Kool Kitty Musings

2020 Christmas countdown - Day 3 (Have a Merry Little Christmas)

Hello!

Today's card features a some older festive papers in my collection, but they're enjoying their first outing here (nothing like cutting into a new sheet of paper!):

Paper: Crate Paper - Falala (r)
Stamps: The Stamp Market - So Mini Hellos
Dies: PTI - Tag Sale #3, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles

I've been trying to use my papers more on card projects and I finally cut into some lovely papers in the Falala collection from Crate Paper in an attempt to coordinate the Copic colours I'd used to colour in my stamped image. ;)

Luckily the combo works!

After stamping the mini on my die-cut tag of choice and colouring it in, I was at a bit of a loss with how to incorporate it on a card.

Well paper to the rescue! The red and pink stripes really make the tag pop and not get lost against a busy background.

I simply added twine and a button for a finishing touch.

There's no 3D foam tape for dimension, I simply bent back the edges on the layers with a bone folder once they were glued in place and it adds enough pop to really lift the final look. :)

Until next time...

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The Stamp Market - So Mini Hellos stamps Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	PTI - Tag Sale #3 dies Shop at: MISC	Gina K Designs - Obsidian Amalgam ink pad Shop at: EH | SSS
Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ | EH	Crate Paper - Falala - Festive paper (r) Shop at: MISC	Crate Paper - Falala - Very Merry paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC
Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2020 Christmas countdown - Day 2 (Jack Frost nipping at your nose)

Today's card is brought to you by my friend here, Mr Frosty...

Stamps: WPlus9 - Most Wonderful, WPlus9 - Snow Scenes, Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas
Dies: WPlus9 - Most Wonderful, WPlus9 - Scalloped Joy Tag, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle, Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels
Other: Sizzix - 3D embossing folder - Lumber

Sometimes it's handy to have half-started projects in your stash. ;)

Both the embossed background and the stamped snowman were stored away for future use, and now they've finally made it onto a card.

All I needed to do was build the background scene on the framed tag using Snow Scene stamps and a little ink blending for the sky.

For a wintry weathered look I added grey splatter to the embossed card base and then white splatter for snow over the background and tag before sticking the snowman down.

Finally I found the perfect greeting in a great set by Hello Bluebird - I've used this set a lot for less common festive greetings. :)

Highly recommended!

Until next time...

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Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas stamps Shop at: SSS	WPlus9 - Most Wonderful stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	WPlus9 - Snow Scenes stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	WPlus9 - Most Wonderful dies Shop at: EH | SHC
Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS	WPlus9 - Scalloped Joy Tag dies Shop at: EH | SHC	Sizzix - 3D embossing folder - Lumber Shop at: EH | SBC
Altenew - Evening Gray dye ink Shop at: EH | SSS	Altenew - Limestone dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Morning Frost dye ink Shop at: EH | SSS	Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Lawn Fawn - Carrot ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Noble Fir ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Pumpkin Spice ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Sage Leaf ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Storm Cloud ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	PTI - Aqua Mist ink pad Shop at: MISC	PTI - Hawaiian Shores ink pad Shop at: MISC	PTI - Hibiscus Burst ink pad Shop at: MISC
PTI - Raspberry Fizz ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Altenew - Rock Collection ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Altenew - Warm Gray ink cube set Shop at: EH | SHC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC	Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Ranger - Artist brush set Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2020 Christmas countdown - Day 1 (Where tree tops glisten)

Morning!

Well there's been some careful prep behind the scenes and writing this blog post back in January of this year, I'm really hoping I've managed to pull it off, because this is the first post in my countdown to Christmas 2020 where I share a card project a day as we approach Christmas day. Or perhaps not a card a day if I fell behind sometime around early February! Ooops!

So first up is my take on the January card challenge prompt. You may remember it... it was celebrating the fact that 2020's Pantone Colour of the Year was Classic Blue, so of course there had to be a bit of blue courtesy of my Distress Oxides:

Stamp: Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas
Dies: The Stamp Market - Dotted Tree, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles
Other: Distress Oxides

But before I talk about the background, what about that stitched tree eh?

It's one that I'd stitched back in December 2019 when I cut this die in various colours of cardstock ready to stitch at future crops. Some nice thread and pretty sequins and beads really do the job.

And the background? Just Neenah cardstock blended with three shades of blue Distress Oxides, going back and forth the shades to get an even blend before finally toning it down a little with white Picket Fence ink.

For wintry snow I splattered the background with white liquid watercolour from Hero Arts and added the perfect greeting for a glistening Christmas tree courtesy of Hello Bluebird stamps.

To add a little extra texture I used clear Morning Dew Nuvo drops to go over some of the white splatter.

I think I'll use that trick again! :D

Until next time...

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Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas stamps Shop at: SSS	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	The Stamp Market - Dotted Tree dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	Distress ink pad - Picket Fence Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Chipped Sapphire Shop at: EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Stormy Sky Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Hero Arts - Liquid Watercolor - White Shop at: EH | SHC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Morning Dew (clear) Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ
Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Ranger - Artist brush set Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2020 Christmas Countdown....

Hi there!

You'll have noticed that things have been pretty quiet on my blog the past month or so.

Sadly, that's because I've just not been in the cardmaking zone.

Rather than stress out about it and force myself to make projects for the sake of it, I decided to take a proper break and time out to hopefully recharge the creative batteries on that front. :)

However, although I may have been on a break (Friends style) with cardmaking recently, I've actually been working on a special project throughout the year.

Back in January I decided to set myself the task of making a Christmas card a week so that come Christmas 2020 I'd have all the cards I'd need to send to friends and family ready to write and send.

But who could have predicted then that 2020 would turn out to be the blockbuster disaster movie and sequel it has thus far been.

I'm sure more surprises lurk around the corner as we still have a couple of months to go... heaven help us.

Nevertheless, the time has finally come for me to share the cards I've been making behind the scenes (and will still be making in the weeks to come <g>).

The photo above provides a very sneaky peek at the contents of the lunch box that houses all my Christmas cards thus far. ;)

Starting tomorrow I will be sharing these cards on an almost daily basis and hope you come along for the festive journey as I count down to Christmas one card project at a time! :)

This Christmas is certainly going to be like no other, but I hope we can still enjoy some merriment and the true spirit of the season.

Until tomorrow! x