Season's Greeting Santa

I am trying to make a few Christmas Cards.  I don't have many done and I know I will need them in December.  If I was really smart, as I finished a card, I should sign it, place it in an addressed envelope - it would be all ready to go.  Unfortunately, I am not that smart.  I also do not like to do duplicates/multiples of cards.  This would make it so much easier if I would do that - but the fun for me in card making, is the creative process.

I am combining two challenges for this card.  The first challenge is a weekly Christmas card challenge (so you are not rushed at the end).  Jingle Bells has a tic tac toe challenge.  I chose to do the diagonal:  Santa, Die Cuts, Gold.  The Santa is a piece of chipboard.  The Die Cut is the Green edging alongside the plaid paper.  The gold is in the embossed sentiment and gold enamel beads.

The second challenge is a monthly challenge from House of Cards.  The challenge for September is to use stitching.  It can be fake or it can be real.  I chose to dig out my sewing machine and do some contrast stitching on several layers of my card.  The main creamish colored layer is stitched all around the edge of the mat.  I stitched the plaid strip also.

The creamish mat of my card is cardstock with a dictionary page adhered to it with gel medium.  A layer of gesso was added on top.  I then dabbed on a creamish color of acrylic paint to just give it more depth of color (of course not much show so why did I go to all this work).  The chipboard was distressed with Brushed Corduroy distress ink to give it an aged look.  The sentiment was gold embossed.  The bow is made from strips of forn muslin that was tea died.  I think this adds a more rustic/antique look to a card especially since the papers and the Santa have an old fashioned flare to them.  As I mentioned above, I stitched some of the layers.  The sentiment is pop dotted for some height.  A couple gold enamel beads were added for a little contrast.  The card is about 6.5 inches by 4.5 inches.

The paper and chipboard are My Mind's Eye and the sentiment is from a very old Hero Arts set (I think).  

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you enjoyed my Christmas card.  One done - too many more to go.  

Never Inked Stamp

On a private facebook group, we had a challenge to use a stamp that had never seen ink before.  This stamp was sitting there along with my new pad of distress ink - the February color of the month.

The stamp set is from Hero Arts.  It has an outline stamp and then a stamp of the full image.  I first stamped the outline.  I colored the bloom with the distress ink.  I then inked up the full image of the bloom and stamped it over the top of the colored bloom.  This is how I got the depth of color.  I had first practiced on a piece of paper so kinda knew what I wanted to do.  I colored around the flower with a very light wash of a watercolor.

For the sentiment I inked up a piece of watercolor paper and let it dry.  I then stamped the sentiment.  The little dots are punched out of the remaining colored watercolor paper.  I put glossy accents on top and have my homemade enamel dots.

I colored the thread with distress ink also so it matches perfectly.

I am entering this in the monthly Our Daily Bread Designs challenge on Stars and Stamps - Operation Write Home's card blog.  The challenge is to have the focus on the sentiment.

I am also entering it in House of Cards monthly challenge to use enamel dots.  Well mine are fake enamel dots - hopefully that counts.

Enjoy your evening - I am cleaning - ugh.

House of Cards Monthly Challenge

The monthly challenge at House of Cards is enamel dots.  I love these things but the hard part is the scatter thing.  I can sweat over the correct placement of 3 or 5 or 7 enamel dots, pearls, gems, etc.

I needed to make a good bye card for a co worker.  This card is from the office.

I had made the background on which the flower is stamped.  I made it awhile ago but I believe it was made with distress inks on watercolor paper.  I like to make some of these up and have them waiting to be used. I hate the wait till it is dry.  I also save all my scraps of background papers I have made.  I know someday I will need them.

As you can see there are black enamel dots on the card.  I also wanted to bring in the colors of the background paper but of course, you never have enamel dots in the correct colors.  I have started using the old fashioned hole punch for circles.  Place the dots on my card with a glue dot and then I add glossy accents on top.  It is a "kinda faux" enamel dot that exactly matches.  The flower was colored with distress paints.

Hope you liked my enamel dot card.  Thanks for stopping by.

Paper Smooches, Seize the Sketch and House of Cards Unite

I finally got a card made for the challenge on the Paper Smooches Spark Challenge Blog where anything goes.  This is a great challenge because then you can do anything you want, use any color and design.

Just like most cardmakers, we collect stuff.  I had this cute little monkey in my collection of Paper Smooches Stuff and I wanted to use it.  I have not made my Mom a card for ages so I thought this card would brighten her room at the nursing home.  I got to use some of my favorite colors.  Teal and orange - I was never much of an orange fan until I had a student worker who loved orange and she opened my eyes to it's creative possibilities.

I used the sketch from Seize the Sketch.  A great sketch you can do lots with.

I also am entering it in a new monthly challenge I found - House of Cards.  There challenge is to use a bow.  I don't use lots of bows on my cards because the majority of my cards are for Operation Write Home and I try to keep my bulk down on these cards since they travel so many miles.

The patterned paper is from Basic Grey.  I believe the ribbon is May Arts.  I added some extra hearts in the lower left hand corner of the image.  I fussy cut all the hearts.  The little teal hearts have Glossy Accents on them to make them a little dimensional.  The big heart and the image are pop dotted for more dimension.  Did you see our little monkey has her belly button pierced.  She is such a little rebel.

If you wish to buy your own supply of Paper Smooches stamps and dies, you can shop at their online store.