Ring Christmas Bells

Good Tuesday, Blogging Friends! Well, my best-laid plans took a detour. My art journal spread is not finished yet, got a wild hair to try a couple of techniques and that's taking extra time, so in the meantime I was able to finish this Christmas card I'd had in the mill for awhile.

I am also having some really bad pain days which slows me down horribly as I have to sleep more.

  

My 5x7 A7 card was driven by 3 challenges: one for bells at Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas and one for holly at Sparkles Christmas. So I combined them using this sketch which is the current challenge at Jingle Belles.

Supplies:
*  The Paper Cut Kraft and DCWV green card stocks
*  Patterned Papers: Rusty Pickle and The Paper Studio Old World Winter
*  Collaged Bells and Holly Image on tag: Leisure Arts A.T.C. Collection Christmas pad art papers
*  Cuttlebug 5x7 Holly Ribbons Embossing Folder
*  Spell binders Label 4 die
*  Stampin Up Tag Topper punch
*  Stamp: EK Success
*  Stash items: gold glitter enamel dots, Sakura clear gel pen, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen,            Cosmo Cricket Tiny Apha stickers
*  Inks: Crimson and Warm Grey #3 Promarkers, Ranger Distress Fired Brick, VersaFine Clair Green Oasis
*  Inside sentiment: created in PSE

  

 The first thing I did after choosing my papers and images was to decide on a background and Cuttlebug's 5x7 Holly Ribbons looked awfully busy to me but it was the right size and HEY it had holly on it! I think I have technique-itis on the brain lately because I wanted to do what they are calling Letterpress with an EF. I've done it before but got to wondering what Ranger Distress Fired Brick ink would look like on green card stock. Verdict: it looks cool!

I went overboard as usual on the ink distressing - I so love doing it and that Fired Brick was calling my name with these papers. I also distressed the edges with my Tim tool beforehand. I made my card front sentiment with alpha stickers on a leftover strip of the kraft card stock card base. And I chose the plaid ribbon instead of paper strip and added the 3 gold glitter dots after seeing the latest Thursday Twist challenge at Outlawz.

  

  

Here is the inside of my card and the back of it. I used a Rusty Pickle collaged Christmas paper for the inside and who could resist since there are bells and holly on it! I made my sentiment in PSE, an attempt at the chorus lyrics of Ring, Christmas Bells (4 Merries and a Christmas) plus a line paraphrased from Have a Holly Jolly Christmas song. Oh well, I guess you have live in this brain with me to truly understand, lolol. I like to photograph my card backs with a little of the front showing with it when a card looks truly coordinated like this one, thanks to that green embossed bottom layer. Just for grins, I took a Promarker to the back and colored all the holly berries. :-)

   

As for the bells on my card front, I created a collage from two different sheets, one with the bells  in holly with the berries and one with just holly leaves. I fussy cut my pieces, ran a warm grey Promarker around the white edges to darken them (this helps an image "blend" into what it is collaged onto), and then assembled my piece. After adhering to my homemade tag made of patterned paper and a tag topper punch (the tag is two pieces because I messed up and cut my first one too short, so Punt!), I took my clear gel pen and colored all the berries to make them 3D, then brushed the bell with Wink of Stella to make it glittery (which does not show up well in the photos but it's eye-catching in real life).

I will leave you with a few more views before listing my challenges:

 

Challenges:
1. Jingle Belles JB:19:09 We Wish You a Merry Sketch-mas
2. Sparkles Christmas #100: Let's See Some Holly
3. Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas #436: Anything Christmas Goes + Opt. Bell(s) - I played the option.
4. Winter Wonderland May: Anything But a Square Card - mine is a 5x7 rectangle
5. Outlawz Twisted Thursday Challenge for April 25 - May 8: Anything Goes and the TWIST being - Recipe: 1 ribbon, 2 papers, 3 gems or pearls - I am playing the twist
6. Outlawz Festive Friday Challenge for May 3-16: Christmas Category
7. Crafting from the Heart #242: Always AG
8. IkesWorld Challenge #120: E is for Embossing + AG - I have used dry embossing with a folder and also wet embossing by adding clear gel ink to the holly berries.
9. ABMTTC #91: Always AG
10. CHNPPC May: Always AG with Patterned Paper
11. TTCRD May 7-13 Challenge: Always AG
12. Jo's Scrap Shack #280: Always AG
13. Creative Crafters #15: AG

That's it for me today - off to another doctor's appointment and then back to my art journal spread! Until next time, xoxoxo