Friday, February 18, 2011

Christmas in February


This week's  One Layer Wednesday challenge, over at Simplicity, was to do a Christmas or Season's Greetings card.  Had to use red & green on white or cream.  It had to be one layer (one piece of cardstock folded in half, no additional layers and minimum embellishments).  She even suggested using a non holiday stamp for extra points.

Here's the first one I did.....


This flower is in the Bliss set from the Sale-a-bration catalog.  I always thought it resembled a Poinsettia and thought it was a shame that this set would be long forgotten by Stampin' Up! come Christmas.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig and actually got things where I wanted them this time.  I inked the flowers with markers then masked them and inked just one petal in green for a leaf and, again using the SAMJ, stamped the leaves.  They needed something to ground them, so I drew a doodly frame around.  I pressed down too hard on the sentiment, but didn't think it was bad enough to trash.

Then I had another idea with another Sale-a-bration set......


Actually, I planned to stamp a poinsettia on this, but liked it so well without it, I didn't.  I've got to tell you that initially I thought I had ruined this.  I didn't get a good stamp and I figured since I was using the SAMJ and I hadn't moved anything, I could just stamp over.  WRONG!  I ended up with a double image that gave me motion sickness just looking at it!  So I used the marker and kind of filled in between the double lines and blended with the blender pen until it didn't make me queasy.  I really loved the results.

Again, I pressed too hard on the sentiment and got a heavy image.  I hope whoever gets this card won't care.  Probably won't even notice!

Maybe I ought to take the blending pen to the poinsettias. Hmmm....

Card Recipe (Poinsettias)
Stamps:  Bliss, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  SU Markers (More Mustard, Real Red, Garden Green)
Paper:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig

Card Recipe (Filigree Branch)
Stamps:  Sweet Summer, Short & Sweet
Ink:  SU Markers (Garden Green, Real Red)
Paper:  Whisper White
Accessories:  Stamp-a-ma-jig

Enjoy,
Bonnie

12 comments:

Sarah Coggins said...

Both cards are beautiful! :)

Benzi said...

Taking a break from housecleaning and noticed your new cards on my dashbord. Had to take a look. I really love your poinsettia card and don't think it needs a thing. Oh, I wish I could doodle. Never tried as I'm always afraid I'll ruin my card.
Your second card is really pretty, too. Motion sickness,oh dear. But, I think your blender pen took care of the problem. I think they are both very, very pretty! Back to housecleaning. Yuck!

Kirsty Vittetoe said...

These are pretty, thanks for sharing!

Chrissie said...

Both of these are great Bonnie, it would be difficult to choose a favourite!
Chrissie

Ali Manning said...

Both cards are fabulous! I love how you worked with your mistake in the second one and blended it - it worked out beautifully!

Pauline said...

Great cards. I wish I could cover up my mistakes so well. I really like the pointsettias. TFS

Carol said...

Your 'poinsettia' card is wonderful...I agree! It does very much resemble a poinsettia. And, I really like your very merry card. SO pretty!

Colleen said...

Great job using "Bliss" for Christmas cards! Who'd a thunk?
Hugs,
Colleen

Susan Raihala said...

You are a genius! Saving the second card was brilliant...the soft look is simply gorgeous! And your top card is a hit as well. Thanks for being such a loyal participant in the OLW, Bonnie!

Colleen Dietrich said...

I'm sure your recipient wouldn't notice you had stamped too heavily. Heck, I didn't even notice it till you pointed it out! And I love your genius idea to use an SAB set for a Christmas image. That's what I love: thinking outside the box!

Susan said...

Both cards are so pretty! I don't think I would have noticed the "blurry" stamping! Your "fix" was a fabulous idea and really makes the card have a soft look to it. Awesome cards, Bonnie!

Deborah Frings said...

These are both lovely - those new sets are just so versatile!!