Believe in the Magic of Christmas

Hello my fellow crafters!  I've created this card for the Kennedy Grace Creations December Blog.  As December winds to a close, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with family and/or friends.  Although Christmas is now past, I made this card last month before I realized my post would be after Christmas!

To me however, Christmas is not just one day, but the beginning of forever (if you believe).  And as many crafters do, they make Christmas cards all year 'round.  So this is especially for those of you who never get tired of seeing or making Christmas cards.

You may recognize the wreath element in my card and the background technique I used on this card.  I used an Antique Linen  Distress Oxide pad and dragged it down the length of the cardstock several times to create a wooden door or panel look.  Then, I wanted to show how you can totally change the look of your card/wreath simply by changing up your ink colors (see my November Mood Board card for comparison, above).

To make the wreath element, I used the exact same technique as the prior card:  I traced a circle lightly the size I wanted the wreath, then used the 2 small leafy branches from the Kennedy Grace Creations stamp You Inspire Me.  I used 3 green colors from Hero Arts, (Green Hills, Field Greens and Moss).  I stamped 1 color at a time, spacing the branches out and changing the angle of the branches with each new color as I stamped around the circle.  This allowed me to get a fairly even dispersion of the colors, without any distracting clumping up of the colors.  I then used a Hero Arts Red (mini cube from My Monthly Hero Kit, unlabeled) for the berries, that I stamped using the 3 small dots on the You Inspire Me stamp set.  I used the berries to fill in any gaps that may have been present.

Next, I die cut the center of the wreath out.  At first I was going to make a shaker card, but not finding the exact color shaker elements I was looking for, I expanded my search to other things.  I looked into my stash of older Christmas stamps and I found this very cute wood block stamp from Stampendous! called Manger Kisses.  It fit perfectly in the window!  I quickly Copic colored the image, added a little clear Wink of Stella and set it aside.  Next I placed a mask over my wreath and stamped the sentiment from Sunny Studio's Holiday Style three times for an ombre-type look, once above and twice below in Ranger Distress Oxide Inks/DOIs (Worn Lipstick, Candied apple, and Fired Brick), then used some clear embossing powder over them.  I stamped the ink layered bow from the same Sunny Studio stamp set in Frayed Burlap DOI, Delicata Gold and Walnut Stain DOI and clear embossed that as well, then foam mounted it to the wreath.  I repeated the stamping of the small leafy branches and a berry next to the sentiments on the bottom.  

To finish assembling my card, I adhered some clear acetate to the back side of the wreath panel, then cut some Fun Foam slightly smaller than my panel.  I traced the circle from inside my wreath onto the Fun Foam then die cut out a circle slightly larger.  I cut down my card panel to 4 inches in width, then adhered the Fun Foam to the back side of my card panel.  Next I used some #110 NSW cardstock for a top folding A2 cardbase.  I placed some narrow strips of red glitter paper from Stampin' Up! along the edges, then adhered the little manger scene onto it so it was centered in the wreath window.  Before I adhered my card panel to the base, I sponged on some Brushed Burlap Distress Oxide ink along the inside of the wreath, giving it a "wooden edge" or distressed feel.  Then I adhered my card panel onto the prepared cardbase.

As I often do, I add one final detail that in my mind finally completes my card.  You can't really see them in the picture, but in real life you see them quite easily and they just add a wonderful element.  They are small gold adhesive dots (in varying sizes) from Starform.  The dots were small details from a larger adhesive image, but they were perfect for my project!  I scattered them about the wreath and declared my card done.

I hope you enjoyed my card and the versatility of the You Inspire Me stamp set.  Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2018!

Jill



To see more of my card creations, please visit me on Instagram as jktaylor911 for the largest collection of my cards and Facebook as Jill Taylor.

For your convenience I linked the Kennedy Grace Creations products to the store.

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.

Kennedy Grace Creations Grateful for Your Friendship (November Mood Board) card

Hello friends, I made this card for Kennedy Grace Creations using their November Mood Board  as inspiration.  This card is called, Grateful for our Friendship, because life is truly so much better with friends!  It showcases how you can stretch your stamp sets to be used for the holidays even though they are not holiday stamps.

