Have a Joyful Christmas

This week's challenge theme at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Slimline Card." I don't normally do slimline cards, but I decided to have a go at it for this challenge.

 

 

 

 I went with a portrait slimline card, so I cut a piece of 110 lb. white cardstock to 8-1/2x7", then scored at 3-1/2" along the shorter side & folded that in half to create my card base. I cut a piece of Strathmore smooth bristol paper to 3-1/4x8-1/4", so I would have a narrow border on all sides of my panel once I put it on my card.

 

I stamped 5 of the images from Hero Arts' "Christmas Crystals" set (discontinued) onto my bristol panel, making sure to get them perfectly vertical. While this card is not exactly what I'd call clean & simple, I do consider it minimalist, so having my images lined up just right was important for me. I heat embossed the crystals with Wow White Pearl embossing powder. Because 2 of the crystals overlapped 2 others, I first heat embossed the larger ones, let that cool, then placed the panel back into my MISTI. I positioned the other crystals, stamped them with clear embossing ink, & heat embossed them. I think it actually worked quite well in the end! 😊

 

After I had heat embossed all my crystals, I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens to color them. I used just one color per crystal to keep things simple. I outlined a section with my pen, then used a wet paintbrush to spread the color towards the middle of that section. I did that one section at a time so the ink would still move freely. (I have found that if you let the ink sit long enough - even on bristol paper - it will set & won't move as easily.) For the crystals that overlapped, I made sure to use colors that wouldn't create mud. I applied the lighter color first (yellow & pink), & then painted in the darker color. I love how it looks like one crystal is shining through the other where they overlap - just as I had planned!

 

When I finished adding color to all the crystals, I had to figure out a greeting. After much playing around and hemming & hawing, I decided to use the "Joyful and Merry" stamp set & coordinating die set by Kristina Werner for Concord & 9th.

 

First, I die cut the Joyful from a scrap of bristol paper. I taped the word back into the negative space for support, & used my yellow & green brush pens to create a gradient of color over the word. Once the ink had dried, I removed the word from the negative & ran it through my Xyron machine to apply adhesive to the back. (Even after the ink dries, liquid glue can reactivate it, so I definitely wanted to stick to dry adhesive for this card!) For the supporting greeting strips, I heat embossed the words onto another bristol scrap, die cut them with a "Sentiment Strips" die from Pretty Pink Posh, and colored each strip with my purple brush pen.

 

I lightly tacked down the Joyful die cut to my panel, just to hold it in place while I worked. I positioned the upper greeting strip, & marked the edge of the "f" on the strip where it crossed. I cut that contour with my scissors, & adhered the strip with double-sided tape, tucking the cut end under the "f." There was a little hanging off the left side of the panel, so I just cut that off with my scissors. I repeated the process with the other greeting strip, curving the left end along the descender of the "y."

 

For the hangers on the crystals, I poked a small hole at the top of each one. I threaded a length of fine silver thread through each hole, wrapped it around the top of the panel, & taped both ends on the back.

I decided to double-mat my panel with silver foil & Midnight Navy cardstocks, both from Recollections. I first adhered my panel to the silver, and used one of my Perfect Paper Layers rulers (discontinued) with a craft knife to cut around the panel. This allowed me to get a perfect 1/16" mat. I cut my navy panel to 3-1/2x8-1/2" and adhered it directly to my card base. I added the matted panel, & that finished this card.

 

I had considered adding Glossy Accents or clear embossing powder over the crystals for extra shine. But I was afraid it might ruin the shading & highlights I had worked so hard to get by making the ink on each crystal a solid muddle of color. So I decided to quite while I was still ahead. 😉

 

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

• Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Emboss It"
• The Paper Funday Challenge #86: "Anything Goes" (I am playing the optional "Die Cuts and/or Punches" twist)
• Creative Knockouts Challenge #568: "Embossing Delight"

Happy Birthday

 

The current challenge at Seize the Birthday is, as always, "Anything Goes" (as long as it's a birthday card). But the optional topping this time is using green as the main color. I must admit, it was a bit of a struggle for me for some unknown reason. But I pulled out some of my green Distress inks & went to town! I think I came up with a pretty cool birthday card, if I do say so myself (& I believe I just did say so! 😁). 

