Christmas card No. 2 - Stampendous Candy Bear

Hi blogging friends

Whew, sure is hot here today - 42.7 deg C (that's just short of 109 deg F if you are imperial)!  Good for catching up on stuff indoors - like cleaning my Craft Room.  It never ceases to amaze me how much mess I can make just from making a few cards - although I am sure I am not alone, hee hee!   Today I am sharing another Christmas card which I made on Christmas Eve - and I gave this one to my daughter.

This is also my 2nd card for each of the following Challenges:

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - December - Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Challenge Extra - December - Anything Goes

The image is by Stampendous and is retired but is just so adorable, don't you think?!  I stamped the image onto watercolour paper using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink and coloured it with Faber-Castell watercolour pencils using a #2 round paintbrush.

I added dots of white acrylic paint onto the bear's scarf using a very fine stylus as well and I painted a fine white line down the centre of the candy cane for a highlight using a Liner brush.   I lightly chalked around the image with Kaisercraft blue chalk and added snow using Stampendous Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter - which was also used to add fuzz to the hat.  Here is a close-up:

I popped the image panel up on 2mm dimensionals.

The green dry embossing is an embossing folder by Crafts Too - Christmas Holly Frame.  I layered the panel onto some red cardstock and trimmed the layers to 1/16" using my Perfect Layers Tools.  I added the red reindeer ribbon from my stash then attached the panel to a white cardstock base.

The sentiment is by Elzybells (sadly no longer in business but Penny Black has reissued some images over the past few years) - and was diecut using a Cuttlebug Tiny Tags die.  I added a tiny Couture Creations red rhinestone at each end of the sentiment panel.  I tied the tag on using Doodlebug Ladybug twine and added a dimensional to hold the tag firmly to the cardstock.  I added Fray Stop to the cut ends of the twine to stop it from fraying/unravelling.

Lastly, I adhered the glittery sparkly snowflake from my stash using Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue.

Thanks for stopping by.

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous Candy Bears E208 (retired), Sentiment: Elzybells Mini Messages - Christmas clear set 20-054  (retired)

Ink:  Ranger Archival Jet Black

Designer Paper:  None

Dies:  Cuttlebug Tiny Tags

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Crafts Too Christmas Holly Frame, Perfect Layers Tools, Doodlebug Ladybug twine, red/white reindeer ribbon (stash), Fray Stop, Couture Creations tiny red rhinestones, Stampendous Cotton White fun flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter, Tombow Mono Aqua glue, Stampin' Up Fuse Fast adhesive, Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue, 2mm dimensionals, snowflake embellishment (stash), Jo Sonja white acrylic gouache, stylus, #2 round + liner paintbrush, Faber-Castell watercolour pencils, 140lb watercolour paper, Kaisercolour blue chalk, cardstock - red, green, white

The More the Merrier Shaker card

Hi blogging friends

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas.  We had Christmas Day at home for the first time in the 25 years that we have been married - which was absolutely wonderful!  We had my Mum, my brother plus his wife and their daughter over for lunch and it was such a lovely and relaxing day.  Boxing Day we always stay at home and just relax and play with our new toys.  You won't find me at the Boxing Day Sales - the last thing I want to do is drive to somewhere crowded, fight for a parking spot and go shopping - I just don't understand all the hype about it as the shops have sales throughout the year anyway!  Each to his own I suppose.......

Today I am sharing the Christmas card that I made for my 11 yo DD which I couldn't share here on my blog until it had been opened on Christmas Day:

I haven't made a Shaker card for ages but as I have seen alot of them around Blog-land recently, I thought I would make one as they are really fun.  I used a Large Round Shaker Card Pouch which comes in a pack of 10 by Impression Obsession.  You can get many different sizes and shapes of pouches but I only have the circles.  They are really cool because you just peel off the adhesive and stick it down - although I did actually add some Stampin' Up Fuse Fast adhesive which is super-strong as I was a little afraid the adhesive on the pouch wasn't really strong enough. The shadow at the top part of the pouch from taking the photo out in the sun looks a little odd but if you look at the IO website, you will get a better idea of what the pouch looks like.

The main image is from the Stampin' Up set - The More the Merrier - which I bought second-hand on EBay a few months ago as it is retired.  I fell in love with this image when I saw a card on Splitcoastampers made with these snowmen.  If you are a regular reader of my blog you will already know that I am crazy for any stamps that have a snowman on it!  It must be genetic because my DD is nuts for snowmen too!

