March 2019 Keeping Christmas Blog Hop

Hello everyone!  It's the 25th of the month so that means it's time for the next edition of the Keeping Christmas Blog Hop!  Thanks for popping in today to see my projects.  I am super happy with the way these turned out even though when I first started this technique, I wasn't too sure it was going to turn into anything.  This particular group of cards was started by just playing with Alcohol Inks on an 11" x 14" sheet of Heavyweight Yupo.  I don't normally like the heavyweight because you can't die cut words out of it, but I have a sheet or two left still that I'm planning to make backgrounds out of as well.

This is going to be a long and very photo heavy post, but I got a lot of questions about the background when I posted this one on Instagram, so I want to be able to give you some of that information in this post.

To create this background was simply sitting with my Alcohol Inks and also my new Alcohol Pearls along with some of the Pinata Alcohol Ink in Brass and playing using a combination of Alcohol Blending Solution and Rubbing Alcohol.  I used 99% Alcohol for this project but it can be hard to find.  It also evaporates quickly giving you less time. The 91% is easier to find and doesn't evaporate quite as fast.  The 70% Rubbing Alcohol that I always have around for cleaning doesn't work too well as it evaporates much more slowly.  All told, I spent about two hours getting the large piece to look the way I wanted which was agate or marble with gold veins running through it. I love the end result but the larger sheets of Yupo can be a challenge.  I knew I wanted to use vivid pinks, purples, and reds for this piece so I pretty much restricted myself to those colors.

You can also do this technique and then run it through your laminator or Minc machine with Deco Foil, but the Brass Pinata ink is a far superior choice to the Mixitives that are part of the regular alcohol ink line of products.   I wanted that bright shiny gold to give it the more defined look of actual veins, so I chose that product rather than a mixative.  The Alcohol Ink Mixative's give more of a pearly color than the bright pop of gold and you can't really get the super defined look of veins without laminating it or rubbing deco foil on it while the ridges are still slightly tacky.

I used an Air Puffer from one of my previous cameras to move the ink around because I don't like to get too close to the fumes of the alcohol.  Plus, it puts out a bigger puff of air and I can lay it on my table to move the ink around.  Rather than bringing it up to my mouth level and not really being able to see where it's moving.  Mostly it's a whole lot of playing until you get a result you like.

I posted this image on Instagram and it was done on a sheet of glossy cardstock rather than Yupo.  Let's face it, Yupo Paper is expensive.  Therefore, I've had to try other materials for this method.

Here are some things to know about working with Alcohol Inks:

• They are messy and they stain!  So I have trash bags over the back of my chair and the seat of my chair and I wear an apron or an older t-shirt.  My work Surface is glass, but I use a craft mat on top of that.  If you are working on a smaller panel, it's easier to contain some of the mess. 
• When working with Alcohol Inks on Yupo, you can clean up a mistake by cleaning it with a bit of alcohol ink on a paper towel or rag.
• When working with Glossy Cardstock, there is no going back.  You can add ink over the top, but you cannot wipe away a mistake. You can dab at it to remove some of the texture, and then put color over the top again, but you cannot wipe away the color like you can with Yupo.  In the beginning, I only used Yupo until I got a feel for how the inks moved and worked.  I recommend using Yupo in the beginning but cutting the sheets into card sized panels. I like to get the 9 x 12 and cut it into four panels which gives me four pieces of 4.5 x 6 inches so I have a little extra because I like to die cut all of my background panels for the crisp edge.  That size is also less intimidating.
• Alcohol Inks, Blending Solution, and the Rubbing Alcohol will pretty much destroy the finish on the handles and discolor your ink blending tools when using the felt pads, so I have a couple that I use exclusively for this purpose. I'm usually trying to get more texture, so I don't often use the felt pads.  
• Start with just a few colors and play around to see how many different looks you can get.  Once you get a feel for them and if you are happy with your results, then you can add more colors to your collection.
• Last, but not least, playing with Alcohol Inks can be very addictive!  Don't say I didn't warn you!  *Ü*

The biggest thing to do is just sit and play with different techniques.  There are a ton of YouTube videos out there to watch if you want more information.  I've tried the straw method to blow the color around but it doesn't work that well in my particular case because I've had lung surgery so my left lung has diminished capacity.  The puffer works great for me.  It also keeps you from accidentally hyperventilating.  *Ü*  You can find one on Amazon.com. 

