Birthday Flowers, a Hollyhock Garden, and Green and Gold Christmas

I've got three cards for today.  I've really been in the mood to make cards lately!

First up a birthday card (a belated one as I know the post won't get it there in time!).  It's for Cut It Up's "Happy Birthday" challenge.

I inked up a Penny Black background stamp with Distress Oxide Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg and patted off some of the ink with a rag.  I inked on hammered cs which added to the faded texture of the stamping.  I die cut the flowers and smooshed them into the same two inks.  I  used a separate "belated" sentiment stamp over the "birthday wishes" stamp.

Addicted to CAS's code word is Garden.  One of my favourite flowers is hollyhock and I always have a section of my garden devoted to them.

I stamped and heat embossed the hollyhocks in gold on watercolour paper, then painted them and splattered a bit of gold paint. I created a frame by cutting out the centre of a piece of gold cs with a double stitched rectangle die.

Last one is a very quick CAS card for Color Hues "Green and Gold".  It's also for the Neglected Stuff challenge - I haven't used this stamp set since 2017!

I stamped the base tree in green, then heat embossed the overlap in gold.  I wanted a border that matched the gold on the tree and sentiment so I cut a rectangle one size larger, went around the edge of it with Versamark and heat embossed with the same gold embossing powder all around the edge.

 
     

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black background stamp, SU birthday wishes, Impression Obsession belated
Ink - Distress Oxide Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg, Archival Potting Soil
Paper - white hammered cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Poppy Stamps flower die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - The Stampin' Place hollyhocks
Ink - ColorBox Gold
Paper - watercolour paper, gold and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, watercolour paints, Memory Box double stitched rectangle die cut, Spellbinders rectangle die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - SU Solemn Stillness tree, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink - ColorBox green and gold
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, Spellbinders rectangle dies

Star with Greenery / Spring Blossoms with Hummingbird

Color Hues wants to see green and gold, and Shopping our Stash wants us to feature gold.

I die cut a star and sentiment out of gold mirror cs, and some greenery out of white shimmer and green shimmer cs. Assembled the card and finished with a gold cord bow.

Seize the Birthday wants Anything with Wings, Four Seasons has a Spring challenge, and I've got birds and blooms for the Triple B challenge (any of birds, blooms, and / or butterflies).

 

I inked up the blossoms stamp in my MISTI with markers, then spritzed lightly with water I die cut the hummingbird out of watercolour paper and coloured him with watercolour paints. His beak is glued down to the centre of one blossom and the rest of him is popped up with foam tape to give the sense of him hovering over the blossom. 

  

 

Supplies for card 1:
Paper - white linen cs, white and green shimmer cs, gold mirror cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Spellbinders star die, Tim Holtz greenery and joy dies, gold cord

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black blossoms, SU sentiment
Ink - Ranger Archival Potting Soil
Paper - Ranger Archival Potting Soil
Size - A2
Accessories - Tombow markers, Gina Marie hummingbird die, watercolour paints, foam tap

Fun with 3-2-1 and Jingle Bells

Try It on Tuesday has a fun challenge called 3-2-1.  I searched for a stamp that would have 3 of something, 2 of something else, etc.  and found this one - I've got 3 ornaments, 2 birds, and 1 tree.

Stamped and watercoloured, trimmed, bordered with green, a sentiment on a stitched sentiment banner, and glossy accents on the ornaments.

ABC Christmas Challenge is "D is for Ding Dong Bells" and Jingle Belles Challenge wants music (I went with the title of a Christmas song).

The bells are die cut out of watercolour paper sprinkled with copper-coloured Magicals and spritzed with water.  They are mounted on a starry embossed panel with copper cord "hanging" them on the panel.  The sentiment is heat embossed with copper and die cut with the same stitched banner die as the first card.

    

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black tree and birds, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Distress Lucky Clover, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white and green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Glossy Accents

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - ColorBox copper
Paper - white cs, watercolour paper
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Lil Inker bell dies, star embossing folder, stitched banner die, copper Magicals, copper cord, copper embossing powder

Candle and Ornaments

Peace on Earth's new mood board has lots of green and gold.  The top right hand image inspired me to make this card:

I stamped the candle and ornaments image, and then coloured it with coloured pencils (except for the tiny stars that I coloured with a gold Gelly Roll pen).  I didn't want a bright red poinsettia as it would detract from the green and gold theme, so coloured it in a pale cream with just a bit of red veining.  The image is trimmed with a stitched square die and added to a gold embossed star background to tie in more with the  image.

