C.J.&#039;s Corner Scraps

All the designers will be revealing their projects on the Tres Jolie Blog all month long. Make sure you join us for tons of inspiration, including video and photo tutorials. Also, make sure you check out the newest Tres Jolie Chipboard designs that were just added to the store.

Tres Jolie Kit Club–Cards!-January 2023 Cards & Mixed Media Kits

Image | January 26, 2023January 26, 2023 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! This week I have some super easy cards for you – even if they are mixed media cards – since the Lava Paste is made to be heat dried!

I’m going to make this a short overview post, mostly because there aren’t all that many steps involved! If you want to see the full process, make sure you check out the video!

Originally I had only planned on making the two slimline cards, but I decided to add in the little notecard when I thought of something I wanted to try while working on the other two!

The backgrounds were super easy, for the butterfly card, I coated the cardstock with some clear gesso before stenciling on my lava paste, and for the dragonfly card, I added the lava paste directly to the cardstock, then after I had dried the lava paste, I sprayed a coat of Workable Fixatif over everything. This way I could test a couple of different techniques with the lava paste and the Pixie Dusts in this month’s Mixed Media Kit.

Once the backgrounds were dried, I sprinkled on some of the Pixie Dusts, watered them down some, and then did some light drying just to keep the colors where I had decided I liked them and to keep the paper from getting too wet, then I just set them off to finish air drying. (There may have been some coatings on them, but gesso and Fixatif aren’t made to just sit with puddles on them!!)

It was during all of this that I thought of a third technique I wanted to try – adding the Pixie Dust to the wet Lava Paste and adding just a light mist of water to activate it! When I heated the Lava Paste, it created some lovely veining with the colors as the paste expanded and poofed up! I also wanted to see how the dust would work directly on the background without any type of gesso/sealer, so I added it on top of my [now dried] Lava Paste, used a soft brush to spread it around, misted it with some water and then just let it dry.

With my background done, it was just a matter of adding the bits and pieces to the card fronts. I added a layer of the Lava Paste to the backs of the cutout pieces and the sentiments because I figured it would be a nice way to give those pieces some lift and a little support to the cardstock! I also added some of the paste to the edges of all of the pieces, then it was just a matter of sticking all the embellishments down and adding a few sequins from my stash.

Thank you for joining me today on the blog, I hope these cards gave you some ideas of what you can make using the January Cards, Tags, & More Kit and Mixed Media Kit!

Stay Crafty, Friends

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

In addition to this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit and Mixed Media Kit (from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:

TCW “Mini Screen Print” Stencil , TCW “Mini Specimens” Stencil , Finnabair “Passiflora” Stencil , Simon Says Stamp “Extra Talkative Set” , StazOn “Royal Purple” , Marco’s Papers Cougar Opaque Cover “Natural” , EK Tools Scoreboard , Finnabair Clear Gesso, Krylon Workable Fixatif, Ranger Glossy Accents , Fabri-Tac , sequins , spray bottle

Tres Jolie + InkyStamper 2023 Calendar

Image | January 19, 2023January 18, 2023 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! This week, I have a quickie project for you using the adorable 2023 Calendar Kit from InkyStamper that includes a stand made by Tres Jolie! How super is that! Small business supporting small business!

I kept my calendar rather simple, just enjoying the process of coloring in the pre-stamped images. It was a nice change of pace to just work with what I had and not have to do, what I like to call, “heavy thinkin’.” Since I am assuming that the use of Copic Markers will be touched on – and the example images on the 2023 InkyStamper Calendar Class Kit store page appear to be colored with marker – I decided to use some Workable Fixatif and my Distress Watercolor Pencils for my images. You can use whatever you want or have on hand though! Your kid’s crayons? Go for it! Colored pencils? Use them! You don’t need anything fancy or a “professional artist” brand or quality item to color these images!

