October’s challenge is Christmas! I know, I know, it’s only October…BUT if you want to get a good stockpile of Christmas cards then you really do need to start early.
October is also my birthday so I have lots of new things to play with that I couldn’t sit here just looking at for a moment longer! So here is my entry to this month’s challenge along with lots of experimenting with wooden embellishments and some pigment powder.
The gorgeous sparkle on these cards is even more beautiful in real life than it does in photos, you honestly wouldn’t believe the way all of the different elements catch the light.
I found these wooden embellishments in Poundland and I knew I wanted to emboss them with some of the gorgeous powders from WOW!
I just pressed each one onto my Versamark (sticky ink) pad and poured my chosen powder over then heated it with my heat gun. I did about 3 layers onto each snowflake to build up a really opaque, even coat.
I used 3 new (to me) powders and they are just gorgeous! I did some matte flakes using the Ultra High White Puff powder and that gave me some serious texture and dimension.
I also used Midas Touch, which is a gorgeous gold/silver/platinum/iridescent powder with large chunks that melt together to give such a gorgeous sparkle! Because of the large chunks it isn’t really suitable for fine details but for something like this it is just stunning.
The last one is Sparkling Snow, which is exactly as it sounds! White and so very sparkly!! I got all 3 of these powders for my birthday and this was the first time I used them…and I honestly LOVE them!!
The purple and blue backgrounds look so impressive and they were honestly the easiest part of this whole design! I just cut 4 squares of paper and taped them down to a wooden board because this will help to limit the amount of warping because of water that I am planning to spray onto them.
I had a new Nuvo Shimmer Powder, which is basically a little plastic bottle filled with a really fine pigment and metallic powder. You just have to hold it upside down over the paper and gently tap it, then spray a fine mist of water over the whole page and watch the magic happen.
*At this point it is only fair for me to tell you DO NOT squeeze the bottle. A LOT of powder will come out, I’m not going to comment on how I know this, but just please trust me*
Once the water hits the powder you get these gorgeous bursts of colour! Then you just add more water, or powder, or both until you have the result that you were looking for. You end up with these totally random and organic bursts of colour that I just love.
There are loads of different colours and mixtures in Nuvo’s Shimmer Powder range so you can probably get any look that you want. They have so much powder in each bottle and you only use the tiniest amount each time. They are under £5 so I think they’re amazing value! I’m definitely going to be getting more!
I decided to make 2 white & 2 Kraft card bases, and I used a stripy stencil and Nuvo Glimmer Paste to make those thin stripes of glitter. I cut 3 ‘Merry Chrismas’ die cuts from white paper and 1 from silver glitter paper for each card and stacked them up to make that sentiment stand out a bit more; after all it does have quite a bit to contend with on this design. I also cut out a number of small snowflakes from both white card stock and the same silver glitter paper I used for the sentiment. Then it was just a case of assembling the cards, which I did with a mixture of double sided tape, foam tape and liquid glue so that some pieces were popped up to give extra dimension.
I absolutely loved making these! I got to play around with so many different mediums, used lots of my new stuff and I honestly love how they came out! Plus, now I have 4 cards to start my Christmas stash.
So, do you think it is way too early to be breaking out the Christmas supplies? Or have you already made loads and think I’m way behind?
Hey Crafty People!
Please be aware:
As part of my Design Team and Guest Design work I do often receive free products to use, but I only ever recommend products that I genuinely love.
Also, I know how incredibly lucky I am to have these opportunities, but you don’t always NEED the newest products or the ‘full set’.
So please don’t feel that you need everything.
I like to show a variety of brands and products; this way there will be something for everybody to enjoy.
— SUPPLIES —
— My Basic Supplies That I Use On Every Project —
 MINI MISTI Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | SBP | Trinity |
 MISTI – Original Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | SBP |
 Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Neenah 80lb Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Alt | Craftstash UK |
 Neenah 110lb Shop at: Alt |
 Gemini Jr Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK |
 Tim Holtz Trimmer 8.5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Trinity |
 Tim Holtz Scissors 7inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Tim Holtz Mini Snips 5inch Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Tidy Tray Shop at: Trinity |
 Pick Up Stick Shop at: Trinity |
 Reverse Action Tweezers Shop at: Scrapbookcom | SBP |
 We R Trim & Scoreboard Shop at: Scrapbookcom |
 Pressure Tool Shop at: Trinity |
 Mini Trimmer Shop at: Scrapbookcom | Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 9.5 inch Shears Shop at: Craftstash UK | Craftstash US |
 Bone Folder Shop at: Alt |
 Self Healing Mat Shop at: Alt | SBC |
*Affiliate links are used, where available; this means that I may get a small commission if you purchase using one of these links, at no extra cost at all to yourself. A huge thank you goes to anyone who does purchase using my links, it is so highly appreciated.
- Neenah Classic Crest – Solar White
- Wilko’s brand Ink Cartridge refill
- Copic Ciao Markers
- BV00
- BV04
- Winsor & Newton Pro/Brushmarkers
- Hair – Y747, o324, 0345
- Belt/Wand Tip/Necklace/Head Band – V735
- Skin – O729, O618
- Wings – CG1, CG2
- Uniball Signo Gel Pen – Silver
- Wink of Stella – GL. Clear 999
- Versamark Watermark ink pad
- WOW! Embossing Powder
- Metallic Silver – Superfine
- Distress Oxide – Peacock Feathers
- Unbranded make up blending brush
- Altenew – Skylight Stencil
- Nuvo Glimmer Paste – Moonlight
- Ranger Matte Multi Medium glue
- Unbranded double sided adhesive tape
- Anita’s – Silver Mirror Back Gems, various sizes