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 

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