Three Holiday Cards

Online Card Classes' "Merry Making" class is winding down this week. :( It's been another fun class, and I've learned quite a few techniques for card making--not just for the holidays, but year-round. These are 3 more cards I made for class

Kristina Werner had a lesson on Day 5 of stenciled watercolor. I used The Crafters Workshop "Mini Rosetta" stencil for this card. I adhered it to a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with repositionable spray adhesive, and colored with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers & a water brush. When that was dry, I removed the stencil, and stamped my greeting from Our Daily Bread Designs' "Christmas Ornament" set in the lower left corner.

I rounded the 2 opposite corners of my panel with the 1/2" side of my Corner Chomper. I matted that with black and then with pink, rounding the corresponding corners each time. Finally, I adhered it to a white A2 card base.

Gina K., a guest instructor, inspired this next card. I used one of the branch images from WPlus9's "Spring Blooms" stamp set with Altenew Forest Glades & Hero Arts Forever Green inks to make my wreath. I filled in with a berry stamp from the same set with Altenew Ruby Red ink.

For the greeting, I stamped a banner from Avery Elle's "Build a Banner" set (discontinued) onto white cardstock, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder. I curved the greeting, from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" stamp set, to match the curve of the banner, and stamped & gold heat embossed that as well. Finally, I die cut it with the coordinating "Build a Banner" die. I tied a bow with some red satin ribbon, and adhered it to the top of my wreath with a glue dot. I adhered my banner in place, using foam tape in the middle and Scor Tape at either end. I matted that panel with black, and adhered it to a piece of green cardstock, before mounting it to a white card base.

Jennifer McGuire had a lesson on Day 1 of class that inspired this card. I took a piece of blue cardstock that I had cut to 4x5.25", spattered water on it, and heat embossed with Recollections Snow embossing powder for the background. I die cut Winnie & Walter's "Peace" die 4 times from navy cardstock, and glued them all together with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. After that dried, I heat embossed along the top of the die cut with white, to make it look like snow.

I stamped "on Earth" from Clearly Besotted's "Holiday Sentiments" set (apparently discontinued) onto a scrap of white cardstock. I cut that into a strip to go under my die cut "peace." I die cut a heart from vellum using Little B's "Hearts" die set. I positioned the heart on my background, and taped it in place with a couple of small pieces of painter's tape. I glued my "peace" on top of that, and glued the white strip below it, then removed the tape. I did not actually adhere the vellum directly to my panel; the glue on the greeting pieces is all that holds it in place. Finally, I mounted my card panel to a white A2 card base.

Merry Christmas

Julie Ebersole had a lesson on Day 4 of "Merry Making" at Online Card Classes on camouflage die cutting. I've done this before, but I still love how it produces that, "How'd she do that???" factor!

I stamped a panel of white cardstock with images from My Favorite Things' "Sophisticated Snowflake," (discontinued) using Hero Arts Cornflower & Soft Lilac and Memento Summer Sky inks. I filled in some of the small empty areas with a snowflake image from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree." Once I'd finished, I stamped the "Christmas" from Clearly Besotted's "Holiday Sentiments" (apparently discontinued) in Versafine Onyx Black ink.

Detail of the greeting

I used the "Merry" die from Winnie & Walter to complete my greeting. I die cut it from the panel, and 4 more times from white cardstock. I stacked those together, and adhered it back into the negative space in my stamped panel. I really love how this came out!

Christmas Blessings

On Day 1 of Online Card Classes' "Merry Making" class, Kristina Werner had a lesson on bokeh backgrounds. I created this card based on that lesson.

I cut a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper and taped it to a cutting board. I used Peacock Feathers & Faded Jeans Distress Oxide inks, adding a bit of Black Soot Distress ink at the bottom to create an ombre. Then I did the bokeh effect with a wet paintbrush, following the instructions in Kristina's tutorial.

I stamped several snowflakes from My Favorite Things' "Sophisticated Snowflake" set (discontinued), and heat embossed with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I stamped some additional snowflakes with Lawn Fawn Yeti white pigment ink, just for another, more subtle look.

For my greeting, I used Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas Blessings" die. I cut it once from white cardstock & again from black. I glued the black onto my panel, then overlaid the white, slightly offset to give a shadow appearance.

