Christmas cards to inspire Day 4: Distress Ink Swiping

Hi there,

Welcome to day four of my Christmas Cards to Inspire!!

Hopefully I got the look of the snowy night correct, here in Perth, we literally NEVER have snow.  I've seen snow a total of twice, once it was falling in the distant mountains when I was in Hiroshima, the other time it was on the ground, in Niseko (a small town in the North of Japan).  I was in heaven and can't wait to see it/be in snow again. Till then, my little snowy christmas card will have to do! *wink*

Here is today's card;

This card is SO easy and perfect for mass production;

First I took the Hero Arts Starry Night stamp and wiped Black Soot Distress Ink from left to right. I then stamped it onto white cardstock.  The 'wiping' created a look of a snowstorm/a windy snowy night around the trees.  *LOVE*

Next I rubbed a tiny bit of Mustard Seed Distress Ink over the largest star in the top right corner, to give it a glow.

Then I added some Diamond Stickles to the ground and stars (a tiny bit to the tree branches would work too, but I left mine bare).   I tied some red and white striped bakers twine around the image, tying it to a button.

Then I adhered the white stamped cardstock onto a slightly larger piece of black cardstock, to create a matte.  Then I adhere both layers onto a piece of white textured cardstock that I had cut to size and scored in the centre to make the card.

On the inside (not pictured), I stamped a Christmas sentiment with Versamark ink and embossed with Stampendous Red Transparent Tinsel Embossing Powder.

That's it!! Like I said, super easy and perfect for mass production!

Hope you like it!  Let me know what you thought :)

See you tomorrow with another card!

Take care lovelies 

Linda xx

Christmas cards to inspire Day 2

Hello!!

Welcome to day 2 of my Christmas Cards to Inspire week!

Yesterday I showed you the pretty effects if you use Distress Inks as Watercolor paints on standard Cardstock.

Today I want to show you the difference when you use watercolor paper, which has much more texture and thus, a better ability to tolerate more liquid.  It also leaves a pretty textured LOOK about the image, which I think is perfect for animals like...(you guessed it!! That cute little reindeer again) *wink*

Let's get straight to the card shall we?

This card has a really cute rustic feel about it, which I love. Sometimes I absolutely hate cards that--how can I put this the right way?!-- Take themselves too seriously.  Does that make sense?! I love cards that are pretty or cute or even whimsical--but no matter what, I love them to have a hand-made look, which this one does I think.

I used two techniques to create this one.

The first is using the watercolor paper with Distress Inks.  The second, is using my Acrylic Block to create that bluey-grey background.

To achieve this second technique (which was actually my first step), I dabbed some Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky as well as Weathered Wood Distress Inks onto my acrylic block (Yes, I said ONTO the acrylic block---not the stamp).  Then I spritzed the acrylic block with a good 6 or 7 spritzes of water using my Ranger Mini Mister and then 'stamped' it onto Hero Arts Bright White Watercolor Paper .

I then cut my cardstock a 1/4" larger than the square of ink my acrylic block created (to leave a border of white). Then I edged my paper with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

When the paper was dry, there was a really clear space in the color from the acrylic 'stamping', so I used that space to stamp my Hero Arts Fancy Reindeer in Black Stayzon Ink.

When the Reindeer image was dry, I used the same painting technique mentioned yesterday. I put the Frayed Burlap Distress Ink Pad upside down on my Ranger Inkssentials Craft Sheet to put the ink directly onto the craft mat, then spritzed with water.  Using a fine-tipped paintbrush, I painted the reindeer.  To give some shading, I waited for the ink to soak into the paper a little before putting a slight second 'coat' of ink down around the bottom of the reindeer's stomach and legs.

I used Fired Brick Distress Ink again for his scarf and nose (which I also popped a dot of Glossy Accents on).

Next I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts Sprinkle Your Holidays with Black Stayz on Ink.

Then I adhered the watercolor paper 'layer' onto a  Hero Arts Cerulean (sky blue) notecard which I had trimmed down to size.  I edged the notecard in Walnut Stain Distress Ink after distressing the edges of the card.

Lastly I added some Hero Arts Small Accent Pearl (mine were white so I colored them with a Copic marker, but you can get some beautiful Light Blue ones that would be perfect)as well as some dots of Ranger Icicle Stickles to look like snowfall (and to add just a little bling *wink*).

I couldn't resisite popping a cute little blue and silver button from my stash in the corner, threading it with some red and white bakers twine for a final touch.

