Christmas in July

It is fun to be creating Christmas art in July when we have sweltering heat with humidity levels at 90% and long sun filled days.  The current challenge with the Frilly and Funkie design team "Christmas in July" has us cooling down.

The talented Cec has asked us to get a head start on your Christmas projects.   In her words:  "You might be experiencing summer heat but let's think cool by getting a head start on Christmas preparations.  Your vintage or shabby chic creation could be a card, something to present a gift in or a decor item for the house or tree."

I was inspired to pull out the dwellings die to create a Christmas cottage. 

I have this die because I love vintage paper houses and especially the churches.  I started by cutting all the pieces for the church and ended up with a rustic holiday cottage.

I cut all the pieces out and started by stamping text along the bottom half of the house.  I left it halfway to draw the eye upward.  I then sponged the bottom half a little darker and drew again up to the top with a lighter effect.

I decided to accent my house with a mix of reds and browns on the windows, door and chimney.  I stamped the door and chimney with a mix of stamps.

I continued with the same theme all around the house with my little holly and berries on the windows.
The roof and porch were just dragged brown die ink across the surface to give a grainy effect.

The wreath was a little inspiration from a previous project. I had cut a few of the wildflowers and had them leftover on my desk. I thought how fun it would be to use a paper punch and punch a hole in the center of the flower, cut the stem off and shift them a bit to create a small wreath to hang on my porch.

I cut up the leaves and created swags of holly with a few pearls colored red to coordinate.  I sprinkled it with mica flakes and a snowy little cottage on Christmas Eve.

At the end of the challenge the team will choose their top four picks. Our first place winner will be invited to join us for a Guest Designer spot here at Frilly and Funkie. Three additional talented participants will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and adheres to the challenge guidelines will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

Please cool off with us and share some Christmas design with us at Frilly and Funkie this week!

Suzz

Sizzix Bigz Die - Village Bell Tower by Tim Holtz	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Pad #3	IndigoBlu MegaFlakes - Winter Dawn	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Aged Mahogany	Ranger Tim Holtz Ground Espresso Distress Ink Pad
(February Pre-order) Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Fired Brick	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Antique Linen	$23.95 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Documents	Carabelle Cling Stamp - Collage Texte et Negatif	Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Wildflowers by Tim Holtz 661190 (February Pre-Order)	$23.95 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Correspondence	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	KAISERCRAFT Pearls - Self Adhesive Latte