Berry Wishes

 Winter is here. We had our first snowfall warning for the season, up to 25cm for this weekend. There is a mountain ash tree out front (it has always been a late bloomer) and looks so beautiful especially with all the snow on top of the berries.

I was inspired to make a Winter + Christmas card with all the warm + cozy vintage feels.

The Base:

Distress watercolour card stock is my go to for card bases. Smoosh distress ink lost shadow, distress oxide in pumice stone, distress sprayer for movement, heat set between layers. Spray distress spritz in weather wood in random areas of card base, then heat set.

It's all in the layers:

Creating depth on the card base using texture fades birch trees and falling snow. Distress ink pumice stone for definition.

Adding more layers for depth. Branch birch die + 3D texture fades lumber. Using the poking tool from my sidekick to get all the negative shapes out of the branch birch die. 

Giving the trees a little more character by adding a blend of distress inks frayed burlap + lost shadow. Ending with an even blend on top of lost shadow. This gives a soft wintery effect.

I love the size of birds from the vault series lovebirds. They are perfect for this make. Die cut the bird twice, blend distress inks pumice stone, old paper, distress oxide antique linen to the body and feet of the bird. Distress inks lost shadow + scorched timber for the wings (cut out wing from second bird) and head. Use pop up dots to adhere wing on top of bird. Make sure to leave an opening white on the face of the bird. 

Giving the illusion of snow on the birds wing, using a splatter brush + distress paint picket fence.

Making twigs for the winter bird to perch on with wood planks from my stash + vault wildflowers.

Tim's + Stampers Anonymous new stamp set Florist Floor is definitely another favourite. I love the scale of these stamps. I chose the twig of berries. Stamped in archival ink + coloured with distress watercolour pencil crayons, on the branches and berries. 

Tim's new recoil scissors makes fussy cutting a lot easier. The comfort grip gives you more control when cutting the details of a stamp. Fussy cut the berries from florist floor, then apply texture paste sparkle. Let it air dry. The results are amazing. Gives the right amount of sparkle and give an elegant look of snow + frost on the berries.

The Finishing touches:

Adhere the winter bird with pop up dots, twigs + berries for the bird to perch on with collage medium. Tim's idea ology label stickers 'wishes' 

The final touch that ties everything together, a machine stitched border, leaving a few loose threads at the corners. 

I hope you enjoyed all the warm + cozy vintage feels of this make and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina 

Favourite Things

'brown paper packages tied up with strings ~ these are a few of my favourite things' 

Tim Holtz + Stampers Anonymous cms498 Home for Christmas is an awesome stamp set. It has all the vintage feels. I chose the wrapped parcel for my make. I was inspired by my friends Nico Scrap and Vicki Evans. You can find his make on his IG post. and Vicki's make on her IG post here. This is what I came up with.

The Base:

Starting with distress watercolour card stock, and distress inks in antique linen, old paper and frayed burlap, I did a watercolour wet-on-wet technique. 

It's all in the Layers:

Building up the layers on the base. Distress ink in frayed burlap with background stamp ticking and grain. Randomly stamp on base.

Layering stencil sparkle fade with texture paste in sparkle adds the right amount of bling to the make. Let the paste air dry.

Tim + Ranger distress spritz adds the perfect amount of shimmer to any make. Antique linen is my favourite and it pops out nicely on the background. Distress ink in walnut stain, blended around the edges for a more defined yet softer look.

One of my favourite pass times is colouring. It's very therapeutic and good for the soul. I used distress watercolour pencil crayons. They are easy to colour with and blend like butter. I chose walnut stain + gathered twigs for the shading and old paper + antique linen for the hi lights. This colour combo is perfect for the parcels from the stamp set Home for Christmas.

One of my favourite stamp sets from Tim + Stampers Anonymous is Classic Favourites ~ Classic #10 SCF010. It's one of the first stamp sets I owned. The saying from this set is perfect for this make. 'brown paper packaging tied up with strings ~ these are a few of my favourite things. First mask out the bottom wording of stamp, then ink the top with distress archival in frayed burlap.

The finishing touches:

Have you ever had a 'what if' moment? Those ideas can be very surprising. I grabbed some twine, then tied them up into little bows to go on top of the parcels. Died the bows using distress spray stains in my splat box, then heat set. 

I chose mermaid lagoon, uncharted mariner and speckled egg. Machine stitched the border in cream thread.

Sometimes it's fun to think outside the box and be inspired by others. You never know where it will take you.

Christina 

Dashing Through the Snow

 Tim Holtz + Stampers Anonymous Home for Christmas stamp set has all the vintage feels. Especially the vehicle with the Christmas tree on top. I made a Christmas card using this stamp with a twist.

The Base:

Distress watercolour card stock as the base. Distress inks in antique linen + pumice stone, distress oxide in antique linen, spritz with water dying between layers. Next add droplets of distress spritz in antique linen for a nice sparkling finish.

It's all in the Layers:

Alterations texture fade in falling snow has been my go to this year. It adds the right amount of texture to any make. Another go to for me is distress ink walnut stain. It's perfect for blending edges.

I had a 'what if ' moment. Making a wood panel for the side of the car. Using distress wood grain card stock + a blend of distress inks in antique linen, gathered twigs + vintage photo.

Stamp the vintage car twice, masking out the tree. Distress watercolour pencil crayon in aged mahogany for car base, then cut out door panel from wood grain background. Adhere panel to car.

I chose a different tree to place on top of the car from the stamp set Into the Woods, with distress inks in forest moss + vintage photo.

Finishing Touches:

Tim's re-coiling scissors are awesome for fussy cutting, especially being left handed make it easier. Fussy cut the tree, then adhere to top of car. I love the type written font stamps from Home for Christmas. I chose the saying ' dashing through the snow' masked out the word 'snow' then stamped the top portion to the card. The font from Tim's new vault seasonal sketch dies is awesome. Die cut the letters 'S' 'N' 'O' 'W' from Kraft stock classic in red and place them under the saying. 

To complete the card, I machine stitched the border using cream thread.

Hope you enjoyed all the vintage feels and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

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