I have a 15-ish minute video for you to go with my calendar, where I talk about the kit, using watercolor pencils, & why I love Workable Fixatif, make a mess trying to get my stand how I was picturing it in my head, and show the real-life inspiration for my September and October!

Easy-peasy, right? Except for me and my stand – that may have been more comical! Orange mediums EV-ER-Y-WHERE!!

As promised in the video, here is the chart of all the colors I used from [all three sets of] the Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils. As always, the complete product list can be found at the end of this post.

January: Iced Spruce, Kitsch Flamingo, Peacock Feathers, Vintage Photo, Hickory Smoke	February: Speckled Egg, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot, Picket Fence, Antique Linen	March: Frayed Burlap, Fired Brick, Black Soot	April: Faded Jeans, Mustard Seed, Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Walnut Stain, Picked Raspberry
May: Twisted Citron, Shaded Lilac, Crushed Olive, Rustic Wilderness	June: Villainous Potion, Shaded Lilac	July: Speckled Egg, Tumbled Glass, Wild Honey	August: Rustic Wilderness, Cracked Pistachio, Tumbled Glass
September: Picked Raspberry, Black Soot, Hickory Smoke,	October: Prize Ribbon, Black Soot, Hickory Smoke, Kitsch Flamingo	November: Rusty Hinge, Black Soot, Tattered Rose	December: Hickory Smoke, Candied Apple, Peeled Paint, Frayed Burlap, Black Soot, Picked Raspberry

Thank you for joining me here at Tres Jolie today! I hope I gave you some ideas to color in your InkyStamper Calendar! If you haven’t picked up a kit yet, now’s the time!

Stay Crafty, Friends

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

Products (from previous Tres Jolie Kits):

InkyStamper 2023 Calendar Kit featuring the calendar stand made by Tres Jolie!, Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils Sets 1, 2 & 3, Ranger Water Brush (Detailer), Krylon Workable Fixatif, Dina Wakley “Tangerine” Acrylic Paint, Dina Wakley “Tangerine” Gloss Spray, Finnabair Liquid Color Fluid Medium, Americana-DecoArt “Bright Orange” Gloss Enamels, Jacquard Gum Arabic, Art Glitter Glue, Black Fine Tip Sharpie, White Sakura Gel Pen

Tres Jolie Kit Club–Cordis Gelida-January 2023 Mixed Media Kit

Image | January 12, 2023January 12, 2023 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! This week I broke into the January Mixed Media Kit, grabbed up some mould pieces and Mechanicals from my stash, and created my “Cordis Gelida” (“Frozen Heart” – Latin) mixed media panel. You could call your piece “Hiems Amo” (“I Love Winter” – Latin) if you are the type of person who loves winter. Actually, it’s your artwork, you can call it whatever you want or nothing at all!

After you’re done checking out the photos and reading this overview of my project, come and join me over on YouTube where I talk about what I did, expose my hoarding of Finnabair Mechanicals, wonder if my obsession with adhesion is genetic, babble semi-coherently, and ask the tough question, “Do New Year [I’ll use what I have] Resolutions apply to crafters and artists?”

Have you seen the mood board yet this month? It’s filled with beautiful winter-scapes and wonder – which matches perfectly for the twist “Winter Wonderland!” I happen to love winter – well, I love looking at winter. From inside. Where it’s warm. If I could figure out how to be warm without 42 layers of clothing, I’d love to sit out at a frozen pond enjoying the quiet tranquility. There is a line from a made-for-TV, two-part movie series (well, when I saw it in the early 2000s, it was in two parts) that came out in 1997, True Women, and my favorite line from it is “Snow makes even ugly things beautiful.” (Side note: Is it strange that the line I remember all these years later was spoken by not a main character, that [the character] was not a…“good person”…? Why did he get the line I remember?!?!) Anyhow, back to the project! Which is why y’all are here, right?

Overall, it wasn’t a terribly complicated project. I used crackle paste with my Finnabair Machinery stencil for one texture/style, then stenciled on some snowflakes with the lava paste. That was the basis of my contrasting textures – “hard” angles and edges, and soft fluffy snow!

