A Turquoise Village Dwelling

When I created my vintage church in this Tim Holtz Holiday Inspirational tutorial, I mentioned I wanted to do another house but in turquoise, for my mom.  She's crazy for turquoise lately, so I thought I would make a house on top of a gift box as part of her gift.  Here's the finished project:

I used the Vintage Dwelling Bigz XL die for the main house and the Village Winter Bigz die for the window, snow and icicle add-ons.

My snow die-cuts were topped with white texture paste, then Rock Candy Distress glitter sprinkled on top while the paste was wet.
The icicles were cut out with Tim Holtz Frosted Film plastic and Rock Candy glitter applied on top with Glossy Accents.  The entire house and base were covered with Rock Candy Glitter (applied with Glossy Accents).  I added in a little tree (glittered of course).

Before I glued the base to the bottom of the house, I cut out a hole in the middle.  I also cut out a hole in the middle of my box top.  The box top was painted and the bottom covered in patterned paper.

I hot glued a tea light where the hole was so there was a little light inside the house.  It can still be switched on and off from the inside lid.

I'm going to fill the gift box with chocolates.  I've collected a few other gifts for her, wrapped them in what else but turquoise!

 Here's my mom beside her favourite tree at the Christmas shop!  Doesn't she look amazing for 90 years old?!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jan

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Sizzix Christmas Card Tutorial

Hello fellow crafters!  Are some of you still making Christmas cards?  If you need some inspiration, I have a tutorial on the Sizzix blog today, featuring new Stand-up card dies by Sizzix's Stephanie Barnard here:

Hope you join me there!

Jan

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Painted Birch Trees Christmas Card

Hi everyone!  I don't know about you, but I always leave my Christmas cards to the last minute.  I wish I could be like some of you and start really early,  have them all done and ready to go by the first of December.  If there's some of you who still need some inspiration, I have a Christmas card featured here today.

I've created this card using the new Sizzix Tim Holtz Birch Trees Thinlits die.

First die-cut your birch trees with thin chipboard.  My Sizzix sandwich for this is my Magnetic Platform, Cutting pad, chipboard, Thinlits die (cutting side down), and cutting pad.

For those stubborn bits of paper stuck in your die-cut or just removing the paper from your die, I use the Sizzix Brush and Foam Pad.

After die-cutting the birch trees, I cut out a slightly larger piece of thin chipboard and adhered the die-cut to this with Ranger's Matte Medium.  Once this was dry, I applied a thin coat of white gesso for a good base before applying my layers of paint.  Starting with the darkest colour, then letting it dry, I dry brushed my different colours, one at a time.

After I was happy with my layers of paint, I splattered a bit of Picket Fence white Distress paint with a splatter brush for a snowy effect.

Season's Greetings is die cut from the Tim Holtz Handwritten Holidays Thinlits die set and his Metallic Kraft cardstock by Core-dinations.

My card was finished off with Tim Holtz Metallic Ribbon (TH93251) and matted onto Metallic Kraft Coredinations cardstock, then adhered to a green cardstock base.

Hey, I'm one card closer to completing my quota!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by,

Jan

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Leave a Little Sparkle Layout Tutorial

Hi everyone!  Today I have a tutorial on the Sizzix blog featuring this layout:

Hope you visit me there!

Jan

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"Wish" Canvas

Hello fellow crafters!  Well, November is here... I can't believe how October just flew by!  I'm starting off the season with this bit of Sizzix inspiration.

I have this small burlap canvas to share.

I first took a small burlap canvas that had a picture already on it.  I just applied white gesso to make a fresh start.

With the Sizzix Tim Holtz Sparkles Texture Fades Embossing folder, I embossed a piece of Metallic Kraft-Core paper (Tim Holtz).  I cut the piece slightly smaller than my canvas.  I had to emboss my paper two separate times as it was larger than the folder.  Lightly sand the paper.

I tore the edges of my paper before applying paint.  I painted the darker colour first, Evergreen Bough and Pistacio Distress paint.  Let this sit for a minute, and then lightly wipe off, leaving it more in the recessed areas.  I then applied Picket Fence Distress paint, and did the same thing.  For my canvas, I applied different Distress sprays - Brushed Pewter, Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough, and Picket Fence.  They were still a little damp, when I applied Picket Fence paint and the Tim Holtz Snowflake Stencil (THS050) to the one side of my canvas.  This gave my snowflakes a kind of watery look.  After my painted canvas had dried, I adhered my embossed metallic paper.

Next, I die-cut snowflakes with chipboard from Sizzix's Tim Holtz Snowflake Duo bigz die with texture fade.  I also die-cut the word "wish" from Sizzix's Tim Holtz Handwritten Wish bigz die, also with chipboard.