Now let's get on to the cards!  This was the first card I made and when I was die cutting the background panel, I didn't tape it down so it wasn't quite straight mean I had to recut it using a slightly small die in order to salvage it.  Then the Gold die cut panel is one size up from that as I like a narrow border most of the time.  That is the main difference in this card from the other five that are like it.  I die cut the Art Deco Tree from the inside of the gold background to save on my gold cardstock.  This first card was also assembled using Ranger Multi Medium Matte for the frame and tree.  Because it is a fine-lined die cut, for the rest of them I used my oldie but good, Xyron in the 2.5-inch width.  It was so much less of a headache than glue!  I pretty much always have the smaller little Xyron sitting on my desk but I don't use it often.  It this case, it was perfect to use for the interior tree in the frame. That frame is a single die from Poppy Stamps called Deco Tree Frame Craft Die and it cuts the frame and tree in one pass.  I love all things Art Deco because of the super clean lines and graphics. 

The Greeting is from a Papertrey Ink stamp set called A Thrill of Hope.  It's one of my favorites for Christmas Cards.  I die cut a Double Stitched Rectangle from My Favorite Things and then stamped with Versamark and Heat Embossed with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder being careful to use my Powder Tool (cornstarch these days due to the dangers of talc) on each one of these.  I used a negative as my placeholder in my mini MISTI.  This card has a white border around the edge while the others all have a gold border around the edge.  

These next few cards are all made using cut down panels from that original piece of Yupo, each unique in that each section is from a different part of the larger piece that I cut down for my card panels. 

If you'll look carefully, each of the backgrounds is slightly different since the background was not symmetrical in any way.  Once I started working on these, I had everything I need to make six cards, so I did all the die-cutting from the interior of the background panels for the trees, die cut both layers of the background panels and the stitched rectangles for them sentiment and then just assembled everything.

When I was finished, I had a scrap of the marbled piece big enough to put behind the framed tree die, so I grabbed a sheet of the Scarlet Shimmer Cardstock from Papertrey Ink, and die cut a scallop A2 Notecard from it.  The piece was about 4.25 x 2.75 inches tall so it was big enough to put behind the tree.  I still have a little square left so it's on my table for a possible future something on some other card.

And that, friends, is how I ended up with a 7th and slightly different looking card.  This last card is actually my husband's favorite.  That scrap of Yupo had the largest concentration of the deep red which is why I chose the Scarlet Shimmer Cardstock.

Here they all are together and they are simply gorgeous!  I topped each tree with a sparkling gem for the star on top of the tree.

There are several more stops on this hop today so be sure to stop by each of the blogs and leave some love in the comments section.

Kelly Lunceford

Anita Madden

Broni Holcombe

Claire Broadwater

Julee Tilman

Kim Heggins

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Vicki Finger (you are here)

Nancy Guse

We all work hard to bring beautiful projects to you each month in a wide variety of styles, so I hope you'll be sure to check out everyone's Blog Posts today.  

I know I haven't been blogging as much but my schedule has been absolutely crazy for the last 10 months.  I'm trying very hard to get back into my normal groove and I have a few deadlines for Blog Hops that I am participating in over the next 5 or 6 weeks.  I thank you very much for all of your visits, and notes of encouragement.  See you soon!

Affiliate Links Used Whenever Possible

Kokuyo Long Dot Runner Adhesive Shop at: SSS	Marvy Jewel Picker Shop at: SSS	Mini MISTI Stamping Tool Shop at: SSS | ALT | GKD	PTI Scarlet Shimmer Cardstock Shop at: PTI
PTI Stamper's Select White Cardstock Shop at: PTI	Ranger Multi Medium Matte Shop at: SSS	Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet Shop at: SSS	SSS Antique Gold Embossing Powder Shop at: SSS
SSS Stitched Rectangles Dies Shop at: SSS	Teflon Bone Folder Shop at: SSS	Tim Holtz Ranger Alcohol Pearls - Set of 12 Shop at: SSS	Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Trimmer Shop at: SSS
Tim Holtz/Ranger Alcohol Ink Blending Solution Shop at: SSS	Tim Holtz/Ranger Alcohol Inks Shop at: SSS	Tonic 6 Inch Personal Trimmer Shop at: SSS	Versamark Ink Shop at: SSS
Wagner Heat Tool Shop at: SSS	WPLUS9 Gift Card Layers Designer Dies Shop at: SSS	Yupo Paper 74 lb. Shop at: SSS

Papertrey Ink October 2018 Create Along With Us

Hello everyone!  I am getting to spend a lot of time in the studio this week so I have a card for this month's Create Along With Us as Papertrey Ink.  We're supposed to use something that inspired us as the starting place for our project.  In my case, Everything inspired me so I decided to make a few Christmas cards using a method that I haven't used in a while.

