Saturday, December 28, 2013

I'm not done yet! Christmas Luminary

Well, I have to have one last hurrah and Christmas project to share. I maintain that it is still December and the week of Christmas so it's okay. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! ;-) I finally got a hold of the new Tim Holtz Luminary die and I knew exactly what I wanted to make with it for a Christmas decoration - a gingerbread house!

  

The luminary lifts off the base so you can access the battery powered tea light that rests on a little platform inside. I just love the cheerful candy colors and glittery sparkle that everything has. 

For the "house" I glued a sheet of brown paper to lightweight chipboard (use lightweight board or heavy cardstock or you'll never get it to fold up right!) The windows are clear plastic cut from old packaging with Rock Candy Crackle Paint applied. When applying the crackle paint to slick surfaces you need to put a layer of Glue 'n Seal on first or your paint will flake off later. I used Gloss Glue 'n Seal although Matte works fine too. Brush a thin layer on, let it dry, then brush on a medium layer of Crackle Paint. You'll get a great "frosty" look. The window sashing I cut out of the brown paper using the Window Die and glued to the back side of the luminary walls. Tip - glue the sashing and plastic windows in place before you fold and assemble the luminary!

The icing is Super Heavy Gesso that I put in a craft syringe and applied like I was decorating a real gingerbread house. While the gesso was wet, I carefully sprinkled on Rock Candy dry glitter (have I mentioned how I LOVE this glitter? Yes, I believe I have on multiple occasions!)  Once the gesso was nice and dry I added more embellishments by using a Viva Silver Chrome Pearl Pen to mimic the look of Silver Dragees. The wreath is cut out of more plastic packaging. I used alcohol ink to color the wreath and bow, then added a layer of Glossy Accents and sprinkled glass microbeads onto it. I wanted it to look like the old fashioned hard candy "toys" and let the light from the candle through.

The base is a circle of foam core. The trees are made from the Rosette dies, see here for instructions on how to make them. I brushed them with Glossy Accents and sprinkled them with more microbeads. The Mirrored Stars are easily colored with alcohol ink, these I tinted with Butterscotch to make them yellow. The large candies are things I found at Michael's but the gingerbread man and smaller candies are all cut out of shrink plastic and shrunk down. The snow is texture paint I applied with a palette knife and of course sprinkled liberally with Rock Candy dry glitter. I hope that you are inspired by my project! I have lots of different ideas in mind for these little luminaries. Stay tuned lol!

Most of the supplies I used to create this project can be found at Inspiration Emporium. Follow the links below and use my code JUICE to save 10% if you go shopping. Thanks and happy New Years!



Sunday, December 22, 2013

“Always winter but never Christmas.”

Fans of the C.S. Lewis story, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, will perhaps recognize this quote. The land of Narnia is under the spell of the White Witch and has been locked in ice and snow for years, always in a state of winter but Christmas never comes. I've created a Christmas project that features a snow scene with the lamppost from Lantern Waste (read The Magician's Newphew to find out how it came to be!) And as we shall find out, Christmas does come at last to Narnia…


The trees are from Tim Holtz and I sprayed them with Pine Needles Distress Stain to color them. I also liberally sprinkled them with dry Rock Candy Glitter to frost them up. I love that glitter! The ground I formed from air dry clay. After the clay was dry I spread a layer of gesso on it to glue the trees etc. down as well as the fake snow I sprinkled over everything.


On the sides of the glass windows I stamped some snowflakes using StazOn Cotton White ink. StazOn solvent ink is good for stamping on metal, glass and other slick surfaces. When it was dry, I dabbed on a bit of Rock Candy Stickles to give it some sparkle. The Father Christmas tag tells the part of the story where he finally arrives in Narnia. The front of the tag flips up and an excerpt from the book is there:

Some of the pictures of Father Christmas in our world make him look only funny and jolly. But now that the children actually stood looking at him they didn’t find it quite like that. He was so big, and so glad, and so real, that they all became quite still. They felt very glad, but also solemn.

“I’ve come at last,” said he. “She has kept me out for a long time, but I have got in at last. Aslan is on the move. The Witch’s magic is weakening.”

 And Lucy felt running through her that deep shiver of gladness which you only get if you are being solemn and still. 



I stamped the Father Christmas image in archival ink and then "watercolored" it using Distress reinkers and pads plus some Picket Fence Distress Stain for the hair and beard. The stamp is an older Inkadinkado one that I've had for a long time.

The top of the lantern is embellished with a whole bunch of different Sizzix diecuts…


…snowflakes (cut from vellum), pinecones and lots of greenery. I first hot glued a bit of acrylic stuffing around the top of the lantern so I'd have a base to support the pieces as I glued them on.

Christmas is almost upon us and I hope that you have had a chance to enjoy the joy and wonder of this season. Let Christmas come into your heart and God's love thaw any icy parts that are there. He sent a baby to save us all and show us the extent of his love:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

I hope that you feel His love, peace and blessing this week. Merry Christmas!!!

Most of the supplies I used to create this project can be found at Inspiration Emporium. Follow the links below and use my code JUICE to save 10% if you go shopping. Thanks!