Merry Christmas Mouse

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Christmas Cup." I have had this panel with the "Sweet Cocoa" digital image from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps on my desk for at least a year or 2, waiting for me to color it & make a card around it. This challenge inspired me finally to do just that!

To create the original focal panel, I opened the image in Photoshop & resized it to fit a panel as per an old Operation Write Home sketch. I typed the Merry Christmas words along the rim of the cup, making sure to delete the text where Cocoa's paws covered it, just to increase the realism. Then I printed it onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. And, as I said, it has sat on my desk ever since.

I used my Prismacolor pencils to color the image, & then matted it with red cardstock. I adhered 2 scraps of patterned paper from my stash to a panel of the same red cardstock, & adhered my focal panel. I glued 3 buttons to my card front, let the glue dry (well, mostly - I did get impatient!), & then pierced holes through the buttons into my background and stitched through the buttons with white crochet twine. I had to squirt a little more glue under the buttons, just to anchor them further. (I did let that dry thoroughly!) Finally, I added my card front to a white A2 card base.

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

My Favorite Things: "Ready, Set, Christmas"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

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

Merry Christmas Wreath

I am so happy & excited to be the guest designer for Christmas Card Throwdown! The challenge this week is to use red & brown on your card. So get out those inks, stamps, dies, & papers and get making!

This color scheme made me think of a rustic look. Which led me to kraft cardstock. I wanted to try stamping a wreath with Distress Oxide inks, using Gina K Designs "Holiday Wreath Builder" set & her Wreath Builder template. I die cut a 4" square of kraft, & stamped the flowers, berries, & berry branches with different red inks. I also brought in Vintage Photo ink for the pinecones. I had to stamp the red elements 2-3 times each, but I was just glad that it worked out. Then I had to decide what to do with my panel!

I didn't want just to slap the square on a card, add a greeting, & call it done. So I die cut the wreath out with circle dies. I didn't like the doughnut look of it, so I figured I'd try fussy cutting. I took a cue from Kristina Werner, & penciled an cutting line around the inside & outside of my wreath first. If you make an errant pencil line, it's easy to erase. An errant cut with scissors is impossible to fix. I fussy cut the inside first, which wasn't easy! But I took my time, & it worked. The outside perimeter was much easier. After I finished cutting, I erased any pencil lines that still showed.

I stamped my background panel with Altenew's "Wood Pallet Background" (discontinued) & Gina K Charcoal Brown ink. Then I blended over that with Walnut Stain Distress ink. I wanted a bit more shading around the edges, so I brought in a bit of Black Soot Distress ink.

For the greeting, I stamped the Merry Christmas from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Gingerbread House" set (discontinued) onto a scrap of kraft cardstock with Lumberjack Plaid Distress Oxide ink. I added clear embossing powder over that, & melted it with my heat tool so I could do a bit of emboss resist. I cut the greeting out with a Spellbinders "Grommet Tags" die (discontinued). I put the die cut back in the die, & inked through the opening with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink, just to provide a bit of contrast.

I adhered my wreath to my background with foam tape, & glued the greeting label down flat. After I matted my panel with red cardstock that I'd adhered to a white A2-size card base, I added Bright Gold Nuvo Crystal drops to the label to look like decorative nail heads. I went over the berries on the wreath with Rhubarb Crumble Nuvo Crystal drops for a bit of added shine & interest. And that finished off this card! I am happy with how the card came out in the end. Now it's your turn to make a red & brown Christmas card (or more than 1!) and enter it in this week's challenge. Have fun!