I loved playing with my grandmother’s small egg timer filled with white sand as a child and when I saw The Greetery’s Hourglass dies, I knew I wanted to make several.

To begin, I watched the how to video for the hourglass to get ideas on how to use the die sets. I decided on the cut-out version and cut out 11 hourglass frames from white cardstock. Then I cut out a out a whole hourglass insert using the larger die from the insert set. By mistake I cut the tent fold hourglass from the smaller inset die, but I made it work as I assembled the card. (To cut the tent fold hourglass, fold your cardstock in half and place the top edge just over the fold, so that it won’t cut into the cardstock when cut.) Cut one piece of acetate using the largest insert die.

Next, I adhered sheets of matte gold adhesive foil onto the front and back of a piece of white cardstock before cutting the frame of the hourglass from it. The last items I cut where the Christmas Time in the Country trees, cabin, smoke, snowflakes, stars, and snowbanks from colored scraps of cardstock. Using watercolor pencils and a water brush to color the cabin before assembling it with a scrap of yellow foil paper to go behind the windows. I popped the cabin up on another square cardstock scrap to give it dimension in the hourglass. The trees were cut from brown paper.

The ink blending of the large hourglass insert was done with a large ink blending brush which I also used to ink up the insert 10 insert frames that I had glued together and the eleventh frame that would be the frame to go over the acetate. Once the large insert piece was dry, I glued down the scene pieces weaving the smoke around the tree branches. Next, I sprayed the scene with white ink spray to create the snow fall. (The ink goes on thick, but it becomes translucent as it dries, so let it dry before going to the next set.)

Before assembling the card, stamp and heat emboss the inside sentiment on the tent fold hourglass piece. I used a Catherine Pooler stamp that was the correct size to fit in the smaller hourglass shape. (My stamping was not as solid as I had hoped, so once it was heat embossed, I had to go back and fill in the missing places with a gold gel pen.)

To assemble the hourglass, first glue the large, inked hourglass to the tent fold hourglass. Next, glue the stacked hourglass frames onto the large, inked hourglass. Add any extra snowflakes and stars die cut along with snowflake sequins and stars to the inside of the hourglass with a dash of fine glitter. Adhere the acetate to the top of the stacked frame and then the eleventh inked frame over the acetate. Glue the gold frame over the top of the hourglass. Shake to distribute the glitter to all parts of the hourglass scene. 

Because of the thickness of the card, I will make a small box to deliver it in from faux leather cardstock.

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Dies

• The Greetery – Hourglass Frame Die
• The Greetery – Hourglass Insert Die
• The Greetery – Christmas Time in the Country Die

Stamps

• Catherine Pooler – Holiday Glimmer Stamp Set – CPS1172

Inks & Embossing Powder

• VersaMark – Watermark Stamp Pad
• Cosmic Shimmer – Detail Embossing Powder – Bright Gold
• Ranger – Tim Holtz’s Distress Ink – Salty Ocean
• Avery Elle White Ink Spray
• Nuvo Highly Pigmented Watercolor Pencils – Cardinal Red and Imperial Jade

Papers

• Heavy weight 8 ½ inches x 11 inches white cardstock
• Colored cardstock scraps
• Xcut – Xtras Adhesive Foil Sheets A5 – Gold – XCU 174419
• A2 envelope

Shaker Elements

• Prima Glitter – White
• Button Galore & More – Sparkletz – Snowflake Sequins
• Silver Star Sequins

Additional Supplies:

• Cosmic Shimmer – Specialist Acrylic Glue – 125ml
• Sizzix – Big Shot PLUS die cutting Machine
• Bone Folder
• Tim Holtz- Tonic Studios – Stamping Platform
• LDRS Creative – Stampendable Stamping Tool
• Anti-Static Tool by Kat Scrappiness
• Stamp Cleaning Cloth
• Heat Tool
• Kraft Mat