Christmas Ornaments
Week 7
Good day, fellow crafters. Originating in 16th-century Germany, the custom of decorating evergreen trees during the Christmas season became popularized. Initially, these trees were adorned with edible decorations such as fruits, nuts, and cookies.
The transition to hanging ornaments took place in the 17th century, with the introduction of glassblowing techniques in Lauscha, Germany. Skilled artisans crafted delicate, hand-blown glass ornaments to embellish Christmas trees, creating a visually enchanting spectacle. These early ornaments often featured religious symbols and intricate designs.
Over time, the tradition of Christmas ornaments spread throughout Europe and eventually reached North America in the 19th century, accompanying waves of German immigrants. As manufacturing techniques evolved, ornaments became more widely accessible, transitioning from handmade to mass-produced varieties.
This is the seventh week of the Run Up to Christmas Hop 2023 series. Join us in embracing the spirit of the season where love, joy, and creativity harmoniously converge. I hope you enjoy my submission to these challenges and if you would like to see the work the other participants in the hop have done then check out #runuptochristmashop2023 or head over to my Instagram page @forgetmenotcardco, find my post with this card, and then follow the other participants listed in the description.
The theme for this week’s challenge is Ornaments, and in the past, I have created ornaments that were more traditional for my cards. This time I decided that I would go with a more modern approach and used the Picket Fence Studio Christmas Ornaments stencil, featured left, to create my focal point.
To begin I aligned and secured my stencil to a piece of Hammermill white cardstock and with a pallet knife spread a small bit of Lunar Paste in the color Fake Plant. According to Ranger’s website, the time that it takes Lunar Paste to dry completely depends on the climate in your area, the amount applied, and whether or not you add any additional heat from your heat tool. In the case of this card I simply allowed the card to dry overnight for each of the following applications of the paste.
Once the Fake Plant was dry I shifted the stencil to the left and secured it in place. I then used a pallet knife to spread a small bit of Lunar Paste in the color No Diving. I then allowed this to dry overnight.
Once the No Diving was dry I shifted the stencil to the right of the Fake plant and secured it in place. I then used a pallet knife to spread a small bit of Lunar Paste in the color Crown Me. I then allowed this to dry overnight. I then repeated the steps using the Silver Lining, Game Over, and Rosy Cheeks for the rest of the parts of the ornaments.
The next step was to use a circle die from my nested Hero Arts set to create a mask the size of the ornament. I then used the remaining ink on my ink-blending brush to color in the rest of the ornament. Once that was complete I used the left over ink on my red ink-blending brush to blend in a light pink hue for the background color.
The next step was assembly. I used a nested rectangular die set to cut the background panel down to its final dimension and then with the next size up, I cut out a black mat to give the card some more visual appeal. Using double-sided tape I adhered the background panel to the mat and then that composite to a white card base.
The last step was to add the sentiment and for this I decided to use the Spellbinders Glitter Wishes glimmer plate with some gold foil on a scrap of white cardstock. Once the foil had cooled down I trimmed the sentiment label down to a narrow strip. I then adhered it to the background panel. With that, I called the card complete.