Please head over to Peace on Earth to see how the rest of the Design Team were inspired by our mood board, and then come and join us with your card.

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown candle stamp, Stampendous sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white cs, gold shimmer cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - coloured pencils, Lil Inker stitched square die, Sizzix stars embossing folder

Faux Cyanotypes

The Group of Cardmakers are trying out Faux Cyanotypes this month.  What on earth are those, you say.  Basically it's an old-fashioned photography technique adapted for card making.

Here are my cards:

 

I made a mask for my focal panel by die cutting an oval out of some scrap paper.  I laid it over my focal panel card stock and sponged with Distress Blueprint Sketch.  Leaving the mask in place, I then stamped my image.  I trimmed the panel, bordered it with blue cs, added a vertical sentiment, and went over a lot of the snowy parts of the image with a Quickie glue pen and added glitter to it.

 

Traditionally cyanotypes are blue but I tried another one using Vintage Photo as it gives a very old fashioned look.

I made a square mask and sponged with Distress Vintage Photo, then stamped the reindeer image with the Vintage Photo.  I love the old-fashioned look of the colour and the tone-on-tone.  I trimmed the panel, leaving a white border, and popped it up on fun foam on the card base.

I have to say I prefer my first card.  The blue is the true colour they use for cyanotypes.  Mine are definitely "faux" cyanotypes as the traditional Cyanotype is white on a more intense blue coloured background.  I tried making one that way but did not get great results.  For examples of that, see what the rest of the Group of Cardmakers made over at the group blog.

 Here are a couple of videos with instructions:

1)  Faux Cyanotype Technique by Tracy Evans (37:16) - just watch the first 9 min.  If you have a platform and can repeat stamp images - then you won't need to paint over top.  She does add different techniques on top and worth watching if you have time.  Or fast forward to almost the end of the video to see the finished card - worth it!

2)  Faux Cyanotypes with Masking by Understand Blue - Lydia Fieldler -  (7:27)

 

 

 

I'm also adding the reindeer one to Cardz 4 Guyz "Monochrome". 

 

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Stampendous Snowy Postcard, Rosie's Roadshow vertical sentiment
Ink - Distress Blue Sketch
Paper - white and blue cs
Size - A2
Accessories -  Spellbinders oval die and rectangle dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Crafty Individuals reindeer
Ink - Distress Vintage Photo
Paper - white cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Spellbinders square die, fun foam

Cocoa and Embossed Tulips

It's been ages since I posted.  Blame it on two things: the Winter Olympics that turned me into a couch potato and my new puppy (see photos at the end of the post).  But I'm back to making cards!  Here's one for Christmas and one for a friend's birthday.

The current Twelve Months of Christmas challenge is "Cozy Cocoa".  It's also Feb 25 so time for the Rudolph Days challenge.

I stamped the image and coloured it with coloured pencils, trimmed it with a stitched circle die, added it to a circle of dp, and bordered with a green thin circle.  I die cut "joy" out of the same green as the thin circle.

Next up a birthday card for a friend who loves tulips.  It's for Allsorts "Embossing",  Colorful Options "Pink and Purple", and The Neglected Stuff Challenge (my Dreamweaver brass stencils are very neglected).  And sneaking in under the wire for Can You Handle the Pressure (I've got lots of dry embossing going on, and a die cut for their optional theme).

I used an old Dreamweaver brass stencil for the focal panel. I rubbed various mini Distress inks on it, then laid it on cs and ran it through my Cuttlebug to transfer the colour and emboss the tulips.

The background is a floral embossing folder with lighter Distress colours rubbed over the debossed side before running it through the Cuttlebug.  I stamped a vertical sentiment in purple and trimmed it with a stitched banner die.

    

I realized I hadn't yet introduced my blog friends to Pippin - my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  I got him in November and puppy training and puppy love have pretty much occupied my mind and my time since then.  He and 9 year old English Cocker Spaniel, Tessa, are getting along really well together.  Here are a couple of (more like several) photos:

Arrival day - lonely in the dog bed        Tessa makes him welcome

The sweetest face ever!                                       Meeting therapy horse, Leo.

                                 

Squishing together in Tessa's bed.          Growing up really quickly.

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - unknown
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and green cs, David Walker Imaginations dp
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - coloured pencils, Lil Inker stitched circle die, Tattered Lace joy die, SSS thin circle frame die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - vertical sentiment
Ink - various pinks, browns, purples Distress inks
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Dreamweaver tulip stencil, stitched sentiment banner die, floral embossing folder