Luminary card

My sister gave me a lovely birthday gift this year - the Christmas tree stamp and die set from Michael Strong.  It's a little late in the year for me to be making Christmas cards, though, so I thought, for my week as card captain for the EnjoyMichaelStrongStamps yahoogroup, I would try making things that aren't cards.

This is a luminary card - there is an electric tealight inside right now, but it fits over a glass votive holder, too.  The inside panels are vellum.   This is made from a single vertical half-sheet of standard size cardstock, so when flattened, it fits into a normal card envelope.  It's a card that is also a gift, or just keep it as a decoration.

Red and green

I like traditional colors in my Christmas cards.

Snowflakes are the "flowers" of December; they make any Christmas card better.  Also improving this otherwise common and boxy card is the small amount of hand drawing.  This is a retired stamp from AMuse Studio, and fits their red and green challenge this week.

Challenges:

• Sweetstamps - red and green
• Created with Love - Christmas
• Get Inky - onward and upward
• Crafty Catz - Santa Claus

Holly Dolly

The Challnge this past week was to make an art doll attached to an ATC base, with limbs that could fold up into the ATC for storage.  This was a fun idea to me - I like making paper dolls of all sizes.  However, I couldn't think if a theme until I saw a diecut Christmas tree in my pile on the desk (POTD for you Canadians) and thought it would make a fun skirt.  Thus, Holly Dolly was born.

The holly print paper happens to be the reverse of the green snowflake paper.  I think you've seen me use this doll body (I printed a sheet of them) before on other projects, but this is the first time I've used it for a jointed doll. However, the assignment wasn't just to make a doll, but attach it to an ATC base.  As I was doing that, it occurred to me that it would make even more sense to put her on a Christmas card, so she could be displayed for the holiday season before being stored an an ATC album.  I figured out that by attaching elastic cord to the card base, I could easily display an ATC without making it difficult to remove later.

 You can see the ATC, the silver elastic cord, and the card base here.  The tree die is from A Muse Studio - I use it a lot this time of year.

Challenges:

• Hiding in my Craft Room - scraps
• Crafts for Eternity - anything but a card (there are two things that aren't a card here)
• Art Impressions - Holly Jolly Christmas
• Creative Knockouts - punches (holly is punched)

Santa in the city

Santa's flight is one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets, because the image is just so iconic, and it lends itself to so many techniques.  Although the image is very large, it takes very little time to color, and and works with a lot of techniques.  However, I feel like all my cards that I make with it are the same - Santa flying through the sky.  I was telling my friend and amuse studio demonstrator about this, and she handed me another stamp set, love is in the air, which has a nice cityscape.  I decided to give it a try.

The images are embossed in silver, and I colored them first with a white pen, then went over the white with glitter pens.  Although I wouldn't usually use so much black on a card, it really makes the color pop.

Challenges:

• ABC Christmas challenge - reindeer 
• Just inspirational - glitter
• Sparkle N Sprinkle - glitter and embossing
• Without Words - CAS Christmas
• Less is More - dark background with a splash of color

Ho Ho Ho (not ugly)

My mother was lamenting endlessly about some ugly Christmas cards she had bought.  I asked her why she bought them if they were ugly.  She replied that it was at a tag sale at her friend's house; she felt that she needed to buy something, and the cards didn't seem too bad at the time.  I told her that I didn't think it should be too hard to fix them up, and she offered to send me a few as a challenge.

I got the envelope today - first of all, I don't think these were intended to be complete cards, just card bases that could be fixed up with stickers.  Secondly, they aren't ugly, just not the bright colors my mother likes.  It took me just a couple of minutes to dress one up.

You can see it's a muted green and red, but not terrible.  The colors with do well with a sophisticated or a playful image.  I had this little santa, and the right colors of markers, so I stamped and layered him up.  I started out stamping a sentiment right in the green area, but I messed it up, so I created a paper ribbon of ho ho ho's to cover my mistake.  I think a little extra white brightens the card a bit.  I think it is pretty good for not having any dimensional elements.

