CAS Christmas - Woodland Creatures

Hi Everyone, it's time for CAS Christmas card Challenge and this month our host Lisa wants us to.pull out our Woodland Critters

My first card is a sweet little image from Unity stamps with the two fox cubs in the snow and the snow globe stamp from Indigo blue which I think is retired. You can't see it in the photo but I masked the outside of the globe and used Versamark and glitter embossing powder

The following two cards are to add to my stash with the stencil from Card IO and the stag from Inkadinkadoo. It's a one layer card with the branches framing the stag. The sentiment is from the Unity fox  stamp set.

 This one s a woodsy outdoor style with some snow capped mountains that have been stencilled using one of the Lavinia hills stencils and a Posca pen The sentiment is out of one of the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous sets.

I hope you play along with us at CAS Christmas

Card Recipe
Stamps: Card 1- Unity foxes, Indigo blue Snowglobe, Card 2 Inkadinkadoo stag,and Unity fox set sentiment, Card 3 Inkadinkado stamp and  Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Sentiment
Paper:110 lb white, Watercouler
Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturn, Distress oxides, Pastel chalks
Accessories: Stencil Lavinia Hills and trees by card-io,Posca Pen
Techniques: stencilling, stamping

Group of Seven Cardmakers - Generation Stamping

Hi everyone, it's time for the Group of Seven Cardmakers technique. This month we are using generation stamping. This is a great technique to add depth to your cards and also create different shades of colours from one ink pad. 

Here are a few videos for you to check out if you haven't tried it before.

Two Minute Tip - Second Generation Stamping by Ellen Hutson LLC (1:47)

Second Generation Stamping by Catherine Pooler (4:30)

Second Generation Stamping by Unity Stamp Company (1:21)

One thing you have to remember if you first stamp partially off the card the inked area will now be uneven and have a noticeable ink line will appear. You can see the line on the second stamped image and the rubber stamp. It is better to stamp off the first ink on scrap paper then stamp on your card.

Card 1- I used Lavinia stamps and second and third generation stamping. It can actually give your image a little movement, the bird has first, second and a very faint third generation stamping and I lightened the colouring as I went along. The background has lots of second a third generation stamping to add depth and lighter colours. To finish the card off I went around the edge with a Gold Pen to create a faux mat.

Card 2- Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous images. I stamped my first image high on the page and each time I stamped again I moved it down. You can see the Queen Anne's Lace get lighter and lighter, I also stamped the numbers a second time. I also finished the card by going around the edge with a Blue metallic pen to create a faux mat.

We hope you give this fun technique a go and don't forget to show us the cards you create 😊

Card Recipe
Stamps: Lavinia and Stampers Anonymous
Paper: 110lb White
Ink: Versafine Clair, Distress Inks
Accessories: Gold Pen, Blue Metallic Pen
Techniques: Generation Stamping

Group of Seven Card makers - Stencil Monoprint

Hi everyone, it's time for the Group of Seven Cardmakers Monthly Technique. This month we are doing some Stencil Monoprints an old but fun technique.

Lee-Anne Cross created this video for Split coast stampers which explains how to create a stencil mono print if you have never done one before.

It's an old but fun technique which can be done by smooshing ink pads over a stencil or sprinkling powdered inks and spritzing with water then placing the inked side on card. To mop up the excess water place a piece of kitchen roll over the stencil.

Just a note when using stencils with words or numbers to check the inked side to make sure they are the correct way round and not mirror imaged. The ink goes on the back when you read the letters or numbers.

Card 1- Paper Artsy (Alison Bomber) stamp, TCW stencil, Distress inks

Card 2- Stampers Anonymous sentiment, Tim Holtz stencil, Powdered inks.

Card 3- Stampers Anonymous, Paper Artsy (Alison Bomber) stamps, Lavinia Stencil, Distress Inks.

Card Recipe
Stamps:
Paper:
Ink:
Accessories: Stencils, Powdered inks, Distress Inks
Techniques: Stencil Monoprint

Crafty Zooming - Alcohol inks on a Gelli Plate

Hi everyone, this month it was my turn to find a technique for the Group of Seven crafters and I choose Alcohol inks on a Gel plate. You may have seen this technique from me a few months ago with my Magenta post and I saw this first on Face book by Amanda Branson. 

If you have a FB account you will need to join Reach Out With Lavinia to see Amanda's video, she and the Lavinia group are amazing artists and provide so much great inspiration. For those who don't have a Face book account the instructions are posted on the Group of Seven Crafters blog .

The technique is a a little addictive and you may end up with lots of backgrounds to use in the future. The prints have a wonderful organic look to them when they are pulled. All my cards below have Lavinia stamps.

Card 1 

I used Nuvo Clear drops on the Berries and used watercolour pencils to colour the image. I just used a damp brush to blend the colours as I used 110Lb White card stock which will tolerate a little water.

