Chalk-Ah-Lot Christmas Challenge

This week the theme for the Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe chalk challenge sponsored by Stamp N Plus Scrap N is Christmas. You need to use the SNP powdered chalk somewhere on your card.

I chose to use the SNP Wreath and Bow stamp for the focal of my card. It was stamped with Stazon on white cardstock and the bow was stamped a second time. The wreath was covered in Versamark embossing ink a section at a time and  while the ink was still wet, Jules Blue and Cool Green chalk were picked up with a scruffy brush one at a time and pounced into the ink. I used the same brush for both colours, not cleaning it in between for a better blend. That gives you both the light and the dark areas that look like evergreen. The bow was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, cut out and adhered to the chalked wreath. Rhinestones were added for the berries. The wreath was popped up on two layers of foam dots and two pieces of narrow gold edged ribbon were adhered to the back to become the hanger for the wreath. The top ends are wrapped to the back of the music paper layer.

The background papers come from my stash of Christmas scraps. The bottom red layer has clear embossed snowflakes scattered over it. The music layer was inked with Black Soot and faux stitched. The green layer's scallops were cut with an MFT die. Gold ribbon was wrapped around this layer and adhered to the back. A gold button was threaded with ribbon and adhered over the end of an office tag with a computer generated sentiment. Three gold nailhead stickers balance out the top left corner and bring a little  more metallic gold to the top of the card.

I love the vibrancy of the powdered chalk colours once they are added to the Versamark. It's easy to achieve shadows and highlights with very little effort. Gotta like that :) Thanks for visiting today. Pop over to the Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe blog to see other examples of these chalks in action. We'd love to have you play along with our challenge this fortnight.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Pixie Dust Studio Pixie Challenge ~ Winter Holiday Creations
The Crafty Pad ~ Challenge 199 Stitching Real or Faux
Addicted to Stamps ~ Challenge 44 Christmas Time

Life is good; so is art..
Bonnie

Eclectic Ellapu Challenge #8

Well, the Pink Team rocked the Eclectic Ellapu Celebration with Sparkle challenge last week and now it's the Purple Team's turn. Our theme this week is Santa Paws and Snowflakes, selected by our very own talented Jacki..

 

 

I had these wooden music notes that were calling to me so I decided to alter them to become Christmas ornaments. I painted them both with black acrylic paint and let them dry thoroughly. Scraps of music themed paper which had been torn into strips as well as some red rectangular scraps which were distressed were adhered to the circle part of the notes. White ink was pounced through punchinella randomly to make the dot patterns and snowflake stamps were also stamped mainly on the upper portions of each note.

The images are Mo Manning's from the digital stamp, Singin' so Beautifully. The image was actually printed twice so that the mouse could be enlarged to stand alone. You can just see him at the bottom of the ornament with the cats. The images were coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut, and adhered to the notes with gel medium. The hat fur and bells on the cats are covered with Liquid Pearls for dimension and shine.

The circular sentiment at the top of the ornaments was stamped with Versamark on white cardstock and then embossed with clear embossing powder. Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans Distress Inks were applied over the embossing to create a resist. Then they were cut out and layered on foam tape with scraps of cheesecloth under them. Sparkly snowflake buttons were adhered slightly overlapping the sentiments. Gold cord was knotted through the holes my husband so kindly drilled for me :)

These ornament make me smile. I love the expressions on their little faces. They look like they are putting their hearts and souls into the song.

 

 

Be sure to stop by the Eclectic Ellapu blog to see what the rest of the Purple Team have created for the Santa Paws and Snowflakes challenge. Talk about bringing a smile to my face...those projects sure did. I hope you'll be inspired and will join us this week. I always look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing your creations. As always, thanks so much for taking the time to stop by. That makes me smile, too.

 

I'm entering these ornaments in the following challenges:

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog ~ December Anything Goes

Totally Papercrafts Friday Challenges ~ #145 Anything Christmasy but a Card

4 Crafty Chicks ~ Challenge # 118 Ornaments

 

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

 

 

Star Struck

I'm playing along with Wicked Wednesday's atc challenge again this week. The theme is Frame It which leaves so much room for creativity. I've been wanting to colour this A Day For Daisies image called Bewildered and this seemed a perfect opportunity.

I coloured Bea with my Prismacolor pencils, adding a little Sakura Clearstar pen as eyeliner. Little rhinestones grace her ears. I ussed a Sizzix filmstrip die for the frame, mounting some Lost & Found Two Sunshine paper behind the frame opening. The background paper for the atc comes from the same pad. To further the 40's glamour girl feel, gold sequins with rhinestone centers were adhered to the frame.

