A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Tuesday, 31 October 2023

Christmas Animals and Snowflakes

Sneaking in under the wire with a card for Jingle Belles "Christmas Creatures" and Christmas Kickstart "Cat Lovers Challenge".  I love both cats and dogs so have both in this image:


The image is stamped and coloured with coloured pencils, bordered with brick red cs, and layered on a dry embossed brick wall to tie in with the bricks in the image.  I went over all the little snowflakes with a glue pen and added glitter (but it doesn't show up in the photo).

And a card with my interpretation of the Inkspirational Challenge Word Prompt "Cold":

I used an old technique of getting a sort of batik look on the background. First I randomly stamped the snowflakes with Versamark ink to fill the page, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The next step is to make several folds in all different directions. The embossing powder cracks a bit when folding, but that is part of the technique. I sponged over the whole piece with various blue Distress inks. The fold lines are highlighted after colour is sponged on top. Once I finished sponging, I wiped down my card panel with a paper towel to remove any ink that would have stuck to the embossed image. This made the snowflakes even brighter. 

   








Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Crafters Companion image, SSS sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs, brick red shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Sizzix brick embossing folder, glitter

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Visible Image snowflakes
Ink - various blue Distress inks, ColorBox white
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - clear embossing powder, SSS Snowy Greetings die set

11 comments:

  1. Two fabulous Christmas cards Susan. Great colouring of your critter card with your adorable dog and cat! The batik on your second card paired with the snowflakes, makes it look like cracked ice. Very cool! Great work, my friend. xx

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  2. Two lovely winter cards Susan - I remember that fun technique on SCS some time ago - beautifully done - and definitely gives off a chill with all the snowflakes! thanks for joining us at Inkspirational: cold! Julia xx

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  3. Having the kitty & a dog with this sentiment is quite fitting! This is so darling. And I love all the sparkle.

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  4. Two great cards Susan, the little cat and dog are so cute and your batik background is so pretty ♥

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  5. Lovely cards, Susan. I too like dogs - actually, I just like animals in general! I love that sweet scene. Thanks for playing at The Cat Lovers Christmas Challenge where we are remembering our dear friend Janis, Jo x

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  6. Two wonderfully made cards, the cat and dog are so cute and loving the embossed brick wall. And beautiful embossed snowflakes on the second!
    xEllie (hopping along from the Cat Lovers Christmas Kickstart challenge)

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  7. This kitty and pup are adorable and your batik snowflake card is awesome! I'd forgotten how much I like this technique!

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  8. What an adorable duo ... so very glad you joined our Creature Feature at Jingle Belles.

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  9. I'm still hopping along at the Cat Lovers Christmas Challenge. I love the little cat and dog at your front door. Adorable. Thanks so much for joining in. Helpful Hopper Suzanne

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  10. Such a cute cat and dog and beautifully coloured, and the batik style background on the second looks fantastic Susan...I will have to give this a try. x

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  11. A so sweet card with those cute friends! Love the embossing on the back too!

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