Christ is Born!

I made this card using one of the 2 new sets I got for Christmas Card making this year. As the title of this posting proclaims the good news, 'Christ is Born' is the name of this set. Over the years I have collected many images having to do with Christmas and Winter themes, so when I saw this new word image, I knew it would be a good addition that I could make good use of by combining with my other sets.

This card was my Technique Lover's Challenge card that charged us with using glitter and a background stamp on the same color paper as the glitter. I used an "Essential Glue Pad" to glue the glitter onto the Garden Green card stock with the retired SU! background stamp called 'Holiday Print'.

(SU! also had two called 'Special Day' and 'Birthday Print' which all had a background made of words pertaining to their themes). While the glitter dried, I stamped the words with Real Red onto white cardstock, a few times with my Stamp-a-ma-jig to make sure the image was dark and crisp. Layering that onto green and red cardstock, I wish I had thought to trim out the corners before attaching them...and I will next time. After attaching that to the left side of the card, as it is a gate-folded card that opens in the middle, I then wished I had centered the panel up-and-down to make room for the star so that it wouldn't have had to crowd it onto the corner of the panel...but that's what I love about stamping...I learn by doing, and even more by re-doing.

TIP: If you have/get an Essential Glue Pad, make certain that you keep the clear plastic cover over the pad under the pad's cover to keep the moisture in. These pads are sold dry and you get the refill with the pad itself when you first buy it. Ink it up and use it, but before you put it away, be sure to spritz a couple of sprays of water onto the pad, to keep the moisture in. This has helped me save on refilling as often and knowing that unless it has been a while since I've used it, it is juicy when I want to take it out again. Also, I store it upside down.

Have a great day!

350 Lighthouse Cards!

I have good friends in Hancock, Michigan that are building a new church! I am excited for them as can be and when I thought of what I might be able to do to bless them and take some pressure off, I volunteered to make the "Thank You" card for them...all 350 of them! I knew that it had to be single layer (or drive myself crazy trying to keep count of how much I need, how much I need to cut, how much needed to stick all together...you get the idea, So I decided upon an image first, and of course a Lighthouse is what it HAD to be, because the church is to be called "The Lighthouse Church." I thought brayering would be a great way to get the color on, and so I chose this TAC set because it had a non-existing landscape I didn't have to worry about. Then I made a stencil and went to town. The stamping was done with Basic Gray. The beach is chalked, the sky is bayered with a 'Late November' Spectrum pad and the light and roof are watercolored red and yellow. Enjoy your day!