Tree Trio! - December 2022 Mixed Media Kit
Hey, y’all!
We’re half-way 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.
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Make sure you swing by and check out the video to get the full process!
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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 were going to 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 treetops to help hold the point together while I dyed, sprayed, painted, and sprinkled!
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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.
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| The largest tree. | |
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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.
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| The middle tree. | |
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As I was shaking up my bottle of Shiny Bauble, I got to thinking that I really wanted it stay put and not drip during or after spraying – and that led me to grabbing up my bottle of Liquid Color Fluid Medium to coat the tree with lightly. You could use clear gesso, just keep in mind it is a matte finish - I didn’t want to loose the shimmer and shine of the mica which is why I didn’t used gesso. I didn’t heat dry the spray and medium completely, but I did use the low heat setting to dry it all just enough so it would run. After all of that had finished air drying, I added embossing powder to the trunks again, and to the base to coved 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!
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The smallest tree. |
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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.
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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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In addition to this month’s Mixed Media Kit, I used (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits):
*Finnabair Liquid Color Fluid Medium , *Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint , *DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze , Ranger Emboss-It Ink Refill , Krylon Workable Fixatif , Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze , Gorilla Wood Glue