Snowy Fields

A generous coating from my glitter brush gave a beautiful sparkle to my snowy hillsides, providing the perfect foreground for some pretty pine trees.

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The Purple and the Green

A couple of simple cards using oxide inks, coordinating cardstock, and some little rhinestones. The backgrounds have been dry embossed to add texture and interest.

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All the Blues

I have a packet of beautiful glitter paper in my stash that has been ignored for far too long. Today I put it to good use as a border for my monochromatic winter scene. 

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Tutorial - Snowy Forest

Snowy landscapes are popular for Christmas cards, and happily, they're not too difficult to achieve. You just need a little ink, some brushes and stamps and you'll soon be creating your very own winter wonderland.

1. To get started, you'll need a piece of cardstock that's a little smaller than your finished card front (Note: you can work directly on your card front if you prefer), some ink, a blending brush, stamps, and a piece of printer paper or masking paper.

2. Cut a gentle slope from your piece of printer paper. I usually cut a "downhill" and an "uphill" section so I can alternate between the different angles. Remember that you can use either side of the paper when you're masking your landscape.

3. Place your paper mask over the cardstock and stamp your first image, ensuring the bottom section of the image ends up on the paper mask. Hold the mask in place and apply some of the same ink with your blending brush. Keep most of the colour at the bottom, next to the mask and the stamped image, allowing the colour to fade as you work upward.

4. Shift your paper mask and stamp another image. Hold the mask in place and again, blend some ink into the background, just above the paper mask.

5. Repeat the process until you reach the bottom of your cardstock.

6. Use the same colour ink to add a sentiment and mount your scene onto a card front.

Note: After completing my card, I felt the scene was lacking a few trees, so I put the paper mask back in place and stamped a few more. I highly recommend making alterations before you complete the whole card!

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Tutorial - Tall Trees

Last month I showed you how to stamp the narrow tree image to create a lovely wide Christmas tree (you can find the tutorial HERE), and this month I want to show you how to make that same tree appear taller.

1. Start by stamping and fussy cutting your tree images. I used all three trees, stamped with oxides onto white cardstock. You'll also need a long, narrow sentiment that is at least as wide as your image panel.

2. On a scrap of cardstock, stamp three, long straight lines. Since I don't have a long straight stamp, I inked the flat edge of an acrylic block. Have a look around your craft room for an object that would suit, such as the side of a pencil or paintbrush. Alternatively, you could dab the edge of the ink pad directly onto the cardstock.

3. Fussy cut the long lines, which will become your tree trunks.

4. Position the sentiment to cover the join between the trees and the trunks.

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Scoreboard Embossing

I used a score board to add diagonal, embossed lines to the background of my card, then added tiny rhinestones to the intersection of each line. It's a fun and effective way to add a little texture without needing an embossing machine and folders.

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Inky Backgrounds

Give me stamps and give me ink, and I'll give you a great big mess and a couple of colourful cards!

P.S. I'm happy to report that distress inks do wash out of clothing and will successfully mop up from a vinyl floor. It is, however, best not to roll a desk chair through the ink before clean up has occurred.

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Tutorial - Hammock Gatefold Cards

Combine two basic gatefold cards to create an awesome upright display card!

1. Place a 12" x 6" piece of cardstock horizontally on your score board and score at 2", 4", 8" and 10". Fold along the score lines to form a gatefold card.

2. Now make a second, smaller gatefold card using a 9" x 4" piece of cardstock, scored at 11/2", 3", 6" and 71/2".

3. To decorate, you'll need one piece of contrasting cardstock measuring 37/8" x 57/8", four pieces measuring 17/8" x 57/8", and two pieces measuring 13/8" x 33/8".

You'll also need one piece of patterned paper measuring 33/4" x 53/4", four pieces measuring 13/4" x 53/4", and two measuring 11/4" x 31/4".

4. Secure the patterned paper to the cardstock with glue or tape.

5. Secure the patterned paper and cardstock panels to your larger card base, except for the two outside panels, which will be added later.

6. Adhere the two small cardstock and patterned paper panels to the smaller gatefold card as shown in the photo below.

7. Prepare a 27/8" x 4" decorative panel and secure to the centre of the small gatefold card. (NOTE: If you prefer, you can simply decorate the centre section of the card with stamps, embellishments, or patterned paper.) 

8. Use glue or strong double-sided tape to secure the small gatefold to the large gatefold, lining up the first and last score lines. I found it easiest to apply glue to the end panel of the small gatefold, position it over the larger gatefold and then close the cards together. Repeat for the other end.

9. Secure the two remaining panels to the ends of the large gatefold.

10. (OPTIONAL) Create a simple belly band by wrapping a 11/2" wide scrap of cardstock around your card and glueing the ends together. Decorate as desired.

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