Snowball fight!

Goga has chosen "Children" as her theme for April at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.

 

This is children on the card, rather than a card for a child - I had thought about making something for my daughter!

I used the Clarity frame dies for this card. 

The background has snowflakes heat embossed in white, then I added prussion blue brushos. While this dried, I made the topper.

I die cut the frame first - it cuts the holes out of the card - then masked to leave the central square. Using denim adirondack ink and a sponge, I created the hills with torn paper, then added the children and trees, all Clarity stamps. I then cut down around the frame.

I die cut the background with a larger die, and trimmed that too. I sponged the denim ink around the edge to give a stronger contrast with the white card.

This all went onto a 7x7 card blank.

I haven't done one of these little scenes for ages - at one time they were my crafting go to!

The background I really like - one of my favourite techniques. And the dies finish it nicely, give another element.

To join in with this theme, visit us at the 52CCT blog - you can check out the beautiful cards from my DT colleagues, and share your card. You have until Friday 22nd April to play along. Enjoy!

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.

Silhouettes - Winter vs Christmas

For Tracy's theme challenge at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, she has asked us to create a card using a silhouette.

So perfect opportunity to get out the Christmas Wee Folk from Clarity.

But first things first, the backgrounds.

I stamped the diamond shape outlines (also Clarity) onto card, and cut masks to cover them.

I used this stamp set, which I bought recently from a destash group - they are so dangerous!

For the first card, I used purple, yellow and turquoise acrylic paint. I brayered them onto the gel plate, then picked up the paint with the stamp to add to the card. I also dipped the card into the paint that was left, which had the stamp impression in it.

Because I was having fun, I made another, with red, lime green and teale.

This is how they looked with the masks removed.

I stamped the Wee Folk using midnight blue and fern green stazon inks. I used the stamp platform as I needed to repeat stamp, and the outside of the mask so I stayed in the apertures.

I used posca paint pens to outline the diamonds, and added chains up and down from the points. I also edged the cards. I used the white posca and a white gel pen to highlight the diamonds and chains so they stood out.

I did a little pencil work in the diamonds to ground the figures, but kept it minimal.

Finally I used a scrap of card I'd used to pick up spare paint from the gel plate, and stamped the sentiments (mini word chains from Clarity), in stazon ink. The white gel pen came out again to make the words stand out. I edged with the posca pens and added to the cards. I went around in the white posca pen to highlight.

I love the colours on this card, and the figures playing in the snow are my favourites.

These colours are more festive, and I do love how the background came out. I chose the more festive celebration Wee Folk for this one, which I like.



To join in with this challenge, and see the inspiration from the rest of the Design team, head ove to the 52CCT blog. You have until Friday 22nd May to enter.

Tipsy snowman

I'm back with this week's 52 Christmas Card Throwdown card.

Branka has chosen "Snowmen" for her theme.

I had this planned out all week, but ended up making it at the last minute so it's actually a pretty quick one.

I started by die cutting three ovals from my card, and stamping the figures (Clarity wee folk stamps), then using a sponge and torn paper to add hills and ground them.

The snowman is a bit wonky - I might redo him before giving it to anyone!

On the background, I stamped the red band across the middle, then ran it through a Tattered Lace embossing folder, with just the top inside. I sponged a bit of the blue ink over the dots.

For the bottom half, I used second and third generation ink and three more stamps from the same Clarity knitted stamp set as the red border.

I then used green and blue to edge the card and the oval apertures, and put together onto an 5x7 card blank.

I think the bottom half of this turned out really pretty! And I like the contrast between the areas.




To join in this week, head to 52CCT. You have until Friday 25th to play.

Swirling skies

Alison is our host for February on the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. As always, we start the month with a sketch, and Alison has chosen a simple design to inspire us:

To make my first band across my card, I used the wee houses stamps from Clarity. I drew a guide line before stamping a row in permanent ink. Despite this, they ended up a bit higgledy piggledy.

I painted them with pebeo masking fluid to protect them. And then had a session with the distress reinkers making shaving foam backgrounds!

I love the green one, the blue one was a bit full on for me, so I knocked it back a bit by dry brushing with white gesso.

I rubbed off the masking fluid to reveal the white houses. 

Some of the ink lifted too, so I went over with a black drawing pen where needed.

I cut down to size, I couldn't get rid of the really wobbly houses as they were in the middle, so just made sure the houses were balanced on each side.

For the second band across, I used Centura pearl hint of silver card for a bit of shimmer. I cut two narrow strips, then die cut words and snowflakes to build up the pattern, and adhered to the card with wet glue.

These went on a 6x6 card blank.

This wasn't meant to be a literal picture, but the shaving foam pattern does suggest a swirling snow storm, very appropriate for the current UK weather!

This one is more delicate, I love the pattern - the shaving foam is quite random though, you can't really control what you're going to get.





To join in with this week's challenge, head over to the 52CCT, you have until Friday 8th February to join in. I'm really intrigued to see what you all do with this sketch.

