Friday 4 December 2015

A Vintage Christmas

It's the first Friday in December and we are now on the countdown to Christmas and this is the bit I love, getting the decorations out of the loft, father and son going to the forest to choose trees for our homes, granny and granddaughters baking Christmas flapjacks as part of the family traditions (which are being passed on), the buying and wrapping of presents and the house filled with lights. It's such a special time in the Brown households.

With all of this in mind I had great fun creating my contribution for Annie's challenge at A Vintage Journey, called 'A Vintage Christmas' which she describes as - 'Use your dies, stamps, rub ons- anything you choose to create a Vintage Christmas card, home decor piece or gift for someone special.' Well mine is a gift for our home and will be displayed on the sideboard with other special decorations over the Christmas period.


I had the idea of what I wanted this project to look like but it took me some time to choose specific images to fit on the sides of each side panel so I started by die-cutting and glittering four stars to have one on each side.


The first of the movers and shapers dies I used was the mini skate and I die-cut two of them and used gesso, silver paint and distress ink before making holes in them to sew the lacing mechanism and hanging a small bell from them.


Using one of Tim's duo snowflakes I painted it with bundled sage distress paint and spritzed it with water then dried it. I rubbed hickory smoke DI on the raised areas and then some glue sprinkling with rock candy distress glitter. The tidings token was painted with the bundled sage paint, rubbed off and edged with treasure copper whilst the die-cut 25 was gessoed, dabbed with forest moss distress stain and sprinkled with rock candy distress glitter.


I love the look of the finished mini lantern which was rubbed with raw umber and silver decoart acrylic paint and edged with treasure gold. The little bands were cut from greyboard and painted with paynes grey acrylic paint. The Christmas muse token was painted with picket fence distress paint, rubbed with treasure gold and blended with ground espresso DI. The foliage was also altered with paints and alcohol inks.


The mini bells went through various layers of paints and crackle mediums before I was happy with them and I tied them together with another altered Christmas token and some ribbon.


Here is a close up of the crackle effect on the box which was gessoed, painted with raw umber and given a coat of weathered wood crackle medium before being painted again with decoart lace chalk paint,


Here are the four sides once put together.





As always I carried on adding to it the next day and in the next photos you will see I added some snow details.


Don't you just love Tim's remnant rubs? They went onto the bells and the crackled glass bottle so easily.


Here are the four panels once the whole block had been completed.





And all four of them together.


I hope we will see you over at a Vintage Journey this month with a Vintage Christmas themed project.

But just before I go I thought I would show you some of the photos from our family weekend at Longleat Centre Parcs. We had the most fabulous few days in our own winter wonderland even though the weather was damp and mild it didn't spoil the excitement and enjoyment.










Now to get my own winter wonderland sorted at home lol.

Have a wonderful weekend.

hugs Brenda xxx


28 comments:

experiments in paper said...

Brenda, what a fabulous vintage Christmas piece.... love all of your die cuts, and that crackle is absolutely magnificent!! Great idea for the rub-ons also. Thanks for wonderful seasonal inspiration (and sharing some great photos of Christmas events across the pond - very fun!) Wishing you a very happy holiday season with you and yours - xxx Lynn

Julia Aston said...

What a beautiful Christmas block you created Brenda! That crackle is gorgeous - and I love how you've decorated each side with your wonderfully crafted and aged die cuts. The tree arrangement on top is so pretty - a lovely decoration for the holidays - and what a lovely family outing to the winter wonderland - special memories being made there!! Julia xx

Monika Gulyas said...

Each side of your block is so beautiful and unique! Fabulous vintage style Christmas decoration! You had a wonderful time in the park, lovely!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Wow Brenda! You've got some great crackle going on here! I love all the elements you have used to make this part of your Winter Wonderland! Longleat looks fantastic dressed up! Chrisx

Redanne said...

Well Brenda, Andy Skinner may be the master of crackle and ageing but you are definitely the mistress in my book! I think I could just sit here and scroll back and forth to take in the details of your stunning project! This is an incredibly gorgeous project that anyone would be proud to have sitting on their sideboard at Christmas - I would love to be a fly on the wall to see the rest of your decorations!

The family photos are lovely, the place certainly looks beautiful all lit up! Hugs, Anne xx

hazel said...

I love everything about your amazing Christmas block, it's fabulous.
xxx Hazel.

Jennie Atkinson said...

Jaw dropping stunning Brenda !!!!!!!!! And you made four !!!!!!! I will come back again and again to have a look at all the techniques you have used here to create so many wonderful textures. Just stunning ………

And lovely to see the photographs from your lovely weekend - the lights look fabulous! Have a great weekend x

Words and Pictures said...

Well, that's pretty much floored me!! What an astounding festive creation, Brenda... the vintage neutrals are perfect as far as I'm concerned - my favourite palette for Christmas - the crackle is phenomenal, the words on the bells, the gorgeous colour of the trees, the brilliant distressing and weathering of all the elements, fabulous little scene on the top - utterly, utterly wonderful altogether. Wow doesn't even begin to express it!
Alison xx

Candy C said...

