Washi, washi, washi

It's time for Rosi's stash challenge at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. I am so not ready for it to be the last Saturday of September!!

She's asked us to use washi tape on our card - at least two different tapes.

I don't usually use washi, but when I dug around I had a few different ones, so used 5 on this card.

(I was also introduced to The Washi Shop online recently, so will be adding to that - they have absolutely beautiful designs.)

This card started with the discarded piece from last week, with the yellow and green elf in the middle. Waste not want not!

I blended tumbled glass oxide over it, then lightly stamped a script stamp in brown to give a base.

Over this I collaged some music sheet (a printable) to hide the elf, then added torn strips of washi. It was a bit full on, so I dry brushed white gesso over to knock it back a bit.

I inked the edge with black archival, then sewed across with the sewing machine in white. I've been wanting to try stitching on paper/card for ages, so finally got on with it!

I saw a video on ways to use washi that showed die cutting, so wanted to try that. I put the collage and washi onto an scrap of card, then die cut a bird and a bow. I love this! They look so interesting.

I did the same with two flower (poinsettia I hope) dies. I edged with black to help them stand out.

The bird wasn't standing out on the background, so I inked a little background square, and attached it with the most contrasting washi as a frame. I added black with a Stabilo All pencil around the inner edge.

For the sentiment, I inked a scrap of card and die cut a tag, and stamped Merry Christmas. This also disappeared a bit, so I used the dark teal tape to cover more card and die cut a second tag to go underneath.

I can't quite make up my mind about this card. It's quite full on, and lacks contrast a bit. But I do like the shabby, layered feel, and I love the die cuts.

 

 

 

 

Now over to you. This challenge is open for a week, to Friday 1st October. To join in, visit us at 52CCT, where you'll also find the inspiration from my super talented design team colleagues.

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.

Feeling blue

Rosi has chosen "3 shades of blue" as her colour challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week.

I have used 3 archival ink shades - cobalt blue, cornflower blue and manganese blue. The card design is from a workshop I did with Angela Simpson in May.

I built the wreath with a stamp set I got secondhand and I suspect was from a magazine. It had the perfect stamps for a wreath so would guess this was one of the projects! I drew a pencil circle on the card, then used my stamp platform - placing the stamp then turning the card a quarter to stamp 4 times. I realised I didn't rub out the pencil mark - it doesn't show too much but might go back and do that!

The hills were created with torn paper and a sponge, with the cornflower blue. The tree is from an old rubber set, and the stag is a stand alone stamp I've also had for ages. I think the tree had ink left on it so came out a little more green than the cornflower colour - which works well for the card and I hope Rosi will forgive for the challenge!

The stars added interest in the sky, although I think I overdid them. The final touch was clear glitter in the berries and tree, however, my glue pen is obviously too old so came out yellow! Oops. I added blue mica instead of the glitter, to cover the yellow colour, which has worked. Again I ask Rosi's forgiveness for a fourth shade of blue!

To finish, I brushed the cornflower blue around the outside to give a subtle edge.

While I'm still in shock(!) that I haven't included a single snowflake on a blue card, I am very happy with this. It's a beautiful Winter scene, and the wreath gives a different aspect to it.

 

 

 

To join in, pop over to the 52CCT blog, where you'll see the inspiration from my DT colleagues and can enter your card. You have a week, to Friday 17th September, to join in.

Framed Stag

Rosi is our host for September at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. To start us off, she's chosen a sketch for us to play with.

 

I have stuck to this one pretty much as it is, without any flips or tweaks! I even managed to keep some of the open space, which I love, but am very bad at leaving on a card.

The first step was to heat emboss the stag silhouette on the card. I tried two different scales, one with the full stamp, and one with the body masked off to just give the head. I seem to be doing cards in pairs at the moment, trying out two versions of the same thing. The larger is a mix of black and copper powder, to give a bronze effect, the smaller is just black.

I then added brushos, using an aperture stencil to contain them and the water within an oval area around the stag. This worked a bit better than I hoped - the areas are more defined than I had in mind, especially the larger one.

I also added brushos to scrap pieces to cut the strips from, using darker colours for contrast. I edged these with walnut stain distress oxide.

The frames are die cut, the two came as a set.

The sentiments are different to suit the different sizes. For the larger one I die cut the sentiment, then heat embossed in black. The smaller has a stamped sentiment on a scrap of card. I edged both in black permanent pen, then mounted on a 7x7 and a 6x6 card blank.

 

 

I do love the brushos, and these warm, natural colours are such a great backdrop to a stag image, suggesting a woodland scene.

 

Now it's your turn to show us your interpretation of the sketch. Share it with us at the 52CCT blog, where you can see all the wonderful inspiration cards from my design team colleagues.

The challenge is open for a week, until Friday 10th September. Have fun!

 

Oh, so pretty

For her last week as host of the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, Jenny has chosen a fabulous stash challenge - Stencil.

So many options for what to do with this one! I went for something very simple, and I hope it doesn't sound boastful if I say I think it's turned out beautifully!

I used two frame stencils, from That Special Touch. I placed them at an angle on my card, to form a curve, then brushed distress ink over them. I used bundled sage on the holly one and tumbled glass on the snowflakes. Light colours as this is a base layer to give definition.

