had me thinking about the most memorable gifts I have received over the years. These including a signed book from one of my favorite authors, handwritten notes from my children, a singing hot dog condiment stand and the first gift my husband gave me when we were dating. Since this is the season of giving I want you to be inspired by a memorable gift and use that to create a vintage or shabby chic project that captures the inspiration from that gift. You can make a card, a tag, share a journal entry or any kind of project you desire. Just be sure to mention the memorable gift and how it inspired your creation.

My most memorable gift was one my husband gave me for Christmas when we were first dating.   Now I was never one to shake presents but for some reason I shook this one a few days before Christmas and all I could hear was what sounded like broken glass and I was instantly panic-stricken.  He had flown out west to be with his parents for the holidays and I went north to be with mine so I just kept that information to myself.  Then on Christmas day I opened the gift with great fear and inside was a bottle of very good cognac wrapped in rubber along with a little tiny bottle with two screws in it.  SNEAKY!!!

When I read the challenge theme I could not figure out how I was going to come up with a project to depict that story until I was relating the story to Jenny Marples and she immediately suggested that I alter a bottle.  That is one reason I love her, she is so creative and she is always willing to share.

I dug out a fancy bottle I was saving intending to alter it and then I remembered this tiny little mason jar.  This is just 3" tall and it came in a six-pack of flavoured moonshine that my husband picked up last year on a visit to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  I decided to make a simple little ornament out of it and since I love the way it turned out, I want some more for the tree so he better start drinking.

Except for this next one, there are no process photos because I discovered after it was all put together that when I changed to different bulbs in my lamps, I should have changed some settings in the camera, which explains why I didn't go into photography for a career.

I had my husband drill a couple holes in the lid for me and then I altered the colour of it with Poppyfield and Gold Mixative Alcphol Ink (Tim Holtz).  I added a hanger of gold beading wire through the holes and twisted the ends together underneath.

Next I added some Glossy Accents to the bottom of each leg of the teeny deer and glued it into the bottle bottom.  Tip:  Put the bottle on its side to do this step because it will give you more control and prevent the glue from grabbing onto the side of the bottle.

Next I added some tiny red gems to a small bottle brush tree (Tim Holtz) and then glued it into the bottle.

I wanted to add some snow so I scraped a styrofoam ball to get bits and then mixed some clear silver-lined seed beads in with my "snow" before I added it to the bottle.

Once that was done I put the lid on and realized how pale the inside looked so I decided to add a tie around the neck of the deer but since it was already set in I needed to come up with a work-around.  I created a little noose with some burlap string and using tweezers, I tied it around his neck.  It worked - whew!!!

To decorate the top I cut some "greenery" from the Holiday Greens die (Tim Holtz) and some gold Kraft Core Shattered Collection (Tim Holtz).  It needed a bit of sparkle so I sprayed it with Tarnished Brass Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz).  After I added it to the top of the lid, I piled on some berries and beads from my stash.

There you go, a simply created ornament to depict my story with many similarities - a little bottle, something inside it, alcohol is involved and so is my husband - LOL.

A Little Inspiration at Frilly and Funkie

Today I am presenting a little Friday inspiration for you over at Frilly and Funkie.  This is just one of the projects I made using some of my Graphic 45 leftovers.  Pop on over to see what else I created.