Luna the Christmas Kitten

 

When I saw this week's sketch on Sunday Stamps Challenge titled "Put a Bow On It" I envisioned a card that resembles a  wrapped gift tied with ribbon and a tag.   

This seems to be vintage week because the Jingle Belles Challenge theme is "The Spirit of Christmas Past" and the Peace on Earth Challenge, an anything goes challenge, has this mood board:

Because the As You Like It Challenge question is "What is your favorite coloring medium and why," the tag needed to have a colored stamp  The four challenges provided the parameters for my card:  A card that looks like a wrapped package with a colored stamp and a vintage feel.  

The Christmas Kitten from Stampendous not only fits the vibe, it is my favorite cat stamp because Luna, who was adopted when she was a year old, may have looked like this kitten when she, herself, was a kitten (except for the white paws).  Luna, who will be 19 in September based on her estimated birthday when she was rescued, prefers that I post this picture that shows her in her prime.

I stamped the kitten with Stampin' Up's Early Espresso ink and colored her with my go-to Prismacolors.   I love them because they are flexible and forgiving.  You can show pencil strokes or blend them using a blending pencil.  You can also use the blending pencil to blend out color so there is no edge.  That is how I created dimension on the naughty kitty on this card.  My favorite way to use them is to layer colors so that the colors below show through colors in the layers above as I did with Sherlock on this card.  I like the softness you can get with good quality pencils.  Also if you make a mistake or apply too much color you can pick it up with a Prismacolor eraser.  Try doing that with alcohol or watercolor markers.  

For the gift wrapping I used an old patterned paper from DCWV.  The pattern looks like it could have been drawn with colored pencils and has a vintage look that compliments the tag.  This card is 5x6.5 to accommodate that tag.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time. Hansi

Sending Warm Wishes for a Speedy Recovery

 I bought this Hero Arts stamp pre=pandemic because it made me think of my teenage years, yet I have only used it once and that was a couple years ago.  The Neglected Stuff  and Shopping Our Stash Hot Hot Hot challenges motivated me to use this poor neglected stamp lingering in my stash.  Of course the first step was to go through my stash of backgrounds to see if I had anything that would work.  This one goes back to when Distressed Oxide inks were introduced and a friend brought some tags over to play with my new inks.  For this one I ink smooshed Worn Lipstick, Wild Honey, and Broken China.  To add some texture to this old background I random stamped Lavinia's Sacred Spells text stamp in second generation and then, for a focal point stamped the sun using Ground Espresso Distress Oxide.  The sentiment comes from Stampin' Up's Desert Details set.  I don't use sparkles that often anymore, and when I do, I usually use clear ones.  For this card I went through my stash of embellishments and found these tiny, 2mm, black sparkles from Close to My heart that were retired years ago.   I also plan to enter this in the A Place to Start with an optional twist of Summer Things Challenge.

I am sending this to a friend who is rehabbing after knee replacement surgery.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Happy Hawaii Day

 

Colorful Options is celebrating Hawaii Day with a bonus mid month 1 week challenge using this color palette:

My first thought was a lotus or other tropical flower with blue, cool pink and aqua.  This provided the perfect use for my recently acquired Leaf Mix Die set from Altenew which I couldn't wait to play with.  I used this sample card from their website as inspiration but, when I tried to link it I found that the card no longer shows on their website, so I linked to the pin on my Pinterest.

First I needed a background.  I sprayed Snow Flurries, Shiny Bauble, and Fortune Teller Distress mica sprays and Dylusions White Linen mica spray on my craft mat, with no water, and smooshed a piece of water color paper in it multiple times until I was happy with the result.  Once it was dry I used the Sacred Spells stamp from Lavinia, curly corner stamp from Inkadinkado , and a cross hatch stamp from Stampin' Up's Timeless Textures set to stamp randomly with Hickory Smoke archival ink.  Lastly I gilded the edges of the panel by pressing it perpendicularly into a Versamark ink pad and Ranger super fine silver embossing powder and melting it.  All that mica means that when you tip the card in the light it really sparkles as you can see in the second photo.

