Tim Holtz Sizzix Christmas 2024 - Christmas Brooches

Hello Everyone!  Here are the last of the Brooches I've made this year using the new Christmas Vault Series Dies from Tim Holtz and Sizzix, and seen in the LIVE last week. I have thoroughly enjoyed making each single one, and appreciate all the many comments and questions on them. AND speaking of questions...it looks like Ice Resin from Ranger was discontinued, and there are no more of packs of just the resin, BUT they still have a few of the Alcohol Ink kits with Ice Resin in them. Click on this link to see it, and even though Alcohol Ink is in there you can use it on another project.  Ice Resin is just a simple two part system that you mix together and then pour over your project....don't be scared to try resin. So many of the questions and comments I've gotten are about being timid to try it. If you don't try how will you know. Anyway, The sizes of the Dies in the Vault series really are the perfect sizes for making jewelry pieces, and the detail is wonderful and you really don't need a lot of bling on them. I made the first two brooches separately from the last four, so the step out pictures are grouped. Enjoy!

 

Note: I did the Poinsettia and Snowflake Brooches first, and then did the Sleigh, Snowmen, and Skates later and a bit different since they had many die cut layer parts.

(In this picture you are seeing the back of the brooches.) To begin the first two brooches, I added two sided tape to the back of what I would be using for the center layers, which is 2 layers of whatever cardstock I had (I think it was black heavystock which wouldn't be seen) and I die cut the solid base portion of the poinsettia, leaves, (from Vault Seasonal Sketch) and snowflake (from Vault Winter Wishes), and then I went ahead and did the backing parts in silver metallic and gold metallic since these weren't going to be die cut heavy layered like the previous brooches, as the snowflake is just one piece and the poinsettia two with two leaf parts. To do the backing, you add two sided tape to the metallic, but die cut the base piece from the two sided tape side instead of the front metallic side (don't remove the insides from the snowflake). Then I adhered them all together. Then I die cut the base pieces again that would be seen in colored Metallic Kraftstock with two sided tape on the back, so a solid red for the poinsettia, two colors of green for the leaf, and a blue for the snowflake, but not taking out the little pieces in the centers and instead keeping them in place for the snowflake (see the next photo).

 

 

Here you can see the fronts now. I added two sided tape to more silver (snowflake) and gold Metallic (poinsettia) and then die cut the parts I call the frames or the second top parts of each for the poinsettia and leaf, and for the snowflake I removed the center pieces so that it will now be a frame. I added the frame parts on top, and used a bit of Collage Medium on the border parts to make sure they stayed in place. I used Metallic Leafing Pens to color the sides of each to match the backs and frames so no Kraft paper was showing. 

 

 

I was going for a pearlized enameled look for these two brooches, so I thought using some Distress Spritz from Ranger, would do the trick. Using a detail paintbrush and after shaking each color well, I poured out a tiny bit of the Spritz and painted it in the open areas... Barn Door for the poinsettia, Twisted Citron and Peeled Paint for the leaf, and Mermaid Lagoon for the snowflake. It did pearlize the Metallic paper some but not to the degree I wanted probably because of the foiled surface, but it was still dreamy yet subtle. I also used tiny letter metal stamping punches and a Craft Hammer for my initials onto Metallic Kraftstock, and added those to the back of each piece for my maker marks using Glossy Accents. Then I adhered the poinsettia to the front of the leaf with more Glossy Accents. 

 

 

I added Silver Droplets on the snowflake frame and gold to the center of the poinsettia. I decided to also add rhinestones and they were not the color I needed so I dyed them with Alcohol Pearls, Tranquil for the ones on the snowflake, and Sublime for the green ones in the center of the poinsettia. I just colored them directly with a Qtip. Then I adhered all the bling with Glossy Accents. The bling takes a while to do, but it’s so worth it.

