Tis the Season for Gift Giving at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog we are half way through a new challenge. It's Maggi's turn to host and she's calling her challenge 'Tis the Season for Gift Giving'. Because it's that time of the year when we're all thinking about the perfect gift for our friends and families, let's combine our crafting passion with our "to do" list by creating a vintage or shabby chic gift for a special someone in your life. Your gift could be as simple as a handmade card or tag, or an elaborate piece of home decor. Maybe you like to place your gifts in handmade boxes? Your imagination is the only limit on this challenge!

As ever, the Design Team will choose their top four picks, with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

I decided to create a festive gift box that can be used as a gift in it's own right. It proved to be the perfect opportunity to play with Tim Holtz Funky Festive die set.

I used the largest of the Vignette Boxes, Vignette Panels and corresponding Vignette Frame, adding a couple of Vignette Finials, covering them in first Walnut Stain Distress Paint, then with a little less Brushed Pewter Distress Paint and finally dry brushing them with White Gesso. At this stage the lid was assembled using Glossy Accents to stick the frame and finials in place firmly.

The corner Vignette Accents from the Halloween set were added to two opposing corners. Some Christmas Worn Wallpaper was cut to fit the box sides with the edges distressed. I also added a piece of thick mount board covered with the Worn Wallpaper to the underside of the lid to prevent it from sliding off.

The top of the box was then decorated with some faux moss around the finial to build up the height onto which I could attach a heap of Funky Festive die cut flowers and foliage. Sanding Classic Kraft Card before cutting it makes things much easier and there's a wonderful array of colours to create realistic elements. The berries had Glossy Accents added to make them glisten and I shaped each piece with a ball tool on the reverse. For a touch of glamour I cut some leaves from sanded Silver Metallic Kraft Card. Here are some close ups so you can see it all in more detail;

That's it for my gift giving project for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge. My talented team mates have created lots more amazing projects for this challenge so make sure you hop on over and check them out HERE. And remember to link up your own shabby chic or vintage Halloween gifts to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

Take care of yourselves and get creative!
Jenny xxx

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Accents, Halloween	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Frames	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Finial Set Structures	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Panels	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Boxes	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 18pk - Funky Festive by Tim Holtz 663101	Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Classic Kraft Stock
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic Kraft Stock	Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents GAC17042	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Walnut Stain TDF53361	Tim Holtz Ranger Metallic Distress Paint - Brushed Pewter TDF52968	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube MDM41672	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Worn Wallpaper, Christmas

A Harvest of Gratitude for Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome. Over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge blog we are half way through a new challenge. It's Kathy's turn to host and she's calling her challenge 'A Harvest of Gratitude'. There is always something to be thankful for. In this gratitude themed challenge, we are asking you to create a vintage or shabby chic project that portrays something that fills your heart with thanksgiving. Use harvest colors and be sure to tell us how your project reflects your thankful heart.

As ever, the Design Team will choose their top four picks, with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive Top 3 badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

For my project this week I chose to celebrate and give thanks for the things that are most important to me, my family and friends, health and well-being, home and all the memories it holds. With Autumn in full swing here it's such a special thing to see the changing colours on fallen leaves as I walk our dog. There's such a lot to be thankful for.

The Tutorial

I began by adding sticky back canvas to a small Etcetera Tag before covering the front, back and two of the 'enforcer rings' with black gesso then Aged Mahogany Distress Paint. Once dry I sanded the tag and rings lightly, concentrating particularly on the edges, to give it a more age-worn look before rubbing Potting Soil Archival Ink over. You'll have spotted from the finished tag that I added two rusted metal rings from my stash on the rings.

After adding a piece of vintage book page with Distress Collage Medium over the canvas covered area I dried it, spritzed it with water and peeled away some of it. Finally Texture Paste was spread through the Code Layering Stencil and covered with Dirty Sand Embossing Powder. When dry I heat embossed it to reveal the shimmer and gritty texture.

For the Skeleton Leaves and Funky Foliage I covered three separate pieces of white card in Distress Paints before die cutting them. The first had a combination of Walnut Stain and Brushed Corduroy Distress Paint dragged over it with a little water to create this mottled look. The process was repeated on a second piece of card with Peeled Paint and Crushed Olive Distress Paint.

The third piece of card had a combination of Aged Mahogany and Wild Honey added to it. I used Distress Markers to cover the white edges caused by die cutting and some Glossy Accents on the acorns and rose hips before layering them onto the tag over a Baseboards Frame with a bow and Quote Chip. The little blue flowers had previously been cut using the same die set and were coloured with Faded Jeans Distress Paint.

The Close Ups

Here are a couple of close up photos of the finished tag so you can see all of the elements in more detail;

That's it for my Thanksgiving project for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge. My talented team mates have created lots more amazing projects for this challenge so make sure you hop on over and check them out HERE. And remember to link up your own shabby chic or vintage Thanksgiving entries to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

Take care of yourselves and get creative!
Jenny xxx

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag Thickboards	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5pk - Skeleton Leaves by Tim Holtz 663094	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 20pk - Funky Foliage by Tim Holtz 663087	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baseboards - Frames	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Code	Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444	Seth Apter Baked Texture - Dirty Sand
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips	Natural Woven Jute Ribbon - 1"	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Aged Mahogany TDF52890	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Wild Honey TDF53385	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Peeled Paint TDF53156	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Crushed Olive TDF52999	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Walnut Stain TDF53361
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Brushed Corduroy TDF52951	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Faded Jeans TDD53033	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - Black Gesso - 4 oz. Jar MDM41719	Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents GAC17042

A Thanksgiving Gift for Eileen Hull Designs

Hi everyone and welcome. I'm back today with a new project for Eileen Hull Designs. With Autumn leaves falling here in the UK and the Thanksgiving preparations well under way in the US I have created a little box ideal for storing treats and gifts.

The Tutorial

Eileen's dies are very simple to put together so I figured you'd like to see the ingredients used for decorating this box. As you'll see from the photo below I ran a piece of die packaging through my Big Shot with the Sizzix Bigz Die - Leaves, Spring to cut a stencil. Taking an A4 piece of white card I blended Eileen's Colorbox Blends inks through the stencil, drying each layer before moving on to the next colour and overlapping the leaves. First came Sunshine, then Leaf, then Nutmeg, then Melon and finally Stop. To bring the colours together and fill in any gaps I blended the Golden version over the whole lot to give that warm glow. Cutting the card in half, I ran it through with the Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Book & Pages, Trinket Box & Frame to cut out the various pieces needed to decorate the box. Once applied to the box I gave each piece a coat of clear gloss varnish.

The box itself was cut from mount board using the same die and after being assembled with strong wet glue I painted it with white gesso. After applying the leaf patterned paper I gently swiped the Nutmeg Colorbox Blends ink onto the edges and some of the white surfaces to create a faux whitewashed wood effect. With the box assembled I cut leaves from white Paper Leather using the same larger Spring Leaves die and the smaller leaves from the Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 4PK - Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves set. Some were coloured with the Nutmeg ink and others edges with it. They were layered onto the top of the box with some ribbon pieces and a little thank you tag.

The Close Ups

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this and feel inspired to create your own trinket boxes. Make sure to check out the other creations from Eileen's Inspiration Team on her blog this month - as ever they have lots to share with you too.

I'll be back tomorrow with something else which celebrates gratitude and thankfulness. For now take care of yourselves and get creative!
Jenny xxx