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Each week when I sit down to create the project for the tutorial I have absolutely no real plan about what I am going to make or even use. I just start creating and snapping photos along the way. Some weeks the projects are more involved, sometimes they are fairly simple. This week’s project, although fairly simple is long, as in 60 photos long. This project really could have been a class I would teach in a store. Even though it is long, I hope you will make it all the way to the end and hopefully pick up a few ideas along the way.
The base of the project is a vintage cabinet card photo. I love old photos and collect them. I don’t normally use them for projects unless the photo itself is bad or damaged. In this case, I happened to have duplicates of the same photo so I felt ok using this one. If you don’t have a cabinet card to use, you could easily substitute mat board or chipboard that has been painted or inked. My cabinet card is 11″ x 7″.
Stamp the scroll pattern from the Reindeer Flight stamp set along the top and bottom edge of the photo using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The photo area on this cabinet card is about 4 3/4″ x 6 1/4″. It is about 1 1/2″ from the top edge of the card.
Use an ink blending tool to apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges of the card.
Cut or tear a piece of Natural Sticky Back Canvas to match the size of the photo (4 3/4″ x 6 1/4″). To tear Sticky Back Canvas, snip the canvas about 1/4″ from the edge. Grab ahold of the canvas and rip. The canvas will tear along the fabric grain in a straight line.
Remove the backing. Stick the piece of canvas on a non-stick craft sheet.
Use an ink blending tool to apply Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to the canvas. Focus the color along the edges and top. Leave the middle fairly light.
Apply Stormy Sky Distress Ink along the edges to add a hint of darker blue. Apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges and along the bottom of the canvas.
Ink the pine tree stamp from the Reindeer Flight stamp set using Pine Needles and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks. I like to layer multiple colors on solid stamps like this to give my stamped image some color variation.
Use a dry cloth to wipe away any ink on the tree trunks.
Use Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Markers to color the tree trunks. Again, layer the two colors to create some color variation in the stamped image.
Stamp the trees on the lower left area of the canvas.
Ink the stamp as before and stamp the trees again on the lower right part of the canvas. Stamp the second set of trees so they sit a bit lower on the canvas.
Apply SuperStik glue stick along the lower edge of the canvas. If you sew as I did on mine, SuperStik is a good choice since it is also a fabric adhesive and won’t gum up a machine or needle when stitched through.
Place a strip of white cotton batting along the bottom edge of the canvas, pressing it into the glue. Batting can be torn to create a softer edge.
Remove the canvas from the craft sheet. Trim along the edge of the canvas to remove any excess batting.
Brush the cut edges of the batting with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.
Place the canvas on larger piece of white cotton batting. Trim along the edges of the canvas with pinking sheers, leaving a thin border of cotton batting.
Machine stitch about 1/8″ from the edge of the canvas.
Apply glue to the back of canvas/batting piece. Adhere the piece of the front of the cabinet card over the photo.
Use a craft pick to pierce a hole in each corner of the canvas through the cabinet card. Place a Long Fastener (brad) through each hole. Flatten the prongs on the back of the cabinet card.
Apply Glossy Accents to the stamped trees along the tops of the branches.
Sprinkle Clear Rock Candy Distress Dry Glitter onto the wet Glossy Accents.
Tap off any excess glitter. Although it doesn’t show well in the photo, a fine application of glitter where you applied the glitter.
Stamp the tree from the Winter Sketchbook stamp set using Jet Black and Coffee Archival Inks on heavy white cardstock.
Cut the tree out. In my example I used my eclips machine with Stamp2Cut. If you don’t have Stamp2Cut and don’t want to cut the tree by hand (yikes!!) the Tim Holtz Branch Tree die would be a good substitution. Ink the tree with multiple colors of brown Distress Inks.
While the ink is still wet, sprinkle with clear embossing powder.
To add sparkle, sprinkle Clear Rock Candy Distress Dry Glitter onto the embossing powder. Heat the powder until it melts. You may apply more ink and layer on more embossing powder and glitter if desired.
A simple trick I like to use to add strength to an intricate cut piece is to emboss the back side of it. Place the piece face down on a craft sheet. Tap the ink pad directly onto the back of the piece.
Cover the back with embossing powder. Heat the powder until it melts. Allow it to cool before picking it up since the powder on the front may also be warm.
