Snowglobe Ornament

Here's a fun ornament that's easy to put together quickly. It's similar to a snow globe, but it looks like a little mason jar. Love! The jar is plastic, so it's not as fragile as it looks, and it's nice and lightweight for hanging on your tree. This jar could hold whatever you like, but I decided to make a little snowy scene.

The first thing I did was to build up the base so the deer and the tree would be flush with the clear part of the jar. To do this, I simply cut out three circles of corrugated cardboard that were a tiny bit smaller than the opening of the jar (save room so you can screw that jar in!). I glued the cardboard together and then punched a hole into which I inserted my "tree". I was liberal with the hot glue, because I sure don't want that tree coming loose.

Next, I glued the deer's feet down, and then wrapped the base with white cotton from a cotton ball. It doesn't have to be too neat, just good enough to keep the cardboard from showing through the snow. Once the base was cotton-wrapped, I glued it on the inside of the lid, making sure the lid could screw in before the glue dried. While the glue set, I guesstimated how much Diamond Dust "snow" would be needed to cover the ground and filled the jar up. It doesn't need a whole lot. Hold the jar with the opening upright, and then turn over the lid, gently insert the snowy scene inside the jar, and screw the lid on. Turn the jar over and shake that snow down to the ground.

Once the snow globe is assembled, you can add some embellishments to the outside. I added a little ribbon and some garland to the bottom, and some bright berries to the top. So cute!

Need supplies? Click here!

Snowy Day

The Alpha Stamps December kit is titled "Christmas Nostalgia", and oh boy, do I have some nostalgic artwork for you today: using the 2" by 3" Mini Shadowbox and lid, I made the sweetest little winter scene. It reminds me of a vintage Christmas card. A swag of tiny holly leaves frame the inside of the opening, some Stickles (glitter in a tube) frame the outside, and glittery snowflakes finish off the top.

I used two copies of the same image to achieve a 3D look inside. I glittered up the background of the full image, and then cut out the girl and her dog and glittered only the snow. I attached the figures on top with foam tape so they stand out from the cold and snowy background. Aren't they the sweetest?

I used a stripey paper for the sides of the box on the inside, and there's some cream colored rick rack trim around the outer sides of the box.

Sides and back, with a little contrasting paper for fun.

So much glitter and sweetness in such a small box! Here's a little better idea of how small it really is.

 

A very merry Christmas. For a list of supplies, click here.

Orphanage Rd. In Winter

Nothing says "holiday season" like some morose orphans looking sadly out at the snow, amIrite? When I found that the next Alpha Stamps monthly kit contained a window shadowbox, for some reason, I immediately thought of circus kids. Leslie, of Alpha Stamps fame, was kind enough to design a collage sheet full of vintage circus kid images for me. I chose a large image of four solemn looking waifs, gave them all bright red clown noses, and built "Orphanage Rd." to house them.

Yeah, it's warm and better than living on the snowy streets, but it's obvious it's not a great place to be. These poor kids want nothing more than to run away and join the circus, if only the circus will have them. So sad!

I used two collage sheets so I could cut out the girls in front and stack them for more dimension. The upper trim is a Fleur Border, painted black and then coated with glaze.

Here's how they looked before adhering them. I used foam adhesive glue dots to raise the image up. The girls have one glue dot separating them from the guys, and the guys had two glue dots separating them from the back.

Inside the box. Yes, I cut their poor little legs off, but you can't tell once they're behind the window.

Before I covered the outside of the box, I used a Sharpie to color the inside window panes black. The outside windows were colored with a silver Sharpie. The little girl and her dog were originally considered for this piece, but they just looked too happy.

To cut the background paper, I placed the paper, centering the pattern, and adhered it with removable glue dots.  I then used a pencil along the outside border of the window opening, and then cut the paper a little larger than what I traced. The silver outer pane will cover the edges of the paper, so it doesn't have to be perfect.

After gluing the paper on the front, I used some Tacky Glue to construct the box. Clothespins held the box until the glue dried. I cut the corners as shown, and once the box was dry, glued the paper to the sides, wrapping them in the same way you'd wrap a present.

I'm not going to lie, adding the snow made me a little nervous. I sure didn't want to wreck all my hard work! I cut a piece of scrap cardboard and did a few test runs. I first used the Diamond Dust with just white glue, but it was too subtle when the glue dried clear. Using White Opal Liquid Pearls looked way more like real snow. Once I figured out what looked better, I just went for it.

Bless you, sad little orphan children. I hope your circus dreams come true.

For a complete list of supplies, click here! 

Tin of the Month Club, January

Early last fall, I found a set of 12 small tins (about 1 1/2 inch in diameter), designed for jewelry parts storage. They were on sale at Tuesday Morning, and although I didn't have a plan for them, I couldn't resist them at the low, low price of $1.99. Why I didn't purchase every set they have, I don't know.

Fast forward to this week. I don't currently have any pending projects, so I pulled out the tins and started fiddling around. I ended up making a Halloween tin that I was pretty happy with. I thought about making a few more with a Halloween theme, but since there were 11 tins left, I thought it would be fun to make one tin for each month of the year. It's now my 2015 challenge to myself.

Each month, barring disease, disaster, or just plain slackness, I'll post up one of these little tins. At the end of the year, the whole year will be represented in tins.

Here's January. I photographed it on a black background so the trim would show.

Here it is on white. Once I get all twelve done, I want to make a composite photo of them all together.

Sorry, the Halloween tin will have to wait until October. But February is right around the corner. Stay tuned!