I stamped the image onto Ranger Watercolour cardstock and coloured it with a variety of mediums:  Tombow pens plus Lyra and Faber-Castell watercolour pencils using a paintbrush.   I stamped a couple of snowflakes from the Stampendous set - Winter Warm above the snowmen using Soft Sky ink then chalked around the image with blue chalk for the sky.  I had meant to add glitter to the snowmen's hats and scarves but only remembered about 5 seconds after I attached the pouch to the image.....oops.....sigh...... :-( 

I added Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter to the ground for the snow and to the cuffs and pom-poms on the Snowmen's hats using Tombow Mono Aqua glue.  You can see a bit more detail in this close-up:

I added sequins, stars, glitter and gemstones from my stash in various colours for the Shaker contents and then diecut the burgundy and blue cardstock circles and attached them over the top of the Shaker pouch using Tombow Mono Multi glue.

The designer paper, twine, tag and large brad are from My Mind's Eye - Winter Wonderland which has been a favourite of mine this Christmas season.  The blue and burgundy cardstock layers on the card base were trimmed to 1/8" and 1/16" respectively using my Perfect Layers Tools.  I then popped this up on thick doublesided tape on my white cardstock base. 

The next card I am sharing is the amazing Christmas card that my 11 yo daughter made for me:

My daughter and I had a good laugh when we opened our cards because we both used the same image AND made a Shaker card!  This was my DD's first-ever Shaker card too.  Such a funny coincidence!  And this is the handmade felt snowman that my daughter gave me:

SQUEE!  Isn't my snowman just soooo adorable??!!  My DD didn't use a pattern and designed it all herself and it stands about 15cm - 6 inches high.  Oh my gosh, I ♥love♥ it so much!

And now here are some gorgeous handmade cards that we have received this Christmas season:

From my Stampin' Up Demonstrator

From my beautiful friend Y who first introduced me to cardmaking

From my SCS friend Sabrina in Ireland

From my blogging friend Shaz

An Easel card from our dearest friend C

In an era where alot of people use Social Media to send their Christmas greetings, we feel very blessed to receive such beautiful handmade cards in the mail.  

Lastly, as I haven't shared photos of Ruby for a while, I thought I would post some photos of her playing around her little carpeted scratching post and tunnel:

Of course, having the sun come through the window makes you sleepy so once Ruby had a bit of play, it was time to catch up on some zzzzzzzzzs!

Thanks for visiting my blog today!  Hope to see you again soon!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up The More the Merrier (retired), Stampendous Winter Warm SSC262 clear set

Ink:  Ranger Archival Jet Black, Stampin' Up Soft Sky dye

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles and Nesting Scalloped Circles

Designer Paper:  My Mind's Eye Winter Wonderland (2012) 6" x 6" pad

Accessories:  Big Shot, twine + tag + brad - MME Winter Wonderland set, Fray Stop, Stampendous Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter, Tombow Mono Multi + Mono Aqua glue, SU Fuse Fast adhesive, X-Press it thick doublesided tape, Impression Obsession Large Round Shaker Pouch SHP02, Kaisercraft blue chalk, #2 round paintbrush, Faber-Castell + Lyra watercolour pencils, Tombow Pens, Perfect Layers Tools, assorted sequins + gems, Ranger Distress Watercolour cardstock, other cardstock - burgundy, blue, white

Stampendous Snow Bears on Ice Circle card

Hi blogging friends 

Today I am sharing a Christmas card which I made for my dearest friend C who lives on the other side of Australia.  C is the kindest and most generous friend you could ever know - and has been an amazing support to our family since our loved one was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness in February 2012.  C is also a very talented cardmaker so I love our long chats on the phone about cardmaking.  Now that C has the card in her hot little hands, I can share it here:

The main image is by Stampendous - Snow Bears on Ice - which I have had forever and as far as I know, is retired - and was stamped using Ranger Archival Jet Black ink onto Ranger Distress watercolour cardstock and coloured with a variety of mediums:  Tombow pens, Ranger Distress Markers and Faber-Castell watercolour pencils.  I used a tiny round 5/0 paintbrush to dot white acrylic paint on the scarves.  I coloured around the image with blue chalk.

I went over the red hats using a Wink of Stella red glitter pen and added Stampin' Up Dazzling Details glitter glue underneath the skates.  I also added Cotton White Fun Flock mixed with Crystalina glitter to the cuff and pom-pom on the hat using Tombow Mono Aqua glue.  

Here is a close-up:

It is a bit hard to see the sparkle as the weather was very dreary on the day I took the photo.  An hour later, the card was in the post so I didn't have much choice!
 
The snowflakes are by My Favorite Things from their Snowflakes Trio die set.  I glued down just the centres and bent the snowflake arms (is that what they are called??) up a little to give them some dimension against the white cardstock, then added red rhinestones to the centres.

The sentiment is from Elzybells (who are no longer in business) and I added a green rhinestone to each end. 

The white cardstock base was originally a square pre-folded card and was diecut using a Lifestyle Nesting Circle die but I moved the die up a little so that I still had a small fold at the top.  I dry-embossed the circle cardstock base using my Big Shot and Cart-Us Snowflakes embossing folder, then all I had to do was layer the main image panel on.  All the circle/scalloped circle diecuts are from the Lifestyle Nesting Circle/Scalloped Circles sets.  I really love these sets because you get oodles of dies in them - from tiny circles to really large circles that are big enough to make a circle card:  great value in my opinion.  

I really should make more circle cards - they are a fun change from the regular square or rectangular cards.

Lastly, I used my Bow Easy to tie a double-bow out of my Doodlebug twine and glued it on using Glossy Accents.  I put some weight on it whilst it dried to hold it firmly.  As always, I added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.

Challenges:

I am popping my card into the following Challenge - 

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - December - Anything Goes

This will be my last post before Christmas.  I have one more Christmas card to share but as that person won't be opening it until Christmas Day, I can't share yet - plus they read my blog so sharing it beforehand would spoil the surprise. 

Merry Christmas and a happy 2015 to you all - and thanks so much for your support, comments and emails throughout this year.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous Snow Bears on Ice D144 wood-mount (retired), sentiment from Elzybells Mini Messages 20-054 clear set (retired)

Ink:  Ranger Archival Jet Black

Dies:  Lifestyle Nesting Circles and Nesting Scalloped Circles, My Favorite Things Die-namics Snowflakes Trio

Accessories:  Big Shot, Tombow pens, Ranger Distress Markers, Faber-Castell watercolour pencils, #2 and 5/0 round paintbrush, Stampin' Up Dazzling Details glitter glue, Wink of Stella red glitter pen, JoSonja white acrylic paint, Stampendous Cotton White Fun flock mixed with fine Crystalina glitter, Tombow Mono Aqua and Mono Multi glue, Kaisercraft blue chalk, Bow Easy, Fray Stop, Doodlebug Ladybug twine, green and red rhinestones from stash, Ranger Distress watercolour cardstock, other cardstock - white, green, red

Memory Box Silver and Gold Deer

Hi blogging friends

The cards I am sharing today are quick and simple - and I made a silver and gold version.  I have almost finished my Christmas cards now - yay!  Whilst I am typing this, my cat Ruby is curled up beside me hugging the heat from the fan inside my laptop and it has turned cold and is pouring with rain outside - GREAT crafting weather!

I made a similar card last year and just changed things up a little plus the finished card size is smaller at 5" x 5" or 127mm x 127mm. The deer were diecut using silver glitter cardstock.  The sentiment is by Stampendous from their Christmas Wishes clear set (you can see the set HERE on the Stampendous website) and was stamped using Versamark Watermark ink and then heat-embossed using Ranger Fine Detail Silver embossing powder.  I trimmed the silver cardstock edges on the sides and bottom to 1/16" using my Perfect Layers Tools.

I added the 2 x silver sequins using Glossy Accents and corner punched the bottom. I tied on the silver cord and added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.  I added some Glossy Accents underneath the bow centre and put something heavy on it while it dried.  This stops the bow from loosening and holds it very firmly in place for mailing.

And now here is the gold version - except that I reversed the gold glitter cardstock in the die to make the deer face the other direction:

The sentiment is by Flourishes from their Christmas Wreath set.  I just discovered that Flourishes are no longer around - not sure why or when :-(

I stamped the sentiment using Versamark Watermark ink and heat-set it using Ranger Fine Detail Gold embossing powder.  Again, I trimmed the gold glitter cardstock around the sentiment panel to 1/16" using my Perfect Layers Tools, added gold sequins and the gold cord.