When I first started making cards, I was not a very good stamper and so I made cards using mostly die cuts with card stock.  Along came the Misti and now I'm a pretty great stamper but sometimes I just don't want to do any stamping.  Half the purpose of great dies is being able to make quick cards in a short amount of time and so I used a method I like to call Double Metallics.

For my project for today, I wanted to use the beautiful Bold Borders: Yuletide Cover Die designed by Lizzie Jones and just let it take me wherever I wanted to go.  As often happens, I had gold foiled cardstock on my table where my die cutting machine sits.  I also have a selection of other metallic cardstock and foiled prints in my supplies.  I am a "metallic" lover.  This never rang truer than when I was selecting colors for our new house.  The colors that I chose seem to all have something metallic in the name; Samovar Silver, Stainless, Pewter, Platinum, Brushed Nickel and so on.  The only thing that was a normal color name is all our white trim.  I'm pretty sure this reverts back to my days of working in a jewelry store.  I like all metals and if you pop a little color in there, well that is just the icing on the cake for me.

I pulled a sheet of Gold Foiled Cardstock, die cut it with the die and pulled a foiled print that I like with only a few pieces left and looked at them together.  You know that I have foiled cardstock in my stash because I'm just a shiny, sparkly, blingy kind of girl that way!  I liked it, but I knew I would have to tie all the elements together for it to work.

I created a card base from Scarlet Jewel Cardstock.  I also die cut the center rectangle from Scarlet Jewel to inlay for the center panel.  I cut a piece of the foiled paper just slightly smaller than the die to 4 1/8th  by 5 3/8ths. It works best when you are adhering the gold foiled piece if it is not quite as large then You don't have to worry about any wonky edges popping out where you don't want them. I also used some of the gold foiled cardstock to die cut some Holly Leaves from Pretty Pink Posh to match the stitched leaves in Lizzie's design.  I actually made two similar cards but the other one has Holly leaves die cut from the patterned paper instead of the gold.  I love both of them. For the Holly Berries, I used Red Satin Finished Sequins with a jewel in the center of them.  Honestly, that bit takes the longest in putting the cards together.  You have to pick up each little sequin and each little jewel and glue them together and it can get tedious but I love the end result, so I think it is worth the time it takes.

There will be lots of beautiful projects along the hop, so I hope you'll stop by to see everyone's projects and leave them a little love in the form of a comment.

Affiliate Links Used Whenever Possible

Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine Shop at: SSS	Kokuyo Long Dot Runner Adhesive Shop at: SSS	Marvy Jewel Picker Shop at: SSS	PPP Festive Holly Die Shop at: SSS
PTI Bold Borders: Yuletide Shop at: PTI	PTI Scarlet Jewel Cardstock Shop at: PTI	Ranger Multi Medium Matte Shop at: SSS	Teflon Bone Folder Shop at: SSS
Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Trimmer Shop at: SSS	Tonic 6 Inch Personal Trimmer Shop at: SSS

White on White Challenges

Good Morning, Everyone! Today I have a project for a few challenges. I will be participating in the Inspired By All The Little Things with a gorgeous photo to inspire us, The Paper Players Challenge with a color challenge theme of White on White and the Tic Tac Toe Challenge using the center row across of Die Cut, Free, & Leaf. I've actually been watching for a White On White Challenge to come from somewhere and I felt pretty lucky today that I get to make 1 card for more than one challenge this time around. It doesn't happen very often. I can regularly combine one project with 2 challenges but I've only ever done one card with 3 challenges a few other times.

