Embossing Paste Wall

This is my last post with this current design of my blog - I will miss the beautiful blue header that Loll Thompson found for me when she created my blog but it's time for a new look and I really love the image she came up with for the new header.  So don't be surprised next time you visit me to see it looking a bit different!

Now on to today's card.  I created the background using embossing paste through a brick wall stencil:

One of my favourite things to do is make Christmas wreaths for my cards.  I used the old Martha Stewart pine branch punch to punch lots of branches out of various scraps of dp that were mostly green but with bits of white on them to give a bit of a frosted look. I glued them to a thin circle that I cut using two Spellbinders circle dies.

For the background, I used a brick stencil with white embossing paste (it was an old jar of Dreamweaver paste that had dried out a bit so I ended up with quite a rough texture that seemed to suit the bricks).  I added a small stamped sentiment to it. Then I "hung" the wreath on it with ribbon, mounted it on a red cardbase, and finished by adding red gemstones to represent the berries on the wreath

It's going over to three challenges:

The April CAS Stencil challenge is:

The ABC Christmas Challenge is "H for Hang It Up and / or I for Intricate".  I "hung up" my wreath with ribbon.

And because I used scraps of dp, it's going over to the Pixie's Snippets Playground.

Supplies:

Stamps - Rubber Soul Joy

Ink - SU Real Red

Paper - white and red cs, scraps of dp

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - Martha Stewart pine branch punch, ribbon, red gemstones, MFT brick wall stencil, Dreamweaver whit embossing paste, Spellbinders circle die

Frosty Elf

Before I get on to today's card, I want to let you know that I'll soon be getting a wonderful new look to my blog soon - thanks to my ever-so-talented dear friend, Loll Thompson!  So watch for that to come very soon.

Time for a reminder to make a card for CAS Christmas!

Once again I had to borrow an elf stamp from my friend, Christine.  This time I used a very small elf image:

I stamped the elf and coloured it with coloured pencils.  I scribbled on his list with a pencil to make it look like he was really reading a list of who was naughty or nice.  I cut a little frame with icicles and few small snowflakes to add some more interest to the card - and he does work at the North Pole after all so I'm sure there are icicles hanging on the windows at Santa's workshop!.

There's more mid-month inspiration over at CAS Christmas from the Design Team and our Guest Designer,  JoAnn (Crafty Nana's Blog).  You have until April 24th to link up your card.

Supplies:

Stamps - Clearly Besotted elf and sentiment

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper - white cs, white sparkle cs

Size - A2

Accessories - AE icicle die, small snowflake dies, coloured pencils

One of My Favourite Poppy Stamps

I have many poppy stamps so am loving this month's CAS Watercolour Challenge!

Here is my reminder card:

I've had this stamp for many years and still love it.  It really epitomizes Oriental poppies for me.

I stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black.  When dry, I used my Inktense watercolour pencils, going over the shading lines of the image with an Inktense pencil and then drawing the colour out from there with a wet brush.

I finished it off with a bit of subtle splatter, made by pressing Distress Black Soot ink on my palette and watering it down.

You have until April 24th to link up a clean and simple watercolour card featuring poppies.  There is lots more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team and our wonderful Guest Designer, Rachel (Creating Paper Hugs) over at CAS Watercolour.

Supplies:

Stamps - Clear Art Stamps Crafty Secrets Poppy

Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Black Soot

Paper - watercolour paper, SSS Ivory cs

Size - 5.25" square

Accessories - Inktense watercolour pencils, fun foam

Metallic Nativity with Red

The 52 Christmas Card Throwdown challenge is asking for:

It can be any metallic, so I chose gold, and my one other colour is red.

The image is one I picked up at a second hand sale and it had no label on it, so I've no idea who made it.

A very CAS card - I stamped and heat embossed in gold, bordered with gold metallic cs, and mounted on fun foam on a red card base.

Supplies:

Stamps - unknown unmounted stamp

Ink - ColorBox gold

Paper - gold metallic, red, and white cs

Size - A2

Accessories - gold embossing powder, fun foam