Favourite Five Christmas Cards of 2013

                                          


Hi Everyone.  Debby over at A Scrapjourney has a challenge running to display your five favourite Christmas creations and she will choose a random winner.  So here are my five favourites with links to the original posts.

                                                                   
                                                             Final Snowflakes for 2013
                                                                                                                                      
                                        

                                                            Poinsettia and Snowflakes 

                                                                      White Christmas                                                                                                           

                                                              Pine Branch and Baubles

                                         Chocolate Baroque Snowflake Outline Version 2

Final Snowflakes for 2013

This is very sad.  This is the forgotten Christmas card which I came across when seeing what cards I had made this year.  I made it early on and it got separated from the rest, and as it is quite a pretty card I decided to post it.  Also I wish to include it in a challenge which will be my next post.

This card uses the Outline and Shadow Snowflake stamps from Chocolate Baroque, stamped on white card using Versamark Ink and the WOW Silver Sparkle EP, and then overstamped with Adirondack Tuxedo Black Ink.  To clarify, I used the Snowflake shadow first with the EP, and then overstamped with the Snowflake Outline using the Black.  The overstamping wasn't perfect, but as the stamps have a nice framed edge I managed to line it up fairly well.  When perfectly dry I used blending foam to add colour.  For this I used Distress Inks Fired Brick and Tumbled Glass and also some Adirondack Eggplant.  I cut a piece off an A5 Light Grey Pearl card to make it square, and the offcut  I used to make the border using a Nellie Snellen die.  I mounted the border on the background, which I cut down slightly, and then made a double bow with sheer lilac ribbon, the ends of which I wrapped round the background before attaching it to the card.  I finished with a sentiment mounted on a mat made with an XCut Oval die.

I hope you are all having a good Christmas Day and tucking into all that lovely festive food, and that you have some lovely new crafty stash to play with.  In case you are wondering if I have nothing better to do on Christmas Day, this was done in advance and just scheduled for today.

Merry Christmas

Well I have at last finished my Christmas cards and these will be the last two to display, I think.  I have managed to steer clear of snowflakes and baubles and I decided to use the Indigoblu Bare Forest for these two cards.

As I don't have any A6 cards at the moment, I used my square white cards cut down.  I stamped the image on to green and red card using Versamark Ink, and then heat embossed with WOW Sparkling Snow Embossing Glitter. I then used a Cuttlebug folder which I think is probably not available now, but which has a selection of Christmas greetings.  I picked out one of the greetings and embossed one of each colour and then mounted each on to white card.  I then highlighted the writing by using a white Sakura pen on one, and a silver Sakura pen on the other.  I  decided the white writing might look better with a hint of silver, so I overlaid it with the silver to give a glittery highlight.  Unfortunately the green card which has only the silver doesn't show up very well in the photo.  As the Bare Forest stamp is framed I cut the card just beyond the frame to give it a layered look when mounted on the base card.

With these last two Christmas cards I would like to send my best wishes for a very Merry Christmas and a  healthy and prosperous New Year.

I have entered the red version of the card in the challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop as I have used some snippets/scraps of white and red card.

I am also entering the challenge over at Simon Says Monday Challenge which asks for a stamped image.

Chocolate Baroque Snowflake Outline

Hi All.  I'm afraid my Christmas stamp box does not contain much, other than a few baubles, a tree, a deer, some wintry trees which I haven't used because they didn't speak of Christmas to me, but perhaps they may come out, and these two stamps from Chocolate Baroque.  The other I have used quite a lot, and this one is having it's first outing.  I have made two cards with it and thought I would show them both on this post because the techniques used make them look, in a way, like totally different stamps.

Version 1

This card uses the heat resistant acetate heat embossed using WOW Black Twinkle EP, and coloured using Promarkers.  Unfortunately I only have a few Promarkers and some of the colours I thought looked a bit pale when applied to the acetate, but actually they seem to show up better than I thought they would. The colours I used were Ruby Red, Forest Green, Amethyst, Bright Orange and Indigo Blue.  The snowflake on the right hand side was originally green and I put some red over the top because I didn't like having two greens next to one another, and this makes it look a bit reddy brown.  I think some of the other colours might have been ok if I had been patient and waited for the colour to dry and just added more layers.  I finished by coating the back of the acetate with Sky Blue and made it look mottled by just adding some more until it puddled a bit.  I finished the card with a white mat edged with a Nellies Scallop Border Die and added a  piece of bluey green card to the top and bottom of my usual square white card.  I finished the card with silver sentiment.

Version 2

On the second card I stamped and heat embossed the image with Papermania Seafoam White EP and then used various inks randomly over the top, and finished by filling the snowflake in with one of the inks.  On both cards I only used part of the stamp and on this card I didn't get the best stamping result, but I decided that I would colour it and see how it looked, and when finished I decide that although the stamping fades out in places it actually works ok.

 The inks that I used were Adirondack Dye Inks in Sunshine Yellow, Lettuce and Bottle, and  Walnut Stain and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.  I used the Bottle with a little water and a brush to fill in the snowflakes.  I usually smear a little ink from the pad onto my glass mat and sometimes I us a water brush, but this time as I wanted a nice fine line I used a Royal and Langnickel brush.  I finished the card by mounting onto Gold Mirri and cut a Memory Box Snowflake Corner from the Mirri card and mounted these on a square white card finished with a gold sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, and hope you all have a good weekend.

I am entering this card over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop  as I have used some snippets/scraps of white card and Mirri card.

