Sunday, December 1, 2013

FESTIVE FLOURISH VINTAGE ORNAMENT

Happy December!! 
 I am reminded of the lyrics from a treasured Christmas Song, "Deck The Halls" ... "Fast away the old year passes ... Fa La La La La ... La La ... La La!" 

Here is it ... December 2013!

I hope everyone had a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I truly am blessed and humbled that God has given me so much to be thankful for.  

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is ushering in December with a challenge that is all about flourishes.  

Since December IS the Christmas month and Thanksgiving is over, I am ramping up my Christmas creativity.  I decided to take a different approach to this challenge by creating a Festive Flourish Vintage Ornament.

This ornament was created to mimic the feeling of a delicate vintage mercury glass ornament that sort of resembles an intricate snowflake.  



It is made from eleven Mini Flourishes die cut on Plain Grungeboard.  I used the complete flourish (6 of them) on the bottom layer of my ornament and I cut away part of the top 5 flourishes to create a smaller delicate layer.  


I took all of the Grungeboard flourishes and first painted them with Brushed Pewter Distress Crackle Paint.  When that was dry, I "washed" them with a mixture of Gold Paint Dabber and water that I combined on my craft sheet.  I used my finger to rub the wash over the silver flourishes and then used a paper towel to remove the excess.  In my eye, this created a more combined metallic look; like faux mercury glass.



 (The flourishes before and after the gold washing. Sorry the lighting is not great in this picture.)


To give the flourishes a real faux mercury glass look, I inked them (one at a time) with Versamark Champagne Embossing Ink.  Then I laid them onto a piece of paper and sprinkled them completely with Clear UTEE.  After I finished covering the flourish with UTEE, I used the paper to transfer the excess UTEE back to the UTEE container.  That way, you have no waste.  Then I melted the UTEE to create a clear, slick glass type finish on each flourish.  

To give the flourishes even more definition and a vintage feeling, I then used Mercury Glass Stickles to edge each of the flourishes.  Stickles give such a wonderful shimmery look with no mess!  And Mercury Glass Stickles are a fabulous color ... alot like Platinum!  It can take on a silver or gold hue, depending on what you are adding them to.

Next I used a 2" circle out of Grungeboard (painted gold) as the base for my ornament.  I arranged six flourishes in a circle, barely touching their gorgeous curves one to another and hot glued them into place. 


The next layer is one of a cream "vintage" lace that I gathered in a circle with needle and thread.  I hot glued it in place and lightly went over the edges of the lace with Mercury Glass Stickles. 

The next layer is five more flourishes that I cut shorter to add more depth to my faux glass "snowflake".  I arranged the five of them in a circle and glued them into place on top of the vintage lace. 


The top layer is created from some crepe paper that is gathered and taped (using 1/4" Scor Tape) to the back side of a Maya Road 2" bottle cap.  Originally silver, the bottle cap is transformed into a golden glittery centerpiece thanks to Mercury Glass Stickles.  (Before gathering and attaching the crepe paper to the bottle cap, I sprayed it with some Honey Stain to "age" the creme crepe paper and I also added some sparkles to it by spraying it with Gold Glitter Dust.)  Finally, I added Mercury Glass Stickles to the edge of the gathered crepe paper.

I found a sweet vintage image of Santa and a child online and cut it out to fit inside of my bottle cap (1 3/4").  **NOTE - you could just as easily add a picture of grandchildren or some other special family member or friend to this center piece and give this as a very special gift.

I added Mercury Glass Stickles to the inside sides of the bottle cap.  Once dry, I hot glued the bobble cap center in place.

Finally, I added a gold braided cord to the top flourish so that this ornament can proudly be displayed on my Christmas tree this year. 

That's all there is to it!  Very simple but very dimensional.  I actually love the way it turned out.  When I showed it to my husband, his first word was "Wow!"  This ornament is very showy and would make a wonderful gift.

What will you decide to do with a flourish?  Whatever it is, I hope you will join our challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  You could be the lucky winner of our 

http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/servlet/StoreFront
$50.00 credit voucher.  Now wouldn't THAT come in handy this time of year?!

Your art might also be chosen to be featured in our 

This is a very nice honor to those artists whose work is considered unique and inspiring for the week.