Card 2

 I added an outline in a sparkly gold gel pen and some gold highlights to the flowers and leaves. I outlined the card using gold pen.

Card 3

I used a gold pen to outline the alcohol print and to colour the dandelion. I over stamped the image with Distress Oxide Lost shadow which was a great compliment to the blue and purple print.

Card 4

I outlined the print in Silver Gel pen, coloured the image with watercolour pencils and edged the image using a silver pen.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get to try out this technique and like it as much as I do.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Lavinia
Paper: 110Lb White
Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturn
Accessories: Alcohol Inks, Silver and Gold Gel pens, Gold and Silver Marker Pens, Watercolour Pencils, Nuvo Clear drops.
Techniques: Gel Plate, Alcohol inks

Holly, Berries and Pinecones

Hi everyone, I have a couple of cards inspired by Jo Rice today. If you've never been to Jo's blog I highly recommend it. Jo is an amazing artis and has some great videos for you to follow on her YouTube channel.

Both cards are made with Lavinia stamps except for the sentiments which are Tim Holtz.

My favourite is the hexagon, I just love how this one turned out and the cards were pretty quick to make.

The berries and pinecones were stamped with Versafine Clair Nocturn and coloured in red and brown. The holly was stamped in Hero Arts Multi green ink pad and the red berries added later. The image was die cut using a smaller Hexagon and popped up on three additional layers of card stock.

I'm entering this for the following challenges.

Peace on Earth - Anything goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything goes

The Holly and The Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything goes

Card Recipe
Stamps: Lavinia, Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous
Paper: 110lb white
Ink: Versafine Clair, Hero Arts
Accessories: Hexagon Die, Stampin Up Markers, Tombo Markers
Techniques: Stamping, Blending

CAS Christmas Card Challenge- Wreath

Hi Everyone, it's time for CAS Christmas Card Challenge. Our host this month is Linda and she wants us to create our Christmas cards with a wreath, and also please say hi to our Guest Designer this month Sue of Sue's Cards.

Just a reminder to follow the rules if you want to have the chance of being picked as one of the top entries 😃

For my card I drew a circle and then used a couple of Lavinia stamp to make the wreath. I kept the colour palate simple only using dark brown and red. the edge of the card was finished with an off cut of some card that had gilding flakes stuck to Sookwang tape.

I hope you come and join us with the challenge and top up your stash of Christmas cards.

Card Recipe
Stamps: Lavinia, Sentiment- Stampers Anonymous The Poinsettia CMS 426
Paper: 110lb white
Ink: Ranger Archival (potting soil) Versafine Clair (Tulip)
Accessories: Acrylic block, MISTI, Gilding Flakes, Sookwang Tape
Techniques: Stamping, gilding flakes

Twofer Dogs

Hi Everyone, I wanted to join in with Darnell's Final Twofer Challenge, this month's theme is Dogs/Cats so I rummaged through my stash of dog stamps and pulled out a Colorado Craft Christmas set.

The first is a Christmas card is the stamp with a sentiment from the same set coloured with pencils.

My second is a fun card which I inked up the top portion of the stamp and then used some tape on the presents under the dog so I stamped just the dog. I then masked the dog and stamped the toadstool. 

I had to use the sentiment from Pink in Dog stamp set to go with this. He looks really guilty and the Rabbit knows what he did 😏 When I stamped the dog I forgot to include his tail so had to add my own (oops)

Card Recipe
Stamps: Colorado Craft, Lavinia, Pink Ink (Sentiment) Kitties Kits (Grass)
Paper: 110lb White, Black
Ink: Versafine Clair
Accessories: Coloured Pencils
Techniques: Pencil Colouring

Playing with Wax Seals

Hi Everyone, I'm not sure if you've noticed wax seals seem to be making their way on to cards as well as envelopes. I've always wanted a set with my initial but after seeing Sandy Allnock and Vicky Papaioannou using the seals I decided to get some wax chips a wax heater and a couple of the impression stamps.

Here's one with a Merry Christmas sentiment, I used a mix of gold, dark blue and grey wax chips to create the marbled effect.

The berry stamp is from Lavinia. I used Versafine Clair ink in grey, coloured the berries in pencils and used glossy accents to give them a little dimension. The wax seal makes a great accent to a card, don't you think 😏

I'm entering this for the following challenges

Merry Little Christmas- Anything goes

The Holly and the Ivy- Anything goes

Addicted to CAS- Christmas

Happy Little Stampers Christmas -Anything goes

Card Recipe
Stamps: Lavinia
Paper: 110lb White
Ink: Versafine Clair
Accessories: Wax Seal equipment, Glossy Accents, Pencils
Techniques: Pencil colouring, Wax Seal