I used my new Leaf Mix die set to cut the petal bases in white, top detail layers in silver foil, and the stamen and "leaf" pad in white paper that I ink blended with Seedless Preserves Distress ink.  After putting everything together on a card base I finished it off with a clear sparkle.  You may notice there is no sentiment.  I am working on building a stash of cards ready to go that I can put an appropriate sentiment on for whatever occasion I need a card for.  This one will probably have one embossed in silver on a white strip or one embossed in white on a black strip  placed below the lotus.   Because I am preserving the ability to use this card for any occasion I am entering it in the Addicted to Stamps and More Any Occasion challenge.

I am also entering this in the Beautiful Blossoms Anything Floral Goes and A Place to Start Optional Twist Summer Things Challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Abigayil and Her Kittens

 This card was inspired by my all time favorite children's book, Abigayil, The Story of the Cat in the Manger, written by Rouben Mamoulian and illustrated by Marshall Goodman.  It has lots of text and beautiful watercolor and charcoal illustrations.  The story, told in the voice of Abigayil, a cynical streetwise cat who lives with her kittens in a stable in Bethlehem, is her testimony about the night Jesus was born.  Her paw was broken that morning when boys threw a rock at her while she was foraging food and now seems to be infected.  She is worried about being able to provide for her kittens and the possibility of not surviving her injury.  A woman gives birth while spending the night in her stable, and she hears the parents call him Jesus.  She is puzzled by the visitors that come to worship him and the fact that she feels his love and finds herself unable to attack the mice who are watching from their holes.  During the night a cold breeze begins to  blow through the cracks in the door, and as a mother herself, she is concerned about the baby, so despite her pain, she leaves her hiding spot and manages to get into the manger where she stretches out along side him to warm him with her body.  As dawn approaches Mary stirs, so she leaves Jesus and goes outside and sees a new star in the sky.  Abigayil is so filled with joy she does a high twisty jump before racing around the barnyard and fields.  Then she remembers her paw and stops in horror, sure that she has done irreparable, possibly fatal harm to herself, but when she checks her paw she finds it completely healed.  Come to think of it, the pain began to leave as soon as she touched Jesus.  Recognizing this as a miracle, she goes back to the manger, kneels at his feet and thanks him for healing her and showing her that love needs no reason.  She ends her testimony saying that Jesus is no ordinary baby.  He is a prescious gift of love and light to the world who will be a blessing to all.  

Now about the card:  I started by ink Smooshing Balmy Night Shimmer spray and plain water on watercolor paper and allowing it to dry naturally between layers until is liked how it looked.  Like with Brushos, the pigments broke into their component revealing other colors.  Next I used the Sacred Spells stamp from Lavinia and second generation to stamp along the sides.  I used the Star of Wonder die from Memory Box for the star, Cat D-Lites die from Spellbinders for the Mama cat, and Cat Set die from Impressions Obsession for the kittens.  After laying out the die cuts to check their position,  I used the Sparkle stencil from Tim Holtz and transparent matte texture paste for the smaller stars   I gilded the edges of the panel by pressing the edges a Versamark ink pad and then fine silver embossing powder and melting it with my heat tool.

I plan to enter this in the Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round "Oh Holy Night," Mix It Up "Mixed Media," Cut it Up  "Add a Sentiment" and Peace on Earth "Anything Goes"  challenges.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Grey Birthday Cats on Pink

 

The Word Power Challenge is a new challenge for me.  It is an "anything goes" one as long as the main focus is on the sentiment.  Did I mention that the Cut It Up challenge is to add a sentiment and I needed a birthday card?  The Color Hues challenge is to use pink and grey. so  now I had my concept.  