Cut adhesive foam squares to fit the back of the tree. Foam squares can be cut to fit easily while they are still on the sheet without gumming up scissors.
Adhere the tree to the front of the canvas in the lower left.
Die cut a picket fence from white cardstock using the Tim Holtz On the Fence die. Apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the fence. Trim (or tear) the cardstock so that there is about 3/8″ strip below the fence pickets.
While the ink is still wet, sprinkle the fence with clear embossing powder. Add glitter also if desired. Heat the powder until it melts. Emboss the back side of the fence to give it more strength.
Add Glossy Accents to the tops of the pickets to create some “ice”.
Sprinkle glitter onto the wet Glossy Accents.
Apply glue stick to the strip of cardstock below the pickets. Adhere white cotton batting to the glue.
Trim away excess batting cutting along the bottom edge of the fence.
Apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the bottom edge of the batting.
Trim the end of the strip so that it is even with the last picket. Apply quick drying glue to the back side of the last two pickets.
Adhere the fence to the canvas piece, lining up the bottom edge of the fence with the bottom edge of the canvas. The two pickets on the each end should line up with the side edges of the canvas. The fence is wider than the canvas so it will bow out away from the front of the canvas.
Die cut two Tim Holtz Mini Cardinals from white cardstock. Cut off the feet and beak from one of the cardinals. Use an ink blending tool to apply Fired Brick Distress Ink to the cardinal. Focus the color along the head and back of the cardinal, leaving the belly lighter. Apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the outer edge of the cardinal.
Apply yellow Distress Ink to the beak of the second cardinal and brown Distress Ink to the feet. Adhere the two birds together. Add a black dot with a Black Soot Distress Marker for an eye. Cover the eye with a dot of Glossy Accents to make it shiny.
Brush the edges of the assembled bird with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to cover the white edges of the cardstock. You may find it helpful to work on the back side of the bird so that you don’t add more ink to the front of the bird. Cut adhesive foam squares to fit the back of the bird.
Adhere the bird to the canvas using the foam squares. Place the bird so that it seems to be perched on the top of the fence.
Die cut three Tim Holtz Mini Snowflakes from mirrored sheets. Remove the protective film from the front of each snowflake. Apply Distress Embossing Ink to the front of each snowflake by pressing it front side down into an embossing ink pad.
Sprinkle each snowflake generously with clear embossing powder.
As you heat to melt the embossing powder sprinkle on Clear Rock Candy Stickles Dry Glitter. If you want to add more glitter after the powder melts, heat it to re-melt it while sprinkling on more glitter.
When cooled, the snowflakes still be mirrored, but with a chunky icy look. If you bend the snowflakes the finish will crack and fall off. The finish is best used on small pieces like these snowflakes that aren’t likely to be bent or handled much (for example, not ideal for a card that will be mailed). It is very pretty, but fairly fragile. On the upside, if it were to flake off, you would be left with mirrored snowflakes which are pretty awesome too!
Use adhesive foam squares to adhere the snowflakes to the canvas.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I photograph my tutorials. As I was finishing this project I decided that the edge needed a bolder edge so I used an ink blending tool to apply Walnut Stain Distress Ink the edges of the cabinet card.
Below the canvas piece, I stamped “Merry Christmas” using Fired Brick Distress Ink. While the ink was still wet, I added clear embossing powder. Vintage paper and surfaces like this one absorb ink very quickly so if you need to act quickly if you decide to stamp and emboss on a vintage surface.
I love how cute this little cardinal turned out. He adds a sweet little touch to the project. Where I live in St. Louis the cardinals are here all winter long. We see them in our yard and trees all winter. A little winter art scene wouldn’t be right without a little cardinal.
The detailed cut on this tree thanks to Stamp2Cut is simply amazing. I love how the added embossing powder makes the color of the inks so rich.
I love, love, love how these snowflakes turned out! Embossing them was a total spur of the moment experiment and the result, although kind of fragile, is so very cool!
{swoon}
I think the arch of the fence is a fun touch that adds great dimension.
There is something so perfect about this vintage style sentiment stamped on a vintage surface.
Wow, that was one long tutorial! I think it is my longest free tutorial so far! I hope you enjoyed it and got some inspiration from this project. I can’t wait to decorate for Christmas and put this out on display on my entry hall table that features all types of vintage goodies.
