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Tuesday 10 December 2019

Encore - Magical Trees

Hello all!  December is running away from me!  I'll have something new for you tomorrow (or the day after, depending on when I get the post written), but for now I thought I'd share a sparkly winter creation which appeared over at the Country View Crafts blog in December 2015, when I was still on the team there.  I've chosen to share this one now partly in honour of the Sparkle theme over at PaperArtsy this fortnight.  (Watch out for me over there in a week or so!).  If you're not sure what I mean by an "Encore", check out the low-down at the end of the post.  Here's what I wrote back in 2015...
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Hello all, Alison here with some sparkling fir trees for you.  I don't break out the glitter very often, but if not at Christmas, then when?!  And after a brief skirmish with the bright traditionals, red, gold and green, I'm back in my neutrals comfort zone... in fact pretty much monochromatic.


It's also my first time having a play with Tim Holtz's new Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust... I think it probably won't be the last!


For the background, I swiped Ground Espresso, Pumice Stone and Hickory Smoke inks on to my craft mat and did some wrinkle-free distress technique on to the tag.  It turned out there was more Ground Espresso than the rest, so it all got rather dark rather quickly.  I spattered some Fresco Snowflake over it to lighten things.


Then I thought it would be nice to have some snowfall, so I used the Speckles layering stencil to add some more white paint, and sponged a bit on to the foot of the tag too, to create some snow drifts.  I decided there wasn't quite enough snowfall, so I added a couple of spritzes of DecoArt Media Mister in Shimmer White.


Turns out that was a good idea, as you get a whole lot more shimmer into the bargain!


The trees were cut using the wonderful Woodlands Thinlits, and I painted them with some Ground Espresso Distress Paint so that they would be the right colour under the glitter dust.


I used Sticky Embossing Powder to adhere my Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust, and then rubbed some off again in places so that the trees would have a slightly more distressed "bark" look.  Yeah, right... whoever heard of glittering bark?!


I used a pastel pencil to create some shading under the trees to ground them.


And I stamped the word from the Handwritten Holidays #1 set in Versamark before embossing with dark brown embossing powder.


The whole thing is mounted on some white card, both layers distressed with the Distressing Tool.  And I topped it off with some simple Crinkle Ribbon (slightly grunged with a hint of Ground Espresso) and fine twine.


It was a bit of a nightmare trying to photograph my sparkling trees, balancing the tag in the ivy in strong wind, trying to catch the last rays of the afternoon sun....  sometimes catching one bit of shimmer, sometimes another.


But I hope you think it was worth it.

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There you go... earthy and sparkly and snowy all in one go!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  As I said, I hope to be back with something new for you very soon.  I hope all is going well with everyone's Christmas preparations.  I think I'm behind!!  (That will be the winter bug that set me back, I suppose.  Thankfully I am feeling much better - thank you all for asking.  Avoid it if you can... it's a stinker!)  Good luck all!

The waving of a pine tree on the top of a mountain - a magic wand in Nature's hand...
John Muir

Encore Posts
Projects which made their first appearances elsewhere for Design Team duties or Guest Designer opportunities, but which only had a sneak peek here, are being gathered together in the pages of my virtual scrapbook while I'm busy.
As always, the Encore Posts are formatted differently from the regular ones, so that you can easily spot them.  Please don't feel that you have to comment all over again!

19 comments:

maj. said...

Such a magical tag, Alison!
What a great background, such a nice colors!

Craftyfield said...

Grungy AND glittered, now here's a thought... Of course in your hands, it's a lovely combination Alison! Preparations are behind here too, I'm suffering from a big case of "bah humbug"!

https://shinebrightandcreate@blogspot.com/ said...

Beautiful tag, lots of texture and love the twinkle of glitter too. Michelle x

My name is Erika. said...

Those trees do make the tag quite magical. I like how the tag feels like winter too. Brown is such a good color choice Alison. Hope you are enjoying your holiday season. Hugs-Erika

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Although you didn't know this, I decorate my home each year with anything trees. When I saw that tag, I thought it was simply incredible. It is magical! I have been offline for over a day due to my internet and phone lines being down. I wanted to stop by and tell you how much I really LOVE this incredible tag that made me smile from ear to ear!

craftytrog said...

Absolutely magical Alison! xx

Dorthe said...

It has the most gorgeous feeling of glittery snowy and beautiful trees . Amazing what you can do with the glitter and sprays , it is a magic wintery wonderland dear Alison. Hugs, Dorthe

Marci said...

These trees are gorgeous!

suzyb said...

Love the tag Alison! Really lovely with that glitter dust. :) I do love your work.

Redanne said...

A worthy encore Alison, the trees are gorgeous and so is the beautiful background. Great to see this again. Anne xx

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Great grungy tag with the all important glitter, love it. Happy creative week, Angela xxx

Sue said...

It's a beautiful tag Alison, and timeless, you could have made this last week rather than 4 years ago. I'm still a huge fan of your rusty wire, it's the perfect finishing touch. Have a very happy week, Sue xx

Paper Profusion said...

Glad you are feeling better Alison. Fabulously earthy as you say and all the more wonderful with just the right amount of bling and snow. Sorry for being such a poor commenter this year. Nicola x

Etsuko said...

Such a fantastic tag Alison. Glad your feeling better now. I'm so pleased for your wonderful comments this year. May you find hope and peace this joyous season and may the coming year be your most brilliant year. xxx

Neet said...

Lovely to have a reminder of something you made in the past - a great idea to be used in so many ways. Your tag is special.
Hugs, Neet xx

Cocofolies said...

A fantastic tag, these trees are so elegant on your fabulous background Alison, wow!
Hugs again, take care. xx

Roosterhead Designs said...

Oh my word Alison it's beautiful! Lovely background and textured trees~ Even great shadows on the ground & snow in the sky! I'm smitten! Hugs, karen o

Mac Mable said...

Grungy and glittery and so atmospheric. Great monochromatic colour and so very creative x.

Mac Mable said...

Meant to say....sorry to hear you have been poorly x.