Christmas Greeting kit

Hello friends,

I thought I would share that I have just a few of the Christmas Greetings kit left. This is my only Christmas kit for 2024. Of course I will have more kits coming in 2025 so if it's too late for Christmas, waiting for Spring is the option. Thanks everyone!

This 9 x 9-inch wood panel captures the essence of Christmas with a dashing toy soldier at its center. Standing tall and proud in his vibrant red uniform, the soldier exudes holiday cheer! Behind the toy soldier, a mosaic background adds a touch of nostalgic charm. Together, they create a timeless scene that captures the magic of the season. The kit includes everything you need to make this project, including full packages of Salvaged Figures, Christmas Ephemera, Christmas Pocket Cards + all the bits and bobs. The kit also includes comprehensive written instructions, four pages of color step-out photos and supply list. As always, delightfully packaged with care. *kit does not include wet mediums like glue, paint, foundry wax, etc.

Click on the link below if you wish to purchase the kit.  The link will take you directly to PayPal.  

If you wish to pay with debit or credit card, click on the box at the bottom of the PayPal login page (you do not need a PP account). 

The total cost for the kit is $90.00 + $8 shipping (US domestic).

Instant purchase link:

CLICK HERE

Now Carry On,

Paula

Emporium Vignette

Hello friends,

I had a wonderful weekend and I hope you did too. I did some Christmas shopping on Saturday, had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants (Wood Ranch), then decorated my tree on Sunday after church. That is my kind of weekend!

I've been working on this project for a few days (in between other stuff) and finally get to share it today. I was inspired by the new Emporium Layers pack. I think it's super fun, with such great graphics, that I really wanted to celebrate all the imagery that is in the pack. So lets get started and I can show you how I put this together.

First off here is a look at Emporium. It has 84 pieces of vintage looking cards, strips and circles.

I used 3 Vignette Boxes for this project (I did not use the smallest one from the pack). Collage Medium was used to cover the two largest Vignette Boxes with Emporium cards and strips. This probably took the most time because there are so many cards and strips to choose from!

I used strips on the sides and just cut off the excess.

Then I sanded the edges to age the surface.

Next up, Walnut Stain Distress Crayon. I put it on heavy then wiped away the excess.

I also added Cello Tape Stickers to some of the edges to make it look like the cards were taped together. More Distress Crayon gave me the dark build up around the tape strip.

The last box (next size down from the last two) is the only one I added Christmas Backdrop paper to.

On the back is another card from the Emporium pack.

I drilled holes into all three boxes for the Tiny Lights.  The bottom box will hide the light pack. The center box will hide the thick parts of the Tiny Lights. The Tiny Light wire will come up through the corner of the small box and into the lantern. The next few photos will help to explain the steps to add the lights.

Add the lights to the largest box for easy access. I use thin foam squares to adhere the battery pack to the box.

Snip off the light string so there are only 3 lights left connected to the thick portion of the light string and battery pack. You can do it...just cut the wire and throw away the excess (and no, you cannot use it for something else).

Add Collage Medium to the medium box then quickly thread the short light string through the drilled hole.

Place the medium box on the large box with the light string on the right side.

Add more Collage Medium to the bottom of the small box and thread the light string through the hole in the bottom.

Place box on the base. You will have enough time to fidget with the placement of the box before the thick Collage Medium dries.

Use Collage Medium to add a Wood Slice into the corner, then leave the box stack to dry (at least 30 minutes, but an hour is even better).

Lets work on all the parts while the boxes are drying.

Lantern: 

Paint with Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint. Once paint is dry, sand with soft steel wool. Use a small brush to add Silver Mixative to the lantern (clean brush with Isopropyl Alcohol after use). When the Mixative is dry, scribble Walnut Stain Crayon onto Studio mat. Pick up with a damp brush and go over the painted lantern parts to age.

Alpine Trees:

Spray two Alpine trees with Bundled Sage Distress Spray. Dry with a heat tool.

Paint the bases red using Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint. Let dry completely.

Use your fingertip to add Texture Paste Snow to the trees.

NOTE: I added a small third tree during the making phase. I just repeated the steps to make one more.

Salvaged Snowman and Toy Solider:

Next up I painted a SMALL Salvaged Snowman. You can use any colors you want for the scarf, mittens and broom, but the black top hat for me is non-negotiable! 

I added Walnut Stain Distress Crayon (using a damp brush to move it around and to get into the eyes). Once that was dry, I randomly added patches of Glossy Accents to adhere Rock Candy.

NOTE: I also painted the Toy Solider that comes in the pack to use on the back (not sure why I didn't take his photo!)

Festive Marquee:

Use Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint to paint one of the sentiments that come in the pack. Once dry, sand with soft steel wool.

Baubles:

Baubles are colored with Alcohol Ink. To me, you could use most any color to color these. I chose not to use traditional colors, but more muted reds and greens.

I used the colors Moss, Cranberry, Pink Sherbet, and Citrus. 

Once I had the color on the Baubles, I added just a bit of Mushroom and shook the Baubles again to coat. Then I sprayed them a couple times with Isopropyl Alcohol to soften the finish.

*Set the baubles aside until the snowman has been added.

Time to start adding what you prepped!

Thread the light into the Lantern and glue the Lantern onto the Wood Slice. Only one light is up inside the lantern, the other two left on the string are in the base.

While the Lantern is drying, add the Alpine Trees and then the Snowman. I used Collage Medium for all.

I added the Christmas Decorations sign (also from the Emporium Pack) to the top of the box with Scor-Tape. There are two sizes in the pack. This is the smaller one.

