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

 

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