Silver Lining!

I have been creating some  clean, simple, graphic projects of late so I decided that it's time to get a little bit messy again using one of my favourite products, namely Treasure Pewter Wax Gilt which comes in a little glass jar and lasts forever (ish). 

Last Year Tim Holtz designed a stunning Bigz Poinsettia Die and a set of Texture Fades folders, one of which coordinates with the poinsettia flowers to add stunning detail. I wanted to go with a black and white colour palette using the silver/pewter gilt to add the texture.

To create the background I used another of Tim's classic Christmas Texture Fades  featuring a pine branch and my old favourite Decorative Strip die Vintage Lace also by Mr Holtz.

I started by die cutting the three sizes of petals from light chipboard before adding the embossed texture with the coordinating Texture Fades folder and gently curling the petals. Next I painted each die cut using Black acrylic paint which dries really quickly.

The Treasure Pewter is has an oddly pleasing waxy texture and smells of shoe polish, all you need to do is dip your finger in the pot and lightly brush over the textured petals, you can do this with a soft cloth but I like the smell! 

Next I cut a small cross in the centre of the smallest flower using a craft knife and took some silver pearl flower stamens which I threaded through the cross in the centre before trimming away the excess cotton loops. 

Finally, I mounted them onto the centre of the medium flower using a hot glue gun which was mounted in turn onto the centre of the largest flower.

I cut a rectangle of quality, heavyweight black card ( I always use Inspire me Papers card stock) measuring 105 x 140mm and embossed the pine leaves before adding the pewter wax gilt a little at a time until the desired effect was achieved. I couldn't resist a bit of bling so I added a random smattering of ivory, silver and black adhesive pearls with a few clear diamanté gems for good measure.

Before mounting the flower onto my white base card (180 x 140mm) I wanted to create a lace border trim so I took a strip of the same black card that I used for the background and scrunched it into a ball 5 or 6 times (very therapeutic!)  before flattening it out and die cutting my strip of lace. 

I then took the lace die cut and applied the wax gilt before trimming to size and attaching to the base card together with the other elements.

Really easy, great fun and if you haven't discovered these waxes you should check them out, there are many different styles, brands and colours on the market, they don't come cheap but they last for years and years. They are a great way of bringing a touch of vintage class to your favourite die cuts and embossing folders too.