Christmas Card with a Twist

This week's challenge on the Mod Squad Challenge Blog was to make a Christmas Card. What's the twist? Stamp with a veggie!

For my veggie I chose a potato and cut out a star. It's not perfect but was as good as my potato and my carving skills would allow!

I started with a piece of Gina K Pure Luxury heavy base weight white cardstock. I used the frame from Melanie Muenchinger's Fabulous Frame set, stamped it with VersaMark and embossed it with Recollections Ebony embossing powder. I coloured in the frame with Spectrum Noir marker CR9 and stamped the houndstooth belly bands in ColorBox Scarlet.

I stamped the circle border from Melanie's Fabulous Holiday Fillers set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. To fill in some of the circles in the border, I stamped the star using Brilliance Galaxy gold and
the houndstooth circle using ColorBox Scarlet.

I stamped the sentiment from the Fabulous Frame set with Memento Tuxedo Black and my
potato star with VersaMark and then embossed the star with Recollections Gold Tinsel embossing powder.

I thought the right hand portion of the card looked empty so I stamped two more potato stars with Brilliance Galaxy Gold.

Single Layer Masculine Card

For the Release Party Challenge-Single Layer Sensation! and the StampTV Let's Hear It For The Boys! challenge I made a one layer masculine card.

I started with a piece of Prickly Pear cardstock. Using VersaMark ink I stamped the bird from Gina K Designs Birthday Blessings set over the card. I heat embossed it with Recollections clear embossing powder. I considered sponging various colours over top letting the Prickly Pear show through but didn't have the ink colours I was imagining so I went with the wood grain look instead.

For the wood grain look I scored at 1/2 inch intervals and then randomly dragged inkpads over the cardstock. I used ColorBox Fluid Chalk ink in Blush Rose and Chestnut Roan, ColorBox Frost White and Memento Rich Cocoa.

After I rubbed the ink off the embossed birds the Prickly Pear didn't show through the way I wanted, so I re-stamped them using Perfect Medium. Then I put Bright Yellow Pearl-Ex on with a paintbrush and heated to set. This gave the birds a nice sheen.

To finish it off I stamped the sentiment, also from Birthday Blessings, and the bird in Memento Rich Cocoa and ColorBox Frost White giving them a shadowed look. The white soaked into the cardstock and wasn't as bright as I wanted so I embossed them with Recollections Snow embossing powder.

Tag Card

I created a card that satisfied several challenges this week: StampTV weekly challenge Own Your Background, Mod Squad challenge blog I Am Tagging You, the StampTV Kit Addicts ATC Mini Me and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge For the Love of Plants.

I had to make a card that had a tag, where I made my own background, made a smaller version of the card for an Artist Trading Card (ATC) and used plants. Here is what I created.

I stamped the backgrounds for the two cards and tags. I added brads on the tags, layered them, punched holes and added ribbon for the large one and embroidery floss for the smaller one. I tied two bows, adhered them to the card fronts and added layers. I popped up the tags with foam squares.

These are the supplies I used:
Gina K Designs StampTV Kit Birthday Blessings - stamps, Grass Green and Cranberry Tart cardstock
Stampabilities ink - Cranberry and Acorn Squash
Tim Holtz Distress ink - Peeled Paint
Foam squares
Tombow mono adhesive
Ribbon, embroidery floss and brads from my stash

Card with Stencilled Background

This card is another challenge combination card. The challenge on StampTV is to use a stencil and on the Mod Squad Challenge Blog, we are to use two stamp sets. Here is my card.

I started with a stencil from Hampton Art. I used Spring Pansy VersaMagic Chalk ink through the stencil and then stamped an image of three small flowers with some dots (from Melanie Muenchinger's set Square Pegs) in VersaMagic Purple Hydrangea chalk ink.  I removed the stencil and trimmed the background to fit my card base. 

I stamped the flower (from Melanie Muenchinger's set Fabulous Frame) in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured it with Spectrum Noir markers LV1, LV2, LV3, CT4, JG2 and JG4. 

I layered a piece of Craft Smart ribbon on the background and added the flower on top.

Watercolour Stamping on Patterned Paper

Today I've combined two challenges to make my card.  The first one is from the Mod Squad Challenge Blog - watercolour stamping and the second is the StampTV challenge - stamp on patterned paper. I am also entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - use a sentiment. Here is what I came up with.