 

The "Wish" was painted white, then Glossy Accents applied on top.  The snowflakes, after embossed, were also painted white, then dry brushed with a combination of Evergreen Bough and Cracked Pistachio Distress paint.  I applied Rock Candy Distress Glitter  on top with Glossy Accents.  I also added a few more acrylic snowflakes from Tim Holtz Frozen Alpha Parts, that were also touched up with a bit of glitter.

Adhere these snowflakes and the "wish" to your canvas and you're done!  I'm not wishing for snow just yet, but I'm lovin' these kind of snowflakes over the real ones for now!

Thanks for stopping by,

Jan
           

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Wishing you all a happy halloween and hope you have a spooktacular evening. Here's a few projects to share with you!  

This frightful tag is made with Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft Core cardstock and his new Halloween thinlits dies.

I die cut 2 tags from the Tim Holtz Tag (656938) Sizzix die and his silver Metallic cardstock.  With one of the tags, I die-cut different words from the Tim Holtz Halloween Block Words, trying to cover the entire tag.  The Monster Thinlits die was used for my 3-D monster.  It was also die-cut using the Metallic cardstock.  I sanded the edges and inked with Ground Espresso Distress Ink, then assembled.

I glued the tag with the words cut out on top of the plain tag with Ranger's Matte Medium. The tag then was lightly sanded after the glue had dried.  I applied Ground Espresso Distress paint, waited for a bit, then wiped off the excess, leaving some in the recessed areas.  Matte this on black cardstock and trim slightly larger than the tag.

Pop dot the Monster to the tag and add in ribbon, charms.

This wreath was made using the Tim Holtz Coffins Bigz Die, Fall Foliage Thinlits Die Set, Bird Branch Bigz Die (I just cut off the bird and used the branch) and the Tattered Leaves Bigz die.  I cut out a round ring from a sheet of foam core by tracing a a circle and a smaller circle on the inside.  This was my base.  Next I used a hot glue gun and adhered the branches and leaves.  The coffins were assembled and adhered next.  I just added a wire for a hanger, a bow, charms, and a chipboard Happy Halloween.  My papers that I used for the coffins were from Authentique's collection, "Moonlit" and the chipboard piece was from the My Mind's Eye collection, "Something Wicked". The paper for the leaves were from various paper collections.

I can't foget my layout for Urban Scrapbook's monthly challenge:

Our kits this month included papers from Carta Bella, Tim Holtz Gothic Industrious Stickers, Wicked Alpha Parts, cardstock and a few other embellishments.

I die-cut my pumpkins out with the Tim Holtz Jack-O-Lantern Bigz die and the included burlap piece.    I used the Tim Holtz Undertaker stamp set and distress paint on my black background paper.  The little halloween cutouts were hand cut from my patterned paper and used on my garland.

Well, that's the last of my halloween projects for this year.  I loved all the different collections this year and enjoyed creating with them!  How about you?  It's on to Christmas and Winter themes now!

Have a great evening,

Jan

2

Vintage Christmas Church Tutorial

Hi everyone! Today I'm back with another project for the Tim Holtz Holiday Inspiration Series.  If you haven't been following along, make sure you drop by Tim's blog for the links to some great ideas using his new holiday releases.  His team of designers have really come up with some amazing projects.

For my project today, I have used Tim's new Sizzix Bigz XL die, Village Dwelling, along with the Bigz die Village Bell Tower.  The Village Dwelling is the foundation die and the Bell Tower is the add- on that turns the house into a church.  I've always loved those small frosty, glittered house ornaments, so I could hardly wait to make my own.

I love the vintage look so I decided to use a neutral colour for my house, giving it an old stone look.

I love these glass domes, and this one was waiting for something special to create inside.

Here's how I created my Vintage Church:

Diecut the house pieces in chipboard.  There are crease lines in this die, so it is recommended to use a Sizzix XL Crease Pad instead of one cutting pad.  When using this crease pad, the crease lines do not cut out(which can happen sometimes), and you get a nice crease.  The chipboard I have used isn't very thick, it's on the lighter side.  I thought that because the pieces are small, a thicker board would be hard to bend.

I gave my chipboard pieces a coat of Ranger's white gesso.  Gesso primes your surface for painting or applying different mediums.  Without this, the paint would soak into the chipboard and it also gives a nice white base for your colours.

I painted my pieces with a base coat of Walnut Distress Paint.  Let this dry.  Assemble the two house pieces.  On the Sizzix site, there are printable pdf instructions for your 3-d dies.  Just look up your die, and you will see the link underneath the description. These are usually a little more detailed than the ones on the back of your die photo.

To get the aged look, I apply a lighter colour with a dry brush technique.  I used Picket Fence Distress paint and put a small amount on a paint brush then swiping most of it off on a paper towel.  There's still enough on your brush, that when brushing on top of the brown pieces, it will leave lightly leave some colour.  If it's still not light enough, then repeat.