So good luck and come join us!  I can't wait to see how you "flourish" with this challenge!

Here is a list of all of the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used in creating this Festive Flourish Vintage Ornament:
















   


27 comments:

  1. Hey there Candy my sweet friend, you have shown such a fabulously made ornament, I love the swirls and the lace and the wonderfull image. Thank you so much for the tutorial, I just love it...and will try to make one too. I just love it. Thank you so much for sharing the wonderfull Christmas spirit. Huge hugs Terry xxxx

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  2. Candy a fab tutorial and what a gorgeous make, love the vintage feel encasing that lovely image x hugs x trace x

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  3. A beautiful decoration Candy. Thanks for sharing the process of making it and all the photos. The flourishes are beautifully vintaged and glittered and add real sparkle to the final piece.
    hugs {brenda} x0x

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  4. This is just so soft and feminine, full of gorgeous vintage charm! Love it!

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  5. Wow! You definitely rocked the vintage Christmas look with these gorgeous ornaments using the flourish die!

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  6. Wow! Fabulously gorgeous ornament!

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  7. This is such wonderful ornament! Candy. Love how you used the glittered flourishes! Thank you for the great inspiration! :)

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  8. Oh my goodness, what a gorgeous decoration Candy! It is absolutely delightful and will no doubt grace your tree for many years to come, I think. You have 'aged' the flourishes so well that the ornament looks truly vintage and the Santa image is so lovely. If this is the first of your decorations this month, I can't wait to see more, and more...... Hugs, Anne x

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  9. Ohh wow Candy! What a gorgeous creation! Love the way you've used the flourish die in a circle with the crepe paper and lace to make it so pretty! The image in the middle is stunning! Hugs, Sandra

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  10. So beautiful! I love how you used the mercury stickles. And that crepe paper adds a vintage flair. I love this ornament. So pretty! And a great way to use flourishes.

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  11. What a beautiful ornament .... thanks for sharing ... wish I was so talented :-)

    diane @ aug's blog

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  12. This is so special and magical Candy! Love the way you've created the faux mercury and built up the flourishes with the lace. Jenny x

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  13. Inspired use of the flourishes, Candy - and that vintage sparkle is just heavenly!
    Alison xx

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  14. Just GORGEOUS Candy. Love this piece. Karen.x

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  15. What a fantastic ornament which will look wonderful with your Christmas decorations this year especially in your hallway with your large Santa. I love love your faux mercury glass, very clever. Love the lace and the rosette styling. The vintage santa is prefect. Brilliant Candy. Tracy x x

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  16. Candy, your ornament is gorgeous!!! I love every detail!!

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  17. wow your ornament is gorgeous.....at last one of your projects feel sure I can make.......lol
    hugs Annette x

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  18. Gorgeous ornament! I love the old fashioned photo in the center ;)

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

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  19. Wow Candy! What an incredibly gorgeous ornament! I love the stunning flourishes that you glammed up and the sweet vintage image! Putting this on my to do list! Thanks for the inspiration! Happy Holidays!

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  20. Simply STUNNING! I love every little detail! Bravo, Candy!

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  21. Your creativity is incredible! This idea is amazing! I really hope that your creativity is contagious for me!!!!! Barbarayaya

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  22. Oh, how I love this gorgeous vintage ornament. Your clever little fingers created such a perfectly crafted piece of artwork. Someday, many years from now, this ornament will be found in a box or a drawer and will thrill the heart of the finder. It is just precious...and you are amazing!

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  23. It is a wow ornament! Love the vintage feel with all the shimmer and the rosette! Fabulous ornament!

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  24. What a beautiful ornament Candy!! Love the flourishes and everything you did to alter them. All the vintage touches are perfect and the focal image so sweet. It must look wonderful in your tree.

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  25. So loving your ornament! The glitz, the vintage feel, the scrolls, all lovely! Your home photos of all your Christmas decor are wonderful too! Love that big ol' Santa!

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  26. This is so lovely Candy. You DEFINTELY achieved the vintage look and vibe...I'm going to have to get some of the mercury glass stickles. We've been making gift tags at lunch and the ladies at work are really enjoying playing with the stickles. Bring on the Glitz!! Just a great ornament!!

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