A Seasonal Gift

Simon Says Stamp and Show's challenge this week is Gift-spiration. Whether making gifts, gift wrap, ornaments, home decor pieces or hand crafting your cards, the holiday season is upon us and we would love to see how you are inspired.

I decorated two seasonal candles perfect for decorating any home at Christmas.

I love to light candles at Christmas and they are a perfect inexpensive gift for a friend, simple to decorate and long lasting. The ornate reindeer from the Reindeer Flight stamp set decorates one of the candles and the background stamp from the Seasons Silhouettes stamp set is added to the smaller candle.  For added dimension I have included two wonderful decorative buttons from Cosmo Cricket. No gift is complete without a coordinating tag also showcased below.

I have included step by steps for the decorated candles this week as I thought you may like to see just how simple they are to decorate and very inexpensive too.  Stamp the image onto white tissue paper using StazOn ink, I used timber brown.

Cut around the image, you do not have to be exact here as you will not see the tissue once we have added to the candle.

Use a tiny amount of glue stick to adhere the image to the candle.

Take a piece of greaseproof paper, wrap around the candle, ensuring there is enough at the back of the candle for you to grab hold of whilst you heat with your heat tool. This will also ensure you do not burn your fingers during the next stage. Heat the candle with your heat tool, you will notice that the greaseproof changes slightly during this process as the image melts slightly into the paper. Do not over heat the candle.  Remove the greaseproof paper and your image will appear on the candle.

As you can see the image keeps all the detail, its fabulous.

This close up shot highlights the wonderful detail in the reindeer and no detail has been lost during the heating process.

I added BELIEVE to the bottom of my candle using the same process this time using one of the words from the background stamp in the Seasons Silhouettes stamp set. For a little more interest I have wrapped natural jute around the top of my candle adding a Cosmo Cricket Elements Cheer Button and a Christmas Muse Token attached with a jump ring.

Turning the candle slightly I have added snowflakes, from the Reindeer Flight stamp set.

The smaller candle was done in several steps adding each element individually and then heating with my heat tool.

Again I have added natural jute and a Cosmo Cricket Elements Cheer Button and a Christmas Muse token to decorate.

I have added different words all the way around my candle, I love the professional finish this simple technique gives.

These candles would make a perfect gift for one of my crafting friends!

I thought a coordinated tag would be perfect for this gift set. I have stamped the reindeer onto a tag cut using the Tag and Bookplate die, using StazOn timber brown ink.

I stamped the reindeer once again onto a piece of scrap paper and cut out to create a mask for the next step.

Place the mask onto the stamped image on the tag.

With the mask in place ink up the background stamp from the Seasons Silhouettes stamp set using vermillion archival ink and touches of coffee and stamp onto the tag. Remove the mask.

Once all the stamping is complete, blend fired brick Distress Ink around the tag using an ink blending tool, adding walnut stain around the edges for definition.

Once the background is coloured, spritz with water to add a little more interest. I have also added white highlights to the reindeer with a white gel pen to lift the image from the background. Add a Cosmo Cricket Elements Cheer Button, threaded with natural twine.  25 has been added to the bottom of the tag cut from dark brown card using the Alphabetical die.

I have added twine to the top of my tag along with a Christmas Muse Token attached with a jump ring.

For more great ideas please pop over to the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and take a look at my fellow team members they have created some inspirational projects. Remember there is also the chance to win a $50 prize from Simon Says Stamp.  I always look forward to seeing your creations each week.

Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, much appreciated.  Enjoy your week. Tracy x x 

Products Used:

Tim Holtz Reindeer Flight Stamp Set

Tim Holtz Seasons Silhouettes Stamp Set
Cosmo Cricket Elements Cheer Buttons
StazOn Ink - Timber Brown
Ranger Collage Glue Stick
Natural Jute
Tim Hotlz Idea-ology - Christmas Muse Tokens, Jump Rings
Tim Holtz Alterations - Tag and Bookplate Die, Alphabetical Decorative Strip Die
Archival Inks - Coffee, Vermillion
Distress Inks - Fired Brick, Walnut Stain
Ink Blending Tool
Non-Stick Craft Sheet
White Gel Pen