Assemble your house as per the instructions.  I forgot to put on my front posts on, but inserted them later.

Next I die-cut the Bell Tower pieces, also from chipboard.  These were also primed with Gesso.

These pieces were painted the same way, but for the windows and door, instead of Picket Fence paint on top, I used Peeled Paint (Green).  Assemble the tower and adhere to the house.  Adhere the door and windows also.

Once I had my house, tower, and base all assembled, I applied Ranger's Glossy Accents to the areas I wanted my Distress Rock Candy Glitter.  Some areas I applied the Glossy Accents quite thick, so it looked like snow.  Once the glitter was applied and the glossy accents have dried, lightly touch random areas that are glittered with Picket Fence distress paint.  I usually do with this with a bit of paint on my finger.

I wanted a circular base to glue everything to instead of my dome wood base, so I traced a piece of chipboard the same size.  I cut out a piece of patterned paper from Tim's Yuletide Paper Stash and adhered this on top.  Ink the edges.  

Next I die-cut quite a few Tim Holtz Holiday Greens, as I use them under the church and on top of the glass dome.  This is one of my favourite holiday dies, love these greens!  They were cut out from Metallic Silver Core-dinations kraft paper, Yuletide patterned paper, and Core-dinations Distressed Kraft paper.  These were also given the Glossy Accents and Distress Rock Candy Glitter treatment, but just randomly.

Set some aside for the glass top and the rest were adhered around the edge of my chipboard circle.  I have cut some apart for smaller pieces.  My house was adhered on top with a hot glue gun.  I should mention that after I had this piece all assembled, I was thinking that maybe I should have left it unattached in case I wanted a light inside.  Oh well, I will try that next time.  I really like that little square base on the bottom of the house, so if I was to put a tea light inside, I would probably cut a round hole (the size of a tea light) in the square base before adhering it to the house.  That way you could just place the light in the hole.  I would probably cover the windows from the inside with vellum or alcohol inked plastic if I was using a light.

For my Woodlands Trees (TH93049) I coloured them in a ziplock bag.  I just spray these three colours of Distress Spray Stain into the bag, and drop my tree in, close the opening, and smoosh it around.  Once the tree is dry, apply glossy accents to the ends and Rock Candy Distress glitter.  I've also wrapped Yuletide Tissue Tape(TH93242) around the wood tree base.  Once these had dried, I adhered them to my base.

I added a little snowflake from Frozen Alpha Parts (TH93246) that also had glossy accents and glitter added.  My wood base had a small rim, that I also covered it with the narrow Yuletide Tissue Tape.

On to the glass top!

With the rest of my glittered Holiday Greens, I adhered them to a piece of thin clear acrylic.  I find it easier to adhere these parts to a small base and then adhere that base to the piece.  I used acrylic so it wasn't visible on the  glass.  I also die-cut two pinecones from Tim's Sizzix Bigz Tattered Pinecone die and brown Distress Core-dinations Kraft paper.  I lightly sand the die-cut before removing it from the paper. Assemble the pinecone and apply Rocky Candy glitter with Glossy Accents.  Adhere with a hot glue gun to the greens.  

Before adhering this piece to my dome, I finished it off with a few Frozen Alpha Part snowflakes (glittered of course!) a Christmas Typed Token (TH93243) attached with a Looped Pin (TH93200) and a bow made from Metallic Trimmings (TH93251).  This was adhered to the top of my dome with glue dots.  

A few Frozen Alpa Parts Snowflakes were added randomly to the sides of the glass dome also.  I tried taking a photo of this,  it was really hard with the glass, but I also added some hanging snowflakes inside of the dome.  I used one of the larger Frozen Alpha Parts Snowflakes and tied three small snowflakes to it with invisible thread.  I left about fours inches of thread to let them hang down.  I then used large glue dots to adhere the large snowflake to the top inside of the glass.  You can't really see it because of the greens on top.

And there you have my Vintage Church under the Dome!  I'm already thinking of doing another house, this time it will be turquoise and white.  My mom is crazy for turquoise lately, so I think I will give it to her.  I'm going to try it on top of a box this time.  I was thinking even a vase turned upside down would work. With the greens on top, you wouldn't be able to tell that was the bottom.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have enjoyed all the holiday inspiration.  Thank you for all the kind comments throughout this, they are very much appreciated!

A big thank-you also, to Tim Holtz for asking me to be a part of this! 

Until next time,

Jan

47

SNOWMAN CARD SIZZIX TUTORIAL

For those of you who have started on their Christmas cards, today I have a tutorial on the Sizzix blog with this card:

Hope you join me there!

Jan

0

Altered Antique Camera Frame

Hi everyone!  Today I'm sharing the first of two projects for the Tim Holtz Inspiration Series using some of his 2015 holiday releases.  

