Candy Canes on a Christmas Tree

The new Peace on Earth mood board has images featuring candy canes, including one of a Christmas tree decorated with red and white striped decorations.  I decided to create a Christmas tree decorated with candy canes.

The tree is die cut once from green cs and twice from scraps of cs, and glued together.  I alternated the candy cane dies so I'd have some predominantly red ones and some predominantly white ones.  I ran silver metallic cord around the tree and hung the candy canes on it (and glued them down).  I die cut three small words and added them to the tree.  Then added the tree to a background embossed with a rustic frame border.

For more inspiration, check out the rest of the Design Team and see how they interpreted the mood board.

Supplies:
Paper - white, green, and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders tree die, Memory Box tiny candy cane dies, Sizzix embossing folder, silver metallic cord

Santa and Sleigh

CAS Christmas is asking for Santa's Sleigh.

The image is stamped and watercoloured, then I trimmed it with a mini slimline rectangle die and sponged around the image with two shades of Distress ink.  I popped it up on fun foam on an off white card base.

Check out what the rest of the Design Team created over at CAS Christmas, and then join us with your own card featuring Santa's sleigh! 

Supplies:
Stamps - Crafter's Companion Nordic Christmas, SSS sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Chipped Sapphire and Seedless Preserves
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - 6.25x3.25"
Accessories - watercolour paints, fun foam

Toile Blossoms and Lavender Silhouette

Two non-Christmas cards today.  First up for Try It on Tuesday "Summer Blooms", Time Out "Mother Nature", Seize the Birthday "Anything Birthday", and Triple B "Birds, Butterflies, or Blooms".  

Multiple stamping of the images from an old SU set called Toile Blossoms, leaving space in the centre for the sentiment.  Then watercoloured, trimmed, bordered with dusky pink and grey/green.

My front garden is blooming with so much lavender right now - it made me want to do a card with a lavender theme.  My only lavender stamp is a silhouette one.  So I created this card for CAS on Friday "Flowers".   

I decided to play with bleach for the background. I masked a rectangle on a piece of white cs and sponged two shades of Distress ink in the rectangle. Then laid a stencil that looks a bit like lavender over it and gently sponged with bleach to lift the colour. It seeped under the stencil a bit - if you look closely you can see how it weirdly caused the ink colour to pool around the openings in the stencil and I lost a lot of the definition. I added a bit of subtle splatter with black ink. I removed the masking tape and stamped the lavender silhouette over it and added a vertical sentiment and a bit more splatter with white acrylic paint. Then trimmed with a stitched rectangle and popped it up on fun foam on the card base.

      

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - SU Toile Blossoms, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, dusky pink, grey/green, and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Spellbinders rectangle layering dies

Supplies:
Stamps - Magenta Lavender Silhouette, unknown sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Milled Lavnder and Spun Sugar
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Memory Box stencil. white acrylic paint, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, fun foam

Stencilled Stocking

I borrowed some Christmas stocking dies from my friend, Christine, so I could make my DT card for Peace on Earth last week.  I decided to use the same stocking die in a different way before I return it to Christine.  This one is for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Stencilling", Sparkles Christmas Challenge "Monochrome", Inkspirational "Christmas in July", and Stencil Fun "Patterns" (I used a Fair Isle knitting pattern stencil).

When I used the die earlier, I dry embossed it (see here if interested).  This time I stencilled it.

I used the smaller of the Tim Holtz Holiday Knit stencils, laid it over the die cut stocking, and used various shades of blue Distress inks.  I die cut it twice more from scraps and glued them together for dimension.  The background was made with various blue Brushos and with a Christmas text stamp (using stamped with second generation stamping to keep it subtle).  I attached the stocking to it with a blue brad.

It's a very different looking card to the other one I made using the same stocking die!  It's such fun to come up with different treatments for the same supplies!

    

Supplies:
Stamps - Stampendous Christmas Background
Ink - various blue Distress inks
Paper - mixed media and white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - blue Brushos, Sizzix stocking die, Tim Holtz Holiday Knits stencil, blue brad

Favourite Pet

I recently discovered a new challenge called As You Like It.  Their current challenge is Favourite Pet (and why).  Dogs are absolutely my favourite.  I've had them my whole life.  They are wonderful companions, they get me out walking every day (great for exercise and for meeting neighbours), they give unconditional love and loyalty, and they lower stress.  I currently have two dogs - a 10 year old English Cocker Spaniel, Tessa, and an 11 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Pippin.  Here's a recent photo of them sitting by the baskets where their leashes and harnesses are kept waiting to go out for a walk.

Here's my card, featuring a dog very similar to Tessa:

It's a really old stamp that I've had for years. It's coloured with coloured pencils blended with Gamsol to get nice shading on the dog (the bells are coloured with a silver metallic pencil). I trimmed it with a fancy label die and then sponged around the edges with Antique Linen - except it came out grey as the sponge I used was dirty! I popped it up on fun foam. I'm also linking it up with Inkspirational "Christmas in July", Rudolph Days (anything Christmas), and Neglected Stuff (I used a very old stamp).

Supplies:
Stamps - Creative Images
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Antique Linen
Paper - off white paper
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, silver metallic pencil, Gamsol, Sizzix label die, fun foam

Christmas Baubles and Wildflower Thoughts

52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants to see "Baubles".

The ornaments are stamped in black (though it came out kind of light as the ink pad is old) and then coloured with two green and one red Tombow markers. I coloured the tops of the ornaments with a silver gelli pen. I trimmed it, leaving a white border, and popped it up on fun foam on a red card base.  And a non-Christmas card for CAS on Friday "Use Dies and Only Word Stamps": On the focal panel, I used a die to create three square openings and put a piece of dp behind them.  I stamped the vertical sentiment to one side of it.  And die cut the flower and added it to the top.

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Northwoods
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white and red cs
Size - 6x3.25"
Accessories - Tombow markers, silver gelli pen, fun foam

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown vertical sentiment
Ink - Memento Nautical Blue
Paper - white cs, dp
Size - A2
Accessories - Poppy Stamps flower die, 3 square openings die