Challenges:

• Card Crafter's Circle - cute
• Challenges and candies - CAS
• PolkaDoodles - anything goes Christmas
• Aud Sentiments - Christmas sentiment
• Inky Impressions - traditional Christmas

Stay Frosty

A Muse Studio has a stamp set called seasonal branch which screamed "Buy Me!" from the pages of the catalog the minute I saw it.  Why?  because it is a bare branch that can be stamped at almost any angle (or even straight up and down, to be a sapling), and it comes with various small stamps with which to complete it, like leaves, blossoms, berries, and even snowflakes.  It is the snowflake (3 snowflakes, actually) in particular that I needed for this card - most snowflake stamps are too big to scale with other images.

I first stamped it with embossing ink on watercolor paper, then used an iridescent powder to create my snowflakes.  I then used a watercolor wash on the background.  I like the irregular edge!  The sentiment was diecut from a Tim Holtz alpha, and the penguin is an old sticker that I got in a pack from Michaels last year or maybe the year before.  My 17yo liked it so much he asked to have it (and he has NEVER asked for one of my cards before!)

Challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS
• Christmas at Sweet Stampin - cards for men
• Use it Tuesday - creatures
• Top Tip Tuesday - Seasons

Woven Words Winter card

The challenge this week at Blessings Ink is to make a card using text as a background, and I will say that amuse studio sells some of the best text paper I've seen, but I did not happen to have any of the Christmas paper handy, and I wanted to stamp, so I practiced stamping small phrases in patterns.  I wasn't getting the results I wanted, so I ended up cutting the phrases into strips and weaving them.

The patterned paper is from a double-sided stack I bought at Michaels; the tree paper is actually the back of the background paper.  A bling star on top and a tiny touch of glitter pen on the holly added just enough to appease my need to make it sparkle.

Challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps - Christmas is coming
• Crafting when we can - sparkle
• Polkadoodles - Christmas is coming
• C.R.A.F.T. - Christmas
• Crafty Little Fairies - Christmas in October

 

Paper-pieced Snowman

This is a very simple looking card, but I'm kind of proud of it because of a couple of techniques that I used that were new for me.

First off, this is a new sentiment for me.  SweetStamps has tons of vertical sentiments like this, and it is fun having your words go in a different direction for a change.  I felt very tricky getting the color to change in the middle of a word like this.  I embossed the sentiment in white on the blue, tore the white paper and embossed part of the sentiment onto it in denim blue, then lined up the words until the overlapped perfectly.  I used a much larger piece of white than I needed, and just cut off the excess.

The stamp is also new, and I tried coloring it with copics (not my favorite method, but it is okay).  As you can see, I'm not great at coloring.  However, since I was cutting out the snowman, it didn't matter too much that I couldn't stay inside the lines.  Fortunately, I am better with scissors than with markers.

I knew I needed a little something more than just the words and the snowman, so I thought holly would echo the small sprig in his hatband.  I just bought this new holly punch, and was arranging the leaves, when I noticed that the snowman's buttons were actually buttons, and also the right size for the holly!  I was even happier when I found out that the buttons fight perfectly inside a 1/4 inch punch!  So, I stamped the buttons from the snowman onto red and used those for holly berries.  Finally, I used some Diamond Glaze to give all the buttons a little dimension.

Changing it up - Ornament card

I went to a Christmas card workshop earlier this week, and although I liked all the cards offered, one bothered me - it had ornaments on it that were pink and brown.  I suppose I could do a pink and brown Christmas card, but not pink and brown ornaments - that is just too far out for my holiday tastes (although I am told that a lot of people love the sophistication of that card in those colors).  I stamped the images, and took it home to color myself.

