Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Hi blogging friends, Thank you for stopping by and visiting me.
Are you getting into the Christmas Spirit?
Do you like making gifts and cards?
I like to make gifts and this year I'm starting early!

I have a very easy step by step tutorial on a Christmas card design to show you.

Here are the basic materials.  Heavy cotton or linen fabric and a plain 210gsm card.I'll show and explain the other materials as I go along.

 I pulled some threads out of the edges of the fabric because I like the frayed look.

I basecoated the card in All Purpose Sealer.

Then using a large flat basecoating brush I applied a couple of coats of Soft White or Warm White acrylic paint.

I used a stiff hog hair brush and painted the fabric with Napthol Crimson.  The hog hair is easier to push paint into the weave of the fabric.

 When the Soft White was dry I applied a thick coat of Decor Crackle Medium using a hog hair brush.

When the fabric dried, I used a Kaisercraft Christmas Stamp and patted into the VersaMark stamp pad.
While the stamp is still wet, I gently shook White Embossing Powder over the top.  Shook off the excess powder and heated the stamped area with a heat gun until I had the shiny, embossed look. 

When the Decor Crackle Medium dried I used a dry sea sponge and heavily sponged Pine Green paint all over the card. 

Using a dry sea sponge loaded heavily with paint, will give you larger more defined cracks.  Make sure your sponge is loaded with paint and start in one corner and work your way across the card.  Try not to go over wet paint as this will lift paint off rather than make it heavier.

To add a bit of lust, I used Rich Gold and a dry brush technique over the crackled green surface.

 I sewed the fabric to the card using a swirly pattern with a mixture of gold through a coloured cotton.

 This is a close up photo of the finished card.  I hope you have fun making your Christmas gifts.

All the paints and mediums used were
Chroma, Jo Sonja brand I'd be happy to answer any questions regarding these paints or mediums.

Please feel free to share this tutorial with your friends.

I'm linking this blogpost to Kerryanne's 'Simply Christmas' at Shabby Art Boutique.

Creative Hugs, Anna

Giveaway at Lynn's place

Lynn at Trash to Treasure  
http://trashtotreasureart.blogspot.com/ is having a giveaway with some gorgeous, creative pieces on offer as well as BONUS stamps!

This is just one of the gorgeous pieces on offer!

I've been a follower of Trash to Treasure for some years now and Lynn always amazes me with her artistic talent.  Pop on over and check out Lynn's blogspot.

Creative hugs,

Anna

Commision Painting, Simply Christmas

Hey blogging friends, Hope you are well and Thank you for popping in to visit.

This is a commissioned piece I've just finished. 

It's a 45 x 45 cm Canvas painted using Jo Sonja acrylic paints. 

I'm waiting for the humid weather to disappear so I can Varnish the Canvas. 

Have you ever varnished on a humid day? 

The design gets a cloudy look and that cloudy look never disappears. 

Here is a close up photo of the butterfly.

Have you been to visit Kerryanne at Shabby Art Boutique?

Kerryanne is having 'Simply Christmas' with lots of Christmas gift ideas to make like the one in the picture above.  It's a Gift Card Holder that I had to whip up as soon as I saw it. 

Thank you for the tutorial Kerryanne.

It's getting harder to buy for all my nephews and nieces and I give Gift Vouchers from stores they like~this just makes it a touch  more special.

Take care, Creative Hugs,

Anna