1 Sketch - 2 Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown has a Sketch Challenge this week. For both my cards, I was able to make use of scraps & frames from my stash, which always makes me happy!

I used images from the Essentials by Ellen "Santa's List" stamp set (discontinued) for both of my cards. I found a couple of chipboard frames in a desk drawer that I have had for years. I picked out one for each card to use for the smaller element in the sketch. 

For my first card, I stamped the reindeer onto a panel of Strathmore vellum bristol paper that I'd cut to fit behind the frame. I masked off the deer, and then stamped the tree from the set "behind" the deer & another on the right side of the panel. I masked the first tree I stamped & stamped a third tree next to it. I was very careful to make sure the baseline of each image that was behind another was higher in the scene than what was in front, to make sure they truly looked like they were in the background. I colored the images with my Prismacolor pencils, & then used white acrylic craft paint to splatter snow over the scene.

I covered the frame with a scrap of patterned paper that was larger than the frame. When the glue had dried, I used my craft knife to cut around the outside of the frame & cut out the center opening. After I used a nail buffer to smooth the edges, I inked around the inside & outside with Barn Door Distress Oxide ink to finish everything off. The frame already had holes punched in the bottom section, so punched through those in the patterned paper. I threaded some red ribbon through them & tied a bow in the middle. Finally, I glued my scene panel behind the frame.

I got my greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Merry & Bright" stamp set (discontinued). I die cut 2 tabs from white cardstock with one of the "Tab" dies from Creek Bank Creations (one for each card), & stamped my greeting onto those. I glued one to to back of my reindeer frame so it peeked out from the top.

I adhered my patterned paper (again from my scrap stash) to the left of my card front, & then glued the frame on top. As a finishing touch, I added a drop of Christmas Red Stickles to the reindeer's nose. (I just had to make him Rudolph!)

I kept my design for my second card even closer to the sketch. I used most of the same processes & products to create this one. I stamped the sleigh onto a panel of vellum bristol. I also stamped Santa onto vellum bristol, and cut him out with the coordinating die. I stamped the list image onto a scrap of heavyweight white cardstock, & die cut that as well. I used my Prismacolor pencils to color Santa & the sleigh & sky on the image panel. I also added some shine to Santa's eyes & buttons with a black glaze pen. Then I glued the list to his hand & a bit behind the bottom corner of his coat.

To ink the edges of the frame, I used Shabby Shutters Distress Oxide ink. I glued the image panel behind my frame, and glued Santa on top. Because he overlapped the inner edge of my frame, I added foam tape under him in that part to give more support. I also used foam tape under the edge of the list that overhung the outer edge of the frame. I adhered my patterned paper panel to the card front, & then glued my frame element to the card. As a finishing touch, I squeezed a dollop of Tulip Puffy fabric paint to the pompom on top of Santa's hat. I let that dry (as per the instructions), and then steamed it with an iron to puff it up. I will send both cards to Send a Smile 4 Kids, hopefully to bring some holiday joy to a couple of hospitalized kiddos!

I'm also entering these cards in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Use Patterned Paper"

Send a Smile 4 Kids October Challenge: "Holiday/Celebration Cards 4 Kids"

Ellibelle's Corner October Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

613 Avenue Create October Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Die Cut Divas October Challenge: "Anything Goes on a Card for World Card Making Day"

Season's Greetings (Faux) Postage

I have another floral-themed Christmas card for Christmas Card Throwdown's "Flower/Flourish" challenge. Nichol Spohr's work strongly inspired the look of this card, especially these cards she recently shared. While I didn't have any of the stamps or dies she used, I loved the overall look of her cards, & just put my own spin on her techniques.

