Poinsettias

Tis the season … for beautiful poinsettias to adorn our homes and my more traditional Christmas page celebrates these pretty flowers with some additional sparkle and shine (grin!).

I used a poinsettia napkin to create the background which was 3-ply so I split it into its separate layers. I started by sticking the second layer to the page using a UHU Stic and then I cut it to fit the page; this napkin layer covered the page in lightly coloured poinsettia images. Then I ripped the top layer of napkin around some of the poinsettia images and used Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to stick them down so I could outline and define the poinsettias using a Derwent Graphik marker without the ink being absorbed and leaking into the napkin. When all the glues were dry I distressed the light poinsettia images using some tacky masking tape to rip and remove patches of the napkin. I then covered the page with a layer of Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to ensure all the napkin edges were held in place. When dry, I added the glittery gold flowers, holly garlands, circles and dots which are all outline stickers.  Then I added more sparkle and shine by outlining the poinsettia petals using Icicle Ranger Stickles and by adding dots of Christmas Red Ranger Stickles to the poinsettia centres, gold flowers, circles and berries. It was well worth taking the time to apply the Stickles as the twinkley detail and finish looks amazing. The focal poinsettia saying is a sticker by Penny Black which reads:

“These Poinsettias are opening wide to wish you Cheer for the Christmastide”

I mounted the sticker onto some recycled card that I had covered with glittery gold by using the outline sticker surround. I then cut the card to size using some serrated scissors and edged it with a gold metallic marker. I also arranged some of the holly garland outline stickers around the edges and coloured the berries using the Christmas Red Stickles. It is stuck into place using double-sided tape which finished the page.

Every year I make a yummy cocktail which is also called a Poinsettia, they are made with 1 part Cointreau (orange liqueur), 3 parts prosecco and 3 parts cranberry juice. Here’s my cocktail pictured with my hubby’s home-brewed Christmas beer. In the background you can see a stollen that I made as a special Christmas treat and of course my cute little poinsettia. As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing our drinks with the T Gang and wishing you a Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m always enjoy taking part in Challenge Blogs, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Sheila from Orange Esmeralda who is hosting the “Let’s Celebrate” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my poinsettia flower celebration.

The challenge theme over at Try it on Tuesday is “Twinkle Twinkle” and I’m joining in the fun with my sparkly poinsettia page.

I’m also pleased to join the “Christmas with optional Reds, Greens and Rust” challenge over at Country View Challenges.

As I created this page to display in my craft room and bring some Christmas Cheer, I’m joining the “Christmas/Winter Holidays” challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Poundland (Luxury Napkin)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Outline Stickers Gold Holly Garland (Art No. 202490)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Flower Blossom Gold ANT810143)
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle and Christmas Red)
• Recycled white card
• Penny Black 2007 Stickeroos (Joy to the World #10-197)
• Fun Cut serrated scissors
• Script metallic marker (Gold)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape