Christmas Card - Kaisercraft St Nicholas

I really haven't shared many crafty projects since moving to Australia.  I have really only made cards (quite a lot, in actual fact) but it all takes time, uploading and editing photos and then blogging.  I am determined to do better in 2014 - I think it's all a matter of organisation, I suppose. 

Well, I am finally taking an opportunity to share one of the few special cards I made this Christmas.

Mum's neighbour Jenny very generously donated some Christmas supplies, and amongst them was this lovely robust A4 red card.  So that formed the card base. 

Jenny has kindly lent me her Cuttlebug on a couple of occasions, so I borrowed her Spellbinders dies to cut some basic shapes, most of which went to make labels for Christmas presents for the family. 

The lace was in an assorted bag of ribbon which has been gathered at Mum's for quite a few years.  I cut the gathered binding off the top so it sat nice and flatly. 

Supplies:
Cardinal Red A4 card
Kaisercraft St Nicholas Sticker Sheet
Dotted olive green Swiss Bazzill
The back of a red and white Christmas snowflake envelope for the deckle layer of the oval
October Afternoon Travel Girl journal card - (cream patterned paper on oval)
Stardust Stickles
Lace
Glitz teeny Alphabet Stickers - red

Considering my dearth of craft supplies, I am really pleased with how this card turned out, and I think the recipients were too.  I see the new 52 card challenge has commenced at UK Scrappers, so I look forward to joining in again this year, as much as I can .....

52 Card Challenge - Week 13 Take Inspiration

For Week 13, Nat's challenge was to take inspiration from online/elsewhere as the basis for the card.



The above was my inspiration - so pretty.  I've pinned it from Split Coast Stampers.  I took the ribbon banner elements and turned the card into this:

 

My starting point was that really bright ribbon that I wanted to use up.  I remember purchasing it yonks ago - some DCWV self adhesive ribbon.  Great idea, and lovely quality - just want to get it used. 

 

I have also been dipping into my sequin supply a lot lately.  They were coordinating colours but when I'd stuck them on, they were a bit too pastel - so I covered them with Stickles.  They looked too odd, so I then bordered every second plain card ribbon banner with Stickles to make them tie in. 

 

I also covered the blue sequin stars with Starburst Stickles and then stamped the greeting with Versafine  in two different colours. 

 

I'd also like to duplicate this card directly from the image - it is just beautiful in the pinks.  Thanks for stopping by.



Splishy Splashy!

In response to this sketch below,

I produced this layout below. 

The photos are of our family mucking about in the resort pool last January at Caloundra, Queensland (Aust). Various patterned papers, Fancy Pants chipboard and Summer Soiree stamps, blinged with up Stickles. Detail like place name and date are still to be added eventually! American Crafts Thickers title colour altered with pigment ink, embossing powder and Glossy Accents.



I find it is a real challenge to work with these sized photos and not something I do as a norm.  I was relatively pleased with the way this layout turned out, and at least it is another layout completed for the album!

I have another layout due the end of the month for the Sketch and Scrap challenge, another layout for Scrapology .... something due for Banana Frog, and another commitment also.  Phew!  Struggling with a lack of mojo as well.... still, pushing through that obstacle is important to meet deadlines, so it's gotta be done!  Might have to set up a mantra like the little red wagon .....

Technique Tuesday ....

They're the name of a stamp company but not what I've used here.  I was asked to make a card for a colleague who is shortly moving to start a new life in Australia.  I wanted to do something quite different to what I've been doing lately.  I picked up these Fancy Pants Summer Soiree stamps half price from Capture the Magic (great value for money) and went to town! 

For the sea, I've used all the lovely swirly stamps and two different coloured Stazon, with lots of masking.  I've coloured in the sea with various inks being spritzed onto a craft sheet, and then painted onto the canvas with a paint brush.  I then cut out some images of a different cloud stamp, and used them as masks.  I've misted over the top with turquoise cosmic shimmers for the sky.  All the base elements were stamped with various colours of Stazon and then coloured in the same fashion. The fish and the bubbles were a spare image using a friend's stamp and then coloured in with Promarkers.  I've now reorganised my supplies, and I use an index folder to store odd things like the stamped images using friends' stamps, until they're ready for me to use. 

I think everything looks better with a good dose of Stickles, so that was my finishing touch.  Bright, happy colourful with lots of detail - I am really pleased with the result! 

Freebie Mag Papers and Cardstuff ....

What do you do with the freebie mag papers you pick up?  I wouldn't dream of using them for layouts (because they're shiny, and look like freebie mag papers, :lol:) but I use them all the time for making cards. 

Now that I've mentioned freebie mag papers, the first two cards don't use them at all!  :lol:  But they do use up scraps and old stash, as is my norm.  Dear viewers, you will get heartily sick of me saying that!  It is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, m'lud. 

Using up the aperture cards my friend Tara gave me, and some thick vellum cutesy images my friend Judith gave me about six years ago.  I've got heaps more!  I've actually coloured in the images with promarkers, but the result is very subtle - perhaps because of the thickness of the vellum? 

I actually don't like cute images - or at least, certainly not the Magnolias or Tildas or whatever is all the rage at the moment.  But I will use whatever I have, so here is the result.  And it is cute, at least.  Flowers are American Crafts Greenhouse, which I have been saving - they're perfect here, I think. 

Two scraps of patterned paper - and that's almost it!  Honestly, I don't scavenge - but people give me things they won't use ALL the time.  My friend Moira gave me some Papermania ribbons - the purple and the orange were part of the set.  The purple dotted paper is Basic Grey Fusion and the floral is a scrap of DCWV (I think) that one of my students was going to throw away from a class.  Tut!  So simple, but I love the really bright colours. 

NOW onto the freebie mag papers!  I picked up the Scrapbook Magazine, which I don't do very often, and the papers are by American Crafts - one is a heritage range, and one is a sweet range? 

Again, more Papermania ribbon, some stamping and bling and done! The pink lifts up the blue and adds some fun, I think. 

More of the same background paper - a twist with a curvy message by Craftwork Cards.  I really like the curvy messages now! 

Same ribbon, many of the same elements - but a different result.  The pink adds lots of zing, but also makes it very feminine, I suppose.  They were supposed to be masculine cards at the start! 

This last one is quite formal, but I believe the message makes it quite versatile. 

The gold stickles add real impact IRL - just a dotting around the journalling frame and between the Martha Stewart Loopy punch edge and the gold ribbon.  I really like the message "celebrate in style" - it could equally apply to birthdays, anniversaries, good news in general, or exam results!  A very satisfying feeling to use up what most people throw away without thought.