You're a Peach

Ellen Hutson is having their January "Mix It Up" challenge at The CLASSroom blog. The partner company this month is Avery Elle. I used Avery Elle's "Berry Good" stamp set & one of the coordinating dies along with the "Bokeh Dots" stamp set from the Essentials by Ellen line.

For my design, I turned to Sketch #SC613 from Splitcoaststampers.com. I stamped the peach from "Berry Good" in Versafine Onyx Black ink onto a scrap of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, and stamped one of the greetings inside. Then I heat embossed it with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to color it. Finally, I die cut it with the coordinating die.

To create the background, I used the 3 scribble circle stamps from "Bokeh Dots" & Hero Arts Fresh Peach ink. I cut a piece of a light peachy-colored cardstock, to create a tone-on-tone background. I stamped my first, largest circle roughly where my focal image would go, intending it to be a kind of frame for the peach. As it turned out, the strips & peach cover most of that circle, so the frame idea didn't really pan out. But it was a nice idea anyway! :) I continued stamping the 3 circles, moving from the largest to the middle to the smallest, randomly around my A2 size panel.

For my strips, I cut 2 strips from a yellow-green polka dot patterned paper that I found in my scrap stash. I also backed 2 strips of a bright chevron washi tape (Recollections brand) with white cardstock (so they would be opaque), and cut them to the lengths in the sketch. I adhered my strips according to the sketch, placing the chevron ones so they "pointed" to the peach. Then I glued my peach where the strips intersected. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base. I'm sending this to Send a Smile 4 Kids, to go to a child who is an inpatient in one of the children's hospitals they serve.

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

Creative Knockouts #175: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create #193: "Anything Goes"

Joy Angel

Merry Monday Challenge Blog's theme this week is "Angels." I decided to make this quick card, using the "Sweet Angel" image from Bugaboo Stamps.

I used Sketch #97 from Operation Write Home for my design. I did a mock-up in Photoshop, just to make sure the design would work with my image & greeting (from Doodle Pantry's "Holiday Greetings" set, discontinued). After sizing the image & greeting, I then printed them onto a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper. I trimmed the panels to size, and colored the angel with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to apply the color from the pencils. When that had dried, I added a coat of glitter with the Spectrum Noir Clear Shimmer pen to the wings & halo.

I cut 2 pieces of patterned paper, from my scrap stash, to the sizes in the sketch. The watercolor paper is not a bright white, and the background of the patterned paper is. So I lightly inked the patterned paper with Antique Linen Distress ink, just to tone it down a bit. Finally, I adhered all my panels to a piece of pink cardstock I'd cut to 4.25x5.5". I mounted that onto a white A2 card base, and my first Christmas card for 2017 was done!

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

Pile It On #123: "Any Holiday/Celebration"
Catch the Bug Challenge Blog: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: "Start Afresh" (angel is a new-to-me image)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: "New Something"
613 Avenue Create #193: "Anything Goes w/Optional Twist - Totally Technical" (watercoloring with Inktense pencils is one of my favorite techniques)
Creative Knockouts #175: "Anything Goes"

Hugs

It's been quite a while since I entered a challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids. Their current theme is "Winter Fun 4 Kids," & I thought this cute little image from "Mimi's Winter Friends" (Penny Black) fit the bill perfectly! I paired it with the "Hugs" stamp from Stampabilities. I used Operation Write Home's Sketch #166 for my design.

I stamped my image onto a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media Paper with Versafine Onyx Black ink, & clear heat embossed it. Then I watercolored it with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick the color up from the pencils & apply it to the paper. I find I can get more control, and more subtle shading, with this method, rather than coloring on the paper with the pencils & wetting the color afterwards. I also added a bit of light shading under the reindeer & girl. When the image had dried, I added a coat of Glossy Accents to the reindeer's nose & highlights to the eyes with a white gel pen.

I stamped the greeting onto a scrap of white cardstock, using Hero Arts Ultra Pink ink, and punched it out with a 1" circle punch. Because the ink absorbed into the paper, it kind of "melted" into the finer lines of the lettering, so I went over the letters with a white gel pen.

