Christmas in Autumn?

Goga's final challenge as host of the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for April, is a technique - Emboss Resist.

I'll let you into a secret - I was going to choose this for my month, but Goga got there first. So I'm obviously very happy with the challenge!

The scene is stamped - from an old Hobby Art set - and heat embossed in white, on watercolour paper. I then coloured with distress inks and a water pen. I realised that, with the white embossing, I couldn't do white snowy rooves or fields, so it doesn't look very Christmassy!

I wasn't sure if this was "resist" enough, so repeated the technique on the background. This time I stamped the poinsettia and heat embossed in white again. I then dipped this into the leftover ink on my mat from my colouring. This meant the colours matched beautifully, but it was very pale, so I added more ink, repeating until I got the intensity I wanted. I blended walnut stain ink around the outside to frame.

The frame and snowflakes were die cut from watercolour paper. I raised the centre up (with foam tape) to help the snowflakes stand out from the background.

 

It looks more Autumnal than Christmas, but never mind! I do really like the colours, especially in the background, against the delicate white lines.

 

 

 

 

To play along with this fun and versatile technique, pay us a visit at the 52CCT blog. You can see the amazing inspiration from my DT colleagues, and link your own card up. You have 2 weeks to play along with this challenge, as there are 5 Saturdays in April, it closes on Friday 6th May.

Happy crafting!

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!

Frosty snowflakes

Goga is our host at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month, and she has chosen a lovely frosty set of colours for us to play with.

 

I had to go with snowflakes for these!

I made my backgroundwith distress oxides (mainly stormy sky, with a bit of faded jeans and chipped sapphire) and a silver pigment ink. I haven't used pigment ink for a while, I had to use washing up liquid to clean the sticky off my stamps!

A mixture of stamps and stencils built up the pattern. I love doing these, it's such fun to put things together.

I die cut the large snowflake from centura pearl card. The sentiment was die cut from a scrap, stamped in the pigment ink and edged with stormy sky. Then it and the background were edged in cornflower blue archival ink.

 

 

Impossible to photograph the shimmer on the die cut or silver ink, and the photo also loses some of the drama. But hopefully you can see the prettiness!

The challenge is open until Friday 15th April - pop on over to the 52CCT blog to see all the Design Team inspiration, and to share your card with us.

A junk journal card

It's my final week hosting the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this year. I've chosen a technique challenge - I want to see something that moves on the card front.

I've been watching a lot of videos on junk journalling recently, and when I saw Luise Heinzl make this little dangle, I knew I wanted to make one for my card.

So this is a card that thinks it's a junk journal!

The dangle first - I printed the sentiment, then mounted on card, with tea dyed lint. I added it to a bulb ring I dyed with alcohol ink, with a snowflake charm.

I attached it to the card by gluing a Christmas glass piece on, with a bit of cotton ribbon underneath. I added distress crayon behind it to help it stand out - it looks really dark in the photos!

The background is a made with ink, brushos and a stencil, from my stash - I loved the burnt orange and green. The wood effect piece is also stash, and makes a pocket.

I added lace at the edge, and a cluster with a button. I sewed round the edges to attach the pocket - I think I should have gone round twice now I look at it!

To go in the pocket, I made a tag, using a stamp from IndigoBlu. I stencilled to add interest, and pick up the orange colour, and sewed round the edge.

 

Once it was in the pocket though, the deer are hidden and it looks a little dull. So I added another moving element - a paperclip. I die cut a snowflake from a scrap of the wood effect card, and mounted it on a circle I'd inked to match, with some more of the dyed lint.

The whole thing is mounted on a 5x7 card blank.

I had such fun making this! It's a bit unusual as a card, but I think would be fun to receive as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To play along, visit the 52CCT blog. The design team have made some amazing cards, with lots of different ideas for moving elements, so go and check them out.

You have until Friday 1st April (no fooling!) to enter.

Holly and Ivy

For my theme choice at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, I've picked "Holly and/or Ivy".

 

Hopefully this will be really versatile for everyone to play along!