To finish my card, I matted my panel in grey & navy cardstocks, trimming a 1/16" border on each. Then I adhered it to a white A2 card base.

Happy Merry Joyous Christmas

On Day 2 of Online Card Classes' "Merry Making" class, Jennifer McGuire had a lesson on using scoring lines through an image on your card. I ended up making 2 cards with this technique.

After scoring my panel for my first card, I placed it in my MISTI and positioned my reindeer stamp. (This stamp is quite old, and I have no clue who made it or what the name is.) I inked up the top portion of the stamp with Hero Arts Soft Lilac ink, and daubed the lower edge of the ink with a dry cloth to soften the transition. I stamped that on my panel, inked up again in the middle of the image with Memento Sweet Plum, daubed the top & bottom edges, and stamped. I repeated one more time with Memento Elderberry ink for the bottom portion of the stamp. I also stamped the greeting, from My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments," (discontinued) in Elderberry.

On my second card, I did the same basic steps. This time, though, instead of 3 dye inks, I used just Delicata Silvery Shimmer pigment ink. I had a few more spots on the score lines where the ink got in the groove than on my first card. But, on both cards, I just touched those areas up with a white gel pen. All that was left was to adhere the panels to white A2 card bases. These cards really came together quickly, and I can see where this technique would be good for mass production.

Merry Christmas Reindeer

I've been participating this past week in Online Card Classes' holiday card class, "Merry Making." Shari Carroll inspired this card with her lesson on Day 2, demonstrating "paint resist."

I cut a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 4-1/8x5-3/8" for my background. I stamped the Hero Arts "Newspaper Background" stamp with silver paint, following the tutorial. I also used Distress inks in Iced Spruce, Bundled Sage, & Stormy Sky on my background. Finally, I stamped around the perimeter with images from Hero Arts' "Pine Branches" set.

I die cut Impression Obsession's "Reindeer" (apparently discontinued) from more bristol paper, and colored him with 3 shades of brown Tombow markers. Then I blended the colors with a water brush. I ran him through my Xyron machine to coat the back with adhesive. Because his antlers are so delicate, I didn't want to use liquid glue, and have it ooze out the sides. Finally I adhered him to my panel.

For the greeting, I stamped half of one of the "Build a Banner" images from Avery Elle (apparently also discontinued) onto more bristol, and heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I also took a greeting from Hero Arts' "Vintage Christmas Post" stamp set, curved it to match the banner, and stamped & heat embossed it. I fussy cut the banner out, inked it with Stormy Sky, and adhered it with Scor Tape on either end & a bit of foam tape in the center.

I cut 2 small slits on either side of the reindeer's neck, and threaded through some red ribbon, taping the ends to the back. I also pierced a small hole on either side of the banner end, and threaded red embroidery floss through those holes. I threaded the other ends through the slit along the back of the reindeer's neck, so it looks like he's pulling the banner. Finally, I tied a bow from the same red ribbon, and adhered it with a glue dot.

To finish my card, I adhered my background to a piece of burgundy cardstock cut to A2 size, and mounted it on a white card base.

I'm entering this card in A Blog Named Hero's October challenge, "Calling All Critters."

Season's Tweetings

The current theme at the Lawn Fawnatics Challenge is "Happy Little Critters." I made this holiday card using mainly Lawn Fawn's "Winter Sparrows" stamps & coordinating dies.

I began by coloring a piece of acetate with Sail Boat Blue, Stream, & Silver Mixative alcohol inks, following this Splitcoaststampers.com tutorial. I applied the inks with a blending tool & felt pad. While that dried, I die cut a window from a piece of white cardstock with a Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Rectangles" die.

To decorate my panel, I stamped several snowflakes in Hero Arts Soft Pool ink. I used stamps from "Winter in the Park" & "Deck the Halls," both by Lawn Fawn. I also stamped the birds and notes with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped the branch with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink, and shaded it with 2 brown Prismacolor colored pencils. I also colored the birds with colored pencils, & die cut all my images.

I stamped the greeting from "Winter Sparrows" in Tuxedo Black onto a pale blue cardstock, and die cut it with a Spellbinders "Grommet Tags" die (discontinued). I inked the edges with Broken China Distress ink, just to help it stand out from the background a bit more.

