Winter Landscape

Peace on Earth's latest mood board is four lovely winter scenes.  The upper left image inspired me to use a stamp I've never inked up before.

I put the stamp in my MISTI and inked it up with Memento Dew Drop inks - the pointed shape of the little Dew Drops helps ink up things like the fence posts I wanted brown and the snowy drifts that I wanted light grey.  I inked and stamped repeatedly until I was happy with the results.  I then inked up the whole stamp with Versamark and stamped over the coloured inks, and heat embossed it.  This sealed in the colours and allowed me to sponge the sky without worrying about smudging my image.  I used a variety of Distress inks to sponge the sky.  I added a heat embossed sentiment.

Here's the Peace on Earth mood board:

We'd love to have you join us, whether you're inspired by the mood board or prefer to make an "anything Christmas" card!

Because I've never used the stamp before, I'm linking it up at NBUS as well.

Supplies:
Stamps - Penny Black image, unknown sentiment
Ink - various Memento Dew Drop inks, Versamark, various Distress inks
Paper - white cs
Size - 6.25x4.75"
Accessories - clear embossing powder

A Church with Glitter and Snowy Greetings

The Inkspirational Challenge wants us to "Add Glitter".  Perfect for a snowy scene.  I chose a stamp I've never inked up before so am also adding it to NBUS.

The image is stamped and watercoloured, bordered with green cs, and glitter added on all the snowy sections with a Quickie glue pen.  It's quite a chunky glitter so really picked up the light when I photographed the card.

My second card is for Shopping our Stash "Whatever the Weather".  I went with snow.

I used the old Faux Batik technique that's been around for a long time.  I stamped and heat embossed the snowflake background stamp in white and then made several folds in all different directions.  Then unfolded it and sponged over the whole panel with various blue Distress inks.  I used blue glitter cs for a border and for the shadow background of the die cut sentiment.

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Power Poppy
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, cream and green cs
Size - 4.75" square
Accessories - watercolour paints, glitter

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Hero Arts snowflake background
Ink - ColorBox White
Paper - white cs, blue glitter cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white embossing powder, SSS Snowy Greetings die

A Notecard and a Hanukkah Card

Starting off with a non-Christmas card - a note card for a set of blank cards that I'm making for a friend.  It's for the Color Throwdown Challenge "cobalt blue, aqua, and gold".

 I dropped alcohol inks in shades of blue onto yupo paper. I rubbed some gold foil onto the sticky bits of the AI.  I die cut the white stems, glued it onto the AI / yupo piece and set it inside a stitched oval opening. 

Next before I get back to Christmas cards, I've got a Hanukkah card for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  I chose the diagonal line that says December holiday, ornament, die cut.

I die cut the Star of David ornament out of silver glitter cs and again out of a scrap of white cs, and glued them together for more dimension. The branch is die cut from grey cs. The sentiment is stamped in blue and heat embossed, then die cut with a rectangle die. I glued the branch and ornament to it, adding blue ribbon to hang the ornament from the branch.

I'll be back next time with more Christmas cards. 

  

Supplies for card 1:
Ink - blue alcohol inks
Paper - yupo, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold foil, flower stems die, Lil Inkers stitched oval die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Rubbernecker Hanukkah sentiment
Ink - ColorBox True Blue
Paper - silver glitter, white, and grey cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Paper Rose Star of David ornament die, Sizzix branch die, Spellbinders rectangle die, clear embossing powder, blue ribbon

A Dog in a Santa Hat and a Starry Wreath

Christmas Craft Creations want us to "Add a Hat", Double D want "Christmas Animals", and Cardz 4 Guyz want "Festive Creatures".  I used a never-before-used stamp for the card so it's going off to NBUS as well.

I was inspired by the right hand images in the Double D mood board to use a new Colorado Craft Co.  I watercoloured the dog in the colours of my English cocker as the image made me think of her!  Then trimmed it with dotted pierced rectangle die, layered it over copper cs, and popped it up on fun foam on a red card base.  I added fun flock to the brim and pompom of the hat.

The ABC Christmas Challenge is "W for Wreath".  Instead of a traditional greenery wreath, I used a star wreath.  I used up several snippets of papers so I'm adding it to the Snippets Challenge.

