Santa’s Sleigh Framed Hanger

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! I hope life is treating you and yours well these wintery days. ❄️ I didn't have a ton of crafty time before the holidays, but it's calmed slightly in the few weeks after so I've been able to get back to some lingering seasonal makes!

Let me show you my latest creation — a gritty little Christmas scene, featuring Santa’s sleigh from the Dash Away All die set and plenty of other Tim Holtz goodies...

Here are some details about how this project came together…

The Background + Frames…

I started with two lace baseboard frames (obsessed with these!) + a little scrap of white heavystock paper for the background, and applied generous grit paste to all. Once my grit was dry, I painted my frames + background piece with a combo of Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot, just splotched on pretty randomly.

Just to the frames, I also added some Picket Fence splatters to give them a ‘snowy’ feel (this actually ended up being very subtle when it dried, which I’m loving, and made them a slightly lighter shade than the background paper). I then rubbed Antiqued Bronze stain over the gritty texture of the frames with my finger.

I used a small scrap piece of clear acetate, stamped it with Holiday Type (CMS281) using Antiqued Bronze stain, and placed over the top of my background piece just to add a little extra interest.

I also added two eyelets, painted with Antiqued Bronze, to the top corners of my larger frame to make it into a hanger. I set them with my Crop-a-dile tool and added a copper wire piece from my stash.

The Trees...

Next, I cut some trees from white heavystock using the Treeline die. I painted them using a blend of Forest Moss, Rustic Wilderness, and Iced Spruce distress paint with a bit of water, trying to keep the front layers a little lighter, and darker trees in back. 

After my trees were dry, I ended up chopping them up into smaller tree clusters or individual trees, then added a small amount of grit paste to each piece. Once the grit was dry, I used my finger to rub on some Antiqued Bronze stain to the raised texture. 

The Santa + Ledge…

 

I wanted my Santa silhouette and my bracket trim ledge to have a similar look to help balance out my scene. I first cut three of the Santa silhouette pieces from white heavystock, then glued together to get an extra thick piece. Then I added a good amount of grit paste to Santa and the trim piece. 

Once dry, I painted them both with Black Soot and then added Antiqued bronze stain over the top of the texture with my finger, adding a bit more to the bottom of his sleigh and reindeer feet. 

Finished my ledge with two hardware heads on each side.

The Houses…

Next, I worked on some little houses from the Snowglobe #2 Thinlits set.

Once my houses were cut from white heavystock and assembled together, I painted them with Black Soot, sealed with a chunky topcoat of Collage a medium, then rubbed on Antiqued Bronze with my finger. (This may look like it was time-consuming, but it was actually SO easy and I love how the antique bronze highlights the window frames and little details of the houses! 💥)

The Snow + Layered Moon…

I wanted my snow and moon pieces to all have the same look. I cut a handful of snow pieces from the Snowglobe #2 dies and a few Stitched Circles from white heavystock. 

Then I applied grit paste to all (some on the ‘back side’ of my snow to give a little more variety). Once the grit was dry, I coated my pieces with Picket Fence paint, followed by Antiqued Bronze stain rubbed on the raised texture and edges.

The Merry Christmas Words…

I cut three sets of the words Merry Christmas from the Home for the Holidays Thinlit set, glued two of them together for a thicker piece, and left one set for my ‘shadow’ layer.

For my shadow set, I just painted thoroughly with Antiqued Bronze. For my thicker words, I added grit paste and let it dry. Then painted with Picket Fence, rubbed on Antiqued Bronze stain, and glued slightly offset over my shadow layer.

The Finishing Touches…

As always, I added some odds and ends in the final stages…

A couple clippings from the Christmas sticker book, with Antiqued Bronze stain applied to the rough edges.

The numbers 2 and 5 are from the Ideaology Type Chips pack.

Cheese cloth is a staple in my craft room! I applied a bit of Antiqued Bronze stain to a few bits and used it to fill in some snow patches and around my moon layers.

I cut a few smaller strips from the Star Trim 3D embossing folder to add some extra interest around my frames, painted with Black Soot, then added antiqued bronze stain highlights.

The metal ruler is from the Ideaology Measurements pack. I rubbed Antiqued Bronze stain on the raised texture. (What is it with me and rulers lately!? They just always seem like the perfect addition 😂)

Once all of my pieces were assembled and jazzed up, it was just a matter of gluing all my layers together… 

And that’s it for this fun little make!

I hope you like it and get a chance to have some crafty time of your own soon!

