Graphic 45 - Nutcracker Sweet Arches

I had so much fun making these Arches with the Nutcracker Sweet papers...unfortunately my stash of these papers is nearly finished, but they have been a lot of fun to work with!  As always my original plan for these arches was totally different.  In fact I've been planning different projects for over a year using these and finally I've made something...or several somethings. Several hanging ornaments.  :)

 

The list of products used: 

• 7 Gypsies - Tryptich Arc Kit
• Graphic 45 - Nutcracker Sweet papers
• BoBunny - Weekend Market - Tapestry paper
• Dusty Attic - Reindeer
• Ranger Adirondack Pint Dabber - Espresso
• Glimmer Mist - Summer Glow, Boardwalk & Mardis Gras
• Perfect Pearl Powder - Kiwi
• Prima Flowers
• Ranger Tim Holtz Crackle Paint - Picket Fence
• Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Tea Dye
• Paint - Off White
• Star Charms
• Tim Holtz idea-Ology - Paper String
• Lace Ribbon
• Ribbon 
• Prima Say it With Pearls - Swirls

The Tryptich Arc Kit comes 5 pieces - the 2 smallest arches are lightly attached within the 2 medium sized arches so could be left that way or removed and used separately.  I decided to use them separately.  So we have: 

• 1 large "solid" Arch
• 2 x medium sized "hollow" Arches
• 2 x small "solid" Arches (the centre parts of the medium Arches)

I have made 4 Arch decorations in various sizes:

 

Arch 1

 

This uses the biggest arch and one of the middle "hollow"  arches.

 

All of the arches were painted with off-white craft paint.  I then roughly sanded the paint to give an aged look. 

 

The Large Arch was covered with BoBunny Weekend Market Tapestry Paper.  This paper has a soft mottled brown colour which perfectly matched the Graphic 45 papers.  The edges were then sanded.

 

My layout revolved around the ballerina figure.  I loved her from the start and fussy-cut her out of the paper and then covered with Glossy Accents to give more dimension.

 

The grandfather clock sits behind the medium frame to add more dimension to the scene.

 

 





The pink ribbon I criss-crossed around the medium arch edges and tied in bows copying the look of ballet slipper ribbons.

These Prima Flowers were a lot of fun to alter.  I sprayed with a combination of Glimmer Mist Boardwalk (dark grey) and Summer Glow (Yellow).  Each flower was sprayed with both colours, wth each colour dried with a heat gun before applying the next.  Very simple and effective way to get a different look using existing items in your stash.

The star charm at the top finishes the piece.

The lace ribbon was coloured by spraying with 2 different Glimmer Mist colours - Mardis Gras and Summer Glow.  The photo looks a bit metallic in colour, but really it's a soft mottled lilac/purple colour.

The Medium sized arch was roughly Painted with Picket Fence crackle paint - again going for the aged look I didn't completely cover the arch and also painted some patches on the larger arch to make it look like the paint had run.  The crackle paint was then distressed with Tea Dye Distress Ink.

Arch 2

This one is made from the medium arch which is hollow in the middle.  I originally was going to leave it that way, but decided I didn't like it so covered the back with another pieces of BoBunny Weekend Market - Tapestry paper.

Once again the Arch was Painted with Picket Fence Crackle Paint and distressed with Tea Dye Distress Ink. 

The Toy Soldier was also fussy-cut out of the paper and covered with Glossy Accents.  I wanted to do something different with the ribbon and decided to curl it down the sides to replicate (sort of ) the curtains on a stage. To keep them in place I used small dabs of adhesive at the points where it touches the arch.

The flowers were sprayed with Glimmer Mist exactly the same as the larger arch.

Arches 3 & 4

These 2  made with 2 diverse sides.  They are small enough to hang  on a tree or like the others could hang on the wall or on door handles.

On this side, the feature is the Dusty Attic Reindeer.  I love these reindeer, but the antlers are fragile and I did break one and had to glue it back on.

The Reindeer are painted with Adirondack Espresso paint dabber.  The antlers are coated with Perfect Pearls Powder - Kiwi and then sprayed lightly with water to activate and dried with a heat gun.  They now have  a subtle golden glow.  I also brushed lightly across the bodies with Perfect Pearls to give a bit of a shimmer.

The red berries and twirled wire come from a cheap ornament which I pulled apart for this project.

The other side - this was the original side and I covered with the story of Clara's Dream - the edges have been distressed and I screwed up the paper to make it look all grungy and then inked the edges and lightly along the creases with Tea Dye Ink.

 

This time I sprayed the flowers with Perfect Pearls - Kiwi mixed with water in a mini mister.

 

I really hope you like my Arches and it gives you inspiration to create some unique ornaments.

 

Veronica

xx