Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from Paradise Lost & the Emerald Creek Design Team

2015 is quickly coming to an end and what a year it has been for me!

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be living in Edmonton, Alberta,  have my own blog and be on a design tem I would thought they were crazy! 

But here I am and I am so happy! 

I hope, that no matter how you spend this holiday season, you are able to spend time with your family & friends making memories! I really appreciate each and every single of you that follow or visit my blog ~ you bring crafty inspiration into my life and I am forever grateful!

Now on to my Holiday project for Emerald Creek Craft Supplies.

This project is a bit of a de-stash project, with  a whole lot of Sizzix dies, Tim Holtz Idea-ology and my favourite charms & embossing powders from Emerald Creek.

 I used a 6 frame shadow box from KaiserCraft that I had in my stash. The 'Merry Christmas' sign sitting on top is also a KaiserCraft and a long time lurker in my stash.
Let's take a closer look at each box and some of the techniques I used.

Oh! Look! More KaiserCraft! I decided that these wood veneer 'ornaments' would make a great base for a wreath. I first used Barn Door & Lucky Clover Distress Stains to add colour before using Walnut Stain Ink to tone down the bright colours. Festive Foliage die set was used for the wreath and I added a few Pinecone charms from Emerald Creek Craft Supplies.

I bought a set of Tim Holtz Holiday LetterPress just for this project. I added some Distress Paint before dipping my letters in Distress Crackle Clear Rock Candy. I just love the look of this stuff when it dries!

I just love bottle brush trees. I usually will tint my trees with Distress Stain but for this project I decided to leave them natural. Except in the next frame - I decided to add some Soft Fallen Snow Embossing Powder from Emerald Creek Craft Supplies to the tips to give my tree a frosty feel.

 The Candy Cane Charms from Emerald Creek Craft Supplies

make the perfect decoration for my mini tree. I added some Poppy Red alcohol ink from Ranger for a bit of colour.

The burlap panel is hard to see in the background but here is another photo of it while I was working on it. I used some Soft Fallen Snow embossing powder mixed with transparent 3D gel to add a snow texture to the edges of this panel. I used the same mixture with my snowflake layering stencil.

Here is the snowflake panel used in another frame with some stacked snowflakes dies and Snowflake charms from Emerald Creek

I couldn't resist using a few Found Relatives for this Holiday project & Festive Ephemera

 from Tim Holtz.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today and I wish you and your loved one an very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday!

Please take some time to visit the rest of the Emerald Creek Design Team for more holiday inspiration.

Diana Hetherington

Cathy Potosky

Katelyn Grosart 

Karon

Claudia
Shilpa

Check out the new challenge at the Emerald Creek Challenge blog 

for a chance to win a $25 credit to the online store

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year....my Tim Tag for December

It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm looking forward to spending time with kids who are both back 

home from college ~ we have plans to decorate the tree & bake cookies!

Before I pack up the car and head back to Calgary, I wanted to share my take on Tim's tag.

Here are my tag bases I did. I wasn't sure which one I was going with at first but I 

decided to save the lucky clover argyle one for another project.

The tree is from an old Sizzix die I had and I think its called Christmas Tree #2. That was going to be the base for my next technique.

This is the same technique Tim used to make his wreath except I used my Holiday Greens Thinlit dies to make my tree.

I added a sentiment from the Occasions Small Talk and some splattered Picket Fence Distress Paint along with a few alcohol inked stars and some jute along the edges.

Another finished tag for 2015!

I am already so excited for 2016 and looking forward to more wonderful inspiration from Tim Holtz!

I wish you a very Merry Christmas & a happy and crafty new year!

Thank you so much for popping by my blog today.

 I hope I was able to inspire you even just a little bit! 

~~stay crafty~~

julia

Challenges Entered:
Tim Holtz - 12 Tags of 2015 December
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
 

4 Quick Christmas Cards

Just when I thought I was all caught up & organized I wake up in a cold sweat at 3am this morning and remember 2 people I forgot to mail Christmas cards to. 

