12 Days of Ornaments - Day 10 - My Vintage Shadowbox Ornaments

Today is my day to share my vintage-style ornaments on the LBH blog.  I used mini hinged aluminum tins to create tiny shadowboxes for trimming the tree.

Here are the supplies you will need to recreate these little scenes, all of which are available at the LBH.

Supplies

Christmas paper with small images (Kaisercraft Turtle Doves "Lords")

Coordinating patterned paper (Simple Stories Handmade Holiday)

Old music paper

Lightweight scrap paper (copy paper)

Scissors

Medium Snowflake Rosette Die (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)

Decorative punch

Small embellishments (Studio Calico wooden snowflakes/bits of artificial greenery)

Small metal hinged tin

Glossy Accents

Stickles (Diamond and Xmas Red)

Red and green Distress Markers

Silver glass glitter

Shaved Ice

Sugar Dust

White paint dabber

Red metallic ribbon

Red and green twisted cording

Pencil

Water brush or small paintbrush and water

Let's begin! 

(**Note that the lid of the small tin will be the left side of the shadowbox and the bottom of will be the right side. The lid is slightly larger than the bottom.) The instructions below are for the right ornament above. See the variation at the end of this post for instructions for the ornament on the left.

First you will need to make a pattern for the paper pieces which will be glued inside the tin.  Lay the tin on a piece of scrap paper and trace around it. Cut this out, place in tin and adjust until it fits well.  Then cut the final pattern out of the center of a scrap paper, leaving a margin around. 

Trace around tin.

Test pattern inside tin

Place this scrap paper over the paper with the images and use as a viewfinder to "audition" which image or portion of an image you wish to use.  Then trace inside the window, cut the image out and glue into the tin with Glossy Accents.  Repeat this step for the lid using music paper - since the lid is bigger, you will have to make another pattern.

Using pattern cutout as viewfinder

Use Glossy Accents and Stickles on the image wherever desired and let dry.

Smudge Glossy Accents around the inside perimeter of both sections and immediately sprinkle with Shaved Ice.  Turn over and tap gently to remove excess.

Glossy Accents and Shaved Ice along inside edges

Paint tiny snowflake with white paint and sprinkle with Sugar Dust while wet. Let dry and then glue in place inside tin. Glue tiny bits of greenery at the bottom of the image, apply a light coat of Glossy Accents and sprinkle with Shaved Ice. Tap off excess.

Painted snowflake

Snowflake with Sugar Dust

The image I used for the left side of the ornament was a brown and white line image from the Christmas paper. I colored the wreath with a green Distress Marker and a waterbrush and the ribbon with red marker. I added Glossy Accents over the red ribbon and tiny dots of red Stickles for the berries. This was then glued in place on the lid.

Finished wreath inside lid

Glue on red metallic ribbon around the outside of the tin.  This was a bit wide for the lid, so I cut approximately 1/16" off the edge for the lid. (Note - this ribbon did not fray because of the metallic content.)

Glueing ribbon on outside

Apply a thin line of Glossy Accents around edge of both parts of the tin and sprinkle with silver glass glitter. Let dry.

Apply Glossy Accents around outside edges (this photo shows the second ornament)

Fold cording in half and tie a knot about 2" down from fold. Lay knot at top of tin on hinged side and wrap around tin, glueing in place.

Folded cord with knot to form hanger

For a finishing touch, I punched two shapes from the coordinating paper to glue on the back of the tin for dating and signing the ornament.

VARIATION

The second ornament was made in the same manner, except for the image in the lid.  I used the medium snowflake rosette die to form a 3D snowflake from music paper. 

To create the snowflake rosette, use the die to cut your paper of choice. (**Note: this die is wonderful because it not only die cuts the rosette but also perforates it so you don't have to manually score it. However, when the die is new and very sharp, it often cuts right through the perforations. To compensate for this, try adding a strip of copy paper or even cardstock along with the paper you want die cut to reduce some of the pressure of the die. You might have to adjust this several times.)

Punch out any loose bits and accordion-fold the entire strip, creasing gently. Glue ends together, forming a circle. Be sure to keep the "mountains" and "valleys" of the folds in a zigzag pattern. You shouldn't have 2 mountains or 2 valleys side by side.

Die cut rosette

Place wrong-side-out on a slick surface and gently press down in the center, also keeping the folds intact. (**This is much easier to do with a partner/4 hands!)  Glue a small circle (or the decorative piece from the die) to the center as a base to hold the snowflake.  (**Hot glue is best for this step.)  When the glue is set, turn over and glue a decorative element (I used a wooden snowflake which I previously painted and dusted with Sugar Dust) to the center which will help to reinforce the rosette. 

Rosette wrong side out, ready to be pushed down

Glue on base

Apply a thin line of Glossy Accents along the outside edge of the snowflake rosette and sprinkle with silver glass glitter. Shake off excess and, when dry, glue to lid of tin.

Apply Glossy Accents to edges

Sprinkle glass glitter on edges

Finished stacked snowflake

To finish, continue steps of first ornament above.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my ornaments. Please leave a comment on today's post on the LBH blog for a chance to win one of these little vintage shadowboxes.  Let us know your favorite Christmas dessert and why - is it a traditional family recipe or just something you like?

Don't forget to visit tomorrow and Thanksgiving Day - only TWO more ornaments!

Happy Creating,

Susan