 I primarily used the KGC stamp set You Inspire me to make this card.  I first prepped my card panel with Antique Linen Distress Oxide Ink (DOI) by dragging the pad down in vertical stripes to create what looks like a weathered wood panel door.  I then lightly traced a circle the size that I wanted my wreath to be and then used 3 of the small images from the stamp set (small leafy branch x 2, and the 3 dots) to make my wreath.  I used mostly Distress Oxide inks, inking each stamp one color and stamping it around the circle, then changing colors and again stamping around the circle, turning the leafy branches in different directions.  I tried to space out the colors in my stamping so as not to have one color be predominant in any location.  I did also use metallic gold pigment ink and metallic copper pigment ink to give the wreath a little shimmer here and there.  I stamped the dots (berries) on the wreath last using Fired Brick DOI and filling in any areas that needed it.  I stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set from KGC, You Inspire Me, in DOI using two of the colors from the wreath.  I stamped and die cut the bow from The Ton's Christmas Wreath Builder stamp set.  The tails ended up being a bit too long, so I trimmed them down to fit my card.  It is a layered ink stamp that I embellished with Copic markers for depth of color and a white gel pen for highlights.  I also stamped additional small branches around the "Grateful" sentiment and found some metallic gold card-stock and die cut some small poinsettias from a Spellbinders die set I had.  I placed rhinestones in the centers of each flower that I had colored with a Copic marker to match the deep red on the card.  I also found in my stash of adhesive stickers some small gold dots from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  I used three around my sentiment as well.

November Mood Board

To finish my card, I mounted a scalloped-stitched die cut frame from Avery Elle in a complementary color.  I them adhered it to a Confetti Cream side folding card base from Stampin' Up!

I hope you enjoyed my card and will feel inspired to stretch some of your non-holiday stamp sets this year. 

Gratefully yours,

Jill

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.  You Inspire me

**Kennedy Grace Creations products are linked to the store for your convenience!

Kennedy Grace Creations Fall 2017 Release Sneak Peek #2

Hello again friends and crafters, I'm Jill and I'll be sharing another Sneak Peek card for you for Kennedy Grace Creations Fall release.  This card has some similarities with my other card, however I felt it was different enough and I used some different products as well, that I wanted to share.  As my first card was bright and vibrant with Fall colors, this one is softer and more subdued.

I started this card by white heat-embossing the floral image from the lovely new stamp set Friendship Blessings by Kennedy Grace Creations onto some Arches hot-pressed watercolor paper, then white heat-embossing the 3 white dots stamp from KGC's stamp You Inspire Me around the floral image.  I then water-colored the image with Sakura Koi watercolors.  It was my first time using those watercolors, and I must say I was impressed.  While that panel dried, I die cut some frames from Reverse Confetti's All Framed Up die in some white and Silver Starlight cardstock.  I then found some Stampin' Up! Baja Breeze cardstock for a background layer that I die cut with a larger stitched rectangle die.  As I was assembling my card, I felt that the blue cardstock needed some stamping.  So I went back to the You Inspire Me stamp set and used the same 3 dot stamp as well as 2 small leafy branch stamps.  I heat-embossed the dots white to repeat an element from inside the frames, and just used clear embossing with the leaf images.  Once my layers were adhered to the blue cardstock I decided to use a Stampin' Up! product that I'd not used for quite some time (collecting dust as you might say).  I'm talking about the metal frame around the Friendship Blessings sentiment.  It was from an embellishment kit called Hodgepodge Hardware.  It had 5 different frames to choose from and several brads to secure it to your project.  I however chose different Stampin' Up! brads, these were small silver metal with clear rhinestones in the center.  I wanted a little Bling!  I had no punch or die to match the shape of the frame, so I traced it then fussy cut it out.  I then stamped the sentiment with Lawn Fawn's Hippo dye ink, as I felt black ink would be too stark compared to the soft color palette I had used.  I carefully glued the frame and cardstock with Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  When it was secure, I positioned the frame where I wanted it, marked the holes, then used a pokey tool to create 2 small openings for the brads.  I put tape runner adhesive on the back side of the sentiment cardstock and secured the frame in place with the brads.  I then adhered the finished panels onto a standard A2 top-folding card base of NSW 110# cardstock.

With my project complete, it reminded me to look around my craft room more for those rarely used items that sometimes are just perfect for what I am working on.  So I encourage you too, to explore the dusty recesses of your craft room for those hidden jewels you've forgotten about (we all have them!).

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my card.


Wishing you friendly blessings and warm hugs,

Jill