Sparkle magic

Rosi's theme challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week is an unusual one - In A Jar. Doesn't that get your creativity buzzing?

My card this week has been one of those that did not flow at all!

I don't have a jar stamp or equivalent, so there wasn't an obvious starting place. I eventually came up with a vague idea for fairies and elves holding jars, and tippping sparkles over a Christmas tree, but realised that would be far too complicated to take on right now!

So I settled on a simpler design, with this elf, from the Clarity Christmas wee folk. He usually carries a pile of presents, but I masked that part of the stamp.

In my first version , he was a yellowy colour, and I added green clothing with a pencil. But it looked all wrong! The second version I forgot to mask the presents! This is version three. I used a pencil to suggest the clothing.

The jar is a free downloaded image. Even this was troublesome - most I found had the lid on! Or they were too crisp, or too sketchy.... I printed this, and cut out. The twine was coloured with a pencil. (And I couldn't even find a sharpener!!!)

The stars are a Lavinia stamp, heat embossed in platinum. I added glitter pen around them to add to the magical feeling, and on the jar to tone down the white.

I used a little brown ink and a water pen to ground my elf.

In all my extensive stamp selection, I apparently don't have a single "Magic". So I used an alphabet set, I tried a few until I settled on this one. The letters are heat embossed, and the card glittered with the pen.

My design was tall and thin now, with hindsight I might have made a slimline card.

Instead, I made a background to go either side. The first version of this, with heat embossed script and red holly, was abandoned after several attempts to rescue it, and I went for this bright and easy version. Oxides in pink, blue and a little red applied to an acrylic block, spritzed and dabbed onto the card. Then the same star stamp and embossing powder used randomly.

I edged everything with a gold sharpie pen - even this slipped at one point!

 

 

So it's been a bit like pulling teeth at times, but the card is finally finished, and I do quite like it!

I don't know whether to make loads now I've gone through the pain of figuring it out, or to never do this again!!

I hope you have an easier time with this challenge. You have a week, until Friday 24th September, to enter, over on the 52CCT blog. You can also see all the inspiration from the rest of the design team.