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Last Christmas Card of the Year (although these cards won't be my last!)

Incy Wincy Designs - Christmas Anything Goes

Splitcoaststampers - Clean and Simple CAS303 Holiday Sparkle

Thanks for stopping by!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe - Silver Version:

Stamps:  Stampendous Christmas Wishes SSC1068 clear set

Ink:  Versamark Watermark

Designer Paper:  Silver glitter cardstock

Dies:  Memory Box Deer Trio #98166

Accessories:  Big Shot, silver 6mm sequins, Glossy Accents, Ranger Fine Detail Silver embossing powder, heat-gun, Paper Mill silver cord (Riot Art and Craft), white cardstock

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner


Card Recipe - Gold Version:

Stamps:  Flourishes Christmas Wreath Set #68 (retired)

Ink:  Versamark Watermark

Designer Paper:  Gold glitter cardstock

Dies:  Memory Box Deer Trio #98166

Accessories:  Big Shot, gold 6mm sequins, Glossy Accents, Ranger Fine Detail Gold embossing powder, heat-gun, Paper Mill gold cord (Riot Art and Craft), white cardstock

Punches:  Stampin' Up corner

Stampendous Easter Bunny card

Hi blogging friends

As promised (from my last blog post), here is the Easter Card that I made to accompany the special Easter boxes with the knitted ducks that I made for my daughter.  If you missed my last post, you can see it HERE.  

This card was a bit of a last minute dash as I only finished it Sunday lunchtime!  Once I had coloured the image to match the designer paper, I wasn't sure what layout I wanted and fiddled around and fiddled around not really getting very far.  In the end, I left it for an hour and came back to it and things seemed to fall into place.  I have learned through experience, that if things aren't working and I just seem to be getting nowhere, I walk away and come back later - and things usually fall into place when I return.

Sorry about the dull photo - I had to photograph it inbetween showers.  Right at this moment, it's pouring with rain and Ruby is curled up beside me.  She isn't happy when there is no sun and gets quite grumpy.  If the sun decides to poke it's head out later, I'll take another photo and replace this one.  The colours are a bit off in the photo and it looks far better in real life....oh well.....

The image is by Stampendous called Easter Word Bunny which I believe is from about 2007 and is retired (I picked it up on sale at a Craft Show last year).  I coloured the image with a mix of Tombow pens and watercolour pencils then added some Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue around the edges of the letters plus the bunny's cheeks.  I chalked around the image with blue chalk and a bit of grey then diecut the image panel with a Spellbinders Large Oval Nestabilities die.

I found three matching buttons in my stash and sewed the centres (I don't like naked buttons on my cards) then glued them on with Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue.

The fancy yellow diecut is a Spellbinders Floral Oval and once I had attached it, I bent the fancy edge up a little so it stood out a bit better from the designer paper.  The green oval was handcut because I didn't have a large enough Spellbinders Oval die to match but it was simple to trace around the largest oval in the set and trim it with nail scissors (that has the curved blade).  I lightly sanded around the oval with my Distressing tool to make it all smooth and even up any bits that I didn't cut perfectly.

Here is a close-up:

The green and yellow layers on the card base were cut to 1/8" and 1/16" respectively using my Perfect Layers Tools.  The designer paper is old and is by Doodlebug.

Lastly, I used my Bow Easy to tie my bow and glued it on using Fabric glue.  I added Fray Stop to the cut ends to stop them from fraying.

Challenges:

This is also my card for the Splitcoaststampers Free for All F4A217 Challenge of 'Show me the Bunny' where you have to make a card with a bunny on it - stamped, diecut, punched etc. - any way you choose. 

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous Easter Word Bunny cling mount (retired)

Ink:  Ranger Archival Jet Black

Designer paper:  Doodlebug Design Inc 1706 citrus squeeze polka dots (retired) 

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Floral Oval dies, Spellbinder Large Oval Nestabilities dies, Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue, Tombow Pens, Lyra Watercolour pencils, paintbrush, Kaisercolour chalks, buttons (from stash) + matching sewing thread, Crafter's Pick Incredibly Tacky glue, Fabric glue, Bow Easy, orange gingham ribbon, Fray Stop, 140lb watercolour paper, Perfect Layers Tools, cardstock - green, lemon

Stampendous Bunny Egg - an Easter card

Hi blogging friends

I had a little break from taking my family member to hospital today for treatment which gave me a little bit of "crafty" time which was really wonderful.  Thanks again for your continued comments, emails, prayers and support as I journey through this - I really appreciate it and it brings much comfort to know how many people care and want to help in any way they can. 

