Creative Card Making with Ann

Hi Everyone and Welcome

It's Ann from Ann Chuang Crafts here with you today as we head out on the last leg of August's journey with our regular "Creative Card Making" post. I used Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Alloy to make the background. Hope you like it.

Here's the tutorial : 

I started with dripping 75% Alcohol on Yupo paper. Then drop some alcohol inks and gold Alloy. Using a hair dryer to make it flow. Then, I let it dry completely. 

I stamped the flowers from PaperArtsy JOFY97 in Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink.

 

I stamped another flower image on watercolor paper and colored it with Zig Clean Color Real Brush. 

To finish this card, I added the sentiment from Tim Holtz Tiny Text stamp set.

Thank you for joining me on the Creative Card Making journey today and don't forget there is still a little time to join in our current challenge which is "Tag you're It!".

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Ann

Holly Jolly Christmas Card Tutorial

Hello again Vintage Travelers,

It's S@ndy here with you today to share how I made this festive Holly Jolly Christmas Card.

I hope your holiday season is Merry & Bright and that you have had a chance to join our challenge this month.

When I hear Holly Jolly, my mind goes straight to Santa.  For this Santa the St Nick die from Tim Holtz was used.  When using this die, it is an exercise in paper piecing.  This is a large card measuring 5" X 7" leaving lots of space on the inside for writing a personal note.

I kept the inside clean and simple by using one extra panel edged with Vintage Photo Oxide Ink and one stamp from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  The other cards I made for this year are smaller but I needed a few larger ones for those special people in my life.

 Start with the basic card shown here in manila.  The other two panels for the front of the card are shown above as well.  

 Beginning with the craft colored panel stamp with background stamp in different areas using first and second generation stamping.  This panel was stamped with one of Tim Holtz's older script stamps and the Gina K amalgam ink, Chocolate Truffle.

 To give the panel a wintery look, rub some white pigment ink around the outside of the panel.  By doing this, it will make the background seem to move to the back.

 To give the panel a vintage look, it was stamped around the edges with the same amalgam ink and then clear embossing powder was added and heated.  This gives a nice frame for Santa.  I used some stamps from my stash that were stamped off the edge of the panel.

 When using a die that has not been used for awhile, I need a refresher.   A practice template, shown above, was made to help me remember how the pieces go together.  This is also a good way to see if edging is needed.  I liked the Vintage Photo Ink on the beard.  I drew around the face section so I could cut it out.

The template was used to cut out the face section on the final piece. By lining them up and then drawing around the opening - you get perfect placement.

 The face section was cut away because Velvet paper was used here - I wanted the face to look as if it were in the background behind his beard.

 Before Santa is placed on the card, the holly leaves need to be trimmed off (shown in the circle above) because they will be replaced with green later.

 After Santa was edged - he was placed on the card and then the mustache, hat and nose were added.  The nose is made with Nuvo Drops.

 The finishing touches were added - the holly leaves with small beads for the center and the eyes and eyebrows.

The Happy Holidays greeting was stamped on a banner (both from Elizabeth Craft Designs) and added to the card with foam tape to make it pop up.

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones,

S@ndy

Vintage Easel Card - Creative Cardmarking

Hi everyone, Nikki here to share an idea for this months Creative Cardmaking post. I am not normally one for fancy card folds but I recently saw a version of this card and thought it would make a great 'special' Christmas card.

The card is based on a square - so any size could be used. I used a 6 inch square card. I added an extra fold at 1 1/2 inches. All I then needed to do was remove the corners. I marked in pencil at 3 inches along the short edge and cut to the additional fold. I could then mirror this at the other end easily.

 You can see in my picture above some extra bits of card. There are 2 squares to fit the base and the easel part of the card, and an extra piece for the inside, although I used cream card in the end as you can see below.

I covered my 2 squares with some Christmas themed paper - I added a little ink to the edges. I didn't have quite enough and wanted an extra bit for my greeting on the base so I cut a square out of the top piece and replaced with the cream square stamped with some Christmas words.

The focal point on the card is the Poinsettia - I die cut several layers from Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia die and used Festive Berries and Aged Mahogany Distress inks to colour.

Tim's Holiday Greens dies were used to add some Holly and greenery behind the Poinsettia - again I used Distress Inks (Pine Needles and Mowed Lawn) to get some colour variation.