The sentiment was printed on white cardstock gently inked with Vintage Photo, cut out and then double matted before being popped up on foam dots. Amber rhinestones in two sizes were added to the upper corners for additional sparkle. To finish the atc, the edges were inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

She captures the feel of the era I was going for. I am, indeed, star struck :) Thanks for joining us today. Bea might expect it but I am always appreciative.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Twinchie Gift Tags

Today I have some fun little gift tags to share with you using some CS Designs digital stamps. The 4" x 2"cards, once folded, are twinchies (2"x2") cut from cardstock and lined with kraft cardstock with the "to/from" on the inside. The first one above is called Winged Emily. She, like all of the other images, is coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Emily was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then mounted on black cardstock and fussy cut again. Half pearls were added to a scallop punched border.

This little guy is called Blizz. The letters are beads and the BG paper is from DCWV's Christmas Combo Stack.

Angelina is fussy cut and adhered to the same paper as above. A leftover embossed scrap was dotted with Liquid Pearls before being adhered.

Lulu Goes Shopping is paired with a message from Christmas Sentiments 1 and adhered to an embossed background. Her shoes, wings, and antennae danglies all match on this one...she's that kind of girl!

 

The last tag has an embossed background, letter beads and Lulu's Shopping Bags digi fussy cut and adhered to the front. A black corner scrap was added to the upper left corner.She has bling earrings and silver gel penned wings.

 

Fun little gift tags...something a little different to jazz up my gifts this year. Thanks for visiting today.

 

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Nutcrackers' Christmas

Holy crow! It's Wednesday already. Not sure where the time goes but it sure moves quickly these days. It's my turn again for another Stamp N Plus Scrap N blog post...and another Christmas card.

This week I chose to create with Stamp N Plus' Nutcracker stamp. I have a collection of  wooden nutcrackers which I put out every Christmas so for me it's a symbol of the season. I stamped this little fellow three times and coloured each with Prismacolor pencils and a metallic gold Sakura pen. Then they were each fussy cut and popped up on foam dots.

The background consists of two patterned papers from DCWV Christmas Combo stack. The grid paper was cut into a band to cover the center of the blue houndstooth paper. Using an MFT border die, the gold double scallop was cut twice and matted in black before being adhered next to the top and bottom of the grid paper. A narrow black satin ribbon lined the inside edge of the borders.

Once the above section was adhered to the cream card base, the three nutcrackers were popped up in a row. The greeting is Dazzle stickers, as are the nailheads, both from Paper Wishes. To balance the top greeting,  some  die cut leftover pieces were glued under the scallop border Waste not, want not :)

Thanks for dropping by today. It's always a treat!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew Challenge 24 ~ Anything Goes
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge 197 ~ use gold or silver
Cards for Men  Challenge 24 ~ Merry Christmas

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

CYP Challenge 138 ~ Edible Holidays

The theme this week at Craft Your Passion Challenges is Edible Holidays and since you just came through Thanksgiving if you live in the US, this should ring a few bells for you. Think of all that yumminess that you just (over) indulged in. That's what we're looking for this week. My card is a Thanksgiving card which I know has passed...work with me here, people! I'm Canadian, remember :)

The image I chose to play with this week is called Pumpkins and Vines and is provided by our fab sponsor, Cedar Chest Designs. I coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils. The image was then cut into a rectangular shape and the edges were inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink. A dark brown cardstock mat was cut to fit the image and to mat the background paper from my scrap box. Before adhering the two background layers together, small lenths of ribbon were sandwiched between the layers so that they could be wrapped to the back of the brown mat.

The sentiment was computer-generated , printed on textured cardstock and cut out using part of a labels template. It was also matted on brown cardstock to give it added weight and keep it from disappearing into the green patterned paper. Three very old buttons from my grandmother's button stash were adhered next to the ribbon loops.

Thanks for visiting today. If you get a chance, visit the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see what the rest of the CYP created to inspire you...maybe have a snack first to avoid any sudden cravings :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Dragon Cutie

I logged in some atc playtime again and decided to play along with the Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge. Their theme this week is Mythical Creatures. A few weeks ago, Tammy Siemers Thompson from A Day For Daisies offered this digi as a freebie. I totally love her and think her name, Dragon Cutie, is very appropriate :) As usual, I coloured her with Prismacolor pencils and then fussy cut her. Icicle Stickles was rubbed over her little dragon wings and foam tape was adhered to the back of her.

For the background, I applied Peeled Paint Distress Ink direct to paper on white cardstock. A large background stamp was sprayed with water and the inked paper was placed on top and then dried. Irridescent Gold Glimmer Mist was spritzed over the top before a fern stamp was randomly  stamped over the background. A scrap of text paper was embossed with a CB embossing folder and then dry-brushed with gold, bronze, and copper acrylic paint before it was torn and adhered to the corner. A branch was die cut and adhered to the background with a piece of  Glimmer Misted cheesecloth adhered for Cutie's nest. Small punched and stacked flowers with pearl centers were also Glossy Acccented to the branch. The finishing touches were a metal Believe charm, doodling around the edge, and a hand cut photo corner.

That's it for this little Cutie Patootie. I am entering this atc in the Wicked Wednesday Challenge # 59(Mythical Creatures). Thanks for visiting today.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie