Christmas kisses

I missed a week on 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, my daughter's birthday and party took priority! But I have a plan for that challenge.....

This week, Gill has asked us to use the stamp kissing technique.

I used a background stamp that I think of as damask/wallpaper - I've no idea what it's actually called. I started with a holly stamp kissed against it, but that didn't work well. So I swapped to this texture stamp. I used distress oxides, with a mixture of antique linen and pumice stone sponged on first, then peeled paint added with the second stamp.

Once I had my panel, it was a case of making a card around it!

The base is brushos, with a large script stamp used to lift and then restamp. I also stamped in forest moss and vintage photo ink, into the wet brushos.

The holly squares and sentiment are watercoloured with oxides.

I also used oxides and a waterbrush to add drop shadow and an edging.

 

It hasn't all come together quite right. This is one of those cards that could have done with walking away for a day and revisiting with fresh eyes. But I was on a deadline!

To join in, and get some guidance and inspiration, visit the 52CCT blog. This challenge is open until Friday 3rd December. Almost Christmas!!

 

 

 

Alcohol ink baubles

Gill is our host at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for the month, and has set a colour challenge for us:

I got ahead for this one, during a workshop earlier in the year using alcohol inks on a gel plate, with stencils.

 

The two on the left are from the gelplate, applied through the stencil (from Clarity) then lifted with white acrylic. The ones on the right are then cleaning off the stencil, with IPA.

I used top right and bottom left.

 

I didn't muck around with these at all. I simply cut a section to fit the side of a 6x6 card blank and edged with black pen. I stamped the sentiment in black archival, and added dots with a black pen.

 

 

A simple layout to allow the alcohol ink designs to shine.

 

The two techniques give different effects - the first is brighter and cleaner, but I really love this more grungy look.

To play along come and visit us at 52CCT.

This challenge is open for a week, to Friday 19th November.

Have fun!

 

Holly layers

We welcome Gill to host 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month, as we enter the final run up to the big day!

As always, she starts the month with a sketch.

I went for a layered, mixed media card with a limited colour palette.

I started with an A4 sheet of card, and cut a 13.4cm square from it. I collaged on torn pieces of old papers - a dictionary, sheet music and a book page. I used transaprent gesso so I could add brushos over it.

I added the brushos to the centre of this piece and the whole of the other pieces from my A4 sheet. I used olive green, then added yellow for a warmer feel.

I cut a 14cm matt from one of the larger pieces. I die cut an ivy branch from the centre of this, being frugal, and another from one of the other pieces, as well as a holly die cut.

I tore a piece of the book page, and inked the edges, then a narrower strip from brusho card. The sentiment is stamped onto the blank edge of an old book page, and the edges inked.

The cream holly I originally die cut from a book page, but they didn't look quite right, so I used a scrap of plain card instead and inked in cream with brown edges.

I stamped some holly onto the collaged piece, and edged this and the matt with brown, before assembling. I added a bit of thread around the sentiment strip. I finished with pearls in the centre of the holly - I wanted tiny wooden buttons but didn't have any!

 

I'm very happy with how this has come out, it has a lovely earthy feel.

 

 

 

 

 

To play along this week, visit us at the 52CCT blog. You have a week, until Friday 12th November, to join in.