Thanks for looking ❤️

x Erin

The Products…

Sizzix + Tim Holtz Dies… Dash Away All, Stitched Circles, Treeline, Snowglobe #2, Home for the Holidays

Sizzix + Tim Holtz 3D Embossing Folder… Star Trim

Surfaces… white heavystock, lace baseboard frames, bracket trim chipboard, heat-resistant clear acetate

Stampers Anonymous + Tim Holtz Stamps… Holiday Type (CMS281)

Ranger + Tim Holtz Distress Mediums… collage Medium, grit paste

Ranger + Tim Holtz Distress Stain… Antiqued Bronze

Ranger + Tim Holtz Distress Paint… Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, Forest Moss, Rustic Wilderness, Iced Spruce, Picket Fence

Ideaology… Type Chips, Christmas sticker book, Measurements, hardware heads

Other Tools… Big Shot, glass mat, distress sprayer, eyelets, crop-a-dile, copper wire, cheese cloth

Dashing Deer Thickboard Tag

Hello crafty friends! Today I’m sharing a holiday make featuring the lovely (classic) Dashing Deer Bigz die, set on a medium thickboard tag. He just seems so regal to me, I felt inspired to give him some beautiful trimmings ✨

Let’s dive in to how this piece came together, shall we?

The Background…

I first embossed 4 small pieces of heavystock with the Tim Holtz Arched 3D embossing folder (don’t forget to dampen the paper first and run through the Big Shot a few times to get a super deep imprint)…

Next, I cut sections from each piece and glued down on a medium-sized thick board tag with collage medium. (I cut along the arches, but as you can see in the next photo, imperfect seams are fine, they will all blend together nicely after the mediums are applied 👌🏻)

I trimmed off the excess paper with an exacto and added grit paste to the edges + a few random spots on the front. Once the grit was fully dry, I sealed everything with a layer of collage medium (leaving it a little thicker on the exposed seams), then coated with Picket Fence distress paint. 

Here’s a little better view of the gritty edge at this point…

Next, I rubbed some Iced Spruce distress crayon on my glass mat and used a blending brush to really work it into the recessed areas of the design.

I used a baby wipe to wipe off the top-most crayon, leaving it only visible in the grooves. (My favorite step! I didn’t want my background to be too ‘busy’ knowing I would add plenty of detail over the top, so I’m loving how the iced spruce just subtly accentuates that yummy pattern/texture.)

The Dashing Deer…

I cut three pieces of the Dashing Deer Bigz die from 50-point chipboard, cut the antlers off of the top piece, and glued them all together to make him extra thick.

Now to texturize + paint him up!

For the head/body, I first covered generously with grit paste. Once the thick grit was fully dry, I coated with walnut stain distress paint. Then added some Vintage Photo paint highlights under his jaw + inner neck, and used my finger to rub on some Rose Gold luster wax to the raised ‘furry’ texture.

For his antlers, I used a piece of heavystock to create my own handmade cream-colored paper (Antique Linen paint base with white and gold embossing powder). Then I used the Bigz die to cut the antlers from this piece and glued it over the chipboard. I Painted the antler edges with Black Soot and added a bit more random gold embossing to help make it look more unified.

At this point, I Added a bit of Black Soot paint + a dab of Glossy Accents to the tip of his nose, then Bent and shaped him to add dimension. I also glued a hitch fastener on the underside, between the ears, to give him some extra lift.

For his collar, I first painted some Ideaology pieces with black soot: the chain of a swivel clasp (removed the actual clasp), a jump ring, and 2 tiny bells. Once the paint was dry, I added gold embossing to the bells.

(I was inspired by Tim to include several embossed metal Ideaology bits in this project. He gives a great tutorial of this technique in the 2021 holiday demo Part 4. My fave part starts at about 1:13:00 where he works on the little tree stand 😍)

The Gold Trim + Ruler Ledge…

I decided I needed a little ledge for him to sit on, along with some extra contrast for my sentiment.

I used the Arched embossing folder again on another small piece of heavystock, then used the embossing dauber over the whole piece, covered with Princess gold embossing powder, then set the powder with a heat gun. Next, I used the bracket die to cut two gold strips before gluing them on the thick board bracket trim pieces.

Once the paper was glued on my chipboard trim pieces, I trimmed any excess paper, then added more gold embossing powder to the edges and a little walnut stain Distress crayon over the top to highlight the texture.

The metal ruler is from the Ideaology Measurements set. It was already black, so I didn’t bother to paint it first, just added some gold embossing to the numbers and tick marks. 

