Off to the North Pole

Hello all!

I'm back again with the next of the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas - Tag 5 if you're trying to keep count.  I'm going in the right order this year so far.

I had an absolutely lovely time with this one.  From Linda's lovely inspiration Tag 5, I took the "wooden" background and the positioning of a Father Christmas portrait, and apart from that I just followed my fingers.

That's what's so lovely about this Funkie Junkie challenge - you can follow Linda's creation as closely as you like.

There's no need to have all the same ingredients, and it might just be one element which fires your creative juices and then off you go.













My wooden background is again from the Anna Marie Design pad, Christmas Jingle.  It matches my first tag, the Winter Woodland Wonderland.

(I do love the stamp set which has that fabulous sliced log stamp that Linda used - I particularly "need" the scraggly trees - but it's going to have to wait at least until I've done the Christmas shopping for other people's presents!)










My Father Christmas comes from the wonderful Artistic Outpost set called Snowy Woods.  He's stamped in Potting Soil on another piece of the paper pad.

I'm sad I forgot to add some metal brads at the corners - but there you go.














And the rest is really very simple...














... some more of the Holiday Greens die-cuts in regular and mini sizes...















... some snowflakes, cut with the Snowflakes Mini Thinlits.















I love the intricate designs - pure delight in pure white, or any other way you choose to make them.















There's even one nestled somewhere under all that greenery.













There are some words courtesy of the Christmas Clippings - very much in love with these.














And some simple white twine tops the whole thing off... that's something all my tags have in common so far, so I'm aiming to keep it that way, unless one of the tags really demands something else.












There's plenty of snowy white spatter of course.

So off he goes to the North Pole, off to the land of dreams... and off I go back to the craft table.  It's going well, but there are still another seven tags to get done by 29th December.  I bet you could still do it if you started today... go on!!  Happy crafting all!

In a certain faraway land the cold is so intense that words freeze as soon as they are uttered, and after some time thaw and become audible, so that words spoken in winter go unheard until the next summer.
Plutarch




I'd like to share this as Tag 5 for the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas, sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique
I'd also like to join in at That's Crafty Challenges where Tis the Season is the theme

The Running of the Deer

Hello all!  We've made it... I'm here with my final tag for the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas challenge - twelve tags in thirteen days.  After all that running to catch up, I think we deserve hot toddies all round to celebrate.  (Seriously, you might want a drink to get you through this long final post!)

This is my finale, though it's actually Linda's Tag 7.  If you take a look at her gorgeous original, you'll see it's a strong inspirational influence, but I've gone just a little off-piste from Linda's design.  And it's definitely ended up being one of my favourites of the twelve.

Tis the Season and Dreaming of a Kraft and White Christmas probably join it to make up my top three, though I do love A Christmas Wish and Snow is Falling too.  Oops, and Pine Cones Galore!  Oh dear - that's a top 6 then.  But I don't even have to worry about saying how much I like them, as most of the credit goes to Linda's inspiration...




There's a chance to see the whole collection at the end of this post, so you'll be able to pick your own favourites, should you have nothing better to do amidst all the mad final preparations for the holiday.  But for now, let's get back to the matter in hand...





I was uncertain about the solid blue of the background to start with.  It felt pretty full on.

I started stamping my snowflakes, and once they were in place I added some of the fabulous scratches from Andy Skinner's Industrial stamps and a finger full of paint around the edges.












The stamping is done with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic Metallic Silver.














I paint a thin layer onto the craft sheet and then use that as my "stamp pad".














I just love the look of old scratched-up painted metal that you get.  From then on, I was very happy!













I die-cut the deer, painted him and gave him his dusting of Distress Glitter.  But, being me, I felt the need for a little bit of Vintage Photo inking.














And I think there's probably some Ground Espresso right on the outer edges too.












And I loved how Linda had given her deer a sort of frame to set him off, so I worked something similar with a krafty arch which had been hanging around on the craft table for an age. 

(I think it's probably left over from this journalling page, so that's 18 months of hanging around.  Worth the wait though.)











I can't tell you how much I loved Linda's Stacked Snowflake - suffice it to say I just wanted to have pretty much exactly the same thing on my tag.

I'm not usually much for glitter, but I'm prepared to make an exception at Christmas...

... as well as in the case of Distress Glitter, which really is a different proposition from the usual stuff we played with as kids.

And you can ink around its edges even after you've applied it, which has to be a plus in my eyes!

Rather than all that luscious netting which Linda does so well, I've gone for a slightly more austere setting for my snowflake.  













There's a krafty decorative strip behind - it's actually a Sizzix die intended for creating paper chains which I picked up in a sale for about £1.50.

I haven't got around to making paper chains with it yet, but it was just what I needed for this tag.










And around the snowflake I've added some of my much-loved pine cones (see Pine Cones Galore! or I'm Dreaming of a Kraft and White Christmas or The Holly and the Holly).

There are some more of the tiny sparkling berries which also put in an appearance on Tis the Season.









Here is the "shadowed" Noel word I mentioned in a previous post (the reason I used "wish" on Tag 12 A Christmas Wish rather than the Noel Linda used was that I'd already used the Noel for this one).  I loved how Linda offset the second die-cutting to create the dimensional look.












Hers actually is dimensional as her second cutting is done with foam, but I just used card.  (There are some things I don't have in my craft stash... not many, I grant you, but a few, and foam is one of them.)














Some more pine cones and frosted berries adorn the simple twine bow at the top of the tag, and we're all done with the final tag of the challenge.








I think these final two (Tags 6 and 7, but the final two I'm sharing) work rather well together as a twosome.  They were made pretty much simultaneously, one bit drying on one while I worked on something on the other.

The two deer, the pine cones, the dimensionality, the wintry woodland feeling - I think they belong together as a pair.

So how about the whole set together then?  From very early on, it felt as though the these tags were "talking" to one another - elements and colour-ways were being echoed and repeated from tag to tag.  And so that became another part of my challenge to myself... to keep creating "a set" of tags.  Well, here they all are together, so you can decide for yourselves whether I achieved that.

(Remember you can click on a photo to see it in a larger view, or just scroll back through the last 12 days if there are any for which you missed the making-of details.)

And completing Linda's 12-week challenge in just over 12 days definitely achieved my own aim of getting me back in the craft room after so long away from it this year.  The first four tags, done on standard size #8s were okay, but I wasn't really anywhere near "the zone".  But as I moved onto the jumbo size #10s, starting with my version of the folded Tag 9 (the first one I did out of order, because I just really wanted to make that tag) I started to feel more at home at the craft table, and I think that shows in the resulting tags.





So huge thanks to the Funkie Junkie, Linda Coughlin, for her stunning inspiration tags, and for a triumphant fifth anniversary edition of the Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas, and also thanks to all of you for cheering me on from the sidelines (or often from on the pitch next to me - it's been lovely visiting the other FJ 12 Taggers to see your versions too).

And now I'll leave you all in peace for a few days!

The holly and the ivy, when they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood, the holly bears the crown.
Oh, the rising of the sun, and the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ, sweet singing in the choir.
Traditional English carol





I'd like to share this as Tag 7 in the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas, sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique, and completing my full set of twelve
And there's just time to get one more under the wire for Let There Be Snow at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too...

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!