A Season of Giving

Hey all,
I have been extremely busy and just not able to get into my craft room. I will be seeing my friend again soon and I have been saying I would bring him a gift for three months. Each time we got together I still hadn't gotten anything done. I just couldn't come again without a gift for him. When I saw the lantern I knew I wanted to make it but not sure how.. I started with Victorian Christmas SVG Bundle and well the rest is history.. Here is how I made it.

I cut the body of the lantern from Bazzill Avocado card stock. In my minds eye I could see this paper and pine needles. I loved the holly on the orginal but wanted it to be more of the lantern and of course I was thinking of Charles Dickens. I reached for black paper but It really isn't my favorite to work with because it tattles on you with your glue. That is when I reached for the Avocado colored paper.
I found the patterned paper I was thinking about in my stash then because there just wasn't enough anymore of the one paper I had to improvise. I decided to do the bottom in the avocado with the pine emboss folder and add the metalic ink to the top. All pieces of the Avocado were inked with Tim Holts Iced Spruce distress ink as well. I will list the "ink" on the bottom of this post so you can get some as well. It is pretty nifty ink and we all have Trina Struckman to thank for telling me about it.
The ribbon is a deep burgandy from Walmart and is 1/8 inch wide. The little snowflakes are from Michaels. Take a walk down the Christmas tree isle and in particular where the stuff is for the miniature Christmas trees are, I have stashed away a few things from there for future use. 

I punched a hole in my center top portion of the windows on the lantern and then added red bells using a jewelry jump ring, with exception to front where I added a single snowflake.

I felt that the swag on the top would take away from the paper so I added ribbons to the sides using a glue gun to adhere them in three places. The tiny bells were something from my stash. I have had them so long I do not remember where  I got them. The greenery is thinlit Tim Holtz Dies. I purchased them from Amazon as they often put his dies on sale. I usually use my machine but when I need a delicate cut it is often easier to use the dies. I know the paper will not tear while cutting. The top is Tim Holtz knob also purchased from Amazon. 

Now for the center which lifts the votive sized battery light. I save the center rolls from plastic wrap to use in designs as base pieces. This is a portion about 2 inches high. I cut it using a plaster saw. I adhered a strip of cardstock to cover the roll piece curling it first to help it" hug" the roll piece. I bent the top lip of the paper in to cover where the candle would sit. This lip portion is 1/16 inches high. The candle sat on top quite well. The candle flame was colored yellow and then a maroon with a permanent marker. I adhered the greenery to the center pieces and added pearls I had colored with a R39 Copic Marker. 

    I hope you like my lantern as it was a gift for a couple of dear friends and was well received. Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog. As I write this I was given a Dreaming Tree spotlight for it which was very nice. Happy Crafting Y'all!
 Blessings, Sharalyn

Supplies
Avocado Bazzill Card Stock
K& Company Glad Tidings collection
I found one listing on ebay for the emboss folder
It is RB Pine Branches emboss folder
"Ink"
Metallic Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Iced Spruce
Tim Holtz Vintage knobs
Tim Holtz Thinlit Dies 661597
1/8 inch Maroon Ribbon
Miniature Red Bells: Michaels
Miniature Snowflakes: Michales
Red Gems: Michaels
Tonic Craft Tacky Glue: Scrapbook.com
Sizzix Eclips2
ecal2 software