Season's Greetings

Today is the last day for the November "Mix It Up" challenge at Ellen Hutson's CLASSroom blog. I used the "Poinsettia & Pine" die set from Essentials by Ellen, & paired it with My Favorite Things' "Joyous Christmas Sentiments" (discontinued).

I began by die cutting the flower, berries, & pine sprigs from 140 lb. watercolor paper. I colored the pieces with my Tombow markers. I removed the inner pieces from the flower, and ran the outer portion through my Xyron Sticker Maker to apply adhesive to the front. I then coated that with clear glitter. I applied glue to the berries with my Zig 2-way glue pen, and glittered them as well. I glued the outer piece of the flower to a scrap of white cardstock, and used that as a "base" to glue the inner pieces back in place. Finally, I fussy-cut the cardstock to follow the perimeter of the flower.

For the greeting, I stamped with Versafine Onyx Black on a panel of cream cardstock. I then heat embossed that with Ranger Holographic embossing powder, to give the card even more shine & shimmer.

I glued the pine branches in place on my card panel, & adhered the flower & berries in place over those. I basically just tacked everything down enough to hold them in place, but still let them fluff up. As a finishing touch, I added Pale Gold Nuvo Crystal Drops to the center of the poinsettia.

Merry Christmas Trio

The theme at Aud Sentiments is a bingo challenge this time. I used the middle column for my card: pattern paper, stamped image, & (faux) stitching. I also used the sketch from Christmas Card Throwdown for my design, rotating it 90 degrees to be horizontal.

I began by die cutting an oval from 140 lb. watercolor paper with a Lawn Fawn "Small Stitched Oval" die. I curved my greeting, from Hero Arts "Very Merry Christmas" (discontinued) to fit the curve of the oval, and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink onto my oval.

Because the image I chose (Stampendous "Bow Tied") is a rubber stamp, I used my Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to help me position it. I marked the vertical center of the oval, decided where I wanted the baseline of my image to be, and marked that with a light pencil line as well. After I stamped my image onto the clear plastic sheet of the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig, I used that to position my stamp, and stamped with Hero Arts Charcoal ink.

I colored the image with my Inktense pencils, using a damp paintbrush to pick up the color from the pencil and apply it to the paper. When I had finished, I used my clear Wink of Stella shimmer pen to add some glitter to the bows.

I chose a patterned paper from BoBunny's "Dear Santa" 6x6" pad for my background. I cut it to 5.5x4.25", and adhered it to my white A2 card base. I adhered my oval, centered on the background, to my card front, and this card was done! Other than the coloring & taking the time to curve the greeting, it came together pretty quickly. :)

Thinking of You at Christmas

The challenge theme this week at Merry Monday has been "Kraft and Red." Except for the addition of gold, I kept to that color scheme for my card.

I got the design for my card from the current sketch challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown (which I'm also entering). I basically stuck with the sketch for this card. I had intended to make this at least a mostly one-layer card. I masked off the tree shape on an A2-size kraft panel. I stamped several of the larger flower image from WPlus9's "Be Merry Florals" set with Lawn Fawn Yeti pigment ink. I repeated the stamping with Altenew Ruby Red and Memento Rhubarb Stalk & Lady Bug inks, going right over the white stamping. I also stamped the smaller flower with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Red Embossing Tinsel. Finally, I added dots in the empty spaces with the smallest of the "Bokeh Dots" stamps from Essentials by Ellen. I heat embossed those with Ranger Princess Gold embossing powder. To finish the tree, I colored in the trunk with a brown Tombow marker.

In doing all this stamping--especially with the pigment ink--I suppose it was inevitable to get an ink smudge on my panel! I tried to remove it with my sanding block, but doing that also "bleached" the cardstock a bit, so it was obvious where I had sanded. But I was not about to start over! So I found a Lawn Fawn "Small Stitched Oval" die that was large enough to surround the tree, but still cut away that bleached spot, and die cut my kraft panel.

