PaperArtsy: Christmas Cards {with Squiggly Ink Stamps by Emma Godfrey}

Hello everyone, Emma here. Today I'm going to show you how to make some fun Christmas Cards using Squiggly Ink stamps and Fancolor Water Soluble Pens. My inspiration for these cards comes from combining some trends I've seen on Pinterest ... white space, watercolour backgrounds and gold embossing powder.

Start by making three card blanks from a sheet of 12"x12" Kraft cardstock (cut to 4"x12", and two 6"x8"). Cut three pieces of heavy smoothy card each 5.75"x3.75". Stick these together. My next step was to choose which stamps I wanted to use. I used a mixture of stamps from Egg and Nog 1, Nut and Meg 1, Nut and Meg 2 and Nut and Meg 3.

I cut more heavy smoothy to roughly the right size for the stamp (allowing a bit extra for the 'V' tag shape at one end).I then lay them out to see if I'm happy with them - and adjust stamps or card stock as necessary.

I chose the first five pens in the Fancolor pen pack (yellow, orange, pink, red and purple) - as the pens are arranged in a rainbow in the pack I knew that they would all work well together! I scribbled the pens onto a craft sheet and then sprayed them with water. More water = lighter colours.

Swipe your smoothy pieces through the puddles, covering them with the ink. Dry with a heat gun, and then repeat to build up the colours and effect. Add more pen scribbles and water if needed. I like it when there's a lot of liquid on the card, as you can then use the heat gun to direct the drips and this adds to the layers in the background. Dry your pieces completely before going onto the next step.

Stamp your main images with a Versamark ink pad. Sprinkle gold embossing powder over the images and tap off the excess. Once you can see where the main image is, then you can stamp the Mini 72 splatter stamp around the edges (again using Versamark). Cover with the embossing powder again, and tap off the excess. Heat the embossing powder with a heat gun, until it melts.

Mini 72

When your pieces are cool, you can cut a 'V' into the bottom or left ends. Apply Renaissance Treasure Gold around the edges of your pieces and pick out any detail on the stamp using a white extra fine Sharpie Paint pen. Then you just need to stick your stamped pieces onto your card blanks. Voila!

I love the way these cards came out. This style works particularly well with simple bold stamp images - Squiggly Ink and the JOFY stamps are perfect. And it doesn't just need to be for Christmas... experiment with colours and images!
Until next time, Emma.

A huge thanks to Emma from all at PaperArtsy. Wow! Emma these are gorgeous, I love that watery background, the fancolor/fibralo pens are a must addition to everyones supply collection. They are just so versatile. So nice,too, seeing the appearance of Squiggly Ink Stamps, perfect for cards.

We would love you to join in with our monthly challenge. If you are inspired by any of this month's guests who have blogged between Sept 1st 2014 and Sept 30th 2014 then join in and link up your creativity HERE. You will go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. You need to add your link by 19:00 (London time) Sept 30th 2014