Each year, I always make an Easter card for my daughter (she is now 8 yo and still believes in the Easter Bunny - yay!) and I have been itching to use this uber-cute little Stampendous image which I bought in a sale after Easter last year.  I love how the sentiment is on the egg too.  It doesn't really seem like it has been a year since last Easter:  how time flies!

I stamped the image onto my white cardstock, then stamped the egg again onto the same designer paper I used on the background so I could paper-piece the pink and green portions of the egg.  I also stamped the egg again onto watercolour paper and coloured just the yellow section with watercolour pencils and cut that out and popped it on top of the original stamped image on the white cardstock. I stamped the bunny twice more onto watercolour paper - once for using the whole bunny image and the second for just cutting out an extra layer of the two paws to give bunny a little more dimension that he/she is holding the egg.  I coloured the bunny and grass/ground with watercolour pencils - not that there is much to colour - quick and easy!

I lightly went around the image with blue chalk to represent the sky and added some pink and lemon chalk here and there using I-Kan-dee  pearlescent chalks, then punched four tiny pink hearts using my Arrows border punch (they are the leftover punchies that look like tiny hearts to me) and glued them around the image.

I smothered the pink ends of the egg with Kindyglitz Crystalina glitter glue.

Lastly, I added the ribbon in two separate elements and the bow itself was made with my Bow Easy.  I really love how the ribbon and velvet Doodlebug brads were such a perfect match to the designer paper - a complete fluke which made me feel very satisfied as I love it when you rifle through your stash and find things that go together like a match made in heaven!  Here is a wee close-up of those gorgeous brads - wish you could feel how soft and velvety they are:

Did you notice that my layers ie: cardstock and designer paper have perfect 1/8" borders?   No?  Have a look - aren't they just so even? Wanna know why?   Well, recently I purchased the Perfect Layers Tools after seeing a demo of them and as I always have trouble getting the borders on my layers even, I thought I would give them a whirl - and oh my gosh, they are THE BEST invention and so easy to use.   No longer do I keep trimming and trimming the borders to get them even till I end up with really silly skinny borders or I cut 3 sides OK and the 4th is all crooked. Gaaahhhh - I used to get so cheesed off - but not anymore. I LOVE the tools and now use them on every card that has layers plus I use them for scrapbooking too    Yep, that's me:  bouncing with joy!!  I bought mine from Joanna Sheen's UK website.   

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Splitcoaststampers Free for All Friday - F4A109 'Three or more' where you have to use "3 of something" whether it is multiples of a stamp or embellishment.  I used 3 brads of course!

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes!

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Celebrating Easter - which can be an Easter card or project

Thanks for stopping by! 

Jocelyn


Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous Cling Bunny Egg CRD168

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black

Designer paper:  My Memories #151645 - Riot Art and Craft

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Lyra watercolour pencils, paintbrush, Kindyglitz Crystalina, ribbon, Bow Easy, Kaisercolour blue chalk, I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalks, Perfect Layers Tool, Crushed Velvet brads by Doodlebug, 140 lb watercolour paper, cardstock:  green, pink, white

Punches:  Fiskars Scalloped border, EK Success Arrows border

Stampendous Bear Safety Pin - a new baby girl card!

Hi blogging friends ,

One of our neighbours had a baby girl and this is the card that I made for the occasion:

I used my Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits and paper stumps to colour the cute little teddy bear nappy pin image which took oh, all of 5 minutes!   I used my pearlescent chalks to add blue, pink and lemon around the image which added a lovely, sparkly yet subtle sheen - alas, very difficult to pick up with the camera but I hope you can see a little bit of soft colouring - it looks so pretty IRL.   

