Five Christmas Cards for July!

Good morning to you!

Well, here I am as promised with my offering of five Christmas cards for July.

In line with my new years resolution - I am producing five Christmas cards a month!

This time I've chosen this lovely stamp from Crafty Individuals (Winter Wonderland).

I have taken some photographs in pairs so that you can see that each one is a little different in colour and design:-

I have stamped the main image first and then covered it with a piece of masking sheet and then gone to town with distress oxides around the edges - each one having used slightly different colours.

These were coloured in using diluted distress inks and I have added fluffy stuff to a couple of them too.

Matt and layered using matching colours to the artwork and some mirri card on three of them.

There, month 7, mission complete!!!! (I'm building up a nice stash of Christmas cards now!!).

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Thinking of you.............

Good morning!

Well, I've been having a play with my Crafty Individual stamps and this card is part tribute to my wonderful blogland friend Sandra (who became one of the Crafty Individuals design team members this week) and part entry in to the My Time To Craft current sketch theme challenge.

I have to admit that I have had a new phone this week and I'm still trying to get used to it and the camera on it is very sensitive so bear with me!!!!

Right, so, the sketch that I had to follow was

but you know me, I can't just follow that sketch, that wouldn't be enough for me! No, I had to turn that sketch in to something else!!!!!

So, I started with a piece of square Sheena stamping card and a die cut circle of the same card - both white.

I attached the circle to the square with some repositionable spray adhesive so that I could work straight over the top of both pieces.

I stamped the beautiful house and then extended the wall at either side of it in sepia versafine ink, then covered it in drawing gum.

I then used a clarity stamp brush and blended some green dye ink down across the front of the scene. Next was the sky, which I have used an adirondack stonewashed ink pad and an Inkylicious stencil to colour the sky and form those lovely clouds.  A sun/moon mask had been added and once that was removed I coloured the sun in with a make up sponge and yellow dye ink.

The next step was to add the extra trees in the background, straight over the top of the drawing ink and then I rubbed that drawing ink away. I then water coloured everything in using diluted dye ink pads and stamped the grasses/flowers right at the front of the scene in green dye ink, first and second generation stamping.

I then stamped the grasses on the right hand side (three grasses have been stamped) to match the sketch.

At this point of course, the circle of card was still attached to the back square but now they had to part company.

I used a Tattered Lace circle die to cut the lovely decorative black circle so that I could back the artwork and mounted these on to foam pads to raise it away from the rest of the scene, being careful to ensure that everything lined up (sorry, can't get that to show greatly on a photo!).

I then added the flowers on the left to match the My Time To Craft sketch and I added the butterfly - just because I could really and I thought that it balanced the piece beautifully!

I stamped "Thinking of You" in the centre and then added the text box with "With Love" to also match the sketch.

Mat and layered on white and black mats.

Well, hope you've enjoyed your visit today, I don't often do detailed scenes but I really enjoy it when I do!

A message for Sandra - well done you!

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne x

I would like to enter this in to the My Time To Craft challenge of Sketchy Time:-

http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/challenge-326-sketchy-time.html

  

Nan.....

Good morning!

An extra blog this week again.  This card has been made for my children to give to my mother - it's her birthday on Christmas Eve and yes, (she'll be 70 - be we won't mention numbers anymore!!!).

The card has an almost eerie feeling to it but we must remember that it is for a bang on Christmas birthday and I wanted it to be and feel angelic.

I must admit, I didn't think I would put this on the blog but was so pleased with it's outcome I changed my mind and when I saw a challenge at That's Crafty that it matched perfectly for (but by then, it's too late to think about photo's - oops!!!!!).

This card started as an old background that I had made on the gelli plate using Sheena's stamping card.  You can just about see at the bottom that it was made with the help of acrylic paints and bubble wrap!

So, firstly I stamped my angel (isn't she beautiful and graceful) - by Crafty Individuals.  (so within her you see the original piece of gelli plate painted card and how light it was at first).  I then masked her off with masking fluid.  I needed to tone down this background so I knocked the colour back with some gesso dragged down over it and let that dry.  Then toned it down again with some distress ink (I'm not sure what colour I've used, could be weathered wood?).  Then rubbed away the masking fluid.  Stamped a first generation sentiment of "love"(by Visible Image) at the bottom and a second generation at the top, stamped "Nan" and added die cut numbers.

Backed it on to some of the original gelli plate print ripped in to two strips and then on to a further mat that I have stamped some circles on using old bottle lids and white gesso and gold starlights paint.

Mat and layered with silver card stock and finished with some black glue dots.

How angelic is that! With a bit of glitter it would have been a fabulous Christmas card - no, brain off, I can't use my mums birthday card from my children for a christmas card - or can I??? - NO!!!!!!!

