Snowflake in a Night Sky

 

Viewed straight on:

Viewed when you tip it in the light:

I am in well into Christmas card making madness.  Snowflakes are one for my favorite design elements, and of course this Freshly Made Sketch screamed snowflake to me.

I have been playing with embossing folders and ink lately, so I went straight to my favorite snowflake embossing folder, Snowflake Swirls by Darice, for the background.  I started with black watercolor paper, embossed it and sprayed it with Juniper Berry mica spray by Tim Holtz, and Balmy Night shimmer spray by Dylusions plus water and let it dry naturally.  Once it was totally dry I embossed it again because all that ink and water flattened the design a bit.  Next I used a brayer to apply metallic pigment ink from Color Box to bring out the snowflakes and swirls. 

For the snowflake I used the Sizzix 3D Impresslits Snowflake folder by Tim Holtz  to cut one from silver and one from white 110 lb white cardstock and stacked them.  I topped it with two snowflakes cut using the Beautiful Blizzard die from Stampin' Up which I stacked and embellished it with a blue sparkle.  I heat embossed a sentiment from the Very Merry Christmas stamp set by Close to My Heart and edged the strip with more of the Color Box silver metallic ink.  I finished the card with some bitty sparkles from Close to My Heart in the centers of the background snowflakes.

I addition to the Freshly Made Sketches challenge, I plan to enter this card in the Cut It Up Add Embellishments,  Can You Handle the Pressure Anything Goes With A Twist Of Fall (optional), and BYSH (Build Your Stash Holiday) Cardmakers Falling for the Holidays 2025 Linky Party challenges.  Why not check out the other entries in these challenges and maybe be inspired to enter yourself? 

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Mooch at Peace

 

This card was inspired by this one made by Kath Stewart.  It also inspired me to order the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Christmastime 2 stamp set which was part of the 2019 release.  Although I have used other stamps in the set, this it the first time I have used the stamp that made me want to buy the set to begin with.  Six years!  How could I let that happen?!

I started by spraying Villainous Potion and Uncharted Mariner Distress sprays and water on watercolor paper and let it dry naturally.  Then I stamped and embossed the sentiment in gold and while I had everything out I gilded the edges of the panel with gold.  Now it was time to stamp Mooch from Lavinia Stamps in black Versafine ink and clear heat emboss him.  Yes, his name is Mooch.  Lavinia sells individual stamps and gives names to the fairies and animals depicted.  I bought him Christmas 2020 and used him quite a bit for a while, but lately I have been using cat die cuts and he has languished in my stamp drawer for a couple of years.  I stamped the holly from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamptember 2018 set with Harbor ink, a dark teal from Close to My Heart.  The clear embossing resisted the ink, so it looks like the holly is behind him.  I used gray Prismacolors to create a shadow to ground him.  Once I had the sentiments, Mooch, and the holly in place, I knew where to put the stars using a Tim Holtz Sparkle stencil and transparent matte texture paste.  I had almost forgotten about texture paste until I broke it out for my Abigayil and Her Kittens card last month.  Amazingly it was still spreadable after sitting for a few years.  I had placed a piece of Press and Seal plastic wrap over the the jar before screwing the top on and it really did work to keep the paste from drying out.  The last step before attaching the panel to a card base was to use a Jelly Roll #700 sparkle pen in the center of the stars and along Mooch's head and left side to look like reflected starlight.  This is what the card looks like if you tip it towards light.

Working on this card reintroduced me to some older stamp and and other products that have been neglected, so I am entering it in the Shopping Our Stash "The Cat is in the Bag" and The Neglected Stuff challenges.  I also am entering it in the Jingle Belles "Baby It's GOLD Outside,"  Crazy is Our Fame, Stencils are Our Game (optional theme Nature), Addicted to Stamps and More "Make Your Mark," and Show Us Your Pussycats challenges.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

A Simple Quick(ish) Christmas Card

 

'Tis the season for stepping up my Christmas card making.  To make it easier I have an 8 x 14 lucite bin that I store all my Christmas themed dies, embossing folders, stencils, and leftover die cuts.  I keep the stamps separately "filed" in a drawer by theme such as sentiments, snowflakes, trees, religious, etc.    Because snowflakes are my favorite design element, I get out all my snowflake dies early in the year and cut multiples of each and keep them sorted in clear "flip flop" pockets.  If I need a quick Christmas card I can get out a card base, pick a background from my stash or a trimming from one, add a large snowflake or several small ones, a leftover sentiment or quickly stamp one, add a sparkle in the center of the snowflakes and I have a card.  If I have time I can add a few more touches like an extra layer or embossing.  