 

With the stencil still in place, I spritzed water onto the card in the same area, then removed the stencil. I sprinkled on brushos and left them to react in the water and dry. I used leaf green for the holly, and ultramarine with a touch of turquoise for the snowflakes.

 

Once they were completely dry, I could tap off the brusho in the dry areas that hadn't reacted.

The sentiments were stamped onto offcuts of the backgrounds from when I cut them to size. I used archival ink, in fern green and watering can. I edged the sentiment and base with the inks too.

 

Very simple, but oh, so pretty! For once, it's not the snowflakes that have won me over, my favourite is the holly.

 

 But the snowflakes are gorgeous too.

To play along, visit us at the 52CCT blog, where you'll also find all the inspiration from my design team colleagues. This challenge is open for a week, until Friday 3rd September. Have fun, I really look forward to seeing what amazing cards we receive!

Steampunk Robin

Jenny's theme choice for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week is Birds.

 

The card above is not the one I meant to make at all! I was all set, and had started, a card using the very pretty bird bauble stamps from Tina Cox for Clarity. However, when on holiday I'd found this steampunk Christmas stamp set, which I couldn't resist. So I decided to play with this while the other card dried - and ended up having such fun I finished this one instead!

I stamped the bird first, and heat embossed with a mixture of black and copper. I then masked this and stamped the tree, heat embossing partially in gold and partially in silver.

Masking the bird again, I brushed some colour (fossilised amber and vintage photo distress oxide) into the background. I then over stamped with other stamps from the set, as well as a cog background I already had, in potting soil archival ink and other distress oxides.

I sponged some vintage photo around the bird (using the mask still) to give a drop shadow.

I coloured the bird with distress oxides and a water pen. Rusty hinge was perfect, and apt, for his chest, with green and red for the holly to give a festive touch. The rest was various browns, used alone and mixed, and with black soot, to give a variety of shades. I also used the water pen to activate the oxides in the background within the tree, to define it a bit more.

The sentiment is also from this set, I stamped and embossed in copper. It was getting a bit lost on the busy background, so I sponged antique linen oxide over the area to knock it back, then wiped the ink off the embossing.

To finish, I blended vintage photo around the outside, and swiped a black archival ink pad across the edges.

 

I am really rather fond of my steam punk robin, with his rusty chest. A bit different and quirky! And the set I think will be useful, some of the smaller stamps will be great for backgrounds.

 

 

 

So, I hope you're inspired to play along with our challenge. To see the fabulous cards from the rest of the design team, and share your card, visit us at the 52CCT blog. The challenge is open for a week, until Friday 27th August. Have fun!!

Baublicious

Jenny has chosen an unusual but very pretty colour combination for us at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week.

It took a little while to think what I wanted to do for this, and a bit of serendipity played a part.

The background uses an embossing folder, I saw a youtube of someone using this technique, which I haven't done for ages, so decided to have a play.

I didn't have an ink that I would call aqua (there was a bit of a discussion at home about what colour aqua was, how much green is in it!). So I blended distress oxides, mostly peacock feathers, with a bit of tumbled glass and bundled sage sponged on. Cracked postacio may have been a better green to use, with hindsight. I added the ink to the deboss side of the folder, and spritzed the card with water before running through the embossing machine. I had a few iterations, this was the one I was happy with - although the photo is doesn't show the touch of green there is in real life!

(You can see I also used a spray over an embossed panel, but haven't made that into a card yet. The spray was also a blend, of distress reinker colours.)

I was going to do a gel plate paint print for the rose pink, but then on holiday last week I treated myself to some pink alcohol inks, and a gold mixative (amongst other crafty things!). So it seemed rude not to use them for this colour challenge.

I used these, again blending the pinks to get a shade I liked, to make a background sheet. I used yupo paper and coated card as bases, to compare.

I preferred the piece on coated paper, although that's not what I ended up using!

Onto these, I stamped my baubles in versamark ink, and heat embossed with a light gold powder. Of course, yupo paper is plastic so doesn't handle heat well - it curled up a lot!

However, once I'd fussy cut them out, I preferred them, they had more dimension, and the card ones looked flat in comparison. So those are the ones I used. And the rest have gone in an envelope to be used another time!

I arranged on the base, then stuck down with red linetape, to cope with the plastic surface, curl and embossed base.

At this point I realised I hadn't cut my base to size, it was slightly large (as is my usual practice, in case I don't like a bit or the edge pools or something). Fortunately, it was only slightly too large, because the baubles weren't coming off! I trimmed the base slightly, and made my card blank a bit bigger than usual, and it worked out.

I sponged peacock feathers around the edge, then added the bauble strings with a gel pen and ruler. The gold was a bit too yellow next to the embossing, so I used a little silver as well, while the ink was still wet, mixing them on the page to get a more subtle gold colour.

So, there you have my rose pink, aqua and gold card. Unfortunately the photo has distorted the colours a little, and the texture on the base and baubles looks a lot better in real life! But this is such a pretty colour combination, I hope you can get a feel for it.

 

 

To play along with this challenge, visit us at the 52CCT blog. You have a week, until Friday 20th August, to enter your card into our gallery.