I saw quite a few white on white challenges this time last year so I've had in my mind for the last few weeks what I would create if I saw another one.  Part of the trick of doing white on white is texture so that each layer has something it offers that is different from the other layers.  For my card, I knew I wanted to use my Poinsettia Dies from Spellbinders to create my card which both cuts and embosses the die cuts. I wanted something that would emboss well so I chose #140 Watercolor Paper which is thicker and heavier than my normal white cardstock.  I took three A2 sized panels and misted them with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist from Tattered Angels.  I buy mine directly from Canvas Corp. I also did an A2 panel of Linen Cardstock at this time so it would have time to dry before I die cut it for my background panel.  Because those two papers are such different textures, it adds that interest when you see it in real life.  I also used a couple of the Tim Holtz Sizzix Holiday Greens Dies for some extra foliage.  

Once everything was dry I started die cutting all of my pieces beginning with the Spellbinders Hem Stitched Rectangle in the largest size.  This cuts the panel to be about 1/8th inch smaller than your card base.  I embossed it as well to give it that extra bit of detailing on the panel.  I mounted that to my card base made from Gina K Designs Heavy Base Weight White Cardstock.  I got several colors of this card stock when I ordered my Stamp TV Merry & Bright Kit last month which was a fun way to try out some of the colors.  I really love the #80 Layering Weight White and the #100 Heavy Base Weight White depending on what I am using it for.  It is the absolute smoothest, silkiest white cardstock I've used. It isn't as heavy as Stamper's Select White from Papertrey Ink, but I know there will be occasions where I want to use it and this was one of those times. The color is a little different than Stamper's Select White as well and I felt it was a better match to the not so stark white of the watercolor paper and the Papertrey Ink Fresh Snow Linen Cardstock I was using.  I like to have options so that I can choose the best fit at the time. Only the White Cardstock is a different feel.  The rest seems comparable to the Papertrey Ink Cardstock I am already using and that I have been very happy with.  I'm not one to think I have to have all of the inks in all of the colors and all of the brands, (you could go broke trying) so I want my ink to match my cardstock and Papertrey Ink's Perfect Match Ink and Cardstock system is fantastic and I am planning to stick with it. 

I took all my die cuts and started assembling the poinsettia blooms and the foliage and laying it out on my card.  I used Ranger Multi Medium Matte to adhere the flowers together using the top two layers for the smaller bloom and the top three layers for the larger bloom.  There is also a 4th and larger layer but I felt that was too big for my card. I used some pre-arranged little pearl clusters for the center of the poinsettias attaching them with Ranger Multi Medium Matte as well. They come with sticky dots on the back but Multi Medium holds much better, even through the mail. Then I started assembling my card.  I adhered the Hemstitched Rectangle to a top folding white card base using my Kokuyo Tape Runner.  For the foliage I used Multi Medium Matte with an acrylic block sitting on the top for a few minutes to give it time to adhere.  Then I added the poinsettia blooms.  Once I had everything attached, I used my Wink of Stella Clear Shimmer Pen over the flower and foliage that was showing. Even though I had spritzed with shimmer spritz, this really added a lot more shimmer to the flowers although you may not be able to see it in the picture.  My current Wink of Stella seems to have a particularly high concentration of shimmer in it.  

After that I die cut the tag from the Keep It Simple Frames Dies little tag banner from some of the leftover watercolor paper scraps.  I chose the Merry Christmas greeting from Beautiful Berries: Winter Stamp Set and heat embossed that with Antique Gold Embossing Powder and then repeated it for a double heat embossed sentiment. I used the Mini MISTI for this.  Jennifer McGuire did this technique a week or two ago and I love the difference it makes in my embossing so you'll be seeing this technique often.  For the final touch, I wanted to put a brad or something in the hole on the tag.  I chose a Christmas Tree brad (it was silver when I started) and covered it with Versamark and then gold embossing powder and heat set it.  I let that cool and then did a second coat on that as well.  

I absolutely love how this card turned out and I am really happy to get to enter it in a few places this week!  This card predominantly consists of die cutting so it went very fast.  You could do lots of die cutting and then sit and assemble the flowers how you want them. I added extra layers to the ones I've created here, but you definitely don't have to. I did because I knew I wanted to go all out for this card.  You could also use larger single pearls or Liquid Pearls or Tonic Nuvo Drops for the flower centers which will also make assembly go fast.  If you have white pearls and want them to be a different color, use an alcohol based marker to change the color (such as a Copic marker).

To get a larger version of the images, right click and "open in a new tab" and it will bring up a larger image for you to see.  Thank you so much for stopping by today!  We have about 11 days left before we go for the Finger Christmas in November Dinner and I have several more projects in mind to share with you so I hope you'll come back often.