Towards the end of summer I go through my other stencils, embossing folders, and dies and add any that might be useful to my Christmas bin to have handy,  Let's face it.  Most of the cards I will be making for the next few months will be holiday cards.  Last week when I was looking through my embossing folders I found a Sizzix 3D Impresslits Snowflake folder by Tim Holtz hiding in the back which was easy for it to do given that it's only @ 3 x 4.5 inches.  It cuts and embosses a 2.75 and 1.75 inch snowflake in one step.  Talk about a time saver!  I bought it as part of the 2021 release and forgot all about it.  It has now lost it's status as a NBUS (Never Been Used Stuff).  I used it and the sketch below from CAS Colours and Sketches for the Alphabet K for Keep it Simple Challenge.

I followed the "add a few more touches" version of my quick(ish) formula.  I picked a strip left over after trimming a background I made, I don't know how long ago, and swiped the edges with ColorBox silver metallic pigment ink.  I put a small scrap of silver foil into the newly rediscovered embossing folder, ran it through my die cut machine and had a 3D snowflake to use now and a small one for my stash.  I looked through my snowflake stash and selected one cut using the retired Beautiful Blizzard die from Stampin' Up to layer on the silver one and finished my focal point with a sparkle.  I cut a 4 x 5.25 piece of white to add a layer for interest and heat embossed a sentiment from Close to My Heart's Snow Flurries set in silver.  All that was left to do is attach everything to the card base and stamp a sentiment inside.  In less than half an hour I had a card.

I also plan to enter this in the NBUS, Jingle Belles Cardstock Christmas (no patterned paper), Can You Handle the Pressure Anything  Goes Using an Embossing Folder, and Peace on Earth Anything Christmas Goes Challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

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

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

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

A Crazy Cat Lady Can Use Any Cat Die or Stamp on a Christmas Card

 

Every January I promise myself I will play the Christmas challenge blogs and make at least one  Christmas card a week to avoid the December card making blitz, so that maybe, just maybe, I can actually get them sent out before Christmas.  Alas, I always get distracted with making birthday, sympathy, encouragement, thank you, friendship, and you name it cards.  Seeing the Christmas in July theme on the Cut It Up and CAS on Friday challenges gave me the kick I needed to get started.  I checked the ABC Christmas challenge for this month and saw one of the letters is "N" for "non-Christmas stash."  As a proud crazy cat lady I can work a cat into any kind of card.  I still had the Cat Collage die from Poppy Stamps out after making this birthday card for my brother, so why not use it for a Christmas card?  The Peace on Earth Christmas challenge has a lovely mood board, so I went through my background stash and found one to pick up the blues.

When I am playing with ink or a technique, I will make lots of backgrounds and figure out what to do with them later.   This means I don't always remember exactly what I did on a particular one when I get around to using it.   On this one I ink smooshed with, I think, Dylusions Balmy Night shimmer and Tim Holtz Winter Frost mica sprays.  It is bluer than it looks in the photo.  I cut a piece of it slightly larger than the square I cut the cat from and, to pick up the silver in the above photo, swiped the edges with silver metallic ink from Color Box.  I cut the star from gold foil using a die from Memory Box.  I used gold embossing powder and a sentiment from the Stampin' Up set, Star of Light, on the front and a sentiment from Close to My Heart inside.  It says "A silent night, a star above, a blessed gift of hope and love."  Now I have one Christmas card for 2025!

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Kitties Sparkling for Christmas

 

The cats were not part of the plan.  No, really!  The plan was to emboss an old Hero Arts stamp, Branches and Flourishes Christmas Tree, using PEARLustre Emerald embossing powder from Stampendous, embellish it with bitty sparkles that were colored with a red alcohol marker and top it with a gold sparkle from Stampin' Up.   Gold embossing a sentiment from an old Close to My Heart set, Holiday wishes, would complete a CAS card for the Stamping Sensations "Add Some Sparkle" and ABC Christmas "A is for Anything Christmas Goes" challenges.  

Alas, when I went to embellish the tree it came to my attention that the powder on the end of the lower right branch had failed to melt and had since smeared.  What to do?  Cover it up, of course.  One of my favorite dies, labeled simply "Cat Set" from Impression Obsession to the rescue!  I embossed the sentiment on a strip popped up with thin foam tape to provide something for the cats, which had been cut three times and stacked for dimension, to stand on.  And you know they had to have blingy collars for the holidays.  Thanks to them I will also enter this card in the Show Us Your Pussy Cats "Furrything Goes" challenge because as far as Luna and Calli are concerned, the kitties are the stars of the show.  That tree is just the backdrop for them.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi