Candy Canes on a Christmas Tree

The new Peace on Earth mood board has images featuring candy canes, including one of a Christmas tree decorated with red and white striped decorations.  I decided to create a Christmas tree decorated with candy canes.

The tree is die cut once from green cs and twice from scraps of cs, and glued together.  I alternated the candy cane dies so I'd have some predominantly red ones and some predominantly white ones.  I ran silver metallic cord around the tree and hung the candy canes on it (and glued them down).  I die cut three small words and added them to the tree.  Then added the tree to a background embossed with a rustic frame border.

For more inspiration, check out the rest of the Design Team and see how they interpreted the mood board.

Supplies:
Paper - white, green, and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders tree die, Memory Box tiny candy cane dies, Sizzix embossing folder, silver metallic cord

Birthday Flowers, a Hollyhock Garden, and Green and Gold Christmas

I've got three cards for today.  I've really been in the mood to make cards lately!

First up a birthday card (a belated one as I know the post won't get it there in time!).  It's for Cut It Up's "Happy Birthday" challenge.

I inked up a Penny Black background stamp with Distress Oxide Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg and patted off some of the ink with a rag.  I inked on hammered cs which added to the faded texture of the stamping.  I die cut the flowers and smooshed them into the same two inks.  I  used a separate "belated" sentiment stamp over the "birthday wishes" stamp.

Addicted to CAS's code word is Garden.  One of my favourite flowers is hollyhock and I always have a section of my garden devoted to them.

I stamped and heat embossed the hollyhocks in gold on watercolour paper, then painted them and splattered a bit of gold paint. I created a frame by cutting out the centre of a piece of gold cs with a double stitched rectangle die.

Last one is a very quick CAS card for Color Hues "Green and Gold".  It's also for the Neglected Stuff challenge - I haven't used this stamp set since 2017!

I stamped the base tree in green, then heat embossed the overlap in gold.  I wanted a border that matched the gold on the tree and sentiment so I cut a rectangle one size larger, went around the edge of it with Versamark and heat embossed with the same gold embossing powder all around the edge.

 
     

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black background stamp, SU birthday wishes, Impression Obsession belated
Ink - Distress Oxide Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg, Archival Potting Soil
Paper - white hammered cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Poppy Stamps flower die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - The Stampin' Place hollyhocks
Ink - ColorBox Gold
Paper - watercolour paper, gold and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, watercolour paints, Memory Box double stitched rectangle die cut, Spellbinders rectangle die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - SU Solemn Stillness tree, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink - ColorBox green and gold
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, Spellbinders rectangle dies

Reindeer with Trees

The top left image of the new Peace on Earth mood board immediately inspired this card.

I stamped, coloured, and masked the decorated Christmas tree, then stamped some undecorated trees in the background.  I die cut the reindeer twice and glued them together.  Then grounded it on the card with a sentiment die cut on a banner.  I added red liquid pearls to the ornaments and coloured the star with a metallic gold pen.  I used hammered cs for the card base.

Here's the mood board.  The Peace on Earth Design Team have all been inspired by it.  We'd love to see how it inspires you!

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown decorated tree, Deep Red trees, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Iced Spruce
Paper - white and brown cs, hammered white cs
Size - 5.5" square
Accessories - coloured pencils, Dee's Distinctively reindeer die, banner die, red liquid pearls, gold metallic pen

Leaving the Christmas Tree Lot

Peace on Earth has a mood board full of pickup trucks this time.  I don't have any stamps or dies but luckily my friend, Loll, came to the rescue and lent me her pickup truck die.

I stamped some trees and a sentiment on the focal panel - my thinking was that the trees represent a "cut your own" tree lot, and the truck has just loaded up its tree.  I then assembled the truck from all of the pieces in the die set.  I cut the truck body twice to give it more dimension over the wheels.  I sketched in the road with a grey pencil to ground the truck.

Here's the mood board from Peace on Earth.  Please come and join us with either a card inspired by the mood board or an "anything Christmas" card.

 

I'm also adding it the Allsorts challenge "Traditional Christmas Colours".

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Deep Red trees, Art Impression sentiment
Ink - Distress Pine Needles
Paper - white cs, scraps of red, black, brown, green, and silver cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Penny Black Vintage Truck die set

Back to Christmas Cards

After the recent flurry of Valentine cards, I'm now back to Christmas ones.

First of two for today is for the ABC Christmas Challenge "D for Die Cuts" and the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Black, White, and Gold".

I die cut the stars out of a square of black cs and layered it over a gold card base. The Santa and sleigh is die cut twice and glued together for extra dimension. The trees are only die cut once.

Today's other card is for Cardz 4 Guyz "Clean and Simple".

I used the Heated Copper Accents technique shown in this video by my friend Loll to create my copper Christmas tree. I glued it to a piece of blue smooshed background, tore little strips of white cs to layer for snowy ground, stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in copper embossing powder.

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - SSS sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - black, white, and gold cs
Size - 5.75" square
Accessories - Sizzix Dash Away All stars and Santa, Spellbinders square die, evergreen tree die

Supplies for card :
Stamps - Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink - Versamark, various blue Distress inks
Paper - white cs
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - thin copper sheet, tree die, copper embossing powder

Christmas Twofer - Scandinavian and Humour

52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants to see something Scandinavian style.  I thought it was the perfect chance to use my Nordic Frames dies and also a stamp of a Scandinavian reindeer.

