Too Many Reindeer and a Lot of Sweet Peas

Shopping our Stash's challenge is called "Don't Really Need Another One" - use something that is our weakness and we buy too many of.  I really do have too many reindeer dies!

I created a background by sprinkling blue and green Magicals powders on photo paper, spritzing with water, and letting the colours run and dry naturally. When dry, I trimmed the panel, added a torn white cs snowy ground and two die cut reindeer. The panel is matted with black cs and the sentiment is made with a wax seal kit. It might be hard to read in the photo but it says Merry Christmas.  Here's a close-up of the seal:

The Flower Challenge wants a stamped flower.

A simple stamped and watercoloured image, with a vertical sentiment. It's larger than my usual A2 as it's a big image.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Paper - white and black cs, photo paper
Size - A2
Accessories - blue and green Magicals, reindeer dies, sealing wax set

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Stamps Happen Sweet Peas, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, off white cs
Size - 6.25x4.75"
Accessories - watercolour paints

Colourful Christmas Tree

The new Peace on Earth mood board has a lot of colourful rainbow Christmas decorations.  I was inspired by the lower left image (see the mood board at the end of my post).

I stamped the tree and then coloured the little circles in a similar colour palette to the image.  I trimmed the panel with a dotted rectangle die and added a sentiment banner across the top.  I went over the coloured dots with Glossy Accents.  

I wanted to border it with rainbow glitter cs but didn't have any left so created my own - I die cut a rectangle of cs, ran strips of double sided tape down the four edges, and sprinkled with JoAnn's multi-coloured glitter.  It's a bit chunky so it left sticky bits of the tape exposed so I took a fine clear glitter and added it over the coloured glitter to fill in all the sticky bits of tape.

We'd love you to check out the rest of the inspiration from our Peace on Earth Design Team, and if you're inspired by our mood board, or prefer to make an anything Christmas card, we'd love to have you join us.

I'm also adding it to the Christmas Cards All Year Round "Trees" challenge.

Supplies:
Stamps - Lavinia Christmas tree, unknown sentiment
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - alcohol markers, Sizzix Dotted Rectangle die, banner die, Spellbinders rectangle die, double-sided tape, JoAnn's multi-coloured chunky glitter, MS fine clear glitter, Glossy Accents

Tea with Books and Sunflowers with Horses

Sweet Stampin' wants to see "Beverages" and Shopping our Stash wants to see a "Just Because" card.   A friend gave me this stamp set as she thought it was perfect for me as a retired librarian - it's the first time I've used it so entering it in NBUS as well.

I coloured it in blue as I'm going to send it to my youngest sister who loves blue, tea, and reading as much as I do, and loves to get cards from me.

The image is coloured with coloured pencils and popped up on fun foam. The background is an embossing folder that went well with the scrolls on the tea cup.

I've also got a card for Double D "Sunflowers". 

I stamped the image and coloured it with coloured pencils, bordered with black cs, mounted on a kraft card base, and added a white heat embossed sentiment on a scrap of black cs.

   

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - unknown
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, Cuttlebug embossing folder, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Impression Obsession horses, Rubber Soul sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, ColorBox white
Paper - white, black, and kraft cs
Size - A2
Accessories - coloured pencils, white embossing powder

Leafy Sympathy and Christmas Dog

A sympathy / thinking of you card that is for Can You Handle the Pressure (Leaves), AAA Card Challenge (Sympathy or Get Well), and My Time to Craft (something tree-related, which of course, leaves are).

I used a leafy embossing folder for my background and an oval die cut for the sentiment that both cuts and dry embosses.  For the focal image, I stamped the leaves in two different shades of green, trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam.

I can't do a post at this time of year without including a Christmas card.  For Inkspirational (CAS with an Animal).

A simple stamped and watercoloured image, bordered with black, and on a mini slimline red card base.

