Santa & Friends

This week's challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is all about "Santa & Friend(s)." Basically, create a Christmas card with Santa & one or more of his friends. I immediately thought of Bugaboo's "Scene It: Santa and Friends" digital image (discontinued), & thought it would be perfect for this challenge. With the proportions of this image, you really don't need anything else to make an impactful card!

I decided to make the image the size of my 5-1/4x4" panel, which leaves a 1/8" border on all sides of my A2-size card. I sized it in Photoshop, & printed it onto a panel of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I used my Prismacolor colored pencils to color the image. The most difficult part of coloring was trying to determine in a couple of spots what went where. Because this is a rather complex image, I just went one element at a time while coloring.

After I finished the coloring, I matted my panel with burgundy cardstock that I'd adhered to a white card base. I decided to add a little something extra, so I went over Rudolph's nose with White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter drops. I also added that to the bell on the elf's hat & more bits here and there around the snow areas. And that finished this card! The longest portion was honestly the coloring. I love how this came out, though!

I'm also entering this card in Send a Smile 4 Kids' "Happy Holidays 4 Kids" challenge.

Holiday Tags

 This is a slightly different post from me, since I'm not writing about a card. Instead, I'm sharing 6 holiday tags I made for the 10th annual "25 Tags of Christmas" challenges.

 

 

Tracy McNeely's tag on Day 26 inspired my first tag. I didn't have the same dies she used, but I have Sunny Studio's "Merry Sentiments" stamp set & coordinating die, which I figured is a good substitute. I first die cut 3 bulbs, keeping the negative cardstock as a stamping template for my MISTI stamp positioning tool. I put tape behind one of the die cut openings, sticky side facing up, & stuck one light bulb into that spot. I positioned the most solid stamp, and picked it up with the MISTI door. I used Lawn Fawn Jalapeno, Memento Lady Bug, & Hero Arts Tide Pool inks for this lightest layer. For the darker layer, I used Memento Cottage Ivy, Love Letter, & My Favorite Things Blu Raspberry inks. I stamped the base of each bulb with Memento London Fog & Gray Flannel, and silver heat embossed the filaments.

I die cut my tag with a Scrapbook.com "Nested Tags" die from Strathmore Mixed Media paper, and cut another from plain white cardstock as a backer. I inked the main tag with Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Blueprint Sketch, & Chipped Sapphire Distress inks, and added a bit of Black Soot Distress ink around the edges for some drama. I spattered the tag with silver pearlescent watercolor. I glued on my bulbs, & used a silver paint pen to draw in the "cord." After I adhered the tag to the backer, I used metallic silver embroidery floss to tie on 3 small silver jingle bells at the top.

 

My second tag was inspired by Carol Mayne's penguin tags on Day 1. I printed Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Festive Penguin" digital image onto a piece of Canson XL watercolor paper, and painted it with my watercolors. I die cut it with a scalloped circle die, & used another die 2 sizes larger to cut 2 green scalloped circles. I glued the green circles together for greater stability, & then glued the image circle on top. I punched a hole with a 1/8" hole punch, and threaded through a length of baker's twine.

 

 The inspiration for my 3rd tag came from Ardyth Percy-Robb's tag on Day 3. I die cut the poinsettia bract & leaf pieces from red & green cardstock scraps with the Poppystamps "Blooming Poinsettia" dies. I used Aged Mahogany & Pine Needles Distress inks on finger sponge daubers to add shading to the pieces. After curling the petals & leaves by running them over my bone folder, I adhered the center of the smaller flower layer to the larger with a tiny glue dot. I used more glue dots to adhere the leaves to the flower.

I embossed a white die cut tag with one of the "Bloom" embossing folders (discontinued) from Lifestyle Crafts, and glued my flower to that. I added red organza ribbon, & tied it with metallic embroidery floss. Finally, I glued some gold sequins in the center of the poinsettia for some bling.

Kim Heggins' tag on Day 1 inspired my 4th tag. I printed the "Winter Birds Trio" digital image (discontinued) from Bugaboo Stamps onto a 1-1/2"-tall strip of Canson XL watercolor paper, and painted it with my watercolors. I die cut a tag from a patterned paper from my scrap stash, & another from mint cardstock to go on the back. After adhering them back-to-back, I die cut the bottom with one of the "Stitched Borders 3" dies from Pretty Pink Posh. I then adhered my image panel with ATG tape. I stamped the greeting, from Lawn Fawn's "Winter Sparrows" set, onto the same mint cardstock, & added that under my image panel. I decided the image panel blended in to the background at the top too much, so I added another strip of mint above it. I threaded some cream satin ribbon through the top hole, and that finished this tag.

