Favorite Ornaments

Each Friday, Scrap It Girl asks everyone to post their favorites.

Today, she asked us to post our favorite ornament to make. For me, this was easy … I love to make ornaments and I love to make ones with a little dome on them by Globecraft & Piccolo. They are so versatile and so much fun to make.

This time, I opted to make one featuring products from Elizabeth Craft Designs.

I started by tracing the outer edge of the frame onto a piece of paper. Then I cut well inside of the line to create the back of the ornament.

I placed it on top of the center ring, which I had already painted white.

 

Next, I cut out pieces of the candle from Velvet paper and Shimmer Sheetz. I lightly inked the candle and wax.

I added a couple of sprigs cut out of cardstock and Glitter Dots.

I inked the top ring and then embossed it with an embossing folder. I then took ink and ran it over the top of the ring to highlight the embossing.

I put the dome on and added Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive around it. Then I put on the ring and used clothespins to hold it in place white drying.

I finished it off with a jingle bell and a couple of pre-made ribbons.

What do you think?

 

 

 

Mosaic Candle

I love to push the envelope with my scrapbook supplies. They are expensive and I like to see what else I can do with them.

I purchased some candles at IKEA recently, with the idea of decorating them with stamps and giving them as gifts for the holiday season. Then my mind got to wandering and I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if I could put a photo on a candle?

As I processed that, I realized I could create a mosaic candle and that would really be cool!

Please understand that this is my first attempt and I learned some things along the way that could make a second candle (or your candle) much better.

Here’s how I did it:

First, I gathered a sheet of Mosaic Moments paper in white, so it would vanish into the candle. I also grabbed a candle, my photos, a ruler, a knife and my Mosaic Moments mat.

I measured how large I wanted the mosaic image and cut my paper accordingly. Then, I cut up my photos and applied them to the paper the same way I would if I was creating a page in my scrapbook.

Once that was finished, I cut a piece of tissue paper slightly smaller than an 8.5×11″ piece of cardstock and taped it all around the edges. It is important to get the tissue paper totally flat and secured all the way around the page. Otherwise, it will tear in your printer and you will have to dig out little sheets of tissue paper. (This is not fun, trust me).

Then, I made a copy of mosaic and printed it on the tissue paper. I let it dry for a while and then I cut out the image and, with my heat tool, melted it into the candle until it looked like this:

The cool part is it worked and the tissue paper became part of the candle.

I also learned that you should stick with scenery … notice how blurry the photo of me ended up when printed on tissue paper …

I also learned that you might want to start with a smaller image, rather than trying to wrap it all the way around the candle. Mine got off somewhere and I ended up with some folds and wrinkles.

But, I still love how it looks and I plan to make more to perfect the technique!

Winter sparkle

You can be sure of one thing when you live in Michigan — during the winter, the days are short and generally cloudy.

Christmas lights and holiday fun helps get me through November and December, but when the decorations come down in January, the cloudy, dark days can easily bring a person down.

So, I decided to extend the sparkle of the holidays right through winter by making an elegant candle holder.

I started with an inexpensive, plain votive cup. (I got mine at the Goodwill store for less than a dollar.)

At first, I planned to add just a bit of sparkle to the bottom third of the cup, so I started with strips of 1/4 inch Sticky Tape, like this.

Leaving the top of the tape on, I went in between the lines with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and added a light layer of  glue.

NOTE: You will want to use your Microfine Metal Tip for this and really spread the glue around. If you put it on too thick, it may drip down the side of the glass.

On the glue, I sprinkled Ultrafine Transparent Glitter in Blue Rain (120).

Then, I peeled off the covering on the tape and added Faux Snow. And this is where I got a bit carried away … In fact, I loved the look of the Faux Snow so much, I used Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to cover almost the entire exterior of the cup! It reminded me of a sparkly sweater and I just kept going and going.

Then, using my finger, I applied a little adhesive to the top rim and dipped it in some additional glitter.

I let the cup dry over night and then gently brushed off the excess.

Naturally, I wanted a little more added to the votive. I found a couple of clear beads from Maya Road in my stash and went to work making embellishments for my votive.

The first one has a flat back, so I used Art Glitter’s Very Black Permanent Stamp Pad and a Tim Holtz snowflake stamp to add a bit of design to the back.

I then heated it to set the ink, covered the back lightly with a layer of Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and dusted it with the same Blue Rain glitter I used on the glass.

Then, I thought that as beautiful as this white and silvery votive was, I still might like a little color. So, I took a smaller bead and covered one side with adhesive and then a layer of Microfine Opaque Bahaman Blue (512).  Because the surface was not flat, this was a bit more difficult and I had to repeat the process once the first layer was dry. Keep in mind that if you do the same, make sure to smear the adhesive with your finger … Designer Dries Clear Adhesive can dry with a bit of dimension that you will be able to see in your finished product if you don’t smear it out.

Next, I attached a bit of ribbon and a few jump rings.

But, it still didn’t feel quite finished to me.

So, I adhered a piece of Sticky Paper to a scrap of white cardstock and then ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot with the small bird die from Tim Holtz. Then, I removed the protective layer off of the Sticky Paper and covered the image in the same Blue Rain glitter. For a final touch, I added an eye with Ranger’s Liquid Pearls and then attached it to the votive with Designer Dries Clear Adhesive. Because I was attaching it to the Faux Snow on glass, I had to hold it for a minute or two before it took hold.

Then, I inserted a flameless tea light and …

CAUTION: I have no idea how Faux Snow or glitter will hold up to heat or a flame, so I would recommend ONLY using flameless lights inside the votive. They are safer and just as pretty!

This is sure to keep the winter blues away!

I received Art Glitter products in exchange for this post.

Return to Christmas

OK … Back to Christmas …

After a few years of making gifts for loved ones, it becomes challenging to come up with new ideas. So, this year I tried something completely different and came up with this for my sister-in-law (who, hopefully, doesn’t read my blog).

While this technique certainly isn’t new, it is the first time I have tried it. I suppose it was fear that kept me away before. Now that I know how easy it is, I’m guessing I’ll be doing quite a bit of candle decor!

I started with a simple green, scented pillar candle.

I stamped images (Vintage Christmas Clear Art Stamps from Crafty Secrets) and stamped them onto leftover tissue paper with black ink.

I then cut out the images as close as I could get to the edges without cutting them.

Next, I laid the image on the candle and carefully heated it with a heat gun (Ranger’s is my favorite).

This is where the magic begins! You will want to heat it until the wax gets shiny and then let it cool. Keep heating and cooling until the tissue paper vanishes and it looks like you stamped directly onto the candle. I used the back of a plastic spoon to help push the tissue paper into the wax during this process.

It is really that simple. But, it is also addictive, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!