Magical Christmas Designs - Gecko Galz November 2024 Challenge

Welcome back to Paper Play, friends!

The fun part about this time of the year is that we celebrate so many holidays.  This month we've moved on from all things dark and beautiful to the magic of Christmas!  November's Gecko Galz Challenge theme was Magical Christmas designs.  This was a fun twist on the typical Christmas crafts since the word magical may be interpreted so many different ways.  I decided to focus on the magical beings of the season - elves, beings of nature, and angels.

I created four projects for the challenge - a tag and three greeting cards.  For the cards, I went with a theme of using a line from a Christmas song as the greeting.  I think that I found the perfect images to accommodate them!

For the tag, I used a chipboard tag as the base so that it would be very sturdy.  I painted the tag, glued down the elf image, and then stenciled holly and ivy with colored grit paste.  I made the burlap wreath by cutting a chipboard circle with the center cut out and wrapping the burlap around it.  The burlap is glued down to the circle.  I added some vintage grunge to the wreath using Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains, and then glued it down to the tag so that the elf image was in the center.  I glued down the sentiment strip and some additional floral elements and the tag was finished.

 

 

 

The first card design came to me as soon as I saw the image of the Green Man/Forrest Man.  I immediately thought, "Let heaven and nature sing."  Seeing as though he is a being of nature, I thought it appropriate that he be surrounded by nature.  I grabbed a wreath die and cut the wreath elements out of a darker green cardstock.  I lightly added some Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink to darken it up a bit, and then spritzed them with some Tim Holtz Distress Spritz to get some shiny mica on there.  I glued the wreath down to the image so that it was in the center and then added poinsettias and acrylic bubbles.  I wanted a somewhat plain background so that it didn't take away from the beauty of the wreath and image.  To start, I cut a piece of brown packing paper down to 4"x5.25" and wrinkled it up into a ball.  This technique creates a beautiful dark background that looks vintage and has little veins running all over it when you adhere it down.  I opened it up and adhered it down to a cardstock base (A2).  I ink blended some Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink over it to add more aging to it, and then ran a gold metallic marker around the edges of the card base.  I glued the wreath down to the card base and created the sentiment with a label maker.

 

 

 

 

 

I loved this beautiful image as soon as I saw it, and the sentiment "Sleep in Heavenly Peace" immediately came to mind.  I thought of this cute little angel and the fox sleeping by the moon.  I wanted a very metallic aesthetic for this card to offset the softness of the image and help accentuate a winter feel.  The card panel was created by ink blending some blue, green, and purple inks onto white cardstock.  I then spritzed it with some Distress Sprtiz colors.  Once dry, I ran some Walnut Stain Distress ink around the edges.  I created the moon by die cutting a circle from black cardstock and then cutting it into a crescent shape.  I rubbed it with some silver gilding wax and then with some Distress Spritz on a rag and let it dry.  I fussy cut the image and glued it to the backside of the moon, and then adhered the moon to the card base using double sided foam tape.  I created the sentiment with a label maker and adhered it to the card, and then glued down some crystals to act as stars in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

There were three other angel images that I wanted to use.  I thought of a collage but couldn't find quite the right arrangement.  I then remembered this photo strip frame die that I have from Whimsy Stamps and knew it would be perfect.  I created a slimline card base with Kraft cardstock.  I die cut the frame from Kraft cardstock, blended Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Tim Holtz Distress Inks over it, and then spritzed it with some Distress Spritz.  I ink blended some Tea Dye ink over each of the images and adhered them to the dried frame with double sided foam tape strips.  I then glued the frame down to the card base.  I thought about a sentiment related to angels and these beautiful images brought to mind, "Angels we have heard on high."  I created it with a label maker and adhered it to the card.

 

 

 

 

I really love these non-traditional Christmas cards and hope that you do, too!  Thanks for spending some time with me on the blog today.  Until next time . . . be well!