Peace on Earth Christmas Tag

 Hello friends,

This might not seem like a Christmas post, but it is!  I was challenged by Tim to create a Christmas decor project using Villainous Potion.  Purple for Christmas?  I felt like someone competing on Chopped, when they give them bacon in the dessert round! lol!  As you can see, I worked it out!  I felt that if I could keep in the neutral zone with a bit of added green, it could work.  Lets get started!

Begin with a SMALL Etcetera Tag. Use Collage Medium to adhere paper from the Christmas Backdrops paper pack. Trim away the excess paper.  Then seal with another coat of Collage Medium, rubbing it into the paper with your hands to get rid of the brush marks (it also dries quicker).  Once the Collage Medium was dry, add a bit of Villainous Potion Distress Paint to the left side.  Then using a wet wipe, pull the paint across the tag, left to right.  Wipe off as much as you wish, leaving a film of purple. Let dry.

*I did not cut the hole at the top of the tag, but you definitely could. 

Squeeze a bit of Picket Fence Distress Paint onto craft mat.  Use your Distress Splatter brush to flick paint over the tag crating a snow like finish.  Let paint dry. 

*Remember to rinse out splatter brush with water.

Now that we have the base done, we can get started on the rest of the embellishments.

SHELF

Vignette Panels

Rock Candy Glitter

Texture Paste Crackle

Etcetera Trim Pinked (WIDE) - painted with Pickett Fence Distress Paint

Mini Icicles

Glossy Accents 

Collage Medium 

Palette Knife

Glitter Duster (optional)

Step 1: Paint the entire piece of Etcetera Trim with Pickett Fence Distress Paint
Step 2: Using Collage Medium, glue two Vignette Panels together * the bottom panel is the same width as the Small Etcetera Tag. The other panel is slightly smaller.
Step 3: Using a Palette Knife, smear Crackle Texture Paste over the Vignette Panel stack, leaving some of the bare wood showing.  Using your fingers (or a Glitter Duster), sprinkle Rock Candy Glitter over wet Crackle Paste. Set aside to dry for at least 30 - 40 minutes.

Step 4: Use your finger to wipe Glossy Accents over two Mini Icicles. Sprinkle Rock Candy Glitter over the glue and let dry. Tap off excess glitter and return to the jar. Let dry completely.

Step 5: Once the Texture Paste is dry, use Collage Medium to glue the Etcetera Trim - pinked side towards the back (this will be entirely covered later in the process) to the stacked Vignette Panel.  NOTE:  I used blue painters tape to secure the trim to the panels until the glue was dry.

Step 6: Use Glossy Accents to adhere the Icicles to the front of the Etcetera Trim.

NOTE: I slipped a little wood blocks under the Icicles to hold them up while they dried in place. 

Step 7: Rub Picket Fence Paint over Word Plaque.  Wipe away excess paint, revealing the words.  Sprinkle Rock Candy Glitter over the remaining paint and let dry.  Use a small piece of sand paper to sand over the words and reveal the metal again.

Step 8: Add the Word Plaque to the right side of the panel with a little Collage Medium. Then use a nails from the Vignette Hardware pack + small hammer to add a touch of whimsy.  As you can see in the picture above, I did not drive the nails all the way into the wood (the reason the Plaque had to be glued to the panel).  I also wiped white paint on the top of the nail.

Step 9:  Use Collage Medium to adhere the Vignette Panel to the Tag.

Step 10: add a strip of white cotton batting to the shelf - this batting covers the pinked edge at the back, making the pinked edge a non-issue (no one but you will know it's there).

WOODLAND TREE

Step 11: Place Bubbles into a disposable container.  Drip Statue Alloy over Bubbles and roll around the container.  Drip a small amount of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol over the Bubbles and roll around again, breaking up the metallic finish. Dump out onto the craft sheet or a paper plate to dry.

Once dry, they should look similar to a gold version of Mercury Glass.

Step 12:You can color your Woodland Tree any color you wish.  I used Iced Spruce which comes out a darker green-gray color but again, you do you! 

