Thursday 22 November 2012

Christmas is only ..... days away!!

Hello Friends

I am sure the Elves up in the North Pole are working flat out in readiness for The Man in the red coat to deliver lots of presents next month and much the same can be said for crafters across the globe.  I saw quite a few desks on the WOYWW hop last night with Christmas projects on them.  

I thought I would share a little something I have made this week and has been in the planning stage for quite some time.  Hope you like it..... 

Shall I let you into a secret?  This Wreath is actually old and recycled!  Yep!  The wreath is willow and I originally decorated it some 4 maybe 5 years ago when I first had my Silhouette machine and discovered Perfect Pearls!!  I cut out lots of leaves out on the Silhouette and then inked them up and sprayed them with Perfect Pearls.  I also made some wire spirals and paper beads, which I had learnt how to make the first time I went to Cornwall. 
And here you can see the wire spirals and paper beads (also recycled).  The flowers are primarily made from metal, some with chipboard bases for firmness.  Some of them are made with metal sheets left over from a project I did in Cornwall nearly 2 years ago and some of them with metal card which I had from Paperartsy when I renewed my subscription to a certain magazine (CS) some time ago.

My new TH Poinsettia dye has been used here with an extra layer at the bottom of chipboard which was covered with paper, inked and stamped.  I wanted to ensure that the poinsettia did not try to wrap itself around the willow wreath.
All the metal was inked with TH alcohol inks, stamped with various stamps, embossed with embossing folders, sanded and then layered using hot glue.  Once I was happy with the flower shape I arranged around the wreath, wrapped the wreath in ribbons, added spirals and beads which were wired in place and then set about attaching the flowers, leaves, pinecones and rosettes using my glue gun. 
Here is a SU punched flower which was actually left over from my recent Halloween Mail Box project which I added some "snow" using my Ranger paint dabber.

Some of the paper beads I used as centres to the flowers and the various snowflake buttons and elements were brought back from the US by my friend last year.  The rosettes were in my box from making them last Christmas for my Christmas Album cover.
Unfortunately these photos were taken in the house so the sheer shimmering effect cannot be appreciated in these photos.  I have sprayed the whole Wreath with Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold mist which has given it even more shimmeriness!

Thanks for sticking with me to the end!  I hope you like my Wreath and maybe you will feel like making one yourself.  It really is quite simple though a little fiddly.  Also, be careful when using hot glue to affix the metal layers....the metal gets hot too when you push the top layer down with a finger.  Use a pencil instead! 

I am entering this wreath in to the following challenges:-

Compendium of Curiosities - Texture fades
Frilly and Funkie - Chipboard and Metal
Snippets Playground - Snippets
CC101 - Altered Metal 

TTFN

Hugs

Hettie

31 comments:

scrappymo! said...

OH my goodness...that is so gorgeous and you have done so much work.

I think that somewhere in that wreath you must have used a pair of fiskars scissors or slicer or..... Yes, I am sure you did! Cuz they have a great contest on right now...anything Christmas related...and the prize is 50 pound sterling value.
http://www.fiskarettes.co.uk/index.php/made-by-fiskarettes/fiskarettescompetitions/christmas-competition-4/11761

Helen said...

Wow, Sam this is beautiful!!!!! I see you got your own poinsettia die, they are gorgeous,aren't they?!
The colours on your wreath are just stunning. Bet you don't recycle this project.

Di said...

Oh my giddy Aunt!! Sam, this really is breathtakingly beeeeauful! Absolutely stunning - so much work and so well done.

Hugs, Di xx

Annie said...

Stunning Sam. It sounds like you speak with experience about the glue gun making the metal hot :-)
I love your choice of colours and the design is breathtaking.
Hugs,
A x

lisa said...

Hi Sam
Just catching up after a hectic few weeks and spotted your wreath and had to come for a closer peek. It's stunning. I love all the different elements you've used. It's funny, I was rummaging around in the decorations box in the loft last night to find the one I made last year as I have been asked to make another one, there must be something in the air!!
Hope all is good with you.
Hugs Lisax

Twiglet said...

Oh Sam - what a clever thing you are - I absolutely love it!!! x Jo

Sarn said...

WOWZER - that is truly STUNNING honey. Utterly lovely.

Hugs
Sarn xxx

Kyla said...

OMG!! Sam this is simply stunning, it must have taken ages!

Thanks for visiting my WOYWW

kyla #17

fairy thoughts said...

OMG this is fab sam Soooo gorgeousi want to make one NOW but it might have to wait a couple of days..... watch my space,
janet

Suzilou said...

OMG Sam WOW this is amazing. The flowers are just stunning in the metal and love the colour combination. Going to have to say WOW again!! :) xx

toni said...

This is beautiful Hettie x

Anonymous said...

WOW, that is lovely, l'm in total awe!

You have worked hard and it's paid off :)

Big hugs xx

Lunch Lady Jan said...

That is soooo gorgeous = you clever thing, you!!
Hugs, LLJ xx

Marjie Kemper said...

Wow, Hettie! I could look at this for hours examining all the variations on your gorgeous flowers and rosettes. It's stunning! Thanks so much for sharing it with us at Frilly & Funkie.

Jassy said...

Absolutely blooming fantastic! This is amazing and deserves first prize in any competition!

Creatique Candy said...

This is absolutely a precious piece of heARTistry! The moment I seen it, literally took my breathe away. It is treasures like this that truly make me enjoy the holidays & no words can express the gratitude for sharing such a long process to get to such an incredible heartfelt heART!
HUGS
xx

Mrs A. said...

with all that metal on it will we need to maybe re enforce the tree house floor to take the weight?!!
It looks lovely. Hugs Mrs A.

Amanda said...

Well this is absolutely stunning, I thought I had already commented but cant see my comment, think I am having a moment lol. Hugs, Amanda x

Anonymous said...

Wow Hettie what an absolutely amazing project ! There is so much to look at ! The colours are gorgeous and the texture and depth is just awesome ! Can you tell I love it !!! Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie. Sue C x

MagsB said...

Just... awesome! You've made a true work of art here, hun! Snippets never looked so good!

love Mags B x

Teresa Kline said...

wow, this is awesome...nicely done!

enjoy *~*

Irene said...

Absolutely beautiful and stunning.
luv
irene
xxxx

Mary said...

Wow....your wreathe is wonderful. So much to look at. What a great decoration. Absolutely Beautiful!

Linby said...

wow this is an absolutely stunning piece of work, and so many wonderful details.
Linbyx

Jules said...

Hi Sam

Totally amazing .. .. as pointed out by Miss Di !!

So much work but an awesome finished result. Love it!!!

Love Jules xx

Terry said...

Oh boy did you give me some inspiration! Hettie, this is one amazing wreath with so much grungy goodness! Love it! Thank you for sharing with us at Frilly and Funkie!

Darnell said...

I'm speechless, Hettie Sam, and that is saying a lot!!

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Complete awesomeness Hettie!!! Those metal flowers are FABULOUS! Love the rich and bold colors! Fantastic wreath! Thank you so much for joining us at Frilly & Funkie this fortnight!

Art Joy of Sharing with Peg and Shel said...

This is stunning. Thanks for joining our challenge and congratulations. Your package will ship tomorrow.

Theresa said...

Lots of inspiration here. Love how this is put together and all the coloring mediums you used. thanks as always for sharing.

Words and Pictures said...

Completely and utterly stunning, and a worthy winner at F&F - which I'm so glad about, otherwise I'd've missed it altogether... What a gorgeous, gorgeous work of Christmas art!!
Alison xx