Paperartsy Christmas Card 2008

Finished at last, 64 cards done in the end, for Christmas this year. If I get any back now that I wasn't counting on I'm sorry, but you won't be getting one of these! I thought I'd take a few pictures as I went through the process of making them. I started by stamping the main focal point of my card using Paperartsy stamps that I was lucky enough to win a couple of years ago (I just love these stamps). I first used black archival ink (important as it is not effected by water) to stamp the Christmas Delivery stamp from Xmas - Plate 3 in the lower corner of a 3.7cm square piece of heavy watercolour paper, this is important as the next step will not create quite the same effect on other papers. I stamped this image again onto a piece of scrap paper and cut it out to use as a mask to cover up this portion and then used Adirondack cranberry ink to stamp the damask type image from Xmas - Plate 1 over the top. Leave them to dry for a while and lightly paint water over the top, avoiding the delivery stamped area, to create the water coloured effect. (If you paint them straight away the definition is lost in the pattern). Don't they look good all lined up together?


And here is the close up of the image.
I took a piece of white A4 card and cut in two length ways and scored to make a tent fold card and embossed lines across the bottom and slightly higher up where the focal image was to go. I used Fiskers corner rounder scissors on the bottom edges and then stamped the "tis Christmas" in cranberry again and added a bit of glitter. I actually cut up a stamp to do this, it was a bit scary!

I think you can probably see the glitter and the embossed lines on here better.
The stamped focal point was layered onto firstly white card then red card and lastly recycled buff coloured card all edged with a black marker pen. Red raffia was wrapped around the card three times and the focal image attached on top.I created an insert in my Serif Drawplus X2 programme and printed it out then used the corner rounder again.

And here are some of the finished cards.

Hope everyone likes them as they took me longer to do than I intended.
By the way Tim Holtz is doing his tags of Christmas again this year he has some great tutorials and is giving away some great blog candy just leave a message to be in with a chance.
Have a Christmasy arty weekend.