Winter Welcome Sign

By: Kim Parkinson, 2009-10 Trail Master

Supplies:

• Winter scene napkin by Bounty - but any napkin will do
• Cardboard
• Foam Core
• Brown Ribbon
• Welcome Sign with Glitter on it - I bought mine at Michael's
• Wooden Sleigh - I bought mine at Michael's
• Snowman collage picture by Crafty Secrets
• H20 Water pen filled with blending solutioin
• Silver paint
• Walnut Stain Crackle Paint by Ranger
• Snow Writer by DecoArt
• Red Line Adhesive
• Fantasy Fibers by ArtGlitter
• Heat Gun
• Kandi Hot Wax Stylus with the Spade, Brush and Calligraphy Tips
• Kandi Beeswax in Dark and Medium Brown, Light Blue, Gold and White
• Beeswax
• Melting Pot and Project Pan by Ranger
• Natural Bristle Brush
• Mini bells tied to a piece of twine

Directions:

1. To get started, we are going to melt the clear beeswax in the melting pot.  You could use an old crockpot as well but I prefer to use the melting pot with the project pan inside it.
2. Make sure you cut your chipboard and foam core board into an oval shape and that they are the same size.
3. Next, I cut out the portion of the napkin I wanted to use as my design.  You want to be sure that the napkin is only 1 ply.  If they are more than 1-ply, then just peel off the other layer/s.    It's best to fit your napkin onto the area you'd like it to cover first.  Once you brush on the wax, the napkin will stick a little to the chipboard.  Use a natural bristle brush to brush a thin layer of Beeswax over the piece of chipboard then place your napkin on top of that. Brush on another thin layer over the napkin.  Use the heat gun to infuse the layers together and remove any excess wax.  I only added one layer of wax to my piece because the colors on this napkin were muted.  If you want to add more wax, you can, just be sure you use your heat gun in between layers to fuse them together.
4. Plug in and put on the Spade tip on your Kandi Hot wax Stylus.  I use the Kandi tool but you could also use a mini quilters iron as well!   Use the spade tip to color the ‘pond’ area with white beeswax.  What I like to do is dip the stylus into the white wax until it slightly covers the tip, pull it out and then 'swish' it onto your project.
5. Turn off your Hot Wax Stylus and switch to the calligraphy tip to follow the outline of the napkin to add in wax color where the hills and the walkway are.  It's best that you follow the design of your  napkin.  I used the light blue for the defined areas.  The best way to use the calligraphy tip is to touch the tip to the wax.  Let the wax 'soak' up into the tip and then use it.  It's best to use it slowly.  You may have to repeat pulling wax into the tip several times but you'll be happier with your results if you don't rush it.
6. I also filled in the rest of the areas with white beeswax by switching to the brush tip on my stylus.  I used the calligraphic tip to add some browns to the trees and trace the smoke from the chimney, the star in the sky and the swirl under the skater.
7. Lastly, I used the heat gun to slightly heat up the pond area and then place the fantasy fibers onto the pond area.  Use the spade tip to slightly heat the fibers to melt them and adhere to the white beeswax.  This effect really gives a nice 'sparkly' effect!



8. I painted the wooden sleigh with the walnut crackle paint and then the silver dabber.  I ripped up the edges of the Crafty Secrets Snowman and added his picture to the top of the sleigh.  I added the bells and adhere the entire piece to the sign with Red Line adhesive. 
9. I like to fill my H2O water pen with blending solution.  I've got a ton of great techniques I use it for so I have two: one for Blending Solution and one for water.  I do have them labeled too!  On the sign, I dipped my H20 pen into the Stream Alcohol ink to 'painted' it  onto the "Welcome" sign banner.  This technique works great for anything that has silver glitter on it.  And this time of year, there are plenty of items at the stores with silver glitter on them! 
10. For my finishing touches, I added some snow, by drawing on the tops of the Welcome sign and the sleigh with the snow writer.  And then adhered a brown ribbon around the outside edges to finish off the piece!
11. This is best hung inside or outside of direct sunlight.  In the area I live, New England, this will work fine over the Winter.  In warmer climates, you may not be able to put it on your outside door.