On the left side of my card base, I added a strip of dp bordered by thin strips of gold shimmer cs and stamped a gold heat embossed sentiment to the right side.

I die cut the star wreath three times - twice out of of white cs and once out of Tim Holtz gold glitter peel-off paper. I stacked the three together and added it over the dp / card base / sentiment

  

 

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Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Colorado Craft Co. dog, Penny Black sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - watercolour paper, copper and red cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Sizzix dotted rectangle die, watercolour paints, fun flock, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown sentiment
Ink - ColorBox Gold
Paper - gold shimmer and white cs, SEI dp, TH gold glitter peel-off paper
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, unknown star wreath

A Sad Card and Two Christmas Cards

First of all today, for Festive Friday "International Animal Rights Day", a dog sympathy card to have on hand. 

For Festive Friday, you have to choose at least 3 things from their list - I chose animal, supportive sentiment, texture (the embossing folder), neutral colours, and animal patterns (the paw prints).

I did a letterpress technique on the embossing folder by running dark grey ink over the raised area of the folder before embossing.  The dog and the sentiment are stamped in black.  The condolences sentiment is inside the card.

Next up, Can You Handle the Pressure? challenge wants dry embossing with a twist of Christmas, and Shopping our Stash "Splish Splash" (use a water medium - I used Magicals, a powder that is activated with water).  My best friend always asks me to make her several Christmas cards with a dove / peace theme.

The background was made with the embossed toilet paper technique.  I layered 5 squares of toilet paper, misting with water in between each one and again on the top layer.  I placed it inside a script embossing folder and ran it through my Cuttlebug.

Then I took a piece of mixed media cs, sprinkled it with Magicals and spritzed with water.  When dry, I stamped and heat embossed the dove on it and then fussy cut.  The sentiment was die cut out of the same piece.  I created a frame with a pierced die, cut twice and layered for more substance.  I find using a frame of some sort over a toilet paper background prevents the edges from coming apart.

The embossed toilet paper has a wonderful feel of homemade paper.  For more ideas for using it, see this video and this tutorial.

For both this card and the first one, I used some cs I bought at a paper outlet.  I don't know what brand it is but the colour is labelled "chalk" - it's a great neutral colour.  I have a big pack of it so I'm sure it will show up often!

A threefer today!  For AAA Cards Challenge "Black, White, and Gold" and My Time to Craft Christmas "Snowflakes":

I started by using gesso to stencil the snowflake on black cs to create a resist for my stamping, then stamped the Christmas script background stamp over it in gold. I replaced the snowflake stencil and sponged gold ink through it.  I splattered with a bit of white acrylic paint and trimmed the panel.  I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in white on vellum and wrapped it around the panel, then popped the panel up with fun foam on a gold shimmer card base.

   

       

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - SU dog, Technique Junkies sentiment
Ink - SSS Intense Black, Versafine Clair Morning Mist
Paper - chalk cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Spellbinders rectangles, unknown embossing folder

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - unknown dove stamp
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - toilet paper, chalk cs, mixed media cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - Sizzix embossing folder, blue Magicals, clear embossing powder, MFT pierced square frame, TH peace die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - unknown Christmas script stamp, Stampabilities sentiment
Ink - gold and white ink
Paper - gold shimmer cs, black cs, vellum
Size - A2
Accessories - snowflake stencil, gesso, white embossing powder, white acrylic paint, fun foam

Santa Flying Over Snowflakes

Peace on Earth has a lovely mood board (see below).  The Santa flying in his sleigh on the bottom right inspired me as did the colours and the snowy scene on the top left.

 

The background is a gelli plate done with blue acrylic paint and a snowflake mask.  The Santa and his reindeer are die cut from black cs twice and glued together for more substance.  The sentiment is white heat embossed on black and die cut with a banner die.

 

Please come and join us at Peace on Earth.  You can either be inspired by the mood board or make an "anything Christmas" card.

 

 

Supplies:
Stamps - Penny Black sentiment
Ink - ColorBox white
Paper - mixed media cs, off-white and black cs
Size - A2
Accessories - unknown Santa die, tag die cut, white embossing powder, Memory Box snowflake mask, blue acrylic paint