Collage and bauble

Rosi's final challenge as host of the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is a technique - Partial Stencilling.

She provides some video links on the 52CCT blog with demonstrations.

I still had my stash of backgrounds out from last week, so have made another collage card as a base for my stencilling. Going through the papers is quite fun, I often remember the projects that these were "waste" from!

I used text in the middle as a plainer base for the stencil, and patterns around.

I didn't cover the left-hand side as I intended to add a strip on this side, but changed my mind.

I then trimmed back to 14cm x 14xm - for a 6x6 card base.

 To knock back the colours, I dry brushed with white gesso.

To constrain my stencil - the "partial" element - I cut a bauble mask from copy paper. I used a stamp to create the shape then cut.

The stencil I used was a snowflake from Clarity, I didn't take any photos of it.

I used Clarity stencil brushes to add distress oxides - peacock feathers, with chipped sapphire around the edges.

The bauble hanger I drew in with a gold pen.

I went back and added more collage pieces to cover the left-hand side.

I cut it back...

... and gessoed.

 

Having done this, I decided it needed some of the text in the collage so added some snippets, and then gessoed them.

For my sentiment and to balance the left, I repeat stamped "Merry Christmas" with versamark and heat embossed in gold. Sounds easy - but I had issues with dirty stamps that didn't stick to the block and mis-stamped, so I had to gesso again and restamp. Just one of those times that everything that can go wrong did!

To finish it off, I sponged peacock feathers around the edge, and swiped black ink on the very edge. I added white ink behind the embossing to help it stand out, and then black. I also added some black swirls (from the same stamp set as the sentiment) around the outside.

I can't say this card exactly flowed! And didn't end up as I'd envisaged. Nevertheless I like the final product.

To join in with this technique challenge, pop over to the 52CCT blog. You have until Friday 2nd September to enter your Christmas card.

Polar bear and Penguin

 

Rosi is hosting the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month. For her theme, she's chosen polar bears and/or penguins.

I don't have that many character stamps, but do have dies of a polar bear and a penguin. So I decided to use these, against a mixed media background.

I started by going through my stash of backgrounds and pulling out some in blue/frosty colours. I tore these up and added to card that I'd cut to size for a 5x7 card. I also added parts of a page from an old dictionary - if you look carefully you can see definitions for polar and polar bear.

To pull the background together, I stencilled over with a dots stencil and white paint.

I wanted to unify it a bit more, so added a watercolour wash of blue. I used chipped sapphire distress ink, but it didn't go according to plan - I ended up dying the white areas pink!

This wasn't what I wanted at all!

Serendipity, or good timing, took a hand here. I have signed up for Wanderlust 2021, and was watching a bonus/pre-course video on backgrounds. One of the teachers showed a glazing technique using gel medium and acrylic paint. Which is what I used to rescue this. I mixed a very little bit of paint with medium, and applied over the pink areas, and elsewhere. Unlike glaxing medium, the gel doesn't self level, and I made a positive of this, creating texture with the palette knife.

I sponged the edge with midnight blue stazon ink.

I die cut the polar bear, penguin, some trees and a sentiment from white card. I also got out my stash of precut die cuts, and arranged on the card until I was happy with the layout, then glued.

I had a lot of fun building this one up. I like the collage part, I'm seeing that a lot at the moment, and tried a new technique with the glazing, which is always good. The contrast between the grungy background and crisp die cuts is pleasing to me.

 

 

 

To play along with the 52CCT this week, visit our blog. This challenge is open until Friday 25th September.

Mixed Media Christmas

 

It's a colour challenge at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week.

Rosie has chosen for us:

 

My card has been inspired by a 5 day art journal challenge I did recently with Marjie Kemper. This is a version of one of the pages she taught.

The base of the card was cut to size for a 6x6 card. I then die cut over the edge with snowflakes. Cutting part way was tricky - and I couldn't get my head around which way to put the plates! I got the first version wrong - and as you can see, partially cut into the wrong side of this one.

As I had to add a strip to cover this, I could have cut the snowflakes separately and stuck them on - ah well, I'll know for next time!

I then embossed the rest of the card with a script folder.

I painted the snowflakes with gold paint, and dry brushed over the embossing.

 

This is the strip I made to go alongside the snowflakes - I used a border stamp. It's wooden stamp, so lining it up took a few tries - I ended up making a guide out of lego!

The next step was my topper. I blended orange shades of distress ink - spiced marmalade, wild honey, ripe persimmon and tattered rose - over my card.

 It was very bright! I splattered it with water and lifted some of the colour.

 

I stamped my tree with black ink, then went over with versamark (using a stamp platform) and heat embossed in clear.

The top left corner I embossed with a tile pattern folder, then dry brushed with black soot distress ink. I over stamped randomly with the same ink and a brick pattern stamp. I also edged in black sharpie, then heat embossed in clear.

To mount on the card blank, I cut the front panel of the blank down to size.

I also painted the back of the snowflakes in gold, and added a black strip at the back to give a neat finish.

 

I like the texture and shape of this mixed media inspired card. I needed something a bit different to make use of the unusual colour combination, I think this works well.

 

 

 

 

 

To join in with the challenge, visit us at 52CCT. I hope my contribution and that of my talented DT colleagues will help inspire you to make a black, orange and gold Christmas Card.

This challenge runs until Friday 18th September.

I've missed my gel plate!

Rosi is our host at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for September. As always, we kick off with a sketch. This is what Rosi has chosen:

I resisted the temptation to take the snowflakes at face value!

I saw a video using card embossed with folders as a texture sheet for the gel plate, and had to try it. I have tried to find the video again but haven't saved the link unfortunately. It feels like ages since I've used my gel plate, and I do so love having a play with it.

I made a whole load of prints, but this is the one I wanted to use here.

I die cut the hexagons from masking sheet and added to the card before pulling the print.

The pattern is not super clear in this one, as the emboss wasn't that deep. Some of the others were much more distinct. There is a bit of a deer pattern in the background.

I love the grungy texture nonetheless, and the Christmas colours and shimmer (which doesn't really show in the photo).

(At this point I forgot to take photos for quite a while!)

I cut the card down to size for a 5x7 card.

I masked outside each hexagon, and stamped a light grey background with a fir branch stamp. The words "Merry Christmas" went in the smaller ones. For the larger I used a stamp that comes in the same set as the bauble I used last time.

I went round the hexagons with a gold pen, and added some swirls. I sponged gold paint around the edge.

To create the vertical element of the sketch ( which I've rotated), I used the embossed card that I'd used to pick the paint off the gel plate.

You could keep and reuse these, but as the emboss was shallow, I'd want to re-emboss it anyway. And the colours on these are rather lovely. This gel plate technique gives three for one - the embossed card, the print from the card with paint that's picked up, then the print pulled from what's left on the gel plate (used for the main piece).

I die cut chains from the embossed card.

I attched these along the left. I sponged black ink around the edge, and mounted on a card blank.

I really love the grungy look of this - the texture and detail doesn't come through in the photo. The gel plate never disappoints!






To join in with this challenge, visit the 52CCT blog. You have until Friday 11th September to play along.

Happy crafting!