Christmas Card Challenge - Watercolor - Aug - Salt Backgrounds

I created a watercolor background for my large Christmas greetings for this month's challenge.

I started with 140lb Arches watercolor paper I purchased from my sister. It had been rolled up so I spritzed it with water and let it relax itself to flatish.

I cut a strip about 6 inches tall and the width of the sheet.  I taped that down to my waterproof work surface.  I used my small watercolor palette I created the other day.  You can follow this link to the post which contains the details. 

I soaked the paper with my spray bottle then I just worked with the greens and blues in my palette. As I moved across I switched from the blues to adding red to create purples. Once I was happy with the colors I misted it again to ensure the whole surface was wet then just added some table salt to the surface.  It then dried for several hours.

I believe this is rough water color paper but is softer than the sheets have I have been using. I was very happy with the pattern produced by the salt.  Once completely dry, I cut it into 4.00 x 5.25 inch sheets.  These will leave a small border of the card base showing.  Since I was not using Stampin Up watercolors it took a bit of evaluation to see which card colors to use.

While the paper dried and searched the internet for some free large greetings I could use. The card above features the one I liked best.  The greetings were sized to be smaller than the watercolor background and printed grey on vellum.  They were then heat embossed with gold powder.  I ripped the edges to provide a more natural edge.

On the right I created some portrait (tall) cards with vellum greetings which also included images. This one is a Christmas tree. For most of  these cards, the vellum is adhered to the watercolor background with tiny gold brads. Then the watercolor layer is adhered to the card base with 3D foam tape squares.

The greeting on the card on the left has been around for a very long time.  It is very classic fonts and makes a great greeting.

The card base on this card is Marina Mist. The brads used on this one are larger sparkly gold star brads. 

I added some vellum adhesive in the opposite corners to keep the vellum close to the watercolor.

 The watercolor background features the transition from green to blue in my original painting.

This watercolor background was the toughest to match to card stock.  I tried Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Sahara Sand and eventually settled on Soft Suede. 

That is the challenge - when I was painting I did not measure the width of the colors so this piece ended up with some muddier colors with the n bright blue on the right hand side.  

This is the other portrait (tall) card where I combined an image and a greeting.

Again, I was not thinking of images at all when I was painting.  I had to trust I could work it out once the watercolor background was dry.

I think this worked out well.

This card features Bermuda Bay for the card base.  Another landscape (wide) layout.

This time tiny gold star brads in all four corners.

I will be adding quarter sheet inserts with a seasonal sentiment to each of these and pairing them with a white A2 envelope.

Another great set of cards for my box.  Ready to give come December st!

These worked out well and the background is worth considering again.

Christmas Card Challenge - March - Large Greetings Small Cards

I continued my large greeting Christmas Cards making with the aim to create A2 (4.25"x5.5") sized cards. 

I continued to use the Winter Frolic Cricut Cartridge. This greeting is 3.5" T x 3.5" W. I cut it from Champagne pearl card stock and paired it with an ivory card base.   

The acrylic ink background features royal purple color with some bright spots.

I used copper accents layers with the crown is part of the shift layer of the greeting then I cut stars with the Sizzix Star#2 die.  

These were adhered to the acrylic ink background and the large greeting was adhered with 3D foam tape.

I spattered it with copper acrylic color, a toothbrush and straight edge.

 

 This next card I chose a blue green piece of acrylic ink background on glossy photo paper.  It was trimmed from 4x6 to 3.75 x 5 inches.

It was adhered to a white card base.

The pearl white large greeting was mounted aligned to the bottom of the background with 3D foam tape.  

I added a silver star in the upper left hand corner.  It was cut with the Sizzix die.

It was spattered with an iridescent liquid acrylic.

 

 

Another ivory card with the champagne large greeting.  

I cut the crown from gold card stock and adhered with double sided tape. 

I added sequins in gold and copper adhered with Bling Zots. 

Since the copper was out this one was spattered at the same time as the other.

I added seasonal quarter inserts and white envelopes and they are ready for December 1st.

Christmas Card Challenge - March - Large Greetings

I decided to make Christmas cards with large greetings for my March cards.

It was easy to find some greetings on some of my Cricut cartridges.  They are easily sized and cut.  I chose the Winter Frolic cartridge.  It's hard to tell how large they will be on the first cut so I ended up with some larger die cuts than I planned so I used 5x7 cards (A7). 

The large greeting was cut from white pearl card stock at 3.5" T.  

Of course, the fun part was making acrylic ink background with photo paper.  These are 4x6 sheets and I used my Nick Bantock liquid acrylic colors for these. The colors were: Deep Turquoise, Cerulean Azure, Prussian Blue, Chrome Yellow, Chartreuse Leaf, Vermillion Lacquer, and Sapmoss Green.

I added colored sequins to the card fronts adhered with Bling Zots. For the first one the sequins were Christmas green, the red one was gold,  and the other was red and green.

I used a bit of color watered down to spatter the card fronts once I was done which helps to marry all the elements.

For the 5x7 cards I needed a clean pull of color across the 4x6 as I could not trim it.  Sometimes I end up with white edges or finger prints in the corners as I turn them over.

I see that I ended up with some pink sequins as well as red on this card. Not my intention but that's how it goes.

I have documented these in my Cricut manual so I can get smaller die cuts next time.

Always nice to have a few larger cards in my Christmas card box.

Super happy with these.

Christmas Card Challenge - May - Large Words

The theme for the May Christmas Card Challenge is Large Words.

I chose the Poppy Stamps Magnificent Merry thin die for my large greeting.  I selected a quarter sheet of 110lb white card stock.  First I printed "Christmas" in Night of Navy in the bottom right hand corner.
Then I ran the quarter sheet through my Big Shot aligning the die with the printed word. I pulled the word out of the sheet and made sure I kept the negative spaces in the m&e.
I used a light warm blue chalk above the curve.  I did the same with the negatives spaces from the M and E.
I used a dark warm blue chalk on the "merry" word.  I cut a piece of bond paper for the back.  Added a couple of strips of double sided tape behind the word and returned the darker blue word back into place including the small negative pieces.  I then punched white snowflakes for above the curve and blue ones for below.  I am really happy with this one!

Here's my inspiration card which I found on Splitcoast Stampers.

I worked on improving the process. 

If I kept one piece white and  watercolored the other then it would be easy to just switch them.  The green piece was a companion background to the one on this card. I cut both quarter sheet peices with the Magnificent Merry thin lit making sure I did not lose the negative space pieces in the m and e.

I put scotch tape on the back of the large piece, turned it over and just plunked the die cut into the hole. I put the negative pieces in as well.  The advantages are the colors all match.  In the blue one I had to do the negative pieces separately.  Once the tape was well burnished from the back to ensure the die cut would stay put I trimmed the quarter sheet to leave a tiny border of the warm green card. 

I created the color printed banner greeting, fussy cut to the edge, and adhered it to the card front with 3D foam tape. I adhered a shed free silver glitter star to intersect the "merry" with a bling glue dot.  I used a bit of the Stampin Up Watercolor Wonder crayons on the original background so I just spattered this card with some of the same colors.

Now I have 2 cards that are the opposite of each other. This one spattered with white acrylic paint.

I will certainly use this die again now that I have found this technique.

Christmas Card - Merry and Bright

I am working on May's Christmas Card challenge - large greeting.  I thought I would force myself to use this 'merry' die cut - Poppy Stamps - MAGNIFICENT MERRY die cut.  I have been working on ideas for several days and nothing is gelling.  This card is what I have so far but I think it 's missing something.

I cut it from red card stock.

I selected this striped red and green designer paper and cut it to leave a small border and adhere it to a Kiwi Kiss card base.  I have no credits for the paper.

I glued the 'merry' towards the top of the card. I added a black ampersand cut with the Cricut and the Base Camp cartridge at 1.25".  I cut the BRIGHT from silver non shed glitter paper with the Stampin Up Little Letters thin lits.  I aligned them towards the bottom of the card.  All these pieces were adhered with Scotch quick dry adhesive.

I added an accent of stars on the left in black, red, and silver all held together with a tiny red brad and adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.  Stay tuned for another iteration.

Update: I decided overnight that it needed some black. Here's the updated version.

I think adding the star streams has saved this card.  I used a ruler and just aligned it along the Vs in the silver star and made markings to the edge of the card.

I am quite happy with it now. 

Christmas Card - Embossed Primitive Star

This card features a classic color combination - blue and yellow. 

I used the Sizzix - Bigz Die and Embossing Folder - Primitive Star #2 for this card.  The star was cut from golden yellow card stock then embossed. 

I chose a designer paper by Creative Imaginations called Blue Wash on a navy card.  This is a large half sheet card.  The designer paper layer was cut to leave a nice border of the card color showing. 

I added navy blue star sequin held in place by a tiny navy star brad.  The star was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape in the top half of the card to leave room for the greeting. 

The large banner greeting "Merry and Bright" has it's colors coordinated with the rest of the card.  The flag ends were cut with the Stampin Up Banner Triple punch on a 1.5 inch tall and 5.5 inch wide card stock greeting. 

