12 Frolicking Frenchies

On the 12th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me 12 Frolicking Frenchies.

(And Happy 12-12-12) 

Alpha Stamps has been hosting a 12 Days of Christmas extravaganza.  I hope you have enjoyed all the fabulous work created by the Design Team and Guest Designers.  Today I get to share my project with you and it’s one that I’m super excited about.

 

I used the Set of Layered Chipboard Ornaments from Alpha Stamps to create this fun mobile.

Front side of Ornaments 1-4 

I started by covering the chipboard ornaments with coordinating papers.  I used papers from the same collection so that they would all go together.  I loved the vintage feel to these papers and they went perfectly with the Vintage Frenchie Collage Sheet.  I then went on an embellishing spree and added all kinds of paper flowers, charms, cut outs, dresden borders, and glitter.  (see below for a complete list of materials used). 

Back side of Ornaments 1-4

For ornaments 1-4 I used 2 sets of ornaments and created two-sided framed ornaments.

Front side of Ornaments 5-8

Back side of Ornaments 5-8

For ornaments 5-8 I used one set and used the center cut-out. I mounted the cut out to the back of the ornament with foam mounting tape to give it some dimension.  I also used a gold krylon marker and vintage photo distress ink to color the edges.

For ornaments 9-12 I created window ornaments with the Layered Masonite Ornaments and ICE resin (I used one of each shape).  I will share with you how I created these ornaments since it is fun and really simple.

Cover the back of your images with some decorative paper, as you can see from the photo above you will be able to see through the ornaments.  I used some gold foil tissue paper from my Christmas wrapping stash.  I used rubber cement to glue the papers together.  Once the glue is dry trim around your images. When using images in resin I  recommend using the card stock sheets from Alpha Stamps as the images are color safe and don’t run in the resin.

Cover one side of the ornament with blue painters tape (the tape does not stick to the resin).  You want to make sure the tape is taught and sealed around the ornament opening.  I held the tape to the top of the ornament with one finger and pulled it tightly down towards the bottom of the ornament..  It will take two pieces to cover all the ornament openings so make sure that the seam is pressed together, you don’t want any gaps in the seam for resin to leak under.  Then rub around the inside opening of the ornament to get a good seal.
 

I sprinkled a little glass glitter first so that the collage images would not stick to the tape and placed my trimmed images and charms in the ornaments.  When you are happy with how the ornaments look set them off to the side.  I work on a piece of cardboard so that way if there is any spills or leaks my working surface doesn’t get ruined by the resin.

Now it’s time to mix up a batch of resin.  To do all four ornaments I used ½ oz each of resin and hardener.  My 4 oz bottles of resin came with some measuring cups and stir sticks.  Before pouring anything I marked my little mixing cup with a sharpie for easy measuring  It is important to have equal parts of resin and hardener.  I first like to pour the resin and then the hardener, that way if I pour a little too much resin I can add a little more hardener.  VERY gently mix or fold the resin and hardener together this can take up to 10 minutes or longer.  You don’t want to create air bubbles in the resin.  The resin is mixed when it is completely clear.  Let the resin rest for about 5 minutes to get rid of some of the air bubbles, you can gently tap the cup on your table to help the air bubble rise to the top and pop. (Sorry for the blurry image)

Let’s begin to pour the resin.  I poured my resin into a small plastic squeeze bottle that my local bead store carries (it’s a one use deal, not very earth friendly, but it really is a great tool for pouring just the right amount of resin).  

When using paper images in resin, I like to put a thin layer of resin down first and then float the image into the resin, this ensures there is resin underneath the image.  Remove your images (here you see I removed the charm as well).  Start in the center of an ornament gently squeeze the bottle and create a spiral of resin.

When there is a thin layer of resin filling the ornament set your image into the resin.  You will need to poke it down into the resin, I did this with  a snippet of left over wire, but a round toothpick works just as well.  Remember not to push it all the way down to the tape, it is really important to have resin underneath the image.  If you removed any of the other components, put them in now and arrange them how you want using the toothpick or wire.  Add more resin if needed.  Start with just a drop or two and let the resin spread out.  You don't want to overfill the ornaments and have resin spilling out over the top.  You want to make sure every component is covered in resin.  Let the items set  for about 5 minutes to see if any air bubbles formed.  If there are any bubbles you can gently move the it to the side of the ornament to pop it.

