CAS Mix Up and Christmas Challenges

Hi everybody,  I'm just in time to get my cards in for the CAS Mix Up Challenge which this time is a mixed media one with the theme of Alcohol Inks on Vellum, and also the CAS Christmas Challenge for which the theme is Poinsettia.  

Here is my card for the mixed media challenge using a Waves Embossing Folder and a stamp with a pair of dolphins which came free with the latest Creative Stamping Magazine. 

I found a piece of thickish vellum and covered with a mixture of green and blue alcohol inks using some blending solution and an air blower which I bought fairly recently and was much easier than blowing through a straw.  I then embossed it using the freebie folder and sanded the surface with some very fine sandpaper to empasise the wave pattern and glued it onto a piece of copy paper before die cutting it with a square stitched die.  I stamped the dolphins onto a piece of white card and coloured them using my Staedtler Watercolour Brush Markers using a grey with a little blue mixed in applying it with a waterbrush, and then fussy cut them out.  When I had added the background and stamped the sentiment, for which I used Versafine Majestic Blue Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, I adhered them to it using some silicone glue for more dimension.I have to say that the AI's work well on vellum and it is certainly a technique which I will do again.

I am also entering the above card into the folowing challenges:

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Create Your Own Background.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - July - For a Lady (this has been sent to a female friend and I hope she likes it).
Allsorts Challenge - Week 633/4 Feminine/for a Lady.
NBUS Challenge - Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 27 Use An Embossing Folder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my card for the CAS Christmas Challenge using Crafter's Companion Pretty Poinsettia 3D Embossing Folder which is several years' old and doesn't seem to be readily available now.

I did emboss the whole thing onto some white card but decided to cut away the main group of poinsettias at the bottom righthand side.  This is a tip which I have heard others mention when embossing, which is to lightly spray the card which helps to stretch the fibres and this maximises the depth of the embossing, so I did this and I think that it did make a difference.  I coloured the flowers using a set of Lyra Water Brush Markers using a couple of nice bright reds and a couple of greens, and then coloured the centres with yellow, but decided to heat emboss them by adding some dots of gold gel pen and whilst still wet I added WOW Metallic Brass Embossing Powder and heat set it.  I then cut a stitched square mat and added the bold good sized sentiment from a Creative Stamping Magazine freebie set using Versafine Satin Red Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss EP before adding this to my 6" square white card, and finally added the corner poinsettia piece just inside the edge of the mat. 

I am also entering the above card into the following challenges: 

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 36 July Anything Christmas Goes.
Happy Little Stampers July Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes + Optional: Jingle Bells.
Cardz 4 Galz Challenge - No. 151 Christmas in July.
The Male Room Challenge - No. 152 Christmas in July.

 

 

 

 

 
Thank you for your visit and I'll see you again soon.