Summer Cottage Garden and Dove Flying High

A card for Shopping Our Stash's "Summertime" challenge and Allsorts "Garden" challenge:

Stamped, coloured with coloured pencils, trimmed with a pierced dot rectangle die and layered over a pink rectangle so that the pink shows through the pierced dots.  Then bordered with some floral dp, and added to a yellow card base.

I used the same floral dp to line an envelope:

 

 

It's going to a friend who just bought a new house.

 

Try It On Tuesday's challenge is "Flying High" - something that flies high in the sky.  I made a peace-themed Christmas card with a dove flying high among the stars.

 

I sponged silver ink through a star die, leaving space on the bottom right corner for a stamped heat embossed sentiment.  I covered a piece of scrap cs with double sided tape and added blue / silver gilding flakes.  Then die cut the dove out of it.
 

     

 

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps -
Ink -
Paper -
Size -
Accessories -

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - silver
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix Delicate Wings dove die, Cosmic Shimmer Blue Ice gilding flakes, star stencil, silver embossing powder

A Gilded Reindeer, Red Ornaments, and a Horse and Sleigh

I'm working very hard on Christmas cards as my fundraiser (where I sell my Christmas cards and those kindly donated by Loll and Christine) is this Sunday.  Thank goodness for challenges that spark ideas in me!  I've got three cards today.

Fiirst up for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge "Just Add Antlers", I've got a reindeer with some very impressive antlers.

I sponged Cosmic Shimmer glue through a reindeer stencil, removed the stencil (and washed it immediately), and applied copper flakes to the glue.  Trimmed the panel with a hemstitch square die, layered over copper shimmer cs, and added a die cut sentiment out of the same copper cs. 

Colorful Options wants to see mostly red.

I stamped and heat embossed the ornaments in red sparkly embossing powder, and the sentiment in black embossing powder.  To make the border layer match the sentiment, I ran ink around the edges of the border layer of cs and heat embossed in the same black embossing powder.

The 12 Months of Christmas want to see a sleigh.  

The background is from my UFO box (a stencil monoprint created after making another background where I sprinkled Magicals through a stencil and spritzed with water - the leftover wet Magicals powder on the stencil was then used to create this background print - trees don't really come in this colour but it makes a lovely shimmery background!).  I tore a strip of white shimmer cs for the snowy ground, and added a gold die cut sleigh and horse, and a gold sentiment die cut with a banner die. The card base is white shimmer cs.

   

Supplies for card 1:
Paper - off white cs, copper shimmer cs
Size - 5.5" square
Accessories - reindeer stencil, copper foil flakes, Tim Holtz noel die, Spellbinders hemstitch square die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Indigo Blu ornaments, Paper Smooches sentiment
Ink - ColorBox red, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white cs
Size - 5.75" square
Accessories - Old Island Red Dragon embossing powder, black embossing powder, Spellbinders square dies

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - gold
Paper - mixed media cs, white shimmer cs, gold shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - TCW birch trees stencil, Magicals, sentiment banner die, Memory Box horse and sleigh dies

 

Gold Gilding Flakes and a Hedgehog in a Stocking

The Jingle Belles challenge wants to see gold.  I went with gold gilding flakes.

 

 

I patted the holly stamp with Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter Glue (using a square of foam as an applicator), then stamped onto white cs. Then immediately washed my stamp with warm soapy water. Added the gilding flakes and pressed them into the glue, then used a craft scrubby to rub off the excess.

I used one of the SSS thin frame dies to cut a thin rectangle frame out of the white cs, then cut one out of gold cs with the same die, and inset it into the gap in the white cs. 

 

Next up, for Can You Handle the Pressure where they want to see layers and for We Love Stamping "Make It Cute".  By my usual CAS standards, I've got quite a few layers on this card.  And I think the little hedgehog in the stocking is very cute.

The background is a 3D pine tree embossing folder to create the idea that the hedgehog and his stocking are hanging in a tree.  He's stamped and watercoloured, and then die cut with the matching die.  The main panel and the sentiment oval are both bordered in dark green cs.

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black
Paper - white and gold cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cosmic Shimmer gilding flakes, Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter glue, SSS thin frames die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, white and dark green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, Penny Black die, Tim Holtz 3D embossing folder, Spellbinders small oval die

Gilding Flakes on Acetate

This month, the Group of Seven Cardmakers are trying out gilding flakes on acetate.  We followed the technique on this video.  Here's my card:

I patted the wreath stamp with Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter Glue (using a square of foam as an applicator), then stamped onto the acetate.  Then immediately washed my stamp with warm soapy water.  Added the gilding flakes and pressed them into the glue, then used a craft scrubby to rub off the excess.  I added the acetate to the card base with double sided tape around its edges and covered it with a die cut frame so that the tape wouldn't show.

Here's a close-up of the lovely colours in my gilding flakes:

 

 

I love gilding flakes even though they're so messy to work with, but not sure I like using them on acetate (mainly because of the static).

 

Loll suggested we also try it on vellum.  I followed the same stamps as above.

 

I think my image was perhaps too detailed for gilding flakes but I do kind of like the misty look of it.  Again to cover the tape holding the gilding flakes panel to the card base, I used a die cut frame.

 

And a close up of the gilding flakes on the vellum:

I just love the colour blend!
 

There's lots more ideas from the rest of the Group of Seven over on the blog.  If you're inspired to try it, please link up so that we can see how you use the technique.

 

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Impression Obsession wreath stamp, unknown sentiment
Ink - gold
Paper - off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - acetate, Cosmic Shimmer Mulled Wine gilding flakes, Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter glue, Impression Obsession frame die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black holly stamp, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - gold
Paper - off white cs, brushed gold shimmer cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cosmic Shimmer Mulled Wine gilding flakes, Cosmic Shimmer Flake and Glitter glue, MFT pierced dot frame

A Gilded Bird and Green with No Grinch

A gilded bird for Seize the Birthday "Anything that Flies" and for Double D "Birds".

