CAS Christmas January Reminder

Hi everyone.  Back with a reminder card for this month's CAS Christmas Challenge - Silver and Gold, hosted by Julia.

I'm loving the elegant look of this colour combination.  The card above started with die-cuts, Pine Needle Sprigs and Pine Cones (both from Gina Marie Designs).  The pieces were cut from scraps of leftover white card stock, pressed into a versamark pad and heat embossed in either silver or silver tinsel, and princess gold or gold tinsel embossing powders (Ranger).  It's hard to see the difference in the photo, but they definitely give a different look, one shine and one glittery.

The pieces are arranged into a swag and adhered to the front of the card.  Joy (retired sentiment) is stamped and heat embossed in Princess Gold embossing powder to finish.  Easy and quick CAS design.

Close-up ...

I hope you'll check out the challenge blog to see the reminder cards from our Designers.  If you haven't played along yet, hope you'll join us.  Making Christmas cards throughout the year makes it so much easier when the busy time of November / December rolls around.

Another two NBUS from my stash (pinecone and pine sprig dies), so heading over to enter this card into NBUS Challenge #34.

And because I used snippets for everything except the card base, I'm over to visit Di and Dudley at the Snippets Playground Challenge #419 ... where the sun is always shining!! :)

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Stamps:  Art Deco Celebrate Christmas - retired (Poppy Stamps)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.)
Ink:   Versamark
Accessories:   Pine Needle Sprigs dies (Gina Marie Designs); Pine Cones dies (Gina Marie Designs); Embossing powder:  Princess Gold, Gold Tinsel, Silver, Silver Tinsel (Ranger); heat tool

Challenges:
CAS Christmas January Reminder - Silver & Gold

NBUS Challenge #34

Snippets Playground #419

CAS Mix Up January Reminder

Hi everyone.  I'm back with a reminder card for this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge - Loose Watercolouring, hosted by Jenny.  I'm a "colour inside the lines" kinda gal, so Loose Watercolouring is a little bit of a stretch for me.  The best thing was to find a technique that worked for me, and I did on YouTube (see link below).

Click HERE to see Simple Misty Loose Watercolouring.  I think it's a great way for a beginner (like me) to try Loose Watercolouring.  I did change it up a little, using a stamp for my trees (Stampscapes Pine Row) and not hand painting them.  I then used re-inkers to colour my trees, brushing the highly pigmented inks directly onto my tree stamp (Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, and Blueprint Sketch re-inkers).   I still added water to the watercolour paper before stamping, with a little at the top and heavier water at the area that would become the bottom of the trees.  A simple sentiment  and die-cut frame finishes the card.

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I'm so happy how my card turned out and look forward to making more cards using this very easy technique for Loose Watercoloured cards.  Thanks for this great challenge Jenny!

Please check out the challenge blog to see the amazing cards from our Designers.  Then come play along if you haven't already.  Hope to see you in the gallery!

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Stamps:  Pine Row (Stampscapes); Greetings - retired (Cavallini & Co.)

Paper:   Watercolour Paper (Arches 140 lb. Hot Press)
Ink:   Distress Re-inkers:  Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Blueprint Sketch;  (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Paint Brushes, Rectangle Frame die (retired)

Challenges:
CAS Mix Up January Reminder - Loose Watercolouring

Happy Birthday to You!

Hi everyone.  I made this card last month for a dear friend's birthday.  We worked together for several years and still keep in contact, even though I retired over 10 years ago.  She LOVES birds.  :)

I started by choosing a beautiful die given to me by a very, sweet friend.  It's a NBUS (never-before-used-schtuff), so I'm sending this card over to the NBUS #34 gallery.

I die-cut the bird from mixed media paper and watercoloured with distress inks:  Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Candied Apple, Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed,and Black Soot.

I tried to make it look like a Robin ... hope it does. :)  I added a small eye with black ink and a tiny white dot.  It gave him some personality. :)  I also added white veins to the leaves, and to the leaves of the stenciled background.

Close-up ...

The camera could not pick up the orangey-red colour of the bird's breast.  The colours look better IRL.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

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Stamps:  Birthday Blowout (Poppy Stamps - retired)

Paper:   White card stock (Neenah 110 lb.); Mixed Media paper (Strathmore 140 lb.)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Candied Apple, Ground Espresso, Mustard Seed, Black Soot (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:   Bird & branch die (gift from a friend); Leaves Stencil (Simon Says Stamp - retired), sponge brushes, paint brushes, white acrylic pen (Posca)

Challenges:

NBUS Challenge #34

Cozy Cabin

Hi everyone.  Today I'm sharing a no-line watercoloured card using a beautiful winter scene from Penny Black (Cozy Cabin).

I started by stamping the image onto Hot Press watercolour paper in Antique Linen distress ink (very light).  Then used a variety of other distress ink colours to watercolour the image and add a light blue to the sky.  Finished the card by using white acrylic paint to add snow to the trees, cabin and splattered over the whole card.  The sentiment (Snowflake Season by Penny Black) is stamped in brown.

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I'm entering this card into the Christmas Craft Creations Challenge - Make a Scene.

* * * * *

We have had a lot of snow over the past week.

Jessie has enjoyed hopping through the deep snow and as always,

finding the biggest stick she can carry makes her happy.

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Stamps:  Cozy Cabin; Snowflake Season (both Penny Black)

Paper:   Watercolour Paper (Arches 140 lb. Hot Press)
Ink:   Distress Inks:  Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Fired Brick, Tumbled Glass (Tim Holtz)
Accessories:  paint brushes, splatter brush, white acrylic paint

Challenges:

Christmas Craft Creations Challenge - Make a Scene.