Poinsettia Postcard and Watercoloured Teddy

I love the Tim Holtz collage stamps but struggle with using them.  Here's one of my attempts, done for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Poinsettia".

I smooshed a bit of background with light colours of Distress Oxide ink (Pumice Stone and Old Paper), then put it in my MISTI and inked up the image with three Archival inks (Sepia for the script, Vermillion for the poinsettia, Library Green for the leaves), inking and stamping till I was happy with the results.  Being stamped over an Oxide background made some of it look a bit chalky.  Then bordered with a brown cs layer that went well with the Sepia ink.

A second quick CAS card for the Paper Players who want a CAS Watercolour card.

Very simple and CAS - stamped, watercoloured, trimmed, bordered with deckle edged green cs.

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Tim Holtz
Ink - Distress Oxide Pumice Stone and Old Paper, Archival Sepia, Vermillion, and Library Green
Paper - white and brown cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders rectangle dies

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black teddy, SSS sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - green and off white cs, watercolour paper
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Spellbinders rectangle and deckle rectangle dies

An Autumn Bunny and a Reindeer in Red and Brown

It's poured with rain all day today so I made two more cards.  First up is an autumn one to send to my sister who has been spotting wild bunnies in the ravine behind her house.  It's for The Paper Players "Signs of Autumn" - nothing like a bare tree with one final leaf clinging to it and patches of mushrooms popping up to signify autumn.  And also for The Four Seasons Challenge "Anything Goes Fall" and Simply CAS "Autumn".

I stamped the images, stupidly forgetting to use red to stamp the leaf so went over it with a red marker (that didn't cover up the black stamping very well). Then I sponged some blue and green around the images. I stamped my sentiment and smudged it, so restamped it on a scrap of cs and die cut it with a label die.  

Then a card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown "Brown and Red":

I stamped the collage image in brown - thank goodness for my MISTI as it took several stampings to get a good impression.  After restamping so many times, I lost the definition in the reindeer's eyes, so added a bit of black marker to the eyes and a bit of white gel pen above and below them.  I trimmed it with a narrow border beyond the image and layered it on a piece of red corrugated card stock.

I'd never used either the stamp or red corrugated card stock before so I'm linking it up to NBUS as well.

    

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Lavinia images, unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, Distress Speckled Egg, Bundled Sage, and Old Paper
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - red marker, Spellbinders label die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Magenta
Ink - Archival Potting Soil
Paper - off white cs, DCWV red corrugated cs
Size - A2
Accessories - black marker, white gel pen

Gemstone Ornaments and Elegant Writer Poppy

A Twofer today.  First for My Time to Craft Christmas "Ornaments", I did something a bit different and used a deciduous tree die cut with gemstones for ornaments.

I die cut the tree three times and glued them together for dimension.  I sprayed my focal panel with enough blue spray to provide contrast to the white tree.  Stamped a sentiment on it and popped it up on fun foam on the card base.

And then had lots of fun finding various shades and sizes of blue and silver stick-on gems for the ornaments on the tree.

My second card is for Cardz4Guyz "Poppies or Remembrance".  I did a muted colour scheme (seems more guy-like to me) by using my Elegant Writer pen to colour the poppy.

 

I haven't done this technique for a long time so my Elegant Writer pen was a bit dry and I didn't get as much colour variation as I've gotten in the past, but I still like the effect.

I stamped the image in Vintage Photo, added small lines with the Elegant Writer on the poppy, seed heads, and butterfly, and then with water and a paint brush, pulled out some of the Elegant Writer and Vintage Photo ink.

For the leaves, I scribbled a bit of Elegant Writer on a palette, spritzed with water, and then picked up some colour for the leaves.

I pulled out a bit of Vintage Photo to ground the image and sponged Antique Linen around the edges.

The panel is popped up on fun foam on a cream card base.

Here's a close-up to show the colour variation from the Elegant Writer pen:

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Stampendous sentiment
Ink - Archival Hickory Smoke
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Penny Black ornament tree die, blue spray, blue and silver gemstones

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Carabelle
Ink - Distress Vintage Photo and Antique Linen
Paper - mixed media cs, cream cs
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - Elegant Writer pen, fun foam

Music for Guys and a Simple Pet Sympathy Card

I've been away for a few days so no crafting or blogging.  Here's a Twofer to make up for it.

Cardz 4 Guyz wants to see "Music" so I did a notecard with a bird against a musical background:

The image is stamped and heat embossed, then trimmed and layered on green and red cardstock, popped up on fun foam on a square card base, and added red stick-on dots to the berries on the leaves.   

