Cold Winters Night

 There’s something magical about falling snow. It’s so quiet and peaceful. I made a Christmas card depicting many scenes of the holiday spirit and the season of giving.

Smooshing distress oxides + ink onto watercolour card stock making sure to heat set between layers. Creating a soft blend of distress ink around border. One of my many favourite backgrounds is cms358 music + advert. Using advert stamp and distress archival ink in random places on stamp.

The scale of the Christmas vault series Christmas 2021 is perfect for this make. The gentleman carrying the wreath whilst his scarf catching a bit of the wind. Using a drop shadow for the word ‘Christmas’ adds depth.

After taking Tim + Heidi’s Christmas in July class, I knew then I’d need more ephemera. The large collage strips caught my attention. So many to choose from. Picked one cut it to size, machine stitched it to card base then added cello tape in opposite corners.

Adding a subtle bling with texture paste sparkle and THMS093 starry.

I was SO excited when the distress rock candy clear glitter arrived. Couldn’t wait to play with it. The wreath took it well. Has a nice wintery vibe.

Machine stitched border with loose ends for a nice finish.

Trust those crazy ideas. Especially when it’s 3am lol 

Hope this leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina 

Sweater Weather

 It's beginning to look a lot like sweater weather. Staying inside with a warm cup of cocoa is pure bliss.

The sweater from Tim's STAMPtember 2023 stamp set gave me inspiration for this Christmas card.

Choosing the background came to me easily, as one of my favourite stamp sets was close by. TH/SA cms475 ticking and grain. With distress oxides in rustic wilderness + bundled sage to create a nice subtle background. Adding texture using Sizzic 3D embossing folder in woven and my go to distress ink for blending edges, walnut stain.

Giving the cozy sweater more definition with two toned wood grain grey and 3D texture fades in sparkle. Then swiping over sweater with distress archival ink ground espresso. These stamps come with coordinating dies. No need to worry about fussy cutting. It's easy and fun.

Bringing the trees to life using cms465 bottlebrush trees with coordinating dies, distress oxides, embossing ink, Ranger embossing powder (sticky) + dry glitter (clear rock candy). Tim has an awesome demo applying this technique. You can find it here. It's at the 52:10 mark. 

The sayings from Tim's STAMPtember 2023 are fun + snarky lol. I chose the snarky one. Inked with distress archival in black soot.

For a more cozy look, I carefully machine stitched the outline of the sweater, making sure to leave some loose, messy threads at the top. Added a metal hanger from my stash, for the sweater to hang onto. Wooden planks made with 3D embossing folder tree rings and distress inks. Cut into strips makes a great backdrop for the sweater. 

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

Christina

Where to Wonder

 I'm a firm believer that most ideas from the creative mind happen when you least expect it. In my case the middle of the night. Instead of making notes, I jumped at the chance and grabbed the supplies I needed to make this fun loving Christmas card. 

Tim's ideaology paper stash Christmas/Noel makes the perfect background. Double sided for the win! The possibilities are endless. For this make I went with non traditional Christmas colours. One side for the card base and the other side die cut with Sizzix thinlits layered stripes. This die is perfect for adding dimension to the background.

The candy cane stamp from cms169 Christmas blueprint 3 + Rudolph from STAMPtember 2024 are the perfect size for the focal point.

Enjoying the process of bringing the candy cane to life, using distress watercolour pencils. They blend like butter. No water is needed for this technique. The best part is creating a palette, deciding which colours play well with others. lol After a few attempts, I was finally satisfied with the outcome.

Tim's recoiling scissors are perfect for fussy cutting. The comfort grip makes it easier and gives you more control where you need to cut. I fussy cut the candy cane twice + an extra bow with pop ups for dimension. Making the bow more authentic by using Tim's + Sizzix shaping kit to the rescue. The stylus is perfect for bow shaping.

Pop ups add great dimension to cards. I added a few to the candy cane and Rudolph. 

I love the font from Tim + Heidi's SSS STAMPtember festive stamps and coordinating dies. Embossed with Ranger embossing powder white and my go to for embossing, the Ranger Handle IT tool while heat setting. Tip: for die cutting, to keep die from shifting, use a low tack tape that's easy to remove. I used washi tape. 

SSS (Simon Says Stamp) 3D foam strips (left over from Tim + Heidi's Christmas in July class, fit perfectly behind the word wonderland. cut down to size and place on card front. If you're feeling adventurous like myself, and would like to stalk up on these beauties, you can find them here.

Finishing touches: adhere card base to white card stock add pop ups to red card stock.

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

Christina

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