One of my favourites

I created one of these cards for my Christmas card classes last year (yes, 2011!), but it was so popular that I had customers this year requesting commissions of the exact same card.  So I had to share it with you again :).

You can see the original post here, but I have changed the sentiment.  The owl punch is still my favourite punch, there are so many things you can do with it... and they don't have to involve owls lol.  Check out the owl punch tab to the right of my site for more ideas.

Another card for dad

I promise to post something else other than a birthday card soon :).

Today's card was made by me for my mum to give to my dad for his birthday yesterday...

Yes, I know you have seen cards like this from me before, but I just love the owl and bird punches and they work so well for so many cards.

I've used my brayer for this card, to create the background in More Mustard ink, onto a So Safforn card with a 1 3/8 inch circle punch shape masked off to create the sun.  I've then added some little silhouette leaves in Chocolate Chip using a stamp from the Just Believe set and the sentiment from the For my Family set.

Creating a sunset

Hasn't the weather suddenly got colder... I really hope it doesn't snow anytime soon, particularly as I won't be at home to make the most of not being able to get out of my driveway lol!

The good news is that I have internet access in my current abode (up in Cambridge) and that means I can still blog :). 

Today I have a card to share with you to take us away from this cold weather for a moment and to show you a great technique for creating a sunset.  It has been created using the trust Just Believe stampset which includes 3 images, 4 sentiments and 2 label stamps.  I'm always going back to this set to create cards for allsorts of occasions so I highly recommend it.



I have used a piece of So Saffron cardstock for the base, cut to 10.5 x 14.8 (ie A6 in size).  I have masked off the card to create a sun image by using a 1 3/8 inch circle and then using my brayer I have inked the background with More Mustard and then peeled back the circle to create a sun.

The large flowery image from the Just Believe stampset has been inked with Chocolate Chip and stamped 3 times across the bottom of the card, making sure to drop down the stamp slightly each time.  I have then stamped the sentiment with the same ink across the sun.

I love this technique, it's so quick and easy... and the sentiment can be changed for any occasion really...

Great for a thank you card for example :).

Another dasher idea

As promised, another Christmas themed card for you today.  A slight variation on one I shared with you last week (see here) but using the Dasher stamp instead.  The ink used for Dasher and the trees (from the Lovely as a Tree stampset) is Chocolate Chip.  I have used a Brayer with Marina Mist ink to create the background.  Another very quick card and great if you want to make a stack of 'em if you're behind on your Christmas cards :).



Reflection

Today I have a Christmas card to share with you that uses a brayer... a great tool that I have now acquired for myself after borrowing a couple of times from a fellow demonstrator.

For this card I have used the brayer for the sky in Marina Mist; the snow is created by tearing a sheet of paper and masking off the base of the Whisper White card and rolling the brayer over the top.

The trees from the Lovely as a Tree stampset have been inked in Chocolate Chip, as have the children on the sled from the Welcome Christmas stampset.  To create the reflection I have stamped the image onto the perspex piece of my Stamp-a-ma-jig and placed this below the stamped image... make sure the bottom of the reflection touches the original image otherwise it won't look realistic.

There are some great effects which can be produced using a brayer, my favourites are definitely the sunset... at just £9.95 this tool is a definite must have for any stamper.  Contact me to place your order today and also take advantage of the 10% discount that I am offering until the end of the month.

More Christmas brayer action

Another Christmas (:()  card today... from last weeks Christmas card club session.  I was trying to come up with something quick as making 5 each of 2 designs each week seems to take quite a while.  However after having to punch out all the bits for the penguins and then cut the hats by hand, time was soon running away for us and my quick idea wasn't as quick as it should have been unfortunately.

The nights are getting cold and I have twice now had to scrape ice off my car (stupidly both times forgot to put it away in the garage!) so that is where the 'ice' inspiration came from for this card.  I've created an easle style base with a diagonal fold and cut a diagonal of Marina Mist cardstock  to look like water which has been raised up with dimensional sticky pads.  The edge of the standing part of the card has been inked with Marina Mist ink using a brayer over a torn strip of paper, inked twice to create a wave texture.

The penguins are stuck on using small tabs of folded card so that they stand out and 'hang' over the snow drift. 

Note that the sentiment is a silver peel off (NOT Stampin' Up!).

My next Christmas card club session is tomorrow at 7pm, and I can just about squeeze in one more person if you are interested in coming along, let me know by the end of the day... or if you cannot make it why not book a workshop/party with a Christmas theme instead.  Check out my classes and home parties pages for full details.

Brayer time with dasher

Here is one of the cards from Wednsdays Christmas card club.  It features the dasher (individual) stamp in Chocolate Chip on a Chocolate Chip card base.

 

The ladies who attended the club really enjoy using some of the tools that they don't have of their own, including the Big Shot (embossing folder not a Stampin' Up! product) and a brayer.  The embossing folder has been inked with the brayer using Marina Mist ink before running a piece of the Whisper White card through the Big Shot to create a two tone background.  The sky behind dasher has also been created using the brayer.

Both these techniques are completely new to me too but I am definitely going to be incorporating this into more cards in future.

To finish the card we used some white glitter embossing powder on some of the snowflakes and on dasher's antlers to give them a bit of sparkle... 2 days later and I still keep finding glitter patches all over my house :)! 

The sentiment is from the Welcome Christmas stamp set which has some lovely images that I hope to use in at least one of the remaining club sessions.  If you would like to come along full details can be found on my classes page so contact me to book your place as space is limited.