Dear Santa

I bought this set ages ago as I thought the cat from the Dear Santa stamp set from Avery Elle is just adorable. But I never got around to making a card with the cat, I have used a few of the sentiments from the set before so it was great to finally have a play with it. 

I'm playing along with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown latest challenge wanting CAS and one layer. I may have broken a few rules but I love my card and probably need a few more so will learn from my mistakes here when I make some more.

I stamped the cat image on an A2 card using Bristol Strathmore Smooth as I wanted to colour the cat up with my Copics. I had read that you can use the Bristol paper for Copic blending and wanted to try and it's a heavy weight card stock so I can make a base out of it unlike my usual blending cardstock paper (Xpress IT) which is too flimsy to be a card base.

I masked the cat and then ran a string of lights from Trees For Sale (Stampin' Up!) over the top of the cat. When I removed my mask I thought damn I should have done the Santa hat first, masked it, then the cat, then masked the cat, then the lights. Sshhh I had to glue the Santa hat on top so it didn't look out of kilter. So first mistake.

Second thing I did wrong was I forgot the Copic bleed would show in a one layer card. Luckily I only had coloured in 2 lights, so added wee Honey Bee gems on top for my coloured lights apart from the one behind the cat that is just to say peeking out. They look so pretty in real life my photo doesn't do them justice.

I decided I would go back to my Zig real colour brush markers which was my original plan (thank heavens the Memento ink didn't run with the water based markers or we could have had mistake no. 3!). Zigs love Stathmore Bristol Smooth paper so no worries there. I just used my light gray and mid-gray markers and an aquapainter. A bit of light pink for cheeks and ears.

The hat was stamped with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and clear embossed. The hat and the bow were coloured up with a combo of the 3 reds I own; Light Carmine, Carmine Red and Wine Red. I then used a Versamarker marker to add some Versamark ink to the hat's fur and then embossed with White Puff Twinkle embossing powder from WOW. I then die cut the hat out with it's matching die and glued down to the top of the cat.

Then using my MISTI I added the sentiment from Trees For Sale set with the Versafine black ink and viola one cute Christmas cat! 

Supply List:
Stamps: Dear Santa (Avery Elle), Trees For Sale (SU!)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Clair Nocturne

Paper: Strathmore Bristol Smooth white

Other: Birthday Bash gems (Honey Bee), ZIG real color brush markers, clear EP, white puff twinkle EP (WOW)

Challenge: 52 Christmas Card Throwdown #22-32

I am loving all the Christmas challenges, it's great to finally use those sets you bought but have never used and now I have inked this one up I think it's going to get a few more cards made for all the other cat lovers in my life.

✿ Karen ✿

Non-traditional Christmas

Gosh this was another tough challenge for me, I really struggled with ideas for pink, purple and gold for Christmas and the DT had some great inspiration but nothing resonated with what I could use in my stash.

I think I have been guilty of buying "the stamp set" for my Christmas cards for a year and then selling it off and buying a new set the next year. It's been great to offer something fresh and new each year. This year as I am entering challenges I am working with what I have loved and can't bear to part with but it isn't a lot if I have to be honest. So that should make it easier to choose what to try, as I don't have a lot to work with ;)

The card I ended up making for the recent 52 Christmas Card Throwdown I had in my mind for over a week but I wasn't really sure if it would work. Well I thought to myself yesterday let's just make it, the challenge finishes tomorrow and today I babysit, so I finished it late last night and I actually love it! Unfortunately it's another grey and wet day here so not that great for card making but good enough.

Supply List:
Stamps: Poinsettia Petals (SU!) and matching dies
Ink: Petal Pink (SU!), Versamark

Paper: Very Vanilla (SU!), Blackberry Bliss (SU!), Petal Pink (SU!), gold glitter, Honey Gold mirror card (Tonic)

Other: Sponge dauber, Hexagon Tiles coverplate (PF), gold EP (SU!), stampin' dimensionals

Challenges: 52CCT 22-30

Well I think it's a really classy card so rapt I did have a go!

✿ Karen ✿

Christmas in August has commenced

For those that have followed me for awhile way back when I was a SU! demo my team and I ran our Christmas events "CIA" in August mainly because originally it was when we could get stamps, DSP as we used to be behind the States by a month. 

I am still trying to do at least 2 card challenges a week but I'm especially making sure I do any Christmas ones I find. I'm hoping come Christmas with stamping classes and extravaganza and online events I have signed up for I will have enough cards in my swag to send out. I have to admit I don't like bulk producing cards and it kind of sucks the pleasure when you do the same thing over and over.

Anyhow I found a new site and it's linked on the RHS of my blog with the Challenge sites called 52 Christmas Card Throwdown they may do a challenge every week all year so I'll be well and truly set up in 2023. 

This week's challenge is their 28th of the year and is a technique challenge - watercolouring.

I knew exactly the set I wanted to use as it's a set I have had in my stash a very long time and never been used! It was SSS monthly kit in December 2016 which is all honesty meant it turned up in NZ at Christmas or in the new year of 2017. So too late for me to use but I have always loved it as it's so adorable. I'm also going to play along with a couple of Simon Says Stamp challenges. 

I do easy watercolouring smooshing my mini distress ink pads on my stencil mat and then using a no. 2 round paint brush I fill in each section I want to paint with water then the smooshed ink colour. It's actually very quick and easy the hardest thing was fussy cutting them out as watercolour paper is quite thick.

I also managed to incorporate my new Whimsical Woodland 3D embossing folder from SU! in the background. I have swiped over the top of the embossed images with my white pigment ink pad.

Supply List:

Stamps: Merry and Bright (SSS monthly kit Dec 2016)

Ink: Versamark, Unicorn White pigment (HA)
Distress inks: Brushed Corduroy, Festive Berries, Fossilized Amber, Gathered Twigs, Kitsch Flamingo, Lucky Clover, Peacock Feathers, Salvaged Patina, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Tattered Rose, Twisted Citron

Paper: Granny Apple Green (SU!), silver glitter, watercolour (RNG)
Other: Alabaster White EP (Brutus Monroe), no. 2 round Silver Velvet watercolour brush, Waffle Flower stencil mat, Honey Bees gem stickers : Hugs & Kisses, Whimsical Woodland 3D EF (SU!), single stitch line rounded square frame (MFT), mini stampin' dimensionals
Challenges: 52 Christmas Card Throwdown #22-28, SSS Instagram Challenge (layers), SSS Wednesday Challenges (anything goes)

My lovely card got an honourable mention at Christmas Card Throwdown.

✿ Karen ✿