 

  

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - SU Very Versailles, Rubber Stamp Tapestry sentiment
Ink - Memento Bamboo Leaves, Distress Bundled Sage
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cuttlebug embossing folder, oval die, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Colorado Craft Co. dog, PB sentiment
Ink - Versafine Onyx Clair
Paper - watercolour paper, red and black cs
Size - 6.25x3.25"
Accessories - watercolour paints

Carollers for Peace on Earth

The new Peace on Earth challenge's mood board includes an image of a group of carollers (see top left image on the mood board at the end of my post).  It inspired me to get out a stamp I hadn't yet inked up.

I stamped and watercoloured the group of mice, keeping the clothing muted like the image, and then sponged around them with Distress inks similar to the sky and ground in the image.  I splattered with opaque white watercolour for snow.

I had done an earlier version where I made the colours of the mice's clothing brighter than in the mood board image, but wasn't as happy with it so redid it for the one above.  This is the earlier version:

It's fine but it didn't capture the mood board image the way I wanted, hence the redo for the card at the beginning of my post.

We'd love to have you join us, whether you're inspired by the mood board or prefer to link up an "anything Christmas" card.  There's more inspiration from the Design Team over at Peace on Earth.

I'm also linking my card up at NBUS since I'd never used the stamp before.  And to the ABC Christmas Challenge "Q is for Quartet (four of something - my quartet of singers).

     

Supplies:
Stamps - Pink Ink Designs "A Christmas Carol", PTI sentiment
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne, various green, brown, and grey Distress inks
Paper - watercolour paper
Size - 6.25x4.75"
Accessories - watercolour paints, Dr. Ph Martin's bleed proof opaque white watercolour

Vellum Three Ways

The Group of Seven Cardmakers are focusing on vellum with embossing (dry, wet, or heat) this month.  I've chosen to only use dry and heat.

My first card is just a simple embossed frame on my piece of vellum, with the texture of the embossing remaining quite subtle.

I love this embossed snowflake frame - I have so many stamps that will fit in it.  I used quite a heavy weight vellum as it takes the embossing folder better.  I stamped the bird and sentiment on the front of the embossed piece, and then coloured it on the back with alcohol markers.  I added the whole panel to a double sided adhesive sheet in order to adhere it to the card base.

This next card is my favourite of the three.  Again it uses an embossing folder but by colouring it on the back with Distress inks, I was able to make the embossing show up more.

Again I used a heavy weight vellum.  But this time I used a 3D embossing folder and I had some cracking around the edges.  So trimmed the panel down to get rid of the cracked sections.  I sponged on the back of it with two shades of blue Distress inks - the raised parts of the vellum on the front remain uncoloured so really stand out.  To get more of the translucent feel of the vellum, I die cut the pierced frame die four times, glued three of them together and put the vellum panel on top of them, and then topped it with the fourth die cut - this made the vellum stand up more from the card base.  I added a tiny sentiment, stamped and die cut with a tiny tag die.

My third card uses heat embossing on the vellum.

I ran the vellum through a corner embossing folder and then rubbed lightly over the raised parts with Versamark.  I added sparkly white embossing powder, got my heat tool warmed up and then moved it quickly back and forth over the vellum.  I stamped the sentiment and used the same embossing powder on it.  I cut a frame for it with two rectangular dies out of white glitter cs.  When I first put it against a white card base, the embossing just disappeared against the white so I end up backing the vellum panel with a bit of grey/beige cs to provide some contrast with the white heat embossing.  Then when I put it against the white card base, there was too much contrast.  So I ended up going with a card base made from cs that's colour is called "chalk".

Head on over to the Group of Seven Cardmakers blog to see more examples from the other members and links to some instructional videos covering these techniques.  And feel free to try them yourselves and link up your card to Group of Seven for more inspiration for everyone.

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Nellie Snellen bird, SSS sentiment
Ink - SSS Intense Black
Paper - vellum, off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Ultimate Crafts snowflake frame embossing folder, alcohol markers, double sided adhesive sheet

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Rubber Soul let it snow
Ink - Distress Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire
Paper - vellum, white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - SSS 3D snowflake embossing folder, tiny tag die, MFT pierced rectangle frame die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - Versamark
Paper - vellum, grey/beige cs, chalk cs, SU white glitter cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Cuttlebug snowflake swirl corner embossing folder, Judikins white diamond embossing powder, Spellbinders rectangle dies