I began by creating my faux postage stamps. I die cut the outer part from a scrap of white cardstock with one of the "Postage Stamp Squares" by Elizabeth Craft Designs (discontinued). I didn't have a square die exactly the dimensions I needed, so I used my paper trimmer to cut 3 squares from Strathmore smooth bristol paper. I stamped the poinsettia from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" set (discontinued) on each square, varying the orientation & how much of the flower showed. I used the "2" from Sunny Studio Stamps' "Kinsley Alphabet" stamp set for the postage amount, & just drew a cents symbol with a black felt-tipped pen. I hit each square with my heat gun to make sure the ink was totally dry, and then colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. Finally, I glued each square centered on its background.

For the frame, I centered a Waffle Flower "Additional A2 Layers" die inside a "Scallop Rectangles" die from Pink & Main. I taped the dies together, & cut 5 frames from white cardstock. I glued them together, one on top of another, to create a more dimensional frame.

I cut a panel of white Hammermill cardstock to A2 size, and ink blended an ombre background with Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, & Rustic Wilderness Distress inks. I only wanted my background stamping inside the framed area. So after I finished ink blending, I determined how much of the panel I needed to mask off around the framed area. It ended up being about 3/8", so I applied yellow Frog tape around the perimeter of my panel. I then stamped the "Crackle Background" from Simon Says Stamp with white pigment ink. I used a dry cloth to wipe the ink off the tape (so the ink wouldn't smear onto my panel), then carefully removed the tape. I thoroughly dried the ink with my heat tool, to ensure the embossing powder for my greeting wouldn't stick everywhere.

After deciding where to place my "postage stamps," I positioned my greeting stamp, from Honey Bee's "Pretty Poinsettias" set (discontinued). I stamped with clear embossing ink, and then heat embossed with Ranger White Super Fine Detail embossing powder.

To bring the card together, I first adhered my background to a white card base. I added my postage stamps, & finally adhered the frame in place. I hope I have done Nichol proud, and will definitely employ these techniques in future cards! :)

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Paper Funday Challenge #69: "Anything Goes" (playing the optional twist to make your own background)

Double Trouble Challenge #175: "Any Way You Punch It"

Merry Christmas to You

Yes, it's the Christmas card creating time of year for me again! This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Flower/Flourish." I actually made use of both on this card, with some foiling in the background using the Prima "Flourish" stencil (discontinued) to jazz things up a bit.

I decided to go with a mini slimline card size for this. I actually had an inside sentiment panel left over from last year that I had not yet used, so I kind of built this card around that. Hey, whatever gets things used, right? :)

I cut a panel of Bazzill Dark Seas cardstock to 3-1/4x6-1/4". I stamped the smaller poinsettia flower from Honey Bee's "Pretty Poinsettias" set (discontinued) in 2 opposite corners. I wanted to color them with my colored pencils, but wanted to heat emboss in gold as well. To make it easier, I first stamped (using my MISTI stamp positioning tool) with Lawn Fawn's Hippo ink, to give me the coloring outlines. I left the stamp in my MISTI, & colored the images with my Prismacolor pencils. When I finished coloring, I put my panel back into the corner of my MISTI, & restamped with embossing ink over each flower. I heat embossed with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold embossing powder.

To do the foiling on the background, I first cut a mask for each of the poinsettia images. I lined up the masks over the flowers, & laid my stencil over the panel. I pounced leafing glue through the stencil with a makeup wedge. I removed the stencil & flower masks, & let the glue dry for about half an hour until it was tacky. Then I cut a piece of Opal DecoFoil to size & laid it over my panel. To transfer the foil, I put the panel between the plates for my die cutting machine, covered it with a piece of copy paper to keep the plate from marking it up, & ran it through my machine. Much to my delight, it worked like a charm! I love how the opal foil adds interest, but doesn't overwhelm the poinsettias.

