Christmastime in the City

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Posted by Mel Kolstad

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in red, white and blue....

OH! Sorry, I forgot - it's Christmas in July!  Well then, let's have those sidewalks dressed in bright red and green, shall we?


That's better!  :)

Here's a project that's fun and easy - and can be tailored to ANY time of the year!  Here's what you'll need:

Handmade papers (I used some of my red and green handmade papers from my stash):


"Cityscape" stamp set - this is from my very own line of stamps, available at melkolstad.com!


A variety of glitters and stamp colors - I like the Stickles line of glitter glues and the Color Box "Cat Eye" stamp inks:


Tiny Christmas lights from Jolee's for You (mine are old - now they make stickers, which are probably much easier to work with)!


Okay!  Let's get started!  I made a half-sheet specifically for this project with my Arnold Grummer Medium Pour Handmold, using some black shredded paper:


As you can see, I'm also adding in some lovely Arnold Grummer Iridescent Flakes, which made the night sky light up so nicely!

While the new sheet was drying, I stamped my red and green handmade papers with the "Cityscape" stamp set, and then added the glitters:


As you can see in the finished product, I also stitched one of the buildings with my sewing machine - it's so fun sewing paper!  :D


Now it's time to put it altogether - but first, just one final touch - a teensy weensy little pulp star that I made with some of my "painting pulp" that I had on hand and this tiny little star cutter from Primo!...


Glue on each building one by one on your background (I used masonite board), string the lights on the buildings and glue on the star - VOILA!!  It's a Christmas city scene!



But WAIT!!  How would you like to get 20% off of your ENTIRE order from Arnold Grummer?  EASY!  Just type in the code JulyPromo and receive the discount.  I'll bet you're already humming "Silver Bells", aren't you?  :)
Mel Kolstad is one of the newest additions to Arnold Grummer Design team, and she's THRILLED to be a part of it!  She is an artist specializing in collage, encaustic and printmaking who makes her home in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin with her photographer husband Brian (he shot some of these photos) and their sassy Pomeranian, Dudley (who has his own Facebook page).  You can find out more about Mel on her website, melkolstad.com.
















Comments

  1. Kim @ Arnold Grummer'sJuly 15, 2013 at 4:24 PM

    Welcome, Mel - so glad to have you on the team. Your stamps are perfect for the design. Now you've got me hummin' that tune...!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mel KolstadJuly 15, 2013 at 6:26 PM

      Oh, thank you so much, Kim! I'm SO excited to be a part of your wonderful design team! YAY! P.S. Sorry to give you that earworm. :D

      Delete
  2. Carol Toepke of Collections by CarolJuly 15, 2013 at 8:03 PM

    Kudos Mel! Great entry and article. Love the idea of making my own little collage you are such a great teacher!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mel KolstadJuly 15, 2013 at 11:05 PM

      Thanks so much, Carol! You'll have to take the next papermaking class so you too can become addicted! :D

      Delete
  3. UnknownNovember 28, 2015 at 8:54 PM

    Love your sense of humor. I love that set of stamps of yours also, whimsical! Great piece, thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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