Christmas Card Challenge

Split Coast Stampers has a Christmas Card Challenge.
You are to make a Christmas card or two or three or four
every month till December.
Now I just thought that was a great idea.
I have been playing with Spellbinders 2010 Christmas bulb die
and one of their original Christmas bulb dies.

Here are the results of my efforts.
The bulbs have been cut from Polished Stone.
Polished Stone uses alcohol inks on glossy paper.

The textured layer under the bulbs is also glossy paper
that has been textured in a Cuttlebug 5 x 7 embossing folder.

After the polished stone paper was die cut I began the fun
of decorating my bulbs.
For this us used Cheery Lynn Designs
Victorian Flourish and a border die from them
that looks like tatting.

The gold used for the Cheery Lynn Designs is
a fairly heavy metallic gold foil gift wrap that has
been attached to cards stock using a thin layer of
tacky glue. It works best when the glue is spread on the
card stock with some type of credit card tool or a squeegee
kind of tool. You want a thin layer to cover the entire piece
of card stock. After putting the foil on the glued card stock
I ran over it with a brayer, using a lot of pressure to get the
bubbles out.

These die cuts really do look exactly like those expensive stickers.
For the wider bands of gold I first scored it in my ScorPal, then
carefully cut it while still in the ScorPall with a click blade cutter.

The final touches involved black sponging all around the edges of the
bulbs. Next is pieces of paper egg carton attached to
the backs of the blubs to add a little dimension.
A very thin piece of gold foil was added at the top of
each bulb to "hang" it.
BEWARE!!!!
Decorating these little bulbs is really addictive.

And the final product will be on the blog tomorrow.
While I like these designs, there is one that is my favorite.
There also some also rans that are my trial and error
phase of designing. Don't think you are going to get to see those.
They are visiting my trash can.

Sympathy Card

This is a fairly basic and easy card. The mottled looking background is Polished Stone Technique.
I stamped the "With Sympathy" with VersaMark and embossed with fineline black embossing powder. The stamp is made by Stamps Happen, Inc. I love the font that they used, very elegant yet easy to read. I have no idea who is now making these stamps or even if anyone is.

The image was stamped in the center of the polished stone then carefully cut out as a rectangle. It was then mounted on black cardstock and using the layering rulers a border was cut. Next cut down your original polished stone piece. On this card I made it 3.75 x 5 inches, layered onto black cardstock and cut a narrow border with a layering ruler. Attach the layer phrase to the center of the larger piece, now attach this all to your card base.

The classic flourishes are die cuts by Cuttlebug. On the upper left I folded the die cut over the spine of the card and glued it to the back of the card. On the lower right the die cut is folded over the edge of the card opening and glued to the inside of the card.

Just Because

What to do with those scraps? The paper crafter in me can not throw them away. I just can't.

The butterfly is a Quickutz die, with the base being polished stone. Polished Stone is alcohol inks on glossy paper or reinkers and alcohol.

Here are some links to some great tutorials for various way to get that Polished Stone look:

U Stamp 4 Fun - a very good video using reinkers

Stamping TV - exceptional video

Split Coast Stampers - a print version

My preferred method is to use the Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks - to see more of this product click here.

The applicator is nothing more than a block of wood with Velcro glued to one side. The handle is nice but not necessary. You don't have to have the "official" alcohol inks to do the polished stone technique. All you really need are reinkers and alcohol. This is how I started when I first did the Polished Stone Technique.

The flourish is a Boss Kuts die. I spray glittered after I cut it out. I think spraying the paper before cutting might be the way to go. I had to chase it down in my spray box after spraying and do again as the aerosol blew it all over. Had glittered fingers by the time I got done. Oh well, glitter is a form of fiber for crafters. (husbands usually don't think so, but I know this is so, just ask any crafter who uses glitter)

Monograms Cards

Making monogram cards is such a blast. AND they make a great and unique gift for friends.

This card was sent to my dear friend and cousin as part of a set of monogramed cards. She sent it back to me. Since I now have a blog I am sharing the design here.

The mottled brown is made using the polished stone technique. This is done with alcohol ink on glossy paper. There are many methods to achieve the lucious polished stone look. I have even used rubbing alcohol and die ink re-inkers. Yes, it works, but the commercial alcohol inks with their accessories make it so much faster and much less of a mess.

Here is the Bosskut die cut that I used to make the frame for the monogram. The entwining of two die cuts creates the frame for the monogram.

The polished stone is first layered over dark brown, them dark gold metallic and attached to a black card base.

Sewn Tear Card

This was an interesting card to make.

The green marble looking paper is

the polished stone technique.

That is alcohol inks on glossy paper.

It can also be done with rubbing alcohol and

dye ink re-inkers.

Metallic gold, silver, bonze and copper are available

in Krylon Leafing Pens.

The Ranger Alcohol Inks with the accompanying

blender is by far the easiest product that I have

found to use.

Talc your polished stone before stamping. You will

have to use embossing powder if you have used metallics

in your polished stone as the they "float" over the inks.

When you are done heating the embossing powder

and it has had ample time to cool, lightly buff the paper

with a soft cloth to bring back

the lovely glossy polished stone look.

A fine metallic thread was used to sew the "tear".