Netta's last challenge as host of the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month is a technique - she's chosen foiling.
This is another Plan B card!
I don't usually do foiling, but my daughter got a foiling craft kit for her 5th birthday, so we had a joint crafting session.
For the first attempt I die cut a Christmas Tree from black card, and kept the waste outline. I put a double sided adhesive sheet behind it and foiled through the aperture.
Unfortunately, the card was quite thick so the foil didn't take too well. And there was a bit of glue from the tape that attached the die to the card, that also picked up some foil.
So it's a bit of a mess! Maybe I'll find a way to use it one day!
Instead, I pulled out a background I made ages ago with the gel plate and acrylic paints.
I stamped with versamark and added micaboss, which picked up the foil. I also used an embossing pen on the "Joy" stencilling in the centre of the background, and around the edge, then micaboss and foil.
I edged with a black ink pad and used a black pen around the "Joy" to highlight it.
I'm not sure I'll be getting into foiling now, but I do like the richness of this.
To share your foiled card, visit the 52CCT blog - there's more inspiration from my design team colleagues as well. This challenge is open for 2 weeks, you have until Friday 6th March.
For her theme challenge, Netta has chosen "Cocoa".
This gave me a challenge as I didn't have anything with a mug or similar on - I went through all my stamps in case one had snuck in, but nothing!
So I had to take a different tack. I wrote out a Christmas tree in Word, with the words "Hot chocolate, cold snow, warm hugs". This took a bit of fiddling with font sizes but I think it came out okay - I'm sure there are tools to make it easy if I'd looked. I then printed it out - at this point I thought maybe fewer rows woud have been better, but just wanted to get it done as I was running late again!
I brushed antique linen distress oxide ink around the outside, then stamped holly sprigs and sprays around it, in vintage photo, victorian velvet, bundled sage and fossilised amber.
They over whelmed the tree a bit, so I masked the tree and spritzed with water to soften. As I was working on printer card, I was a bit nervous how it would take the water, but it held up okay.
I could have coloured in the same inks, but got a new set of inktense pencils for Valentine's Day (yes, I have a wonderful hubby!) so wanted to play with those.
I sponged vintage photo around the edge.
To knock the holly back more and frame the tree, I die cut a lattice. This is one of my Tim Holtz Christmas dies, I'm getting so much use from this set! I cut four and arranged them in each corner, overlapping. I didn't need to match them up perfectly, they still looked good.
Final step, I ran the vintage photo ink pad around the outside, then mounted on a 6x6 card blank.
I didn't really have a plan when I printed the base of this card out, but I actually really like where it's ended up - I think it's very pretty.
And more or less meets the challenge theme.
To join in and share your Cocoa/Hot Chocolate themed card, pop onto the 52CCT blog. There is also lots of amazing inspiration for the other design team members. You have until Friday 21st February. Happy crafting.
We have colours this week at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.
Netta has chosen shades of blue.
I had two or three designs planned for this one, I love blues for Christmas cards. However, a poorly daughter and crazy work week mean I've scraped together one of them, and that's late!
I started with the gel press plate and distress oxides. I laid down a very light layer of colour - then when it was way too dark, turned the card over, took more ink off the plate with the brayer and printed again. I then repeated with the Clarity snowflake stencils over the plate.
This gave a large scale pattern, to add more detail I stamped in first, second and third generation with a delicate snowflake stamp.
Once this had dried thoroughly, I cut it down to size for 2 5x7 cards. One I laid down, the other I used here.
Using a treeline stamp from Clarity, I stamped across the card with clear versamark. I broke out my clean versamark for this (yes, I have two and the other is a bit grotty!) as I then added clear embossing powder.
I then sponged chipped sapphire distress oxide over the tree lines, to help define them, The embossing acted as a resist. The photo below shows the top row with the ink added, the lower two rows just have the embossing. It makes a big difference.
I finished the other two rows, and sponged chipped sapphire around the outside.
The next step was to add more detail. I used a harlequin stamp from Clarity and salty ocean ink, and a script stamp from IndigoBlu with broken china and faded jeans. Peacock feathers ink was also out but looked a bit green for the challenge. I used a slightly damp cloth to wipe the ink off the embossed trees.
I added some snowflakes (a Clarity stamp) in chipped sapphire.
I added more dark ink around the outside to frame. For a sentiment, I stamped in chipped sapphire and heat embossed with a fine clear powder. I mounted this on a scrap of card that I added the chipped sapphire to. As I'd smudged the trees on the botton row a bit, it was easy to decide the placement!
I felt the sentiment needed to be stronger, so dyed another scrap with the chipped sapphire and die cut a snowflake - this is from a Tim Holtz set with loads of snowflakes I got for Christmas.
I attached the sentiment and snowflake with wet glue, and the whole to the card blank with super sticky tape and tape runner.
Part of me thinks this was prettier before I embossed it and added the darker ink! I have the other base still to use as it is. But I do like the grungier look too, and it has more interest.
To share your blue tone cards, head over to the 52CCT blog. This challenge closes on Friday 14th February.
Netta has taken over as host of the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month.
I love the sketch she has chosen for us to work with:
I like to use my Groovi parchment kit for sketches - it's rarely appropriate for the other challenges but works well for these.
This time I used a pale turquoise parchment - as I do a lot of colouring (rather then white work) I'm not sure the coloured parchment is best for me, but it is rather pretty.
I'm a bit out of practise and had a few fails where I went into areas I didn't want to - don't look too closely!
To back the parchment I used some patterned papers I bought in a charity shop years ago - I'd forgotten I had them, but they're really lovely. I used a different paper behind the squares to highlight them - it's subtle but they do stand out more than they did without it.
I'm pleased with how this came together - I never have much of a plan when I start, thank goodness for the sketch!
I'm late posting this so the challenge has been open for a few days already on the 52CCT blog - to join in, you have until Friday 7th Feb.
