Carollers for Peace on Earth

The new Peace on Earth challenge's mood board includes an image of a group of carollers (see top left image on the mood board at the end of my post).  It inspired me to get out a stamp I hadn't yet inked up.

I stamped and watercoloured the group of mice, keeping the clothing muted like the image, and then sponged around them with Distress inks similar to the sky and ground in the image.  I splattered with opaque white watercolour for snow.

I had done an earlier version where I made the colours of the mice's clothing brighter than in the mood board image, but wasn't as happy with it so redid it for the one above.  This is the earlier version:

It's fine but it didn't capture the mood board image the way I wanted, hence the redo for the card at the beginning of my post.

We'd love to have you join us, whether you're inspired by the mood board or prefer to link up an "anything Christmas" card.  There's more inspiration from the Design Team over at Peace on Earth.

I'm also linking my card up at NBUS since I'd never used the stamp before.  And to the ABC Christmas Challenge "Q is for Quartet (four of something - my quartet of singers).

     

Supplies:
Stamps - Pink Ink Designs "A Christmas Carol", PTI sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, various green, brown, and grey Distress inks
Paper - watercolour paper
Size - 6.25x4.75"
Accessories - watercolour paints, Dr. Ph Martin's bleed proof opaque white watercolour

Vellum Three Ways

The Group of Seven Cardmakers are focusing on vellum with embossing (dry, wet, or heat) this month.  I've chosen to only use dry and heat.

My first card is just a simple embossed frame on my piece of vellum, with the texture of the embossing remaining quite subtle.

I love this embossed snowflake frame - I have so many stamps that will fit in it.  I used quite a heavy weight vellum as it takes the embossing folder better.  I stamped the bird and sentiment on the front of the embossed piece, and then coloured it on the back with alcohol markers.  I added the whole panel to a double sided adhesive sheet in order to adhere it to the card base.

This next card is my favourite of the three.  Again it uses an embossing folder but by colouring it on the back with Distress inks, I was able to make the embossing show up more.

Again I used a heavy weight vellum.  But this time I used a 3D embossing folder and I had some cracking around the edges.  So trimmed the panel down to get rid of the cracked sections.  I sponged on the back of it with two shades of blue Distress inks - the raised parts of the vellum on the front remain uncoloured so really stand out.  To get more of the translucent feel of the vellum, I die cut the pierced frame die four times, glued three of them together and put the vellum panel on top of them, and then topped it with the fourth die cut - this made the vellum stand up more from the card base.  I added a tiny sentiment, stamped and die cut with a tiny tag die.

My third card uses heat embossing on the vellum.

I ran the vellum through a corner embossing folder and then rubbed lightly over the raised parts with Versamark.  I added sparkly white embossing powder, got my heat tool warmed up and then moved it quickly back and forth over the vellum.  I stamped the sentiment and used the same embossing powder on it.  I cut a frame for it with two rectangular dies out of white glitter cs.  When I first put it against a white card base, the embossing just disappeared against the white so I end up backing the vellum panel with a bit of grey/beige cs to provide some contrast with the white heat embossing.  Then when I put it against the white card base, there was too much contrast.  So I ended up going with a card base made from cs that's colour is called "chalk".

Head on over to the Group of Seven Cardmakers blog to see more examples from the other members and links to some instructional videos covering these techniques.  And feel free to try them yourselves and link up your card to Group of Seven for more inspiration for everyone.

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Nellie Snellen bird, SSS sentiment
Ink - SSS Intense Black
Paper - vellum, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Ultimate Crafts snowflake frame embossing folder, alcohol markers, double sided adhesive sheet

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Rubber Soul let it snow
Ink - Distress Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire
Paper - vellum, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SSS 3D snowflake embossing folder, tiny tag die, MFT pierced rectangle frame die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versamark
Paper - vellum, grey/beige cs, chalk cs, SU white glitter cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cuttlebug snowflake swirl corner embossing folder, Judikins white diamond embossing powder, Spellbinders rectangle dies

 

Vintage Poinsettia and Birds on a Wreath

Cracking on with Christmas cards every chance I get!

For Jingle Belles "The Spirit of Christmas Past", one of the options is to use a stamp that conveys a vintage vibe.  I used a Tim Holtz one that looks like a vintage postcard.

I put the stamp in my MISTI and stamped it with Antique Linen. Then I coloured sections of it with watercolour crayons, spritzed with water, and stamped again to add colour to certain sections. I then ran Antique Linen around the edges of the panel and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The sentiment is die cut twice and glued together for more dimension. Champagne-coloured pearls finish it all off.

My Time to Craft Christmas's challenge is "Wreaths".  I used a never-before-used stamp so can also take the card to NBUS.

A simple image, stamped and watercoloured, trimmed with square dies, bordered in black, and embellished with glossy accents on the berries.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Tim Holtz
Ink - Distress Antique Line
Paper - watercolour paper, off white and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SU watercolour crayons, clear embossing powder, Penny Black sentiment die, stick-on champagne pearls

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black image, SSS sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white and black cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, glossy accents, Spellbinders square dies

Reindeer with Blue Background

I'm honoured to be invited to be a Guest Designer at Rudolph Days.  It's an "anything Christmas goes" challenge that runs from the 25th to the end of each month.  Here's my card:

I created the background by lightly smooshing a piece of mixed media cardstock with Distress Weathered Wood and Stormy Sky.  Then with Stormy Sky, I stencilled the snowflake band from the Tim Holtz Holiday Knit stencil across the top.  I put the panel in my MISTI and stamped the reindeer, trees, and sentiments in black, and then sponged a bit of ground / shadowing under the deer and trees.  For the snow, I sprinkled Frantage Chunky White embossing powder over the panel and heated it from underneath so that it wouldn't blow off.

I'd love to see what you create for Rudolph Days!

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Tim Holtz
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Weathered Wood and Stormy Sky
Paper - mixed media cs, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Tim Holtz Holiday Knit stencil, Stampendous Frantage Chunky White embossing powder

A Snowman and a Reindeer in Circles

Getting a couple of Christmas cards done on a dreary cloudy day.  52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants Snow People, The 12 Months of Christmas wants Circles, and Double D wants shapes of any kind.  So I combined the three for this card:

Stamped the snowman and coloured with coloured pencils and die cut with the matching die.  I die cut some white cs circles, stamped one with the sentiment, and dry embossed the other with snowflakes.  Then die cut slightly larger circles with blue shimmer cs (and, since I was just using these as bordering circles, out of the larger one I die cut some small snowflakes).  Layered the circles together.  Finished by embellishing with the small snowflakes.

Sparkles Christmas Challenge wants Christmas Critters.  I went with a reindeer.

I die cut the reindeer out of textured brown Coredinations cs and lightly sanded off some of the colour.  The background is a snowflake embossed panel with a circle cut out of it, and snowy dp set behind it.  I added the reindeer as if he's stepping into the circle.

   

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black snowman, Print Works sentiment
Ink - SSS Intense Black
Paper - blue shimmer and white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - matching snowman die, coloured pencils, Embossalicious embossing folder, Spellbinders circle dies, Penny Black small snowflake dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Make an Impression sentiment
Ink - ColorBox white
Paper - brown Coredinations cs, scrap of dp, white and brown cs
Size - A2
Accessories - TH reindeer die, Crafts Too embossing folder, white embossing powder

Brick House at Christmas

For Peace on Earth this time, I chose the bottom left image of our lovely mood board (see it at the end of the post).

I started by rubbing two shades of Distress ink on the brick side of my embossing folder, spritzed lightly with water, inserted my cs, and ran it through the Cuttlebug.  Then trimmed it down and added it to the card base.  I die cut the door and tree twice each and glued them together.  I sponged the tree with a couple of green Distress inks.  I added them to the brick panel, slightly propping the door open with a couple of dimensionals.

Then I created a tiny wreath.  Using my two smallest circle dies, I cut a tiny wreath base out of green cs.  Then with the old Martha Stewart pine branch punch, I punched out several sprigs from mottled green patterned papers.  I cut each sprig in half as I was going for such a small wreath, then overlaped them on the wreath base, gluing each one over a bit from the previous one.  I glued the wreath to the door, added a little red bow and some tiny clear gemstones, added larger clear gemstones to the tree (more like a small bush in this scene), and a silver nailhead embellishment to the door to be the door handle.