Hope you liked this one! I love the homey and textured look and feel of it!  I hope my explanation of the steps makes sense to you all, if you have any questions, PLEASE feel free to email me or leave a comment!

Please leave comments to let me know what you think!

See you tomorrow!

Linda xx

Christmas Cards to Inspire :)

Hello again dear friends!

This week I've got some super cute (if I may say so myself! *teehee*) Christmas cards for you!

These all took me only a few minutes each to make with a few simple techniques that can create a lovely effect.

Each day this week I'll be sharing with you some ways to use products like Distress Inks and stamps --that you might not have thought to try.

The first two (today's and tomorrow's cards) I used water coloring techniques but Distress Inks instead of Watercolour Paint.  The difference between painting on watercolor paper versus 'normal' paper is pretty surprising.  Watercolor paper has so much more texture and can allow much darker colors to be 'reached' (because you can put more ink/paint down due to the absorbent nature of the paper.)

Using water with distress inks is an excellent way to achieve a great look with your favourite Distress Ink colors.  Because Distress Inks are alcohol based, they don't 'lose' their color (or intensity) when mixed with water. 

Onto the card: today's card features my favorite little reindeer:

 This card is SO simple to make it's almost criminal :) Perfect for making multiples.

Here's what I did:

Using Black Stayz On ink, I stamped the Hero Arts Small Fancy Reindeer.

Next I 'stamped' some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink on my Ranger Craft Mat and spritzed with water using my Ranger Mini-Mister.

Taking a fine 'tipped' paint brush, I dipped the brush into the ink (swirled it around to make sure it blended with the water on the mat) and began painting my Reindeer image.

No special technique for the painting is required. 

Repeated steps 2 and 3 with Fired Brick Distress ink to color his nose and scarf --choose whichever ink colors appeal to you. (REMEMBER TO WASH YOUR BRUSH OUT BETWEEN COLORS!)

Using my 3" scalloped circle punch, I cut out the painted image. (The Scalloped Circle Nestabilities Die would work just as well)

I gently inked the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink and a Ranger Inkssentials Blending Tool.

I put a TINY dab of Glossy Accents on his eyes and Ranger Diamond Stickles on his nose for extra sparkle and interest :) 

(I nearly painted his hooves, but then remembered Rudolf is a boy *wink*--my next Reindeer project will have to be a girl :) Pink or Red Hooves would be too cute! Teehee)
Using a 3 1/4" circle punch (Martha Stewart Circle cutter or Nestabilities Die would work perfectly too), cut out red cardstock.

Adhere the reindeer scalloped circle die-cut to the red circular die cut cardstock, using dimensional adhesive.

Take white cardstock, cut to size (mine is 4 1/8" wide x 4 1/8" high) round the corners with a Corner Chomper and stamp the "Merry Christmas" sentiment from 'Hero Arts Wishes Come True' Clear stamp set in red (I used Worn Lipstick as it worked better with my red cardstock and didn't blend in too much with the scarf-which I wanted to be the focus) and then again in Forest Moss Distress Ink.

 ** Try doing this last step with a smaller acrylic block if you can and have fun with it. Twist and turn your stamp around in all different directions. Leave spaces for the second color. Don't forget to stamp half off the page too, as this really makes a fun and easy (not to mention HAND MADE) background paper! The less neat and linear you make this part, the better the end result.**

I also edged my paper just lightly with Forest Moss Distress Ink using my Ranger Inkssentials Foam Blender tool, just to help make it stand out against the backing card.

Finally, cut some red cardstock to your desired size, score in the centre.

Adhere the circular cardstock onto your 'background paper', adhere that onto the front of your card! Round your edges with a We are Memory Keepers Corner Chomper and you're done!

**Note, if you are going to cut out the image you're painting, then feel free to paint like a toddler-- messy and quickly.  *wink* Don't worry about getting paint outside the lines, you'll be cutting the image out anyway, so you wont see the 'mess'.  If you are going to use the image and some/all of the white space around it (like I did here), you need to be a bit more neat.  

One option is to heat emboss the image first (use clear embossing powder if you've stamped in black already, or black embossing powder if you're only using Versamark ink) The heat embossing will give you a 'border' as such. Because heat embossing creates a raised area where the embossing powder has set, the 'paint' will stay in the lines more--especially if you only use a little at a time.

Hope you enjoyed this cute little reindeer card and try something like this for your Christmas cards! It's fast and easy, perfect for making enough cards for everyone!

See you tomorrow!

Linda x