Foiled Alcohol Ink with a French Sentiment

Sneaking in under the wire with a card for Christmas Cards All Year Round "Three French Hens".  One of the options is to use a French sentiment so I went with that.  I have a few French-speaking friends so it's good to get one done for them.

The background is alcohol inks on glossy cs, with gold foil rubbed onto the sticky bits that were slower to dry. I added a snowflake die cut from glitter cs. The sentiment is heat embossed with irridescent embossing powder so it also has some sparkle.

Depending on how the light hits it, you see more or less gold.  Here's one where the gold doesn't show but the snowflake really stands out:

 

Supplies:
Stamps - PTI sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Royal Blue
Paper - white cs, white glitter cs, glossy cs
Size - A2
Accessories - blue alcohol inks, gold foil, snowflake die, irridescent embossing powder

Mixed Media Christmas and Cream Coloured Ponies

52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants to see a Mixed Media Christmas Card.  I did a fairly CAS version of mixed media.

My mixed media are corrugated cardboard, gesso, ink, and embossing paste.

I roughly painted some gesso over the cardboard. I stencilled tiny snowflakes on the cardbase with embossing paste.

I used a piece of cs smooshed with green inks for the greenery die cuts and embellished them with tiny red pearls. I added a couple of die cut snowflakes and small sentiment.

My Twofer is a non-Christmas card for AAA Cards "Inspired by a Song or Movie".  One of my favourite movies is The Sound of Music and I love the song "My Favourite Things".  I chose the line "cream coloured ponies" - perfect for me as horses and ponies are among my favourite things.

I love my Swedish Dala horse dies. These stylized horses have been symbols of strength and courage in Sweden for hundreds of years and little handcrafted wooden versions are sold as gifts, as Christmas decorations, etc.

I die cut them out of cream cs and twice more out of scrap cs, stacking them together for more dimension. I created a background by sponging with various green and blue Distress inks and then adding a few water droplets for interest. I trimmed it with a stitched rectangle, heat embossed the sentiment on vellum and wrapped it around the panel (a great way to attach vellum so the glue or tape doesn't show through), and then glued the horses on, using the vellum strip to ground them. The panel is on a matching cream card base.

Challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

Rudolph Days March Challenge

AAA Card Challenge

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - various green Distress inks
Paper - white cs, corrugated cardboard
Size - 6x3.25"
Accessories - gesso, Tattered Lace Noel die, TH greenery dies, Cheery Lynn snowflake dies, Memory Box tiny snowflakes stencil, Dreamweaver embossing paste, tiny red stick-on pearls

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - various Distress greens and blues
Paper - cream cs, watercolour paper, vellum
Size - A2
Accessories - Charlie und Paulchen Skandi-Pferdchen dies, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die, clear embossing powder

Dry Embossed Gilding Flakes for Autumn and Christmas

Our Group of Seven Cardmakers' zoom get together played with gilding flakes and embossing folders this month.  We followed the technique in this video: Embossed Gilding Flakes by Technique Junkies.

After adhering gilding flakes to two 5.5x4.25" pieces pieces of cs covered in double sided tape, tried to run them through the embossing folder together back to back like in the video but found it was too tight for my Cuttlebug so had to run them one at a time - one to get the debossed impression, one to get the embossed impression.

I then tried to rub my Staz-On black pad over it but discovered it had dried out.  So used Staz-On Ganache ink instead and got a nice rich brown that went well with the gilding flakes I'd used.  I gently rubbed it over all of the raised parts on my two panels.

With my debossed one, I used the piece as a background for an autumn card as the colours really made me think of autumn leaves.

I die cut a bare branched tree out of cream cs thinking it would look good mounted directly on the gilding flakes panel but didn't like that so mounted it on a piece of copper shimmer cs.  I trimmed the gilding flakes piece down a bit so that it could be bordered by the copper shimmer card base and added a cream embossed sentiment on brown cs.

For my second card, I used the embossed side.  I wanted to do something different (as opposed to using the panel as a background.  More of the gold of the gilding flakes showed on this panel because there was less raised area rubbed with ink.  So it seemed quite Christmasy. 

I die cut a large ornament out of it and had enough left around the edge to die cut the thin frame die from SSS and the noel sentiment.  I used a cream cs for the focal panel and card base, die cutting the thin frame out of the focal panel so that I could insert the gilded thin frame into it.  I added a bit of metallic cord for hanging the ornament and also a little metallic cord bow.

It's a great technique that I will use again.  I did find that the Staz-On stayed sticky for quite a while.  One of our other Group of Seven members said she had better luck with Memento ink so I'll try it next time.  Also I much prefer the embossed side (like my second card) as far more of the gilding flakes show.  With the debossed side, I thought it was a bit of a waste to go over so much of the gilding flakes with ink and hide the lovely colours and shine of them.

Head on over to the blog post on Group of Seven Cardmakers to see more examples made by out group.  If you try it out, feel free to link up your card for us to see, but please note, we're not a challenge blog and we don't guarantee we'll comment on your cards (though we often do!).

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - Staz-On Ganache, Versamark
Paper - white cs, copper shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cuttlebug embossing folder, Cosmic Shimmer Autumn Leaves gilding flakes, double sided adhesive sheet, Impression Obsession tree die, cream embossing powder

Supplies for card 2:
Ink - Staz-On Ganache
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cuttlebug embossing folder, Cosmic Shimmer Autumn Leaves gilding flakes, double sided adhesive sheet, Spellbinders ornament die, TH noel die, SSS thin frames die, thin copper metallic cord

A Threefer!

I don't very often post three cards at once but I'm trying to get a few challenges done and I had plenty of time to craft on the weekend.

First up for Stamping Sensations ("things with wings") and Once Upon a Time ("Harold and the Purple Crayon"):

I chose the colour combination from the Once Upon a Time challenge book cover:

I sprinkled blue and purple Brushos on mixed media cs and spritzed with water.  The stamped the butterfly collage over it. The Brushos made some nice shades of colour so I chose similar pink and blue sprays to use on the background. Once the sprays were dry, I stamped the background with a small font script stamp.

Next for My Time to Craft Christmas ("something starting with R"), I went with a reindeer and for Christmas Cards All Year Round ("3 of something"), I went with 3 trees:

I used a technique I learned from Karen Dunbrook of tearing many strips of scrap paper to use as masks, starting at the bottom with the first sponging of ink, and then moving up the card. Once my background was dry, I stamped my images and sentiment. Then once they were dry, I sprinkled chunky white Frantage and White Diamond embossing powder over the panel, and heated it from underneath so it wouldn't blow away - a great way to create snowfall.

And finally for Sweet Stampin' Challenge ("spring or Easter"), I went with spring and for Cardz 4 Galz "Spring Flowers" and My Time to Craft Challenge "Springtime":

I watercoloured the image, trimmed it, and popped it up on fun foam on a dry embossed panel.

Challenges:

Stamping Sensations - things with wings

Once Upon a Time - Harold and the Purple Crayon

Christmas Cards All Year Round  - 3 of something

My Time to Craft Christmas - something starting with R

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - spring or Easter

Cardz 4 Galz - spring flowers 

My Time to Craft - springtime 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Hampton Art Windowpane Monarch, unknown script stamp
Ink - Archival Jet Black
Paper - mixed media and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - various pink and blue sprays, blue and purple Brushos

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Tim Holtz
Ink - various blue Distress inks, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Frantage Chunky White Embossing Enamel, Judikins White Diamond embossing powder

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Stamplorations tulips, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, white linen cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, SU embossing folder

 

A Twofer Featuring Winter Clothes

A Christmas card Twofer today.  First up for Christmas Kickstart "Wrapped up for Christmas" (have a scarf on the card).

My background is a not very well done attempt at embossing folder stamping (mixed media cs, a snowflake embossing folder, and Distress Broken China ink). I trimmed it with a wonky stitched rectangle.

I chose this snowman stamp because he has such a wonderful large scarf.  When I stamped him, I got a big smudge of ink off to the left of him so I trimmed it down with an oval die, going right up close to the fringe of the scarf to avoid the smudge. Then I coloured his hat band and scarf with a red marker, and added some shading to him and to the ground with a blue coloured pencil that was close to the colour blue of the background. I added a small sentiment in the little space left and popped the oval up on fun foam on the background.

For the Sparkles Christmas Challenge "Warm Winter Clothes", I went with some warmly dressed sheep.

I stamped and coloured the sheep with coloured pencils, framed them with a rectangle with a die cut semi-circle opening and finished with the addition of a thin blue frame die and several glittery snowflakes.

Challenges:

Christmas Kickstart

Sparkles Christmas Challenge "Warm Winter Clothes"

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Inkadinkado snowman, SSS sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, Distress Broken China
Paper - white and mixed media cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders oval die, red marker, blue coloured pencil, snowflake embossing folder, MFT wonky stitched rectangle die, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Inky Doodle sheep, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white and blue cs, white glitter cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Gina Marie snowflake dies, foam tape, semicircle die, SSS thin frame rectangle die

A Triple B Card and an Agapanthus Card

I seem to always do Twofers these days.  Too much influence from my good friend, Darnell (wish that influence extended to getting me to tidy my craft desk!).

First up for the Triple B "Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms", I thought it would be fun to use a stamp I have that has all three in the one stamp:

I stamped the image on mixed media cs and coloured with orange and yellow markers.  Then sponged around the edges with Distress Dried Marigold.  Added a sentiment and popped it up on fun foam.

And then for the Tic Tac Toe challenge (I chose the bottom horizontal line "gems or sequins, watercolour, floral"), the Penny Black Saturday Challenge (anything Penny Black goes), and the Beautiful Blossoms Floral Challenge (anything floral goes), I used one of my favourite flower stamps:

I put the stamp in my MISTI and inked it up with various watercolour markers, spritzing lightly with water, and stamping.  I wrapped a vellum strip (on which I'd stamped the sentiment) around the flower panel, and popped it up on fun foam on the card base. I added a few sequins for embellishment.

Challenges:

Triple B "Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms"

 

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

 

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Beautiful Blossoms Floral Challenge

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Crafty Individuals collage stamp, SU sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, Distress Dried Marigold
Paper - mixed media and cream cs
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - orange and yellow markers, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black agapanthus, sentiment
Ink - Archival Watering Can
Paper - vellum, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - blue and green markers, blue sequins, fun foam

An All Blue Post

Two blue cards today!  My favourite colour!

First up for Color Hues "blue and turquoise":

I had a leftover piece of the SU white embossed leaf-patterned dp. I sponged shades of blue and turquoise Distress ink over it (the embossed leaves act as a resist).

On white cs, I stamped the butterfly using the same two shades of ink - the mini ink cubes make it easy to add the different shades to different parts of the image. I lightly spritzed the stamp to get the two blues to blend.

I die cut the leafy dp with a label die and put the butterfly behind it. Also tucked in my sentiment banner behind it.

The second card is for The Flower Challenge "Die Cuts or Stencils".  I went with die cuts.

I stamped the bokeh stamp off to the right side of my focal panel. Then die cut the cornflowers and words. I pressed my blue ink onto my craft mat, spritzed it with white shimmer spray to lighten it up and give some shimmer, and smooshed the die cut flowers and words into it, leaving the stems and leaf white. 

Challenges:

Color Hues

 

The Flower Challenge

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Technique Junkies butterfly, TH sentiment
Ink - Distress Faded Jeans and Salty Ocean, ColorBox white
Paper - white and black cs, SU white embossed leaf dp
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix label die, white embossing powder

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Bokeh Dots
Ink - Distress Chipped Sapphire
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Alexandra Renke cornflower dies, Tattered Lace thank you dies, Hero Arts white irridescent shimmer spray

Bird with a Brick Wall, Numbers with Stars

Two Christmas cards today!  First up for the Jingle Belles Challenge "a card using only cardstock" and the Snippets Challenge:

I'm trying to use older tools and supplies (to help me decide whether or not I want to keep them) so got out my old SU bird punch and some snippets of red cs. Because the challenge says absolutely no dp, I used the brick wall embossing folder to create a background. I die cut a holly branch from a snippet of green cs and added stick-on red pearls as holly berries.  And one more snippet - a bit of black for the sentiment banner.

