SHC - Christmas Time ...

... Hi! I'm here with my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. I love making Christmas cards - which is why I make them throughout the year - and it makes things so much less stressful in the coming months. I currently have 56 cards in my stash, and today I'm adding another 2! I really like the new Concord & 9th Christmas release and got a few (several) of the sets, and I'm using them here combined with MFT and Lawn Fawn. Here's the first card:

Stamps: Concord and 9th - Yuletide Ornament, Big On Christmas; MFT - Itty Bitty Holiday

Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress & Distress Oxide - Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry, Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Violet

Dies: C&9 - Yuletide Ornament

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Blushing Bride; Tim Holtz Watercolour Card; Clear Embossing Powder; Imagine Crafts - Sheer Shimmer Frost

I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#29 where they want us to use pink and purple. I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Christmas - HLSXMAS#09 where it's anything goes, with the option of non-traditional. 

I started by stamping the bauble on watercolour card with Versafine ink and embossing with clear powder. This helps me as I'm not brilliant with watercolours!! I wet the card with water and some frost shimmer spray and used a brush to drop in some distress inks. The great thing with distress inks is that is loves water. I allowed the colours to flow and blend and, once happy with the design, used a heat gun to dry the inks. I used the matching die to cut out the finished bauble along with two plain white ones which I layered behind the finished ornament. My plan had been to have a very CAS card with only the ornament, but instead I created a festive text background using words from various stamp sets. I used the oxide inks to stamp the words. I adhered the bauble and finished the front with a bold black sentiment across the bauble. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer from pink card and on the white panel I stamped the bauble in pink ink and added a simple greeting in black.

My next card features a background panel that I made using some of the smaller stamps that come in stamp sets:

Stamps: Lawn Fawn - Giant Holiday Messages; C&9 - Yuletide Ornament

Inks: Versamark; Gina K - Applemint, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Ocean Mist, Turquoise Sea, Blue Lagoon; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: C&9 - Yuletide Ornament

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Costal Cabana; Clear & Gold Embossing Powder; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#560; they gave us a super sketch to use. I'm also playing along with Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - MLCCB#38 where it's always anything Christmas goes.

I started by stamping the little snowflake stamps from Lawn Fawn's Giant Holiday Messages in Versamark ink. I heat embossed with clear powder. Then the fun part - I added blue and green inks to reveal the snowflake background. I trimmed the panel to 3" x 5½" and adhered it to an A2 notecard. Using my MISTI I stamped the holly sprig three times on white card, removed them and coloured the images with Copic markers. I returned the coloured images to the MISTI and restamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold powder. I used the matching die to cut out the coloured holly sprigs, along with several plain white die cuts. At this point I realised I wanted a gold trim to edge the coloured panel. None of my gold cardstock matched the embossed holly, so I made my own. I rubbed Versamark along the edge of white card, applied gold powder and heat set. I repeated this process for a second time and the end result is a smooth gold panel that matches the gold embossing on the holly. I trimmed it to ½" wide and adhered it to the card. I adhered white die cuts to the back of two of the holly sprigs and adhered them at the top and middle of the card. The other holly sprig I adhered directly to the card. I finished the front with a simple greeting. This was stamped with Versafine black ink, heat embossed, die cut and layered onto three white die cuts. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of aqua card. On the white panel I stamped one of the large greetings, used Copic markers to colour the leaves and open letters, restamped with Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I layered the finished panel onto the aqua mat and added to the note card.

I now have 58 cards in my Christmas stash. I need about 65 for my regular list, so I'm almost done. I'll keep making cards as I do like to have some spare, and I also make special cards for my family.

I hope everyone had a good weekend - the weather here was lovely, but yesterday we had rain, and cooler temps. Still it's only to be expected as autumn seems to have arrived. That's all from me today, see you soon.