2018 #22 C&S Christmas All Wrapped Up with EKC {by Carol Fox}

 2018 Topic 22: Clean and Simple Christmas Ideas

We wind up the topics of this year with more fast and fun ideas from Carol. Anything to personalise your gifts at Christmas is always a nice touch, and Chris has a range of quick makes in this post. Bright and Cheery! 

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas break ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Carol with you today, and I'd like to share with you some quick one layer cards and wrapping ideas. I like quick cards, I quite often use them to try out a colour combo or a new idea, be it a new quick border or a doodle idea, cards are handy for that as it's only a small space to fill and if it all goes wrong, well that's what the bin is for.
So today I have some one layer cards that incorporate a bit of masking and stenciling and of course Rubber Stamping because after all this is the PaperArtsy Blog.

Lots of cards and a gift bag from only one set of stamps and two stencils.

I thought using Fresco Finish Paint in Bougainvillea through my Kay Carley Stencil PS070 stencil gave my bag a bit of a retro look.

 

I stamped directly onto my tag, using Stamp set EKC22 by kay Carley splitting the image on the long edges, then using the Circle mask on the Tracy Scott stencil PS111 as a template to add Fresco Finish Glacier Ice over my masked off image, finishing with the Bourgainvillea as on the bag, then bumping the stencil a few times to draw black lines around each half circle.

For this card I used lots of the elements from Stamp set EKC22, masking off the center bauble before adding the holly stamping. I coloured my bauble with Fresco paint in Tangerine Twist.

You can see here how I added detail over the paint with a white coloured pencil to make the bauble seem a little less flat. The chalk paint is very good to colour over with most types of pencils.

 Here I stamped my bauble, masked it off and used the circle element from Stencil PS111 and Glacier Ice for my circle, and then used the same circle to bump 3 circles around my paint to give me little areas to colour in.

 

I used Cherry Red to paint my bauble, and Gold for the stenciled snowflake. I used Glass Blue to add my background detail with Stencil PS070 and then complimenting colouring pencils to add my detail to the rims and top of the bauble.

Again simple stamping and masking, using the same colours, stamps and stencils as previously listed.

I used pencils in similar shades to my paint to fill in little areas of my hand drawn border, and I do love how the Sentiments fit into the bauble areas on this stamp set.

When I have time I like to make my Christmas cards but I don't like to do them all the same so I like this stamp set, as it has  lots of elements that you can swap around for lots of different cards. Add in a couple of stencils and really that is all you need to quick and easy Christmas cards.

Thank you for visiting today and you can find me at the places below.

Carol xx

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There will be no challenge for this topic as we know you are super busy in the lead up to Christmas! So kick back and enjoy the inspiration from our designers instead!

2018 #22 C&S Christmas: Whimsical Cards with Zinski Art {by Josefine Fouarge}

 2018 Topic 22: Clean and Simple Christmas Ideas

It's so satisfying when you can make your own coordinating papers from scratch. Josefine shares how with her Frescos and wonderful Zinski Art stamps with a dress-a-bear brief...this would keep the kids quiet at Christmas too!!!! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, Josefine here and I'm super excited to share my "clean & simple" Christmas cards with you. Clean and simple usually means one layer and white space. I stretched this a little bit. The project is still clean & simple (for me)!

Usually, I add a lot of layers of paints and patterns to my projects, so it was exciting to try something different and challenge myself. Even though, my cards have a few more layers, they are still simple designs. Enjoy!

I started by coloring my characters from the Zinsky set ZA35. 

But instead of just stamping and coloring them I decided to paper-piece them. To do that, I prepared a variety of scrap pieces of paper and brayered paint onto them. 

One in a brown tone using Taupe (FF60), Caramel (FF75) and Stone (FF59)

One in green using Hey Pesto  (FF49), Winter Green (FF118) and Green Patina (FF126)

One in red using London Bus (FF37), Peach Nectar (FF144) and  Lemon Meringue (FF142) 

And one in pink (using Blah-Mange (FF140), Vintage Lace (FF18) and  Eggshell (FF138).

Next, I stamped the bears. Not just once, but several times onto the differently colored paper.

Now I cut out all the pieces. The entire bear once, then just the trouser or the hat from the other colored pieces.

Once I had all the pieces cut out, I adhered them together. It's important to cut the main piece entirely, so all the smaller pieces have a base they can be adhered to.

Now I prepared the background of my card. First, I blended some Lemon Meringue (FF142) to the card stock.