The sentiment is by Stampin' Up from their Nursery Necessities set.  I added a line of Basic Grey pink rhinestones underneath and used my Arrows Border punch to punch the tiny little pink hearts around the image (the leftover punchies from using the punch look like tiny hearts).  I added some pink Kindyglitz to the bear's cheeks, the pin itself and the tiny pink hearts.  Here is a close-up of that cute little bear:

The gorgeous embossing folder I used on the white cardstock is by K Kingdom called 'Flowers and Dots' which originally came from Fat Cat's Card Corner in Australia but is no longer on their website.  I did a bit of a search on the web, but couldn't find it anywhere.  Maybe it has been discontinued? 

And here is a pic of the card inside which is the same layout as the card-front except that I reversed the colours:

I used the same embossing folder for the pink cardstock and the sentiment is from the same Stampin' Up Nursery Necessities set - there are lots of fantastic sentiments in this set.  I added a Basic Grey pink rhinestone at each end.

Lastly, I added the white dotted pink organza scalloped ribbon (LOVE this ribbon!!), sewed on a pink button and added some Fray Stop to the ribbon ends, then glued on the pink organza flowers which I have had in my stash forever!  They came with the white pearl already sewed on in the centre.

And here is a pic of the gift that will be accompanying my card.  More teddy bears of course......sorry it's such a lousy photo.  I took it really early in the morning and the light wasn't very good at the time.  Just LOVE that cute teddy bear bib and the teddy rattle.  The gift bag was bought as I have no idea how to make such a large bag!

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Splitcoaststampers - Free for All Friday - F4A100 - Have a heart or two - where you project must have at least 2 hearts.  I have 6 hearts around my image.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Simon Says 'Anything goes'

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous B061 Safety Pin (wood mount), Sentiments from Stampin' Up! Nursery Necessities

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Big Shot, Spellbinder Circle + Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, K Kingdom Flowers and Dots KEM117 embossing folder (retired?), Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits (OMS), paper stumps, organza ribbon, fray stop, pink flower button (Spotlight), pink sewing thread, pink organza flowers, Basic Grey pink rhinestones, pink Kindyglitz glitter glue, I-Kan-dee pearlescent chalk, cardstock:  KW Doggett 'Knight' white, pink

Punches:  EK Success Arrows border (tiny pink hearts), Stampin' Up! corner

Stampin' Up Dinoraur - a boy's birthday card

Hi blogging friends  

My nephew's 8th birthday was late last week and this is the card I made for him:

I used one of the newer stamp sets by Stampin' Up called "Dinoraur" which I really, really love and I couldn't wait to bring one of the images to life with my watercolour pencils.  I added some Glossy Accents to the black markings on his back plus his claws.  Here is a close-up of the Glossy Accents - you will have to peer closely as it isn't very easy to see but I can tell you that it "feels" all bumpy IRL.  

As you can probably tell, I did a ton of aging with Vintage Photo Distress ink and a seasponge.  This colour is one of my newer purchases of Distress ink and I think it is awesome.

The sentiment I made from the Stampendous Typewriter Alphabet clear set and I had a hard time trying to line up the letters all in a row so went for an uneven line which I think looked more fun.

I used my Spellbinder Pinking Circle Nestabilities (LOVE the pointy bits!!) to diecut the rust and pale olive cardstock and popped them on top of each other to get the double-spikey effect then popped this image panel up on dimensionals.

The designer papers are one of my all-time favourite papers called "Archaic" by Basic Gray.

For the side panel, I ran the designer paper through my Cuttlebug using my Mesh embossing folder then distressed it with some sandpaper.  The pale olive cardstock border was made with a Martha Stewart Embossed Zigzag edge punch.  The ribbon is from my stash; sorry I don't know who made it.  Here is a wee close-up of the side panel:

Lastly, I added 3 Kaiser Daffodil Sparklets to the bottom RH corner - aren't they just so cool?!!

When I stamped the Stampin' Up sentiment on the inside of the card, I did my usual dumb trick of not centering it on the cardstock and also stamped it crooked!!  Ugggh!!  The number of times I do that.......so I decided to re-stamp it on a panel similar to the one of the card-front except I reversed the order of colours and glued it over the crooked sentiment.  Because this panel was up a little high, I thought it would look better if I added the bottom panel which matches the side panel on the card-front - other than the fact I again reversed the colours - and of course, these panels are all aged the same as the card-front.  Here is a pic of the inside:

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges -

Cooking it up with Katie - Challenge #85 - A piece of pie - this week's recipe is:  use a Punch, add some Ink, include some Embossing

Mark's Finest Papers - Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge #83 - Make it Masculine

Splitcoaststampers Inspiration Challenge #312 - Glenna Jean website - I chose the picture called 'Carson' as inspiration behind the colours on my card.

Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate it!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Dinoraur, Stampendous Typewriter Alphabet SSC014 clear set

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress ink

Designer paper:  Basic Grey Archaic 6" x 6" paper pad

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Mesh embossing folder, Spellbinder Circle Nestabilities + Large Pinking Circle Nestabilities, seasponge, sandpaper, 140lb watercolour paper, Faber-Castell + Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils, small round paintbrush, ribbon from stash, dimensionals, Kaisercraft Daffodil Sparklets RS410, cardstock:  rust, pale olive

Punches:  Martha Stewart Embossed Diamond edge

Stampendous Snuggly Kitties Christmas card and Tag

Hi blogging friends

I have finally finished the matching Christmas card and tag which matches the Snow Globe that I showed you on my last post.  Here is a little pic in case you missed it:

The cute little kitties on the card were coloured using paper stumps with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits.  I tried to add little stripes on them so they would look like ginger tabbies.  I added some little dots of white acrylic paint using the head of a pin to the kitties' hats and scarf, then added some Polar White Flowersoft using Aleen's Tacky glue to the hats and the snow.  I lightly chalked around the image with Kaisercolour blue chalk.

I punched some snowflakes out of blue and white cardstock using a Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge punch (they are the leftover punchies after you use the punch) and attached them to the card using dimensionals, then added some light blue rhinestones to the centres.  I added the same blue rhinestones either side of the sentiment.  Note that the sentiment and kitties are all one image, ie: they are both on one stamp.

The snowflake embossing is a folder from the Cuttlebug Winter Borders set and I added a Scor-Pal line both above and below this embossing as well as underneath the ribbon.  When I tied the gingham ribbon on, I threaded through a little piece of blue organza ribbon just to add "something extra" - plus it's a good way of using up little ribbon scraps.

Just as a little tip (and I learned this through experience), I would recommend before you stamp your image, to make the Scor-Pal line at the card bottom first, then butt your embossing folder up against this line so you know it is straight, then add your Scor-Pal line on the other side.  There is nothing more annoying than colouring your image only to do the embossing or Scor-Pal lines all crooked because, trust me, being a clean and simple card, they really stand out like a sore thumb!!

The bottom blue cardstock border was punched with an EK Success Scalloped Scallop edge punch.

Now here is the matching tag.  I need one of those florist's spikey flower holder thingies that lots of cardmakers use to pop their cards/tags on as I had to lean my tag against a card so I could photograph it as it obviously won't stand up by itself!!  If you know what the spikey thing is called, please leave me a comment.  

The tag was diecut using my Cuttlebug and one of the dies from the Spellbinder Shapeabilities tag set.  I actually diecut the white cardstock using the die, then traced around the outside of the die onto blue cardstock and cut that out by hand and punched the 2 bottom corners with a corner punch.  I did this so that I could have a narrow blue border.   I masked the sentiment from the image before I stamped it and coloured it using the same method as for the card.  I added Stampendous Cotton White fun flock mixed with crystal glitter for the white bits on the hat plus the snow. The blue snowflakes were diecut using a Cuttlebug Snowflake #2 die and the white snowflakes are from the MS Snow Flurry edge punch.  I added some blue rhinestones to the snowflake centres and I popped the snowflakes up on dimensionals.

I punched a hole at the top with a 1/4" circle punch and threaded the gingham and blue organza ribbon through then tied them together with some silver cord.

Here is the back of the tag:

The sentiments are from a Waltzingmouse clear set called "Sewing Box - Christmas" which you can find at this link here.  The snowflakes were made the same way as for the front of the tag and popped up on dimensionals.

So here are all my 3 projects together which I will have to hide from my DD until Christmas:

Challenges:

I am entering my card and tag into the Truly Scrumptious Challenge #66 of Clean and Simple.

Thanks for stopping by!  

