Christmas Kickstart #106

Here's this month's challenge at Christmas Kickstart.

Pink makes lovely Christmas cards and so I tried my hand at a couple

I saw a card my friend Marcia made a card using the Altenew Perfect Poinsettia embossing folder with patterned paper.  I found a local craft and paper shop near me and picked up a pad from Craft Consortium that was perfect.  The Hero Arts sentiment was cut from SB Treasured Antique Glitter cardstock.  This was my second make.  Here's the first.

There was a bit of a learning curve with the paper as it cracked.  Not wanting to waste the beautiful paper, I tried the Japanese art of Kintsugi. The cracked areas were rubbed with an embossing pen and gold powder added and heated.  The gold sentiment carries on the theme.  To stop the cracking, I misted both sides of the paper on the lighter pink card and it worked beautifully.  Since I have an entire pack of paper in various shades of pink to red to purple you will be seeing a few more of these cards. 

Thanks for dropping by and spending a bit of your day with me.

 

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Jingle Belles - Old and New

Stef and Lauren want us to use something old and something new on our cards for Jingle Belles.  Anything to keep my Christmas stash growing. 

The holly stamp is an old one from Ellen Hutson (oob) that I watercolored with Distress Inks in Pine Needles, Barn Door and Scorched Timber. I gave the panel a little splatter using Altenew Spray with a paint brush and added a layered WF frame from SB Treasure Black Metallic. Sorry you can't see the shine in the photo. My 'new' is the sentiment die from TH Holiday Collection, cut in SB Ruby Matte Metallic. 

Thanks for dropping by and spending a little of your day with me.  If you are in the throes of the storm, please stay safe and warm. 

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Freshly Made Sketches #720

It's not a New Year's resolution because I don't make them but I am trying to use some of my older products.  Today's card for Freshly Made Sketches is a perfect example.

The hive and little bees are from Honey Bee's The Birds and Bees, stamped on Hero Arts hexagons and colored with Altenew artist markers. The background is an older stencil from Funky Fossil inked with what else but Wild Honey Distress Oxide.  The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti.

Thanks for dropping by and spending a bit of your day with me.

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Just Us Girls #807 - Stencil Week

I'm hosting the stencil challenge this week at Just Us Girls. 

I saw Jennifer McGuire use a foil plate, die and stencil from Pinkfresh Studio and had to buy it.  I ended up making four different cards.

It's called Pretty Blossoms and has a die that cuts out the background.  The image was hot foiled in matte silver and colored with Altenew inks in Wisteria, Hydrangea, Frayed Leaf and Forest Glades. Once cut, the flowers were glued to matte silver cardstock and a Better Press sentiment was foiled to match.  

This card was hot foiled in black and stenciled with Pastel Sunrise, Canyon Clay, Lime and Limeade ink from Altenew.  The background was left intact and another BetterPress sentiment was added.

Now for the cards that really made me buy the set.

The plate was hot foiled in gold and stenciled with Concord and 9th Pimento and Brickyard, and Altenew Just Green and Hunter Green.  The die cut out the background.  The card base was cut at an angle and the stenciled panel was cut to match with a little extra for gluing.  A thin gold strip covers where they meet.  This allowed me to get two cards from one panel.

The sentiments are both from PTI, some I haven't used in ages but they fit along the line perfectly.

This photo give you a better idea of the see-through bottom of the card front and the gold that was used for the strip. 

I hope I have given you some ideas for using your stencils and that you make a card for our gallery.  The Design Team and our guest Laurel have more inspiration for you on the Just Us Girls blog. 

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Time Out #305 - Favorite Technique

Time Out is giving you a chance to show us your favorite technique.

Whatever it is that you like to do to make your card special is what we want to see.  One of my favorite techniques is Ink Smooshing.  Like this.

Some people put ink on their mat, add water and slap the cardstock into it.  Some take a piece of acetate and dip it into watered down ink and placed on cardstock repeatedly until they get the look they want.  For me, it's easier to use a pouncer I made by wrapping acetate packaging around a ball of paper towel and securing it with a rubber band.

The panel was then used to make this card.

The smooshing adds dimension and color to the background of The Greetery Hollyhocks, making it look like more flowers in the distance.  The flowers and leaves were colored with Dried Marigold, Pealed Paint and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, the same ink used to smoosh. 

Top Flight is the sponsor for this challenge and they will award our winner a $25 store credit.  To win you have to enter so let's get making those cards with your favorite technique. 

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