Christmas Tree Frame

This was a fun frame to make.  I used the $1 wood frame from Michael’s (of course, lol), and really wanted to show off the Basic Grey paper, simply because I like it.  Of course, it needed some bling though.

I love, love LOVE the Making Memories glitter glaze.  I’ve come across people time and time again who are disappointed in it and every single time, it’s because they are assuming it will work like paint.  And it won’t!  Same with the pearl (also fabulous), gold and silver glazes.  These should be used the same way you would a glaze for your walls in your home.  They are meant to highlight your base color in some way, not to BE the main color.  Use these with a sponge, bubble wrap, a rag, any of the techniques you would on your walls!  Personally, my usual choice is a wet (not dripping, but definitely more than damp – especially with the glitter glaze) makeup sponge.  You’ll find these glazes to be very thick, so the water makes them “spread” easier.  I put a bit onto a piece of wax paper or some other nonstick disposable surface (product packaging works nicely as well) and tap off my excess before moving to my project.  You can keep adding more as needed, but once it’s on there, if you use too much, there’s not much chance of fixing it.  Usually I pounce it on, but for this frame, I rubbed it on in a vertical direction so it gave more of a streaked look that isn’t terribly evident in the photo.  I also rubbed the glitter glaze on (with a wet finger – my favorite applicator tool!) to some felt flowers and added some glitter brads (Making Memories) to the centers.

The next fun thing I used was Fantasy Snow from Delta.  This is a very textural product but kind of a pain to work with.  It needs to be applied with something like a palette knife (if you do not own one of these, a popsicle stick will work, but seriously – go to the craft store and get a palette knife anyways – you can pick up a plastic one for about a buck and it’s worth it to have on hand for various things!) and while it’s wet, getting it to stick WHERE you want it can be frustrating.   Once it’s dry, however, it’s rock solid and shimmers like crazy from the mica inclusions.