Ombre Sky, Trees, and Stars

This month the Group of Seven Cardmakers is showcasing Ombre as our Design Element.  For my first example, I used ink blending to create a blue sky.  This is the method I've typically used when I think of creating an ombre effect.

I blended various blue Distress inks from light up to dark on coated cs (easier to get a nice blend than on regular cs).  When dry, I stamped the image in archival ink, then coloured the berries with a white gel pen.  I did a little bit of splattering with a white Posca paint pen to give the effect of a few lazy snowflakes drifting down on a cold winter day.  I added a sentiment die cut with an oval die.

On our Group of Seven website we have a couple of videos showing different ways of doing ombre.  I followed the technique in this video for my next card.

I die cut the trees from three shades of green cs and layered them over a dry embossed background, using bits of foam tape to raise each layer off the previous layer.  Then I added a black die cut Santa and sleigh and a black border.

I made one more using the stacked die cuts ombre method.

For this one I used three shades of copper glitter cs and die cut stars out of it and stacked them on top of each other, and then on top of a star embossed background.  In hindsight, I wish I'd cut each word out of a different shade of the cs - but too late!

I'm adding this third card to My Time to Craft's "New" challenge (one of the options is a New Year's card).

Please check out the cards by the rest of the Group of Seven Design Team.  We'd love to have you link up cards using an ombre technique.  It's not a challenge but we all love seeing your ideas or interpretations.  

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black
Ink - Archival Jet Black, Distress Tattered Glass, Broken China, Stormy Sky, Salty Ocean
Paper - white cs, coated cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white gel pen, white Posca paint pen

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SSS sentiment
Ink - Archival Jet Black
Paper - white, black, 3 shades of green cs
Size - A2
Accessories - CuttleBug snowfall embossing folder, Frantic Stamper Santa / sleigh die, unknown trees die, foam tape

Supplies for card 3:
Paper - white cs, 3 shades of copper glitter cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - star embossing folder, Spellbinders star dies, Tattered Lace sentiment die

Little Cardinals

Combining two challenges with today's card:  the CAS Mix Up "Ombre" challenge and the ABC Christmas "L is for Little" challenge.   I have a blue ombre background and some very little cardinals on my card.

I masked off a rectangle on my watercolour paper and used various blue watercolour paints to make an ombre background.

I am in the midst of reorganizing my craft room and couldn't find my brown cs for die cutting the branches so watercoloured a scrap of w/c paper in brown (and also in red) and die cut the branches and birds. I die cut the birds twice and glued them together to raise them up off the branches more.

I trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam on a kraft card base.

The requirements of CAS Mix Up are:

My sentiment is stamped, I have the ombre background, and for my choice, I have die cutting and watercolouring.

Supplies:

Stamps - Rubber Soul sentiment

Ink - Recollections Chestnut

Paper - watercolour paper, kraft cs

Size - A2

Accessories - watercolour paints, Memory Box branch and tiny cardinals dies, clear embossing powder, fun foam

Ombre and Threes

A card for a couple of challenges:

Addicted to CAS:

Jingle Belles - Three of Something      -     I have three die cut snowflakes and my image has three ornaments.
  
I stamped the image/sentiment with an ombre of blues, trimmed the panel, and added it to my card base along with three die cut snowflakes to balance it.

Supplies:

Stamps - Local King Rubber Stamp

Ink - Kaliedacolor Blue Breeze

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - small snowflake dies

Sponged Hearts

I'm finally getting around to making a card for Loll's new CAS challenge, CAS Stencil Challenge.  The first challenge is a pretty basic one:

A friend has asked me to make her a few Valentine cards so I decided to use a heart stencil and sponge an ombre series of hearts.

I started by going over all of the hearts with Spun Sugar, then the lower three quarters with Picked Raspberry, then the bottom half with Worn Lipstick, and the bottom quarter with Festive Berries.

I stamped the "cherish" sentiment on vellum and trimmed to a strip that I layered over the centre of the hearts panel.  I created a frame with a rectangle die and a smaller stitched rectangle die.  The vellum is secured under the frame.  It's all popped up on the card base with fun foam.

Be sure to check out the new challenge here and take a look at the inspiring cards from the Design Team and link up your card by January 24th!

Supplies:

Stamps - SU Cherish sentiment

Ink - Archival Jet Black; Distress Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, and Picked Raspberry

Paper - white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - TCW heart stencil, Lil Inker Stitched Rectangle die, Spellbinders rectangle die, fun foam