I tore a strip of cardboard from a box, and roughly peeled one layer of the paper off. Then randomly brushed gesso over it.

I put double sided tape on a small scrap of cs and added gilding flakes to it. I die cut the bird, getting his breast area onto the reddest section. I also die cut it twice out of scrap cs and glued them together for more dimension. The branch is cut from brown cs twice and glued together. Then glued both onto the corrugated cardboard.

I stamped and heat embossed a vertical sentiment in gold on a piece of chalk coloured cs and trimmed it with a stitched rectangle die. Added it to the card base and added the corrugated cardboard piece to it.

My second card is for Jingle Belles "Get Your Grinch On" (use green).

 

 

The base of the focal panel is dry embossed, then a variety of greenery die cuts arranged as a swag over it.  I wrapped baker's twine around my focal panel and made a bow at the top of the swag.  I splattered the swag with diluted white acrylic paint and an old paint brush. 

I cut the greenery die cuts out of different scraps of green cs so I'm also taking it over to Snippets.

 

      

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - unknown vertical sentiment
Ink - ColorBox gold
Paper - scrap of corrugated cardboard, chalk and brown cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Tim Holtz bird die, gilding flakes, unknown branch die, gesso, gold embossing powder, Lil Inker stitched rectangle die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white cs, scraps of different green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix embossing folder, TH greenery dies, sentiment label die, red/white baker's twine, white acrylic paint

Embossed Pine with Star and a Partially Gilded Butterfly

I made this card for the Jingle Belles challenge "Emboss-able" - embossed texture or heat embossing.  I've got both:

I made a dry embossed background with a 3D folder and also made a heat embossed star using the "encrusted jewels" technique.  I die cut the star from thin chipboard, then placed it on a warm grill on top of a layer of non-stick craft mat then parchment paper.  I sprinkled it with gold embossing powders.  Once they had melted, I added chunky gold glitter and tiny star glitter on top.  The melted embossing powders holds the glitter in place.  To finish it off, I melted UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) on top.

I die cut the pine branch out of a piece of smooshed green background that I had in my box (and again out of scrap and glued them together).  Then glued the branch on the dry embossed panel and hung the star from it with gold cord.  Finished off with a sentiment die cut with a banner die.

For Sweet Stampin' "Things with Wings", I made this:

I stamped the butterfly in my MISTI with Frayed Burlap ink. Then applied FlitterGlu to the stamp, only getting it on parts of the stamp, and restamped it. Pressed gilding flakes onto the butterfly and rubbed off the excess. I like the way it's only partially gilded and looks a bit rustic.

Added the sentiment and a die cut pierced frame.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - various green Distress inks
Paper - white cs, thin chipboard
Size - A2
Accessories - TH 3D embossing folder, IO pine branch die, Spellbinder star die, gold embossing powder, UTEE, gold glitter and tiny stars, banner die, gold cord

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black butterfly, Savvy Stamps sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Frayed Burlap
Paper - white and dark grey cs
Size - A2
Accessories - FlitterGlu, gilding flakes, pierced rectangle frame die

Alcohol Inks with Gilding Flakes

The Group of Seven cardmakers are combining alcohol inks and gilding flakes this month.  There are a couple of different methods over on the Group of Seven blog.  Here are the two cards I was most happy with at the end.

 

I used the technique at the end of this video (around the 16 minute mark).  I built up alcohol inks on Yupo for the first one and glossy cs for the second, and pressed gilding flakes into the sticky parts of the alcohol ink that hadn't quite dried.  On the first card I used gold gilding flakes and on the second, silver.  I die cut hearts and the "love" sentiment from the best sections and created my cards.

Here are close-ups of the hearts:

I did try the other method, using glue on the lines of the alcohol ink cells or blotches but didn't like the results I got, though some of our other members really did.  You can see their cards over on Group of Seven.

I also tried a quick squirt of spray adhesive to attach gilding flakes but wasn't crazy about the results though did turn it into this card:

If you're interested and end up giving this technique a try, we'd love to have you link up your results over at Group of Seven as inspiration for others!

Supplies:
Stamps - SU cherish, SSS love you
Ink - red and pink ink
Paper - Yupo, glossy cs, white cs
Size - 4.75" square (first and third), 6x3.25" (second)
Accessories - various pink and red alcohol inks, gold gilding flakes (first card), silver gilding flakes (second and third), rubbing alcohol, spray adhesive, various heart dies, heart wreath die, love die, SU narrow hearts embossing folder, small label die, square stitched die

Dry Embossed Snow, Heat Embossed Poinsettias

Two new Christmas cards today.  For Can You Handle the Pressure (anything goes with dry embossing;  I didn't use the twist of turkey / Thanksgiving as I'm in Canada and we've already had our Thanksgiving), and for Stamping Sensations "Christmas":

The image is stamped in black and coloured with coloured pencils, then trimmed and bordered with black cs, layered on a dry embossed panel, and added to a white card base.

My second card is for My Time to Craft Christmas "Poinsettias" and Color Hues "Red and Gold":

I sponged a bit of darker red ink around the edges of a piece of red cs, then stamped and heat embossed the Christmas poinsettias / holly image in gold.  I bordered in gold shimmer cs, added a sentiment from my leftovers box (die cut from a piece that had gilding flakes stuck to it), and added Glossy Accents to all the berries in the image.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Serendipity farm, Penny Black sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Darice embossing folder

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - ColorBox gold, Distress Aged Mahogany
Paper - gold shimmer and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, Glossy Accents, Tattered Lace "greetings" die, gilding flakes