Gold and Shining

For two challenges - Jingle Belles "Baby it's Gold (or Silver or Copper) Outside" and Less is More "Let It Shine".

I went with lots of shiny gold.

A very quick CAS card!  The dove is die cut in the same gold as the card base, and the sentiment is stamped in gold. The white panel is die cut with a stitched rectangle and popped up on fun foam.

I'm happy to do some simple designs to rebuild my stash after my very successful fundraiser last weekend cleaned me out!

Supplies:

Stamps - SU sentiment

Ink - Delicata Golden Glitz

Paper - gold shimmer and white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Penny Black dove die, Lil Inkers stitched rectangle die, fun foam

The Ultimate Christmas Candy

I made a card for a couple of current challenges.

For Addicted to CAS:

and for Christmas Cards All Year Round - Candies, Cookies, or Gingerbread.

For me, the ultimate Christmas candy or sweet thing is the candy cane.  So I made this card:

It's a pretty basic card - stamped and coloured with coloured pencils, then Glossy Accents on the Ornaments and Wink of Stella on the ribbon.  Then trimmed down with a stitched rectangle die and popped up on fun foam on a red card base.

Lots more Christmas cards to come in the next few weeks!

Supplies:

Stamps - Stampendous

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - white and red cs

Size - A2

Accessories - coloured pencils, Wink of Stella, Glossy Accents, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, fun foam

Merry Santa

Merry Monday is calling for cards with Santa Claus on them this week.

I made this card:

I stamped it in brown ink, coloured it with coloured pencils (with very sharp points to get into all the tiny details!), and added a vertical sentiment.

I layered it on a piece of dp - yay, I used up a tiny piece of my very neglected stash of dp!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps - SU Father Christmas, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment

Ink - Ranger Archival Potting Soil

Paper - PTI Vintage Cream cs, Paper Pizazz dp

Size - A2

Accessories - coloured pencils, fun foam

Christmas Cheer

The Paper Players have an inspiration photo for their clean and simple challenge:

I chose the red of the mittens and the snowy design on them, plus the theme of the mug, and created this card - the steaming tea or cocoa would certainly be warm and cozy.

A very simple design - stamped and heat embossed mug, sentiment, and steam; then mug and steam were die cut, popped up with foam tape and grounded on the centre panel with a piece of ribbon, and a green border to set it off.  And one gemstone on the mug for a bit of bling!

Supplies:

Stamps - SU mug and steam, Paper Smooches sentiment

Ink - Distress Candied Apple, ColorBox Whisper Grey

Paper - white and green cs

Size - A2

Accessories - SU dies, red and green ribbon, clear embossing powder, foam tape, gemstone

Another Christmas Tag

My good friend, Loll, is running her annual Twelve Tags of Christmas. 

 

I've made a second tag for the challenge, and unlike my first one (see here), this one is back to my favourite colour scheme of blue and white.

 

I used the splash watercolour technique with various blue Distress inks to colour the tag.  Then I stamped the little snowflake flurry across the top and heat embossed in white; and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment.

I die cut the tree twice and glued them together.  I patted Versamark all over it and heat embossed with Frantage Shabby Green embossing enamel.   Here's a close-up showing the sparkle of the Frantage:

There are just a couple more days to link up a tag at Loll's Twelve Tags of Christmas - the linky closes at the end of the day on November 24th.

Supplies:

Stamps - Rubber Soul snowflake flurry, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment

Ink - Versamark, ColorBox white, Versafine Onyx Black, various blue Distress inks

Paper - pre-cut tag, white cs

Size - 5.25x2.5"

Accessories - Tim Holtz tree die, clear and white embossing powder, Stampendous Frantage Shabby Green embossing enamel, seam binding

A Flexible Card

The Jingle Belles Christmas challenge this week is "Thankful for the Holidays" - either an obvious post-Christmas thank you card or one that could be quickly turned into a last minute Christmas card if needed or be saved for after Christmas.  I went with the second option as I never know when I'll run out!

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I made the background piece by stamping a text stamp on a piece of tissue paper (after stamping off once), then spraying with various green sprays. I dried it with my heat tool, allowing it to wrinkle. I then glued it to white cs with matte medium. When dry, I applied white gesso with a palette knife on just the raised areas created by the wrinkling.

I trimmed the panel, bordered it with white, and added it to a green card base.

I die cut the tree, the deer, and the word "winter" twice and glued them together for more dimension. I glued them to the background panel, allowing the tree to overhang.

I figure "winter" is generic enough that it could be either a Christmas card or a post-Christmas thank you card.

Supplies:

Stamps - Inkadinkado text stamp

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - white and green cs, tissue paper

Size - A2

Accessories - varioius green sprays, gesso, Tim Holtz multi matte medium, Impression Obsession tree die, Penny Black deer die

Blue and Silver

I love the current Color Throwdown - light blue, dark blue, and silver:

Just love these colours together!  Here's my card:

I made a background with two shades of Oxide blue inks and one darker Distress blue.  I put the ink down on my craft sheet, spritzed with water, and splashed my watercolour paper into it, drying between layers.

I die cut the deer and trees twice - once out of silver glitter cs and once out of scrap white cs, gluing the two together for more dimension. 

I left it without a sentiment as I didn't want to clutter it up.  The sentiment is on the inside.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Ink - Distress Oxide blue inks, Distress Chipped Sapphire

Paper - watercolour paper, white cs, silver glitter cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Ali Express tree and deer die, fun foam

A Merry Bear

Merry Monday's challenge is "Outdoor Activities":

I used a new stamp showing a bear skating, and CASEd my friend, Christine's card that she showed me recently but hasn't posted yet.  Here's Christine's card:

And here's my card:

To represent the ice, I used a leftover scrap from a background of brushos sprinkled and spritzed on coated cs and then left to dry with a piece of scrunched plastic wrap on top of it.  I trimmed it with a diamond-shaped die cut as that was all that would fit it!

The bear is coloured and lightly shaded with copics, except for his skate blades that are coloured with a silver gel pen.  Then fussy cut and popped up on foam tape.

I sprinkled some blue Frantage embossing enamel above the bear for a sense of falling snow and a bit of sparkle.

Supplies:

Stamps - Ali Express bear, Old Island Stamp Co. sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - white cs, coated cs

Size - 4.25" square

Accessories - blue brushos, plastic wrap, Spellbinders diamond die cut, copics, silver gel pen, Frantage Shabby Blue Embossing Enamel, foam tape

A Christmas Horse

This week's Merry Christmas Challenge has an optional element of animals so I got another horse-themed card done for my fundraiser next weekend (the money goes to support therapeutic horse riding for children with disabilities).

A very simple Christmas card - sponged blue background, die cut horse scene, and a few small snowflakes.  I might make a few more this week for my sale.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps - Old Island Stamp Co. sentiment

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, various blue Distress inks

Paper - white cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - StarLit Studio Horse Country die, various small snowflake dies

White on White Poinsettia

The Paper Players have one of my favourite challenges going on right now:

I love white on white for Christmas cards so went with a poinsettia:

I stamped and heat embossed the poinsettia in white on vellum twice and fussy cut the whole flower from one of them and just part of the flower from the other.  I taped them together and used a bit of clear dimensional tape to keep parts of the top flower raised.

I taped it to my card base and cut a round frame for it.  The frame is popped up with dimensional tape.

The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed in silver, and the poinsettia embellished with several tiny sparkly stickers.

It's definitely a CAS card so it's also heading over to The Flower Challenge:

Thanks for taking a look!

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black poinsettia, Old Island Stamp Co. sentiment

Ink - ColorBox white and silver

Paper - white cs, vellum

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - white and silver embossing powders, Spellbinders circle die, foam tape, clear dimensional tape, Starform tiny stickers

Watercoloured Sky

We're rapidly heading towards December (and that means Christmas is coming up fast and furious.  So don't forget that you only have until November 24th to link up a holiday card for CAS Watercolour - it always helps to have lots made by the end of November.

I went with a simple Brusho and water background for a die cut - an ideal method for coming up with a CAS card.

I sprinkled blue and mauve Brushos over coated cardstock and spritzed with water, letting the colours flow and blend.

I die cut the stitched tree die out of a piece of white cs and then trimmed it down with a stitched rectangle.  I added the sentiment, then put my layers together, and popped it up on the card base with fun foam.


We'd love to have you join us with a holiday card that is clean and simple and uses some kind of technique or product that produces the look of watercolouring.  For inspiration, check out the other reminder cards over at CAS Mix Up from the Design Team and this month's Guest Designer, Ina (Little Bits of Craft).

Supplies:

Stamps - Paper Smooches sentiment

Ink - Memento Paris Dusk

Paper - coated cs, white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - Memory Box Evergreen Window die, Lil Inkers Stitched Rectangle die, Brushos, fun foam

Birds with Glittered Santa Hats

Mid-month already so time to remind you to enter CAS Mix Up before November 24th!

Glitter and Christmas cards go hand-in-hand for me so I've gone with another Christmas card:

I stamped the birds on watercolour paper and painted everything except their hats with Gansai Tambi paints.  Then I fussy cut them.

I took another piece of watercolour paper and used Loll's Splash Watercolour technique (see video here) with two colours of Distress inks.  When dry, I die cut the pine branch and glued it to a piece of linen cs.  I stamped the sentiment and then trimmed it.  I popped it up on fun foam on the matching cardbase.