I grabbed up mould pieces and Mechanicals from my stash that I thought I would want to use and just started playing around with the layout. I didn’t pre-plan the entire thing – I worked “in the moment” and went with what looked and felt right to me! And, somewhere along the way, I added in the spoon and little pipe from the kit.

Once I had everything adhered and it had time to dry some, I gave it all a nice coat of white gesso. Now it was time for the real messy part – adding some color!

I mixed the Cosmic Shimmer powders with some matte medium or Liquid Color Fluid Medium so they would stay in place after drying, allowing the colors to layer and not keep reactivating. After I had my colors down over the entire project, I came back with the powders in a more concentrated form – using them more as heavy body paint than the “poured on” method I had used for the initial coating. This allowed me to use those powders to add extra dimension to key areas.

Once I had my powder paint where I wanted it and had given it all ample time to dry, I used a round brush to add some of the wax from the kit to the surface. I didn’t add wax to every nook and cranny, I didn’t want to make everything a uniform color, I just wanted that wax mostly to sit on the surface of everything.

The final step was dabbing on some of the lava paste and, using the low heat setting on my heat gun, activating that paste and creating my snow clusters.

Thank you for joining me here today, I hope you enjoyed this mixed media panel and it gave you some ideas of what you can do with the mediums in this month’s Mixed Media Kit!

Stay Crafty, Friends

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

In addition to this month’s Mixed Media Kit (from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:

Ranger Opaque Crackle Texture Paste, TCW “Snowflakes” Stencil, Finnabair “Machinery” Stencil, Finnabair Moulds: Steampunk Hearts, Stars and Moons, Love Machine, Pieces of Underworld, & Cogs and Wings, Finnabair “Vintage Flowers Metal Trinkets” and “Mini Roman Numerals” Mechanicals, Finnabair White Heavy Gesso, Soft Matte Gel, 3D Matte Gel, Liquid Color Fluid Medium, Texture Powder, Mega Art Stones, Art Stones, Mini Art Stones, JudiKins Diamond Glaze, Liquitex Matte Medium

Tres Jolie Kit Club–Tag Journal–January 2023 Cards, Tags, & More Kit

Image | January 5, 2023January 4, 2023 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! Hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration – whether it was out and about, or at home in jammies like me!

The best part of a new month and a new year is the new Tres Jolie Kits! YAY! And January is starting out fan-tab-u-lous-ly! I absolutely love the colors and styles that the kits are bringing this month. So, to get you started with your Cards, Tags, & More Kit, I have a little tag journal/booklet for you I made using some up-cycled packaging for the covers and decorated with the 3Quarter Designs “Imagine If” papers from the kit.

I have a video for you that covers what and how I did what I did that you can check out to recreate your own tag journal or just watch to pull some ideas from to expand upon!

I started my process by cutting up the packaging from a carton of canned beverages into approximately 5”x7” pieces, leaving the end flaps in place on two of the four pieces to create my pockets with (they measure 5”x7”-ish with the flaps folded up!)

Since my entire idea was about creating a vintage “pieced-together” look, it didn’t matter in the slightest if my cuts were straight or if the pieces were exact! It just added to the overall design! Plus, I would be coming in and distressing the edges, so there was really no need for straight cuts!

On the two rectangles that I didn’t leave the flap on for the pocket – the outside layers of the cover pieces – I used the two embossing folders from the Tim Holtz “Book Cover Set” to give them some texture. Then, I used some soft matte gel to glue my inner (the pieces with the flap) and outer (the embossed pieces) together, making sure to fill in my embossing so as I worked, it would un-emboss!

Once the gel had dried, I distress my edges and used some “Ground Espresso” stain to dye my journal covers. After that had dried, I tore the pieces of paper I wanted to add to the covers, added the same embossing, lined up the embossed areas, and glued them into place.

For the inside layers, because I wanted to make sure the pockets were well attached, I stitched my pocket (edges) to the background paper first – then I used some double-sided tape to really make sure I had good adhesion to the journal cover.

Once I had the bits of paper and fabric scraps picked out that I wanted to use and added my decorative stitching, finishing up the journal was a quick process – it was just a matter of stitching and gluing everything in place!

So I would have a “finished” look on both sides of the covers and flaps, I wouldn’t stitch the papers directly to the cover on both sides – I would only do direct stitching on one side. Then, for the other side, I would add my stitching to the paper(s) and glue them in place. This way I wouldn’t have any rough holes where the needle came through.

I really didn’t have any rhyme or reason when it came to creating all the little clusters and collage-ish pieces, I just grabbed up from the bits I had picked out, layered them up, added some of the flowers and some stitches, and just created what I felt like!

I had the same process for my tags, I created random-sized tags, created my clusters for them, then used some Fabri-Tac to make sure they stayed put! I didn’t want to stitch my clusters to my tags for a couple of reasons – the first reason being purely aesthetic – I didn’t want rough holes from the needle – the second reason is that I created a couple of ledger printables to add to the backs so notes would be able to be written on [the back of] the tags easier! (Well, easier for me, because I can’t write in a straight line on a blank surface to save my life!)

To add some extra dimension to a few of the fussy cut pieces, I gave them a layer of Glossy Accents and after they had dried completely, I added a few cracks to really create an aged appearance.

For the two tags that have the deep purple satin fabric as their pulls, I added stitching up and down them to keep that fabric from fraying. I may not have been able to tear that satin fabric, but once it wants to fray, it just keeps on going!

Then, just for these two tags, I stitched the pulls directly to the tops for the extra bit of security with that slippery fabric.

For the tags that have the variety of cotton-blend fabrics as their pulls, I didn’t sew them up like I did the satin ones, because although they can fray, they don’t quite do it all on their own the way the satin does! Then, to attach them to the tops, I just used my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and popped in a couple of staples crossed over each other like an “X.”

Thank you for joining me today! I hope you enjoyed this Tag Journal and it gave you some ideas of what you can create using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit and some up-cycled packaging!

Stay Crafty, Friends

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

In addition to this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit, I used:

Tim Holtz “Book Cover” Embossing Folders , Distress Spray Stain “Ground Espresso” , Distress Paint “Ground Espresso” , Distress Paint “Villainous Potion” , Dina Wakley “Olive” Acrylic Paint , Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher , Tim Holtz Sanding Block , Tim Holtz Jute String , We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper , We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile II , Finnabair Soft Matte Gel , Glossy Accents , Fabri-Tac , thin chipboard (ex: cereal box) , fabric scraps , Dritz 1/4” Eyelets , 1/2” Herringbone Edging

Reveal Day!–January 2023 Tres Jolie Kits!

Image | January 3, 2023January 2, 2023 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! Are you ready for the first kits of 2023? Ready to start your 2023 with some craft time? Then check out Tres Jolie’s newest kits and go grab them up before they’re gone!

Be sure you are following us on all social media platforms (Tres Jolie Kit Club links at end of the post; Corner Scraps links to the right) and have joined the Tres Jolie Kit Club Facebook Café so you won’t miss a single announcement or project created with these kits.

Are you getting ready to scrap your 2022 holiday memories? Did you take a nice snowy vacation? Or maybe you just live in a snowy part of the world! Then the January 2023 Scrapbooking Kit is what you will need! This month’s kit is filled with the beautiful Christmas Wonderland collection from 3Quarter Designs. There are beautiful blues for your winter-themed projects and just enough bits and pieces to turn the project Christmas-y if you want! And although I’m not extremely familiar with Judaism, I think the blues in this kit would make some lovely Hanukkah layouts. You will find a lovely assortment of patterned papers and perfectly coordinated embellishments in this kit.

The January Mixed Media Kit has some fabulous mediums from Cosmic Shimmer, a beautiful deep blue wax from Pink Ink Designs, and a couple of assemblage bits plus a mixed media board to give you a place to give those mediums a try! Get this kit, and get started making your own one-of-a-kind mixed media art! (Hint: The Mixed Media Kit matches beautifully with both the Scrapbooking Kit and the Cards, Tags, & More Kit!)

And finally, the first Cards, Tags, & More Kit of 2023 contains the Imagine If Card Collection from 3Quarter Designs and a pack of purple flowers. This kit has beautiful purple and olive-green hues that are fabulous to work with. In fact, purple(s) and green(s) are some of my favorite color combinations! The A4-sized papers in the kit are perfect for creating a mini-journal, tags, cards, or tearing apart and collaging with for some “downtime” in your art journal!

These kits are for the beginner to the advanced; from clean and simple – to mixed media maven. No matter your style, there is something for everyone. We know you are going to love it!

And now (drumroll, please) the January 2023 Kits from Tres Jolie:

Scrapbooking Kit

Mixed Media Kit

Cards, Tags, & More Kit

Don’t forget to stop by the Tres Jolie YouTube channel and see our video reveal for all our kits.

The designers at Tres Jolie have created some amazing layouts and projects with these kits, and a little something extra in collaboration with InkyStamper! Here is a few sneak peeks of a few of the projects I’ll have for you throughout the month!

Please stop by the other designer’s blogs (listed below) and check out their sneak peeks:

We have a new mood board challenge for the month, with the following rules and guidelines:

Place your entries in the January 2023 challenge folder on the Tres Jolie Kit Club Café Facebook page. This challenge ends on January 31st, 2023 at 11:59 pm CST. All entries must be in this folder to be eligible for the prize (to have everyone eligible to win, we are limiting the same winner to once every 3 months).

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

Tres Jolie Kit Club–Christmas Journals!-December 2022 Scrapbooking Kit

Image | December 29, 2022December 28, 2022 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! The year is coming to a close, but that means a whole new year of Tres Jolie Kits to look forward to! YAY!!!

For my last project of 2022, I used this month’s Scrapbooking Kit – along with my stash of junk journaling materials – to create two Christmas journals. Each journal has envelopes, tuck-ins, flips, and loads of pages for journaling your Christmas thoughts and memories. And even though Christmas 2022 has passed, you can still create a memory journal while we are in that awkward time between Christmas and the New Year when it’s questionable if we are sure what day it is!!

Did you have a friend and/or family gathering? You could have everyone who attended write what they remembered about Christmas! Did people travel from various distances? Just send it around in the mail or have them write letters you can glue or clip to the pages!

Check out my overview video where I give some details of what went into these journals:

The two journals are very similar – it was just a matter of what signatures were added to which cover after I decided I had more than enough to create two journals. I used some canvas-type fabric on the covers, and some mulberry paper to cover the spines. On the journal with “Memo” on the cover, I inked the mulberry paper and added some ink splotches to the printables. For the closures, I just stitched together layers of ribbons and fabric scraps to create a wrap.

I digitally create some Christmas-themed end papers for my journals and attached them in a non-traditional way by either cutting or tearing the side that isn’t attached to the cover gluing it down to the first page of the journal.

For added texture and to fit with the “put together” and “vintage” style, I would just stitch my printables straight to the pages I wanted them on.

I used a few black tags from my stash and added some layers of the various papers from the Simple Stories papers in the kit, created tuck-in spots using some of the Simple Stories ephemera and backed a few of the cut apart Simple Stories cards with pieces of hanging file folder!

I have a variety of paper and pages throughout the journals created using patterned paper, printables, and some original vintage pages. I also created and added some homemade glassine using the method I learned from Nik the Booksmith. I also created a couple of Nik’s “Raggedy” inserts into the journals made up of a cardstock base and a variety of ephemera stitched and glued on.

