Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Hello all!  I've a mini-trio and a milestone for you today.  This is the 500th post here at Words and Pictures.  That seems worth celebrating, so how about a little butterfly giveaway

                                                                   UPDATE - The winner has now been drawn.

Thanks so much to everyone who joined in!

If you'd like to win this trio of ATCs (plus some of the little extras I can't help but include in a crafty envelope) just tell me so in your comment.  These have been created for Our Creative Corner's new challenge - more of that in a moment! - and now they could be yours.

So leave a comment saying if you'd like to go in the draw; I'll pop all the names into a hat and draw one out a week from today.  Hopefully, that means you would have them in time for Christmas.





Back to business!  You may already have caught my Nostalgic Christmas tag for the new Country View Challenges theme (the 499th post!), and now it's time to head over to Our Creative Corner.

I'm your host this month, and I'm looking for ATCs, ATBs and chunky ATCs.  That's right, it's time to Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!  Hence my three winter festival creations here...











Once you're done with my trio, do head over to Our Creative Corner to see what my brilliant team-mates have created, and check out the rules and guidelines while you're over there.  You wouldn't want to miss your place in the prize draw, sponsored this month by Tando Creative.






Just in case anyone isn't already singing along, here's the divine Judy Garland to put you in the (slightly melancholy) mood.

I know I've linked to this before somewhere in those 500 posts, but it really is a strong contender for my favourite Christmas song (as opposed to Christmas carol - that race is much more competitive!) so I make no excuse for using it as the title and soundtrack to my whole challenge theme this month!

I started out with three of Tando's chipboard ATCs, thinking I'd like a fairly sturdy substrate in case things got heavy.  I started with some French Roast Fresco paint, a palette knife's worth of PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze and a coat of Chalk Fresco over the top.

Next up, some of the wonderful Artistic Outpost winter stamps (this is like my whole blogging life flashing before me... from DT to DT!), stamped in Potting Soil Archival ink.





I used a blending tool to apply more of the Potting Soil around the edges of the ATCs and then dipped them in UTEE.  I really loved the crystal glitter effect of the UTEE sitting there - yes, before I'd heated it! - so I immediately decided to go down a (for me) fairly unusual route and add some glitter.

The UTEE was already on there, so I had to melt that first.  Then I added some Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder over the top and scattered some of the Tim Holtz Rock Candy Dry Glitter onto it.







Generally, I'm happy to play with neutrals at Christmas, but somehow these weren't quite doing the job for me yet.  So, influenced by my recent workshops with Andy Skinner, I reached for the DecoArt Quinacridone Gold to add a rusty look.









On the ATC with the little cabin in the photo above, you can see the Rock Candy by itself, while on the fir trees I've already added the Quin Gold, seeping along the cracks.

I do like the combination of the rust colour with the crackled paint - it has that look of weathered paints tainted with iron oxide.










And I especially love it over the glitter.  The Quin Gold is translucent so you get to keep the shimmer.  Plus you get a really cool rusty texture.










I still wasn't quite happy, so I played around with washes of Raw Umber, Paynes Grey and Phthalo Turquoise until I got closer to the wintry look I wanted.














I'm very happy with the result - I think they have the look of paintings on old wooden panels, complete with the rusty nails to hold them in place.











Those rusty nail heads are created with one of Andy Skinner's magic recipes, and then punched out with a hole punch!













I did some shadowing around them, to make them look as though they've been there for years, rusting and tainting the "wood" around them.














I tore some pieces of Maja Designs It's Christmas Time paper, and added those, inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, as well as some baby pinecones and my favourite little wooden stars.












Nearly there... what else?  Ah... white splatter of course!  Yes, that's more like it.  And as I was splattering, I decided the pinecones and the stars needed to be properly snow-covered while I was at it.










So you have the stream running through the frozen woods...














... the tips of the pine trees in the thickest part of the forest...











... and the little house where, despite the deep snow and freezing temperatures, they will be keeping Christmas with warm hearts.









Oops... was that a touch of sentimentality there?  Sorry - it must be the half-millennium creeping up on me.

The 500th post seems a good time to say a huge and heartfelt thank you for the extraordinary generosity and warmth I've found here in Craftyblogland, not to mention the astounding inspiration available at the touch of a keyboard.








Giving away this ATC trio - plus some bits and bobs to go with it - is just a small token of my immense gratitude.  Do remember to say in your comment if you'd like to be included in the draw.  And yes, I will post to anywhere...

And once you've done that, hop over to Our Creative Corner and be blown away by lots of tiny festive creations from my team-mates.  We hope you'll have time to join us this month, with just a tiny ATC or ATB offering and Have Yourself A Merry LITTLE Christmas!










Thanks so much for stopping by today, and for all the amazing comments and feedback here at Words and Pictures over the last 500 posts. The journey would be a fraction of what it is if it weren't for all of you.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, 
Let your heart be light.
Next year all our troubles will be out of sight.
From the song by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane










(Oh, and do check out my Country View Challenges tag too, if you've still got a taste for festive sentiment and nostalgia... Compliments of the Season to you!)

Happy Crafting all!