Fun with 3-2-1 and Jingle Bells

Try It on Tuesday has a fun challenge called 3-2-1.  I searched for a stamp that would have 3 of something, 2 of something else, etc.  and found this one - I've got 3 ornaments, 2 birds, and 1 tree.

Stamped and watercoloured, trimmed, bordered with green, a sentiment on a stitched sentiment banner, and glossy accents on the ornaments.

ABC Christmas Challenge is "D is for Ding Dong Bells" and Jingle Belles Challenge wants music (I went with the title of a Christmas song).

The bells are die cut out of watercolour paper sprinkled with copper-coloured Magicals and spritzed with water.  They are mounted on a starry embossed panel with copper cord "hanging" them on the panel.  The sentiment is heat embossed with copper and die cut with the same stitched banner die as the first card.

    

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black tree and birds, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Distress Lucky Clover, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, off white and green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Glossy Accents

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - ColorBox copper
Paper - white cs, watercolour paper
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Lil Inker bell dies, star embossing folder, stitched banner die, copper Magicals, copper cord, copper embossing powder

Framed Cardinals and Framed Chocolate

Jingle Belles wants to see frames on our Christmas cards.  I framed some cardinals with a silver pierced rectangle frame.

The image is stamped and watercoloured. The sentiment is heat embossed. I went over the ornaments with Glossy Accents, and framed the image with a pierced dot die cut silver frame.

Festive Friday is celebrating World Chocolate Day.  It seemed a good opportunity to use a sentiment stamp I have that refers to chocolate.  I have these elements from the challenge list: a sweet sentiment, chocolates (in the sentiment), cream, and brown.

I sprinkled black and brown Brushos on cream cs and spritzed with water to let the colours run, then stamped the image in brown and heat embossed.   Since I had the pierced frame die out from the card above, I decided to create a frame for this card as well - this time in light brown - and then mounted it on a dark brown card base.

 

   

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black image, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, ColorBox silver
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs, silver shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, silver embossing powder, SU label punches, MFT pierced frame die, Glossy Accents

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Kay Foley
Ink - brown pigment ink
Paper - cream cs, light and dark brown cs
Size - A2
Accessories - brown and black Brushos, MFT pierced frame die, clear embossing powder

Joy with Cardinals and Poinsettias

I'm not good at using large dies but having seen so many great cards using the Penny Black Joy die, I broke down and bought it a while ago and am finally getting around to using it.

I  stamped the image of the cardinals and coloured with coloured pencils, then trimmed it to fit behind the "o" of the die cut which I cut out of green cs.  I used a stitched rectangle die to add interest to the edges of the card.

I'm linking it up with Try It on Tuesday ("Things with Wings") and Word Power (the sentiment is the focus of the card).

I had enough of the sheet of green cs left from cutting out "Joy" to make an A2 card base - I don't very often use coloured card bases so it was fun to think of what to add to it.  

I put the poinsettia stamp in my MISTI and inked it up with various mini Distress inks and Memento Dew Drop inks, spritzing, stamping, and reinking until   I was happy with the results.  I trimmed it with a Sizzix die, added it to the green card base, and added a green TH Christmas sentiment sticker and some gemstones.

I'm linking it up to Addicted to CAS ("Florals") and Twelve Months of Christmas ("Only One or Two Layers"),

  

   

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Serendipity cardinals
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white and green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Penny Black Joy die, coloured pencils, Lil Inkers stitched rectangle die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black poinsettia
Ink - various mini Distress inks and Memento Dew Drop inks
Paper - green cs, watercolour paper
Size - A2
Accessories - TH Christmas sentiment sticker, Sizzix die, gemstones

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

Skates and Cardinals

For the new Peace on Earth challenge, I was inspired by the skates in the top right image, by the wood of the birdhouse in the bottom left image, and the cardinals in three of the images of the mood board (see at the end of this post).

I dry embossed a piece of light brown cs with a wood textured embossing folder.  Die cut the skates and birds.  Glued all the pieces of the skates together and threaded them with thin string that I tied together in a bow.  I shaded the bird pieces a little bit.  Stamped the sentiment in red and die cut it with a stitched banner die.  I used it to hang the skates from by pushing a brad through the bow of the string and through the sentiment banner.