For a couple of accents, I die cut 2 buttons using one of the "Vintage Buttons" from My Favorite Things. After matting my patterned papers (from my scrap stash) with a pink cardstock panel, I adhered my focal panel. I threaded both buttons with embroidery floss, and glued them & the greeting to my card front. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering my card in Creative Knockouts' Challenge #174 "Anything Goes."

Floral Thanks

The first type of card I typically focus on after Christmas is thank you. I made this one inspired by the mood board for the current Pin-Sights challenge at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom blog. The things that stood out to me were the overall colors & the wood paneling in one of the photos.

I began by die cutting several flowers & leaves, a seed pod, and berries from "Wild Garden" & "Bold Blossoms," both from the Essentials by Ellen line. I used Canson XL Mixed Media paper, since I knew I would be watercoloring the images, but still wanted a thinner paper than regular watercolor paper. After I die cut each piece, I applied Frog Tape to the back side of the paper, before removing it from the die. Then I carefully pulled it out of the die. The Frog Tape helped keep all the little inner pieces in place so I wouldn't lose them. I'm not sure if there is an easier way to do this, but it worked for me. I did initially try dryer sheets, but the die cuts didn't stick to those for some reason.

With the die cuts still on the pieces of tape, I watercolored them with Distress inks & a water brush. I used Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, & a bit of Forest Moss on the greenery; and Abandoned Coral & Barn Door on the flowers. For the berries, I colored the tips with a red marker, and used my water brush to blend the color into the stems a bit, then finished with diluted Brushed Corduroy Distress ink for the stems. Then I set those aside to dry completely.

I cut another piece of mixed media paper for my background, to A2 size. I stamped the entire panel with the "Wood Plank" background stamp by My Favorite Things, with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink. Then I blended Brushed Corduroy over the panel. Next I die cut the "Thanks Script" from Savvy Stamps (discontinued) from the panel. I used the same process to remove the die cut pieces as I had with the flowers. Since I wanted to do a die cut inlay, I needed the inside pieces to the letters. I also die cut the "thanks" from some dark green cardstock that I'd backed with Stick It adhesive.

After my flowers & foliage had all dried, I removed the outline pieces from the tape, and ran each through my Xyron Sticker Maker. I adhered those in place on my background panel, and then used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue all the little inside pieces in. After the glue dried, I trimmed off the excess that was hanging over the edges, and adhered my panel to a white A2 card base.

I added a little glue behind the bits of the background panel around the thanks opening, to help them stick down better. Then I adhered my die cut greeting, fitting it into the opening like a puzzle piece. Finally, I used more PPA to glue the inner/background pieces into the "h," "k," & "s." This was a bit of a labor-intensive card, but so worth it in the end!

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

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On #123: "Any Holiday/Celebration"
Creative Knockouts #174: "Anything Goes"

Happy Hanukkah

Die Cut Divas' challenge this month is "Layers or Layer It." I created another Hanukkah card for this challenge. The woman I'm giving this card to is blind, so I wanted layers & texture, so she can get a tactile experience from the card.

I cut the Star of David from chipboard, using a template I'd made. After coating it with gesso, I painted it with a Ranger Adirondack Silver paint dauber. I let that dry, and then used the Tim Holtz "Dot Fade" stencil & Golden Extra Heavy Gel (matte finish) to add some texture. Then I set that aside to dry for a few hours.

Once the gel had dried, I cut pieces of silver wire. I taped one end on the back of my star, threaded some seed beads on, and then wrapped the other end around to the back of my star & taped it in place. I repeated this until I had several beaded wires. I adjusted the beads, so they were in smaller groups along each wire, and used dots of Glossy Accents to hold the groups in place.

I die cut a dark blue panel with the largest "Decorative Labels One" die by Spellbinders, and glued my Star of David to that with Perfect Paper Adhesive. I also die cut a greeting strip using one of Pretty Pink Posh's "Stitched Borders 3" dies. I stamped "Happy Hanukkah" on that in Versamark, using the "Basic Alpha" set from Ellen Hutson's Essentials by Ellen line. Then I heat embossed that in Ranger Silver embossing powder.

