Winter Fun

 Winter is here, as I see big fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. It's a perfect time to make a winter theme tag.

I love the endless possibilities of Tim's + Sizzix dies. They are so versatile. Perfect for the holiday season.

Apply Dina Wakley gesso in white (an even coat) to the small thickboard Ecetera tag. Let air dry or to speed up the process heat set. Once dry add a light wash on top by mixing distress paint in speckled egg + water. Ratio 2 parts water to one part paint. Heat set.

Begin by adding more texture using TH/SA layering stencil dots + texture paste icicle with a palette knife in random places of tag. Let air dry. This gives the illusion of ice crystals with the crackle of the texture paste.

Assembling Gladys:

Tim + Sizzix have a video on YouTube how to assemble Gladys. This makes is easier especially when you have to reverse her. You can find the video here. Next colour the dies with distress heavy stock white and  distress oxides, using a blending brush. Gladys needs ice skates. Tim's die thin ice to the rescue! 

Finding ideas for a freezer, using Sizzix retro oven. It's easy to assemble, with metallic kraft stock in jewel + texture paste in icicle. Let air dry.

Making ice cubes + backing for the freezer. Backing: mixed media heavy stock white with retro oven die, alcohol yupo translucent fit to backing. Rock candy glitter + chunky glitter with glossy accents on idea ology baubles. Tim has an awesome demo how to make these. You can find it here. It's at the 1:30:13 mark. Adding a dimensional dome to the freezer opening, fill with baubles then adhere backing.

Adding a few presents from thinlits die santas helper + distress oxides for colour.

The words and hanger are a combination of thinlits dies vault seasonal sketch (drop shadow of letters with kraft stock cool + overlay with metallic kraft stock) + vault bunny hop (hanger - metallic kraft stock)

Diedember 2022 chilly + freezy dies make great accessories for Gladys. Scarves, toques, ear muffs.... the possibilities are endless.

The wood planks are from my stash using the 3D embossing folder lumber, distress inks, crayon.

Feeling inspired... go through your stash, it's amazing what you can make with it!

Christina

Cold Winters Night

 There’s something magical about falling snow. It’s so quiet and peaceful. I made a Christmas card depicting many scenes of the holiday spirit and the season of giving.

Smooshing distress oxides + ink onto watercolour card stock making sure to heat set between layers. Creating a soft blend of distress ink around border. One of my many favourite backgrounds is cms358 music + advert. Using advert stamp and distress archival ink in random places on stamp.

The scale of the Christmas vault series Christmas 2021 is perfect for this make. The gentleman carrying the wreath whilst his scarf catching a bit of the wind. Using a drop shadow for the word ‘Christmas’ adds depth.

After taking Tim + Heidi’s Christmas in July class, I knew then I’d need more ephemera. The large collage strips caught my attention. So many to choose from. Picked one cut it to size, machine stitched it to card base then added cello tape in opposite corners.

Adding a subtle bling with texture paste sparkle and THMS093 starry.

I was SO excited when the distress rock candy clear glitter arrived. Couldn’t wait to play with it. The wreath took it well. Has a nice wintery vibe.

Machine stitched border with loose ends for a nice finish.

Trust those crazy ideas. Especially when it’s 3am lol 

Hope this leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina 

Be Thankful

 One of the best ways to clear the mind and make way for creativity is being outdoors. A couple weeks ago I was pruning the landscaping and came across a few dead twigs, leaves and a couple pine cones. Inspiration had kicked in and laid them off to the side. The beauty of dead twigs is that they have character.

Once the inspiration was brewing, I knew there was no stopping, so I gathered dies from Tim's vault 2024 series plus a few older dies and this is what I came up with.

The Base:

Distress watercolour card stock is my go to for smooshing inks, oxides, and with the distress sprayer and my trusty craft heat tool, the possibilities are endless.

Stampers Anonymous cms344 craze and planks, I chose the craze background, is perfect if you want something subtle and gives the illusion of texture.

It's all in the layers:

Tim's/Sizzix 2024 vault series dies and a few older ones are perfect for the twigs/leaves and pinecones.

To achieve a more saturated look with a little depth, the distress reinkers came to the rescue. I love to colour and it's easy to control.

I love the many textures of woodgrain and the variety of colouring that is added for depth and character. I used one of my favourites, 3D lumber embossing folder and blended a few distress inks on top.

To give the woodgrain more dimension, I scribbled a little bit of the distress crayon in frayed burlap on my mixed media glass mat, spritz a little water on top, then with my fingers rubbing the crayon over the crevasses till achieving the desired effect. Kind of reminds me of a five year old, finger painting. It's so fun! 

The finishing touches:

The bow from the thinlits die vintage sled adds the perfect touch to the bouqet of twigs.

Next I grabbed an inked up doily from the vault boutique die set. This was in my stash, and tucked it under the woodgrain plank. I love how elegant the font is from the thinlit set celebration words script. Fits perfectly on the card front.

Next I placed one of the chit chat idea-ology stickers "you" underneath the word "thank" and for the final touch including patience, I machine stitched a border around the card front, taking it slow and trying not to speed like a race car lol. It's hard but doable. Practice makes perfect. 

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina