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Well, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. I was so much more relaxed than I was for the first one... and with much less time to get it done, mind you! After viewing the contents of the box, I immediately knew how I would use a few of the items. The shrink film was quite entertaining. I didn't realize how much it would shrink, so the first few attempts were trial and error. The box of cereal posed quite a challenge. On the last challenge, we also had an edible item... a can of Code Red soda. For that challenge I used the container rather than the contents. For this challenge, I opted to use the contents rather than the container.
Before getting started, I wrapped a few sets of tiny lights around the tree.
Next step was the shrink film. I used the deer cut from the Cricut Winter Woodlands cartridge. Altogether, I have 8 deer. I cut them at different sizes, ranging from 8 inches to 5 inches. Using Design Studio, I placed a base cut exactly over a shift cut and welded them, in order to get all four legs on the one cut. I cut two of them using a different brand of white shrink film. I wasn't as pleased with the results. The Grafix brand "shrunk" more evenly... more flat. I baked them according to the direction on the package and waited just a minute for them to cool off. I added a band of the red glitter around the neck of each deer and dotted the eye and colored the hooves with a black fine tip marker. They are simply hanging on the tree by hooking an antler around a twig or wire.
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The first and only thought that came to mind when staring at the cereal was to use it as garland. Hey, if popcorn can be strung, so can Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal! First they needed some color. I laid them out on a sheet of wax paper and sprayed the cereal with Glimmer Mists. First color I used was Haunted Shadow, then Candy Apple Red and then Iridescent Gold. I let them dry overnight and repeated the process on the other side. Then, oh so carefully, using a long, sharp paper piercer, I made a hole in the center of each one. A few of them cracked, but most of them held together. I strung them on a long piece of hemp, tying knots in between. Wrapped that around the tree (actually, I did this before attaching the deer) and held the ends in place with a glue dot.
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Click to enlarge image.
Click to enlarge image.
Using a tag from the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cartridge, I changed the width and height of the cut to fit the ROCKING HORSE EMBOSSING FOLDER. I cut out 3 tags using the brown KRAFT PAPER and then embossed each one using my Cuttlebug. I used a thin piece of cardboard as a shim to get a deeper impression. I inked up the tags using Tim Holtz Distress Inks -- Tea Dye and Brushed Corduroy. Added some ribbon and stapled it closed with my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.
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Click to enlarge image.
The snowflakes are from several different Spellbinder sets and a Martha Stewart punch. There's a couple made from the Cuttlebug snowflake cut'n emboss set. I ran white card stock through my Xyron and then cut the snowflakes. I used the sticky side to adhere the glitter. Some have the German RED GLASS GLITTER and some have Martha Stewart bronze glitter. Two of them were heat embossed with Zing glitter. They are adhered to the tree with a fast-drying glue.
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Click to enlarge image.
Now, on to the GEL PENS. I had originally cut the sentiment out much larger and was going to place it on the tree, but it didn't look right, so I downsized it to put it on the star. The star is from the George & Basic Shapes cartridge. Cut on base and shadow. The shadow cut is from the envelope that the Kraft paper came in. The snowflake on the star is adorned with gold micro beads. The sentiment is from the Joys of the Season cartridge, cut at 2 inches. The base cut was done with a BLACK GEL PEN, using the GEL PEN HOLDER. Without removing the mat, I replaced the gel pen holder with the blade holder and then did the shadow cut. I LOVE this new gadget!!
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Click to enlarge image.
Last, it was time for the 3 plastic utensils. They were one of the items that I knew right away what I would use them for. I only needed the handles, so with a Dremel tool, I cut of the ends. I shaped the ends to resemble icicles and drilled a hole in the other end for the string. I covered them in a fast-drying glue and sprinkled them with Diamond Dust and tied them to the tree.
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Not only did I have fun creating this rustic looking tree, but I got to enjoy a few new products that I had never tried before. One last picture, with the tree lit up in the dark.
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