Christmas Card Challenge - Card 11/2019 - Christmas Lights

Hello Everyone,

I didn't forget the Christmas Card Club challenge but I just couldn't find anything in my stash, be it stamp, die or paper, that I thought fit with this week's theme of Christmas Lights chosen by Margaret. Until today when I remembered the set of Sarntangles and the stamp I used recently for something else entirely different.

Perfect! Having decided on the stamp I then looked through all the 6x6 pads I have accumulated over the years - so many I have put a stop on buying any more until they are all used up - and chose a very pretty patterned paper for the background to the stamped topper.

Materials used:

- a white A6 (10.5 x 14.8cm) card base 
- patterned paper, Kate Knight Christmas Collection paper stack 
- cardstock - scraps of white (topper & greeting) and pink (matting)
- stamps - Sarntangles 'Imagine' set (topper) & Forest Magic (greeting)
- ink - Archival Ink Jet Black pad
- markers - Blossom, Pastel Green, Rose Pink and Blender ProMarkers
- tools - Stampin' Up's oval punches for greeting; Tonic guillotine & adhesives (glue tape runner & double sided foam tape)

As the colours in the patterned paper are non-traditional I did think there might be a problem finding just the right shades of marker pens to colour in the topper but luckily the right ones were there.

That's it for CCC today but I hope you will pop over to see what my teammates have created for Margaret's challenge today - you'll find a list of their names and links on my right sidebar - they are always so much more creative than mine
Take care everyone,

Tuesday's Card - A March Morning

Afternoon,

I've been playing with stamps, inks and sprays to make another card using the March Hare set from Hobby Arts.

Unfortunately, it proved to be a difficult card to photograph and although this one is the best of a bad bunch it doesn't show the depth of the colours that can be seen in real life.

Here's a close-up that is a bit better.

Here's how it was made:

1. a smooth white A4 (8.27 × 11.69 inches) sheet of cardstock was cut in two halves and then one half was folded to make the card base.
2. the card front was sprayed with gold Cosmic Shimmer. To do this the fully opened card was taped to the craft mat and the back covered to prevent the gold spray getting anywhere but the front. It was then put aside to dry. Note: I should have kept it taped down to prevent the cardstock buckling as it did - I think you can just detect that in the photograph. 
3. the topper was made using a scrap of watercolour card which was lightly spritzed with water, then the images of grasses - from Hobby Art's March Hares - were stamped using distress inks - Squeezed Lemonade, Scattered Straw, Crushed Olive and Shabby Shutters - and then it was given another light spritz of water to encourage the ink to bleed then left to dry.
4. once dry, more stamping was done using VersaFine Vintage Sepia first and then Olympia Green - again it was left to dry before the next step which was to spray a little yellow colour, created by mixing Mustard Seed from a re-inker with some water in a spritzer. This spraying was concentrated n the centre. Next a light flicking and spritzing of the gold Cosmic Shimmer was applied and left to dry before stamping the greeting, borrowed from Sarntangles stamp set, using Memento Rich Cocoa ink pad.
5. finally, the topper was matted and layered on to scraps of dark yellow and kraft cardstock and then adhered with sticky fixers to the front of the card.

A technique described by Jaine Drake, found in an old issue of Craft Stamper, provided the inspiration for this topper. She, in turn, was inspired by the effect of the sun on her herb garden.

It's a fun technique and well worth having a bash at so I hope I've explained it clearly enough for anyone who would like to give it a try.

Happy Crafting,