Christmas Magic

 Winter has arrived. The snow is beautiful especially as it weighs on the trees. Looks peaceful. I made a Christmas card inspired by the weather change.

The Base:

Starting with watercolour card stock as a base, emboss with 3D texture fades in wood grain. Then lightly blend distress ink in pumice stone around the edges.

It's all in the Layers:

I love the new Tim Holtz + Stampers Anonymous mini layering stencil, sparkle fade. It's perfect for Christmas. Apply texture paste sparkle through the stencil and let air dry. It adds the perfect subtle bling to your make.

The skates from the vault winter wishes set are the perfect size for this card. Die cut the skates from light chipboard then paint a generous layer of Dina Wakley Gesso on top. This gives a good primer before applying the paint. Distress paints picket fence (skate), scorched timber (heel), once dry sand the heel to give it a worn look. Foundry wax in sterling (blade). Add a little bit of distress ink walnut stain to the back of the skate for a hint of shading.

Finishing touches:

Tim's Mr. Frostie stamp set is so versatile and one of my favourites. The font of the sayings is so elegant. I chose  'christmas magic' with distress embossing ink, Ranger embossing powder, white on black kraft stock, using the Ranger Handle IT tool. This tool is perfect for embossing, it prevents burning fingers lol. 

I'm a huge fan of greenery. Funky festive + holiday green mini + vault holiday classic thinits are my go to's. I love the pop of colour from Tim's kraft stock Cool tones.

For an elegant touch, machine stitch the border with cream thread. I'm slowly getting better at sewing, just have to remember that I'm not in a race car lol and to keep it slow and steady. 

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

Beauty in Nature

 A couple weeks ago I was driving by the main street where I live and came across these beautiful planters on the medians. They had been switched up for the Winter + Christmas season. 

This planter inspired me to make a card.

The Base:

Distress watercolour card stock embossed with 3D texture fades brickwork.

Giving the bricks more dimension and an authentic look using distress paints in pumice stone and frayed burlap. Let it air dry. I discovered this technique from my friend Zoe Hillman, you can find the how to here on her blog post. 

It's all in the layers:

Bigz die potted works well with this make. Using light weight chipboard as a base, paint it with distress paint pumice stone and heat set. next add a generous amount of grit paste translucent, let air dry. Next take a dry paint brush and apply distress ink pumice stone in the crevices of the planter for added depth.

Using kraft stock in cool tones, die cut various greens with vault holiday classic, funky festive, vault wildflowers (twigs), and holiday green mini. 

For the berry leaves kraft stock classic in red and blend on top with distress inks in aged mahogany, fired brick and walnut stain. Thinlits in vault holiday classic and funky festive.

Giving the birch twigs more texture, I used a background from my stash. Two toned wood grain in grey with 3D texture fades sparkle, then die cut them from thinlits thin ice.

Finishing touches:

Once everything is die cut, randomly place in planter using collage medium to secure in place. Tim's word phrase stickers add the perfect touch to the make. Adhere with pop ups for dimension. Lastly, machine stitch the border with cream thread and adhere to two toned woodgrain grey card stock.

There is beauty and inspiration in nature, take the time to embrace it.

Christina 

 

Peace on Earth

 I keep cards that I made for challenges in years past, to reflect on and for inspiration. This card in particular grabbed my attention. It was made in October of 2016.

For all the lessons and inspiration I received from Tim's lives and other makes from my talented friends, and remember the most important lesson of all.... practice makes perfect. Here is a Christmas card I came up with.

The Base:

Starting with Tim's idea ology corrugated substrate sheet as a base, tear random sections to expose the smooth surface of the sheet. Next a variety of distress paints, the first layer is picket fence. Paint in random sections until you achieve a desired effect. Heat set. For a more shimmering look, use distress spray spritz in random areas of card base.

Distress ink Walnut Stain is my go to for blending edges. It gives a nice vintage finish to the base.

It's all in the layers:

Adding a little more depth to the base, using the mini stencil in sparkle fade and distress ink. Grab a blending brush, by lowering the lid closer to the bristles you can get a more crisp image. Blend in random places where the base is smooth.

Tim's + Sizzix new vault dies are so versatile. The possibilities are endless. The globe from vault travel and the script from holiday classic are the perfect size and font for this make.

The finishing touches:

Tiny Text Christmas is one of my favourite stamp sets. You can use it for a background or break the words up. I chose the saying Peace on Earth, masked out the word Peace before embossing. The Ranger Handle IT tool is the best for holding the card stock as it's being heated. No more burning fingers lol. Definitely a must have.

Next I mounted the card base onto Kraft card stock using sookwang tape. It holds well and a little goes along way.

Finding inspiration in your stash, from other makers, Tim's educational and awesome lives, is a beautiful thing. Never give up. Practice makes perfect.

Christina 

Be Thankful

 One of the best ways to clear the mind and make way for creativity is being outdoors. A couple weeks ago I was pruning the landscaping and came across a few dead twigs, leaves and a couple pine cones. Inspiration had kicked in and laid them off to the side. The beauty of dead twigs is that they have character.

Once the inspiration was brewing, I knew there was no stopping, so I gathered dies from Tim's vault 2024 series plus a few older dies and this is what I came up with.

The Base:

Distress watercolour card stock is my go to for smooshing inks, oxides, and with the distress sprayer and my trusty craft heat tool, the possibilities are endless.

