Christmas Card - Unique Color Combination

The season for mailing your Christmas cards is fast approaching and once again you may be in panic mode that you have enough cards created.  I create all year and really have no idea how many I have done.  If I don't have enough, maybe I will send valentine cards  to the people who do not receive a Christmas card.  Of course, the mail system is a big gamble for mailing cards.  Will they or won't they make their destination and how long will it take.

On a more positive note the color challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown intrigued me.  Could I make a card in these colors.   

For my white color choice, I took an old book page and painted it with gesso to fade out the words.  I die cut the black snowflake from several layers of black cardstock and layered them together.  I cut a kraft snowflake from several layers and glued them together.  The book page was adhered to a kraft card base after I had distressed the edges.  The two different snowflakes were glued together and a twine bow was added to the center of the kraft snowflake.  A sentiment strip from Simon Says Stamp completed the card.  No the card was completed once I added all the splatter - both black and white.

I really do like how this card turned out and I may make some of these for next year.  I will have to check out the dimension on it.  I don't want to upset the US Postal Service.

Thanks for the challenge and thank you for stopping by.  

November Stencil Challenge for Happy Little Stampers

It is time for a new stencil challenge at Happy Little Stampers for the month of November.  The challenge is always anything goes.  I chose to make a Christmas card.

Stencils have evolved so much in the last few years and had made coloring so much easier for people.  Many people fear having to color an image but many new stencils save you the challenges of coloring.  

The stencil I chose to use is from Simon Says Stamp.  I believe it came out last year.  It is a two layer stencil.  I chose to work with blue inks.

The first card is a mini slimline.  I used blue glitter paper to mat the stenciled image and to also die cut the sentiment.  I used a blue card stock for the base.  Since there were stars in the stenciled images I added some clear star embellishments to the card front.

Here is a close up of the sentiment and you can also see the stars.

Of course, I stenciled the design twice and made this into an A2 card.  The sentiment was part of the stenciled background.  Once again I added the clear stars.

Please join us for the November Stencil Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  

Thanks for stopping by.  

 

A Christmas Challenge and Oldie Moldie Monday Collide

It is Monday time to show some love for your old supplies.

I decided I wanted to play along with the sketch challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown and thought - I wonder if I have an image that is already stamped and colored.  Well I looked in a semi organized box of images and I found this sweet marshmallow snowman.  I then dug through my ample supply of Christmas paper and found these fun selections of patterned paper.  With the "merry' piece of paper I don't even need to add a sentiment to the card.  I even know who I will send the card to.  A young child is battling cancer in our small community (she just had her leg amputated above her knee this week) and think this holiday card will make her smile.  I sent her another card today which is just a fun card to make her smile.

Here is the sketch.

Here is my card.

Remember to show some love for your old supplies - they still make lovely cards.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

So Thankful For Your Friendship

 I have been working on some fall cards to send out to family and friends.  A few of these cards are going to go from high school classmates that I have reconnected with over the last few years.  I really did not know these ladies in high school that well so it is nice to know them as adults.  We are probably all better people as adults.  It is a little sad also because we just lost a classmate this week to a heart attack.  It is very sad.

I am participating in the current challenge at The Paper Players where the theme is thankful.

I have been wanting to use this stamp set that has been in my supplies for a very long time.  It is a set from Paper Smooches.  The card was in my head and it turned out exactly as I had pictured it.  I stamped the first layer of leaves with oxide ink on kraft cardstock.  I then stamped and embossed another leaf image three times and used gold embossing powder.  I die cut the sentiment from fall colored cardstock and stamped the simple sentiment.  Does happiness fit in an envelope?

Thanks for stopping by.

Fall Friendship Cards

 I have spent some days at home so I have been able to finish up some cards I started when I visited my friend Annie.

We made the backgrounds on the gel plate using alcohol inks.  You first put down a layer of the clear alcohol blending solution.  You then added your colors of alcohol ink and laid your paper on top of the gel plate (we did use small gel plates so ended up with space for our card fronts).  By putting down the blending solution first, you did not stain your gel plates.  The leaves were done on glossy paper the normal way you use alcohol inks.  The leaves were cut with a Tim Holtz die.  The sentiment is from an old set of Gina K's.

I am entering the card into the current challenge at Sunday Stampers.  It is a color challenge.  

Here is the card I am highlighting.  I believe it has at least 3 of the colors from the challenge in the card.

Here is another card using a round gelli plate.

Nature has bright blue leaves somewhere - I am sure of that.

It was so much fun to spend time with Annie and create.  She always comes up with good ideas for us to try.

Thanks for stopping by.

November Christmas Challenge for Happy Little Stampers

Christmas is fast approaching so it is a good time to join the November Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  The challenge is always anything goes with an option.  This month the option is Bah Hum Bug.

I chose to do "anything goes".  I had recently bought a new Christmas collection from 49th and Market and I wanted to use it.  I love to do collage cards so gathered together different elements of the paper and add ons and went to town creating.  I used my distressing tool to distress the edges of the paper and inked the edges of everything to give it a more aged look.  I was working on some junk journals and my sewing kit was sitting there and I added some hand stitching on the front of the card.  I really like how that added a little different design element to the card.  I added the front to a kraft card base and gold splatters completed the card.

Please join us at Happy Little Stampers for our November Christmas Challenge.  

Thanks for stopping by.  

 

November Birthday Challenge for Happy Little Stampers

It is November and time for a new birthday challenge at Happy Little Stampers.  As always the birthday challenge is anything goes.  Now is the time to get a jump start on your upcoming birthdays or to catch up.   

I have been playing with the new dies from Tim Holtz - Artsy Leaves.  Leaves are a favorite subject I like to use for my fall cards.  I decided to use them on a birthday card for a close friend.  This is a 5 x 7 card.  I have been enjoying making larger cards.

I made many leaves out of scraps of paper.  Some paper is paper I have created and other paper is just cardstock and patterned paper in my scraps.  Do you have lots of scraps?  

I first took a round doily like stencil (sorry I don't know who made it).  Placed it on watercolor paper and then added peeled paint oxide ink through the stencil.  I removed the stencil and sprayed the design with water so it would run.  You can see the way it ran outside the leaves.  This is an easy way to add a background to a card front.  I then took my leaves and made a design I liked.  I used some press and seal to pick up the arrangement so I could stamp the sentiment.  I had figured out where to put the sentiment while the leaves were in their final arrangement.  

I then added glue to the back of the leaves and carefully put it back on the card front.  I had to add more glue by carefully lifting edges and sneaking in some glue to finish the card.  I splattered some of the Tim Holtz mica spray over the entire front of the card.

I matted the card front with dark brown card stock.  I made the card base out of some heavier green card stock.  I had strips of card stock left over from earlier projects so I decided to just take those strips in various widths and glue behind the image.  I liked how it brought in some more of the fall colors.

Here is the inside of the card.  

Please join us at Happy Little Stampers for our November birthday challenge.

Thanks for stopping by.