 

For the postage stamps, I pulled out an older set, "First Class" from the Essentials by Ellen line (discontinued). Even though I have had this set since before Ellen Hutson closed their online store (maybe a few years ago), I have never used it. I came across it (again!) in my bin of unused products & decided I finally had to do something with it. So I pulled out several of the stamps & heat embossed them with Ranger Silver Super Fine Detail embossing powder onto a large scrap of Canson XL watercolor paper.

 

I used painter's tape to mask off the outer part of each stamp, & ink blended the inside portions. Like I said, I used some of my green Distress inks for most of the stamps - in keeping with the challenge topping - but also pulled in Shaded Lilac & Salvaged Patina for accent colors. On the 2 stamps with flowers, after I had ink blended, I used a wet paintbrush to "paint" over the blossoms with clean water, then picked up the water & ink with a dry cloth. This bleached the color slightly for a subtle two-tone effect. (I learned this technique in Juliana Michaels' recent "Stretch Your Stamps" class.) Finally I cut my postage stamps out with scissors, leaving a 1/16" border around each.

 

I used the largest of the "Scallop Rectangles" die set from Pink & Main for the mat. I cut it from mint green cardstock & ink blended from the bottom to about 2/3 of the way up with Cracked Pistachio Distress ink to give a subtle ombre look.

 

Then I positioned my stamp images onto the panel. This was actually probably the most time-consuming part - just trying to make everything fit AND look like a balanced composition. I finally got an arrangement I liked. There was a large-ish gap under the top floral postage stamp, though, so I decided to cut some small banners from patterned paper scraps to come out from under that stamp to fill the space. Once I had those tacked down to the back of that stamp, I glued all my postage stamps to the mat panel with liquid glue. In hindsight, I wish I had glued the purple stamp sideways, just to echo the top left stamp, but I didn't think of that until after the glue had dried, so it is what it is. I don't hate it, but I just think it would have looked even better.

 

After the glue had dried on all of my stamps, I added my scalloped panel to a green cardstock mat that I'd adhered to a white landscape A2 card base. I'm sending this card to Kristina Werner for the March Mail Call video next month, where the theme is ink blending.

 

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

 

• 613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• The Paper Funday Challenge #85: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• Inkspirational Challenge #363: "Visual Prompt" (used multiple shades of green, botanical touches, & repeating shapes)

Happy Easter

 

The sketch for Try a Sketch on Tuesday's Challenge #690 inspired the design for my card. I basically followed the sketch to the letter, though I did substitute a leafy cluster for the smaller background hexagon.

 

 

I began with the cross panel. After I die cut the mat, using an Elizabeth Craft Designs "Stitched Indented Rectangle" die (discontinued), I die cut the panel from Canson XL mixed media paper with a Hero Arts "Rounded Rectangle Infinity" die to fit inside the mat. I determined the proportions of both parts of the cross, & cut 2 pieces of yellow Frog tape to those measurements. I lightly penciled the position for the tape pieces to center them on the panel, & adhered them on those marks. I made sure to burnish them well to the paper, as I did NOT want them to lift up & let ink underneath. (Spoiler alert: that happened.)

 

One of the palettes from Sarah Renae Clark's Color Cube system (old system version palette #342) inspired my ink color choices. For the ink blending around the cross, I took a cue from this image I found on Pinterest. I used a small ink blending brush to go around the whole cross with Tumbled Glass Distress ink to give me a base color. Then I added in bits of Peeled Paint, Stormy Sky, & Broken China Distress inks. After I had what I felt was a good balance of colors, I peeled off the tape masks. Unfortunately, ink had "leaked" under the tape in a few small spots, but that was nothing that a white gel pen couldn't cover up - shhhh! 😉 I adhered the main panel to the navy mat, & set that aside.

 

For the image hexagon, I used Deep Red's "Lily Blossom." This is a stamp that I have had for a loooong time! I don't use it that often, but it seemed perfect for this card. I stamped it onto Strathmore vellum bristol paper with Altenew's Vanilla Cream ink, then die cut it with a We R Makers "Nesting Hexagon" die (discontinued). I wanted a soft color, but not quite as pale as for "no-line" coloring. I used my Prismacolor colored pencils to color the leaves & add shading to the flower petals. To help it stand out a bit, I inked around the edges of the hexagon with Stormy Sky Distress ink.

