Snowflake Jar

Hello all, and welcome to Words and Pictures - with an especially big welcome to the new followers - it's great to have you with us!  I'm sharing an altered gherkin jar with you today - yup, gherkins... how unromantic is that?!  But look what it turned into:

And since the inspiration behind this one was Frilly & Funkie's challenge A Light in the Darkness, I should really show you it lit up, shouldn't I?

I had an absolute ball with this one... and I also really like the outcome - a double pleasure, then.  I hope you like it too.

The jar was such a lovely shape to start with, with the little lantern-like panels top and bottom.  (Note to self: eat more gherkins.)


I used alcohol inks - denim, pearl, and a bit of silver - and some blender to colour the whole of the jar, pouncing the colours on, which is what gets you that lovely textured effect.

On my travels in Craftyblogland, I'd seen a glorious altered jar, using embossing, made by the fabulous Craftimamma, Lesley, of Crafty Love'n'Hugs, so I knew that it would be possible to put some snowflakes onto my twilight-coloured glass.









I took the snowflakes from two Artistic Outpost sets (Sleigh Ride and Snowy Woods) and set to work with Versamark Watermark and Wow Brilliant White embossing powder.

I was careful to heed Lesley's warning about the glass taking a long time to heat up, and an equally long time to cool down again.  It sounds as though she found out the hard way - ouch!  Thanks for the wise advice, Lesley...







It's also pretty hairy applying the stamp to the glass as it's really easy for it to slide around or smudge, or - since you're rolling it around a slight curvature - to not quite get the edges fully in contact.


If you look very closely at some of the snowflakes, you can see examples of both these things happening, but as Tim Holtz says: Embrace Imperfection!



All that being said, I really enjoyed the process, seeing the snowfall gradually build up around the centre of the jar.  And I do love how they look, especially with the light shining through...

On the angled panels around the top and bottom I used the Tim Holtz Distress Stickles Dry Glitter in Clear Rock Candy (bit of a mouthful that... let's see: THDSDGCRC anybody?).

I was tempted in to buying this by the amazing work of Trace at inkypinkycraft, who is - I think she'd agree - addicted to the stuff at the moment.

I'd said to Trace that I wasn't that much of a glitter person, and she assured me that she wasn't either, but that this stuff was different... and it is!!  It has a really subtle icy glimmer to it, rather than full-on bling.

I took advantage of my 25% off at The Funkie Junkie Boutique (plus the 10% temporary closing sale - bargains, bargains) to get it, and I'm really glad I did.  I love how the crystals sparkle in the candlelight.

I also used some of the THDSDGCRC (I think I'm just gonna call it Dry Glitter, okay?) on my first play with the TH mini-snowflakes decorative strip die (a.k.a. the THMSDSD).

I used one of the neutral pages from the TH Vintage Shabby paper stash, and cut and folded and glued away.

It was a bit fiddly, but I can see that it'll get faster with practice, and since Lord Tim uses a hot glue gun when he's making them, I expect that would be easier than the Glossy Accents I was using too.

Not to worry, it's worth it for the finished effect!  I edged it with some Chipped Sapphire DI, and stamped the tiniest snowflake onto the centre piece with Archival Cobalt before adding some glue and Dry Glitter.

For the ribbon, I took plain white satin ribbon and blended Chipped Sapphire DI onto it, before stamping the tiny snowflake again, in Cobalt Archival ink.

I heat set it, just to make sure the ink wouldn't run, or get all over my fingers while I was tying the bow.

I added a strip of frayed cheesecloth round the neck of the jar first, and then tied the ribbon over the top of that.

So that's my altered jar.







I hope you like it, and are maybe inspired to try something similar... there's nothing like candlelight at Christmas!

Have a wonderful week, and I hope to see you again soon.

I'm entering this in the following:
Frilly & Funkie's challenge A Light in the Darkness

Artistic Outpost's December Referral which is Anything Goes, using an AO stamp

At Anything But A Card the theme is Celebrating the Light or Seasonal Holiday

At Simon Says Stamp this week Simon says Snowflakes

Top Tip Tuesday are having a Christmas challenge, and I'm offering a tip: Make a unique embellishment by stamping plain ribbon with Archival ink, and inking it with Distress inks

How far that little candle throws his beams; 
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
Portia, The Merchant of Venice,
William Shakespeare

My candle burns at both ends
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
It gives a lovely light.
Edna St.Vincent Millay

Begin doing what you want to do now.  We are not living in eternity.  We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake.
Francis Bacon