For the scene, I first glued the end of the branch behind the window in my cardstock frame. I adhered the acetate to the back with Scor Tape, and glued my birds & music notes to that. I also added a little more liquid glue under the branch, just to keep it steady.

I adhered my greeting to the panel with ATG adhesive, pierced a hole at either end of the tag, and inserted 2 silver mini brads. Finally, I popped the panel up with foam tape onto a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in Incy Wincy Designs' "Let's Celebrate" challenge.

Two Birthday Cards

This past weekend, my mom turned 81 years young! My brother & SIL were able to come down and help us celebrate. I created these cards for Mama, including one from our 3 cats.

I totally CASEd this card from one that Darlene DeVries did recently for Live Love Cards. In fact, it was seeing her card that made me get the "Owl" die from Taylored Expressions. Mama & I both love owls, so I figured this would be a great card for her!

I die cut the owl pieces from scraps of cardstock. I used "regular" colors for the body, eyes, beaks, & feet; but made their bellies rainbow hues. After cutting all the pieces (and managing not to lose any!), I glued everything together to create 5 owls. A fine-tip applicator bottle & cross-lock tweezers come in VERY handy for operations like this! :)

For the fence, I stamped the Altenew "Wood Pallet Background" onto Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink. I then blended Brushed Corduroy Distress ink over the panel. I also stamped & inked a thin strip for the cross piece, glued it in place, and stamped the nails with Hero Arts Charcoal ink.

I cut another piece of bristol for the sky, and inked with Tumbled Glass & My Favorite Things' "Mini Cloud Edges" stencil. I adhered that & the fence panel to my white A2 card base. Then I glued the owls in place, and stamped the letters to spell "happy" on their bellies with Essentials by Ellen's "Basic Alpha" stamps & Versafine Onyx Black ink. I also glued down a balloon I'd die cut with a Lawn Fawn "Party Balloons" die, tied a thread around the bottom of the balloon, and glued the other end, plus a bow I'd tied with another piece of thread, to the one owl's wing.

Finally, I die cut the "birthday" from My Favorite Things' "Cause for Celebration" set from black cardstock, and glued it in place on the fence. I coated that & the balloon with clear Spectrum Noir shimmer pen, and followed that with Glossy Accents on both pieces.

I got the inspiration for my second card from this one by Amy Yang for My Favorite Things' blog. Because I was using digital images, I began by creating a blank "canvas" in Photoshop. I used that to size several kitty images from Bugaboo Stamps, and then printed them onto white cardstock. I colored them with my Prismacolor pencils, and fussy cut them out.

I used 140 lb. watercolor paper for both my frames & grass panels. I first cut a piece to A2 size, and inked it with Distress inks in Broken China & Peacock Feathers, letting the color fade towards the top of the panel. I spritzed it with water from my Distress Sprayer, let that sit for a few seconds, then blotted it dry. I cut the 3 frames from that panel, going from largest to smallest, with a craft knife & metal ruler. I inked more watercolor paper with Twisted Citron & Mowed Lawn Distress inks, distressed with water, and die cut them with the "Grassy Hillside Borders" from Lawn Fawn. I stamped the "Happy Birthday," from My Favorite Things' "Big Birthday Sentiments" set on the top of the largest frame, with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

To assemble my card, I placed the frames on my card base, one inside the other, to determine where my background panel needed to go. After gluing one of the grass pieces to the background panel, I adhered it to my card base. I glued another grass panel to my innermost frame piece, and popped the whole thing up with one layer of foam tape. I proceeded in this manner for the middle & outer frames, adding another layer of foam tape each time, so that my outer frame has 3 layers.

Inside of cats' card

I used a combination of liquid glue & foam tape to adhere my kitties in place in my little scene. For the inside, I created a 5.25x4" canvas in Photoshop, and positioned "Bosko" from Jane's Doodles in the lower left corner. (Bosko is one of Mama's favorite characters among all my images, so I try to include him on the cats' card to her every birthday!) I created the greeting and signatures, and even drew a little paw print beside each cat's name, using the Custom Shape tool in Photoshop. I printed that out onto white cardstock, & adhered it to the inside of the card. I can easily say, she got a kick out of these cards!