I used Twinkling H2Os to paint these ornaments.  I just happen to have the same scallop die for the topper, and I have to admit, the white on white layering is very classy looking.  I can't take any credit for designing this card, but I wanted those people who were there and made cards with me to see what it looks like in a different color scheme.

Santa's Flight Silhouette

The stamp is santa's flight from a•muse studio, and the technique is Scene Silhouette from the Technique Junkies newsletter.  It is easy to turn any stamp into a silhouette,  and with such a dark background (in spots, I was going for an ombre effect), it helps the image stand out.

I created the background by starting with a very pale blue paper, and coloring bands with my water-soluble pastels.  A little swirling with a water brush melted and blended the colors.  the punched edge is a nice contrast.  I added assorted bling to the stars to give them some texture.

Challenges:

• Jellypark - Christmas
• 4 Crafty Chicks - bling
• ABC Christmas challenge - Christmas trees
• Stamp n Doodle - Christmas
• Cuttin' and Stampin' - clean and simple
• Lady Anne's Challenges - monochrome

Christmas in July (finally)

I normally start my Christmas cards in July, but I was so distracted with my cloisonne Cat cards that I got a late start.  Here is my first one of July:

I photographed this with my new Samsung S3 - much better photos than my tablet, I think.

Anyway, this is an easel card, which I really enjoy making, but I hate to send them, because most people have no clue how to set them up.  I think I can only send them to other stampers.  I really worked my dies and punches - I used the Out of the Die technique with the circle, and the oval is a die, and the stars are punched.  The tiny star sequins cover my overstamping.

The stamps are from the santa's flight set from a•muse studio.

Challenges:

• Paper Crafting Journey -  Christmas in July
• Creative Belli -  Christmas 
• Fab n Funky - Christmas in July
• Cuttin' and Stampin' Challenges - Christmas in July
• Loves Rubber Stamps - Christmas in July

Nordic noel flowers

I love the reindeer in the nordic noel stamp set from a•muse studio, and the dove is great too.  the Noel is perfect, and those tend to be the only three stamps in the set I use.  it isn't that the other stamps aren't good, it's that I don't know what to do with them.  Take, for example, the little flower border - so cute, but what to do with it?  I challenged myself to use it on this card:

The reindeer and flowers are embossed, and the pine branches and snowflake are punched.  A bold image like this is great on a masculine card.

Challenges:
52 Christmas Card Throwdown - colors
Crafty Hazelnut's - snowflakes
I ♥ 2 Stamp - sketch
One Stop Craft - heat embossing
TandaStamps - manly

reindeer ambition

The last time my mother came to visit, she saw a picture of a deer looking up (very unusual, deer don't usually look up, but this one was reaching for food) in a wildlife magazine, and said that it would be a great idea for a card, to have a deer looking looking up at Santa flying through the sky.  It occurred to me that I had the necessary stamps to do it, but only today did I get around to making it happen.

 The deer doesn't look up on the stamp, either - I just stamped the head, and drew in the neck.  It was surprisingly easy to execute - I spent more time figuring out how to layer it onto a card than I did stamping and inking.  The stamps are a•muse studio.

Challenges:

Amusing Challenges - outdoor scene

Blogger's Challenge - take flight

The House that Stamps Built - masking

Simon says Stamp - dies

Stamp n Doodle - wet embossing (the santa sleigh is embossed)

Anything goes - animals

It's not easy being pine green

My friend Diane sent me some glamorous embossing powders a while back including this one that gives a deeply textured effect.  I love the effect, but after I stamped it, I found that it is a very difficult green to match.  This is as close as I could get with what is in my stash:

Funny how a touch of gold makes anything better.

Challenges:
Amusing Challenges - sketch
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - photo inspiration
For Fun - must use a rubber stamp
My Mum's Craft Shop - star
Lollypop Crafts - multiple punches (I used 4)

Santa

I sat down to make a card, and found that my slovenliness was working in my favor - I had the stamp set sitting out from the last card I made, a piece of plaid left that I made a couple of weeks ago, and my copic wallet was hanging on the back of my chair.  Also sitting out were my glue pens and glitter.  Anything is better with glitter!