NOTE: at this point I left the room to go work on the laundry. This gave the Collage Medium time to cure, which made the next step (adding the Baubles) much easer because the Salvaged Snowman and the Lantern were secure when I came back.

I used Collage Medium and a 1/2" brush to add the glue to the Baubles...just stacking them up till you could see them in the background behind the Salvaged Snowman.

Adding snow around the trees and snowman came next. I used a small palette knife to add Texture Paste Opaque in sections. I finished the front (including the extras) then added the paste to the back, so I was always working the fresh Texture paste. 

While the Texture Paste is still wet, add more Baubles to the scene.

Then sprinkle Mica Flakes over the top.

Notice that I added the third tree at this point!

I worked my way to the back adding a Toy Soldier, Candy Cane (covered in Rock Candy) and more Baubles. The Seasons Greeting circle is also from the Emporium pack.

Then the Festive Marquee was added with Collage Medium right along the front. I love that it fits perfectly!

You could obviously add any number of embellishments to this scene...more snow, more Baubles...but I like where its at. Simple and straightforward. Honestly, there is nothing hard about this make, just pure and simple whimsy.

Cheers!

Now carry on,

paula

Pastel Christmas Box

Hello friends,

I'm happy to be sharing my Pastel Christmas Box with you today. I made this project as part of the Tim Holtz idea-ology Christmas LIVE but just sharing the how-to's now that December has rolled around. I didn't take too many step-out photos of the project because when I'm making for a LIVE, I just keep pushing forward to get as many projects done as possible. Not much time for picture taking!

I started the box with the outside so I could let it dry while I worked on all the inside pieces. Honestly, you could just add paper or paint and be done, but I wanted to take it further by adding snowflakes to the outside. So first I painted the entire out side of the box with Distress Paint in Picket Fence. Next, I used the snowflake from the Vault Winter Wishes pack, cutting about 9 snowflakes from Distress Watercolor Cardstock. Once the paint was dry, I used Collage Medium to add the snowflakes to the box. This took some time to add the snowflake and make sure each little piece was adhered well.

I also matched the snowflakes on the sides so they appear to wrap around the box. 

And just to "gild the lily", I decided to paint over the entire outside of the box with Texture Paste Sparkle. It is hard to see in the photo but in person it looks like old fashion glitter has been added. Once the Sparkle Paste was dry, I sprayed a small amount of Distress Spritz Weathered Wood for more silvery shine. 

NOTE: I left the box overnight to completely cure before starting on the inside.

The next day I drilled a hole in the bottom corner to add the Tiny Lights.

Woodland Tree:

I used a hot glue gun to add a Woodland Tree to an idea-ology Barrel. The Barrel is the perfect size for the tree and once I add some "snow" (paint) it will fit right in.
Next I colored Baubles for the Woodland Tree using Alcohol Inks in Juniper, Cosmopolitan and Dandelion. I also added a bit pf Smudge over each color to make them look vintage. Again, hot glue was used to add the Baubles into the tree.

I wiped Collage Medium over the tree with my index finger, then sprinkled Mica Flakes over the top so they fall into place, rather than tamping them down with your hand.

Bottom Compartment:

For the inside of the Divided Drawer, I used light colored paper from the Christmas 2024 Backdrops pack in keeping with the pastel theme. 

Once the paper was in place, I took a large window transparency from the Christmas 2024 Baseboard Pack and added 1/4" Scor-Tape to the long sides (where the green line is below). I placed the transparency into the box so the transparency is flush to the back wall, but then wraps up the sides, so there are no hard edges. Once you have the right placement, you can press on the Scor-Tape to adhere to the sides of the box. I loved the way the window looked but I wanted to mask some of the print from the Backdrop paper. I decided to paint a thin layer of Collage Medium directly on the transparency then sprinkle with Rock Candy. Once dry, you can dump out the excess (I let mine dry naturally since using a heat tool may warp the transparency). You will never see the bottom third of the compartment so the Rock Candy does not have to reach the bottom of the box.

As for the other pieces in the compartment, I used 3 small wood blocks that I covered with ephemera or painted and stamped with my favorite Stampers Anonymous Polka Dot stamp. These and the small Baubles helped to disguise the Tiny Light wire running behind the tree and lamp post.

Once the wood boxes are secure, add the Snowflake Figure Stand and the small Baubles.

NOTE: I did add a small wood block to the back of the lamp post to keep it steady.

Top Compartment:

Add pastel paper to the compartment with Collage Medium. I also used Distress Crayon to aged the pink paper.

The large Salvaged Deer was covered with Silver Mixative (you could also use Foundry Wax). Then I rubbed a bit of Mushroom Alcohol Ink over the top (you could also use Walnut Stain Crayon if you don't have Mushroom AI).

I cut a piece of Woodland Garland to fit around the neck of the deer. Once I had the right length, I cut off the back bristles so the garland would lay nicely around the deer's neck. I wrapped the garland around the neck, then hot glued the ends together before adding a pink bow.

The ephemera in the background and foreground are from the Christmas 2024 Ephemera pack. The back piece (postcard), I aged with ink then crumpled when wet. Once dry, I painted both sides with Collage Medium (for stability)...the CM will really help the postcard keep its shape over time. The sentiment in the front was just painted with Collage Medium on both sides (again for stability). The Rock Candy was added only to the front side then added to the structure.

I hope you like my pastel Christmas Box. I know it is different than the traditional Christmas colors but it still seems like it could fit in some homes at Christmastime. I really love the way the Tiny Lights hit the Rock Candy and make the entire background glow! That part is just perfection to me!

Now carry on,

paula