Tuesday, April 03, 2018

CAS Christmas April Challenge

Hi everyone.  Today is the start of the CAS Christmas April Challenge.  This month the challenge is hosted by my sweet friend, Bonnie (Stamping with Klass).

A few months ago, my friend Nancy mentioned about a new technique she had tried called Faux Enamel.  I wanted to give it a try, so I followed this video.   I was hooked and have been merrily making all sorts of faux enamel pieces.  It's a great way to use up old embossing powders as well.

Here's a close-up ...
The faux enamel ornament was made from a chipboard circle coated in different colours of embossing powders (silver, red, white, snowflake tinsel), placed on a warm grill.  Once they started to melt, I used a palette knife to mix the colours a bit.  I kept adding more embossing powders until I was happy with the look.

I attached a stencil to my front of my card base, sponging over top with gray just to add some interest to the background.  I pierced a whole at the top of my ornament and looped through a piece of silver cording.  I popped the ornament on top of the stenciled background and secured the cording.  The card front was die-cut with a peek-a-boo window and the sentiment was stamped in Delicata Silver ink.  The card front was popped up over top of the card base for added dimenson

Our challenge today is to create a CAS Christmas card featuring an ornament.  Any type of ornament --- plain paper, patterned paper, dry embossed, stamped, mixed media, etc.  Any style (as long as it's clean and simple) is welcome!

Please check out the challenge blog to see the gorgeous Ornament cards from our very talented designers, then come play along.  The challenge is open until April 24th!  See you in the gallery!

I'm entering the above card in this week's Merry Monday's challenge (#284 - Red & White) that is being run by my dear friend, Marcia.  Neutrals are allowed.



I'm joining in the AAA#112 Challenge - Favourite Technique.  I have so many favourite technniques :) ... this is one of my newest ... along with stenciling. :)








Stamps:  Snowglobe Sentiments (My Favorite Things)
Paper:  White card base (Neenah 110 lb. card stock), Thick cardboard
Ink:  Silver Delicata (Tsukineko); Smoky Slate (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  Circle die from Sizzix, Embossing powders:  Silver, Red, Snowflake Tinsel, palette knife, silver cording, Festive stencil (Tim Holtz), sponge

Challenges:
CAS Christmas April Challenge
Merry Monday #284 - Red & White
AAA#112 - Favourite Technique

39 comments:

Julia Aston said...

I just LOVE the colors you used on your faux enameled ornament Loll - and the subtle gray stenciling behind it is beautiful! Julia xx

Linda said...

Loll, what a gorgeous card and ornament. So elegant. So glad you were able to play along this week at Merry Monday.

Linda W. (ScrappinBari) said...

Stunning faux enamel ornament, Loll - just love all the swirled colors!! Perfect in the stitched window with the stenciling behind! So glad you could join us at Merry Monday!!

nancy littrell said...

Gorgeous faux enamel ornament, Loll. I love how you melted several eb powder colors. So festive and beautiful. I can't wait to play along in Bonnie's challenge. So many Stunning ornament cards by the DT. Hugs...

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

WOW! that looks so EXPENSIVE!, I love it.
Faith

Nstiz said...

WOW! This is exquisite! Love your choices of powders and enjoyed the video link from Nancy too! I'll have to try this. The red and silver is so elegant!

Happy Dance said...

Simply gorgeous, Loll. I can see why it's one of your favorite techniques. It has so much lovely interest and dimension; it's a wonderful Christmas ornament within a wonderful card. Love that aperture die! And the font on your sentiment is fabulous, too. Great card!! Bev

Susan said...

This is one of my favourites of your recent cards, Loll! Such a beautiful blend of red, white, and silver on the ornament - and great bit of stenciling behind it. Looking forward to doing more with this technique some time.

Liz said...

What an amazing ornament, Loll! Fabulous card. xx

Marcia Hill said...

As soon as I saw this beauty I was hoping you'd enter it in the MM challenge...YAY!!! I just LOVE how your ornament turned out Loll...the movement of the colors just blows me away!! Love the soft stenciling behind the ornament too! Lovely, lovely card my friend! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Merry Monday!! :0)

Christine Alexander said...

gorgeous Loll, that ornament is gorgeous. I love all those wonderful colours swirled together and your embossed background is the perfect backdrop for it :)

Melissa L. said...

Wow! This is super, Loll. I love your ornament. Thanks for joining in at AAA Cards.

Trina P. said...

Gorgeous, Loll. Great job adding ‘movement’ in your ornament with the spatula. Wonderful choice of ep colors... they complement each other perfectly. The stencilled background is a nice touch through the peek-a-boo window. Love this even more IRL. xx

Papercraft Boutique said...