Stampers Anonymous cms344 craze and planks, I chose the craze background, is perfect if you want something subtle and gives the illusion of texture.

It's all in the layers:

Tim's/Sizzix 2024 vault series dies and a few older ones are perfect for the twigs/leaves and pinecones.

To achieve a more saturated look with a little depth, the distress reinkers came to the rescue. I love to colour and it's easy to control.

I love the many textures of woodgrain and the variety of colouring that is added for depth and character. I used one of my favourites, 3D lumber embossing folder and blended a few distress inks on top.

To give the woodgrain more dimension, I scribbled a little bit of the distress crayon in frayed burlap on my mixed media glass mat, spritz a little water on top, then with my fingers rubbing the crayon over the crevasses till achieving the desired effect. Kind of reminds me of a five year old, finger painting. It's so fun! 

The finishing touches:

The bow from the thinlits die vintage sled adds the perfect touch to the bouqet of twigs.

Next I grabbed an inked up doily from the vault boutique die set. This was in my stash, and tucked it under the woodgrain plank. I love how elegant the font is from the thinlit set celebration words script. Fits perfectly on the card front.

Next I placed one of the chit chat idea-ology stickers "you" underneath the word "thank" and for the final touch including patience, I machine stitched a border around the card front, taking it slow and trying not to speed like a race car lol. It's hard but doable. Practice makes perfect. 

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

 

Best Day Ever

 One of the best things in life is taking some time to create. Today I'm going to show you how easy and simple it is to make a fun birthday card.

The Base:

Starting with distress watercolour card stock as a base, smoosh distress oxides of your choice on to craft sheet. Spritz with water and heat set between layers, till you achieve the desired background.

It's all in the layers:

Using mixed media heavy stock, place the Sizzix bold text #1 die on top and tape the edges, (I use painters tape because it's easier to peel off) then run or crank it through your machine. Adhere the negative part of the words and save the letters for another project.

The finishing touch:

One of my favourite tools to use while I emboss stuff is the Ranger Handle It tool. It's easy and clips onto the paper your embossing and you won't burn your fingers. lol 

I love Tim's stamp set Noteworthy, it has a really awesome font and the sayings are perfect for any occasion. I chose the saying 'Best Day Ever', trimmed it to size using Tim's new Tonic mini recoil snips. These scissors are amazing. Being left handed, just got better. 

Next adhere the saying to the front of the card at an angle. The contrast of the white on black ads a nice crisp finish.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina 

Be Awesome Today

 With Mother's day fast approaching, I made a detailed ATC (artist trading card) for my mom. I chose it for the size 2-1/2 x 3-1/2. It's perfect for layering elements especially if it's something new you want to try and less intimidating. 

The base:  Starting with mixed media heavy stock for the base, ink up cms348 ornate & lace stamp set, I used the ornate stamp, with distress ink/oxide in tattered rose. Ink edges of card stock starting with antique linen, pumice stone, then finishing with walnut stain.

It's all the layers:  Aging the doily from Tim's vault boutique die with distress inks in old paper and walnut stain with a ink blending tool.

Next I cut the paper down to the size of an ATC. Adhered the doily to one side of the ATC then trimming off the excess. Made a frame from the vault picture show dies set. Then I inserted an old photo of my mom using a mini printer.

When I saw Tim's and Stampers Anonymous new stamps from forgotten garden, I new they would be well used. I also purchased the co-ordinating dies from SSS which makes a huge difference if you're not a huge fan of fussy cutting. Next colour with distress watercolour pencils, they blend well and are easy to control.

The finishing touch:    Tim Holtz/idea ology small talk stickers are great for adding little sayings to your makes and add the perfect touch. I used pop ups for dimension.

I hope you enjoyed the process of my make and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

Date Nite

 Have you seen Tim's second Vault Series? All the dies are incredible. So much detail in all of them. One of my favourites is the Vault Picture Show. I used the film strip to make a 'date nite' card. 

The Base: 

Starting with distress watercolour card stock, place THS095 layering stencil in peppermint on top, and blend with distress oxides, barn door and antique linen. This gives a nice soft look. Distress ink walnut stain is my go to for giving definition around edges of backgrounds. 

It's all in the layers: 

I love TH/Stampers Anonymous blueprint stamps. They are easy to colour and fun to play with. I used cms195 treats blueprint (popcorn) stamped with archival ink and coloured with distress watercolour pencils.

Have you ever gone through your stash and found something that you haven't used in years, forgot you had it? Luck made it's way to me when I found Tim's idea ology film strip ribbon. I knew this would make a great underlay because of it's transparency, then using my tiny attacher to secure it in place. Next I layered the film strip from Vault Picture show in kraft stock, red, overlapping slightly to create dimension. 

The making of the 'popcorn' inspired by Zoe Hillman.

Die cut two small tattered florals with distress watercolour card stock. Colour/scribble with distress watercolour pencil crayons and blend with a water brush. Shape florals with fingers to create 'popcorn' adhere with collage medium. It's easy peasy.

I just love the font from the Vault World Travel die set. The letters really pop out when you add a drop shadow. Choosing to add a number for fun. 'DA8' It's date nite.

The finishing touch: 

My other go to for a deeper, softer blend around the edges is Scorched Timber. It blends like butter and gives the slightest hint of definition.

I hope you enjoyed the process of my make and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina