Christmas Card Challenge - Nov - Sparkle / Nativity

I made cards for my monthly Christmas Card Challenge but I changed copper to sparkly.

I wanted to use my QuicKutz Nativity die which is a 12 inch die.  It presents a challenge when I am making A2 cards which only accommodates a portion of the die.  I found some A6 black cards in my stash from a previous project which would allow me to put more of the die onto the card front.  I cut a piece of this sparkly paper to leave a generous border on the 6.25 x 4.75 inch card.

I cut the QuicKutz Nativity from matte silver card stock and you can see that I could include the 3 wise men on half of the cards and the shepherds the other half. 

I cut the star from foil paper with the Sizzix Star and Startbursts Die and mounted it over the star cut with the die.  I glued it to card front with the sparkly paper providing a sense of a starry night.

I created the greeting for the Stampin Up Modern Label Punch which was color printed then punched.  

Once punched, I mounted it to the card front with 3D foam tape.


I made 6 of these cards.

Christmas Card Challenge - Oct - Black/Polar Bear

The Christmas Card Challenge this month is black and polar bear.  I have always cut polar bears with my Cricut so I decided I need something new.

After a search on line I found this coloring page image at Supercoloring.  I sized it to be the front of an A2 sized card at 3.75x5 inches. I added a black border and printed it on a quarter sheet of white card stock.  I then selected metallic blue, metallic silver and black from my Crayola pencil crayon set and started coloring.  I used the blue for the sky and the silver for the snow.  I added a bit more pressure on the shadow lines and just under the baby bear. I use the black for the noses, paws and ears.  I did not worry about going over the border because I was going to trim later. Once done coloring I trimmed it to the border.  I used the black crayon to color the white cut edge. The image was then added to a warm blue layer cut to 4.00x5.25 inches then onto a black card.  This makes a winter card which works for those on my Christmas card list that don't embrace it the way I do.

I've lost all my lists from my blog when Blogger made changes on Sept 29th.  It will take a long time to recover what I lost and some I may never remember.  It's amazing and silly how we come to depend on this on line world and a reminder how not in control of it I am. 

Christmas Card Challenge - Sept - Lavender / Bethlehem

My Christmas Card Challenge for September - Lavender and Bethlehem.  I make Christmas cards every month so my cards are ready by Dec 1st to be addressed and sent out.  Do it today!
I started with the We Three Kings cling mount rubber stamp by Cornish Heritage Farms.
I then selected my Bethlehem digital image.  I had to modify it to make it proportional to the kings stamp so I added a 4th hill for the 3 kings stand on.  I printed it on a quarter sheet (4.25 x 5.5 inches) of white card stock. The hills and windows have been colored in medium grey and the buildings are black. I trimmed this piece to just under 4.00 x 5.25 inches.
I then stamped the kings on 4.00 W x 4.25 T inch piece of vellum with Versamark ink in Lilac.  This ink allows for clear embossing very nicely as it does not dry quickly.  Once embossed, I ripped about 1/8 inch from the left hand side of the vellum. I placed a bit of vellum adhesive on the back in the bodies of the camels.  It was aligned along the right hand side and the top and bottom edges were folded to the back of the Bethlehem layer and taped down.
I chose Pale Plum card stock by Stampin Up. The Bethlehem layer was adhered to the light purple card front.
I cut a starburst star from silver no shed glitter card stock with the Sizzix Star & Starbursts die.  It was then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.  It was aligned along the ripped edge of the vellum.  I have 99 cards in my box.

Submitting to Christmas Card Challenges #38 - Anything Goes

Christmas Card Challenge - Aug - Light Blue / Winter

I chose designer paper - Snowflakes by Recollections purchased at Michaels. I cut 2 sheets of the paper into 4 x 5.25 inch pieces.  I chose the one with dark snowflakes for this set of cards and coordinated it with card teal card stock.  I adhered it to the card front leaving a small border.  I then printed the greeting on vellum and clear embossed it.  It was cut to 1.25 inches tall and 5.25 inches wide.  I placed a white snowflake confetti to the left and held it, the vellum to card front with a tiny white star brad. I added a tiny white round brad on the right hand side to keep it from shifting.
This is a great card to make in volume.  I made six of these for my card box.

Sharing with Christmas Card Challenges - #34 - Anything Goes

Christmas Card Challenge - July - Turquoise / Ornament

I started with the decorative paper in white, red, teal, turquoise and silver.  For this set of cards I chose teal instead of turquoise.
I cut the decorative paper with the Spellbinder 2012 Heirloom Ornament die set.  I ran the die cuts through again to make both ends pointed and remove the hanger.  I then cut the next size ornament from real red decorative paper.
I chose the Cuttlebug A2 Season's Greetings embossing folder and ran white card stock through it.  I adhered the embossed layer to the teal card.  I then aligned the top of the ornament between Merry & Christmas on the top line.
I made a hole with a push pin and pressed the tiny white star brad through it.  I pressed the prongs apart on the inside.
I pulled the silver metallic thread between the white layer and the red ornament and pulled it up around the brad.  The ends were taped to the inside of the card.  I added a tiny white star brad to the center of the red snowflake on the decorative paper piece.
A few more cards for my Christmas box.  Still quite a ways to go. 76 cards

Christmas Card Challenge - May - Red / Sleigh

It's time for a Christmas card.  The challenge was red / sleigh.  I decided I did not want to go with the traditional Santa Sleigh. 

After doing an internet search I decided on a vintage Christmas card.  I downloaded a few and finally decided on this one.  It's a bit retro with a red sleigh filled with brightly wrapped gifts and a skinny tree in the back there.  The colors are red, true blue, silver grey and white.  I sized the image to the ratio I wanted and printed 4 per half sheet.  I layered it onto a true blue from the Nautical collection leaving a narrow border.  I then layered it onto a piece of red again leaving a narrow border. I printed the red greeting onto a grey card in the bottom right hand corner.  I added a silver satin ribbon on the left hand side and taped the ends to the inside of the card.  I adhered the sleigh accent to to the top left hand corner with 3D foam tape. 

Christmas Card Challenge - April - Green/Foliage

It's time again for my monthly Christmas Card Challenge.  The challenge for April is Green / Foliage.  Foliage could be pine trees, wreaths, evergreen branches, Christmas tree, poinsettias, holly, and much more.
My choice is  a green wreath on a window with a night sky behind on a deep red card. I pulled the Cuttlebug Holly Wreath die and folder combination from my die storage, which I have never used. I chose dill textured card stock. First, I cut the wreath with the sizzlet die then ran it through the embossing folder to add the textured design.  I cut the window from white card stock with the Memory Box Grand Madison Window die.  I spritzed a piece of navy card stock with white acrylic paint to create a night sky and adhered it behind the window.  The element was adhered to card front aligned along the top edge.  I then adhered the wreath centered on the window.  A bling Zot holds the red thread bow over the embossed one on the die.  I color printed the greeting onto white card stock and cut it with the Stampin Up Bitty Banners Framelits thin dies.  I adhered it  below the window.

Christmas Card Challenge - March - Purple / Wisemen

This is my card for this month's challenge.

I applied liquid acrylic color diluted with water to photo paper with a paint brush. One for yellow a large one of purple. I planned where I applied the color based on the graphic of the wisemen or kings.  The image comes from Pixabay. Once the photo paper was dry I printed the image in ink jet black on top of the color.  I trimmed the 4x6 inch photo paper to 4 x 5.25 inches. I adhered the main image to the black card. I flagged the ends of the banner with the Stampin Up Banner Triple punch. I applied the banner greeting on the card front with 3D foam tape.  I used a purple card on the right.

Submitting to the following challenges:
Weekly Christmas Card Challenges #13

Holly Jolly - Add a sentiment

Christmas Card Challenge - Feb - Blue / Snow

Here's the card for my blog Christmas Card Challenge.  For February the prompts are Navy Blue and Snow.

I ended up with a warm dark blue so it may be teal instead of navy.  I wanted to create a night sky with snow falling.  I chose the Sizzix Softly Falling embossing folder which I inked up with TH Distress Stain in denim blue but as you can see it's not anymore.  More about that here. I chose a card that coordinated and I adhered it to the card front.  I ripped a snow bank from white card stock. I cut a white triangle tree which I embossed with a Tim Holtz Alterations Star folder then I adhered it to the card front aligning the bottom of the tree to the bottom of the snowbank.  I added a silver star sequin at the top held with a Bling Zot.  I added a few silver rhinestones.  Then 3 small pearly snowflakes held in place with tiny white brads. 

Submitting to Anything Goes Challenge at Weekly Christmas Card Challenges.

Christmas Card Challenge - Jan - Gold / Star

This is my first Christmas card in 2016.  I run a challenge on this blog every month to get my Christmas cards made by December 1st.  January's challenge is Gold / Star.  I started with a deep red card.  I mounted a piece of designer paper by Carta Bella - Christmas Time by Carina Gardner - Christmas Tags, this is the back side.  I color printed my red greetings onto vellum and clear embossed them.  I ripped the top and bottom edges.  There was not enough contrast against the green patterned paper so I added a strip of white card stock between the designer paper and the vellum.  Both were trimmed to the edge of the designer paper.  I cut the star from gold glitter paper with the Sizzix Star & Starburst die.  I mounted it to the left of the greeting with 3D foam tape.

Please join me making Christmas cards every month.  You can find the themes for each month here.  If you make cards leave me a comment with a link to your cards and I will check them out.

2016 Christmas Card Challenge

Here are the challenges I have set up for my Christmas Cards making in 2016. I have learned that making Christmas cards each month ensures my sanity in December when by the 1st all I have to do is address them and send them off.  In order to achieve this goal I create guidelines for my card challenge each month.

Each month has a Color and Element.  You can choose one or both to help you stretch your creativity. I will keep the following techniques in mind and see which I can included in my designs:  Painting, Die Cutting or Embossing.

I hope you will join me in making cards each month.  If you do, please post a comment with a link to your card so all can enjoy it.

2016	Color	Element
January	Gold	Star (5 or 6 points)
February	Navy	Snow (bank, flake)
March	Purple	Wiseman
April	Green	Foliage (Wreath, Poinsettia)
May	Red	Sled, sleigh
June	Silver	Large Words
July	Turquoise	Ornament
August	Light Blue	Winter
September	Lavender	Bethlehem
October	Black	Polar Bear
November	Copper	Jesus Nativity
December	Brown	Tree