I created my own vintage style, Christmas-themed labels to add in, and even decided I needed a custom Bookbinders Label to add to both journals. You can grab up a free printable with some Christmas-themed labels on them over on my Flickr!

Thank you for joining me here today! I hope you enjoyed these journals and that they gave you an idea of what you can make using this month’s Scrapbooking Kit!

Warm Wishes for a Safe and Happy New Year!

Stay Crafty, Friends

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

In addition to this month’s Scrapbooking Kit (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:

White Paper Doily , Red Paper Doilies , Corner Scraps Studio “Vintage Holiday” , “Vintage Style Mailing Labels” , “The Randoms” , & “Vintage Style Labels” Printables , Cardstock Warehouse Thai Unryu “Charcoal” , Distress Ink “Gathered Twigs” , Distress Oxide “Evergreen Bough” , American Crafts “Christmas Day” Stamp , We R Memory Keepers: 3-Way Corner Punch, Hole Reinforcer Punch, Crop-A-Dile II, Tab Punch , Mini Envelope Punch Board , EK Tools “Round Binding Edge” Punch , Recollections 2-1/2” (6.35cm) Circle Punch , variety of junk journal papers, pages, folders, napkins, & ephemera , deli paper , tracing paper , old book covers , Pellon 806 Stitch-N-Tear , Pellon 911FF Fusible Featherweight Interfacing, Heat-N-Bond Ultra Hold , LineCo Mousseline , LineCo PVA , fabric for covers & decoration , Krylon Workable Fixatif , Rust-Oleum Clear Satin 2X , ModPodge Gloss Spray Sealer , Krylon Matte Finish , Ranger Glossy Accents , Art Glitter Glue , Fabri-Tac , UHU Stic , JudiKins MicroGlaze , red heavy weight (button/rug) thread , vintage hole reinforcements , 3/8” ScorTape , 1” double-sided tape , Scotchgard , blending brushes

Tres Jolie Kit Club–Ornaments!–December 2022 Cards, Tags, & More Kit

Image | December 22, 2022December 21, 2022 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all! Yesterday was the first day of winter (Winter Solstice). Today is the 4th-5th day of Hanukkah (the 5th day of Hanukkah will start at sundown tonight if my counting is correct – if I’m wrong, feel free to correct me!), Christmas is on Sunday, Kwanzaa starts Monday, and 2023 is ten days away! It’s been a year I tell ya! Don’t worry though, this isn’t my last project for 2022, I still have one more for you next week!

This week I made some ornaments for you using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit and the Mixed Media Kit. Although, the Mixed Media Kit ornaments took a while to dry and haven’t been 100% completed. They weren’t part of my original plan – I had only planned on the three “double” ornaments made using the papers and cardstock from the Cards Kit. (Check out the video to get the details about all the hows and whys!)

My ornaments are also for the mood board challenge – what is a better holiday tradition than handmade ornaments or décor? For me, Christmas Trees need the ornaments my kiddos made – even if it has been close to a decade since the last one was made!

For the blog, I’m just going to talk about what your seeing in the photos, the video is where you can watch my thought process in action!

All of the clear plastic ornaments are 4 inches, and none of my inner, paper ornaments are over (approximately) 2-5/8-inches in diameter.

For this first ornament, I cut four circles, in each size, out of one of the sheets of patterned paper and one of the cardstock sheets from the kit. After I had them together – not all the way “closed” – I added a touch of embossing powder along the edges, then I glued a hat pin along the centers, using a small bead as separators.

I wanted to add a bit of a frosted look to this ornament, so I grabbed up some Finnabair Crushed Crystal and dabbed it onto the inside, keeping to the outer edges so the center would remain mostly clear, allowing the inner ornament to show. I used a combination of hot glue and 3D Matte Gel to hold my ornament in place – the hot glue to tack it in place long enough for the gel to dry – and after all the mediums had dried, I glued my halves together.

This ornament was my “experiment” with Foundry Wax – I had assumed the plastic would not hold up to the heat needed for the Foundry Wax, but I experimented so you wouldn’t have to! My official stance is – don’t use mediums that need to be heat set!

This second ornament is made up of four circles cut from one of the patterned papers and four circles cut from one of the cardstock sheets. I used a touch of paint along the edges, nothing that stands out, just a bit of White Pearl Metallic Paint. Once again, I didn’t close up my inner ornament until I had glued in what I was using to suspend it within the clear plastic ornament – in this case, a bit of gold (costume jewelry) chain. I added the gold Little Birdie wreaths to the sections that were made of the cardstock, used my hot glue and 3D Matte Gel to start the process of holding everything in place – then decided that wasn’t enough!

As I was looking at this ornament, I decided it need a little something more – not frosted like the first one – but something, so I grabbed up some glitter and added it to the top and bottom of the ornament, trying to create the look that the chain was coming out of the glitter “mound.” After I had the two halves glued together, I still thought there should be more, so I did something rare – I added glitter to the outside of a project! I just used some (regular weight) matte gel since it wouldn’t run the way glue might to hold the glitter in place, and set it off to dry.

For my third and final (actually finished) ornament, I used a small doily die to cut out four pieces of patterned paper and four pieces of cardstock, then glued them together the same way I did all the circles in the other two ornaments. Since this patterned paper is a darker and busier print, I only added a touch of the Bubbly Embossing Powder from this month’s Mixed Media Kit to the edges and wrapped the “Holly” and “Jolly” Tres Jolie Chipboard words around the center. The chipboard words are embossed in a layer of the Bubbly powder, and an extra layer of Lindy’s Holly Berry Red Gold on the bottom half-ish to create a bit of a gradient effect.

I was attempting to create the illusion that the inner ornament was floating within the outer ornament, so I used a length of fishing line to suspend it inside – just adding a few small beads to give it a little “extra.” I didn’t add any mediums to my outer ornament besides the bit of Vintage Gold Finnabair Wax – after adding a light coat of clear gesso – at the top where the hook will go.

Alright, as I stated in the video, I have a photo here for you of the two ornaments that had the Distress Mica Sprays and some glittery mediums in them – that took for-EV-er to dry! They are dry now, but they weren’t dry soon enough to do anything else with – that would also need time to dry! They were unplanned, I just needed something to experiment on before doing “things” to my planned ornaments! I’m hoping that I will finish these unplanned ornaments before next December!

Thank you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed these ornaments and they gave you some ideas of what you can make using this month’s kits.

Stay Crafty, Friends

Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!

Tres Jolie can also be found at:

In addition to this month’s Mixed Media Kit and Cards, Tags, & More Kit (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:

Finnabair “White Pearl” Metallique Paint , *Finnabair “Crushed Crystals” Jewel Effect Paste , *Cosmic Shimmer “Sparkle Texture Paste , Distress Foundry Wax “Gilded” (although, I don’t recommend heat with plastic ornaments!) , Lindy’s Gang “Holly Berry Red Gold” Embossing Powder , *DecoArt Gold Glitter , *DecoArt Crackle Glaze , Shimmerz Paint “Puttin’ On The Glitz” Paste-Eez , Distress Clear Embossing Ink , *Dress My Craft “Classic Doily” Die , Spellbinders Standard Circle Nestabilities , Gorilla Hot Glue Sticks , 4” clear plastic ornaments, hat pin , gold chain (costume jewelry) , fishing line , gold beads , Art Glitter Glue , JudiKins Diamond Glaze

Tres Jolie Kit Club – Tree Trio! – December 2022 Mixed Media Kit

Image | December 15, 2022December 14, 2022 | Corner Scraps

Hey, y’all!

We’re halfway through December, and almost to 2023! Hopefully during this hectic time of the year you’ve been able to take some crafty time for yourself! This week I used the December 2022 Mixed Media Kit and put my adorable little trees together. (Although, I did have some struggles trying to get the photos taken!)

