Wednesday, December 28, 2016

A Winter Cheer Card for My Husband



I hope that everyone had some fantastic and fun holiday festivities. Ours was very quiet, which we enjoyed. The card that I am getting ready to show you was made for my husband. This took me a while to create because of the trial and error period with the inks and grit paste. But I do like the outcome and I fell in love the Tim Holtz Grit-Paste. (Note: the size I used for this card was a mini and it came from Simon Says Stamp limited edition holiday card kit.)

I am probably making this blog too long, but I wanted to show you what NOT to do.

Photo 1: I trimmed the Desert Storm cardstock down to 4-A2 size card fronts. I used the Tim Holtz Pine Needles and Bundled Sage distress inks with his Woodland stencil. I then covered the inks with Tim’s Glaze medium. I knew that this would make the inks waterproof without smearing and I thought maybe it would work with the grit-paste. NOT!!! The grit-past absorbed the inks colors. 

Photo 2: For my second attempt, I used an Olive Grove Memento ink on the metallic card front. Before that had time to dry, I used clear embossing powder over the images. After the cooling down, I added the grit-paste and let that dry. This was a lot better, but the paste absorbed some of the blue from the ink.

Photo 3: I stamped and embossed the three trees. My thought was to let the grit-paste dry and add Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops. This was another NOT!!! I made things worse. 


Final Tree Layout: I stamped three trees (I changed the layout also) with the distress inks on Metallic Cream cardstock. I had the idea of using the grit-paste with the snow part of the stencil. This was stenciled on the Desert Storm cardstock. After these were dry, I fussy cut the snow and added them to my trees. I am very satisfied now, but there has got to be a better way to use the grit-paste on the actual stamped image. I will find that technique and share it with everyone. I really like the way the grit-past dries, lots of texture. 


Here are several pics of my final card. My husband loved it and that made me happy. Final touches are the Penny Black die "Winter Cheer," the red nose on Rudolph, and the snow in the background with the White Blizzard Nuvo Glitter Drops.




Just wanted to let everyone know that this Simon Says Stamp kit is sold out, but you can purchase the items separately. Simon’s January 2017 Kit ‘Snow Much Thanks” is still available. I got mine last week and it is gorgeous. I love the snowflakes designed by Kristina Werner. Check out her YouTube videos here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW6F7pbVdCeTj6WRZoZJ1TQ

I would like this card entered in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamps Blog - Work It Wednesday
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any question, please contact me. I do love follows and all comments!
Aletha Jane


Some affiliated links are listed below at no cost to you. The supplies for making this project were purchased by me, but if you click on the pics below and make a purchase, I get a commission. I want to thank everyone for their continued support of my art.


Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Amazing Sale at StampingScrapping

Hey everyone! This year-end sale at StampingScrapping is unbelievable! This company is where I buy all of my Spellbinders dies. Even without this sale, Cindy, owner of StampingScrapping, has most of her over 30,000 products at discounts every day. You don't want to miss this one.



I just purchased some of the NEW Spellbinders stamps and dies. Check out the December category located in the "Monthly Releases." I'm going to have so much fun coloring those little creatures.

Thanks for stopping by! Any questions, please contact me.
Aletha Jane
AJ's Design Artz

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Lots of Candy Canes


I have another Christmas card for you today. This was a very simple one and lots of fun to make.

The first step was to cut some glitter paper from American Crafts with Spellbinder’s Candy Cane Card Front die. I have had this die for some time and wanted to use it before the Christmas season is over. I also needed a card for my husband.


Next I picked some patterned paper from the Simon Says Stamp 2016 Holiday Card Kit (love SSS’s monthly kits and their limited edition kits are amazing), and cut that to an A2 size panel.  Next step was adhering this card front to a card base (120#). 

My final steps were adding sequins on the front and completing the inside of the card with a sentiment. I also decided to add a strip of the paper to the bottom of this inside. It is a strip cut to ¾” of the paper used on the front, but the other side of that paper. A list of all the supplies used is listed below.





I would like to enter the following challenges:
Tuesday Morning Sketches – Anything Goes

I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to follow and leave a comment on my blog. It really means a lot to me. If I do not make it back in the next couple of days with another project, I want to wish everyone the merriest of Christmas and the happiest of holidays.
Aletha Jane 


Some of the supplies listed below are affiliated links. This is at no cost to you, but if you were to click on one of the pictures and purchase from that store, I would receive a small percentage of that sale. Thanks so much for your continued support.


I'm Moving!

I am moving my blog to my website at AJ's Design Artz . I hope you stop by!