Peace on Earth Cat in a Hat

I was searching through my stamps for a cat wearing a Santa hat to go with our Peace on Earth mood board.  The only one I found is this cat wearing a striped hat so I went with that.

The cat is watercoloured.  I made him a ginger cat so that I can send it to my nephew who has a ginger cat and who will enjoy the image of the hat falling over the cat's eyes.  I have a goal this year to make at least two cards a month that use up some of my stash of dp so now I've got one done for this month!!

I've never used the cat stamp before so I'm also linking up with NBUS Challenge.  And also with Jingle Belles "Animal Antics".

We've got lots of inspiration over at Peace on Earth from the rest of the Design Team as well as the four images in our mood board.  Please join us!

   

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Colorado Craft Co. cat, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Lucky Clover
Paper - watercolour paper, DCWV dp, green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Spellbinders rectangle die, SU sentiment punches

Blues and Bunny with a Stocking

Colorful Options has a colour palette to choose from and, needless to say, I chose the blues.  

I sprayed the background with a few different blues and then die cut three hexagons out of it and stamped postage marks, etc. on them. I die cut the hexagons again out of scrap cs, popped the scrap ones back in the holes and layered the stamped ones on top of them.

I did some ink smooshing with various blue Distress inks and die cut the flowers and the sentiment out of that.

Here's the colour palette I chose from.  I tried to capture the various shades of blue from the left third of the colours..

 
And a Christmas card for Sparkles Christmas Challenge "Christmas Stocking" and Jingle Belles "Animal Antics".

One of the fabulous Anita Jeram stamps, simply watercoloured, bordered with black, and on an off-white card base.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - unknown postage mark and text stamps
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, various blue Distress inks
Paper - mixed media cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Alexandra Renke flowers, Happy Birthday die, hexagon die, various blue sprays

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Colorado Craft Co. Anita Jeram
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints

Batik with Holly

The Group of Seven Cardmakers are trying the batik technique this month.  I did this a few years ago but was not totally happy with the results.  Group of Seven has posted a video with the technique so I watched it, followed it to the letter, but really didn't like the results.  I wondered what I could do to get a better result and decided that what I didn't like was the way the creases came out - and that was my problem when I tried it before.  See the snowflake card on this post to see the way the creases are - I just didn't like them.  I like the creases on this post slightly better but still not that happy.  

Like the video on Group of Seven, both of my earlier cards used regular weight cardstock.  I had the idea to try something lighter that I could just scrunch it up rather than fold and score it, and, hooray, I got results I like much much better.  I used a heavyweight printer paper - 32 lb. weight (as opposed to regular printer paper which is only 20 lb. weight).  After stamping and heat embossing, I literally scrunched up the paper and that created far more random creases than the folding and pressing with a bone folder like the video shows.

Here's the first card I made:

For this one I followed the video's instructions about laying down some light colour first (I think I used Shabby Shutters and Old Paper), then stamped and heat embossed in clear embossing powder, then crumpled the paper, and then sponged over it with darker shades of green.  I trimmed it, used a sheet of double sided tape to stick it to cardstock to give it strength, then layered over a dry embossed background.  Because my panel was 5" wide I had to run half of it through the embossing folder, then the other half, so I ended up with a messy bit in the middle - I covered that with a strip of ribbon.

What I didn't like about that card was how muted the holly looks with the inks behind it, so for the next card, I just stamped and heat embossed with clear embossing powder before crumpling the paper and doing the ink blending.  

Same process after that - trimming and sticking to cardstock.  I cut a slightly larger panel of green cs and set it and the batik panel at angles (something I rarely do!!)

I still wanted more contrast between the image and the ink blending so for my last (and favourite one), I stamped and heat embossed with opaque creamy white embossing powder.

Followed all the same steps after that.  The panel is popped up on fun foam on a cream card base, with two small sentiments stamped and die cut with small square dies.  I really like this one and am very happy with the random creases.

Please let me know in the comments which one you like best!!

We'd love to have you try whatever way you like to get a batik look to your card.  Please post over at Group of Seven.  And check out the other examples by the rest of our group!

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Penny Black holly stamp, Rubber Soul Merry Christmas, Stampendous little square sentiments
Ink - Versamark, many various green Distress Oxide inks
Paper - white, cream, and green cs, 32 lb. heavyweight printer paper
Size - A2 and 5.25" square
Accessories - clear embossing powder, Papermania Seafoam White embossing powder, Sizzix holly embossing folder, ribbon, SU sentiment punch, Spellbinder square and rectangle dies

CAS Square with a Bird and a Rectangular Variation

The Paper Players want a clean and simple card with things that fly.  My Time to Craft wants a square card.  And Try It on Tuesday wants to keep it simple - my card is both CAS in design and simple to make.

This is definitely simple to make as the image requires very little colouring after stamping it.  I used alcohol markers to add the colour.  I trimmed the panel with a hemstitch square die and layered it over red cs.

While I had the stamp and the red cs out, I made a regular A2 version of it. 

I coloured this one with Tombow markers to see how they compared to the alcohol markers in the first one, trimmed it with a pierced dot rectangle die, and added to a red A2 card base.
 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Impression Obsession bird, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white and red cs
Size - 4.5" square
Accessories - alcohol markers, Spellbinders hemstitch square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Impression Obsession bird, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Tombow markers, Sizzix pierced dot rectangle die

A Nutcracker

The new Peace on Earth mood board is full of nutcrackers.  I didn't have any nutcracker stamps or dies so I found a digital stamp to make this card.

It's coloured with coloured pencils that pick up the colours in the dp background featuring metallic holly leaves.

There's lots of other ideas from our Peace on Earth design team showing how they were inspired by the nutcrackers on the mood board.  We'd love to see your cards - and if like me, you don't have any nutcracker stamps or dies, feel free to make an anything Christmas card.

Supplies:
Stamps - TerevelaDesign digital nutcracker stamp, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs, red with green metallic holly leaves dp
Size - 6x3.25"
Accessories - coloured pencils, sentiment banner die

Glittered Ornament and Jingle Bells

First up, a very CAS card.  My Time to Craft Christmas wants to see glitter.  I used a technique I saw on SCS for using up glitter.  It's also for the Try It On Tuesday Challenge to keep it simple.

I covered a piece of packing tape with a Christmas glitter blend I have (but had never used!). Added a top layer of tape and die cut the ornament. I "hung" it on my centre panel and popped that panel up on fun foam on the card base, and added a sentiment.

I used some of my hammered cs - it adds some nice texture to a very CAS card.  Since I've had it for a couple of years but haven't used any of it yet (and had never used the Christmas glitter mix that I've had for at least 10 years!!!), I'm linking it up at the NBUS Challenge and the Neglected Stuff Challenge.

Now on to my second card for today.  The Jingle Belles Challenge is asking for jingle bells, the ABC Christmas Challenge is "j for jingle bells", and the Double D Challenge wants us to use designer paper.

I die cut the bells twice and glued them together for more dimension.  Added them to some starry designer paper.  Stamped and fussy cut the sentiment and added it.  

   

 
 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Gold
Paper - white hammered cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders ornament die and long rectangle die, Christmas glitter mix, packing tape, gold thread, gold embossing powder, sentiment strip die, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Dylusions sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx black
Paper - white and gold cs, decorative paper
Size - A2
Accessories - Lil Inker bell dies

Designer Paper Christmas and Wildflower Birthday

I'm trying to make sure I make at least two cards a month using up some of my stash of designer paper.  The latest Double D challenge is "Designer Paper" so it prompted me to get this one made.  It's also for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Red and Green".

I used some old Graphic 45 dp that has images for the 12 Days of Christmas. The 12 drummers drumming panel is mostly red and green so I added it to a card base and then to make it more interesting, I die cut the snowflake / music die in dark red (and twice more in scrap cs, so that glued together they have some substance and dimension) and also the Joy sentiment die.

Seize the Birthday wants to see "Flowers", AAA Birthday is anything birthday, and Triple B is always any combination of Birds, Blooms, Butterflies" - I've got blooms and butterflies today.

The image is stamped and watercoloured. The tiny butterflies are die cut from a scrap of smooshed cs.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Paper - cream and red cs, Graphic 45 dp
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - SSS Jingle Snowflakes die, Spellbinders Joy die

Supplies:
Stamps - Indigo Blu wildflowers, SU sentiment
Ink - Versafine Smokey Grey
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, SU sentiment punch, Poppy Stamps Butterfly Sprinkles dies
 

Primary Red, CAS Sympathy

Shopping our Stash wants red as the primary colour on a card.

I stamped the cat image, die cut the Merry Christmas frame out of red cs and layered it over the image, then trimmed the panel to leave a border outside of the red frame, and then bordered all of that with more red.

Simply Clean and Simple have "Flower" as their theme.  I made a sympathy card to have on hand.

I die cut a circle out of scrap paper for a mask, laid it over my card base, stamped the flowers in purple and then sponged over the whole circle. I die cut the flower three times and glued them together, then very lightly sponged it with lavender. 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - red and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SSS Holiday Frame

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU Elements of Style, Great Impressions sentiment
Ink - Distress Dusty Concord and Milled Lavender
Paper - white linen cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Alexandra Renke flower die, Spellbinders circle die

Seasonal Cardinals / Blue and Yellow Birthday

The Inkspirational challenge wants "Seasonal" - cards based on occasions and images specific to the season.  I went with a winter card, that could be used for Christmas.  It's got holly, snow, and cardinals, plus a seasonal sentiment.

It's stamped and watercoloured, trimmed with a stitched square, and glitter added to all the snow on top of the fence.

As a break from Christmas cards, I needed to make a birthday card.  It's for Color Hues "Blue and Yellow" (one of my favourite colour combinations).  It's also for AAA Birthday (anything birthday).

I smooshed two pieces of mixed media cs, one in blues and one in yellows. I stamped some subtle text about happiness on the yellow piece, and stamped some silhouette wildflowers on the blue piece. I bordered the blue piece with a piece of corrugated card, tearing one of the edges for more interest. And finished off with a sentiment cut out with a stitched tag die.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, glitter, Lil Inker stitched square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Magenta Floral Silhouettes, Savvy Stamps sentiment, PaperArtsy happiness text
Ink - various Distress Oxide blues and yellows; Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - mixed media, white cs, corrugated card
Size - A2
Accessories - stitched tag die