We'd love to have you join us with something inspired by this beautiful mood board, or if you prefer, an "anything Christmas" card.  Head over to Peace on Earth for more inspiration from the Design Team.

Supplies:
Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Memento Rhubarb Stalk
Paper - white, red, light brown cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Gina Marie skate dies, twine, Dee's Distinctively cardinal dies

Colour Challenges

I don't know how you feel about colour challenges but I do very few of them - I really have to like the colours to be inspired to do them.  The new 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is a colour challenge - red, kraft, and white.  That's a combination I really happen to like so I made this card for it.

Kraft card base, die cut kraft tree (cut twice and glued together for more dimension), a white focal panel cut with a stitched rectangle die, and then lovely bits of red for the stamped sentiment and the die cut cardinals.

Then I needed a masculine birthday card and thought the Seize the Birthday challenge of green and one other colour (I chose black to keep it masculine) would work.  And I was on a roll with birds so dug out another bird die.

I smooshed a background with various green Distress inks, then stamped a bit of cross-hatched texture and the sentiment on it.  I die cut the branch and bird out of black cs, glued it on the green panel and popped it up on fun foam for more dimension.

  

I'm curious - if you leave a comment, let me know if you like colour challenges or not.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - SU Real Red
Paper - kraft, red, and white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Impression Obsession tree and cardinals, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - A Muse sentiment, unknown cross-hatching stamp
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, various green Distress inks
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Memory Box bird die, Sizzix branch die

One Christmas, Two Valentines

It seems appropriate since it's almost Valentine's Day to post a Christmas card for Jingle Belles' "Red" challenge.  It's also for My Time to Craft Christmas "Winter Birds".  What better than the gorgeous red cardinal!?

Stamped and watercoloured the image, added the sentiment, and used a Quickie glue pen and glitter on the snow on the branches.

My next card is for Double D "Heartfelt", Just Us Girls "Love", and Stencil Fun "Love / Hearts".

I took a stencil that has a random smattering of hearts and pressed my Versamark pad through it, and then heat embossed the hearts in silver. The sentiment is stamped in red to match the card base.  I wanted a bordering silver layer but none of my cs was the right shade of silver, so I took a piece of white cs the size I wanted, then rubbed Versamark on the edges and heat embossed with the same silver as the hearts.  The panel is popped up on fun foam and embellished with red and silver sequins.

My second Valentine is for Stamping Sensations "Animals, Birds, Creatures", Cardz 4 Guyz "Love", and Sweet Stamping "Valentine's or Galentine's Day".

Stamped, watercoloured, trimmed with a stitched square die, and popped up on fun foam.

      

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Stampendous cardinals, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, glitter

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - PTI sentiment
Ink - Versamark, SU Real Red
Paper - white and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - silver embossing powder, Heidi Swapp Confetti stencil, red and silver sequins, fun foam

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Penny Black image, SU sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, red cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, Lil Inker stitched square die, fun foam

 

Cardinals on Greenery and Monochromatic Blues

Can You Handle the Pressure? challenge has a perfect twist to lend itself to a Christmas card - "a twist of greenery". 

I used a snowflake embossing folder on the card base and then chose the beautiful cardinals sitting on snowy greenery to tie it all together.  The image is coloured with coloured pencils, then trimmed with a circle die, and mounted on green glitter cs cut with an inverted scallop circle die.  I went over the snow on the branches with a quickie glue pen and added glitter, and used a small die to cut "merry" out of red cs.

And for Christmas Card Creations "Monochromatic", Tic Tac Toe Challenge (I chose the right vertical line "ribbon, free, blue"), and Snippets (I used a snippet of leftover alcohol ink background, some snippets of white cs for the tree die and the sentiment tag, and a snippet of blue ribbon to attach the sentiment tag):

The focal image is die cut trees layered over alcohol inks on glossy cs.  The background is embossed with a simple texture embossing folder.

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Serendipity
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white and red cs, green glitter cs
Size - 4.5" square
Accessories - coloured pencils, Paper Smooches merry die, glitter, Spellbinders circle and inverted scallops circle dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Distress Broken China
Paper - glossy cs, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Memory Box tree die, blue alcohol inks, Spellbinders tag die, SU texture embossing folder, blue ribbon