"Happy Birthday Nan" with lots of love from Hayley and Katie xxx

I would like to enter this card in to the That's Crafty challenge "There must be an angel":-

http://thatscraftychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/there-must-be-angel-challenge.html

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Seasons Greetings.....

Good morning!

An extra blog this week!  I completed a milestone a few days ago - I completed my 2016 new years resolution!!!!! (5 Christmas cards a month.....and I did it having got ahead and did Decembers five too!!!!! yay!!!!!). I will feel really good knowing that they are all done.

OK, this is one of the cards made for Christmas - I wanted a tree just like the one I have here at home at Christmastime - nice and big, fat, fluffy and bushy!!!! I took some photo's of how I got there so lets go on our usual journey shall we?

Started with my usual piece of Sheena stamping card and started to stamp the arms of my tree with a couple of different colour distress inks using a pine branch stamp by Stamps by Chloe. So as you will see, this tree started and continued to form from just one, the same one straight pine branch stamp.

Here we go! By now I have added the same stamp with white embossing powder for some of the branches.

Now I have added some stencilling to the background and some die cut ivy hanging down (ivy makes me think of Christmas as it's always evergreen and always there at Christmastime).

ooooh, looking good!!! You will notice now that I have "knocked back" the background to bring the tree forwards to the foreground (so that the tree doesn't get lost in all the colours).  I have stamped an angel (Crafty Individuals) on to some shrink plastic and heated her to shrink her right down for the top of the tree and the baubles are also on shrink plastic from much larger ones by Stamps by Chloe and some glitter has been added to the baubles and the angel.

With some small hole punch circles of mirror card and some Nuvo pearl drops, a stand and some ribbon we were done! Oh, have you spotted the secret ingredient? - yes, matching feather pieces - perfect!

Mat and layered.

I got the exact effect that I wanted, a nice, fat, bushy and fluffy tree!

Hope you like it too,

I would like to enter this in to the Try It On Tuesday challenge "Trees are green... or any other colour":-

http://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/trees-are-green-or-any-other-colour-at.html

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

Dear Santa, I can explain................

Good morning!

Here I am having another go at a style that is "off piste" for me - clean and simple! 

As those of you will know that follow me, I love my paints and inks and a "full" piece of artwork so leaving white space for the eye to rest does not come naturally to me but that said, I like to have a challenge too!!!!!!

I just love this stamp from Crafty Individuals and even if we don't want to admit it just yet, the "C" word is not that far away so I thought I'd make a start with a Christmas card and keep it CAS.

I needed to mask off the white areas to help me with the clean and simple bit but didn't want to just have plain borders so I die cut some snowflakes in to my masking sheets first before I laid it on my plain piece of card stock (you can see, and I have to admit, I have reused a masking sheet that already had blue ink on it - well, can't waste anything can we?!!!).

I then stamped my santa image and masked that off with masking fluid.  I then ironed on some embossed wax paper over the open area (it hasn't come out that well on the photograph but it is there) and then blended distress ink over the open area to reveal the snowflakes from the wax paper.

I followed with some stencilling and stamped the two sentiments - "Happy Christmas" and "Dear Santa, I can explain.....".

Rubbed the masking fluid off of the Santa image.

Added some die cut snowflakes that I blended matching ink on to and some black ones too to make them stand out a little more.

Matted and layered on to my card.

There, clean and simple (for me anyway!!!!!!!!!!!).

I thought this was really nice and was quite happy with it - now I will have to choose who will receive this at Christmas - who deserves the "Dear Santa, I can explain...." - I have a couple of good ideas - I'm a mother of two daughters????!!!!!!!

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

That's Crafty - Christmas in September.

http://thatscraftychallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/christmas-in-september-challenge.html

Crafty Individuals - Clean and simple.

http://craftyindividualsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/its-september-can-you-believe-it-and.html

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx

A Heart That Loves Is Forever Young......

Morning!

I was inspired to make this tag for the Crafty Individuals July "mini's" challenge.

Love making tags and this one is such a sweet stamp.

I firstly die cut my tag and stamped the sentiment "A Heart that Loves is Forever Young" on it.  Covered that sentiment with masking fluid and then stamped the main image which is Crafty Individuals stamp CI - 402.  Then sponged some Momento inks around the background and edges and rubbed off the masking fluid.

Added some watercolour pencils to colour in and then brayered some perfect medium straight over the top and added clear embossing powder to give the whole thing a shine.

Finally added some archival hearts around them and I was done - a nice "mini" piece of artwork.

I would like to enter this in to the Crafty Individuals July Challenge "Mini's".

Thanks for stopping by,

Leanne xx