I haven't managed to get many of the Elite Challenges challenges completed in recent times, but here is one I finished before I went away (I just didn't get the photos editted until now). The snippet you see above is actually looking through a window punched into the front of the card. The bauble in the snippet was embossed using black embossing powder before I coloured inside it using a Pink Passion marker and my Kiwi Kiss marker. The other baubles on the card were embossed with clear powder before being coloured in with a Basic Black marker. For the full card and product details see it over at the Elite Challenges blog.
I know I have gone quite again the last few days but I have good reason - I've come down with chicken pox! Both Tiarna and I have them now, both mild cases although Tiarna is worse than me, poor thing. Anyway, I've naturally been taking it easy and if creating I've been pottering around finishing things off.
. Ironically, the Rustic Wishes card is feature on the Stampers Showcase on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator website today! (for non-demos, the Stampers Showcase is one of those fabulous benefits of being a demonstrator, where cards made by other demos are displayed to help inspire us or provide a ready-designed card for workshops and other events).
I stuck with the Holiday Harmony paper, and then decided to take Kylie's "tradition" requirement one step further and use an image of a Christmas tradition. The over-all card design is based on another of Julee's Mojo Monday sketches.
This card is for Makeesha's sketch challenge, which completely distracted me from cleaning up my desk & scrap draw... maybe tonight! Honestly, I am trying to space out my Christmas-related posts but I just seem to keep making Christmas cards! In trying to think of something big and circular that I could put on this card I remembered I had some big circles in chipboard, and it already had the hole in the top so it became a great big bauble. In fact, I put the patterned paper on both side of the chipboard, half pearls on both sides and have not used adhesive to attach the ornament to the card so that it can be taken off and used as an actual ornament! In the photo below you will see how I used the Slit punch on the card base to tuck the ribbon into and hold the ornament on.
I also posted a card over at the Elite Challenges blog this morning... yet another colour challenge and yet another Christmas card!
Using Christmas sentiments, colours that were similar to traditional colours and at least for the first two cards I used the stamps to make common Christmas images, baubles and trees, so the cards looked a little more obviously festive.
I then decided that a real challenge would be to use a Christmas set for a non-Christmas card. I've used Season of Joy for this card, inspired by Jodi Sutherland. I recieved a card from Jodi in a team swap and as soon as I saw it I thought "wow - I've gotta try that!" The flower from Season of Joy is non-descript enough that you can easily use it for other occasions.
Yep, we are yet another week closer to Christmas! This card is a mix of simple and more complex elements, the simple being the abstract Baroque Motifs tree, and the more complex part is the sentiment and frame. I first stamped the frame, then used a marker to ink just the one word from the Many Merry Messages stamp and used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to help me position it. It's really not that complex, but does lift the card from "quick and easy" status. I just love trimming that frame and popping it up on dimensionals!
The pattern on the green side of the paper has True Thyme dots between each of the lighter green sparkles/stars, so I punched a circle through them (unless they were too close to the edge) and put in a Rose Red brad. Yes, it did use a few brads but I think they look pretty nifty!
I gave the trees and True Thyme trunk, mounted them on Confetti White cardstock and gave the card sentiment from Many Merry Messages in Rose Red and mounted it all on Certainly Celery.
And here it is "open":
I've used Lovely As A Tree and Many Merry Messages sets for my main images, along with Finest Flourishes and Sweet Spot for some finishing touches. The tree, sentiment and flourish have been stamped using Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy (after yesterday's blingy card I stepped back a bit to just shimmery), and I used VersaMark to stamp the circle around the tree top, then applied Brilliant Gold Pearl Ex. The tree is topped with a star punchie. Cardstock is all shimmery stuff though I'm not sure of the brands now, it was bought from Eckersley's a few months back and efficiently stored on the table...
After I had made the card I posted yesterday, I felt a purple version was in order! For this one I have used Vintage Violet, Lovely Lilac and Almost Amethyst, and switched gold for silver. Not as mcuh contrast, but I probably like it more because there's so much purple!
The colour combination for this card was also inspired by some Myer decorations. The Lovely As A Tree tree and Many Merry Messages sentiment were stamped with Chocolate Chip ink. The tree (on Cool Caribbean cardstock) was layered on Choc Chip, then blinged up with some Kindy Glitz, Ice Stickles and a mini gold star brad. You have to be very careful when applying the glitter glues, as the Choc Chip is a dye ink and can easily run. The Cool Caribbean and Taken with Teal layers have also been edged with a gold Krylon pen. I suspect I'll be playing with these colours more as I think they are a great combination.
The cardbase is Always Artichoke, stamped with a roughly VersaMarked Paisley background stamp. Down the left is Old Olive, with some Finest Flourishes VersaMarked on and a strip of stitched Cranberry Crisp grossgrain ribbon (available from the Spring Mini). The sentiment (from Many Merry Messages) and circle detail (from Big Pieces, available from the Spring Mini) are stamped in Cranberry Crisp on Sahara Sand. I added some faux stitching around the sentiment and mounted it on Cranberry Crisp cardstock, then roughed up the edges with the Cutter tool. The circle detail is attached to a small gold metal rimmed tag that had discoloured nicely, the brad in the centre is from the Aged Brass hodge podge and is popped up on dimensionals.
The card base is Naturals Ivory. I made a mask for the cardfront by tearing the centre out of a scrap of paper. The tree (from Lovely As A Tree) was inked in True Thyme, stamped off once then stamped on the cardfront (sometimes stamping a second time on the cardfront). I also stamped some in Mellow Moss. The sentiment, from Many Merry Messages, was stamped with Chocolate Chip. The gold organdy is wrapped around the whole cardfront and tied through a buckle from the Aged Copper Hodge Podge tin. I love how this turned out, and so simple it could well be the design of a heap of my Christmas cards this year.