Winter Wishes

      As it's getting closer to Christmas I've been trying out some new, to me, techniques. Colouring through a stencil isn't new but it is when you use one of the new blending brushes from Crafts Too, they really are amazing little brushes for stencil use.

     I chose three shades of blue Distress Ink to go through my Sweet Poppy stencil, being metal they are nice and heavy but the soft brush is still perfect for getting into all the little bits. I also followed Lucy's tip about using a magnetic sheet under my cardstock to stop the stencil moving about...thanks Lucy.

     The moon is masked with some of Stix2 masking sheet die cut in a circle and tucked under the stencil. I also masked off all around the stencil because I wanted a wide white border.

     The stag is a Lavinia stamp, stamped in Medieval Blue VersaFine Clair. I used a stamp platform so I was able to stamp him three times to get a very dark image.

     The Winter Wishes was cut with some Tim Holtz dies and backed with some silver paper, using paper rather than mirri card means there is no lump under the words.

     I went through most of my blue card stash to find the right shade, I even tried the VersaFine pad, but it just wasn't quite right until I went over it with an alcohol marker.

     Matted onto the blue layer and then onto a white 7x5 card blank it's still thin enough to go as standard post, which if you're sending out a few helps keep the cost down.

     Not Just Cards is exactly that, not just cards, you can join us with any project you have made. Please pop over and take a look at all the inspiration from the DT and our lovely challenge participants.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

ABC Christmas - V=Vixen (deer)

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

Crimbo Crackers - Anything Christmas

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

Allsorts - Winter Scene or Snow

Lavinia World - Anything Using A Stamped Image

January Sparkle

     Christmas At Sweet Stampin' this month is all about Sparkle, this really does sparkle but it's very hard to get a good photograph.

     It's made using a Sweet Poppy stencil and white paste on dark blue card. The stencil was taped down all the way around to prevent movement and paste in the wrong place.
     The paste was applied at the top and dragged down evenly to produce a near even covering, there are a few spots where it is not perfect but it's hand crafted and unique so that's alright with me.
     Once the stencil had been carefully removed I sprinkled the whole card with iridescent glitter and set it aside to dry overnight.
     Once dry I trimmed the card down and matted it on silver before putting it on a white card blank. The sparkle was good but it needed a little something more so I added a gem in the centre, this then made the corners look big and empty, so I added some tiny gems to balance it up.
     When working with stencils and paste I have found it easier to make a batch of card tops, that way there is only one lot of cleaning up with maximum output.
     I know it's only January but please come and join us at Christmas At Sweet Stampin', it will make the end of the year much easier if you have some cards already made.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round - Anything Christmas Goes

The 12 Month's of Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Old Fashioned

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas/optional Recycle

The Holly and Ivy - Anything Christmas

Mistletoe Paste

     My apologies for a quiet blog these last few weeks, things here have been very busy, sadly not all of it creative but that's life. Crafting can be the most therapeutic pastime for many of us, so over the next few days I'll share some of my creations and spend some time drifting around blogland catching up with everyone else's festive posts.

     I spent a wonderful day with friends visiting Sweet Poppy Stencils for an open day, which is where I bought this gorgeous stencil...and a few others, well it would have been rude not too, right?!
     This image is silver paste on black card, one thing I learnt on the open day is it is much better to have a magnetic sheet under your card and stencil when spreading the paste.....can't believe I didn't think of that before! The other thing I have discovered is not all stencil/masking tape is the same, Stix2 stencil tape is absolutely brilliant, it holds firm but comes off without a single snag on the card.
     Once the paste was dry I mounted it on a green pearl card, the mirri layer is also a very pale green, it didn't look right flat so I used a snowfall embossing folder to give it some texture.
     The last thing to go on once all the layers where done was a sprinkling of half pearls for the mistletoe berries and a silver bow cut with a Sizzix die. There is no greeting on the outside of this card as I felt it would spoil the image, it will also be hand delivered so it doesn't get squashed.

I would like to add this card to the following challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Christmas for December

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 2017 challenge : June Gems/Pearls/Sequins