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So what to you think? Leave a comment and let me know!
About Tammy Tutterow
Absolutely gorgeous!
It’s just gorgeous Tammy. I love all the little details.
Ooooh, wow. I have almost everything in house, so I start right now to ty to make it as beautiful as you did. Thanks for the inspiration.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
that is all I have to say tammy…oh wait, there is fab-u-lous.
p
Beautiful, Tammy! The cardinal adds the perfect pop of color….and it’s my favorite bird….having grown up in St. Louis. Love all the sparkle. Happy Thanksgiving!
Fantastic tutorial, Tammy! What a gorgeous piece of art. Thanks for the tip of embossing the back of items to add extra strength. I love the arched fence too. TFS
This is absolutely, amazingly beautiful and your tutorial is so detailed I might even be tempted to try to make something similar, albeit on a much smaller scale! It must have taken you ages to produce this work of art, thank you so much for sharing this with everyone. I am sure it will be much admired by all of your visitors in the coming weeks.
Wow oh Wow Tammy! Thank YOU for all these incredible ideas. Because of you I am a better artist. Did I mention that I love Tuesdays!!!
This hsa got ot be one of my most favorite things you’ve made. I love the cotton batting idea for snow .. the whole project is beautiful .. you are such an inpsiration !! Happy Thanksgiving early Tammy .. hope you and your family have a great turkey day
Fabulous piece!! Thanks for the tutorial…I have a couple of the items in my stash and the rest I can substitute with other items. Thanks for the jolt to my Chistmas mojo! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
This is so wonderful!! I love the tip about strengthening an intricate piece with EP, thanks!
Thank you for the tutorial, love love love it- I have the new cardinal dies and can’t wait to use them.
This is amazing. Such a talented lady. Truly inspirational. Thank you
Simply GORGEOUS Tammy! Love it!!
STUNNING so gorgeous ….so many steps too!
Wow Tammy I am at a loss for words on this one. Stunning, gorgeous, awesome do not even begin to cover it. This card is INCREDIBLE! All the little details and techniques are really amazing! Thanx so much for sharing and for the tutorial! You are a dear {{{Hugz}}}}
Hello tammy,
Thanks for the step by step tutorial ! I would hardly believe there are 60 photos when reading and viewing the tutorial!!
Great details : love all the tiny glitterbits, the icicles and a good idea for the glossy on top of the fence as ice.
Greetings from Belgium
Ps: i must look up the dutch name for this cardinal, but i think we don’t have a bird like that…
Greetings from belgium
Inge
It is stunning, love the little cardinal. Very creative using the batting for snow. So wish I had that stamp 2 cut cartridge.
The prettiest card!!!
WOW, Absolutely stunning, gorgeous, and every other adjective to describe this beauty! I so look forward to your amazing creations! Thank you!
I enjoy your tutorials immensely Tammy and this one is now in my top 3!! Terrific tips that really help my projects step up to the next level. Now I need to ask Santa for an Eclips machine!! Love the tip about embossing the back of the delicate cuts (I’ll be using that tip a lot!!) and LOVE those gorgeous mirrored snowflakes!! Terrific project that I can’t wait to try, thank you! Happy Thanksgiving
Hi Tammy, this is a beautiful project. I always enjoy your tutorials since you provide so many details. Thanks for this one and all the other that you’ve so generously shared!
Amazing project – I just love all the photos and the end result is beautiful! Thanks so much for all your tutorials and the time you take to share your creativity! It is so much fun to visit your blog!
I think this is amazing Tammy. Thank you for sharing the tutorial. I have a folder on my computer especially for your fabulous work but I will be having a go at this one before I transfer it there.
TAMMY I JUST LOVE THIS ONE. THE DIMENSION IS FANTASTIC. I WOULD LOVE TO SEND A SIMILAR VERSION FOR CHRISTMAS CARDS TO MY FAMILY. THANKS FOR SHARING ALL YOUR GREAT IDEAS. MARCY
This is beautiful! As soon as I saw your first picture, I made myself comfortable in my chair, because I knew I wanted to find out how you put it together. You have me itching to get into my craft room – thanks for the inspiration!
Lovely soft colors; lots of dimension…and sparkle. Thank you for sharing.
Beyond stunning! Thank you for sharing your creative genius..
Wow! I love this and your tutorial is so easy to follow, thank you!