 

This tag's inspiration came from Carol Mayne's elegant creations on Day 4. I heat embossed the Essentials by Ellen "Mondo Poinsettia" (discontinued) in gold on white cardstock, and cut it out with the coordinating die. I heat embossed my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree" stamp set, with the same gold onto a panel of burgundy cardstock. I matted that with a gold foil patterned paper from my scrap stash, that I had backed with white cardstock for more stability. Finally, I glued on my poinsettia.

For my 6th & final tag, I used Karen Bull's tag on Day 13 for my inspiration. I stamped the truck & presents from Stampendous' "Truck Tidings" (discontinued) onto Canson XL watercolor paper. After I painted the images with watercolors, I cut them out with the coordinating dies. Because the truck die also cuts out the side window, before I removed the paper from the die, I added double-sided tape behind the window to keep it attached to the truck body. I used the same tape to adhere the presents "into" the truck bed.

I die cut an oval from blue cardstock with a We R Memory Keepers die, & added a strip of brown cardstock to the bottom for a dirt road. I positioned that in my MISTI, and stamped the greeting. I ran the oval through my die cutting machine again with the same die, to cut the overhanging piece of the brown strip. I glued the truck in place & added the oval to a red mat. Finally, I used my Crop-a-Dile II to punch a 1/8" hole & threaded through a length of red satin ribbon.

Yappy Barkday!

 

 

My sister-in-law's birthday is coming up soon. She & my brother have 2 dogs, Glennis & Yeager, so he always wants me to make a card to her from them. While he hasn't requested one this year--yet--I decided to go ahead & make one. I used the sketch from the current Stella Says Sketch challenge at Catch the Bug's blog for my design.

I chose the "Birthday Pup 1" & "Birthday Pup 3" digital images from Bugaboo Stamps (both discontinued) for my focal image. They do not look like my brother's & sister-in-law's dogs, but I figured they are close enough. I created a 4x2" blank "canvas" in Photoshop, and dragged both images onto that. I resized them to fit, & positioned the dog on the right slightly overlapping the other one, so it looks like he's in front. I then printed the composite image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper.

I used an ultra-fine tip Sharpie marker to draw 2 parallel lines behind the pups to make a baseboard for my little scene. Then I painted everything with my watercolors. I did paint the dogs to look like Glennis & Yeager. After the watercolor dried, I went back over the dogs' eyes with a black felt-tip pen, & added catch lights with a white gel pen.

For the greeting, I used Lawn Fawn's "Harold's ABCs." I could have done it on the computer, but I was feeling a bit lazy. Not that spelling out a greeting with tiny letter stamps doesn't take effort! :) I spelled out "Yappy Barkday!" with the stamps onto an acrylic block. I stamped that on a scrap of white cardstock with Versafine Onyx Black ink. Then I cut that into a banner.

To finish the card, I first adhered a panel of teal cardstock to a white A2-size card base. I cut a strip from the "Citrus Matstack" from Die Cuts with a View, & adhered that towards the bottom of my card. I adhered my image panel, & finally glued the banner in place.

Two Christmas Cards

Christmas Card Throwdown's current challenge theme is "Sewing." I created 2 cards for this challenge.

For the design of my first card, I used the sketch from Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #812. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees. I used Bugaboo Stamps' "Mistletoe Bell" image (discontinued), with a vellum overlay for my greeting. I first sized the image in Photoshop, and printed it onto a panel of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper. I colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils. I used Gamsol to blend the first layer of color, then went in with more layers, finally using my pencils to burnish the color.

View of image panel under vellum overlay

 

I found 2 patterned papers in my scrap stash for the background. To provide visual separation between the image panel & the bell patterned paper especially, I matted the image panel with a 1/16" dark green mat. I used a strip of that same cardstock along the left edge of my card.

I heat embossed the greeting with Ranger Gold Super Fine Detail embossing powder onto a piece of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum that I'd cut to the same size as the image panel. I lined it up with the image panel, & poked holes along the top edge every 1/8". I use gold thread to stitch the overlay to the image panel. I adhered that to my card, and that finished card #1.

I used Sketch #SC727 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the design for my second card. I first stamped the lamp image from Inky Antics "Decorated for Christmas" set onto a scrap of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I die cut that with a "Large Stitched Oval" die from Lawn Fawn. I used watercolors to paint the image. I wanted to provide a matting effect, but didn't want to cut a larger oval. So I first inked around the perimeter with Speckled Egg Distress ink. That wasn't quite the right color, though, so I went over it with Faded Jeans Distress ink to darken & warm it up just a bit.