Brenda, your vintage Christmas piece is beautiful! There are so many Tim elements here and so much work has gone into each side of your lovely piece. Love the crackling and the cream washed color palette of your background. Your soft Browns and vintage gold tones are perfect to effect such a sweet elegance to this piece. I also love the little vignette you've created at the top. Just beautiful. Your photos of the family on your special weekend are wonderful. Thanks for sharing!

froebelsternchen said...

A gorgeous project Brenda - stunning!-and lovely photos of the family on this special weekend!

Astrid Maclean said...

Oh Brenda, this is just absolutely superb! I love every single little corner of it and can just imagine how even more amazing it must look in real life! The way you have worked with the crackle, the dies, the decorative elements in those wonderful neutral colour tones, is simply stunning! Perfection is the word that keeps coming to my mind, I absolutely love this!
Your photos are wonderful too, looks as if you all had a fantastic time, your little grandies (well they are not so little anymore) look as if they enjoyed every minute of it too!

Sharon said...

I will just say.. love, love, love it!!! So many things I could comment on, but I think everyone in the comments above have said it all. Beautiful piece you will be able to pass down to your children.

Wonderful pics of your outing taking in all the lights!

Unknown said...

TRULY TRULY loved seeing the pictures of you all at your winter wonderland - it's so beautiful there and you all look so happy. This may sound silly but that was just a SUPER FINE Christmas card - seeing you all bundled up among the twinkling lights..... thank you.

And dear me Brenda.... this is just a FABULOUS vintage project. What a wonderful piece to sit on your buffet during the holidays - it's just so elegant and gorgeous. The texture in the background, the colors and each piece so intricately done to perfection. Just STUNNING. Something to be proud of for sure. Thanks bunches for such a INSPIRING and FUN post. XO j.

Meggymay said...

A stunning vintage project, from every side it looks awesome, it is sure to become a family keepsake.
Yvonne xx

Deb said...

Brenda, this is absolutely amazing, love each and every square inch of it! Gorgeous crackle on your block backgound and the care and attention you have given to each and every embellishment adorning the panels is fabulous, I adore that you added laces to the ice skates! Love the tableau on top, I never would have thought to add the remnant rubs to the bells, what a fabulous and magical idea! Just a spectacular home decor piece to grace your home for many years to come, thank you for sharing it with us all. What wonderful pictures from your visit to Centre Parcs too, looks like the perfect way to start the holiday season! Deb xo

S@ndy Diller said...

Fabulous project Brenda - great job of finding a cutting all the pieces you wanted to display. Truly beautiful from every angle.
S@ndy xx

rachel said...

wow Brenda - yous piece is amazing - from all angles - I love the crackle and the topping - beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing your pics too - did you bump into Jane there? I bet you did! We go off to Whinfell forest on the 21st for a few days of winter wonderland!!! Can't wait! Hugs rachel x

Patty O'Malley said...

What a beautiful piece of home decor, Brenda! You've certainly done a lot of wonderful detailed work on it. Your photos are terrific and your family is beautiful.

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Completely PINNED!!! I LOVE this!!!

Annie said...

Your home decor piece is stunning Brenda x the details are wonderful. Your die cuts look amazing and I love the elements used on the top. Such lovely trees too

Thank you for sharing the step by step too

Have a lovely weekend.....hugs Annie x

Terry said...

My jaw just hit the floor, Brenda! Your Christmas box is a masterpiece and such a vintage beauty! I love all that rich crackle and beautiful elements all so perfectly arranged! Lovely family photos as well and everyone looks so happy! Hugs my friend!

Lucy Edmondson said...

This is a stunner, Brenda, love the idea of using the remnant rubs on the bells,

Lucy x

Maggie said...

Stunning creation Brenda love all the different techniques you have used to achieve the gorgeous textures, great colour palette and full of Tim loveliness.....Wow!
MaggieH

Jenny Marples said...

Think I want to be adopted by the Brown households this Christmas!!! As for this altered ATB, I'm almost at a loss for words sufficient to say how much I LOVE THIS!!! Each and every deliciously crackled surface embellished with another pure gem of hand crafted detail. And to top it all that awesome tree with it's little baubles scattered. Brenda, you are a creative genius! Jenny x

A Pink said...

I don't think there's much more I can say that hasn't already been said about your absolutely stunning Christmas decoration Brenda . It really is a masterpiece .

Lovely to see the photos of your weekend with your family x

Suzanne C said...

Fantabulous! I love all the beautiful details you put into this ATB. Each side including the top is just wow! What lovely family photos it looks like everyone had a wonderful time! Have a very Merry Christmas!

Suzanne C said...

Stunning ATB! I love each and every panel! The beautiful textures you gave to the die cut images and panels are just wow! What lovely pictures of your Christmas celebrations. I hope your Christmas was lovely and a very Happy New Year!

A Pink said...

Totally IN LOVE with this amazing Christmas ATB - no stone unturned , every surface given thought , detail and attention resulting in an absolute masterpiece . x