Christmas in July Blog Hop

Welcome to the next stop on the Christmas in July Hop! The crafty mixed media elves have been busy fashioning inspirational seasonal creations. Sit back, relax and curate some crafty Christmas creations. 

Cassandra here, joining in the hop with this mixed media canvas that I created from a variety of upcycled materials (a Shreddies cereal box board, corrugated pizza liner, kraft paper packaging from a purchase at my local scrapbook store, vintage mother of pearl buttons that I purchased at auction years ago, and vintage book paper from a book discarded from the library) along with some dollar store items (the frame, burlap tape, lace, gold glitter wood letters, linen square and vintage themed patterned paper). I also got to rummage through my crafty stash and use up some things that I have had for a while.

To begin, I gathered together a plethora of items that I thought might work for a vintage feel and picked from the pile as I went along. I started by cutting the Shreddies cereal box board into a slightly smaller than a 5" x 7" panel. Then, I gave it a prep coat of gesso. Next, I picked out patterned papers, tissue papers (Tim Holtz and pre-stamped tan coloured tissue- both leftovers from previous projects) and old book paper.

Once I collaged them with Ranger Multi Media Matte gel and let them dry, I scrapped and brushed on some Golden gesso, lightening parts with a baby wipe. Using the gesso, I roughly delineated where the tree would be created.

Once dry, I used a Brown Stabilo All pencil, loosley scribbling around the edges and where there were collage seems. Then, I activated it with a water brush, adding in more as needed until I was happy with the look.

Next, came the trial and error part of building the tree. I tried a bunch of different combinations of pieces and different orders until I settled on this one.

Then, I adhered all the strips into place with either the matte gel or Sookwang Scor-Tape double sided adhesive. At this point, I thought I was done until I tried the panel in the frame and decided, it needed a bit more to the background.

I used a Crafty Individuals Harlequin stamp and a Nougat Stamper's Big Brush Marker to add in some diamond texture with a second generation (stamp off) technique to lighten the brown that transfered.

Here is another look at the finished canvas.

Supplies: patterned paper (K & Company, Nobility), Tim Holtz Ideaology Melange Tissue Wrap (Advantus), bird stamp (CTMH), gesso (Golden), Jet Archival Ink, Multi Medium Matte (Ranger), linen, lace, burlap tape, bordesticker, gold glitter wood letters and frame (Dollarama), Harlequin stamp (Crafty Individuals), Nougat Stamper's Big Brush marker (Faber-Castell), Brown All pencil (Stabilo), Shreddies cereal box board, German book page, tan tissue paper, aluminium foil, vintage mother of pearl buttons, kraft paper bag, corrugated Pizzaville box liner (Misc.)

I can't help but smile at the end result! I love it and look forward to enjoying this Christmas decor for years to come. I hope it brings you some joy too!

For your next stop on the Christmas in July hop, please head on over to Whimsy Chic Paper Crafts.

If you are just beginning on the Christmas in July Hop with your visit here on my blog, below is the full list of all the inspirational talented elves in hop order:

It's Oddly Appealing

Psychotic Ramblings of a Serial Scrapper

Scrap Savvy Creations (you are here)

Kelly Parker Designs

Juli Loves Paper

Matter of Crafts - Jessica Larios

Lynne Joncas

Suzette M Hussey - Paper Mache Patch

Nelly’s Artistic Creations

Betsy Davis at Ideas Times Two

A big thank you goes out to Cathy Frailey (owner of Bleeding Art challenge blog) for organizing this hop. Be sure to visit all the hop stops for some fun Christmas themed mixed media creations and be sure to leave some love!


TTFN,