RedLead Christmas Ornament Swap

I love making Christmas ornaments, so of course I had to participate in RedLead's Christmas Ornament Swap.  We received two, 2-piece chipboard ornaments to alter.  For the first ornament, I used white paint, modeling paste, a star stencil and glitter to create the base.  The image is from RedLead Christmas Collage Sheet #27, with a background stamped using the O Christmas Tree stamp.  I embellished the ornament with some beads and baubles, a brass snowflake, a rustic snowflake that I painted and glittered, and some vintage trim. (Please excuse these horrible pictures - I had to take them with my phone because my camera was temporarily out of commission.)

For my second ornament I wanted to create a mercury-glass type of effect.  Don't know if I really succeeded but it does sparkle (more than my phone photo can show!).

The images (both in the center and the snowman charm) are from the same collage sheet (#27).  For the mercury glass effect I first used white crackle paint, then a layer of pewter rub-on paint, then clear gloss, into which I sprinkled silver glass glitter while it was still wet.  Here's the back:

Still not a good picture but maybe you can get the idea.  I added some more baubles to the bottom of this one too.  Here's the pair:

Can't wait to receive happy mail in return!

Motif Building with Papertrey Ink

I had a fun time participating in Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday #231: Motif Building.  There's a great tutorial on the PTI blog - basically you first choose a centerpiece image, then use a bunch of tiny images repetitively to create one larger image.  It's a great way to give some love to all of those teensy images that are included in your larger stamp sets.  It creates a folk art type of style, which I particularly love for Christmas.

Here are some more pics - I have the details about which sets I used at the bottom of the post.

Stamps used (all Papertrey Ink):

Both wreaths: Wreath for All Seasons

Birds, dotted heart: Feather Finery

Solid hearts, sentiment, circle heart in center of wreath: Love Lives Here

Greenery with bow: Two Feet Deep

Swirly embellishments: Calendar Basics