I used a greeting from Gina K's "Holiday Wreath Builder" stamp set. I heat embossed it with Antique Gold onto a scrap of the Dark Seas cardstock, & die cut it with a Spellbinders "Lacey Circles" die (discontinued). And I hated it! I just didn't like the way the die cut blended in with the background too much. So I tried again with a lighter blue cardstock, & liked that much better. To give it a bit of dimension, I die cut another circle from the lighter blue, & then layered those & the Dark Seas die cut together. Finally, I glued it centered onto my panel. I adhered my panel to a white card base, & that wrapped this up! I am so happy with this card, AND the fact that I finally got that inside panel into a card. :)

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

613 Avenue Create: September "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)

Paper Funday Challenge #69: "Anything Goes" (playing the make your own background twist)

Double Trouble #175: "Any Way You Punch It"

Oh Holy Night

For this week at Christmas Card Throwdown, they have had a sketch challenge. I kept to the sketch pretty literally, but made a square card instead of rectangular.

I have not done Distress Oxide ink smooshing on photo paper for a long time. So I decided to do that for my background. I used a few blues & a purple, and applied the inks to my non-stick craft mat, 1 or 2 colors at a time. After I spritzed the ink with water, I smooshed my glossy photo paper face down into the puddles & droplets of ink. I repeated this process several times, drying the ink between layers with a hair dryer. By drying each layer of ink before adding more, you can layer the colors rather than having everything just mush together into one overall color.

After I had added several layers of ink, I dried it one last time. It always looks like a chalky hot mess at this point in the technique. To make the magic happen, I dampened a cloth with water & wiped it over the paper surface. That removes the chalkiness & reveals the beautiful colors that you built up. Once I had removed all the chalkiness, I set that aside to dry while I worked on the rest of my card.

I stamped the Magi silhouette image from Paper Smooches' "A Blessed Christmas" set (discontinued) onto white cardstock with clear embossing ink. I sprinkled on Stampendous Marcasite embossing powder & used my heat tool to melt that. I used a craft knife to cut out the few "inner" negative portions of the image, then fussy cut around the perimeter with my scissors. I then "painted" the edges of the cardstock with a dark grey marker, so the white cardstock core didn't show. For the ground, I added embossing ink to a 1/2" strip of cardstock, & heat embossed with more of the Marcasite powder.

To add some interest to my background panel, I splattered some White Gold shimmery watercolor from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors set over the paper. I dried that with my hair dryer, & then glued the heat embossed pieces to the panel. I stamped my greeting, from the same set as the image, with Cotton White StazOn ink.

I cut 2 triangles from a scrap of silver handmade paper from my stash. I adhered those to the corners of a panel of teal cardstock that I'd mounted to a 4-1/4" square card base, & then adhered my main panel on top.

I am also entering this card in the following challenges:

Ellibelle's Corner Crafty Wednesday August Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Paper Funday Challenges #68: "Anything Goes"

Orchid Happy Birthday

I created this card to send to a woman whose birthday is this month. She is battling cancer, so needs all the good vibes she can get.

I used Sketch #SC641 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I began by die cutting the pieces for the Hero Arts "Color Layering Orchid in a Pot" stamp set (discontinued). The stem & flowers are especially fiddly, so by die cutting first I could make sure to have everything lined up with the die properly. I taped the pieces on the back into the negative space, to make it easier to stamp on them. I decided to go with purple for the flowers, & used a light brown for the stem pieces. I stamped the pot with teal ink, then - without moving the stamp or cardstock in my MISTI stamp positioner tool - added Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink with a sponge dauber to one side of the stamp. It took a couple of stampings to achieve the look I wanted, but this added a bit of shading to the pot.

I die cut a pink panel with Spellbinders' "Grateful Lattice" die (discontinued), & layered it on top of another panel cut from the same cardstock. I cut the curved edge with Simon Says Stamp's "A2 Card Curved Edge" die. I added that panel with a couple of other strips to my A2-size card base.

For the greeting, I pulled out the Hero Arts "Year Round Sentiments" stamp set (discontinued) - an oldie but a goodie. I stamped the Happy Birthday onto a strip of white cardstock with one of the purple inks I'd used for the flowers. To mirror the curve on the pink panel, I used an oval die to trace a curve onto the end of my greeting strip, then cut it with scissors. I adhered the strip to my card, and then glued down the die cut pieces to build my orchid. I am really happy with how this card turned out, & hopefully the recipient will be, too.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero April 2024 Challenge: "Anniversary/Birthday"

Double Trouble: "SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing"

Have an Ex-STRAW-dinary Birthday

The theme for the current Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero challenge is "Happy Anniversary." (Birthday-themed cards are also allowed.) I needed a birthday card for a friend of mine. She loves gardening, so I thought the "Strawberries Line Art" stamp set by Hero Arts would be perfect. I think she'll also get a kick out of the greeting!

I used Sketch #SC939 from Splitcoaststampers.com to guide the design for my card. I began by die cutting a circle from 140 lb. watercolor paper, then measured & cut off a portion, as per the sketch. I temporarily adhered the semi-circle onto my card background to make it easier to stamp on, & used my MISTI stamp positioner to stamp the image. While I had the image adhered to the navy panel, I went ahead & heat embossed the greeting, from the same stamp set, with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold embossing powder. Finally, I removed the watercolor paper from my background, painted the strawberries with my watercolors, & used a white gel pen to highlight the seeds.

I adhered the image panel permanently to the background. I added a length of red-&-white checked ribbon as indicated in the sketch. For the 3 dots in the upper left corner, I punched circles from a scrap of white cardstock & glued them to my panel as a guide. I made a puddle of glue over each circle, then sprinkled on more Antique Gold embossing powder. After I let the glue dry, I melted the powder with my heat gun. To finish the card, I mounted the panel to a white A2-size card base.

I'm also entering my card in the following challenges:

Ellibelle's Corner/Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday: "Anything Goes" (in conjunction with Double Trouble)

Double Trouble Challenge #165: "SomeThing, AnyThing, EveryThing"

Happy Holidays Shaker Card

The current theme for Christmas Card Throwdown's challenge is shaker cards. I decided to challenge myself further & make a shaker card using 4 stamps from Hero Arts' "North Pole Express" set & their coordinating dies to make one window. I'm happy to report I succeeded! :)

I did a test run for the image stamping & die cutting on scrap cardstock to make sure my idea would work before going to my "good" paper. This also gave me a template to help me line up my images on my card panels. I cut 2 pieces of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 5-1/2x4-1/4". I positioned the first in my MISTI stamp positioning tool, & lined up my test run guide with that to place the first stamp. I stamped that in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and without moving my stamp, repeated on the second piece of bristol paper. I did this for each of the other stamps to create my train. Stamping both panels at the same time ensured that my images on the background would line up with the window on the front panel.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from my stash to the same size as my bristol panels, & used low-tack painter's tape to attach it temporarily to the back of one of my bristol panels. I lined up one of the coordinating dies over the stamped image on the bristol, & die cut it through both the bristol & patterned paper panels. I did this process for each of the other images, and then removed the tape attaching the two panels. I adhered the patterned paper panel to the front of the bristol panel, making sure the die cut openings lined up. I adhered a piece of acetate to the back of this panel, & added 2 layers of foam tape to create the well for my clear seed beads. I added the beads into the well, and adhered a second piece of acetate to the back to seal my shaker. This is a tip I got from Nina-Marie Trapani, which both helps shaker bits move more freely & makes it easier to line up the shaker over an image panel.

On my other bristol panel, I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to color the images. I adhered my shaker panel over that, making sure to line up the window opening with the images. I used liquid glue to stick the "inner" pieces of patterned paper from the die cuts to the shaker window. I stamped my greeting, also from "North Pole Express," in Lawn Fawn's Guava ink onto a scrap of white cardstock & cut that into a banner. Finally, I adhered my banner in place & added my card front to a white A2-size card base. I am so happy with how this card came out, & as a bonus, I have 4 more of these images that I can color & add to another card!

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero October challenge: "Holiday/Celebrate"

Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Holiday/Celebration Cards 4 Kids"

My Favorite Things: "Ready, Set, Christmas"

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)