The Sentiment…

I was inspired by one of the phrases in the Festive Overlay stamp set but decided to do something different for each part of the phrase + use dies for PEACE.

I stamped “Wishing you” in clear embossing ink on my handmade cream paper, sprinkled on Ranger’s black embossing powder, then heat set and cut out the little strip by hand. I painted a memo pin with Black Soot to hold it in place.

I also stamped “In The New Year” on my creamy paper with clear emboss ink, sprinkled on Princess Gold and heat set, then cut around each by hand. I added some Black Soot Distress crayon to the edges. I painted an Ideaology Wire pin with Black Soot and poked it through each strip to hold them in place.

 For the PEACE letters, I used the Alphanumeric Bold die set and cut three of each from heavystock + one of each from my cream paper, then glued all 4 together for a thick stack, then painted the edges of each letter with black Soot. I placed the letters on my gold trim piece, added a hardware head at one end, and a gold-embossed large hinge clip on the other side.

Joy + Frame… I stamped “& JOY” in clear embossing ink on heat-resistant clear acetate, then sprinkled on black embossing powder and heat set. The little frame is from the Ideaology Label Frames set. I painted it with Black Soot, then once dry, I added some random gold embossing, before placing the clear acetate piece behind it. Loving how this turned out✨

The Greenery…

For my Foliage, I created a few more handmade papers with green base tones (Iced Spruce, Bundled Sage, Rustic Wilderness), stamps from The Poinsettia set, and gold and white embossed accents, then used the Greens Mini dies to cut out my pieces. I also cut a few sprigs out of clear acetate, then added gold embossing to the edges.

The Finishing Touches…

I tore off a few pieces from the Joy to the World sheet music in the Christmas layers pack. 

I cut a few candles from the Candlelight Colorize set, added some gold embossed details and cut the flame from clear acetate, with a dab of Glossy Accents over the top. Once they were assembled and the glossy accents was dry, I used my finger to add Black Soot crayon to the edges

The December pin in the lower right corner is from the Christmas Vintage Flair set. I added a little gold embossing to the edges.

The snowflakes are from the Ideaology Clear Icicles and Snowflakes set (now discontinued, I believe, but the metal ones would be great, too). I added some Princess Gold embossing to the edges to help them fit my theme.

And that is my Dashing Deer tag! I had such fun making him and definitely scratched my embossing itch for a while 😂

Thanks for looking!

x Erin

The Products…

Dies… Dashing Deer Bigz (discontinued), Alphanumeric Bold, Greens mini, Candlelight Colorize, Decorative Trims

3D Embossing folder… Arched

Stamps… Festive Overlay (CMS357), The Poinsettia (CMS426)

Mediums… Distress Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Sizzix Rose Gold Luster Wax, Glossy Accents, Distress embossing ink, Distress embossing dabber 

Distress Crayons… Iced Spruce, Black Soot

Distress Paint… Black Soot, Picket Fence, Bundled Sage

Embossing Powder… Princess Gold, Black, Clear, White

Ideaology… metal ruler, hitch fasteners, jump rings, tiny bells, Swivel Clasps, Large Hinge Clip, Label Frames, Wire pin, Memo Pin, hardware heads, Christmas layers, Frozen Clear Icicle Borders and Snowflakes (discontinued), Vintage Flair Christmas (discontinued)

Surfaces… Etcetera Medium tag thickboard, bracket trim chipboard, heat-resistant clear acetate, Distress White heavystock , 50-point chipboard sheets

Tools… glass mat, Big Shot, Exacto, heat gun, Distress sprayer, blending brush

Hallowed Ground Framed Panel

Hey, hey 👋🏻 We are getting excited for Halloween in my house, or trick-or-treating to be exact! To help set the mood, I created this quirky little cemetery scene, set in a Tim Holtz framed panel.

I had such fun making this, and there are a lot of details I’m excited to share, so grab some coffee and settle in and off we go!

The Background…

First, I cut some cobwebs out of heavystock from the Spider Web die set and glued down on the base of the framed panel with collage medium. Then I painted both my base and frame piece with Black Soot Distress paint. I love that the base and frame are separate so I can ‘sandwich’ my other layers between them!