For the stitched strip, I used my We R Memory Keepers Sew Perfect tool (discontinued). I cut my strip longer than I needed, since it's basically impossible to know where the tool will pierce the holes. I lined up the Sew Perfect ruler along my cardstock, & ran the tool along that. Because the cardstock is thick, I did have to go back with my paper piercer to poke the holes fully through. After I trimmed the strip to 5-1/2" long, I followed the stitching diagram for that Sew Perfect roller head, with red & pale grey embroidery floss. I actually stitched the grey first, and realized my "error" when I went to stitch the red. I should have stitched the red first, since I wanted the grey floss on top. Thankfully, I was able to weave the red floss under the grey as I stitched, so no big deal. 😊

For the card front panel, I used one of the patterned papers from the "Believe" 6x6" pad by Authentique. I used strong double-sided tape to adhere my stitched strip to my card. I glued the oval in place over that. Then I adhered my card front to a white A2-size card base.

I stamped the greeting, from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Christmas Joy" set (discontinued), onto a scrap of the same cardstock I'd used for my stitched strip. I used an Essentials by Ellen "Stitching Lines" die to add some faux cross-stitching to the right end of the greeting strip. I cut the other end in a "v," and adhered the banner to my card.

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes" (first card only)

613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes" (playing the twist on the first card only)

Die Cut Divas: "Christmas in July" (second card only)

25

Christmas Card Throwdown currently has a sketch challenge. I created this card, inspired by the sketch they posted.

I chose Bugaboo Stamps' "Christmas Doodles" digital set for the images on my card. I actually only used 3 of the 4, omitting the snowflake. To determine the sizing of each image, I created a blank "canvas" in Photoshop that was the dimensions of a vertical A2 card (4-1/4x5-1/2"). I opened the 3 image files (I had previously "broken up" the set into individual images), and dragged each onto my canvas. I drew 2 rectangles with the Shape tool, to represent the panels in the sketch. I set my images to different sizes and arrangements, until they looked good. I did keep in mind the sizes of circle dies I have, so I could easily cut the circles out later.

Once everything looked good, I transferred the images onto a blank canvas, so I could print them. I used a laser printer to print them onto a panel of Strathmore Smooth bristol paper, as I knew I wanted to color them with my Tombow markers, and I didn't want to have printer ink that would smear.

After choosing a patterned paper from my scrap stash, I colored the images with coordinating colors of Tombow markers. I adhered a panel of kraft cardstock to my white card base, added my patterned paper panels to that, and die cut & glued down the image circles. The empty space in the bottom left corner bothered me, so I added five 5mm silver sequins there. To balance that out, I added 3 more in the top right. And that finished this relatively quick & easy card! :)

I'm also entering this in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Creative Knockouts Challenge #354: "Anything Goes"

Merry Christmas Stocking

Send a Smile 4 Kids is currently collecting holiday & winter themed cards for the hospitalized children they serve. I created this one for that purpose.

I began by sizing the "Candy Cane Stocking" digital image (discontinued) from Bugaboo in Photoshop. I then printed it onto a piece of Strathmore Vellum Bristol paper, & colored it with my Prismacolor colored pencils.

I used a greeting from an old Doodle Pantry set, "Holiday Greetings" (discontinued). I printed it onto a piece of red patterned paper from my scrap stash. I cut 3 banners from different patterned papers, also from my scrap stash. I adhered the greeting panel to the bottom of my A2-size card front, and the banners in the upper left corner. The banners, image panel, & greeting create a diagonal line from top left to bottom right. I matted my image panel with a narrow green mat, to help it stand out more, and adhered it to my card front. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Happy Holidays 4 Kids OR Anything Goes 4 Kids"

Peeking Snowman Merry Christmas

The current challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown is "Snowmen." I got this "Snowman Peeker" digital image from Bugaboo quite some time ago, & figured it would be perfect for this challenge. I used the sketch at Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #717 for my design.

After figuring out rough dimensions for my card elements, I opened my image in Photoshop. I created a blank "canvas" there, and dragged the snowman onto it. I sized him, and then printed him onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper I'd cut to size.

I used my Mijello Mission Gold & Da Vinci watercolors to paint the image. I extended the black vertical line at the left edge of the image with a black marker, so it was the height of the panel. After the panel had dried, I fussy cut along the left side, around his hat brim, face, & mitten. Then I went over the cut edges with a black brush tip marker, just to give it a more finished appearance.