To finish my card, I cut a panel of silver embossed paper from Michael's to 4.25x5.5". I adhered my greeting strip & Star of David panel to that, and mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

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

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday: "Use Dies"
Pile It On #123: "Any Holiday/Celebration"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Happy Hanukkah

The Lawnscaping Challenge is coming to an end today. It's been going for 5 years, but this is their last challenge. The theme this time is "Holiday Cards." I need a couple of Hanukkah cards, so I created this one for this challenge. I got the idea for the stamping from this video by Yana Smakula.

I have a Star of David template that I'd created for another card a couple of months ago. I traced around it onto a piece of masking paper, and enlarged my tracing slightly before cutting it out with a craft knife. I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4.25x5.5", and adhered the negative portion of my mask to that, centered side-to-side. I stamped snowflake & heart images from "Winter in the Park," "Deck the Halls," & "Peace Joy Love" (all by Lawn Fawn) to stamp inside the opening in my mask. I used Hero Arts Soft Pool, Tide Pool, & Pool inks, as well as Delicata Silvery Shimmer pigment ink for my images. I heat embossed the silver ones with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. To make the Star of David stand out even more, after I'd finished stamping & heat embossing, I inked lightly with Broken China Distress ink. Then I removed my mask.

For the greeting, I used Lawn Fawn's "Claire's ABC's" & my MISTI to stamp with Versamark. I heat embossed that with Ranger Silver embossing powder.

To finish, I inked a scrap of white cardstock with Pool ink, and cut two 1/8" strips. I glued those to either side of the card front, and adhered the card to a white A2 card base.

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

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On #123: "Any Holiday/Celebration"

Wonderful Holiday Wishes

A friend of mine always does a painting of a poinsettia for her Christmas card. When I saw the card Nina-Marie Trapani created for Simon Says Stamp's Studio Monday this week, I knew I had to try something similar! I used 2 stamp sets: "Mondo Poinsettia" for the flower and "Mistletoe & Holly" for the greeting (both Essentials by Ellen).

I began by determining where I wanted my greeting to go, so I would be sure not to stamp any flowers there. I stamped it very lightly on my A2-size panel with Colorbox Putty Archival ink, just to act as a placeholder, since I wasn't really sure whether I wanted just to stamp or heat emboss the greeting. I then stamped the poinsettia randomly around my panel with Hero Arts Red Royal ink, being careful not to overlap the greeting.

After I'd finished stamping, I used masking fluid to mask each flower. I wanted to do an ink-blended background, and considered using paper masks for the poinsettias. But I could tell it would be impossible to cut around all the details towards the center of each flower, so there were no gaps. I was reticent to use masking fluid, since I have kind of a bad history with it. But I figured I'd give it a try anyway.

After applying it to all the flowers, I let it dry for a few hours while I did other things. When I came back to it, I blended Cracked Pistachio, Evergreen Bough, & Pine Needles Distress inks over the background to create an ombre effect. I then ever-so-carefully removed the masking. Thankfully, it did not rip my paper up! Then I watercolored my flowers with a Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker (Carmine Red). I used a damp paintbrush to spread & blend the color on each petal. I also colored the flower centers with a gold gel pen. Then, just for a little more pop, I flicked droplets of Heidi Swapp Gold Color Shine mist over the panel.

When the panel was dry, I used the coordinating "Mondo Poinsettia" die to cut each flower from the panel. I blended the same 3 Distress inks onto another panel, cut to the same size as my first, and glued the negative portion of my original panel to that. Before adhering my poinsettias back in place, I went ahead and heat embossed the greeting with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder. Finally, I adhered my poinsettias into their original positions, popping them up on foam tape. After mounting it to a white A2 card base, I added drops of Gold Stickles to the centers of the flowers, and this card was done!

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion #342 "Anything Goes"
Pile It On #123 "Any Holiday/Celebration"
Die Cut Divas "Layers or Layer It"
Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday "Use Dies"
Creative Knockouts #172 "Winter Wonderland/Festive Fun"