Next, I used my finger to apply Sizzix Rose Gold luster wax to the base and frame, highlighting all the yummy texture. (I ended up covering the sides later, so didn’t need to paint/highlight the edges at all 🤷🏻‍♀️)

I used quote chips to elevate the top half of the frame because I knew I wanted my hills to be extra chunky at the bottom and I wanted to try to keep the frame (somewhat) parallel to the base 🤷🏻‍♀️

Next, I inked 4 larger hardware heads with Caramel and glued in each corner of the frame. Then I added translucent grit paste around the hardware (to me, this helps ‘unite’ them with the frame so they look less like separate elements). Once the paste is fully dry, I inked over it with Caramel. I usually like 2 coats of ink for a deeper, rustier look.

For my inner text border, I took clippings from the Curiosities sticker book, placed them side-by-side on strips of heavystock, sealed with collage medium, lightly rubbed Rose Gold wax over the top and front edge with my finger, and positioned them in place underneath my main frame.

The “Hallowed Ground” Pieces…

I’m loving the way these Hallowed Ground strips turned out. First, I cut 2 strips of white heavystock paper, exactly the height of the Mini Marquee Letters, and used my finger to cover them with rose gold wax.

Then I spelled out Hallowed Ground, glued my letters side by side and trimmed the length of my strips, leaving room on the sides for hardware.

Next, I added a super thick layer of Glossy Accents to each strip and let dry fully (may take a day or two, depending on thickness ⏱😑).

Once the Glossy Accents was fully dry, I inked 6 small hardware heads and glued to the corners of each strip and added translucent grit paste around their bases (I didn’t do any for the right side of Ground, I knew that part of the strip would be hidden.) Then I used Caramel alcohol ink to ‘rust up’ the grit paste and add some extra grunge to the edges of my strips.💥

I wanted the right edge of the Hallowed strip to rest on the frame, so I needed to elevate the left side to make it parallel to the base… So, I inked 2 hitch fasteners with caramel and glued under the hardware heads (love those dang hitch fasteners!)

I found the ‘Toxique’ chip piece in the Halloween baseboard pack, added grit paste to the edges, then inked with Caramel and highlighted with Rose Gold wax.

The Church + Graves…

Ahh, the church. Must confess I did some trial and error on this piece. I’ll show you how I made my final version, then compare to my ‘experimental’ versions and you can decide if it was worth the redos 🤦🏻‍♀️

I started by cutting 6 church pieces from the Ghosttown die set, then glued 2 layers together, which left me with 3 thicker churches. One is my base, the others will get cut up for detailing.

I sketched out my plan for the other layers and then fussy cut (so fun! and forgiving… all the layers of medium to follow help smooth or cover any cutting imperfections). I also try to stick with the ‘style’ of the die. I glued the layers in place and painted thoroughly with Antiqued Bronze stain.

Next, I decided to add a few remnant rubs for extra detail. I only had the Special Delivery set on hand, so I tried to make that one work. Not sure if I would do this step on my church again, but I do ❤️ remnant rubs!

Then I added some marquee letters behind the windows and coated the whole piece with a thick layer of Glossy Accents. (I liked the idea of not totally blacked out windows, but this detail is tricky to see once the Glossy Accents dries 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Once the gloss coat was dry, I added a caramel-inked hardware head over the door, a bit of grit paste, followed by caramel ink over the gritty bits. Below you can see through the windows a bit better.

I also cut 3 of the ‘smoke’ pieces from the Ghosttown set to use for my path and 3 gravestone cuts from Ghosttown 2, glued the layers together and gave them the same grungy treatment as my church. 

Here are my ‘matching’ elements at this stage:

Ok, so that’s how I made church #3, now I’ll show you my rejects and explain why I was unhappy with them… ✨

Below is my first attempt. I thought I wanted it black, but realized it needed more contrast with my background, so I started again…

Here’s #2… it was almost a keeper, but no cigar. I was really digging it, but then I messed up by adding a layer of caramel ink before adding glossy accents so it was much darker than my marquee letter strips 🙄

Below you can see my final version (pre-alcohol ink over the grit paste) next to version 2. I like it a lot better and feel it was worth the extra time! (You do you, boo! 😎)

The Hills…

For the hills, I used Stitched Ovals of various sizes, cut from heavystock. For the gritty black part, I covered them liberally with grit paste, then painted with Black Soot and added antique bronze stain highlights. 

To help provide contrast for my black ovals, I cut another set of ovals from heavystock and covered with antiqued bronze stain and glued slightly offset behind the black ones. Then I added more grit paste between them to give them some unity and colored the grit paste with caramel ink. Super grungy 😍

Love the way these turned out, but because I like to complicate things, I decided I needed even more contrast with my background. so I cut another set of ovals from heavystock and covered them with Curiosities clippings, similar to my inner frame.