I then sprinkled more glass glitter on the top of the ornaments and set them aside to cure overnight.  A very important  DO NOT do this note.   DO NOT CURE YOUR RESIN IN A TOASTER OVEN.  The first batch of ornaments I did bubbled so badly I had to discarded them.  It’s best to let these set and cure on their own.  

I gently removed the tape after about 6-8  hours of curing. The resin was still soft but could be handled if I was gentle with it.  Since I’m an impatient crafter I went ahead and fired up my toaster oven to 150 degrees and cooked the ornaments for 10 minutes.  I still got a little bubbling but it helped to harden the resin enough that I could start to embellish the ornaments.

I added fold over bails and glued them with E6000. I then added mini rose buds in ivory that I dipped in Tattered Angels Glimmer paint in Chandelier and clear acrylic bead sprays. I also rubbed on some Gilder’s Paste in Antique Gold and since they still needed a little something more I painted on a thin coat of the Chandelier glitter paint.  I also added some of the masonite tree cut outs that I covered in avocado and dark chocolate liquid pearls.

I assembled my mobile using 14g copper wire that I colored with Victorian Gold Metal Patina Paint from the Treasure Heirloom Collection.  To do this I applied some of the paint to one of those little felt pads that comes with the ranger alcohol ink blending tool and ran the wire through it.  It’s a little messy but the color turned out fabulous and fits the vintage feel I was going for with the mobile.

I cut the wire into 14 inch lengths and added a loop to the center.  I did this by marking the center of the wire with a sharpie marker.  I then placed that mark in the center of my round nose pliers as close to the box of the pliers as possible.  I bent the wire down in a "U" shape (photos to come), and then pulled the right side over to the left and the left side over to the right.  To make sure the wire was balanced I placed the loop over my pliers.  If you find the wire is unbalanced, you can trim a little wire of the heavier side.

To attach all the different arms of the mobile together I made two sided eye loops.  I had to tweak them a little bit to get the arms to turn right.

I then attached an ornament to each end of the wire with chain and jump rings.

I had one pair of ornaments that was very unbalanced.  To fix this problem I added a couple of the cast brass beads with loops (I think they look great and fit in well with all the other bits and pieces).

And just because they turned out so great here is a close up of the glammed up paper flowers that I dipped in the Chandelier glitter paint.

After assembling the mobile I kept going back to it because "something" was missing.  It finally hit me, there needed to be a pretty dangle in the center.  I created this sparkly snowflake from Swarvoski crystals and a metal snowflake shape purchased at my local bead store.

Here is a close up of the crystal snowflake.

 

Thanks for visiting!  I hope you enjoyed my project and if you haven't already go check out all the fabulous work created by the Design Team!

Here is a list of all Alpha Stamps products used:
Collage Sheets:
Vintage Frenchies
Santa and Children
Winter Birds
X-Mas Cards & Small Books
Snow Collage Sheet
Snug in their Beds
Angel Sisters 
Set of Layered Chipboard Ornaments
Layered Masonite Ornament -Long Scalloped
Layered Masonite Ornament-Wide Scalloped
Layered Masonite Ornament-Classic
Layered Masonite Ornament-Star
Star Mix Cut-Outs
Pine Tree Cut-Outs
Reindeer Antlers Stencil
ICE Resin
Antique Bronze Christmas Charm Set
Brass Snowflake Charms
Candy Cane Charms
Christmas Bell Charms
Large Brass Snowflake with hole
Holly Charms
Small Fold over Bails - Antique Gold
Clear Acrylic Bead Sprays - Asymmetrical and Teardrops
Glittered Holly Berries - Red and Green
Mini Rose Buds - Ivory
Old Fashioned Roses - White
Small White Apple Blossoms
Tiny Paper Roses - White
White Roses with Heart Shaped Petals

BONUS!!! 

Leave a comment on this blog posting Dec. 12-Dec. 16, 2012 and you will be entered to win this lucky 13th Ornament I created (it's not called a bakers dozen for nuthin') and your very own copy of the Vintage Frenchies Collage Sheet!