Driving Home for Christmas....

Hello Friends

I do love to make handmade gifts for family and friends at Christmas, I just had to make one of these after seeing the gorgeous creations by Kath Stewart and Richele Christensen. I wanted to make one, but not the same and so I used Tim Holtz's Home for the Holidays and Winter Wonderland die sets to make my 'Driving Home for Christmas' shadow box.  I have been listening to Chris Rea .....

I did not do a step by step as I got a bit carried away but both Kath and Richele (links above) have put very comprehensive tutorials together and I more or less, followed those tutorials.

I used the largest box from the Vignette tray set (12" x 6"), adding some Idea-ology Design Tape to the edges.  The sky was painted with Salty Ocean Distress Paint and the snow drifts at the bottom were made from white card and then coated with Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter using Matte Medium to adhere it to the card.

I absolutely adore this car die from the Home for Christmas die set and the 'snowfall' in the background was created using the background die from the Winter Wonderland set.  The Merry Christmas and all the trees and the 'snow drifts' at the bottom of the frame come from the Home for Christmas die set.

I added a set of lights to the inside back of the tray (as Kath and Richele did), drilled a hole through to the back for the battery pack to sit on the outside back.  The letters on the top are Tim's Idea-ology Typography letters in white - I painted the front of each letter in Festive Berries Distress Paint and set them into Distress Grit Paste with some added glitter.

Here is a view with the lights on.

My Son and his lovely Wife have just moved to a new house in Brighton and it is a bit like a building site at the moment, whilst they renovate, so I hope this will brighten up a room over the Christmas period!

My Dad had a car similar to this retro one, I have such fond memories of it and the cottage that he and my Mum built themselves, in Canada, for their retirement!

 

I have just got the new Gift Card Package die after seeing all the inspiration Tim's team have been sharing so I will be back with some of those in a few days, I hope!

I would like to enter this into That's Crafty! Tis the Season Challenge where they are asking to see festive creations.

Over at Simon Says Monday Challenge, the challenge is Christmas/Winter Holiday, so I am adding my Vignette to that challenge too....

I am also entering into Country View Challenge - Christmas, with the option of Reds, Greens and Rust.  I don't have any rust but there is lots of red and green so I hope that's OK!

As always, thanks for your visit (and comment), I really do appreciate it!

Hugs, Anne xx

Designer Spotlight - Simon Says Stamp Week 3

Hello Friends!

It is hard to believe that this is my third week in the 

at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  Each time I sit down to do a post, I have to pinch myself, I feel so very lucky!  It is time ....

and this week the Challenge is 'Let's Take A Vacation'.  I love this theme and for me a vacation/holiday has to include a trip to the seaside - any sea / ocean will do!!

Many of you know already how much I love crafting in 3D and this challenge gave me the opportunity to make a pair of beach huts which can be found at many seaside resorts in the UK.

 I don't have the Tim Holtz Tiny Houses Bigz die (yet) but my dear friend Kath kindly sent me the die cuts.  I used the two largest of the tiny houses.

To start off, for my base I used one of Tim's Vignette trays, the smaller of the two.  I made a little banner using off-cuts of card and some kebab sticks.

I turned the tray over and gave it a good coat of Dina Wakley's Gesso and then a good coat of Dina Wakley's Gel Medium to stick my florist's sand to the whole of the base.

I coloured cardstock with Festive Berries and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Paints and then cut them into strips.  I cut the roof tiles and the ridge pieces from the Tim Holtz Rooftops die, the roof tiles from grey cardstock and the ridge pieces from coloured blue or red cardstock.

I applied the strips to the die cut house and roof with Gel Medium.  The doors were made from one half of the roof piece each and I covered both with cardstock to match the strips.

I needed a 'doorstep' so I used the step from the Tim Holtz Village Surf Shack die and I covered each step with popsicle/lolly sticks, painted over with a light coat of Gesso, adding some 'nail' holes at each end to give the look of wooden boards.

After placing the huts and the doorsteps onto the sand platform, I added some florist's greenery and I made a fence from Tim's Idea-ology Memo Pins and Ball chain.

Here is a view from the back of the piece.

To finish off I added the words using Tim's Typography Findings, a couple of surf boards and Lifebuoy ring from the Surf Shack die set.  The starfish is from Tim's Sand and Sea die, cut from shrink plastic.  David thought it would look more realistic by having a Seagull, so I drew one, coloured it and fussy cut it.

So, how about joining in the

Where each week there is a fabulous $50 voucher for one lucky winner!

I have listed below all of the items I used that are available for you at Simon Says Stamp.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my beach huts and I look forward to seeing

you again soon!

Hugs,  Anne  xxx

Products from Simon Says Stamp Shop

Tim Holtz Vignette Tray

Tim Holtz Distress Paint Festive Berries

Tim Holtz Distress Paint Mermaid Lagoon

Dina Wakley Gesso

Dina Wakley Gel Medium

Tim Holtz Tiny Houses Bigz die

Tim Holtz Rooftops die

Tim Holtz Village Surf Shack Bigz die

Tim Holtz Sand & Sea die

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Typography Findings

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ball Chain

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Memo Pins