I stamped the reindeer with Versamark on navy cs (it looks black in the photo but it is really navy) and heat embossed in white.  Then trimmed the panel with one of the Nordic Frames dies, cut one of the other frames out of off-white cs, layered it all on another piece of navy cs, and then finally on an off-white card base.  I added a small sentiment stamped in navy on a little strip of off-white cs.

My second card is for the "Lots of Laughs" challenge at The Paper Players.

I embossed a piece of green cs with pine tree branches to represent the tree mentioned in the stamp.  I stamped the image of the cat on watercolour paper and lightly watercoloured it.  I die cut the three tiny ornaments and put them on the card as if they'd fallen off the branches.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Studio Light reindeer, Penny Black sentiment
Ink - Versamark, Distress Chipped Sapphire
Paper - navy and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Greetery Nordic Frames, white embossing powder

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Technique Junkies
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - green, gold, and white cs, watercolour paper
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix embossing folder, mini ornament dies, grey watercolour paint

Kraft with a Christmas Tree, a Jolly Owl, and Forget-Me-Nots

Sparkles Christmas Challenge wants to see "kraft card". And the Christmas Kickstart Challenge is "Out on a Limb" - something you find on a limb of a tree.  I have created a snowy effect on all the limbs of my tree.

In keeping with the rustic look of kraft, I wrapped a piece of burlap around my top layer of kraft (which I'd trimmed with a wonky stitched rectangle die) and topped it with a Christmas tree die cut once out of green cs and once out of white, layered so that the white shows as if it were snow on the tree branches.  I embellished the tree with a few tiny die cut stars.

Jingle Belles challenge is "Text Me" - I picked the option of having the sentiment be the star. Stamping Sensations wants "Animals, Birds, and Creatures" - I have an owl.

I stamped the owl / sentiment (they are all on one stamp), coloured everything but the crown with coloured pencils, and coloured the crown with a gold glitter gel pen. Trimmed the panel with a square hemstitch die, added it to a red card base, and embellished with three tiny red gemstones on the holly sprig.

Just to balance out the Christmas cards, here's a non-Christmas one.  Festive Friday is celebrating International Women's Day.  I made a birthday card for a close girlfriend who loves blue and flowers.  It uses three things from the challenge list - blue, white, and a bouquet.

Stamped, coloured with coloured pencils, die cut with a stitched rectangle die, and bordered with blue cs. The sentiment is on a vellum strip wrapped around the focal panel.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - TH sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - kraft, green, and white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Christmas tree die, tiny star die, burlap, wonky stitched rectangle die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Crafty Individuals
Ink - Versafine Onyx black
Paper - bristol and red cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - coloured pencils, gold glitter gel pen, Spellbinders square hemstitch die, small red gemstones

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Memory Box sentiment, Penny Black forget-me-nots collag
Ink - Versafine Onyx black
Paper - white and blue cs, vellum
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die

Decorating the Tree / Happy New Year

I'm a big fan of the original Penny Black Christmas stamps with the adorable animals in them.  So chose one of them for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge "Christmas".  I'm also adding it to ABC Christmas Challenge "Y is for Your Choice" and Sweet Stampin' "Christmas".

Stamped, watercoloured, trimmed with a stitched square die, bordered with gold cs, and added to an off-white card base.

My Time to Craft Christmas wants a Happy New Year card.  Here's mine:

I started with my top layer.  I die cut the large star and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment, then trimmed with a stitched square die, and then dry embossed with a little narrow star embossing folder.  I taped a small square of starry holographic paper on the card base and then popped up the top panel on foam tape over top of it.

It's also going to the NBUS challenge as I've never used the narrow star embossing folder or the holographic star dp before. 

    

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black, unknown "joy"
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - off white cs, watercolour paper, gold cs
Size - 5.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, Glossy Accents, Lil Inker stitched square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SU sentiment
Ink - ColorBox gold
Paper - white cs, Hot off the Press holographic star paper
Size - 5" square
Accessories - gold embossing powder, MFT star die, Kokorosa narrow star embossing folder

A Christmas Tree with Holly Background and a Stencilled Snowflake

Vancouver has watering restrictions as we've had such a dry summer - we are no longer allowed to water our lawns so I have a very brown lawn.  I'm making up for that lack of green with a very green card today.

I went with a green card base, a focal panel background created with a stencil monoprint of holly, and a smooshed green die cut tree.  I also die cut the tree out of white cardstock and glued them together for more dimension and slightly offset to give a bit of a line of snow on the branches.  Embellished with a silver star on top and off it goes to Jingle Belles and My Time to Craft Christmas who both want to see Christmas trees.  

My Time to Craft Christmas has a sister challenge, My Time to Craft, and it wants stencilling on a card.  So I kept going with Christmas cards and stencilled a snowflake on this card:

I started by using gesso to stencil the snowflake on black cs to create a resist for my stamping, then stamped the text background stamp over it.  I replaced the snowflake stencil and sponged Distress Speckled Egg ink over it to add colour to the snowflake.  I die cut the pierced frame die twice and stacked them for more dimension and embellished with stick-on pearls.
 

     

 

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - various green Distress inks
Paper - white and dark green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix holly embossing folder, unknown tree die, silver star

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown text stamp
Ink - Distress Speckled Egg
Paper - black and cream cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - snowflake stencil, gesso, MFT pierced square frame die, blue pearls