My second card is for the Inkspirational Challenge "numbers":

I stamped and coloured the bauble and star wreath, and then added the December 25 stamp inside the wreath and heat embossed it in gold. I went over the stars in the wreath with a Quickie glue pen and added gold glitter to them. Die cut with a circle and added it to a gold glitter cs circle. Then mounted it on a star dry embossed background.

Challenges:

Jingle Belles - card stock only, no dp

 

Snippets

 

Inkspirational Challenge

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Make an Impression sentiment
Ink - Versamark
Paper - red, green, black, and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix brick wall embossing folder, SU bird punch, TH holly die, Papermania Seafoam embossing powder, red stick-on pearls, foam tape

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Jofy wreath, unknown Dec 25 stamp
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, ColorBox Gold
Paper - white cs, gold glitter cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - coloured pencils, Martha Stewart gold glitter, gold embossing powder, Spellbinders circle dies, Sizzix star embossing folder

A Vintage Santa for Peace on Earth

Goodness the weeks are flying by!  Already time for a new Peace on Earth challenge.  I was inspired by the vintage Santa image in the top right corner of their mood board (see at end of post).

The image on the mood board immediately made me think of this old Stampin' Up Santa - he even has a little Christmas tree like the one on the mood board.

Stamped, coloured with coloured pencils, trimmed with a pierced dot rectangle die, and bordered with green shimmer cs.

We'd love to have you join us at Peace on Earth.  There's lots more inspiration from the Design Team.  You can enter an "anything Christmas goes" card or be inspired by our mood board.

Supplies:
Stamps - SU Santa, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white cs, green shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Spellbinders pierced dot rectangle die

Happy Spring and Another Christmas Card

It's time to make a few spring cards even though I have to keep up with creating my Christmas stash, so today I've got one of each.  First up for Tic Tac Toe's line that says "pastel colours, flowers, spring theme" and the Four Seasons Challenge "anything spring":

The dogwood is British Columbia's provincial flower so we have a lot of dogwood trees and it's quite glorious in the spring when they're all blooming.  Not yet though as we're having colder than normal temperatures and all our spring flowers are delayed.

The image is watercoloured with a bit of pink splattering on the background and then added to a dry embossed background.

My second card is for Color Throwdown "green, cream, and brown".

A simple stamped and watercoloured image, die cut with an oval, bordered with a green deckle oval, and a green pine border die cut for the bottom of the card.  I used cream cs for the card base and there's cream in the breasts of the birds, and brown for the pine cones.

Challenges:

Tic Tac Toe (I used the centre vertical line)

Four Seasons "Spring"

Color Throwdown "Green Cream Brown"

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Technique Junkies dogwood, Stampendous sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Sizzix embossing folder

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Serendipity chickadees, Make an Impression sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, green and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Memory Box pine border, Spellbinders oval and deckle oval dies

Shades of Green and a Nativity Card

Quite a contrast between my two cards today - lovely fresh green leaves making me think of spring and a Nativity scene!

The Sisterhood of Crafters want to see "green". 

I die cut the leaf stem die out of light, medium, and dark green scraps of shimmer cs, embossed the background, stamped the sentiment in green and die cut it with a tag die that I attached with light and dark green twine.

My Twofer for today is for My Time to Craft Christmas and their nativity theme.

The image and sentiment are stamped and heat embossed, trimmed with a circle die cut, bordered with green and red circles, and popped up on the card base with fun foam.  I had some leftover die cut stars that I glued randomly on the card base.

Challenges:

Sisterhood of Crafters  "Green"

 

My Time to Craft Christmas "Nativity"

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - Memento Cottage Ivy
Paper - white cs, three shades of green shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cuttlebug embossing folder, Memory Box leaf stem die, Spellbinders tag die, green twine

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SSS sentiment, Lavinia nativity stamp
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white, red, and green cs
Size - 5" square
Accessories - Spellbinders circle die cuts, star die cuts, clear embossing powder, fun foam