Christmas Card

Hello and welcome! I hope you had a good weekend! I can't believe it is December all ready, time goes too fast. It is Monday and time for another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, this week we are focusing on Christmas cards. 

I send out quite a lot of Christmas cards every year, and they are usually all different. This year, because of the news I shared yesterday, I will have to make another plan, probably a photocard of some kind. I simply don't have time to make all the cards. But I do have a few, and this is one of them. I used Simon Says Stamp Exclusive stamps and stencils to make this card.

I first coloured a piece of manila cardstock with Distress Inks, smearing them on my craft sheet and misting with water. When dry, the scene was stamped with Potting Soil ink and I coloured the images with Inktense pencils.

The background was stenciled with Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen, using Simon Says Stamp Stars and Dots stencil and Tim Holtz Rays stencil.

I stamped a sentiment also with Potting Soil and added some bling with Ranger's Gold Liquid Pearls.

I hope you will join us this week and get some of your Christmas cards done, at the same time as you might be the lucky one who wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

Surfaces: Ranger: Manila Cardstock; Bazzill Kraft Cardstock

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp: Nativity, Inside Holiday Greetings

Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Potting Soil; Distress Ink: Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs

Stencil: Simon Says Stamp: Stars and Dots; Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Rays

Pearls: Ranger Liquid Pearls: Gold

Pencils: Derwent: Inktense

New Life Layout

Hi everyone! A while ago I hinted that I had some news to share with you, and now is the time.

This is the first layout I made for our new little family member due next year, so the first news is that I am pregnant. Anton is very happy to get a sibling. Inside the pocket of the heart, there is another folder where I plan to place copies of the scans. I also wrote some journaling there. The title of the layout has two meanings, because my second news is that we are relocating to Stockholm, Sweden, with the move taking place in December. Because of that, things are going to be a little quieter on the blog during December. There are so many things to organise and get done.

The heart pocket is made with a new Sizzix die by Brenda Walton called Heart Pocket. I die cut the back of the heart from a piece of gelli printed paper, I like having a whole bunch of printed papers that I can reach for. The pocket was die cut from natural sticky back canvas, which was first adhered to cardstock.

 

The canvas was embossed in the pretty Songbirds folder and inked with brown Distress Inks, so that the embossing stands out better.

 

The small hearts were die cut from leftover gelli papers and patterned papers. They open up.

 

For the background, I embossed brown Core'dinations cardstock (4 x 4 in) in different shades and sanded. They were stitched to the background cardstock 

I die cut the title from mat board with the Block Talk Lowercase die. The accordion flower is also a part of the Notepad Cover die. The background paper watercolour paper coated with gesso, painted with Distress Paints and stamped.

The Notepad Cover inside the heart looks like this and was die cut from Prima patterned paper. I positioned the paper in such a way that the pencil would be at the bottom. It looks a little skewed on the photo, but not in real life.The butterfly is also part of the Notepad Cover die.

Inside the pocket, there is a little mini book meant for journaling and photos of the new little wonder.

 

There has been a couple of previous posts about these changes earlier on the blog, but I wasn't quite ready to tell yet, particularly these two: Changes layout and Vintage Rust art journal page.

 

Thank you so much for looking!!

 

Have a lovely day!

 

Anna-Karin

 

Supplies:

Surfaces: Sizzix: Little Sizzles Cream Mat Board; Tim Holtz Core'dinations color-core cardstock; Prima: Stationer's Desk A4 Paper Pad; Ranger: Natural Sticky Back Canvas

Dies: Sizzix: Heart Pocket, Notepad Cover, Block Talk Lowercase

Embossing folders: Sizzix: English Botanical & Houndstooth, Love & Swirling Vines, Songbirds & Lattice, Family Tree Set, Polka Dots & Starflowers

Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz: Graph & Croc

Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Tree Branch; Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs

Paint: Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap

Tools: Sizzix: Big Shot, Extended Cutting Pads; Gelli Arts: Gel Printing Plate 8 x 10

 

Angel Tag Tutorial

Hello everyone! I have a Sizzix tutorial to share with you today, using the lovely new Angelic die by Tim Holtz.

 

I wanted to make a light and soft looking tag, using different materials and textures for the angel. It was also fun making the snow at the top, and the double embossed background. When I first saw the Candlelight die, I thought the drips would look great like snow. Let's start.

 

Paint two pieces of grungeboard, or one larger piece (I used leftovers) with gesso. This gives us a white surface to work on.

 

Die cut the Angelic and two sets of drops from the Candlelight die.

 

Die cut another three wings from vellum.

 

Emboss the wings in the Snowfall folder.

Layer the wings together and staple them to the body.

Smear Texture Paste on the part of the angel which will be the dress, covering up the stapled vellum. Sprinkle with Rock Candy Glitter. The glitter sticks to the paste.

