Groovi snowflakes

I'm a little late posting my card for Andreja's technique challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - my daughter decided we needed to make a Dalek cake for hubby's 50th on Friday, so that took precedence!

Andreja's technique choice is:

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a Groovi card! I do so little, but do like it, and have the kit so feel I should make use of it!!

For this I used blue parchment. After marking the area to fill with pencil, I put the manuscript style letters in for NOEL, then filled around with snowflakes from various plates.

Using a white eraser pencil, I removed the ink from the open areas of the letters and snowflakes. I then did some white work on the letters (very inexpertly, I don't so this a lot and don't have the patience!)

This means that the letters are white all the time, whereas the snowflakes are see through, so are coloured when there's something behind but white when the card is open, as you can sort of see below.

I coloured the vines around the letters with perga pens, which I got on sale a little while ago.

For inside the card and the die cut snowflake swirl, I blended various blue oxides onto card, then flicked with water and blotted to create the snow effect.

To construct, I measured and marked with pencil on a card blank for the aperture, then cut with a craft knife. I repeated on another piece of white card just smaller than the card front, to go on the inside. I then attached the parchment behind the first aperture and added the liner, matching the apertures up. 

With a grey pen and ruler, I added faux stitching around the aperture.

Finally, I added the blue inside the card, and the die cut on the front.

 

 

This was a bit more fiddly that I anticipated, with the cutting etc, but not too bad!

I do like the icy shades of blue, and snowflakes are my favourite Christmas (really Winter I guess) motif, they look so pretty here!

 

 

 

To join in with this challenge, come and visit us at the 52CCT blog. As there are 5 Saturdays in July, you have 2 weeks to play along, this challenge closes on 6th August.

Funky Groovi snowflakes

Becca is our host at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month.

She has kicked us off with this sketch:

While the snowflakes don't have to actually be snowflakes, they are my favourites, and I have more of them than anything else in my stash, so I have used them. I have a new Groovi plate with "funky snowflakes", so out that came!

First the line work, as always. I used a variety of plates, mostly with snowflakes!

Next, colouring. I used sharpie pens for the detail areas, as they give such a strong colour.

I used polychromo pencils for the background, and to colour the background snowflakes.

I wanted the smaller snowflakes that are from the sketch to stand out more, so I actually did some white work around them - I don't usually do any of the traditional parchment techniques. With hindsight, I'd use different style snowflakes with more area that I could colour with the sharpies.

I cut the parchment out with pinking shears, and cut a patterned background to go behind. I attached the parchment using tiny silver brads I found when I was going through a box of craft stuff the other day.

You can't really see the patterned paper in the photos, but it shows through the snowflakes.
I love the delicacy of parchment for doing snowflake cards, I think it works so well.



To join in with the challenge, visit the 52CCT blog - you'll also see the fantastic inspiration from my design team colleagues.

This challenge closes on Friday 12th June.

Groovi with colour

Another week and another 52 Christmas Card Throwdown card that I'm posting late. I really thought I'd get this one done in time but it took longer than expected. I also made some other cards for a birthday and to send to friends who're having a hard time, so I haven't been a crafting slouch this week.

I'm hoping to go and start next week's colour theme card this afternoon, so fingers crossed that one's on time.

Branka is our host for April, and this is the sketch she's chosen to kick off the month.

I wanted to do another Groovi sketch card. I got some new Groovi plates for Mothers Day and our wedding anniversary recently and wanted to use a couple of them specifically.

My challenge to myself was to not use snowflakes, as they are my default. However, I got some other plates that are just snowflakes so there will be some parchment snowflake cards in my not too distant future!

Line art first, using these plates, plus the square and circle plates for the outlines, and a new sentiment plate.

I coloured from the back using Faber Castell polychromo pencils. I shaded behind the sentiment to help it stand out from the background.

For the background I used two patterned papers. One formed the base, the other I cut strips and a circle to define the edges and the sentiment circle.

I cut out the parchment with pinking shears, and mounted on the background with tiny pieces of super sticky tape, behind the coloured areas.

It needed something else before going on the card blank. I didn't have quite the shade I wanted, so cut a piece of pink card, then blended seedless preserves distress oxide round the edge.

I wanted to use bright colours for the card, a change from my usual blue and purples, which I've achieved! I do like the cute elements from Tina's Groovi plate.




To join in with this challenge, head to the 52CCT blog. This challenge is open until Friday 10th April.

Groovi Sketch

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.

Finally getting Groovi

As we get to the end of summer and get back into a routine, I've managed another Christmas card! I hope to get more regular with my crafting again soon, I do miss it!

Myrna is hosting the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month. She starts us off with a sketch.

I've been wanting to do a Groovi card since Easter, so here it is!

For the parchment, I used several of my Groovi plates, to create the border, the circle then the dangles from a frame plate. The sentiment is from a border plate, and the poinsettia one of Jayne Nestorenko's designs. I used a piercing grid for the little snowflakes around the flower. The colour is from distress markers - I remembered too late that they're not my favourite to use on parchment! Although for the border I swapped to a copper sharpie.

I cut out with pinking shears to give a decorative edge.

I left a lot of the background plain, then made a background to attach the patchment to, to show through.

I used distress oxides in creams and browns, with some aged mahogany to warm it up. I stamped with two IndigoBlu stamps, script and dotty swirl. I added darker colour at the bottom behind the sentiment, to help highlight it.

Then I attached the parchment, using fine super sticky tape behind the coloured areas, and then attached the two onto a card blank with a tape pen.

I'm not completely sure about the warm vintage colours on parchment, I think brights or blues work better. But I like the combination of Groovi and stamping, the parchment immediately makes the stamping fade into the background.



To take part in this challenge, head to the 52CCT blog. You have until Friday 13th September to join in. Enjoy playing!

A new year and a fresh start

As we start a new year, I'm back to contributing to the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.

Our first challenge for 2019 is, as always, a sketch.

I decided to get my groovi parchment kit out - I haven't used this for so long! (Possibly since I did the same thing at the start of last year?)

Here's the line art, using snowflake, poinsettia and a couple of framer plates, plus a lace background and a piercing grid for the dots.

I added colour using sharpie pens - I find these work best for me, maybe as I don't have much patience for blending with pencils.

The background came out of the stash - I have no idea how I made it, I guess it's a mop up of distress inks. I cut it to size and edged with a bit of chipped sapphire distress ink.

It's less green and more purple than the photo shows!

The parchment was attached with tiny pieces of super sticky tape.

So there we are, off the mark for 2019 Christmas cards!!

Very delicate and pretty, every time I do some groovi I resolve to do more, we'll see how that works out this year!



To join in with our first challenge of the year, go to the 52CCT blog. You have until midnight on Friday 11th January to enter!

Groovi sketch

I wanted to have another play with the current sketch challenge from the Christmas Card Throwdown.

Something completely different from last week's card. No step by step pictures this week I'm afraid, ran out of time a bit!

I started with the background - I got the shaving foam out and had a play in the week. I got a bit carried away - I meant to make a few backgrounds for a variety of cards I have to make at the moment, but then got into it and ended up with 24 I think! And ink stained fingers that haven't 100% gone more than two days later.

(If you don't know the shaving foam technique, there's a video here. Basically you use the shaving foam as a carrier to do marbling with dye inks - distress inks in my case.)

So I have my pretty, frosty blue background, now I want to add some snowflakes. I have reversed the sketch in a way, rather than the green ribbon being in front, I've put the grey rectangles forward.

I got out my groovi kit and parchment for this. I haven't used it for ages, despite my good intentions at the start of the year. However, it's been out this week as I had to make 2 sympathy cards (no-one's favourite type of card) and the softness of parchment works so well for those.

I drew my outlines using the square grid plate, then embossed the dots just inside them using the square grid plate. I then filled each piece with snowflakes from one plate (not sure what it's called).

Some new snowflake plates have just come out with piercing grids to match; although I'd said I wouldn't buy more groovi till I've used what I have more, I am sorely tempted by these!

I didn't colour or do white work, just left the delicate snowflakes as white lines - so simple but so pretty.

I used plain parchment for these, but for the sentiment I got out some blue - I've not really used this before, but I won a pack at the Clarity Open Day in June, so had to try it. The first piece I did, I went on the wrong side, to got a pale blue line instead of white - still pretty but not what I wanted, so I had to redo.

I embossed a line sentiment from a border plate, then framed with a line and dots as above.

The parchment was mounted onto the background with a tape pen, strategically placed behind the snowflakes and words, then the background went onto a 7x7 card base.

Soft and subtle, but ever so pretty.

Each time I do some groovi I resolve to do more. I don't have the time, patience or skill for lots of white work or pricking, but I still love the effects I get with the line art and colouring.




I hope this has inspired you to have a go with our sketch. To join in, head to the Christmas Card Throwdown. You have until midnight BST on Friday 15th September to enter.

You can also follow us on Facebook to see the design team inspiration.

Flowers for Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year, I made a Groovi card for my mum, with an inky background. I had the idea for the February Clarity Groovi challenge, which had the theme Flower Power (same as the stamps and stencils Clarity Challenge) but didn't come close to getting it made last month. I only just had it done for Mothers Day - it required a first class stamp to get there in time!

I started with the nested squares, and embossed the corners of the largest square, to define my space. I then used smaller squares to make those corners into squares and rectangles, and filled in a  series of different sized and shaped rectangles between them. This created a variety of spaces for me to work in.

Then the fun bit - filling in! I started by deciding which way up I wanted the grid I'd created, and where to put the words. I then added these using the alphabet on the universal framer plate. Then it was time for the flowers! I used a whole range of plates and borders for this - the henna border, the poinsettia plate, Jayne's humming birds plate among them. I used the wishing well plate - the roof patterns went into a couple of smaller spaces.

I also used the piercing grids to emboss some simple patterns.

This is the finished line work.

Time to add colour - I used my Faber Castell polychromos, from the back.

I'm not sure if it would have been better to stick to fewer colours - but I don't have many pencils so would have been limited to only using three or four!

The next step was to cut out - and I decided to go for the picot cutting. I tried using the straight grid to pierce through, but didn't get on with it, so used the two needle tool. I'm not sure I shouldn't have persevered!

The picot cutting is a bit uneven - I'm out of practice! The angle seemed to make a big difference, where I could hold the parchment below the cut line I found it easier than in the indents, where it was harder to hold the parchment flat. More practice and experimentation required, again!

Time to make a background - on much more comfortable ground for me!

I put some distress ink onto my blending mat - chipped sapphire, dusty concord and a bit of picked raspberry. Spritzed with water, then pressed some stencil card into it. The picked raspberry really stood out!

It was lighter than I wanted for the background, I needed the white embossed lines to stand out, so I repeated with just the blue and purple inks. This filled in the gaps and intensified the colour nicely. (The photo bleaches it a little.)

Using chipped sapphire and the bouquet outline stamp, I over stamped selectively round the edge. I don't want too much fussy detail behind the parchment, but do want the interest in the gaps around the outside of the parchment.

To mount, I used tiny pieces of super sticky tape under the coloured areas of the parchment, then attached the background to a 6x6 card base with a tape pen.

I can't claim to be a parcher, I don't have the skills, and it's not a priority right now to learn them. But I do like being able to produce pieces like this, using the crisp white line art, adding colour, and making a co-ordinating background. And dabbling in a bit of cutting!

Can I top up your glass?

It's mid way through our Drinks challenge at the Christmas Card Throwdown, so time for a top up.

I've gone for similar idea to my first card, but using parchment and an aperture this time.

I started by creating a stream of bubbles on parchment. I used the nested circles Groovi plate, and one of the snowflake plates which has circles on it.

I cut them out (just straight, not a picot cut) then sponged gold acrylic paint onto the back. They curled right round, so even after a couple of hours under a heavy book, I needed to hold them flat for the photo!

Carrying on with the parchment, I wrote out my sentiment on another piece, with plenty of space around it.

To back this, I cut a square of Centura Pearl hint of gold card with a die. I added circles of gold and bronze acrylic with a round blending tool.

The final piece of the puzzle is the card blank. I cut the aperture from the front using the die a size smaller than used for the piece above. To add texture, I then ran the front of the card through a Tattered Lace embossing folder.

I attached the bubbles inside the aperture with super sticky tape, on the left. I then cut a matching aperture in a piece of spare card, trimmed it to fit and attached it on the inside of the card blank front, to cover the attachment points.

I trimmed the sentiment to fit round the backing I'd made, and folded it to make a wrap, attaching on the back. I then attached this to the inside of the card blank (on the back), to line up with the aperture.

This card has the same idea and colour scheme as my first, but a lot more texture and movement.

(Sorry for the poor photo, my usual spot to take them is currently plunged into darkness as we can't get the light bulbs to fit the light there any more!)

To join in with your Drinks themed card, pop over to the Christmas Card Throwdown. You have until Friday 17th February to enter.