Reduce, reuse, recycle...

This week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, Alison has set a technique challenge I love! 

Having taken part in #junkuary last month, this is right up my street.

The idea is to have something on your card that is reused - I decided to pull out the stops and have everything on the card recycled (apart from the card blank). Just to see if I could!

I keep all my Christmas cards to make tags, so have quite a stash, which gave me a head start. I pulled out a selection of matt ones and die cut hexagons.

My sentiment was also cut from an old Christmas card.

My valentine card from my husband had a brown paper envelope, so that was die cut for the reindeer.

This is a Tattered Lace die, with lots of swirls that come out, but I put them back in to give a more solid feel.

To make the background, I went through old newspapers (we're really bad at throwing things away in our house!) and found pictures of snow scenes, which I tore out. I cut a base from a flyer from our local Indian restaurant, and decoupaged the newspaper over it with mod podge.

Kind of a cool look, I think, but a bit full on so I knocked it back with gesso.

I wanted it lighter still, and a bit prettier, so I gesso'd through a swirly stencil, in multiple layers.

Better, but I want more delicate detail. I used a snowflake stamp and heat embossed over this. On the left I used a pearlescent silver, but this proved a bit transparent and I wanted it more white, so I used white powder for the rest.

You can just about see the snowflakes on the left; as always with pearl finishes it's more visible in real life.

This is a different way to build up a background for me, it does give a lot of depth with the layers. I might have to start collecting interesting newspaper pictures (or text)!

Before putting it all together, I edged the background, sentiment and hexagons with black archival ink. Once stuck down, I went round the reindeer with a black drawing pen, to define it and match the other pieces.

This isn't a card I would have made if it weren't for the challenge - which I guess is the point!

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, especially that background.



To play along with us this week, click through to the 52CCT blog. The challenge runs until Friday 1st March.

Happy recycling!