I didn’t pull too much from my stash to create these trees, only a few staple items and a few mediums from previous Tres Jolie Kits to help [me] hold my colors and embellishments in place.

Make sure you swing by and check out the video to get the full process!

I created all three trees the same, so I’m just going to go over that process and pop in the photos as I go along! I did not glue my trees together! I knew they would be getting wet and I didn’t want to try and get them together after the wood had swollen! And they don’t really need any glue – they fit together well on their own, and by the time I was done, all that swelling was all that was needed to finish the hold. The only place I added a touch of wood glue was at the tree tops to help hold the point together while I dyed, sprayed, painted, and sprinkled!

The first thing I did was put my trees together and add a bit of wood glue to the tops to hold the tips together. Once that glue had dried, I sprayed down the trees with water, to start getting the wood to swell some so the “Merrymint” Distress Mica would be able to soak in better. After all three trees were thoroughly coated, I let them air dry overnight.


The largest tree.

The next morning I took my trees to a well-ventilated area and gave them a light spray of some Workable Fixatif. The Distress Mica Sprays are water-reactive and I didn’t want them to start dripping color as I worked with them!

After the Fixatif had dried (it only takes about 5 minutes), I used a small brush to “paint” on some Ranger Embossing Ink (refill bottle) to the areas of the tree with the snowflake cuts, added the Bubbly embossing powder, and heated it up. Then I repeated the same process to the tree trunks. Since embossing powder is a smooth, slick surface after it’s melted, I gave my trees another spray of Fixatif so my next layer of color would have something a little better to grab ahold of.


The middle tree.

As I was shaking up my bottle of Shiny Bauble, I got to thinking that I really wanted it to stay put and not drip during or after spraying – and that led me to grab up my bottle of Liquid Color Fluid Medium and add a thin coat to the tree. You could use clear gesso, just keep in mind it is a matte finish – I didn’t want to lose the shimmer and shine of the mica which is why I didn’t use gesso. I didn’t heat dry the spray and medium thoroughly, but I did use the low heat setting to dry it all just enough so it wouldn’t run. After all of that had finished air drying, I added embossing powder to the trunks again, and to the base to cover any spray that might have landed where I didn’t want it!

Then, before I started sprinkling on the Mini Prills and chunky glitter, I gave my trees a good coating of Fixatif then, after the Fixatif had ample time to dry, I sprayed my trees down with water to remove any spray that hadn’t got sealed well! I didn’t want any of that spray to bleed into the clear medium I would be using to hold the Mini Prills and chunky glitter in place!


The smallest tree.

Now the only things I had left were the finishing touches! I used some Distress Crackle Paint, coated the tree, one section at a time, and sprinkled on the glitter and Prills. I didn’t put a heavy coat of paint on, and it is a thicker medium – so I could stand my trees up and let them air dry and my paint didn’t run down!

To make sure all those little bits of glitter and Prills stayed put, I gave the tree a light coating of Triple Thick Crystal Clear Glaze before adding the finishing touches to the trunk and base.

I wanted to add some texture to my trunk and base, so I decided to experiment a little. I coated the trunk and base with some DecoArt Crackle Glaze (not too thick!) and then covered it with more of the embossing powder. I didn’t know what would happen; I wasn’t sure if it would crackle or not, but I figured I’d get some kind of texture in the end!

I let that glaze dry overnight, then I came in with the heat gun and hoped for the best! It may not have made noticeable crackles, but it did produce a bubbly, rough texture!

With all of the decoration done, I gave the trees a final coating of the Triple Thick Clear Glaze to provide protection and to really make sure my glitter and Prills stayed on.

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie! I hope you enjoyed this Tree Trio and it gave you some ideas of what you can do with this month’s Mixed Media Kit to create your own unique Christmas Tree décor!

Stay Crafty, Friends

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