I chose several patterned papers from my scrap stash. I cut a 1/4" wide strip of the striped paper, and punched along the edge of the candy cane paper with my Fiskars Scallop Sentiment border punch. I also cut six 7/8x7/8" squares from different patterns. I used Vintage Photo Distress ink to go around the edges of the scalloped piece & squares, just so they wouldn't all run together into one big hot mess.

For the background, I used a 4x5.25" panel of green cardstock. I marked where the left edge of my image panel would go, and adhered the striped piece & candy cane strip to the left of that line. I glued my squares in place next. I realized, right after I'd adhered the 2 strips, that I should have glued the squares first, then adhered the scalloped strip over them. But it worked out, since I could just lift up the scallops a bit to snug the squares underneath. After everything was down, I adhered my image with strong double-sided tape, overlapping the strips with the fussy cut portions of the snowman. Finally, I matted the panel with a light blue piece that I'd adhered to a white A2-size card base.

I used one of the stamps from Hero Arts' "Merry Christmas Messages" set for my greeting. I stamped it onto a scrap of white cardstock with Delicata Ruby Red pigment ink. This ink has a slight shimmer to it that makes it good for festive cards. I cut the cardstock into a banner, and adhered it to the front of the card. I kind of debated whether to place the end of the greeting flush with the edge of the card like I did, or against the edge of the green panel. Along the edge of the card just seemed to look better to me, so there it stayed. :)

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

613 Avenue Create Challenge #226: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)
Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Celebration Cards 4 Kids or Anything Goes 4 Kids"

Happy Birthday

Sandy Allnock issued a sketch challenge for World Card Making Day. I used the first sketch that she provided in her blog post, turning it 90 degrees to make a landscape-oriented card.

I began by sizing the "Happy Birthday Cupcake Sentiment" from Bugaboo Stamps (apparently discontinued) in Photoshop. I scootched the image towards the bottom of my "canvas" in Photoshop, to leave room for a banner at the top. I printed the image onto a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I used my Inktense pencils to color the cupcake, stars & sparkles, and the first letters & exclamation point in the greeting. I knew I wanted to watercolor the background, and Inktense pencils are permanent once activated with water and dried. By using them, I knew my colors wouldn't run if the water I applied for my background happened to touch them. I used the Permanent Rose color from my Mijello Mission Gold watercolors for the background, adding more concentrated color at the bottom & fading it towards the top to create an ombre effect.

After I finished painting the main panel, I dried it with my heat gun, mostly to keep the watercolor from moving any more. I matted it with yellow cardstock, trimming it to a 1/16" border on all sides. I then adhered that to a Neenah Espresso textured cardstock panel, and again trimmed that to a 1/16" mat.

I used patterned papers from my scrap stash for the rest of the card. For the background, I ended up having to trim it about 1/16" smaller on each side, since my paper wasn't quite big enough from top to bottom. I matted that with Espresso as well. I cut my strips from a chevron pattern & matted them with Espresso, to keep things consistent.

I mounted my background to a white A2 size card base, and adhered my matted patterned paper strips. I then adhered my focal panel. I cut a small banner from another scrap. Because the spacing was kind of tight to mat that & I didn't want to cut it any smaller, I instead inked the edges with Ground Espresso Distress ink. I adhered that in place, and added shimmer to the cupcake frosting & stars/sparkles with my Spectrum Noir Clear Shimmer pen. I finished with a little Glossy Accents on the cherry on top of the cupcake.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Catch the Bug October "Anything Goes" challenge
Creative Knockouts #318: "Lots of Layers"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Think Pink"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Merry Christmas to You

The current Christmas Card Throwdown challenge theme is "Bears." I had initially picked out a different image for this card, but when I was scrolling through my collection of Bugaboo holiday images looking for it, I came across this one ("Christmas Bear"). Perfect! I used the sketch from Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #715, rotated 90 degrees to a horizontal orientation, for my design.

I sized & printed the bear digital image onto a piece of watercolor paper. I painted the image with my Mijello Mission Gold & Da Vinci watercolors, using a pale blue & pale green for the background & "ground." I had to add several layers to build the color up. After I finished painting, I dried the panel with my heat tool. I then die cut it with a Spellbinders "Labels One" die (apparently discontinued). As a finishing touch, I inked around the edges with Evergreen Bough Distress ink. I also went over the bears eyes & nose with a black glaze pen, and added highlights with a white gel pen.