A stunning CAS card with a gorgeous Faux Enamel ornament, Loll! I love the beautiful color combination(with the shiny snowflake tinsel), and the way you mixed the embossing powder!
The background stencil is subtle and adds interest, and the color coordination (sentiment, ornament, stencil) is done so well. Hideko xx

Linda said...

This looks beautiful, I love the marble effect you've created with the embossing powders ..... another fab technique I need to try xx

Jane said...

The faux enamel looks amazing! Love the dark moody reds and the touches of silver. Quite spectacular! Thanks for playing along with the favourite technique challenge at AAA Cards.

Mac Mable said...

Stunning technique and such a glorious effect. Love the soft gray stencil work on the background too of your gorgeous CAS Christmas card x

Jeanne said...

You are so talented, Loll. I just adore that you like to try new techniques. Well, maybe not new, because this sounds familiar to me, but new as in it's fresh and different from the current designs being shared. I adore your take on this. What a beautiful ornament and a lovely card on which to present the ornament. Thanks for sharing. Hugs!

HJ said...

Love this beautiful card, Loll. The faux enamel ornament in the window is stunning with the lightly stenciled background. Enjoy your day!

Bobbie Bluegill said...

I can hardly wait to try this. Thank you, Loll, for discovering this technique and then sharing it with your admiring followers.

JoAnn said...

Beautiful faux enamel ornament. Love the colors and the way you framed the pretty ornament. The stenciled background is perfect behind the ornament. Love all the texture and dimension. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.

Colleen said...

Wow, Lol, this is stunning! I am going to check out this video, but I bet mine will not look like yours! *wink! thank you for joining us at Merry Monday too with this fabulous card!!

Ina G said...

OMGosh Loll this is one outstanding design here. You have created something so simply beautiful. Love the new technique you mentioned and you have wowed us here. Love the touch of grey, background and your peek a boo die. That red just POPS!

akmoose said...

Loll, I love that you are never afraid to try a new technique--as we ALL benefit! Love the stenciled background!! Yes, embossing powders are fun...can wait to try THIS technique.

ElizStewart said...

Loll...absolutely love your card! Am off to watch that video...thanks for sharing.

Debbie said...

Love this, Loll. Very cool ornament.

Bonnie said...

This ornament is GORGEOUS, my friend! I love the mix and pattern of your colors! I also love it on the stenciled background and framed so prettily!

Bobby said...

I was entranced by the video, Loll. I saw Jennifer McGuire do something similar with her heat gun. Too bad I don't have more colors of embossing powder. The colors on yours a perfect for a Christmas ornament.

Unknown said...

Loll, Stunning and I can't wait to try this technique. Thank you for joining us over at Merry Monday.

Barb Ghig said...

Absolutely gorgeous Christmas card, Loll! Your faux enamel ornament turned out beautifully! I love how you mixed the colors and how you created so much dimension with this technique! I'm definitely inspired to play along again :)

Anita in France said...

Gosh, this is gorgeous, Loll ... looks like a piece of jewellery ... a beautiful blend of colours, set against a lovely subtle background that really allows this stunning ornament to shine! Off to watch that video, thanks for the link! Hugs, Anita :)

Lisa W. said...

Wow! The faux enamel is really beautiful. I can't wait to try it. This made for a stunning card! Thank you for sharing!

Notes by Nina said...

Stunning card Lol, and what a beautiful technique. So happy you joined us for Merry Monday this week.

Debbie Bonczek said...

This is stunning. That ornament could pop out of that card and go right on your tree. Love it.

Aileen said...

Stunning Loll, love this idea and what a brilliant idea for using up those powders that are not so crash hot any more either. Looks absolutely wonderful.

BożenA said...

Your ornament is amazingly beautiful, Loll! I love how the colors mixed together to create a shiny layer. Great technique. And I must add that the background in the window emphasizes the ornament so well. The use of silver ink for sentiment is a brilliant idea.
Bożena xx

Cheryl said...

Your ornament is stunning, Loll! Love your overall design too. Thanks for sharing at AAA Cards challenges.

Nance said...

Gorgeous gorgeous faux enamel ornament and love the soft grey stenciled background adds just enough interest and boosts the ornament. xx

Mau xx said...

Hi Loll, sorry been missing in action much of this month, I am loving the new Christmas challenge...only just made it this month though!! Whew!
Love your card and the enamel look to your ornament. Its so good to read how you create your cards too. Thank you for your kind words on my blog xxxx