I used a Clarity stamp that was new this Christmas. I stamped the boot, then masked it off to blend the background with antique linen and brushed corduroy distress ink.

The swirly corner stamp is from IndigoBlu - I was writing a review and suggested it would work well as a background, so decided to try it out. This is bottle adirondack ink.

I coloured the boot with polychromos, then stamped the sentiment and coloured that the same - then also used an inktense pencil to get the shade of green I wanted.

I edged the card in the bottle ink.

 

Not my usual style at all - it was slightly odd to have a flat card with no warping from water! - but I'm very pleased with it. I'm not great at colouring, I don't practise enough,  but I think this looks okay.

Now head over to the 52CCT blog to see the rest of the DT inspiration, and share your own holly/ivy card. You have until Friday 25th March to play along.

When Plan A doesn't work, go to Plan B!

It's time for my second challenge choice hosting the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month.

The second week is always a colour challenge. This one was a pure indulgence - I didn't think about colour wheels or anything, just chose three of my favourite colours to play with.

My plan was to use acrylic paint on the gel plate, with a Clarity bauble stencil. That was a bit of a fail! The images were blurred and unclear, so not usable as they were.

However, with the failed prints, and lift off sheets, and brayer cleaning sheets, I had a lot of "collage fodder" in the challenge colours. And so this card rose from the ashes!

For a focal point, I stamped an IndigiBlu bauble with mixed media embossing powder, the sentiment is in the same powder. Looking at the photo, the bauble looks a bit flat, I think I should have torn the piece down smaller (too late) or added shading or some background - which I could still do.

Once everything was stuck down (on a base from a bit of junk mail, gesso'd), I went round each piece with purple, teal or grey inktense pencils to highlight the shapes and add depth. I used the purple paint round the edge, then a black ink pad. And finally some doodling.

This is an A5 card, I felt the proprotions worked better than a 5x7.

I have lots of "fodder" left, and a purple embossed bauble and sentiment, so may make a second version. I also remembered I have lint cloth dyed in these colours, so could add those for a more mixed media feel.

Gorgeously grungy - not how I'd envisioned these colours at all, but that's how it goes sometimes.

I hope you have fun playing with these bright and funky colours. Do visit us at 52CCT to check out the design team talent, and share your card with us.

Brusho sketch

I'm hosting the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this month , and this is the sketch I've chosen.

I wanted to play with the brusho stencil technique I used here. I didn't have any stencils the right shape for my triangles though, so decided to use die cuts instead. I used a snow flake swirl, and an abstract Christmas tree. And this is when this all started to get much trickier than expected! I had a load of trouble doing the die cuts to start with - they wouldn't cut, then wouldn't release from the dies.

Once I finally had them, I realised why stencils are generally made from mylar, not coated paper! Brushing ink round then without moving them proved a bit of an art.

Once inked, I spritzed with water, removed the sdie cuts, and sprinkled on some brusho. For the snowflakes, I used blue shades. 

 

The simple sentiment is cobalt blue archival ink, which also edged the card.

For the tree, I inked in green, then added  green brushos. I went for a tiny touch of a festive red - but was heavy handed and ended up with loads! But think it looks bright and cheery, and as I didn't add more water to mix the colours, haven't got too much mud between the red and green.

The brighter colours needed a more striking sentiment - I'm not sure I've used this one before. I stamped in fern green archival, then coloured with polychromos. I blended the forest moss oxide around the edge - my current favourite colour! Then edged in the fern green.

I then realised that my hard won die cuts now had ink on them! The snowflakes I haven't used yet, but for the trees, I made another background with the same brushos as above, then added them to it as per the sketch.

Then a bit of finessing. I edged as above, and stamped some holly to add interest. I lightly coloured these with polychromos. The sentiment is black, and I use a white gel pen to help it stand out against the busy background. Then to help the contrast in the trees, I went round them loosely with a fine black pen.

This one using the "waste" may be my favourite!

To join in visit us at 52CCT - you can be inspired by my design team colleagues, and share your interpretation of the sketch with us. You have until Friday 11th March to join in.