For the greeting, I used one from Hero Arts' "Very Merry Christmas" stamp set (discontinued). I stamped it in Versamark on a piece of burgundy cardstock, heat embossed with gold, & cut that into a banner. I embossed a panel of red cardstock with the "Plaid" embossing folder from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. I glued my oval to that with liquid glue, and glued down my greeting banner. Finally, I used the same liquid glue to adhere my panel to a white A2 card base.

Beary Merry Christmas

Ellen Hutson is having their November "Mix It Up" challenge at The CLASSroom blog. This month, they are mixing it up with My Favorite Things. The objective is to make a project using products from both companies. This is my first card for this challenge.

I began by die cutting a panel of kraft cardstock with a Lawn Fawn "Large Stitched Rectangle" die. I decided, since I don't have the coordinating dies for the Essentials by Ellen "Bear Ware 2" stamp set, I would do some masking. I created masks for the hat & scarf from "Bear Ware 2." I stamped the scarf & hat, then positioned & stamped the hat for the kitty. I masked the images, stamped the bear (from "All Inside") & kitty next. For the candy cane, I created masks for just the bear's arms from a full-sticky Post It note, and stamped the candy cane with the arms masked.

I colored the images with my Prismacolor colored pencils using Gamsol the blend the colors, & added a snow bank to the bottom of the panel. For the snowflakes, I used stamps from Lawn Fawn's "Deck the Halls" & "Winter in the Park" sets. I masked off the edges of the panel, just at the stitching lines, to keep a clean border. I stamped the snowflakes in Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. Rather than mask the images to stamp the snowflakes "behind" them, I just brushed off the powder from my critters with a dry paintbrush before I heat set it.

For the background, I die cut a panel of white cardstock with the next largest "Large Stitched Rectangle" die. I stamped the pattern with My Favorite Things' "Plaid Background Builder" set (apparently discontinued), adding in a stripe stamp from Simon Says Stamp's "Jumbo Stripes" set to supplement. I used Memento Tuxedo Black & Bamboo Leaves, and Hero Arts Red Royal & Forever Green inks for that. After I'd finished stamping, I felt the colors were a bit stark to go with my kraft panel. So I blended Antique Linen Distress ink over the whole background.

I stamped the greetings from "Bear Ware 2" onto a strip of white cardstock with Tuxedo Black, and cut them into shorter pieces. I adhered them to my kraft panel, and added a drop of Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops at the end of each phrase. Finally, I adhered my kraft panel to the background, and mounted that to a white A2 card base.

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"

Sending You Blessings

The current challenge at Fusion Card Challenge blog has a photo of autumn leaves. I went with that, rather than the sketch, for my card inspiration. The yellows in the leaves against the blue background really spoke to me.

I began with the focal point of my card. I die cut the leaves from some 140 lb. watercolor paper using one of the "Foliage" dies from Spellbinders (discontinued). I colored them with my Tombow markers, and used a water brush to blend the colors. I die cut a Spellbinders "Decorative Labels One" (also discontinued) from Canson XL Mixed Media paper, and inked it with Broken China & Peacock Feathers Distress inks to create an ombre effect. I used my Distress Sprayer to spritz on water droplets, and blotted them up with a dry rag to remove a bit of the ink. I then used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue the leaves to the panel.

For the background, I used a panel of yellow cardstock I'd pre-cut to 4.25x5.5". I inked up from the bottom with Wild Honey Distress ink, letting it fade out towards the top. I spritzed that with water, let it sit for a few seconds, and then blotted it with a dry rag.

I die cut the "Blessings" using Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas Blessings" die set. I coated the die cut with Versamark ink, sprinkled on Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, and melted that with my heat gun. I repeated that 2 more times to get a nice, thick, smooth embossing. (I got the inspiration for that technique from Jennifer McGuire.) I heat embossed the "Sending You" from Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp set in gold on a strip of brown cardstock. Finally, I adhered my focal panel to my background, glued on my greeting elements, and mounted that to a white A2 card base.

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

Dies R Us #84: "Anything Fall"
Pile It On #136: "Large Sentiments"
613 Avenue Create #203: "Anything Goes"