Christmas Card - Red Velvet Poinsettia

I treated this flower die cut as a poinsettia.  This is the Sizzix - Bigz Die and Embossing Folder - Flower#2 combo.  The flower was cut from gorgeous red velvet paper from Recollections at Michaels then embossed.  I added a gold fabric snowflake in the center which is all held together with a mini brad in shiny gold.  I used a 1/16th inch punch to make adding the brad real easy.

I chose a white card to go with the white line in the designer paper by Bazzill Basic Paper - Holiday Style - Stitched Green.  It was cut 5 x 8 inches to leave a good border of the card color showing.

The large banner greeting was created with color printing the words in coordinating colors in the card.  It was trimmed to 1.5 inches tall the then both ends were flagged with the Stampin Up Banner Triple punch.  Works very well. It was adhered with double sided tape.

The poinsettia was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

The insert was a half sheet with a coordinating sentiment.

Christmas Card - Embossed Ornament

The Sizzix - Bigz Die and Embossing Folder - Christmas - Ornament 5 is the focal element for this card.

I chose a warm pink card and coordinated it with designer paper by Basic Grey - Eskimo Kisses - Starry Night.   It was cut to leave a nice border of the card color showing.

I chose the light blue in the designer paper for the ornament.  It was cut and embossed.  I added a deep burgundy ribbon which was pulled through the ornament hanger and tied with pink crochet cotton.  I trimmed the ends at an angle.  It was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

The banner greeting was created by color printing then trimming it to 1.5 inches tall.  The ends were flagged with the Stampin Up Banner Triple punch.  It was so easy to do a stack of these.  The greeting was designed for each card in the set.

I made 20 of each design so there was a lot of cutting and embossing done.

Christmas Card - Embossed Snowman

I am doing card making as an activity at a staff Christmas party tonight.  I designed some large cards which are half of an 8.5 x 11 piece of card stock.  I used a coordinated set of dies and embossing folders from Sizzix.  The elements are a great size for these large cards.

Here's the Sizzix Bigz Die with Bonus Textured Impressions - Snowman and Hat by Beth Reames.  I did not use the hat.  The snowman was cut from white card stock then embossed with the coordinating folder.

I chose a warm blue card and scored it down the middle. I added a piece of Mince Pie - Christmas Magic by Fancy Pants Designer paper which leaves a nice border of the card color.

I added a red thread scarf and a red round snap in the center of the snowflake on the lower ball of his body.   He was adhered to the top portion of the card with 3D foam tape.

I color printed the several greetings onto 5.5 x 8.5 inch piece of white card stock then cut them down to 1.5 inches tall and 5.5 inches wide.  Each was then placed in the Stampin Up Banner Triple Punch to put the flag on both ends.  It was adhered to the bottom of the card with double sided tape.

The banner punch does 1.00, 1.50, and 2.00 inches wide banners.  Works really well.

Card Club - November - Star

I started with the large greeting which was left over from making this Nativity Christmas Stack kit.

I chose a card base which matched the color of the greeting.  I cut a piece of sparkly paper to leave a small border of the card showing and adhered it to the card front.

The greeting was tacked in place with a bit of tape near the bottom center then the 2 tiny black star brads were added in each of the top corners. Using a push pin to make holes through the card front push the brads through and spread the prongs apart on the inside of the card.

I cut the star with the Sizzix Stars#2 die from silver card stock.  It was adhered to the sparkly paper overlapping the greeting.

Bethlehem - Navy and White

My sister and I recently invested in the Bethlehem Border die by Taylored Expressions.  Love it!

The die does not cut the bottom edge so you can place the die cut where you want on the layer.

I used some navy card stock with white speckles in to create a night sky.

I cut the Memory Box Grand Merry Christmas die in white card stock.

The Bethlehem was cut in navy.  I adhered it to the white greeting layer then trimmed it to the edge of the white. These were then adhered to the card front. Cutting the die on an angle in the Big Shot works better than at 90 degrees.  I am using the metal adapter.

I punched a star for the sky with the Creative Memories Sparkle punch from shed free silver glitter card stock.  It was adhered with a Bling Zot.

This card features the Memory Box Grand Script Merry Christmas die.  This die needs me to keep track of the little piece in the `y`and ensure it is adhered in the right place.

The Bethlehem was cut shorter which leaves a white space below.

I will try to cut a wavy in the bottom of the navy Bethlehem piece to create sand dunes.

I made 4 of these for the craft sale.

I tried the wavy bottom and it works really well.

Card Club - Sept - Lily Trio

It's time for Card Club again.  This is a card made from kits from a couple of years back.

I started with the lily stickers then punched a trio of circles in the same color as the large greeting.  The three were layered then adhered above the greeting which was printed on white card stock.

It was trimmed to leave a small border of the black card showing.  These are all birthday greetings.

Strong Coffee Glittered

I use large greetings quite often so I really liked this layout when I saw it the other day.

