A Bird and a Birthday

For the Christmas Kickstart Challenge "Season's Tweetings", I used an image where it looks like the birds are tweeting at each other!  It's also going to Triple B "Birds, Blooms, or Butterflies" and to Rudolph Days "Anything Christmas".

Stamped and watercoloured with some Distress Antique Linen sponged around the edges and some glitter added to the snow on the branches.

And then a birthday card for my nephew for AAA Birthday "Anything Birthday Goes" and Inkspirational "For the Guys".

I die cut the globe out of a piece of cs sprayed with Lindy's sprays, then rubbed Versamark over it and heat embossed with UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel).  I added it to a background lightly sponged with blue where the globe is and a bit of Antique Linen around the edge.  It's then layred on a script dp and a sentiment added to the top.

   

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Nellie Snellen birds and musical score, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Antique Linen
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, glitter

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown happy birthday
Ink - Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white cs, script dp
Size - A2
Accessories - Lindy's brown spray, globe die, UTEE

Sparkling White Dove and Masculine Gears

The ABC Christmas Challenge wants to see "an image only",  52 Christmas Card Throwdown wants "all white", and Shopping Our Stash wants "sparkle".  I made a card to fit all three.  And I used a little square embossing folder I haven't used since 2014 (I went back and looked at my Splitcoast Stampers gallery) so I'm entering it in The Neglected Stuff Challenge as well.

The above photo is kind of dark - it was hard to photograph it to get the sparkle.  Here's one is different light that doesn't show the sparkle as well but is less dark.

I embossed the little square embossing folder on white cs and then went over the raised parts with a Quickie glue pen and added clear glitter. I trimmed around its edges, backed it with fun foam, and added it to a white shimmer card base.

I needed to make a birthday card for my nephew.  He's a thoughtful kind of guy so I always try to include one of my inspirational sort of sentiments.  And it's in light blue and brown for the Cardz 4 Guyz challenge.

I spritzed various metallic sprays on mixed media cs and when dry, die cut the gears. I glued them to another piece of paper of mixed media cs and stamped the sentiment, then trimmed the panel and sponged blue/grey Distress inks around the edges and blank areas to tone it down. Add it to a light blue card base and stamped a vertical sentiment in the remaining space.

     

   

 

Supplies for card 1:
Paper - white cs, white shimmer cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Cuttlebug dove embossing folder, Quickie glue pen, glitter, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Peddlar's Pack vertical Happy Birthday, TH inspirational stamp
Ink - Archival Jet Black, blue/grey Distress inks
Paper - light blue cs, mixed media cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gears die cut, various sprays

Finally, a Post from Me!

It's been ages since I posted.  I've had the horrible flu bug that's going around this winter (even though I had the flu shot in the autumn - but they say it doesn't have this year's variant in it!).  I'm much better but have what my doctor calls the post-viral cough that can last for a few weeks.  So annoying!

But I've got my energy back for making cards and posting so here are a couple.

Cardz 4 Guyz wants a masculine card with a Christmas critter.

My nephew has a ginger cat called Roger.  Roger is a bit skittish and wide-eyed like this image so I'm saving this for my nephew's Christmas card.  Stamped and watercoloured, trimmed with a wonky stitched rectangle, bordered in black, and mounted on kraft.  The beard and Santa hat are embellished with fun flock.

 

Double D wants a birthday card and my cousin's birthday is coming up.

 

I started by putting my wildflower stamp in my MISTI and inking it up with Tombow markers, stamping on the centre of a hammered cs cardbase, re-inking and re-stamping until I was happy with the results.  I then inked up the stamp with Versamark, re-stamped, and added clear embossing powder.

 

I took another piece of hammered cs and cut a piece of masking paper the same size as the hammered cs.  I die cut a rectangle out of the centre.  Then inked up the background stamp with Bundled Sage and Speckled Egg and stamped over the masking paper.  I then die cut a smaller rectangle out of the centre of the stamped section, leaving a stamped frame.  Using dimensional tape, I layered the frame over the wildflower.  Finished by adding a sentiment die cut with a stitched banner.

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Tim Holtz Christmas snarky cat and sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, kraft and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - MFT wonky stitched rectangle die, watercolour paints, fun flock

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Magenta wildflower, Penny Black Enlightened background stamp, Memory Box sentiment
Ink - Distress Speckled Egg and Bundled Sage, Versamark
Paper - white hammered cs
Size - 6x4.25" 
Accessories - Tombow markers, masking paper, Spellbinders rectangle dies, clear embossing powder, stitched sentiment banner die

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

Watercoloured Winter, Peaceful Ornament, and Grungy Birthday

Two more Christmas cards and one birthday card today!  

First, for ABC Christmas Challenge "W is for Watercolouring", Stamping Sensations "Winter", and Four Seasons "Winter" (the top left image on their mood board inspired me to pull out an old stamp that has a rustic wooden cabin as part of it).