Oh no! I had no cards left! 

So I was up early and in my craft room by 7am so I could make more cards

 and get them in the mail by noon.

First up ~ pick a colour scheme

Next I grab a 9"x12"sheet of 140lb cold press watercolour paper & then I began to

apply drops of distress paint and spread them around with a soft brush.

I started with the greys and then the red from lightest to darkesk, using my heat gun to dry the paint before applying more layers.

 I forgot to take more photos of this step as I was so into creating the the layers.

The far left photo shows the watercolour paper trimmed to four 4.25' x 6" card fronts.

Next I inked the edges with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink & used 4 of my Tim Holtz Layering stencils to add some more depth. It was time to add a few more details using sequins, Sizzix dies, stamping and embossing powders.

Check out the cool die cut snowflakes from Southern Ridge Trading Co. that I used on this first card.

Amazing right? Check them out for some awesome die cut chipboard images.

I used Picket Frence Ditress paint on these then covered with Soft Fallen Snow embossing powder from Emerald Creek Craft Supplies.

I am happy to report that 2 of these cards made it to the 

post office by noon and I have 2 cards to spare. Just in case. ;)

 Thank you so much for visiting my blog and I hope you have an amazing day!

~~stay crafty~~

julia

Challenges Entered:
Anything But Cute: You've Got Happy Mail
Frilly & Funkie: 'Tis The Season 
Case-ing Christmas: Challenge #38 Anything Goes 
Try It On Tuesday: Snowflakes & Winter Whites 
Southern Ridge Trading Company - Christmas Words

Our Amazing Life.....De-Stash Project #4

I have another De-Stash Project to share and this is using my last metal frame from Prima. I am half sad and half excited. Sad that this is my last metal frame but excited that these frames are finally out of the stash and on display. 

My goal for this project was to use up the last of these fabric flowers. 

Unfortunately, they were patterned yellow & black fabric flowers.

No worries, a coat of gesso and couple coats of Distress Paints and they were perfect for my project.

A chipboard leafy vine from Dusty Attic ~ a coat of gesso, stamped with a pattern, coloured with Distress Paint and finally finished off with Bronze Distress Paint ~ perfect for my birdhouse frame.

I can't have a birdhouse without a bird so I just had to use this crowned bird from Leaky Shed. My wee bird is sitting in a nest I picked up at the dollar store last year.

I had a few bricks left over from my De-stash Project #1 so I had to use them to add some texture to the outside edges of my frame.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today. 

Please leave my a comment and your blog info so I can come visit.

Don't forget to visit the Emerald Creek Dares blog and enter your Festive projects for a chance to win a $25 credit to the online store!

~~stay crafty~~

Authentic Beauty....DeStash #3

It's time for more de-stashing and this week it's all about those teeny, tiny Prima flowers that came in those amazing milk bottles. I didn't physically count how many of those little suckers were in the bottle but I guesstimate around a million. Yes, it was definitely time to start using those.

I am also using #2 of the 3 metal frames from Prima. When I first bought this frame I knew I wanted to use it to feature a photo of my daughter, Breanna. I then went through  my stash of flowers & metals bits and made sure my hot glue gun was plugged in.

I also grabbed this brand new die cut from Southern Ridge Trading Company.

 It's so beautiful as a wreath but I needed it to frame the outer edge of my frame so I cut it apart.

I then stained it, and applied some my favourite Hot Stuff Embossing Powders from Emerald Creek Craft Supplies. I used mostly Burnt Coppers Leaves  with just a sprinkling of Oil Rubbed Bronze.

I then started gluing on those teeny Prima flowers. And I kept gluing. And gluing. I still have a tonne of those suckers left.

 Just before starting to assemble my frame I stenciled the removable back 

with inks and paint just to add a bit more depth.

I used a lot of little bits of bobs including a few Flower Link Charms from Emerald Creek. 

Here is finished frame.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

~~stay crafty~~

Christmas Sweater Inspired Advent Calendar - Festive Project for Emerald Creek Design Team

It's the end of November and my thoughts are turning to all things Christmas.