Challenges:
Amusing Challenges - sketch
Challenge up your Life - Fantasy (unless you believe in Santa, in which case I apologize)
Polka Doodles - song: Santa Claus is coming to Town
ABC Christmas Challenge - Santa Claus
Stampavie - glitter

oldies but goodies

I have a few things in my stash that I haven't used in a long time, although they used to be some of my favorite tools.  After I colored this stamp (my a•muse stamps and my copics are not old to me!), I didn't feel like rummaging through my designer papers looking for something that matched, so I pulled out my old plaid-maker and made my own plaid paper with the same markers I used to color.
                                    
 I then grabbed some pinking scissors to trim the mat layer for my image.  I made a big piece of plaid, but the image was so small, I decided to only use a little of it, and set it off with some border punches that have been dormant for a while.  There are a lot of fussy details on what is essentially a clean and simple card.

Challenges:

• Amusing Challenges - coloring with markers
• Dynamic Duos - colors
• Aud Sentiments - Holiday + sentiment
• Charisma Cardz - no embellishments
• Tandastamps - CAS

Free digi - Season's Tweetings

It started out as a way to annoy my mother - I told her that I was going to use this sentiment with this image from Just Some Lines.  Terrible puns are a family tradition.

The image is super easy to cut out, and I whipped out some liquid applique to fluff up the birdie's hat.  The background - well, I used the sketch from Inspired by Stamping, but the papers are all scraps that were cluttering up my desk.  I really need to either clean more or stamp more, maybe both.

Would you like my sentiment?  I know I'm not the only person who likes birds on her Christmas cards.

Click for full size image.  I love sentiments that I can color to match my image!

Other challenges:

• Quirky Crafts - Christmas in July
• Sentimental Sundays - things with wings
• 2 Sisters - Christmas plus an animal
• Hiding in my Craft Room - lots of layers

Warm wishes (for winter)

Still cooking up Christmas cards - sometimes I feel like I'm making the same card over and over, and that's when I need a sketch to shake things up.  I always like the sketches at Blessings Ink - they are never too fussy; there is just enough to keep the eye moving without looking cluttered.

Stamp is from a•muse studio; it is very convenient to have the sentiment and the image together.  There is a trick to cutting the swallowtail.  I used a square punch to get that clean symmetrical angle. I used marker watercoloring (still my fav) touched up with gel pens.  All paper except the base is scraps.

Challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges - faux stitching
Mark's Finest Papers - Christmas in July
Phindy's Place - button
Whimsy Inspiration - punch
Clear it out - use red and green scraps

Season's Greetings

Still working on Christmas in July, which is the challenge over at Blessings Ink.

There are other Christmas in July challenges I'm going to submit this to such as:

• Hooked on Crafts
• Lollypop Crafts
• The Crazy Challenge
• Totally Stampalicious
• Creative Inspirations Paint

See, I'm not the only one who likes a head start!

Glitter Santa

I told my girlfriend Joyce that I wanted to work on Christmas cards, so she brought over her Christmas stuff and we played for a couple of hours.  One of the things she brought was some 2 inch wide decor ribbon with glitter Santas on it; she had no idea what to do with it.  The Santas were so cool, I thought they would make great focal images, so I immediately went to work figuring out how to get them on a card.  I ended up punching a hole in both the frame and the card base - the ribbon piece is sandwiched between the two.

The background paper probably isn't the best choice, but I really like the little sleighs.  the sentiment is from the a•muse studio nordic noel set.

Challenges:
Papercraft Star - embossing
Scrapbook Sisters - one stamp
Waste Not Wednesdays - forgotten stuff (santa ribbon)
Crafter's Companion- Christmas
Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - tag