Blue Christmas

I was introduced to another Christmas challenge, Muse: Christmas Visions.  What fun to get a card for inspiration and let the imagination run wild!

Here is the inspiration card:

 ...and here is my interpretation.  I was inspired by the blue poinsettia paired with metallic.

I embossed my image with Ranger Platinum embossing powder.

I went a bit lighter with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink to watercolor my flower.  The holly is a combination of Peeled Paint and Evergreen Bough.  The berries are shaded with Pumice Stone and the background is Fossilized Amber...because I just have to play with the new colors!

To finish the card, I covered a small sheet of paper with the same Platinum embossing powder and die cut "happy" and embossed the remainder of the sentiment with the same powder.  The blue layer was created by inking the edges with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink (my favorite strategy to get everything to coordinate!)

Thanks for taking a look!

Stamps:  Penny Black Festive Florals, Simon Says Stamp Happy (sentiment)
Die:  Simon Says Stamp Happy

Focusing on the Sentiment

This card started out with a nod to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to let the sentiment take center stage.  But then I had opportunity to watch Tim Holtz on Friday and was reminded of a lot of great techniques...and I was off.

I used a piece of watercolor paper with wonderful texture to create a Distress Ink background.  This continues to be one of my favorite techniques with Distress Inks.  Press multiple pads to a craft sheet, spritz with water and press the paper into this inky goodness.  Dry and repeat until the desired effect is achieved...such fun!

The sentiment uses a chalkboard technique that Tim Holtz featured on his February 2014 tag.  I just got my Tim Holtz Bird Crazy stamp set, so of course, one of them found its way onto the card.  Love the eyes looking at the sentiment...and the bird was very easy to watercolor!  I grounded him with a Pumice Stone Distress Marker base.

Thanks for looking!

Stamps:   Tim Holtz Bird Crazy, Tim Holtz Phrases 1   (both from Stampers Anonymous)
Die:  Spellbinders Label 8

Christmas Embossing

I am continuing my quest to get a head start on Christmas cards!  The Merry Monday Challenge for this week is any kind of embossing.  My last Christmas post was dry embossing so I thought I would focus on heat embossing this time.

Santa was stamped with Watering Can Archival Ink on watercolor paper and colored with watercolor.  Love this stamp...it was so easy to add a little color and call it ready to mount!

The sentiment was heat embossed with Ranger Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder.  Because I wanted to carry that color across Santa's layering paper, I inked the edges with Versamark and then heat embossed for the shiny matching layer!

The DP is printed with "Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" so I was careful about the strategic placement.  I inked around the edges of the DP with Distress Ink and mounted on a Kraft card base.

I also had to try it out in a different color scheme...since the DP came in multiple colors!  All of the other details are the same.

Thanks for taking a look!

Stamps:  Rubber Stampede Santa Collage, Tim Holtz Joyful Song (sentiment)

Design Paper:  DCWX Christmsa & Winter Combo Cardstock Stack

Happy Abandoned Coral

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge got me inspired to pull out my Abandoned Coral distress ink and markers and now I have my Mother's Day card ready to mail!

I used Abandoned Coral, Crushed Olive, and Fossilized Amber Distress Markers to color on Pretty Peonies stamps and stamp on watercolor paper.  A little water to move the colors around gave me a nice result with little effort.  I scribbled Tumbled Glass on my craft mat and picked up with plenty of water to add the light background.

The sentiment was stamped with Watering Can Archival Ink and I added some depth with a grey Pitt pen.

The silver layer is colored with Inka Gold for a smooth metallic look.

I had a lot of fun with the background.  It was sponged with Abandoned Coral Distress Ink and then more heavily inked through a Heidi Swapp stencil.  A flourish stamp dipped in Perfect Pearls and water added the loose shine.

My sewing machine saw some action with silver metallic thread to attach it all together.  Hope Mom likes it!

Thanks for looking!

Stamps:  WPlus9 Pretty Peonies, Simon Says Stamp Very Special

Merry Inka Gold!

 When I saw the Merry Monday Challenge features embossing, I headed to my box of embossing folders that have gone largely ignored for several months.  Although I got the Sizzix Winter Botanical embossing folder a few years ago, I am not certain that it ever made it to a finished card...I loved the design but couldn't figure out what to do with it.  Enter Inka Golds!

Viva Inka Gold is a beeswax product that comes in a number of beautiful colors.  (I am fortunate that my local cardmaking store stocks all of the colors.)  After it is rubbed on and polished with a paper towel, it has the loveliest smooth metallic shine.  I apply it with an applicator that looks like a marshmallow.  It allows me to apply the color to only the raised areas.

I colored my watercolor paper and then embossed it.  I found that I got the best results if the paper was still just a bit damp...then there were no worries of the paper cracking.
 

After applying the Inka Gold on the embossed paper, I also cut a layering paper out of white cardstock and used the same Inka Gold color on the edges.  Both cards were mounted on a white card base and then stitched with metallic thread.  I wish that my photo could truly capture the beautiful metallic shine!

I decided to just go simple on the outside and will add a personalized sentiment inside.

I also did one with just plain watercolor paper and platinum Inka Gold.  The sentiment is stamped on vellum and stitched into place.

Thanks for looking!  I am so excited to be getting a jump on my Christmas cards this year!

More Fun with Christmas

As I continued to think about the Merry Monday challenge, I found this Martha Stewart stamp set.  I believe it has been discontinued...unfortunately.  The stamp has the greens and pine cones in the tree and I added the word "Believe" cut twice from my Cricut.  I used a gold paint pen to edge the cardstock.  I kept looking for ways to add more to the card but in the end decided that less was more for this card.

Thanks for looking!

Watercolor Pine Cone

My apologies but I am pulling out of some of my discontinued stamps for the Merry Monday challenge.  The challenge was to include pine cones, greens and the word "Believe."

I stamped with Archival Ink and then watercolored with a combination of Dr. Ph Martin watercolors and Distress Ink reinkers.

I stitched the watercolor to a dark layered piece and then onto Kraft cardstock.  The sentiment seemed like enough to finish it off.

Sentiment Stamp:  Hero Arts Miracle of the Holiday.