The second card is for The Sisterhood of Crafters "Keep It Simple".

A very simple card - stamped the sentiment and pawprint in navy on the card base, die cut a heart out of navy cs, and layered it over the base.  I like to have a few dog sympathy cards on hand as well as people sympathy cards.

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Magenta
Ink - ColorBox gold
Paper - cream cs, red and green cs
Size - 4.25" square
Accessories - gold embossing powder, Spellbinders square dies, red Stampendous dot stickers, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Technique Junkies sentiment, SU paw print
Ink - Memento
Paper - white and navy cs
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - Memory Box heart die

A Bird with an Embossed Background

I've been very busy with a friend visiting me and trying to catch up on my gardening after being away.  But I must try and keep up with my Christmas cards so here's one:

 

The collage stamp is stamped and coloured with coloured pencils, then die cut with an oval die and layered on the dry embossed background.

Challenges:

The Sisterhood of Crafters - "Birds"

Can You Handle the Pressure - "Dry Embossing with a Twist of Birds"

Sweet Stampin' - "Things with Wings"

NBUS - I've never used the collage stamp before

Supplies:
Stamps - Viva Decor bird collage
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, script embossing folder, Spellbinders oval die

A Triple B Card and an Agapanthus Card

I seem to always do Twofers these days.  Too much influence from my good friend, Darnell (wish that influence extended to getting me to tidy my craft desk!).

First up for the Triple B "Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms", I thought it would be fun to use a stamp I have that has all three in the one stamp:

I stamped the image on mixed media cs and coloured with orange and yellow markers.  Then sponged around the edges with Distress Dried Marigold.  Added a sentiment and popped it up on fun foam.

And then for the Tic Tac Toe challenge (I chose the bottom horizontal line "gems or sequins, watercolour, floral"), the Penny Black Saturday Challenge (anything Penny Black goes), and the Beautiful Blossoms Floral Challenge (anything floral goes), I used one of my favourite flower stamps:

I put the stamp in my MISTI and inked it up with various watercolour markers, spritzing lightly with water, and stamping.  I wrapped a vellum strip (on which I'd stamped the sentiment) around the flower panel, and popped it up on fun foam on the card base. I added a few sequins for embellishment.

Challenges:

Triple B "Birds, Butterflies, and Blooms"

 

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

 

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

Beautiful Blossoms Floral Challenge

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Crafty Individuals collage stamp, SU sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, Distress Dried Marigold
Paper - mixed media and cream cs
Size - 6x4.25"
Accessories - orange and yellow markers, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black agapanthus, sentiment
Ink - Archival Watering Can
Paper - vellum, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - blue and green markers, blue sequins, fun foam

A Notecard for National Letter Writing Day

Slipping in under the wire for a challenge at Festive Friday to celebrate National Letter Writing Day.

I've got three of the required elements for the challenge - script, postmark, and embossing folder.

I pulled out a bit of blue background (created by sprinkling Brushos on mixed media cs and spritzing with water) from my unused backgrounds box and stamped and heat embossed the postcard collage image. Trimmed it and bordered it with black. I used a postcard collage embossing folder on the card base. 

Supplies:
Stamps - bird / postcard collage stamp
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white, black, and mixed media cs
Size - A2
Accessories - clear embossing powder, Sizzix embossing folder, blue brushos

Deer and Music Collage

This post is a follow up from yesterday's post where I used the background created by the first step of Jennifer McGuire's distress monoprint technique.  See this video for detailed instructions.  My first card below uses the second step.  It created another lovely background but unfortunately I shouldn't have stamped on top of it - it would have been far better to put a die cut on top.

Here's yesterday's card to show the results of step one where you heat emboss a background over the sponged Distress inks:

For step two (which creates a second background), I spritzed the first background with water, laid another piece of mixed media cs on top of it and ran it through the die cutting machine just with the pressure plates.  This transfers the colour and the pattern of the background stamp.  If you look closely at today's card, you can see the pattern.  The colours come out paler but still make a very nice background.  Because the second background doesn't have any actual heat embossing on it, I assumed I'd be able to stamp on it with no problem but I think what happened was that the lines of the embossing pressed into the second background and therefore the ink from my stamping doesn't fill in those lines.  So the reindeer and the tree have a design on them!  

I decided to use it anyway.  I trimmed it down, bordered it with white glitter cs, and added a blue gemstone to the centre of the snowflake.

I prefer the results I get from this stamp when when I stamp it on plain cs so I did a second card for this post to show you how nice the stamp is:

 

 

It makes for a great quick card - simple stamping, addition of a sentiment, bordered in red glitter cs, and embellished with a single red gemstone in the centre of the snowflake.

 

I'm linking it up with:

 

Do All Creative challenge "Animals and Christmas"

 

NBUS Challenge - Never Before Used Stuff (I'd never used the reindeer / music collage stamp)

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Woodware Musical Deer, PTI sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne - both cards, various blue Distress inks - card 1
Paper - white and red glitter cs, white cs, mixed media cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gems, clear embossing powder

Holly with DP Borders

The new Peace on Earth has an image of holly in the top right that made me decide to use holly as my theme.  A good chance to use a stamp I hadn't ever inked up!

I watercoloured the holly with Inktense watercolour pencils, then trimmed the panel and added two borders of decorative paper.  I chose the lighter one because the shade of its red and green snowflakes reminded me of some of the snowflakes on the lower left image on the mood board.

Peace on Earth always has fabulous mood boards to inspire you, but in case they don't, it's also an "anything Christmas goes" challenge, so please come and join us!

Supplies:
Stamps - Visible Image "Inked Holly"
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, cream cs, dp
Size - A2
Accessories - Inktense watercolour pencils

Resisting Snowflakes and a Bleached Bird

52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants a card using the Emboss Resist Technique.  I used a snowflake stencil to create my resist:

I pressed my Versamark pad through the snowflake stencil and then heat embossed the snowflakes with clear ep.  I then sponged various blue Distress inks over the panel and when finished, wiped off the snowflakes with a damp cloth.

I cut it with a tag die thinking I'd enter it in Cardz 4 Guyz "Tag" challenge but just missed the deadline.  Because I wanted to be sure it looked masculine, I added a metal token (attaching it with a brad) and a dark silver die cut sentiment.  The tag is added to an embossed background panel.

I'm also cutting it fine to enter The Paper Players "Birds" challenge but at least I'm in time for this one.  Here's my card:

I created the green Brusho background by sprinkling the Brusho powders on watercolour paper and then spritzing with water. When dry, I stamped the image and heat set it. Then I used bleach and a paint brush to lift the green colour from the bird.

I stamped the sentiment that came with the image across the bottom and a Happy Retirement sentiment up at the top.

I added gold gel pen to all the tiny berries in the image and bordered with a matching gold cs. I found a blue grey cs that matched the colour of the bird (the bleach never seems to take enough colour out to go right back to white) and used it for the card base. The panel is popped up on fun foam.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

The Paper Players

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - Distress Broken China, Stormy Skies, Faded Jeans; Versamark
Paper - white cs, dark silver cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Paper Roses snowflake stencil, clear embossing powder, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Tim Holtz token, Dee's Distinctively "Merry" die, stitched tag die, dark silver brad

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Carabelle "Dream Wings", SU "Happy Retirement"
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, gold shimmer cs, pale blue grey cs
Size - A2
Accessories - two shades of green Brushos, gold gel pen, bleach, fun foam

Favourite Colours and Hand Writing

A Twofer today.  Two cards, each for two challenges.

First up my favourite colours (blue and yellow) and a bird for AAA Birthday ("Two Favourite Colours"), Seize the Birthday (option of Embossing), and We Love Stamping ("Anything Stamped with Option of Wings").

I stamped the lovely collage image and watercoloured it.  I layered it on the background panel that is dry embossed with a musical score.  I added it to a yellow card base.  And then went over all the little berries with a Stardust gel pen.

Next up for Day of the Month Card Club ("National Handwriting Day") and Rudolph Days ("Anything Christmas").

 

I picked a collage stamp with handwritten text in the background.  And my sentiment at the bottom is in a handwriting font.  So I think that qualifies it for "National Handwriting Day".

Stamped and watercoloured, trimmed, and popped up on fun foam on a gold card base.

 

 AAA Birthday ("Two Favourite Colours")

 

 

We Love Stamping ("Anything Stamped with Option of Wings")

 

Seize the Birthday (option of "Embossing")

 

 

Day of the Month Card Club ("National Handwriting Day")

 

 

Rudolph Days ("Anything Christmas")

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Carabelle Studio Dream Wings
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, white and yellow cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Darice musical score embossing folder, Stardust gel pen

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Cuddly Buddly Holly Collage, Impression Obsession sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, gold cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, fun foam