Tutorial of Ornamental Proportions!

Hi there Unity Peeps!!  This is Kelly Landers, the Guest Designer for Unity Stamps this month.  Thanks so much for all your sweet comments on my blog when Angela has sent you over there!  I really appreciate it and have been having so much fun working with her uber talented DT members and of course her fabulous stamps!  Unity Rocks!!

I am here today to share with you a tutorial on how I made this ornament...



I made this ornament for a Dirty Dozen/ Dirty Dozen Alumni Challenge at SCS this month.  You can see my blog post about it HERE.

The one that we make today will be just slightly different, but you will see how it can be changed up to suit your needs or to be able to work with the supplies that you have on hand.

Step 1 Gather your supplies. ( In addition to what you see pictured below, you will also need a pencil, scissors, file or sandpaper, heat gun, Cuttlebug (optional), red tape, paintbrush and Cropadile or hole punch.)



The Unity stamps used for my project come from two different sets.  The reindeer is called All Santa's Reindeer (designed by Krisine Bents) and the sentiment is from the Bitty Christmas tags set.




Step 2  Use a precut Chipboard circle measuring 4 inches, or trace around a circle of the same size. I used the largest of the Large Nestie Circles to trace around.








Step 3  Choose the DP that you want to use.  I have used coordinating DP from Martha Stewart's collection called Golden Woodland.  I liked the lines that this had and chose to place my circle centered over the circle on the DP.  The sky is the limit when you choose your DP.  Trace around your circle and cut it out. 







Step 4 Apply adhesive to the back of the cut circle and attach it to what will now be the front of the Chipboard Circle.  Sand or file the edges until smooth.








Step 5  Choose a blank CS or a DP that is lighter in color and stamp the reindeer (or image of your choice) with embossing ink.  Apply fine gold embossing powder and heat it up with your heat gun.







Step 6  Using your Cuttlebug (or any scissors or circle cutting device) carefully place the reindeer in the middle of the die (I used the second from the largest of the Small Nestie Circles) and run it through the machine.  Run it through again to emboss it if desired.







Step 7  Using your Stamp-a-ma-jig carefully stamp the sentiment onto the circle you just cut.  Be careful to keep it aligned and straight.  I used Stampin Up's Sage Shadow, but any matching ink will do.








Step 8  Apply adhesive to the smaller circle and center it on top of the chipboard base.








Step 9  Using coordinated DP's cut two small strips of paper to apply to the bottom of the ornament.  Turn the ornament over and cut the excess paper off that extends beyond the edges.  File or sand the circle to smooth all the edges and apply gold ink to the edges.






Step 10 Cut a piece of trim long enough to extend beyond both sides of the ornament.  Apply red tape and attach the trim.  Wrap the edges to the back, reduce any bulk you can and tape it securely. 








Step 11 Cut another 4 inch circle from coordinating DP for the back of the ornament.  Apply adhesive and attach it to the back side of the ornament to cover the raw  ribbon and finish the back. Sand as needed and apply gold ink to the edges.





Step 12  Paint your chipboard flourish with the paint of your choice.  You also could choose to cover it with paper using Modge Podge.  I used Judikins Mica Gloss Metallic Effects Ink and combined two colors to get the proper match.  I chose this shape of flourish because I felt it mimics the look of a reindeer's antlers.  The chipboard flourish I used is from Fancy Pants.






Step 13  Allow the front to dry and repeat the process on the reverse side.








Step 14  Using a Cropadile or a hole punch tool, apply a hole in the top of the chipboard flourish.






Step 15  Cut a large and small snowflake using the punches of your choice.  I used Martha Stewart's, but you could also use felt snowflakes like I did on the sample I showed on my blog.  Or you could use a stamp of a snowflake and cut around it.






Step 16  Attach a decorated brad to the center of the snowflakes and attach them securely to the center of the chipboard flourish.






Step 17  Attach a gold cording or coordinated ribbon or string through the hole in the  flourish and it is ready to be hung on your tree or given to a special someone!






So there you have it!  It seems like a lot of steps, but it goes together quickly. I hope you will try to make an ornament  similar to this one and if you do we would love to see it, so be sure to upload it to the SCS Gallery and put Unity in for the keyword.

Have a wonderful day and thanks if you stuck it out all the way to the end!! 



Kelly Landers for



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