I chose a greeting from Doodle Pantry's "Holiday Greetings" digital set (discontinued). I printed that on a strip of red cardstock. After I adhered my patterned paper background to the card base, I used strong double-sided tape to adhere the image panel & greeting strip. Other than the watercoloring, which was a bit time-consuming (about 1-1/2 hours), this card came together super fast!

I am also entering this card in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts #317: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Yappy Birthday!

My sister-in-law's birthday is coming up soon. She & my brother have 2 dogs, so he always wants me to make a card for her from them. I used Bugaboo's "Birthday Pup 1" & "Birthday Pup 3" digital images (both apparently discontinued) for this card, inspired by the current Stella Says Sketch challenge at Catch the Bug's challenge blog.

I created a landscape A2 size digital canvas in Photoshop. After setting the margins to determine how large my focal panel would be, I drew a rectangle within those margins. Since I knew I wanted the end of the noisemaker to hang off the edge of the panel, I extended that side of the rectangle by 1/2". I opened the 2 images, & dragged them to my blank canvas. I positioned & sized them, & then printed the composite image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I painted the scene, let it dry, & then cut off the right side, cutting around the noisemaker with my scissors. I finished by "painting" the raw edges of just the noisemaker end with a black felt tip marker, just to cover the white core of the paper so it blended in with the printed lines. I also went over the eyes of the pups with a black glaze pen, adding in catch lights with a white gel pen.

For the greeting, I created 2 canvases in Photoshop the same size as the focal panel. After setting 1/8" margins on each, I typed the "Yappy" on the top left of one, & "Birthday!" on the bottom right of the other. I used a patterned paper from the Echo Park "Happy Birthday" 6x6" pad, cut 2 pieces to size, & printed the greeting on those.

I chose a pink cardstock panel for my background. I added the stars using the "Stars" stencil from Tim Holtz. Because the stencil is narrower than a landscape A2 card, I had to do one side, with the right side of the panel masked off, and then shift the stencil over, line up the stars, & stencil the rest. I used Picked Raspberry Distress ink for the stars, to get a more subtle tone-on-tone look. Finally, I adhered that to my white card base, & adhered the greeting and image panels in place.

I'm also entering this card in Catch the Bug's September "Anything Goes" challenge.

Two Birthday Cards

The current challenge theme at the Dies R Us blog is "Kids." I created 2 kid-friendly birthday cards to send to The Birthday Project, which throws birthday parties for homeless children.

The design for my first card is based on the Stella Says Sketch Challenge #711 at Catch the Bug Challenge blog. I cut the pieces for my background first using patterned papers from Doodlebug Design's "Hello Sunshine" 6x6" paper pad (chevron) & Echo Park's "Happy Birthday" 6x6" pad (yellow stars). I also die cut a strip of green cardstock with one of the "Stitched Borders 3" by Pretty Pink Posh.

I adhered the die cut strip & chevron piece to a scrap piece of cardstock, just so I could work with them as one unit before adhering them to my card base. I glued on 3 buttons, bridging both papers, and let the glue dry. Then I poked holes into the paper through the buttonholes, threaded yellow baker's twine through, and tied tiny bows. Finally, I trimmed off the excess twine, and added some liquid glue to the knots of all the bows to keep them from coming untied.

I printed my greeting (from Bugaboo's "Bird Greetings: Sweet Birdday" digital set) onto the yellow patterned paper. I also sized & printed Bugaboo's "Birthday Bird 01" image onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. After I die cut that with a Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Circles" die, I colored the image with my Inktense pencils and a damp paintbrush. I adhered my background panels in place on my card base, and then glued the focal image down.

The inspiration for my second card came from this one I found at Splitcoaststampers. I liked the grungy look and the greeting strips, and figured this would be perfect for a teen/tween boy.

I used the "Dot Fade" & "Stars" layering stencils by Tim Holtz on a panel of navy cardstock. I did the stars first with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink, then went over the panel/design with the dots stencil, using Broken China Oxide ink.

I die cut several stars from silver holographic stars cardstock, using the "Nesting Stars" from Lifestyle Crafts (discontinued). I typed each greeting on a blank "canvas" in Photoshop with the Courier New Bold font, then printed them all on different colored strips of cardstock. I adhered one end of each strip under the largest star die cut, and cut the other ends off at an angle. Finally, I glued the star in place, letting the strips stick out without adhering them to the panel.

I glued the rest of the stars down, going from the large star up and to the right diagonally. I also added in some silver star brads from my stash. I finished with a small star at the top of the panel, and cut off the excess. Finally, I adhered my panel to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering my cards in the Die Cut Divas Challenge: "Celebrate the Birthdays."

