12 Days of Ornaments - Day 12!

We are finally here - Day 12! I really wanted my last ornament to be special, so I pulled out all the stops for this one. It won't be the easiest one to make, but it just might be the prettiest!

I'll be honest, I had no idea what today's ornament was going to be. I knew I'd use the new Jumbo Tattered Pinecone die, but beyond that, I was a total blank. Then, this morning I spotted a copper luminary I'd made a couple months ago and had a little 'ah ha!' moment.

Back in October, my friend Cyndi had suggested we try cutting the luminary from copper. I was not convinced it would work. I thought it would be too hard to bend the score lines and it would either be too stiff, or too floppy. I'm happy to say I was wrong! The die cuts the copper beautifully and, with a little patience, it's not hard to fold at all. Since the copper was so shiny, I started exploring ways to age it. Read below to see how it all came together!

Begin by cutting the luminary from copper using the Sizzix 3D Luminary die and assemble it. Following the instructions HERE, age the copper. My patina developed very fast! You can stop the aging process whenever you're happy with the result. Be aware that it will continue to develop more of a patina over time.

Here is a look at the final patina. Incredible, right?! Some of this will flake off if you don't seal it, which I think helps make it look even more old and grungy.

To create the decoration for your lantern, create three pine cones using the Sizzix Jumbo Pinecone die. Make sure you leave a couple inches of skewer on the end.

 Give the pine cones a frosty, snowy look by applying texture paste and glitter.

To create a base for the lantern decoration, cut a styrofoam ball in half and cover with Spanish moss. Insert into the luminary and glue in place.

Cut various pieces of foliage from green shades of Kraft Core'dinations using the Sizzix Pinecone die and Festive Greenery die. Create picks by adhering the pieces to toothpicks.

One of my Instagram friends asked about the size of the Jumbo Pinecone die vs. the original. Here is a look at the size difference. It's about double the size.

To complete the lantern, insert the pine cones into the styrofoam base. Fill in the spaces with the foliage picks. Tie a length of twine around the bottom and attach an Enameled Tag that's been decorated with a Christmas Remnant Rub.

Here's another shot of the luminary. The patina on the copper is just amazing! I added a bit of Peeled Paint Distress paint here and there to break up the amount of blue and add a little warmth. I don't know that I'd do that again, but I like the look of it.

I hope you've enjoyed my 12 Ornaments of Christmas - my gift to you for taking the time to visit my blog, pin my artwork, and leave such kind comments. I have had more fun than I thought I would! The best part is my beautifully decorated woodland tree. I might even add a few more ornaments to it - who knows? If I do, I'll be sure and share them with you all.

You can find all the supplies I used at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% on your order!

Note: Several of you have asked about the copper I used. I've updated my links to include 36 gauge copper foil similar to what I used to create my lantern. You can find it at Amazon. Hope that helps!

Sizzix Luminary Sizzix Jumbo Tattered Pinecone Die Sizzix Tattered Pinecone Die Sizzix Festive Greenery Strip Die Remnant Rubs - Christmastime idea-ology Enameled Tags Distress Paint - Peeled Paint Rock Candy Dry Glitter Inkssentials Wonder Tape 1/4" Vagabond

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for coming by today - I hope you enjoyed this final ornament! If you missed any of the previous ones, you can click on the 12 Days of Ornaments tag below this post to see them all.

Have a great weekend!