Day 2 - Peace On Earth

First of all I have to say how much both Deb and I loved reading all the comments left yesterday.  So many traditions shared.  I personally have decided to go to Dusty's house for the chili and dessert cook off and a hay ride, then move on to the BIG party at Gail's... oh, but there is the shrimp and crab boil going on over at Terri's house and gingerbread house making at Kate's...but I know I would definitely end at Gingers house to sleep by the tree!

 I also like what Fred said, "For me the joy of putting the ornaments on the tree are the
memories... Gratitude for the giver of the gift... Gratitude for
the connecting of our lives... Gratitude for the love."  

Thank you everyone who commented!

Here's the winner of Day 1 of the 7 Days of Giveaways!

Congratulations!

KAT said...

My favorite tradition started when I was a child and still holds true today. We make an event of going to get our live Christmas tree. When I was a child the tree farm was right across the street and I use to go with my Dad and cut the tree down. Now I go with my husband (he sometimes grumbles but he's a good sport) and we cut down a 13 foot blue spruce for our living room. Saw in hand, horse drawn buggy, tree shaker, binder, hot chocolate and smores - what else could you want? Makes me misty just thinking about it! Sigh...

December 12, 2011 6:32 PM

Kat, please email me at paula@2gypsygirls.com to claim your prize! 

You have 24 hours or it goes back in the pot!

Now on to our tutorial...find a comfortable seat because this one's a long one!

Peace On Earth

Let's jump right in!
I found this old piece of wood in the garage leftover from a long ago booth project.  Fair game now.
I filled the holes with wood fill and sanded it smooth before moving on to the next step.

I picked a paper that was large enough to cover the entire board and adhered it to the wood with matte Multi-Medium (you must work fast on this size board for good coverage).

Sand away any paper overhanging the edge.

Add another coating of matte Multi-Medium to the surface.  Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles...you will get them, but they usually disappear after a few hours.

Use a baby wipe to add white paint over the entire piece.
I like it a little heaver on the edges.
Let dry.

Once white paint is dry, add a bit of burnt umber paint to another baby wipe and rub it into the dry white paint.

It goes on dark but using the baby wipe will allow you to manipulate the paint till it looks the way you like it.  Set the board to the side while we work on the embellishments.

Letters

Pick some chipboard letters to spell the word PEACE.  I used these from 7gypsies. 
Paint the chipboard letters white.  It took 2 coats to cover up the pattern on the letters using Claudine Hellmuth Studio paint.   I love how thick this paint is.

After the paint is dry, add a coat of Distress Crackle Paint-Rock Candy to the letters.  The crackle paint has it's own little brush in the cap (easy or what?)  Simply brush over the letters.
Thin coat = small cracks
Thick coat = large cracks
Remember to just brush over the letters once...because it's crackle paint you want to brush it on and leave it alone to dry...no touching up.

Depending on how thick you brush the crackle medium on, it will take about 10-15 minutes to dry.  You can see here the the E is almost done and the P still has a big wet spot at the top.  Patience is key.

Once dry, use a blending tool add a bit of Distress ink to bring out the cracks...magic girls, just magic.

Okay, on to the small letters for "on earth".
I could paint these too but I am going to use foil instead.
So we will need some good glue stick.  I like ThermOweb's Super Stik myself.  The key here is use a lot, more than you think you will need.

Once they have a lot of glue on them, flip them over an stick them to the backside of the gold foil.  Let them dry for at least 15 minutes.  The more glue and the longer you let them dry, the golder they will be.

Then peel them up off the foil.
These are perfect for my liking.
Sand away any excess foil (I used my Basic Grey file set).
Then add Distress ink to the edges (Vintage Photo).

Next I added the Distress Crackle paint over the foil and look what you get.
So the order is foil, sand, ink, crackle, wait = awesome

Okay, we're done with letters so set them to the side while we work on the middle section.

Wings
 I am using the same set of wings we used in the advent calendar (for sale here) with the same technique but adding the Distress Crackle.
sorry, the wings have sold out

 Start by painting the wings white using the same paint as the we did earlier.

We're going to add the foil using the same glue but this time I only put it on sparingly because I want the white paint to show.

Press the foil onto the wing. 

Remove the thin foil almost immediately.  If it's not enough gold, just repeat the steps.

Here's a look at the wings when they are finished.
But not really...

Because this time were going back to the Distress Crackle paint.  Because we can.
Paint each wing with a nice coat and let it dry.

Look what it does to the foil.
Oh, how I love this look.

Next step, bend each wing part just a little bit.

Add some quick dry glue to the back of each piece and start stacking.

Until they look like this.
Set aside while we make the foundation for them to rest on.

Foundation

I forgot to take a good picture of the foundation piece but it is just a piece of Warm and Natural batting with two layers of dyed cheese cloth over the top.  I stitched around the edge to keep it together.
Once I decide the placement on the board I painted earlier, I hammered tacks into each corner to keep it in place.  I used some thin wire to create a frame for the wings (I wound it around the tacks twice).

Next I tacked on a piece of vintage tatting.

Oh, I think I need to use some vintage pearls, don't you?

So I stitched some of them to the tatting.

I had these tiny vintage glass beads in my stash that I stitched to the top portion...I was trying to mimic stars in the sky.

Time for the wings.

Now something for the center.  I decided that the word 'hope' was appropriate to go with Peace on Earth so I typed it out on the computer and added it to a tiny glass vial.
Now what to put in the vial...
I had the idea that 'hope' is often represented by seeds...I didn't have any, but I did have some cumin in my spice drawer that could substitute for seeds.

Add to the center.

Now that the center is done, the letters can be added.

Add a little metal bling above the word Peace.

I decided to frame out the piece with some 1/8th thick wood (my husband helped me with that).

Here is the finished piece.

If you would like to enter to win today's giveaway
to win "Peace On Earth" for your home, please leave a comment.

Today's question: What is your favorite holiday decoration?

Day 2 Giveaway is open till 12 midnight pacific time.  

Winner will be posted tomorrow morning and you will have 24 hours to claim your prize.

cheers!
paula

ps) If you are even thinking about getting one of Deb's Merry Christmas spool kits she only has 5 left.  You can purchase in the Etsy Shop or contact her at debbie@2gypsygirls.com for one.