I sealed my clippings with collage medium, distressed the edges, added Rose Gold Wax and glued slightly offset from my other oval pieces.

Some of the other elements I used to add interest to my hills…

Gear… From the Mechanical Bigz set, cut from thicker mat board. I added grit paste, painted with black soot, applied rose gold wax highlights to the grit, and finished with touches of caramel ink.

Ephemera… the ‘Condemned’ tag, the ticket, and the circle piece over the gear came from the Halloween ephemera pack. The 31 chip is a piece of paper with glossy Accents over the top. Lucky 13 pin from the Halloween flair pack.

Optical lens… I first gave it a coat of caramel alcohol ink, then added grit paste, then applied Rose gold wax over the gritty bits, and then more caramel ink.

Metal ruler… From the Odds and Ends Embellishments set. I covered with caramel ink, then added some grit paste, then more caramel ink over the grit.

The Trees…

These trees make me happy 🙊 I cut 6 trees from the Ghost town set, spritzed with water and ran through Tim’s Woodgrain 3D embossing folder, several good passes to really get that nice texture.

Coated with ground espresso paint. Then used my finger to highlight the texture with rose gold luster wax.

Next, I dabbed Glossy Accents on the ends of each tree branch, and sprinkle on the midnight mica flakes.

Once dry, I added drops of caramel ink onto the flakes, avoiding the tree trunks.

Once the ink had dried, I added Rose Gold luster wax highlights.

 Cuuuute 🙊

The Bats…

To make my bats, I cut out 2 of the largest bats from Bat Crazy, then fussy cut some extra detail on one of the pieces before gluing it on top of the other piece. I Added grit paste, Painted with black Soot all over, then touches of rose gold wax highlights, followed by caramel ink.

I didn’t think plain black bats would contrast enough with the background, so I cut another piece for my ‘highlight’ layer, coated with antiqued bronze stain and glued slightly offset below the black piece.

Then added grit paste followed by caramel ink, and shaped the wings and body. Used these steps for 5 more bats of various sizes. For the largest one, I thought it’d be cool to go for some extra elevation, so I tinted a vignette box hardware nail with caramel ink and poked through the bat. As part of my finishing touches at the end, I hammered the nail into my background and secured with Glossy Accents at the base to keep it elevated.

Now, I’m ready for assembly. Obviously, I like to make most of my elements independently, so then it comes down to just gluing them all in place together. I use Distress Collage Medium for my adhesive… and A LOT of clamping.

The Edges + Hanger…

Once my scene was fully glued and dry, it was time to fix up the edges.

I started to wrap the edges with black Halloween label tape (the back is very sticky but I still stuck it down with collage medium for good measure).

Then I added touches of rose gold wax to the white lettering to grunge it up before sealing with Collage medium, then applied grit paste randomly. 

Once the paste was dry, I colored with caramel ink.

The Moon + Finishing Touches…

I loved the idea of using the drawer pull as a moon, so I first inked it with Caramel alcohol ink, along with two little studs from hardware heads. I added some grit paste, highlighted with rose gold wax, then more caramel ink. I glued the studs on first, then glued it in place on the frame (I like the spider web under it 🕸)

Next, I stained some cheesecloth with black soot and added little bits here and there around my scene. I also added more grit paste around the edges and corners of my frame, followed by caramel alcohol ink.

And that’s my grungy, quirky church graveyard scene 🪦⛪️ Whew!

Thanks so much for looking! ❤️ And Happy Halloween 🎃 

x Erin

The Products…

Dies… Spider Web, Bat Crazy, Ghosttown, Ghosttown 2, Stitched Ovals, Mechanical Bigz

3D Embossing folder… Lumber

Surfaces… framed panel, Distress white heavystock

Mediums… collage medium, Distress grit paste, Rose Gold Luster Wax, Distress midnight mica flakes, Glossy Accents

Distress paint… Black Soot, Ground Espresso

Distress stain… Antiqued Bronze, Black Soot

Alcohol ink… Caramel

Ideaology… hardware heads, mini hardware pulls, Halloween baseboards, optical lens, type chips, vignette hardware, Tiny Clips, Hitch Fasteners, Curiosities sticker book, Halloween Label Tape, Odds and Ends Embellishments, Halloween Ephemera, Halloween flair

Other supplies… Big Shot, glass mat, Distress sprayer, heat tool, Cheesecloth