... and then I used PS116 to add a Christmas tree with Green Patina (FF126) and Taupe (FF60).

Then I moved the stencil just a bit to the right and blended the tree again, using Winter Green (FF118).

Finally, I added a few snowflakes with Snowflake Color Fresco Paint (FF15) and the bear and adhered everything onto a card base.

I did the same for the second card.

The only difference is that I stenciled "Merry and Bright" from the PS117 stencil.

Aren't these bears just adorable? The good thing is that they can be used for so much more than just Christmas cards. The one with the glasses is the perfect California bear ;)
It's so easy to "color" them and put the individual pieces together.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this topic and checkout all the other posts from the design team.

Blog: www.holylise.com

Facebook: HolyLise

Instagram: @HolyLise

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There will be no challenge for this topic as we know you are super busy in the lead up to Christmas! So kick back and enjoy the inspiration from our designers instead!

2018 #22 C&S Christmas: Stocking and Hanger with HP {by Lauren Hatwell}

 2018 Topic 22: Clean and Simple Christmas Ideas

Wow, this is a stunning fabric post from Lauren! Great to see the Versafine Inks onto fabric with such a detailed result. Perfect contrast with kraft card too! ~ Leandra 

Hi everyone, I can't quite believe it's Christmas time again; where on earth did all the time go?  I'm here to share a couple of very quick makes with you using Hot Picks stamps, which are perfect for putting a traditional or less girly take on things over the festive season.

I have a challenge this year as we have a house full for Christmas and not enough room on the mantle piece to hang all the stockings so I thought I would make some little stocking hangers I can hang on the wall and personalise each one so that, in the melee that is Christmas morning, everybody knows which presents belong to them. There is NOTHING like the excitement of waking up to a stocking full of thoughtful little gifts on Christmas morning, no matter how old you are...

This year I've been introduced (by Leandra, who is ever so slightly ink obsessed) to Versafine inks. They don't like to dry as fast as I would like or expect on fresco paint (though you can get around that by heat embossing your image) but they are pretty amazing for fine detail images on a porous surface. I was dying to see how they would work on fabric and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. You can see a slight shadow around the above leaf and the image is not as clear as I would have liked. This is because I decided it would be better to use a felt backing for a bit of give in the fabric when I stamped it. Not such a good idea as it turned out. The best way to do it was to put the fabric straight onto my stamping platform and anchor with the magnets in the usual way. You can see the surrounding leaves came out much clearer. 

Woodland themes are very big this year in home decor, so I went for this gorgeous oakleaf design from HP1105EZ. I think it works really well and I would LOVE to make a cushion or hot water bottle cover with it too. 

I always use one of my own Welly Warmers to make my stocking template. They are a fleecy lining like a large sock if you've not come across them. I just lay them onto my fabric, draw around them and cut out four - two for the stocking and two for the lining. Here is a tutorial if you've never made a stocking before and want to have a go.

Now for the stocking hanger. Easy peasy using a piece of wood, fabulous Fresco Finish paint and a few pieces of paper stamped, in this case, with some traditional Christmas images from HPXM01 and HPXM04  .

The hardest thing was mixing the paint to the EXACT shade of my brown wrapping paper for the little wooden peg (I ordered this one on line from Ebay and I have found them on Etsy and Amazon too). In the end I managed a close enough match with a combination of Taupe and Toffee Fresco Finish Paints. 

A stocking isn't a stocking without a few (themed) gifts inside. I used brown paper, string and book pages so they chime with the hanger and made a simple stamped tag from HP . I think this looks great and I can't wait to make some more. I do wish I'd stitched the reinforced heel section of the stocking with a darker thread. I will probably go back and hand stitch with a simple brown running stitch just to make it stand out a bit more. Why you never notice these things before you take the photographs I will never know...!? LOL

I think these look great and I really enjoyed making them from a few staple items I always have around the house. It needs to be quick and simple when you've got a lot to do so this is all very basic stuff but I think it all comes together beautifully. 

If you don't like sewing you could make your stocking out of brown paper, stamp it and glue the edges. I think I'm going to make our dogs brown paper bone shaped "stockings" so they can rip them open themselves to get to the goodies inside. 

However and wherever you find yourselves this Christmas, I hope 2018 has been kind to you and that 2019 will bring wonderful things for you all. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Lauren

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There will be no challenge for this topic as we know you are super busy in the lead up to Christmas! So kick back and enjoy the inspiration from our designers instead!