Milk Cap Christmas Tree

This is a crazy little take on milk for Santa's cookies. I made it for my kitchen Christmas mantle using the Ideaology Milk Caps and various Ideaology Christmas Adornments.

 One of my favorite things about this piece is the metal frame. I learned this technique from Paula Cheney. I started with the frame from the large Framed Panel, and covered it Ranger Foil Tape Sheets 6x12".

I cut one 6x12 piece into four 1.5" pieces and then trimmed them down to the size of each side of the frame. You will want to miter the corners as seen below.

 Then you peel off the backing and carefully apply the foil to the frame.

 Wrap the excess around to the back.

 Work the foil onto the frame using your fingers and a bone folder to adhere it into the little nooks and crannies.

Once the entire frame is covered you want to rub Distress Crayons onto the frame so that it goes into all the depressions.

Once the frame is completed, I covered the panel with a piece of the Christmas Text paper and then adhered the metal frame. Once the frame is firmly adhered, it gives you the border, so I started to arrange the milk caps in the shape of a tree. While doing so I decided which milk caps I wanted to feature with a special vintage item. Of course the Merry Christmas Milk was my first choice!

I tried to vary the sizes, along with Ideaology Christmas Tokens and Pinecones.  For an added Christmasy touch, I cut the fasteners off the Jingle Brads and adhered the jingles to the tops of the tokens.

 Make sure that you layer the milk caps as well. Some will cover parts of the milk caps underneath. I also added dimensional adhesive to some of the Milk Caps for even more interest.

 I also chose the Chocolate Milk cap to represent the trunk of the tree.  The Christmas Word Band was added at the bottom to anchor the piece.  You might be able to see that I cut the rings off the pinecones, added a little Glossy Accents and then dipped them in Distress Rock Candy Glitter.

Once everything was in place, I punched a few circles and masked the milk caps I wanted to cover with the glass pieces. Then I sprayed the entire piece with Distress Resist Spray and dusted it with Distress Rock Candy Glitter.

One really fun item that was actually the inspiration for this piece, is the inclusion of these vintage phoropter lenses used by opthamologists to find your eye glass prescriptions.  I thought it was a fun way to highlight a few of the milk caps as well as adding some dimension and sparkle. I attached these to the milk caps that I masked off when I glittered the piece.

 I got several of these vintage phoropter lenses from the Tim Holtz Vintage Stash Sale he had at the Carson Original Stamp Show Stampers Anonymous booth in July and November.

 I was trying to figure out what to do with them and then this Milk Cap Christmas Tree idea popped into my head, so I ran into my studio to see if they fit over the Milk Caps. Yay! They did!

 And a really fun thing about them is that they have numbers on the silver tabs, and they vary in thickness, just like glasses.

 I hope this project inspires you to get out those Milk Caps and make something fun and festive with them. It doesn't have to be a tree, it could be a wreath or  a candy cane or a bell or something else you dream up.

 And I hope you give Paula's metallic foiled frame technique a try. The foil is incredibly forgiving and once you actually get started it is fun and simple. I'm definitely doing this technique again!

Thinking ahead for Santa, we know he loves cookies with milk, so share a link or recipe in the comments for one of your favorite cookies.
I love all kinds of cookies, but this is one of my favorites.  I'm not a huge gingersnap person, but a lady named Donna Godfrey shared this recipe in an email newsletter way back before the invention of blogs. I have several fabulous recipes from her that have become go-to's over the years.  This is one of my favorite fall/winter recipes.  I hope you enjoy them!
World's Best Gingersnaps

Tami

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