Cards & gift tags to make, gifts to wrap, meals to plan and all that decorating!

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to make & decorate a 25 Day Advent Calendar.

Each box is like a tiny piece of art and I love how this one turned out.

I was initially inspired by this package of paper from Carta Bella called Warm & Cozy. Isn't is dreamy! Then I decided to combine it with an 8x8 pad of Yuletide from Tim Holtz.

These advent calendars are handmade - my dad builds the wood box out of MDF and then I make the smaller boxes from chipboard. I have bought the advent calendars available on the market in the past but these are so much more sturdy.

I painted the outside of the box with a mix of bright red and burnt sienna acrylic paint - at about a 2:1 ratio. I didn't mix the paints completely as I wanted the brown of the burnt sienna to be visible as streaks throughout the red.

Each smaller box was painted with Peeled Paint Distress Paint on the outside and a wash of burnt sienna on the inside.

I then used the Holiday Knit Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz and Fired Brick Distress Ink to apply the design on all sides of the MDF box.

I then glued squares of the paper on the front of each box as well as lined the back and bottom sides of the boxes on the inside.

Once I found enough handles & drawers pulls and other bits & bobs it was time to start decorating.

I used the Alphabet thinlit die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix and a sheet of gold adhesive backed deco sheets from Tim Holtz Idea-ology. 

 I traced around the numbers with my hickory smoke distress marker just to add a bit of shadow.

I was so excited to finally use my snowflake charms from Emerald Creek Supplies. These metal alloy charms are gorgeous! I used alcohol inks in various shades of brown to give them a vintagy look.

Check out the Victoria Snowflake Charm & Mini Snowflake Charm.

I also used a Buckle Charm for a drawer pull. It was the perfect size and looked great after I used alcohol inks to add some colour.

I know I have said it before but I am in love with the Exclusive Line of embossing powders from Emerald Creek Crafts. This time I used the Soft Fallen Snow. I first used it on the words Let It Snow. I just love the texture and the tiny flecks of sparkle is perfect.

 I also used the Soft Fallen Snow on the Stacked Snowflakes - I first covered them with Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint and while it was still wet I sprinkled the embossing over it. I just love the look of it after the paint dried ans cracked. I finish it off I gently inked the edges of the snowflake with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I also used this embossing powder on a couple of scrap pieces of torn white cardstock.  This made a nice little 'snowdrift' for my Crazy Bird.

Here is my finished 25 day Advent Calendar - already to go for December 1st.

 For more Festive inspiration check out the projects from the rest of the Emerald Creek Design Team

Karon - Karon's Krafty Korner
Diana - missusgmoments
Cathy - Amethyst Dragonfly's Alcove 
Katelyn - A Creative Journey

Now that you are feeling festive head on over to the Emerald Creek Dares blog for the new Festive challenge. Share your Festive projects with us for a chance to win a $25 credit to the online store.

Thank you so much for dropping by my blog today!
I appreciate you taking the time and leaving a comment.

More Tim Holtz Inspired Tags

I loved Tim's techniques for his November tag that I decided to make a bunch of mini tags that I knew I would eventually need for gifts this year.

I started by die cutting my 15 mini tags out of a jumbo manila tag.

These are about 2"x 3" and I think this is a Spellbinders die.

I used a variety of Stampers Anonymous stamps for my backgrounds with Picket Fence Distress Paint applied with a brayer.

Now my favorite part - I love applying the Distress Sprays and seeing the 

how the paint resists the stain.

After applying Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges it was time to add the gold foil.

Finally after adding my watercoloured mini blueprint stamped images and
my tag were done!

I now have a bunch of tags ready to added to gifts this year!
I feel like I am one step closer to feeling organized.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

~stay crafty~

Challenges Entered:
Anything But Cute: It's Ornamental
Mixed Media World: #9 Anything Goes 
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes 
Tim Holtz: 12 Tags Of 2015 - November 
That Crafty Place: Anything Goes Mixed Media