 

I mixed the Ranger Ice Resin as directed, by pushing the plunger down, and into a cup, mixing well, and poured it over the pieces on a baking cooling rack I have designated for Art, with a piece of wax paper underneath. I tried to do as heavy as a coating as I could and I kept these on the rack over night, moving them around every hour using a craft pick so they didn’t get stuck in place. By morning they were dry and not stuck in place. The package says they totally cure after 48 hours.

 

 

After the resin hardened,  I die cut Matchbooks from Kraft, and added the words cut from the Vault Holiday Classics using the same metallic colors for the front. I used pliers to bend the hook of pin in a little more so that there wasn’t more tension to secure the pin in the closure hopefully alleviating people from pulling on the pin too much to latch it. I added the pins to the back of each brooch so they wouldn’t be seen using lots of Glossy Accents., and then I coated the whole back with more Glossy Accents for added strength again, and let them dry. Once dry, I measured and marked where both ends of the back of the pin would be on the Kraft Matchbooks and punched holes for them, and then used scissors to cut a line between the holes. The back of the pin just pushes through the line into the holes and stays in place. 

 

 

 For the two Snowmen and Ice Skates with Greenery, I die cut the base skates and snowman from a white pearlized cardstock I had in my stash which I do not remember where it came from. I add two layers of black heavystock cut base pieces under for added strength. Then I added two sided tape to the back of metallic colors and die cut all the detail parts, which were many on the greenery, and did not remove the backing so I could play with placement of all the parts. For the snowmen it was easy as they have embossed lines showing where to go, but on the greenery I went rogue and just started playing.

 

  

 Here is a close up of the beginnings of the greenery on each skate. Once I liked it, I adhered the skates together with Glossy Accents, and then flipped it over to the do the backs, adding silver metallic backs to each piece, so this brooch is quite thick (see the picture below of the finished back). The snowman has just one solid silver metallic piece on the back.

 

 

For the sleigh, I went a bit different, by cutting many of them out in different metallics, all backed with two sided tape, and trimming off what I didn't want for each layer. So I started with green as a base, then light gold with the toy sack cut off and added that on, then deep brownish gold with Santa completely cut off, as well as the antlers and hoofs of each reindeer and added that on. On the red, I cut Santa's body, his hat, and the sleigh out, and added those parts on only, and nothing on the reindeer. Then on the bright gold layer I cut out only the sleigh legs and trim and added only that on. Then I die cut only the santa part out from the pearlized white scrap from the skates only for his beard and suit parts and added those on. Then I die cut one last time using black Kraftstock, and carefully cut the parts of the reins for the reindeer going all the way to the sleigh. This took some time and planning, and I totally forgot to take a photo, but just imagine the harnesses and reins and only cut those. I added a little bit of colored rhinestones to all the brooches, colored with Alcohol Ink, and then did the resin and pins the same as all the others. For these last 4 brooches I cut black tags to fit them and flicked Picket Fence Distress Paint on them for a snowy effect and when dry cut the holes and line between them to secure the brooches.

 

 

Supplies:

(Paper Trimmer, Two Sided Tape, Die Cut Machine, Die Pick, Scissors, Small Paintbrush, Water Mister, Craft Hammer)

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits (Christmas Vault Series 2024): Vault Winter Wishes, Vault Seasonal Sketch, Vault Holiday Classics, Vault Festive Wreath, Vault Christmas Magic 

-Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Metallic Classics Kraftstock, Metallic Colors Kraftstock, Metallic Droplets, Mirrored Stars

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Paper

-Ranger Glossy Accents

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spritz: Barn Door, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint, Mermaid Lagoon

-Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Pearls: Tranquil, Sublime

-Ranger Ice Resin

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Movers & Shapers Large Die: Matchbook Set

-Ranger Surfaces: #10 Black tags

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint: Picket Fence

-Gold and Silver Metallic Markers, Metal Letter Punches, Various Rhinestones, Cup and Stir Stick for Resin, Brooch Pins

 

Truly I thank you all for all the wonderful comments on this whole Brooch series for the Holidays. My cup runneth over! Until next time, I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!