winter wishes blog hop - a winter wedding planner

Hi everyone and a warm welcome to the Winter Wishes Blog Hop!

Warm thoughts are unfolding, as we begin to enter a festive time of year. 
Eileen, Kim and The Teams have created a fun blog hop challenge to kick off the American Thanksgiving and Winter festivities.

 I am thrilled to be sharing this project I designed for the hop
sponsored by Emerald Creek Craft Supplies and Eileen Hull. Be sure to read through to the end for all the details of the blog hop and giveaway.

It is no secret that both of these companies manufacture some of my favorite products to use. Today I am sharing a winter wedding planner that I have created using the Eileen Hull Journal Die and showcasing the gorgeous stained glass window stamp from Emerald Creek along with some of their amazing embossing powders. The Emerald Creek embossing powders are truly unique and create the most magical finishes. I have been using them for a long time and they have become a staple among my crafting supplies.

So many people like to take advantage of winter's beauty when choosing a wedding date.  There is something magical about the snow on the ground and the chill in the air. I wanted to create a special keepsake journal with spots to tuck ideas into; begin the many to do and who's who lists that are needed, and simply organize all of the details that go along with planning a wedding.  
For the base of my project I have chosen an Eileen Hull Journal. This is a very versatile die and the cuts can be customized in so many ways. I chose it for the height, which easily accommodates the Emerald Creek stained glass art stamp that I  am showcasing on the cover. The base pieces are die cut from a medium weight chipboard. I ink only the edges of the stamp onto the chipboard cover, and then, using an Exacto knife, I cut out the shape just beyond the stamped line. This will ensure that when the stamped and colored piece is placed within the opening, the embossed edges will show.

With the altered cover as a guide, I trace the cut opening onto a piece of Bristol board.
 I apply texture paste with a palette knife through the stone pattern stencil, and create a "wall" of stone. This is set aside to dry. A second piece of bristol is cut to fit the back cover of the journal and the stone pattern is applied to that piece as well.

While the stone pieces are drying, I cut a piece of bristol that is long enough to span the entire inside (interior front, spine and back.)  This piece of paper is scored at each of the locations that will need to bend. The piece is then slipped into the base journal and the "window" opening is traced onto it. The opening will be cut out from the interior covering so that when assembled, the front cover will simulate a window within a wall.  I want the interior of the wedding planner to appear as if it is the interior walls of a stone chapel. I ink the bristol with antique linen distress ink, then using a stencil pattern that looks like something you might see in an historic building, I apply embossing ink through the stencil. Vintage beeswax baked texture embossing powder is sprinkled over the embossing ink and heat set. I continue this process until the entire interior covering has the pattern applied. When cooled, the "window opening" piece is cut out using an exacto knife. This decorative interior covering is set aside. The  actual window piece will need to be completed and attached prior to the attaching the interior covering.

Once the stone patterned pieces have dried, I color the stones using distress inks and a water brush. I usually mix or choose a color and paint random stones within the entire pattern before working with the ext color. This helps to make sure all of the colors are spread throughout the complete design as they would be if a mason was laying a stone wall. The different colors blend visually, but each stone maintains its unique appearance. When all of the stones have been colored and are dry, I coat the pages with micro glaze and buff off. The micro glaze will set the inks so that as the journal is used the inks will not reactivate.

I tend to be unconventional when covering my journals, oftentimes the decorative cover material is adhered to the base material prior to cutting the piece, but I prefer to secure the covers together at the spine and later add my finished coverings and trim to fit. I attach my front and back base pieces along the spine with distress collage medium and clamp them together until dry. Next, I attach my stone patterned paper to the back cover with collage medium. I set weights on the paper so that it remains flat. The front decorative stone piece is also attached with collage medium and weighted down until the glue has set. The spine of the journal is covered with a strip of mixed media heavy stock that I have dry embossed with a 3D texture fade and colored with inks and paints to make it look like the wood of an old chapel door.

Before moving ahead, I coat the inside edge of the window opening with embossing ink and use charred gold embossing powder to create the illusion of a leaded opening.

Now it's time to complete the showpiece of the planner, the stained glass window. I intend for the window piece to be translucent as a typical stained glass window would be, and use a vellum paper as the base in order to achieve this. I stamp the Emerald Creek stained glass stamp with versamark onto vellum and sprinkle charred gold embossing powder over the image. This is heat set and allowed to cool.