Happiest Holiday Ever

I created this card based on the sketch from Catch the Bug Challenge Blog's "Stella Says Sketch #617" challenge. I rotated the sketch 90 degrees, to create a landscape card. I used the "Snowflake Reindeer Silhouette" from Bugaboo Stamps and a greeting from Doodle Pantry's "Holiday Greetings" digital set.

I began by opening the reindeer & greeting images in Photoshop. I created a "mock-up" of the sketch using a blank A2 size landscape-oriented canvas. I sized my reindeer & greeting to fit, and printed them on 2 pieces of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper with my laser printer. I then foiled each with Heidi Swapp Rose Gold foil and my mini Minc machine. I inked the reindeer with Bundled Sage Distress ink in the middle of the panel, and Evergreen Bough Distress ink around the edges. (I wanted a glowing effect behind & around the reindeer.) After cutting the greeting panel into a banner shape, I also inked it with Bundled Sage & Evergreen Bough to create an ombre look.

For the circular shape peeking out from behind the focal panel, I die cut a doily from more bristol paper with the Lifestyle Crafts "Floral Doily" die (discontinued). I inked it with Bundled Sage. After matting my focal panel with red cardstock, I glued the doily to the back.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from the "Cozy Christmas" 6x6" pad by My Mind's Eye to A2 size. I adhered that to a white card base. I added my focal panel/doily, making sure to have a fairly even spacing above & below. Finally, I matted my greeting banner with the same red cardstock, and glued it in place. I made 4 dots with Autumn Red Nuvo Crystal Drops on a scrap of freezer paper. When they dried, I popped them off and glued one to the reindeer's nose, & the other 3 beside the focal panel.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's Challenge #214: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist).

Peeking Santa

I am very happy to be the Guest Designer at Send a Smile 4 Kids challenge blog today! The theme for their challenge is "Fall or Holiday Wishes 4 Kids OR Anything Goes 4 Kids." I encourage you to check out their challenge, and enter a card made for a child. I created this card using Bugaboo Stamp's "Santa Clause Peeker." I also used Sketch #SC585 from Splitcoaststampers.com for my design.

I began by opening Santa in Photoshop. I created a blank canvas, and moved him to that. I sized him to fit, flipped him horizontally, and printed the image onto a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I actually made my paper a bit wider than in the sketch, since I knew I wanted to fussy cut him along the right edge.

I colored the image with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to the paper. I find this method gives me maximum control, and keeps me from having pencil lines that won't dissolve when I brush water over them. I did add a bit to the bottom of Santa, just to make him look a little more like he had legs. I also colored his belt buckle & the frames of his glasses with a gold gel pen. After he had dried, I fussy cut along the right edge of the image.

The other side of the sketch reminded me of a present. I cut 2 panels from The Paper Studio's "Christmas Basics" 6x6" patterned paper pad. I adhered them to a scrap of white cardstock, leaving about a 1/4" gap in between. In hindsight, I probably could have just cut one larger panel, & saved myself a bit of work. I wrapped a piece of white satin ribbon around the seam where I'd adhered them to the white cardstock. I wrapped another piece of ribbon around the center going vertically. Finally, I tied a bow from the leftover ribbon, and adhered it to the panel with a glue dot. I squirted a little liquid glue under the knot in the bow, just to keep it from coming untied.

I adhered my Santa panel to a red A2 size piece of cardstock, leaving a 1/8" mat on the top, bottom, & left sides. I made sure not to glue down the parts that were sticking out on the right yet, though. Then I adhered my "gift box," tucking the left edge under Santa's hand & beard. Finally, I glued the rest of Santa to the card, and adhered the card front to a white card base.

Autumn Happy Birthday

The current theme for Aud Sentiments' challenge blog is "Anything Goes + A Sentiment." I created this card to send to Send a Smile 4 Kids. They are currently accepting cards for hospitalized kids with fall, winter, and holiday (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) themes. For my design, I used Sketch #SC576 from Splitcoaststampers.com.

I sized the "Autumn Jar" digital image from Bugaboo Stamps in Photoshop, then printed it onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I then colored it with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to the paper. After I finished coloring the image, I added a shadow underneath with the Neutral Grey Inktense pencil, and a very light "halo" around the upper portion with Iris Blue. Then I set that aside to dry.

For the greeting, I used one from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Happy Birthdays" stamp set (apparently discontinued). I stamped it in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto a scrap of orange paper with a slight pattern to it. I then cut that into a banner.

