Merry Christmas in September

How many of you have projects that you started and just lost interest in? I got on this big kick of Christmas in July in JULY. And now, here in September, almost October, I have decided to finish it. Well, at least finish it for now. I just need to get it off my table. LOL.

When the Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabric “Yuletide” came out this Summer, of course I thought quilt. I have one of those unfinished too. LOL. But, I also thought about maybe some type of banner for my mantle. I feel that it still needs a little something, I just haven’t figured out what yet. If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comments. Can’t wait to see what you come up with. But for now, I’ll tell you how I got to where I am at this point.

First thing I did was decide which stamp sets I wanted to use. The two sets I chose were from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz line and they are Scenic Holiday (CMS391) and Cirque Alphabet (CMS065). I just love the vintage scenes and frames from Scenic Holiday and I just new that the Cirque Alphabet would add a nice, vintage touch. First thing I did was cut some mixed media cardstock that was large enough for the frames and the letters. I then took my Distress Oxide in Barn Door and smushed some of the ink onto my nonstick mat and spritzed it with water. I dabbed each piece of the mixed media cardstock into the mix until I was happy with the coverage. I spritzed it again with some water and then dried them really well.

Next step was the stamping. For this I used my stamps, stamping platform, and Archival Ink in Jet Black. For the end pieces, I stamped one of the scenery images; and for the letter cards, a postcard for a frame and then the letter. I used Distress Ink in Ground Espresso and a blending tool to distress the edges of each card.

So next, but not shown, I took some chipboard and cut pieces that were just a little larger than my stamped images and covered them with the Idea-Ology Christmas paper Noel. I also distressed these pieces with the Ground Espresso.

Next thing I did was take some watercolor paper and my Distress Oxide Sprays and ink up some green paper. The shades I used were Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, and Forest Moss. Once I had dried the paper, I had myself a little Vagabond party. I used the Holiday Greens (658759) Tim Holtz Alterations die set from Sizzix to cut out some greenery.

Next was just a little assembly. I glued the greenery pieces onto the Noel paper pieces. I then pop-dotted the Red Barn cards and glued them on top of the greenery. I made sure to have the greenery sticking out under the red cards. I then used my Cropadile to add eyelets to each card so that I could string them together with bakers twine. I used four differnt shades of twine to give it a little strength.

Then comes the two months later part. I know, “Say it ain’t so”. But it is. I did actually pick up a green garland at an estate sale about a month back for like $2.00 I think. So I decided that might be a good addition to this project. So, today I cut up a few of the different fabric designs in my fat quarter bundle of the Yuletide fabric into 1″ strips. As you can see, I got a little help from Honeysuckle. She loves to be included in the decision making process. LOL

Once I got rid of the help and got my strips finished, I tied some of the strips to the bakers twine in between each card. Then, I simply tied the whole banner to the garland with more pieces of the fabric. No, it’s not going to hang over the doorway. It’s a little too short. But, I think it will be the perfect size to add to my mantle. However, my mantle is decorated with the appropriate, seasonal decorations right now, so I couldn’t test it out. LOL

I know, it’s not quite time for Christmas decorations. This has already come down and will be packed away until after Thanksgiving. Again, I feel like it may need something, so please feel free to leave me a suggestion in the comments. I hope you get inspired to get in your craft room and get something finished. I know I have more in there to get done, but lets just focus on this win for now, Ok? Thx.

Until next time,

Jennifer