Textured holly

Last day of the month and I'm just managing to squeak in with a card for the current challenge at Let's Squash It - emboss/deboss. Jo and Gail want us to use any embossing folder and use both sides of the pattern on our cards.

I cut a full cardfront and then die cut two smaller rectangles from the centre. I ran the big piece through to get the debossed texture, the smallest through to get the emobssed texture and left the skinny one as a frame in between. I've added a tiny bit of colour to a couple of embossed holly leaves and berries, a stamped sentiment strip and made my first Christmas card of the year!

Apologies that the photo's not great, bright sun and snow glare in Northumberland today! Being a last-minute-minnie I can't wait for better conditions, I'm afraid. I hope it's still possible to see the two sides at play!

Supplies:
Moonlit Berries embossing folder (Couture Creattions)
Bristol board
Stitched rectangle dies, A6 size (Paper Rose)
Vintage Christmas Expressions (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Ivy)
Copic markers
Spica glitter pens (red and green)

New home

I needed a new home card with a masculine vibe and thought the current challenge at Let's Squash It would provide a good starting point.

Gail and Jo would like us to double emboss this time - use one folder over another or heat emboss a piece that's been squashed in a folder or squash a piece that's been heat embossed. 

I used a brick folder to emboss a piece of white cardstock and then ran that through another folder to get the keys. I thought bricks and keys made the perfect combination for a new home! 

The bricks squashed a bit flatter than I would have liked but they're still there enough to be picked up with some Rub n Buff for a subtle dackdrop. I did beef up the silver of the keys a bit with a gel pen.

Supplies:
Bristol board
3D Brickwork embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Great Babette embossing folder (Couture Creations)
Silver Leaf Rub n Buff by Amaco
Silver gel pen
Black fineliner
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)
Versafine by Tsukinko (Onyx Black)

Thanks for stopping by!

Squash, shimmer and shine!

I'm not sure where this month has gone but I am managing to play before the deadline for the current challenge at Let's Squash It - any embossing folder plus shimmer and/or shine.

I ended up having a bit of my "patterned paper syndrome" here - I made my embossed piece and then  dithered for ages suffering brain freeze on what to do with it! In the end I decided whimiscal foliage might suit a whimsical image and picked up Pointy Hat Gnome.

I got my shimmer by applying Rub n Buff over my embossed piece using the universal craft tool (my index finger). I did then use a silver gel pen on some of the finer lines to make sure they were properly highlighted. I also coloured a few of the low sections with a Copic marker just a shade or two darker than the cardstock.

Stamps:
Pointy Hat Gnome (Lost Coast Designs)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
DCWV textured
Bristol board
Dark chocolate brown

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Grand Fubu embossing folder (Couture Creations)
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Copic markers
Silver gel pen
Circle frame cut from mirri card with Fine Frames dies (Altenew)
Ultra white embossing powder (Wow!)
Tracing wheel

Thanks for stopping by!

Gorgeous gifts

It’s the second week of our Christmas countdown over at Daring Cardmakers and this week we’re all about gorgeous gifts. It could be a card featuring images of pretty packages, a gift card holder, a paper crafted gift for a friend...what can you come up with?

I always check out the Christmas Kickstart challenge (although I don’t manage to play very often) and owner Jo has teamed up with Gail in Let’s Squash It, a challenge dedicated to embossing folders. I’d been thinking recently I don’t play with my EFs nearly enough so perhaps this will give me a push! They have a joint challenge going on at the moment so I’ve made something to hit three targets - go me!

The sunshine is bright in Northumberland this afternoon so apologies if the photo looks washed out - just imagine understated sophistication! 

I die cut squares and rectangles for my packages, brayered ink onto my folder and embossed two of them. The third has stamped snowflakes. A bit of glitzy silver thread, a doodled border and a stamped sentiment and call it done. 

Stamps:
Flurries and Noel (both Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Delicata by Tsukineko (Silvery Shimmer)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger  (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Moonlit Berries embossing folder by Couture Creations
Silver thread
Silver gel pen
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by, keep safe!

Come visit one (or more!) of these challenges!

     

 

Passage of time

Another slightly messier style card from me today - I did balance out a bit with a wide border though! This is a 6" square card and the mixed media panel is 4" square in the middle.

I've combined this week's Splitcoast Stampers Mixability challenge (use book print on your project) with the current Pan Pastel UK Challenge blog challenge to use three textures.

I used modelling paste with some plastic canvas. Once it was dry, I stamped the time sentiment with Versamark and used  Pan Pastel to colour over the paste and the stamping.

My second texture is the part circle cut from gold mountboard and dry embossed and the third is the star which is punched from tomato paste tube and beaten up with an embossing stylus then coloured with a Copic marker for a more copper tone. I used the same marker to make some neutral sequins and tiny pearls look coppery, too.

My French primer text came from the pack of paper ephemera I bought ages ago from a local trader who makes them up by putting together pages from books that are beyond hope in terms of being sold whole.

Stamps:
Clocks 3 by PaperArtsy
Essential Messages by Hero Arts

Paper: white and bitter chocolate

Ink: Versamark and Versafine Vintage Sepia

Other:
Maimeri Light Modelling Paste
Tomato paste tube metal
Fiskars squeeze punch - star
Uber embossing folder
Watch face
Sequins
Nail art pearls
Pan Pastel - Burnt Sienna Shade
Old book page
Scor-It board
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Weathered copper poppies!

I spotted the latest Gingersnap Creations challenge - use a faux technique - through Jean's blog and it gave me the kick I needed to do something a bit special for a background on a birthday card. I actually used the same faux technique as Jean had chosen for her card - faux verdigris copper - as textural stuff always looks good and in this case the colour contrast was perfect with the bright poppies. I didn't have any copper paint in my stash but I did have a copper Krylon leafing pen so I used that to colour my embossed cardstock before giving it the treatment with acrylic paint (I used little tubes, not dabbers and used two greens plus a blue) and gesso. A tiny bit of metallic rub-on wax on the high spots brought out the pattern a bit more. I coloured my poppies with Copics and trimmed for an "out of the box" panel and to keep with the background I used copper embossing powder to add the sentiment on top of the image. I used a bit of wide cotton crochet lace and some simple matting with dark chocolate cardstock to finish. This is for a neighbour/friend's 70th birthday - I just handed it over and she was very pleased with it. Always nice to see a reaction to your cards and it doesn't happen very often since most are posted! Stamps:
Poppies (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Say it Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper: Smooth white and bitter chocolate

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso) Tim Holz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Copic markers
Detail embossing powder (copper)
Couture Creations embossing folder (Tied Together)
Cotton lace
Acrylic paints
Gesso
Metallic rub-ons
Krylon Leafing Pen (copper) Thanks for stopping by!