Blue and Silver Snowflakes

Hi Everybody.  I'm afraid that 'S' word has reared it's ugly head again ..... yes more snowflakes!   I saw there were a couple of challenges that this card fitted into - the first over at Less is More where they are asking for a metallic element and one other colour.  The other is Addicted to CAS where the challenge is just snowflakes.

For this card I have used:    White Square Card,
                                                 Peacock Feather Distress Ink
                                                 Versamark Ink
                                                 WOW Silver EP
                                                 Creative Expressions Arctic Pearl EP
                                                 White Stamping Card
                                                 Silver Mirri Card
                                                 Free Kaisercraft Sentiment Stamp
                                                 Free Hot Off the Press Snowflake Stamp
                                                 Metal Snowflake Stencil
                                                 Blending Foam

Firstly I stamped the sentiment using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink, and while it was still wet I heat embossed it with the Arctic Pearl EP.  The drying time of DI's is always a bit longer than other water based inks so provided you do it fairly quickly it works well.   I then coloured in the stamp using the Peacock Feather DI, and I added a very little Seedless Preserves DI to act as a shadow - I hope Less is More will allow me this as this was the very smallest amount of another colour.  I  used a  rectangle of white card, and using the snowflake stencil, I carefully inked through it using blending foam with the Peacock Feathers DI, and again a very little Seedless Preserves DI, and whilst wet I heat embossed using the Arctic Pearl EP.  This gives a nice finish as it has mica in it and gives a lovely sheen.  I then randomly stamped the Hot Off The Press Snowflake with Versamark Ink and heat embossed with WOW Silver EP.  I mounted this on Silver Mirri card and then mounted that on the base card.  In the photo the blue on the panel looks as though it is a different colour than the sentiment.  The Arctic Pearl EP was used on both but obviously only on the outside edge of the sentiment.  In real life the difference is much less visible.

Indigoblu Christmas

Hi All.  Here I am again, two posts in two days, I'm not sure I will be able to keep up this frantic pace!
I made this card using the Indigoblu Large Snowflake stamp.  I obviously have something about snowflakes  as they tend to figure largely in my cards this year.  The other main item on this card was a metal snowflake stencil, which I acquired recently via a friend.  I think we tend to forget about metal stencils in these days of the more modern versions, but they can still have their place.  I also used a couple of stamps from a set which I got with a magazine before last Christmas, they are called Enchanted Christmas by Hot Off The Press, and I have found them very useful.

On my white square base card I stamped two of the Hot off the Press freebie stamps using Versamark Ink and WOW Silver EP.   I then took a piece of white card, and using the metal stencil and  Distress Inks in Peacock Feather and Tumbled Glass, and Nautical Blue Memento Dye Ink, and a small piece of blending foam, I made a random pattern with the stencil, and then used the inks to colour the remaining areas of white card.  I mounted this onto dark blue card.  Onto white card I stamped with Versamark Ink, heat embossed using WOW Sparkling Snow EP, and then cut round the snowflake shape. I inked with a slightly watered down Peacock Feather DI to keep the colour a bit paler, and highlighted the edges with the Nautical Blue Memento.  Using a Versamark Pen I made a round shape in the centre and heat embossed with WOW Silver EP.

Thank you for stopping by my blog and for all the lovely comments I have received.  Your continuing interest is much appreciated.  Hope you all have a good weekend.

I am entering the challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop which requires us to use snippets/scraps of card or paper, and I used some small snippets of dark blue and white card for the background and the snowflake.  There is a special challenge running at the moment as well as the usual weekly one, and this is my 3rd and final card.

I am also entering this card over at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge which asks you to make your own background.

Vintage Stamping Challenges, sponsored by Flonzcraft, has a challenge running this month to use Cold and Frosty Colours, and as it doesn't have to be a vintage design I am entering this.

Black and White Anniversary.

Hello everybody.  I have interrupted Christmas card making as I have two Anniversaries this month to make cards for, and no, I haven't finished my Christmas cards yet.  I'm afraid, as usual, I started rather late and will be making and posting right up to the last possible date.

For this card I used:   Square White Card Blank, White Stamping Card, Chocolate Baroque Bold Snowflake Shadow Stamp, Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Kimmy-luvs, Nellie's Border Die, Versamark Ink, WOW Black Twinkle EP, WOW Silver EP, Silver Mirri Card and a Silver Sentiment.

 

I decided that as this is a December Anniversary I could get away with using the Chocolate Baroque Snowflake Shadow stamp.  I really love this stamp because it heat embosses so beautifully, so I stamped it using Versamark Ink and heat embossed using the Black Twinkle EP. (unfortunately this doesn't show up on the photo very well).  I then used the Kimmy-luvs Embossing Folder  with some white card - I managed to make it wider by matching the pattern and running it through my machine again, luckily it worked quite well.  In my stash I found a nice little heart stamp which I got free with Craft Stamper magazine, and using snippets of white card I heat embossed  with the Silver EP making two of them as you can see.  I also used a scrap/snippet of Silver Mirri card and die cut the Nellie's Border Die, luckily it fitted almost perfectly.  I made the card up by cutting both the background pieces in half, mounted them on the white base card and covered the  join with the silver border.  I then added the two hearts and finished with the sentiment.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop where you have to use snippets/scraps, and as I used some small snippets of white card and silver mirri card.  This is for the weekly challenge and my 2nd entry into the special challenge.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge   - Make Your Own Background
Less is More  - Sparkle