On The Seventh Day of Christmas...

I can't stop singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in my head! Must be because I have been working on this HUGE Design Team project with my favorite Alpha Stamps! Surely you have stopped by and seen the other days of Christmas interpreted by other talented artists?  If not, are you crazy?  You have GOT to check out all of this fabulous work!  

Well, for those of you who know me, you know I love the #7. Not only did I get the #7 (feel like I'm on PeeWee's playhouse and #7 is the word of the day. Everybody scream - Aaaaagggghhhhh) but I also got a project that I could be my typical artsy Jekyll & Hyde with. 

I present..... 7 NaUgHtY ChIlDrEn

And also..... 7 Perfect Angels

Not only do I love how my project turned out, my whole family does.  Now we have two more holiday displays to decorate our festive home with. So now I want to share a little bit about the whole crazy process and some of my favorite parts of the project. 

I received a gloriously huge box of goodies and just plopped it all out where my eyes could feast upon it's yumminess!  There were so many things that I wanted to use in my project and the wheels had been turning in my head for days. But for me, my mind has to just move in baby steps.  Certain items I know a purpose for and other items get worked in during the process. 

First, I took all of the Masonite houses out and set the tiny parts (doors/windows) to the side. I used both the Chapel Hill Stand-Up Village Kit and the Pine Lake Stand-Up Village Kit. I knew I wanted to cover them with holiday paper first. I used several from the Joyeux Noel 6x6 Paper Pad and  the City Sidewalks 8x8 Paper Pack. I knew that my "naughty" side would focus more on reds, and my "angel" side would focus more on blues. I chose several pages in each shade.  Next, I rolled my houses through my Xyron 900.  I love this thing so much.

After running them through I placed the houses on the papers that I chose and cut those puppies out with a fresh blade.

 I like to use a fresh emery board to sand my edges smooth before rubbing them a bit with a brown ink pad that is a tad old.  That way the ink doesn't blob. Can't deal with a blob now.

I decided to use different papers for the roof tops. At first I put a single layer on, but then I decided that was too boring.  I wanted some texture to the roof.  So I did some paper weaving.  This was the longest process for my project.  I can't even tell you how long it took me to do all of the cutting, and weaving. Then I ran it through the Xyron and placed it on plain card stock to make it stronger.  Again through the Xyron and careful placement onto the roof.

I only trimmed it a bit and left the places that needed to be cut with a blade for later.  I gave the roof a good rub down with Liquitex Matte Medium to hold the weave in place and also give it just a matte finish. I don't always like a glossy finish.

After my roofs were done, I played around with placement.  After finding some favorite Alpha Stamp collage sheet images, like these little girls from Cab Card Cuties,  I place them here and there along with doors and windows until I found a good match. Then I adhered the image to the house(s) after thinking of their naughty action. 

One of my favorite "mini projects" was using the Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks which I had never used before. I used them to paint all of these wonderful holiday charms from Alpha Stamps. I decided the naughty side would have brass colored charms, and the angel side would have silver charms.  The charms are beautiful on their own but look what happens after a little ink is applied.

Amazing colored charms! 

I simply removed the hoop from the charm with my wire cutters and filed it down when needed with a metal file. So easy!

Next, more fooling around with placement.  Which house goes where? Where to put windows, extra windows, etc?  Even the extra Masonite can be used and easily cut in half. 

Another fun mini project was making some stained glass windows, again with thanks to good ole Tim Holtz and his Alcohol Inks.  I just dribbled some on a transparency sheet, mixed it around a bit, dripped more here and there and sha-zam!  Instant stained glass!

Isn't it gorgeous!

After adding some puffy holiday snow between my villages, I sprinkled the naughty side with the new Pearlized Mica Flakes. 

So here are my 7 naughty children.  And you know what naughty children get?  A big lump o coal, that's what.

That naughty little boy made a mess and took his baby sister's bottle, torn down someones wreath and destroyed a snowman.  That naughty little girl, she is so mean to her poor dog and so nosy.  I'd like to take those binoculars and......

And what is up with that boarded up house?  Looks like a demon seed lives there, with those red eyes.  Guess his parents tried to lock him up inside and Santa didn't even take his coal lumps inside.  He left them at  the door. 

Those two little girls are so disrespectful to their parents.  They carry them around like little puppets. I don't know where that little boy got the Eagle Knife sign, but I'm sure he was being naughty in the process.  I mean, look at him.  He just looks naughty.  And somebody PLEASE get that little girl off of the roof.  It's bad enough that she is up there, but that hammer is going to pull her down.  Maybe it would teach her a lesson.

Doesn't he look creepy? And who tore down those Christmas lights?

I love the way the stained glass looks.

Oops!  Looks like someone got stuck in the chimney! And the little boy is from one of my favorite new collage sheets Little Darlings. 

I think I would rather hang out with these perfect little angels which came from the collage sheet Christmas Angels.  But maybe not if they have "step-ford wives" for Mom's, lol.

 I love the way this row looks in the dark.  My kiddos were all "Oooohhhsss"  and "Aaahhhghs". This side was sprinkled with the Mini Snowflake Sequin Mix. The Victorian Street Lights were decorated with Fresh Snow Buttons and I love how the Tree Trimmers Charms look like they are glowing!

Awe, look at the cute little bunny.

Creating this two fold project was extremely rewarding.  It's always nice when you put your time into something and seeing the smile on someones face when it touches them. It is a piece that my children and I can always set up and add to for many years to come and could also be a way to let them know their outcome on Christmas morning, hee hee hee.  If the angel side is set out, wonderful presents.  And if the naughty side, well, you know the rest.  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all of the other projects for Alpha Stamps Twelve Days of Christmas.  For a full supply list, see below and if you have any questions or comments at all, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message! 

Supply List

Chapel Hill Stand-Up Village Kit

Pine Lake Stand-Up Village Kit

City Sidewalks 8x8 Paper Pack 

Joyeux Noel 6x6 Paper Pad Antique Bronze Christmas Charm Set  Antique Silver Lacy Snowflakes  Candy Cane Charms Christmas Angels Collage Sheet Christmas Bells Charms Fresh Snow Buttons  Gingerbread Man Charms  Mini Snowflake Sequin Mix  Nutcracker Charms Ribbon Set from Mistletoe Kit Small Christmas Bulb Garland (8mm)  Snowman Parts Buttons  Tree Trimmers Charms  Turtle Dove Numbers Stickers  Wreath Charms  Pearlized Mica Flakes  Set of Fancy Gothic Windows  Sepia Siblings Collage Sheet  Cab Card Cuties Collage Sheet  Silver Snowflake Charms  Red & Green Rhinestones  2 Wired Pom Pom Ribbons Candy Cane Charms  Christmas Greens Buttons  Antique Brass Wreath Victorian Street Lights Mini Potted Trees