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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

Prost – Happy New Year

Hello. I hope you are well. I am having a small group of friends round tonight for a New Year’s Eve get-together – some drinks and nibbles and we usually play some games. I thought I would create a card for them all for the occasion.

I used a previously created background panel – a black piece of card, a Spellbinders stencil, and some gold paste.

I then die cut the white oval using a Gina K Designs Master Layout die as a base for the main images.

The bottle and glasses are from Charlie and Paulchen, and I die cut the bottle out of white, then the bottle top and label out of shiny gold card stock, and the glasses out of a matt gold card stock.

I like how the word for the bottle label has ‘Prost’ embossed into it, and the details on the bottle cork and glasses are really very effective and detailed. I can see I will use this die set more in the future for celebrations and birthdays.

I wish you all the very best for the New Year…… xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – party time

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – party

Krafty Chicks – anything goes

The Inspired By Challenge – photo inspiration

Allsorts Challenge – CAS

Cut It Up Challenge – Happy New Year with die cuts

Cherish The Season

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

Onto a slimline card base I added a strip of embossed card layered with some gold.

The holly leaves from hero Arts were die cut from a previously created mixed media panel. This panel was ink smooshed in a dark green, then a stencil laid on top, some grit paste added, and once dry, I gently brushed some gold wax over the top.

Once these were adhered to the card base, I added some gold facetted gems, and the foiled sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas creations – remember- it’s anything goes Christmas. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks – anything goes

CYHTP – embossing folder – option leaves

Shopping Our Stash – leaf/leaves

Mix It Up Challenge – anything goes – option ink smooshing

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

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

Messy playing

Oh my goodness. I have never, ever played like I played when making this canvas. I loved the messiness, the sheer fright that I would do something wrong. Who says that crafting doesn’t involve adrenaline? Sheer and utter fear. What if I messed it up? Did it matter if I messed it up? Who cares? Have fun. Play. Enjoy – and I certainly did.

I wanted to take myself into a new arena. For some reason, mixed media hasn’t been attractive to me. I usually prefer a more focused, planned, and tidy sort of card making. Always knowing the basics of what I was doing, even though many things changed during the course of making cards. But with this – no clue where it was going…

As most of us do, I had many items I have never used, I just bought them because we ‘had’ to have them – and there they were, sitting in my cupboards and drawers. They didn’t even talk to me! How very ignorant of them.

Then – I was searching through YouTube, saw an Indigo Blu video of Mike Deakin making – very easily and simply – some mixed media canvas. He made it look soooooo easy. It got me thinking – I have some 6 x 6 canvas, some gesso, plenty of small MDF and other items I can stick on. I had a search through my stock – hey presto – loads of stuff I can play with.

So – girded my loins, straightened my spine – and got down to playing. I covered the canvas with a layer of white gesso, used texture paste. Covered in black gesso. Embellishments were stuck on, then covered with black gesso. I thought it looked good just in plain black. The next bit is where the fear kicked in….added some colour. Looked rubbish. Let it dry. Looked rubbish. Added more white and it looked better toned down slightly. Scraped some black gesso everywhere in small slight strokes of a brush and it looked a bit better.

This is when my stubbornness and determination went into overdrive. I kept going. Added some Gansai Tambi gold, then more gold, then toned it down again. Added some spritz of my cosmic shimmer sprays. Toned it down again. Then more fear kicked in – had I ruined it? What do I do now? Is it done? Do I keep going? When do I know it’s finished? Oh my goodness…….

Eventually, after three days of playing, waiting for drying, working, sleeping, playing again – I decided I was done.

I have no idea whether I will do this on a regular basis, as I am a creature of habit – but you never know!

I am entering this into the ‘crafting while we can’ challenge, and ‘love to create’.