When the powder has cooled, I color the image using distress inks and a water brush. I love the vivid colors that can be achieved when using inks to color and yet they remain translucent, allowing the light to shine through. When the ink is dry, I turn the colored image over. The main outlines of the stamp image are traced with a versamark pen and then embossed with the charred gold powder. When the window is in place and the planner is in the open position, it will appear as a window to the exterior. 

I cut out the window, leaving approximately an inch all around the edge. This allows me area to attach to the base cover, when securing the window into the opening. The finished window is attached to the inside front cover, between the chipboard base die cut and the interior stenciled and embossed bristol piece. From the outside of the journal the window looks "set into" a stone wall.  Here are some detail views of the front and spine of the wedding planner. The final step when assembling the planner is to add charred gold embossing all along the outside edges. I love this finishing touch, it adds such a beautiful detail. 

On the inside cover, I added a window sill piece cut from the same "wood  finish" paper as the spine, below the window. I also attached a piece of parchment paper that has a stamped embossed image of the definition of love. This image was embossed with moss stone embossing powder. It is a very fine powder and captured the small text of this stamp perfectly.

The interior of the planner contains three distinct parts or signatures as they are sometimes called. Each signature is broken down into different sections. I created the signatures from mixed media paper so that they could easily be customized and would withstand markups, collage, and other modifications. I assigned titles to each of the three signatures: ideas, event, and guests.

The first signature, "ideas", has a section that can be used for gathering dress inspiration clippings or sketches; a second section for wedding theme and venue information, and a third section for invitation preferences.

 In order to designate the three different sections of the "ideas" signature, I trimmed the pages and added a decorative edge to each section. The first section is stamped with an ornate trim stamp and embossed with charred gold embossing powder. The two remaining sections are edged with distress glitter design tape.

Perhaps the bride to be has some magazine clippings that she has always dreamed her wedding would be like, these can easily be glued onto the papers with copious notes added.

For the exterior of this signature I stamped and embossed the word "ideas" with charred gold embossing powder onto shimmery cardstock and then embellished the top and bottom with inked die cuts of festive holiday greenery. I intentionally left the center of this signature simple so that it would not detract from the transparency of the stained glass stamp when the planner was in the closed position and viewed from the exterior.
The second signature, "event", is covered with christmas collage paper and edged with charred gold embossing powder.

 The title is also embossed with charred gold. This section could contain all the details for the ceremony, music and flowers.

While planning my own wedding, I really focused much of my attention on the selection of readings and music. This was a very important part of the special day to me. I wanted to be sure that there was ample room for all of these important details in this signature, as well as pages for preferred flowers and types of arrangements and bouquets. The divisions of this signature are kept simple with trimmed edges and charred gold embossing of different patterns along the leading edges.
The third signature "guests" has a few different pockets and places to tuck things, as well as three tabbed sections. This is where all of the information surrounding the invitees would be located. 
On the cover of this signature, the title is embossed in charred gold embossing powder as well as a couple of decorative stenciled images to coordinate with the interior of the planner. The inside cover has a pocket for tucking important papers. A "gather" flashcard is edged with charred gold.

Three tabbed sections can be used for guests list, table arrangements, and gifts.

Spiced candy aroma embossing powder is used as an accent on the back cover of this signature.This embossing powder creates a lovely red translucent finish and has the smell of cinnamon candies when it is being heat set. I love the pop of color it add to this signature.

 There is a stitched slots die cut attached to the back cover as well, providing a great spot to store an rsvp list or gift registry information.

Each signature is secured in the book by an elastic that has been threaded through the spine and tied together. This type of binding allows the signatures to be easily removed and replaced, giving you freedom to use the cover and/or the signatures for entirely different purposes. Perhaps after the wedding this might become a place for you to keep your favorite photos and memories of the special day, or honeymoon. It might just remain as is to be cherished and shared over the years.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope that you have enjoyed seeing how I created this winter wedding planner. If you are are interested in creating some journals, this Eileen Hull die is definitely one to check out, and I highly recommend the Emerald Creek supplies, I can honestly say that their embossing powders are my absolute favorite to use.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful winter season.
~Ann  

Don't forget to follow along and comment on all of the wonderful stops along the hop. The designers have put together some incredible projects to inspire you, and I, myself, have been so impressed by the wonderful designs of each and every one. You should have arrived here from Pam Bray's blog, but if not, feel free to start at the beginning, you don't want to miss a thing!
Here is the list of designers with their links:

 1. Eileen Hull 

 2. Kim Evans 

 3. Gwen Lafleur 

 4. Pam Bray 

 5. Ann Barnes - you are here

 6. Lisa Hoel 

 7. Jennalee Anderson 

 8. Diana Hetherington 

 9. Anne Redfern 

10. Elizabeth Robinson

11. Susana Magenheimer 

12. Julia Aston

To play along all you need to do is follow along and comment on every blog. If you play along and link up your own creation using Eileen and Emerald Creek products, you will get 2 bonus entries for the draw. Contest Closes on Sunday November 25th, with the Winner announced Cyber Monday!

Prize includes an Eileen Hull Journal Die and a $50.00 gift certificate to the Emerald Creek Shop.




Supplies used to create a winter wedding planner:
chipboard (medium weight)
Distress collage medium: matte
Distress ink:
antique linen, black soot, candied apple, dusty concord, fired brick, fossilized amber, gathered twigs, hickory smoke, iced spruce, peeled paint, pumice stone, victorian velvet
tea dye, weathered wood, walnut stain,
Eileen Hull Sizzix Scoreboard XL Journal die
Emerald Creek art stamps: stained glass
Emerald Creek embossing powders:
charred gold allure, moss stone, spiced candy aroma, vintage beeswax
Ranger texture paste: opaque matte
Tim Holtz Ideaology:
 design tapes, paper stash christmas, christmas alpha stamps, christmas collage paper,
Tim Holtz/Sizzix alterations dies:
fold-up bows, funky festive, holiday greens mini, holiday greens, stacked deckle,
stitched slots, vintage tidings,
Tim Holtz/Sizzix alterations 3D texture fades: lumber
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous stencils:
 THS026, mini THMS085
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous:
correspondence, love struck, ornate and lace, ornate trims

a trio of holiday ornaments

Hi everyone, it is hard to believe that the holiday season is in full swing now.
 Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving in the US which will then lead right into Christmas preparations.
Today I am on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog,
 sharing my trio of holiday ornaments.

These are fairly quick to put together, using multiple sets of the GSLC simple house ornament. The ornament bases are sturdy chipboard house shapes and are sold in sets of two. I used two sets of two and created the thankful ornament with the remaining base.

Select a sheet of your favorite holiday paper and adhere it to one side of each of the ornaments.  I like to use distress collage medium. When the glue is dry, trim around the edges with an exacto knife to achieve a clean edge. Be sure to poke a hole through the paper where the precut hole is located or it will be difficult to find when both sides of the chipboard are covered. Turn the base over and cover the opposite side in the same manner. The Tim Holtz paper I chose had sheets of a beautiful pattern in both a black and a white background. I love the way that the pattern is the same but one side of the ornament is white and the opposite side is black. Really, the possibilities for these ornaments are endless, any styles, colors or themes would work. You could even paint the bases and begin your design from there.

Once the papers have been trimmed completely, the next step involves adding your chosen embellishments. I gather some holiday bits and pieces and decide on a scheme for each ornament. I think these would be a great hostess gift if you were invited to a holiday party, or even used for tying on a package then later hung on the tree. The embellishments would depend on how you anticipate them being used and can be simple or complex.

I prefer the look of a finished edge, especially since I have used two different colored papers on the piece. To achieve a unified look, I coat an edge of the covered base in versamark embossing ink then dip in embossing powder. The embossing powder is heat set; and, when cool, the process is repeated for all edges of each ornament. On one of the ornaments I chose to paint the edges with black soot paint instead of the embossing powder. Each method provides a unique look. Depending on the style that you intend to finish your ornaments, you could treat the edges in a manner that would be complementary.

My first ornament contains a gold embossed edge, and an embossed stamped sentiment also in gold. Beneath the sentiment I added a paper bow and some die cut greenery pieces. The reverse side was left unadorned. This ornament is tied with golden string.

The second ornament is embossed around its edge with Emerald Creek spiced candy embossing powder. The focal point on this ornament is a glittered, stag die cut which stands in front of a gathering of die cut evergreen pieces. It hangs from a piece of sheer red ribbon.

The third holiday ornament is more whimsical than the others. Reminiscent of the north pole, strips of red and white striped paper are adhered to each side.  All the edges of the ornament base are painted with distress black soot paint and when dry, a red wired tinsel is adhered to angled roof edges with collage medium. Three red jingle bells hang from the bottom by means of alcohol inked jump rings. An ideaology ephemera Santa is raised off the paper background by a piece of trimmed fun foam. He stands atop a "snowy" Christmas quote chip and is  ready for his midnight journey
 round the world.

 I loved being able to create a few holiday gifts with these Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts simple house ornaments. They are really versatile, I already have ideas for a few more designs.

I hope that you are able to set aside some time to create during this busy holiday season, I always feel that when I give handmade I am giving something of myself; a work of heart.


Wishing you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving.
~Ann


supplies used:
Distress collage medium matte
Distress glitter dust
Distress grit paste
Distress inks and Distress oxide inks
Distress mica spray
Distress paint: black soot
Distress woodgrain cardstock
Emerald Creek Craft Supplies spiced candy aroma embossing powder
Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts simple house ornament
Ranger princess gold embossing powder
Tim Holtz Ideaology:
 christmas quote chips, jump rings, metallic kraft cardstock, noel ephemera, paper stash-christmas
Tim Holtz / Sizzix alterations dies:
fold-up bows, holiday greens, holiday greens mini, skeleton leaves, winter wonderland
Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous / Simon Says Stamp: Stamptember 2018 stamp set

bountiful blessings

I am ever so grateful to mother nature for providing reassurance that the cycle of life is continuous, and that even in death there is beauty. She presents us with this confidence every fall in the stunning display of color we catch glimpses of on the trees and shrubs around us. It is from this wondrous natural display that I find the inspiration for my November Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts design team project "bountiful blessings."

I begin with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts wreath rings set. It contains three separate, sturdy chipboard rings that can be used individually as a base to build upon. The smallest ring measures 5" and the largest measures 11". I have chosen to use the medium sized ring as my base for this project. 

Since my wreath will use different shaped leaves to create the design, I realize that their unique shapes may not provide entire coverage of the base; for this reason, I cover the base ring with collage medium and attach a piece of burlap. When the glue is dry, I trim off any excess fabric. To add interest to this layer, I ink around the edges of the burlap as well as intermittently within the flat area of the circle. I mix tarnished brass spray stain with texture paste and apply this randomly on the burlap covered ring through a stencil. I set this piece aside to dry completely.

Next, I begin preparing the pieces that will be included in my design. Using the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts skeleton leaves 2 set, I carefully remove the three leafy stems from the sheet. 

Each section is coated with embossing ink and then sprinkled with burnt copper leaves embossing powder and heat set. These pieces are set aside to allow space to create the other pieces for layering.

Using distress oxide inks, I create sheets of colorful papers that represent the differing leaf colors that can be found outdoors. The resulting patterns are inked with traditional distress ink to create depth. These papers are die cut into leaf shapes of various size and species.

The individual leaves are inked around the edges, as well as on their reverse sides. This will ensure a finished look for any pieces that overhang the edges of the wreath. Some of the more shaft-like pieces are coated with charred gold or moss stone embossing powder. I also gather some beautiful, natural, red maple leaves that I collected last fall, and had coated with resin to ensure their color stay true. 

I begin by laying the skeleton leaves along the circle and then "audition" different layering arrangements. During this process, I realize sometimes less is more beautiful than more. Each section is built up and when I have a section that I am pleased with, the pieces are attached to the base using a hot glue gun. I have included a few progress photos showing how the design came to life.

When I felt that the wreath was complete, I added two clippings from blades of of gilded wheat from a recently received floral arrangement. I crossed the pieces forming an X and adhered them in place with distress collage medium. When dry, I add a small acorn from my stash to the juncture.

I adhere a hanging hook onto the back of the ring once my design is complete. This step might be easier to complete prior to attaching all of the elements to the front of the form; however, I want to be sure that the wreath hangs correctly and I didn't want to worry about keeping everything aligned during the creative process.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by the blog.

Wishing you a colorful and creative fall, filled with bountiful blessings! 

~Ann

supplies used:

Distress collage medium

Distress mica spray: antique bronze

Distress texture paste

Distress ink:

aged mahogany, barn door, fossilized amber, gathered twigs, ground expresso, 

peeled paint, rusty hinge, scattered straw, walnut stain, wild honey

Distress oxide:

aged mahogany, fired brick, fossilized amber, gathered twigs,

 spiced marmelade, vintage photo, wild honey

Distress spray stain: tarnished brass  

Emerald Creek Craft Supplies embossing powders:

burnt copper leaves, charred gold, moss stone

Gold Leafing

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:

Wreath Rings, Skeleton Leaves 2

Hot Glue Gun and glue sticks

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Alterations dies:

autumn gathering, fall foliage, tattered leaves

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous mini stencil set 09

Versamark embossing ink