Purple and Green Christmas

Our second challenge at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown each month is always a colour challenge. This month Andreja has chosen Purple and Green for us to play with.

I dug out my distress oxides and Wee Folk Christmas stamps from Clarity.

I stamped a background in a texture stamp and bundled sage, then added the wee folk around the page in purple (wilted violet and dusty concord) and green (mowed lawn, cracked pistachio, crushed olive, twisted citron and more bundled sage).

Once they were in place, I stamped in between with two script stamps, to draw it all together.

I then spritzed with water to activate the inks.

Not sure it looks that different, I didn't want to overdo it.

To turn the background into a card, I cut it down to card size (5 x7). I made a background matte and sponged dusty concord ink round the edge.

I stamped a Merry Christmas sentiment, and die cut it out, along with a mount for it with a larger size die. This was also sponged purple. I cut out two lacy borders from the purple sponged card to see which I preferred across the card.

And then fell out with it completely!

Fortunately, for once I wasn't last minute, so could put it aside and think about it!

So this is what I did instead. (I forgot to take any photos of this bit!)

I sponged wilted purple into the centre of the mount piece (and the edge a bit), then put green oxide inks onto a mat, spritzed with water and dipped the card into it.

I cut two snowflakes from the centre using new dies from The Works.

For the sentiment, I used the offcuts of the background I made. The stamp is the mini word chain from Clarity. I used the stamp platform so I could stamp in purple, then add a bit of black to make it stand out more. I also heat embossed with clear powder. I then went round the edge of the words with a white gel pen to emphasise them further.

I made a mount in the same way as the big mount.

I added more purple to the snowflakes so they stood out more.

Everything was edged with a black inkpad. 

There was a purple Santa in the background that was making the snowflakes disappear, so I went over it with a green pencil. I used a grey pencil for a shadow around the sentiment to add dimension.

Final touch, a metallic purple pen to scribble in the corners.

I put it together with a tape pen, and PVA for the snowflakes - I want to make mostly postable cards this year!

These are two of my favourite colours together! I may have overdone them a bit but hey! A bit more white/neutral space may have helped. But then I like busy cards - they're only small.





To join in with the challenge, visit the 52CCT blog. You have until Friday 18th January to enter. Have fun!!

Christmas Cube

This is my last card as hostess of the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and probably my last Christmas card for a while, as the baby is due in two weeks!

I chose cube/pop up cards as my technique.

More than a year ago I downloaded a template for a cube card, but hadn't got round to putting it together, so this was my cunning plan to make me finish!

Unfortunately, the template and instructions I used are no longer available online, but there are lots of other versions.

Here's the template as printed, which I cut out and folded.

And then glued as carefully as I could, adding a rubber band before the last glue, so it pops up.

 Flattens to go into the envelope...

.... then opens up into a cube.

It is a bit tricky to get the sides lined up - so this isn't perfect, think it would take a bit of practice.

So now it's about decorating! Lots of options, of course.

I dug out some kraft card to decorate - I usually use distress oxides these days, but wanted stronger colour and find they go very chalky on kraft, so used distress inks instead. Aged mahogany and pine needles, a classic Christmas combo. I swooshed them onto my craft mat, spritzed with water, then dipped the card in.

While this dried, I stamped my sentiment (from Crafters Companion) and images onto scrap white card. The cube is quite small (just over 6cm a side) so I had to pull out my smallest - even most of the Clarity wee folk were too big, but these ones worked perfectly.

I wanted more detail on my background card, so dug out a swirly Clarity stamp and overstamped in the same two colours, before spritzing lightly.

Once dry, I cut out my 6cm x 6cm squares to cover each side.

For the four main ones, I die cut an aperture in the centre, then inked the inside and outside edges with aged mahogany.

I wanted more texture and a bit of shine, so I ran these through a Tattered Lace holly embossing folder, which I'd inked with versamark. I then added bronze mica powder over the top. I haven't used mica for ages - I do like it though!

A more logical approach given my lack of time and that I have a cold, would be to use designer papers, or something from the stash, for these, but where's the fun in that?

I trimmed my stamped images down, and blended antique linen distress ink round the edges to warm them up. I also did this on a blank piece of card, to be used to add the "to and "from". You could add a tag to do this, but I wanted it on the cube itself.

The images were then trimmed and added to the back of the frames I'd created.

Time to add them to the cube base! I used super sticky tape to make sure they stuck.

Once done, the top of the cube looked odd in white. So I took another of the squares I'd cut, trimmed it slightly then cut it diagonally into triangles. These I glued to the top, making sure the folds were still free to collapse inwards to flatten the card.

 And there we have the finished card!

Ridiculously hard to photograph, and the shine from the mica doesn't show at all, but hopefully you get the idea!

Very different but fun, and the cube wasn't that hard to construct as long as you can live with the sides being slightly uneven!

I think these could make very cute baby cards as well, like toy blocks - and I may have a few of those to make to the next little while!

To join in with the challenge, head over to the 52CCT, you have until Friday 31st August to enter. The design team cards are especially amazing this week, so I really suggest you check them out!