I’m so excited and honoured to be a Pinworthy Guest Designer over at A Vintage Journey and my seasonal heart decorations are inspired by their challenge – Melt It! Julia is the host for this challenge and kindly provided the following brief:
This month we’re asking everyone to MELT IT! Get out the UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel), beeswax, encaustic wax, embossing powders or good old wax crayons and a heat tool and get melting to create something in a vintage; shabby; mixed media; art journaling; industrial, timeworn or steampunk style.
So today I’m sharing how I created a heart decoration for each of the four seasons and as I love creating my art journal pages and projects using mixed media, I chose to create these decorations in the Mixed Media Style for A Vintage Journey. I had so much fun melting both embossing powder for the backgrounds and also embossing enamels for the birds on my Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter decorations (grin!).
These decorations are wonderful additions to the seasonal window displays that I create throughout the year, which you may be aware of from my previous post.
I started by stamping the heart tags with different stamps using Emboss ink, the stamps included: a rose design from a Penny Black stamp set for spring; flowers and swirls from the same Penny Black stamp set and also a flower design from Hampton Art for summer; some leaves from Royal & Langnickel for autumn and finally snowflakes from BoBunny for winter. I covered each of them with white Stampendous embossing powder, shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and also tapped the heart to make sure any stray powder was removed. Then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder by sweeping the gun over the stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. I repeated the same process to decorate the back of the heart too, making sure I suspended the heart when heating the embossing powder to ensure the reverse side did not stick to my craft mat. Next I applied two different Memento Inks for each of the hearts using a blending tool, which emphasised the melted embossing powder beautifully. The ink colours I used were Pistachio and Angel Pink for spring, Lilac Posies and Dandelion for summer, Morocco and Toffee Crunch for autumn and Summer Sky and London Fog for winter.
The branches and foliage for spring, autumn and winter are die cut using Garden Greens Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz from different design papers with my new Big Shot machine. They are coloured using Spectrum Aqua markers which I applied like watercolour by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block and picking up the ink with a wet paintbrush; the colours I used were Bud Green and Moss for spring, Chestnut and Sepia for autumn and Chocolate for winter. I used some tiny maple leaves that I had in my craft stash to decorate the autumn branch which I coloured using Crimson, Orange and Gold Spectrum Aqua Markers. All of these paper elements are stuck to the heart using a Zig Memory System glue pen. For summer, I used some sunflower border stickers by Docrafts Papermania.
For the birds, I used some wooden bird shapes which I covered in Emboss ink and Stampendous Frantage embossing enamel; this enamel was a Christmas present so this is the first time I had used it and I love it, it’s such an amazing medium to use (grin!). I shook off the excess enamel pieces and then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing enamel until it melted to a smooth glossy finish. Be careful not to touch the melted embossing enamel until cooled as it gets very hot when heated. For spring I used Aged Hunter, for summer Aged Silver, for autumn Aged Marine and winter Aged Scarlet. The birds are stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents.
Next I embellished the spring branches with some pretty flower beads to represent spring blossoms using Glossy Accents and the winter berries using Christmas Red Stickles from Ranger. The wording is stamped onto thick paper using a Dovecraft alphabet stamp set and different Memento Inks; Rich Cocoa for spring, Cottage Ivy for summer, Elderberry for autumn and Blue Danube for winter. They are stuck down using the Zig Memory System glue pen. To finish, I added a piece of white paper twine and also threaded some flower, metal and bevelled glass beads on a piece of thread and tied them with some ribbons around the twine.
I really enjoyed joining A Vintage Journey to Melt It! and create my Four Seasons heart decorations. I hope you are inspired by this month’s challenge too and are able to join in the fun!
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 these decorations:
- Tsukeniko Emboss Embossing Ink Pad (Clear)
- Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
- Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Toffee Crunch, Angel Pink, Rich Cocoa, Lilac Posies, Dandelion, Cottage Ivy, Morocco, Toffee Crunch, Elderberry, Summer Sky, London Fog, Danube Blue)
- Stampendous Frantage Embossing Enamel Holiday Kit (Aged Hunter, Aged Silver, Aged Marine, Aged Scarlet)
- Spectrum Aqua Markers (Bud Green, Moss, Crimson, Orange, Gold, Chestnut, Sepia, Chocolate)
- Faber-Castell Big Brush artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
- Penny Black Stamp Set (Clearly in Love 30-009)
- Hampton Art Studio G Clear Stamps (Series 11 VS4911)
- Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Pressed Leaves MIN-CCS102)
- BoBunny Stamps (Snow Day 13705563)
- Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206)
- Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
- Crafter’s Companion Luxury Designer Paper Pad (Angelica & Adam Collection A&A-PAP6-M)
- The Works M&C Boutique (Design Block)
- Poundland Design Pad (Changing Seasons CR0701/16PL1)
- Wilko (5 Heart Gift Tags)
- Craft for Occasions (C2026 – wooden bird and bunnies)
- Docrafts Papermania Signature 3D Floral Borders (Sunflower Burst PMA8011000)
- The Brighton Bead Shop (Assorted beads – flower, glass, metal, bevelled)
- Thick black thread
- Recycled ribbons from Christmas Crackers
- Satin ribbon (Green, Pink, Tan, Blue)
- Ranger Stickles (Christmas Red)
- Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (The Dual Action Glue Pen)
- Ranger Glossy Accents
- UHU Glue Pen
Your hearts are gorgeous. Congrats on being declared pinworthy, what an honour! Have a wonderful weekend, hugs, Valerie
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Thanks so much! I’m thrilled to join A Vintage Journey as. Pinworthy Guest 😁. Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend too! J 😊
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These hearts are absolutely out of this world. No wonder you were asked to be a guest designer. Everywhere you visit, you inspire individuals with your noteworthy art and your complete descriptions and product list. This was an especially impressive entry and I think a fabulous tutorial, too. Great job with those amazing hearts and seasons, each represented perfectly.
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Thanks a lot, you are very kind! They were fun makes and I’m glad you like the tutorial as I always enjoy sharing how I create things with others 😁. Happy Friday and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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These hearts are just delightful Jo and the way those birds have turned out with the Frantage, looks amazing!! I love the whole idea of these seasonal hearts and they will make wonderful additions to youur seasonal displays!
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Thanks very much Astrid! It was fun creating the birds, I played around with the Frantage coverage so the reds, blues and greens showed through more and I think they worked beautifully 😁. Happy Friday and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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Your embossed hearts are absolutely amazing! So many beautiful details in mixed media style and even wooden (!) birds which you embossed! All hearts are a lovely decoration for your seasonal windows!!
Wish you a happy weekend, Jo!
Rike xx
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Thanks so much! As you probably know I love using mixed media and using the embossing powders and enamels was fun 😁. Happy Friday and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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These hearts are so beautiful Jo! I love the way the birds have their own special look to go with their own backgrounds! A truly lovely project which definitely consolidates your pinworthy status! Have a great weekend! Chrisx
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Many thanks Chris, you are very kind! I loved creating a heart to depict each season with the different backgrounds and birds 😁. Happy Friday and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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These are gorgeous Jo. I thought at first you had covered each heart in paper, but then I read your post and saw the close up photos. Wow, your embossing is beautiful. I also love how you didn’t make these hearts romantic but seasonal. Very clever. Hope it’s a great weekend. Hugs-Erika
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Thanks very much Erika! The stamps and white embossing powder worked really well and it’s lovely that you can still see all this detail on the back of the hearts too 😁. Happy Friday and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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Your hearts are unique and I am thirlled about your amazing embossing and the individual embellishments of each of the hearts! WOW – a big honour to be a Pinworthy guest over at A Vintage Journey! My big congrats dear Jo! You can be very proud of you! Your style is wonderful!