Step 13: The tree needs to sit flat against the tag so you will need to trim off the back of the tree before moving forward. Use a hot glue gun to add the Bubble "ornaments" to the tree.  I like to squeeze the glue into the tree, then push the "ornament" into the hot glue so they sit in the tree.  You might notice I added a simple piped cleaner garland around the tree.  The pipe cleaners you buy at the craft store are VERY silver.  You can make them look vintage by swiping across with Mushroom Alcohol on a Blending Tool. It's very simple but it makes a big difference.

CURIO FRAME

Step 14: Using Villainous Potion Distress Ink, stamp an image from the Holiday Scenes stamp set on Watercolor paper.  Use a Detailer Water Brush to color in areas with Villainous Potion, Fossilized Amber and Rustic Wilderness Distress Ink.

Step 15: Use a small paint brush to add Collage Medium over the snow, then sprinkle Rock Candy Glitter over the top. I know you can not detect it in the photo but in person it really does shine.

Step 16: I wanted a substantial frame for the scene.  I couldn't make it bigger but I could make it thicker.  So I glued TWO Curio Frames together (I used an oval frame behind the one you see).  Once they were secure, I cut the scene to fit then used Scor-Tape to adhere the scene to the back of the stacked frames, giving it an almost shadowbox feel.

Now to bring all the pieces together...

Decide on placement for the tree and Curio frame before securing either item.  

Step 17: Add the tree to the tag with hot glue.  I like to add it at the bottom and the back.

Step 18: Adhere the Curio Frame with Collage Medium so it can be adjusted close to the tree.  

You can see that by adding the two frames together, it created enough thickness to be able to add seasonal Grit-Paste Snowfall along the top.

Step 19: Wrap ribbon around the entire tag and end with a bow on the left side.  You can use any ribbon you like - for mine I used Crinkle Ribbon, dying it first with Villainous Potion Distress Ink.  Once the bow was scrunched tied, I sprayed it with aerosol hairspray to keep the shape.

Step 20:  Add embellishments to the shelf.  I used a deer from the Ephemera pack, two wood slices and a couple jingle bells.  What you can't see in the photo? the small wood block that I painted black that is holding the deer in place.  Well, if you look close, right at the deer's back you can make out the black wood block.  I also used a paint brush and dabbed the batting so I could sprinkle Mica Flakes over the top!

Step 21: Use Mushroom Alcohol Ink to color at least 6 Mirrored Stars, then add them to the tag with Collage Medium.

I know purple is not the typical color for Christmas, so remember you can take the ideas here and transform it to what ever color you want!!

Now carry on (I have to get back to decorating!),
paula

Every Adventure is Worthwhile

Hello friends,

I am sharing a fun fall make today that I created using a few pieces of paper and ink.  Very simple elements combined can create a something so much more!  Follow along and I'll show you how I did it (you might be surprised!)

The cover was actually done LAST - something I do often because I like the book to inform me of it's look and purpose before I figure out what the cover should look like. 

Here I used a Stencil Card sprayed with Villainous Potion Oxide Ink for a bold background.  I then used the Tonic Deckle Trimmer to cut a piece of gold metallic cardstock. The cardstock edges were sanded and inked to create a dark border.

Next, I added the sprayed Stencil Card to the metallic paper, then stitched around the card on three sides with light blue thread.  You will see that the book itself is sprayed with ink so this metallic cover is really a nod to the gold embossing on the inside of the book and completely covers the sprayed surface of the paper.

In this angle you can see that the metallic paper is glued to the front of the zig zag book. 

The leaf stamp was embossed with Villainous Potion Embossing Glaze.

The velvet band simply slips on and off the book to keep it secure.

Creating the Book

You will need two sheets of 8 1/2 x 11" Distress Mixed Media paper.

Cut each sheet in half so you get FOUR PIECES 4 1/4 x 11"

Fold and score each sheet at 4 1/4"

Three pieces stay as they are, but one piece needs the 2 1/2" cut off the end.  That is the last piece to be put in place when you assemble the book.

Any background stamp can be used for this portion.  I used the Stampers Anonymous Ornate stamp (CMS348) to do the stamping on mine.  

Distress Oxide ink in Villainous Potion + Bundled Sage

No block used

1. Pounce ink over stamp image
2. Spritz ink with water
3. Press onto paper using both first generation and second generation stamping.
4. Dry with heat tool, then repeat.

Once dry, use the Tonic Deckle Edge Trimmer to cut the 2 1/2 end of the paper.  Using the Deckle Trimmer or any other decorative edge will shave an 1/8" off the paper (and that is okay!).   The deckle cut edge is the edge of the pocket you will create in the next steps.

Note: Do not cut the piece that is only two squares of the paper, it is not necessary.

To combine the paper strips and create a pocket between the papers, you must overlap the 2 1/2" end of the first strip with the left end (4 1/4") of another strip.

You will repeat this 3 times to create 3 pockets.

The last piece added is the one that is just two 4 1/4" squares since no other pocket is needed.

You can keep the book as is or go one step further, which I did.

I decided I wanted a deeper color for the background so I spritzed it with Peeled Paint Spray Stain.  Once I did that I went back and stamped a few times with the Ornate stamp in just Villainous Potion for a bolder look.  I think I needed to do this to hold up to the visual weight of the dark cards I created next.

Set book aside to create the cards.

This is a process of steps.  Read through all the steps before starting.  

I created 5 cards so I could pick the best 4 of the group to use in the book.

I cut as many 3 1/2 x 3 3/4" cards as you wish to create from Distress Mixed Media cardstock.

I created each card, start to finish, before moving on to the next card.

Spray card with Fossilized Amber Distress Spray Stain.  Dry with heat tool.

Lay an idea-ology Stencil Card over the top of the sprayed card and spray with Villainous Potion Oxide Spray.  Dry with a heat tool.

Use a damp wet wipe (with a VERY light touch) to wipe over the card to re-activate the Oxide ink.  I went across the card and then down the card to purposefully create directional lines.  Again, I dried it with a heat tool.

Next, I spritzed Distress Ink in Salvaged Patina and a bit of Fossilized Amber.  I tested the spray on another piece of paper to see how the ink came out of the bottle before spritzing the card.  I wanted it to dribble out!

I dried it, spritzed it with a bit of water and patted it dry again.  This is not an exact science so having more cards than I needed gave a little peace of mind.

I reused the same stencil card over and over to create my cards.  I liked all but the the top right as it got too dark, so that one went into the trash, keeping the 4 cards I was happy with.

The card I have shown in the step-outs is on the bottom left.

Don't forget to round the corners of the cards.  This can be done before or after embossing.

The next step is to emboss the cards.

Nature's Wonder stamp (CMS343) + gold embossing powder = magic over the dark cards!

I do like to use the little Embossing Powder Magic Bag over the paper before embossing to control the powder bits getting away from me.

Once embossed, I stamped the sentiments and sewed them to the cards with light blue thread leaving the threads long.

I also added four THIN foam squares to the back of each card t adhere to the book when I am ready.

I created a second set of cards (same exact size as the first) - these were made to go into the pockets.

This time I used the same leaf stamps but in a different way.

1. Stamp each card with a text stamp using Hickory Smoke Archival Ink.
2. Pounce Distress Oxide Ink on craft mat, spritz with water.  Press edges of the cards into the ink and dry with heat tool, patting off the excess Oxide ink with a paper towel. Dry with a heat tool.
3. Press multiple Oxide Ink pads directly onto the stamp.  Spritz with water and stamp card.  If you have never tried this before, test stamping on a scrap paper before stamping the cards - I also do this to test color combinations since some colors will overwhelm others.  Dry with heat tool.
4. Press Salvaged Patina Oxide Ink onto craft mat. Add a drop of water to the ink.  Pick up with a small paint brush and flick over the surface of the cards.  Dry with heat tool.
5. Add words from the Clipping Sticker Book.
6. Use the same paint brush and the leftover Salvage Patina Oxide ink to watercolor under or around the Clippings Stickers.

Here are photos of the book pages, starting with what would be the second square of the first strip (right before the pocket comes into play.

The photobooth photos were lightly sanded and colored with Oxide Inks using a small paint brush.

Seriously one of my favorites - I could have made the cards over and over!  I love the addition of Salvaged Patina to the mix.  That bit of turquoise just makes the Villainous Potion pop!  
now carry on,
paula