I stamped the sentiment in red and die cut it with a pierced banner die.

Here's the mood board with my inspiration on the bottom left:

Head over to Peace on Earth and see how the rest of the Design Team were inspired by the mood board, and then please join us with your inspired card, or if you prefer, an "anything Christmas goes" card.

Supplies:
Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - SU Real Red, Distress Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Evergreen Bough, and Rustic Wilderness
Paper - chalk coloured cs, scraps of green patterned paper
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix brick wall embossing folder, Memory Box door die, Martha Stewart pine branch punch, red ribbon, clear gemstones, silver nailhead embellishment, unknown tree die, unknown pierced banner die

Birthday Pony, Encouraging Pony, and Scrappy Owl

Three cards today!  I've been totally indulging myself in the Summer Olympics for the last 10 days but am now back in the craft room (when it's not too hot to be upstairs).  Two cooler cloudy days brought on a burst of creativity!

First up for my sister's 70th birthday and for the AAA Birthday Challenge "Critters" and the Seize the Birthday Challenge "Cute Critters":

Like me, my sister loves horses so I had to put a horse on her birthday card.  The image and the word "happy" are stamped and heat embossed in gold. I die cut "70th", then rubbed gold ink on it and heat embossed it with the same gold embossing powder. I die cut it twice more and glued them together to create lots of dimension. The panel is trimmed with a square die and popped up on fun foam on gold holographic star paper.

While I had the pony stamps at hand, I made a card for one of the therapeutic riding instructors I volunteer with who is leaving us to go off to grad school.  I'm linking it up with the My Time to Craft Challenge "Back to School".

I inked the tree up in green, the pony and rider in brown, and the sentiments in black, and bordered the focal panel with green and brown.

These stamps are made from images by the cartoonist, Thelwell, who did the funniest cartoons of children and ponies - all with very naughty ponies!

One final card.  For Jingle Belles "Holiday Leftovers" (use up scraps) and Snippets.

I used up some little scraps of white and green cs, and a small scrap of dp.  Stamped and watercoloured the image, trimmed with a deckle rectangle die, trimmed one of the green scraps with the next size up of deckle die, and then trimmed the scraps of dp and green cs with plain rectangle dies.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Isobel Craft Collection pony, Chocolate Baroque happy
Ink - ColorBox gold
Paper - white cs, Hot off the Press gold holographic star dp
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder, Spellbinders square dies, unknown 70th die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Isobel Craft Collection
Ink - Memento Cottage Ivy, Archival Potting Soil, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white, green, dark brown, medium brown cs; mixed media cs
Size - A2

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, green and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Spellbinders rectangle and deckled rectangle dies

A Star in a Window

The Peace on Earth challenge always inspires me with its mood boards.  This time I was inspired by the top right image (see the mood board at the end of this post).

I created the star using the Encrusted Jewels technique.  I die cut the star from thin chipboard, then placed it on a warm grill on top of a layer of non-stick craft mat then parchment paper.  I sprinkled it with gold embossing powders.  Once they had melted, I added chunky gold glitter and tiny star glitter on top.  The melted embossing powders holds the glitter in place.  To finish it off, I melted UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) on top. 

I die cut the window three times - twice out of scrap cs and once out of light grey cs and glued them together.  I die cut the pine branch out of a piece of smooshed green background that I had in my box (and again out of scrap and glued them together).  I put everything together, with a bit of gold cord to hang the star from the branch and a sentiment on a banner.
  
Here's the mood board:

We'd love to have you join us, whether you're inspired by the mood board or choose to make an "anything Christmas" card.  That's lots more inspiration from the rest of the Peace on Earth Design Team.

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and light grey cs, lightweight chipboard
Size - A2
Accessories - small Spellbinders star die, TH branch die, Memory Box window die, gold embossing powder, UTEE, chunky gold glitter, tiny gold stars