Happy weekend my friend!
oxo Susi
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Thanks very much dear Susi! It is such an honour to join A Vintage Journey as a Pinworthy Guest and I had so much fun making the different hearts using the embossing powders and enamels 😁. You are very kind, Happy Friday and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
p.s. I made the correction on your original comment, so no one will know …lol 😉. Hugs J x
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Good morning Jo, these are Amazing! I love them and how you made these. If you are not already you should be an art teacher-hugs
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Thanks so much, what a lovely thing to say, you are very kind 😁. Wishing you a Happy weekend! J 😊
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Just wonderful hearts. Have a nice weekend!
Hugs Marjut
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Thank you Marjut 😁. Wishing you a nice weekend too! J 😊
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whii beautiful
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Many thanks and wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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Oh, I’m in love with your gorgeous hearts. They will look spectacular in the window. Have a good weekend.
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Thanks very much 😁. Have a good weekend too! J 😊
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Oh the embossed birds look great and the hearts are lovely gifts. Well done.
Dear Greetings and a lovely weekend dear Jo.
Hugs
Sabine
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Thanks very much dear Sabine! I love the little embossed enamel birds too 😁. Wishing you a lovely weekend! J 😊
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fascinated beautiful heart decorations of you!
the birds are so cute, your idea is great.
congratulation to the hostess!!!!!
happy weekend
Elke
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Thanks very much and wishing you a Happy Weekend dear Elke! J 😊
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Congratulations Jo, on being a Pinworthy Guest designer, you created a gorgeous project.
Each heart and bird look beautiful, you had such a great idea to represent the Four Seasons of the year in this way.
Have a good weekend Jo.
Yvonne xx
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Thanks very much Yvonne! It’s blue skies and sunshine here today 😁. I hope you are having a good weekend too! J 😊
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Your hearts are beautiful and I love how each one is unique. The birds are a lovely touch.
Happy weekend,
Kate
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Thanks a lot and wishing you a Happy Weekend! J 😊
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Congratulations Jo! How exciting to be picked! Your hearts are fab, I love the embossed birds!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Alison xx
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Thank you so much! It is so exciting and I loved creating these decorations 😁. After a grey start it’s blue skies and sunshine today here. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend too! J 😊 x
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Congrats on being named a guest designer. I like your seasonal set, the perfect design for each season 🙂 Thanks for including the close-ups, which help me better see the depth and texture.
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Thank you, that’s very kind! Glad the extra photos were useful to see the detail 😁. Happy Sunday! J 😊
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Simply gorgeous heart decorations love the little birds!
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Thanks so much for stopping by and your lovely comments 😁. So nice to meet you at Try it on Tuesday, thanks for joining in the fun and wishing you a happy new week! J 😊
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Love them! Great texture and techniques! Hard to pick a favorite! After much deliberation. I am going with winter! All beautiful!🐦🐦❤️
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Thanks very much Nan! They were fun to make with all the different designs, if I had to chose autumn and winter are my favourites …lol 😉. Wishing you a lovely week! J 😊
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Hi Jo! Your hearts are so pretty and depict the 4 seasons beautifully! I am so happy for you – congrats on being a pinworthy guest designer!!!! WOOHOO!!!!! Hugs, Sharon
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Thank you for your lovely comments, you are very kind 😁. Wishing you a happy new week! J 😊
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This is beyond anything, Jo. Your process detailing was terrific, I’ll have to read it again as there is so much there and of course all the lovely colour names entranced me. Each of the four seasons hearts is a perfect delight and a tour-de-force.
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Thanks very much Sheila! I really enjoyed creating each of these hearts as you’ve probably guessed I love the different seasons so they were a great project 😁. I hope you had a lovely birthday and wishing you a happy new week! J 😊
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I love your hearts with the embossed backgrounds and the enameled birds are just GORGEOUS! It has been great to have you as our Pinworthy Guest Designer at A Vintage Journey! Congratulations! Hugs!
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Thanks very much 😁. I really had so much fun creating these heart decorations, thanks so much for the honour of being a Pinworthy Guest Designer at A Vintage Journey! J 😊
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