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous F166 Snuggly Kitties

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug Winter Borders embossing folder, Scor-Pal, Kaiser blue rhinestones, blue gingham + blue organza ribbon, Derwent Coloursoft + Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, white acrylic paint, Polar White Flowersoft, Aleen's tacky glue, Kaisercolour blue chalk, dimensionals, cardstock: KW Doggett "Knight" white, medium blue

Punches:  EK Success Scalloped Scallop edge, Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge

Tag Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous F166 Snuggly Kitties, Waltzingmouse Sewing Box - Christmas clear set

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Shapeabilities Tag die, Cuttlebug Snowflake #2 die, Kaiser blue rhinestones, Kaisercolour blue chalk, Derwent Coloursoft + Prismacolor pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, blue gingham + blue organza ribbon, silver cord, dimensionals, white acrylic paint, Stampendous Cotton White fun flock, crystal glitter, cardstock: KW Doggett "Knight" white, medium blue

Punches:  1/4" circle punch, Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge

Stampendous Freeze + Snuggly Kitties Christmas Snow Globe

Hi blogging friends

I have been working on a little Christmas project to give to my DD for Christmas.  You may think it's too early for Christmas things, but the way the year is flying by (or should I say: "speeding up" LOL!!), I thought I should get myself into gear.

Late last year, I bought a couple of "do-it-yourself" Snow Globes from Riot Art and Craft but ran out of time to do them, so I pulled them out the other day and set to work.  They are very easy to do and so much fun - and so darned hard to photograph due to the reflection!  So forgive me for the bit of reflection - this was as good as I could get it after taking tons of photos at all different times of the day and on different weather days, ie: cloudy or sunny - in the shade or with different backgrounds - oh well!   In the end, I found my deck chair with the black background seemed to yield the best photo.  Here are a couple of photos of the various bits of the snowglobe so you can see the different elements.  This one is the underneath of the snowglobe with the base taken off:-

In the photo above, you should see the foam which is in the centre of the globe and you use it as a template for cutting your cardstock to just the right size.  Of course, you do 2 images - one for either side of the snowglobe - and I decided to do 2 different Stampendous images.  You must make sure that any embellies like the snowflakes, pearls etc. do NOT stick out too much or you will have trouble fitting the images back in with the foam.  I used Stampendous Cotton White Fun Flock with Crystal glitter mixed in for the snow underneath the images, the mitten cuffs and on the hats - which worked out perfectly because it doesn't stick out much.  I love how soft and fluffy it looks.   The images slot in either side of the foam.  Here are some pics of the two images ready to slide into the globe:

This next photo show the round plastic base that you put on the bottom of the globe which will stop your images from coming out.  It just clicks on.

And here is a photo of the other side of the globe once I had put the 2nd image in.  I tried to capture some of the glittery snow falling.  Are you dreaming of a white Christmas?!!  Bet you're singing it now (I know I am LOL!!).

Both pictures were coloured with Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Odourless Mineral Spirits.  I masked off the sentiment on the Cuddly Kitties stamp.  Here is picture of the stamp so you know what I mean:

Image is copyright Stampendous

I used the head of a pin to add small dots of white acrylic paint to the scarf and hats on the kitties plus the scarf on the snowman.  The snowflakes were punched with a Martha Stewart Snow Flurry edge punch (they are the leftover punchies) - and I added green rhinestones to the snowflake centres on the teddy and snowman image - and white pearls to the snowflake centres on the cuddly kitties image.  I only glued down the centres of the snowflakes and bent the snowflake outer bits up a little to give them some dimension.  I lightly chalked around the images with Kaisercolour blue chalk for the sky.  And as mentioned above, I added Stampendous Fun Flock mixed with glitter for all the fluffy white bits.  I adhered it with some craft glue.

Challenges:

I am entering my snow globe in the following challenges -

Sweet Stamps - Challenge #33 - Anything but a card

Anything Goes Challenge Blog - Challenge #50 - Anything goes

On my next post, I will share the matching card and tag that I am working on.  Stay tuned!!

Thanks for stopping by!  

Jocelyn

Snow Globe Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampendous F166 Snuggly Kitties (masked off sentiment) + Stampendous D145 Freeze! (snowman and bear)

Ink:  Memento Tuxedo black

Accessories:  Blank Snowglobes - Riot Art and Craft, Prismacolor + Derwent Coloursoft pencils, Odourless Mineral Spirits, paper stumps, white acrylic paint, pin (for dipping in paint to make the dots on the scarf), Kaiser green rhinestones, Kaiser Snow white pearls, Kaisercolour blue chalk, Stampendous Cotton White flock, crystal glitter, craft glue, Cardstock:  KW Doggett "Knight" white, sky blue