I chose a scrap piece of designer paper.  I cut it to 3.5 inches square then cut it in half diagonally. I chose a  golden yellow card and glue a triangle in the top left and the bottom right corners. 

I chose one of the greetings from the Verve Stamps Rise and Shine Digi set which was available for download during the Spring Blog Hop.  I sized it so that it would be most of the card front and printed it on vellum.  I embossed it with Jeweled Gold embossing powder.  I trimmed it close to the greeting then layered it onto a piece of teal card stock which coordinated with my designer paper.  These are held together with 2 glittered gold star brads.  The element was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape. 

I tried several options to add a mug to the design but there was nothing that worked. 

Submitting to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Summer Blog Hop.

Card Making with Seniors - Flower Trio

I started with the gold foil flower stickers which are about 1 inch in diameter. I stuck them to turquoise card stock then punched them out with the 1.25 inch circle punch. Easier to align that way and ensure even spacing on the border.

I created a new large greeting which I printed on a quarter sheet of vellum and gold embossed it. 

The trio of circle accents were adhered above the greeting first.  This allowed me to know where to put my adhesive to glue it to the card front.

The vellum was adhered to the front of a black card once I had ripped the bottom edge.

R2Go Christmas Kit - Peace On Earth

I chose a pea green card of textured card stock.

I selected a 12x12 designer paper by Imaginisce - Cottage Christmas - Winter Woodlands.  The piece is cut 3.5 inches tall x 4 inches wide. 

The greeting strip is printed in brown on celery card stock.  I printed 7 onto a quarter sheet of card stock which makes it .75" T x 4.25" W.

I chose a warm blue card stock for the die cut.  I cut the large greeting word with the Sizzix Originals Die Peace Phrase #2.

The DSP is adhered to the bottom half of the card. The strip is adhered to the top of the designer paper piece.  I placed 3 pieces of narrow 3D foam tape to the back of the die cut.  It was then adhered above the greeting strip.
 

Card Making with Seniors - April - Tea Cups

I love cutting these small tea cups. They were cut on the Cricut set at 1" using the Joy of the Season cartridge.  I chose double sided card stock to cut the cups.

I printed the large greeting onto white card stock.  I chose a brown card to match the backside of the left and right teacups.


I placed the colorful one in the center adhered with 3D foam tape. I then evenly adhered the other two on either side.

Choosing different designer papers and therefore greeting and card stock colors produces a quite different card.

This one is off to my card exchange buddy.

Simple Sentiment - DSP Version

I've been wanting to expand my options for my line of Simple Sentiments cards.  I designed the photo one last year.  With a bit of brain storming when my sister was out last week we came up with this design.

This one features designer paper on a coordinating card. 
 
The greeting is ripped top and bottom and adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.   It can be on white or ivory card stock.



 
It has a quarter sheet insert of bond paper.

This is a versatile design that works for a wide or tall card. 

I may expand the width of my greeting by using a different font.  I do have quite a bit of room in either layout.

Looking forward to producing a few of these for my card box or others.

Winter Snowflake Birthday

I made this card for a sister who has a birthday this week. 

I started with one of my large greeting layers.  I adhered it to a brown card.

I added several snowflake punchies.  The punchies are all by Martha Stewart.  I placed the large and small blue ones in the top left hand corner and the others offset from those.

I unified the design with green mini brads which match the color of the greeting.

Card Club - January - Red Hearts

I generally don't make specific cards for Valentine's but I found a bag of red felt hearts so I did it.
This is a large greeting I designed which was color printed then the layer was trimmed to leave a small border on the red card. I thought the hearts were stickers but no so I added a tiny silver flower sequin and held all the layers together with a tiny black brad.
The three hearts were randomly attached above the sentiment.  On the final is added some black to the sentiment of coordinate with the brads.



As an alternative, I printed a birthday greeting on the back so the participants could choose which type of card based on what they needed.  The hearts became balloons on strings.  The sentiment layer on strings was printed and again trimmed to leave a small border on the red card.
The hearts are attached in the same way.

Love this one!

I was thrilled to see brads again for sale at Michaels.  I hope protest was effective in bringing them back.  Thank You!

Card Club - November - Gift Trio

I started with the green glitter polka dot square of handmade paper.  These were left over from this Christmas card which was in the centre of the frame.

I designed the greeting layer with 3 gifts on the bottom and a large greeting on the top. I used digital bow image I designed a while ago. This layer was adhered to the front of a Christmas green card.

The red bow was cut with the Lil' Inkers Gift Bow Topper from red card stock.  This is then adhered to the green glitter square and trimmed as needed.

Now adhere the gift to the large square frame on the greeting layer.