 

I pulled out another oldie-but-goodie stamp - Stampabilities' "Happy Easter 2016" (discontinued) - for the greeting. I heat embossed it on another scrap of mixed media paper, & inked over it with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. I blended on some Stormy Sky to the bottom for an ombre effect. After I did that, I realized I may have made a bit of an error in judgment. When I fussy cut (as I was here), I like to outline the greeting or image lightly in pencil first, to give myself a guideline to cut on. (I picked up this tip from Kristina Werner.) But I was afraid that, when I went to erase any errant pencil marks I might have, I might erase the ink as well. After thinking about it for a moment, I decided to see if my Frixion heat-erasable pen would work. So I tried it on a section of the paper that I knew I would cut away, & it worked like a charm. All I had to do was hit it with my heat gun & the ink disappeared without leaving a trace. Whew! So I outlined the greeting with my pen (leaving a little extra room around the greeting than I normally would) & then cut just inside those lines. Even cutting inside the lines, I did have a few pen marks in the end I didn't cut off, so I just erased them with a shot of hot air.

 

I die cut the leaves from mixed media paper with the smaller die from Simon Says Stamp's "Etched Laurel Leaves" set. I wanted a soft green that kind of matched the leaf color I'd achieved in the lily image. It turned out Cracked Pistachio Distress ink was a good match, so I added some of that to my non-stick craft mat, spritzed with a bit of water, & ink smooshed the die cut leaves. I dried that with my heat gun, & repeated a couple more times for the depth of color I wanted.

 

Finally it was time to assemble the card. I found a piece of patterned paper in my collection that had a very faint (as in almost imperceptible) yellow check pattern. I cut that to the full 5x7" card size, & adhered that to my white card base. I adhered the matted cross panel next. I decided where exactly I wanted the hexagon, & used that to help me position the leaf cluster, which I tacked down with a few drops of glue, leaving the tips of the leaves free. I glued down the hexagon, & then the greeting. I had to add a few bits of cardstock behind parts of the greeting, since it overlapped the various layers & so wouldn't otherwise lie flat. I am so pleased with how this card came out! My mom will send it to a priest friend of hers, who I hope will like it just as much.

 

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

 

• Double Trouble Challenge #211: "In with the Old, Out with the New" (used old stamps for a new project) TSOT #690
• The Paper Funday Challenge #85: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• 613 Avenue Create March Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• Die Cut Divas March Challenge: "Celebrate Spring"

Aged to Perfection

 

I created this card for my uncle for his birthday. I based the design on the sketch at the current "Try a Sketch on Tuesday" challenge. I kept to the sketch pretty closely, but stretched the width & shortened the height of the overall design. I also matted the patterned paper strips panel.

 

 

I began by creating my background. I decided on a 7x5" card with a 1/8" mat on all sides. That left me with a total of 6-3/4x4-3/4" to cover. I cut 3 patterned paper strips from my scrap stash to 2-1/4x4-3/4", & embossed each with the "Tumbled Hexagons" embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp (discontinued). I chose those particular patterned papers because of the somewhat muted, masculine rainbow colors. The music piece is especially meaningful because my uncle does karaoke performances for senior centers & other groups.

 

I inked the edges of each strip with Faded Jeans Distress ink, just to define them a bit more. Then I adhered all 3 strips to a slightly smaller panel of white cardstock, just so I could work with them as one piece. I did have to trim the strips a bit, just to size them & square them better. I matted that with a teal cardstock panel that I adhered to a white card base.

 

The truck and greeting are both from Doodle Pantry's "Hotrod Pickup 1" digital set (discontinued). I sized the truck in Photoshop, then printed it onto a panel of Canson XL watercolor paper. I waited to finish working with the greeting, since I didn't know at that point what size or color of panel I wanted.