I used an A2-size piece of green cardstock for my background. After I adhered it to a white card base, I added a strip of yellow patterned paper from my scrap stash to the left side, and a 1/8" wide strip of light blue glitter paper next to that. Finally, I adhered my focal panel and greeting banner. As one more touch, I added some sparkle to the sunflower, pumpkin, small leaves, and the tips of the larger leaves with my clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen. I rounded the top right and bottom left corners with the 1/2" side of my We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, and that finished this card.

I'm also entering this card in 613 Avenue Create's "Anything Goes" Challenge #212 (not playing the twist).

One Sketch, Two Cards

I used the sketch for Catch the Bug's Challenge Blog's "Stella Says Sketch" Challenge #606 for my design for two cards to donate to Send a Smile 4 Kids. I followed the sketch exactly for both cards, just using different products for each.

For my first card, I used Bugaboo's "Birdhouses" digi image for the focal panel. I printed it onto a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, intending to color it with Tombow markers. I had forgotten that those markers cause the printer ink to smear on the bristol, even when it's dry. So I changed my mind and went with my Mijello Mission Gold watercolors instead. I applied the colors mostly with a #4 round Black Velvet brush from the Silver Brush Company, and used a #8 round for the sky.

I used a patterned paper from Crate Paper's "Cool Kid" 6x6" pad to go behind my focal panel. I also cut strips from green and blue patterned papers from The Paper Studio's "So So Sweet" mat stack. I used a Fiskars "Scallop Sentiment" border punch to punch one long edge of the blue.

I die cut a doily, using a Spellbinders "Delicate Doilies" die, from white cardstock. After my focal panel had dried, I adhered the doily to the back, so about half of it is showing.

To finish my card, I adhered my patterned papers to an A2-size piece of orange cardstock. I stamped my greeting, from Stampendous' "Happy Messages" set, in Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. Finally, I adhered my focal image/doily piece to the panel, and mounted it to a white card base.

The image for my second card was inspired by a challenge at Splitcoaststampers.com, to use an image and make it look like it was reflected in a puddle, pond, etc. I chose Bugaboo's "Flower Pot 1" digital image (currently unavailable). I sized it on a blank "canvas" in Photoshop, then duplicated that layer and flipped the second image vertically. I blurred that second image slightly, then printed the composite onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored it with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to the paper. When the image was dry, I glazed a light blue over the lower portion, including the pot & flowers, to simulate a puddle.

I used patterned papers from the "So So Sweet" pad to go behind & below my focal panel. I matted the plaid onto a piece of pale blue cardstock. I used a Recollections border punch (name unknown) to punch a yellow strip, and adhered that & a teal strip below my plaid. I stamped the "smile" from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Happy Happy" set in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto the background. I also added Rhubarb Crumble Nuvo Crystal Drops to the centers of the flowers in the punched border, to bring the magenta from the plaid paper down the card.

I die cut a doily using a My Favorite Things "Decorative Doily Duo" (discontinued) from the yellow paper in the "So So Sweet" pad, and adhered it & my image panel to the card front. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white A2 card base, and these two encouragement cards are ready to go!

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On Challenge #140: "Circles and/or Squares" (used circular doilies)

Two Holiday Cards

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog has been having an "Anything Goes" challenge this past week. I decided to make a couple more cards to enter.

I used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch Challenge #518 for my design, flipping it horizontally. For my first card, I used Bugaboo's "Christmas Moose Ornaments" digital image. I sized it in Photoshop, and printed it on a piece of kraft cardstock. I colored the image with my Prismacolor colored pencils. After I finished that, I went over the eyes with a black marker, just to darken them, and applied Glossy Accents to the eyes & ornaments for some added shine.

I cut a 5.5x2" strip of patterned paper from my scrap stash for the lower strip. I used the green pattern on the reverse of that for my border strip, & punched that with the Fiskars "Upper Crest" border punch. I adhered the border strip to the back of the red patterned paper, and adhered that to a cream A2-size cardstock panel.

For my greeting, I used the one from Lawn Fawn's "Winter in the Park" stamp set. After I matted & adhered my focal panel in place, I stamped my greeting, using my MISTI stamp positioner tool to make sure I got it straight. I colored 3 clear gems with Ranger Lettuce alcohol ink, let that dry, and glued them to my card with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.

I used Bugaboo's "Sunbonnet Christmas Tree" image for my second card. I printed it onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper, and colored it with my Prismacolor pencils. I matted it with a narrow green border, and added Glossy Accents to the ornaments & holly berries in her bonnet.

