A HOME Made Christmas

This month's Mixed Media Card Challenge theme is home and an
option of lace. The theme is very broad. For me home includes home
made Christmas gifts. Over the years I have enjoyed making ornaments to share a few of my recent favorite techniques with a few stamping friends who also love techniques.

When I read that Virginia's View Challenge this month is "all things distressed" I knew my ornament would contain lots of distressing and could serve as the focal point of a card.  The card serves as the means to present my ornament to my friends.  Here is my first ornament card for the season.

I began with the ornament's base.  I tore apart a flap from a box waiting to be recycled.  Roughly tearing off the top layer of paper resulted in a the textured piece of corrugated cardboard to which I added white acrylic paint and mica snowflakes. The large snowflake is an acrylic skin and here is a link to my photo tutorial.

Behind the snowflake is a watercolor background stamped with Stampendous holiday sentiments.  The background is misted with Perfect Pearls in broken china ink and larger gold dots are made with Heidi Swapp's gold lame spray. The edges are distress with ink and frayed with a distress tool.  A watercolored bird is created with a Memory Box die cut.  A  gold pipe cleaner across the top was formed into a hanger for the ornament. 

The card base is watercolored with distress stains and water stamped (no ink just misted water on stamp).  I used a Hero Arts diamond pattern background. I felt the diamond pattern would compliment the pattern of the snowflake tips.  Well that is open for interpretation since the misted water on my stamp created some of it's own shapes. On the left side of the card is a loosely woven jute "ribbon".  I like the unusual texture it provides. I distressed the sentiment banner and chose a sentiment filling for all my stamping pals.

Thanks Virginia for another fun challenge and bringing guests to share their knowledge and inspiration!

Remember Mixed Media Card Challenge is open until Dec 25! 
Have fun getting inky!...Jan