I chose one of the greetings from Tim Holtz stamp set Festive Overlays - stamped on card and then layered before using foam pads to raise this - so the easel stands up!

And it also folds flat - well it would if the flower wasn't a little dimensional - but I found it would still - just - go in the envelope which came with the card - but I won't be putting it in the post!

Now to decide who to give it to!
Thanks for stopping by today. Our latest challenge - Window on Your World - still has 2 weeks to run as there are 5 Fridays this month. That also means we will be back next week with Tag Friday.

In the meantime - have a great weekend.
Nikki
xxx

Creative Card Making with Ann

Hi Everyone and Welcome

It's Ann from Ann Chuang Crafts here with you today as we head out on the last leg of September's journey with our regular "Creative Card Making" post. I always make cards for family and friends, so I’m pleased to be sharing an insect card that I made for my son. He is very interested in insects and expects to become an entomologist in the future. I want to encourage him to work hard for his dreams.

It all started with some wrinkle-free distressing... all Distress Oxides, no Inks to start with. There're pumice stone and vintage photo in the mix. 

When the watercolor paper dry enough, I stamped Handwritten correspondence on it by Distress Ink hickory smoke. Then cut an oval from the paper and distressed the edges with Distress Ink walnut stain.

And then, with some wrinkle-free distressing again...all Distress Oxides. There're wilted violet, iced spruce, broken china and faded jeans. This time I use black paper to make a background, I love the effect so much.

 I used tangled twigs die from Tim Holtz. The tangled twigs piece adhered to the background. 

I used Tim Holtz Entomology dies and stamps. I have to say...I love this stamp set, there're lots of creepy, cool and beautiful bugs plus an awesome background script stamp. 

To create these bugs… I stamped them in Intense Black onto white paper. Then lined up the corresponding bug die and taped it down with some washi tape. After they were cut, I colored them with some Copic Markers and used Glossy Accents to dress them up a bit.

Look, here are the beautiful bugs.

I really love this card! If you are interested, you can find a full list of materials that I used to create this card over at my blog here.

Thank you for joining me on the Creative Card Making journey today and don't forget there is still a little time to join in our current challenge which is "Box It Up".

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Ann

Card Making Tutorial with Jo

Hello everyone! It's Jo from Let's Art Journal here with this month's card making tutorial. I always make cards for family and friends, so I'm sharing a Shabby Chic style card that I made for a forever friend of mine. 

Here's how is came together ...

 

For the background, I cut a piece of Kraft Card to cover a 6x4" card and ran it through a Tim Holtz Botanicals embossing folder. It is covered with a thin layer of chalk paint using a baby wipe which highlighted the texture more.

 

Next I created a small panel using white card and pieces of Tim Holtz Collage Paper that I stuck into place using matte gel medium. When dry I cut any excess paper from around the edges and gave it an aged look by applying Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool.

 

I had some leftover paper that I had coloured green and purple using various inks; they were created by stamping the ink pads onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing white paper onto the mat to create a mottled ink effect. I used two sets of Tim Holtz Thinlets to die cut some foliage and the lavender flowers. I intensified the colour of the flowers and stems using some Milled Lavender and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.

 

I applied some of the Tea Dye and Vintage Photo Distress Ink again, this time to the Botancials embossed background to give more of a worn look and highlight the embossed texture more. Then I had fun putting all the different layers together.

I added a piece of purple chiffon ribbon and a piece of lace to the bottom of the card and layered the collage paper panel on top. Next I bound the lavender stems together with some dyed ribbon; I got very messy colouring this gold ribbon with green Distress Inks. The lavender is layered on top of the foliage and I added a pretty heart embellishment to the panel.

 

To finish, I added a Tim Holtz Quote Chip which reads "Love this Life" and stuck the whole thing onto a 6x4" card which I made from white card stock.

I love this design and I'm really pleased how this came together! If you are interested, you can find a full list of materials that I used to create this card over at my blog here.

I hope you enjoyed my card making journey today, thanks so much for travelling with me. 

Don't forget that there is still plenty of time to join in with our current A Cup of Tea for your Art challenge and that you can also start creating your tags to join Tag Friday next week too; it would be lovely to see you there!

Happy and Creative Wishes! Jo x