The image is stamped, watercoloured, and added to a kraft cardbase.  Then I went over the snow lines, the snow on the fences, trees, and roof with a quickie glue pen and added glitter.  I put the sentiment inside as I didn't want to cover up any of the lovely image.

Next up for Addicted to CAS "Ornament":

A friend and I regularly go for tea at a little French bakery / coffee shop and the pastries are served on gold cardboard holders that I carefully clean and recycle to make large ornaments for cards. In this case, I dripped a couple of shades of red alcohol inks on the round part of the pastry holder and spritzed with rubbing alcohol to get it to run and cover the round part. When dry, I added a dove die cut from white glitter cs and a branch cut from green shimmer cs. I embellished with three little stick-on gold glitter circles and some matching gold glitter strips for the ornament's hanger. I let it all take centre stage on a plain white card base with just an added stamped and heat embossed sentiment. 

A male friend has a birthday coming up so I had my usual struggle to make a masculine card.  I'm linking it up with Sweet Stampin' "It's our Birthday" - they are celebrating the 15th year of their challenge.  And also Seize the Birthday "Masculine".

I found the stencilled piece in my unused background box - it was very intensely orange and I didn't like it, so I watered down some gesso and painted over it to lighten it up.  I stamped the Tim Holtz image in black and edged around it with Tea Dye Distress ink.  Then cut a rectangle out of the stencilled piece and layered it over the stamped image as a frame.  Added a birthday sentiment to the top of the frame.

   

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Northwoods
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, kraft cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, quickie glue pen, glitter

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - A Muse sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Gold, red alcohol inks
Paper - white cs, white glitter cs, green shimmer cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - Impression Obsession dove die, recycled pastry holder, gold embossing powder, Anita's Glitterations gold strips and dots

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Tim Holtz man, unknown sentiment
Ink - various orange Distress inks, Distress Tea Dye, Versfine Onyx Black
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders rectangle die, clock stencil, gesso

Stencilled Birthday and Starry Sympathy

A birthday card for my nephew using the Stencil Fun "Birthdays" challenge and the Cardz 4 Guyz "Anything Masculine Goes" challenge.

I made a globe stencil using my globe die and laid it down on white cs and sprayed over it with a couple of different brown sprays.  When dry, I stamped a sentiment on top of it.  Stamped the vertical Happy Birthday on another strip of cs and added both to a black panel.

The Double D challenge wants stars and Word Power wants the sentiment to be the focus of the card.

I stencilled the stars in gold ink so that they would curve around the sentiment, trimmed with a square die, bordered in dull gold shimmer cs, and popped it up on the card base with fun foam.

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Peddler's Pack Happy Birthday, Tim Holtz sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - various Lindy's sprays, globe die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Stampotique sentiment
Ink - Martha Stewart gold, Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - white cs, dull gold shimmer cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - Funky Fossil star stencil, Spellbinders square dies, fun foam

Blue / Purple Sky and a Birthday Cat

Sneaking in under the wire for Color Hues "Light Blue and Purple":

The background was done with blue and purple reinkers on mixed media cs, then covered in wrinkled cling wrap while it dried.  The snowy tree die is cut from white glitter cs, and it's mounted on a blue/grey card base that in real life matches the blue in the background better than it does in the photo.

As you probably know, I'm very focused on making Christmas cards right now, but friends do have birthdays coming up.  I used Seize the Birthday "Neutrals Only" to get me to make one for a guy friend.  He adores his black cat, Maisie, so I had to add her to the card!

I inked up the background stamp randomly with various Distress Oxide inks, spritzed lightly with water, and stamped onto mixed media cs.  Once dry, I stamped the cat in black (using my MISTI to get a good solid impression) and heat embossed it, then bordered in black cs, and added to an off-white card base.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Make an Impression sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Heliotrope, various blue and purple reinkers
Paper - blue / grey cs, white glitter cs, mixed media cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - cling wrap, Spellbinders circle die, Memory Box trees die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Savvy Stamps sentiment, Lavinia cat, Magenta (?) branches
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, various Distress Oxide inks
Paper - mixed media, black, and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SU label punch, black embossing powder

Slimline Snowflakes

Just one card for you today.  I wanted to get it posted for a few challenges before they close.

I went over the TH snowflake stencil with embossing paste and then, while it was still wet, I added Speckled Egg embossing glaze to give it colour.  I heated it with my heat gun which caused some of the glaze to bubble a bit and then subside, adding even more texture to the snowflakes.

I added a very thin black cs border, stamped the sentiment in black on a small scrap and heat embossed it with clear powder, and added a thin black border to that piece as well.

Challenges:

ABC Christmas Challenge "E is for Embossing" (I have both embossing paste and embossing glaze.)

Christmas Craft Creations "Slimline"

 

Cardz 4 Guyz - "Add Texture"

 

Supplies:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocture
Paper - white and black cs
Size - 7x3.75"
Accessories - TH snowflakes stencil, embossing paste, TH Speckled Egg embossing glaze, clear embossing powder