Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 58 - Use it three times

 
Evening  Everyone
This week we have another challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers, the last one this year, where Tracy challenges us to use the same stamp/image three different ways.
It could be the background, main image and a tag to match for example. (ie Christmas Wrapping Paper, Greeting Card and Gift Tag) Using different colourways is another way, the same image three times, or even, as a couple of us have done, three different cards.
We are sponsored for the last time by the lovely Joanna Sheen who is offering a £10 voucher for her online shop which is crammed full of goodies with new stock arriving all the time! Thanks for everything Joanna!

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post my cards but writing Christmas cards seems to have got in the way of everything. I'm still not sure that I have actually made enough yet.
It has also been a bit like writing War and Peace, so perhaps you should get yourself a coffee before you read any further.
I must admit that I hate to make the same card twice, so I loved working on this challenge.
Of course I didn't think about having to write the instructions to each card when I made them, I was having way too much fun.
Message to self, think first before making card lol.

I have used a lovely Woodware clear set All Occasions Bloom FRCL200 to create 3 different cards.
Of course if I had been thinking I would have used the same layout for each card like Melly or Lin, but I didn't so here goes with a little bit of explanation.

This first card has used a piece of background paper made using distress inks. I have tapped a couple of colours on to a craft sheet, then spritzed with Glimmer Mist. The next step is to take a piece of watercolour card also spritzed with Glimmer mist to make it wet and smoosh. Each piece will be different.
This is also a great way of using up ink that is left on your craft sheet when you have been using dye based inks and a blending tool.

When the background paper is dry, stamp and emboss the floral panel onto it using black versafine and clear embossing powder. Cut around the image and paint the flowers with thin undiluted bleach.

The floral panel is layered over a piece of white card that has been run through the cuttlebug inside an embossing folder. I added a little co-ordinating ink with a blending tool or a piece of cut and dry foam.

The white strip has been punched with a Martha Stewart punch, and it has then been layered over some background paper from my stash. Add a few pearls and some glossy accents to the flower centres.

I stamped and embossed a couple of extra flowers and coloured them with Promarkers and also a little bleach. These are added to the card along with some punched leaves.

The background for this second card has been made in the same manner as the first, with dye based inks, glimmer mist and a smoosh.

Once again I have stamped and embossed the main image using black versafine and clear embossing powder. I have then painted the flowers with thin undiluted bleach.
Having cut around the image I added some stitching with a fine black pen.

This time I cut the the pale blue embossed panel in half diagonally and layered it over some purple card from my stash.
I added some swirls down the right hand side of the card using a lovely Artemio clear stamp set Delicate Flourishes. I stamped them using a Versamark inkpad and then dusted Pearlex powder over the image using a dry paint brush.
You need a tiny amount of Pearlex to cover the image and then any excess powder is removed with the same dry brush. You can be really quite heavy handed when removing the excess and the image will remain unsmudged.

The ribbon across the middle has been spritzed with water and then scrunched to add a little texture to it.
The padded circles have been made using some of the leftover bits of background and a small circular punch.

The background for the final card has been made in the same manner as the other two.
I'm afraid that all of the pieces came from my bits box so I can't be more specific about the colours that I used.

Having stamped and embossed the image using versafine and clear embossing powder I placed the trimmed panel into an embossing folder so that only one half of the panel is embossed.

I added a little extra ink using a blending tool and then mounted the panel onto black glossy card stock and trimmed to leave a narrow border.
Once again I painted the flowers with thin undiluted bleach.
If you don't like making your own backgrounds you could just as easily use shop bought background papers, the only problem with this is that you cant use bleach to remove the colour from the flowers.

I added a few dots around the stamped image using an Inkssentials opaque white pen, and then added glossy accents to the flower centres.
The background paper on the main card is from my stash. I have added a stitched border to this using a fine black pen.

I have decided to enter these into the following challenges.
Delightful Challenges - Anything Goes
Creative Craft Challenges - Faux or Real stitching
Make it Monday - Always Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Anything Except Christmas

Well, I hope that I haven't sent you to sleep with my epic post, and that you will feel suitable inspired to enter our challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers.
Better get back to the Christmas cards. I did manage to get another bag full in the post this morning, but I still haven't finished yet.
Happy Crafting and have a good evening.
Hugs
Kimx

Ethnic Santa

   

Morning Everyone

Hope you are having a good weekend and that it is not too cold where you are.
We are really getting into the Christmas spirit here, the light are up on the outside of the house and the tree is in the first stages of being dressed. You can't move for wrapping paper and prezzies, I'm beginning to know how Santa must feel :)
The card I am sharing today was made at the request of a friend at work. She wanted a card for her parents with a Black Santa on it, not something that you can easily find in the shops. It also had to be big with plenty of bling since her Mum is nearly blind and would therefore need to 'feel' it.

She didn't mind whether the card was comical or traditional just so long as it was large so this wonderful Molly Blooms stamp Boxing Day Santa immediately sprang to mind. I have coloured him using Distress inks and then cut him out with a circular Grand Nestie.

The wood grain background is a piece of card stock which has been stamped and gold embossed down one side using X9449G Christmas Text Background and then cut out using another of my Grand Nesties.
The main panel of background paper is Magnolia paper Blue Christmas Holly with a fine handstitched border drawn onto it.

The flowers are a combination of ready made and die cuts with the lovely Heart Swirl Branch Doohickey and Marianne Creatable Pine Tree Branch. The pine branches have been glittered by embossing them with sticky embossing powder and then pouring fine glitter over them.
A Time to Share is from a Woodware clear stamp set FRCL105 Traditional Christmas Greetings and 25th December is from Lili of the Valley.
The whole thing was assembled using an 8 inch square card which I picked up in Peterboro when I was up there last month. I knew they would come in handy especially as they come complete with envelopes. I did suggest to my friend that she might need to post it in a padded envelope just to be on the safe side.
I am waiting to hear what her parents thought of it but she was absolutely thrilled. She has already given me details of the birthday card that she wants for her Dad in February.
I am entering the card into the following challenges
Crazy 4 Challenges - Its Santa
So Artful - Tis the Season picture inspiration
Creative Craft Challenges - Stitching Faux or real
Sassy Cheryls Challenge - Santa
It's no good I must get on with writing my Christmas cards now, I can't put it off any longer.
It really is the bit I hate doing, maybe I should get a stamp made up with all of our names on it to cut down on the hand cramps lol.

Happy Crafting
Hugs
Kimx