Joy & Warmth

Hello there!  I believe I'm done making Christmas cards for this year, but it will take me the rest of the month to share the cards I've made.  That's plenty of festivity to see me through.  Today I'm spreading joy and warmth with Penny Black.

In the rush to finish Christmas cards it was easy to forget how restful watercoloring is for me.  This was done with Stampin' Up inks.  The background was brushed on after coloring, and I drew the border with a skinny gray marker.

In the end I decided to spray with sheer shimmer sparkle which doesn't show so much in the photo, but it's pretty amazing in real life.

I'll be sending my card to two challenges today:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge -- Anything goes or snow/snowmen.  Must use a PB product, of course.
NBUS Challenge #81 -- My never before used schtuff is the Penny Black Holly Berry Bird, a gift from a dear local friend.

 

My apologies if I'm not keeping up with visits and comments as I'd like.  Regular life stuff on top of Christmas can be a little much.  It will all smooth out soon.

Happy holidays!

Stamps:  Penny Black Holly Berry Bird, Joy & Warmth  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor,  Neenah white card base not visible  Ink:  Ranger Archival Watering Can for image, Jet Black for sentiment, various SU inks for watercoloring  Other:  Imagine Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spray, white acrylic paint for eye dot

Double D Challenge: Christmas Wrappings

Hello, friends!  Thanksgiving is over and our sights turn to Christmas.  In my home it's more low-key these days, but the spirit and the young-at-heart delight is still evident.  At Double D we're enjoying "Christmas Wrappings" of all kinds -- bows, ribbons, tags, packages.  Even designer paper can become Christmas wrappings for our challenge.  Just have fun with it!

Creative winners are by team vote, and there's a fabulous prize for a random winner:

I went with an oldie but goodie die for this one.  It's an out of business Die-namites die called Hanging Presents.  It couldn't be easier and I suppose that's why I've used it many times over the years.

Cut in gold and hung on Christmas plaid, it makes for a festive card with little effort.  I placed the pop out pieces below each present with a couple more stars down by the sentiment.  I could have made a bunch of these, but I'm terrible about producing multiples... it just doesn't happen.

Do pop over and visit the team at our Christmas Wrappings Double D Challenge.  You'll love the samples and I hope you'll enjoy this theme as much as I did!

Happy holidays!