I put double sided tape on the birds' feet and foam tape on their hats and heads, and stuck them down.  I went over the main part of the hats first with my Quickie glue pen and added red glitter.  Then went over the brims and pompoms with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

I scribbled a bit of glue randomly on the pine branch and added some more Dazzling Diamonds.

Glitter is so hard to photograph so here's a close-up:

 

CAS Mix Up is so much fun!  Just be sure to keep the card clean and simple, include some stamping, some glitter, and at least one other option from the list on the challenge site.  My other options are watercolouring, fussy cutting, splash watercolour, and die cutting.

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black birds, Make an Impression sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black, Distress Evergreen Bough, Distress Iced Spruce

Paper - white linen cs, watercolour paper

Size - A2

Accessories - Impression Obsession pine branch die, Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Glitter Ritz red glitter, SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Quickie glue pen, foam tape, fun foam

Wreaths

The current Christmas Card Throwdown challenge is a sketch:

I changed the oval to a circle as I wanted to make a Christmas wreath.

I love making these little wreaths and the cards always sell well at my fundraiser.  I use the good old Martha Stewart pine branch punch and punch many branches out of various dp that have grass on them (made for scrapbooking themes on various sports) - there is really nice colour variation in them that makes the wreath more pleasing to my eye than just plain green.

I die cut a thin circle using two Spellbinders circle dies, then start gluing the branches down, overlapping each one, pointing some to the inside and some to the outside.

I attached it to an embossed background with a ribbon "holder" looped over the top and a matching bow.


While I had all my supplies and paper out, I went on and made two smaller wreaths (for these, I cut the pine branches in half) and created these two cards:

For both of them, I used the Sizzix brick embossing folder and the Memory Box door die.  The first one has gold gemstones on the wreath and my feeble attempt at representing front steps.  The second has red gemstones, a bow, and a swag over the lintel.

A few more weeks and I'll be making my own real Christmas wreath for my front door!

Supplies common to all cards:

various green dp, Martha Stewart pine branch punch, Spellbinders circle dies

Supplies for card 1:
Old Island Stamp Co. sentiment, red linen cs, white cs, Martha Stewart wreath punch, red ribbon, SU embossing folder, ColorBox Chianti ink, clear embossing powder,

Supplies for card 2:
white, red, and mottled ivory cs; Memory Box door die, gold gemstones, copper nailhead embellishment 

Supplies for card 3:

white and mottled dark cream cs, Memory Box door die, red gemstones, red ribbon, copper nailhead embellishment 

A Dog, Two Cats, and Presents

Two Christmas cards today for a couple of challenges.

First up, Addicted to CAS:

I thought of doing a card with a real bow made of ribbon, but then remembered this great Penny Black image, perfect for my animal-loving friends:

I stamped and watercoloured the image, using my Gansai Tambi paints that include a couple of metallic colours - I used the gold for the bow, and then went over it with Wink of Stella for a bit more sparkle (hard to capture in the photo).  I bordered it with a similar shade of gold cs, and die cut the sentiment from the same gold cs.

It's also perfect for the Sweet Stampers Christmas Challenge so I'm linking up over there too.


Next up, is Sparkle Creations Christmas Card Challengea "Cats":

I could have used the above card for it, but wanted to ink up a never-before-used Penny Black stamp.  It is perfect for my sister who has two cats and loves to shop and gift wrap!

Pretty self-explanatory - stamped, watercoloured, and given a black border to set it off.

Two more done before the big rush, thanks to the great challenges out there!

Supplies for card 1:

Stamps - Penny Black

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - watercolour paper, linen cs, pale gold shimmer cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Wink of Stella, Tattered Lace sentiment die, Spellbinders square layering dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black cat, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Archival Jet Black
Paper - watercolour paper, linen cs, black cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Spellbinders square layering dies

Tiny Images

CASology has a fun challenge this week:

It gave me the perfect opportunity to use a long neglected little stamp I have had for years - an image of a tiny tree and two very tiny birds.

I stamped the image and then coloured with coloured pencils.  I used a silver coloured pencil for the outer ring, but its shimmer doesn't show up in the photo.  I die cut the image with a stitched circle die.

I die cut a stitched rectangle for a background piece to keep the look of the stitching, and stamped my quite tiny sentiment on it.  The image is popped up on fun foam for a bit more dimension.

I used a Quickie glue pen to go over the snow on the tree, the snowflakes in the sky, and the snow lines on the ground.  It's so darn hard to get glitter to photograph well, even when I tried to capture it with this close-up:

I'm also linking up to November's CAS Mix Up challenge "Glitter".

I have stamping, glitter, coloured pencils, and die cutting.  The challenge is open until November 24 if you want to join in.

Supplies:

Stamps - Northwoods image, A Muse sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - coloured pencils, Lil Inkers stitched circle and rectangle dies, Quickie glue pen, SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter, fun foam