Grungy Christmas!

Good morning all. It's my turn to host the latest challenge at Stamps & Stencils this month. Before I share my project I should like to say that this will by my last post for Stamps & Stencils. I'm moving on but I should like to say thank you to Sue and the rest of the team for the wonderful times I've experienced on the team. I've learnt a whole host of things from these talented women and I will certainly be back to join in with the challenges when time permits.

 I've chosen the obvious theme for December but with a bit of a twist:

Grungy Christmas!

'I love Christmas but I'm a little shy when it comes to the bling, glitter and tinsel bit. We'd like to see you step away from the normal Christmas colours and create a mixed media piece which has a real touch of grunge. Think alternative colours, layers, antiquing and all things which are not pristine red and green! Remember to add in some stamping or stencilling too!'

Here's what I've made for this theme:

Two grungy vintage style ornaments. Two bauble shapes are die cut from chipboard and distressed around the edges. Each shape is painted with fluid acrylics. A design is stencilled onto the paint using Versamark ink followed by gold embossing powder. This makes a good strong image and adds texture to the surface too. All paints and mediums used are by DecoArt.

After the stencilling, crackle glaze is applied. Once dry, sections of the crackle are highlighted with fluid acrylic.

Embellishments are made with a rust finish.

I used pieces from the Tando Creative kit in this image. All pieces are given a good coat of gesso after being assembled as required. The little half pearls are added before the gesso.

The rust method used sand texture paste, grey value 3, quinacridone gold and prussian blue fluid acrylics by DecoArt. The words are rub on letters used on card which is aged with Distress Ink.

The chipboard nuts and bolts are surprisingly realistic when given a rust treatment!

The hanging loop is made by attaching a jump ring to the back of the die cut.

I really like the way the addition of prussian blue makes the rust look more distressed.

Little runs of quinacridone paint are added to simulate the way rust runs and stains after years of exposure to the elements.

The half pearls look very convincing when all the layers are complete.

No step by step this time I'm afraid! This project was one of those times when you start creating and before you know it, nearly every stage is complete and no photos taken! I hope you like my grungy idea for Christmas ornaments though.

Please make sure you pop over to Stamps & Stencils to see the wonderful inspiration provided by the rest of the team. You will also get to meet our new team members too - please give them a warm welcome!

It's over to you now. Let's see how grungy you can make your Christmas project this year!