Layer three pieces of cheesecloth together and die cut the body of the angel from that. Trim so that you only have the part that will be the dress. I didn't attach it quite yet.

Softly paint the hair and the face with Distress Paints. Later I added an eye with a marker.

Use VersaMarker to apply embossing ink to the trumpet, sprinkle with silver powder and melt with a heat gun, taking care not to burn yourself or the texture paste. I hadn't yet attached the cheesecloth because the embossing powder would easily get stuck in that.
 

Emboss a manila tag in the Greens folder, using this sandwich: Multi Purpose Platform Tab 1, cutting pad, embossing folder with tag inside, second cutting pad.

 

This is a lovely embossing folder, and I thought it fit well with the soft theme of the tag.

White-wash the tag with gesso. 

Ink the tag softly with French Ultramarine and Potting Soil Archival Ink, using a round ink blending tool. We are using Archival Ink instead of Distress Ink, because Archival Ink is permanent and won't bleed in the next step.

Coat the whole tag with embossing ink using Ranger's Emboss It Dabber. Cover with clear UTEE and pour the leftovers back in the jar. Melt with a heat gun. Don't touch the melted powder since it is extremely hot. This create a lovely glossy tag with a soft textured background.

Coat the snow drops with Texture Paste and cover with Rock Candy glitter, same as with the angel's dress. This creates the effect of very real looking glittering snow. 

Glue the snow drops at the top of the tag and smear some more Texture Paste at the very top to cover the joints. Sprinkle with more Rock Candy.

Dye a piece of crinkle ribbon with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and tie it around the base of the tag. Also add a piece of tinsel.

Glue the cheesecloth to the angel, but only at the top, let it fall freely at the bottom so that you can still see the glitter underneath.

I was real happy with how the snow turned out, from die cuts that were meant to look like candle wax.

The mixture of silver embossing, texture paste, glitter, cheesecloth and embossed vellum makes the angle look interesting. 

It is hard to photograph the dry and heat embossed background of the tag, it is a really cool effect.

 

Thank you so much for looking!!

 

Have a great weekend!!

 

Anna-Karin

 

Supplies:

Surfaces: Ranger Manila Tag; Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Grungeboard; vellum; cheesecloth

Dies: Sizzix: Angelic, Candlelight

Embossing folder: Sizzix: Snowfall & Falling Trees, Greeting & Greens

Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Potting Soil, French Ultramarine; Distress Ink: Gathering Twigs, Tumbled Glass; Emboss It Dabber; Tsukineko VersaMarker

Embossing powder: Ranger: Silver, Clear Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel

Glitter: Ranger Distress Glitter Rock Candy

Paint: Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Frayed Burlap

Medium: Ranger: Texture Paste, Dina Wakley Gesso

Embellishments: Tim Holtz idea-ology: Seasonal Chit Chat Stickers, Crinkle Ribbon, Silver Tinsel Twine

Snowflake & Sleigh Card

Hello all! I am sharing a Christmas card on the Sizzix blog today, made with dies and embossing folders by Tim Holtz.

 

I had fun making this card with the sleigh carrying the load of a large metallic snowflake. I love the new Sleigh Ride, Layered Snowflake and Stacked Snowflakes dies and used all of them here. You could easily just make the snowflake for a card, or even an ornament. To see an example of a snowflake ornament made with these dies, check out this post of mine.

 

For more photos and info check out the Sizzix blog.

 

Happy crafting and happy Thanksgiving!

 

Anna-Karin

 

Winter Scene Art Journal Tutorial

Hi everyone! We are having a challenge break week at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week, but three team members will be posting tutorials, and today it is my turn.

As you know, I love to build scenes and in this tutorial I am building a scene using mainly stencils by Simon Says Stamp. I turned this into a peaceful art journal page, but you could just as well make a card or a tag.

 

To see the full tutorial, you'll have to hop over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.

 

Happy crafting and thank you for stopping by!

 

Anna-Karin

Kids & Sled Wallhanging Tutorial

Hi everyone! I am sharing a tutorial on the Sizzix blog today, for a wintery wall-hanging.

 

I was aiming for a cosy and textured feeling on this project, using different techniques. As usually, the techniques can be applied to any type of project. You can easily turn this into a card, tag or make embellishments for a scrapbooking page.

 

To see the full tutorial, head over to the Sizzix blog.

 

Thank you for visiting!

 

Happy crafting!

 

Anna-Karin



Winter Shadow Box Tutorial

Hello friends! Today I am happy to share a tutorial on Tim Holtz blog, made for the Tim Holtz Media Team.

 

I turned a burlap panel around and made it into a shadow box instead. You probably already know that I love shadow boxes and it is particularly fun to build little scenes inside them. I used one of my favourite ways to create snow here; texture paste and a lot of Distress Glitter. You can also use the techniques for other projects.

To see the full tutorial, head over to Tim Holtz blog.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Anna-Karin