Vintage Santa Altered Tin

Three years ago, I found a bunch of delightfully creepy vintage Santas at a flea market. They had a whole bowl of them available, but I thought they were a little pricey at $5 apiece. Now of course, I wish I had taken them all. But, I picked out two of the best (worst?) ones to use in craft projects. One, I used immediately, and the other has been hanging around on my desk since. Until now. I finally realized that all he really needed was an Altoids tin.

His outfit probably used to be bright red, but it has really faded out through the years. I was glad I had some Christmas papers with muted colors.

I didn't want to permanently attach him in any way, so I stuck a pin through the background paper and he's just impaled there, much like the way you would display a bug. A little tart tin makes a great base for this piece.

I'm glad I finally gave him a home. He seems happier now. As for his buddy, he still enjoys ringing Christmas in every year on his sleigh.

Gnomes and Other Woodland Friends

Happy 2020! Here are my first few projects of the new year, and they can definitely be described as "cute", largely in part to the awesome wooden woodland cutouts I just got from Alpha Stamps. Some of the details are wood burned, so they're super easy to paint if you get yourself a tiny brush.

I loved the way that little gnome fit perfectly into an old jewelry box. Using a background cut from scrapbook paper and some mushrooms I painted, I created a little world for him to live in.

He seems pretty comfortable there. Now if I could only get that glass to not reflect/hide the color when taking photos...

 

Next, I painted the set of four gnomes. I gave each of them a bright color and some fun polka dots and stripes. From the base to the tip of their hats, these little fellows are about 2" tall.


They needed somewhere to be, so I cut out a background of black scrapbook paper and added a moon from a Cosmos Bark paper. The base of the gnomes was painted black and grey to blend in with the background. These little gnomes can stand on their own, so they may end up just living on my desk as is, but I might add them to the front of a book or box. No matter where they end up, I think they're adorable.

I couldn't stop without using one of the adorable hedgehogs. I used a large jeweler's tin for the base of this project. An image from the Lucky Mushrooms collage sheet makes the perfect background, and then I just added a little forest floor, a 3D mushroom, and a tiny ladybug to complete the scene.

A small leaf garland and crepe ribbon wrap the outside, and it's all tied up with a bow. This was a fun, quick little piece. Bonus: I still have squirrels, acorns, leaves, and another hedgehog to play with later!

For a complete list of supplies, click here.