Christmas

‘Tis The Season…..

The new Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has now gone live, and the theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas/Festive‘. Here is my card:

I had quite a bit of messy fun creating this card – ink smooshing, die cutting, ink blending – and I like the outcome.

The background panel is a piece of ink smooshed card stock, with pink and blue Distress Inks, and when that was dry I used a Pinkfresh Studio background die.

I adhered that whole panel to the card base, then turned to the die cutting…….

The two critters are from Tim Holtz, and each piece die cut pout of an ink blended or smooshed panel. If I didn’t have the colour I wanted, I created one.

Before adding each layer, I did some more ink blending on them to make them different. All the brown pieces are from the same panel, but I ink blended a darker brown on them to create different shades – the antlers for instance.

The sentiment is also from Tim Holtz, stamped onto the same brown smooshed panel, cut out, then ink blending.

I adhered all of them with 3D foam.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Jingle Belles – Christmas and card stock – no patterned paper

Creative Fingers – anything goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with animal as main focus

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

My Time To Craft Christmas – Christmas and something beginning with ‘R’ (red, reindeer)

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

White and Gold Christmas

A new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas’. Here is my card:

The three circle dies are from a kit through Scrapbook and Cards. I found out about these kits from another online card making course. The kits ship every two months, and combines a stamp set, die set, and a class with different people/companies. I believe the next one is with Gina K – but I haven’t received that yet – it takes a little more time to get to me here in the UK.

This die set was from LDRS Creative and I decided to make baubles.

I first created the dotty background with a Spellbinders stencil and gold paste. I left that to dry for 24 hours – just in case – and prepared the ‘baubles’.

I die cut the base circle from Spellbinders gold card stock, die cut the main decorative circle from white card stock, then layered. I used another die set for the bauble topper – adding with 3D foam.

Onto the slimline card base I added a gold base layer – I ‘gutted’ this layer to preserve some of that fabulous card stock – layered with the gold dotty panel, then added the baubles.

The sentiment was die cut from the same gold with a white shadow layer.

I decided to add some matt gold gems – kinda hard to stop when you get started.

I hope you can come and join us with your festive/Christmas makes. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cut It Up – anything goes with a die cut

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Most Magical Time Of The Year – anything goes Christmas or Halloween

Creative Knockouts – celebrations

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge – A and B

Hello once again. The ABC Christmas Challenge is at the beginning of the alphabet again. Helen is hosting this time round, and we want to see your ‘A for Anything goes’ and ‘B for Bears’ Christmas creations. Here are my cards:

As you can see – two very different styles of cards.

The first CAS card is using s Clearly Besotted image, stamping, colouring with Copics, then using an oval to die cut, layering that white oval with black, then adding a foiled sentiment.

The second definitely not CAS card took a little more preparation.

I sprayed some Tim Holtz mica spray onto some Distress Heavystock card, splattered with white acrylic paint and set aside to dry.

I then totally channeled Tim Holtz from one of his YouTube videos, and die cut the bear from white and grey wood grain card stock, layered together, then added a pink scarf using a previously created ink smooshed panel.

The trees were die cut from a panel of card onto which I had glued some tissue paper, added water, added Brushos, then when dry added some gold wax. The die cutting of the trees flattened the ridges on the trees – but if you add the wax prior to die cutting then the detail is still there.

I snipped and placed the trees, added the bear, added some white glitter drops for the snow on the ground, then added the sentiment – die cutting the ‘board’ from the same white and grey card stock, and adding the letters in a haphazard fashion – I struggle with straight when I do a sentiment like this, so I went overboard with the higgledy-piggledy.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

CAS card:

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Creative Knockouts – anything goes

Crafting Happiness – celebrations

Ellibelle’s Corner – anything goes

Bear card:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with critter as main focus

The Four seasons Challenge – anything goes winter

Challenge Up Your Life – ice, ice, baby

Most Magical Time Of The Year – anything goes Christmas or Halloween

The Alphabet Challenge – R for Reduce

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge, and as we have reached the letter ‘R’, Veronika has chosen the theme of ‘Reduce – make it clean and simple‘. Here is my card:

I used a frame from my stash – I forget the maker – and stuck a piece of patterned paper onto the back – then trimmed around the frame.

I stuck this down onto the card base with a strong glue.

I think the tree was a pre-cut piece from a kit, to which I added three gold strings, and then placed some gold facetted gems on top of the ‘loops’ of the string, adding a larger gem onto the top of the tree.

I’m looking forward to seeing your CAS cards in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

TTCRD – anything goes

Lil Red Wagon – glitter, glitz, gleam, glow

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Fab’N’Funky Challenge – die cuts or embossing – no stamped image

Love To Craft – anything goes

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Hello. The new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas/festive’. Here is my card:

I die cut the Pinkfresh Studio snowflake panel in white and shiny red card stock, and adhered to the base card. I ensured the red was aligned with the white and cut the extra off the side.

I then used a Pinkfresh Studio snowflake die with a red non-shed glitter card, and with the same red shiny card, and layered the snowflakes – some shine and glitter on each of the three snowflakes I used.

The sentiment is gold heat embossed and die cut using the matching die set.

Once all was adhered to the card base, I added some gold gems to the centre of the snowflakes, and then two more sets of three.

I hope you can come and join us – I look forward to seeing you in our challenges. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Beyond The Blue – use some gold

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge – Christmas

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – Christmas

Daring Cardmakers – Shine

The Sisterhood Of Crafters – Christmas/winter

A Robin Christmas

Hello there. A little playing in my craft room yesterday created this card:

I searched through the Color My Life app for a die set I knew I had which contained Robins – but couldn’t remember the make and where I had stored it. I found it was a Creative Expressions die set from Lisa Horton – and an old one as the date on the back was 2017 – but at least I had remembered I had it somewhere.

I first die cut the robins using brown, Kraft and red card stock. I added their little hats – red and a white glittery card stock, then set aside.

The leaves and holly were die cut from a previous created mica sprayed piece of card, which I had also splattered with white Liquitex acrylic paint. The white glittery oval is die cut from a Gina K master Layout’s die set.

I then turned to the card base, added a brown layer, and a white dry embossed panel – a Spellbinders embossing folder – and then played with the layout of all my elements until I was happy, adding a previously foiled sentiment.

Here is a look at all the glitter and shine:

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Sparkles Forum Christmas – festive things with wings

Daisy Chain Challenge – Christmas is coming

Winter Wonderland – Christmas and Robin Red Breast

Allsorts Challenge – wings and/or tails

Make My Monday Challenge – things with wings

CYHTP – embossing folder – twist of thanks not taken

Merry Kittimas

Hello. A chance for me today to do a little more Copic colouring – in-between binge watching ‘Warrior Nun’ first season. Here is my card:

This cute little kitty and the presents are from a new stamp set from a new company to me, bought a few weeks ago at a Craft Show. I stamped the images, coloured with Copics, then cut out using my Scan-n-cut. I added some white gel pen to the presents just for a little more interest.

The patterned paper was adhered to the card base, the white stitched rectangle adhered using 3D foam, but before adding the kitty and presents with 3D foam, I stamped a sentiment from the same stamp set.

It’s interesting to me that I coloured the cat, when none of my current 4 cats have that colouring! How bizarre is that? I have two black and white cats, a tabby, and a tortoiseshell………weird the way my brain works sometimes…….

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crazy For Cats Challenge – anything goes with a cat

Fab’N’Funky Challenge – Christmas Animals

Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge – anything goes with patterned paper

Stamping Sensations – Christmas Celebrations

Dragonfly Dreams – Christmas

Cutie Pie Challenge – cute four legged friends

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Shimmery Golden Merry Christmas

The next Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is now live. Here is my card:

The background is an ink smooshed creation – lots of different green Distress Inks – multiple layers – so much fun to create.

Once that had dried, I splattered Liquitex acrylic metallic ink in gold and white and let that dry.

The sentiment is from Hero Arts, the shadow in vellum, and the main words in Spellbinders matt gold card stock. If the shimmer on the background wasn’t enough – I also dotted some iridescent sequins around.

This is certainly a very shimmery card and so much fun to create. I feel another ‘messy’ play coming on to create more backgrounds – even though I have plenty – but I just love to play and ink smoosh instead of always feeling I have to create a card.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Creative Fingers – anything goes

TTCRD – anything goes

Christmas Greetings

Hello once again. I have a card to share using a Spellbinders die set and embossing folder:

I first die cut the images out of the colours of card stock you see, not really sure what colours for what layers that I wanted to use to create the final card.

I layered and played with the colours, then played with the layout until deciding on what you see.

I used the Spellbinders embossing folder and layered that with 3D foam onto a white card base. The floral arrangement was added using a mixture of 3D foam and wet glue, and I think I changed my mind so many times where all the elements were going…..I have enough left over for a couple more cards too.

The sentiment is a previously foiled strip, and some iridescent sequins were added for a bit of bling.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Color Throwdown – plum, blush, sage

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Allsorts – any special occasion

CYHTP – embossing folder – option pumpkins not taken

Snow Season

Hello there. I have a CAS card to share today:

I had some of this blue ‘creation’ card left over and decided to use it for this card.

The blue card was created by putting glue onto a plain white card, placing tissue paper on top – moving it around a little to create some wrinkles – spritzing it with water, and then adding Brushos. More water, some tipping to let the colour move around – and then let it dry.

Once dry, I rubbed some gold wax over the top to create some wrinkles, and then die cut the four letters. Rub the wrinkles before die cutting, as sometimes the wrinkles can be flattened a little.

I then die cut the same letters from white card stock another two times, and layered all three together.

The sentiment is from a previous foiling session.

I’ve tried to capture the shine and colour on the letters, as well as the dimension.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Addicted to CAS – CAS – layered

Creative Artiste Mixed Media – anything goes mixed media

Winter Wonderland – Christmas and let it snow

TTCRD – anything goes