For the patterned paper strip, I used a scrap from The Paper Studio's "Woodland Wonderland" 6x6" patterned paper pad. I punched a red border strip with Fiskars' "Apron Lace" punch, and adhered it behind my patterned paper strip. I adhered that to pink cardstock, and also mounted my focal panel in place. I stamped "Happy Christmas" from Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas" set in Versafine Onyx Black ink. I colored three 5mm pearls from The Paper Studio with Ranger Cranberry alcohol ink, and glued them in place with Multi Medium Matte. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering my cards in Catch the Bug's Stella Says Sketch Challenge #518.

Singing Winter Birdies

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog's theme this week is "Anything Goes." I created this card with Bugaboo's "Winter Bird Trio" digital image. I love the expressions on the faces of the 2 birds on either end. Kind of disgusted with the middle bird being so happy when it's so cold! LOL

I used Sketch #SC585 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis for my design. I sized the image in Photoshop to fit the top panel, and printed it on a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper. I colored the scene with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils & apply it to the paper.

For the greeting, I couldn't find one in my stash that would work with the sketch, so I created my own in Photoshop. I opened a 4.25x0.5" blank canvas and typed the greeting on that. I sized the text to fit, and printed it on a strip of cream cardstock.

I matted my pieces with red cardstock, using 2 patterned papers from my scrap stash for the lower panels. Finally, I adhered that to a white A2 card base. A really easy card to pull together!

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Snow White"
Send a Smile 4 Kids: "Happy Holidays 4 Kids"

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"

Hugs and Kitty Kisses

The Houston (TX) Humane Society personnel have been working to help rescue animals from the flooding there as a result of Hurricane Harvey. Even though we did send a financial donation to help support their mission, I thought I would send an encouragement card to their employees and/or volunteers as well.

For the design, I used the current challenge sketch for Stella Says Sketch. I went through my critter (digital) images from Bugaboo, and came across the "Kitties" image. I felt this would be perfect for my card.

I sized the image in Photoshop, and printed it onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I die cut that with a Simon Says Stamp "Stitched Circles" die. I colored the kitties with my Inktense pencils, using my preferred method of picking up the color from the pencil with a damp paintbrush, and applying it to the paper. I also added just a bit of shading under the image to ground it.

I cut a piece of patterned paper from The Paper Studio's "Best Day Ever" mat stack to go in the center of my card. I also cut 2 strips from a peachy-beige cardstock to go on either side. I adhered the strips to a 4.25x5.5" panel of white cardstock, and adhered my patterned paper in the center. I then machine-stitched a zigzag stitch along each long edge of the patterned paper.

To mat the focal image, I die cut a scalloped circle using a We R Memory Keepers "Nesting Scallops" die. I adhered my image circle to that, and glued it to my card front.

For the greeting, I cut a strip of pool colored cardstock. I created the greeting in Photoshop, using a "canvas" the same size as my strip. Then I printed it onto my cardstock. I die cut each end with the smallest of the "Tag Toppers Crescent" dies from Sunny Studio to make a label shape. I adhered that to my card front, punched a hole in either end with my Crop-a-Dile II, then used the same tool to set a white eyelet in each hole. Finally, I threaded 3 pieces of crochet twine through the eyelets, spread out the ends on either side of my panel, and taped them to the back.

As a finishing touch, I created a faux bow at the bottom of my greeting label, following the instructions in this YouTube tutorial. I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base, and this card is ready to write & send!

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

Creative Knockouts #210: "Something to Say"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Roses Birthday Card

I created another birthday card for the Stella Says Sketch Challenge #511 at Catch the Bug. This time I used the "Roses and Butterflies" digital image by Bugaboo, and a greeting from Dreamees that I had gotten from a CD-ROM in a magazine. I also flipped the sketch horizontally.

I used the same template I created in Photoshop I used for this card to size my image & greeting. I printed the image onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media Paper, and the greeting onto a strip of patterned paper from Pebbles' "Garden Party" 6x6" pad. I colored the roses with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencils and apply it to the paper. Finally, I cut my focal panel along the outer line in the image, and matted it with black cardstock.

To create the lacy border under my greeting strip, I cut a piece of red cardstock to 4.25" wide, and punched along one long side with Fiskars' "Lace" border punch. I adhered that to the bottom of my greeting strip. I cut 2 pieces of patterned paper from Basic Grey's "Hey Girl" 6x6" pad, and adhered them to an A2-size panel of blue cardstock. Then I adhered my greeting strip & focal image, and mounted the card front to a white A2 card base. As a finishing touch, I added some "dew drops" to the roses & leaves with Nuvo Morning Dew Crystal Drops.

I'm also entering this card in Catch the Bug's "Anything Goes" challenge.