Cosy Fireplace and Delphinium Thank You

The Jingle Belles challenge has a photo to inspire us.  I was inspired by the fireplace and by the red and blue stockings hanging from the mantelpiece.  My Time to Craft Christmas wants a rectangle-shaped card.  And Sparkles Christmas Challenge wants to see something "Warm and Cosy".  Nothing like being in front of a warm fire at Christmas time!

I stamped the image, coloured it with coloured pencils blended with Gamsol (using only blue and red for the stockings to go with the image), stamped the sentiment in red, and bordered it with a blue polka dot dp.  I added Fun Flock to the pompoms and brims of the cat's and dog's hats, and added Glossy Accents to the berries and to the candle flames.

Today's twofer - a quick thank you card for Sweet Stampin's "Thank You Card" challenge.

I blended a background using three Distress inks. Dried it with my heat tool a bit and then heat embossed the delphiniums in white. I popped it up on fun foam on a black cs layer, added a white embossed sentiment on a black banner, and embellished with some sequins.

 

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black image, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, SU Real Red
Paper - white cs, blue polka dot dp
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Gamsol, Fun Flock, Glossy Accents

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Magenta delphiniums, Savvy Stamps sentiment
Ink - Distress Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, and Seedless Preserves; ColorBox white
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white embossing powder, sequins, fun foam

Masculine Christmas and Poinsettias Embossed and Stamped

Cardz 4 Guyz wants a masculine Christmas card. 

I started with the background - used a circle die to cut a round mask for the moon and a hilly slopes die for the snowy ground (both cut out of masking paper). Then splattered masking fluid on the sky for snow. Then sponged with two shades of blue Distress ink, leaving it lighter around the moon. Once the ink was dry, I removed the paper masks and rubbed off the masking fluid. I die cut the buildings and trees out of black cs and added them to the background. Finished off by using white gouache on a fine paint brush to add snow to the roofs.

My second card today is for Can You Handle the Pressure (dry embossing with an optional theme of poinsettias - I went with this theme).

I stamped and watercoloured the candle / poinsettia image, trimmed it with a square die, popped it up on fun foam on a square of off white cs that I'd run through a floral embossing folder that could well be poinsettias.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Make an Impression sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Chipped Sapphire and Dusty Concord
Paper - white and black cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - masking fluid, masking paper, SSS Winter Village dies, circle die, hilly slope die, Dr Phil Martin's bleed-proof white gouache

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Stamplorations
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, square dies, Sizzix embossing folder

Candy Canes, Candles, and Reindeer

I have this card for Jingle Belles:

They wanted a card in inspired by their banner:

I saw the image (on the left of the banner) of the candy canes tied up with Christmas greenery and gold ribbon, and immediately thought of a stamp I have.  And I kept lots of red in the card as the banner has a lot of red.

The image is stamped and coloured with coloured pencils, including a metallic gold pencil for the ribbon.  I trimmed it with a label die and went around the edge with a fine black marker to give the edge some definition.  I popped it up on fun foam on a border cut out of candy cane dp, using the next size up of the same label die.  I used a red cs for the base that has a tiny bit of gold shimmer in it (hard to see in the photo).

Next up:

Festive Friday is celebrating a Traditional Christmas - my card has quite a few of the elements from its list - I've got red, green, gold, candles, and a Christmas sentiment.  And the Colorful Options Challenge wants red, green, and gold so I'm linking it up there too.

Stamped and watercoloured, a bit of gold splatter added, a gold shimmer border and a gold sentiment cut out with a banner die. 

 

And one more card today:

Shopping our Stash wants a masculine card and The Paper Players want a deer - the two go together really well.

 

My card was inspired by a video I saw online a while back (that unfortunately I can't find again). The moon and the snowbanks are done with masking and sponging. Then the reindeer and the holly branches are stamped on top. I bordered with black cs, went along the snow lines with clear Stickles, painted the berries with a red Posca paint pen, splattered with a white Posca paint pen, and added a Tim Holtz sentiment sticker.  

I made a second version, adding a bit of text stamping to take the place of the sentiment sticker on the first version:

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - either Serendipity or Creative Images candy canes, tiny joy sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - red shimmer and white cs, candy cane dp
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, metallic gold pencil, Spellbinders label dies, black marker, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - mixed media, off white and gold shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, small banner die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Lavinia
Ink - various Distress inks, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - red and white Posca paint pens, clear Stickles, TH sentiment sticker, 

Reindeer with Birch Trees and Candles with Poinsettias

Jingle Belles wants to see animals on our Christmas cards, and My Time to Craft Christmas is specifying winter animals.  What better than a reindeer?  Which means I can also link it up with Christmas Cards All Year Round as they want to see reindeer.

I rubbed Distress Speckled Egg over an embossing folder and ran it through with mixed media cs.  I tore a snowy hill out of white cs and stamped my sentiment on it.  Using various brown Distress inks, I smooshed a scrap of cs and die cut a reindeer from it.  I cut it again from scrap cs and glued them together for more strength and dimension.

Next up, ABC Christmas Challenge is "U for Unusual Colours".  I did a candle / poinsettia stamp in shades of blue and mauve - definitely not a typical Christmas card for me!

I stamped the image and sentiment in navy ink, coloured it with Cosmic Shimmer Botanical Stains (lovely muted colours), splattered with some of the leftover colours, and bordered with navy on an off-white card base.

  

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Twilight, Distress Speckled Egg, various Distress browns
Paper - mixed media cs, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix embossing folder,

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown candle / poinsettia stamp, Make an Impression sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Twilight
Paper - watercolour paper, off-white and navy cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cosmic Shimmer botanical stains

Two Cards, No Blue

My followers have probably figured out that blue is my favourite colour!  So today I have two cards without a speck of blue!!

First up for Merry Monday Inspiration Challenge:

I created this card using a new stamp I hadn't inked up yet:

Pretty basic - stamped, watercoloured, and popped up on fun foam on an embossed background.  I love the image - here's a close-up:

Then quite a different card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown:

Santa and his sleigh are stamped and coloured with coloured pencils, with a bit of glitter added to Santa's hat and jacket.

The Memory Box Joyeux Noel die was just the right sized to put on the diagonal underneath Santa.  I'm not that comfortable with things on the diagonal but it worked with the Santa stamp.

All this non-blue is making me thing I need to go back to something blue tomorrow!

Supplies for the first card:

Stamps - Stamplorations

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - watercolour paper, cream and dark pink (or is it light red?) shimmer cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - Sizzix embossing folder, Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, fun foam

Supplies for the second card:

Stamps - Crafters Companion Nordic Christmas Santa

Ink - Ranger Potting Soil

Paper - white and red cs

Size - A2

Accessories - coloured pencils, Memory Box Joyeux Noel die, white glitter