I'm entering these cards in the following challenges:

Dies R Us #82: "Life's Events"

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

Incy Wincy Designs: "Let's Celebrate"

Two Christmas Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown's current challenge theme is to use only pink, red, and green on your card. I created 2 cards to enter.

I used Our Daily Bread Designs' "Christmas Ornament" stamp set for my first card. I stamped it on Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Versamark ink, & heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder. (I am using gold as a neutral, not another color.) I colored it with my Tombow markers, using a water brush to blend the colors & create highlights.

For the front panel, I decided to keep it simple. I don't have the coordinating die for the stamp set, so I stamped the ornament in the middle of my panel, and cut around it with a craft knife. I stamped the greeting, also from "Christmas Ornament," and gold heat embossed that as well. Finally, I foam mounted that to my image panel, and adhered it to a white A2 card base.

My second card, though still a CAS design, was a bit more involved. I die cut several flower & leaf pieces from Canson XL Mixed Media paper with the Poppy Stamps "Blooming Poinsettia" die set. I smooshed Worn Lipstick & Barn Door Distress inks on my non-stick craft mat and spritzed them with my homemade Perfect Pearls mist. Then I laid the die cut flower pieces face down in the ink, and moved them around until they were full covered. I used my heat tool to dry them, and added more ink where necessary. I repeated the process with Mowed Lawn Distress ink for the leaves.

For the card front, I took a cue from Jennifer McGuire. She had demonstrated using stitching dies to make an impression in your card front, just for a bit of added interest. I used the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Small Cross-stitched Rectangle" dies to do this. It doesn't really show up in the photo, but it adds a nice detail in real life. Then I stamped the greeting, from "Christmas Ornament," and gold heat embossed that.

I glued my poinsettias together, adding liquid glue just in the centers at first. When that had set up, I glued the 3 flowers & leaves to my card front, adding glue under all the petals to keep them from tearing off. After that dried, I trimmed off the overhanging bits with my scissors, & adhered my card front to a white A2 card base. As a finishing touch, I added Nuvo Honey Gold Glitter Drops to the centers of the flowers.

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Christmas"
Incy Wincy Designs: "Let's Celebrate"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

Birthday Bridge Card

Ellen Hutson has their September Pin-Sights challenge up. In fact, this is the last day to enter! I created this card for a friend of mine whose birthday is coming up soon.

Pin-Sights challenge mood board

I decided, after reading this tutorial, to make a bridge card. A special card for a special friend! I created the card base from white 110 lb. cardstock. I cut patterned paper strips from 2 papers in Graphic 45's "Couture" 6x6" pad. I matted them with navy, and adhered them in place on the card base.

For the focal image, I used the Essentials by Ellen "Mondo Magnolia" stamp set. The full flower was a bit too large, but fortunately, the coordinating die set has a die that cuts out the middle section of petals. I stamped it on Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with Versamark ink, & heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder.

I colored the flower with 2 blue Tombow markers, using a water brush to help blend the colors & add shading. I did the center with an orange marker. Because the flower was on a different paper than the card base, I knew the whites wouldn't match, so I just colored the edges of the flower blue. Finally, I die cut it with the coordinating die.

Another view of the card

I wanted leaves, but the "Mondo Magnolia" set has none. So I pulled one of the dies in the "Wild Garden" set, also from the Essentials by Ellen line. I die cut it 3 times from a scrap of bristol, and colored it with a teal-green Tombow marker & water brush. To tie in with the gold embossing, I painted around the edges of the leaves with gold paint from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors set. The die cuts out the inner portion of the leaf, but I wanted the whole thing intact. So I just adhered the die cut leaves to white cardstock, & fussy cut around them.

For the greetings, I pulled stamps from 2 sets: Winnie and Walter's "The Party," & My Favorite Things' "Birthday Greetings." I stamped the latter onto a panel of white cardstock that I had matted with navy, and gold heat embossed it, before adhering it to my card base. For the "Happy Birthday," I cut a piece of the striped patterned paper I'd used for two of the vertical panels. It has a mottled teal pattern on the back side, so I stamped & heat embossed on that. I matted that strip with navy as well, adhered it to the "bridge" strip for my card, and used Scor Tape to adhere that to my card base. Finally, I glued my flower & leaves in place, and the card was finished!

I'm also entering my card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes" challenge.