Tea Time and a Tiny Snowman

Inspired By challenge inspired me to use their theme of tea time.   And Stamping Sensations wants a hand coloured image.

The image is stamped and watercoloured, fussy cut around its edges, bordered with some gold cs, and popped up on fun foam.

Addicted to CAS has the code word "Brrr!".  I used up some a bunch of little bits from my desk and ended up with this card.  I think that little snowman looks very cold under that night sky!  And the Four Seasons Challenge wants "winter".

I had a leftover bit of a galaxy background (created by smooshing with various oxide inks, spritzing with Perfect Pearls spray, and then covering the colours in a rough random fashion with Black Soot ink). I splattered it with watered down gesso. I added a tiny snowman and trees die, and, picking up the colours showing through the black ink, I created very thin borders of blue and pink cs.

    

 

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Crafty Individuals
Ink - Versafine Clair Nocturne
Paper - watercolour paper, gold shimmer and cream cs
Size - A2
Accessories - watercolour paints, fun foam

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - SSS sentitment
Ink - various Distress Oxide inks, Distress Black Soo
Paper - mixed media cs; white, pink, and blue cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Perfect Pearls spray, unknown snowman die, narrow sentiment strip die, gesso, rectangle dies

Traditional Colours for a Wreath and a Reindeer on a Galaxy

ABC Christmas Challenge is asking for "T for Traditional Colours".

I traced around a circle die to create a circle shape on my cs, then stamped with the little greenery and berry peg stamps that I've had for years until happy with the result. I stamped the sentiment in the centre, die cut with one of the SSS thin circle frame dies, then die cut with red cs with the same circle frame die to get the very thin red circle to frame my image, then added both to a square card base.

My other card for today is for Stamping Sensations "Animals".

I created a galaxy background by smooshing with various oxide inks, spritzing with Perfect Pearls spray, and then covering the colours in a rough random fashion with Black Soot ink.  When dry, I put it in my MISTI, made sure to go over it well with my embossing buddy, and stamped the reindeer image on top with white pigment ink.  I added white embossing powder and heated it.  Trimmed the panel and popped it up on fun foam on an off white card base.

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Rubber Stamp Tapestry peg stamps, Hero Arts sentiment
Ink - SU Real Red, Distress Pine Needles, Mowed Lawn, and Rustic Wilderness
Paper - white and red cs
Size - 5.25" square
Accessories - SSS thin circle frame die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Studio Light reindeer
Ink - various Distress oxide inks, ColorBox white, Distress Black Soot
Paper - off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - white embossing powder, fun foam

Christmas Mini Slimlines

A couple of Christmas mini slimline cards, one vertical, one horizontal, both using up little scraps or snippets that were hanging around on my desk!

I had a tiny snippet of a galaxy background that I'd made for other cards and it just fit behind the tiny reindeer  / tree die.  I cut the die out of another leftover snippet of white cs.  I stamped the sentiment in grey so as not to look stronger than the night galaxy sky.

The horizontal one:

There are always little snippets of background leftover after I trim a background down for a card.  Here I used both a snippet of a blue Oxide ink smooshed background and a snippet of embossed dots, and topped them off with the polar bears cut from a snippet of white cs (of which I save far too many!).

Linking up one or other of them with:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop Snippets Challenge

Double D Challenge "Lots of White"  (the upper left image in their inspiration board inspired the colours in my first card)

 

AAA Cards CAS Challenge "Christmas and optional twist Slimline"

 

Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Simon Says Stamp sentiment
Ink - grey ink for sentiment, various Distress inks for galaxy background
Paper - white and mixed media cs
Size - 6.25x3.25"
Accessories - unknown reindeer / tree die, diluted white acrylic paint for splattering galaxy background

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - Power Poppy sentiment
Ink - various blue Distress Oxide inks, Versafine Clair Twilight
Paper - white and mixed media cs
Size - 6.25x3.25"
Accessories - unknown bear die, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Pastel Flowers, Masculine Christmas

A couple of cards from me today to get into challenges before they close.

First up for The Flower Challenge "Pretty Pastels".

I went with a pastel pink rose:

I stamped the collage-style image of the rose and watercoloured it, including a light wash over the script background. I popped it up on fun foam on a white background embossed with a border of flowers.

Next up is The Male Room "Christmas in July".

And The Paper Players are asking for a Clean and Simple Masculine card.

I figured a galaxy background is quite a masculine thing:

I created the galaxy background using Distress Oxide inks and a shimmer spray. When dry, I splattered with watered-down white acrylic paint.

I die cut the house, added the sentiment, and taped it to the galaxy background. I filled in the windows with a gold gel pen. The panel is popped up on fun foam for dimension.


I hope everyone is enjoying July and that it's cooled down for those of you in areas having heat waves!

Supplies for the first card:

Stamps - Stamplorations

Ink - Archival Jet Black

Paper - white cs, watercolour paper

Size - 6x4.25"

Accessories - Gansai Tambi watercolour paints, Crafts Too embossing folder, fun foam

Supplies for the second card:

Stamps - Penny Black sentiment

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, various Distress Oxide inks

Paper - white cs, mixed media cs

Size - A2

Accessories - clear shimmer spray, AE house/deer die, white acrylic paint, gold gel pen, fun foam

Twofer Trees

I think Darnell's Twofer challenges are really challenging!  I'm amazed by some of the ideas people come up with.  Me, I just don't see my supplies that way - my brain can't move beyond them doing with them what they're intended to do and no more.

At least I can do the "two different occasions" part of the challenge!  My cards for this months's Twofer challenge ("Trees") came about because I wanted to make a "new home" card for my sister who just bought a new house that has some big fir trees out front - making me think of a die I have with houses and fir trees.  It's a die I bought mainly for Christmas cards but in this case, it was ideal for the "new home" card.

First up, the Christmas card.  I've been enjoying making some galaxy backgrounds lately so at our recent craft retreat, I led everyone in creating galaxy backgrounds.  The basic technique is this:

Sponge various colours of Distress Oxides onto watercolour paper (bright colours).  Using Black Soot Distress Oxide, press pad onto acrylic block and spritz with water.  Lightly tap over top of sponged background until most of the areas are covered, leaving some of the colour showing through.  Alternatively you can smoosh diluted Black Soot ink onto the background.  If too much black ink is added and not enough colour is showing, then you can add more colour on top, but it will be subtle.  Splatter with white paint to finish.

Then I trimmed down the panel, added the die cut, a stamped sentiment, and a pierced frame.  Here's a close-up:

The second card has a splashed background in three shades of blue Distress oxide ink, with the die cut, stamped sentiment, and fun foam under the panel to give some dimension.

Thanks, Darnell, for another fun challenge!

Twofer Card Challenge: 

And I'm taking the Christmas one over to Christmas Cards All Year Round where the challenge is "use non-traditional colours".

Supplies:

Stamps - sentiments - A Muse (card 1), PTI (card 2)

Ink - various Distress Oxide inks

Paper - mixed media cs for the backgrounds, white cs

Size - 4.75" square, A2

Accessories - MFT Pierced Square frame die, Ali Express die, fun foam

Chilly Winter Night

AAA Cards Challenge is very appropriate for January:

The most chilled I've ever been is when living in Toronto one year when they had an exceptionally cold winter.  I remember being out late in the evening and how dark and cold it was with large lazy flakes of snow - I was truly "chilled to the bone".  But at the same time, there was something very still and peaceful to that icy air.

I tried to capture that feeling with the background I created for this card:

I made a galaxy background using various Distress oxide inks spritzed with Perfect Pearls spray, and then covered the colours in a rough random fashion with Black Soot ink.  I splattered white acrylic paint on it.

I die cut the little house and trees opening out of a piece of white cs and then trimmed it down with the cross-stitch partial circle.  It's popped up on fun foam for dimension.

Here's a close-up of the galaxy background:

I'd like to do some more galaxy backgrounds - love the way the Oxide colours show through the black.

Supplies:

Stamps - Penny Black sentiment

Ink - Ranger Archival Cobalt; various blue, various green, and black Distress oxide inks

Paper - mixed media and white cs

Size - 4.75" square

Accessories - Memory Box die, Ali Express cross-stitch die, Perfect Pearls spray, white acrylic paint