First things first: a background.  I went though my stash and found a pink one that I made using pink re-inkers to watercolor and stashed away because I wasn't happy with it and didn't have time to deal with it.  Now was time to try to salvage it.  I added some large splatters and let them run and dry naturally.  I liked it much better except for the center.  A birthday die from CZ Design cut from silver foil along with the shadow in vellum would disguise it.  Silver is grey, isn't it?  I used the Sacred Spells text stamp from Lavinia and a curly corner stamp by Inkadinkado with Shadow Grey Archival and Gina K Medium Carnation inks to lightly random stamp the background.  I wanted something to dress up the sentiment.  When in doubt, try a cat.  One of my favorite cat dies is Impression Obsession's cat set which cuts six small cats in different poses.  I have never cut the dies apart for fear of losing one, so every time I use it I have extras for my stash ready to go.  I picked out two in grey and used Prismacolor pencils to shade and give them dimension.  This was a challenge because my pointy eared darlings have long hair and manes, so you really don't see their bodies.  I swiped more grey ink along the edges, put everything together, and my card was done, or so I thought.  The silver sentiment outshoned the cats!  As Luna and Calli informed me, "That. Will. Not. Do."  I cut a second "it's your birthday" in white and carefully glued it over the silver.  Much better!  I also plan to enter this in the Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Winter Snowflakes

 

It is Christmas in July at the Just Add Ink challenge blog, and it is always Christmas at Peace on Earth Christmas.  Although the Peace on Earth challenge is always anything Christmas/winter holiday goes they put up an optional mood board which this time features snowmen.  The current challenge at Cut It Up is something monochromatic.  After thinking about all three challenges I had my concept. 

I embossed a piece of watercolor paper using the Sizzex Winter Snowflakes 3D embossing folder and sprayed it with Tim Holtz Distress mica sprays in Snow Flurries, Juniper Berry, and Brushed Pewter along with water to move the inks around.  Once it was dry I ran it through in the embossing folder again to crisp up the impression because all that liquid flattened it out a bit.  I used my finger to lightly rub Color Box Silver metallic ink on the raised parts to bring out the snowflakes.  Holding the panel vertically I pressed the edges into a Versamark inkpad and then Ranger Super Fine embossing powder and heated them.  I put a slightly smaller piece of heavy cardstock behind the panel to give it some lift and attached it to the card base.  I used a die from Paper Rose to cut Merry Christmas three times and stacked them for the sentiment.  I finished the card with clear sparkles in the center of some of the snowflakes.  

I now have two Christmas cards which I can repeat in other colors.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Cat Gazing at the Universe

 

I need another birthday card.  Yes, I do have a stash of them, but certain people get cards made just for them.  Plus I want to play the Seize the Birthday Anything Goes and The Die Cut Divas Birthday challenges.  I used this Freshly Made Sketch for inspiration.

For the background I started with watercolor paper, sprayed it with some water, and then began spraying with Seedless Preserves and Unchartered Mariner Distress sprays and more water, drying, spattering with water, drying, repeating, sometimes letting colors move, sometimes dabbing up some of the ink until I was happy with what I had and then let it dry naturally.  Next I partially inked a swirly corner stamp from Inkadinkadoo, a cross hatched stamp from Stampin' Up's Timeless Textures set, and a script stamp, Sacred Spells from Lavinia and, without blocks, randomly stamped the background with black ink for texture.  I then lightly brushed Hero Arts white pigment ink through parts of a Feathered Leaf stencil from Lavinia to provide still more texture.  Lastly I swiped some silver metallic pigment ink from ColorBox along the edges and my background was done.  I thought about adding white splatters, but then thought they might take away from the swirly feel of the background.

I cut the "A" or top layer of the Prismatic Triangle layering die set by Birch Press Design to use to ground what my pointy eared darlings will tell you is the most important part of the card, a cat cut using a die from Spellbinders' Kitty Cats die set.  One of the things I love about this die cut is that you can wrap her tail through other die cuts on a card.  The sentiment comes from Taylored Expressions' Birthday Simple Strips set and is stacked on another strip of paper to pop it up.  Now I have a mixed media card for the Mix It Up Anything Goes + Mixed Media Optional challenge.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi