Christmas makes

I attended an enamelling course recently and made some pendants. I really enjoyed playing for 4 Monday evenings. I love the way crafts cross over and I was intrigued to find out that rubber stamps could even be used for creating enamel pieces! I took a couple of photos which I thought you would find interesting. First I sieved a white layer of powdered enamel over the copper circular pendant. This was then put into a kiln to fire.

Once it had cooled I used the smallest snowflake from the Snowman Jack Visible Image set  and stamped with archival ink. I then added some blue enamel powder which sticks to the ink. The pendant was then fired a second time

and below is my pendant after firing.

I also made some other pendants which I will make into jewellery at some point. They are sooo hard to photograph!

 The one below has lots of layers and was fired in several stages. I added a glass bead layer and gold micra powder. I can just about give you an idea of the depth with this photo but IRL it is magical. It is like looking into a pool.

I have also made some Christmas decorations for my children's homes. I decorated a 2nd VI Monolith which I gave to my son and his girlfriend.  The first one I shared here last month and is with my daughter and family.
I started with some gesso and Joanna Sheen ivy die cuts on the front

and on the back a lamp post and Cheery Lynn icicle die cut

I added lots of washes of Decoart media paints.

Then I stamped, embossed, paper pieced and cut out Snowman Jack. I added gems for eyes and buttons and coloured his nose and arms.

 This is the front.

I added lots of Decoart snow and glamour dust to the base for lots of sparkle just as I did for my snowflake monolith which you can see here in detail.
Below is the back, complete with glittered mittens and the fun sentiment.
These are my last guest design pieces for Visible Image. They have just made some new business decisions for 2017 which means they no longer need the extra 3 new design team and 2 guest designers they took on in September. It's been short but very sweet to guest design for them and I have lots of lovely new VI stamps still to play with. I wish them every success with their new crafty adventures ahead. I will of course still love creating with their gorgeous stamps.

I would like to enter my Christmas Monolith into the following challenges.

Mixed Media World Winter Wonderland

A Vintage Journey Winter Magic

Simon Says stamp Monday Let there be snow

Simon Says Wednesday gift it

Craft Stamper take it make it snow and ice

        Mod Squad Use chipboard my monolith is chipboard/MDF

Rhedd's Creative spirit December

WOW embossing powders December, winter

Emerald Dare Winter Wishes

Creative Artiste anything goes

Studio 75 Christmas decorations

                                     Happy Little Stampers untld anything goes with dies

                                            Christmas at sweet stampin inspired by a song mine is pretty obviously as the words are on the back! ....Baby it's cold outside by Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews. The funny thing is that it has turned ridiculously mild here again..it was 16c in garden yesterday!

We had a mammoth wrapping session yesterday and the presents are mostly done. I also managed to make my crackers and will share them with you very soon. Today I am taking a day off to have lunch with my best friend Karen and share some festive chat, our last for 2016!

I hope you are getting your lists ticked now?

Thanks so much for visiting and for all your kind comments. I appreciate just how busy everyone is at the moment. I would also like to extend a very warm welcome to my newest follower. Thanks for joining me on my creative journey here at Jane's Journal.

Back soon,

Bye for now,

Jane x