Everyone who likes to make handmade gifts are always looking for new and unique ideas, so hopefully this will inspire you.  

I love going to antique stores or markets, always looking for items that I can either alter or just because I need to have them!  My husband always comments, where are we going to put that?  It's funny, because I drag him to these places, yet he's the one that purchases something even before I have barely looked at anything! Anyways, I have collected a few wood camera film frames and I use them as picture frames.

This is what they look like.  They used to put the glass or tin plates inside and use these in those beautiful old cameras.  I love the wood construction and patina on these.  

 The sides slide down and there's usually two parts on a fabric hinge, so when you pull them out they can bend like an easel. I really haven't researched what the reason for this is, but it is great for a stand up frame.

Instead of a photo in my frame, I've used a card from the Festive Ephemera Pack (TH93241).  This is matted on a piece of black Kraft Core Cardstock.  I used one of the Tim Holtz Sizzix Holiday Knit Thinlit dies (660981) to create a thin border around the red Kraft Core Frame.  I marked where my black mat was going to be and placed adhesive just along that edge.  I then adhered the zigzag strips from that die-cut.  You will need two of these cuts.  I lightly sanded the raised zigzag strips and adhered my picture.

I then matted that to another piece of black Kraft Core cardstock with pop-dots adhesive.  This was then adhered to my plaid patterned paper from the Tim Holtz Yuletide Paper Pack.

Before placing my picture into the wood frame, I cut out a piece of thin chipboard for support and adhered that with thin adhesive strips to the lip of the inside opening.  

My picture was then adhered to that and this is what it looks like in the frame.

Now for decorating the frame.  Using another piece from the Holiday Knit Thinlits set, I die-cut one piece out of red and one piece out of green Kraft Core Cardstock.  Before lifting the green paper out of the metal die, carefully turn it over making sure all the pieces are still inside.  I use scotch tape and tape the back lightly.  Just press lightly on the pieces that you want to stick to the tape and then carefully pull the paper away from the die.  The little pieces stay on the tape, or most of them do.  Then you just place the red piece of cardstock on top (with all the little pieces punched out) and the green fit perfectly inside.  Much easier than trying to place each one in individually.  I usually leave the tape on the back too.

This is what your piece looks like.

I decided to replace the two green deer with two black ones and for the dots, I just coloured them in with a fine tip marker.  Sand the edges and then mat with a piece of black cardstock.

                        

Adhere this with some strong adhesive to the top of your frame.

Next, I took one of the Tim Holtz Trophy Antlers and coloured him.  This was a bit challenging in the beginning.  I thought that a bit of Latte Alcohol Ink would colour it lightly, but for some reason my deer turned a bit purpley pink.  Oops!  Not sure if there was a bit of purple on the my Alcohol Ink lid or it was a reaction with the plastic, but it wouldn't come off, even when I tried to take it off with Alcohol blending solution.  I ended up colouring it with a Copic marker and then rubbing off the excess immediately.  It stayed in the recessed areas, and there's a bit of pink still, but I really like how it turned out.  Whew!  I covered the antlers with Glossy Accents, then poured Tarnished Brass Distress Glitter all over.  To finish him off, I took a small piece of Tim Holtz Boxwood Twine and wrapped it into a small oval.  Next I dabbed a bit of glossy accents on the leaves and sprinkled Rock Candy Distress glitter on them.  To finish off the green wreath, I hung a metal snowflake (a little white paint dabbed on it) from the Tim Holtz Adornment Snowflake pkg.

                     

When that was finished, I hot glued him to the sweater die-cut.

To decorate the bottom of my wood frame, I die-cut greens from the Sizzix Holiday Greens Thinlits die set (658759) from Yuletide papers and Tim's Metallic Kraft papers.  These were lightly sanded a inked.

Instead of gluing these directly onto the frame, I glued them onto a thin strip of cardstock and then adhered this to the frame.  I used a hot glue gun to glue my "Merry" Holiday Letterpress (TH93256) letters together and then these were glued to the greens.  I added in pieces of a holly paper die-cut, and a stamp from the Festive Ephemera pkg on the right side.  I then finished off with one of my deer cutouts from the sweater die, two Jingle Brads (TH93252), a Christmas Typed Token (TH93243), and a bow made from the Metallic Trimmings pkg. (TH93251)

Here's another look at my finished frame.

Hope you enjoyed my tutorial, and it inspires you to look for unusual items to turn into frames or altered items for gifts.  I know Paula (One Lucky Day) has inspired me many times with using different vintage items such as vintage Cigar Boxes, wood boxes , jewelry boxes, all sorts of things that could be frames or shadow boxes.  Just do me a favour, don't buy up all those camera frames.. save a few for me!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by,

Jan

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