Triple embossing

Tracy has mixed it up a bit for the technique/stash challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and has chosen a tic tac toe grid for us to play with.

I have gone with the right hand column, although if you count the knitted embossing on the front tag as faux stitching, I've also done the top row!

I used three different embossing folders (I couldn't choose!) for the base and two tags. The distress oxide colours are ripe persimmon, peeled paint and peacock feathers, with chipped sapphire for definition. Not traditional Christmas but I fancied a bit of zing!

I love the background, so the rest is kept simple!

 

 

 

 

 

To play along this week, head over to the 52CCT blog.

The challenge is open until Friday 2nd July.

Gnome!!

I'm a bit late joining in with Tracy's challenge at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week. She's chosen "Gnomes" as our theme for June.

I looked through my papers and stamps to see if any had crept in, but I didn't have any. So I improvised!

I downloaded a free colouring image, and watched some of the Clarity video where they started to draw gnomes, and with a sheet of tracing paper combined the two to come up with my own version.

I traced this down onto card, went over with a black permanent pen, then coloured with inktense and polychromo pencils. I fussy cut him out, and added to die cut papers, the top one distressed with distress ink and inktense pencils.

The background is made from strips of designer paper, torn and adhered together. I distressed with vintage photo distress ink, and knocked back around the toppers with cream paint. It is edged with dark brown stazon ink.

The sentiment was stamped onto another paper, die cut and edged.

The final touch was the lattice die cut, which I painted in cream then brushed with vintage photo ink.

It went onto a 5x7 card blank.

 

I'm quite pleased with how this little chap has come out! Drawing is not my comfort zone.

Also nice to get out the designer papers, I don't often use them.

Have a look on the 52CCT blog for the inspiration from the rest of the design team, and to share your own Gnome characters. The challenge is open until Friday 25th. Enjoy your making.

Golden moon

Tracy has chosen an unusual colour combination for us at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week.

It took me a while to think of how to use these together to make a Christmas Card without getting dreary - any two I could do but not the three! Then I thought of the art of a friend of ours, Bridget Davies. She often uses gold leaf to surround her figures. I don't begin to aspire to her standard, but that gave me the idea for the gold background, which became the sky, even if I'm using paint rather than real gold!!

I created the moon first, using my round petite gel plate. I brayered on hickory smoke distress oxide, then flicked splashes of grey brusho.

I die cut a round paper mask for the moon and held it in position while I sponged on the gold paint. This gave a lovely crisp circle, much more than the gel plate had; I went over the edge of the gel printed circle.

The sleigh and trees I didn't originally intend to emboss, but the ink didn't stamp consistently across the paint and ink. This solved the problem - thank goodness I was using my stamp platform, I had to emboss twice to get the strong black.

The words across the sky are second generation black stazon, as I was stamping on paint. I held the mask in place again, although it slipped once - I don't think it is too noticeable, although I was very annoyed at the time!

I mounted on black card then onto a 6x6 card blank.

This is an unusally elegant card for me! I really quite like my gold background, the drama of the black against it, and the mottled detail on the moon (which you can't really see in the photo).

So now it's your turn to play with these colours - I can't wait to see the imaginative interpretations you come up with! The challenge is open for a week, until Friday 18th June. Check out the rest of the Design Team inspiration and share your card on the 52CCT blog.

A delicate snow flurry

I've had a little bit of a break, and now I'm back with a sketch card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.

Tracy is our host for June, and she has chosen this layout for us.

I went with a simple stamped, layered card.

I have made versions of this card with dandelions, for new babies and a sympathy card. Here I swapped in snowflakes and this very elegant stamp set, which I got from a charity shop recently.

The stamping is in watering can archival ink, then I splattered with hickory smoke, iced spruce and chipped sapphire reinkers.

The colours in the splatters don't show that well in small photos, the card has a lovely delicacy.

 

 

 

To join in, head over to 52CCT. The challenge is open for a week, to Friday 11th June.