I coloured the image with markers and stamped on the patterned paper. I went over the stamped image with a water brush to give the watercolour effect. I stamped the sentiment, cut the tag shape and framed it with a piece of cardstock. I layered these onto a card base and added the bow.

Here are the products I used:

Gina K Designs: Cardstock-Green Grass and White; Patterned Paper-Delicate Essentials; Stamps-                                   Happy Birthday to You set

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Water Brush: Tim Holtz

Ribbon and markers from my stash

CAS card

This week's challenge on StampTV was to make a one layer Clean and Simple card. I didn't have much time this week so this was the perfect challenge for me!

I used the flower from the Gina K Designs Square Pegs stamp set and the sentiment from the Birthday Blessings set. The sentiment was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. I'm not sure who made the ink for the flowers. It is a stack of six square ink pads with no name.

I am also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - Anything Goes, the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - Anything Goes and the Hiding in my Craft Room challenge - May Flowers.

Bargello card

My sister's anniversary is coming up soon, so I thought I would incorporate the bargello challenge from StampTV into her card.

I used the following supplies:

Gina K Designs: Delicate Essentials patterned paper pack, Cranberry Tart cardstock, white cardstock,                             Fabulous Frame stamp set, 'Hand made with Love' charm

ColorBox Cranberry ink

Dies from Lifestyle Crafts Genius Ultimate Platform system

Tombow Mono Adhesive

Glue Dot

Foam squares

ribbon

Black Dahlia card

The challenge this week on StampTV is to make a card that has something to do with a movie, or movie title. I chose The Black Dahlia. I'm not sure if the flower I used is actually a dahlia, but it looked pretty close to me! I am also entering this in the Mod Squad Wheel in the Color challenge.  Here is my finished card.

I wanted to try a folding card and I found this twist fold card. I stamped the flower, coloured it with Spectrum Noir markers and used the coordinating die to cut it out. I stamped the leaves and die cut them. I stamped the sentiment and die cut it with the flower die although it looks smaller than the flower in the picture. 

I scored and folded the base, added the patterned paper and then adhered the flower and sentiment. I just used tape as I thought the card had enough dimension with the twist fold.

The are the supplies I used:

Gina K Designs Birthday Blessings stamp set, Happy Birthday to You stamp set, Coordinating dies, Delicate Essentials patterned paper and Green Grass cardstock

Spectrum Noir markers - True Black, IG5, IG8, IG10, Blender pen

Memento Tuxedo Black and Stampin' Up! Certainly Celery ink

Tombow Mono Adhesive tape

One Layer Card

I made this card for three challenges: April Foolery StampTV Style - 1....2....3 Challenge, April Foolery Stamp TV Style - Color Challenge!!! and the Mod Squad Butterfly Focal challenge. Combining challenges is often tricky but sometimes it allows you to focus better by having specific elements that must be included.

For the 1-2-3 challenge we needed one layer, two ink colours and three Gina K Designs stamp sets. For the color challenge we needed to use blue and orange. The butterfly focal challenge needed a butterfly as the focal image. Combining these challenges made the decisions easier.

I used the flower from the Love and Prayers set, the butterfly from the Fabulous Frame set and the sentiment was from the Fabulous Holiday Fillers set.

The inks were Stampin' Up! Peach Parfait and Bashful Blue.

Red, White and Black

We were challenged this week on StampTV to make a card that only has red, black and white on it.  Here is what I came up with. I am also entering this in the Mod Squad Blog challenge - Tick, Tack, Toe and the April Foolery, StampTV Style - You Need Two Shape(s) It Up challenge.

For the Tick, Tack, Toe challenge, I used the middle column so I have a butterfly, a die cut and dimension and for the April Foolery challenge, I have 2 rectangles.

I used my Fiskars crimping tool to crimp my black rectangle and matted it with some red cardstock. I adhered my die cut butterfly (Die-Versions 'Butterfly Kisses' Whispers die) with a couple of mini Glue Dots and left the edges of the wings unglued. I adhered the whole thing to a white card base with Tombow Mono adhesive. 

I stamped the sentiment, from the Gina K Designs Fabulous Frame set, with Frost White ColorBox ink onto another black rectangle. I also matted that with red. I popped this up with some foam dots.

I thought the upper right hand corner looked a little bare so I added a couple pieces of ribbon.