 

I painted the truck with my watercolors, then rounded the corners of the panel with the 1/4" side of my We R Makers Corner Chomper. (I felt the rounded corners complemented the curves in the truck well.) I inked the edges of the panel with Faded Jeans ink to tie it in with the background. I used a combination of double-sided tape & liquid glue to adhere it to my card front.

 

I ended up printing the greeting on a 2x1" strip of light teal cardstock. I rounded the corners of that as well & inked around the perimeter with Faded Jeans. I added a few scraps of cardstock to the back where it overhung the image panel so it would lie flat on the card front. I glued the strip in place, & that finished this card.

 

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

 

• Double Trouble Challenge #210: "Scrapper's Guacamole 3-2-1 Challenge" (in conjunction with TSOT Challenge #689) - color wheel colors in the patterned papers + 3 patterned papers + dry embossing on the background strips
• Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
• Paper Funday Challenge #84: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist)
• 613 Avenue Create February Challenge: "Anything Goes" (not playing the optional twist) 

Birthday Blessings

The optional topping theme for Seize the Birthday's Challenge #319 is "Rainbow of Colors." I used this card that I had saved on one of my Pinterest boards as my inspiration. I don't have the exact same die that that creator used for their card, but I do have a few nested hearts die sets. I combined one of the "Nesting Hearts Infinity" dies by Hero Arts with an old My Favorite Things "Snow Drifts" die (discontinued) to create my version.

 

 

 

 

I began by die cutting the heart from Strathmore smooth bristol paper. I taped it from behind in the die cut negative to make handling it easier. I then ink blended with Candied Apple, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers, & Wilted Violet Distress inks. I had to use finger daubers due to the tight quarters I was ink blending in. I made sure to begin with the yellow, since that color tends to get "eaten up" by surrounding colors when I ink blend. Thankfully I was able to keep that from happening this time. 😊

 

After I finished ink blending, I removed the heart from the negative piece, then used one of the "Snow Drifts" dies to cut it into sections. So that the pieces would line up evenly around the perimeter of the overall shape, I had to die cut a sliver between each pair of sections, rather than just die cut the sections & spread them apart. So each time, I taped the die down & ran it through my die cutting machine. Then I carefully lined the die up on the lower piece of that pair so the "top" edge of the die was a hair away from the cut line, taped it down, & ran it through my machine again. This took about a 1/16" wide slice of the heart out. Not easy, but I succeeded! To give the heart sections a little dimension on the card, I glued each to scraps of heavyweight white cardstock & cut around them with my scissors. I made sure to slightly undercut the white cardstock so that it wouldn't stick out past the edges of each ink blended section. I repeated the process one more time, & called that part done.

 

I paired a "birthday" stamp from Simon Says Stamp's "It's Your Birthday!" set (discontinued) with the "blessings" from "Script Birthdays" (discontinued) by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps (now Creative Worship). I stamped both in Versafine Clair Nocturne ink onto the front of my white A2 card base. Then I proceeded to smear black ink onto said card base, so I ended up restamping the greeting on a white panel.

 

I glued my heart sections to the panel. I began with the bottom-most piece so I could make sure not to cover my greeting with it. I was careful to space them correctly as I worked my way up to the top. The top piece was actually the most difficult to position & get the spacing even, for some reason. Thankfully I had kept the slivers I'd cut out, so I just placed that in between the top & second sections for spacing purposes. Before the glue on the top heart section dried, I used my tweezers to pull out the spacing sliver, lest it get glued in place.

 

The final step was to adhere my panel to an A2 card base. I used the same card I had smeared ink on, & just adhered the panel over that side of the card base. I just figure, waste not, want not! 😉

 

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

 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday "Anything Goes"

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

Sweet Greetings

As always for their first challenge of the month, Christmas Card Throwdown is having a sketch challenge. Because of the direction my gingerbread house, from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Gingerbread House" (discontinued), is facing, I flipped the sketch horizontally. I also added a greeting strip, but otherwise, I stayed true to the sketch.

 

 

I found the patterned paper I used on the background, from The Paper Studio's "Christmas Candyland" letter-size pad, in my scrap stash. I actually had enough of that piece for 2 layering panels, so I went ahead & made 2 cards.

 

I used my MISTI stamp positioning tool to help with stamping the gingerbread house, since there are 4 stamps to line up to build the whole image. I stamped the main part of the house with Memento Toffee Crunch ink followed by Memento Peanut Brittle ink to give it a more golden color. I used Ranger Geranium archival ink, Lawn Fawn Noble Fir, & Memento Cottage Ivy for the red & greens. Since there is no coordinating die, I penciled an outline around the edges of my image, about 1/16" away, & fussy cut it with my scissors.

 

I really struggled with how to add the house to the background so it would stand out. Because the patterned paper is so busy, I couldn't just stick my image down, as it would just get lost. I didn't want to use a cardstock mat, just because it took up a large chunk of the panel & I didn't like the look. I tried surrounding the house a little with tissue paper, both white & sprayed with a dark green Distress Mica Stain, but didn't like the look of either.

 

I finally remembered a trick I've used before with white acrylic craft paint. I placed the house where I wanted it on my panel, and lightly traced the outline with a pencil. Then I smeared the paint on that area with my finger, keeping the outline not too far from the edges of the house and very organic. That did the trick, & all I had to do then was glue the house in place!

 

Before gluing down the house, though, I wanted to add a greeting. So I stamped the Sweet Greetings phrase from the same set onto a scrap of white cardstock with Noble Fir ink. I cut that into a strip, & layered it so the right end went behind the roof of my gingerbread house. I finished the card off by adhering a burgundy mat to my white A2-size card base & mounting my patterned paper panel to that. I will send this & its companion card to Send a Smile 4 Kids. Hopefully it will bring a smile to a hospitalized child this holiday season!

 

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

 

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

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

Happy Birthday Apple Basket

 

 The theme for Seize the Birthday's Challenge #316 is "Favorite Fall Treat." A favorite treat of mine this time of year is Honeycrisp apples. Granted, they can be found during the summer, but they tend to go on sale more in the Fall, so that's when I get them. (Yes, I'm cheap! 😁) I made this card for a friend of ours who is blind.

 

For the apple basket, I pulled out Concord & 9th's "Freshly Picked" die set. I die cut a dozen apples plus stems & leaves for them all, the pieces for the basket, & the signpost for the "5 cent" sign. I ink blended the apples with Candied Apple & Squeezed Lemonade Distress inks, using a tiny blending brush to get the Honeycrisp apple coloring. I glued the leaves to the stem pieces, & glued one to the back of each apple.

 

I ink blended the edges of the basket pieces with Gathered Twigs Distress ink, adding some extra shading on the very edges with Walnut Stain. Then I glued them together & glued on the silver handle.

 

For the sign, I used the coordinating "Freshly Picked" stamp set. I stamped the 5 cents onto a scrap of heavyweight white cardstock with black ink. I cut the sign out with scissors, & added the corresponding Braille characters to it, so she can read it. Because the sign was a bit bigger than it would have been had I used the die for that in the "Freshly Picked" set, the signpost was too short (at least for my taste). So I cut it in two, & glued the pieces to the back of the sign. Finally, I glued 8 of the apples into the basket & glued the sign sticking out from the pile of apples.

I die cut 2 grass layers from green cardstock with the "Grassy Hillside Borders" set from Lawn Fawn. I ink blended over them with Peeled Paint Distress ink to add some shading & color variation. After stenciling the sun & sky on a panel of white cardstock, using Simon Says Stamp's "Sunshine" stencil set, I glued the back hill to my panel.

I cut enough pennants in rainbow colors for the banner to Braille the letters for "happy birthday." I did one letter per pennant. I cut a lollipop stick in half lengthwise (not easy, but I managed!) to be the banner poles. Because the stick was hollow, I had to use hot glue to adhere it to my background. I used white crochet twine to "hang" the pennants from, & glued the pennants to the card front over the twine.

 

I glued my basket of apples to the background, adding a few layers of cardstock behind the sign & its post to pop it up just slightly. I adhered the front grassy hill with foam tape, so it would sit flush over the basket & banner poles. Finally, I glued down the remaining 4 apples, & adhered my panel to a 5x7" card base.

 

I'm also entering this card in the Little Red Wagon Challenge #831: "Candle in the Wind" (using the sun as a light source).